Will 'o the Piper

Following Charles and Sophia, Sigmund eventually reached the portal back to the other world. Sophia seemed unable to pass it, which brought relief to the rook. At least that way, Medusa wouldn't be able to hinder him any more. However, that didn't mean their trouble was over yet. Two giants towered above them and one of them was ready to attack!

“It's just one thing after the other.” Sigmund murmured as he saw Charles jump into battle, too late to stop him from facing something swinging around a damn tree head-on. He took his iron viper once more and shot it straight at the red oni's nose.

“Don't get yourself killed!” Sigmund roared at his partner as he jerked the chain to disrupt the oni's balance so that Charles could ninja his way on top safely. He'd barely recovered from having to have dealt with his own spirit taking shape and apparently drugging him into obedience. Sigmund could still feel some of the effects lingering in his head, making him feel light as he pulled the chain. Did he have it in him to actually topple the giant? Sigmund had no time to wonder; he had two oni and a bunch of kappa to keep his eyes on.

“Watch your back, Charles!”

A Clayman's Tattoo

“Thanks,” Lux said to Maria and Salia as they helped him up. He showed off a slight smirk as he saw he had destroyed yet another golem, “I'm on fire today.” He nodded to the mess of clay and corpse. However, he noted Maria had already ran off. “Let's go.” Lux nodded at Salia, offering her his good shoulder to support her. After all, that kind of fall couldn't have been good for Salia's leg, Lux thought...

Free Billy

“We are compensation. We are greater than it's anger!” Sleipnir retorted towards Quartz, as the centaur fixed it's grip on the stonetooth sword that had cemented itself in the sand. Though Sutr's wake was a powerful attack, it prevented Eowyn and Sleipnir from moving. Though Quartz suggested they fought it alone, that would be difficult while they remained rooted.

“The beast is exposed, lest you truly wish to deal with it's anger, kill it now!”

A Clayman's Finale

Sonneillon screamed, its unholy voice grating on the ears. It was losing its temper quickly. This puny little man dares to defy me? I will kill you, and that other unsightly scum will follow!

The monstrous spirit pushed his arm away violently with the iron maiden, and with another scream, lunged forward to tackle the man. With Sonneillon's spiked exterior and immense mass, surely he would be reduced to an unrecognizable stain on the floor.

Meanwhile, Adeline continued to run for dear life, turning around only to steal a single glance at the fight. She was a normal human being in a battle between monsters and superhumans- there was nothing she could do but hope everything turned out alright. It was fortunate that Maria had already caught up, and the rest not too far behind.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Emily

After Valor faded, the world seemed to spin around her. Around and around, it all turned into a blur of dark fur, gritty sands and rustic blood crowding in on Emily. Immediately she found herself dropped to one knee and struggling to remain upright, her other leg tucked underneath as adrenaline pulsed through her veins by her heart, her head was pounding in echoes. It felt like each breath was inhaling rustic nails instead of air, her body nothing but dead weight now. Settling upon her hands and knees, locked there by the dying surge of energy, her head casted downward for a moment to manage some sort of strength left.

Emily's wounds mingled with the sands and darkening the grains slightly, the little pieces stuck into the painful wounds exposed to the arid air. The familiar bow gone had vanished into thin air, now leaving her hand splayed against the ground to prop her upright. Just barely.

Her eyes turned to the others for a moment, checking their status. About the fittest one was Diane as bit Vignar and herself had taken quite a bit of damage. Finally her eyes turned to Fran. Uncertainty lingered in her dark eyes as she looked past, seeing the cage fall away and the prowling shapes of the werecats stalk closer. An instinct within her shouted for her to rise but her limbs were too heavy, weighed down by the battle, blood loss and sense of a hollow victory. A younger werecat feigned a lunge at her only to dart away back to a distance, tugged by the scent of blood but repelled by something.

Cerberus's words reached her ear then. 'If you don't get up, your teammates will perish. Now stop being weak and stand up.'

Emily glared at him yet forced herself to stand, her legs wobbly as a new born and every few inches gain threatened to being her right back to her knees. She hadn't even gotten out her gauntlets when the shadow arrived. In moments the sun was lost in it while it drifted over the dunes, large and frightfully familiar. Her fine neck hairs stood erect when she lifted her head to see the large form of the mother Dragon. Sands whipped about sending Emily to shield her head with her arms, ignoring the stinging pain, then fight to stay upright against their fury.

It was an epic fail from the start.

The gusts easily sent her body to the ground, flat on her side, like the dead weight it was. Unable to hold her ground or remain standing, Emily was sent skimming across the sand and plowed right into Vignar. At least if he hadn't moved.

Either way, her position near Vignar or only a short distance away, she had landed in a half balled up posture while memories flashed in her mind. They flickered like some twisted side show starring her last mission here causing her to tremble slightly. She saw her claws buried into a Drake's skull, the dragon's roar echoed in her head, the blaze of her fire and finally the caravan's screams while many burned. Even the stench of burning flesh rose to her senses making her stomach twist into knots. Emily couldn't help the guilty stone wedged within her stomach or the sudden flinch at hearing the beast utter Latin, Cerberus's betrayal brought to her waking awareness. The sensation of vomit edged at the back of her throat. Slowly she swallowed it down but didn't move. Part of her shamefully wanted this to be some horrid nightmare where she would wake any moment, the rest of her knew better. This wasn't a nightmare. It was made even more real when the beast's eyes loomed over them and Emily found herself unable to meet the dragon's derive gaze.

