Genesis Crisis IC

Palace

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Alex shouted amongst the debris, as he followed the others quickly out of the building.  Blocks of stone from pillars and the ceiling fell next to him left and right making every moment feel like it could be his last.

Somehow, Alex made it outside the door, as he looked around the see that mostly everyone had made it out along with him.  They finally took down both the army and legion; they were safe for the time being and the citizens… the finally understood what they needed to do.

“I don’t see Keynes, is he alright?” Alex asked with concern, as he didn’t see him escape after he fought that one man from earlier.

Caltha Streets

“Shut up you two, you both suck.” Aera retorted with rage in her voice, as she found herself silent when suddenly she felt a familiar feeling, a pair of warm arms stretch around her.  It didn’t take much thought to guess who it was, but she could almost see the smile on Lancar’s face, in fact she kind of wanted to activate her overlimit right now to see it…

Aera couldn’t help but blush, her face turning a slight shade of pink, speechless from the sudden flux of emotions that filled her until the comments and Lancar releasing her from his embrace brought her back into reality.

“I think I hear him, but there are someone else’s footsteps with him…” Aera stated calmly, as she reached out to grab Lancar’s hand, but missed from the tenseness of the situation as she let out an annoyed sigh.

“Hey, I didn’t find Troy but I did find his father.” Daemond said waving to the rest of his squad, as he was now holding his blade again and in a lot less tense of a situation.

“Did you see this though?  It’s amazing.”  Daemond stated almost mimicking the words of Sasha, as he counted down each member of the squad to make sure everyone was okay and happy.  Troy’s father on the other hand looked rather grim until he saw Aera standing there.

“Aren’t you that girl from that burning house a few years back?” The man said looking at Aera’s stature and pose as he nodded almost like he was proud of her like a daughter, “I must say, you’ve grown into quite a fine solider to survive this mess.”

There was a hint of rage in his voice, as he looked over at the corpse of Lymond with an expression of rage and hatred.  His hands tightened, but he took a quick breath of relief looking at Lancar with kinder expression.

“You must be the leader of this squad?  You’ve raised a fine bunch for sure.” Troy’s father stated calmly, “It’s nice to see that there’s still a lot of good people in the army even after this.”

Caltha, Streets

"It's nice to meet you, lieutenant," Lancar said, giving the man a crisp nod before shaking his hand. It was very encouraging to know that not all Army members would see them as traitors.

"I hope your family managed to stay safe during all this," the lieutenant offered, though he was sure Troy's father would not have been here if it were not the case. "We really should be heading to the palace though. We need to see if the situation there is secure. I'm sure you'll let Daemond know if there's any complications."

Lancar signaled to the members of his squad, and they hurried off toward the palace. Mitchell momentarily stopped, however, grabbing Daemond by the arm.

"I was only able to snap out of things because I wanted to help you," he told the other ensign. "You were the only one who tried to help me... and Mitchell."

He bit his lip, looking away toward the distance where Lymond's body must lie.

"I didn't want him to succeed either," he whispered, eyes narrowed. "He didn't deserve that..."

Looking away, Mitchell moved after the others, looking a bit pale and weak after non-activity for so long.

--------------------

Caltha, Imperial Palace

Rise bit her lip at Alex's words. She was worried about Keynes too. From the sight of things, there had been a very explosive struggle between him and the young commander. Leaving James and Alex to help Chastenay, she hurried ahead and followed the signs of battle until she reached the front doors, which had been blasted open. There was Keynes, looking rather the worse for wear, but still alive and breathing.

"It's Keynes! He's here!" she called to the others before hurrying forward. To her surprise, Kokonoe was there as well.

"You're all right," Rise said, beaming at Keynes. "We defeated the High General. He..."

Her face darkened at thought of what he'd done for the sake of his pride, but she shook her head.

"It's over now," she said, sighing with relief at the sight of the fighting ended and the people united and celebrating. The others arrived behind her, bringing Chastenay, who they set against the wall as they reunited.

It was only a few minutes later that Raidon, Arya, Snow, and Lizzie ascended the stairs, stopping short at the sight of the group joyously convened there.

"It seems it's over then," Raidon said quietly to Arya, giving her hand a small squeeze. What this meant for them now, he wasn't sure. But at least she was safe now.

Palace

A ghost of a smile crossed Keynes' lips as Kokonoe pulled him forward to scream in his face, and in the back of his eyes, a mixture of hope and regret flashed briefly. "I guess you've got me there." He responded softly.

Could he ever make it up to her? She'd said he didn't have a choice, but did that really mean he had the capability? He was being stupid again...

He closed his eyes, seeing Jane standing in front of him in his mind for a moment. I"m sorry...

She smiled, reaching out to poke him in the forehead. "You can be a real dope sometimes, you know?" She responded. "You've already given me more than anyone else in my lifetime. You actually gave a damn. Now quit moping about and move on already."

Keynes' eyes drifted open again as Kokonoe's fist collided with his shoulder, and he grunted, trying not to actually fall over from the blow. "You sure that's a good idea?" He asked quietly. "I'll get blood all over your lab coat."

He didn't wait for her to respond before pulling her into his arms though. The contact was brief, as the others began to appear from various directions, but it held the promise of healing, real healing, for both of them.

Caltha, Imperial Palace

"Let us hope it is," Arya replied and stood up on her tip-toes to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. Her lips only lightly brushed his skin and she returned the squeeze he gave her hand.

