Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[Thany]

:she looked at her boss confidently: "Don't worry, some of our units got knocked around and whatnot, but we won in the end. I'd thought i'd come here first and share the good news about winning." :and then she changed her expression lightly.: "They are gonna take a bit with healing up their own units however. but im sure we took no casualties."

[KentaEzren]

"At least we made it through alive...." Kenta sighed, "But they should have been back by now!" As he saw the others moving towards the wagon, he quickly got up and followed along. He was a fast runner, to no surprise.

Edited September 18, 2016 by KentaEzren

[scorri]

Erion looked down at Amalia, and sighed. "Alright, but if you fall... No, never mind. You'll be fine. Here, careful now." He gently lowered her legs down to the ground and kept a hand on her back until he was sure she was stable. "There. How do you feel?"

[spoiler=Get on the Warp Express]

"No worries. I can do wherever you need. Go talk to whoever you need to, I'll be right here." He sat down at one of the tables and pulled out a small book from inside one of the pouches at his side. "We're on your schedule unless the Boss needs me for something."

Edited September 18, 2016 by scorri

[Snike]

I don't seeing as I am busy. Gabriella, you might want to visit the infirmary while you're there, however.

[spoiler=Business]Thanatos stepped out of a side alley ahead of Perugia and Alexis, holding a pocket watch in his hand. He frowned when he saw Alexis' attire.

"You realize running away to your safehouse is pointless, right?" he asked. "The army will canvas the area, and reports of a tattooed woman who looked like she had just ran out of a fire will lead them straight to yourselves and the remnants of Invictus, and then that will truly be the end of it."

***

Well, the blonde-haired woman wasn't objecting to his leaving, so Lane decided to address one of the two apparent patients left: the seraph knight. She was already trying to patch up her shoulder, but it wasn't looking good with just a vulnerary to use.

"Let me help with that," he said, as he approached his former foe.

The healer made sure that the Invictus fighter didn't have any weapons within arms' reach, inspected the shoulder wound- gunshot, clean exit luckily- then, once ready to address it, directed his attention- and his recover staff- to the injury. Soon, only the scar remained to indicate where the woman had been shot. Satisfied, Lane made to move away from his latest patient... until he saw her crumpled breastplate. Oh dear.

"How badly does your chest hurt, Miss?" he asked as he put a hand on his sword hilt. It was unlikely that the plate would be removable by hand.

[Nanami Touko]

"I won't fall. Promise." And as she was let down, despite shaky legs, she managed to stay standing. She took a few steps to make sure she wasn't going to collapse after doing so, and staying steady, she smiled back at Erion. "I feel fine," she lied, her legs hurting, her back hurting, and her heart heavy. Still, the smile was genuine. "I'll be right back."

She had to do something for the few still alive, and the first person was the man she'd punched, nursing a wound. "E-Excuse me..." she approached with, intimidated by his size. "M-My name is Amalia... And I just... I wanted to apologize for punching you. It was horrible of me to be so violent... Especially in the face. I'm so sorry."

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=Detour]

Gabbie's eyebrow leaped up at the unexpected request. Why? What's going on over there? Although she would have liked to go see Weyland and Steinn first, she started for the infirmary, hoping she'd have at least some information before she got there. It was a bit of a walk from the dining hall, nearly four fifths of the distance from one wing of the main building to the other.

[spoiler=Obstacle]

"Are you with them?" Alexis asked coldly, nudging her head toward the battlefield several blocks away. Both she and Perugia fell back into combat stances. With no sufficient liquids to draw on, Alexis would have to wait until she or her opponent were injuried to cast any high level magic. On top of being roughed up by that explosion, she wasn't in the best position to be fighting right now. Perugia on the other hand, didn't have as much light energy available to her as she would have liked due to the light seal, and her aura was only now starting to reform, but she would at least be capable of putting up some kind of magic front right from the outset.

"Gloat all you want," Perugia hissed, "those idiots don't have what it takes to beat us. Invictus, sure, but not us."

