Cecil couldn’t understand what he was seeing or feeling, finding everything that he had ever known to be challenged by what was forcing its way through his head. He didn’t know what was going on but it was causing him a great deal of stress and pain which he couldn’t control, letting out a scream in the process. There was so much happening at once in his head that he felt confused and overwhelmed, even his own body couldn’t decide whether he could keep going after all of these visions. Struggling to find his focus again he could barely hear what was going on in the outside world, his mind wavering between what he was seeing and his body trying to shut down.

Trying to control his pain and the severe imagery going through his mind he grasped at his head, his not hearing Amuné as she came running into the room and over to him. He couldn’t see past what could only seem like him being tortured somehow, but it couldn’t had been him if what he saw of himself was someone he didn’t recognise. As Amuné started shaking him the sound of his inner working rattling around wasn’t even enough to break him out of his little trance, his power almost looking like it was shutting down completely as his eyes dimmed more than they remained bright as his hands slowly dropped.

However, just when it appeared as if he was going to shut down completely his eyes suddenly lightened up, perhaps a little too light as even the white of his one visible normal eye lightened up. Suddenly looking a lot more alert something about his look seemed off, his electricity buzzing for a moment as he twitched before he suddenly grabbed hold of Amuné in one arm, holding her tight. He didn’t appear to show any emotion as he took hold of her, but it was hardly something to take note of as he suddenly bent down lower before suddenly leaping, his fist being thrown up as he crashed into and right through the roof. Not only did he crash through the roof, he had jumped with such force and height that he crashed through up onto top deck as well with fifteen foot height to spare.

Now that he was out on the top of the ship again, or rather above it, he could see what was happening as the situation had only turned desperate with the men in suits being there once again. His current state of mind brought back visions of them in violent flashes as he saw the abuse that they had caused from the past as if they were happening to him in real time, only this time he could rebel against them. With Amuné still in his grasp he twisted himself around, opening up his other hand before his gauntlet suddenly flew straight at one of the men, grabbing hold of his head and powering it into the deck in a combination of speed and strength. Unlike last time when his gauntlet had been thrown before, this time the chain that had caused the awful imagery was attached to his gauntlet and arm. As he dropped down to the decking the chain yanked his gauntlet back to attach back to his arm, but the moment that it was attached again the chain flew straight for another man and wrapped itself around his neck, lifting him up before violently throwing him down on the deck again.

Cecil wasn’t in the right state of mind at all, but he was only targeting the men in suits rather than anyone else. He was not letting go of Amuné during all of this and was very willingly trying to kill the men throughout the entire event. Becoming confused and disorientated was the least of his worries as he lost himself completely, looking ready to target the other men despite the weapons they carried or the others that were still on the ship.

Zander would have thrown a barred insult at Nymira, but the words were taken from his lips. He couldn't help himself, he watched Cecil crash through the deck and into the air. Amuné grasped tightly to keep her from being thrown off, and then the air born Cecil struck. Zander couldn't tell which man Cecil's hand grasped, but he did wheeze when he saw what the youngster did.

"We wanted a miracle..." Zander left the rest of the sentence unfinished. Nothing else needed to be said. Clutching a Seal Paper to his chest, and feeling the wound slowly heal, it would take time since his own magic was a simple ember compared to the raging fire it was this morning. It purred contently under his skin, expended and well used. He moved slowly, trying to put some distance between himself and the enraged Cecil, he moved closer to what had to be the captain's cabin. His eyes focusing on and off on the two suited men and on Nymira as well.

Sliding down the door frame, back propping the door open, he let out a ragged breath. He wouldn't have much time to dodge if that ice maniac threw another spell at him. He would be able to tumble one way or another. For now, he was content to rest and not jar his chest too much with deep breaths and make the wound worse. If needed too, he could throw himself back into the brawl but he was no warrior.

"Amuné," Zander called to the girl. "This way!" He tried to not make much motion, but to get the young girl into the cabin. He would help keep her safe, even if the little brat hadn't returned his staff to him. He would retrieve it afterwards. Zander was letting his guard down, but his body ached, his chest felt like it was afire and right now sleep sounded wonderful to him.

"Haven't been around or used so much magic since I left the Main House," Zander muttered to himself. Still he stared at Cecil's back and gasped in shock when he saw the mechanical hand return to Cecil's wrist. Was that NORMAL!? That couldn't possibly be, he was sure if something like that had been achieved the Church would use it to the extremes. His Father at least would have mentioned something like that to his once heir, wouldn't have he?!

Where was Ethan in all of this, Zander's mind wandered. Shaking it free from the thoughts he couldn't help but smile oddly. If he was going to help these people like he felt his Saint pushing him towards, it was going to a rough and bumpy ride. For now, he'd sit back and regain some of his strength before he attempted to rejoin the fray.

They couldn't keep fighting like this, the bandits and the men in suits were just too much for them. If they stayed around much longer and continued to fight on someone was going to be seriously hurt or worse. After sending Amuné down after Cecil, Ethan took a moment to gauge his options; the fighting was worst up above deck, yet if he left Amuné and Cecil without help this woman might go after them. If he could get those two, get back onto the deck, then maybe they had a fighting chance. At least to get out of here, he no longer cared for the job they were on. Taking advantage of the woman's dazed state he rushed for the stairs leading deeper into the ship's belly, desperate to grab his friends and go. Before he'd even reached the bottom of the steps the sound of wood shattering spooked him, and after a brief pause he raced into the hull to find it... Empty. Baffled Ethan entered the room and glanced up at the hole above him, astonished to find it led all the way up and out of the ship. And way up in the air above? Cecil and Amuné.

By this time there were scarcely any bandits left, then it was simply dispatching the children to finish up here. These criminals were already pitifully warn out from such poorly trained fighters and it made them easy picking, they would be done with this job in no time. Dispatching another man with an overcharged shock the four men advanced further onto the deck, heading for where Nymira and Zander were taking refuge from their attackers. Using the ice gauntlet they destroyed a handful of crates and slowly whittled away their limited cover, making a sort of sick game out of uncovering their location. "Come out and surrender, save everyone the trouble," the man with the gauntlet taunted, taking aim at another set of crates. Out of his view Nymira was tensing up behind the thin material, bracing for the sting of ice tearing through her flesh.

Expecting an attack on her person Nymira prepared for the worst, and yet it appeared it wasn't her who was under attack. The sound of the deck being split and wood scattering all over was the first sign something had changed. Lifting her chin she glanced up in the air curiously and gawked at Cecil high above in the air, Amuné tucked under one of his arms as he dropped back to the floor. In a vicious display his hand shot out and grabbed hold of the man with the gauntlet, yanking him headfirst into the hard floor before the limb retracted. Now fully alerted to the new threat the other three men turned on Cecil, yet that didn't prepare them for his onslaught. Another was taken by the neck and lifted high, thrown down then onto the deck with a bone shattering crunch that made even her seasoned stomach churn uncomfortably. Where was all of this coming from? How was he doing this?

"A Machina?! Damn it, put that thing down!" the lead man shouted, glaring at Cecil as he flicked the lightning rod to its full length. Seeing the hand come for him this time he swiftly ducked to the side to avoid being grabbed, a bandit becoming the next victim as he was grabbed by the head, Cecil's massive palm covering his face and pushing him back and into a wall, denting the structure and practically embedding him there. A combat class, here? None of them should even by out yet never mind in the hands of some bandits, just what in the world was happening here? Growling in frustration he glared at his final remaining ally and gestured towards Cecil, determined to have him beaten. "Tear him apart and bring me his core, I'm not going to allow this to go on any longer!"

Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong here. As Ethan was racing up the stairs he could hear men yelling and the sound of something slamming into the deck, something human. He had just come up through the door of the cabin when the bandit was thrown back into a wall, his eyes widening seeing the blood splatter as his body all but crumpled from the impact. This wasn't right, this wasn't right at all! They were supposed to be using non-lethal tactics, nothing came of their killing anyone. Heroes didn't take lives, they found ways to solve problems without doing that! "Cecil, stop! Don't hurt them!" Ethan shouted, scrambling out to try and put a stop to things.

