Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"It isn't really my kind of environment either, but trying new and unexpected things are a spice of life," Gar commented. "Well, it wouldn't be new for me, but taking you to one would have been." Gar looked over a knife and began the motions for a throw. Alright seemed fine. "Well, I suppose playing stab the Fallen takes precedence now. Didn't think I'd get to try these out so soon." Gar got out an apple and tossed it into the air, and chucked a knife right at it. Deadeye. The apple fell back into his palm and he began gnawing on it. After loosing the knife and cleaning it of course. "Cleaning's gonna be a bit more time-consuming hm."

[Toogee]

"Greta?"

Jam heard Greta's struggle to get out of bed, but feared that much worse had happened to her. Did the demons already come through here? What if she couldn't get to the door and was lying in a pool of her own blood? Jam attempted to open the door herself; fortunately, whoever put Greta here left the door unlocked. Jam sighed in relief as she found that Greta simply fell out of bed.

"Oh, good. I thought you were eaten by something," Jam said as she lent a hand to Greta. The dancer could smell the alcohol around her friend, but decided to say nothing of it.

"Listen, the city is under attack. I don't have any idea who or what is attacking, but they're headed this way. I need you to lock the door until me or Alphy comes back. We're gonna help defend the mansion. Just stay safe, OK?"

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Eli quickly left his room, adorned in the new red outfit he had gotten earlier in the evening. If a battle was happening in the city, healers would be needed. As soon as he met the fresh night air, the rider rushed to the stables and mounted his pegasus. Immediately, they took off to land back at the estate. He needed to find someone who knew what in the world was going on. He found Tia.

"Tia," Eli called out, riding over to the young mage. "What is this about an attack on the city? Is it true about the demons?" Eli seemed visibly concerned about the danger present to his hometown.

[Ether]

"I would rather fight at your side, Milord... but if you would will it of me, I will guard one of the others instead." Annelise replied.

***

Man, why did the workshop have to be all the way on the other side of the damn estate... Arietta grumbled as she continued to make her way over.

***

With everything on the ground, as Angelica made her way to the roof of a nearby building, she had a good vantage point of the battle... nothing would sneak up on her, atleast, that was the plan.

First point of business, was the hound that just staggered back a tad from the door of the other gate, which now held a sword shaped hole. Recalling the simple words to sever the spine, Angelica shot a wind blade at the weakened hound, severing it's head clean from it's shoulders, which should hopefully be fully visible to the prince via his new peephole. With that taken care of, it was down to more simple matters of raining death from above... and let's be honest, it's everyone's favourite part of the job.

"Keep clear!" Angelica shouted, giving a moment's warning before a multitude of wind constructs, mostly of the pointy variety, were shot from the sky, skewering and severing whatever part of the hounds they managed to land hits on... which was a lot, considering the amount of ordnance coming down.

[Snowy_One]

"Raquel, if you are going to the city and are going to be in danger, I should go with you." said Robin firmly, stepping forwards to try and get closer to the girl. "I have sworn to protect you after all, and I will not be doing that if I stay here. Besides... I REALLY do not like Siv. Please, do not leave me here to protect her if possible."

---

Tia looked up to Eli astride his mighty magical flying pony! "Yes! Nika said so herself and I don't think she's stupid enough to fudge something like that. If you're going out to fight, which you obviously are, I wanna go with you! I can help keep others safe with my magic and I can do something here! Can I talk you into giving me a ride? Or at least watching out for me though?"

Edited December 23, 2013 by Snowy_One

[Mercakete]

"The last time I saw the Lieutenant Colonel was when I relieved him of duty, but he did go further into the building," Cecelia answered Cain.

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

As their carriage pulled to a stop, Gytha stepped around Alex in the cramped space and opened the door before exiting and walking up to where people were gathering. "Hoy, what's happenin' 'ere?" She wouldn't be able to fight very well in all that finery and without a weapon, but she figured if they were already under attack she wouldn't exactly have time to change. It was better to know the situation -- at least somewhat -- before heading into the estate.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Mercakete

[roymbrog]

When the hellish beasts first arrived at the cathedral, the evening quickly became a nightmare for Horace, one of the clergymen. As far as he knew, no one had any idea what the beasts were or where they had come from. It seemed for every one cut down two more appeared to take its place. Between the ever dwindling number of able bodied guards outside, and the increasing number of civilians taking shelter inside, he worried what would happen if the beasts managed to break through into the cathedral.

Horace unfortunately lacked proficiency with staves, so while several others of the Order of Mercy tended to the injured inside he elected to stand near the entrance with his tome and leather armor he’d ‘borrowed’ from the Order of Wrath. While fighting was neither his forte nor something he would have chosen under other circumstances, right now the safety of others was paramount. Speaking of which, wasn’t that Joanna heading down the stairs?

“Joanna, wait!” he called, but she was already tending to one of the soldiers on the ground. Horace was well aware of her self-sacrificing tendencies, and while he did have some admiration for that, he was pretty sure now wasn’t the time. That opinion was validated when immediately another man went down trying to protect the cleric. Horace wasn’t particularly keen on being the second, but he wasn’t about to stand back and let the next hound charging up the stairs maul them to death. Igniting a light spell in the beast’s face to blind it, he ran to position himself between it and the injured. Before the adept could send another spell its way, however, the hound crashed on the stairs after two red-fletched arrows struck it from the side. Horace nearly tripped backwards over himself in relief.