Still Picking Up

Anna came running out of the house and toward the group. Part of her wanted to start yelling at them to hurry up. Why were they still here? Anyone who wasn't about to die could be carried to the wagons and treated there. She supposed it was her own fault for not telling them to do that before she went inside. "The house is empty; Gabbie got out with Lois." She didn't know that with absolute certainty, but she was willing to bet that was how things had played out. "That means it's just us now, so get a move on. Anyone who's still injured, move them into the wagons then treat them." She wasn't waiting around for discourse and picked up her pace as she headed back to the wagon, passing literally everyone not keeping up along the way.

"Why are you helping me?!" the seraph knight bit out. The incredible difficulty she had doing so was indication enough that the breastplate was anything but protection, now. "I don't have anything for you people but ..." she couldn't finish the thought, not with an aching shoulder and her lance missing. All she had for these people was angry, choked off words and perhaps some flailing about. That wasn't even worth threatening them with.

While she had to deal with some vague semblance of altruism, Leo had to deal with a remorseful swordswoman. "Let ..." Leo paused, replaying her apology in his head once, "let me get this straight. You're apologizing for hitting me ... in the face?" He nearly laughed. "Heh ... I wish you people had been so horrible to the rest of my friends and allies."

Meanwhile by the wagon ...

"No casualties, huh?" The boss was impressed. That was twice now he'd seen this group not suffer any deaths on their side. The first time they had been forced onto defense and flanked. The second time, they had been the aggressors. Well if Thany was going to be working with any group this closely, he was glad it was this one. "Well that's definitely good news. I guess we'll wait for them here ... and hope James shows up, soon ..."

Anna came into view quickly, running faster than he expected a woman with her apparent build to be able to, especially after a big fight. "Well there's the one who set up this whole mission," the boss nodded in Anna's direction.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Phoenix

[Nanami Touko]

Amalia looked a bit defeated by that. "I'm... Not so naive as to think an apology fixes things. And as much as I wish this fight could have been avoided, you humans have your differences... And that leads to violence, at times. We came to save a friend of this group's, and so... Well." She offered a smile, further apologetic, as it that could fix anything now. "I can't be responsible for the rest of the group, I can just be responsible for myself... And I should not have acted as I did... It was an emotion I have only ever seen."

"That's all, I... I also wish, we had only been that horrible to the rest of your friends, and allies... I am... Especially sorry about your Avian friend. I... I said that I was, one of his own, but then he shouted traitor at me... Though I suppose my lack of wings would make it impossible to tell." She offered him a bow. "I understand if you can't ever forgive us. I'm sorry, once again. Thank you for listening." With a small stumble in her step, she headed back over to Erion, slowing down and matching pace next to him. She sighed a pretty big sigh, and focused on the ground.

"How unfortunate..."

[Snowy_One]

Robin had, at last, picked herself up and done her best to clear herself off.

"I wonder, who actually made whatever cleaning reagent gets blood out of clothes so easily? Whoever did so is probably making a killing off this group alone." she thought to herself as she did her best to clean herself off a bit and head back to the wagon, passing the others, before arriving.

"No sir." she said as she arrived just in time to hear. "No casualties, though some of us likely feel close enough to death to make it count."

[Snike]

Naomi's in there. I figure she might want to see a friendly face, especially since she has had an exceptionally rough day.

[spoiler=Negotiations]

"Not directly, no. I did not come here to fight you, if that is what you mean," Thanatos said, as he shrugged. The vasilus released a little more of his aura before continuing. "I came instead to express the futility of your attempted escape, as well as to make a time-limited offer. Though it might fall on deaf ears given your change in association."

***

Axel made it to the wagons, entered the first, and placed Veronika inside, leaning against the left wall. Satisfied, he exited the wagon and jogged back towards the houses, only to see the giant of an axeman kneeling... Could he not walk?

"You look like you need a shoulder to cry on," Axel said, as he approached. "Well, that or to walk to the wagon with. I can help with the second, but you're out of luck with the first."

***

"Looks bad," Lane said, just as the call to return to the wagons was made again. "I don't think I need a reason to help someone. You've already lost the battle, so there's no point in losing your life as well." He put his staff away and made to get his hands under the seraph knight. "I have to move you, so this is going to hurt. I'm sorry, but you'll have to endure it."

