Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Nanami Touko]

Before Eva tried to make sense of all of the insane magical things happening in front of her, she noticed Amon's go ahead, and started to make her way inside. There was no way she was going to be sticking around for whatever was happening with the Avian and her giant sword. With a bit of a hustle, she walked on into the cathedral, wondering where Amon was going to get all of them to regroup at. Does he even know where they're keeping Joanna? Maybe we are in for a fight...not that I really mind.

[scorri]

Lumi blinked and then nodded. Walking quickly towards the cathedral, she paused by the avian who'd appeared along with the one who had the giant sword. "She said you had a mission? If it doesn't involve being in this square right now, I'd suggest leaving, and quickly. You could come with us, but I dunno if you'd be ok with what we're up to. Anyways, gotta go!" She waved to the avian and continued on her way to the cathedral.

Hoshi meanwhile steadily walked towards the cathedral, trying to act as if she belonged there, trying to avoid drawing notice. If she rushed, surely that would cause people to pay attention to her. Instead, she just walked normally, all the while praying that no one would try and stop her.

[Mercakete]

Valter wasn't entirely sure how to answer Liam's question since, quite frankly, they were all armed for a specific reason, and there was a Wrathite nearby. It was phrased somewhat oddly, too, but he had more concerns on his mind than wondering why a Dark Avian was talking about Humans like they were very foreign. His concerns about the rescue did cross his mind, but he settled on answering, "Well, it isn't always safe, especially at night, even normally. The times have been troublesome recently, too, so people are more on their guard than usual." He couldn't help but think back to their fight with the demons the night before. "In any case, it's good that you're alright. That was quite the fall."

Norbert was a bit unsatisfied with Lilith's answer, but he figured that if she wasn't ready to take the hatchling back, then she probably had her reasons. Can we-- Er, they, I guess -- really take care of a baby Vasilus effectively? Well... She'd know, I guess. So, he simply shrugged in the end. When the Wrathite told him to buzz off, Bert had a small temptation to knock him off his horse. He let it go, though, and instead decided to comply, riding Rizen into the cathedral. If he's dumb enough to attack Lilith, he'll get what's coming to him.

As the cavalier rode off calling for backup and garnering Valter's attention, Lumi came by and had a word with the Avian before hurrying off towards their destination. Valter frowned. Just inviting random strangers along was dangerous, especially for a rescue mission like this one. But, mission? This Avian was on a mission, too? People were heading inside, though. "I do have to go now, but whatever it is you're trying to do, I hope it goes well." unless it's going to hurt us later on.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Mercakete

[-Cynthia-]

Thank you Lady Lilith, Liam thought, although he felt rather alone and exposed now. This group of humans was entering the cathedral apparently- Liam wondered if it had anything to do with Joanna or if it were just a coincidence. It was difficult to know whether their presence was going to be a help or a hindrance without knowing what their purpose was.

"What are you all planning to do at the cathedral? That woman implied that you all were 'up to' something," Liam inquired of the man. If he's too busy to answer, I'll suppose I'll just follow.

[Mercakete]

Valter was about to head inside, having already taken a couple paces in that direction, when the Avian asked just what they were trying to accomplish. Valter was wary of answering truthfully at first, eyeing the orange-feathered Avian uncertainly. Considering he'd arrived with Lilith, however, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to tell him. Glancing around to make sure no non-preoccupied Wrathites were in earshot, he answered with grim yet solemn certainty and determination, "We're going to rescue Joanna -- a Dark Avian for the Order of Mercy known as the Winged Cleric -- from the custody of the Wrathites."

Edited July 26, 2014 by Mercakete

[-Cynthia-]

Mercy must be smiling upon me today for such fortuitous timing- even if we are not of the same mind their presence may allow me to rescue Joanna from the Wrathites and escape. "Then our mission is the same, at least for now. I would learn more of your group and their intentions later, but let us focus on rescuing Joanna for now," he said to the man, making his way inside.

[Phoenix]

Intercept

"You said you'd be a distraction?" Amon tried to confirm, glancing toward where Lilith was looking to see the wrathite on his way back with the two other cavaliers in the area. He could also make out what looked like a foot soldier in the distance rushing inside.

"Yes," she said, not taking her eyes off the approaching wrathites.

"Hmm ..." Amon considered letting Lilith know that this group wasn't a part of Raquel's anymore ... but the timing was a little inconvenient. If not now, though, when? "Just ... one thing before I go. Raquel and I are heading two separate groups right now. Ours is heading to Kigen after this to try and stop the fallen from unleashing an army there ... her is heading east to do the same."

