Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Eail]

While he'd been content to just ride this whole thing out on the back of the wagon and stay out of the way until someone needed stabbing, it seemed as though fate had other plans for Alphonse. "If she's going, got enough room for me as well?"

[scorri]

Hoshi looked up and winced. The girl sitting in front of her no longer had any magical aura and was almost a complete opposite from the girl who'd brought her a ruined book the previous day. "I... hello Tia. I... heard what happened. I am sorry. Uhm... while we argued, I... I would not wish that upon anyone."

[Nanami Touko]

"Uh..." Eva said, as her wyvern was beginning to become a bit of a party bus. "I'm not sure we need three people for this, and I'd rather give Sasha a bit of a break from carrying too many people. He's been working himself so hard lately," she said with a bit of a coo in her voice, patting the wyvern kindly on the head. He hummed in response. "Your call, Amon. Jam and I are just going to go look real quick and come back, so I think less people would be less...suspicious?"

----------

"O-Oh, you did..." was all Tia said, having found the words inside her worried mind, once Hoshi spoke. "Please don't say you're sorry," she said, almost immediately after. "I... I did this to myself. And if you had been there, you would have said that I deserved it. S-So please... I just, uhm..." She steadied her voice, and took a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize for being so insufferable. It's unfortunate that it took a Vasili striking me down to realize, but I've been acting like a child. Not that I'm incredibly mature, but... I think you understand." Tia's voice was a bit hoarse near the end, as she had to stop herself from crying. It was still a terrible loss to get over.

Edited July 18, 2014 by I have opinions

[Phoenix]

Hallway

"It should be fine," Rebecca replied, sparing Chip a glance as he began messing with her collar. "If I see her around I'll be sure to relay the message for you," she nodded afterward. "Now then, would you like the clothes brought to you or would you like to come and pick them up?"

HQ

Amon was surprised when the passenger number went from being a non-issue to something he was being asked to make a call on. Not really understanding the relationship between Alphonse and Jamilla, he decided to just limit the scouting team to those two. "You two, go ahead. It should be fine. Just be careful and get back here as quickly as you can."

[spoiler=Meeting in the Clouds]<"We've been traveling over the ocean lately,"> Lilith replied, <"Mostly so Griffin doesn't leave any given area exposed for too long. We haven't noticed anything emblem related, but that's no surprise. The one in Purgatory shouldn't have moved, so that's good, at least, and hopefully Raquel is looking after her half of the piece I carry with me.">

<"The one in Purgatory isn't going anywhere,"> Griffin noted with a scowl.

Noah tried to follow everything that was happening, making mental notes when interesting issues came up. A fallen vasilus, it was the first she'd ever heard of one, and for good reason; the gods wouldn't have created a vasilus like that. This issue of emblem pieces was well known to Isolde it seemed. Suddenly she felt an influx of information, a dark figure atop a black pegasus appearing in the streets and then vanishing again. Antares and Bethel knew it, too. She could see the change in their expressions.

<"Something wrong?"> Griffin asked Antares when he noticed the emperor's face cringe slightly.

<"Possibly ... I don't like it when our defenses are so easily breached ... fortunately this is no malicious presence."> And as the last word escaped his lips, Ryder and Phoebe appeared in the dining hall. He was a little irritated by the unannounced visit, but messengers of this sort were rarely so formal. <"Welcome,"> Antares greeted Ryder as he stood up from his seat. Lilith and Griffin looked toward the newcomer as well, both wondering who this person was.

[Mercakete]

"Thanks," Norbert replied before answering her question, "It'd be faster if they were just brought to me; I'm already late. I'll be in the stables making sure my pegasus is ready for the trip."

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

Valter thought that one person going to scout ahead was really all that was needed, and was probably more inconspicuous, but he had to admit that two people going certainly had merit, too. One might notice something the other didn't, and beyond that, in case they were attacked, their chances of survival were higher, though having a mount to hurry away from the danger more or less nullified that threat anyway. That is, so long as one could reach one's mount. However, three was just out of the question; that group would be too large at that point. Valter didn't see much of a reason to actually voice these thoughts, however. He just wanted to get Joanna out of there as soon as possible, and further comments from him might actually impede that goal, not to mention that Amon had already handled it.

