"In my hands, I hold a now empty Midlight Shard," Emiri reiterated to Jaakuna. "We have had both the Dawn and Dusk Shards in our possession, and believe me when I tell you that I would recognize either one of them at any moment. But this one, this is one whose Mist I have never felt before...even the stone itself in appearance is different from the other two." She stated, shaking her head. "Whoever had this...they got it...from...from Nabudis." She informed Jaakuna as she would look at him, unwilling to recall their horrid encounter from their experiences at the place.

Lorenzo would take the stone from her, inspecing it carefully. "The same nethicite that destroyed Nabradia would return only to show up on Rozarrian land. Ironic, isn't it?" He asked, tossing the stone in the air and catching it, though he would turn his attention tot he brunette. "If I didn't know any better, I would suggest you were part viera. Actually, I don't even think Aloa would have gotten such detail from the place as you have."

Emiri would look up, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I have always been sensitive to the Mist. Even now, I feel as if I'm underwater, suffocating and trying my best not to drown." She said, shaking her head. "Though...I would credit knowing about the nethicite to our time with them. They had a very distinct feeling to them, and this stone does as well. Thus my logical conclusion that this is the Midlight Shard." She said quietly, closing her eyes as her vision would blur. "I can hear it...I can hear the whispers of the nethicite in the Mist: this is my power, and I want more."

At that, Lorenzo couldn't quite stifle his laugh. "Talking rocks, huh?" He asked, inspecting the stone. "Tell me, Emiri...are you drawn to it?" He asked, offering her the stone.

She should have been repulsed by the stone. Gods knew how many times those things made her quake in her boots, the downright uncomfortable feeling she would get from it. And yet, as she looked from Lorenzo tot he stone, something deep in her mind seemed to click. The stone was truly powerful, even devoid as it was, she almost felt like it was calling out to her. All it would need was Mist...all it needed to give her the power...power she could use for anything, anything she wanted at all. Lorenzo would take the stone back, pocketing it, and taking note of Emiri's blank expression and her eyes. There it was again, though this time at least she was much less hostile. Her eyes would flicker up to his, and they would stare at each other for a moment.

Lorenzo carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be keeping this for the time being. You may accidentally trigger it with your powers, and we wouldn't want that now, would we?" He asked her. Emiri was deathly quiet, though she would give Lorenzo a nod. The blonde stared at her, though he would give Jaakuna his attention, almost as if he was asking if he was seeing what he was seeing, but at that moment, Emiri would grab her head in pain. "Hey, what's--MOVE!" Lorenzo suddenly shouted, immediately leaping back as a sword would pierce the spot he was standing.

Emiri managed to dodge, but would freeze in place as she saw the sword. She would recognize that weapon anywhere. She spun around to see Lola approaching the group. "Nice reflexes! I didn't think an old man like you had it in you!" Lola clapped sarcastically. It was her. Emiri's blood boiled just looking at her, her clenched fists shaking in anger. Lola noticed Emiri's rather scathing look, and shook her head. "Now, now, little pet, I'm not here for a fight. I just want the Shard, that's all."

"Eh? HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD?!" Lorenzo shouted, waving his arms frantically, though he would stop as he realized what Lola wanted. "Huh, a random chick dressed pretty weirdly who wants what amounts to a weapon of mass destruction. Seems legit."

The brunette could not contain her anger anymore, and would grab Lola's sword. "You...you should have died in Archades." She growled, the pulse in her head getting stronger.

"I didn't appreciate that nasty stunt you pulled." Lola informed her, placing her hand on her hip. "Boss really chewed me out for that one...you get less and less cute every time we meet." She sighed, though she would lightly touch her lips with her fingertips. "Though I admit, I do miss those soft, sultry lips." She smirked.

Lola was baiting Emiri. And the worst part was that Emiri would take it. "Wait!" Lorenzo called as Emiri charged forward, gripping Lola's Iaito in her hand. "Fuck, what is wrong with her?!" Lorenzo cursed as Lola would pull out a second blade, splitting herself into three and charging forward. "Huh. Chick's got some moves." He admitted as one would slice at him, though he dodged it with ease.

---

It wasn't dangerous, it was downright suicidal. For a moment, just a single moment, Grant had to ponder if this was Nadeline's intention all along. The path through Giruvegan and their overall journey had done a lot for her growth, but it also pointed out every flaw she had. Her physical weakness, her inexperience, her short temper...each one highlighted at different points and exposed for them all to see. Grant couldn't help but form a fist as he watched the fight unfold. He wanted to believe that Nadeline could win, but the more they fought, the more it was apparent that she was fighting a losing battle.

Nadeline was surprised to see her Scathe bounced off so effortlessly. Perhaps it wasn't as strong as she had hoped, and as she watched it fly into the clouds, it felt like everything around her had slowed down, if only for a moment. No matter what she threw at her, the High Seraph always seemed just one step ahead of her. She had wanted to prove herself so badly, she wanted to show everyone that she could conquer Ultima. As Scathe would explode above them, the remainder of the spell would fizzle out. The rest of the Ultima clones would begin their next move, and as Nadeline would weave in between her attacks, she would look over at the group for just a moment. The mistake would be her first, and possibly cost her the fight, as the distraction would cause one of the Ultimas to attack her from behind.

Nadeline spun around, throwing up a Protect, but her focus was lacking, and the shield cracked and shattered. The princess' eyes widened as the magick bound her, her rapier forced against her and burning her shoulder as she fell to the ground. No! She struggled, resisting the urge to cry out as her own weapon harmed her. The light would fade away, and the weapon would fall silent in response. It was in that moment that she realized just how exhausted she was. Despite the surrounding crystal and Mist boosting her magicks, it seemed she was almost out of magical energy. She hadn't even realized how heavily she had been breathing, how her struggle against her binds was pathetically weak, even for her.

Ultima approached her, informing her that she had all but lost. She would note her mistake in challenging the Esper alone, how her own inexperience had caused the fight to backfire, and Nadeline could feel the tears forming. Why, why couldn't she win?! What was all this for?! Still, Ultima would give her the chance to ask for help, and her eyes immediately went to the rest of the group. Grant had had enough as well. It was a valiant effort, but it was just too much for one person. Nadeline wasn't to blame, no single person could best an Esper whose power was probably at triple or quadruple their usual power.

"Nadeline, that's enough!" Grant called out to her, already readying his weapon. "You've done enough! We can help you, together we can--"

"No!" She immediately called out without hesitation. "I'm...I'm not yet done!"

"This is foolishness! You have nothing to prove to anyone!" His tone was uncharacteristically pleading now, shocking everyone. "You are not powerless! We're all right here with you, let us help you!"

She couldn't. That absolutely could not happen no matter what. She just had to prove herself, she knew that she could do it. And yet, int he back of her mind, she wondered if she really believed herself. She wanted to show everyone what she was capable of. No, that wasn't true at all. As selfish as it sounded, she was in this purely for herself. She wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't useless. [i]Why...why can't I defeat her?![i] Her frustration was imminent as she would look at Ultima. What am I missing? Even when I landed my hit, it did so little to faze her...so why can't I win?! She couldn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks, and she would look down in shame. What am I doing wrong? Everything I've known until now, everything I've done...was it all for nothing?!

“Okay, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going crazy.” JAakuna said. He tended to go a little batty at times. “but that aside, what on earth is the Midnight Shard doing here? I mean, last I checked, it was in that shitstain ruin of Nabudis, where your dick of a Esper was imprisoned before reasons happened.” Jaakuna sighed. He was getting off topic again. “Whatever, so the Midnight Shard - how’d the fuck it get here?” Jaakuna asked.

As Lorenzo started voicing his own thoughts on it, he actually started to sound all princey. Jaakuna wanted to rip his ears out, but Lorenzo had an interesting point. Regardless, as soon as he finished, he had grabbed the Midnight Shard, holding it in his hands. Jaakuna couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of Emiri suddenly growing bunny ears and a furry, fuzzy tail. He’d probably play with those constantly(much to her annoyance).

“Now that is a thought I shall cherish tonight.” Jaakuna said, chuckling

As Emiri and Lorenzo would go on even more about the Midnight Shard, with the former talking about how she could hear the thoughts of the Midnight Shard and how it desires power. “Can you ask it how it got here? Oh and who took it. It would save us a lot of time and effort.” Jaakuna, surprisingly non-sarcastically, said with the most serious, if not mildly annoyed, face.

And they ignored him, but perhaps for the best. Lorenzo was on her ass about being drawn to it. Jaakuna arched an eyebrow when he himself was wondering that same thing. Even more to the point, he saw the way Emiri was looking, specifically at the shard, which was in Lorenzo’s hand. It seemed like she was. Even more so, it seemed that she wasn’t far off from grabbing it and possibly doing something she would regret. When Jaakuna saw that she wasn’t far from doing that, he was about to step in and stop her. Luckily, Lorenzo would be holding onto it. Unluckily for them, a sword came at them from a distance. Joy, more fighting. Regardless, Jaakuna dodged it in the knick of time. And who did this sword belong to? Well, Jaakuna looked up, and sighed rather annoyingly.

“Oh fucking wonderful, it’s the Miss Sadistic Big Tits.” Jaakuna was obviously referring to the always-hot-but-equally-annoying Lola. “Don’t you have some strip joint to be working at?” Jaakuna commented. As Lola would demand the shard, Jaakuna looked at her as if she was a fucking idiot. “Yeaaaah, sure, we’ll give you the shard. And hey, while we’re at it, why don’t we just give you our espers too. I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you, ya crazy brod?”

As a little exchange between Big Tits and Lorenzo was exchanged, Jaakuna raised an eyebrow to how Lorenzo seemed to be offended by being called old. “Yeah, cause her trying to kill us definitely isn't as much of a top priority than getting mad at her for calling you old.” Jaakuna commented to himself, but probably was heard by Lorenzo.

It looks like it was a stroll down memory lane, mostly with Emiri voicing her disgust towards Lola and, of course, Big Tits being creepy as ever. Jaakuna sighed. “Lorenzo, that’s a long story, but to make it short: this crazy bitch here has some weird master-slave fetish and Emiri is the object of such a fetish.” Jaakuna told Lorenzo, “I’ll tell you the full, in-depth version, but for now we take care of her.” Jaakuna said as he saw Lola pull out a katana, and splitting herself into three copies. “Great, even more crazy.” Jaakuna sighed, holding out his hand. It shone with a red glow. “Belias, I have no time for your silly incantation. Just get your ass out here. We have someone that needs to go back to the looney bin.” Jaakuna said.

A moment later, Balias the Gigas appeared in a light display of fire magick.. Always tall, and always doing that weird shaman dance. “The least you could do is say please.” Belias said, sounding displeased.

"Okay, please will you help me torch this bitch?” Jaakuna requested of Belias.

“Fine, let’s do it.” Belias sounded pleased again.

Jaakuna pulled out his Vengefull Daggers. They were black and red and the length of short swords. Belias had his halberd in hand, pointed at the Lola that was coming towards him and Jaakuna. The two of them darted forward. Both of their weapons already having flowing fire magick from it and both waved their weapons downward, sending two, originally individual waves of Firaga that combined, at Lola.

---

This did not please her one bit. Ultima, though she did what was necessary, did not enjoy this tactic at all. She was, as most of the Hume stories made her out to be, didn’t like underhanded, brutal tactics like binding a Hume girl. She wasn’t a brute like The Gigas or Bringer of Order, nor was she underhanded like The Condemned or The Walker of the Wheel. She was an Esper of class and dignity, but even one such as The High Seraph sometimes needed to resort to these tactics to prove her point.

As she stared at Nadeline, her arguing with her Hume companions, mainly The Redeemed, Arrogant Prince, she waited for them to finish. Perhaps this one - Zeromus’ Hume - could convince her to give up. If he could, Ultima could refrain from that of which she was about to do.

“Listen to the Male Hume. If you do not, there is no guarantee that you will survive much longer.” Ultima was clear in her threat. If Nadeline kept up her persistence to pursue this delusion of grandeur that she had of being the sole fighter against Ultima, the High Seraph wouldn’t have any other choice.

Grant plead with her, and Nadeline just stayed silent. Ultima knew she didn’t have to speak. Her eyes send it all. It was clear to Ultima that, though Nadeline was crying right in front of her, Nadeline Lenore Roselia wouldn’t give up. Even if the tears on her face said otherwise, Ultima knew. She could sense it in the girls soul. That determination, that desire to prove herself to the very being that was causing her to doubt herself. Ultima knew and she would be forced to test that determination, that seemingly unwavering will. By the end of it, one of two things would happen: Nadeline will die trying to prove her strength, or her true power will be unlocked, and

“Very well. It cannot be helped, can it, Hume Girl Nadeline?” Ultima said sorrowfully, her spear dissolving into bits and pieces, but the light magick bind keeping Nadeline from doing anything.

Ultima held her right hand out in front of her, the string of the bind now showing at he center of her palm. As she would ball that hand, the grip of the bind around Nadeline tightened immensely, no doubt the pain from it. The puncture wound from her rapier must only be getting deeper and deeper into her body. Ultima truly didn’t want to do this, but it was out of her hands now.

Ultima didn’t stop there. Raising her arm with the balled fist, Nadeline was raised up as well. By emitting magick into that arm, Ultima sent a pulse of Holaga right through the thread that bound the princess. The power journeyed to Nadeline, inducing massive amounts of light magick right into her body. Just when anyone thought that Ultima was done, she quickly brought her arm to her side, sending Nadeline to crash to the ground.

