Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[scorri]

Hoshi flinched at the brush of air and nodded. "I... yeah, I can do that. I'll keep an ear out for you and if need be I'll send out a large blast." She paused and then added, "Anything else I can do to help in the fight?"

[Ether]

"Just the usual stuff, really. Don't die, and if it looks like someone else if gonna die, stop it from happening." Angelica responded with a light giggle, as she reached out and ruffled Hoshi's hair lightly.

"Just relax... from what I heard, you did pretty damn good against those demons for a first timer. Humans are a lot more predictable, especially when they're one the defensive. Just keep a level head and you'll be fine."

[scorri]

Hoshi flinched away from the touch slightly and then nodded. "Thank you. I'll do my best to keep fighting. I just... Humans may be more predictable but they're harder to attack I suspect. It's, uhm, easy to kill a demon. I... am, uhm, more apprehensive about killing humans."

[Toogee]

"Yeah, that place was a mad house," Jam added to Eva's conclusion. Evidently, the findings were enough to get everyone ready for a strike upon the cathedral. Jam wasn't quite sure how this was to play out, but she definitely wanted in. Rescuing damsels in distress shouldn't be the domain of men alone.

"Hey, I'm in too," Jam said to Amon. "Just point me to my stage and I'll dance my heart out."

While everyone was still getting ready, Jam walked over to Alphonse. He seemed somewhat concerned about something, likely that she was going into a fight without him by her side.

"So...I'm headed off," Jam said to Alphonse. "Any last advice? Hopefully there won't be any mutant bears this time..."

[Ether]

"No difference in killing a demon or a human if the other party is trying to kill you... it can be hard at first, though... when I started I had an easier time of it if I avoided looking at their faces any more than I needed to." Angelica replied with a solemn expression.

"On the plus side, people have a lot more soft, vulnerable areas. Even if you go in without looking to kill, with your level of output you could probably still knock a guy out of the fight even if you don't kill them."

[Mercakete]

Valter nodded to Glen when he thanked him, then replied, "We will rescue her." Then, he returned to his suspense-induced vigil.

Finally, the wyvern-riding scouts returned. Evidently, Norbert had been effective. ...Perhaps too effective. He...got pacifists to fight...? Valter wasn't sure how to even wrap his mind around that, picturing the peaceful folk in the Order of Mercy actually attempting to beat up various Wrathites...though he had to admit, certain ones he wouldn't mind if they were put to the floor.

Shaking that off, Valter focused on the matter at hand. People were beginning to divide themselves into the two teams. It was fairly obvious which group he'd be a part of; there was no way he wasn't going in to rescue Joanna.

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

[spoiler=Stables]I knew it. Rizen had had just about enough of the rain for one day. Was her rider planning on heading out again? She was being fussy. Sure, that light brushing had been nice, but that was about that. Norbert half-sighed, half-grumbled, "Come on, Riz, don't grumble about this so much. We need to go to Kigen."

She still wasn't entirely keen on the idea, but she'd trust him for now. She didn't have to be happy about it, though.

"Your clothes, as promised."

Norbert turned from finishing up on preparing Rizen for their trip to see Tilly standing there holding the clothes he'd had repaired and cleaned for him. She was clearly not in a good mood, but at least she was doing her job. Really, Norbert didn't have the time to delve into what the matter was, though considering their argument earlier, he had a fair idea. So, he accepted the clothes and put them away with a short "Thanks."

As he did, he paused to think about what he really meant by that. This particular maid was helping him out, even though she was upset about something...which, actually, she was probably upset at him specifically. That was somewhat humbling, not that he was upset at her to begin with, though her attitude was annoying. In addition, he realized that she actually acted like a normal, human being, rather than...whatever the other maids were. So, after his brief pause, while he fastened the saddle bag closed, he added a sincere, serious, "I mean it."

Tilly calmed down a slight and replied, "You're welcome," before turning and leaving to get back to her other tasks. Norbert mounted up onto Rizen and dashed out of the stables, taking to the air as soon as he was able to.

