Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[scorri]

So, the prince showed up. So that's what he looks like. Well, this is annoying. Norbert thought, frowning at said prince. I hope I can come back to Ursium once this job in Kigen's done. Maybe he didn't see me...? Oh, who am I kidding?! I stand out more than anyone else here! Well, he was on a pegasus. He sighed. Oh well. Just how this doesn't somehow add to my debt.

Everyone else seemed to be taken care of, so he rode Rizen over to the indicated hallway. Unfortunately, this was the Hall of Wrath, not the Hall of Mercy, and even then, those halls weren't big enough for him to be actually riding Rizen. Norbert grit his teeth behind his frown. Urgh, blast it... There was nothing to do but dismount, so dismount he did...carefully. And once he dropped off of Rizen's back and landed his feet on the ground, his lips curled back as he quietly hissed in pain. Then, doing his best to walk normally, he led Rizen along to the indicated room. Every step made the bit of armor that'd bent into his side agitate the wound, though. His head was feeling a little numb from all the pain, but he more or less successfully ignored it.

Hoshi just let her head droop against Eva's shoulders as the wyvern rider ran. Normally she would have protested being manhandled like this, but right now she realized she was in no shape to walk. Between magical exhaustion and emotional distress, she was completely drained.

Edited August 20, 2014 by scorri

[Phoenix]

Liftoff

Noting the direction, Lilith gave a final warning before racing off toward their destination. "Straighten yourself up and let me know when we get there." The plaza, as well as the cathedral at its center, were well behind them within a few moments. They steadily picked up speed and the buildings began whooshing beneath them faster and faster as they closed in on their target.

The Getaway

From the look of things, we never saw eye to eye on this, or you wouldn't have been involved, Athrun thought to himself, just seconds before the doors behind him began to open, sending loud squeaks resonating throughout the hall. Some of the guards were trying to get inside, realizing the prince had broken the lock. "Get away from those people, Angelica ... please ...."

They were out of time. "Come on," Amon urged her again, this time grabbing her wrist with reckless abandon. He knew they wouldn't be out of sight before the doors were open, but they at least needed to make sure no one else saw their faces.

Darkness and Light

"There were no 'flaws' in your body," Nyx gently shook her head. "All any dark avian truly lacks is the Goddess' spirit; you were otherwise ... as she intended. I would suggest turning some of your attention back toward the light. Mastery of both darkness and light will grant you abilities incomparable to anything either can grant on their own. You were born a more skilled user of the light than darkness, yet you attempted to master darkness first ... the most difficult part of your training is already over."

Taking a step closer, she continued. "Let me show you something." Nyx reached out with her hand again, and Kit's sight and hearing began to fade as the vivid images and cries of battle came to the forefront. High up in the sky, a woman possessing Kit's face, carried on silvery white wings gathered dark and light energies around her body. The torrent of opposing forces fought to resist her call, but she forced the two into a single powerful spell, and unleashed it on the foes beneath her. The shining purple beam of dark light twisted and coiled like a whip as the energies struggled to free themselves from each other and quickly struck the ground with immense force. What seemed like a whole battalion had been violently swept away by the ensuing blast.

Before the smoke could clear, Kit's sight and hearing returned, and so did Nyx and the archives. "Of course, there is far more belonging to this domain than pure destructive force ... but that's for another time."

[Ether]

"An interesting visage, no doubt... I suppose that would make the most sense." Kit replied to Nyx' implanted vision with a smirk.

"I suppose I never gave restoring my wings all that much thought... I was far from skilled enough at the time, and I suppose at my core I thought of my lack of them as a scar I was to bare... silly, really. I may have been blinded by such delusions..." The altered woman noted with a chuckle, as she went over the scene in her head several times.

"Though I did notice a distinct lack of my little appendages in your vision... they may have been naught more than the fruits of a lack of any test subjects, but suffice to say I don't... dislike them. Of course, the level of mastery you showed me is not something I would expect to achieve, still looking quite so young as I had there... unless you had something in mind, with regard to that?" Kit concluded, raising her eyebrow questioningly.

***

"We'll see what time brings, Athrun. I suppose that'll be all, for now." Angelica replied, as she was pulled along by Amon, following along with the man without any resistance.