While Emily grappled with her fear Cerberus could only see the unfocused sight of the claw and the old woman, transformed from the werecat. Since he was limited by Emily's position, he instead focused on listening to the Mother Dragon's roar as she questioned their presence, in a tone he suspected was similar to a person talking to a disgusting rodent. Not that he was surprised. His very holder had ended up killing one of her children, directly, just to save another holder's filthy hide. Under his breath he cursed Ramza for putting Emily in this position as well as Lux for his absence in this mission.

His eyes shifted, for a moment, back to Emily. He couldn't understand why she risked so much for those who fell so short of her own strength level or her resentment to make the sacrifices. He mentally sighed when his attention was snagged by the translating werecat, partly relieved his role could be limited now.

Speaking to Vignar's and Diane's spirit, Cerberus made it clear Emily wasn't in the best of shape. At least in the case they couldn't see it themselves. 'One of you might want to tell the Mother Dragon why we're here or I will...'

Emily could managed to whisper softly a single word, her tone slightly pleading, "Cerberus...don't."

Cerberus leaned closer and replied.

'Then stop shaking and swallow that guilt, before you die and allow me to make good on my promise.'

Will 'o the Piper

Although Sigmund had initially unbalanced the red oni, it managed to catch itself before it tumbled over completely and soon regained it's footing. Kappa came to it's rescue; throwing their selves at Sigmund in a great panic. If he stayed where he was, the kappa would overwhelm Sigmund quickly in numbers he hadn't fought before... From the edge of his sight, Sigmund would be able to see the blue oni had stretched out an arm pointing at him... It was commanding the kappa!

What Charles hadn't accounted for when he jumped on the oni's back, was that it was by no means helpless by courtesy of it's size. Before Charles could even begin to strangle the oni, the furious red giant swat his it's neck, with Charles in between. The oni's hand clenched, grabbing and picking up the dazed holder. It's powerful grip didn't allow Charles to move. The red oni, furious about what he considered but a pest, threw Charles up in the air and then smashed him with the tree like it was trying for a homerun!

A Clayman's Finale

Very unfortunate for Maria was that the woman was not blind to her surroundings... And running silently was stupidly impossible. Soneillon had charged out of the woman's reach, and although Adeline's skill diverted attention away from the girl, the same wasn't true for Maria. Hearing the rook approach, Maria failed to hit the woman's arm and instead was gutted in the stomach with the long handle of the hammer. Powerful defences as Maria might have, they would not cover up for her careless act as the woman swapped out her hammer for her tonfa and smack Maria in the head with them.

“Think you're clever, little rat?” The woman spat at the rook, “Did you really think we thought a library dog would come alone?” She bit at Maria, as she took a step back to put some distance between the two and again changed for her hammer; this time planning to bring it down on her opponent for the kill.

Soneillon's tackle would prove fatal for the man. He had put too much trust in the golem arm, and when it was no longer between him and the matyr of a spirit, there was nothing but human flesh to absorb the force and spikes of Soneillon's charge. The spirit would find the man's corpse skewed to it's spikes; cut, crushed and bruised... And like the golems had earlier when Lux had taken them out, the giant arm slowly detached itself from the man's body... And by it taking off the corpse's arm; left to drift in a puddle of clay.

Free Billy

Remia's attempts to scream people out of their hypnosis were valiant ones, and with the number Quartz and Eowyn were doing on the fish she seemed to be able to gain a little ground in the battle of sounds. However, on her own she was no match for a choir of siren songs, as most of the crowd would fall back into hypnosis when the song started up again...But for the moment Remia snapped them out of it, some had been able to copy Remia's trick, or put their fingers in their ears and ran away... At least some had been saved this way.

However, this was not true for Simon. In a trance, he walked past the smaller fish... Or so he thought. But the creature was not down for the count yet. It's seastar-arms latched onto the man and pulled him back; causing Simon to desperately try to escape it's grip; but to no avail. The fish tried to struggle it's way back to the sea wildly; causing in it's wild movements to crush Simon with it's weight...

Unlike it's smaller counterpart, the giant monster fish managed to maintain it's composure in spite of it's injuries. It's sea-star arms latched onto an immobilised Eowyn; attempting to drag her onto it's back with the living algae creatures. This would become even more dangerous as Eowyn began feeling the effects of their song; causing her battlerage to begin wavering... Quartz on the other hand, courtesy of it's smaller size and flight, managed to escape. Nor had he (nor mime) yet to feel the influence of the sirens...

Free Billy

The sticky arms reached Eowyn before she could pull her sword loose. Retaining her iron grip, she used the monster fish's strength to draw it from the ground. It was astonishing how well the colossus managed to hold onto her centaur form; as Eowyn's mere form burned into it, almost making the monster smell delicious. Using both her strength and lava-fueled centaur body, Eowyn fought to struggle herself free... But she gradually felt Sleipnir's blood-lust soothe... As her own anger... And with it her excess bodyheat and strength. The song in the air was becoming louder and more prevalent in her head; stripping her of her fighting spirit and slowly replacing it a sense of awe and desire...

“You mustn't fall prey to this trickery!” Sleipnir shouted in Eowyn's mind, although with a lot less conviction than usual. “Eowyn! Your path is a warrior's! Accept Odin, let his will flow through your veins! It will give sanctuary to your mind!”