And then suddenly, the thread was cut, much to Ultima’s surprise. She scanned the canvas for Nadeline, and there she was, still bound up, bleeding, bruised, and seemingly unconscious in Wesley’s arm, his eyes glaring at Ultima, an aura of deep brown and gold surrounding him.

“I see Hashmaal’s taught you a few things.” Ultima commented.

“Ultima, was that really necessary?” Wesley said, but not Wesley. His voice was deeper.

“If only to make the girl see that she is not strong enough, then yes it is, Bringer of Order.” Ultima coldly stated.

“You never were cold like this, not to our brethren, not to any Hume who challenged you -no one. So, why her? What makes her different?”

“Why not her?” Ultima coldly stated once more. “She wanted to fight me alone, did she not? I simply gave her the respect she deserved. I gave her a little taste of what was to come if she remained so foolish and arrogant.”

“While I cannot deny it was a bit arrogant on her part to take you on alone, she did not deserve that-that beating. She didn’t deserve that.”

“Is this the Dalmascian Prince talking, or you, Hashmaal?”

“Does it matter?”

“I suppose it doesn’t.”

Suddenly, without even so much as a warning, the brown and gold aura surrounding Wesley was gone, and it seemed Hashmaal’s impromptu possession of Wesley was over. My apologies, Wesley. There was no time to ask you for possession of your body. Ultima would have killed the Rozarria Princess if I didn’t act sooner. Wesley heard Hashmaal’s voice in his head, still unsure what had just happened. As he would look into his arms, he saw a bloodied, beaten Nadeline in his arms. She seemed unconscious. Wesley, through what Hashmaal just told him, and what he was witnessing, he now put it together. “I see. Thank you, Hashmaal." Wesley said softly.

“Why thank him? He only stalled what would inevitably happen. If he did--”

“I mean no disrespect, High Seraph, but would you kindly mind your tongue.” Wesley snapped at Ultima, the latter gasping as if she didn’t expect it.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You speak about how you wanted to teach her a lesson, about how you wanted to show her how she wasn’t strong enough to hold a candle to you.” Wesley said.

“This is true.”

“You wanted to make her see that she was not strong enough to take you on single-handedly."

“Again true.”

“Yet,” Wesley gently put Nadeline down, eyes glaring at her.

“Yet?”

“Yet, she proved to be plenty strong against you. She made you dissolve that castle of yours, something I’m sure you wouldn’t have done if she wasn’t truly strong. She even made you, what I am to assume, was a last-resort effort of separating yourself into six versions of yourself. That’s how you got the upper hand. You may not want to admit it, but you were backed into a corner, and you tried to pass off your anger that you were getting bested by a mere Hume - a Hume you called unworthy - by restraining her, and attacking her when she couldn’t’ defend herself.” Wesley aimed his sword at Ultima, his eyes filled with furious anger. “in the myths, you were a leader, someone to look up to, but if you ask me,” Wesley took a step forward, “the one who is to be truly looked up to is not you, High Seraph, it is my soon-to-be wife, and future Ruler of Rozarria, Nadeline Lenore Roselia.” Wesley took another step forward, “until such a time arrives that she is able to , I, Wesley Alexander of Dalmasca, will be her proxy.” Wesley declared to Ultima. “I will ensure that the amount of damage you inflicted upon her is dealt back ten times.” WEsley boldly stated.

“And you too, like your Fiance, will know that one single Hume cannot defeat me." Ultima stated, about to poise her body for battle.

“Thing is, Queen Bitch,” Savayna said, cracking her neck joints, “he isn’t alone, isn’t that right, Grant?” She looked to Grant.

Lola had no idea Lorenzo was a fighter, though it seemed that his hand-to-hand combat was if not greater than surely equal to her own. Lorenzo would think the same, her ever insistent dodging becoming something of an annoyance, though he was sure that she cared little for his life. No, she was after the stone in his pocket, which was why she was becoming increasingly aggressive with him as she would switch to offense. He wanted to say he was enjoying this, but in all actuality it was more annoying than anything else.

Meanwhile the Lola who would challenge Jaakuna would find herself versing an Esper. She should have figured the cheater would pull out his trump card, but she admitted that she hadn't thought it would happen so soon. Still, a single pillar was easy to dodge no matter its size, and she would pull out her iaito as she would run. The goal was to get the shard, she had very little care for Jaakuna, but he would be a thorn at her side unless she would take care of him. She would take out several kunai and throw them at him, hoping to keep him occupied.

Emiri swung rapidly at Lola, who was dodging with ease. Her anger made her attacks rather predictable, though Lola couldn't deny that she was enjoying it. Still, as she watched Emiri, she would take note of her loose hair swinging itself behind her. Lola would sidestep one of Emiri's jab's, grabbing her wrist and quickly twisting her arm. Before the brunette could react, Lola would drive her knee into her stomach, causing Emiri to drop down to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. Lola would bring something out of her pocket, dangling it in front of her. "Oh, I managed to pick this up from the last time I ran into you at the desert." She said as Emiri would finally see her clover hair-tie in Lola's hand. "I figured you would want it back." Emiri would grab the dagger from her boot and swing at Lola, who only jumped back and chuckled in response. "The very least you could do is say 'please'! I know you want it, don't you?" She stated, holding it out to her. "Now that your poor little mommy is dead, this is all you have left of her, isn't it?"

Something seemed to snap in Emiri's mind, a rage overtaking her like no other. How dare she mock her as such, how dare she even mention her mother! In that moment, however, Lorenzo would catch sight of Emiri. He knew exactly what was going to happen next--as Lola would swing at him, he would grab her by the elbow, swinging her around and throwing her at the original Lola. The two would collide and land some distance away, and Lorenzo would run over to Emiri, grabbing her shoulder as she meant to run after Lola. "She's taunting you, can't you see that?!" He asked her, clearly annoyed.

"I'll kill her." Emiri responded, swatting Lorenzo's hand off her. "I--will--KILL--HER!" And in the next moment, Emiri would disappear from view, reappearing next to one of the Lolas. She held her dagger high, and when she would bring it down, it would slice through the woman's neck. The clone would fade away as Lola herself would quickly move out of harm's way, though she was shocked. To think Emiri was so...violent. Having Lola run into her sword was one thing, but trying to slice her neck open was another. Emiri would look at her, gripping her dagger tightly as she would talk over to her, and for just a second, Lola hesitated.

Lorenzo let out a curse, instead yelling over to Jaakuna, "What is wrong with Emiri?! When the fuck did she get so bloodthirsty?!"

---

What happened?

Everything had passed by so quickly, for a moment, Nadeline believed she had died. Her entire body flickered from excrutiating pain to complete numbness and would only continue back and forth. Had she fallen unconscious? No, she was awake, but everything seemed so surreal. Her senses seemed so dull, but she would hear Wesley. Wesley. She had failed him, hadn't she? She had failed everyone. Her eyelids felt so heavy, she felt like she could drift off to sleep at any moment. She was tired. So tired. Wesley was speaking, he was talking about her, but it wasn't Wesley, was it? Then, it was him. There was no mistaking Wesley's voice, but as he would put her down, she wanted to reach out to him. No, no, she needed to fight with him. But every bone, every muscle refused to go along with her commands.

Why?

Grant would gladly step forward as he would reload his gun, holding it at the ready as he would join Wesley and Savayna. "Indeed. I don't take kindly to those who would harm those dear to me, so don't take it personally, alright?"

Nadeline watched him, struggling to stay awake, though she would look to the thundering clouds above them. They seemed rather shaken since her spells had hit them, but there was something just a little off about them. Still, her eyes would widen as she would watch a figure descend from them, blade pointing straight down. She would attempt to yell out a word of caution as her entire body would suddenly wake up, but it would seem her allies were not the target. No, the blade would instead pierce through Ultima, surprising everyone in the area. The blade would explode in a familiar, brilliant light, and the Esper would be caught in an exploson. Said explosion would nearly knock anyone off their feet, though when Grant lowered his arms, his eyes widened.

Ultima's eyes would narrow. "So...you have come..." She spoke quietly as she would touch the sword impaled through her chest. "Yet you were not the one meant for me..." Her words would fade away to the wind as she would dissolve into Mist, revealing the blue haired woman behind her. She would take her sword in her hand, her left hand glowing with Ultima's symbol.

Grant immediately aimed his gun at the woman. Shion, of all people, had to show up now?! And to steal Ultima, no less. "I admit, this is rather uncharacteristic of you. For some reason, I assumed you were a woman of honor rather than a petty thief who would swoop in at the last minute to grab the treasure." He shook his head, though Nadeline would feel herself finally free of her binds, letting out a sigh of relief.

Shion would let out a small sigh, though it seemed she would agree with Grant as she would de-summon her blade, her fingers brushing her left hand. "Indeed." She said as she would approach the group very slowly. "You have done well, this much I will admit." Shion stated, amber eyes on Nadeline's blue ones as she walked. "Indeed, it is you, and only you who would defeat the High Seraph. Alas, things have changed, and I must adjust accordingly. However..."

Before any of the trio could even think to react, Shion would hold her arm out, an all too familiar shadow rising from behind her. It would simply grow in size into a wall, blocking the group from the still bound Nadeline. Grant turned around, but the wall would them push them all back some distance, effectively blocking them from interfering. It was rather strange, Nadeline had no idea what Shion wanted with her. Shion's face was as puzzling as her actions were, but for some reason, Nadeline was sure that Shion wouldn't hurt her for some reason.

Shion would get down on one knee, lightly brushing a stray hair off of Nadeline's cheek. For just a split second, anyone could have mistaken it for kindness. "You fought valiantly. Your victory was all but assured. If only the fates weren't so cruel, surely you would have walked out of here with Ultima at your command." As she spoke, she would place her hand on Nadeline's cheek, her blue fingernails glowing dimly. Nadeline's eyes widened, as she would feel a rather odd sensation from Shion's touch. She couldn't describe it, but it almost felt like she was taking something from her. No, that wasn't entirely correct, either.

Shion would then stand as her shadow wall would effectively disappear, taking a look at Savayna, then Wesley, and finally resting her eyes on Grant. "I would highly recommend you regroup with the other prince and the Scion of Time. Lola has released the Midlight Shard's power upon Stigma, resulting in many casualties." She would shake her head, as if pitying the results. "How things have changed. How people change. Ivalice weeps for her children, she weeps for the destruction Zodiark inflicts. Even know he grows stronger...ever stronger now that there are no more Espers bound to Ivalice herself."

What?! Nadeline let out a gasp of horror. Lola truly was mad, wasn't she? But to think she would do such a thing! Grant would lower his head, though he would raise it. "Then what is your business with Nadeline? Why would you steal Ultima if it was she who was destined to bear her holy power?" He asked.

She would turn her gaze to the clouds above them. "It has been some time since I have seen such raw power in magicks. Indeed, the princess here is quite gifted. Were she only to have the echoes of battles past, she would have bested Ultima. I thought to use that power for my own benefit. With my experience, I will be putting her magicks to good use." She would then extend her hand to Nadeline, a bright, green light appearing above her. She recognized the spell instantly--it was a Curaja. Not only that, but her wounds would heal themselves up rather quickly all things considered. Shion looked at her own hand.

"You...stole my magicks?" Nadeline asked as she would manage to get up

"No. I merely copied them." Shion replied, snapping her fingers. A bolt of lightning would strike down from the clouds, scorching the area it landed on.

As their combined attack went at the Lola that was trying to kill them failed, Jaakuna cursed himself. “That should have been enough!” Jaakuna annoyingly said.

“We will simply try a different tactic.” Belias said.

“Okay, care to share?”

“When I say go, you run to your Hume lover.”

“I thought I was the tamer here?”

“Just do it.”

“Fine.”

Jaakuna did as Balias said. He would follow whatever he was going to do. It was in the right time because, just as their copy of Lola threw several kunai knives at them. Actually, it was more than just “several”. Based on the amount, they were into the multiple dozen, each coming at them. As Jaakuna looked to Belias, the esper didn’t seem to be worried a bit. “Oh sure, don’t look worried at all - it’s just our lives on the line.” Jaakuna spoke, hands gripping his Vengeful Daggers tightly as he waited for Belias to make his move.

The Gigas stood there still as a boulder. He waited for the hoard of knives to get closer. He closed his eyes while they came at him. Nearly three feet away, and Jaakuna bout to lose his shit, Belias opened them, and his human hands began making odd hand signs, glyphs of fire magic appearing one after the other. All the while his monster hands had his Staff Spear(thingy) spinning so fast that all it seemed like was a blur of bronze metal. Every single one of the knives that were coming at them were being deflected, and sent all over: above, to the side, back at Lola - pretty much everywhere that wasn’t Jaakuna and Belias.

As they kept coming and kept on getting delfected, Belias formed the last hand sign, the ram hand sign. As he did, his hands shone a deep red and orange hue as a large magickal glyph appeared below and above Lola. “Firaja.” Belias said, the glyphs glowing deep red, and before Lola would realize it, fire magick would start to come from both above and blow her as it would soon surround her in a cyclone of fire magick. “Now, Jaakuna,” Belias said, giving Jaakuna the go ahead to help Emiri.

As Jaakuna would start to run towards Emiri to try and help her with what seemed like the real Lola, Jaakuna saw something that maybe he wasn’t supposed to see. He saw what could only be described as pure bloodlust. It was like something was taking control of Emiri. It was like, whether it was her or something else at play, that her need for blood and violence was the only thing on her mind. It was like death and murder was what would satisfy her. It was like..