She felt nervous, her heart beating in her chest. In a few seconds she might be facing her sister again. There was hope. Hope that she would be alright. That she survived this and managed to return to her friends. And then there was fear. Fear of what she might think of her now. That she would be hurt.

Arya turned around to look at the others, most of them only known to her from pictures. She grasped Raidon's hand tightly while her eyes searched for Lisa.

----------------------------------------------


Caltha, Imperial Palace

James and Alex were almost the last to approach Keynes, Kokonoe and the others. Finally able to sit Chastenay down when they were out of the palace, he straightened up and stretched his back. That man was sure heavy.

Coming closer, James looked a bit surprised at seeing Kokonoe here, and in a short embrace with Keynes too. It had always seemed she tried to avoid him.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said to Keynes and gave him a relieved smile. "Though you've been in better shape."

Only a few minutes later, he suddenly recognized the four people coming towards them and his mouth fell open.

"I…we all thought you were…dead," he stumbled over the words, looking at Snow and Lizzy.

"You didn't really think you'd get rid of us that easily," Snow replied with a crooked grin and pulled out another cigarette.

Snow looked around, glancing at everyone. It seemed Keynes was in the worst condition right after Chastenay, who was still wearing the robes of Pierrot. Of course in his state, he was no danger anymore and Snow only exhaled gruffly when he realized what must have taken place.

"Where are Jax and the quiet guy?" he asked huskily after a few seconds.

James hesitated for a moment. "They went off to defend the satellite tower. We haven't heard from them…." There was quite a bit of worry in his voice and he couldn't help but glance back at Rise and the others.

No, he had to believe they were alright. Both of them were strong enough to make it through any of this.

Only now did his eyes fall on Raidon and he scowled at the man. Why was he alive? Hadn't they left him as good as dead? He seemed changed somehow, not as threatening anymore and the young woman at his side had probably something to do with that.

Palace

"Yeah, yeah, I'm perfectly fine." Keynes grumbled, releasing Kokonoe from his grip as the rest of the group made their way down the steps to where he was standing. "Didn't think that little punk would get the best of me, did you?" He asked indignantly.

"The thought had crossed my mind..." Alina responded with a teasing smile, to which Keynes' only response was a rude gesture. She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything else.

Lisa let out a slight gasp when she saw Snow and Lizzy making their way up the street, but before she could wave to them, she saw something that made her blood run cold.

Raidon... He was walking towards them, fully recovered from Keynes' assault. She'd thought that he would have died from his wounds... But more than that, she also saw Arya, her sister, with her hand in his grip. He was still holding her prisoner...

Without words, she stalked forward, ignoring all the others as she zeroed in on Raidon. A combination of fear, confusion, and fury rose within her with each step, and when she reached him, her hand went immediately to his chest. In a very similar way to how she had provided oxygen for the others during their dive, she now took it away, encircling Raidon's head with a vacuum.

"I warned you..." She gritted out. "Let her go."

Lizzy had been about to join Snow in greeting the others when she saw what was happening out of the corner of her eye and tugged on Snow's sleeve, pointing towards Lisa and Raidon to direct his attention.

Imperial Palace

Alex let out a sigh of relief when he realized that everyone was safe that was in the building, as he slowly walked over to greet Keynes with a smile on his face.

"It's amazing that we all made it out in the end though." Alex said with a smile, as his mind briefly thought about the others for a moment, and their mission.

"It doesn't feel right to celebrate without Will here." Alex commented towards Rise and Keynes with a reminiscent smile his arms crossed in front of him, as he looked around to see if he was going to show up, but there wasn't anything that symbolized it for the time being.

Though, out of the corner of his eye Alex saw Lisa approaching Raidon, as he watched curiously from the distance to see how it the situation would pan out.

-----

Caltha Street

"You're..." Aera muttered in a startled voice, as she recognized the kind and considerate voice that was talking to her.  It seemed so long ago that she met him and how he was the one who opted her for the hearing enhancers that got her in the standing she was in today.

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate what you did for me." Aera stated with a formal bow, as she turned around to follow Lancar to the destination without looking back, not that she could see him anyways.

"No need to thank me, you did all the work." The man said, as he waved to the squad to say goodbye and walked off into the distance back to his home.

"Hey, no problem, I would do it all again any day." Daemond stated with a kind voice that showed that he really cared that he was okay, as he continued to say in a now more cheerful voice, "You're part of the original squad after all, gotta keep the original gang together."

Daemond gave the ensign a cheesy thumbs up, as he quickly followed the rest of the squad.

Caltha, Imperial Palace

Kokonoe slid away from Keynes, cheeks flushed as she tried to make herself unseen by the newly emerged crowd. That only worked with mild success, however, as Rise spotted the blood on her labcoat and hurried over.

"Kokonoe, are you hurt?" she asked, trying to look for any wounds. The researcher backed away, hugging her labcoat tighter to her body as though to prevent an invasion of her privacy.

"It's not mine. It's from that big neanderthal," Kokonoe grumbled, jerking her head in Keynes' direction. "Go bother him."

Rise opened her mouth, looking from Kokonoe to Keynes as though trying to piece together how that had happened. But that was hardly a pressing matter, so she gave up and made her way to Keynes, instructing him to sit down so she could heal him. She had only just finished with the Diarahan spell when she saw Snow, Lizzie, and the others approaching. For a moment, her eyes registered Raidon before he brain was able to catch up; by the time she realized whom she was looking at, Lisa had charged over to him and began trying to suffocate him. At the sight of their entwined fingers, Rise's first thought - incredulous as it may be - was that they were actually a couple. But... Raidon? Was that really possible? Apparently, Lisa had a rather different interpretation of the matter.