---

Though they’d run across more hounds along the way, traveling on a galloping horse proved to be a rather effective method of avoiding confrontations. As Valter rounded the corner and the cathedral came into sight, he was greeted by a scene he had been hoping not to see. Bodies of both demons and people were scattered around in the dark, but what immediately caught his attention were the unmistakable figures on the front steps being charged down by a deadly demon dog. His bow had been readied earlier, and in one smooth motion he nocked an arrow and let fly as Horace’s light spell hit the hound from the front. The resulting white glow left an excellent target, and Valter’s second shot pierced the beast’s skull.

[Snike]

Evelyn didn't so much as acknowledge the hounds' bloodthirst before before she went to work. Within the first few sword swipes, a hound was beheaded, anothers' legs were severed, and a third one was at least stunned, having had their head bashed in by the royal guard's shield.

Behind the two warriors, Ethan kept watch, occasionally throwing a light spell into the pack of monsters. Then the wind magic came in, and it looked like this skirmish would be brief.

***

"Then we're agreed on the roof," Blake said, as he moved over to the side of the walkway. After a moment to eye the jump -it was a bit easier than the previous one, though he'd still give the same effort- the swordsman took a few steps back, started into a run, and leaped to the roof, continuing his stride once he landed until he was a good distance away from the edge. His ankles stung from the landing, but it still wasn't as bad as his last drop.

[Toogee]

Tia looked up to Eli astride his mighty magical flying pony! "Yes! Nika said so herself and I don't think she's stupid enough to fudge something like that. If you're going out to fight, which you obviously are, I wanna go with you! I can help keep others safe with my magic and I can do something here! Can I talk you into giving me a ride? Or at least watching out for me though?"

Eli took a moment to think about bringing Tia along. He was not entirely sure what they were headed into. Demons weren't exactly known to be fair fighters; she could be torn to shreds out there. With that, it was entirely her choice. The least he could do was make sure she arrived safely. Eli simply stretched his arm out to help Tia up on his peg Betty.

"I don't suppose that magic of yours could work from the sky," Eli asked. They'd have the best of both worlds if she could stay with him in the air and fight.

[ReformBlade]

The situation was more or less in the process of getting handled, Jericho idly standing by not really knowing how to contribute to things said, though he was guessing that the pink haired girl was indeed Raquel due to the fact that someone up and called her Raquel and stuff. He had to echo the red haired woman's views though, "Yeah, we should probably head out as soon as possible if we're even gonna do this. A moment not going is another moment of danger and all that crap." We could be waltzing right into a murder trap altogether, but whatever. I'd like to face my death head on than die like a bitch in a corner.

Getting out of the carriage with a lethargic air due to being shaken up in multiple ways, Mushirah had nothing to say about much of anything, almost completely due to her mood. She just wanted a clear course of action and direction in her life but admittedly she had no idea of how to interpret what life threw at her, even less of an idea of what a supposed right choice would be if there even was one for her. Moral dilemmas aside, She seemed more or less cognizant of her surroundings but over all disinterested.

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=OoC]I'm sorry for the abruptness coming up, but it would take me much longer to come up with smoother transitions. Note: All current events have been TS'd during the 'Division' segment to roughly the same point in time.

Division

While Weyland went inside to begin making some preparations, Steinn remained outside for a moment, keeping Gabbie and Annelise there for a moment. Since Gabbie was more than willing to abuse her power in order to give Steinn eyes all over the building, he revised his plan accordingly. He needed Gabbie at his side to make use of her ability, but he knew he couldn't guarantee her safety on his own, especially not if Valdimarr tracked him down before they were ready for him. They needed Annelise for this. With his own three person group formed, he led them inside to prepare.

The argument about whether or not to split the group for different tasks had come and gone, and with Raquel and Veronika both insistent on going into the city, there wasn't much room for debate anyway, which was exactly why Weyland saved his time for other things. Still, Raquel could appreciate the need for defending the estate too, so noted that anyone who wanted to stay and handle that should definitely do so, while anyone else should come with Veronika and her to save Blake, and hopefully save anyone else that was caught up in that mess in the city.

The Calm

Rather than taking the carriages, which while functional, weren't suited to fast travel, the group Veronika had received two sturdy wagons that had been prepared for them during the wait. The northern gate looked abandoned by the time they arrived. There were no living people or demons in sight anywhere, not even the cavalry who had decimated the gate. It wouldn't be until they passed through the ruined gate and traveled a ways up the street that they would at least catch sight of the cavalry.

The area seemed to be secured for the most part, as the soldiers were no longer mounted and were discussing the situation with Blake, Ken, and Jessica just outside of a tavern. It was mostly Blake's group listening, and the cavalier group talking, however, which, ironically, was starting to preclude Blake and Erion from sharing more useful information with them. About all either managed to get out was that there might be some help on the way. Inside the tavern were some survivors who had miraculously eluded the demons, and mostly children at that.

