Return of the Emblem Chapter Seven: Reunion

[Phoenix]

Urcenter Outskirts

Cecily rolled her eyes once Layla had turned to leave them. She sighed once the woman was at a distance. "Just as well. I never liked the idea of coming to an area like this just to find that guy, anyway." For a moment though, Cecily felt ... odd. She wanted to leave but, not regardless of what happened to Simon .... "Oh nooo, I can't believe I actually consider that Simon character an ... 'acquaintance'. Lllet's wait for just a little while. If Simon doesn't show up ... we'll leave." Cecily's face looked horrible, fighting with herself over the issue. "He's ... in the organization, somewhat so ... it's not like him dying in there benefits us at all." She hung her head. She couldn't stand saying such things.

Shiver Me Chambers

"What?" Lilith, had just barely caught what Robin had said to her and raised an eyebrow when Veronika restrained her mouth. Her explanation would have to be enough, as there were more important matters to attend to, and more questions to answer, it seemed. "We sometimes refer to them as cycles. They are periods of time when the gods are not present on the earth. They are close to five thousand years long."

By this point, Raquel's head was between her shoulders, and the mix of fear and confusion was wearing her out. Lilith looked back to her saying "Learning to control it would benefit her more than dying, certainly, but there may be a problem. I have a question. Are you a magic wielder by any chance?" Raquel lightly shook her head.

"No."

"I see ...." Lilith replied with a distrusting look in her eyes. "That would have made things much 'easier' on you."

[Acacia Sgt]

<So that means the gods will appear in Sardius once more?> John wondered. <This is certainly escalating at an alarming rate. With stuff like the war, the Fallen, the Emblem pieces... is this because of this cycles is at it's end, as she says...?>

Wait, so once the next year comes... Sophia was thinking, having calmed down a little. I don't know if to consider it a blessing or a curse to witness it when it happens... well, if we do ever get out of here back to Sardius. This whole conversation has sent me into enough doubt as it is... She sighed.

[Mercakete]

"Can ye teach'er?" Gytha asked Lilith. "And what exactly will happen when the gods get to Sardius?" Norbert added. Maybe I won't have to work so hard to wipe out the Fallen after all. Maybe Wrath will do that when he returns. Though...not sure if we're all safe from him either... Unless he really is our protector.

[ReformBlade]

R.I.P. young warrior.

The life was drained from him almost immediately, his tiny frame nowhere near used to such immense pain and shock. No time to cry out, no time to regret, his life was simply stripped from him, leaving nothing behind but a broken and bruised body, the face unrecognizably smashed in., his bow still held tight in his hands, as if it would protect him.

In the Purgatorium

"Well this is... awkward." The world around her only weirded her out a tiny bit. Not the circumstances of being there, oh no, that'd be all too expected. She was just miffed at the coloring of the place... and i'd be a lie to say she wasn't also concerned for her well being as well, given the nature of teh place. With nothing else to do aside from listen in on a conversation about a dying Raquel or something, she decided to try and actually talk to some people she'd marry been fighting alongside for a while.

"So uh... Amon, was it? I don't recall talking to you firsthand, sorry if I've got the wrong name, anyway... how're you holding up here? You as jarred as I am?" An honest question, she really was wondering just how much she should be worrying or not. Of course, taking one look at Lilith gave her that answer but she'd rather talk to a 'friend' instead.

Edited December 12, 2011 by RainbowKitty

[Zsword]

Shadrak shook his head. "Once we're done with these pressing matters and are, either on the road again, or resting, what have you, Lady Lillith, I'd like to know your story of the world of old... but, more important matters first..." He asked, already taking notes again. "I knew that Raquel was in peril, unknown energy entering the body at an alarming rate... what form of magic is the emblem close to, the Elder magics allegedly granted by Truth? The Anima of Nature? The Light of Mercy? Or is it... the magic that Wrath has given to the world?"