With that said, he lifted the woman up and began to bring her to the wagons, careful to avoid any obstacles on the ground that he might trip on.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Snike

[Thany]

"Hey that reminds me, have you seen James yet? i would of figured you would of found him after that battle." :she asks curiously.:

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=Dining Hall]

Zachary wasn't sure why, but as soon as Gabbie reached the open doors of the dining hall, she stopped in her tracks. He wouldn't have taken notice if she hadn't taken off running down the hall a second later. "Did she sense something dangerous?" The maid healing him either wasn't paying attention or didn't care, at least not with the healing only half done.

"Maybe that woman followed us," James bit out as his arm was set by the first maid, "there's no way she wasn't some kind of mage. I've never been manhandled like that before.

Zachary chuckled. "Get used to it. Most of the women we run into are really powerful in some way or another. Even Raquel's an emblem piece now, or ... something."

[spoiler=Suburbs]

Both women winced, sensing the sudden change in power. As a consequence, it was only a partial relief when he noted he wasn't there to fight them. Perugia winced, returning to her normal posture. Alexis' stance only softened somewhat. "Change in association?" the former echoed the choice words, "how do you know about that?"

Suddenly Alexis caught the implication, too. "And who are you? What sort of offer is this?" As much as she wanted to just make a break for it, and leave this man whose goal seemed to be to doom them via stall tactics, he appeared to know far too much about the situation.

Suburban Battlefield

"Wait, you can't just-" the seraph knight's words were cut off by sharp pains running up her chest as Lane lifted her up. It was pointless to argue now, so she simply gritted her teeth and waited to be taken to where she was being taken. Who had it worse in this battle, the dead, or the survivors? "You should have just killed us. I'd rather die that be thrown into some prison or sent to a labor camp."

"Traitor?" Leo cocked an eyebrow. Road wouldn't have been able to tell that woman was a wingless avian, so that just left ... "Invictus," he sighed. Of course he'd lose his cool. If a defector from Invictus had led these people right to them ... caused all of this ... "It was the wrong enemy, Road," Leo shook his head.

Wagon

"Heh, well at least you're alive," the boss said, offering Robin a silver lining. She was obviously one of those that almost didn't make it. An archer covered in blood was usually a lucky survivor, not a brutal victor.

James was still missing? "Sorry, I haven't," the boss shook his head, "I hope he's alright." It'd be a shame if they had casualties they didn't even know about, yet.

"You can chat in the wagons," Anna said as she arrived, slowing from a full speed run to a light jog, "you especially, Robin. Those blood stains are going to draw too much attention, so get inside.

[Thany]

:She looked over at Anna before giving a small shrug, and then looked at boss: "I cant wait to tell you how my first battle went" :clearly pretending the first battle she lost in never happened as she goes into the Wagon like suggested.:

[Snike]

[spoiler=Offer]"You hinted at it, as you implied that you're not part of Invictus. If you're not with invictus, you most likely must be associated with the Organization now," Thanatos said. "Regardless, to cut to the chase, I am Thanatos, and my offer to you is to revive Road, as well as remove the three of you from this situation. In exchange, I want the three of you to serve me."

He paused to check his watch. "You have five minutes to decide. Take your chances here, or come with me. "

***

"If you want to hate me, go ahead," Lane said, as he hurried on over to the wagons. "But I don't think that giving up on living like that is right. Where there's life, there's still hope, no matter how slim."

He shortly afterwards arrived at the wagons, one of which was empty for the moment. Perfect. The healer approached that wagon, carefully stepped onto it, then laid the seraph knight down towards the back of the wagon. Once done he took his staff, propped it against the right-hand wall, then drew his sword.

"I am going to cut the chestplate off now," he told his unwilling patient, as his sword began to glow purple. "This shouldn't hurt until I take the front half off. Unless you squirm, at which point it'll hurt worse than the gunshot."

With that out of the way, Lane began to cut the seraph knight's armor, starting with the sides of the chestplate, then working his way over to the shoulder straps.

[scorri]

Leaning over a bit, Erion nudged her shoulder with his. "Hey now, what's the matter? Why did you want to talk to him?" He had his suspicions but wanted to hear from her.