There was no indication on her face, but Lilith was open and honest with her response, even going so far as to look Amon in the eyes. "Thanks for the information. Now I know to be on the lookout for Obelisk ...."

"Obelisk?" Amon echoed, a little confused. There was no time, though. "I've got to go ..." He quickly started off after the others, passing the cavalry with his fingers mentally crossed. They didn't move to stop him, though, not with Ascension, a holy relic, at stake.

The Hall of Confusion

Malik had gone off ahead of Amon and any remaining stragglers, entering the Hall of Wrath to find nothing but discord. The best he could tell, the poorly lit hallways flanking either side of the alter would take him where he needed to go. Rather than meet up with the others gathering inside, he made for the hallway on the left and disappeared.

Accusations like nothing he'd ever heard before. The mercinic viewpoint, as far as Amon could tell, was that one of their own was being held hostage. This was working a little too well, and he was beginning to wonder what would happen once they liberated Joanna from this place. Would they continue fighting until it came to actual violence or would word of her rescue calm things down around here? Would her absence make things worse here or better? He couldn't tell that right now, but he could tell that the wrathites wouldn't be able to put up a very strong fight at the moment. He didn't see Malik anywhere, either, so assumed the sancturan wasn't wasting any time hunting down the emblem piece.

"Okay, we don't want to get surrounded or have our escape cut off, so some of you stay here by the entrance, everyone else follow me. We'll leave a a person or two at each doorway or turn until we find Joanna, then try to get out of here. At least that way, they won't be sure who belongs with who and if they try to come down on any of us, we'll have them surrounded instead of the other way around. Everyone got that?" Speaking of not being sure who belonged with who, he soon noticed the avian from outside was with them, now. He made a mental note to inquire about that in a moment.

[Nanami Touko]

"I'm coming with you, then," Eva said as Amon made his way in. "They've got to have tougher guards holding her, with all of this chaos about her. I'm not sticking around to hold off the rank and file, if I may be so boastful. If I'm keeping people safe from a fight, it'll be from the best the Wrathites have to offer." She said so proudly, and made to follow Amon wherever he went. She then thought for a moment. "Unless you think I should stay back here. I'm not really the brains; I'm just the brawn, here."

[Mercakete]

Valter was mildly surprised to find out that the Avian was here to rescue Joanna, too, but he sent up a quick prayer of thanks to Mercy for it. As they entered the cathedral, though he agreed that they should focus on Joanna and the mission, Valter couldn't help but ask, "Are you her brother or something like that?" It would make sense. I thought all her family was in Aquila, but... No, wait, the way he was talking made it sound like he not only hasn't been to Europa before, but around human cities in general. He sure looks enough like her to be a relative. He arrived with Lilith, too, so he could have come from far away.

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

Norbert had temporarily dismounted, if only to lower his profile. If any Wrathites recognized him, the fight could begin before they were ready, and, arguably worse, if any Mercites recognized him, they could try to pull him into their arguments again. Luckily, most everyone seemed pretty distracted for now. Anyway, Amon had a plan, evidently, and it sounded pretty...well, sound. That is, except for a few details. The wyvern rider spoke up before he could voice his thoughts, though. The brawn? She's neither, if you ask me. Or at least not the brawn. That's probably what she contributes the most to, though.

The pegasus rider peered across the room, assessing the hallways. "Hmm..." It might be a pain trying to move Rizen around in there. There are high ceilings in here, and if I have to, I can hold off a lot of people, but it might be better for me to move away from this crowd. He returned his attention to Amon, "Well, what if we run out of people before we run out of doors or turns? And I can't figure out where I'd do best. The Mercites and the Wrathites are swarming all over the place in here. I'm not afraid of taking on a lot of people at once, but if either side tries to pull me into their fights it'll just distract me. I could actually make use of these high ceilings, though."

Valter had been pretty adamant about going to rescue Joanna himself, but thinking about it tactically, he was probably safest out here in the main hall. There was no way the Mercites around here would let the Wrathites arrest him, and if his allies were being pursued when they came back out into the main hall...well, he'd make sure to position himself in the vast room to take some clear, good shots at the pursuers. He could see the benefits of staying behind, but he really wanted to be with Amon when they found Joanna. Being this conflicted, he refrained from making a choice, for now. It was probably better to wait and see what the others did, first.