[Toogee]

Jam looked back to Alphonse upon Amon's recommendation that Eva and Jam should go. Though she had always stayed with Alphy for safety, she also needed to be able to take care of things by herself or with others. The dancer silently mouthed to the swordsman "I got this" and winked in his direction. It would be a simple scouting mission, nothing more.

Jam proceeded onto Eva's wyvern, mounting behind the rider and hanging on to Eva's armor.

"Let's roll," Jam said to Eva, ready for takeoff.

[Nanami Touko]

"There we go," Eva said, giving Amon a rather lazy salute. She waited for Jam to hop onto Sasha, the beast giving out a small whine. It seemed he had thought Eva meant a break from carrying extra people at all, instead of three. He gently shook his head, and started to flap his wings. "Let's roll, huh? You're pretty fun. Be back real quick!" Eva laughed a little before gripping the reins and having the wyvern take off. "Make sure you hold on tight!" Woosh, off they went.

[-Cynthia-]

[spoiler=A Meeting in the Clouds']When the figure with the black pegasus suddenly arrived, Liam went into a defensive posture, thinking this was some kind of intruder. He relaxed when Emperor Antares seemed unconcerned and seemed familiar with him. Antares knows many strange and powerful individuals it seems- which still begs the question of what I'm doing here...

<"Ryder, what an unexpected surprise,"> Lady Isolde said, also rising. Antares did not seem to know Ryder was coming, so she wondered if the news he was bringing was urgent or if Ryder simply didn't care for such formalities.

[Snike]

Pete had been making sure his weapons were ready to go when Lumi arrived. She asked him if they really could've abandoned the group. The axeman took a moment to contemplate that.

"...Yep," he responded, still looking at his axe.

He was alright with going to Kigen and investigating the gate, sure. Even if it seemed a bit outlandish, money was money. But this was just ridiculous. They were going in to the grand cathedral, straight into the order of Wrath's headquarters, and breaking out one of their prisoners. Even if she was some cleric for the Order of Mercy, that didn't lessen the fact that they were going to make an enemy of one of the Four Orders. And for what? There wasn't any link between the two jobs, so the fighter couldn't help but feel this was a stupid move. But Lumi wanted to help, and considering he wasn't going to abandon her just yet, here he was.

[scorri]

Lumi

"Hmmph, come on Mr Grumpy Pants. Just cause we're taking a detour doesn't mean we could have abandoned these guys. It's an adventure! And we get to help save the world along the way! Besides, these guys are powerful! They're not like some of the people we used to travel with. They'll be able to help protect us, which is I know what you're always so worried about." She grinned at him and then mumbled under her breath, "Not like I haven't proven I can take care of myself or anything..."

Hoshi

"I... I can still be sorry for you. No one deserves to have their magic taken away and uhm... yeah." She winced at the thought and then hesitantly smiled at the girl as she apologized. "I... Thank you for apologizing. We both were likely at least some what at fault for our, uhm, disagreements. Uhm... I could have handled what I was saying better. But... your apology is accepted and... I hope that you will find a new passion to, uhm, replace the loss of magic."

Edited July 18, 2014 by scorri

[Phoenix]

Hallway

"I'll let her know, then," Rebecca replied with a wide smile and a small bow. "Safe travels."

HQ

Once Eva took off along with Jamilla, Amon tried to consider the scouting job as good as finished, anything to keep himself from pacing around while waiting for them to return. When that didn't work, he decided to go over to the wagon to see if Glen was holding up okay. Valter would be able to come along and fight with them, but Glen was going to have to stay behind and hope for the best. That couldn't have been easy for him, Amon figured. Before he actually found Glen, however, he caught Shadrak staring at him from a distance. The druid broke eye contact almost immediately, though. "Hmm ..." Not the most comfortable feeling, that.

I suppose it's a good thing Tia's coming with us. It's about the only angle I have that can reasonably work ... but whether to be completely open and honest or not ... that, I'm really not sure about, right now, Shadrak mused silently in the light rain.