"Lisa... I don't think..." Rise began tentatively, but there was no stopping the enraged girl. Raidon released Arya's hand, staring intently at her little sister. He could have easily drawn his katana and stopped her in a number of ways, but that would probably be a step backward in attempting to gain anyone's trust.

"Still.. no... control..." he muttered disappointedly. He had thought that after all she'd been through, the girl would learned to be more in-control of her emotions.

--------------------

Lancar and the rest of Squad 34 hurried up the steps of the palace, glancing to see a man with sleek dirty blonde hair speaking to the crowd and trying to keep things calm and orderly. As they reached the top, they could see a group gathered before the large, ornate doors to the palace.

With a jolt of surprise, the lieutenant recognized the former Chief Raidon being strangled under a magical sphere of wind around his head. Laying crumpled against the wall... was that Commander Chastenay? What had happened to him? And there was the former Commander Alina Grey. He could recognize other people in the crowd as part of that Aegis group as well.

"What's going on?" he demanded, looking around at them.

Imperial Palace

Alex watched the situation unfold between Lisa and Raidon further. The way Raidon sluggishly moved and how did show any sign of reaction towards Lisa was all the evidence he needed. Being a Katana user himself, he knew that the man could easily get out of the situation.

"Lisa hey, let him..." Alex stated with authority in his voice until it was cut off from the sound of another member of the army approaching from the stairs. Alex glanced over in their direction his guard raised, as he studied the group that appeared before him with critical eyes.

Though in all honesty, he didn't know where to begin. Should they just say they've taken out their leader, caused a full revolt, and taken out the leader of the majin who was a member of the army? It just seemed a good way to get into an unnecessary engagement after all this hard work they put into everything.

"That's kind of hard to explain.." Alex muttered, as he looked at the man standing in front that was supposedly their leader, "Are you here to attack us?"

----

"That's Raidon.." Daemond muttered to Aera, to give her some insight on the situation as he looked around at the various members to further explain the situation but in all honesty he couldn't say much. There were a bunch of people he didn't recognize, some looked like college students while others were high members of the army such as Alina and Kokonoe.

"Seems like Kokonoe is here too, don't know what to say about this situation." Daemond simply muttered, as he waited for what Lancar would say to the group of people in front of him.

"So they're not legion or army?" Aera muttered back. She had heard vague information about the rouge group that has been causing chaos, but she never could get that much information on them. It always seemed like the various news sources kept them in the dark for some reason.

"I heard the palace collapse, what are we supposed to do?" Aera asked Daemond and the rest of the squad confused, as the situation was in all honesty beyond her reasoning at this point. They needed to uphold the army somehow, as the citizens by themselves will cause complete chaos...

Caltha, Imperial Palace

"Mhh?" Snow asked when he felt Lizzy trying to get his attention. It only took him a second to catch on when he saw Lisa approaching Raidon. Right, Arya was her sister.

"Looks like someone is pissed," he grumbled and watched to see how the situation would resolve. "See, that's the sister that probably would've tried to kill you immediately," he commented dryly in Lizzy's ear.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed more people were approaching and one glance told him they were army. However he could not sense any hostility and from their worn down attire, telling of the fights they had been in, Snow hoped they wouldn't make any trouble.

-------------

Arya had been about to step forward to greet her sister when she noticed the grim expression on Lisa's face. Stopping in place, she felt unsure of what to do as she watched her approach Raidon. It almost seemed like Lisa had not even noticed her.

"No! Stop it!" she called out and took a step towards the other girl. She glanced back fearfully and saw Raidon was still under the effect of the spell, slowly suffocating. And even though there was fear in her eyes, fear for his life, she was also proud that he had not attacked her sister.

Arya put her hands on Lisa's shoulders and stepped between her and Raidon, pushing her back slightly, hoping to make Lisa look at her.

"Please Lisa. Stop it. For me. Don't …kill him," she pleaded desperately, tears collecting in her eyes. "Because I …I love him." Her voice was soft, full of emotion while she stood there, gazing at Lisa's eyes.

-------------

James was slightly surprised by Lisa's reaction and he took at closer look at the young woman who even stepped forward to defend Raidon.

"That's her sister," he murmured. Could she really feel something for Raidon? he mused and watched fascinated to see what would happen.

Out of nowhere, another group approached them and James diverted his attention to them. It appeared to be a squad, or what was left of it and their Lieutenant who had spoken up first. James glanced at the others, lingering on Alina as if he was hoping she would speak up. She could probably explain things better.

Before the silence became too awkward however, Alex stepped up, trying to keep the situation calm.

Palace

"I don't think pissed covers it." Lizzy responded, hugging Snow's arm to herself. "I know that look in her eyes Eli... I've seen it too many times in the mirror over the years." For a moment, she looked haunted, but it passed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I hope that it works out as well as it did for me..."

Lisa froze when Arya stepped in front of her, defending the very man who had cause her, had caused both of them so much suffering... Not only that, but she said she loved this man. The devastation in her eyes told Lisa all she needed to know, and with a defeated sound, she let the spell go, let Raidon go.

