As the needles screeched towards Frye's position, the mage would rase his hand, stopping everything else around him, as he issues a gravity "pulse", having the surrounding area get light and then quickly turn intensely heavy. This resulted in the needles going down with the pressure, something which Sayatachi predicted. Everything was going to plan as she sees the imprisoned civilians get teleported away by Grane from beyond, with Frye crushing nothing but pavement on the ground. She smirks as the opposer gritted his teeth, only to have Grane suddenly teleport behind him. As Grane was about to try nullifying the area of magic and prevent Frye from using his magic, Frye was fast enough to prevent Grane from doing anything by jerking his elbow back to create an intense force of gravity to send the Council member flying back away from him. But Grane would only teleport back behind Frye again to finish his nullification magic. The female Council woman stands back for a minute, trying to access the situation and looking for the best time to strike.

The intense gravity that caused the crater reverted back to normal and Frye soon began to fall from where he was floating. Once his feet landed on the ground, Grane was about to push Frye to the ground with a jab across the face. Planetary Force Series, Intensified Assault. With a smirk, Frye was able to stand his ground against the lizardman by meeting the jab with his own fist. Each attack and block against Grane was all being enhanced with an intense amount of extra force that was more than enough against the Council member’s own attack. That and his increased movement increased allowed Fyre to do some dodges that made it difficult for Grane to land most of his attacks while the added speed made it easier for Frye to attack Grane before the lizardman could do anything to stop him.

The two continued their fight, but things weren’t looking good for Grane. The nullification field that he placed in the area also affected him, making it difficult for him to use any magic to going against Frye’s speed as he moved around Grane and attacked with great force. But Grane was still glad that Frye's magic only affected Frye body and not around outside his body.While they fought, Grane allowed the nullification field to shrink over time and hoped this would allow enough time for Saya to restrain Frye.

Indeed, it was now high time for the Rainbow Majesty to strike at last. As the opposer was distracted by Grane, she whips out three needles, each with a blue tip, from her nails. Then, pointing her right arm, she points her nails at Frye's magical-arm, and unleashes them in a quick and almost silent shot. Being closer and more concentrated then what she did earlier, the needles zipped through the gap between their master and prey, quickly circle around Frye's arm. They grip with such a force while the needles pierce true through the opponent's arm, injecting the blue neurotoxin of fatique and tiredness, as they slowly begin to restrain the opponent.

"Gotcha..." she mutters with a sly grin as she stands her ground.

Even if he struggled, Sayatachi still has an impressive amount of strength to keep herself from moving as she fires a second volley onto his second arm, fully restraining Frye and pulling him to the ground.

---

---

Samir was about to respond to Michael's statement, when suddenly Wes answered for her.

”I rather not have my name, my identity, be used as an additional excuse or reason to resort to violence.”

”I don’t condone violence that could have been avoided. I could understand the sense of violence being used as self defense or for a greater a good, but I still worry about the consequences. When any difficult or dangerous situation arrives, I always prefer to try and risk the pacifist route. Any other guild might have fought the corrupted Council, but I would still wish that they could have resolved the problem through little to no violence. It may be a false hope and unrealistic to believe everything could be solved without violence in the world that we live in. But that is the world that I wish could be real or at least imagine could happen in the far distance future.”

Wes was going to wait to see anyone had anything to say until he sensed a sudden burst of magical power coming from the eastern part of the city. He rushed up as he was curious about this magic, slowly began to stepped away from the table. ”You two felt that? We… I should see what that was.” He said as he shivered at the thought of what that power was.

Samir felt it too, as should Michael as well, issuing a slight gasp. What the hell was going on now on such a lovely day? Whatever it was, it sounded bad.

"A-Agreed." the archer responds, magically issuing her bow as she follows Wes out of the Cafe and to where the commotion was taking place.

Rosalina stood in silence as Mako corrected her assumption about the man he sought. In hindsight, it must have seemed quite rude that she had jumped to that conclusion. Perhaps if she wasn't feeling so lethargic she'd have felt the need to apologise. That wasn't the case, however, so she merely watched him whilst failing to mask her impatience.

"Fiore and Isval, despite the loss of this diplomat, are on good terms with each other as trade partners and recognize the cultural differences between them. During my search for this man, a member of another family from Isval, one Sadako Arakida if memory serves, had a similar matter. Fiore's royal family acknowledged her right to seek out the man who'd taken her honor. And I now exercise mine." Resting her hand on her chin, Rosalina said nothing for a moment before raising her gaze back towards Mako.