"You got it, I'll tear this heap of scrap into shreds," the man responded, grinning as he reached into his coat. Pulling free a two-pronged blade he flipped a switch on it, a spark igniting in between the halves before flames engulfed the blade itself, glowing white with intense heat. This would sever his metal body in a single strike, no fancy machinery was going to help him with this. Advancing on Cecil he prepared to take a first strike, raising his arm to swing the blade and send an arc of fire his way. At the height of his swing however the flame was suddenly snuffed out, a strong gust of wind reducing his intense fire to nothing more than smoldering embers. Baffled the man looked to his side and saw Ethan standing there, turning to raise his weapon on him as well. Before he could get his sword lit again he found himself on his back, having been tripped up by a wire that somehow ended up behind him, before a knee was driven into his back and the sword wrenched from his grasp. Trying to break free the man found a blade at his throat then, unable to move at all now.

"Cecil. Put Amuné down and step away from her," Ethan said firmly, sounding unusually cold as he kept his eyes on the man beneath him. The sound of electricity crackling made him turn his head to the final man advancing on him, glaring at the weapon in his hand. Releasing his grasp on his captive's arm he threw a hand to the side and knocked the final man into a wall nearby, knocking him out on the impact. Then, grabbing a hand full of his captive's hair he slammed the man's face into the deck, probably breaking his nose as he knocked him out as well. "We're not supposed to kill, you know we're not supposed to," he continued, finally getting to his feet. Despite his face glistening with sweat and feeling incredibly lightheaded from expending so much magic he stalked towards the Machina, reaching out when he got there and taking a handful of his shirt, pulling him close, "So why are you killing people, huh?!" Ethan screamed, tears welling up in his eyes as he shouted, "We're the good guys, we don't do that!"

Was that it then? The fight was over? The men had taken care of the bandits for them and Ethan just knocked the final two out, so that must mean they had won. Nymira couldn't relish that fact however as it appeared two of their own were about to get into it, furrowing her brow as Ethan began screaming. Where was his happy, absurd demeanor? This was unusual, was he like this before they met? Using the crate at her back for support the Dimuran pushed herself to her feet, wincing as her body threatened to collapse under its own weight, the exhaustion taking its toll. "Don't fight you two, we're comrades. And we've won, it doesn't matter what happened or how..." Nymira interjected, sighing as she watched Ethan continue to glare at Cecil, "He saved our lives, that should absolve him of anything he might have done. Just let it go."

Cecil looked like he had lost all connection with the world and his own morals, but he sure was managing to turn the tide of battle all while keeping Amuné by his side forcefully. He held her as if she was a toy, keeping a hold of her as if he was determined for her to be a part of all this. He wanted to kill them all, they were all the enemy and wanted everyone equally dead. Throwing down the chain with great force his burning eyes turned towards the leader, the chain retracting quickly before he suddenly threw his gauntlet straight for the man. Even though he missed graciously he did manage to strike a bandit all while painting the ship with his blood, his hand retracting rapidly without even a care about what he did.

He had to kill them whatever way, they were going to do the same to him and cause even further harm to him. They did this to him and they had to pay. Throwing up his fist again he watched as the man pulled out what could only be seen as a torture device, the sound and heat of the electric flame burning into his very being for the short moment it was ignited until it was suddenly put out. With his fist remaining raised he watched as Ethan took out his original target, staring at him as he spoke.

He couldn’t understand him at first and continued to blankly stare at him, watching him as he turned on the final attacker before an unsettling squealing of Amuné was soon making its way through his empty mind, his head slowly turning before it was violently slapped by Wyth. His body quickly hit the floor with his head slamming into the flooring first, his grip on Amuné loosening and his eyes flickering. Despite being made of metal the combined smack of Wyth’s paw and the floor smacking against his head had sent him into a daze, the voices of everyone on the ship coming through to him. Rolling over he slowly started to push himself up, his body twitching momentarily until he was finally up on his feet.

All the sounds of the fighting and all previous memories he had collected over the fight were becoming more comprehensible to him, his mind slowly returning as he blinked a few times. All those memories from what he thought to be the past had quietly subsided, the reality of what he was facing back on him as he realised Amuné had been screaming at him and the tone Ethan was giving him was that of extreme anger and disappointment in a cold silent way. Watching as Ethan finished up the fight by non-lethal means Cecil was left standing there, staring at Ethan in confusion yet with a lack of expression.

Stepping back slowly in short steps he froze as Ethan spoke to him again, sounding particularly hostile in his slow tone. Pulling back a few feet he stared at Ethan as he staggered towards him, his eyes turning to Amuné only to let out a gasp as he was grabbed, his face right in Ethan’s face. With blank eyes he stared at Ethan, his feet off the ground giving him nowhere to go. The voice of Ethan’s anger and aggressive stance initially had the dazed Cecil open his hand, the centre of it powering up with electricity as if an electric blast was coming; however, with a twitch and a long blink of his eyes his gauntlet closed up and Cecil was left staring into Ethan’s angered expression with fear. Pulling his head away he tried to get away from Ethan, staring into his eyes the entire time even as Nymira tried to defend him and Amuné shouting desperately to make it all stop. Struggling to gain the courage to speak his fingers slowly moved to his shirt, shaking as he muttered his words. “…I-I-I’m…s-sorry...please…”

Zander lay there dazed for a moment. His team mates if you could call them that, were all Magi it seemed. He hadn't seen anything special about Amuné, but perhaps the moor cat was her power. A gift over animals to control them and bend them to her will perhaps? Nymira could control fire, Ethan seemed to have the wind at his beck and call and for all Zander could make out, Cecil with his Machina more then made up for lack of magical prowess.

Watching the events unfold from a distance, Zander pondered his own move. Calling to Amuné had been rather silly on his part, it took the help of her cat to release her from Cecil's heavy grip. When Ethan emerged from bellow deck, snuffing out the flaming sword and knocking the last two enemies out. Zander let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion. Hearing the cold tone and the iced stare sent a chill down Zander's own spine. So Ethan had a backbone, Zander tutted himself. He knew nothing about this group of people.

"So why are you killing people, huh?! We're the good guys, we don't do that!"

Zander let himself laugh outright at that statement. Oh it hurt to laugh like he was, but he pressed his free palm to his chest. He had so little magic to help speed the wounds sealing, but that was okay for now. The laughter was painfully wonderful at this moment. Hearing the other two plead for the two to back down, made Zander's laughter return anew. This was just too rich! To add the cherry on top, Cecil stuttering out an apology would have made Zander keel over from laughter if it didn't hurt even more. The chest wound was sorely ruining his fun at the events transpiring.

With laughter tears on his face, he slowly made his way over feeling a slight charge to the air as he approached. He still chuckled here and there, as he slowly made his way over to the downed males who hadn't been killed. Poking one with his borrowed quarterstaff he tried to get the weapon away from the man. He refused to learn Ethan's want to knock out the enemy wouldn't be their deaths.

"Forgive me for the laughter," Zander's voice was raspy from the pained giggling. "Would you not kill in return if they had slain your princess? Perhaps if they had used the flaming sword to slice the young lady in twine." Zander chuckled a little more and groaned. He needed to calm himself before he opened the wound further. "Perhaps if I had been pierced by an icy shaft, then it would be all the more reason to kill. Do you not kill wild beasts? They mean only to defend their homes. What of the food you eat? Do you spare it a passing thought?"

Zander's laughter had subsided and in it's place was a questioning logic. He headed towards the two and didn't slow his pace. Cecil seemed to have regained control of himself, Ethan was staring daggers still and Zander let out a sigh. Placing his hand on Ethan's clenched one, he used his bloodied fingers to try to pry the digits in Cecil's clothing loose. Still he lectured.

"Mayhap if we had asked nicely, by their leave, to spare our lives and continue on their way, you could spare your friend here from the blood now on his hands. He SAVED the brat and the lady and yourself from death by their hands. Fully trained in their Demacite to annihilate all in their path, or are the fallen pirates beyond your view?" Zander looked at Cecil's frightened face and didn't smile in reassurance.

"To take a life is easier," Zander stated. "Then to save one. To spare it. You do him no good, Ethan, crying to him about the death he has caused. His act did more good than harm. We have a job to finish, and perhaps, a ship to burn down."

Giving up on trying to free Cecil, he headed towards the way Ethan had come upwards. He was shaking his head now, the self righteous would always find a cause to gather round. Whether they be Church members, or whether they be adventurer's who had picked up a healer who had been through something very much like what Ethan was setting himself up for.