Eowyn knew what her spirit meant; he suggested her to let the radiana flow and give in to the same instincts as she had on her last mission. The very memory brought her shivers, intruding even the mesmerizing song. She had almost been killed, Sleipnir's influence had drawn out a berserker. Eowyn had been ashamed of it, fearing others, especially Remia and Arlette would see her as a monster. She didn't want to show that side of her again; not in front of them. “I- I can't.” Her lip trembled as she spoke. “I'm not what you want me to be, I can't- I don't want them be be scared of me! I don't want to be scared of me!”

“Lest you give in, this will be the demise of you! Who can you safeguard after your downfall!” Sleipnir yelled desperately, his voice was sinking deeper into the melodies. “Reach out to the allfather, he'll cleanse your selfish doubt!”

Selfish, the word echoed in Eowyn's ears. It struck her with greater force than the monster-fish or it's choir ever could. Her breath accelerated and lava pumped through the veins of her stone form.

“Odin's Vessel!”

Smoke rose from the starfish limbs, as the heat would render it's skin black. The song's influence vanished from Eowyn's mind. The warrior, as Sleipnir called it, rose from it's slumber and possessed Eowyn, erasing doubts and fears with a surge of adrenaline, anger and bloodlust. Her goal became simple and clean... Defend those she had sworn to protect at all costs!

Eowyn burst into a cloud of poisonous gas and smoke; escaping the starfish grip, but rather than to retreat, Eowyn used it as an approach. She reformed inside of the mouth of the monster fish... Ready to destroy it from within the second she was complete.

A Clayman's Finale

When Lux made his way around the corner, he almost had Adeline literally run into him. “Hey, hey, hey! Slow down there!” Lux caught Adeline, “What's going on?” But Lux didn't need to ask, as right in front of them there was a beating taking place. A woman raised a hammer to bring down on Maria, and Lux grit his teeth knowing that with his arm in shambles, he had no truly offensive spells to stop her. Instead; he threw out a frost mist to cover the woman's entire body; hopefully slowing her movement enough for Maria to put her guard up.

Will 'o the Piper

“Damn it all, they've got a damned army of these bastards!” Sigmund cursed, dismissing his hookshot for the spear. The red ugly bastard was too strong for him to have a rope-pulling contest with, but the blue one had been smart enough to order the kappa to attack while he was per-occupied. Sigmund felt the claws tear his skin, unable to fight their numbers off easily when they came at him all together. Swinging the weapon, more to make room than to kill the assault team, Sigmund stepped back a couple feet before threateningly jabbing at the kappa trying to come closer, piercing the flesh of one or two that came to close. But Sigmund's arm and side were bleeding, and Sigmund could tell from experience that would become a serious drain on his stamina.

“Charles! We need to finish this fast!” Sigmund called out, in the hope his ally was still alive. “Help me get rid of these ugly fish bastards, I got a plan for the big ones.”

Free Billy

Quartz

After Sleipnir’s comment in addition with Quartz‘s quick glance down, he noticed the scorched sand and glossy appearance as he realized the molten centaur couldn’t move. He feverishly wished Eowyn and Sleipnir had stayed back with the fish more than ever now because at least they would’ve been safe, not an open target waiting to be killed. He knew it was pointless to whine over it, what was done couldn’t be undone. However his irritation flared at Sleipnir’s words on a personal level as he realized the spirit had somewhat of an ego, or at least it seemed like it from the over complex words used, that his feathers puffed out in reaction.

Nature was cruel and unforgiving, it killed without mercy or thought of the consequences creating a world where only the strong survived. Nathair’s scars proved that. The monster was only doing what was needed to survive, granted it was by killing humans which meant she had to be put down before more were lost. He felt a slight twinge of guilt over that fact. Mainly because he was one of the few who could sympathize with the animal’s baser instincts. Instinctively he sighed at the predicament then smoothed over his feathers before he risked a quick peek where Nathair was last seen. He was rewarded by the image of Remia shouting into his holder’s ear, causing them both to flinch from the pain. Immediately something felt different and a relief washed over the serpent. Nathair, on the other hand, looked confused and lost, which made Quartz quietly chuckle. Naturally he suspected this moment won’t last long. Mentally, he connected with Nathair to provide a warning and at least delay the spell’s effect. ‘Welcome back Nathair. I suggest you cover your ears with something or else we will lose you again. While you’re at it, tell Remia thank you for me.’

“That’s one problem down. Now to deal with the mot-,” Quartz started to say out loud before a familiar voice yelled and broke any farther thoughts.

His feathered head snapped about to spot the PR member, Simon, now ensnared by the smaller fish. The man struggled and tried to rip away, only to be crushed under the larger animal’s weight when its wild movements overwhelmed his attempts. Quartz flinched at the sound of bones cracking as the fish left the corpse behind in its wake, Simon’s body flattened and his limps at odd angles. The last thing the spirit guiltily remembered was the PR’s last name. Getskilled. It was ironic he hadn’t notice then, but now it was so clear he wondered if it was possible it was fated to be. If so, Fate was indeed a morbid mistress. His mild epiphany was short lived when his eye caught more movement. A coral like arm lashed out at him just as another reached for Sleipnir and Eowyn’s combined form. Quartz acted impulsively to evade the grip. He ducked down while his wings popped open, his body instantly jerked into the air to avoid a second try. It was almost completely successful. The salt air swept him into safety until the breeze from the behemoth’s swipe tossed him off course. His body flipped over, diving back into the sand closer to the smaller fish. Grit and dirt flew right up his nostrils, causing him to cough, spit and hack it up. Wiping the sand out of his eyes with his murky eye lid, he turned to see the coral arms had ensnared Eowyn and Sleipnir.