She couldn't stand seeing Arya's tears, especially tears that she was causing. Arya, who had already suffered so much because of her didn't deserve to shed another tear in her entire life.

"For you..." Lisa choked out, but was unable to finish the rest of her sentence as she turned her back on the pair of them. She couldn't see them right now, couldn't look at the two of them together without feeling ill, but for Arya, she would let it go. Her sister deserved that much. Hell, she deserved a whole lot more. If this was her decision, she couldn't argue.

Keynes, who had hardly been able to protest Rise pushing him over to heal him had watched the scene from a distance, his eyes filled with turmoil. Seeing Raidon again definitely wasn't at the top of his 'to do' list, but now that the other man was here, they would need to have a chat...

Alina regarded the entire situation with mild disinterest. Her mind was elsewhere right now, worrying over Jax and Will. Since the cannon hadn't rained down destruction on them yet, she could only assume they'd been successful, but at what cost?

Shaking her head, she paced over to where Chastenay was sprawled out on the ground, twitching miserably. "I pitied you before..." She said, squatting beside him and resting her hands on her knees. "Now, I don't even know what to call it..."

Caltha, Imperial Palace

She could see the how much effort it took Lisa to overcome her hatred and let the spell go. Arya bit her lower lip when the array of emotions passing on her sister's face.

"Oh, Lisa…" she whispered when the other girl turned her back. That wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want Lisa to leave. Arya felt torn. Those two was what she wanted most in the world but right now it felt as if she was made to chose between them.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away before turning around to Raidon, taking his hand. Gently she touched his cheek. "I'm so proud of you," she said quietly. Yes, he was alright. After making sure of that, she turned back around and took a step towards her sister.

"All I ever wanted was a chance at happiness," she said, looking at Lisa's back. "And I want you to be part of that, Lisa. I couldn't be truly happy if you were to leave me."

She let go of Raidon's hand and took another step towards her sister. Waiting for her to turn around, she looked at Lisa. "We have been separated for too long. Please, won't you be part of my life now?"

Palace

Arya's words stung her, shamed her... She had no right to turn her back on her sister, and yet Lisa couldn't bring herself to turn around. The wounds were too deep, had been allowed to fester for too long. They needed time to heal.

Trying her best to smile, she turned only her head back in Arya's direction, letting her sister see the emotion on her face. "I want to be a part of your life Arya. We're sisters, and up until now, we've not had a chance to be together."

The smile faltered slightly, and tears to match Arya's began to form in Lisa's eyes as well. "I'm not leaving you. I just need some time... To let it go..." She finished weakly, turning away again so Arya wouldn't have to see how much this hurt, how much it was eating away at her to not be able to embrace her sister. It was the right answer though. She couldn't look Arya in the face and tell her that Raidon was forgiven, not yet...

Caltha, Imperial Palace

Raidon fell to his knees as the air rushed back into his lungs. To his credit, he only gave a few stifled coughs before regaining his feet, looking slightly pale. Arya hurried over to him, checking that he was all right. He gave her a stiff nod before looking down. He hadn't wanted to cause her this pain from the strife between him and her sister. Even as she touched his cheek, whispering words of praise, he could only raise his eyes to gaze into hers, hoping to give her the strength and support she needed.

Raidon wouldn't try to give any apologies. He knew Lisa wasn't ready to hear that, and it wouldn't be enough to make amends for his actions, in any case. Perhaps, with time, the love of sisters could be enough to at least make things civil, if not friendly.

Rise approached Lisa, putting an arm gently around her to encourage her friend. She knew how difficult this was for Lisa.

Meanwhile, Lancar had turned to regard Alex, seeming guarded but not hostile.

"Not unless you're with Legion... but I don't think that's case," he said, eyeing them all. Kokonoe shook her head and walked up next to Alex.

"No, we're the group that's been a general nuisance to both sides," she dryly. "I suppose it's fair to warn you that we just defeated the High General, as well as Legion's leader."

The lieutenant looked surprised, but not particularly upset as he looked at his squad.

"Neither was fit to lead Kaddath," he said quietly. "For that, I suppose we should thank you."

Lancar glanced over to where Alina was approaching Chastenay - Legion's leader, he realized with some shock - and knelt beside him. Chastenay made a choking noise as his blood-shot eyes swiveled around to Alina, staring down at him with a mixture or loathing and pity. He gave a horrible gurgling laugh as he turned his head toward the satellite tower.

"It's you I pity..." he whispered hoarsely. "You fools... don't grasp... the situation you are in."

He gave another laugh, though this was cut short by a fit of coughing as he spit up blood.

"I was blind... we all were," Chastenay muttered. "And now the world will perish in water as it almost did nearly a century ago. See how they converge like carrion above the field of carnage?"

Rise approached the feeble old man with some trepidation, looking fearful and worried.

"What are you saying?" she asked quietly. "That-"

"You may have stopped the revolution, but Kaddath is now doomed. And it's all your fault."

He gave a wheezing laugh before his eyes bulged as he choken on more blood, convulsing until he stiffened and his head fell to the side. There was no mistaking it this time. Chastenay - Pierrot of Legion - was finally dead.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

"And so we arrive at the end..."

A man spoke from beneath a strange mask. It was impossible to tell if the wicked smile the curved along the lower half of his face was part of it or not, for it always seemed to be plastered there. He never spoke his own name, though many called him Pierrot, and rightly so. For none knew his true name, and if they did know, they would speak it not, for fear of his attentions.