Edited September 20, 2016 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

"Huh? O-Oh, Erion, right... Uhm..." Maybe it had been nothing, but it didn't feel like nothing. Though, from the man's reaction, her actions hadn't been near as grave as she considered them to be. "I just wished to apologize to him... That's all. I... Have never acted out of anger towards another person. Today was the first time... And I am so ashamed that I let myself fall to such a level." Her shoulders sank as she thought about it, standing a bit closer to Erion.

"What does it feel like... To be truly angry at someone? I say I was angry, but... I've never felt the emotion, simply seen others." She slowly held herself, shaking a bit. "Erion, I... I am happy, truly happy, that I have met you all, but... I feel like I'm going to lose who I am, the more I spend time with you all. Yet, I am... I am compelled to stay. It's frightening. I don't understand it."

[KentaEzren]

"Some of them seem as concerned as I do. Maybe I should talk with someone, but who...." The Kigenese fellow thought to himself. He then noticed Lysandra in the distance, and walked by. He leaned on one of the wagons before going by Lysandra. "Excuse me, miss Lysandra." Kenta said, "Do you have a moment? There was something I wanted to ask you about. If you do, we could walk around and discuss a bit... If that's fine with you, of course." Sighing a little, Kenta had some sort of concern in his eyes, as he looked at the woman, clutching the sheath of his sword.

[-Cynthia-]

"Certainly young man, what would you like to discuss?" Lysandra asked Kenta as she waited near the wagons for the rest of the group to finish departing. Hmm, was it the battle that troubled him?

[KentaEzren]

"Well.... I wanted to ask you, because you probably have more experience than I do with these kind of battles." He told her as they waited by the wagons, looking at her. "I want to see if I can prove to be one essential to the group by proving myself more experienced in the field of battle. How can I prove to be better?" There was a sign of question on Kenta's face as leaned back on one of the wagons. Pulling the case of the sword and inspecting the blade itself, he shined it a little and still paid attention to Lysandra. "Anything, anything at all, would be good. Doesn't have to be a whole lot." He sighed. He didn't seem troubled on the battle itself, but somewhat troubled on the lack of worthiness he displayed during this encounter.

[scorri]

"Anger, huh?" Erion paused, trying to figure out how best to explain. "It's different for different people. The most common way that people describe it is like a flame. It burns red hot, burning the person it's directed at but also the person feeling it. Others describe it as freezing cold. Removing sense of any other emotion but the anger. For some people it only lasts a second, like a spark. Others, it simmers under the surface until it can no longer be contained. And when it explodes, it takes out anyone in the vicinity. But I guess anger is... hurt. Feeling like the other person injured you and feeling like the only thing you can do is somehow get back at that person. That's the only way you can feel ok again."

As she started talking about losing herself, he stopped and faced her. Reaching out, he grabbed her hands to turn her fully towards him. "Hey now. Look at me. Come on. You're still you. Look, when you left your fellow avians, when you lost your wings, was that you losing yourself? Or was it you changing? When you were so brave and asked Nyx for them back, was that you losing the self you had become? I'm nothing like I was even just a year ago. Every day, we grow, we learn, we change. So maybe you're not exactly like you were, like your culture was. That's ok. You've experienced different things than they have and you've learned from that. Changed from that. It doesn't make you any less you."

[Nanami Touko]

"...I see." Anger sounded terrifying. And parts of what he was explaining was fitting with what she'd felt. Am I going to suffer through more of that as I fight? It feels like an unavoidable conclusion... That was the price to pay for going against Mercy's teachings, it seemed. Even if she was as merciful as she could be when fighting, it was still aggression against the humans. Is this the only way to solve things? To fight until there's no one else left to fight? It feels like it.

Her worries were shut up by Erion stepping in front of her and taking her hands, the motion causing her to blush, squeak, and look up at him. "Y-Yes?" She could only really listen as he spoke, tilting her head at times, looking down, and ultimately nodding. "I... I suppose so." She'd run away from responsibilities, done the steps she could to get them back, and was doing what she could to help. If it hurt her, that just meant she was still who she was... And she could stay that way, while growing. "Is that how you humans don't go mad from all your fighting?" she asked, and if she wasn't smiling now, it might've been an insult.

