Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Afterglimmer]

“The mercinics asked me to help get her released peacefully, but as you can see,” Luther gestured towards the angry mob as he explained his predicament to the pair, “it doesn’t look like that’s possible.” He was started to get frustrated with the lack of progress he was making on figuring out where she was being held. The blue haired woman, however, mentioned that they were part of a group. Were there more people trying to track down where she was being held? “If you two are looking for her, I’d like to help as well. Name's Luther, by the way.” At the very least, it would be easier than trying to talk to another of those bone-headed wrathites.

[scorri]

Lumi frowned slightly and then shrugged. "Neither of us are in charge. You want that guy," she said, pointing towards Amon. "But... if you're lying... just trying to work with us for your own agenda... You will regret it. So go talk to him and you two can figure things out."

[Phoenix]

Servants of Wrath

"It's the prince!"

Lilith raised an eyebrow at that, wondering if he was going to try to throw his title at her to get her to comply with these silly demands. "I wouldn't resist if I were you, 'Lilith' ... Prince Athrun's got the Blessing of Wrath," the other wrathite warned.

"I would prefer it if he had the Blessing of Intelligence so we can end this peacefully, but if not ..."

"I am Prince Athrun Shastak, heir to the Ursian throne! Name yourself at once," Athrun called out from a distance, his sheath hand leveled at her, all of the royal guardsmen and wrathites who had accompanied him on his flanks.

While Lilith thought about how she would respond to such a grandiose introduction, the two wrathites rode over toward the prince. "You can call me Lilith. You apparently aren't the leader of the Order of Wrath, so I don't have any business with you."

"Sire, she's trying to take over the order; she challenged Desmond for the position but he's not here," the mounted wrathite quickly explained.

So this is her, then? This is really the vasilus who betrayed Lord Wrath for the Fire Emblem and forced him to destroy it? Why would she want to assume the mantle of the order? What's she after? "Your aims don't make any sense to me, Lilith. Is it power you want? Power at any cost, and in any form?"

"Everyone wants power; anyone who says otherwise is a liar, but right now, I believe that the Order of Wrath needs to return to its roots. As one of the oldest wrathites in existence, I'm more qualified than 'Desmond'," Lilith replied.

"And yet he is the one Lord Wrath chose. You'd best be on your way, Lilith ... but before you go ... you have something ..." He slowly unsheathed his sword, "something that needs to be returned to Ursentius."

Lilith was genuinely surprised. No one had mentioned Ascension since his arrival. He must have pieced it together himself. The effect quickly wore off, however. "My answer is still no."

I knew it would be ...

Shenanigans

Amon did some quick thinking to try and figure out where they should look, otherwise it would be even more of a gamble trying to approach this as a type of 'snake' group, securing their escape route along the way. They only had a relatively small area to cover, but within that area were quite a few possible routes that could lead them astray or into parts of the building controlled by other orders and that wasn't what they wanted right now. "This place doesn't have any prison cells, does it?"

"No, but there are underground areas, like the archives. We know that much. Maybe there are catacombs, too. It wouldn't surprise me," Shadrak mused. "Though ... if there are places like that down here where they can hide her, your plan's finished."

"I was assuming they would put her in a ... decent place. You'd think they would at least be gentle about this arrest so they don't make people even more upset," Amon replied. True enough ... if they found out Joanna was locked away in a dungeon on top of being detained, the army would get called in to help stop the riot of the century, not because Joanna was being mistreated, but because Joanna was the last straw in a large pile of straws that had been piling up ever since Desmond's appointment, and realistically, long before. "For now let's stick above ground. I've got an idea."

As Amon hurried over to a cluster of arguing clergymen, Shadrak crossed his arms and began looking around, again. "We need to stop assuming the wrathites have morals and standards when it comes to the emblem and people involved with that." Seems like nearly every time we set foot in a church, a fight breaks out ...

"Excuse me," Amon waved the group down as he approached, "I heard Joanna's being kept underground and that's why the Order of Mercy hasn't been able to locate her. Is that true?"