[spoiler=Meeting in the Clouds]<"Sorry to interrupt,"> Ryder greeted them as they carefully dismounted. <"Even more sorry for the news I brought with me; that dark avian you sent away with an emblem piece ... she was arrested a little earlier today by the Order of Wrath.">

<"She wouldn't have revealed the emblem to anyone ... so that means the order must have discovered the truth on their own,"> Antares concluded. <"Elders,"> he looked to the vasili in the room, <"thoughts?">

<"The new avatar of Wrath is growing in power by the day; he was the one that located the box and then had her arrested. Lord Wrath isn't messing around this time, and neither are his followers,"> Ryder put an end to some of the speculation before it even began.

<"Why did you people send an emblem piece off with some dark avian anyway?"> Griffin gave a irritable/confused look.

[-Cynthia-]

[spoiler=A Meeting in the Clouds']

<"Sending the emblem piece with Joanna kept everyone in Aquila safe from those who would come searching for it. I had confidence that she would not misuse its power- though I had hoped she would not be found,"> Isolde said, frowning at the news. This requires a response...but sending an entire Cloud Legion battalion would just provoke Ursium to violence...

<"Why would anyone arrest Joanna? All she wanted to do was help people..."> Liam said in a hurt tone of voice, the injustice of the situation giving him the courage to speak.

[Nanami Touko]

Ah, the feeling of flying. It had been a few hours since Eva's last flight, and with everything happening in between, it felt pretty nice to get off of the ground. She glanced back at Jam for a moment, asking, "you doing alright back there?" However she was doing, they'd only be in the air for a few more moments at the most. The cathedral was starting to come into view.

----------

"I suppose you can..." She sniffled back the tears that had formed and wiped her eyes. "I shall try to become a different person, as well. I can't act like that anymore, magic or not... I know there are a few other people I need to apologize to as well. Though, I can't, not until we get back. And, uhm..." She began to fidget with her fingers, looking down at them. "Do you have any suggestions? I never really did much besides obsess over magic..." It felt strange, being able to talk so calmly. Perhaps it was because she had a relationship with Hoshi. Even if it hadn't been the most pleasant, she'd become used to speaking with her.

[Toogee]

Jam held on tight as they soared through the air. Wind passed through her golden locks, a sensation she was not used to. So quickly was the wind passing by her face, Jam could not hear a thing Eva was talking about.

"What?!" she shouted, the only response she could provide. She laughed as they flew to their destination, enjoying her first flight.

[Mercakete]

Up until that point, Norbert had felt like he was just talking to another colleague, rather than one of Weyland's maids, specifically. Maybe he was still distracted by his enthusiasm and the objectives ahead, but all that ended when Rebecca bowed. Then, he noticed again that unreadable, unnatural demeanor, and that task-oriented way of speaking... Not to mention the bow. Now, Bert was quite thoroughly uncomfortable.

Somewhat uneasily and quietly, he began, "Uh, hey, you don't have to --..." Then, eyes shifting into a glare again, he amended more irritably, "Don't bow to me! Anyway, I'm out of here." Norbert didn't waste any time making good on that statement, either, though he did keep his pace to a quick walk. Mentally, he grumbled to himself in frustration. Bowing... Whoever thought that was a good idea was probably full of it... That or spineless. Maybe both. Symbolizing one person as less than another... Why's it so casual nowadays? Couldn't have always been that way. And so his mild mental tirade continued.

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

Valter couldn't do any more until the scouts came back. He was so focused that all he could do for now was keep a sharp gaze in the cathedral's direction and watch for the scouts' return.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Mercakete

[Eail]

All Alphonse could do when the dancer soared off with a smile was give a wave. He trusted the girl to take care of herself and not do anything stupid, but still... he really didn't like sending her off into potential danger like this.

'Girl problems at my age, it seems pretty ironic for some reason.'

He was really wishing he had someone to talk to about this stuff right about now...