"With every experiment, there must be a beginning, but there must also be an end, a time to measure the results and weigh the knowledge gleaned from it. Was it a success, or was it a failure? Perhaps the better question is this; did it even matter?"

"What if the outcome was already known before the experiment ever began? The Riders, the Legion, even Pierrot himself..."

The man was suddenly taken by a fit of giggles, and he held his hand up to his audience, beckoning for them to give him pause and regain his composure. But after several moments, he continued, still laughing as he raised his arms towards the sky.

"Let history be the gateway to a new future! For each new beginning, something must come to an end!"

Palace

Alina grimaced at the passing of Chastenay, looking more than a little sick. She couldn't decide if it was from the sight of him or from his words though. In her mind, she weighed them, contemplating the meaning until someting snapped in the back of her mind.

"The Majin..." She whispered, looking to the sky.

"They're moving towards the satellite control tower." Her voice broke on the last word as her eyes opened wide in fear. "We have to move! Will and Jax could be in serious danger."

Why the control tower?

Her mind kept repeating the question, but it was quickly drowned out by a vision of Jax, surrounded by Majin. A vision that she quickly banished from her mind. They would make it. They had to.

Keynes pushed himself to his feet with a grunt, but before he could take more than a step, Lizzy's hand gripped him by the shoulder. "You should sit this one out... I'll admit you're doing a good job of hiding it, but you're dead tired after taking that beating earlier."

"I'll be fine." Keynes responded dismissively, shrugging off her hand.

Lizzy frowned at him, but raised her hands in defeat. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. I need to stay here and see to as many of the wounded as I can." She said, giving the group an apologetic look.

Caltha, Imperial Palace

Rise cringed and looked away, wishing she could erase the memory of Chastenay's last moments. It was horrible what the lust of power did to someone.

Lancar wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but it sounded as though the satellite tower was being compromised. His first instinct was to order the squad to get on the job, but Aegis was already getting ready to set out.

"We'll keep the capital secure," he said, nodding to the group. "There's no telling what those Majin might do."

"We need to get the people back inside. They've done enough for now, but having out like this is asking for trouble," Raidon interjected, feeling a bit uncomfortable trying to speak his opinion in a group whose opinion of him probably ranged between distaste and hate.

"You're right," Lancar said, motioning to the rest of his squad. "Let's go."

Squad 34 headed back down the stairs to wear Darcy was to help, with Raidon following after them. He paused, turning back to Aegis solemnly.

"Good luck," he said quietly before turning and following after the soldiers. He passed by Kokonoe, who had apparently descended into the city while the others were talking. She headed over to Keynes, grasping a handful of sparkling green crystals.

"I got some of these off the mobile dolls down there," the researcher told him, handing over the Traesto gems. "This should let us get in and out of there more easily."

Rise was puzzled for a moment by the use of "us" in Kokonoe's sentence.

"Wait, us? You're going?" she asked, surprised. Kokonoe nodded, sticking her hands in the pockets of her lab coat.

"I'm best qualified to shut down that tower, since James will likely be occupied," she said, indicating the other resident nerd. "Besides, I'm starting to feel left out of all the group field trips."

Rise couldn't help but smile slightly at that, despite her mounting worry for Jax and Will. As the members of Aegis moved in together, she felt a strong unity of purpose. Whatever was waiting for them at the satellite tower, they could handle it.

Caltha, Imperial Palace

Arya looked at her and extended one hand, almost as if to reach out to Lisa. However she stopped short and let if fall back. It hurt. She could not quite explain why, but it hurt deep in her chest.

Whether Arya wanted or not, Lisa's reasons made sense and she had to accept it even if it was difficult and all she wanted was to walk over there and pull her sister into a hug.

"I understand," she finally said, trying to keep the sadness and pleading from her voice. Arya felt and looked quite miserable when she turned back to Raidon.

Only now did she take noticed of the others around her, but she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge anyone. She looked over to Chastenay and heard him make a rather dreadful prophecy about what was going to happen.

She shivered. Apparently it was not over yet.

Staring after Aegis, her eyes locked on her sister as long as she could, Arya waited until they left. Only then did she follow the others. She approached Raidon and took his hand, she needed to feel the security and comfort his touch gave her.

-----------

His arm wrapped around Lizzy's hip in the most natural way when she leaned close. "Well, they're both still alive. I guess that was a success" he said and took another drag on his cigarette when he watched the sisters part. It didn't seem like a very positive outcome, but maybe over time things would get better.

Snow returned his attention to the main group who were listening to Chastenay and soon after they began to leave.

"Don't get this world blown to pieces," he said huskily. This was all the encouragement he offered before he followed Lizzy, Raidon and the army squad that arrived.

-----------

"She's right," James agreed when Kokonoe decided to come with them. "Kokonoe probably knows more about the satellite cannon than all of us."

He pulled necklace with the master key from his neck and tossed it to her. She might not need it, but it would make things faster and he doubted they would have a lot of time once they arrived at the tower. Chastenay's words sounded very foreboding and James couldn't help but glance back at his lifeless body, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Approaching Keynes, who had the traesto gems, he put a hand on Lisa's shoulder, signaling that he felt with her and giving her some comfort. The exchange between the two sisters hadn't gone unnoticed of course and he could only imagine the roller coaster of emotions she surely felt.

James took a deep breath. "Are we ready then?" he asked once everyone was there.