All he knew was that Amon's group was heading for the cathedral to rescue Joanna and that they'd left by the time he got back to Weyland's. So, Norbert was flying to their destination at top speed, figuring they were already there. He still kept his eyes on the ground, however, and it was a good thing he did, as otherwise, he would've missed them. Isis was pretty darn unmistakable and, now that he'd halted Rizen's forward motion, he could make out some of the others, too. Bert smiled. Good; I caught up to them. Then, he and his pegasus flew down and landed, Rizen walking the rest of the distance up to Amon.

"Hey. I heard you're in charge of the rescue," he greeted, "You in charge of taking down the Kigen gate, too?"

Edited July 24, 2014 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

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"I guess if one rescue attempt doesn't work, neither will a second one," Haythem replied with somber smile. "It'll be alright," he tried to assure himself and her both.

Amon meanwhile, was having a hard time picturing Jamilla helping out in the battle, but as he recalled, she wasn't really a frontline fighter ... or at least she wasn't supposed to be. The battle the previous evening had proved to be the exception to most rules, Jamilla goading attacks from enemies that were demons, rather than humans, and Shadrak broadening his range of nosferatu targets. He was only getting started when he decided to shove all those thoughts aside and get the groups moving, but that was also when Norbert arrived ... just in time, too.

Norbert immediately asked him if he was in charge of not only rescuing Joanna but also the destruction of the siege gate in Kigen. "Uh, not exactly, but I guess since we're going after Valdimarr at some point, we'll probably end up having to destroy the gate, too. Hoshi was assigned to it, I think ... but our main role there is to warn the Kigenese."

<"If they ignore us and we end up having to do all the work destroying that blasted gate ..."> Malik mumbled half a thought in his native language.

[spoiler=Meeting in the Clouds]<"I guess Worthington isn't willing to do what the goddess requires at the moment ... that's got to be the reason why,"> Griffin speculated.

<"He'll probably remain an avatar a while longer. I don't see what either Nature or my father can do in a situation like this ... other than make things even more unstable,"> Lilith said. <"... and they can't ... that would be the end of the Four Orders as we know it.">

<"The end period, if you ask me ... and they might,"> Griffin gave the women both serious looks.

Takeoff

A short while after Bethel completed her instruction, she brought Liam to the courtyard of the royal estate. Beyond the property were dozens upon dozens of tall, beautiful buildings, each one like a monument unto itself. Lilith was waiting for them on the walkway leading out into the city and each side of the walkway was flanked by a line of cloud legion's finest, all off duty, of course, but also fully aware of what was happening. Noah wasn't far behind the empress and Liam and was sobered by the whole thing. Suddenly, she felt the emperor's hand on her shoulder. She was more surprised by the fact that she hadn't seen it coming. Perhaps she was too focused on the world in front of her.

<"It will be alright. It's rare for someone to be placed in a position to be molded by experiences in the outside world while still retaining their connection to the Goddess.">

<"Still ... it's really dangerous for people our age to be out there.">

<"So long as he keeps his spiritual armor girded, he'll be fine,"> Antares assured her.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Norbert was surprised to hear that news. Malik's bit was completely ignored since it was more or less gibberish to him. The part about Hoshi being in charge was a tad upsetting and quite surprising, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. Besides that, the real shocker took precedence.

"Wait, you're going after that blasted, no-good, murderous, crazy brother of Steinn's?!" If Norbert hadn't been so frustrated at that, his surprise might've won out. Blasted buzzard! He's your brother -- don't make other people try to kill him for you! If Steinn can't beat that guy... Amon's good, but this is too much. How can he possibly beat that feathered freak? Norbert shook his head. "Right, right-- One thing at a time." After that brief bit of refocusing, he fixed his glare on Amon. "Anyway, I've been assigned to help the group heading into Kigen. So, tell me what the plan is -- I'm helping you guys break Jo out of there."

"Is that a good idea?" asked Valter. He'd been a little surprised and a little worried when Norbert showed up. He'd done his job, and that was good, but he was worried that anything further might get the pegasus rider into serious trouble and endanger the mission. "What if the Wrathites recognize you? You'll draw attention to us."