"You always seem to know what to say to help me, Erion... I don't quite know how to thank you... Ahhh, c-could you... Er... W-Well, I suppose..." She smiled, fidgeting a moment. "I could... Let you hold my hand, if you wished. It won't cause too many problems... Unlike you carrying me." She tugged gently at her hands, hoping he'd relinquish one of them, and they could finish their walk to the wagons.

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=Taken Care of]

Running as fast as she could saw Gabbie at the infirmary in record time. She opened the door, not sure what she was going to see, other than Naomi and ... Cassandra for whatever reason. She opened the door and saw Naomi lying on the bed, awake, with the covers pulled up to nearly her shoulders. She wasn't wearing her usual outfit, which was a surprise. Instead she looked to be wearing a wide neck grayish white shirt. Cassandra was sitting on an adjacent bed, wearing her usual getup. Both women looked surprised to see her.

"Gabbie!" Naomi hopped out of the bed, and then hunched over in pain. Both Gabbie and Cassandra moved to help her, but she recovered quickly. Gabbie never though she'd see the girl's legs covered. She was wearing a matching set of slacks and was barefoot. "I'm fine, just really sore ..."

"What happened to you?" Gabbie winced.

Cassandra grimaced. "She took on Samael by herself ... trying to protect my little sister."

"Hey, I won!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Slow down," Gabbie said sharply, "Samael's dead?"

"I sent him to Purgatory so ... sooner or later," Naomi shrugged as she sat back down on the bed. "There's no food or drinkable water there."

"Also Obelisk is there," Cassandra noted bitterly, "so unless those two really hit it off, he's probably going to be dead, soon."

Gabbie laughed. "Knowing our luck they're probably playin' cards and plottin' somethin' as we speak. Ya should have just crushed him to death, but I'm glad you won your little duel, Naomi."

[spoiler=How?]

Thanatos? "You're bluffing!" The words almost came out, but Perugia couldn't manage more than a defensive grunt. She could sense the man's power growing and it was already out of their league. What was more important, was that he was offering to revive Road. What she only feared back when they first fled had now been confirmed. It made Perugia sick just knowing how poorly things had turned out back there. "I don't know what makes you think he would ever work for you. He had his own goals ..." She didn't much like the idea of being picked up by a self proclaimed god, herself.

"First off," Alexis cut in, "Can you actually save him?" She personally had no connection to Road, but she had other reasons for asking. "Who else did they kill back there?"

Can't Walk

Try as he might, Leo couldn't do much more than get himself standing on both feet. Limping all the way back was probably out of the question. He turned to face Axel. "You people are about as organized as a pack of capuchins, you know that? Just leaving a prisoner to tend to themselves ..." He reached out to take whatever walking support the armored man had to give him.

All Aboard ... Maybe

The boss chuckled. First, right. He was actually there for her first. He'd lost some things, to say the least. It was fine if she wanted to count this as her first battle; it was her first battle fighting alongside their new allies, so that was something. "Well, there'll be time on the way to Weyland Enteprises, I'm sure."

Anna winced as Lane brought the seraph knight into one of the wagons, realizing they had come out of this battle with more prisoners than they had room for. She had a solution, though Raphael certainly wasn't going to like it. Anyone who knew the city well enough was going to be asked to head back to Weyland Enterprises on foot, with the exception of the prisoners, and perhaps Lysandra and Gabriel. She couldn't ask a senior to do that much walking while most of the others were getting a ride. Gabriel was also one of their strongest strike team members, and a good check against Zerachiel.

Speak of those with white hair and they shall appear. Gabriel, and Zerachiel both arrived, the latter carrying a barely conscious Lucille in his arms. "I'd be more comfortable if he was tied up, honestly," Anna grimaced.

Zerachiel smirked at Gabriel. "Cute. She thinks rope can hold me. Why don't you make this more of a challenge?"

"We're on a budget and a time limit, now get in the wagon, loser," Anna pointed them both toward the wagon Lane had brought the seraph knight to.