The serpent froze in place. He couldn’t attack without risking his ally’s safety, their form too close to the beast for Quartz to hit her without his ally being in the cross fire. He hissed in frustration then noticed his new position. He was closer to the smaller fish then before, which was still wildly tossing itself towards the water, when an idea formed in his brain. Quartz knew it was an uncertain chance he was about to take using the young as bait to lure the monster away but it better then nothing. However before he could act on, Eowyn and Sleipnir had shouted something which made him stop in his tracks near the smaller fish. If Quartz had a word for rage, he would certain replace it with Eowyn right then. Heat wafted off in layers, burning the creature's surface as she literally popped into what he thought was smoke and thin air.

"I wasn't expecting that..." Quartz said with a hint of shock at Eowyn's disappearance, until he spotted a puff of smoke begin to form within the larger one's mouth.

Nathair

Nathair felt like he was floating. Light and dreamlike, his mind couldn’t understand why he was like this. Or really cared for that matter as water continued to splash about his pant legs, which left them farther soaked and slowed him down. Surprisingly he wasn’t frustrated but he knew he should’ve been, under normal conditions. Right now… he just didn’t care enough to be. He didn’t see Remia’s figure dart in close to him until his ear was filled by the sudden screams of her voice. Impulsively, his body jerked. His lips pulled up, his teeth bared and released a feral growl in the Rook’s direction. Nathair’s expression might’ve looked more like someone of surprise but in reality he was startled. He body had already hunched over, ready to lounge at her and shield himself from farther loud sounds, while he glared at his team member with a ruffled disposition. The song’s effect was silenced in his head for the moment.

He blinked at her when he realized who he had been about to defend himself from. Slowly, he straightened himself upright but his look of confusion never ceased. Nor did the ringing in his ears. Tenderly he held his hand to cover his aching ear then spoke, looking at Remia.

“W-what happened?”

Quartz’s voice then came into Nathair’s head. The abrupt sounds mingled with Remia’s own result caused him to flinch from it, his eyes narrowed in painful face. ‘Welcome back Nathair. I suggest you cover your ears with something or else we will lose you again. While you’re at it, tell Remia thank you for me.’

“Okay… Quartz says thank you, Remia.” Nathair said without question, despite the need for answers building within him, before he began to peel off his tunic.

His flesh made goose bumps when he realized too late Remia was beside him and could easily see the numerous scars which dotted his sun tan surface, about six years or more worth currently marred him. He forced that awareness aside to stay on his current task. The material was thin since the day was so blistering hot and the fabric easily tore. He snatched his knife from his hip to aid him as he cut off two strips from the bottom and made the sleeves into two much longer pieces, hopefully long if tied together to wrap about his head. Working quickly, he fashioned a sound muffler by stuffing smallest two strips deep into his ears then finally secured them in place with a band made from the sleeve pieces. It didn’t take too long, being crude in design. He had the rest of his shirt to create more if needed though it would likely only be at least one or two at most. He was pretty sure it should be effective in killing the song’s effect, even temporary. The bad part was he couldn’t hear anything around him, ally aligned or otherwise. It was a fact which made Nathair rather edgy.

Noting his shirt had started to float away, he quickly snatched it back before his eyes darted about. They scanned the crowd, seeing some people put their fingers into their ears and run away, others still fixed in the siren’s song, and dragging themselves towards the shore’s end. Where was Arlette? The question had surfaced to his thoughts and a panic sparked in his heart, making it heavy and twisted. The idea she might’ve not been safe rumbled through Nathair that he gently tried to take hold of Remia’s arm. If he succeeded then he began to etch with his finger across the forearm enough to be felt, writing out Arlette’s name a few times, still giving the Rook a questioning look. Once he was done he released his grip. He only hoped she had gotten the gist of his message, if he was able to deliver it.

Will O' the Piper

Charles was dazed by the blow, but managed to recover enough of his sense before he was smashed to bits. He threw out one of the knives on his chain and pulled on it as it passed a bare branched tree sticking out of the rocks, expertly wrapping the knife around the trunk and pulling himself in. He landed roughly, but lurched to his feet and shook off the remains of his dizziness before he could be attacked again.

"Big guy's even stronger than he looks." He said, dancing over the body of one of the smaller creatures to stand by Sigmund and trading his knives for the staff, he flipped up the blade and started laying into them with precision and a finality that he had lacked before. "I hope your plan doesn't involve me getting whacked again. I think he almost broke a rib."

A Clayman's Finale

Maria didn't stay dazed for long, quickly shaking the blow off and raising her shield. "Repulse." She muttered, activating the shield's secondary ability and feeling the foreign mana at work. She swung the shield upward even as the hammer descended towards her, forcing the two to connect and reversing the force of it back onto the woman. Lux's mist had probably saved her life, as she barely managed to intercept the blow in time.

A Clayman's Finale

"Two enemies!" Adeline blurted, breathless. She really needed to work on her stamina. It was a huge relief meeting up with Lux and Salia, although the latter did not look very healthy. Her arm had been crushed by the boulder earlier. With the two backups, Adeline finally dared look back at the battle, and saw Maria engaging the woman in combat.

Sonneillon regained its balance, blood and gore now dripping down its front. The spirit reared around and saw the remaining opponent fighting Maria, with her back exposed. Maria... Sonneillon recognized the holder for protecting Adeline. That meant she shouldn't be harmed. Sonneillon reached forward to grapple the hammer-wielding woman, so as to not accidentaly hit Maria.