[Nanami Touko]

<Stupid girl...> was the last thought Eva gave towards Angel as she made her way down the hall and stopped in the same room the others had. "Hey, Lumi, Jam, Pe... P-guy." At least Hoshi wasn't making a fuss. "Hey, tiny mage, you gonna be alright? You haven't said a word since I dragged you out of there." Eva hadn't caught Hoshi's mental breakdown between all that had happened, but figured perhaps the woman was just naturally quiet. When you're that small you're either a mouse or a firecracker. I don't think she's the latter...

[roymbrog]

Athrun had a point (many points, actually), but Valter couldn’t bring himself to care as much as he probably should’ve. The stress and lack of sleep of the last two days had caught up to him a while ago and his mind was on other things, but it was likely the words would come back to him later. What was important now was that they needed to get out of there, and with Liam and Amon both moving out of the room, there was no more reason to stay. After the two avians passed he fell in walking behind them and kept glancing at Joanna over Liam’s shoulder. It would be unfathomably stupid to ask if she were ok, but he felt he should say something to her after all of this. The words just weren’t coming to mind at the moment…

[Afterglimmer]

It wasn’t long before Prince Athrun himself appeared and denounced the group’s actions as well. The worst part was he was right about most of it. They would definitely be branded as criminals for breaking Joanna out as well as attacking the wrathites. Even though Luther himself only knocked out some of them, other wrathites were killed by Amon’s friends. There was no way he could distance himself from this seeing as he assisted them willingly. Taking the prince’s words to heart, the discontent mercenary joined the others waiting to be warped out of the cathedral.

[Phoenix]

Unease

With the group quickly vacating the hall, Athrun looked to Evelyn, clearly too tired to be as outwardly angry as he might have otherwise been. "... I'm not saying Joanna should be kept here ... but no one should have died over it. No one." Taking a deep breath as the doors began to open, he quietly added, "It's your responsibility now to make sure that they get out of here and that they don't kill anyone else. There's been enough death here. I'm going to stay right here and try to keep the guards from giving chase. That's ... that's an order ... Evelyn."

Inconspicuous

Yeah that looks like them. "Pssst!" A young naturan, and most likely a Joanna sympathizer, wove his hands at the figures approaching from the long hall that separated the Hall of Wrath from the Hall of Nature. He was halfway inside a room just off to their right, and trying his best not to lose his balance and topple over out into the hall, but he had to get their attention without making too much noise. "Hey," he whispered as loudly as he could, "Miss Evelyn sent you, right? We're ready for you right in here."

"That sounds so suspicious," a girl's voice came from inside the room, chuckling at his wording.

Possibility

"Perhaps, but it might be a bit early for you to be coming to me ... or possibly too late," Nyx's eyes narrowed, "I suppose it comes down to what you're willing to leave behind in order to come under my wing." Her gaze shifted to Nadine before the words even left the latter's mouth.

"Right on cue," Nadine murmured.

"Indeed, now hush, you," the vasilus said, almost smiling. And it was so. Soon, she returned her gaze to Kit, and her expression became serious again. "In my world, there is no compromise, there is only that which furthers my goals and strengthens my family. You can obtain this power from me and much more ... in service to me, and only in service to me. I'm really not fond of relieving others of their servants and aides, but it's always their choice to make. Those who change masters even once, however, are under much heavier scrutiny for a time, regardless of their motivations. You ... wouldn't be keeping any of these," she noted, managing some kind of amused half smile half frown as she eyed Kit's vulpine parts.

[scorri]

Lumi chuckled back at Tia and gave a half shrug with her uninjured shoulder. "Oh, you know, just popped into my head!" She turned and grinned at the man almost falling out of the doorway. "Yup, that's us!" Heading into the room, she faced the girl. "Right, lets do this."

Hoshi had slumped her head onto the wyvern rider's shoulder until she was asked a question. "I... Uhm, I'm... fine. I can be... uhm... put down if you wish."

Edited August 23, 2014 by scorri

[Ether]

"Furthers your goals and strengthens your family... what an apt way to put it. I might need ask you elaborate a slight on those, Lady Nyx... after all, you have already entered my mind once, you should know already what is left with me, so far as family might be concerned... as for goals, well... you've seen far more than I, and I wouldn't attempt to hazard a guess at what your true, long term goals might be." Kit replied with a light grin, as she rested her face against her palm.

