Return of the Emblem Chapter Ten: Converging Destinies

[Ether]

"... is that so?" Faatina replied, her tone flat, appearing wholly uninterested.

"... you seem to be someone who has their life together, Reign... you don't... you don't doubt yourself, or if you do it's quite well hidden... Reign... what am I doing here?" She asked, not really expecting much of an answer. What was she doing here... travelling with this group that she could honestly say she knew little to nothing about? They seemed decent enough people, for the most part, but there was just... so much in the shadows.

"... that dream, last night... all of this organization business... what is all this? What are we... who are we?"

***

"Heh, shame about your little trick, but t'be honest, I prefer my backup alive." Arietta noted, her own smirk growing.

'If I'm gonna be an extra because they don't think I'm worth a spot... then to bloody hell with that! I'll smash these fuckers so good no one will doubt me again!'

[Snike]

"Eh, one could argue that the damage dealt is more than worth the backup, but oh well," Axel said, continuing to smirk. "Anyways, let's bust heads, and whatnot."

***

Raquel began to answer Blake, but then involuntarily curled onto her knees. The emblem began to glow, and Raquel complained of a pain in her chest.

Then, the dragon head appeared, and things got worse. The merchant began to glow, in a process that evidently caused her tremendous pain, She began to hold onto the swordsman, in a way that he couldn't help but notice.

"You're going to be all right, It's going to be ok," Blake said, barely keeping calm. He ignored what the dragon was doing, instead electing to wonder why his employer had to suffer so much. The man began to panic, however, when the girl's grip began to fade. "Come on Raquel, stay with me! You're not dying! Not here! Not now!"

At that point, Owen apparently died - judging by what he was shouting-, the wall came down, and the Organization members had escaped. Soon afterwards, the dragon head disappeared, leaving the now-feeble Raquel and her mercenaries. Thank Mercy, she was still alive! The Ursian let out a sigh of relief, then composed himself.

"Don't move, we'll handle this," Blake said, before turning to Luka and Marella. "Luka, warp Raquel and Marella back to the Dauntless, along with yourself. I'll get out of here somehow."

***

... Cover Raquel and her mercenaries in their escape. Break cover if you need to. ... Atoner to Uniter, can you respond?

Yes, sir?

The negotiations have just been cancelled. Where are the other mercenaries?

Inside the fortress, sir. They left a handful to cover the wagon.

I see. Thank you, Uniter. Hidden, be advised that the mercenaries are probably going to engage the Organization. Share this with Raquel and the others at your discretion.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Since combat was hopefully inevitable Gar set about preparing himself by removing his pointless frivolities and balling them up on top of the wagon. Then he got to waiting. Good old waiting.

[ReformBlade]

"Scared... Definitely a word I'd use for her, either that or hysterical." She noted more to herself than to Colin. "But see, both of us only have a piece to the puzzle that is what she's about. That's how I feel about this whole thing, really. Maybe you're more informed than I, but I... feel gypped a lot. Still got problems with joining up, hell, if I wasn't already with that... 'merry band' already I dunno if I'd have the gumption to do much of anything right now..." Shit, did I really need a sounding board that much? "I-I think I'm done here... Thank you for your time and I hope things work out for you in the end. If we have to meet as enemies, well... We'll deal with that when and if it comes to that." Aneda held out her hand to the man, still not sure of what she was trying to accomplish with her actions.

Oh, he wants to work with me again? For some reason she wasn't quite sure why she didn't expect something like that, but she appreciated the thought all the same.

[scorri]

Marella watched the chaos unfold as Raquel collapsed and the dragon reappeard. Ugh, I thought he wouldn't be showing up again. She drew her sword as the one man died and tensed, preparing to have to fight. Instead, then men fled through a hole the one punched through the wall. Cursing, she turned to Raquel and Blake, just in time to hear Blake's instructions. "What? No! It's my job to be protecting this group, which means I should be the one left here. I can defend myself in this room until you guys come and rescue me. I'll be fine. I can take some hits. You're needed out on the battlefield to help direct things."

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Yes you two are together with Katrina," Veronika replied quickly to Shadrak. "Get in formation, we're moving out!" she said, walking across the plain towards the gate of the fortress.

"Sardis informed us that we could wait inside the fortress while Raquel conducts her meeting with him, we would like to accept that offer," she said to the man at the gate.

[Mercakete]

"We have formations?" Norbert grumbled under his breath as, at his direction, Rizen began to walk over to the gate along with the others. Who's she trying to impress? We're not nearly that formal. As they traveled, the pegasus rider kept an eye out for their team's third member. She hadn't come over to them yet, so it was better to join up as they rode.