"Y-yes, it is," a wrathite priest risked lying, if only to throw yet another pack of vigilates off the scent. It immediately backfired, however, so profoundly, that he felt that he'd been tricked as soon as it happened.

"The Order of Wrath doesn't have any underground areas, only the Orders of Truth and Nature do. It's how the Grand Cathedral was designed," the mercinic woman corrected. That was exactly what Amon wanted to hear ... more or less.

He couldn't help but smile at them both for being so helpful. "... thanks."

"Oh no ..." The wrathite had been tricked, he realized. "Don't interfere with matters beyond your understanding, child! Don't throw your life away," he pleaded, both angry and fearful.

Amon waved back to the group, motioning for those that weren't staying here to head for the hall. "Let's go!" They had a lot of doors to check or even kick in, but their search area was just drastically narrowed down, enough for him to be certain his initial plan would work. But they had to hurry or the wrathites might make it difficult getting out again.

[Nanami Touko]

Amon's 'let's go!' were the only words Eva wanted to hear right now, taking off after him. Neat little trick he had there with that Wrathite. Bet he feels silly right now. And the middle was fine with Eva, as Amon had said before his lovely little idea. Eva truly didn't mind being anywhere in this plan, as long as she got to help out. She had to do something to feel like she belonged in this group.

----------

"Who's gonna get themselves killed?" Tia asked Angelica, quietly walking up behind her. The only person left in the wagon had been the driver, and Tia would've driven herself mad trying to strike up a conversation with him. It would be fine, coming to check on things, right? She just had to stay out of the way of trouble. Surely Angelica knew where that was, so being around her was safe.

[scorri]

Lumi grinned. "Well, looks like this is it. Lets go!" She charged after Amon, loosing her tonfa from the loop on her belt so that she could easily draw it if needed. The ice on her arm was steadily increasing in size as she froze moisture she found along the way, including the water in her canteen. She didn't want to risk running out of ice at a crucial moment.

Hoshi meanwhile, quietly followed after Amon, running over spells in her head. She had considered creating a few dark orbs to have in case they were needed, but she decided that the time it would take to make them wasn't worth the attention that having them exist early would draw. Not that they were exactly being subtle anymore.

[-Cynthia-]

I wonder why my motives were significantly less questioned than Luther's...perhaps it is because I literally fell out of the sky with Lady Lilith. There was little time to ponder the matter however, as apparently this group was moving. I would have preferred my own plan rather than casting my lot in with this random group of humans- but one must take advantage of such opportunities, he thought to himself, following along.

Maybe we can just sneak in through all this mess, grab her and get out. That'd be nice, Nadya thought to herself, following behind but definitely not rushing to the front.

[Mercakete]

Well, that had been an interesting answer, but he supposed it made sense that an Avian would respond that way. Valter left the matter alone after that, deciding that instead, he'd try to figure out if he'd be staying or going.

Norbert still hadn't decided where he could be of the most use and either Amon didn't care or didn't know either. The latter made more sense, seeing as they weren't even sure of this place's layout. It seemed like the perky girl would be sticking around in the main hall. Lumi and the annoying one -- her name was apparently Eva -- seemed to be getting chummy. That warranted ignoring -- Norbert had other priorities. He was suspicious of the guy that just came over -- evidently, his name was Luther -- but that was being taken care of, it sounded like. And from what Luther was saying, he could be trusted for now. Bert was a little surprised to hear that Lumi was being lest trusting than himself. Maybe he'd just had more contact with this sort of person. Anyway, it seemed like the vast majority of people were heading in with Amon.

"I'll go ahead and go as far as the hallway, then stop there," Norbert decided aloud, "Rizen can't move around as easily past that point and if a bunch of Wrathites converge on one spot, it'll be there. I'll keep you guys safe. Besides, I might even be able to get some of the Mercinics to help me out, and it won't seem weird if people see me around here since I started this mess."