Rendezvous Crash

Bishop didn't have much to say as the Don left for the bathroom, nor did she have much to say as Vologhn took the initiative to act. Around her she eyed the birds, knowing it wouldn't be long before they panicked as a result of their filching in the don's belongings. "Ooh. A deadly game." Bishop searches in tandem with Vologhn, taking no care to be quiet or fragile at this point as she tore through every cabinet and file she could find. "When they break through Vologhn, run. I'll make you invisible so they can't see you. Then when you're out of harm's way, I'll follow in the same way."

Hive of Minds

"Tis all a blur, no?" His uncle chided Daniel as Daniel saw the wasp murder one of his compatriots. "Damn." He mutters under his breath. It wasn't the first time, it likely wouldn't be the last, but it was still a damn shame. He didn't have time to give any funeral rites however, as the wasp turned its attention to him. Just as he was about to bring his torch-stick to bare, he heard the order shouted out to... Eat it? Without warning, Rugratz takes it and does as instructed, leaving him without his advantage. "Imbecile." Daniel growls as he leaps backward and summons Război Ciocan, his warhammer.

Within seconds as the wasp sped towards him, he instinctively knew the best option. Almost karmic, really. Ducking behind Rugratz and readying his weapon, he would swing around Rugratz when the wasp dove for the kill and was unable to stop its own momentum. Out of the corner of his eye, he also notices another librarian (Aderyn Davies), and while he kept his focus on the wasp, he quickly yelled out instruction. "YOU ARE LATE! Flank this wasp and end it quickly!" His uncle chuckles as he watches the scene, pulling out his skull companion. "We will watch."

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

The dragon's appearance had enticed a reaction from Vignar's spirit, namely an excited roar in words that Vignar could normally describe as guttural gibberish. Normally, as he was currently floored on the ground with Emily and Fran on top of him which left him too disoriented and pained. His spirit calmed down slightly as Cerberus' message reached him and he noticed an exaggerated sigh coming from the spirit.

Diplomacy... the spirit spat before looking down at Vignar. Well? What are you waiting for? Stand up and speak, is that not what you're best at?

Vignar could only respond in pained groan even as he tried to move. It's obvious that any talking would have to be done by their only still standing team-mate....or let a pair of ghosts talk for them. Said ghosts were quietly staring, shifting their gaze from Vignar, to the dragon and then to Emily before cycling back.

---

Free Billy
Arlette felt elated, it felt as if there was no problem in the world and - she screamed as someone screamed into her ears. Reflexively, the girl covered her ears with her hands as she confusedly look at the culprit who yelled at her, only to see Remia quickly passing her and screamed at other people's ears before disappearing in the once again panicked crowd. Arlette was confused on how she ended up where she was with Remia screaming in her ears when the last thing she remembered was hearing a song. She noticed that some of the people were running with their hands covering their ears, it didn't take long before she realized why and mimicked it. That was directly before her eyes were set on the large fish creature trying to beach itself. She was dumbstruck and stopped from moving even as she also saw several of the people sailing through the air away from the creature's direction from the corner of her eyes.

---

Rendesvouz Crash
Andre nodded before joining Bishop and Vologhn's search before pausing.

"Hey, Bishop!" he said, trying to get Bishop's attention before tossing her his gas jar. "Use that if you need."

Will 'o the Piper

A Charles and Sigmund rejoiced, the kappa scurried away from the pair. It would quickly become obvious why;the red oni continued it's charge towards Charles. For better or worse, they would have to do something. Especially considering that the blue oni still hadn't moved...

Hive of Minds

Rugratz might had been saved, for the time being, at least. Dumbfounded by the wasp's agility, Ramza and Daniel could keep up far more easily. As the wasp dove, it simultaneously caused the remaining, non-burning parasite bugs to scatter and spread out; avoiding their monstrous predator... However they found anew potential host arriving on the scene; Aderyn...

Rendezvous Crash

The librarians were given time to look around, it seemed Giovani had no been paranoid enough to set them off. The documents weren't spread, Andre found a list filled with names, containing a number of government known officials in the Hub... As well as that of Alexander Bishop and a large number of unfamiliar names... At least at first sight...

Bishop, although not as fortunate in the papers department, would find there was a lot more to the Don's room than what seemed to be in it at first glance. There were secret bottoms in some of his drawers, they were locked. However, they could probably be forced open easily by the courtesy of her strength as a holder... Even if she was watched by the birds, and by proxy, a family photo containing the Don, as well as a girl whom had once attempted to hunt her down with the help of winged dog/monsters...

Vologhn, on the other hand, would find that the birds went from uneasy to restless, from all the searching within the room... They began squawking and riling one another up; shortly tuning into shrieks... And that this alerted the men behind the wall.

“What is going on!” The man they'd met before entering shouted, knocking on the door. He tried to open it, as Vologhn could sense, but more than that he could hear him speaking in his native tongue and some other men went away, whereas only he remained to attempt to force the door open...

The Clayman's Finale

Quickly, one of the golems was down. Their combined skills and proper team work was starting to work. Who would have thought that after all, they could take them down in a relatively simple way! Salia nodded to Lux’s words as she tried to be as little of a burden as possible, while still receiving his help when moving forward. She felt her leg was still good enough but not straining it too much was probably a good option, at least before being forced to fight properly. Who knew where a good reserve of energy might come in hand.