[Snike]

"Like I said, change of plans," Blake said, calmly. "I already arranged it so that I'd be covered should talks derail. Reign and Veronika are both setting teams up and directing them. I'm not needed for this fight- unlike the two of you. I'll escape, so Luka, warp yourself, Raquel, and Marella out when you're ready. And Marella, pass me the grenade I know you still have on your person. I'm gonna need that to make getting out of here much easier."

Odds were he probably wasn't getting out of there alive, but that was hardly the thing to mention right now.

[scorri]

Marella frowned. "I'm not leaving you here alone. If you're refusing to get warped, then fine. Luka can warp Raquel out and you and I can fight our way out together. You are needed. You're needed more than I am, so I'm not letting you just stay here."

[Snike]

"I'm not needed, especially given how my position apparently causes inexplicable rage at times," Blake said, remembering Bert's outbursts. "And as I said, other people already have my 'duties' covered. You, however, are one of the best guards we have. Besides, I'm not about to let anyone else get hurt for my sake. Especially not the people I drug into this. Your duty is to protect Raquel, not me. That's why you need to go. I can handle myself."

[scorri]

Marella glared at Blake. "No. I'm not leaving you behind by yourself. I'm not letting my comrades stay behind to protect me. Not again. If you're saying you aren't needed as a tactician then you don't get to tell me what to do. Either we all get out of here or I'm staying. If you want to stay with me, fine. I'll enjoy some firepower on my side. But I'm not going to just stand by and let you sacrifice yourself to get me out. It's not going to happen. That's not negotiable."

[Phoenix]

Aftermath

"Where did my ... father go?" Raquel weakly inquired. All she saw was an enormous breach in the wall and near that, a profusely bleeding body, and as interested in interjecting relevance into the exchange between Blake and Marella, she wasn't entirely sure what was happening anymore and so didn't know what to say to try and resolve it.

"Sardis ... hey Sardis! Hey! Hello ...?!" A voice from outside. Once the yelling stopped, a few loud bangs on the door came and then more yelling. "Sardis, sir, are you alright in there?!"

With few other options open to her, the Hidden finally revealed herself. A human shaped disturbance in the air could be seen a short distance from Raquel and Blake, and after a moment, it became completely opaque as small spots of light flickered in and out of existence all around it. The woman now standing in front of the group wore black and gray, held a kigenese style short sword in her right hand, and had finely trimmed indigo hair with violet highlights in the front. She was clearly kigenese herself. "You should all leave together," she advised before approaching the door. "And 'Discovery' should try to call to the others while she still can."

'Call' to them? I don't know what good yelling is going to do, Raquel mused. "Who ... are you? How exac-tly ... do I do that ...?"

"I don't know how to use the fire emblem, but you should by now. You figure it out," she replied blankly.

"Open this wrathdamn door or we're coming in!"

Fortress Gate

"Any time," Colin replied, shaking Aneda's hand. He noticed Veronika was having people move out and sighed saying, "Formations, huh? Still not convinced this isn't a battle, I see. Oh well. At least once we get there, this farce will finally come to an end."

"We should probably catch up with Katrina then," Shadrak mused aloud.

There was no time to stand around and talk, so they had to talk on the go, it seemed. "Well, I don't doubt myself as much as I used to at least. I can't really tell you what you're doing here, Faatina; that's something you're going to have to figure out for yourself. I know why I'm here, but it wasn't something I knew from the start." Faatina's next questions weren't something Reign was in a good place to deal with, and he could tell this was much more than want of motivation.

"Well, according to Lilith, we're emblem guardians or something to that effect. That comes across better than 'feuding mercenary group' at least. Beyond that ... I don't know. But do us a favor. You've got to keep it together right now. Stay focused because what we're about to pull is about as dangerous as it gets."

Gabbie followed along at the rear of the group with Ringo in tow. Her plan was to leave him outside of the fortress for the time being, but have him close by enough to hear her whistle if she needed him, but whether or not any of that would pan out was yet to be seen.

Once they reached the fortress gate itself, a few guards were there ready to let them in, though they didn't look very happy to see them at first, something Reign made a mental note of. In all fairness, neither side looked too happy to be in such close proximity to the other. "We were starting to wonder if you had the guts," one of the guards replied to Veronika, trying to lighten the mood, though it was clearly a bit of mockery at their expense. Still, the gates were opening, slowly but surely.

OoC notes: Escort party was around six minutes ahead of the Dauntless party when the DH appeared, so in their current going ons the Dauntless party would have arrived at the fortress entrance already. There's still a five to six minute gap here, but we can merge everything with a slight delay on the escort group, or another mini-TS on the main party group.

This chapter ends once the party gathers.

[Ether]

"I guess you're right, Reign... it's not the time to worry about that right now." Faatina replied weakly, before mounting Sharif and heading towards the entrance with the others.