Hearing Bert's answer caused Valter to rethink his position. It was true: large areas like this meant it was more likely to get outnumbered. In the end, he was better off going with Amon and the others, too. "I'm going with you," Valter informed Amon as he followed along.

True to his word, Norbert and Rizen stopped at the entrance to the hallway to mill about until they were needed. "Good luck, the rest of you."

"You too," were Valter's parting words to Norbert. He was a little concerned that the pegasus rider might get overwhelmed, but to be frank, Norbert seemed to do just fine under that sort of pressure. So, the horseman let his worries primarily rest on Joanna. Please be safe...

[Ether]

"If he challenges a Vasilus like it seems he aims to, Athrun will..." Angelica replied with a sigh, as she moved slightly closer to the rest of the group so as not to lose line of sight.

"I was hoping not to run into him here... not with what we're doing. But if I leave things like this..." Angelica continued pensively, before looking back over at Tia.

"Why did you follow us, anyway? I thought your magical abilities had been sealed? You don't look like the type to have much chance in a fight without it." The adept finally pointed out, giving the girl a stern look.

[Nanami Touko]

"Athrun?" Tia looked past Angelica, and then back at her. "Prince Athrun? That's nuts! Why would he challenge a Vasilus? I already know that's an awful idea." Her recent memory sprang back up like a fresh wound, but she managed to get a focus on the present enough to keep it from taking her out. "Why didn't you want to-- Well, I..." Tia began to ask, before getting accused.

"I was dying of boredom in the wagon, and I didn't want to just sit there while everyone helped out... Maybe if I came along, there'd be something I could do?" It was a crap shoot, but it was the truth. "Why didn't you want to run into him?" After finishing answering Angelica, she was back on track.

[Ether]

"Well... because of why we're here, him being a Wrathite and all... I'd like to keep on good terms with him if possible." Angelica replied, shaking her head slightly as Tia gave her answer.

"That was pretty reckless of you... what do you think would happen if you got caught out alone?" Angelica continued, before running a hand through her hair, a small knife in her hand as she pulled it out of her blonde locks.

"It's not much, but atleast you won't be completely unarmed... ever use one of these before?" Angelica asked, as she held the sheathed blade out to Tia. The blade was pretty visibly meant for throwing more than close quarters combat... but at the least it did have a small hand guard, and the blade was sharp and long enough to kill if used properly... or luckily.

[Nanami Touko]

"Wait, you know him? Personally? He's a prince, right? How did you...?" Tia was rather confused. Stay on good terms with the prince? She knew Raquel was rather important, but the rest of the group? It was perplexing. "If I got caught alone? Well, I mean... Who would hurt a little girl?" She feigned a small smile, but with things as they were, she knew there was always the chance. At least, now she did.

And then she was handed the dagger. It was rather fascinating, and it was definitely the first time she'd ever been given a physical weapon to use. She'd seen and held knives before, for cooking and the like, but never a real dagger meant for a fight. "W-Well no, not really. Of course I've read about it, but I've never actually...used one."

Edited July 29, 2014 by I have opinions

[Ether]

"We might have run into eachother at a social gathering and talked for a while." Angelica replied, not bothering to get into any further details beyond that.

"Of course not... uhh... there's not really any time to show you, but... grip the handle as sturdily as you can, that thing is made of metal, so it can block a blade as long as you don't drop it... if you can get an opening. striking here or here will kill someone if you get deep enough, but since you've never fought with one, focus on keeping yourself alive." Angelica replied, motioning to her throat and the gaps in her ribs atop her heart.

[Nanami Touko]

"A social... Oh! That ball, thing?" Tia didn't care to press that further; she had no interest in the ball back then and continued to have none. She was more interested in learning how to not die, now that she had a new way of keeping herself safe (whatever good it would do for her scrawny arms). She nodded at every instruction that Angelica gave her and paid attention to the weaker spots. She gulped. "A-Alright, sure. How... How about I just hide behind you, or run back to the wagon if things get scary? That seems like a far safer option..."

