Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[scorri]

Uri motioned Amalia along. "You know you're always welcome to come with me." They exited the room and started towards the infirmary. "How are you holding up? Your back must still be hurting and I know that battle wasn't easy for either of us... I worry we made the wrong decision. I know I need to get out of this country to keep Seraphine safe but... I don't think that we were made to get caught up in these types of things. You almost died today because of one who made a similar decision to what you've made. Do you really want to risk ending up like him?" The line of thought was seemingly out of nowhere but Uri had been thinking this over since the end of the battle. He wasn't sure he liked the path his friend seemed to be heading down and he felt like he had to try and stop her before it was too late.

Erion chuckled at the new shirts comment but grew serious as he turned back to the room. He figured Anna knew what she was doing but the atmosphere in here seemed pretty light still. Made sense he guessed. After all, if they could get information without resorting to less savory means, that was better. For now he kept quiet, listening to what was going on.

[-Cynthia-]

Anna seemed to have things well in hand. "Let me know if anything interesting comes up, I'm going to go talk with some of our another prisoners," Veronika said, following Lane out of the room.

Lysandra chuckled quietly to herself, remembering a past argument about Cygnus's facial hair long ago. Hopefully this does not get much more violent than that.

[Snike]

While it was odd that Veronika wanted to go speak to the prisoners while Zerachiel was being interrogated, Lane just figured that she also might want to get something for any lingering aches after the battle. As a result, he didn't any anything about the decision, opting instead to head down the hall towards the infirmary somewhat behind the avians.

[Phoenix]

Interview

"Yeah sure," Anna nodded at Veronika. She waited until those not keen on watching had exited the meeting room. That was when she put all her focus on Zerachiel. "Before we start, is there anything useful you're willing to part with from the get-go?" She expected some silly warning about how futile it was to oppose his secretive group, but maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't waste her time.

"Sure," Zerachiel grinned, glancing at Lysandra briefly, "our leader is a man named Cygnus. He's structured us and our operations in such a way that Ursium and Neviskotia can never root us out completely.

"Is that why your group doesn't seem to have a name?" Anna winced slightly.

"Yeah," Zerachiel nodded, "Logistics are a pain but it's well worth it. Weyland and Valcyn here have bloodied our noses a few times, but I welcome it. We were getting too comfortable and our standards were getting too low. You haven't done nearly enough damage to stop or even slow us down, so I say, bring it on. Kill as many of us as you think you can get away with."

"What if we kill Cygnus somehow?" Anna asked, not missing a beat.

"The old man's not going to be around forever," Zerachiel shrugged, "whether he dies in a bed or on his feet doesn't really make a difference, here."

Anna was trying to figure out how much of what Zerachiel was saying was true, and how much of it was just bluster, meant to discourage them. It wasn't easy, but at the very least, she was convinced that taking down this nameless organization would require more than just bruteforce, or at the very least, a strategically brilliant application of it.

[Script]

Xenia

"Cygnus?" Xenia buried her face in her hands. "If this whole stupid group of yours formed just because your boss's ugly ass got picked on as a kid I'm gonna go black myself out."

[Nanami Touko]

"Me? I'm alright... I'm uncomfortably fine, all things considered." She'd had to fight, watched death, and nearly died... But everyone on their side had come back alive, not much worse for wear. "Yes, it does, but I can manage. I'm growing used to it. It still throbs, but as long as I take that medicine, and I don't focus on it, I've found it bearable." Then Uriel's line of questioning went down a surprising path. She'd expected some talk, but not this soon, and not on everything. "End up like him? I... I'm not sure, Uriel. Honestly, I... In today's fight, I found myself questioning things. I'm going to lay the blame on the surroundings, and my constant pain, but... As horrible as it is, I found myself questioning whether or not I should be enjoying fighting."

She sighed, as a wry smile slipped onto her face. "I know I've lost my connection to Mercy, but her teachings are still strong in my mind... Thinking of it now, I would never be able to conceive such a thought; I'm appalled just speaking of it. But what if... What if I'm wrong?" She sighed, placing a hand on her face as they walked. "I tried, after the fight, to convince that human the error of his ways. I did not expect it to work, but is that what we are to expect from all of them...? Erion, he tried, to not kill that avian. I may have been wounded for it, but he tried, you know? ...I know that I do not wish to leave this group, yet. Perhaps being with the humans is affecting me poorly, but... I, I want to learn more. About why they fight." She hoped that was enough for Uriel, for now. He'd always been protective of her, so this too, did not surprise her.