Even though the 'band of mercenaries' who had just shown up weren't hired by them, the soldiers were glad to see them, if only because they had a chance to turn this around with these numbers. It might have even been the help they were starting to expect. None among them liked the idea of suddenly being charged for this 'help', but would have gladly paid to see an end to this nightmare. Fortunately, these were Raquel's mercenaries, and lining their pockets wasn't their biggest priority at the moment.

Once the wagon stopped and people began to get out, the captain of the mounted unit began waving them over. Hopefully they didn't bring any bad news with them.

The Tension

It almost seemed like they had ample time to prepare, or that perhaps Valdimarr had changed his plans, but neither Weyland nor Steinn let their guard down. Weyland already knew the building was going to get damaged significantly if the enemy made it inside, but he had been prepared for that for some time already. He disappeared into the basement for the time being to finish his preparations while. The noncombatants among his staff also went to the basement for shelter. Hiding anywhere else wouldn't ensure their safety once the enemy was inside. Greta ended up down there as well, but she would have preferred to help, if only because she wasn't completely useless in a fight.

Once Gabbie was dressed for battle, she met Steinn and Annelise in the conference room. It was no command center, but it would do. It wasn't an ideal place for fighting a warping master, but at the same time, being cramped themselves would just leave them vulnerable to his other techniques. There was also any help he brought along to consider. In the end, their own mobility took precedence. There was also one other trick Steinn had up his sleeve. He had Siv fitted with a very small magic seal and placed at the center of the conference room by Weyland's men. She wouldn't just serve as a distraction with her cheering or wailing, but any spell that came near her would be absorbed, which gave them an environmental shield to work with. Of course, Steinn knew that if the seal absorbed too much energy, it would explode and probably kill Siv, but he didn't plan for this to last very long.

While Ernesta wasn't surprised in the least that Anna had brought an anti-materiel crossbow to the fight, she was still bothered, feeling that the Visceral prototype was not only overkill, but likely to cause even more collateral damage if it was actually used. Anna assured her that she knew what she was doing, though, so Ernesta let the matter be and focused on her own armament, a long edged staff, and a very well kept sword. Once the two were ready, Anna took command of those guarding the estate's northern side, which consisted of the back end of the main building, and much of the testing grounds. They hadn't finished putting together anymore tanks, so they had to rely on infantry power as a whole, which was going to make things tougher. Ernesta took the eastern area, which was the suspected attack point, if only because it was nearly a blind spot at night; there were no landmarks or anything significant on the eastern part of the property for them to use as cover, or to mark with lights, so to spot an enemy coming, they would have to already be on the look out for them, which thankfully they were.

Axel was given command of the southern area, the front of the estate's main building. There wasn't much cover here, but the area was a little better lit than the east. The main building's structure was also weakest here, which meant heavy magic spells could cause more damage than normal, especially the kind Steinn was expecting.

Suzume wasn't sure what she should be doing once the combatants began scrambling to their stations and tried to track down Ernesta. She felt it was too little too late though, and that she was better off just finding and aiding the nearest garrison. She considered joining Gar and the others, but based on Veronika's reaction earlier, she felt she would just be a distraction from the real enemy.

Amon decided to help guard the front entrance with Raquel's people; anything to keep Axel from going up in smoke. Haythem however, wanted room to fly around without getting in anyone's way and so took the northern side. Since they were already divvying themselves up, Fizza took the eastern front with Ernesta, and Malik went to meet Weyland's men in the west to lend a hand there.

Once Weyland returned from the basement, it was shut and locked behind him. He now had a bit of armor on as well as two newfangled items acting as gauntlets. He himself would be heading up the western front to protect the workshop and the storage building, and his men were already waiting for him there. "Alright then ... come get us, Valdimarr. We're ready for you."

Empty Justice

As Athrun and his people fought the demons, a sense of worry began to creep into his thoughts. Questions were distracting him throughout the fighting. Where was Morgana? Where were these creatures coming from and who was commanding them? How many people had they failed to save, and who else was about to die while they were preoccupied with this unending horde? Though he was distracted, he didn't receive any hits from the enemy, he just wasn't at his best, either.

The demons didn't come to fight them in great waves, but they did keep coming, handfuls at a time. This made the fighting relatively easy, but they had also been kept from pressing very far past the gate. Athrun's plan to secure the gate was starting to look impossible, since new demons would replace the dead in moments. After awhile, their number began to steadily increase, and different kinds began to show up. Instead of just hounds, there were also large cats and harpies to deal with.

By the time the wrathites arrived on the scene, the situation seemed to be completely out of hand, with demons overrunning the area. Still, Athrun's group was fighting well, and only their eventual fatigue could cost them the battle, now. There was no clear path to the Cathedral at this point, so Clover readied herself to try and assist the prince when the wrathites joined in. She didn't have a tome at the moment, but she had other means of helping them, at least against the harpies.