“It can’t be, can it?” Jaakuna was trying to figure out exactly what was going on? The sight of Emiri brutally slicing the next of the other Lola clone was savage, and so unlike her. Obviously Lorenzo was alarmed and his first thought was to yell at Jaakuna what was going on. As if he would know. “I-I don’t know.” Truly, Jaakuna didn’t.

You know. A voice said in his head.

“Zodiark!?” Jaakuna yelled, looking around, his eyes widening, brows lowering, and nostrils flaring. Both angry and fearful of his own sanity, Jaakuna was on edge. But he saw nothing. No sign of that black armor monster. He saw nothing, but he knew he heard Zodiark’s voice. Goddamn him. Why did Jaakuna have to have a connection with that monster? Why did he ever have to give into his power? But, as much as Jaakuna loathed Zodiark, his two words were now resonating with him. “You know”, was what he said. As Jaakuna reheard Lorenzo’s words in his head too, it clicked. He didn’t know, but it did.

“Lorenzo, I don’t have time to give you the full story, but for whatever reason I can’t yet explain, my gut. No, my heart is telling me that, whatever is going on with her sudden change in demeanor, might be linked to Zodiark..” Jaakuna told Lorenzo. If anyone could recognize the not-so-subtle personality changes of someone under Zodiark’s Influence, it was Jaakuna.

---

So, it seemed like the plan was set. Ultima would learn that you don’t mess with the squad’s main nerd and get away with it. If you want to pound on her, then you’ll have to pound on the resident emo deep one and the crazy bitch. Oh, and the calm, unsavage one. So, just as she was about to find out by the hands of Savayna, Grant, and Wesley that you don’t wreck up their shit, the sight of a sword suddenly piercing through Ultima’s heart stopped that.

“Uh, what the fuck just happened?” Savayna asked, unsure of what had happened.

“I..don’t know.” Truthfully, Wesley really didn’t.

As Ultima would comment about how someone, but noting that whoever stabbed her was not meant for her. It was then that Wesley knew that Ultima finally realized that Nadeline was destined for her. However, as Ultima would fade into Mist, Wesley’s eyes narrowed trying to see who it was behind her. To his utter shock, he saw who it was. Taking aside the unusually large bust, that blue hair was that someone that Welsey Alexander could never forget. It was the hair of Shion.

Wesley held his ground, his sword pointed at Shion. As she would take a step forward, Wesley unleashed a wave of his Mist at Shion, it taking the form of a pure white and gold wave of light. Still, it did nothing as it bounced off of a shadow that not only protected Shion, but separated the group from Shion and Nadeline. It pushed Savayna and Wesley and Grant back a good distance. Wesley cursed himself for not acting sooner. As soon as he saw that blue hair, he should have rushed, but hesitation was the death of him.

“NADELINE!” Wesley called out desperately. As long as he wielded a breath, he would not let any harm come to her.

Emotions running high, Wesley went charging in to that shadow wall, his sword held high. He leapt up once, and swung his sword down. As it made contact, the metal blade of Wesley’s sword was at a stalemate. It was like his sword was a dull blade and the wall was made of that of brick. No matter how much magick he put behind it - and that was a lot - Wesley wasn’t budging. Even Savayna was trying from what Wesley could see. She wasn’t having any luck.

Wesley and Savayna heard the things that Shion was telling Nadeline. Though not a lot based on how soon the wall would come down, revealing that Nadeline wasn’t harmed. Wesley was relieved, but Shion apparently wasn’t done. It seemed that Emiri and Jaakuna were at stigma.

“What? Oh for fuck’s sake! You mean Jackson left us stranded here!” Savayna, obviously missing the bigger picture of what Shion said.

“Stigma was attacked?” Wesley asked rhetorically, echoing what Shion said. To make matters worse, The Midnight Shard. “Wait - wait, the Midnight Shard!?” Wesley almost collapsed. “But it…no that’s not possible!” Wesley was about to have a breakdown. “It was lost in Nabudis. It was lost in that cursed city. Y-y-you must have..” Wesley, not hearing anything about what Shion, nor Grant were talking about.

“Uh, Wes, don’t lose your shit now..” Savayna was, again just like before, urging him to get whelmed.

As Shion furthered along with her words, Wesley didn’t hear them. So lost in what was going through his head, he didn’t hear anything. It wasn’t until that she spoke about using the power of Ultima for her own benefits that Wesley tuned in, and saw tha tNadeline was healed. It was then that Shion revealed that she copied her magick. Wesley then gripped the hilt of his Yagyu Darkblade as tight as he could, both hands gripping it.

Wesley, calm yourself. If you act in your state, you will not--

Before Hashmaal could offer up his advice, Wesley leapt forth against Shion. When a bolt of lighting came down from the heavens, threatening to decimate anyone in its path, Wesley held up his sword as he was in the air. “By the far reaches of the gods, my body is a temple for their light; for I am the only one whose will can carry their wishes.” Wesley’s sword, became engulfed in his magick, white brilliantly contrasting on the pure black sword. It became overloaded to the point where the white over took the black, and Wesley’s sword was like yin and yang itself. “Heaven’s Plane!” he called out, swinging his sword upward vertically, an arc of pure white magick being shot forth to the bolt of lighting. It was so strong that this bolt of lightning was overtaken, and sent back to the heavens along with Wesley’s attack.

As Savayna let out a low whistle, she was impressed by Wesley’s display of power. “Nicely done, We--” Before she could finish, she saw Wesley charge at Shion head-on.

“You went there, didn’t you? You got the Midnight Shard, and you are responsible for bringing the destruction it will cause?” Wesley had snapped. His words, though probably true, were coming from a place of great anger, great sadness. “And now you come and steal what is rightfully Nadeline's!?” Wesley said, his sword raised, still white from his previous attack. “I will not allow this! I will not allow you or your group to cause this world any more destruction!” Wesley raged, his sword slashing downward at Shion, a small arc of pure, white magick like his previous attack coming at Shion at close range.

Something in the air had changed. What could possibly be happening right now? It was as if the world itself was trembling, crying out in pain. Karolina was never one to think of such things, but at the moment, all she could think about was her daughter and husband. If only she were stronger, she could help them somehow. She was ordered bedrest shortly after the trio had departed, but she stood against the balcony, watching the people below her. There was so much fighting, so much violence. The people were scared, and no one knew why. Reia was up to her neck in complaints, though last Karolina heard, the Empress was in a meeting with the Council.

She could not stand around no longer, and decided to go to visit Justine. The few servants that wandered around were busy helping the doctors and patients that littered the occupied rooms. As she entered, she slowly walked over to her sister's coffin. She looked almost peaceful somehow, and for just a moment, her grief almost took a hold of her once more. When the door would open behind her, she would see Vlyn stumble in, holding his head. She let out a gasp as he would drop to his knees, immediately rushing to his side.

"Ah, Lady Karolina, so you're here?" He asked rather nonchalantly.

"Are you alright?" She asked him as she helped him to his feet.

"We Viera are quite sensitive things. Funny, I figured since my ears were dulled, I wouldn't be as affected, but even my ears can hear the Wood scream out in pain." He replied, giving her a wink. "No need to fret. I'm no Aloa, but I'll be alright, though..." He inspected her carefully. "You can feel it, too, can't you?"

"Something I share in common with my niece." She sighed, recalling Emiri. "Though I am no where near as Mist sensitive as she is. I feel as if this...this madness has gripped us all, though I know not what caused it."

"That would be Zodiark." He explained as they would once more stand before the coffin. "Looks like Ultima has been claimed. The Dark Esper now lashes out, and in turn Ivalice and her people suffer for it."

"What will happen now?" Karolina asked, worried.

"Either the end of Ivalice...or her salvation." Vlyn sighed, though the pair would look to the doors as they would open once more. Aloa herself had slipped in with a single white rose, though she seemed surprised to see the pair. "You're here? What about Eruyt?"

"The village sleeps in peace, the Wood deemed it necessary." She sighed as she would join them. "I thought I would offer my services here, as I can do no more for my people. And yet, something had disturbed me for some time, something that, if only I were wiser, I could have forseen...Zodiark and his presence has tampered with even my senses, it would seem."

"What do you speak of?"

Aloa would place the rose among the many surrounding the coffin. "Of Emiri. Both she and Jaakuna had come to see me, claiming that the Leviathan had helped her with her recovery. 'Twas true, this much I knew, however...something else was there, something even I knew not of. Perhaps I had hoped it would have been the work of her own Esper, but no...denial, could it have been? I know not, the screams of my people had clouded my ears, I was more desperate to help them than to focus on the outsiders."

Vlyn couldn't help but smirk. "That's a Viera thought if I had ever seen one."

Karolina bit her lip nervously. "They were here, I thought Emelia was acting strange, but with what happened to Justine and Andre...I made the assumption it was sorrow. I...Forgive me, I should have--" The blonde shook her head. "They have gone to the mines, where the explosion happened, with Lorenzo. I'm sure they will come back soon."

Aloa fell silent. Vlyn looked at her curiously. "There's something else, isn't there?" He asked.

"I am not completely sure, but..." Aloa said slowly, her eyes briefly flickering to Karolina. "...I dreamt of the princess. Not a common occurrence, this much I can tell you, however...I fear. I wonder how she is doing."

If Karolina could get any paler, she probably would have. She inhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. She would send a silent prayer to the gods as she looked down at her sister. Her most precious child, her only ray of light, it seemed a mother's intuition was the best thing she had. She would shake her head, looking back at Aloa. "Nadeline is strong. She will come back to us, I can guarantee this much." She spoke, though as she did she felt like she was reassuring herself.

"Of course, my lady. There was never any doubt." Vlyn reiterated. "But tell me, Aloa, has Ultima been captured?"

"I'm impressed, Vlyn." Aloa admitted, raising her eyebrows. "You finally sound of your heritage."

Vlyn scowled at her as Karolina would speak. "What does it all mean?"

Aloa closed her eyes. "The end is approaching."

---

Lola had always known Emiri was skilled, hell, their previous battle in Archades showed exactly what the girl was capable of even without her powers. But now, Lola was on her toes constantly as Emiri would come at her with every tool in her arsenal, so to speak. She should have been worried, but at the moment, she was enjoying it. That wild, untamed look she had, the sharpness of those violet eyes, the anger practically pouring out of her body--she had half a mind to pin her down and take her right then and there. Still, she had come to accomplish something, and she wasn't about to fail just because the little brunette was throwing what was equivalent to a temper tantrum. As she could spot her clone disintegrated by the flames of Belias, she knew her time was up. It was now or never.

Lorenzo didn't know exactly what Jaakuna was talking about, but even he wasn't stupid enough to ignore it. The bottom line was that it was bad news, period. Emiri was going berserk at Lola, leaving her attacks stronger yet quite sloppy and uncoordinated. Lorenzo cursed out loud, though he would signal for Jaakuna to stay back. "If you go in with your big guy, you could fry them both." He might have been stating the obvious, but he knew that Jaakuna's first instinct would be to protect Emiri, and he was counting on it for his next move. He would touch both hands to the ground, looking like he was going to start running, but he eyed the two women very carefully, waiting for his chance. "Emiri's going to get tossed your way. I'm going to need you to restrain her the best you can--no doubt the first thing she's going to do is try to jump back to the fray." He told Jaakuna, his tone unnaturally calm all things considered.

Lola had made her decision and was only waiting for an opening. As Emiri would disappear, she anticipated her next attack. At that moment, Lorenzo would charge forward as Emiri would reappear behind Lola. He would run forward with an inhuman speed, to the point Lola hadn't even seen him. He would intercept Emiri's attack, grabbing her wrist firmly as he would direct her attack away from him, though she managed to barely scratch his cheek. Lola would seize her chance, but Lorenzo had already anticipated her move as well. Still holding Emiri's wrist, he jumped upwards as Lola would slash vertically, twisting his body and Emiri around and putting the brunette between the two. He yanked Emiri to him and managed to grab her by the back of her neck, effectively switching places with her and grabbing Lola with his free hand. Lola swung at him, though at such a range it went nowhere, and Lorenzo would throw Emiri at Jaakuna.

"You're a lot faster than I thought." Lola admitted, though she would grab at Lorenzo's pocket, her fingertips managing to brush his pocket. However, Lorenzo would release her, a glowing red magick surrounding his foot as he would kick her, sending her flying. Lola rolled backwards, managing to hop up to her feet as she skidded to a halt. "But not fast enough." She smiled as she would reveal the Midlight Shard in her hand.

Lorenzo's hand immediately went to his pocket, and he would pull out Emiri's hair-tie in its place. How was she able to do it without him noticing when he had her in control all this time? She didn't even go in his pocket, just touched the outside of it. "You're more like a pickpocket than an assassin." Lorenzo replied, pocketing the hair-tie as he raised his fists in preparation for a fight.

"You have yours. I have mine. I don't think there's a reason to be fighting now, is there?" Lola asked, smirking.

"Just tell me one thing." Lorenzo said, putting his arms down. "Why did you have to blow up the mines?"

"Because I wanted to." Lola replied, placing one hand on her hip. "[b]Boss wasn't too happy when she found out, she had wanted to put the Shard to better use. But I thought, 'why not cripple a country' and thought that was better.[/b]" Lorenzo narrowed his eyes. "Zodiark's coming...and he's going to destroy us all!" She stated, letting out a rather unnerving laugh.

"She's completely lost it..." Lorenzo muttered, shaking his head.