"As for what I'm willing to leave behind... well there isn't much that I have, is there? Room and board, bought with occasional assistance... in truth my current place is more a mercenary, than a retainer. Of course, that arrangement came mostly of these very same... additions. I suppose that kind of accommodation would not be needed were I rid of them." The dark avian continued, mulling things over a bit more.

"It's certainly a tempting offer... you wouldn't mind elaborating a tad more on what becoming a member of your family would... entail?" Kit concluded, noting Nyx' continual glances at her tails... shifting from amusement to scorn every few moments... so even vasili could react like this, when something exceedingly different came about.

[Snike]

Pete sighed at Lumi's antics. She wasn't taking this seriously at all. He didn't have any response beyond yelling at her though, so he opted not to say anything. Until the wyvern rider woman arrived, carrying Hoshi.

"It's Pete," he said simply, after she couldn't get his name right. "Is that everyone?"

He could see a few more, including the blonde Rexian and the mage that covered him in the battle, approaching, but he wasn't sure if they were the last or not.

***

"...Understood, milord. I will do that," Evelyn said, before beginning to follow the last stragglers of the rescuers. A few steps later, she paused. "... I'm sorry that this even happened, prince."

[Nanami Touko]

"Nope," Eva said, plainly. "You totally collapsed in the main hall. I didn't see what happened, but I'd rather not chance something happening while we're running for our lives. I'll let you down once we've been warped out, alright? 'S good to know you're fine, though." She smiled, and went after Lumi. Whoever these people were, if they were going to warp them, they'd best get started. "Hey, uh, I don't need to put her down to get warped, right? She's a bit out of it." Despite what she'd said a moment ago, Eva had no idea the intricacies of warping. Perhaps she'd be relieving her back of Tiny Mage sooner than she thought.

----------

"You-- I-- That-- Ugh!" Tia was almost furious, but still mostly scared for her life. She didn't say anything else and simply let go of Jam, walked along, and stood in line to get warped. She was feeling far too many emotions and wasn't able to get herself to express any of them. I need to do something, something to get myself able to deal with this feeling... For once, Tia knew what being powerless felt like amongst people who weren't, and it was truly, truly depressing.

Edited August 23, 2014 by I have opinions

[scorri]

Lumi grinned at both Tia and Pete. "Besides, they haven't yet proven they're not warping us straight to a jail cell. You guys aren't, are you?"

Hoshi meanwhile shrugged quietly and placed her head back on the wyvern rider's shoulder. "O... okay. Thank you?"

[Phoenix]

Meet the Warpers

"What? Oh no, we're not planning anything nefarious, I swear," the naturan acolyte promised. "Actually I'd be more worried about some of you ending up on a roof or something. I'm the only one of the three of us with much warping experience," he admitted as he stopped leaning out into the hall and opened the door wide to let them all through. The pegasus could be a potential issue, but perhaps they could just warp her right out there in the hall.

"You're the only one who knows what he's doing?" Shadrak chimed in, his eyes narrowing on the three of them they all came into view. "Mmph."

"It'll be fine, I'm accurate to within a hundred meters," the girl said, smiling widely. The third acolyte just kept his peace and tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

A hundred meters?! That's her idea of 'accurate'?! Shadrak leaned away slightly without realizing it. Shadrak didn't even know it was possible to mess up a warp that badly.

"Heheh, yeah, sorry in advance if one of you winds up stuck up high somewhere."

A Goddess' Terms

Nyx turned away and went to take a seat at the center bench. "Then I'll elaborate, but only on what truly matters at the moment."

"When I said it comes down to what you're willing to leave behind," she said as she took a seat, her eyes narrowing at Kit, "I was talking about more than just your old life style and those extra appendages. One begins as a servant and eventually becomes a member of my family ... once I know with certainty that there is nothing else they desire more."

Nadine started paying closer attention to the new information, figuring there was a chance this was for her ears as well. In some small way, everything Nyx said, regardless of who it was said to, seemed for her ears as well, if only because the more she heard, the more she was convinced, in a way she couldn't quite explain, that she was doing the right thing by becoming one of these servants, herself.