[Ether]

"If you're gonna go for the hiding behind someone option, you'd be better off with one of the more sturdy people going that way." Angelica noted, gesturing towards the innards of the Cathedral.

"You're too immobile for me to protect you, after all. I'm not like one of those big guys with a shield... If I have to forego platforming so you can keep up, we'll both die, instead of just you... I'm more of a skirmisher than a brawler, after all."

Edited July 29, 2014 by Ether

[Toogee]

Jam was feeling apprehensive about taking her position at the cathedral entrance. Her acceptance of the role felt like it fell on deaf ears. The entire party seemed to be moving deeper in the cathedral, leaving Jam without a partner.

"This'll get lonely fast."

That was when Jam overheard the conversation between Angelica and Tia. Tia seemed like a good fit to keep watch; she certainly wouldn't be battling. The dancer walked up a little bit to catch them before they went too far.

"Hey, I could use a partner at the entrance if you're looking to help." Jam offered to Tia.

[Phoenix]

Through Action, not Words

Athrun's guards had been warned about how to proceed in a situation like this. The wrathites had not. When they saw him unsheathe his sword, to them it was their cue to prepare for battle; it didn't matter who the opponent was, and maybe ... just maybe, they could actually defeat her.

Lilith, unlike everyone else present, had been expecting a duel of sorts, at least until the wrathites charged on ahead of Athrun. She prepared to knock them all down when she realized that Athrun wasn't as tactless as the rest of them. She didn't even realize he'd warped until his blade tore into her side and removed some of the feathers from her right wing. It was a painful blow, and one she couldn't respond to in time; he vanished again, and then the first of the wrathites arrived, aiming to drive a spear through her chest. She forced the spear aside as the rider past and then was knocked over by the second cavalier.

"Urgh ..." Rolling back onto her feet, she drew Ascension out of thin air and took up a defensive position. It's like fighting Nyx all over again ....

"OPEN FIRE," Athrun ordered, the mages among the wrathites and his guardsmen loosing every element of magic known, and all in Lilith's direction. The cavaliers had just enough time to get clear as the spells began pounding against Ascension's shining surface. Athrun took the opening, vanished, and reappeared to deliver what should have been the killing blow, stabbing Lilith through the back. "Why ... why did you betray Lord Wrath?" Athrun asked, bitter about what he'd just done.

"Because ... I had to," Lilith weakly replied. By all rights, Athrun had won that first round, but mortal wounds were meaningless to vasili, painful and disorienting, certainly, but they wouldn't be the deciding factor in a battle like this. As she prepared to use the spell that had cushioned her fall, Athrun quickly pulled out his blade and warped away, a move that spared him from the force of a blast that would have otherwise floored him. Immediately, however, and without any warning, the casters began sending powerful spells her way. With Athrun out of the line of fire, they had no reservations about a full assault, even if it was serving as little more than suppressing fire. They even began to spread out as the cavaliers began riding in wider semi-circles around her, allowing the spells to come in from more than one direction.

You 'had to' ... what kind of response is that?! Athrun mused as he returned to his position at the head of his group. He could barely make out Lilith in the explosions obscuring her position but he knew she wasn't going to go down easily if she was still defending herself after his last attack.

The Grand Prize

It took some doing, and some careful checking of the trinket's response to the nearby emblem piece, but Malik found Desmond's office, and quietly slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. He then pulled the trinket back out and approached the desk, waving it around to check for any changes in its intensity. The desk was an obvious place, but the bookshelf and other furnishings would make far better hiding places for something so valuable. Those ... or a safe box. Malik cocked an eyebrow at the box sitting on the desk. It was a strange pale shade of blue-green and horribly out of place in this office. Clearly foreign, and getting the strongest response from the trinket he had ever seen, Malik carefully picked up the box and looked for a lock. <"Blast."> There wasn't one, but there was no visible means of opening the box, either. There were hinges, certainly, but the rest of the box looked like one continuous object past that point ... like it had been seamlessly welded shut, somehow. <"Well ... on the bright side, at least I won't be quite as suspicious ... I hope. The wrathites don't all know the emblem piece is in this box, right?">

"I'll take that, thank you very much," Charles hissed from the office entrance. His gun was leveled quite precisely at the back of Malik's head, and he could sense that in his words, even facing away completely. "No sudden movements nomad mongrel. Did you actually think you could rob the Order of Wrath in the middle of this chaos and get away with it?"