[scorri]

Lumi grinned. "Pete and I will come in as far as you need us to, right Pete?" Without letting him answer really, she tugged on his arm and started to move forward. She stopped for a second though, when she saw the avian had joined them after all. Grinning at him, she held her hand out to him. "Glad you joined us! Guess your mission doesn't conflict with ours. I'm Lumi. Hope you're ready for a fight!"

Hoshi meanwhile, just said, I'll go where you think is best. I... uhm, think I would likely be of the most use, uhm, where the fighting is the, uhm, heaviest but... I will listen to you in this."

[-Cynthia-]

"We did not come from the same womb, but in Aquila we are all family," Liam said to the man, believing that answered the question well enough.

The woman from before introduced herself to him- he did not know why she held out her hand as it appeared to be empty. "You may call me Liam. I would prefer a peaceful solution, but I am prepared to fight if necessary," he explained. It seems as if the humans have already decided on violence- how typical. Whether or not our missions conflict remains to be seen, but I can worry about that after Joanna is free...

Edited July 26, 2014 by -Cynthia-

[scorri]

Lumi left her hand there for a second and then shrugged. Guess avians don't know about handshakes... "Well, of course a peaceful solution would be nice, but in case you hadn't noticed, there's basically a riot happening right now. All cause Joanna got imprisoned. So we're going to try to sneak her out without fighting but..." She shrugged. "Better to expect a fight and not have one than expect no fight and find yourself surrounded."

[Nanami Touko]

"I like the way you think... Lumi, right?" Eva chimed in as the other woman spoke to the Avian. "I'm with her. Best to be ready for the worst, right? Unless you can think of a way to get through this without a fight. If you do, you should probably share it." She looked over at Amon, wondering when he'd be telling them to move out. There wasn't much time for pause, was there? "Anyway, Lumi, you watch my back I'll watch yours, right? I'm pretty sure with how into this you are, you've gotta have some strength behind your words."

[scorri]

Lumi grinned at the girl who'd joined in. "Oh, I can fight," she said with a gesture towards both the broad and edged tonfa at her hip and the ice sheath on her left arm. "I'm a mix of offensive and defensive technique. Which I guess fits with my mix of ice magic and physical weapon skill. But I hold my own. That's for sure."

[Toogee]

With Lilith providing a distraction for the Wrathites, the group snuck around to reach the main entrance. Once inside, Jam saw that it was just the way she and Eva left it: argument was just as fierce as before. It was through the masses that part of the group would maneuver through in order to get to Joanna. However, Amon needed another unit at each doorway to help them escape. Judging from the initial reaction, there would be plenty of people coming with Amon.

“Sounds like you’ve got plenty of help,” Jam replied to Amon, “I’ll stand by the entrance and people watch for a bit.” She winked to let him know that she had this covered. This plan felt pretty good. Between Alphonse’s blade and Erion’s red bandanna around her neck, Jam felt like the luckiest person in the building. What could go wrong?

[Nanami Touko]

"Both, huh? I can't really get the offensive part down that well. Got the defense down pat, for sure. And ice magic on top of it? Seems everyone's got some form of magic working for them, heh." Eva began to wonder if she could manage her own magic at this rate, or if someone had to be born with it. "Anyway, I'm Eva. Guess I'm a bit too new for everyone to know my name. I'll be glad to see you fight, if it comes to that. Starting to hope it doesn't, with how many Wrathites are around... Not that I wouldn't be able to handle it, of course."

[Phoenix]

Diversion

"Return Ascension immediately! You've no business with it," the same mounted wrathite from before demanded.

"Oh how your confidence swells in numbers," Lilith rolled her eyes at him. "Ascension is mine. It was given to me by Wrath. Regardless of how long I've been unconscious, it still belongs to me."

"Hey, that's 'Lord Wrath' to you, woman," another cavalier chimed in quickly, not wanting to derail the entire confrontation over the, admittedly, minor detail.

"I can't call him that," Lilith looked away, her mood changing in the space of a second, "not after everything that's happened ..." As the confused cavaliers looked at each other, Lilith thought back to the rebellion. It took a lot to bring herself back into the present. She couldn't change the past, but she had just a little time left to change an all but certain future. "My name is Lilith. I am the one who rebelled against Wrath, turned on him, raised my sword against him." She could see the shock of the revelation sinking in and gave it a little more time to do so.

"W-what do you want, r-rebel?" the first wrathite barely managed.