The Besieged Cathedral

Valter's arrival was one of the uncommon occasions where a horse was let into the Cathedral. Pegasi were another matter. After helping Horace save Joanna, and likewise helping her to heal the two guardsmen, they were urged to fall back with the others. Joanna struggled with the decision initially, but was convinced once the struggling guards began to thin out and fall back as well, leaving only the rune knights, and a few heavily armored defenders and their well guarded healers. There were only ten rune knights present, but they butchered any demons that came near them. They also seemed to notice the dwindling number of guards around and began to gather around the main entrance of the Cathedral, only letting people through to the inside.

The soldiers inside tried to steel themselves for more fighting while they recovered their strength. The Hall of Truth was where the rune knights had emerged from, and now it was full of soldiers and civilians, hiding out from the danger. The other halls were in similar circumstances. Joanna, who had taken a seat and a cup of water near the alter, was still struggling, only now with the decision of what to do next. Staying put would all but guarantee her safety, but she wasn't concerned about that at the moment. She was concerned with people who couldn't reach the Cathedral due to being cut off or injured along the way. She didn't want to involve Valter or Horace or anyone else in this if she didn't have to, but that seemed to be her only way of convincing anyone to let her go back out there. Indeed, there were several guards keeping an eye on her at the insistence of a clergyman, a clergyman all too familiar with her habits.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Nadya managed to change clothes, get her staff, and fetch Luca from the stables before reuniting with the others at the front entrance. She noted that Haythem, Malik, and Fizza didn't appear to be accompanying Amon- she figured they were either defending other places or abandoned the estate. She waited a little bit before speaking her mind. "So...am I the only one who doesn't really give a damn about Siv and who's the Fallen emperor and all that? Not exactly the best reason to be riskin' my life," she commented.

Connor

Connor sighed heavily as news of the demon attack reached him. He supposed he should be saddened at the people dying in the city or scared that the demons were coming to the estate, but primarily he just felt frustrated that yet another delay was coming on the construction of the new Dauntless. He sat in a corner of the basement among the other noncombatants, feeling rather bored at the moment.

Wrathites

Captain Erica assessed the situation quickly- she was unfamiliar with the creatures she saw, but their corpses on the ground seemed to indicate that normal weaponry worked well enough to kill them. "Archers and magic users, focus fire on the fliers! Everybody else, charge the demons on the count of three!"

"Hold on tight," Private Jacobs whispered to Clover as the Captain counted down. After one, a hail of arrows, light, fire, wind, thunder, and ice rained down upon the harpies while the cavaliers charged into the ground forces. Erica instantly skewered a hound with her lance, using the momentum to stab one of the cats in the side. Jacobs blocked one of the cats leaping at the captain, intercepting it with his axe. These things are pretty tough, that blow would have killed a normal human...

Wrathite

Captain Alastor had been assigned to security of the Grand Cathedral after the investigation of what happened with Raquel Valcyn and her mercenaries back in Ursentius. The work was very dull overall, as thieves or brigands were not bold enough to try and enter the Cathedral even at night. This night was not a quiet one however, as demons unexpectedly swarmed the city. Alastor's lance killed several of the creatures, but their forces were becoming overwhelmed fairly quickly. Someone else sounded a retreat and Alastor decided to follow suit, leading his men into the cathedral.

I have never seen any of the rune knights before- they're quite a welcome sight in times such as these although they do not seem inclined to lead any sort of charge... "Let's hold position here until reinforcements arrive. Our odds of success are slim if we choose to assault them now," he ordered. He saw Joanna, the winged cleric, out of the corner of his eye and near her was a man he remembered sticking his lance through back in Ursentius. Alastor decided to avoid eye contact with him, this was not the time for an unpleasant altercation.

[scorri]

Erion

Spying Raquel, Erion winced slightly and then walked over to her. Gripping his bow tightly in one hand, he paused, then spoke, "I am sorry about the whole leaving you behind thing, but honestly I was hoping to get Blake and back without needing you to come out and put yourself in danger. You're... important from what I've seen. And, well, I'm not." He shrugged. "I'm just a lowly nobody so what does it matter if I get in a bit of trouble. Heck, I'm not even working for you, so you wouldn't have even been losing one of your own had I ended up facing more than I could handle. And I'm replaceable. You... You not so much. I figured you needed to be kept safe and that was my best shot at doing it."

Hoshi

Standing nervously in her assigned position under the new Zero-Eight, Hoshi couldn't help holding her tome in a death grip. This would be the first time her dark magic skills were truly put to the test in combat and she couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. She hardly felt right standing here with all these other experienced warriors. She was at home in her lab, not here, preparing to defend her home and her life. With a gulp, she slowly released some of the pressure she'd been applying to her tome, hoping that she would survive the night.

Lumi

Still sitting on the rooftop, Lumi was now focused on the skies, having heard who was going to be attacking them. Hoping to be able to give the group some small time to prepare for the onslaught, she kept herself ready and alert, antsy in anticipation of the coming battle. Star Hunter circled tightly just above her, ready for her command.

[Eail]

Zach had stuck around the entrance of the estate, his decision was easily made to follow Raquel and Veronika into the city.

_____

Well the place wasn't on fire, so that calmed Alphonse's nerves as they came back. He left Jamilla to the task he'd assigned her, he could visit Greta later. For now though, he needed his weapon, already he'd been uncomfortable without it back at the ball. Quickly moving through the estate he went back to the room he'd ended up claiming, grabbing his sword, coat, and throwing off the tie he'd been wearing. This wasn't the perfect outfit for combat but Alphonse could make it work.