Edited November 20, 2016 by Narumeia

[Snowy_One]

Robin laid down in the bed, her hand coming on up to her brow to gently pat it down. She was feeling a bit hot, though she didn't question as to why one bit. She had just been in a battle after all. Still, giving her brow a quick pat, rolling over onto her side a bit, itching her bum, not much else to do in the infirmary. Part of her wished she had gone to the debriefing, feeling she'd have at least seen something, but all she really wanted right now was either Chip or Nico to hug, someone else to hug, or something nice and cool to eat. Did they serve chilled foods here?

"Excuse me, are there any cold foods to eat?"

[Phoenix]

Meeting Room

"Cygnus didn't found the group, he just runs it now, so I wouldn't know anything about that," Zerachiel shrugged at Xenia. "I doubt anyone picked on him, though. If you've seen our faces, our builds," he gestured at both himself and Gabriel, "you've seen the old man's. At least when he was younger."

"So he's basing artificials off of himself?" Anna asked, "some of them, at least?" she quickly amended herself, as the Dolan fiasco came to mind. "Or is it just you two?"

Zerachiel nodded and began to relax his shoulders. "Gabriel was supposed to be his successor. I guess Cygnus took the idea of training someone up in your own image a little too far. I was a backup in case that fell through, but neither of us made the cut. Gabriel was whisked away by dear mother over here," he sent Lysandra a knowing look, "and I told him to his face that I wasn't interested in leading people the way he does. I've got no problem taking on a small group and fighting with them ... but whole armies, whole countries ... that's pretty much politics. That's his world, not mine."

That was actually something they both had in common, Anna realized. She too preferred the relatively small number of subordinates that she got to work with. The prospect of anything larger, while not exactly daunting, was definitely unappealing. There was a certain point, a certain number of individuals, that just worked, and beyond that, faces and names began to fade, only to be replaced by generalities. Anna suspected that was what Zerachiel was getting at, at least in part.

"How do you make artificials?" Raquel asked.

"Involves a ship load of dark magic, a bit of light magic, and good old fashion ingenuity," Zerachiel smirked at her, not really giving anything away. "Why don't you ask the old man, yourself? I'm sure he'll tell you. Better yet, ask Lysandra since she's right here. She was still with us when Gabriel and I were created."

Infirmary

"Cold?" The nurse was surprised by the question. Technically Weyland Enterprises didn't have anything 'cold' as standard, or at least not deliberately chilled, however, there were enough ice mages under Weyland's employ to make that a non-issue. It really came down to the request itself. "Did you want something in particular?" she asked cautiously as she looked the archer over for injuries.

[Snowy_One]

The 'wounds' on Robin were plain to see and understand. Namely that she had been impaled upon a lance and had it healed, likely a bit hastily, with a staff while on the battlefield enough to get her moving again. Even if no scars were present the damage and blood on the clothes would be more than telling.

"I do not know. Maybe mix together some ice and fruits for some frozen fruit juice or something? Just... something nice and cold or something to hug."

[Script]

Xenia

"Some ego for a prisoner," Xenia commented. She didn't give much of a damn about the rest of this though. Artificial, weird births, copies. Ugh.

[scorri]

Uri stopped, turning to face Amalia with a small frown on his face. "As you said, a lost connection to Mercy does not mean we forget her teachings. The fact that you are fighting at all worries me enough. To hear you are thinking all of that..." He shook his head, starting to head towards the infirmary again.

"Humans could change I suppose. Erion not killing that man was surprising, I'll admit that. But it's just us two against all of their ways of thinking. I won't stop worrying about you being among their influence and fighting. Its hard enough for me to justify helping protect them. Perhaps once we are back on the path of leaving this country and going to fight the Fallen I will feel better annoy it all but..." He trailed off, not really wanting to continue down that path of thought much longer. He was doing the right thing. For Serafine's sake, he was doing the right thing.

[Phoenix]

Meeting Room

"We can go over artificial stuff later," Anna decided, checking her arm to make sure she still had Gabriel's pistol aimed where it needed to be in order to put Zerachiel down if he tried anything. "I'm more interested in where your headquarters is."

Zerachiel sent another look at Lysandra, and then turned his head back to face Anna. "Again, you can ask her. We haven't relocated or anything so she should know."

Anna's felt her brow furrow as the frustration built up. "Just because she knows a thing or two doesn't mean you can't tell me. You're not going to deflect my attention that way."

"Yeah," Zerachiel agreed, "I could, but I don't really feel like it."

"You don't 'feel' like it? Well, I'm so sorry to inconvenience you, but-" Anna stopped as a brilliant flash erupted out of the corner of her left eye. Instinctively she looked away from it, but consciously, she also took a step away from Zerachiel, making sure he wouldn't be able to reach for the gun. The man hadn't come at her, though, and it was obvious that the light was coming from behind him, not directly from him.

