Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Nine

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked in surprise at Chip, shocked that the monkey had even bothered to come down at all. Before he had been more than willing to flee but now...

"Do not worry Chip." she said as she slowly brought the apple slice up to the monkey to offer it properly to him. She wasn't going to grab him or anything. After all... monkeys have some VERY sharp fangs! In fact the idea of him suddenly getting aggressive and jumping onto her for the remaining slices crossed her mind, along with how badly that might end, but she pushed that thought aside.

"Olga. Be careful. Chip just came down and he has been hiding since the battle." she said quietly, looking over to the other woman.

[scorri]

Uri frowned and then sighed. "I did this all wrong, didn't I? I'm sorry, I assumed that you all knew. From what I can tell, though the man there would know better, " he said while pointing at Reign, "the... dragon head? Inside of Raquel was trying to do something and it resulted in Lilith having to kill Blake. I... I am sorry for your loss. I did not know him very well, but he seemed like a good man."

[-Cynthia-]

"Lilith killed Blake!? Why? How?" Veronika asked, unable to process the information fully at the moment. Not another one...why do these things keep happening?

--

"You young folk always have places to be, I know how it is. Feel free to come in and sit, I have some bread I baked a few days ago and butter if you're hungry. It looks like some of you have traveled quite some distance to be here," Lysandra noted, smiling at her guests.

[KentaEzren]

"My pleasure. I traveled from Kigen's capital to a little town nearby, then i met these fellas. I'll tell you more about it, sometime." Kenta nodded back at Lysandra.

[Phoenix]

Archives

"Yeah but I don't know where ..." she trailed off as she caught Nemesis' glare. "Someone just tell me where they are and I'll ... figure something out, I guess." This wasn't going to be easy.

"Thany took them to Weyland's home at the city outskirts," Nyx said, "Lane can show you the way."

"Don't forget what I told you before, Raquel," Nemesis warned.

Stables

"Well good for Chip, I guess," Olga sighed. "Ask him if he knows where Niko is."

Chip took the apple slice and quickly got to work on one of the ends. Finally, there was food~

Courtyard

Since he was there, Reign decided to fill in the details here. First he had to endure a heated reaction from Zachary, though. "So Lilith murdered Blake just to stop the dragon head and then attacked Raquel and flew off with her?! Why the hell would she betray us like that?!"

"It wasn't a betrayal," Reign gave the thunder mage a stern glare, "Raquel's 'friend' the dragon head was trying to make a spirit spring again, just like when we fought Sardis--and met Samael, I might add--and when Lilith and I showed up, he decided to put the thing in Blake. The only way to stop him from turning into a vasilus was to hit Blake with Ascension." He decided to spare the rest of the details. "I'm sure it's no surprise that he didn't survive that. Anyway, she knocked Raquel out and took her to Europa to get the dragon head separated from her so this can't happen again."

"There had to be a better way than just killing Blake like that," Zachary shook his head bitterly.

Lysandra's House

Anna supposed they wouldn't lose any time if they went inside, and it would be easier to keep the conversation private if Lysandra was the only one here at the moment. "Thank you," Anna said as they began to head inside. "I've got some questions I'm hoping you can answer for us. It somewhat involves Invictus."

"You can direct," Gabriel said, "she's not a stranger to my brothers and sisters."

[-Cynthia-]

"I find it difficult to consider Lilith one of our allies considering she murdered one of our friends and kidnapped another...but I don't think there's anything we can do about it," Veronika admitted with a resigned sigh. Is this what our fate is? To be constantly fucked over by forces beyond our control? I don't know to do anymore... she thought to herself, looking at the familiar faces around her. What if Lilith or Schwartz or this dragon head decides to kill one of them? I can't even keep my weapon in my hand...

--

"I've visited Kayoyama myself, though that was many years ago. We will have to swap stories sometime," Lysandra said to Kenta with a smile before closing the door behind her guests.

"I had a feeling you all weren't just here for tea and cookies. I don't know as much about the organization as I would like, though I know more than most. I will answer your questions as best I can," she offered as she sat down, glancing briefly towards Gabriel. They must have gained his trust somehow...this should be interesting.