Strapping the sword onto his hip and glad to have the familiar weight back, the swordsman soon returned to the entrance. There was a debate about going into the city to help with the fighting, under other circumstances he might be the first to volunteer. Greta was here though along with a number of other non-combatants that no doubt needed assistance. He planned on staying behind and trying to make sure Jamilla did the same.

[Mercakete]

On his way back, Norbert recognized Raquel seated on the driver's bench of a wagon. She wasn't the one driving, but that hardly mattered. He'd landed in front of the wagon and, as expected, Raquel made sure it stopped. He delivered Blake's message but the conversation quickly shifted to his own situation. He was surprised to find out that Raquel had heard about his jail time from Cecelia herself and that she and some others -- Blake included -- had gone to try to help him out. In spite of his explanation that he hadn't wanted to pull her into his problem, she explained it was because she was concerned for him. Now knowing that Blake was okay, Raquel explained that Weyland's manse was in danger and that she and the others were going to continue on their way to Blake to bring him back. Norbert decided that he'd head back to the estate, now that he was aware of the impending attack and would see the others there soon.

While people reentered the wagon (at least one had exited to see what the holdup was about) and Norbert got out of the way the conversation continued a little, primarily including warnings about Cecelia from Norbert, a little more detail on his take of his arrest and his request that later Raquel would tell him what Cecelia had told her. Judging by Nadine's snickering and a few things she said, Norbert guessed she was one of Cecelia's people, but left it at that. Raquel also expressed how unfair she thought the situation had been for Norbert during this time and mentioned that it was probably safer for Norbert back at the estate, which he had to agree with. He didn't want her hauling him in for uncertified pegasus combat again and the judge had said he wasn't to bring Rizen into combat under any circumstances (phrasing which he was beginning to really resent) until he was certified. The pegasus rider and the group heading towards the city then parted ways, neither expecting just how long it would be before they did regroup.

When Norbert and Rizen returned to the estate, it was abuzz with people moving about from place to place, giving and carrying out orders. When he asked what was going on, he was told that they were preparing for the Fallen attack and he was directed to joining the people guarding the southern force. This put Axel as his commander which was...strange. This also had Norbert a little worried that everyone guarding the south end of the estate were going to literally go down in flames. There was something more immediate that he had to worry about, though: was it safer for Rizen to stay in the stables or to stay with him in combat? In spite of earlier joking, he was worried that the stables might actually be attacked this time. He wasn't worried about not having a certificate -- that didn't play into his decision at all. He was just remembering back when they were bringing Siv to Weyland's and she got a piece of a pegasus. That was not an image he wanted to tie to Rizen. The trouble was, if she was with him, he could protect her. But in the stables, she'd be out of sight and away from the fighting.

In the end, he decided he'd rather ensure Rizen's safety personally and so just waited in the saddle for either orders or combat -- whatever came first. What came first, though, was Nadya voicing a question. "No," he answered a bit irritably, "except that I wouldn't be upset if they all killed each other. Better to have no Fallen emperor than one or the other of these two. That's what I think anyway, especially since that would probably mean there aren't any Fallen left to be emperor."

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

When the situation was explained and the option given, Gytha decided it was better for her to stay at the estate. She didn't want to slow anyone down and she didn't exactly know how to get out of all the layers of strange clothing that she'd been wrapped in. So, once again with the help of a couple maids, she changed back into some of her own clothes. She was much more used to fighting in her simple shirt, boots and trousers and she'd changed her hair, too. The weight bunched up at the top of her head would've thrown her off and she knew it, so now it was in a simple, loose braid and her bandanna had been restored. She was also now armed, which was nice considering the impending attack.

Like many of the others, she was told to wait for the onslaught at the estate's southern side and so that is where she waited. Though she didn't particularly care about Fallen politics, it was upsetting that that was what this was all about. Though she didn't completely agree with Norbert, and she preferred to leave matters between countries be, herself, she did rather dislike the idea of the Fallen killing off so many neutral parties. Killing your enemies she could understand -- maybe even killing just a few neutral parties if it was unavoidable -- but killing so many civilians who weren't even in your way? These Fallen people could use a lesson, she figured. Even with that all considered, though, she still preferred to stay out of the conflict if she could help it. She couldn't, though: she was already a part of it. So, she had no regrets with meeting them as her enemies for the simple reason that they were on the other side of the field. She didn't deem any of that necessary for statement, though, and so remained silent regarding Nadya's question. All she gave it was a shrug as she continued to be both indifferent and alert to the things going on around her.

[Snowy_One]

Pre-TS

"Actually, yes it can." said Tia, a smile on her face. "All I'm doing is moving water about after all. No reason being on a flying pony would stop that. It's just hard to do when constantly moving, but certainly not impossible!"

[Toogee]

Before Jam could get a response out of Greta, a team of maids came in and announced that all noncombatants were to go into the basement. Though the dancer hadn't heard of this basement before, it was likely much safer than the room. The maids asked for Jam to come with them, but she refused.