[Phoenix]

Lilith's Chamber

"'Teach'? I've nothing to teach her. Perhaps if she was less deceitful, I might consider a few things, but this is her problem now and hers alone. It's also a very small problem in the scheme of things." Lilith replied to Gytha. Raquel didn't get a chance to react or defend herself before Lilith moved on to Bert's question. "At the end of a cycle, the gods return to the earth for a time, first Wrath, then Mother Mercy, then Mother Nature, and finally Lord Truth appears. They do what they will, and then the cycle begins anew. Do not ask me what it is they do; I don't know. I have never witnessed a transition from one cycle to another."

-------

Amon could have maybe said something, or even tried to help Raquel, but instead he stood around with his broken knife, an act he was regretting more and more by the second. It was inevitable, though, that he would eventually get dragged out of his stillness. It wasn't by Gytha or any of the other usuals, though. This time Aneda had come apparently wanting to gauge the overall mood. "It's ... been one thing after the other. Not getting much sleep after the attack at the estate, working with the military only to end up fighting a bunch of flying metal coffins, I shattered my knife, and to top it all off, we got sent to this ... world. I'm feeling more depressed than anything else right now. I've had time to get over the shock." he explained with his head down. "I'm really hoping that Lilith is willing to help us out of here, if she can. Otherwise ... I don't know ...."

-------

"The energy emanating from the fire emblem is unique. It doesn't come from any of the gods and does not resemble any of their powers." Lilith explained. "It's ... not something I could easily describe in words. Still, your friend is in danger. If her body doesn't adapt to what's happening, she'll die ... and since she's not a mage of any sort ... there's little chance she can adapt in time, let alone control it." she added, shooting Raquel a glare that caused her to wince and curl up ever so slightly.

[Mercakete]

"How d'we save'er, then?" Gytha asked, becoming progressively more worried and discouraged for Raquel's wellbeing as the answers were given to her. "And what happened last time there was a cycle? Judging by our AR, it was the rebellion, but we obviously don't know what really happened. You seem pretty opposed to Wrath. I've been told he was the protector of humanity, though, so I can't find much of a reason to think of him as someone to disagree so strongly with," Asked Norbert. This was the last question he had concerning what she'd told them and he had a feeling it would garner the most long-winded answer yet.

[ReformBlade]

Depression? Oh dear, he's being serious... What to do? I've never been good with anything serious, but I should at least try, right? "Look, Amon, maybe it's not... my place to judge, I've only been here with the bunch of you recently, but honestly I don't know how much better we could have done things given our situations. I know for me that I'm proud of what I'm doing, and I'm sure you're proud of yourself too, somewhere in there, and if I'm wrong, well then I'll be proud for you, you're doing fine here and to be honest again, I think you're reacting ridiculously normal given the circumstances, yeah?" An attempt at light humor followed by a pat on his shoulder and a smile, she continued, "It's nice to have someone acting realistically, you know. And if you need time to yourself or someone to vent to, I'm sure plenty of us here would understand, and I'd be more than glad to be a sounding board for ya, OK? I won't tell you to get over all of it, but I AM willing to help out someone who looks like they could use a hand."

[Acacia Sgt]

<So not even Wrath was the one who created the Emblem?> John noted. <So then what's it's origin? Nevertheless, all this about the gods returning... could something like the Great Rebellion happen again? The war between Ursium and Neviskotia would probably be one of the first things to catch their attention.>

So there's nothing we can do to help Raquel? Sophia thought. That's... She was at a loss of words.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Well if being a mage would save her from dying from the emblem, then I suppose Raquel's only option is to become a mage," Veronika said simply. Robin was being mercifully silent for the moment at least.

Nadya

After healing Valter, Nadya took stock of everyone else who was around. Almost everyone else had gone to the fortress to gather supplies- which was taking an awfully long time- she noted with suspicion. Eventually she noticed something in the darkness near the wagon, a small figure, smashed and holding a bow.

"Um, did this come with us or was it already here?" she asked no one in particular apprehensively.