"Those were different circumstances. The man you seek has already been punished by the Magic Council." Before she could sound as though she was rejecting the idea outright, Rosalina made sure to choose her next words carefully. "Though I do not wish to meddle in cultural affairs that do not concern me. If you wish to request a duel for your honor, and he accepts, then I see no reason why I should be against it." And with that Rosalina began to walk away, but not before gesturing for Mako to follow. She felt a pang of guilt, deciding to bring back potentially painful memories to one of her own knights. Though she could tell that Mako would be persistent. With any luck, the man would just refuse the duel and Mako would be on his way. Though Rosalina highly doubted that would be the case.



"Why don't we start at some place that has something you haven't tried yet? I mean, living on the lamb makes for rare opportunities to eat at places like this, so I haven't had any of it." Jane was barely able to finish her sentence before Bullet, removed from his daze, eagerly spoke up like an excited puppy.
"Lamb? I heard something about lamb. Let's have that." He quickly scanned the area before finding a place with some type of meat cooking on a spit. He hadn't noticed the beautiful smell until now, and it made his mouth water. Isabella noticed it as well, though she ended up bursting out into laughter.
"Oh Bullet, that's not lamb! That's pork." Bullet turned around to the two girls with an awkward smirk.
"Yeah whatever, let's just go have some of that."
"Oh oh! I also want some seafood. Doesn't grilled squid sound delicious to you, Jane?" Isabella's hand instinctively clasped around Jane's as the group walked closer to the stalls. Bullet paid no mind to the two girls, too busy admiring the beautiful spit roast that had been expertly prepared.

michael
@Lmpkio@expolar

"it's not an excuse or a reason. And if you think that it is, you don't deserve a guild like Phoenix Wing. They didn't do it just for you. They did it for fiore" he shook his head and gave a sigh. He looked up at the burst of magical energy, frowning.

He rose, summoning Uriel to go with them, following the other two mages

master Jamie
Jamie steadied Amelia, even before she came out the portal, giving her a smile. "you never have to feel sorry for doing what you feel is right, little one." she looked over to Alan and Aura, chuckling at the little Sprite, "this is Alan and Aura. Theyre following me to the hotel. Seems aura has a little bit of a...self problem. Maybe you light be able to help her, Amelia. This is my daughter" she said to the two. "and you shall have all the comforts the hotel can offer"

gabriel
@hatakekuro@lugubrious@Oblivion666
Gabriel gave a soft sigh,]even as he heard a chuckle behind him, and the all to familiar voice of Leo. "you appear to have some sort of guts in your hair, Gabriel. I can only imagine the fun you have got into. Fall down a hole as well? How wonderful"

Gabriel choose to ignore Leo, running his fingers through his hair and grimacing. He sighed again, checking he had all his keys, before following after Ike

Sasha
@oblivion666


A day off meant they could actually see some sights. Crocus was an amazing city, and Sasha wanted to see a bit of it beyond the games stadium. She had a guide book, tucked under an arm, but was really just wandering about, dragging Lazarus with her.

She decided to do the loop around the guild hotels, soon nearing the dragon fang one

@Caits

Zephyr Hardt

That was it, he couldn't take it anymore. Staying put in his room all day just wasn't cutting it for him, if he made his arm worse then so be it. It had to heal eventually, besides all he had to do was make sure he didn't do anything reckless to it. So while his guild mates weren't around he made his way downstairs and outside. Grinning widely as he would turn the corner and instantly collide with someone. It wasn't enough force to knock him down, but it was enough to cause pain to shoot through his arm. "Owwwww, I'm never letting Loki get me bite again!" He spoke to himself before looking at the crash victim. Two people from Phoenix Wing, he believed. "Ah I'm sorry.... Sasha and.... Ummm..." He said scratching his head. "Sorry drawing a bit of a blank on you. Anyway, sorry for what I did to Karn during the challenge yesterday. I lost control of Loki, when I should have never used him."