Emiri let out a small groan, rubbing her wrist. Why the hell would Lorenzo do that? Still, as she would see Lola, she could feel her previous rage start to resurface. Gripping her dagger, she made to move, determined to strike Lola down.

---

Grant's eyes widened as Wesley challenged Shion. Was he insane!? Didn't he recall their last encounter with the woman? Jaakuna had barely managed to hold his own, and that was with the help of the Dark Esper. What was worse was that he knew Shion wouldn't hesitate to strike Wesley down, consequences be damned. He let out a curse as Shion would anticipate his attack, and broke into a run. If he could make it in time, he needed to stop the prince from what was essentially a suicide attack.

Nadeline's eyes widened considerably. What had happened to him? Wesley was never this brash, but it seemed the mentioning of the Midlight Shard had awakened something deep within him. She knew why, she knew what that place had meant to him. As she would try to move forward, her knees threatened to buckle beneath her. Despite Shion doing no harm to her, the action of mimicking her magicks had left her drained. No, she couldn't possibly be helpless, not now of all times! But as things looked bad, they were about to get much, much worse. The blue haired woman would only eye Wesley warily as he would attack. She would bring her arm up once again, a Protect springing up to life and blocking Wesley's attack. It was as if his attack was little more than a physical swing, though it seemed Shion wasn't done.

"It was not I who ventured into the ruins of Nabudis." Her tone was darker, as were her eyes. "You would think me foolish enough to desecrate my own land, a place I once called home? Do I seem the type to spend needless destruction? While I will take blame for coming into posession of the shard, I would never attack Rozarria. What would I have to gain when my goal is to eradicate Zodiark from Ivalice?"

Grant came to a halt, something clicking in his mind. That was right, Shion wanted to get rid of Zodiark. It was the only reason she had attacked Jaakuna. "Then who gave you the Midlight Shard?" He asked. "You haven't answered my previous questions, either!"

Shion looked towards him, if only for a moment, but she would raise her sword at Wesley. "I will go to Zodiark and conquer him. The High Seraph is no match for his darkness, but it will give my own attacks an advantage." She stated, eyes narrowing. Nadeline realized what she was going to do, and she ran forward. "For Nabudis, for my fallen brethren, I will cleanse this world of the darkness once and for all! If you would stand in my way, I will cut you down as well!"

The ground underneath her would splinter as she charged forward, sword aloft. No, no, how did things turn out so badly?! The thought itself threatened to crush Nadeline's spirit, but the only thing she could think of was protecting Wesley. She couldn't let any harm come to him, she couldn't let Shion hurt him! And yet her body rebelled against her mind, too weak, and she would fall to her knees, her hand outstretched to her lover. "Wesley--NO!" Nadeline screamed as Shion swung.

In that moment, it almost looked like time itself had slowed down. Shion's amber eyes were concentrated, ever focused on Wesley, though for a split second they would widen slightly in surprise. Between herself and the prince had Grant thrown himself, and he had used his weapon to deflect Shion's attack. It was not without a price, however, as Shion's attack was much too strong, and her sword would slice through his shoulder, taking the brunt of the attack. "Grant! GRANT!" Nadeline cried out, pushing herself to run over to him.

As Jaakuna couldn’t help but take notice to the brilliant - albeit explosive as fuck - display of Belias’ magick overpowering(quite literally) the final Lola clone, he couldn’t help but let out a low whistle. Did he know how to pick the perfect esper or didn’t he? Sure, they are almost completely polar opposites in personality and almost every way that really counted, but if one thing could be said about the both of them, they sure liked to overdo it when it came to using their powers. So, go Team Jaakuna! You are on your way to winning another fight.

“Okay, so there was only one Lola to worry about. Not a big problem, right? It’s not like she’s super crazy or strong or anything.” Jaakuna said sarcastically, obviously knowing that Lola was one crazy as all hell bitch that needed to be put down.

As Jaakuna watched Emiri and Lola go at it, and Belias appearing beside him, Lorenzo would begin to speak about how if Jaakuna and Belias went at Lola to help Emiri, both of them would be dead. While it would eliminate the Lola problem, Emiri ending up six feet under with her mom wasn’t an ideal situation. And Jaakuna could just hear Emiri yelling at him for making her suffer for all an eternity with Justine. Yeah, that’s a reason on top of that fact that he wanted to spend a full life with that woman was among the reasons why he agreed with Lorenzo.

“Okay, so me going to help isn’t a good idea. What’s our alternative?” Jaakuna asked. When Lorenzo would explain the plan, Jaakuna nodded, readying himself for Emiri to come hurling his way.

Watching Lorenzo work the battlefield like a real warrior, Jaakuna couldn’t control his mouth as it would figuratively fall to the floor. It was truly like watching his grandfather. Jaakuna recalled when he was younger, growing up with Vincent and Savayna. He recalled the times that his Grandfather, Hamut, would demonstrate certain fighting techniques. It was always against his son, and Jaakuna and Vincent’s father, Simon. The way that Lorenzo moved was like how Hamut did. If Lorenzo was truly this powerful, Jaakuna now knew where Nadeline got her skills from.

“Are you watching this, Jaakuna?” Belias asked.

“Kind of hard not to.” Jaakuna said, eyes not pealing away from Lorenzo’s fighting.

“The way he moves, the way there is little to no wasted movement.”

“Yeah, I see it.”

“He is truly a master at his craft. Yet..”

“yet..”

As Jaakuna would wonder, he saw it. The upper-hand that Lorenzo had was lost. Almost in an instant, it was lost, and given to Lola. Jaakuan couldn’t quite catch it, but Belias obviously caught it. Jaakuna was going to do something about it, but just as he said he would do, Lorenzo had sent Emiri sent flying towards Jaakuna. Arms out, he caught her. Though, he did slide back about a foot and a half. She was a lot heavier than she probably would want anyone to know. Jaakuna wanted to say something about her weight, but better not poke the caged beast any more.

Jaakuna held onto Emiri, feeling her to come through. All the while, Jaakuna saw Belias kneeling down on one knee, his Staff Spear holding him up. He heard loud panting. “You all good, Belias?”

“It seems my time is almost up.” He said breathy.

“Oh shit man, forgot you have a time limit.” Jaakuna sighed, “yeah, go back. I’ll call you if this shit storm gets too bad.”

Belias chuckled as his body dissolved into red and orange Mist.

The blonde Archadian prince would refocus his attentions on keeping Emiri from doing anything rash. Lorenzo said for to keep Emiri restrained, so he did. Even when her dagger would be in hand, waving at the empty air in front of her, Jaakuna held her tight. Even when that dagger would slice at his open arms, which would be no more than flesh wounds, he kept his arms tight around her.

“Emiri, you need to calm down!” Jaakuna said to her, his voice carrying a sense of both urgency and worry for his love.

---

As he went charging at Shion, his sword swigning down, and every bit of rage at her, Wesley wasn’t obviously thinking clearly, but his power would increase a bit as it was powered by his emotions. Still, regardless of that, it would be proven once again that Wesley had long ways to go. To think a simple protect spell was enough to parry one of what seemed like Wesley’s powerful abilities.

The force of the Protect spell was enough to send Wesley skidding back about two and a half yards. Though his feet might have left the ground for about a foot of it, Wesley’s glance - that livid, rage-filled glance - never left the sight of the azure-haired female that was the object of such a glance.

As Wesley was about to go after Shion one last time, he hadn’t been paying attention. It was only for a moment. It was a careless moment that would have caused him his life. Her attack obviously was aimed for him, but as Wesley’s eyes came upon what was in front of him, he saw long black locks, and the fight of a familiar gun held above. And there was blood on his face. It had splattered. Wesley looked, and saw it was Grant’s blood. His shoulder had been cut.

“GRANT!” Savayna shrieked, her eyes widening in terror.

Grant had fell to the ground, blood starting to exit his shoulder wound. Whatever state he was in, it wasn’t good. Both Nadeline and Savayna rushed to his side, almost around the same time. Meanwhile, Wesley stared at Grant, his long black hair seemingly covering most of the blood that started to coat him in.

As Wesley looked at Shion, her blade covered in Grant’s blood, his fists tightened around his sword. “I do not care if you are from Nabudis, or not. I don’t even care if you personally didn’t cause death and destruction upon Stigma. None of that matters to me,” WEsley got up, his sword going back to the hilt, “what I do care about is that you did nothing to stop it from happening. And now you..” Wesley’s eyes fell to Grant, seeing Nadeline and Savayna at his side. “I will not allow you to harm anymore of my friends.”

Wesley stepped forward, getting closer to Shion. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, and as if his soul heard his call, a brown and golden sillouhette of Mist appeared behind him. It started to show its form more clearly. “I understand, Wesley.” Hashmaal said, looking at Shion. “You, Shion the Blue Rose, are strong, that much we Espers can say. You are experienced far beyond your years. If under different circumstances, I would say that The High Seraph - and The Queen of the Espers - would be best suited in your hands. However,” Hashmaal looked at Nadeline, her kneeling to her Hume Uncle’s side. “Nadeline Lenore Roselia, you were robbed of your destiny. The High Seraph, by all accounts, is rightfully yours.” Hashmaal said pretty much what has been said from the beginning. “And thus is the reason of my presence. Wesley’s desire willed it, and so it shall be.” Hashamaal said.

“Wesley…” Savayna looked up at his backside.

“Stay with Grant,” Wesley said, but he turned around to Nadeline, knealing to her eye-level. “Leave this to me. I, along with Hashmaal, will handle Shion, and one way or another, Ultima will be with her rightful owner.” Wesley promised Nadeline

As he stood up, Wesley was beside Hashmaal. The two exchanged looks, and both leapt towards Shion. While Hashmaal sped forth first, his body spun, his large arms over his head, and he drilled into the ground. Wesley had his hand on his Yagyu Darkblade, and sliced downward vertically, magick of light being spun forth. As it would close in on Shion, Hashmaal would appear below Shion from the ground, his gauntlets aimed to deliver a strong blow from below.

I'll kill her. Calm down? Calm down? What was that? Who was he talking to? All Emiri could think of was killing Lola, all she could think about was plunging her dagger into the woman's chest. Why was she being held back? She was fighting the enemy, couldn't he see? I'll kill her. Emiri's struggling would cease and be replaced with heavy breathing, her free hand gripping Jaakuna's arm. Calm down, he said. But she wanted to kill her.

"Let me go, Jaakuna," Emiri told him, her voice much too quiet, much too calm. "Lola is dangerous. We must help Lorenzo."

Dealing with crazy women was something Lorenzo had done back in his youth. He was always quite the charmer, quite the heart-breaker, though he admitted to himself that none of those women were as mentally unhinged as Lola was. No, clinically insane was more like it, though for some reason, he felt like the woman wasn't fully in control of her actions. Not that it was an excuse, but for some reason she reminded him of Emiri. Was Zodiark's mere presence causing such a toll on the mentality of the people? He knew the answer to that, but he wouldn't let his guard down, not for a second. Lola grinned at him from a distance away, as if taunting him. He wanted to get the Shard back, but as he would eye Emiri and Jaakuna warily, he wondered if it was even worth it.

"Alright, is the Shard what you really want?" Lorenzo asked her, cocking an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to that leader of yours? Or are you trying to tell me you went rogue?"

Lola's eyes widened slightly, though she would then wince. "Boss...boss said to blow up the mines. But she said to go to the middle...so no one would get hurt. Magicite exploding would have helped put some balance into the negative air Zodiark is letting out," Lola informed him, a small smile on her face. "But...they're all going to die anyway. Only we, the Chosen few, would stand a chance against this madness."

He wanted to chalk it off as the mumblings of a mad woman, but something seemed to click in his head. "You say that, but I feel like you're being more affected."

Lola would put both hands on the side of her head as she would speak. "I can't stop hearing his voice. He whispers things to me, he tells me things...him and the Esper, him, him, him!"

---

Grant had always known he was an idiot. Suicidal, though? Not so much. He would blink a few times, his body recovering from the shock of the attack, although with it would come a piercing pain. His able hand would shoot up to his shoulder, and he would let out a sigh. How had things come to this? What was worse, something had happened in Stigma. As the thought would cross his mind, he would see Savayna and Nadeline. Something else was surely happening, but the whole 'take a sword to the shoulder' pain was quite distracting.

Nadeline, on the other hand, was deathly silent. Even as Wesley would make his promise, this feeling in the pit of her stomach simply wouldn't go away. What had she done? What had she caused? If only she hadn't let her stubbornness get the better of her. This was wrong, everything was all wrong! Her concentration was doing about as well as a hungry wolf in a meat market, her Curajas constantly failing to do anything.

"Not your fault." Grant then mumbled, as if reading her thoughts. "Stop thinking that."

The princess shook her head as tears threatened to fall once more, though she would do everything in her power to hold them back. "I cannot. If not as an individual, how am I to someday take the throne if I cannot even help the people before me? I should have listened, I should not have let my own pride make my decisions so brash..." Nadeline shook her head as she spoke, her now blood-stained hands on Grant's shoulder as she would try and fail to cast her healing magicks. "Even if Wesley were to defeat Shion, Ultima would never yield to someone as weak as I am."

Grant let out another sigh, looking up instead at Savayna. "I think I may be going delusional, Savayna, I could swear I just heard Nadeline call herself weak."

On the other side of the room, Wesley would approach Shion. She would shake her head sadly at his words, but it would seem she accepted the duel. She would drop her katana, letting it fade to Mist as her palm would glow. She pulled out another blade, whipping it aside as Wesley and the Esper would split up. If only things had gone differently, but the call of battle seemed much too strong today.