<"I'm going to hurt you so much, you'll be grateful if you can even talk afterwards,"> Malik muttered.

"Quit speaking chibberish, put down the box, and turn around slowly with your hands above your head," Charles demanded, taking a few steps toward his captive. Malik knew he was in trouble, but he wouldn't fail in his mission, even if he had to take a bullet to do it. His queen had given him everything, survival skills, a safe home to grow up in, and family that he sorely missed. He wouldn't let her or them down by giving up now. Any mistake on Charles' part here, Malik intended to punish with a crushing retaliation, the likes of which these Wrathites would never forget. He swore that to himself as he set the box down and turned around to face his enemy. "Hmph, that hair is ridiculous. What are you, a woman? I knew nomads weren't exactly ... appealing, but this is just sad."

Malik watched Charles carefully as he drew closer, gathering his rage and channeling it into his hands and feet. He would need to overpower Charles in the span of a heartbeat to have any chance of getting out of this mess, and he had to do it quickly, because if more wrathites showed up before he could escape with the box, he would be finished.

Serpent Formation

"Try not to trample anyone, and only shove wrathites; no one else," Amon instructed those following, "It's just to keep them off balance!" He watched as the first intersection came up and began to slow down. Much as he hated to give up any momentum, deciding where to turn would be crucial to finding Joanna. When he saw a staircase at the right turn, he decided to place his bets there. Of course, there would be more guards up there, closer to the offices and bedrooms of the higher ups in the order, but that was also why it was the most likely place for Joanna to be hidden away, at least temporarily. "First turn, someone stay here, everyone else upstairs," Amon ordered as he rounded the corner and began jogging quickly up the steps, passing a curious wrathite who was heading down.

"Um, you're not allowed up there without an escort," the wrathite politely said to the group. He didn't expect them to listen, as fast as they were running, but there was nothing he could do to stop them, he knew.

[Ether]

"The both of you, stay here..." Angelica noted sternly to the two girls... atleast standing at the entrance was likely the safest place for them so long as they didn't get caught in the crossfire, which was unlikely with everything being aimed where it was. Darting off along the outskirts of the room to a better vantage point, Angelica cursed the make of the building... so many potentially great crow's nests ruined by her not having a pick on her... a damn shame.

Still, the Wrathites... well, mostly Athrun, the covering fire was fairly generic, if large in scale due to the amount of assailants, were holding their own decently enough... of course, Lilith hadn't actually let out a true counterattack yet so it was too early to call just yet.

[scorri]

Hoshi continued to follow along as best she could. Less likely to shove others out of the way, she was slower than someone like Amon, who was barreling past Wrathites. She sighed. Her hood was up, so it was unlikely that she'd be recognized, but even still. She wondered if Weyland knew that she was involved with this insane idea.

Lumi meanwhile paused and decided she'd be best served staying here. Still having a hold of Pete's arm, she pulled him to a stop as well. "We'll stay here! You guys keep going." Smiling up at the scowling warrior, she said, "See? It isn't so bad so far. And technically we haven't done anything illegal yet, right? Well... I guess we moved past the road block. But they hadn't fully set it up before that winged lady appeared. So we'll be fine!"

[Nanami Touko]

Eva was about to stop herself at Amon's first station, but Lumi and the other guy (Pate? Peter? She was good with names, but not that good) stood there almost immediately. Guess I'll take the next one, she thought to herself, almost sticking her tongue out at the polite Wrathite that had asked them to stop. Did he actually think that would work? And so they continued up the stairs.