[Snike]

I can? thought Lane for a moment, before realizing that yes, he could show Raquel the way to Seth Weyland's estate. But there was a slight problem to address first.

"Mistress, is there any chance I can borrow a weapon or a tome? Just in case," he added, as he looked to Nyx. They weren't exactly in a friendly area to those associated with the emblem, after all.

Edited March 25, 2016 by Snike

[scorri]

Erion had been thinking and then turned to Thanatos. "Excuse me. I uh... Well, I recently became an emblem wielder. As in an hour ago. And uh, well, I really have no idea how to use that power. But it's important that I learn as fast as I can. Because I suspect we need all the help we can get these days. So uh..." He trailed off, realizing he had no idea if Thanatos could even use the emblem. "Well, err, could you or one of your... friends here show me how to use my powers?"

[Phoenix]

Archives

"Hmm, I'm not anticipating the need for it just yet," Nyx mused, "but if it will help you stay focused, certainly." Nemesis suddenly turned and headed into the inner chamber, presumably to fetch some equipment for Lane to use.

Dining Hall

"Another one, huh?" Dominik crossed his arms, "I wonder what that means."

Morgana sighed. "it means trouble."

"Well not to out our resident emblem wielder, but I'd say Cassandra here would know plenty about being an emblem wielder. Her arsenal's certainly grown."

"That's because of Raquel," Cassandra noted bitterly. "Anyway, I'm not much of a teacher, but I guess I could try to help you figure out what you can do." At the very least, Cassandra was completely confident in her own ability to wield the emblem. The dragon head had been a cryptic teacher, but still an effective one for her. Fortunately for Erion and any other potential students, Cassandra wasn't very big on trial by fire, or as had been the case with her, trial by water, heights, and confusion.

Courtyard

"Trust me, Veronika," Reign cringed at the memory of the event, "she's not our enemy."

"You say that," Zachary frowned, trying to find a way to word it gently, "but actions speak louder than words. Even if she didn't mean to kill him, there had to be a better way. Attacking Raquel and flying off with her only makes the situation that much worse."

"I guess we'll just agree to disagree, Zachary," Reign replied irritably.

House

"It might help," Anna began, "to know that two artificials, Samael and Zerachiel, showed up last night. Zerachiel was there from the start of the battle but Samael appeared later. He nearly killed Colonel Langley and her battalion's front liners, but thankfully Gabriel was there to even the odds a bit."

"Only a bit," Gabriel stressed with a sad smile. "Zerachiel and I are just about on par with each other but his healing abilities seem to be better than mine ... and Samael is in a league of his own. I can't do much about him ... and the trouble is I don't recognize him. He wasn't around all those years ago."

"We're planning to hunt them both down today, before they have a chance to skip town and disappear," Anna resumed, "so we're wondering if there's anything you can tell us that will give us an edge against them. It doesn't matter what it is, weak points, personality, connections, favored tactics, where they might be headed next, anything that can help us against them."

[Snike]

"Depending on how long you believe it would take, now might not be the best time to do that. They," Thanatos said, gesturing to Erion and Amalia, "need to be heading back to Ursentius soon. Incidentally, Morgana, you will be coming along for the trip, though not with these two."

***

"I believe it will, Mistress," Lane said, with an apologetic smile. His mistress was right in that it would most likely be unnecessary, however on the off chance that something happened, he would be glad to have them at the ready.

[KentaEzren]

Kenta may not know what Anna was talking about, but he knew any information could help them a long way. "Anything on their jobs can help, too. I know a few things about odd jobs. And hired mercenaries who work for a lot of money too... I know how to buy a mercenary out from his first contract." he took a little sip of tea.

Edited March 25, 2016 by KentaEzren

[Snowy_One]

"It is good. Olga. Be ready. I have a monkey here who may be willing to try and bite my face off or have a gun." said Robin before taking out another piece of apple. Then, in a quiet voice, she spoke again. "Hey Chip. Do you know where Nico is? Or do you at least want to come out with us?"

[Thany]

"I'll only help around if Boss tells me to do that. otherwise i'll just help Boss where he goes." :she told Miguel:

[-Cynthia-]

"In any case, do we know when Raquel and the others are coming back? I was trying to gather everyone to hunt down the artificials originally...I suppose that's the still the plan despite everything that's happened," Veronika said after taking a deep breath to steel herself. At this point, I have to wonder if Raquel will even come back...so much is happening outside my control.