Norbert frowned at Valter's lack of support. "It's not like I have to sneak in with the rest of you to be helpful. If any of them do recognize me, I could just draw them away from wherever it is you're trying to go."

Valter didn't like that either, and it showed as he shook his head. "They're distracted enough without you endangering yourself. What if they caught you? According to our scouts, the Mercites are practically rioting-- That's not something to grin about!" Stop playing games with your life!

"Why not?" Norbert frowned again.

[Nanami Touko]

Well, Eva didn't have much else to do but stand around. That was, until Norbert showed himself back up and started arguing about being involved. Eva hadn't spoken to him directly before, but she'd seen him around the manse, and if he was able to start that riot, he must've been able to get pretty loud. That didn't matter at the moment though, what was being discussed was him coming along or not. And from what she was hearing, it didn't seem like a good idea. Since she was nearby, she decided to chime in. Why not?

"Hey, look, Norbert. I don't really know you, but if what Valter here is saying is true, then you really should hang back. I just got back from the cathedral, and your plan worked a lot better than I think you were hoping it would. We don't need you to risk yourself for a little distraction. Since you started that riot, would it be safe to assume you care about this Joanna, a lot?" She paused for a moment to think about how to put this. "Would it really do for you to get yourself caught, or hurt, while we get her out of there? Especially if you got yourself caught, we'd just be trading you for her, effectively. Just trust us, alright? We'll get her out of there." You're a bit of a hypocrite, Eva, but he really shouldn't throw his life in like that.

[-Cynthia-]

HQ

Nadya smiled back. "We've managed to be pretty lucky so far at least, some kinda higher power must be watchin' us." That did actually make sense the more she thought about it, the low number of deaths the group had suffered in all their battles was pretty astounding.

Takeoff

Liam gulped as he thought about what was about to happen. All of my brothers and sisters here to see me off, leaving for a world I know nothing about on a sacred mission, this is a lot to take in all at once. He nodded at each Cloud Legion member as he went down the walkway, making sure to meet eyes with Noah and Emperor Antares.

He looked sadly at the tall beautiful buildings surrounding the walkway. Will this be the last time I will be seeing Aquila? he wondered before steeling himself. I volunteered for this mission so I should not complain about my circumstances- it's a privilege to be able to serve everyone this way.

<"I am ready, Lady Lilith,"> Liam said with a small bow towards the vasilus.

[Eail]

"Just... please be safe Jam, that's all I want out of this." Alphonse replied to the dancer when she approached him. "I was going to give this to you later, after I'd actually finished customizing it to look like something more your style, but I'd rather you have it now, if you want it that is." Pulling out the sword he'd bought for the girl and presenting it to her.

"On the off chance they get past your magic and nobody is around to take an enemy down for you. Just stick to the basics of what I've taught and it'll all be fine... I trust in the skills of my cute student." He finished with a small chuckle.

[Phoenix]

HQ

"Perhaps," Haythem said, smiling, and obviously about to lead into something else, and boy did he ... "but I've got a feeling all the healing you do is what really keeps people going."

Amon wasn't really sure about having Norbert stay back since he was an experienced fighter; the argument for why Valter should stay back was more or less defeated by the all but guaranteed outbreak of violence, and he felt that the same applied to Norbert, even if he would be recognized just as, if not more quickly than Valter would. In the end, they were going to be fighting whatever the wrathites could muster against them in the chaos. "It'll be fine. We're not going to be straying too far apart, so just cover each other like always. There's no reason for them to try and focus just on Bert once things get started ... and I doubt that's going to take long."

Takeoff

Antares, Bethel, and Noah watched as Liam approached Lilith. Antares in particular was watching the most intently. <Do not forget, Liam, the hatred in that world is strong, stronger than almost any other force in existence. You won't always be able to see it for what it is, but when the Goddess shows you, listen to her.>

<"Let's get going, then,"> Lilith said as she slowly began to rise into the air, unaided by her wings. "I hope you know some common, because where we're going, it's what most people are speaking ...."

<"The Goddess will be with you, Liam,"> Noah called out to him as Lilith began to pull him into the air. The two lines of warriors saluted the moment Liam's feet left the ground.