Before heading down, he nodded to Nymira as if to convey he meant no harm, but to rather get Ethan to see their was no reason to lay fault on Cecil's already trembling shoulders. Stopping just out of paw range he looked at Amuné from top to toe of what he could see. She was probably slightly bruised but with the Moor Cat growling at him he wouldn't take a step closer.

"I'm going to look for mead and silk. When you have gotten over this... Impasse, you are welcome to help me in the search. I have a patient in the Golden Coffer Inn, who I won't keep waiting much longer."

The girl was babbling on about men in suits and getting more worked up by the second. Danica couldn’t make any sense of the situation, but from the sounds of it the bandits were in more danger now that a new enemy was on the playing field. It was not long before the girl ran across the room and deeper into the ship when a scream shattered the air, where their other friend had gone. While Danica was thus distracted, the Muran leaned forward and threw her weapon across the room, out of her reach. Danica couldn’t hold back a frustrated growl in her throat. No chance of getting it back for a surprise retaliation, not that there was any point to drawing out the fight. The man had her pinned down with his sword, and he didn’t seem to be immediately about to kill her, so Dani raised her hands in a disarming gesture and flashed a smile. Of course, the Naga was never out of options, but for now biding her time was the best move, although accepting defeat left a very bitter taste in her mouth.

It was more surprising for her when the man let her get up, stepping back and lowering his weapon. So he had been sincere in his desire not to hurt her, despite the fact that Danica had been about to kill him just a few minutes before. In her line of work, people rarely stayed true to their word when they promised not to hurt you, and Danica had long learned the painful consequences of growing to trust someone. She rose to her feet carefully, wary of a trick now that she was seemingly defenseless, but the man only urged her to leave before disappearing down the stairs himself. She let him go without a word. At this point, it seemed wise to take his advice and make herself scarce. She held no loyalty to the bandits beyond their coin, and there was little chance of getting paid after this disaster. And if they were in real trouble, she was just one woman—she wouldn’t be able to help them anyway.

With a sudden urgency driving her forward, she snapped into action. She strode across the room and picked up her dagger, inspecting it briefly before jamming it into its sheath. Her quiver and bow were securely strapped on her person and undamaged in the short fight, and it was a simple matter to grab her pack from one of the nearby rooms in the hold. With that, all of her possessions on the ship were with her once again, and it was time to go. It was so easy to just pick up her entire life like that, often, and she held no nostalgia as she gave a cursory glance at her surroundings before turning for the stairs leading up onto the deck. The distant sound of wood crashing from another part of the ship made her pause, but she simply shook her head and continued—half the ship could be breaking apart at this point for all she knew.

As she reached the top of the stairs, the sounds of a raging battle continued outside. Danica stopped to wrap shadow magic around her, taking the extra moments necessary to make the enchantments stronger than usual. After all, it seemed likely to her now that there were more Magi involved, and the light outside would not help either. The effort of keeping herself concealed so strongly would tire her out soon, but it wouldn’t matter if she could make a clean break from the ship. With her magic ready, Danica stepped out onto the deck, eyes widening at the chaotic scene that confronted her. As her eyes adjusted to the light from the darkness of the hold, nothing she had anticipated prepared her for what she saw now. She began to circle around the edge of the deck, avoiding the heart of the fighting as she inched towards the gangplank, moving slowly to keep her cover intact. Most of the bandits were down already, and her stomach turned as she saw some familiar faces lying dead, killed in gruesome ways even for her. She resisted the urge to stop and examine them, to try and help. There was no hope for anyone here now.

Danica finally ducked behind a crate with the gangplank to her back and peeked out at the fighting. Everyone involved in the battle was clustered around the center of the deck, and it was then that she noticed a familiar figure. It was the man who had darted past her in the hold earlier, and now that she could get a better look she saw that he appeared part Machina. And he was aggressively killing or severely wounding the rest of their enemies with powers she had never seen before, making no distinction between the bandits or the men in suits, the latter group Dani didn’t recognize at all. But the Machina man didn’t seem to be hurting his friends, an assorted group of younger people. The little girl was with them in the Machina’s grasp, the distressed look on her face tugging at Danica’s heart. Everything really had gone to pieces here—what a mess. She got a quick look at everything, but ignored the details as her heart raced, the urgency she was feeling telling her she needed to leave before the fight ended, as it looked like it quickly would. Not to mention that she was their enemy, and she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a mechanical glove punch.

Danica turned and made her way down the gangplank until she could leap to the ground, lightly rolling to cushion her fall. Here there were more bodies, the grass soaked with blood under some of them. An uneasy feeling settled into her stomach like a rock as she walked quickly past the fallen, away from the boat and the clearing. Once again she was leaving places and people behind, people she could not help despite all the power in her possession. Once again, she was useless. Her glamour dissipated like a cloak falling gently from her shoulders as she began to walk faster, her pace quickening until she was lightly jogging through the trees, her pack bumping against her back between her shoulder blades as she ran.

Everything was just wrong. People were dead, and not by the bandits hand but by their hand. They had never set out to take lives only to secure the ship, and they could have done so with everyone being able to walk away from this. So why then were there dead men all over the place? Some killed by the men in suits, others by members of their own party, Ethan couldn't understand it. What reason was there to take a life? If you beat someone enough they wouldn't fight, murder didn't need to be a part of that. Seeing the chaos that had unfolded up on the deck coupled with Cecil killing a man himself was just too much for the Muran to take, something inside of him snapped and he had to try and put an end to it.

By this time Ethan was utterly exhausted, expending too much magic and barely able to keep himself standing much less fighting. Regardless he struggled to his feet and approached Cecil, grabbing the Machina by the shirt and lifting him up slightly off his feet, demanding to know why he'd done what he had. Around him he could hear Nymira calling him off and Amuné pleading for him to let Cecil go, yet he felt he had to have his answers He needed to know why despite repeatedly saying not to take a life the Machina had taken not one, but two and perhaps even more, he hadn't checked yet. All Ethan knew so far was what little he had witnessed coming up from below deck and that in of itself was enough for him.

"Why did you do it Cecil? Why did you kill them?!" Ethan repeated, tears welling up as he tried to get an answer out of his friend. Seeing the pained and frightened look on Cecil's face didn't make it any easier to question him, making the Muran just feel awful for even doing this. When an apology was stammered out he couldn't bear to do it any longer, releasing his grip and letting out a silent, choked sob before running a hand through his hair. Men killed, and for what? Silks? Rum? Things that meant nothing and men had died for it, what a waste of life that was. If those men had been spared maybe they would have been better for it, now they never had a chance to try and make amends. Whatever families they might have, friends, dreams and hopes... Gone.

With everything as grim as it was to Ethan right now he was baffled to hear someone's laughter breaking the uneasy silence. Looking over his shoulder he blinked back tears seeing Zander rising to his feet, apparently finding something funny in this situation. Worse still was the fact that a healer of all people was arguing about the ethics of killing someone while bringing up a question almost impossible to answer. "I... No... Killing someone doesn't avenge a murder, and it doesn't make things right," Ethan replied weakly, casting his eyes downward as he spoke. The guards always preached the importance of justice over vengeance, over letting your rage or heartache concerning loss drive your actions. It was important for men in that line of work to be able to keep their heads clear enough, otherwise they'd be racing off constantly to fight bandits or monsters. So then why was he having so much trouble with it?

"Do not lecture me, Zander... As if you know what you're talking about," Ethan replied bitterly, raising a hand to wipe at his red eyes before turning to face the healer, "Just because something is easier doesn't mean you should do it. Cheating is easy, lying is easy, stealing is easy, but would you do all of that, just because its simpler?" No, you'd take the moral high ground, try to be the good person and do the right thing. Yes fighting an opponent intent on killing you was difficult even if you were willing to strike them down, and having a more reserved, almost pacifist approach made it even more difficult. Yet that shouldn't be the reason for not trying, just because it was hard. Plenty of things in life were difficult, you couldn't avoid hardship.

Clearly there was a clash of ideals taking place here. For Nymira she found no fault in what had been done, death was a part of the battlefield and a fact of life. That being said she didn't see the point in useless deaths, nor did she have any taste for executions, such as what the men in suits had done. A defeated enemy should have to live with their shame and doubt, they deserved the right as a warrior to try and regain that pride, be it in victory or in death. Slaying men as those in the suits had done, there was no honor in that, no chance to fight back. As Zander pointed out it was not unlike slaying beasts which they lived off of, done purely out of desire or a simple want to kill. Both men were in the right to a degree, and she wasn't going to take sides despite where her loyalties might lie. The fight was done, what was done was done, now they simply had to recoup and leave this ship to claim their reward.