@Raijinslayer@Zarkun@Joshua Tamashii@Roseletta@Infichi@Caits@Crimson Raven
Ethel blushed slightly as Verrick patted her head, ruffling her hair in the process. But she seemed distracted by something else entirely again soon after.
Sora ignored Verrick's rather stupid sounding outburst for now. He was complaining about them fighting, something they currently weren't, so he decided it wasn't worth saying anything right now. Although if Sora wanted to, he could start a fight with these guys. But while he was arrogant, he didn't think he could take on an entire guild. Let alone one the size and fame of Phoenix Wing, and from what he has heard you mess with one of them; you get the entire guild crashing down on you. Something about 'family' or some bullshit like that.
Instead he quickly made his way over to Manami and Shiro, effortlessly picking them up and slinging the still two tied together girls over his shoulder before proceeding to do the same with James and Jessica.
"Well kid, first things first we're going to go pay Phoenix Wing here's hotel a visit. I'm sure that their guildmaster will have something to restrain this lot." Sora walked back over now and glanced towards James as he spoke. That and Sora wanted some information, and was willing to trade information on this lot for it. He figured a guild might have some idea of the next objective, or at least have a connection with someone who might be able to help.
"Whether you want to tag along or sell those....things is up to you. Just so you know, the mission ain't over yet either. Still got another two members of her family to go." Sora added as he seemed to cast a glare of pure hatred towards the Chu's.
"Ethel?" Noticing that Ethel was distracted by something, he cast a curious glance towards the younger girl.

"Amaya! Josh!" Despite the concern for both of them that Cody showed, he went to Amaya's side and went to help her regain her balance if needed. He hadn't seen or heard much of Joshua, but he did give off a reliable feel to Cody so he figured that he was ok. That and his instinct was to go straight to Amaya, though he wasn't too sure why himself.
"No...it's my fault. I initiated the fight...this was always my battle first." Cody shook his head at Amaya's apology. While it might've been true the dark wizards had come for her, Cody was the one to have started the fighting. He was so sure that he could keep himself in check if he ever meet that dark guild again....yet he snapped so easily.
There was just no way that he was going to let them take away someone else from his life, he probably would've fought them whether she was in danger or not. Cody was just glad she was ok.
"At least you're ok....even if you do smell like a sewer." Cody offered a small smile before scrunching up his nose slightly. He wasn't too sure why he hadn't noticed the smell earlier, but boy oh boy was that powerful...and so much different to what she smelled like when he first met her.
"I think we should return to the hotel first...get into contact with Jamie there. I also need to talk to her about something."

"....." Ethel was silently staring at Cody from beside Verrick before tearing his gaze at the mention of her name, looking up towards Sora.
"...It's nothing. Ethel must be mistaken." Ethel mumbled softly into her jacket collar. It was a real bad habit of hers, especially when something was on her mind and Sora knew it. But he decided he could quiz her about it later, though he did have an inkling about what it could be.
"So if you wouldn't mind Mr Knight lead the way. This lot is rather heavy you know?" Sora directed this comment towards James now. He had assumed James would want their help in explaining the situation, as they could shed a little bit more light on it. That and there was no way in hell Sora was going to let them take Shiro.



@Zarkun@hatakekuro@oblivion666@liferusher@Caits@Raijinslayer@Lugubrious
Ash's eyes widened in shock when she felt Thor wrap her cloak around of her...what was she doing? She was still here, wasting time on someone like Ash when she needed to get to Sanders quickly...yet she still took the time to give her a heat source as well, using a branch and her own scarf.
"You idiot...I don't deserve this...thank you." As Thor took off in order to get to Sanders, Ash was trembling. Not because she was cold or anything, nor because she was afraid or sad. She was overcome by the other girl's kindness and self sacrifice here. Ash wasn't even a proper member of the guild, yet she went to such lengths to help her. Even if it was to help another member of her guild in Harper.
Feeling her strength return as her body absorbed the heat radiating off of the fire and with the cloak keeping most of the rain off, she did manage to move Harper and herself enough at a slow pace so as to give them some shelter under a nearby tree. It wouldn't do to stay out in the middle of the rain after all, but Ash also knew that any sudden movements and her magic would falter. So she did it carefully but as quickly as she could.
She would make it up to Thor for this...and Harper. She was more determined than ever to join Frenzy Plant, simply because of the debts she now owed two of it's members. She just hoped they could survive long enough for her to make good on this internal promise.