All said seraph knight could do for the time being was try not to move while Lane took off her armor. The last thing she needed was to get cut or poked by that magic blade of his. She still felt she would have preferred to die fighting, not seeing much of a future for herself other than a prison cell ... at best. "Just be quick about it," she bit out, trying not to let her chest rise or fall too sharply.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Erion considered her question. "I think some people do go mad from the fighting, to be honest. Like some of the people we've fought in our time. They seem to fight just for the sake of fighting. While others fight for a cause and the cause keeps them sane. That's what keeps me going. I know that by fighting, I'm keeping my family safe and in a good enough position to survive with the money I send back. Others fight because of the anger, yes. Others fight because they need to do so to survive."

He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her comments about hand holding. Oh darling, I'd love to do so much more than just hold your hand... Wait, crap, mind reader... Quickly trying to cover and hope she hadn't been paying attention to that, he released one of her hands and gave the one he'd kept a gentle squeeze. "Very well. I'll claim this hand as my prize for surviving that battle. Or perhaps my hand is your prize. After all, you went through much more than I did." They finally arrived at the wagons, but even though they were around other people now, Erion still held on to her hand, unwilling to let it go just yet.

[Snike]

[spoiler=Body Count]"He had his own goals, yes, however he was... seduced by the organization's strength, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds, followed by his end today. Perhaps he'd like to work to make amends for that, free from having to worry about being hunted down. But that is besides the point as I am not making him the offer. Rather, I am making you two the offer," Thanatos said to Perugia, before turning to Alexis. "I'll answer the second, first: It would be easier to list those that survived, namely one spellcaster, the seraph knight, Leo, Lucille, and Zerachiel. As for Road, I can save him, but only within a certain period of time. Which is now four minutes."

***

"Yeah, we're kind of short on medics as of late," Axel said, as Leo began to lean on him and they both began to head back to the wagon. "Hasn't stopped us from pulling things like this off, but it does get inconvenient from time to time.

***

"Alright then. Brace yourself again," Lane said, as he sheathed his sword, then pried off the top half of the chest plate and tossed it aside. Next, he drew a knife to cut the bloody cloth away, then inspected the damage. The fact that the seraph knight could talk back was a good sign, as that meant that her lungs hadn't been crushed. However, her chest was heavily bruised, and jagged bones were sticking out, which suggested broken ribs. That posed a problem. The healer drew a knife, and carefully but quickly made two small incisions along where those bones were supposed to be aligned. Then, while ignoring the blood oozing from the cuts, he took the broken bones, one at a time, by hand and firmly pushed them into the incision and into place. Once he was certain that they were secured, Lane then took his hands out of the wounds, swiftly removed his gloves, took his healing staff and closed the cuts he made, mending first bone then flesh.

"Done," the disciple of Nyx said, as he finished clearing up the bruising on the seraph knight's chest. He placed his staff to the side and sat down for a moment, strain starting to get to him.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Snike

[Nanami Touko]

"I know you all have your reasons... Though I hadn't considered that some of you do go insane from it. Honestly, I... I am very naive. I'd considered this some form of stress for all of you... Undoubtedly some must." Humans are so... Strange. "I'm sure you family appreciates what you do for them." It was a pleasant thought, though she'd focused too hard on Erion for the moment, catching wind of where his mind was going, and shrinking away just a moment because of it.

He seemed to realize what he had been thinking, quickly taking her hand and playing it off. You really can't be thinking these things, Erion... She ran her teeth over her lip for a second, nodding and squeezing his hand back, not saying anything else of it. She didn't mind the firm grip on her hand, placing herself on the edge of one of the wagons, waiting for him to sit down as well. There were no other avians around but Uriel, no one would get any ideas... And even he had been born in Flugel.

[scorri]

Easing himself onto the edge of the wagon next to Amalia, Erion idly rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand as he looked around. "Looks like pretty much everyone's made it back. And a decent number of prisoners, which could be interesting... Still. I suppose it's good to see some of them survived, right?"

Uri had made his way onto the other wagon, away from Amalia and Erion and was sitting in the corner with a hand up against his head. He'd pushed himself too far with healing Lysandra so soon after the work he'd poured into Amalia. He knew he would be fine soon, but for now, he just wanted away from the battlefield.