"It's all below deck, I'm certain. You'll remain where you are," Nymira told Zander firmly, approaching as she clenched one of her hands into a fist. "If you so much as move I'll be certain to put you out as well, and this patient of yours can wait longer. I will not stand by idly as someone laughs in the face of a warrior's death as you did, it's disgraceful." Bandits, soldiers, guards, regardless of their reason for fighting they all fought and died for something, that should be honored, even if their reasons were impure. To die for a cause was how their sort lived and diminishing that was utterly repulsive, something which Ralthor would strike down were it to happen on his soil. Rubbing at her sore throat the Dimuran woman glanced about at the bodies strewn across the deck, some breathing and others motionless in a pool of their own blood. Just as these men fought and died for their causes so too had they, and there should be no regrets over what had happened.

A ways from the chaos of the Aube Doré a small contingent of guards was fast approaching. Accompanied by the secretary of the mayor, as the man was currently indisposed, and Lazlo they made a fast path to the site of the battle following the eccentric merchant's directions. The sound of metal boots clattering against the stone-ridden roads, branches snapping beneath their feet and chain armor shifting with every moment caused a song of steel in the otherwise silent forest, signaling the approach to anyone nearby. After a good few moments of travel the ship itself finally came into view, and to anyone present they could promptly see that the situation had escalated badly. A handful of bodies lay at the landing, and doubtless a few more were on the deck. Figures could be seen standing aboard the ship itself, though from this distance it was difficult to ascertain who it might be.

"Men, fan out and form a perimeter, no one gets in and out of this area," the lead guard called, fanning out to his right with his sword, "I don't care if its one of those children or one of the bandits, everyone is to be brought to me for questioning." They had to be certain who they were dealing with here, knowing now that Magi had been employed. Personally he had no ill will towards the sort but he knew what they were capable of, and the risk that they faced potentially fighting one. Even children were dangerous if their abilities were not kept in check and they could easily lose a battle should that come to pass. Watching as his men fanned out, the guard frowned as his eyes drifted once more towards the Aube Doré, trying to figure out just what had happened there. Clearly the battle was over and the ship still in one piece, but who was victorious?

A pair of two guards, a Muran and a Ydran, cut their way through the brush as they approached the shoreline. Someone might try to make a retreat either down here out of view or through the water, all avenues of escape had to be considered here. With a sword in each of their hands they moved as swiftly as they could while trying to remain undetected, not wanting to alert anyone preemptively and cause a skirmish. As they raced through the trees the sound of a limb breaking prompted each to stop, their heads on a swivel as their eyes scanned for anyone, or anything in the immediate vicinity. It didn't take long to spot a woman racing away from the scene of the battle, a pack on her back and curiously unharmed despite the chaos that apparently had taken place. Wordlessly the two guards both made a move to cut her path off, weapons brandished as they stood in her way. "Halt! You are to go no further, stay where you are and surrender yourself to the guard!"

Approaching the ship were now three guards, doing so quite slowly and with weapons drawn. Before they even reached the landing one could smell the blood in the air as a cool breeze carried it forth, though their seasoned senses did not waver at the smell. At about 20 meters out one of the men drew his bow and took aim, his arrow pointed at a young looking boy preemptively, not knowing who they might be. When his comrade signaled for him to lower his weapon however he did so, albeit the narrow remained notched as they slowly moved forward. "You there! Lower your weapons and identify yourself!" the forefront guard shouted, furrowing his brow as he realized there were others on board as well. They were all young, were these the children that the mayor had sent? Had they done all this? Terrifying lot, these Magi.

Cecil didn’t know what was going around inside his head but this whole situation had made him confused and scared, his eyes staring into Ethan’s as he pleaded with him. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say other than to plead with Ethan to forgive him. Once he was finally let go he backed away from Ethan, falling onto his knee momentarily before getting back up, holding where he was grabbed as he looked to the others with a fearful gaze. What had he done to cause such emotion? He didn’t have any control when he did that, it all felt like some sort of state where his mind went offline but his body didn’t. He didn’t know how to explain that if he could, his mind struggling to come up with an excuse for his behaviour.

Just what was happening to him? He felt like he was barely functioning, his energy levels shifting erratically as he tried to understand what was happening to him. Those images he saw when he touched that equipment, he couldn’t understand them at all. What he saw couldn’t had been real, but it felt real and the pain that coursed through him. He felt so confused, he had made more enemies than just those men with his own friends expressing disappointment, anger and fear towards him. Was he who he thought he was? He couldn’t be, not after doing such a thing. He may not understand what it meant to kill someone, but the guilt Ethan had delivered to him was just too much for his mind to handle.

“I-I’m a…combat machina…right…?” he mumbled, his hand going to his head before being taken aback by the dent in his head. His body had been damaged, another hit and his framework may not had been able to protect his data core. As a brief moment of panic washed over him he twisted around before immediately backing up, startled by Amuné being off to the side. He couldn’t understand what was happening, he didn’t know what he was either at this rate. He thought he was a combat machina, but those images told him something else. Looking to his hands quickly he soon grabbed his head, squatting down. “I-I am…right?? No I-I-I can’t be…” he stuttered, looking to his hands again, “I’m not-I’m…I’m not alive…”

He was confused and disorientated, his head unable to get around what was happening to him or how his friends felt about him. He was just endangering everyone by being there if that was just going to happen to him. Was he simply malfunctioning or was something else happening to him? Feeling like he might end up exploding considering everything else that happened he was almost ready to throw himself overboard just to save them all the grief of having him around; however, the sound of shifting metal nearby alerted his senses to possible danger. Quickly getting to his feet he started twitching, his body slowly tipping to one side before he caught himself and held his head. He had been damaged other than just his shell, probably from the smack he had received. Hopefully his data recording hadn’t been damaged, but he didn’t know why he was caring about that at a time like this. Feeling like he was in a right panic and unable to understand what was happening he twitched lightly, staring blankly forward as he slowly moved into a crouch, feeling like he was going into a mental breakdown as he grew confused over who he is or was.

There was too much going on right now and none of it was how Ethan envisioned it. He imagined their triumph over the bandits, securing the ship and managing to bring these men in for some proper punishment. What they got instead was a hollow victory, a handful of the enemy dead, others broken and Amuné and Cecil both having a nervous breakdown. He himself was flustered as well, not knowing whether he should continue on about how wrong things were or whether he should leave it and they move on. Looking between those in the group Ethan let out a silent sigh, running a hand through his hair and closing his eyes. They were done with this either way, now they could return to the mayor, give Lazlo his shipments back and get whatever information Nymira needed. Then they could leave Orosi and hopefully all of these memories behind them.

Looking to Cecil as he mumbled to himself Ethan's brow knitted together in concern, not realizing just how bad his friend was. Did his confrontation really upset him that much? Yes it was wrong what the Machina did yet it wasn't as if he was being condemned to death for it, he'd just gotten a talking to. Between Amuné's crying and Cecil's panicked mumbling and movements it was fairly evident they weren't going anywhere any time soon, not until everyone had a chance to calm down. Feeling rather guilty over bringing on this attack the Muran approached Cecil, and just as he reached out to his friend the Machina stumbled back, holding his head before crouching down. "Cecil... I... You're not a bad person, you aren't," Ethan began, not entirely sure why his friend was even having an episode, "You made a mistake, everyone does. We know for next time and so it won't happen next time, right? Please, don't beat yourself up over it, we'll move on from this."

While Ethan played the part of consoling Cecil, Nymira tried to give some attention to Amuné. Empathy was not her strong suit though and most instances if a child cried, at least a Dimuran child, they were made to "toughen up" and find some outlet for their anguish. Somehow though she had a feeling telling the Ydran girl to do such a thing wouldn't go over well. Putting on an awkward smile she slowly approached as not to alert Wyth, taking a knee at Amuné's side and placing a hand on her back. "There there little one, it's all over. Everyone is safe and we are victorious, there's nothing to worry about," Nymira said gently, moving closer and placing her arm around the child. Aside from this she wasn't sure what more could be done, she was hardly the best with words either. Hearing someone's voice calling out to them she tensed up, reaching back reflexively for her dagger and finding it absent. "Another bandit...? Damn it all..." she growled, keeping Amuné to her chest as she stood up and glanced over the side of the boat. Not bandits, but guards? From Orosi judging by their outfits, but why were guards here?