"I gotta get ready for the battle. Be safe Greta!"

Jam ran down the hall to her own room, leaving the maids to their evacuation. As soon as she entered, Jam slipped off her ball gown and went for her usual outfit. As she worked to put her hair back into a ponytail, the dancer looked out the window to make sure the battle hadn't started yet. The air was still quite calm outside, almost too calm. Jam grabbed her magic tome, feeling the magic energies flow through her once more. She ran out of the room, eventually rushing back outside and at Alphonse's side.

"Hey," Jam said to grab Alphonse's attention. "Greta is in the basement with the staff. She's alright."

After a brief pause, Jam turned to the battle ahead. From the tone of her voice, she wasn't sure what to expect. A tinge of fear was present in her questioning.

"So...demons. That's what we're fighting, right? You think it will be that different from fighting people?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'll see what I can do about movement, but my priority is not getting hit," Eli replied to Tia. "Now hang on!"

As soon as the two horse wagon departed to the northern gate, Eli urged Betty upward. With Tia sitting in front of him, the rider was able to keep her balance between his arms as they traveled above the wagon.

When they arrived, the portion of town felt like a ghost town. With most of the soldiers and survivors congregated in or near the local tavern, everywhere else was deathly quiet. Eli landed next to the stopped wagon to get a better look at his surroundings.

"This used to be a very busy part of town, especially at this hour. What happened...?"

Eli waved his staff to the soldiers, marking him as a healer in case they needed assistance.

[Phoenix]

Southern Front

Shadrak winced at Nadya's wording. Maybe they were only peripherally related to the fallen at this point, but they backed down now, the deaths would be on their hands too, he felt. That aside, he didn't feel he had time to change and so simply retrieved his tome before he returned to the main entrance. Once he noticed that even the women found the time to change as a whole, he began to feel a little silly. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about being at a disadvantage; his cloak was more comfortable, but it didn't offer extra protection, especially not against rending claws like they were likely going to be facing soon.

"So ... let me get this straight ... Axel is in charge here?" He wasn't sure why Raquel AND Veronika left, but he supposed that the resulting command structure was a plausible result. "It's a little random but alright."

Amon just shrugged, figuring they would just do what they always did in a fight and rout the enemy before any big strategy changes were even needed. As long as Axel wasn't carrying any fire runes, he didn't mind him leading for now.

Tavern Entrance

"Urgh! It's that 'I'm expendable!' attitude that's got us in this situation in the first place," Raquel yelled before jumping down from the front seat. "The last time we took a risk like this, John, Sophia, and Lia all got killed. We can't get scattered around like that again! We have to stick together."

Nadine smirked at that. "Oh please, you were about to ride out here with just him for protection in order to bring Blake back."

Glaring over her shoulder at Nadine, Raquel said, "I had a plan in case someone came after us ... but with this many people it's not necessary." Or within your capabilities, Hypnos noted to her. She knew that, but didn't want to bring that up. That still left the issue of what to do now. Were they going to stick around here and help the soldiers secure more of the area, or tie Blake up, throw him in the back, and return to the estate?

West Gate

Clover complied with Jacobs and tightened her grip around him. She would have to wait for a decent opportunity to help them or she would just draw unnecessary attention to her escort. She was very glad she wasn't on foot right now; she wouldn't have the slightest chance of escaping those hounds ... not like the prince and his guards. She saw them fighting not too far away and on foot no less.

As one of the demonic tigers leaped for Athrun, he vanished and ran his sword through the back of its head. The blade shot right out of its mouth. The demon didn't immediately topple over, however, and Athrun was forced to remove the sword violently to avoid being pinned when the demon began to roll over onto its back. Once it began its roll, he swung as hard as he could and slashed its throat open. It still wasn't dead, but it was certainly on its last legs. Athrun decided to leave the thing be since its hide was far thicker than the hell hounds'; he wasn't able to sever their limbs nearly as easily, and his arm was getting more fatigued with each attempt.

[-Cynthia-]

Stand your Ground

"I think that even if Steinn or Valdimarr died, some other Fallen would end up leadin'. A world without Fallen is a nice dream though," Nadya voiced aloud. Despite her misgivings, she made no move to retreat- she got paid to capture Siv and figured her job was to be part of her defense as well. The things I do for gold...

Choices, Choices

The man on the horse seemed not to value his own life highly, which Veronika found disheartening but that was not the most pressing concern right now. Unsure of how to proceed, she turned towards Raquel.

"Just as Bert said, the situation seems relatively secure here. Should we head back to Weyland's as soon as possible or see what we can do here?" she asked the merchant. Going back right after arriving made the whole endeavor seem pretty pointless, but if the rest of the group was in trouble staying here might not be the most effective option...

Kill Steal

The demons broke beneath the initial charge of Erica's unit, but the foot soldiers seemed to be getting worn down. Erica urged Patches II forward, stabbing her lance through the exposed neck of a tiger right near the prince. Lieutenant Phoebus focused his energy on reviving one of the guardsmen who seemed to have suffered a large bite wound that had turned an ugly purple color. Jacobs took a cue from his captain and took a defensive position in between the prince and the creatures.