***

"Let's see if ya can keep up, Axel." Arietta responded, pounding her fist against her chest for emphasis.

[-Cynthia-]

Going In

Veronika made her way into the fortress, surveying the forces inside. They're ready for us...and we're ready for them. She chose a spot near the gate for herself, wanting to be in position to guard Reign should he need to knock down the gate. She tried to keep Colin nearby- better for her to keep an eye on him than anybody else.

"This won't be over for me no matter how negotiations go, but I also hope this doesn't come to a battle," she said to him simply as she looked around warily.

Nadya entered into the fortress, but barely left the gate area. They want to spread out, spread out. I'm stayin' close to the exit. she decided mentally.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar pulled up his hood and went into the fort and meandered about roughly near the gate with some other people. There was a question that needed to be asked though. "So if things turn into a fight what are you planning on doing with Colin-boy?" Gar asked Veronika.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Script

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"He'll be free to go and do as he pleases, as per our agreement I was to release him unharmed following negotiations. I have no intention of going back on that," she replied to Gar.

[Eail]

The woman's answer wasn't very helpful, but Raquel had to do something. The plan was to warp out but she no longer had the strength to even get up on her own. She closed her eyes tightly and began reciting the same mental message over and over again. Maybe the emblem would work for her just once and deliver that message somehow. Help us ... help us ... HELP US ... Over and over again.

__________

The dragon head had come back, Raquel had been screaming on the floor while the emblem was glowing terribly bright. It had been obvious that the girl was in immense pain, but Luka was too scared to do anything, and it had seemed like the Dragon would hurt anyone that went near the pink haired girl. Soon enough though it was over, but not until one of the enemy numbers was evidently forced to commit suicide from the interference of the Dragon head. A gruesome sight to say the least, and the body was still laying there on the ground where it had fallen. Raquel was now talking to some girl that came out of nowhere that seemed to be on their side, Marella and Blake were both trying to stay behind so the other could go.

The enemy was right on the other side of the door and about to burst in.... Raquel was in no position to use her stave.... it was all up to him.... just Luka. Closing his eyes and tightening the grip on his stave to think of a quick prayer.

'Lady Mercy.... Please, I beg of you. Grant me the strength to do this, my friends need me. If not then.... I'll be with you my Goddess'

Eyes snapping opening with a hardened look once his prayer was over.

"Fuck it, here we go!" Concentrating on a simple location, the courtyard, he couldn't manage any further, it wouldn't be possible. A bright light enveloped all five people left in the room. Luka could feel some pain building up. A slight headache, but still manageable even though it was getting worse.

Suddenly they vanished though, with the only occupant of the meeting room now being a corpse.

________

As soon as Luka and the others reappeared back outside the pink haired boy was on the ground, screaming and clutching at his head. "St-Stop! Make i-it stop-p!" On his knees the pain and strain were so great for Luka he couldn't handle it, head going off to the side the boy emptied his stomach of it's contents. Tears streaming down his face as he begged for the pain to subside.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Eail

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Well alright," Gar shrugged. "Just hope he doesn't come back out swinging a sword."

And the the meeting group appeared through magic. "That can't be good."

Edited April 17, 2013 by Script

[Phoenix]

Courtyard

"It won't ... it shouldn't," Colin replied, still worried about things on their end.

Reign suddenly tensed up, and so did Shadrak. Gabbie was trying to flat out ignore what she was feeling, though. What ... is this? I feel like ... someone's in pulling me in by the collar, Reign thought to himself, feeling around his coat collar as he did. Raquel? Is it her?

"Guys? Does anyone else feel that? It's like ... Raquel's in trouble or something. I don't know, I just feel like I'm being called somewhere ... it's weird."

Gabbie said nothing and tuned out the negative feeling inside of her, though she took note that she wasn't the only one experiencing it.

"Feelings that Raquel is in trouble? How paranoid can you g- ... ugh, never mind; I know exactly just how paranoid you people can get." Colin had had just about enough of things of that nature, clearly. Then it happened, Raquel and her escorts came out of a light warp right in plain sight, and Raquel and the warper were in terrible shape. "... you have GOT to be fucking kidding me."

"Holy shit, Raquel," Shadrak called out once he recognized her. He did not recognize the kigenese girl with them, but one thing at a time.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Phoenix

[Snike]

"Don't get left behind," Axel responded, as he followed the others into the fortress. Just a few minutes after entering, however, the lancer had the sensation of someone tugging him. Others had it, as well, and before they could well figure out what was going on, the escort group appeared a short distance ahead. And here they went.

***

"Sure it is," Blake said, as the guards began to approach the door and someone literally appeared right out of thin air. "Luka, warp them!"