@Caits
Jasmine shook her head at Penny's question.
"No...I'm sure whoever is there can handle it. I don't want to waste too much of your time." Jasmine responded just as what seemed to be a tornado just crashed down where the magic was coming from anyway.
Yeah there was no way in hell Jasmine wanted to go anywhere near there now. Although the tornado didn't last long before it disappeared, having only been around for about 10 seconds at the most.
Jasmine reasoned it was probably some sort of training exercise...she hoped anyway.
"We're almost to the gate....should we keep flying or walk?" Jasmine quizzed Penny as the gate was getting closer by the second. She didn't want to waste too much of Penny's time yes, but she also didn't want Penny to push herself too much and not be available for the games tomorrow.

Where: Crocus Park
With: several people@Joshua Tamashii@Zarkun@Lunarlors34

Amaya smiled accepting Cody's help as she looked around "you and I are going to help you keep control of that anger cause i am sure if those two and their friend is after slayers then I will be seeing them a lot more often."Said Amaya before looking over at Joshua "We need to get him up and to the hotel he needs to rest while i need a shower god this is really messing with my sense of smell"Said amaya "where is cecilia by the way?"asked amaya feeling a tugging of her skirt "down here.."Said the cat jumping into her arms "I got lost in what was going on "she said

"its fine...do you think you can carry joshua to the hotel with us?"asked Amaya
"if he is as light as you then no problem"said the cat
"he should be he isnt much heavier then I"she said as cecila jumped out of her arms before wings form from her back as she floated over to joshua grabbing ahold of him lifting him up

Argus Leandros

The sight within the chapel was nearly enough to make Argus empty the contents of his stomach, and if it weren't for the sight of the hooded figures and the men they held hostage, he very well might've have. Before he could take as ingle action, the clerics where slain and turned into undead abominations while one of the necromancers mockingly informed them that they were too late. Needless to say, Argus was disgusted by what he saw, and as the former clerics attacked, he was quick to move into action. His blade would ignite into red and black flames as he lashed out at the first monster, choosing to focus the energy currently available to him since he couldn't let loose like he normally did. His blade bit deeply into the humanoid beast, the black and red flames greedily eating away at the twisted flesh as he pushed the creature off to the side, sword and all, as he moved on to the other two. He re-quiped a dagger into each of his hands and, with a quick spin around, planted them deeply into the heads of the other two monstrosities, ending them immediately. As Argus stood over the corpses, all of them burning away into nothingness as his Godslaying flames quickly reduced them to naught but dust, he felt that some words should've been said for their souls, but he didn't know any rites to give them.

Re-quipping his sword back to his hand, he turned to face the necromancers now, feeling a intense need to introduce them all to the sharp end of his blade, when there was a loud roar coming from a nearby room, followed soon by the twisting of wood and stone as something arose from within. After the dust had settled, Argus would bear witness to the monstrosity that these vile men had brought forth, and at this point, he did end up losing his lunch. Falling to his knees as he let loose the contents of his stomach, he felt an intense feeling of hopelessness take him as the black fog rolled over them. However, as the guild mark on his neck began to shine, it was soon quashed through sheer force of will. As such, Argus took on the full brunt of this feeling, letting it weigh him down, letting the hopelessness fill his being. It would not rest there alone, however, as he soon felt his anger rise up inside of him, a rage that had started to burn in the chapel, but that this monstrosity had only fe with it's dark aura. The black fog would begin to envelop him as Argus began to draw on this dark twisted energy, slowly giving into the dark influence of his magic. All Bytan would see would be a thick, black miasma where the young man used to be, with flashes of crimson flame appearing every now and then as he let the dark power grow and fester.

I'm going to destroy it . . . I'm going to take to take everything it throws at me and throw it right back, eradicating it even if I have to kill myself to do it. I can do it, with as much power as it's giving me, it would be easy. I just need . . . to let go. . . to give in . . . to submit.

As Argus's magic continued to grow, the pressure around his neck would tighten in response as the Seal of Denial worked to keep his power contained. Reaching up a hand, Argus prepared to break the seal now, letting loose everything he had so he could take this thing down before anyone else had to get involved or got hurt. However. . . he stopped for a moment, the words of that annoying spirt coming to mind. With this hesitation came a form of clarity as he realized what exactly would happen if he continued with his current course of action. He'd go berserk, and while he could destroy the beast, sure, he'd also end up attacking the other guild members, and even might end up going into town. He'd put everyone in danger . . . just because he didn't know how to control his own power. With a low curse, Argus took a deep breath, before releasing his hold on the miasma around him. The dark cloud would lift to reveal Argus, his eyes glowing menacingly as small pieces of it still stuck to him, a sign that he was still absorbing some of the energy. However, he looked more reserved then before, if annoyed, as he turned to Bytan.