"We need your help," came a soft female voice as the light faded, revealing three avians clad all in white. The only color that could be found on any of them was the faint pink of their pale skin and their crimson eyes.

"The dolls?" Zerachiel said, shocked to see Samael's three servants here of all places.

Infirmary

The nurse was surprised by the tail end of Robin's suggestion. A hug seemed a lot simpler than an icy snack, so she was curious why either one would suffice. There was nothing left to heal, despite what the archer's outfit would have one believe, so she was tempted to simply embrace the archer and see what would happen ... provided she removed the bloody tunic first ....

"Getting you something cold will take some time," the nurse said, "but if all you really need is a hug, then I can do that." She smiled fainly, "but first, let's find a change of clothes for you."

[Script]

Xenia

She went freelance to get away from nonsense like this. "What're you offering for help?" Xenia took the initiative.

[Snowy_One]

Robin gave a small nod. "Yes. Is it true that some infirmary's make you wear blue robes that leave your butt exposed? If so I do not want to wear that. Otherwise, I do not know... Maybe something... Pretty?"

[KentaEzren]

Kenta walked in during the conversation about Cygnus. He remained quiet due to what he was thinking in his mind.

[Phoenix]

Meeting Room

Gabriel had his other pistol at the ready, so Anna didn't let her own aim leave Zerachiel. Axel was also still present, so they had passable coverage for now, considering the three avians probably weren't ready for a fight if they were pleading for help. Xenia managed to get the second word in.

"Offer?" Valeria echoed. She hadn't considered any sort of exchange. Of course, this was coming from a stranger and not Zerachiel. Looking at it that way, she supposed outsiders might want compensation. "I'm sorry," Valeria bowed her head briefly, "We didn't mean to ask everyone here ... though we wouldn't turn away anyone willing to help us. Samael is missing. We can't find him anywhere."

Zerachiel winced. "Ah hell ..."

Anna's eyes narrowed at the three avians. They all looked genuinely distressed, but something about this situation just felt off. This was either a lazy attempt at a trap, or these girls were oblivious birdbrains who couldn't discern the difference between a job interview and the interrogation of a prisoner. There was also the possibility that they simply didn't care, and this situation with Samael was just that dire. Samael's disappearance itself at least explained why the mission had gone as well as it had, but it was curious that even his own people didn't seem to know where he was.

Infirmary

The nurse blinked. Was the archer joking or had she actually heard this somewhere? She supposed it didn't matter since the spare clothes they kept didn't fit that description. "I wouldn't say 'pretty' but they're a vast improvement over a bloody outfit for now. Wait here a moment while I get you a set."

A cotton shirt and pants, both a dull light gray color like much of the spare clothing at Weyland's estate in Europa. The nurse came with both items in her arms and offered them to Robin. "Here. You can have that much needed hug once you're changed," she smiled.

[-Cynthia-]

Meeting Room

Lysandra bit her lip as Zerachiel mentioned the process to create artificials. I do know a thng or two but...some knowledge is better kept secret I think. This line of questioning was interrupted by the sudden appearance of three avians. Zerachiel appeared to have recognized them, which was not the most encouraging sign.

"I'm afraid I have no idea where he is," Lysandra answered the avians truthfully. She kept a hand on her tome...just in case.

Infirmary

Veronika decided that the best relief for her pounding headache was some more rest, so she decided to lay down on one of the cots. Just a quick nap, then I'll be ready to deal with all this...

[Phoenix]

Meeting Room

All three of the avians looked disappointed by the responses thus far. Not surprising, really. "Where'd you last see him?" Zerachiel asked, still wholly unconcerned with the firearms pointing at him.

"He was nearby when we were speaking with Reina," Regula, the smallest of the three answered.

"Reina?" Raquel perked up, her interest suddenly renewed, "Are you talking about my sister or someone else?"

"Your sister," Beatrix, the second avian, answered. "Samael is interested in recruiting her to our cause, so we wanted to introduce ourselves."

"Samael isn't very good with people," Valeria admitted, "so we wanted to reassure her, as well."

Raquel fumed at them. "You can't go around recruiting seven year olds for things!" Wait ... "I mean ten year olds," she quickly corrected herself. "What's the matter with you?!" All three avians recoiled slightly. Zerachiel just shook his head. Without Samael around to keep them busy, they sure could get themselves into all sorts of trouble. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't unwitting blabbermouths. Fortunately they didn't know anything particularly damning. If they did, Zerachiel might consider stopping them. In this case, it was just plain interesting. He certainly wanted to see what came of this exchange. He was also hitting up on an idea.