Naturally, there was a flash of light, as Luka did warp. Then, they were in the courtyard, all of them, and the healer went over to the side to vomit. There went that escape route. What was arguably worse was the fact that the swordsman could see Reign, Veronika, and quite a few of the others just a short ways away.

"You win, Marella. Looks like we're getting out of here the hard way," Blake noted, frowning. He quickly knelt down to pick Raquel up, dropping his staff to do so. "Marella, grab Luka, and fall back to the others. I have Raquel. GET THAT GATE DOWN!," he shouted, as he rose, one merchant heavier. The man began to run.

***

Grant was pleased that the fortress had a courtyard, as it made the structure feel less like a prison. He was less pleased when someone apparently tugged him, and the escort group warped in. Looks like they would be fighting, after all. The duelist drew his tome and a few bolts, and prepared himself for combat.

[Ether]

Faatina couldn't help but notice a sinking feeling... it told her that Raquel was in danger... had the meeting gone astray? What was causing this dread to assail her, she wondered? Upon the bright light that signalled the warp, it all became clear, with Raquel in apparently terrible shape, quickly being picked up by Blake, as well as Luka screaming and vomiting onto the floor.

"What the hell...!?" She began, but words didn't seem to be of much worth at the moment, her command already given out, as Sharif barrelled forward towards the new arrivals, with Faatina aiming to come up next to Blake, who was conveniently coming towards her. Deciding that she was closer, she might have an easier time getting his message to the rest of the group.

"GET THAT GATE OPEN, NOW!" She yelled back, figuring it couldn't hurt to repeat it, before reaching Blake.

"Give Raquel to me, I'll have an easier time getting her out, we'll need your swordwork, Blake." She stated quickly, not bothering to waste any time, readying herself to accept the apparently unconscious merchant from him.

***

"Looks like this is it then, huh?" Arietta noted, recalling that it was the mages who they had planned to take the gate down.

"We should probably cover the gate breakers, eh?"

Edited April 17, 2013 by Ether

[-Cynthia-]

Inside

"BRING THE GATE DOWN AND RETREAT BACK TO THE DAUNTLESS!" Veronika added onto Blake's order, seeing that Raquel and Luka were being handled. "Go now Colin, negotiations are over," she said to him, watching the movements of the organization members

Nadya decided to fire some light magic at the gate in an effort to bring it down. She didn't know how effective it would be, but it was the thing standing between her and death so she gave it her all.

Outside

"...Did you all get a weird feeling right about now? Like a tugging feeling?" Connor asked Tia and Gytha, stopping what he was working on.

[scorri]

Marella glanced at Luka, quickly muttered "Sorry about this..." and then quickly picked him up and threw him over her shoulder as gently as she could. Pulling her sword out with her other hand, she turned to face the fortress, waiting for the attack. I hope they get that gate down soon...

[Snike]

"My swordwork means nothing if we can't get that gate down and those archers off the ramparts," Blake shot back. "Go cover Reign and Veronika until the gate's down, then ride up and take out the marksmen. You and the others who are mounted are faster than I am at that. I can take care of Raquel."

Edited April 17, 2013 by Snike

[Mercakete]

And there they all went. Well, Gytha's task of guarding the Dauntless had begun. Several minutes into it, however, the mariner got the feeling that something was off. She looked around carefully, but didn't see anything looking to attack the wagon. She couldn't explain it, but Gytha's thoughts more and more turned to Raquel. Is she in trouble 'r somethin'? I...I'm sure she is, but...what makes me so certain? This doesn't make ana sense... Well... Hm...

Gytha was only getting more and more distracted by the urge to find Raquel and protect her directly until she wound up just staring worriedly at the fortress. Try as she might to shake the feeling so she could focus on the task given her, it just wouldn't leave. I can't leave me post without a direct order! she began arguing with the feeling. I need t' prove they can trust me! How can I leave th' Dauntless unprotected when Veronika trusted me enough t' have me gard it by meself?!

That was when Connor popped his head out of the Dauntless and asked if anyone around felt some sort of tugging feeling. "Not physicalla," Gytha replied a little uncertainly, "but I just know Raquel's in trouble. I feel like I need t' go n' help 'er, but guardin' th' Dauntless is an important task n' it was given t' me... I can't b'tray that trust."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as they'd entered the open area between the buildings and the wall, Norbert had Rizen turn aside and trot off in another direction so he could start exploring the place. He hadn't gotten terribly far when he felt like something was wrong. Somehow, he got the feeling Raquel was in trouble. Not only that, but exactly which direction to go in to reach her. The former he didn't question for a second but the latter was just strange. Still, the instinct was simple enough to follow, so he turned Rizen right around and had her gallop back to where most of the others were gathered.