[Nanami Touko]

Eva heard Jam shout her 'what', taking that to mean she couldn't hear what was being asked. The laughter was a pleasant sound at least, so she knew that Jam was enjoying it, even without specifics. The cathedral was coming into view though, so this flight was about to be over. And one mostly smooth landing later, it was. Though the landing was smooth, the cathedral grounds were not, as it was fairly obvious that Norbert's plan was still working. Mercites and Wrathites, arguing amongst themselves, some shouting, all upset. "Should we check inside? I can't imagine it's a pretty sight," asked Eva, as she hopped herself off of Sasha. The wyvern did not seem very amused by all of the squabbling going on.

[Toogee]

"We came all this way," Jam replied to Eva. "May as well have a look." The dancer followed the rider off the wyvern as they headed inside the cathedral.

If the grounds had a tense atmosphere, the halls were a mad house. Everywhere Jam could see, people were screaming and threatening. There were so many angry people around, it would have been difficult to get anywhere in the cathedral, much less Joanna's cell. Everyone seemed on the verge of throwing punches. Jam stayed with Eva by the door just in case: getting caught in a see of punches would likely hurt.

"So...was this the plan?" Jam asked Eva, though she had to speak up a little to be heard over the intense arguing. She had not seen anything like it.

[Phoenix]

HQ

With nothing better to do, Amon wandered over to the back of the wagon and addressed those inside. "The scout team should be back soon. Once they are, we're dividing into a supply and battle group. The battle group's heading straight for the cathedral once we get a report. Everyone not coming with us is in the supply group and should take the wagon and get out of the city as quickly as possible."

<"And the emblem?"> Malik reminded, coming up behind him.

"We'll get it, Malik. Don't worry."

Worthington's Office

"What do you mean she's left you?" Charis inquired, almost fearfully.

"Just what I told you," replied a completely distraught Archbishop. "Lady Mercy ... has left me ...."

"I thought this situation with the wrathites was bad. Joanna's detainment has nearly caused a riot to break out right here in the main building." Charis crossed her arms as her gaze fell to the office floor. "Are you going to make an announcement? If not about this avatar situation, then at least to try and put an end to this tension?"

"I suppose ..." Worthington slowly stood up from his seat, "there is no choice. Avatar or not, I still have important work to do, here."

"There are still two left, Archbishop; you still represent the orders of Nature and Truth," Charis tried to encourage him. Never in Ursian history had an archbishop gone through what Worthington was now forced to endure. She could sympathize at the very least.

"Yes, but for how long ...? A few more days, perhaps? Clearly the gods have no use for me in whatever this contention between them is. I cannot stop or even comprehend what is happening, here."

[spoiler=Meeting in the Clouds]<"Well, that seems to be working out real well,"> Griffin replied, sarcasm clear in his voice.

Bethel began to stare off at nothing, but only Noah really noticed the shift in her gaze at first. The conversation continued, as she occasionally glanced at her spacey empress.

<"If my information is correct ... and it is,"> Ryder began after Liam, crossing their arms, thoughtfully, <"the formal charges are 'illegal possession of a holy artifact of the order', and being a foreign spy. Avian, specifically.">

<"Of course those idiots would claim the emblem belongs to them,"> Lilith muttered.

<"Well, we were eventually going to work our way around to asking the lady in the library to throw her lot in with us on this suicide mission, so I'll go and bust Joanna out and get that emblem piece while I'm at it,"> Griffin volunteered, standing from the table.

<"You'll just get yourself crippled or worse,"> Ryder warned offhandedly. <"Lord Wrath has a new avatar, now ... not that humble old man, Worthington, but a young, abrasive little thing, Desmond Langley. If you're going to send someone to do something about this, send someone not imperiled by a spirit spring,"> they advised with a firm nod.

<"He actually has to lay a hand on me first, but fair enough,"> Griffin grunted.

<"This could be problematic,"> Antares chimed, resting his chin on his knuckles, deep in thought, <"Vasilus intervention would be too much of a response in this situation, one easily countered by the order's newest avatar. And yet, anything short of a Cloud Legion soldier would, ultimately, be ineffective. Messenger of Night, can you tell us anything more about the situation in Europa? Anything that could be useful to us in determining our response?">

<"Uhhh ... it's pretty chaotic back there, actually. The wrathites let slip that they arrested Joanna and now everyone's really upset about it. Lots of bickering, lots of ... insults flying back and forth ... and a little produce as well,"> Ryder explained, nodding several times at the latest information. <"Violence is going to break out eventually no thanks to the raging commoners.">

<"Has she already embedded herself so deeply in the hearts of the common folk?"> Antares asked, both sadly and rhetorically.