Caltha (Imperial Palace)

“Good idea, no telling what the majin will do now that Pierrot is gone.” Alex agreed with the member of the member of the army, as he watched them move out to the capital.  He was just worried the citizens would get mad at them, either way they have their own mission to worry about.

Alex didn’t like the idea of bringing Kokonoe along, not just because she didn’t have a lot of combat experience, but she also was very valuable to the team.  But they made a fair point, what could they hope to do about the cannon if they didn’t have her.

“I’m ready, let’s help Jax and Will and stop that cannon.” Alex said with determination, as he nodded at James to show that he was truly ready.  Looking around at the rest of the group, he felt the need to say something again to everyone else.

“We’re almost there everyone; we’ll show them what we’re made of.” Alex finally said balling his hand into a fist as he waited for everyone else to get ready.

---

“Should we split up so we can cover more ground?  There are a lot of people running about.” Aera asked the rest of her squad with concern, her voice slightly lower from all the new people that started following their squad.

She knew a couple of them the way the one person walked and moved reminded her of a very painful incident, while the other, Raidon, reminded her of their assault on the prisons.  It was weird to see them all together again, but refreshing since she knew what they could all do in battle.

“Maybe, I’d rather get a full view on the situation of the city and the majin first.” Daemond replied with concern, as he glanced around at who would be helping him, his eyes stopping at Lizzy.

“Ya, we should be fine.” Daemond thought to himself painfully.

Caltha

Lancar nodded to Aera, scanning the city.

"Yes, we have a lot of territory to cover," the lieutenant said quietly, casting a glance toward the satellite tower. It seemed that Snow and Lizzie were doing fine on their own, and Arya was handling things with Raidon.

"Daemond and I can handle things," Sasha said, putting a hand on the ensign's soldier and winking. Lancar nodded and looked to Xennox and Mitchell, who nodded back and moved together.

"I'll go with Aera then," he said quietly. "Let's move, Squad #34!"

--------------------

Satellite Tower

Rise wasn't sure that she'd ever get used to the strange distortion in vision and equilibrium as the Traesto gem instantly transported them before the satellite tower. Fortunately, Kokonoe's backdoor access was still in place in the security system, so they were able to get inside with no difficulties. It was eerily quiet inside, and Rise felt a shiver run down her spine, as though they were walking blind into the den of a beast. The lights flickered ominously, and Rise wondered if something had gone wrong.

"We'd better take the elevator," Kokonoe said, pointing it out. But before they could proceed, drawing their attention to it like a black hole, the familiar ghostly figure that had plagued them throughout their journey appeared on the stairs.


"No, it can't be..." Rise gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth. How could Chastenay be here? They'd just seen him die...

But even as she thought that, something that had been bothering her in the back of her mind clicked into place. Even now, as she stared at the venomous yellow eyes glowing spitefully back at her, she felt a thrill of horror that had haunted her every time it had appeared... an aura that had been distinctly lacking when they'd faced Pierrot down in the sewers and at the palace.

"So you're the real cause of all this..." she whispered.

[OOC: We're probably just going to focus just on the satellite tower from here on out.]

Palace

Lisa glanced in Arya's direction as Aegis prepared to part ways with the rest of the group. She wanted to reassure her sister that everything would get better, that they would be okay, but it was already difficult enough to tell herself that, much less convey it to someone else. Still, she had to try, and when Arya's eyes met hers, she mouthed the words 'I love you', offering only what she could before Keynes broke the crystal, throwing them all through space.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lizzy watched them go, and then, almost as an afterthought mumbled a curse, looking over at Snow. "I should have sent you with them." She grumbled. "That way, you could have brought back the bike."

With a sigh, she leaned against his shoulder, enjoying his presence, despite the others around them. "We need to find an open square somewhere that I can set up a makeshift clinic." She commented to no one in particular. "Somewhere with medical supplies already present would be the best bet, but if necessary, we can move those closer to the people that need them. Once we've got a center of operations, the rest of you can bring those with injuries serious enough to me there."

She glanced in Raidon's direction, checking that he was okay with the plan. Despite thier disagreements, she did still consider him to be an excellent officer and tactical mind.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Satellite Tower

Flickering lights greeted Aegis as they appeared in the first floor foyer of the control tower. It seemed like something was causing a serious power surge in the building.

Alina shook her head to rid herself of the traveling sickness and then stood up straighter, taking a look around. After only a few seconds, her eyes came to rest on the figure at the top of the staircase in front of them though.

"No... You're dead." She shook her head in denial.

Lisa also seemed to have noticed the figure, and her mouth was working up and down without producing any words.

"Dead?" The figure asked mildly as it started to move down the stairs towards them. "I'm afraid you're mistaken my dear. You cannot kill me, for I am neither a person, nor a thing. I am an idea, and ideas don't just die."

In the back of the group, Keynes had wrapped an arm around Kokonoe, signaling for her to be silent and pulled her towards one of the side doors that lead out of the room. The others could distract him, but she needed to find a way to shut down whatever was using up all the power, fast.

As they approached the door, an iron grate fell from the ceiling though, and Pierrot raised a teasing finger towards them, waving it back and forth. "Now, now. I was so generous as to welcome you all personally. What sort of host would I be if I allowed my guests to skip out before the show had begun?"

"What have you done with our friends?" Alina asked through clenched teeth. She wanted nothing more than to run him through, but something about the way he moved bothered her. He was leaving all of his vitals open to them, in essence, Pierrot was completely defenseless, but the swagger in his step, the absolute confidence in the way he moved made her question whether that was true, or simply an invitation to be the first he cut down.