[Zsword]

Shadrak sighed. "Could another mage possibly help her? Take some of the power and use it themselves?" He asked... he was scared for her... it must of been terrible, knowing that you were dieing...

[Snowy_One]

Robin glared at Veronika, her mouth still muffled by her hand. Though part of her mind considered biting in a childish manner, this was not her realm. Hunts, fires, tales told around them, craftsmanship, and the like was her realm. The gods, not so much. Still... Something was nagging at the back of her mind. She was sure she had heard of Lilith before from some place other than her brothers tales. Even if she remembered though, it probably didn't matter.

[Phoenix]

Amon

"Thank you. I don't want to ... bombard you with my worries, but thank you." he replied to Aneda. "We really should ask her about getting out of here, though. It seems crazy to just wait." he added nervously.

Choices Made and Measures Taken

"A simple fix would be to simply take the emblem away from her. There is a chance she could die from this, as well, but only if she isn't properly taken care of." she told Gytha. Bert's question brought up some more negative feelings, and she decided to convey her point by presenting a scenario. The first thing she did was let the sword in her hand drop. It fell to the ground and disintegrated on impact. She then knelt down and put her palm flat on the ground. "I'll answer your question with another question or two, Norbert." She then began to lift her hand off of the ground, pulling up a very large sword as it formed. By the time she had come back to a standing position, the type of sword she was forging became clear, a large zweihander. She yanked it out of the ground and held it toward the party in a threatening manner. "If I told you right now that I will cut down every last person here who does not submit to my rule ... what would you all do? Forsake your other deities in favor of me. Nothing short of complete obedience to me will be tolerated. Furthermore, what would you do, Norbert, if you learned that all you had to do to stop me in my tracks was to get the fire emblem out of the chamber before I got my hands on it? That's the kind of choice I had to make all those years ago." These were all a rhetorical set of questions. Lilith let the sword down, and then returned to the matter at hand ... Raquel.

Veronika and Shadrak brought up interesting points, and from there Lilith felt no need to keep the others out of the loop. She stared at Raquel for almost ten seconds before responding to either of them. She seemed to be waiting on the girl, but Raquel wouldn't say anything, and only returned a fearful gaze. At the end of her wait, Lilith uttered a simple "That was your last chance ...." in an agitated tone. Her sword was in her right hand alone, so her left was free and she held it out at Raquel. Answering Veronika and Shadrak together, she said "Another mage cannot control a power they do not understand ... and as for her becoming a mage ... she's doing just fine at that, it seems." Raquel trembled at the statement. "Observe."

The chamber's light rapidly faded and the chamber was left almost completely in darkness for a brief moment. Meanwhile Raquel was wrapped in a grid like blanket of light, that kept to her overall shape. The light returned just a few seconds after Raquel began glowing. "That is a psychokinetic barrier designed to prevent the escape of free flowing energy and effectively disguise one's magical aura. I do this as well, as my aura--unrestrained--could do actual harm. She is harboring dark energy behind that barrier, so that no one else can sense it. You can hide nothing from me, however. I knew what you were the moment I awoke and that is why I suspected you of drawing on the emblem's power intentionally. A wielder of magic could 'potentially' learn to do that. Now I come to find that you are just pretending to be powerless. I don't know what your reasons are, and I don't care. If you cannot trust your own allies, then you neither need nor deserve them. Their care and concern was a little much for me to have to watch." Lilith did not pull any punches and Raquel fell straight down to sit on her legs. The light faded from her after that.

"It's ... not like that at all." came Raquel's weakened voice. "I wasn't going to hide it forever ... I just ... I needed some time."

"Time to feign learning to wield dark magic? That would be pathetic." Lilith shot back.

"No! I ... I needed time to learn something--anything that could actually benefit the group other than ... other than just ... killing people. Everyone else is going to do what they feel they have to, and I understand that, but I'm not a killer. I wanted to find another way to help, but I needed time. Staff studies ... aren't coming along so well." she explained.