"It entails giving your life, your very existence over to me. In doing so, you become answerable only to me. Neither the gods, nor the Gate have any say in your destiny after that. While I won't force you to endure whole eons, as I will, you will be required to put in your fair share of service while you are awake and possess a body of your own."

I don't really think that part's really sunken in for me just yet ... living for who knows how many years. What would I be like after that much time? Nadine mused. I'd probably start acting more like Nyx, serious and all that stuff.

"Your obedience to me in all things is the first and most important thing to consider. If you can handle that, I will see to it that your weaknesses are overcome, and your dreams--those that fall in line with my plans for you, that is--are fulfilled. In time you will choose new goals, new dreams for yourself, and so long as they fit within the mold, and so long as you are willing to work toward them, I will handle the rest. It's as simple as that."

Rest

"Me too," Athrun murmured, his energy leaving him all too quickly as guards began funneling into the Hall of Wrath. Athrun could barely hear himself think over the growling, cursing, and pleading as they combed over the bodies and the survivors. "Tend to the wounded," he struggled to give his voice weight so it would carry over everything else. He eventually made his way over into a row and slumped down.

"Your highness," one of the royal guard approached, "you still haven't had any sleep."

"See to it that no one runs off and tries to find the culprits ... they're already gone and it would just be a meaningless exercise in the end," Athrun muttered. He wasn't sure how much time had past after that, but he wasn't being spoken to anymore, as far as he could tell. Things seemed a little quieter, and he eventually began to let himself slide down onto his side. A part of him, his unconscious mind perhaps, was expecting his head to land softly on the same lap that allowed him a short rest earlier that day, but instead he winced as his head bumped the hard wooden surface. He fell asleep a few seconds later.

One of his guards glanced back at him from over her shoulder, and then nodded to the others that had formed a perimeter around him. Now they just needed to make sure that the situation didn't deteriorate again.

[Nanami Touko]

"Onto a roof?" Eva was a bit wide eyed at these people. Maybe fighting through Wrathites would be safer after all. "You're sure this is safe? None of us will get warped straight up into the air, will we?" Eva would normally be fine with this, because normally, she was with Sasha. Unless Joanna had some inhuman strength that she wasn't aware of, getting warped like this was beginning to look a bit scary. "Whatever, just... Just do your best. Not like we've much other choice."

Tia had similar thoughts but kept her mouth shut and tried to swallow them instead of freaking out. What good would that do right now? Even if she wanted to freak out, when she opened her mouth to make noise, nothing came out. She was far too scared now.

[Ether]

"Interesting... all I truly desire is an extension of my knowledge and strength... well, that and to have my enjoyment whilst doing so... so long as the cause is not despicable, which I am doubtful one with as much backing of knowledge and foresight as yourself would tout, then I don't forsee any issues... unless, of course, you take issue with my methods." Kit replied, fluttering her tails a tad as she spoke.

"Though something tells me you would not have brought this up to me were you so set against my ways... and of course I would not expect to be given complete autonomy from the start... so long as the leash is reasonable it is no concern to me." Kit continued with a grin.

***

"That's... disconcerting." Angelica noted with a sigh... no use worrying about it, though... it wasn't her who would get stranded somewhere or splattered.

[-Cynthia-]

"I have no fear of roofs. If this warping is to be done, then let it be done quickly," Liam stated. He wasn't sure if these people could be trusted but...this was probably their best chance for escape at this point.

Really hope I don't end up splattered by some warp spell- what a way to die after all this, Nadya worried to herself.

[roymbrog]

These were the warpers? “Mercy help us,” Valter muttered, hand on forehead. Then the thought hit that it was basically sacrilege saying that, with what they had just done, which led into a sigh and another muttered, “Nevermind.”

Well, it was time to get this over with then. Stepping towards the front of those inside, he asked, “Is there anything we can do to make this easier for you?”

[scorri]

Lumi grinned. "Right then! Lets go! I'll go first since everyone else is all worried. I've got no problem with this. I trust you guys! Though... where exactly will you be warping us?"

[Snike]

The naturan acolytes weren't inspiring much confidence in Pete, nor the rest of the party for that matter, as they so voiced. He was going to add his concerns, but then someone else spoke up.