[scorri]

"Oh, just let him come. We need as many people as we can get, I'm betting. We should hurry up though. The longer we wait, the bigger chance that things will settle down and we'll lose our distraction. Plus we could start to draw attention. A large, well armed group just chilling nearish to the cathedral? Yeahhhh, lets just go." Lumi grinned at Amon and started to head towards the cathedral, confident that Pete and the others would start to follow her.

[Mercakete]

When Eva began talking, Norbert's irritation began to rise, though it didn't really show much more than usual as he shifted his gaze to her. He didn't like how she started what she was going to say, for one, and then she said she didn't know him, he thought Darn right you don't know me. And then came what he'd been expecting: She was trying to get him to stay behind, and her way of speaking was just grating: apologetic, but at the same time, trying to convince him that he couldn't do something he wanted to do. When she asked if he cared about Joanna, he would have answered, but she continued. Then, she went on assuming he'd get himself caught. It was a fair assumption, but Norbert's ire was rising too quickly for him to accept that as a possibility: his determination had been set. Then, she finished off with what she thought was best as though she had any say in it.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child who doesn't know anything or can't defend myself," Norbert snapped back at Eva, managing to keep his volume at a normal level but the sharpness was still present, "You're not the boss of me -- so don't act like you are! You can keep your condescending attitude to yourself." And don't think I've forgotten how cruel you were to Mushirah.

Then, Amon spoke up. He's kind of pessimistic, isn't he? Well, that didn't really matter. Amon's words calmed Norbert down a fair degree, even to the point of smiling slightly. He gave the Rexian a nod. Since Amon was in charge of this particular excursion, that was the end of that debate and Norbert was allowed to go in and help out. He was a little surprised at hearing what Lumi had to say. He did agree, though: the sooner they got going, the better. So, he rode Rizen up to Lumi and, riding alongside her, he asked, "I thought you thought I was irresponsible."

Meanwhile, Valter sighed, worried about what might happen once they got to the cathedral. "I hope you're right," he replied to Amon before heading towards the cathedral himself. He was anxious to rescue Joanna, but he really didn't want Norbert being singled out and overwhelmed either.

[scorri]

Lumi shrugged. "While I think that you should train Rizen a bit more, I agree that she's useful in combat. While I don't want Star fighting in human battles, I recognize that he could if I wanted him too." She paused and then continued on, "Basically, I think that you should work on it so that Rizen will fight when she needs to but won't threaten people who aren't doing anything except standing near her. But that doesn't mean that I don't think you should fight. You're a good fighter, you proved that against the demons. Besides, this whole chaos thing was your doing. Wouldn't be fair to keep you out of it." She grinned at him. "So yeah! I think you should be allowed to fight if you want to. It's not like we aren't already going to be drawing attention."

Hoshi had been considering what Angel had said and finally nodded. "I guess... uhm, I guess that makes sense. It's just... dark magic is hard to use in a non... non-life threatening way. But... I will, uhm, do what I must. And I will remember the signal."

Edited July 24, 2014 by scorri

[-Cynthia-]

HQ

"Aww thanks, I'll do my best," Nadya replied to Haythem before noticing that people were beginning to head towards the cathedral. She followed suit, assuming it was time to go.

Takeoff

I won't always be able to see their hatred? Do humans really hate avians that much or is he thinking of something else? Liam wondered, wishing he had more time to discuss things with Emperor Antares and everyone else.

"I learned Common in school so I should be able to communicate well enough," Liam informed Lilith.

[Ether]

"This is the Grand Cathedral after all... if anyone is going to survive a normally life threatening injury, it'll be here. But really, it's not something we have the time to worry about. Just remember, it's them or you." Angelica replied with a sigh, before looking up at said cathedral.

"Honestly, how did I let myself get roped into association with a suicide mission like this one...?"