----------

"You wouldn't try to carry me with you? I'm barely ninety pounds, I'm sure..." Tia guessed that in the heat of things, having to carry someone would probably make evasion a little bit difficult. Then Jam came on over, and Tia managed a smile. "Sure! More fun than standing around here with Gelly--" she attempted, but was cut off by the huge barrage of magic blasting itself at the Vasilus. She immediately ducked behind the dancer, and Angelica ran off. "Wh-What do we do now!?" The Wrathies has unleashed all they could at her, and things had gotten as dangerous as Angelica had warned. This was a bad idea; boredom's better than death!

Edited July 29, 2014 by I have opinions

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=The Return of Lilith]The commotion was finally starting to draw some real attention, from both the cathedral and the surrounding areas. Commoners and guardsmen alike began appearing at the outer edges of the plaza, trying to see what was happening, while others began to funnel out from the Hall of Wrath. The Prince and a small contingent were taking on the legendary rebel, herself.

Just as the magic attacks began to let up, the cavaliers returned to try and put her down, but Lilith was ready this time, for them, and for Athrun. She quickly sidestepped the charging horsemen and evaded their strikes, and then, just a split second before Athrun moved in for an attack, she used the one move that had always proved reliable during the war, the aura pulse. Athrun's sword struck a barrier of seemingly unlimited strength and wasn't able to even make contact with its target. He wouldn't give Lilith the chance to retaliate, though, and warped away again. As soon as he was gone, several long chains wrapped around Lilith's body. That was when the siege level spells came barreling down on her like comets.

Athrun fell to one knee beside one of the royal guards, and they quickly stepped out in front of him to shield him from anything Lilith might try. "I'm nearly out," Athrun reported weakly, his head throbbing.

"Rest milord ... we'll take it from here."

"We can't defeat her without Desmond, only pin her down ... and they're nearly out, as well."

"When it comes to stamina, I suppose the vasili could be considered insurmountable," the royal guard replied, carefully watching as Lilith struggled against the chains the casters had restrained her with. The siege spells hit her directly and he wasn't sure how she could have survived all of those meteor spells, but even before the smoke began to clear, he knew she had. After all, the chains hadn't fallen to the ground and they had been holding her in place up until the impacts. Suddenly the chains were broken and blasted away from the smoke, causing the guard to turn and shield Athrun from one of the stray links with his body. It was painful to be struck in his lower back by one of those incredibly durable chains, but he wouldn't so much as wince. "Are you alright?"

"Are you?" Athrun countered, knowing full well his man had taken a hit. Before either could say anything else, they found themselves losing their footing. "What's going on-" Athrun looked past his guard as he and everyone else in his contingent began tumbling helplessly in the air, rising steadily higher as the smoke cleared.

"You can't overwhelm me," Lilith said, fed up with the assault, and now holding up each and every last one of her attackers. Her palm and fingers leisurely faced the sky, and the onlookers were amazed.

Not having any idea what Lilith planned to do with all of her captives, Athrun made one last ditch effort to end the fight, appearing directly in front of Lilith and increasing his strain twofold in the process. He endured it because he had to in order to save the others. Holding his blade just inches from Lilith's chin, he said, "Let them go ... no leader worthy of the title should have to resort to this."

Lilith grimaced. "Destroyed entire armies ... entire cities; pushed the fallen to the brink of extinction, challenged the gods themselves ... why must you people always to test us? Why must you always force us to prove that you're outmatched? Why must you always force me ..." She lowered her hand, slowly and steadily, and those that were still suspended in the air began to float down to the pavement. "As for worthy leaders, you people have chosen yours extremely poorly over the years. Your people are cravens. Underhanded ... belligerent. And yet they call themselves servants of Wrath."