"Good, now all of you get off that ship! One at a time, down the gangplank!" the guard continued, gesturing to the long board with his sword, "Every one of you come down with your hands up, and be quick about it!"

Why were they being ordered about by the guard? They hadn't done anything wrong, they'd secured the ship as asked and were now about to leave, what was the problem here? Whatever it was it was apparent the guards were serious, as a quick glance showed each and every one of them was armed. Not just armed but wielding too, something that struck Ethan as highly unusual. Guards should never brandish their weapons against civilians, unless their lives were thought to be in danger. So then... Were these men afraid of them? Glancing between everyone again he slowly rose back to his feet and placed a hand on his sword, wondering just how serious the men were. Maybe they were just being careful, after all they had come out here without really any official word and were the only ones standing in a mess of bodies. Biting his lip in hesitation Ethan went ahead and took the lead, holding his hands up by his head as he slowly descended the gangplank. As soon as he reached the bottom a guard approached and grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back and pushing him along. Another took his sword away as well, examining it curiously in its retracted form before tucking it away in the band of his belt.

There wasn't any avoiding the guards then, and trying to do so was only going to cause problems. Following after Ethan, Nymira made her way down with Amuné tucked at her side securely, glaring up at a guard that approached them and moved to restrain her. "I am the crowned princess of the Rumia clan, you will not lay a hand on me," she asserted firmly, clutching the Ydran child to herself securely, "And I am holding this child, I will not allow any of you to lay a hand on her. I am unarmed, that's all you have to worry about." Standing as she was she waited until the man finally backed down, though she was ushered over to join Ethan by other men. As everyone descended the gangplank a handful of guards went onto the ship itself to inspect the damages, collect their weapons at Nymira's behest and check the bodies. What insolence, corralling them like this after all they had done. She'd have to remember to lay into the mayor when they returned for this poor treatment, it was inexcusable.

Moments later the remaining guards joined the group on the shoreline, notably lacking a certain Naga captive among their rank. Surprisingly both Lazlo and Bernadette were in attendance as well, the former seeming excited to have his wares and the latter thoroughly apologetic. As it happened the guard had caught wind of their business and intended to intervene, but had some trouble finding the ship itself. Bernadette had argued for the children's case and yet it was overridden, perhaps something to do with knocking out their mayor. The fact that somehow word of their being Magi had gotten to become knowledge as well missed her completely, even she hadn't been aware until the news was given. Seeing them now though, disheveled, distraught and worn down she couldn't see them as anything except children, that hardly deserved punishment.

"Oh my beauties, this is fantastic! I'm so relieved they are untouched!" Lazlo declared with glee as he approached some crates. Ignoring the bandit's corpse being dragged away he dusted some charred wooden chips from the first, cracking it open and beaming at his unharmed product. A small part of him suspected the children might run off with his goods if given the chance, so finding them still here and undisturbed was indeed a thrill. "Oh yes, you lovelies have done quite well! I'd reward you but I imagine the mayor has something in mind already, so I shall simply give my thanks!" he sang, spinning on his heel and facing the group. Finally realizing how distraught both Amuné and Cecil looked, not to mention the latter's notable head wound, Lazlo clasped his hands together and gave each a smile. "Don't look so glum, you've done well! Those crumpled faces are simply abhorrent, do try to smile! You've done a great thing today!"

Zander stopped his decent into the hull and sighed at Nymira. What did she think he would do? Light fire to the ship itself and leave it to burn into the river bed? That actually wasn't a bad idea, part of him agreed. Lack of a torch and flint and steel held his idea in check though. His mind also processed Ethan's harsh remark towards him. Ethan didn't know him, and vice versa, so he did not hold it against the boy. He was younger than Zander, and part of him scoffed raging against keeping his mouth shut for once.

When Ethan realized how his words affected Cecil, he decided then and there to let bygones be bygones. Cecil had done what Zander himself had tried to do, get Ethan to realize his harsh tone was doing more damage than anything else. It felt wrong, to praise the young Magi. To him, it felt so terribly wrong even in his mind. Magi had caused his family to shun him and cast him out. Not, however, before branding him and causing his wandering to start. That was a summer ago, but felt like a lifetime.

He was lost in memories, some bitter sweet, some making him long for the temple's overall warmth. The guards had called for them to come down, to follow their lead and to not cause trouble. He tensed, guards meant that soon the Church would be called. Zander scorned himself, for not leaving a day earlier, to have avoided all of this trouble. Geoffrey though, had pleaded for him to stay one night as they had been together. Begged him to heal his mother with his magics. That had been the cause of all of this, and Zander somewhat wanted to box the Innkeeper's son upside the head.

Shaking his head, it felt light and airy, somehow he had followed the others off the platform. When Nymira had pulled Amuné and stated she was a princess of such and such tribe he sighed. There went his idea to lie his way out of this, bringing his own family name into it and using some excuse like this was the Church's experiment.

He paused. Would that actually work!? Bernadette fought for them, stating they were children caught up in this, and then the word Magi had been passed around. The mayor had been spelled asleep, and fingers were being pointed at them. He could see the underlying tone, if none of them spoke up on his behalf, he would be off towards the Church. His death. His mother would be sure to gloat as well.

To lie. To tell the truth. To bring up his own family name into this and use it. He had the family crest branded on his left arm, his father's parting gift against his mother's wishes. Sighing and crouching down, he plucked a blade of grass and placed it to his lips. Thistle Whistle, or so Geoffrey had showed him how. Blowing against it, a softer tone escaped it and he let the tone hold. He ignored the looks the guards shot him, and just hummed with his Thistle Whistle.

When Lazlo arrived to spread his good cheer about finding his items unharmed and now unstolen, Zander gave a pained smile. This would take more than trying to cheer them up and he doubted the Mayor would help them anymore since Zander had knocked the man out in his need to hide his last name. Sighing finally, he dropped the reed in his fingers and walked away from his small group and towards the guards.

"I am they one who placed the sleep seal upon your Mayor," Zander stated bringing them to a silent impasse. "These people had nothing to do with that. The job to retrieve the items was done, also by this group. If you must shackle someone look no further." Zander didn't have his staff, it was still in the bushes. The staff he had borrowed from the bandit's still upon the deck. He was tired and wanted to rest and pump more of his power into the wound upon his chest.

He didn't look at the group he had gone to this ship wreck with. For that was what would become of it, and he kept his eyes no the Mayor's Secretary. He didn't plead, he didn't bargin, he simple handed himself over. He was older than all of them, he would handle this for them and if they crossed paths again, or didn't he was okay with that somehow.

Cecil was trying to work out what he was supposed to be doing or how he was supposed to react to these people, but one thought on his mind was to eliminate himself so nobody would have to deal with him anymore. Everybody already didn’t like him anymore and if he was just going to cause death at random intervals then he didn’t see any reason to be still functioning. Being damaged as he was he didn’t stand a chance to pretend to be a real person, all he was going to do was get in trouble and bring everyone who already hated him down with him. Slowly moving to make his way to the edge of the boat his body twitched, his feet unable to hold the momentum before he fell back; however, instead of onto the floor like he expected he was caught by Ethan, his eyes quickly going to him as he followed his vision on the way down.

Not appearing to understand what was going on he looked fearful at first, his eyes shaking before he blinked. “I-I’m…not a real person…” he muttered, looking down, “I am made of metal and wires and-…that’s all I am. I have nothing you do”. He didn’t know how to explain what he saw or what happened to him, he was already in trouble for it all already and no excuse was going to save him now. With the guards now here he couldn’t do much other than simply follow along, seeing how he knew he’d get everyone in trouble if he tried anything while these men were threatening them with weapons to move elsewhere.

Moving away from Ethan he stumbled a little, correcting himself as he held his head with one hand and raised the other up in the air. He didn’t know what the gesture was supposed to mean but it was what those men wanted from him and the others. Slowly turning around he shuffled across the deck, staring down at the bloody mess he had left and the destruction he had caused as he left the ship. That was what he was built for and even if it was a brief moment there was no denying that was what he would simply do again. None of them agreed with it, they all hated what he could do and was built to do.