Now was the time to come up with something that would cause a huge ruckus without causing any further damage or injuries, at least not unintentionally. This might be going a little far, but ... "I hereby challenge the current wrathite leader, for complete control of the order."

"Y-you can't do that! That's not how our system works!"

"Quality in wrathite warriors has declined immensely over the centuries. ... I was a wrathite once, and someone must at some point be on Wrath's side to 'rebel' against him, don't they? One way or another, I'm taking command here, to clean up this mess and set you people straight. You can't stop me, so ... stand aside."

Immersion

"Alastor! Alastor," Charles yelled as he approached the lancer from behind. The Hall of Truth hadn't recovered its former quiet and calm atmosphere, and the wrathites here seemed as helpless as those in other parts of the cathedral. "I'm giving you my command until this is dealt with. Gather up as many men as you can find and get the main hall cleared, immediately. I just saw a bloody nomad slip past two of our guards in the halls and we can't track him down for the life of us. I'm going to go deal with that and secure the box for Desmond, but you need to get these people out of here before there are anymore security breaches. Do whatever it takes; gather men from the other parts of the building! I don't care what you do but we need this place cleared out immediately!"

"Box? What box? Just set Joanna free, you mongrels," yelled a commoner who had been yelling at Alastor a moment earlier.

Charles heard his demands and raised him a pistol, aimed squarely between the eyes. Few others noticed, though, so the expected panic just wasn't there. The man turned and ran immediately, preventing things from escalating. Charles holstered the weapon and turned back to Alastor, noticeably more calm than before. "Ahem ... do ... what is necessary, Alastor ... even if that's the form it must take. We must regain control of the situation," he explained with a brandished fist. "... and preferably before Desmond returns ..."

Dispersion

From the sound of things, there were no shortage of volunteers for the head end of the group, but by Amon's estimate, they only had enough people present to cover the potential length; Sanctuary Palace, it was absolutely enormous and its twists and turns were something he used to know like the back of his hand. The Grand Cathedral, being much smaller, and the Order of Wrath's allotted area of control being smaller still meant that the amount of ground they would have to cover to actually find Joanna was just small enough that the numbers they had should suffice, provided there weren't any small labyrinth like halls between them and their target.

"I'm less worried about running out of people while making this escape route than running into people who won't budge while they're still breathing," Amon replied to Norbert. "That said, we need at least one person who can bring down a heavily armored opponent at the head at all times. Even if I have to stay behind in the end, that's fine; we just need to reach her before the guards around here get bold and start kicking people out of here."

Shadrak didn't speak up despite qualifying to knock down heavily armored targets, simply because he wasn't paying as much attention as he likely should have been. Instead, he was watching the whole room with suspicion, keeping his eyes open for any wrathites who might already be onto them. Anyone who was moving through the main hall in a hurry especially had his attention.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Hoshi blinked and then sighed. "I... I would likely, uhm, be of use in that. I... My magic makes me well situated to face, uhm, most armored foes. They... tend to think of physical weapons first. Not magical."

Lumi meanwhile just shrugged. "I'm guessing we're going to face some opposition no matter what. Just depends where and how much, you know. Should probably hurry up though..."

[Afterglimmer]

I just came by to give thanks to Mercy; not to get caught up in this mess… Luther let out a small sigh as he approached the entrance to the Hall of Wrath. The entire cathedral was in an uproar and he had been roped in by the mercinics to help them free Joanna. Unfortunately for him, they had no clue to where exactly the winged cleric was imprisoned and, to make matters worse, the wrathites that he had interrogated on the way either stonewalled him or had no clue to where she was being held. Deciding that his best course of action was to try to talk to one of their higher-ups, the orange-haired swordsman entered the hall; determined to find some information regarding her location.

To his annoyance, Luther found the hall crowded with outraged mercinics and civilians already pestering the wrathites there; making it difficult to find someone he can press for Joanna’s whereabouts that wasn’t already occupied. Scanning the halls, he managed to catch a glimpse of what looked to be a man with orange wings talking with a blue-haired woman. That might be a good place to start. Making his way towards the small group, he directed his question towards the avian. “Excuse me. You wouldn’t happen to be looking for Miss Joanna, would you?”

Edited July 27, 2014 by Afterglimmer2

[Nanami Touko]

Amon spoke up again, Eva paid attention, and then proceeded to sigh. "I guess you'll want me near the back, then. I don't do the whole quick and easy fighting, thing. I can swing, sure, but I don't aim the best. More made for taking hits. Stop me off when you think it's best, Amon." She couldn't boast forever, and it wouldn't do to let her hubris get in the way of the actual rescue. "Whatever the case, let's move. More people showing up by the minute," she added, as another person stopped over to speak to their new avian friend.