"I'm. . . good, Bytan. Was just about to do something stupid, but I thought better of it. I'm going to go soften that thing up a bit, so if you've got something big to throw at it, you better get it ready. . . but first, I'm going to take care of some loose ends before they become a problem. Argus turned his eyes towards the necromancers as he let loose a wide slash in their direction, sending a concentrated wave of Godslaying flames in their direction. It wasn't stronger enough to kill them thanks to the seal, but it would blast them back a bit and likely knock them out, as well as leaving a nasty looking wound where it hit. With that dealt with, Argus would quickly move to engage the behemoth, switching out his sword for a brace of throwing daggers, quickly casting Crimson Gods Blessing on them as soon as they came into being. Taking aim, he'd launch them at the beasts knees and lower body, making sure they'd stick, before backing away in case it decided to counter. Taking a deep breath, Argus would gather up as much power as he could before letting loose.

"Crimson Gods Wrathful Upheaval!

A pillar of Crimson flames would launch into the sky, acting as a sort of beacon as well for anyone who might have missed the giant abomination of undead flesh that towered over the destroyed chapel. This was the set-up for something else, but more importantly for the moment, it would also cause the daggers previously launched into the beast to explode as well, hopefully doing some form of damage to the creature, as well as spreading the flames that would begin to eat away at it's form, the flames hungrily devouring the mass of flesh. After the spell, Argus would be a bit woozy, having used a larger amount of power then he was currently capable of using, but he quickly shook it off, absorbing energy from the surrounding miasma. This time, he didn't fight against the influence of the guildmark, letting it fight off the heavy influence of the dark fog while he took a second to catch his breath.

I really hope the others get here sooner rather than later, because we need some heavy hitters in order to take this thing down, and I don't think I count as one anymore.

@Lugubrious

The way the newer soldiers of Frenzy Plant threw themselves into an endeavor to preserve the life of Harper Saxum would have brought a tear to any eye, for any eyes besides ones clouded by grief and denial could tell that Harper was already dead. In vain Ashlyn and Thor tried to sustain her body with warmth, which blazed on despite the oppressive rain because of the girls' passion. The candle of Harper's life, quick, bright, and fleeting, went out mere seconds after the undead woman's foot reduced her midsection to roadkill.

As Ashlyn watched, a change came over her. The black fog blanketing the ground like swarms of insects brushed constantly against her skin, and though the dying fire provided only fitful light to see by, Ashlyn could tell that her deceased comrade had grown pale. With the wounds cauterized by fire, no more blood came, and what had already streamed out drained into the soil. Her eyes and mouth lay open thanks to her muscles' slackening upon death. Drops of rain mixed into the dirt on her face looked oddly like tears. The eyes themselves were clouded, though less than before. In fact, her eyes appeared almost normal now, though blacker than they had been. While the downpour made it difficult to hear, a minuscule but steady flow of air issued from her lips—most likely whatever was left in her lungs. As the moments wore on, this flow did not abate, but became stronger in a most peculiar fashion. At this point, Ashlyn could almost certainly not help but be confused.

Then that flow reversed.

Greedily Harper inhaled, her chest now moving rhythmically. Her eyes fell shut, but after a moment, opened suddenly and in a most bizarre fashion. Rather than pupils, the inside of her irises contained for a split second the runic sigil that had been embellished on the minds of those within the town by exposure to the foul, sorcerous black fog. Then they returned, not black but a sickly grayish-green. Very slowly her head turned to face Ashlyn, and with eerie deliberation her lips moved, though no sound came out. Were Ashlyn to look down at Harper's torso, she'd see the flesh reconstituting itself, healing piece by piece in a grotesque manner; every strip of damaged tissue wiggled back into place as if they were alive. A surprised expression came over Harper's face as she looked down at herself, even after the grievous wound was completely gone only moments later. Her lips began to move again, faster and faster, until Ashlyn became aware of what she was trying to say.

”Omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod omigod...” Hyperventilating, the thing that had been Harper looked up at Ashlyn. ”Ah...ah...ah...ah...p-please...don't look at me...say something, anything, come on? I'm freaking out right now...”