"Raquel ... how could you ...." Gabbie said in a completely nonchalant and disinterested voice from elsewhere in the chamber. She was more interested in the sword Lilith had forged out of the floor. Amon had a realization, however. That might explain why my coat repair looked the way it did ... maybe she made a mistake, there. I'm not really sure how I feel about it just yet. She probably had a good reason, right?

Lilith shook her head. "My point stands. You don't need or deserve allies you don't trust with your abilities." she said before returning the sword to its base elements ... a mere pile of dust on the floor. Gabbie gawked. Stop disintegrating shit! We could use those! she mentally shouted.

"You all know what she is, now ... you decide what to do with her. As useless as she apparently is right now, she could still learn to control the fire emblem's energy ... because she can sense it." she told the party. "I still believe that removing it from her altogether would be a better option ...."

Luca

Luca wandered over after Nadya. While he recognized the fallen human, there was nothing that could be done. Nadya would have revived him by now ... that or he had no gold. Luca began sniffing around the body just to check and make sure there was no gold.

[Psych]

Sirocco was thoroughly intrigued by what had been revealed. The process of making whole weapons and items appear out of nowhere. Did Lilith have some knowledge of alchemy? Raquel's hidden power was certainly the topic at hand, but even with everything else being revealed, it seemed to pail in comparison. "If she is in danger and holding powerful dark magic, why was I lead to her? I do not doubt the visions of Mercy, but I find it weird that she would lead me to a source of dark energy. Though I am curious. If Raquel learns to control the emblem's power....what would happen if we were to assemble the whole piece and give it to her?"

[Mercakete]

Lilith's explanation was short and to the point, practically litterally. It was weird how much Norbert found himself agreeing with her, though it still freaked him out when she used his name. So, that's what happened. Wrath decided he wanted to be the only one in charge and tried to take over by force. That must not have been easy. I probably would have done the same thing she did or something close to it. Get the emblem and Raquel out of here while I relied on the others to fight her off. Or I'd have someone else get Raquel and her emblem away while I did my best in the battle. But Wrath still lied about what happened after that... It makes sense, but it makes my blood boil. I guess it's just that important that we don't let any Wrathites get a hold of the emblem.

Then, the lights dimmed and Raquel was revealed to have some sort of grid on her. When the light returned, Lilith explained..and Norbert was inclined to believe her but at the same time, he couldn't..until Raquel admitted it herself. Gytha didn't believe Lilith at all until Raquel's confession to having been lying to them this whole time. Unlike Norbert, though, Gytha was simply stunned into silence. The pegasus rider grew angry.

"You mean this whole time...you could have defended yourself...AND YOU MADE US DO IT FOR YOU?! YOU LET THEM KIDNAP YOU IF YOU COULD'VE STOPPED IT! YOU MADE US WORRY ABOUT YOU FOR NOTHING! AND NOW WE'RE TRAPPED IN THE REALM OF THE DEAD BECAUSE WE THOUGHT YOU WERE HELPLESS WHEN YOU'VE BEEN LYING TO US THIS ENTIRE TIME!" he yelled, feeling as though he'd been double-crossed. He paused a moment, fire in his reddish eyes before he continued, "Don't expect me to keep protecting you above the others if you can defend yourself. If you get kidnapped again, don't expect me to come after you. ... Grr as much as I'd like to say that, you're terrible in high-tension situations. You'll get yourself in trouble and not have the guts to fight back. This is like some really bad joke..." He was conflicted and he was hating it.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"There's no real point in lootin' a kid," Nadya said to Luca sadly. "I hate this place. So much empty space...but nowhere to go to run or hide. I don't know what the hell is happenin' to my life anymore," she said, shaking her head.

Veronika

The newest revelation caused Veronika to forget about Robin for the moment and remove her hand from her mouth.