Slowly making his way down the gangplank he paused a few times, trying to not lose his balance before continuing on. He didn’t understand what was going on but there was very little he could say to try and understand. He didn’t know if he was allowed to either, all this business seemed way above him anyway. Managing to make it down without falling over he stood relatively still, keeping a hold of his head as he stared at the ground. Everything was just white noise to him at this point, he didn’t have any confidence in his ability to control himself and didn’t know how long it would take before he collapsed. Continuing his staring down at the ground which only served as his one distraction he did look up at the man who appeared to be speaking in reference to him. The man didn’t know what he was talking about, all he cared about was what had been retrieved rather than what had done. Glancing to Zander trying to talk his way out of their troubles he soon looked back down, slowly shaking his head. “Today has been a very bad day. Y-y-you just got your stuff back…”

They hadn't done anything wrong by anyone so why the hostility? They'd done the town a favor by getting the boat back, no questions asked, and it was hardly like they were going to steal the cargo. Given their small group size, and the small size of some of their friends, how were they meant to haul off crates and crates of goods? That was the only reason Ethan could come up with their being aggressive at first, though the guards revealed it was over their supposedly being Magi, or however their mayor had been put to sleep. This was the first he was hearing of such a thing and it confused him greatly, furrowing his brow as the accusations were laid out. Then when Zander stepped forward to try and take the blame the guards seemed skeptical, as if he couldn't have done it. Though he managed a smile the corner of Ethan's mouth twitched, even he wasn't naive enough to expect Zander's claims to absolve them of these accusations.

"We're taking you all back to town before we decide anything, and you'll be punished accordingly for it," the lead-guard answered, looking to no one in particular as he spoke, "We'll figure out who exactly did it when we get there, until then you're all to come with us and be silent on the matter." There was a small issue as well of potentially having Magi in the mix, so to be safe they had to not aggravate any of them. Fear couldn't prevent them from upholding the law though, they had technically attacked the mayor and had to answer for that crime. "Punishment will be weighed based on what you did here today as well, you'll likely get off with little more than a small fine," the guard added, looking to Amuné mainly this time. He didn't know how a small child became mixed up in all of this, but it wasn't right to put this on her. Even if the little girl might be a Magi he sincerely doubted she'd any part in the massacre aboard the ship, she should be free from these charges.

What a complete and utter mess this had turned into. Doing this favor was meant to be a guarantee for getting what she wanted: favor with the local officials and perhaps good word for other towns. Instead Nymira found herself possibly being charged with a crime and treated like some criminal, as if she'd done anything wrong. "I did not realize putting a man into a slumber was such a heinous crime," the Dimuran remarked angrily, holding Amuné against her shoulder as she addressed the lead guard. The man admonished her with a disapproving look but she continued in spite of that. "We risked our lives to return this ship to Lazlo, and we've potentially stopped future robberies in the process. Surely everything we've done overrides such a petty crime, yes? If you insist on being so difficult I'll not be pleased with your town, we'll be sure to avoid it when my clan begins trade."

"W-What she means to say is we should get off a little light, even if we did put someone to sleep," Ethan interjected with a nervous laugh, "Besides, it's not as if the mayor was hurt, right? I mean yeah maybe putting him to sleep was a little... Unnecessary, but it didn't hurt him. I'd hardly call that assault." To him it kind of seemed the guards were stretching it, their definition of assault that was. Shame he hadn't a single idea how it had even happened or he might be better able to explain it to them. Why were they making such a big fuss over a man being placed in a nap?

Absurdity of the charges notwithstanding they were going back to town, their fates to be determined once at the mayor's home. The walk back to Orosi was largely silent save for Amuné's occasional whimpers and Bernadette's trying to convince the guards to let them off. The whole situation was stressful and made very little sense with even a few of the guards appearing to question their actions; no one knew for certain what was going on, and they likely wouldn't until they returned. More guards and some dock workers would be by later to retrieve the cargo and ship as it turned out, meaning their participation in the job was officially over. An impending sense of nervousness washed over Ethan as they caught sight of the manor, though he brushed it aside and tried to smile in spite of himself. They had been through some nasty business but they'd made it through, the worst was behind them and they could be done with this. Yes they were being charged, with what he didn't know, but it wouldn't be too bad.

"I just want to make this clear before we speak with the mayor. Only the one responsible for putting him to sleep is being charged here, and it'll likely end up as little more than a misdemeanor, disorderly conduct or something similar. You kids should be awarded for what you did here today as well, even if the way you did it was... Unexpected." All of those dead men aboard the ship, not quite what was expected out of a group of youths. Again the notion of Magi plagued the lead guard's mind but he tried to ignore it, still having no concrete evidence the claims were even true. They had to be certain before passing judgment, otherwise it would turn into a witch hunt; neighbors would accuse one another of being Magi and be whisked away without question, that was a kind of chaos that could not be permitted.

Passing through the courtyards leading up to the manor the guards led the group, brushing aside any Machina that tried to approach to offer assistance or greet them, as per their programming. It was well known that the Machina here were frequently approaching guards, having been taught to address them and assist them however possible. Thoughtful but terribly bothersome when they did it every single time whether one was coming or going, it became a hassle quite quickly. Thankfully the servant model was never quite as bothersome as the others, greeting them as was expected and agreeing to see them to the mayor's office. Approaching the office some of the guards seemed to be distracted by something, as was Bernadette after a moment. First thing that was unusual was her desk, which while manned by a Machina servant in her absence was unusually clear of papers, ones which she'd instructed to be left out for when she got back. Next was the mayor's door which was slightly open, odd considering the man almost always kept it closed.

"Sir, we've brought the children back to see you as you've requested," the guard declared, stopping short of the door and standing at attention. Awaiting a response there was nothing but silence for several moments, and after clearing his throat the guard repeated himself. "Mister mayor, the children are here, we'd like to show them in if it's alright." Again no response. Frowning the lead guard exchanged a look with Bernadette before placing a hand on the hilt of his sword reaching out and slowly pushing the door open as he entered the room. Nothing seemed out of place though the mayor's back was turned to them, the rear of his chair facing the door. Letting out a sigh the guard approached, reaching out to touch the seat. "Sir... Please wake up, we've brought the children."

When the chair was tapped it slowly turned around, and at once the air seemed to leave the room. Rather than find a dozing man as one might expect they found a sickly pale mayor, his eyes sunken and colorless in his unusually thin face. In fact his entire body was thin, like the life and every bit of strength had been sapped right out of him. No immediately notable injuries and yet he was very clearly dead, yet for how long? Appalled and baffled by the turn of events the guard slowly reached out, habitually checking for a pulse and finding none. "What in the name of the Saints..." he whispered, pausing as he noticed something unusual on the inner sleeve of the mayor's vest. Parting the cloth he reached in and pulled a slip of paper from his chest, eying the peculiar markings on it in confusion.

"A talisman...? But that's..." Wait, how could that be? He'd been with the others hadn't he? Yet that looked remarkably similar to something she'd seen before. Looking to Zander, Bernadette's eyes widened as she approached him slowly. "Zander? That's... Isn't that yours? You used the same thing before..." she mumbled nervously, stopping short as one of the guards stuck out an arm to halt her. Looking between everyone present her hands went to her chest, her eyes silently begging for some kind of explanation. No way could they be responsible, they weren't here. But... Who else used talismans like those?

The mayor was dead and evidently one of these children was to blame. Seeing Bernadette questioning the boy called Zander was all the guards needed to place an accusation. Drawing his sword from the scabbard one of the guards approached Zander, holding the blade out towards his chest as his hand trembled angrily. "You brat, you'll rot in a cell for this!" he shouted, raising his arm as though to strike him. Being grabbed in the back of his shirt by the lead guard however he was pulled back, scowling before glaring at the healer. "He killed the mayor! The brat double crossed us!"

"We don't know that! Don't jump to conclusions!" the lead guard retorted angrily, glancing back towards the rear of the group as other weapons were drawn. "Stand down, all of you! We'll investigate before we jump to conclusions!" A second later one of the men let out a scream, and a few incoherent shouts followed as the guards began turning around. Furrowing his brow the lead guard moved towards the door, edging everyone out of the way to see what was happening. In the hall and armed to the teeth were the Machina, eyes glowing an unusual red as they advanced in droves on the mayor's office. The guards had begun to try and fend them off and were now in a full out battle with them, struggling to hold back the inhuman fighters.