Every hair Mercury had stood on end when a feeling of pure hopelessness smashed into him. His nerves instantly went slack and he fell to his knees beside the others with whom he'd climbed up from the trap; his kamas clattered uselessly onto the gravel. This awful, awful impulse made him want to retch, or perhaps something fouler still. Yet, a power he recognized but did not quite understand burned him. If he had to describe it, he'd say that giving in seemed like a tasty morsel on a plate right in front of him, incredibly appetizing, but when he reached his fingers out to grasp it he could feel a terrible heat radiating from it that warned him away. This vigor originated from his guild mark, and while Mercury knew of nothing special about the mark itself, he got the distinct feeling that the very warrior spirit of Frenzy Plant was galvanizing him to go on. No true soldier could die on their knees rigid in fear; it was time to rise up and fight. The terror eked away, as might fog on a sunny day, and instead Mercury felt pride. Not everyone understood what an honor it was to belong to Frenzy Plant and to fight for it, and Mercury felt that even if he met his demise in fighting whatever tried to drive him to despair, it would be a noble death. He grabbed his weapons and pushed himself to his feet, his knees still shaky but his eyes alight with fervor.

”Yeah,” he told Enma, starting to run. ”Let's make whatever it is sorry it picked a fight with us.”



The immense pressure issuing from the gargantuan, nightmarish Flesh Giant battered everyone in the vicinity, but Bytan perhaps most of all. The old hero boasted a far better physique than most at his advanced age, but this crushing aura made him feel feeble and weak. At this range, it took all of his willpower to remain standing and with all of his fluids where they belonged. For all this, however, something rose in challenge. Forced to tear his eyes away from the behemoth, Bytan saw with terror that a maelstrom of magic he could only describe as 'beyond evil' engulfed Argus. One question dominated his mind: Is the demon going to kill me before the undead can? If I live, I must tell Sanders: Argus cannot be allowed to survive. This is pure malice. He'll kill us all....

Against all odds, the stygian blackness subsided, and the possessed dread fighter emerged only slightly changed. Bytan gaped, not knowing what to make of it. Somehow, this man hadn't given in to the darkness. It could only have been the Seal of Denial he knew that Sanders intended to have placed on him, but Bytan felt more as if Argus chose not to go on a rampage. He shuddered, but in response to the other man's words, began to draw upon his own magic. Arcane runes formed in the air around him. No time to waste.

Just as the graveyard team of Damian, Ni, and Eliza arrived on the scene, the Flesh Giant took its first step. The act of moving its leg forward alone reduced the remainder of the chapel to rubble, and as it grew closer Ni could see that its lower legs were, in fact, made of legs. Like the roots of a colossal tree the obviously human but nevertheless grotesque limbs splayed in every direction, most feet bearing weight whole others flailed around madly. One gnarled foot crashed down on the body of one of the robed interlopers knocked down by Argus' flame wave, instantly pulverizing it into revolting brownish paste. Ni witnesses Argus' attack, but yet another layer of fear settled over her when she saw that her comrade's physical attack with the knives seemed far more effective on the Flesh Giant than the magical explosions. Nevertheless the night did light up, his great red beacon surrounding the abomination and serving as a signal to his allies. Now, that huge flaming pillar seemed to say. Now is the time to fight.

Frenzy Plant evidently heard the call, for an entire squad of soldiers appeared on the scene soon after. Altogether, a party of fifteen soldiers stood against Belka's horror. The magic summoned by Bytan reached a fever pitch of intensity before a barrage of arcane spears shot out toward the monstrosity, but again each one inflicted woefully little damage to the thing. His voice remarkably steady despite the storm's blustering, Bytan shouted out, ”It's got huge magic resistance. Our best bet is to try and slow it down with our weapons until Sanders and Suede can get here. The Master can make it vulnerable, and Suede can set up a siege engine to knock it down. Ready, soldiers! Attack!”

When Joshua and Amaya tumbled through the portal, James bowed slightly to Phelgethon and Amelia. "Thank you, Lady Amelia and War. I will see if I can help them." And then the pair was gone, as was the two he was going to help as he turned. Twitching an eye slightly, he turned to find Cody helping Amaya up and approached him, pointing up the road as the owner of the tornado gave his piece. "Master Jamie is just up the road. You can all talk with her when we catch up."




Jane grimaced slightly at the thought of grilled squid. Squids and octopi were nasty before they were dead to the young mage, so the idea of eating them was far from appealing. But she did smell a hint of crab, and she'd always wanted to try that. "Not so keen on squid, but I've never had crab before."