Athrun nearly cringed, and not just from the intense headache eating away at him. The order had some serious problems, the incident involving Joanna was just bringing more of it to the surface. He remembered how they couldn't even deal with her without resorting to a gag. They didn't believe in Wrath's teachings enough to let them stand on their own. Their cowardice and weak spirits were turning them from devout holy warriors into dishonest thugs, little by little. He'd seen that much with his own eyes. "The order's in trying times, right now ... all the more reason not to change leaders out of the blue," Athrun explained, struggling not to curl up. "You want to be an adviser, instead ... talk to Desmond," he half seriously added.

Lilith almost smiled at the suggestion. "Keep in mind, Prince Athrun Shastak, that my advice is rebellion."

Athrun's face cringed at that. Why? Why would someone like you do that? Why did you betray him?

[spoiler=Overwhelming Resolve]Charles began stepping around to Malik's side with the gun held at about stomach height. "Walk toward the door--slowly," Charles instructed. It was clear to both of them that if he made a run for it, he wouldn't even reach the door before being gunned down. Malik took slow but steady steps, knowing that with each one he took, Charles and his gun were getting further and further from his reach. He had to act soon.

Charles looked down at the box on Desmond's desk, deep concern on his face. To think a nomad made it this far ... he feared he would share some of the blame in this, just like with the incident in town when they were arresting Joanna. If he had simply had those two boys killed, maybe word of her arrest wouldn't have gotten out so quickly and they wouldn't be in this mess. "That's right," he nodded at Malik viciously, "keep walking." He had half a mind to shoot him right there.

"No," Malik growled, stopping on the spot and turning to face Charles. He'd had enough. He couldn't go any further or he would be completely at the mercy of this insufferable gunman. "Give me the box," he demanded.

"I'll give you something else, boy ... and you're not going to like it very much," Charles smirked, correcting his aim slightly. He had the nomad at just the right distance; he could react to any sudden movements and have a bullet in any part of his body well before he was within range to fight back. He wouldn't be making the same mistakes again.

<It all comes down to this ... Lady Aisha ... Lady Aisha ... please ... please give me strength ... please ....> "Give me the emblem," Malik yelled, glaring fire at Charles. As Charles' hand began to shake at the sudden aggression, Malik's eyes moved to the barrel of the gun. Dodging bullets at this range was impossible, but they could always miss if they were fired at the wrong time. He was counting on that, now.

"Fine then! I didn't want to get blood on the floor, but clearly you have a death wish!" Charles raised the gun so he could hit one of Malik's vital areas, guarantee a quick and easy kill. Malik in turn, readied himself, and watched the gun's barrel intently as he began to be able to see deeper and deeper into the barrel. It was going to be a gruesome headshot, he realized. Malik jerked his head left as hard as he could, throwing himself out of the bullet's path just as Charles fired. He landed on his back, rolled back to his feet, and then quickly rushed at Charles with murderous abandon. "By Wrath! Die, boy," Charles yelped, dropping the pistol and reaching for his sword.

<"You're mine!"> Malik caught the pistol by the barrel and smashed the butt of it against Charles' face before he could draw his sword, and then tackled him onto the desk. After several more strikes with the pistol, Malik hauled Charles off of the desk and held him by the collar of his chestplate. "I'm Sancturan. Since you don't know what that means, allow me to show you!"> He began delivering punch after punch, seven in total before tossing Charles toward the door.

"Damn ... dammit ..." Charles rose to his feet, sword drawn. "You'll pay for that, you worthless nomad!"

He didn't realize it, but calling him a nomad again sent Malik back over the edge, and as he moved in to stab him, Malik took hold of his wrist, easily avoiding the blade. "I'm ..." Malik twisted his wrist to expose his elbow, "Sanc-" then he raised his own arm high above Charles in preparation to strike, "TURAN!!!" His arm came down and obliterated Charles' sense of his surroundings; the pain from having his arm broken at the elbow, forced in the opposite direction, was far beyond anything he could ever hope to endure. Then, as he let out a desperate cry, Malik slammed his elbow into the side of Charles' head and knocked him out. <"Don't ever forget who defeated you, Ursian scum,"> Malik hissed. Time was short; he quickly rushed to the desk and grabbed the box. They would have to figure out how to open it later.