"Killing people isn't always wrong Raquel. It's not a decision to be made lightly, but there are some things in this world worth fighting for...your father for instance. Maybe you have a better reason for not fighting than most...though you could have brought this up before now. I would have thought we would have been through enough to deserve that much trust," Veronika said heavily, crossing her arms.

[Acacia Sgt]

''That's it?'' John spoke. ''So she knows dark magic and was hiding it, big deal.'' He shrugged, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. ''It's not like she is the only one to keep secrets. Most if not all of us have also stuff we keep to ourselves. And who here has really spilled it out all to somebody else here? As a mercenary I know about the trust to be between an employer and the client,'' he shook his head, opening his eyes. ''But this fact doesn't change a thing. Sure, she doesn't want to fight, but she is still a merchant. It's not like she has done nothing so far for us. Granted, it could've been ideal if she had done both, as it is something that would've made a difference. But overall, everyone makes mistakes, she's just human like the rest of us. Besides, when she got kidnapped, it was because of that guy who kept blasting those tanks and the wall itself, leaving the room in a wreck. I doubt Raquel could've been able to defend herself anyway even if she had fought back. This situation was unavoidable. If anything, the only mistake could've been bringing the emblem piece with us, but well, see what it has lead us to. If we hadn't, we would've been killed. We are still alive; trapped here, sure, but alive. And it did led us to finding this temple and Lilith here.'' He paused, drawing breath. ''So at the very least, I wouldn't put my back so quickly to her, not for this at least.''

Wait, so she knows magic? Sophia thought. Well, I haven't been with them long enough to really have a say in this I think.

[Snike]

John began to elaborate a bit more on Neviskotia, to Blake's relief. The deity couldn't be as biased against any nation when the information was nearly equal. Which meant he would not be blasted into oblivion. The scholar shaman also stepped into the conversation to offer up his notes on the world, which seemed... sketchy. He was the one who made a big fuss about awakening Lilith, and bias like that is a sign of general bias. Anyways, Lilith decided to take a look at the notebook, and mentioned the breaking of a 'curse'. That was curious. Sleeping curses generally didn't last several thousand years, but then again, the Vasilus just mentioned Wrath, a greater god, so, he probably caused that. Wrath seemed to be bent on world domination, which made sense considering the majority of his followers were warriors. Then there was the revelation that the Fire Emblem - he didn't know why it wasn't obvious earlier -, was shattered by Lilith before she was cursed, or whatever. Bloody hell, that changed everything about the myths!

There was no time to recover from the shock of that bombshell, as the next whopper dropped was that Raquel was going to die, should she keep the Emblem in her possession, or should she keep away from it. Pick your poison, in other words. That was just great. The swordsman joined the group and came all this way, to a whole other realm, just to get a dying merchant. The hints of being able to become a mage to overcome it seemed to be impossible, since, well, it takes years of practice to become a mage. This illness sounded like it was going to kill her soon.

The archer girl began to run her mouth again. Was she suicidal, slandering the Vasilus like that? Luckily, the noblewoman silenced her before any real damage could be done. Regardless, the room became more tense as the conversation went on, until Lilith decided to put on a light show. Or rather, Raquel did. As it turns out, she was a dark magic user.

Words could not describe how fast the mood in that room shifted. This 'helpless' little merchant girl had apparently been in enough messes that she could have resolved without aid that a good portion of the veterans refused to look Raquel in the eye. Bert especially blew his top, but this time, Blake couldn't really blame him. There was a major breach of trust in hiding one's combat capabilities from their 'allies'. John then came to the merchant's defense -A bit too quickly. Was he hiding something? - by pointing out how everybody had their secrets, how everybody made mistakes, and how the girl had helped, just not as much as they would've liked. The swordsman had to agree with him, all of the way. He had a few skeletons in his closet, so it wasn't like he was any better. Though, it seemed like Bert probably wouldn't buy that.