"You are all going to be warped outside the cathedral grounds, in groups," Evelyn said as she made her way past the pegasus rider and into the room, frowning. "If you want to make this easier for them, I would stop voicing your concerns, which will help reduce stress. They can handle this."

[Mercakete]

Norbert sighed. This didn't sound too promising, but it was their best shot at getting out in a timely manner. "Let's just pick who goes when. Hey, warp people, what would be easiest for you? Want to warm up with those of us who can fly first, or would it be better for us to go last?" I don't know if Rizen being bigger than the rest of us would make this harder for them or not. If it does, we should go last so that they can focus better. If they're tired by the time they get to us and accidentally warp us into the air, it won't be a problem.

[Phoenix]

Get Ready

"Uhhh," the acolyte scratched the back of his neck. "N-nah, it'll be alright, but since you asked, I think the pegasus rider should go first." He decided to explain this next part carefully, gesturing at the group with both hands. "See, if he goes first ... it won't matter what altitude he winds up at, like he said. Also he can catch others if they wind up ... up high ... in the, uh ... extremely ... unlikely ... event ... that they do. Yeah! Okay, ready?"

"We should also send him first because the pegasus really stands out," the quiet acolyte finally spoke up.

"So does the blood," Shadrak rolled his eyes. Do these three seriously not know what we just did? I doubt they'd be helping us if they knew ... unless ... He glanced back at Evelyn, wondering if she'd ensured their loyalty on this particular matter somehow. Maybe they're just dumb.

"Just stay in the glyph," the first acolyte instructed as he gave his staff a couple of twirls. The glyph hadn't shown up yet, and it wouldn't until he stopped moving the staff around, but he was confident he'd get this right. He still wasn't so confident about the other two but he wasn't going to keep worrying people over it when the alternative was warping everyone himself and spending the rest of the night with a splitting headache.

You Get Ready Too

"Oh, on the contrary; you have a lot of refinement on the way if you plan on serving me. I'm just willing to give you the opportunity because you sought me out on your own and know how to conduct yourself. Still, the longer a mind functions, the more difficult it is to reshape, and the more subtlety it uses in resisting change. If you were a human of the same years I wouldn't be able to do anything with you in the long term, at least that's what I suspect." There was a slight pause. "I'll grant you twelve days. Use them to conclude any business that you may not be able to in the future. Or use them for fun; either way ... ... Return here by sundown on the last day. I'll be making the necessary adjustments to your body at that time if you feel you're ready to go through with it. Your days won't be numbered after that."

[Nanami Touko]

Tia went white, and clung onto Jam's arm again.

Meanwhile, Eva joined Shadrak in rolling her eyes. If this whole operation went south because of some amateur warpers, it would at least be something to laugh at. She looked at them all and did what they said, standing in where the glyph was supposed to show up. "Send me after the rider. I can whistle for my wyvern if something goes horribly wrong. I'm sure I'll float for a second before I start dropping, so..." It was a rather grim thought, but she pulled her hand up to whistle just in case, keeping the other hand firmly holding Hoshi onto her back. This'll be fine... This'll all be fine.

[Ether]

"Twelve days... I suppose that will suffice." Kit replied with a smile, and a flutter of her tails.

"Have you any other words for me, before I depart for the time being, Lady Nyx?"

***

"You idiot... if you're low enough to the ground you'll fall and injure yourself before Sasha can have any hope of reaching you." Angelica replied with an annoyed expression at Eva, having pulled away from Amon.

"I'll go second. I'm a wind mage, so I can get myself down with platforming, and break falls faster and more reliably with wind shapes than trying to dive from the back of a pegasus or wyvern and catch somebody."

[Nanami Touko]

Eva frowned back at Angelica, then turned her head up with a small 'hmph'. "And if I'm high enough, he'll make it there and I'd be able to help anyone else that got stuck up high, too. She said within one hundred meters. But whatever. Send her second. She might break her heart if she stays here too long." Eva took a step back to let Angelica through, making sure to look away from her, frown still plastered on her face.

[Ether]

"It doesn't need to be far... if you pop up fifteen feet from the ground at a bad angle you could break your leg, Sasha would never arrive in time, and then we need to take the time to patch you up." Angelica shot back, before frowning at Eva... this girl was playing with fire today.

"Tch... be careful about that mouth of yours or you'll regret it later."