"Friends?" Pierrot asked, sounding confused for a moment.

"I have no friends." He gestured to the corners of room, where the shadows were thickening. "I do have minions though." He continued as the Majin began to creep out of the darkness. "Majin, I believe they were called, although that isn't their true name."

Pierrot paused for a moment, as if trying to decide something. "You know, there is power in knowing something's true name. That's why only I can truly control these creatures."

He laughed for a moment, raising one hand towards the sky. "The same is true for the weapon so high above us right now. Only I know its true name, which was lost in the pages of history, covered up by something far more sinister."

With a wicked grin, he lowered his hand again, opening his arms towards the group. "But I digress. Let's return to my minions." He said as the shadows moved in a little closer. "I suppose you, who have been so useful to me, deserve to know their names before they devour you. Die with the knowledge that you were killed by the Nimh."

He laughed again as the creatures melted from the walls and corners, surrounding the group on all sides and pressing in on them. This wasn't the uncoordinated attack pattern that they had used before. No, this time their goal was painfully obvious. Surround, press in on, and smother all of Aegis.

Satellite Tower

After he adjusted to the dim lighting, he didn't want to trust his eyes. "Why isn't he dead?" he whispered and watched Pierrot stalk around in front of them.

James looked around, but other than a heap of crumpled metal from a Lambda Doll and the dead Commander Valkenheiyn, he couldn't see anyone else. Was that a good sign? Did that mean Jax and Will were still alive somewhere? Maybe undetected by Pierrot and the Majin? Even though it was unlikely, he still hoped for it.

Just then began the shadows to move forward and towards them, revealing a mass of Majin, or rather Nimh as Pierrot called them, that were threatening to suffocate them.

"Nimh," he whispered and swallowed dryly and pushed his hands together to gather his magical energy, wondering if there was a way they could survive this as the creatures approached them.

"Zio," he fired the lightning at the Majin closest to him, shattering its mask.

___________________________________________

Caltha, Palace Square

"Admit it, you'd much rather have me here," Snow replied huskily, his lips brushing against her neck and he pulled her closer.

Enjoying her presence for a few seconds longer, he was reluctant to get going. Did he really need to care about what happened to all the people here? He sighed. Of course he did.

"Why don't you set up at the main square here?" he asked. "I'll get you some medical supplies. There's an army base and a hospital nearby." Snow gestured in the two directions. "Unless you don't trust me to be out there alone…" he suggested playfully and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After waiting for her to agree, Snow headed down an alley towards the army base. He didn't expect any trouble after what happened earlier and wasn't disappointed. The base was almost deserted and those still around were more than helpful after he made it clear what would happen if they didn't cooperate.

He directed a jeep full with medical supplies together with two medics towards the square and then headed off in the opposite direction towards the hospital. Even though it was already filled with shocked and injured people, a helpful nurse provided him with an ambulance and a few spare supplies when she heard his story.

Quite a while later, he arrived back at the square, parking the ambulance next to the jeep. "See I didn't get into any fights," Snow said with a wink to Lizzy and pulled out another cigarette, but at least had the decency to leave quite a bit of distance between himself and the place where they began to treat some of the injured.

---------------------------------------

The group with Lisa left and things began to calm down. Arya took the time to look around. Everything was in disarray, but thanks to Darcy most of the people seemed to have calmed down.

Soon there was a practical plan and the army squad moved out. Arya caught herself wishing for things she'd said to her sister before she left again and closed her eyes for a second. This was useless now. She needed something to do, otherwise the thoughts in her head would drive her crazy.

Her fingers, that were still intertwined with Raidon's, slowly moved away. "I am going to see if I can help too," she suggested quietly and gazed into Raidon's eyes. She was tired of seeing so many people hurt.

Arya approached Lizzy, who was helping a man with a bleeding leg. "Here, let me do it. I am not a medic, but I can stitch him up," she said softly. "There are people who are in much more need of your magic."

Caltha

Raidon watched Arya move away from him to help the violent woman who healing the injured - something of an irony, he noted. He could see from the look in her eyes that Arya was tired of all the fighting, tired of seeing people hurt emotionally and physically. He wished he could have spared her from all this, but he wasn't sure if he would have been strong enough to do this without her.

Turning away, he approached Darcy and gave him a nod.

"Need any help?"

--------------------

Satellite Tower

Rise felt a surge of anger send fire through her veins at the smug words of the mocking spectre.

"Like hell are we dying here!" she said angrily, pulling out her fans. "We didn't come this far to fail now!"

The fire of her spirit seemed to channel into her weapons, and she raced forward and began to slash through the Majin before her. As the steel fans slashed through shadow, they also caused flames to errupt on contact, earning shrieks from the writhing Majin. As she drove them back, she turned her attention to the clownish ghost, her gaze full of anger.

"Agidyne!" she called, casting a flaming meteor down on the Majin's leader. Maybe with him gone, they would disperse.

Meanwhile, Kokonoe fished into her pockets and pulled out a handful of crystals, tossing them en masse at the approaching monsters. A chaotic blitz of fire, wind, and lighting tore through the monsters before her.

"This battle stuff is kind of exciting," she mused, adjusting her glasses as she tossed a Mabufula crystal into the dense crowd of Majin.