"... Hey, Bert, let's step out for a bit," Blake said, pointing to his sword, then the door. "You'll have a chance to rearrange my face, like you wanted to a few days ago." In reality, it was because the last thing he wanted or needed was the pegasus rider going feral. It'd be best not to kill each other in a foreign realm.

[Phoenix]

Lilith's Chamber

"I would prefer it if the emblem were not reassembled at all." she responded to Sirocco.

Bert's outburst, despite how common it used to be was particularly painful, and she couldn't hold back her tears afterward. She couldn't bring herself to look at anyone, either, and instead just kept her eyes closed. "I didn't let them kidnap me! Honestly, what chance did I stand against the man who defeated my father with just one attack?! If I was even half as powerful as Shadrak I would have tried ... I would have tried before he had a chance to take my father away. I wouldn't have gone to anyone else for help, either ... but I had to ... I just had to. I've been hiding this for so long, already, long before I met any of you. I honestly didn't think in the beginning that we would be chasing Sardis and his people for so long."

It must have been magic. I can't believe I didn't catch that sooner .... "I know it doesn't make much difference now, but Veronika's right. You could have told us. Bert's ... probably just mad because he ... sticks his neck out a lot for you." Amon added.

"I wanted to, but not until I learned how to use a staff. I didn't want to tell you all I knew how to use magic if I had nothing to bring to the field. What good would knowing you had a useless magician have done? If I could at least get proficient enough in something that didn't involve blasting the enemy, I would have come out with it. We just ... we just ran into her first." she said, her tone suddenly shifting from sadness to anger as she glared up at Lilith.

"I am under no obligation to keep your secrets. Turn your anger toward your true enemies, not me. Why don't you do something more useful with those abilities of yours? Despite how pathetic your situation is, you do have exceptional talent. Disguising your aura normally takes immense concentration, but you do it subconsciously. Even under emotional distress, it doesn't waver." Lilith explained.

"It's my strongest ability ... and I devoted myself almost completely to mastering it. Every day and every night I kept at it for months. I can't manipulate enough magic to use strong attacks or boost healing, though. I would have been almost useless in a real fight without something more ...." she admitted.

"If you lock your powers away, don't expect them to grow and flourish." Lilith said, arms crossed, pointing out the obvious to Raquel.

John's input on the situation reminded Lilith that the party was in a bit of a crisis. "Where is 'here' again? I can tell something is 'off', but I'm not sure what. This place feels ... dead."

Darksider: Urcenter Stuff

After a few minutes of sipping tea while Wade freaked out, Simon's shoulder was tapped by Linda, who'd found all the files she could that involved assassins. "Here you go."

"Why thank you." Simon said taking the papers. He looked through them skimming for anything relating to his target. Eventually he found it. "Ah! So he is here! Wade, you never cease to impress me. Even in the middle of a war zone, you've managed to keep decent track of an assassin."

"HAVE TO!!! JUST BECAUSE THE SKOTIANS ARE HERE DOESN'T MEAN I SHOULD TAKE ANY CHANCES!!! LAST THING I WANT IS TO KILL TEN DRAGONS AND THEN GET MY FACE CHOPPED OFF BY A WRATHDAMN ASSASSIN!!!" Wade replied.

"Indeed. I shall be on my way then. Wade, I have left you a little something for compensation on the table. Linda, I'm so happy to have met you ... and now ..." he paused to put on his hood. "I must be off ... into the night!"

"But it's daylight out ..." Linda pointed out.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Tch. What makes you think I want to fight you? I was suspicious of you before and I was angry that you thought we were bandits. I'm over that now, mostly," the pegasus rider scoffed at Blake. Well, what do you know. That Rexain actually guessed right. Thought Norbert as he heard Amon's explanation. "You're hardly helpless if you're drawing power from that emblem," Norbert spat to Raquel, "And don't try making me feel bad with those tears. How can we trust you if you hold back important information like this? How do we know you're not lying about something else?" To Lilith, he answered, "This is the Land of the Dead according to the armored guy who warped us here. We don't know how to get back. Or at least..." he shot a glare at Raquel "I'm pretty sure most of us don't know how to get back."