"We apologize," Valeria bowed her head. Her sisters copied her perfectly. "We didn't mean to upset you or anyone else."

Raquel's anger quickly cooled, leaving just a distrusting scowl behind. "Just leave my sister alone. She's still not old enough to be getting involved in whatever you people are doing." What were they doing, exactly? She'd been so annoyed that she hadn't thought to inquire what these people would even want with a ten year old girl.

"Of course. Again, we apologize," they all spoke in unison this time, bowing their heads again.

[-Cynthia-]

Lysandra's eyes widened as Reina was mentioned. The behavior of these avians is very odd. Either they're trying to be deceptive or...something else. "I apologize for not telling you about this sooner Raquel, it was your right to know. What exactly happened with you all and Samael and Reina? Perhaps if I had more information I could point you in the right direction," she offered, knowing full well that she had no intention of helping them.

[Script]

Xenia

"They're a few eggs short of a full nest."

[Phoenix]

Handiwork

"You mean they're crazy," Raquel crossed her arms, her anger resurfacing as she thought about what Samael might have wanted with Reina.

"Easy," Zerachiel winced at the group. At least Lysandra was humoring them, though given her history with artificials, that was a matter of course. "They're harmless. They're not meant to be flying on such a short leash, but with Sam missing ... well, I guess they're my problem, now."

Anna quickly looked over the three avians, minding her aim as she did. "I knew it," she said, turning back toward Zerachiel. "They're artificials like you, aren't they?"

Zerachiel shook his head. "They're artificials, yeah, but not like me. Their only purpose is to serve, and they can't really do much else. That's why they're all manners and no tact." He shrugged. "If you're curious about my father, then take a look. This is some of the old man's latest handiwork." All three avians blushed and retreated partway beneath their wings. They were clearly embarrassed, though whether they took Zerachiel's crude explanation of them positively or negatively was difficult to see.

"We hate to interrupt," Valeria chimed in once she found her courage, "but we really want to find Samael. Will you please help us?" While it came like an open request, it was clearly directed at Zerachiel first and foremost.

He smirked at her. "We'll see."

[Script]

Xenia

"Slaves for the making. I wanna clobber swan-dad myself now."

[Nanami Touko]

"Do not put much stock in it, Uriel. It was a passing thought, stirred on by the chaos. I do not believe every fight with this group will be as terrifying as these last few have been. It would be impossible for such a standard to remain, no? I find it very unlikely, at the least." This human culture was amusing and terrifying. She was so drawn towards it, and yet still scared of it. Perhaps it was the mix of the two feelings that pulled her in so close.

"Whether or not it is two or two hundred against their way of thinking, it would not do for me to abandon them... One of them has listened, and if I can help one in the error of their ways, then I can help more... Is that not why I left? To help who I could, with what I had? And all I have are my words, Uriel. My words and my sword. So I will speak to all that I can, and fight who I must... The day I bring myself to kill is the day I would worry. Let us hope that day never comes."

She sighed, the topic had gotten too heavy. "Let us make our way to the infirmary, yes? I wish to see how much of my wound is permanent. I know you did a wonderful job of healing me, but I also know what light magic does to the flesh." She continued on, hoping a nurse would be able to inform her of any issues, or better yet, fix them.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Narumeia

[-Cynthia-]

They are rather pitiful- though they still might be quite dangerous if Samael bothers to keep them around. I musn't drop my guard. "Cygnus deserves to be clobbered for a great many things," Lysandra concurred with the other older woman. "As for Zerachiel...well he isn't my prisoner so it would not be my place to decide his fate." I don't think he deserves to die- but I doubt even Weyland could design a prison that could hold him for very long...

[scorri]

"Yes. The infirmary should be able to judge that. I did all I could but... I fear you will never be quite whole again and I am sorry for that." The avian sighed, and continued along the way, soon arriving at their destination. Entering, he noticed fewer injured than he had expected, which was good he supposed. Addressing the nurse who had been talking to Robin, he politely inquired, "Excuse me miss, do you need any help? And my friend had some questions as well."

Erion had to list three avian artificials randomly appearing and asking the group if they knew the location of a man they'd earlier been hoping to kill as one of the strangest things he'd ever seen. And given the shenanigans he'd gotten himself into during his time as a thief, that was saying quite a bit. Still, they seemed harmless enough for now, so he stayed where he was, though he casually grabbed the dagger he could access through his pocket. Just because they seemed nice didn't mean he shouldn't arm himself just in case. He stayed quiet though, letting those more involved with the situation handle it for now.