"You must understand, Miss Idwal, that until he either accepts or dies, I am bound to search for him and follow him. Eventually, I will be forced to put him in a position where he can't say no, though I can not touch him until he has in turn defended himself." He notes the way the Captain turns and holds up a hand. "In our culture, when one man causes another to loose his honor, he prepares himself for at least a year of hounding before accepting. This man, who you captured, has had five years of avoiding me. I will not take no for an answer when my mother could be dead and I not know it."




Upon the realization that the giant beast couldn't be touched by magic, Damian dismissed all thoughts of using his spells. If they weren't going to do him any good, he wouldn't waste energy. Instead, he pulled Durandal free of it's sheathe and charged forwards, summoning a Striker Blade and jumping on board. Attacking it's legs was all well and good, but they needed to target the head as well. While other members of Frenzy Plant rushed forwards, he matched Ni's pace on the Striker and offered her his free hand to help her on. "What say we go sting this giant on the nose?"

Sasha
@Oblivion666
Sasha caught herself, giving a polite smile to Zephyr, "His name is lazarus" She said, nudging Lazarus as he went to speak, feeling his anger rise. "Saying stuff like that, makes you doubt yourself. It's okay. These games have been pretty out of control. Karn's okay, or will be" There was no need to say that Karn wasn't okay, but that wasn't due to the fight. they still had to figure out just how to seperate the two Karns without killing either of them.

"You're going out of control wasn't the cause of everything that happened. So It's okay. We don't really hold a grudge against you for it"

Penny
@Lunarlors34
"You're not wasting my time, nor taking up to omuch of it. You dont need to worry about me. I'm good. Flying doesn't really take up much energy." Penny said easily, angling downwards as the gate drew closer, "I have all the time in the world today" Except she should find Ariel, but hopefully she was with some of the guild. Hopefully she remembered everything, or at least knew how to get back to the hotel.

Gabriel
There were many thing's gabriel wished he had. A weapon better then a dagger for one. The skill to weild such a weapon. Maybe some armor. And his brother. His brother most of all. He had never faced such odds without him. He didn't have enough keys. He didn't have the skill to tell them what to do. he didn't even have the skill to use the dagger beyond stabbing them with the pointy end.

But he still followed, because at least he could summon a spirit and give it the chance to do what it wanted. At least he could try something. Just what the hell was going on in this town?

"I'm fine Cec. Just needed a second or two to catch my breathe. Been a while since I had to do something that strenuous. I might need to pick up my training a bit more." Joshua said before jumping to his feet. Glancing over at Amaya and Cody, he smiled at the former but gave the latter a slight frown. "I don't know why or what they might have done, but you should never let your emotions dictate who you pick a fight with. You'll simply end up dead of getting those around you hurt or worse. However, we got lucky and a lot of allies showed up who could hold their ground.

But for now I agree. Amaya and I need showers, badly. Amaya, we definitely need to disinfect those cuts from your spar with Hunter now. Gods know what might have gotten into them down there. Unless someone here knows healing magic of course."



"I still feel bad. You went out of your way to do that and I just up and left. Even if it was for a good reason, I still feel like I was being selfish." Amelia said, looking at the ground. She didn't forget her manner's though and turned to Alan and Aura, giving them a slight bow, once again being sure not to drop any of the three chus in her arms. "I'm Amelia Averyonna, Master Jamie's daughter. It's a pleasure to meet you two."

She had to wonder how to two newcomers would react, given how her wings were out and in plain view.



Jackie finally returned from her trip and headed to the basement to give Aria her new headphones and music device. The two spent some alone time before coming up, Jackie bringing Aria before Master Jack. Now that they were next to each other and not trying to kill the other, their similarities were even more apparent, even down to their finer facial details. Jackie spoke first.
"She has agreed not to attack or escape if we let her out and move about. I know I've acted without permission, but I thought we might give her a chance. I apologize in advance." She said, bowing to Jack while Aria watched the guild master closely. Her magic was still sealed off, so she was virtually powerless against the man and therefore a little fearful of what he might do, even if he had been kind to her before. She had always witnessed swift retribution to those who acted on their own and against the Master's will.

@Joshua Tamashii Alan and Aura listened patiently, not bothering to interrupt the two as they talked. Eventually, Amelia took notice of them and the two bowed to her. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Averyonna," Alan began as he motioned to himself and his friend, "I'm Alan. Alan Smith, and this is my friend, Aura."