"Prince Athrun, please retreat! We have the situation under control!" she said, not knowing how true that was exactly. There was little time for discussion however, as she was forced to keep some kind of demonic bear at bay with the tip of her lance.

Edited December 25, 2013 by -Cynthia-

[Snowy_One]

"Why would a place like this be popular?" asked Tia, sounding a bit confused as Eli raised his staff up. "Oh. Wait. This is one of those places that serve drinks I'm too young to drink, right? Makes sense as a meeting place though. Easy way to keep people in high moral and meant to have a lot of people traveling through at once. Thanks for the ride though! I... Honestly expected to have to walk the entire way."

---

Robin had followed behind Raquel, keeping herself quiet and relatively subdued. There wasn't much she could really do behind shoot any demon that dared to threaten Raquel after all and follow orders, until Lia was mentioned.

"We are not expendable. I am not either." she said aloud, trying to sound confident. Those who knew her could sense a hint of doubt but, as she spoke, she looked to Zach. She had to be strong, especially considering the shit her friends had already gone through, being upbeat was... well... Helpful.

"I will not die today Raquel!

---

"I think I made the right choice, coming here." commented Alex. "Staying at the ball would have left me with posh nobles, not with armed people. To think, if the tales are true, not even the fair dame or innocent babe will be spared despite not being a threat in the slightest. Deplorable. Unless they're weak to innocents there is no reason to drag them in. I don't even get it myself. Even if we humans are naught as goats to them wouldn't one rather see damned fine and pretty goats instead of ugly old ones?"

Edited December 25, 2013 by Snowy_One

[scorri]

Erion sighed. "I'm not even 'one of you.' And maybe you should learn to let people protect you in the best way that they can. And in the way they want to. When you're a leader like this, your life isn't really your own anymore. You can't just choose what you want or what your heart is telling you. You need to do what's best for the overall group and if that means letting one person go do something to protect the rest of you, maybe you should do that. Look at your group now. Divided between two places, weakened. What will you do if because of your choice to only take half of your group, someone dies? What if because half of the group came here, Weyland falls? Sometimes, as the leader, you need to think about what's best for the group and how to best keep you alive before you think of others."

[Mercakete]

Norbert looked entirely confused as he turned his attention to Alex. Who the heck is this guy? ...and why is he here? ...And what the heck is he even talking about? He figured it didn't matter much, though. Whether he was one of Weyland's or Raquel's, both employers had already proven to be questionable when it came to hiring people. "I don't think the see us as goats," he commented somewhat resentfully, "More like cattle."

Edited December 25, 2013 by Mercakete

[Ether]

They just kept coming in waves, over and over... whenever one demon went down two more seemed to appear in their place, and truth be told, Angelica was starting to tire of them. Nonetheless she couldn't just stop holding them off, she supposed, so as more and more appeared, so too did more and more magic rain down to intercept them.

It gave her a bit of solace to see that with how tired the fighters were getting, they likely would have been overrun by now if not for her suppressive fire, but she wondered where Morgana had gotten off to... it didn't seem like her to simply dissapear.

"How're you holding up down there?" She called out, after smashing one of the tigers jaws clean apart with intersecting wind hammers, and running a spear clear through it's spine, killing the beast.

***

Having returned to Weyland's, and properly outfitted herself for battle, Faatina waited at the Southern gate, along with the rest Raquel's mercenaries that were waiting at Weylands, supposedly lead by Axel.

***

It was a rather long walk, reporting to Anna and then doubling back to the South gate to reinforce Axel's troupe. It seemed it was comprised mostly of Raquel's people... that wasn't so bad, she supposed.

***

And then they were to wait... if Valdimarr were to arrive, they were to fight him off... simple enough in theory, much more difficult in practice... still, surely Steinn had a plan fully in place, for this.

[Snike]

"Yes, I sort of work for Weyland beyond this group," Axel said to Shadrak, as he paced around the entrance. "And before you go talking about what we're here for, I don't really care about the fallen. I'm just here to do my job, which is to repel the attack. If the Fallen go and kill each other, so be it. But they'd better not even try to touch the Professor, or I'll clip their wings."

Pete had his bow drawn and his eyes peeled, so as to make sure no crows would be sneaking up on him. Sitting down in the basement just wasn't his style, especially not when Lumi wasn't doing the same.

***

Evelyn had just finished off another harpy when one of the reinforcing Wrathites told the Prince to retreat. That was definitely a good idea at this point.

"Fall back, Prince. We'll cover your retreat," the royal guard said, before turning towards another hound. There was a ridiculous number of these beasts. How many people were involved in their creation? Or how long had they been in hiding?

***

Not long after they found the tavern, a horseman named Erion arrived, and tried to convince Blake to return. That attempt failed spectacularly, but the man decided to stick around. Why he did so was made apparent when, eventually, a two-horse wagon rolled up, with Raquel beside the driver. Once it stopped, more familiar faces hopped out. So some of the others went with her, too. Just to go 'rescue' him. He'd be touched except for the fact that that was what he had not wanted to happen. With a wide frown, the swordsman made his way over to the wagon, where his employer had just disembarked and was arguing with Erion. He'd may as well wait for that argument to settle down before he started another one.