The fight was going on wildly with Maria rapidly engaging their foe. The sounds were clear as Lux and Salia herself were edging closer. “Move, move! I’ll catch up, don’t leave her alone!” Salia insisted to Lux that he should move on. She was too slow to catch up quickly but that did not mean he should not assist their comrade. He moved onwards but did not get far before encountering Adeline. Salia was then soon with them… and the battle right in front, too.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” Salia told Adeline as she, together with Lux, moved to the battle. Cold-based magic from her partner had saved Maria, and not it was time for Salia to do something. Her sword was the weapon she trusted more, and her speed, unparalleled. The answer was clear and putting more energy on her perfectly healthy leg, Salia launched an attack on the woman that had been attacking Maria. From far away, sword pointed forward. A piercing attack instead of a swinging one, clearly focused on speed. What a shame that she did not have a rapier, or she could have been even faster. Hopefully, using her DASH skill would be enough to hit their enemy. Salia was convinced it would be, as her eyes locked on the woman.


Free Billy

It was working!! Remia finally realised, at some point over the way, that what she was doing was working, and that some people were actually managing to escape or try to save others. It was good, very good in fact. Of course, not everyone was as lucky and Simon’s fate was something that made the girl feel rather sad. He might not have been very cooperative or too easy to work with… but he certainly did not deserve that, in her eyes.

Nathair’s reaction to her voice caught Remia off-guard, yet the face of the one that could have been a foe changed soon enough. And it was for the best, as she would have hated having to wrestle with him until he had realised she was a fried and not an enemy. Seeing his confusion start to fade a bit upon seeing her and noticing who she was, she smiled cheekily. “It’s me!!” although he would not hear her, but reading lips was easy enough from this distance, right?

In a few seconds, Nathair had prepared his own system to protect his ears and was delivering some sort of message to her on her arm, writing some letters… oh no. She had always been awful at that. That game where someone ‘writes’ something on your back with their index finger. She always got it wrong! This time, it was no different at first, but soon she noticed familiar letters and in the end, she got what he meant. She gave Nathair an unknowing look.

She had no idea where Arlette was. She could only hope she was within the group of people she had snapped out of the song’s effects… “Let’s look for her!” she mouthed in an exaggerated way so that Nathair could understand. She also used he left hand, extended on top of her eyes, to do a “search” motion. Surely, he would understand.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Ridiculous, just ridiculous. After everything that had happened and just as one would expect their problems were over, a dragon came. Not just a dragon coming onto a small group but rather, a dragon coming onto a small group that was almost in complete disarray. A group that might as well just go back home. Such was their current state. Diane opened her eyes upon hearing those sounds, still feeling absolutely dizzy. She was still kneeling down and as she tried to stand up, she had difficulties in doing so.

Their protective cage was gone after Fran had been unable to retain consciousness, and so the were cats had been lurking closer and closer now until they were essentially surrounded by them. Not a good sign. Either way, Diane realised she was in a relatively good state, considering what her partners looked like. She had to stand up, at least to look confident and, if not menacing, at least appear in control of the situation. Appearances could be important, sometimes.

Then, Cerberus’ voice reached Meena, who in turn relayed the message to Diane. That made her wonder… what where they for, in the first place? Her mind was foggy and she could not think straight. They had a mission, of course. And she had been tasked with… with what, exactly? The only thing her brain could think of was following orders, going with the flow, protecting others and casting her spells where necessary and applicable. Was that a side effect of interrupting one of her spells sooner than it was supposed to be done? Probably… yet, she could not even tell this was the reason. She could only deduce it.

Unfortunately, she was the one who would have to talk, or do something. “Greetings!” she took a step forward, trying to look as confident, safe and leading as she could. Her oddball personality might have been a nuisance sometimes, but her everlasting optimism and that personality made her good at faking all sorts of emotions, if only in a dramatic way. Subtle nuances were not something she was good at… but if she was right, a dragon would not notice those anyway.

“We came to… see what has been happening here with our own eyes!” A flat out lie. Or maybe it wasn’t. She could not remember, after all. “We want to learn as much as possible, and we are delighted that we have been able to meet you so we can work together!” she made a clear bow that would show respect… but she made it a point not to show submission with it.

A Clayman's Tattoo

Unable to respond to the two-way attack while slowed by Lux' magic and brought out of balance by Maria, the woman took both Salia and Soneillon's attacks head-on. “Damn you all to hell,” She muttered, trapped within Soneillon's grasp, as blood seeped from her leg. She glared at Adeline venomously, considering she felt the girl had tricker her... And her spirit had been responsible for the death of her ally. In spite of her gaze and insult however, the woman seemed to understand her situation quite well, as she didn't seem to struggle further and dismissed her hammer from the physical realm. She had surrendered, but further held her tongue... As the ruins continued to move more violently and glow as mysteriously as they had before...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

The werecat woman translated Diane's words into a language that this time, would only be familiar to Vignar's spirit. Even Cerberus could not understand, for it was clearly not a human language. Words were mixed together with of different tones and lengths, as well as body language. It was for the most part a direct translation, but when working together, in a snarl the translator added how humans should not be trusted. The mother dragon in return berated the werecat for telling her what she already knew...

“She has commanded your leave, what would you need of us that would drive you to kill one of your own?” The werecat replied to Diane, pointing to Sean's corpse that had been released from Valor. “Does your cruelty know no end? You've hunted my children, you've hunted the werecats, and now you seek the blood of your own?”

The werecat then turned to Emily, but the sight and scent of blood brought something predatory upon her. The woman's eyes narrowed, her body began to shake and saliva wet her lips. “Or is it the foolishness of man that knows no bounds?” She spoke, with great restraint. “Why would you fail to heed my warnings? Look at yourself. Do you know hold the life I allowed you to escape with precious?”