A small charge of lightning surrounded Shion, and she gripped her sword. Hurting the prince of Dalmasca was simply not an option at the moment, and despite his boasts, she wondered if he knew what he was getting to. "Handle me, he says, as if I were some wild animal." Shion said slowly as she watched his strike come. She raised her arm to the side, Nadeline's glyph appearing beneath her as she would leap up effortlessly, away from the two attacks. She would point her sword downwards at the Esper, a small, black ball charging at the tip of her sword. The Shock spell would erupt from her blade, its erratic pattern charging down at Hashmaal as Shion would land some distance away, gripping her sword with both hands.

"Your cause is noble. But I believe you have forgotten who it is you are fighting." Shion told Wesley as her flower would glow ominously. "The Archadian prince learned who I am the hard way. Do you truly believe yourself to be in my league? Your arrogance knows no bounds, does it, Prince of Dalmasca?" She asked, pointing at him. "As penance for my actions, I will offer you this. If you manage to lay so much as a scratch on me, I will concede."

This was becoming a pain now. Emiri was struggling, trying to get free. Jaakuna was physically stronger than her, sure, but having Belias out for as long as he did seemed to have weakened him just slightly. To make matters worse, Emiri was stronger than usual. Whether he was right about her being some kind of influence of Zodiark or not, the fact remained that Emiri was losing it, and her rage or adrenaline, was making her seem to have more physical strength than usual.

“Emiri, stop it!” Jaakuna shouted, demanding Emiri cease what she was doing. “Lorenzo can handle himself.” Jaakuna told her, but based on the look in her eyes and the way she kept on fidgeting, trying to get out of his arms, Jaakuna knew that he had to say something drastic to get her to stop. “You’ll only get in his way. In the state you are now, you’ll only be a worry - a distraction - to him. Better you stay here and let him do what he must do.” JAakuna bluntly said. He didn’t want to, but Emiri wasn’t leaving him much choice, was she?

As Jaakuna told her that, he could hear what Lola and Lorenzo were talking about. Lola explained her boss, that blue-haired chick, ordered her to cause the explosion. Jaakuna wanted to recall that one, but that bottom line was that he wasn’t really in his right mind. He does recall someone with blue hair, but most of that night where his influence under Zodiark was foggy at best. Still, as he would listen, Jaakuna couldn’t help but kind of put the pieces together. The boss was the blue-haired chick, and she was the one that ordered Lola to strike Stigma, but as she would mention The Chosen Few, Jaakuna was drawing a blank.

“Chosen Few?” Jaakuna repeated her words, confused somewhat.

She means those who have conquered The Espers. Belias said into Jaakuna’s mind, telling him what she meant.

“What what?” JAakuna was still confused, “Lola has an..” And this it clicked. But who does she have?

Jaakuna needed more answers, but when Lola said that someone had been talking to her. “Damn it to hell!” Jaakuna cursed himself. “Yo, Big Tits!” Jaakuna yelled out to Lola. “Who do you got? Which Esper do you control?” Jaakuna asked, raising his voice as loud as he could.

---

As Savayna watched Wesley and his Esper, Hashmaal, Bringer of Order, fight side-by-side, Savayna wished she could help, but her mind was so focused on Grant’s well-being right now that she couldn’t possibly leave his side. Besides, what if Shion decided to forsake whatever honor code that she had and wanted to finish Grant off? Even though that seemed a bit unlikely, Savayna needed to stay with Grant. She was his only defense because obviously the princess wasn’t in any mental shape to do anything but feel sorry for herself.

“Yeah, you heard right, Grant,” Savayna told Grant, “and here after we said all of those nice things about her being strong and resilient. And fuck, she even got a vote of confidence by Miss Huge Knobs over there - and the Queen Bitch Esper herself.” Savayna kept eyes on Grant, “maybe she is weak. Someone who can’t believe that they have strength after four humes and a pseudo-god tells them do must be weak. And a bit of a prissy little princess.” This time, Savayna was looking at Nadeline. “Maybe all Poor Little Rich Girl is good for is to be rescued by her strong, handsome prince. Or her strong - if not a bit arrogant and proud - uncle. Or some former general that hates to come to her rescue all the fucking time but does it for the good of the group.” Savayna knew what she was saying would get under Nadeline’s skin. If it didn’t, then she truly thought she was weak, and Savayna said all of those mean - albeit quite truthful - words for nothing.

Meanwhile, as both Wesley and Hashmaal’s seemingly perfect attacks would come at Shion around the same time, it would appear that not all that it seemed to be. Hashmaal was sent flying several paces in the opposite direction, and Wesley’s attack was simply side-stepped. So effortlessly, Shion had evaded those attacks like they were a simple gust in the wind. Was this just a taste of what she had to offer? If so, then did Wesley make a mistake challenging her. No, he didn’t. Wesley knew in his heart that this was the right decision. He was doing the not only for his own honor, but for Nadeline’s honor. He was doing this for her.

As Wesley came to the sight of Shion, he words ringing true with him, Hashmaal had thus brought his large mass beside Wesley. His arms up, gauntlet’s radiating with a bright, orange light as if ready for Wesley’s command. “You are right about one thing, Shion the Blue Rose.” Wesley said, his eyes on her. His sword down at his side, gripping it tightly. “Jaakuna was foolish to go after you in the state that he was in. Zodiark clouded his judgment and made him more arrogant than he already was.” WEsley chuckled. In hindsight, Jaakuna definitely was foolish. “However, that is where he and I differ.” Wesley continued, “It’s true that him and I have bonded since meeting in Rabanastre and I consider him one of my close friends, but I am not like him.” he said, looking to Hashmaal, a nod given to him as well as a smile. “I know what lays in wait within my own reserves. I know what I am capable of, and I know when to stand down. However,” Wesley chuckled, feeling something cliché coming soon, “I seem to have lost that understanding. I am no longer going on logic. I have no idea how this fight will end. Either I come out victorious and you will lay on the ground in a pool of your own blood, or I will be the one face-down, and you will become victorious.” Wesley took his fighting stance, his Yagyu Darkblade in hand, “and yet I simply don’t care. I shall let my heart guide me. I shall let it lead me to victory. As for your proposition, I do believe Jaakuna would have put it something like this,” he said pointing his sword at Shion, “you can shove it where the sun don’t shine!” Wesley grinned that familiar grin that had shades of Jaakuna.

As he would stab his sword deep into the Mist-filled ground, pulses of magick were sent through it. Not even a minute later, the ground began to violently shake. “I understand, Wesley.” Hashmaal commented, keeping his stance where it was. His gauntlets, on the other hand, began to vibrate rapidly, spinning uncontrollably. Magick of brown, orange, and red gathered around them, giving it a magma-like shade. “The depths of the earth will reign supreme, Moltaga!!“ As both arms came forward suddenly, a wave of fire and molted earth was shot at Shion.

Wesley knew that Shion would either stay where she was or jump up. Either way, the heat from the Moltaga would still be too hot for her to not be affected by it.

Lola's grin was wicked as she would look at Jaakuna. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know? You would, wouldn't you?" She asked him eagerly. "Oh but...I'm sure Grant knows. Oh, he knows...he knows...won't it break Nadeline's heart to learn who, right?"

Lorenzo narrowed his eyes at Lola, but all the while she spoke, he would inch closer to her. As her crazed eyes would meet his, he charged it. Lola would jab her iaito at him wildly, though it was too late. He had been too close, and she hadn't the time to react. His fist collided with her stomach, causing her grip to loosen on the Shard. He wasn't quite done, however, and as his fist glowed, he would shoot Lola into the air. He ducked in and grabbed the Shard, and as she fell, he would punch her once more, sending her into the debris a good distance away.

"First rule of battle: focus on the enemy." Lorenzo muttered, shaking his head, though he would turn to Emiri and Jaakuna.

Emiri would finally cease her struggling, clearly displeased that Lorenzo got to fight and she didn't. The blonde man would walk over to the pair, looking dow at Emiri. "We should head back before she wakes up, I don't think it's a good idea to stick around." Lorenzo told Jaakuna. "I know you want to know what Lola was talking about, but I have a feeling she was just baiting you. We have the Shard--best to get it as far away from this nutjob as possible."

---

Grant managed to sit up properly, though not without pain as Nadeline would shake her head. "If that is to be my fate, I may as well go back to Stigma right now." Nadeline murmured, though she would raise her head to Savayna. "But I promised, didn't I? I promised that I would not be useless--and I will keep to my word."

"Then an actual, fully casted Curaja would be an excellent place to start, if you don't mind." Grant reminded her, unaware of his painfully sarcastic tone. "You know, with the whole bleeding out and whatnot, I'd appreciate it."

Nadeline shook her head as she would once again place both hands on his wound, but this time, the green colored Curaja would be expended properly throughout his wound. As she worked her magic, she would give Savayna a glance. "Once again, you manage to give me ire. I'd say that you enoyed doing such a thing." She replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Her first sarcastic quirp, I'm so proud." Grant sighed, turning his attention back to the battle. "See, if we had all taken on Ultima, we wouldn't have been in this mess now, would we?"

"I will fix this." Nadeline informed him, Grant's wound at the very least closed at this point. As Grant would open his mouth to retort, she would shoot him a look. "I will. I don't know how yet, but I will. I refuse to sit by and do nothing while everyone else does the fighting for me."

Meanwhile, Shion would have been intimidated by Hashmaal's power, but she knew that despite the Espers being creatures of the gods, their power was bound to their mortals As such, they were only as strong as those who summoned him. Still, she wasn't about to go easy just because she knew she could take on Wesley. No, despite his rather vulgar use of language (which also reminded her very much of the Archadian prince) he was determined to win. If that was the case, she had no reason to hold back, then.

The woman would grip her sword with both hands, holding it upright as Wesley would stab the ground. That was when his esper would send out his next attack at her, a spell she had only heard of once. Still, she had no fear of the unknown, and would retaliate as she needed to. Its power was strong, Shion figured that magicks must have been a forte of Wesley's as well. However, he was going to have to do better than that if he hoped to win. Her amber eyes would narrow, though she would chose to stay in place.

As Shion would raise her sword, Nadeline's glyph would appear beneath her, and she would mimic Wesley and stab her own blade into the ground. A cold wind would sweep the area, and from the same ground would multiple pillars of Blizzaga spring upwards, cooling the molten earth, and the wave would come to a cooled off halt before Shion. Instead she would stomp on it, shattering the ice in place and releasing a dense, cool mist into the air.

"Try again." Shion told Wesley, pointing her sword at him.

“That is why I asked, you crazy, big-titted bitch.” Jaakuna annoying said.

It wasn’t that Jaakuna really wanted know. Like, he did obviously, but if what Belias said was true about the Chosen Few being those who have Espers, then Jaakuna was deeply worried that Lola was to be considered one of those few who have been chosen by the Espers. Obviously Wesley, Grant, Savayna, and Emiri were among the few of these Chosen Few. There was also Aloa and Vlyn, if Jaakuna’s memory serves him correctly. But the others? Jaakuna had no clue. Or at least, not in his recent memory.

As he still pondered on who they could be, Jaakuna saw that Lorenzo was making quick work of Lola. He sent her flying off to Esper-knows where, and that left an opening for the group to get the hell out of dodge. Lorenzo nabbed the Midnight Shard back, and Jaakuna agreed that they did indeed need to get back. If not to create distance between them and Looney Lola there, but to possibly report the findings that they had.

“Yeah, let’s get away from here. I’m even starting to get a migraine from all of this Mist, but mainly from the ninja hooker over there.” JAakuna sighed, holding his head somewhat, leading Emiri up to her feet, and just heading back to the boat.

---

As Grant and Nadeline exchanged some words, with Grant’s comically sarcasm working its way where complaints of pain should be. Well, at least he wasn’t being like Jaakuna always was and complained his ass off. Besides, Savayna had to admit that his sarcasm was a turn on. It showed that, even in the face of danger, even if a shallow shoulder wound, his dry sense of sarcasm stayed intact. That surprised Savayna, but then again Grant had always been a tough-as-nails cookie, so maybe she shouldn’t have been.

Just as Savayna was looking over at Wesley getting the floor handed to him, Savayna heard Nadeline’s comment about her mini-speech. “Me? Enjoy belitting you? Why I would never enjoy something like that.”

Yes you would, chimed Mateus, siding with Nadeline.

“Oh hush will you.” Savayna retorted back to Mateus.

No doubt that Savayna was getting looks from Grant and Nadeline. She didn’t care. Grant would know the struggles of having an Esper sometimes. It’s incredibly annoying when they chime into conversations that didn’t include them. Still, as much of a pain that Mateus was, Savayna had to admit that he came in handy when it really mattered. Then, on the other hand, sometimes she really wished he’d shut the fuck up sometimes. His tendency to offer up his opinion even when it wasn’t asked annoyed the crap out of her.

When Nadeline said she would fix whatever this was, Savayna would point towards Wesley and his Esper getting their cans kicked. “Okay, Naddie, if you’re serious about that, why not start by making sure your future king doesn’t die today.” Savayna said, offering up a suggestion. “I don’t know, just a thought.” she shrugged.

Speaking of Wesley and Hashmaal, they currently were, as Savayna pointed out, getting their cans kicked. Not only was Hashmaal’s rather impressive spell cooled down before it even reached her as Shion used a Blizzaga spell. Wesley cursed himself, but had to admit that Shion was, if not anything else, strong. Truly, it wasn’t a shock at all that she was the leader of that band of misfits. Even more so how she was able to conquer Ultima so quickly, even if she did take advantage of Nadeline’s hard work.