Gytha was conflicted. She wanted to step up and defend Raquel, but Norbert had a point. How could she if Raquel had lied to them already about her capabilities? It was possible she was lying about other things. The mariner didn't like this. It was depressing and so she remained quiet and conflicted.

[Snike]

Aaand his attempts to try and prevent a civil war were failing. Bert continued to spit at the now crying Raquel. It was getting pretty pathetic, to be honest. Regardless, Bert needed to be removed, so the group doesn't end up being erased by the minor goddess. Enough was enough. The man drew his sword.

"I don't think I made myself clear enough," Blake said, his voice as cold as ice. "We're going to step out, or I'm doing to drop you cold here. I won't have you flying into a rage and murdering someone."

[Acacia Sgt]

''Hey now, aren't you taking it a bit too far?'' John asked Bert. ''Really, I doubt she'd be lying about not knowing a way out, especially if the alternative was staying here waiting for those two to come back. We may have ended up fighting those Coffins again or be actually killed by that guy.''

<The last we need is another of his outbursts...> He thought.

[Snowy_One]

"Raquel..." started Robin, unsure of what she would, what she should say. Part of her felt hurt by the revelation that Raquel could wield magic, that she could tap into such power, but had chosen not to. She thought she understood why though as well, after all, using a ancient relic of immense power for magic? However, more pressing was the brewing infighting over Raquel's revelation that she wasn't as defenseless as before. "You have been given a gift, a gift I could never hope to replicate. I have stood outside, watching as wielders of magic practice. Shade drake and others alike. It terrifies and awes me both at the same time. However... I owe you my freedom. Whichever choice you make, I will stand beside you and do my best to help. You have my bow and, more importantly, my loyalty no matter your choice."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"We can discuss the matter of your magical training later," Veronika said, feeling a bit bad that she had scolded Raquel. "For now, our focus should be on getting out of here. I don't think we're on Sardius anymore, do you know some method to teleport us back to where we should be?" she asked Lilith, turning her attention to the winged woman.

Darksider's...colleagues?

"I feel bad just leaving him behind...he did lead us here so far. Let's wait for a bit at least," Clara suggested to Cecily.

Layla arrived on the battlefield, though to her disappointment everyone she came across was already dead. Well, this is no fun. Ursium and Neviskotia, always fighting and never getting anything accomplished. They'll both have to see things our way eventually. she thought to herself, climbing up a nearby abandoned stand and leaping on top of a building with surprising agility. From her vantage point, she could survey much of the wreckage, though what she was looking for was not within her sights for now. Prototype, where are you? she thought to herself, drumming her fingers against the roof of the stone building as she sighed heavily.

[Mercakete]

Norbert, hearing the challenge again, this time with a much more serious tone, turned to face Blake again. He was pointing his weapon of choice at him with a threat. Norbert simply returned the icy glare with a simmering one. Then John spoke up, asking if he was taking things too far. I'm always the one in the negative light, aren't I? Fine. "I wouldn't put it past her to be keeping us here so she can search this place before leaving for traces of her father or maybe even using us to get to that armored guy and the girl with the coffins to ask what she will and drag whoever's still alive away to be used in some other fashion later," he replied to John, "How can we trust her not to? Even if it isn't something Raquel would do, how do we know the emblem isn't influencing her to change? She betrayed out trust once -- and this is something she should have told us -- how do we know she won't do it again?"

Then, he returned his attention to Blake. "You want to fight me that badly? Alright. Let's go back into the courtyard. We'll start there." His tone was oddly calm, though he rested his hands on the grips to his maces in case Blake tried to start the fight sooner than Norbert's suggestion. He, himself, took the first steps towards the temple's entrence, keeping his eye on Blake to see if he was coming. Things were beging handled well enough here, what with Lilith being made aware of their situation and the right question being asked by Veronika.