Closing In

"Joanna," Amon called out as they reached what looked like a residential wing. It was better than kicking down doors. "Let us know if you sense her or her magic around here," he called back to Liam, hoping her captors hadn't saddled her with a magic seal to prevent such a thing. There might have also been an issue with the walls between them and her, but he wasn't sure, not being anything close to a magic expert. One thing that did seem rather likely though, was that she was under guard. "And keep an eye out for anyone standing watch at a door," he amended.

When the next intersection came up, Shadrak decided to stay behind. Rather than say anything, he simply stopped running and turned to keep an eye on the path leading back toward the staircase, only sparing the rest of the group a parting glance as they gained some distance. He wasn't sure if he was going to end up stuck there with Eva or not, but he was somewhat hoping to have a little alone time to think in the middle of this. With so much that could still go wrong, he wanted to at least be prepared himself.

[Nanami Touko]

When the next intersection came up, Eva waited a moment to see who would stop. Seeing Shadrak and no one else stop, she decided this was where she got off, giving him a small wave. "Looks like we're stopping here, Shaddy. Anything you want to talk about while we wait for the impending guards to come and try to kill us?" A cheery thought, but Eva was trying to get herself warmed up for some real fighting. She pulled her sword off of her back and made sure it wasn't chipped or damaged from their encounter with the Knights from earlier. Seemed fine. She hoped.

[Mercakete]

Valter continued his run along with the others. Though the turns were more close-quarters, they were getting to stretches of long hallways. So, Valter readied his bow, holding an arrow lightly to the string, pointed downward as he ran along. He could draw and fire at a moment's notice this way. "Amon, if you see someone down a hall at a juncture who would be better shot than engaged, let me know." Please be safe, Joanna.

[Toogee]

Jam was startled upon hearing the barrage of magical attacks outside the cathedral. Whatever distraction the bird lady was doing, it was sure working. People were gathering from all over; it even broke up many of the arguments going around. That led to a whole crowd of people headed their way. Though Jam felt somewhat secure inside the cathedral, Tia was hiding behind her. The dancer took the girl's hand and led her away from the crowd to avoid getting lost in the masses trying to exit.

"We're going to do exactly what Amon asked. We're gonna to watch the entrance to make sure the others aren't jumped. Looks like most everyone is outside now, so that makes the job a little easier."

Tia still seemed afraid of the situation they were in. Channeling her inner Alphonse, Jam took Tia's hand and squeezed it to get her attention.

"We're partners now, so whoever comes for you, they have to go through me first!" Jam said with a wink and a smile. She led Tia back at the entrance to watch for soldiers.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Toogee

[Nanami Touko]

Where did Tia's confidence go? Did Nyx take that along with her magic? She'd stared down a Vasilus not hours ago, and now a magical barrage was setting her off. Perhaps the removal of her one skill really was as damaging as it felt. Whatever the case, she did her best to nod and move with Jam as their little plan was laid out, squeezing tight onto the hand that had grabbed hers, the other hand desperately grasping onto the knife. She truly hoped that the damage stayed over there, and didn't come anywhere near them.

"How do you do it?" she suddenly asked Jam. "Y-You don't have any magic, you're j-just learning how to use a sword... How...are you so calm, right now?" She shook as she spoke, but the message came across.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya decided to stop by Shadrak and Eva- staying back certainly seemed less dangerous than running in. There will be plenty of noise if they run into trouble, she rationalized.

"I can't sense her," Liam admitted to the stranger- magical aura training was never much a focus since the avians mostly relied on their connection to one another. This won't be a problem once Joanna reestablishes her connection to Mercy, he decided.

Hallway

Gathering up some of the most seasoned Wrathites from around the building, Alastor and company made their way to the Hall of Truth. We should at least be able to intimidate the commoners into leaving. If not...I'm not sure what to do.