The blizzaga was dissolved, and a rush of cold air around the area. Sure, it was cold, but when Wesley felt it, there didn’t seem to be any kind of harmful effect it had - just very cold.

As Shion would invite Wesley for another go, he looked at her. “Curse it all!” Wesley was angry. Unlike him, definitely. Then again, challenging Shion without any help aside from his own Esper, was very unlike Wesley. He was the cool, calm, and collected one of the group - even more so than Grant. He was the one who would devise a plan for a perfect strategy, but all of that had been forsaken the minute when Nadeline was hurt, and the fact that Shion, even though she stated it wasn’t her directly, brought the Midnight Shard back into Ivalice. Even thinking about it made Wesley’s nostrils flare up with rage.

“Nothing seems to be working against her.” WEsley commented to Hashmaal.

“Do not lose hope yet, Wesley. Even someone as powerful as The Blue Rose has to have a weak spot somewhere.” Hashmaal said.

“I know, you’re right, Hashmaal.” Wesley said, sighing, “but I wish I had the time to study her fighting style. I’m running out of magickal power. I don’t know how much longer I can last.” Wesley admitted. As he looked at Shion, he suddenly had an idea. “Hashmaal, I may have an idea, but it might be risky.”

“At this point, we’re way past the stage of playing it safe.” Hashmaal said. Wesley chuckled, and told Hashmaal his idea. “You know, that is risky - and not to mention very unlike you, but like I said..” Hashmaal grinned, “fine, let’s do it.” Both nodded at each other.

As Hashmaal rushed to Shion, his large body darting to the left and then to the right, skimming the distance that was between him and her. Hashmaal sent jabs and kicks and any kind of melee attack at Shion. He expected her to dodge them, but the point wasn’t getting hits on her but to drive her away from Wesley. The point was to make her waste her energy dodging, blocking, and defending. Even if she landed hits on Hashmaal, the sheer willpower that the Bringer of Order had would outlast her.

And what about Wesley? Well, the Prince of Dalmasca, while Hashmaal was sending blow after blow to Shion, was gathering all the remaining magickal energy he had left. He was gathering it and was trying to center himself with the Mist surrounding the entire area. Good thing about Giruvegan was that it was a central haven for Mist, and even more to the point, Magick rejuvenated even quicker than usual. However, that wasn’t what Wesley was doing. Sure, he was trying to recover his magickal power, but he was doing much more than that. Within ten seconds, it would be obvious what he was doing.

“Uh, guys, what’s going on with Wesley?” Savayna couldn’t help but notice Wesley, specifically what was around him.

Truly, something was going on around Wesley. His entire body, from head to toe, was surrounded in such a blinding white and light yellow light that the air around him was tearing. It was filled up with so much Mist that even the air around him cowered in fear, threatening to rip apart from such a high density of Mist gathered at a single point. Even as Wesley moved his arms, the air cracked with sounds akin to lightning. The mist followed his arms. It almost seemed like time was stopping based on how the mist followed it. But in reality, Wesley was gathering up his magickal power to such a degree that it seemed like that.

“Did you see that?” Savayna asked, blinking. What she was referring to was the fact that Wesley had taken one step, and was gone from sight. A blur of his image was the only thing that Savayna saw.

It wasn’t until Wesley appeared mere inches away from Shion, his body wailing at her. Punches and kicks that were seemingly at the speed of light were thrown at her. Hashmaal, knowing what was coming had side-stepped several paces away, finding himself next to Grant and the others. He would simply watch Wesley unleash what he had gathered up for several moments prior. Each strike had mist trailing from it, oozing magickal energy adding to the furiocity of his power. Each strike would become stronger than the previous one.

Savayna couldn’t help but look out in awe. “Yo, big guy, what’s going on?” Savayna asked Hashmaal.

“Wesley is throwing all that he can in the hopes of landing one hit against the Blue Rose.”

“And if he doesn’t? He’ll die, right?”

“If that’s what comes of this encounter, then yes, he will.” Hashmaal said stoically.

“How can you say it like that? Isn’t he your Hume or whatever?”

“Ice Queen, let me make something perfectly clear.” Hashmaal turned his large head at Savayna, “do not confuse my lack of emotion for a lack of respect for Wesley. Like his bloodline before him, I promised to serve the Alexanders. However, this is something Wesley himself wanted to do. Risky, yes, but what is on the line is not a matter of losing. The Blue Rose told Wesley that, if he could land one scratch on her, she will concede the fight. Though he is doing this for the Rozarrian Hume Girl here, Wesley is also doing this for his own pride. To be able to do what no one - not even your leader - could do, is truly something that Wesley will be proud of.” Hashmaal, though no one could see it, was watching Wesley like a proud father. “besides, just look at how dedicated he is. Winner or not, Wesley Alexander of Dalmasca has grown today. If not out of rage against the blue rose, then perhaps out of love for the blonde Hume princess.” Hashmaal briefly looked to Nadeline.

"Mist in high-density amounts will do that to you," Lorenzo informed Jaakuna as the trio would once again climb into the boat. "They're sure to quarantine this sector once the chaos dies down, but from the looks of it, it'll be some time before this place recovers."

As Emiri would take her seat without so much as a peep, her head pain would subside for a normal headache to take its place. She leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes for a moment. What was wrong with her? She had seen Lola and wanted nothing more than to, to just--murder her! She let out a slight groan, catching Lorenzo's attention for a moment. What was worse, Lorenzo knew something was wrong, too. Now that she thought about it, Chaos was very...quiet. She often ignored his constant temptations to just obliterate everything in her way, but he hadn't said a word to her since she recovered.

Chaos? She asked him mentally. Are you there?

The boat would take off, but all Emiri could hear was the water rushing about and the occasional magical buzz from a nearby elemental. How strange. Still, she was somewhat grateful for his silence, as her headache seemed to worsen on her. No, no more thinking, right now she just needed to relax. She wanted to see her father again, she wanted to sleep, she wanted a lot of things, but it seemed the strain from the Mist was finally catching up to her.

"If you're going to throw up, don't get it on the upholstery!" Lorenzo called out to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Emiri scowled, though she would put a hand to her head. "Nausea is the least of my worries right now." She told him, frowning.

"I'll have Vlyn take a look at you, looks like the Mist is starting to get to you. I'm not too surprised, though, there's been a lot of Mist-based illnesses spreading." He would give Jaakuna a side glance as he spoke. "Probably the cause of that rage you had back there."

Except that wasn't it at all, this much Emiri was certain. But for now, she would only nod in agreement. Why couldn't she quite put her finger on it?

---

Nadeline bit her lip as she watched Wesley, but Savayna was absolutely right. Her dark blue eyes would then fall on Grant's damaged gun, and an idea popped into her head. All Wesley had to do was land a hit, a single hit on Shion. As she would reach over to get it, she would find Grant's own hand grabbing her wrist, his golden eyes narrowed at her.

"It's a thought." Grant would tell Savayna. "But I am not so sure this is the right solution. Shion is a powerful opponent for sure, you have seen how easily she has handled all of Wesley's attacks. What makes you think you can change the outcome?"

The princess looked at Grant, rather determined. "Just as Wesley has thrown all common sense out the window, I must do the thinking in his stead. That is what a queen is for, is it not?" She asked, grabbing his gun and getting to her feet. "Besides...Shion never said Wesley had to be the one to land the hit."

Grant did not like where this was going, but Nadeline had stepped out of his reach at that time. Shion, on the other hand, knew exactly where this fight was going. She was still going strong while the prince's strength would begin to dwindle. Much like any other creature, the weaker they became, the more they would become desperate. Her time was wasted now--it was time that she showed the prince exactly who she was. As Hashmaal would execute his own moves, Shion found them much too predictable, much too easy.

Indeed, it seemed the Esper was only a distraction, as Wesley would then appear before her in a flash. For just a moment, Shion hadn't seen him coming, and if it was not for her own reflexes, she would have surely gotten hit. Indeed, it seemed Wesley had taken a page out of her book and used the elements around him as a strong point. The Mist around them seemed to pulse stronger and stronger, and Shion decided to end his attack once and for all. Sidestepping a swipe, she would direct a palm strike upwards, halting his advance. As she would open her palm, the very same electricity surrounding Wesley would crackle strongly, much too strongly. The very Mist that helped him would be his downfall, as Shion would supercharge his own Mist. Lightning fizzled and then sparked, threatening to overtake them both, though Shion would not give in.

At that point, holding Grant's gun in one hand and her rapier in another, Nadeline would take in a small breath. If Wesley was taking a page out of Jaakuna's book, then she would do the same--but one out of Shion's book. She raised her rapier above her head, her glyph brightening underneath her. "Then I shall follow in Wesley's footsteps, and show him our pride! Shell!" She called, the familiar lights springing around Wesley and protecting him from the Mist's effects.

Shion's eyes darted towards Nadeline, though she would leap backwards as the Mist threatened to converge on her. The princess ran forward, knowing she had exactly one chance. She had Shion's attention now, there was no going back. She gripped Grant's gunblade tightly, her finger repeatedly pulling on the trigger. Her aim was rather shaky, the recoil a lot more difficult to handle than she had anticipated. Shion narrowed her eyes as she would bring up her blade, easily deflecting said bullets. Nadeline would then whip her rapier aside as she neared Shion, charging full speed ahead.

What is she doing? Shion couldn't help but wonder as Nadeline would attack, bringing down her rapier. Her physical attacks are the weakest out of the entire group. What is she trying to accomplish? Grant had thought the same thing, though his eyes would widen as he watched Nadeline swing with his gunblade. Dual wielding wasn't exactly a surprise, but when the second weapon was a gun, one had to be more careful. Shion would deflect Nadeline's swing as a bullet sang through the air. She is trying to shoot me? No, that's too obvious--or is it? In that moment, however, Shion would then bring down her sword. Instead of blocking it with the gunblade, Nadeline would hold her rapier in a reverse grip, managing to block Shion's attack and managing to hold her there. As Nadeline would aim Grant's gun, Shion jumped backwards once more, though the bullet was shot.

Nadeline's rather shaky aim would cause the bullet to go off to the side, but it seemed this fight was over. The bullet would graze through the woman's cheek, and she would freeze in place as Nadeline would point her weapon at her.

"That concludes this duel." Nadeline stated, lowering her weapon. "A single scratch, though I must apologize, I wasn't aiming for your face."

"That worked?!" Grant was just as shocked as Shion was.

Shion stared at Nadeline incredulously, a single bead of blood slowly dripping down from the cut the bullet had made on her cheek. The blue haired woman was deathly silent, though her gaze would turn to Wesley, then Grant, then Savayna. "It would seem you have all gained strength since last we met." She stated, releasing her blade as it would fade away into Mist. "I never imagined such power was here...nor did I expect that not even an honor bound code would prove useless against an affair of love." Her fingertips would touch her cheek as she looked at Wesley and Nadeline.

"Then...you will surrender Ultima?" Grant asked.

"Listen well." Shion would raise her voice as she stepped forward. "The prince is well on his way, but soon, the Espers will begin to grant their vessels abilities--powers none of which Ivalice has ever seen. This was my intention, as the High Seraph would award her Chosen One powers the likes of which very few have seen." She stated, her left hand glowing.

Wesley was confident. Each strike he would throw, in his mind, was pitch perfect. His form was where it should be. He was in control in not only his power, but how it was distributed in each strike. Everything was seemingly going his way. There was no reason for Wesley to think that it would backfire. There was no reason for him to think that Shion, even despite her obvious experience over him, would be able to at least walk away from this without so much as a single scratch.

And yet, as Wesley watched her movements, something was off.

She simply side-stepped him. “How could you--” Before Wesley could finish that sentence, he saw that familiar gathering of magick. It was the same lightning spell that Shion had used before. This time, as he looked at her hands, it was being charged past the limit of its maximum. Thanks to the roaring Mist in the surrounding area, it would appear stronger. Wesley knew he was in trouble. He knew that the amount of lightning magick put into that spell would only mean death for him. Wesley was preparing for the worst.

As it would hit, Wesley felt some surge of electricity, but he was still conscious, his own magickal power staying, though it did lessen a bit. He was confused. It wasn’t until Wesley’s eyes had fell upon his right, and he saw Nadeline. Her rapier and Grant’s Gunblade in hand. What was happening? That was Wesley’s first thought. It took him a minute to realize that Nadeline had cast Shell on him. What he would see next simply had Wesley frozen in place.

Nadeline was going after Shion with all that she could muster up. With both weapons in hand, one in reverse grip and the other in normal grip, she was going after Shion with every intent. What was her angle? Was she doing this for her pride? Or was it for Wesley? Whichever the case, Wesley knew that, without a shadow of a doubt, something had awoken in Nadeline. He saw that strength that he, as well as Grant and Savayna, even Ultima and Shion herself, had been saying all along. Nadeline Lenore Roselia was strong, and she proved that today, as Wesley’s - as well as Savayna’s - jaw dropped when a bullet that was fired had grazed Shion’s cheek.

“She did it..” Wesley said, panting. He was about to fall down, but Hashmaal, despite his size, had zipped through the air and caught Wesley. The Dalmascan prince looked over at Hashmaal. “I guess the plan worked huh?”

“You truly are a lot more like that Archadian Hume than you care to admit.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Wesley said.

“To think that your entire idea was to push yourself past the limits you knew you had and have me go over to your Hume friends just so that the Rozarrian Hume could be motivated just enough to believe in her own strength.”