[roymbrog]

Well, this had certainly been a setback in their travels, if not nearly the end of them. Kimiko’s donkey had been killed by demons in the city, stranding her small wagon of supplies and forcing her and her apprentice to use their stock of shock grenades to flee to the cathedral on foot. It'd been at least half an hour since they'd safely made it inside and while Elliot fidgeted his wings, Kimiko was considering the situation. Being a practitioner of dark magic and synthesis herself, she was convinced the creatures outside were artificial creations. The lingering dark units within them nearly confirmed. Though she’d never been to Kigen herself, she’d heard stories from her grandparents of man-eating beasts created by the fallen empire. After coming into close contact with the monsters outside, it was the first thing that had come to mind and was the only explanation she could think of.

As far as the alchemist could tell, no one else there had an inkling of what this threat was. She would enlighten them. As she stood up to find the one in charge, however, she felt a tug on the edge of her dress. “Miss June?” Elliot asked, looking up at her. “You’re not going back outside, are you?“

“No, no, nothing of the sort,” she replied. “I’m just going to talk to that soldier over there. Wait here, please?” After the avian nodded, Kimiko made her way over to Alastor, who looked to be the one in charge. “Excuse me, sir? I believe you are the commander here, correct? I wanted to thank you for protecting us in here. More importantly, however, I have a theory on the origin of the beasts outside if you wished to hear it.”

---

After making sure Joanna was aright and dealing with Horace’s surprise (something about him disappearing off the map for a month), Valter had gone inside with the others. He couldn’t say he was that surprised that they’d let his horse in, truth be told he would have been rather angry if they hadn’t. The demons weren’t suddenly deciding to spare mounts. After tying Phyllis up out of the way, he’d walked back to where Joanna and Horace were. Scarcely after he’d returned the anxious monk already had questions.

“What’s the situation in the city like?” Horace asked. “Did you come across the military at all?”

The horseman shrugged in response. “The route I traveled was completely deserted, save for beasts. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are many survivors among those who didn’t escape. The hounds were… Well, they don’t leave bodies behind,” he explained, grimacing. “I have no idea where the military is right now. With the princess’s ball going on, many of the soldiers may have been there.”

At this information, Horace looked devastated. “So, in addition to many civilians being dead, we shouldn’t expect help in the immediate future. We can only defend the cathedral for so long. What can we do if they make it inside?”

“Blame Weyland.”

“What…..?”

---

Synthia couldn’t tell if she had woken up at the best time or the worst time. On the one hand, it meant no one would have to come wake her up, but on the other, demons were attacking the city. Regardless of the fact she didn’t want to go out to the city in the first place, she had arrived much too late to run back, get her things, and make it in time to leave with the others. So instead, she had run back, gotten her things, and joined the others of Raquel’s group in front of Weyland’s estate. She was none too thrilled with the current situation.

When Nadya voiced her opinion of the current predicament, Synthia couldn’t say she disagreed. “The only reason I’m here is because they managed to drag the rest of Europa into their feud,” the mage grumbled. “It’s awful how many uninvolved people they’ve probably killed already.” When some odd guy she didn't recognize gave a similar opinion, she gave him a skeptical look. Who the hell was that guy? One of Weyland’s?

---

Katrina had managed to get armored and saddle Volga before the group moved out, and followed the wagon from the air. When they stopped by a tavern she had her wyvern land nearby, but away from the soldiers. She wasn’t comfortable being near the Ursian military. Hopefully they wouldn’t say anything about the wyvern.

Dismounting, she walked over to where the others were gathering to be informed of... whatever the current situation was.

[ReformBlade]

Aneda didn't see how this was risking their life so much as defending it at this point. Running may have been an option a while ago, but now running seemed to be more of a suicidal option, though technically it's still an option all the same. Does it really matter why people are here? "I'm just here to fight for my life, I don't know about all of you. Coudla run when we had the chance before but we all stuck around... So instead of questioning things, how's about we face consequences head on, maybe with a spear or sword or other sharp pointy objects or magic and just accept it since life is one incredibly fucked up thing to begin with?"

Facing life head on like that...? I can't even imagine someone being so reckless and being completely ok with that. Then again, maybe... Maybe I should try that, maybe putting the fear of death into me might give me a drive of sorts. Gods know I need a kick in a direction, or a shove. Mushirah pondered, her hand idly rubbing her tome for some form of comfort after not having it for an extended amount of time. She felt different for some reason, though she wasn't quite sure what the change was or if it'd be good or terrible. What did it matter if she was dead anyway? Better to focus on how she can contribute to this force while not holding people back. "I can agree to that." It was with a small amount of conviction that she spoke, more than she'd had a while ago anyway, though she was actually agreeing to the last part of what Aneda said than anything else.

Meanwhile, over by Jericho there seemed to be an immediate arguing going on. This didn't bode well for any sort of morale in the group, not that he was a shining beacon by any means. "Look, can you all just set it aside and deal with it later? We've kinda got more important things to deal with, like who's going to do what. Hopefully we're not just going to rush in, pants-on-head retarded. I'm not anyway..."

Edited December 26, 2013 by ReformBlade