[Nanami Touko]

Eva nodded at Amon and Lumi, about to open her mouth and agree to their points, when Norbert's sharp attack cut her off. She cocked an eyebrow at him and frowned. "What's your problem? I didn't realize condescension and caring were the same thing." Like a child, alright. I can see why they had him start that riot. Before anything could erupt into an argument, he rode off next to that Lumi. That had certainly put a damper on her mood. Does he do that to everyone or does he just not like it when people talk back at him? Whatever... I don't think I've ever spoken to him before, so I can't think of why he'd dislike me over one thing. Mind wondering, she started after everyone else towards the cathedral.

Edited July 25, 2014 by I have opinions

[Phoenix]

March to the Fight

"Oh it's not you I'm worried about, Nadya," Haythem's smile widened, "It's the rest of these guys. Take care of them, okay? I'll see you all in a little while. Let's go, Isis." With some quick instruction, the overgrown mountain wyvern was airborne and slowly ascending over the buildings.

Glen waved over to those who would be staying behind, urging them to get into the wagon so they could get moving. This wasn't where they wanted to be after the strike team hit the Order of Wrath head on.

Luminous Flight

<Just be sure to listen ... when she shows you ...> were Antares' parting thoughts.

"Alright then, you should be just fine," Lilith replied.

Soon, she and Liam rose high up above the estate, faster and faster until they were little more than a pair of specs in the sky. As they rose above Aria, the beautifully lit mountain ranges of Outer Sanctum could be seen. The sun was already dipping below the horizon; this light was coming from beneath the disks that Aria was built on. <"Straighten up,"> Lilith instructed, guiding them both into a straight course away from the capital. As they picked up speed, Lilith began to put up a barrier to block most of the wind. Just as they began to surpass already unattainable speeds, Lilith felt another power interfering with their flight. <"Who is th-Luminous?!">

She couldn't see him anywhere, but she inferred his handiwork. As the light appeared in bright streaks running parallel to them, the scene began to change entirely. The mountains were quickly replaced by Europa's cityscape. While she appreciated all the time he'd saved them, she wished she'd gotten a warning. Slowing down was going to be a little difficult to say the least ....

Marvelous Light

When they entered the Grand Cathedral Plaza, there were some people around, but mostly minding their own business or arguing. There were a few mounted wrathites wandering the area, however, which did catch Amon's attention, especially after one of them rode up to the group, intent on stopping them. The first roadblock was a bit sooner than even Malik had expected.

"Hey! Hey, the lot of you! STOP," he ordered, firmly holding out his hand in a halting gesture. His horse carried him right in front of the group and moved up to block them as much as possible. "There's a situation in there and we don't want anyone else just prancin' around."

<"Damn this timing,"> Malik cursed, clinching his fists. If Amon wasn't going to knock this guy off his horse and get the ball rolling, he was. That or he was going to slip past him and make it inside first, before those other two cavaliers realized how much trouble their friend had just landed himself in. They didn't seem to be paying attention to this area, though ... likely because there was so much bickering going on elsewhere.

"We need get inside," Amon stated firmly, but it quickly weakened after that, the guilt catching up to him all too quickly, "... and we can't let you stop us." Just as the last word left his lips and the wrathite raised his hand to aid in some sort of response, a bright light appeared, that was so intense, Amon had to cover his eyes at first. It was so far away and yet ... "What was that?"

"What was what?" the wrathite asked, already trying to turn his horse around so he could try and find the source of the light; he'd seen it, but only as an ambient glow, a reflection of light coming off the rest of the group. He expected an attack from the other side of the cathedral, a riot involving light magic, perhaps. What he and everyone else saw instead was a large fading light, and two smaller ones, approaching at such a high speed they might as well have been meteorites. "Get down!"

Lilith used an old spell she'd taught herself on the both of them and tried her best to brace for the landing without losing her telekinetic grip on Liam. It was a close call, and in putting everything she had into making his descend relatively painless, she lost her hold on Ascension. The sword appeared out of thin air and embedded itself in the pavement a short distance from the group as she and Liam came down. Liam was fortunate enough that her spell worked, and the light surrounding him made the fall little more than rough and full of tumbles, but Lilith came to a long grinding halt. Because her spell was so powerful, the pavement had no choice but to give way under the pressure. It cracked and crumbled as her boots dug in and eventually, it worked. She managed to come to a complete stop. She also managed to carve a very long track into the plaza, a little over twenty meters in length.