The translator wasn't the only one that had trouble keeping herself in check. The dragon snarled at the slowly approaching other werecats, causing some to flinch in their tracks. However, not all were satisfactory with a verbal warning... As two werecats jumped for Emily! Only for her to be saved by the mother dragon herself, who with one clap of her wings propelled sand and wind in the direction; throwing the cats back into a rough landing into the sand...

“These cats are strange,” Suddenly a voice even more girly and cheerful than Diane's said. “This form is strange.” It was Octal's ghost whom spoke to Vignar, for the first time since her summoning without orders to follow. “My body moves on it's own. Eight's does too.” She giggled, as her identically looking spirit and holder locked hands. “At least we get to fight!”

The werecat, hearing this too, translated it to the mother dragon, who blew fumes from her nostrils hearing it.

“Even in death, your kind takes pleasure in violence... How disgusting.” The werecat translated, although the holders their eyes would likely be upon the dragon, which unfolded her wings to appear larger and more intimating... Not spelling much good.

“You will tell us what you desire. Do not test my patience...”

Free Billy

The monstrous fish was unable to defend itself against Eowyn's attacks from the inside, and the algae-people's song were unable to reach her in her current state. The smog too, seemed to be doing a number on it; although that was difficult to see. Eowyn would be able to slay the monster without much resistance... And upon realising this, the beast tried to return to the sea; attempting to fill itself with water and drown Eowyn in the process...

It's young, on the other hand, literally bumped into Quartz in it's way towards the water. Like Simon before him, he was now in danger of the violently confused fish taking him down in it's panic... However, not as much as a dozen members of the earlier crowd who had gathered around; still mesmerised by the deadly song...

Arlette, Mime and Remia, on the other hand, would find not all of the crowd to be running... Even those no longer enchanted by the song. Some followed Remia's example to save others, but a small group of protesters, with their ears bound in their shirts, were making way to the beach to attempt and obstruct Quartz and Eowyn... And near the end of the beach, they would be able to see the drogans land between the buildings on the beach, right where they had left Mari...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Emily

After he had threatened his holder, she watched Cerberus fold into a lounging position with his forepaws crossed over his front while his head lowered down. Emily could help but shiver at Cerberus’s words, she knew his warning was not to be taken idly and with that in mind, she inched herself off Vignar. Still sore and injured, she knew standing was out of the question. Any attempt would’ve just sent her slamming hard into the desert sand where she would just hurt herself worse. As she carefully made sure not to farther injure Vignar, she owed him that much if not more, she was now aware she had landed on top of him. A bad position. While she finally pulled off, Emily listened to Diane bravely take up the reins and try to negotiate. She soon found her stifling an inward groan. This wasn’t going to end well at all and her head turned to Cerberus, eyeing for movements to interrupt. Cerberus’s thoughts seemed to reflect her own as he scuffed the display with a snort. He seemed unimpressed at Diane’s cheerful display and made no effort to stir, instead he continued to watch things play out. His unease, on the other hand, was much harder to overlook.

Like before, Diane’s words were followed by a guttural language. It was a series of growls, snarls, and more which the only thing Emily could figure out was that it held a random pattern. All meaning and understanding beyond that was lost on her. She gave up shortly and looked at her spirit, partly expected a translation like before. He understood it once, why not again? She was rewarded with an indignant huff followed by his head shifted away from her. It seemed just because he was made from several animals, it didn’t provide any help on this.

She tried to ignore the edginess that had crept into his body now. Of course he had noticed the werecat’s look, like herself, which gazed at her with hunger and need. To them, she was an injured prey, easy pickings. She shook the thought away. Focusing on it would only feed her fright; the sensation had already started to claw at her as the anxiety built in her wait for the dragon’s reply.

It only worsened when the werecat pointed out Sean’s corpse, her head twisted into the direction and caught a full glimpse. A wrench of guilt seized her chest to see where her weapon had scored. A bloody hole was the dominate feature now, instead of the eyes, nose or hair from her memory. Her heart dropped into her stomach where it tossed and turned into knots. What could’ve I’ve done differently? Emilyt felt her mind reliving those horrid moments over and over, trying to discover that key difference where everything could’ve changed. Part of her knew there was nothing she could’ve done to change the outcome. Both Valor and Sean had come here ready to die just to chase them away, the price still seemed too high to pay for a simple task.

‘Death always seems too high a price to the living… ‘Cerberus said, seeming to answer her silent question. In reality, he had said that before to her. It was the day her Aunt had died. ‘In the end, every death serves a purpose. Understanding what that purpose is happens to be a much harder matter. You really need to focus on the present.’

Emily blinked for a moment. It was strange to hear words so old and familiar uttered from her spirit when things seemed changed. Any farther conversation between Cerberus and her was cut when he suddenly stood, his fur bristled on end and teeth bore in a threatening growl. He had caught movement of dark shapes from her vision’s corner while the old woman was forcing herself through the translation. Several werecat were skirting past the glass domes and sand dunes, drawn by the scent of blood, as the dragon gave a primal growl in warning. All listened saved for two. The sound held little meaning it seemed to their starved bellies. Without warning, they leapt.