[-Cynthia-]

Hall

"...I do not have a plan to solve this without violence," Liam admitted to the women before a man came up asking if they were looking for Joanna. He must not be affiliated with the rest of this group or else he would have no need to ask- is he a Wrathite perhaps? I thought they would be wearing uniforms or some kind of symbol or something...

"We are in fact looking for her- why do you ask?" Liam replied, figuring there was no use in lying. Either he had a similar goal or he was an enemy and there was little use in delaying the matter.

Other Hall

"I will not use violence against unarmed Ursian citizens, but I will attempt to end these riots to the best of my ability," Alastor said to Charles, beginning to gather up a small group of guards. Perhaps the threat of violence will be enough to keep them out...

Edited July 27, 2014 by -Cynthia-

[scorri]

Lumi glanced at the newcomer and frowned. "You're not with our group. What are you doing here?"

[Phoenix]

Insistence

The first wrathite nudged his head at one of the others, urging him to go and get some more reinforcements. They had Lilith surrounded, so it was the only way to let him know what to do without immediately giving his intentions away. Not that it wasn't obvious enough to her that they knew they needed more than what they had currently.

"Where's your leader?" Lilith asked impatiently as the second wrathite headed back toward the cathedral. The third moved so that Lilith was directly between the remaining two wrathites.

"You want to get trounced again, do you, Lilith?" the third wrathite mocked her. "Head Wrathite Desmond is the Avatar of Lord Wrath, now. Our Lord's power flows through him."

"I know what an avatar is, but I don't think either of you fully understand it," Lilith retorted. "I don't think you know why I did what I did during that awful war, either. If you won't acknowledge my seniority or even my heritage, if you won't take me to Desmond and let him prove he is worthy to lead the Order of Wrath ... then stand aside." As soon as the words left her, she noticed a rather sizable contingent coming from the southern part of the plaza. Some looked like Wrathites, others wore armor she didn't quite recognize.

Intervention

Athrun took a deep breath as the source of all the commotion came into view. With some of his own guards tailing him, as well as a few concerned wrathites, they were equipped to deal with most disturbances. The first drops of new rain gently struck them as they approached Lilith and the two wrathites that surrounded her.

"Was she the source of that light?" he mused aloud, trying to push the thoughts of failing to sooth the civilians and mercinics out of mind. Maybe this was something they could get right.

Acknowledgement

"Good," Charles said evenly. "Now then ... time to track down a no-good nomad." He started off for the halls at a brisk pace, aiming to get to Desmond's office and secure the box.

Organize

The one who ended up approaching the group wasn't a wrathite from the looks of him, probably just another Jo-sympathizer trying to get her released without actually having to hurt anyone. The time for that had passed, though. Nyx had to be very close by; he wondered what she thought of all this ... and Lilith was also right outside, come to think of it.

"Somewhere in the middle is fine, too," Amon noted to Eva, not really seeing why she couldn't be a barricade along their escape route to slow any pursuing wrathites down. It was all still hypothetical, though, and Amon wasn't sure if they could even get to Joanna, yet. If they could, there was also the issue of doing so before the wrathites secured their main hall and tried to force out the people still waiting there or ... should they realize their purpose, box them in. "You can be up front for now, then, Hoshi," Amon replied to her, a little unsure about the idea. One thing that had him concerned was direction; he had no way of tracking her down. Even if she had an emblem piece on her, which was extremely doubtful, Malik had the trinket they used to track down emblem pieces. Maybe Liam had some way of tracking her down ... and if so, he'd likely end up at the front, too, for some much needed guidance.

[scorri]

Hoshi nodded quietly. "Uhm... should we head out then? Wasting time here is... uhm, probably a bad idea. Do, uhm, you know where we're headed?"

[Ether]

Angelica cursed under her breath as a backwards glance caused her to notice Athrun's approach. It was bad enough that he was here as she expected he would likely be, but if he tried to fight someone like that... until now she would have been sceptical of the presence of a Vasilus so nearby, but considering that entrance and blade, along with what absurdities she had encountered already, she was about willing to bet on it.

"Geez, he's gonna get himself killed..." The adept noted to herself with a scowl, as she hung back slightly, not allowing the group to leave her line of sight within the Cathedral, atleast not yet.