<"It's her, again,"> Malik grumbled.

As the light faded from Lilith and Liam, more fully revealing who they were, the wrathite thought to go and see if they needed help. Instead, however, when he recognized the sword half buried in the pavement, his eyes opened wide in shock. "A-Ascension ... th-that's Ascension! She had it! She's the one who had it! Stole it! She's the one," he pointed furiously at the blade, poking his finger at it over and over again.

[scorri]

Hoshi shrunk away as two figures appeared in a blast of light. Blinking against the light, she stared in shock at the two figures who had appeared in front of them. She didn't know what to do, so she quietly stood behind Amon, hoping things would move forward without too much conflict.

Lumi grinned though. Slipping up next to Amon, she whispered, "We could sneak by, now that they're distracted. I'm pretty sure those two can take care of themselves. We need to get to Joanna and get out before this all clears up."

[Mercakete]

As Eva snapped back at Norbert, Valter heaved another sigh. Yes, let's just make as much noise as we can before we even get inside... On the other hand, maybe it was good to get it out now before they were surrounded by enemies. This group just formed and we're already having trouble... Well, it's not anything unusual, I suppose. For the time being, there didn't seem to be any reason to step in. It looked like Norbert hadn't even heard Eva's retort, which was good. Things were better that way, especially right before a mission.

Norbert wasn't entirely sure how to reply to Lumi at first. She'd said several things that might warrant addressing, but the one that he reacted to first was when she said that it wouldn't be fair to keep him out of the chaos he'd caused onward. That had prompted a toothy grin of his own, along with some quiet snickering. He and Lumi may have disagreed on some things, but as it turned out, she had a good sense of humor. The next thing he decided to react to was her complkiment on his fighting abilities. Part of him felt a little awkward accepting it, but he still responded with a simple, "Thanks." Then, he decided to clarify, "For the compliment, I mean. You know... Eh, there's not enough time right now. Maybe I'll tell you more about Rizen later."

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

When the Wrathite cavalier stopped them, Norbert gave a quiet sigh. He'd been hoping to at least get inside before beating someone up, but... Well, maybe Amon could talk his way out of it. After the Rexian spoke, though, it sounded like everyone would have to obliterate this guy, hopefully fast enough for them to get inside before his friends noticed.

Valter, meanwhile, had simply rested a hand on the hilt of his sword, a grim frown on his face. He had to rescue Joanna this time.

However...that was when something streaked across the sky. Norbert raised an arm to shield his eyes and Valter dipped his head away from the blinding flash. Once it had faded enough, both men looked on as an Avian tumbled out of the sky and Lilith made the cathedral a new ditch. The Wrathite who'd stopped them was a little jittery, it seemed, but mostly at the giant sword that had embedded itself into the ground...and went on accusing Lilith of stealing it.

Norbert rolled his eyes. "The sword belongs to her, idiot. Don't you know anything about Vasilus?"

Valter's attention was mostly on the Avian, however. For a moment, while they were rapidly descending, he'd thought the orange-winged Avian was Joanna, but as it turned out, he was...well, male. And very not Joanna. Well, these were unusual circumstances. He found himself asking the Avian a little dumbly, "Um... Are you alright?" It was only after that that he remembered himself and hurried over to offer the orange-haired Avian a hand up.

Well, Lilith was back, so Norbert figured he'd better ask. So, he called over, "Hey, Lilith! You here for the hatchling? 'Cause I think she's still at Weyland's."

[-Cynthia-]

Arrival

So are we gonna kill this guy or what? Nadya wondered before Lilith made her grand entrance. I guess sneakin' around is outta the question now- maybe we'll just set off a rocket next time.

The Goddess is going to show me something? All right... Liam thought to himself before the flight was underway. They ended up going much more quickly than he had anticipated, though Lilith's magic seemed to save him from becoming dead upon arrival at least. Not really how I wanted to start all this... he thought to himself. One of the humans had noticed him and was offering aid- possibly some sort of trick, it was hard to tell.