--

"I met Samael a few days ago- he's clearly a powerful mage though you likely know that already. I had the impression that he was completely devoted to his cause and ruthless in pursuit of his goals. He was interested in one of my students...but since I don't know exactly where she is right now, I'm afraid that doesn't give many indicators as to his next destination," Lysandra answered after a brief pause.

Edited March 26, 2016 by -Cynthia-

[KentaEzren]

"That's a bummer...." Kenta sighed.

[Phoenix]

Archives

"Are you going to be alright?" Raquel asked Morpheus, who was staring off at nothing with an aura of bitterness she could recognize anywhere. "I wasn't expecting things to turn out like this, either. I'm glad you at least have a body again, but ... I know it's not exactly what you wanted."

"... nothing's changed, Mystery," he said, not looking in her direction, "you're still my only ally."

Raquel tried to smile, but one particular word in Morpheus' reply reminded her that something so important that she'd hoped to address going forward wasn't off to a very good start. "You should try seeing your family as allies, too. I still plan on helping you with that when I can, so I will be back."

To be fair, he was trying. He had been since she'd first broached the topic before the fight with Lilith. It wasn't working. "I look forward to your return, Mystery," he said solemnly, managing a faint smile where Raquel had failed.

"Hey," Nemesis called out to Lane as she returned, her own weapon in one hand and a pair of items covered in an ebon cloth in the other, "I'm almost positive this was going to be yours, anyway, and this staff isn't a standard one. They should help you feel a little more prepared." She handed the cloaked items over to the robed servant.

Dining Hall

Cassandra couldn't even make an estimate off the top of her head, and Morgana was the first between them to speak anyway. "Whatever's needed," she said, a worried look on her face.

"Hmm," Dominik put a hand on his chin, "if you need Morgana for something, there's probably some subtlety involved, or maybe something diplomatic. The Wyght name still has some weight, after all."

Stables

Rather than wasting his breath talking, Chip elected to keep shredding the apple slice Robin had given him. Seeing her pull out another one made him quicken his pace. He had to get both of these apples before one of the horses gained some interest.

"If you get any intel from a monkey," Olga called over from the other isle of stalls, "I will be one impressed staffer."

Courtyard

"When Nyx is involved," Reign noted, "nothing takes very long. They'll probably be back soon."

Miguel smiled at Thany. "Is she your daughter or something?" he asked the boss, "I wish our girls were more like this."

"Keep wishing," Nadine said.

"One of my people," the boss answered Miguel, "not a daughter, no, but I'll look out for her just the same."

House

"Does this student have a name?" Anna asked, figuring a lead like this was worth pursuing, especially considering that they had already taken Lois. If they were after one of Lysandra's students, too, they were almost assuredly going to get her if someone didn't intervene.

"It's not Reina, is it?" Gabriel frowned.

[Snike]

"If you do not consider yourself presentable to meet Athena, feel free to go change. Keep in mind the situation there," Thanatos said to Morgana, before turning to his other servant. "Subtlety is part of it, yes."

***

"Thanks," Lane said, as he accepted the covered items from Nemesis, then removed the cloth to reveal them. The first one was the staff Nemesis mentioned. It certainly wasn't standard, as, from what the servant knew, it was at least a recovery staff. The second item, in contrast, was a sheathed sword. The sheath, while it had Ursian engraved into it, was otherwise unremarkable. He was going to examine the weapon itself, but once the man grasped its' hilt, he immediately felt the immense dark energy contained within it. A brand, most likely. Satisfied, Lane strapped the sheath to his belt, hilt pointing up, and stashed the cloth within his robes.

"Thank you again, Mistress," Lane said, bowing towards Nyx. Next, he turned to Raquel. "Are you ready to go?"

[KentaEzren]

"That can't be good if it is..." Kenta said in frustration.

[Phoenix]

Archives

"We'll be in touch, Lane," Nyx smiled.

Figuring there wasn't anything in particular holding either of them here, Raquel supposed it was time to go. "I guess so," she said, still wondering how they were going to get to Weyland's from here. There was an exit that looked like it led to a staircase; it was opposite the inner chamber entrance to the archives, and probably their way out. She pointed a finger at the potential exit and asked, "that way?"