Caltha

This new pierrot riled up Alex to end, as the figure just stood there mockingly with no consideration about all the lives that it had taken and ruined. Alex clenched his fist, only listening to parts and pieces of what the thing said until the formerly called majin began to pour from the walls.

Apparently this man knew something that many people did not; the majin's true names... That only means one thing to him, the fact that he knew the origin of all the chaos and death these things caused and only helped them grow.

"I don't care what you are, either way you're not getting our way." Alex yelled at the man, as he quickly formed a magical circle out in front of him and punched it as a magic circle appeared below a large group of majin

"Mahamon." Alex called out, as the light enveloped that large group.

Satellite Tower

The circle of Majin wailed and writhed as it was assaulted by continuous spells on all sides, and slowly the shadows began to thin out. Pierrot, on the other hand, couldn't have seemed more empowered as Rise's attack seemed to faze through him without doing anything.

As the Majin regrouped for another push, he let out a peal of laughter, letting all of them know exactly how amusing he was finding their fates.

Lisa and Alina both threw spells at the Majin nearest them, although Alina seemed more frantic in her actions. Where were Will and Jax? Her mind kept asking the question that she didn't dare put into words, because she feared the answer more than anything...

Keynes also threw a handful of crystals into the Majin wave, finally blasting a hole in their ranks and giving Aegis their first view of the room around them since the Majin had begun to crush in around them.

"Enough." Pierrot called out, sounding annoyed, despite the smile still plastered on his face. "Crawl back into deep shadow you worthless lot." He snapped, and the Majin began to dwindle, retreating from Aegis.

"I should have known they wouldn't be enough to deal with you all. You've been unbelievably useful to me, but now you're becoming a thorn in my side." The figure paced the landing where he stood, looking down on them as if trying to decide what to do with them.

"Maybe it's not for me to decide." He said suddenly, and his smile quirked up on the edges, growing even wider. "Perhaps it should be up to you."

Pierrot leaned forward over the railing so that he could see them all better. "How would you all like to die?" He held up a hand and flames danced over his fingers. "By fire?"

He closed his fingers around the flames and then spread them again. This time electricity danced from his fingertips, arcing to the railing. "Maybe lighting?"

"How about old age?" Keynes barked sarcastically.

Pierrot raised an eyebrow at that and then vanished, reappearing amidst the group, only a few steps away from Keynes and Kokonoe. "That could be arranged..." He responded darkly. "But some of you might pass on a little sooner than the others."

Without warning, a sword blossomed from his chest and Pierrot looked down at the blade protruding from his torso before turning his head to look at Alina behind him. "Am I supposed to say 'ouch' or something?" He asked, looking amused before vanishing again and reappearing on the stairs where he had been before.

"I can see that you're not interested in my offer." He sighed. "In that case, I guess we'll just use a little of everything."

Her raised his arms over the group, and orbs flashed into life around them, emitting flames, lightning, cold, light, and darkness as they began to whirl around Aegis, slowly closing in on them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caltha

"Of course." Lizzy responded with a wink as Snow started out to go get supplies. "I'd always you rather be where I am."

After he took off, she started organizing the supplies she had in the space available, and by the time he returned, they'd made fair progress in organizing things for the wounded.

Most injuries weren't that bad, but a few of them were worse, and those were the ones Lizzy focused on. She was in the middle of stitching up one man's leg when Arya suddenly cut in, offering to take him so Lizzy could move on to more important matters.

She moved back, handing off the thread to the woman before motioning for the next patient. "You're holding up well..." Lizzy said offhandedly as she pressed her fingers into a woman's shoulder, mending the dislocation that had been evident from the way she was holding her arm. Clearly the comment hadn't been directed towards the woman she was healing though. It had been meant entirely for Arya.

Satellite Tower

He released spell after spell, but the Majin kept coming. Eventually Pierrot stopped them and they all retreated to the shadows.

Taking a deep breath, James looked up, wondering what was in store for them next. Instead of Majin, orbs began to encircle them emitting different elemental spell effects. He dodged narrowly a flame that shot out and moved back when another one with darkness began to come closer.

"Mazio," he called out and blasted the sphere with the lightning. Looking around to see how the others were faring, he was shocked. Pierrot didn't even care that Alina tried to run him through with her sword. How could that be? Was he a projection, after all the walls looked rather clean

The orbs came closer and James soon felt cornered, even though he kept releasing spells to keep the orbs at bay.

"There has to b a way out or a way to defeat him."

_____________________________________________

Caltha, Palace Square

Arya focused on the stitching, making sure it was clean and evenly spaced. She had had enough practice these past days for the process to go smoothly. Only when she was done and had sent the man away, did she turn to look at Lizzy with a light shrug.

Her eyes flickered over to Raidon for a second and Arya's expression softened. "What else can I do but to go on for now?" she asked back while she moved towards the next person.

Suddenly her work was interrupted by two young men who were carrying a third older man. "These things attacked us and our father got hurt. Please help him," they asked and placed the man carefully down.

Arya nodded and opened his shirt, inhaling sharply when she saw the deep wounds. It would be useless to try and stitch them up now. "Lizzy, do you have a second?" she asked without turning around.

-----------------------------------------

Snow finished his cigarette and then slowly stood up. He still felt stiff from all they went through the before, but at least he could walk straight thanks to Lizzy.

He walked over to Raidon and Darcy and sat down on the half broken wall behind them. "So, who are you? How did you wind up here?" he asked Darcy and pulled out another cigarette.