“That’s not what I--”

“Of course it wasn’t.” Hashmaal and Wesley chuckled as they would walk over to the others. “Could you take him? My time in this realm seems to be up.” Hashmaal had asked, approaching Savayna.

“Oh, sure. See ya.” Savayna said, taking Wesley as she took his arm to set him on the ground as she would Hashmaal would dissolve into brown, red, and white mist, going back to the Esper realm, no less. Savayna looked at Wesley, who was conscious but obviously exhausted. “You sure know how to surprise us, don’t you? Regardless, good job Wes.” Savayna said, grinning at him.

Wesley would simply nod at her as he would notice that Shion was talking. He heard her, but wanted hear better. “Hey, take me closer, will ya?” Wesley asked breathily.

“Sure,” Savayna said, taking Wesley’s arm, and pulling him up as they would walk closer to where Grant, Nadeline, and Shion were at.

As Shion would speak, she seemed a bit surprised that Nadeline was able to do what she did. Wesley, after he had time to take it in, wasn’t either. She just needed something to make her believe that she had the strength. It was risky, sure, but at the end of the day, Nadeline was able to finally realize that she was strong all on her own, and that she could do it. She would even comment on Wesley’s own strength and Savaynas and Grants.

“Look at that, I helped after all!”

Yes, by cheering.

“Oh fuck you.”

Wesley heard Savayna. “Huh?” he looked at her, confused.

“Forget it,” she brushed Wesley’s question and looked to Shion as she continued talking.

When she went on about the Espers, both Wesley and Savayna looked at each other and then back to Shion.

“The espers grant us power? What sort of trickery is this?” Savayna said to Shion.

“I see, so that is what happened.” Wesley seemed like he understood what that truly meant. Perhaps he wasn’t there yet, but if today proved anything, he would soon find out what sort of gifts that Hashmaal truly had to give to him.

As Shion finished, Wesley took notice to her hand. Obviously that was Ultima granting Shion her power. Wesley had to admit his surprise. Having only gotten Ultima, Shion had to have been a truly great warrior in both experience and raw power if she was able to get Ultima’s power that soon after becoming her vessel. “Shion, what you proposed happened. Though not by my hands alone, a scratch is on your face. Now it is your turn. Give what is rightfully Nadeline’s Give her the High Seraph.” Wesley demanded of Shion.

As Wesley would demand Shion, she would look at him from the corner of her eye, not bothering to turn towards him, though her eyes would settle on Nadeline. The woman would walk up to her, taking Nadeline's hand in hers, interlacing their fingers together. An aura of light would surround them, and Nadeline admitted that she was slightly nervous in what Shion was doing.

Grant managed to get up on his own, stretching out his limbs as he would join Wesley and Savayna. He winced slightly as he would massage his shoulder, though he would narrow his eyes as he thought. "How do you know all this, Shion?" He asked the woman.

"The current Gran Kiltias has dreamed of the future, a future in which Ivalice will fall." She informed the group as the magicks around her would continue. "He informed me that the only way to put an end to Zodiark's terror was to challenge him head on--and yet, to take on such a power that could even be considered a deity would be nothing but suicide. I asked for a way to cripple his power, though I was told that the only way was by killing the Scion of Time."

"And you still plan on doing so?" Nadeline asked slowly.

"Whether it would have worked or not is now rendered meaningless." Shion stated as she would release Nadeline's hand, Ultima's symbol glowing on the princess' hand. "My sources inform me now that each Esper has been claimed, Zodiark can walk the earth freely. A somber tale, but my work has only begun."

"Then--then we must fight, together!" Nadeline insisted.

Grant crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. Shion shook her head in response. "No. There is still something left that I must do. Once again, I would implore you return to Stigma." She stated as she would begin to walk out. "If you have to ask, you need not know. But if you need to know, you have only to ask. Fallen petals have their uses, after all..." She would walk past Nadeline, past the pair of Savayna and Wesley--giving him a nod of acknoledgment--and past Grant, who would watch her leave. He wanted to ask her what that cryptic riddle was all about, but now was not the time, it seemed.

"I admit my worry now, I think it would be best to return at once." Nadeline told them.

They listened and listened to what Shion had to say. About how the Gran Kiltias dreamt of Ivalice’s demise, about how the only way to perhaps crippling Zodiark was to kill Emiri - or as most called her, The Scion of Time. About how every single Esper has been claimed, and that, with Ultima being the last one, Zodiark now was able to roam free on Ivalice’s soil, on her seas, on her cities. The worst fear that everyone who truly knew the real threat was now starting to become a reality. Nothing but the power of the Espers and their Chosen Ones could do stop him. Yet still…

“Then, fight with us, Shion.” Wesley said, similarly echoing Nadeline. Truly, a desperate plea, but it was the only thing that made sense. Savayna looked at Wesley the same way that Grant looked at Nadeline. Both raised their eyebrows and both wondered if Wesley and Nadeline had lost their marbles.

Alas, however, Shion declined both similar offers, citing that there was something else she must do. She left them with a very cryptic riddle, which had Savayna scratching her head while Wesley was trying to figure out what that meant. It must have meant something important, but in his state, Wesley was in no position to try to figure it out. He would see Shion give him a nod. Perhaps that was an acknowledgement of his power. He gave her a nod back. From their battle, Wesley could definitely say that Shion deserved all of the respect that he could muster up. For someone at her strength level to come from a place such as Nabudis truly was deserving of any respect.

“I agree. We should rejoin with Jaakuna and Emiri.” Wesley said, “I’m sure there are many things we need to tell them as they do for us.” Wesley was only making an educated guess at this point.

“Then, let’s go!” Savayna excitingly said.

And so, with a chuckle from Wesley, and a take-charge attitude from Savayna, the group was off to Stigma. A journey back , traversing the Forbidden City of Giruvegan back to the Feywood. The journey would definitely take a bit longer than it did to get there since Wesley was nearly at unconsciousness and Grant was less than one-hundred percent, but eventually they would get out of The Great Crystal, out of Ultima’s home, and into the Forgotten City of Giruvegan, into the ruins that she has within the many amounts of mist that cover her. They would traverse back through that city, fighting only when necessary, but fleeing for the most part. Using Way Stones when it called for, and going down that long entrance way back into the Feywood.

Once in The Wood, they went through its tricky mirages. Monsters that came at them, though proved to be slightly challenging, even with Wesley and Grant in their states, the mantis-like creatures, and Bohemoths proved to be nothing more than child’s play compared to the likes of Shion and Ultima. And so, they would do away with these beasts, striking them down as they came, but not wasting more time than what was absolutely necessary. They would slay them, and move on, taking the quickest route possible.

Eventually, after a little over an hour of going through all of those hoops and hurdles, they eventually arrived where the Ifrit waited for them. Once beamed up by Iris(she scanned their body temperatures), they wasted no time. Ordering her go at top speed and to make the destination Stigma, she would with great efficiency. And thus the Ifrit was sent forth through the skies of Ivalice.

As she went forth, Wesley and Grant, under the heavy demanding of their respective female mate, were sent to the medic bay where their wounds would be treated for, and where they may rest up. For, when the Ifrit arrived at Stigma, it would be a little less than a half of an hour. Not enough for Wesley to regain all of his strength, but surely enough to maintain a decent walking speed. Yes, that was definitely enough time for them to do that. And, as if time itself had went by fast, the Ifrit made dock at the Stigma Aerodome where Iris would announce the arrival. Gearing up, Wesley and Savayna were ready, as were Grant and Nadeline(assumingly). Only the make of haste would be required as they would enter the transporter, and would touch ground on Stigma’s solemn grounds.

The trip from Giruvegan to Stigma was uneventful. That was the way Grant usually preferred it, as he knew once they would return they would need to compare notes with Jaakuna and Emiri. He was actually rather impatient, as a thought had crossed his mind that perhaps Emiri had discovered the fate of her family. He didn't really want to mention it, feeling that it wasn't quite his place, but he seemed to get more uneasy they closer they got.

Once they would begin to walk the streets of Stigma, the streets were very quiet, all things considered. Where was everyone? A similar thought would cross Nadeline's mind until the group would see people gathered along the main streets of Stigma. The princess didn't like the look of it at all, and after managing to push her way to the front, she let out a gasp. A funeral line was made, coming from both the castle and the hospital. The amount of casualties suffered from the mine explosion was staggering, and much worse than she had anticipated.

Grant closed his eyes, offering a silent prayer to the fallen, though once he opened his eyes, he would look to Wesley and Savayna. "Heading to the castle would be the best thing to do right now." He suggested quietly. "If there was ever a time for Archadia to strike, it would be now. Or perhaps Reia will take advantage and go to war, claiming this incident as reason enough?"

Nadeline's eyes widened as she looked to Grant. "No. If I can help it I will not allow it." She stated, though she would then weave around the people, running to the castle.

"Don't run ahead!" Grant called out, breaking into a run after her.

Reia cannot be so foolish. A good quarter of our military division was near the mines. Even if Reia were to convince the Council, Dalmasca would have none of it. Roman wouldn't be able to do nothing, either!. Nadeline let out a huff as she reached the palace gates. "Nadeline of Rozarria has arrived! Open the gates!" She stated to the guards. Without hesitation, they would open for her, and she would run inside.

Grant would stop at the gates, heaving in deep breaths. "Nade--line...slow...down..." He huffed, his hands on his knees. He had no idea where her sudden burst of energy had come from, considering that she had gotten more injured than he had. "We...we should be regrouping, not running off!" He let out a sigh as he straightened up.

Nadeline wouldn't stop despite her legs now aching. She skidded to a halt outside of Reia's office, placing her hands on the door. At that moment, Karolina would spot her. "Nadeline? You're back?" She asked, walking to her. "What...what happened to you?" She asked, clearly noticing the princess' many injuries.

"Mother! Where is the Empress?" She asked urgently.

"Reia is in a meeting with the Council, things are...hectic, to say the least..." Karolina said, leading her away from the door. "Your father should be back soon with Jaakuna and Emelia as well." That was all Nadeline needed to hear. Without so much as a word, Nadeline ran off towards her father's garage. "Nadeline! Nadeline, wait!" She called, though she would then see a panting Grant followed by Wesley and Savayna. "Goodness, what happened to you all?" She asked, clearly worried.

"A very long story, Lady Karolina." Grant said between breaths. "Although I feel I am to pass out at any moment, do you happen to know where Nadeline went?"

"I told her Lorenzo would be back with Jaakuna and Emelia, and she went running off!" Karolina sighed. "She was certainly in a rush..."

Like it had been to the destruction site, the way from it was the same thing: Sahagins attacking, Emiri taking the wheel, and Lorenzo and Jaakuna effortlessly dealing with them. It was like they were drawn to them. Or maybe it was Lorenzo’s boat. Regardless, when the Sahagins were dealt with, Lorenzo took hold back of the boat and Emiri went back to her seat and Jaakuna took his seat in the passenger’s side, Lorenzo had taken the wheel back, driving them full-speed ahead back to his garage, parking the boat where it had been before.

“I fucking swear, those Sahagins have it out for us.” Jaakuna complained. Even several minutes after they had done away with them, it still bothered Jaakuna up the yin-yang. Was it because they were the only ones on the water? Jaakuna didn’t know, but at this point, he was just glad to be on solid, unaffected-by-crazy-miss-big-tits ground. As Jaakuna would get up, helping Emiri onto the dock of the garage, he turned, and saw a familiar sight. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Jaakuna commented, seeing Nadeline standing at the doorway of Lorenzo’s Garage. She definitely had better days. Then again, so did Jaakuna. Signs of fatigue were definitely present in his face and the way he slouched slightly.

"I would say the same, though our reunion would prove that both groups have much to share," Nadeline stated, frowning as she looked at her father. "You went with them as well, Father?"

"Actually, I would think it's time for a little break," Lorenzo winked at Nadeline, lightly patting her head. "You look beat, and if this is how you look, I can't imagine how Wesley, Savayna, and Grant look."

"A break? Father, there is no time for rest!" Nadeline insisted, lightly stomping her foot. "Zodiark is now out on the loose now that I have Ultima, and what's more, I must know whether or not a possible war is on the horizon!"

Lorenzo strode over to his daughter, getting down on one knee before her. "I get it. Really, I do. But there's not much you can do, once that adrenaline of yours wears off you're going to end up flat on your butt."

Emiri lightly rubbed her arm. "He's right, Naddie. We can just talk and catch up...no need to go running off so soon, right?"

Nadeline immediately took note that Emiri lacked her wreath. Had the process of recovering her memories been completed? So much had happened, she had nearly forgotten. Maybe it really was best that they compare notes first. Letting out a small sigh of defeat, the princess would clap her hands. Two maids would come through the door, bowing deeply to their mistress. "Prepare my room for five guests, we will be holding a meeting there." She ordered. The maids would bow and take their leave as Nadeline flipped her hair. "Rest will come once we have told each other our stories. Much has happened, and we learned something very important today."

Lorenzo nodded, though he would stop Emiri from walking for a moment. "Best thing to do is talk it out, I have my own things to take care of, starting with our little treasure." He stated, rummaging through his pockets. "It would be a good idea to tell each other everything. Including our more shameful moments." He would place her hair tie in her hand, earning him a gasp.

"This is...!" Emiri's eyes widened considerably.

He would grip her shoulder, though he released it. "I hope that rage of yours has settled. The only thing getting angry is going to accomplish is hurting yourself or someone close to you. Remember that." He warned her, and after giving Jaakuna a wink, Lorenzo would take his leave.