Both spirit and holder acted impulsively. Cerberus jerked his corporal frame in between, his hunches lowered and snakes raised in a hissing warning. All three head glared at his holder’s attackers while Emily twisted in place. She barely registered her arms upraised and now held the gauntlets, poised to slice into their hides. Regardless what hellish condition she was in, Emily’s soul was always a fighter by instinct. Even if got her in trouble. She had expected to feel the first claws bury themselves into her clothes and flesh, ready to lash out but instead they were battered away. Landed heavily into the sand, Emily and even Cerberus were shocked to discover it was the mother dragon’s doing causing the three headed spirit to relax slightly. Emily, however, hadn’t moved. At first she merely stared at the mother dragon until she looked down at her arms, acknowledgement filled her pale expression. Her sick look increased when she hear Eight and Octal speak. Slowly that sourness at her throat back was shoved back, replaced by anger at the pair for wanting more fighting while all she wanted to do was to stop. No fighting….no more death, this was enough! Emily almost screamed it out loud.

Emily forced herself not to react when the dragon’s wings puffed out, increasing her size. The last time the mother dragon opened her wings, it was followed by a blast of fire and screaming. It was an incident she didn’t want to repeat.

She managed to bury the fear for a moment, enough to allow her weapons to vanish and speak steadily. “There have been reports of raids on caravans near here, but not by just creatures but holders too. So far all the intelligence we’ve gathered seem to lead back to you. After the last encounter, we found it hard to believe. So in hopes to prevent something far worse, we came back against your warning. Our original intentions are to avoid bloodshed, including our own, so we had brought a translator to ensure there was little misunderstanding. Yet we were stopped by one of our own. One of the few who were left behind and he told us to leave. Angry we didn’t, he believed we would do more damage and sought to stop us by any means needed including killing us. Our current state is the result of trying to reason with him, instead of hurting him. It didn’t work and in the end, I had to make a choice: two lives or his. I wished it had been otherwise.”

Emily took a breath, gathering herself, before she made herself continue. “What we need from you is answers to questions and if things are as we fear, we need to know why. I made a mistake out of ignorance already and I refuse to stand back, and let it happen again.”

‘And I thought you couldn’t surprise me anymore…’ Cerberus commented, figthing not to inwardly groaned at his holder’s words.

Will 'o the Piper

“His face, his beautiful face!” Medusa screeched after seeing Charles' condition.

“He isn't yours, bitch.” Sigmund mumbled under his breath, though not loudly enough to overpower his spirit's voice. Still, Sigmund sure hoped Charles was in a position to follow his plan. While the rook appreciated confidence, he hoped the unusual knight wasn't too cocky to overestimate his abilities... “See the red one not caring about hitting his little henchmen? We're going to get him close to the blue one.” Sigmund suggested, “You're jumpy one, and I got this.” He said, while simultaneously summoning his shield. “You lure the blue one here, I'll keep the red bastard busy.” Seeing how his opponents were afoot and not intending to give them quarter, Sigmund quickly shouted; “Get busy!”

Sigmund activated his provoke skill to lure the red oni near him... Which should get the kappa off him for a while. This was a risky strategy, but somehow Sigmund knew that, especially with their wounds and the blue oni still hanging back, a prolonged battle wouldn't be in their favour...

Free Billy

The water seeping in the beast's mouth was of no consequence to Eowyn's resolve. She tore her stonetooth sword through flesh and skin; spilling blood and scorching the monster's inside. Her mind was set on complete destruction; gushing the beast's own (now searing) innards down it's throat; and boiling it's blood... Death would be imminent for at least one of the two monsters...

Will O' the Piper

Charles nodded once and activated his Wallflower skill, hoping to slip past the red demon this time. He dashed forward and used his staff as a vaulting pole, sailing over the wave of little guys, and kept running toward the blue demon. He deactivated his Wallflower skill when he was close and whipped his staff forward, blade out, toward the demon's knee. After stabbing it, he skipped backwards out of it's reach and made sure it was following him before he ran back, always staying just out of it's reach and giving the red demon a wide berth.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Vignar rolled to his hands and watched the talk between the holders and the dragon.It was closer to him listening to as his vision was still blurred. He did caught his spirit chuckling and his ghost's comment. He struggled a bit as he try to sit and called out to Octal and Eight, "Ugh, come over to me and stand down, don't make things worse."

He thought about what to say when Emily opened up and spoke to the dragon. Because of that, Vignar contented with looking for Fran instead and checked her condition.

---

Free Billy
(I'll edit it in later)

Hive of Minds
Ramza Losstarot

By the time Ramza came to notice the latecomer, he was already halfway through with his initial intention. He'd somewhat caught up with the winged critter somewhere below it before he kicked the ground, launching himself into the air with his jumping skill towards the wasp. Momentarily, he hesitated upon hearing Daniel's instruction. His hands locked in a coiled position, hugging himself. She could have made it, he'd thought. If she had been here a little earlier. But now, it's a little too late. Especially now where it seemed like she's about to have some trouble with the small and annoying little pests.

So Ramza thought its best that he proceeded. Besides, the girl didn't look like she's got the asset to take this thing down from her current location. But it's not like he knew her or had seen her bio. Then again, she did look familiar. Perhaps he'd seen her in the office back at the headquarter.

The Rook returned his attention back to the matter at hand. However, the distraction have caused him his chance at ultimately killing the giant stinger. Slightly panicked, Ramza swung his arm. The talons might scratch the insect's bulky abdomen but would definitely clip one of its wings if not both of them. He knew he couldn't quite find flesh. Disappointed, he cussed under his breath, ignoring the deep snicker from his amused spirit, Bahamut. Now, Daniel might have to deal with the probably spinning creature, the needle at its end and on top of everything else, its weight, if it was to land on him.