"What in the hell is going on? Why are they attacking?!" the guard shouted, glancing back at the mayor's corpse before looking again to Zander and the others, "You will wait here, we'll deal with this!" No sooner had he said that did the window behind the mayor's seat burst open, knocking his chair and body over onto the floor. Another Machina was coming into the room, sickle in hand as it tried to climb in. Storming over to the window the guard knocked away its weapon as it swung out at him, severing its head and pushing its body out. "Damn it! That's it, everyone out of the manor!" Stepping out the window the guard began to try and clear the way, only to suddenly be skewered by a pitchfork through his chest. As blood bubbled and passed through his lips he fell out of view, another three Machina piling up along the window.

Why was this happening? Why were the Machina attacking? When they were here before they hardly seemed to even acknowledge their existence, what had changed? Nymira cursed as the fighting escalated behind them, another guard being cut down and then another as the Machina continued to assail their position. They had to get out of here, staying was certainly going to spell death. Handing Amuné off to Ethan she moved towards the window, extending a hand out towards the three Machina and letting a fireball loose that engulfed all three, melting them into skeletons as their frames fell to the ground. Jumping out of the window then she glanced around and found it clear, waving the others on. "Hurry, before more come!"

"Right, move everyone, move!" Ethan called as he held Amuné in one arm, waving the others on first. With the guards keeping the Machina behind them at bay they could get away like this, and while he hated to leave them to their fate he knew staying was out of the question. Bernadette went first, practically in hysterics as she clambered out the window with Nymira's help. Once everyone else had gone the white-haired Magi hurried after the others and climbed out as well, following the Dimuran around the back of the manor. No Machina had made it out here yet which was good, and the only thing between them and freedom was the wall. Mustering up what little magic left he could muster Ethan slammed a gust of wind into the bricks, knocking it loose enough to be toppled over. Panting from the exertion he went through the opening with the others, hurrying away from the manor as the sounds of battle raged on behind them.

The disgrace that he had caused and the confusion he was feeling had left Cecil in a pretty bad state, his existence feeling like it was meaningless even if he had been reassured by Ethan that he was still a good person. He didn’t feel like a person after all that, he didn’t feel like he was anything like them. His main source of confusion lay with what he had seen before his supposed outburst, he didn’t even know what he had seen but that managed to trigger him pretty badly. Just what was stopping him from being triggered by something like that again? He might end up killing one of them and hearing Amuné pretty upset was just making everything so much worse. He had screwed up big time and now he was paying for it with his increased guilt and pain he was feeling.

He couldn’t keep going on like this, he had already ruined it for himself. Everybody didn’t want to go anywhere near him and if he was going to have a struggle fitting in with them again he didn’t know if he could put them through all that again. Even though the man who owned the stuff that had been stolen seemed pretty happy, the others were the complete opposite and now they were being taken away for some reason that he couldn’t fully understand. He couldn’t be bothered understanding it either, he was just going to end up making everything worse if he was just going to talk and blow his own cover with his glitchy speech pattern. He didn’t know what to do anymore and as he tried to walk with everyone he kept his gaze low, watching his feet as he continued to try and walk straight enough for him to manage.

First problem was he didn’t know why they were going to see the mayor again. They had already seen him and yet here they were again. Barely giving the Machina a glance out of possible shame and fear that he might try and destroy them too he waited with the others for any prompt that they were able to move forward; however, after a few requests to enter there was rising suspicion being created. Looking up as the door was opened up he stared at the mayor a moment before gasping as he realised first what had happened. Usually he could tell that someone was functioning, especially after the bodies on the ship allowing him to differentiate someone who was and wasn’t. Usually there was some sort of electrical signal coming from them, but the mayor had none at all. Glancing to the others he flinched when the men suddenly realised something was wrong, his feet shuffling back when it came to the realisation that he had no idea how people like guards would react to seeing the no longer functioning.

This was pretty bad, they were quickly starting their aggressions too but towards Zander instead. Looking to him quickly his eyes darted to the guard who was very quickly becoming angered and very hostile, his hand removing itself from his head as he very quickly started to panic. Everything was telling him to go into alert mode, he needed to get out of there before the worse happened once again; however, as the guards started to lead them out the Machina ahead were displaying clear hostile signs. What was happening? The only people who had displayed clearly hostile intentions were the guards so there was no reason for them to attack.

Just as Cecil suspected the Machina were not displaying their aggression completely to them, but rather the guards who were very quickly trying to cut them down much to Cecil’s horror. Staring at the event unfold he let out a yell when one forced itself in through the window, a Machina used for gardening who soon enough had been decapitated before his very eyes. Freezing in horror he stared at the guard uncertain but no sooner had the man been stabbed through the chest by another incoming Machina. Everything was quickly getting out of hand and Cecil didn’t know what to do about it. People were getting cut down and Machina were being destroyed right before his eyes. In a moment of brief panic he gasped when Nymira decided to move first before watching in horror as she blasted the aggressive Machina which horrifically melted away before his eyes.

Unable to stop himself he let out a gasping scream, his body reeling back at witnessing such horror. To them it would had been the equivalent of seeing one of their own kind melt away to their basic frame and with organic life being as complicated as it was it would’ve been horrific; however, with Ethan giving the prompt to move everyone was acting as if they were okay with this, seeing it as a benefit to their escape. Cecil on the other hand had just witnessed the horror that was his own kind being decapitated and three more being horrifically melted. Watching in shock as everyone started to leave his knees shook until he was able to leave himself, trying to gain the courage to jump out the window at the same time. While he had managed that task he was now running in a state of panic and horror only to fall over mid run and ram into the ground, sliding part of the way before he managed to get back up again as the wall was destroyed by Ethan. He had to get out of there, even if he couldn’t coordinate himself correctly. Making another dash again he hurried after the others as if becoming part of the mob mentality to escape the place, his feet sliding in a mess of sparks as he tried to keep running straight.

Zander sighed. He had tried. They could no more say he didn't at least attempt to get his new companions free from this charge. Yes he had put the Mayor to sleep, but that was to silence him from speaking up about his last name. It was hard enough getting someone to trust you when they heard the Starsion family name spoken like it was yesterday's crier's news. Staring off into the distance, he missed Nymira somewhat defending his actions and fell in step with the others.

His mind on the quiet journey wandered to the Golden Coffer Inn and Geoffrey and Olga. Geoffrey was probably out by the bar, waiting upon guests and serving ale. Olga would be asleep in bed, the poison in her system was strong and unforgiving which worried him. His face flashed with his internal worry. No one noticed, and he was perfectly okay with that. Scowling again, yet not fully feeling it, he let out another sigh and went to reach down for a blade of grass to kill the silence with a tune. A cleared throat had him standing up straight and letting out a light chuckle.

"Can't blame me for trying," he muttered to the guards around him and kept silent the rest of the way. Tuning back in, he grinned when the head guard spoke of who would be punished to Amuné. He would be proud of his sleep spells. They took effect on the unsuspecting so quickly. Shaking his head he let his mind wander again.

No one paid much attention to the group being lead towards the Mayor's Mansion. Fighting the urge to stretch, instead Zander scratched at the wound on his chest. His magic was slowly coming back to him, that was good. It would quicken the healing process and make the infernal itching go away.

He ignored the Machina but glanced towards Cecil to see his reaction. He was still clutching his head and had things started differently, Zander would have offered something to soothe the pain. Perhaps he could use something with a touch of cold to soothe the ache?

Here he stood again and gulped when the office doors were in view. Bernadette seemed to stare at her desk, so Zander looked as well. For someone who left in a hurry her desk was rather tidy wasn't it? Instead of pointing this out he looked back to the door way and felt dread seep into his soul.

"Sir we've brought the children..."

The mayor hadn't responded and Zander felt more dread. The mayor would ruin everything. His stay at this town. The Church would be after him again, everything would fall apart. When the chair turned, Zander had to fight to keep a small look of victory off his face, but even if it had been there, horror soon took over. The mayor was dead. Bernadette was talking to him but his eyes had seen it first.

Zander went pale, stepping to take a closer look at the talisman only to have a sword aimed at his chest. He threw a heated look at the stupidity of the guards, and was ready to snap about how he was a healer when the shouted started. Still pale, save for the anger red blush on his face, he went to take a step closer to the mayor's corpse and reached out his hand. He stopped himself. What if whatever had happened... No! A crash from the window was the perfect excuse. While everyone looked to the noise, he gripped the paper in his hand and crushed it. It pulsed weakly, sleep and something else. Something felt off about the paper, the texture and the ink didn't seem to blend well together. Neither had been blessed and yet, it felt like sludge in his clenched fist.