"That's one way," Nyx nodded, "though I'd recommend another route."

"It's time to unlock one of your old memories," Nature said, her tone leaving no little room for argument, "you once used distortions to manipulate your surroundings and your place in them. Bring them back and use them to reach your destination."

"Distortions?"

"Cradled by the light, small in the eyes of others, faster than any arrow. Bring back that experience and then be on your way."

"Okay, I'll try," Raquel sighed, feeling slightly more confused than before but not wanting to ask for details she might not even need. It seemed the more questions she asked, the more irritable Nemesis became. It was time to figure at least part of this out for herself, she decided. She didn't want to be treated like a fool anymore, so she couldn't go around acting like one, possessing so much power, yet relying entirely on others for the knowledge of how to use it. That was very unlike the mage she had pictured herself as in the past. She needed to experiment with what she already knew from time to time. That was among the best ways to learn.

Dining Hall

"This should be fine," Morgana said, glancing over her outfit, "she's seen me in this plenty of times, already."

[Snowy_One]

"Chip, where is Nico? If you can help I will give you another apple slice." said Robin, being sure to keep a firm grip on the next one so that Chip couldn't just rip it away to munch on.

[Snike]

Lane nodded to his mistress, then joined Raquel as Nature explained that the former had to unseal one of her old memories in order to travel more quickly. He wasn't in a position to be giving away too much information about his goals just yet, so he gave the pink-haired woman a smile and waited for her to try doing so, before he said anything else.

***

"Noted," Thanatos said, folding his arms. They would be leaving in short order, assuming the conversation between Cassandra and Erion didn't drag on too long.

[-Cynthia-]

Hopefully the experience doesn't ruin them...Shadrak came back from dealing with Nyx and was changed for the worse. "Then I suppose all we can do now is wait for their return and prepare ourselves. The artificials won't take any sympathy on us," Veronika stated. I'm sorry Blake...I'll grieve for you later. You wouldn't have wanted us to be worried about you anyway...

--

Lysandra hesitated for a moment. If these people aren't who they claim to be, Reina's safety could be compromised...I'll have to trust Gabriel's judgment here. She nodded slowly. "Samael was looking for Reina Valcyn. The organization has a habit of collecting talented people and converting them to their...ideology. Hopefully I've managed to spare her of that fate..."

Edited March 28, 2016 by -Cynthia-

[scorri]

Erion had been trying to sort through his jumbled thoughts and finally looked at Cassandra again. "Err, right. I guess.. When it all comes down to it, there are two major questions I have. What and how? What are my powers and how do I use them? I mean... How did you learn how to use yours? I just... I just got these powers an hour ago. Raquel gave them to me and I still don't really understand how or why but I do know that I should be learning to use all the options I have so... How?"

[Phoenix]

Archives

Memories of a power she'd once used. Surrounded by light, appearing small to others, and moving faster than an arrow. Raquel tried to imagine what must look and feel like, but she came up short.

"Don't create new experiences," Nature said, "recreate the old ones."

So it wasn't going to work if she just imagined the target? She would have to dig it out somehow? Fine. Raquel straightened up her posture and began to focus much harder this time. It was something I used to be able to do, right? So give it back to me. I need to know how to do it. She wasn't sure whether she was pleading with the power of the emblem or herself, or if there was even a needful distinction to be made there. "A-anymore advice?"

"Yes! Defend yourself!" The words didn't come from Nature like Raquel had been expecting, but she definitely recognized the voice. It was Nemesis, and the woman was coming straight at her. The outer chamber wasn't terribly dark, but the color black blended in quite well, which made Nemesis look like a floating head speeding toward her for a split second before Raquel's eyes resolved the blur. Then she saw Nemesis draw her sword and raise the blade above her head. It was a single edge blade, the lovechild of a messer and a ninjato. Raquel stepped back as Nemesis reached her, wondering what she'd done to warrant such an overwhelming response.

"Wait a second!" She realized just a second too late that Nemesis had positioned herself so that any movement short of attacking her first or using magic to evade the attack would result in failure. She didn't know how to fight, so that just left her the one option. She didn't know how to use magic to evade the attack, either ...