Nadeline raised an eyebrow at her father, though she would turn her attention instead to Grant, who had finally caught up. Before he could speak, Nadeline would walk past him. "Come now, Grant, we will be gathering at my guest quarters. Do try to keep up, will you?"

"Are you alright?" Emiri asked him as she would tie her hair back into her usual ponytail.

Grant let out an irritated huff. "I think Nadeline's managing to wear me out worse than Ultima did."

After regrouping and navigating the castle, the group would end up once more in Nadeline's room, albeit in her guestroom as opposed to her actual sleeping chambers. Grant's mouth would water as he would spot an assortment of snacks and food, though he managed to remain composed as he would take his seat next to Savayna. Nadeline would sit on one of her armchairs, perching herself daintily. He had to give her credit, she never once stopped looking like royalty, not even for a second.

Once Emiri was seated, she caught Nadeline staring at her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I was wondering...if you remembered us after all." Nadeline replied quietly, a small frown on her face. "So much has happened, I would like to think that finally, we are all together--each whole--again."

Grant seemed to agree with her. "Though I must ask, what bid you to return to Stigma?" He asked Emiri and Jaakuna.

Emiri lowered her gaze, placing her hands on her lap. "Jaakuna told me...about the explosion. I didn't know what had happened to my parents, so we came. But my mother...Justine is dead."

Nadeline sat up immediately, clutching at her chest. "Say it isn't so! Aunt Justine..." Nadeline would sit back in her seat, clearly in shock. "That is...my condolences, Emiri."

Grant never disliked Justine, though he was well aware of her somewhat strained relationship with her daughter. He closed his eyes for a moment, though would open them once more. "And what of Lord Andre?" He asked, a little afraid of the answer.

"Papa is...alive. If barely..." Emiri stated somewhat bitterly, grasping her dress. If only she could help him...why did they stop her?

Nadeline let out a sigh of relief, though she would look out the nearby window. "How dreadful...so the silence outside was one of grieving. Mother must be at a loss..." She would then turn her attention back to Jaakuna. "Then how did you end up leaving with my father?"

So, Zodiark can now stretch his legs on Ivalice’s grounds huh? Jaakuna figured it was only a matter of time. He didn’t claim to be a specialist when it came to Ivalice and the inner-workings of the mystical, but he did know that, when all of the Espers were released by their shackles in the various locations they were chained to, shit was going to get real - and it didn’t get any realer than Zodiark being able to walk among the Ivalicians. “Oh what lovely news.” The sarcasm in Jaakuna’s voice was obvious. Jaakuna didn’t find anything lovely about Zodiark being able to walk among the people of Ivalice - even worse when he considered the fact that the bastard could destroy it at any given moment. Truly, he was fucking with their lives. Nadeline would soon urge them that they needed to make haste and all that shit, but Lorenzo, thank the heavens for him being her father, convinced her to calm her shit, and take a breather. There was no need to rush. It wasn’t like Zodiark was going to destroy the world this very moment. A little breather wouldn’t hurt.

And thus they did, Grant, Savayna, and Wesley all had finally gotten to the garage only to be rushed off to the other end of the castle by Nadeline. Grant was obviously annoyed, but he followed. Wesley chuckled at his fiance’s never-die attitude. And Savayna looked at Jaakuna. “Hey, you’re not dead.” Savayna said smirking.

“As if I’d let anything kill me.” Jaakuna laughed.

“Nice to see you’re looking well, Jaakuna.” Wesley said lowly.

“Ayy, Wes! You look like you were put through the ringer.”

“You have no idea.” Savayna said, looking at Wesley.

“You’ll have to tell me all about it later, but now I think we’re going to rest up or whatever.” Jaakuna really didn’t know where they were going, but as Grant and Emiri as well as Lorenzo did, he, Savayna, and Wesley(via Jaakuna and Savayna) followed them around the castle until they arrived at Nadeline’s room.

When they got into it, it was quite the setup. Then again, in the room of a princess, Jaakuna didn’t expect anything less than what he saw with his two, emerald green eyes. They, of course, were led to the guest room, which was fine. Not like they needed to see her actual bedroom, now was it? Jaakuna was pretty sure Wesley was disappointed. If he was, - well, tough shit. He’ll have to make due with the guest room.

As they would settle around a table, Savayna and Grant sitting next to each other, Emiri and Jaakuna sat next to each other, and Wesley and Nadeline sat next to each other, each getting food - or at least the guys were. The ladies, well seemed like they were engaging in conversation. Well, at least it seemed that Emiri and Nadeline were, and the rest were sort of chit-chatting amongst themselves until Grant would ask about Jaakuna and Emiri’s presence in Stigma. That prompted Jaakuna to put down the piece of rabbit breast he had in his hand, about to speak when Emiri got to it first. He continued eating as he would simply listen.

When Emiri began explaining, everyone stopped what they were doing, and listened as well. Savayna, specifically looked at Emiri, unsure what to say. “Oh wow, Emiri, sorry,” she said, feeling that’s all what she could offer up as sympathies.

“You have my deepest sympathies, Emiri.” Wesley offered up a similar gesture.

It seemed Emiri overlooked the bit about her mother and went straight to how her father was doing. Both Wesley and Savayna found that strange, and looked to Jaakuna. They wondered if he had noticed it too when the news was first received to Emiri. He gave them a look as well. It pretty much told them “yes” without saying anything at all. Then they simply went back to listening to Emiri.

As Nadeline responded to all of that, the answers of the grieving was revealed to Wesley, Savayna, and Nadeline, but then the latter would turn her gaze to Jaakuna, inquring about why he and Emiri left with Lorenzo. That’s when Jaakuna put down the piece of chicken he had in his hand. “To investigate the destruction site.” Jaakuna said, getting right to the point. “I had asked Lorenzo to take Emiri and I there, and that’s where we encountered trouble.”

“Trouble?” Savayna asked.

“Yes, the kind of trouble that wreaks of fake tits and a purple jumpsuit."

“Lola?”

“Precisely.” Jaakuna sighed, leaning back. “even though I would have preferred to not fight that crazy bitch, she did give us some interesting information, as well as a little gift.” Jaakuna said, chuckling. “It turns out that Looney Lola caused the explosion with the Midnight Shard.”

“We know.” Wesley said lowly but angrily, hands gripping the table cloth tightly.

“And you know this how?”

“Shion, The Blue Rose..” Wesley said.

“Oh right--WAIT WHAT!?” Jaakuna nearly fell over in his chair.

“Yes, during our fight with Ultima, she came in and caused …complications.”

“Oh that’s just fucking great.” Jaakuna cursed, hands slamming on the table. “As if we don’t have enough problems from Zodiark running amok and Lola, but now Shion is doing the same dirty shit she’s been doing. What else are we going to have to deal with? Some kind of war?” Jaakuna was cursing left and right.

“Jaakuna..”

“This is just fucking fantastic! I leave you guys alone to do a simple task, and now the whole thing has gone to shit.”
“Jaakuna.”

“Well, I guess there goes are time off, huh? Fucking fuck!”

“JAAKUNA!”

He looked around. “What?”

“Would you calm your shit? That’s not all.”

“You’re kidding me? Fine, what’s left of this shit story?” Jaakuna didn’t care who told him. They better talk fast, though. He was one minute away from cursing up a storm again.

"It was odd and very much unlike her to do so,' Grant managed to put in his own opinion as he thought carefully. "However...I find it rather interesting that Lola is no longer working for Shion. The explosion and casualties seemed not to be her intention."

Emiri looked over at Jaakuna somewhat nervously as he would speak. Nadeline rolled her eyes, clearly displeased with his attitude. "Ironically enough, I was...am...glad she appeared when she did." Nadeline stated, looking at her own hand as Ultima's symbol would glow gently. "Were it not for her, we would not have learned about the Espers and their Chosen Ones. She mentioned that the Gran Kiltas had dreamed of Ivalice's demise, but it seemed these Espers can grant us powers that would be able to combat Zodiark."

"Truly? I haven't heard anything from Chaos in some time..." Emiri seemed disappointed. "Yet...you think Shion's appearance was...good?"

Grant let out a sigh. "I have to find myself agreeing with Nadeline. Shion has a power unlike any other...and today, we witnessed something that could combat it within Wesley.' Grant nodded at the prince. "Maybe it would not be at her level quite yet, but something within us all--we who were chosen by the Espers--can attain that kind of power."

"The power of love conquers all." Nadeline stated, sporting a grin, though it would falter as she looked at Emiri. "And you...you're alright, are you?"

Emiri looked at Nadeline curiosly. "Hm? I am worried about Papa...but there's nothing I can do right now." She let out a sigh, perching her chin on her hands as her gaze went down to the floor. Nadeline didn't seem to take that well, an annoyed look on her face. Grant looked at Emiri as well, though he wasn't really sure what to say. Emiri looked up, catching Nadeline's eye. "That's the same look your father gave me." She told her quietly, raising her head.

It was then Nadeline would narrow her eyes. Indeed, Emiri seemed...off. Somehow. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, though her eyes would dart over to Jaakuna, if only for a moment. "Did he now?" Nadeline asked her, placing both her hands on the armrests of her chair.

"He did." She stated, and an odd tension would fill the air as Emiri would stare at Nadeline. The princess would not budge, though she would raise an eyebrow. "Is there something you'd like to ask, Nadeline? You look like you have something to say."

Now it was Grant's turn to raise his eyebrows. "What? I think you misunderstand her, Emiri." He said, scratching his cheek.

It was then, however, that the brunette would wince, catching Nadeline's attention. "Again...my head hurts again." Emiri stated, closing one eye.

"I'm more than sure that is why Father wanted us to rest up." Nadeline said, one finger tapping the couch. She wanted to confront Emiri directly, but she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to do it in front of everyone. And yet, the previous tension seemed to disipate as Emiri would rub her arms.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, completely shocking Nadeline. "I just...I don't know what's wrong with me right now. I have all these thoughts in my head, I don't know what to think or do with myself right now. I feel like I'm going crazy..."

Was she wrong? Nadeline was hit with a pang of guilt, and she would look away. Grant would shake his head at Emiri. "It's grief, Emiri. Sorrow, despair...it's not easy, losing one parent and having the other hang in the balance, unknowing if they'll live or die." Grant would explain, though he would look at Jaakuna. "I think a moment's reprieve is exactly what we need."

Nadeline nodded, and she would stand. "I agree. Right now, however, I would like to pay my respects to my aunt." She said. "A short break, then?"

"I'd like a moment off my feet." Grant waved at Nadeline. "I will do the same once I've caught my breath, chasing you around wore me out."

"Rogue is she? I always knew she would she would break away from the nest."

JAakuna was about to punch a bitch. Thank the heavens for the reveal that Shion actually wasn't the psycho one. Who knew? That blue-haired tit monster actually was sane. Not only that, but she gave Ultima back? Jaakuna was a little confused there, but no doubt Savayna would fill him in on the details when it was all said and done. But still, JAakuna had to admit he was in a bit of shock. To think that Lola was the only crazy one in the family. WEll, actually, he could believe it. That bitch was crazier than taking on Yiazmat all on your own. Shit that bitch was stronger than most women Jaakuna had known in his life, and considering that included every women he has come across in his life, including his mother, Savayna, Nadeline, and Emiri - yeah, one could say that Yiazmat was a bitch.

"Wow, to think Miss Tittypants actually is one of the good guys." Jaakuna said, seemingly calmed down. "Who would have thunk it?" As Emiri mentioned Chaos, Jaakuna scoffed. "You're better off. The less contact from that asswipe, the better" Jaakuna said.

"Here here, Jaakie! I can’t get mine to shut the fuck up.” Savayna raged, downing a glass of ale as quick as it was served.

“Oh Savayna, surely you jest.” Wesley said, “I’m sure if you got to know Mateus, you two might be able to find more common ground.”

“Wesley, you have no room to talk. Your Esper is pretty fucking awesome.”

Wesley said nothing. He simply went back to his plate of food, eating politely, and ears pealed to the conversation at hand.

“Yeah, I thought so.” Savayna said downing yet another glass of Ale.

As their banter was over, they would hear the conversation, specifically Emiri snapping at Nadeline. Wesley and Savayna, as well as Nadeline and Grant, were shocked. And Jaakunalooked at her with a worried look. Was it getting worse? Shit, going to need to tell them before she sees anyone. Jaakuna knew that was true. Before anything could be done, Jaakuna needed to tell them about it. Better they hear it from him than anyone else, right? Right, time to do it, I suppose

Just as Jaakuna was about to stand up, preparing to tell everyone - including Emiri - about what he suspected was going on with her, Nadeline halted his plans, saying that rest was needed, and she wanted to pay her respects to her aunt.

“I shall accompany you, my love.” Wesley said, trying to get up. He was still very weak from the battle with Shion, but a slow walk was manageable.

“Yeah, I’m going too. Need to lay down. My head is kind of foggy.” Savayna said, walking out of the room as well.

As Jaakuna looked at Emiri, she seemed to be a bit worn out too. “You should go lie down too. I trust you’re going to need it.” Jaakuna said. He got no lip or no argument from Emiri. She did the same, and that left Jaakuna and Grant alone. “Oh well, I guess it’s better than no one.” Jaakuna sighed, taking a seat next to Grant. “Grant, remember when I said I wouldn’t fuck up again?” Jaakuna said out of the blue, sighing again. “Well, I think I might have done something worse than accepting Zodiark's help.” Jaakuna was preparing for Grant’s usual look of both interest and worry.