Liam picked himself off of the ground with his own strength and dusted himself off. "I'm fine. Is it common for humans to roam the streets at night fully armed?" he asked the stranger, beginning to take note of his surroundings

Edited July 25, 2014 by -Cynthia-

[Nanami Touko]

Sasha whined once again, but flew off following Isis. He didn't enjoy flying alone, not after having flown together for so many years, but he could obviously still manage it.

----------

Eva groaned as the guard stopped them. All the fighting outside the cathedral seemed to have died down. Should've just skipped the scouting, if they all disappeared inside after about fifteen minutes... But like everyone else, she shielded her eyes as the unexpected burst of light appeared. As avians tumbled out of the light, she stood and stared for a few moments, only slightly pointing and looking around at everyone else. No one seemed that surprised, so she tried to hide her own. Yeah, two bird people just falling out of the sky in a ball of light... Not that weird. Well... Thinking back on meeting Nyx... No, it really wasn't.

[scorri]

Jam gazed upon the flavor sword handed to her by Alphonse. Though still a basic blade with a leather handle, it was nothing a little work couldn’t do to make it flashier. It also served as a milestone: the dancer was ready to go solo with her training. She was so impressed with everything, she had nearly missed the others moving out. Jam waved goodbye to Alphy as she ran after the others.

Jam had arrived in time to see Amon arguing with the mounted Wrathite. They had not even entered the building and she was already going to have to break her sword in. Just as a brawl was about to begin, A bright light blinded everyone in the area. At the end of the spell, two winged beings stood before them. Things just went from exciting to exciting.

Jam looked around at peoples’ reaction. Most notably, some actually knew these avians. The dancer concluded that they were friendly, perhaps here to help.

“Are you helping with the- er…,” Jam had just realized the Wrathites were still among them and quickly came up with an excuse, “…um…ritual?”

[Phoenix]

Ground Zero

"Not as one big group; they'll stop us even sooner like they did just now. We'll meet up inside," Amon replied to Lumi, figuring that it would be easier for them to slip inside at this point than to march straight in. That aside, it would take too long to get people like Norbert and Valter focused, again for that approach.

Lilith straightened up as she stood and began heading straight for her sword. "I'm just here to drop him off," she replied, not taking her eyes off of the prize. Until her sword was safely back in her own hands again, little else mattered.

"Oh, buzz off," the mounted wrathite snapped at Norbert before turning his sights on Lilith. "You! you're the one, aren't you?! You're the woman who stole Ascension from the museum in the capital! Don't touch it," he warned her. He had no idea how she was able to move the four thousand pound blade around, but he knew that he very well couldn't, and so he had to find a way to secure the site first and foremost. The only useful tools he had at his disposal at the moment were his horse, saber, some spare cuffs, and the as of late, worthless authority that came with being a wrathite in these parts.

As most would expect, she didn't back off. She came right up to her sword, and yanked it out of the ground with a single hand. As soon as she put the blade over her back, it vanished. "I had no intention of being a distraction when I came here, but I suppose if it will help you in your mission, Liam ..." she broke off the thought there, not seeing any need to finish it. "Good luck." Maybe something relating to the Goddess of Mercy or the like would have been more fitting ... she'd never known the avians to dwell on things as fickle as luck. "... and Mercy be with you," she amended with a light shrug.

"P-put that back! Put it down," the wrathite demanded, no bravado left to back it up. Never mind that the sword was probably in some other plane of existence altogether, now, the words came to him all on their own. When Lilith shook her head at him, indicating an unwavering 'no', he whipped down on the reins and got his horse moving with all haste. "Back up! I need back up right now! It's the avians! The avians are here," he yelled as he rode off toward the other cavaliers.

At least they wouldn't be facing any cavaliers, Amon noted. He began motioning for those who wanted a head start to make for the inside while they still had a good window to do so. He then approached Lilith after Norbert. There wasn't much time until the cavalry returned and tried to deal with Lilith.

"... he figured this out pretty quickly," she quietly mused. "I don't know what you people are doing here but I would appreciate it if you didn't cause too much trouble before his work here is finished."