He didn't move at first, his eyes staring at the mayor's body. Was his family here!? Had they found him!? If they had tampered with this Seal Paper did that mean... He took off after the others not even looking at Ethan. Cecil's scream of horror echoed in his mind, Nymira's fire blast still seemed to heat his skin, Amuné's frightened shriek mingled with everything else.

As the wall collasped, and the others seemed to slow their pace, Zander ran past them. He didn't realize he was muttering out loud.

"If.. This one was tampered... Children... Olga.. Oh Saints what have I done..." He speed off towards the direction of the Golden Coffer Inn. Tears threatened to spill. If this one had been tampered with, if this one had been tampered with... The thought kept playing in his head as he sprinted faster. His chest wound opened slightly, he could feel the heat of his own life blood on his stomach. "If this was was tampered with..." He kept muttering as he ran past people towards his destination.

"What have I done... Geoffrey... Olga,please be okay..."

There were instances in life where things happened too quickly to react. A sudden accident, a surprise sprung on an unsuspecting guest, events could unfold in such a way that they seemed to be a blur. The opposite was true too and time could seemingly slow as chaos unfolded, as it was now. Ethan watched in silent horror and confusion as the guards and Machina began to fight, unable to make reason of what he was witnessing. They were attacking, but why? What reason would they have for that? He thought Machina obeyed and served their owners, killing them was as far from that as one could get. It wasn't as though they'd be questioning the machines either as the fighting unfolded, with Nymira burning away a trio climbing through the window to boot. Over Cecil's screams and Bernadette's muffled sobs he was left trying to direct everyone to the window, insisting they follow Nymira's lead out.

Even their escape was far from graceful as Cecil fell and tumbled, Bernadette continued to be hysterical and he and Nymira were borderline collapsing from exhaustion. Amuné had been spooked but was surprisingly quiet at the moment, perhaps because he was holding her and Wyth was nearby. Having broken apart the wall with a powerful gust Ethan fought to keep his grasp on the Ydran girl, his whole body feeling like gelatin it was so worn. "But... If anyone comes..." the white-haired magi panted out, not terribly enthused with that idea. Leaving Amuné on her own to flee could be disastrous if they were chased, it was safer to keep her in his arms, even if releasing her might be easier. Giving the bricks a shove to collapse the section of the wall he was about to step through when Zander bolted past him, repeating something about "tampering" over and over as he ran away. Wanting to give chase he stepped over the rubble, being halted when Nymira grabbed his shoulder.

"We don't have time... He'll find his way out," she said firmly, not having any of her escort run off on her. Truth be told too she wasn't terribly concerned about the healer, she knew little of him and their meeting hadn't been a favorable one. For all they knew too he could be the one responsible for the mayor's death, and in turn her denial of a council with the man. Aggravating and enough to warrant her giving him a good smacking about, though she hadn't the energy to chase him either. Right now their focus should be to escape the scene of the battle, as contradictory as that might be to her usual behavior, and find a way to figure out what was happening. With most everyone over the wall she glanced back and saw Bernadette standing there, wringing her hands nervously with a panicked expression on her face. "If you remain you'll die, hurry up!"

Bernadette looked back at the mayor's manor before glancing at Nymira, a worried look etched deeply on her face. "I... I can't... I know you weren't responsible, you couldn't have been. But... If I flee with you then they'll think you're responsible!" She couldn't allow the children to be thrown in a cell or worse for a crime they didn't commit, she had to somehow convince the authorities they were innocent here. "I'll go to the guard barracks and get help, then I'll explain to them what happened. You need to run though, wait until it's all died down."

While running away and avoiding authorities was not something Ethan was accustomed to he couldn't quite argue with Bernadette. Right now they were suspects, and if they stayed around they might be attacked by some guards, like Zander nearly was earlier. Their only hope was to hide until the calamity died down and then come back, profess their innocence and hope it took. "Thank you Bernadette, we owe you a lot," Ethan said with a nod, managing a small smile before looking to Cecil and Nymira, "Come on guys... We should head a few blocks away at the very least... Make sure we're nowhere near here." Ignoring the protesting of his body as his legs moved he started down the hill in the back of the mayor's home, easing himself onto the dirt road below and cutting across into an alleyway between two ramshackle buildings.

"This is simply inexcusable... That damned man was meant to help me negotiate with other diplomats. Now he's dead, the buffoon..." Considering his deplorable behavior one could only assume he'd angered the wrong people, clearly someone who was rather efficient at dealing with those they disliked. What an underhanded way of eliminating a target though, using magic and then manipulating machines to clean up. No honor in that, anyone could attack through a pawn and never bloody their own hands. It seemed more and more like Murans were fine with letting others soil their hands to be rid of problems, quite the contrast from Dimuran society. Yet these were the people, along with the Varuna and Ydrans, that her father wished to make an alliance with, for reasons that were beyond her. "Stupid... Stupid politics..."

"Well... It's not like he planned on dying, I'm sure..." Ethan commented, a tired smile on his face as he trudged along, "Besides... There's other towns still, it's not... The end of the world." Dang, he wasn't going to be going much further than this if he couldn't catch his breath. His lungs burned from oxygen deprivation and his legs were shaking, he had clearly overdone it. Finally having had enough he stopped as soon as they crossed into another alleyway, sinking to his rear and releasing Amuné on her own feet, letting out a breathless chuckle. "At least... At least tomorrow can't be any worse."

Those poor children, thrown into the middle of this chaos. Put in the spotlight despite trying to remain hidden and becoming suspected of what would now be several accounts of murder. If only they had died when they were supposed to then none of this would have had to happen. "Tsk tsk tsk..." Bernadette clicked her tongue and shook her head as she turned around, walking back towards the manor. As she passed by a tree the view of her was obscured briefly, and when she reappeared she looked completely different. A snide smile crossed her crimson lips as she slowly walked towards the front of the building, taking in the aftermath of the battle. It had been brief but fierce, and by now every guard and Machina involved in the battle lay dead at one another's hand. So satisfying, watching pawns attack each other like that. Almost too easy too, they were all so naively willing to believe whatever was fed to them. To so unwaveringly trust that Bernadette woman, they must have either been incredibly loyal or terribly foolish. Either way they had died for their incompetence, just as they should have.

Kicking aside a guard's corpse as she entered the hall to the mayor's office she stopped briefly seeing one just barely alive, a sickle buried in his side as he lay trying to stop the bleeding. As she approached he glanced up at her wordlessly, his bloodied hand reaching up as though expecting help. What he received instead was a sudden death as a black sword was thrust into his chest, piercing his heart and killing him near instantly. "Rats should know better than to ask for mercy, they're only vermin after all," she sang sweetly, a smile playing on her lips as she retracted the sword, shaking the blood off and sheathing it. Stepping over his corpse she entered the mayor's office, watching in amusement as a creature tore away at the man's body, enjoying his poisoned flesh as though it were a delicacy. "You didn't screw this one up, well done. I think I'll not be killing you today."

"Yesss... This was easy prey for me, child's play..." the Varuna magi laughed, observing as his summoned creature continued its feast, "With no Remusss to interfere, they were as easy as crushing a fly. Why do we not kill the children though...?" He wished to see them dead and by his hand if it could be helped, and it could have easily been done here today. They were exhausted from their battle on the boat, an amusing sight that he wished he could witness again, and wouldn't have even been able to defend themselves. Helpless prey, how amusing!

"Because this isn't simply about killing them anymore, you know that," the woman pointed out, smiling as she took a seat on the mayor's desk, "Magi cannot be allowed to roam around freely, yet many still do. This shows the world just how loathsome those outside of the Church's hold are," she continued as she folded one leg over another, reaching back to stroke the gelatinous beast at her back. "Not only have we turned them into outlaws, but now Magi will be seen unfavorably and as criminals in this town. Soon word of their deeds will spread to other towns, and any Magi will be ostracized for simply being who they are. Just think about it... Neighbors turning on neighbors, brothers on sisters. People will fight to bring in Magi, and it'll only empower the Church in turn. Today we moved out first pawn of the game, and before long we'll have our victory."