<"Heh, does kind of take me back ... humans fighting for avians rather than against them,"> Griffin smiled.

<"And getting themselves killed in the process,"> Lilith amended grimly, causing Griffin to scowl at her.

[-Cynthia-]

[spoiler=A Meeting in the Clouds']

<"Attacking the Order of Wrath in their cathedral would also expose your plan immediately. If you plan to fight against Wrath then it would be in your advantage to have some element of surprise,"> Isolde noted.

<"But with all due respect milady, we cannot simply sit back and let this injustice occur. It would hurt Joanna greatly if the humans begin killing each other over this,"> Liam interjected.

<"Some course of action is called for..."> Isolde responded noncommittally, weighing the various options.

[Nanami Touko]

"Yeah, I guess we should. The outside could just be the aftermath..." She lazily brought herself forward, and made sure not to bump into any of the arguments on her way into the cathedral.

But perhaps she should've, as it would've kept her from seeing the chaos this whole idea had caused. Sure is wonderful in here. Hope Amon will be pleased to know that Norbert's plan worked out as well as he expected it to. "I think so," Eva almost shouted back. "If this is all for one person, she better be damn important." Eva started to make her way out of the cathedral, waving for Jam to follow. No need to hang around here any longer. The place is set to explode from all this infighting, I can't imagine it'll be hard to sneak around. No one paying attention to the straggler showing up.

[Toogee]

Jam wasn't eager to stick around in this powder keg, so as soon as she saw Eva's hand, the dancer followed. Just as quickly as they had entered, the two were out. Not a soul knew or cared about their presence.

"You think it will be hard, getting all of us through that crowd?" Jam asked Eva as they walked back to the wyvern. "Bumping into the wrong person could set the whole hall off!"

[Eail]

Just as he was about to try to start working on Jam's present again, Amon came back with an announcement. "I've got your back Amon."

[Phoenix]

HQ

"Glad to hear it," Amon replied with a thin smile and a nod. Malik meanwhile just tried to look neutral about the whole thing. "We should start getting ready; if anyone's got formation ideas, now's the time."

"Time to put on one of these disguises," Greta mused aloud from inside the wagon.

"Uh ... Amon? Valter?" Glen stepped forward, "I just wanted to thank you again for what you're both doing. I know you've got your own reasons Amon, and I know you were her bodyguard from the beginning, Valter, but regardless, I really appreciate what you're both doing. I just want you both to know that ... whatever happens."

<"See if he still feels that way once I come out of there with the emblem piece,"> Malik muttered quietly.

[spoiler=Meeting in the Clouds]<"Everyone,"> Bethel spoke up. Noah had been waiting a good while for it, but finally the empress had come out of her trance. <"We need to make certain that Joanna is liberated."> That was when Noah noticed that she still seemed to be in a trance.

<"With all due respect, we already came to that conclusion on our own, Beth,"> Griffin gently reminded her.

<"You don't understand, Griffin,"> she replied, shaking her head at him. He could have sworn she was having a vision or something of that nature because she was looking through him rather than at him. Then the truth of the matter came out. <"The Goddess has plans of her own ... and Joanna will be her instrument. She must be freed.">

Griffin squinted at her. <"Well this just got interesting, but we've still got the same issue as before ... who to send?">

[Nanami Touko]

"If we all tried to go in, maybe. But if it's just Amon and a few of his friends sneaking in, I doubt it'll be difficult to get past that mess. No one even stopped to look at a wyvern landing! I don't think a few more in the crowd will tip anything off, even if they start bumping into folks." Eva stretched herself in front of Sasha when they got back to him, the wyvern having been a bit curious about what all the shouting was about. Not enough to stomp over, but enough to keep his head raised and stare.

The rider hopped back onto Sasha, and lowered a hand to help Jam up. "Ready for round two? You seemed pretty pleased about flying the first time."