As the blade came down, Raquel briefly wondered if the blow would kill her, or if she would just be left with a disfiguring scar and half to wear a mask from now on. The thought of hiding her face like that was just too much. "No!" It wasn't a warp spell, but Raquel had still avoided the hit, leaning out of the way faster than a human could, and staggered away from Nemesis. Nyx held up her hand to let Lane know that he shouldn't interfere.

The swordswoman wasted no time in closing in on Raquel again. Instead of an overhead strike, this time she went for a sweep. Raquel's last maneuver wouldn't work this time. She didn't have the speed to duck under an attack meant to cleave her by the waist, and even if she did, she would be almost prone and vulnerable to a follow up attack. Raquel didn't have the leg strength to jump over such a strike, or the time to get out of its reach, either. At least she wouldn't have to worry about wearing a mask ...

As the blade struck her side, the pain reached her long before it should have, and Raquel reacted on instinct, bursting into golden light before the blade could even cut an inch into her. Nemesis followed through with her sweep and when the light faded, she was left standing in front of a small glowing orb of light. Satisfied, Nemesis sheathed her blade. "That's it, basically."

The orb began to look unstable and soon, it erupted, causing another golden light show that left Raquel sitting on the ground, nursing her side. "I remember," she winced. She drew up her hand and to her surprise, there was no blood there.

"Good. Safe travels, then." Nemesis turned to head back to the inner chamber.

Dining Hall

"Well I'll start by saying I have no idea what you can actually do," Cassandra said, "I found my ability the hard way." Thoughts of her sessions with Burke and the beatings she'd endured were still vivid and came with some bitterness. If he'd beaten up Raquel the way he'd done to her, the girl would be forever unrecognizable if she even managed to survive. "As for how, don't worry about that."

She held out her hand, her fingers curled toward her and grasping at what might have been an invisible hilt. "Know what you want and believe it will happen. Just believe ..." A golden haze began to fill her hand. It became as thicker until she might as well have been holding a ball of steam, and then stretched out to form a dagger. A burst of light raced up from her palm and left pristine metal in its wake. Like everything else Cassandra produced, the dagger was mostly gold. "I'm not sure what your ability is, but even if you don't need it right this minute, it should still work."

"It might not be compatible with that method, but I guess it's a good start," Dominik chimed in.

"If you have a better idea ..." Cassandra scowled at him. It was his suggestion that Erion talk to her, after all.

Stables

With one apple slice just about done, Chip, his mouth full of apple gore, set his sights on the second piece. He reached his hands out to accept the other one, demanding it from Robin.

Courtyard

"I think I'll head over to the mess hall," Reign said, nodding a farewell before he turned to leave. That same soldier from before still seemed intent on following him, but Reign had nearly forgotten about him.

"We should go get our things," the boss said.

"I'll be here. Nadine, keep them out of trouble."

House

"This could work to our advantage," Anna said, glancing first at her escorts and then at Lysandra. "Do you think they'll skip town without trying to grab Reina first? If not, then I have an idea."

"Not sure," Gabriel admitted, "but if he's looking for another mage or two to train he'll probably make at least one attempt before leaving. That doesn't help us with Zerachiel, though."

"Actually, it might," Anna held up a finger and smiled. "If we catch Samael when he goes after Reina, he won't be able to get word back to Zerachiel. Depending on how the fight with Samael goes, Zerachiel will be none the wiser, and we can plan specifically for him next. We might even be able to get something out of Samael. Optimistic as hell, I know, but the gist of this is to take them on separately. We just need to find Reina before he does."

"Hmm, maybe." Gabriel had to admit, he didn't like their chances fighting both artificials simultaneously.

[Nanami Touko]

The pain slowly subsiding and her mind getting a bit hazy had kept Amalia quiet as the group spoke about Emblems and the like. There was something she remembered that Erion had done, when they were floating up there. "Erion," she said, taking a moment to collect herself, "I do not mean to interrupt, but... As we're on the subject of things you can do, you... Did become Blake for a moment, while Raquel was fighting Lilith." It seemed so mundane, after watching that fight, but grounding herself back in the reality of their abilities, it was fairly magnificent. "Or at least, you took on his appearance..."