Alan wasn't going to comment on Amelia's wings for a couple of reasons. One, it would probably be seen as rude. Two, he and his partner had seen their fair share of unique individuals in their travels. Third? Well, he travelled with a Sprite of all creatures, whom in turn found humans to be rather odd at times. As a result, he wasn't in a position to judge.

Aura though was a bit more vocal, "Cool Wings."

Where: Crocus Park
With: several people@Joshua Tamashii@Zarkun@Lunarlors34

"as you say mother hen"she said letting go as she floated over to cody landing on his head as she plugged ehr neck from the smell.

"how can anyone stand smelling horrible."Said amaya as she looked towards james "thanks for helping above..sorry we still have slayer hunters after all this time...i thought i kept my magic hidden well enough."said amaya before looking at joshua "we are going to train more and like i said my ice has covered all my wounds i shouldn't have any infections but I can heal myself...I just need rest."She added

"anyways we need to find jamie and warn her of the shadow guilds and find out why they still want to hunt slayers."said amaya gently

Lazarus

Lazarus dusted himself down after having collided with Zephyr. It wasn't in his nature so much now, but he used to be a huge celebrity. But maybe it was just teenage girls that threw themselves at him. "Yeah. It's Lazarus." He paused. "Phoenix wing's light god slayer." He had paused because he wasn't really sure what to call himself, what with his slayer magic becoming temperamental. There was so much racing through his mind, his past, his copy, zeref, all looming over what could be Sasha's pregnancy. He and Sasha had decided that they couldn't do anything about his copy, even investigate him, at least until the games were over. He squeezed Sasha's arm a little tighter. "Let's go." He said bluntly as ever. "Unless you're joining us?" He asked Zephyr.

Foul Language Warning

Mayt grunted as he tried to pull the door to the front of the train open with his good arm, but it was stuck fast. After a few long moments of pulling on it mayt groaned and let go, stumbling back a few steps and gently pacing his hand over his right ribs. Damn that hurt.

"Need a little help getting that open?" The voice surprised Mayt so much that in his earnest to turn around and see who it was that had spoke he almost fell off the locomotive. It was a woman that seemed very familiar, though he couldn't quite place her, other than that she was one of the other survivors of the train.

"Yeah, would be appreciated. I figure they probably have a lacrima to tell the company they had a problem in there, hopefully it isn't broken like everything else that was on this train when it blew," Mayt replied, stepping to the edge and holding his hand down to help the woman up onto the side of the vehicle. She took it, though used it as little as possible to get up over the edge, knowing he was injured.

"I guess there may be a shred of decency in you," she would say as she approached the wedged door, looking down at it and trying to determine how they should get it open.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mayt demanded, furrowing his brow slightly.

"Remember when you killed that guy four or five hours ago?" she mentioned, before kicking the door near the handle. It practically flew open, and Mayt couldn't help but blush at his mistake. It had a handle, so he had just assumed it opened outward. At least he remembered where he recognized her from now.

"Oh, right, you were the woman who came to my room to yell at me about how much of a bad boy I was," he said semi-sarcastically, shoving his arm in his pocket.

"Indeed," she would laugh before climbing down into the locomotive, having to fall a few feet to the far side of the vehicle before beginning to look around. Mayt followed her only to the edge of the door. He realized that if he went down it would be an ordeal getting back up and out of there with a broken arm and damaged ribs.

"By the way, I never caught your name," he called down after her, decided to just carry on the conversation as if they weren't worried about dehydration.

[color=lightlblue]"Just call me Sam, Mayt. Ah, here is the lacrima you were talking about,"[/color] she would yell back in response to him, before disappearing from the small window of sight Mayt had through to door to approach the lacrima. He sighed inwardly and sat down with his legs hanging into the cab of the engine while he halfheartedly listened to Sam explain to the person on the other end of the lacrima what exactly the trouble they were experiencing was. Apparently, they didn't have very many protocols about terrorist attacks on trains in the middle of nowhere.

After what felt like hours, Sam finally finished with the conversation and Mayt had almost dozed off lying back against the cold metal of the train. Getting hit by a fireball then blown up really wore a person out. Especially after all the adrenaline finally stopped circulating into every ounce of one's being. Sam climbed back out of the train and headed off after only a few more short words with Mayt, determining he had all but decided that he was going to sleep where he was for the night. His dreams that night were troubled, to say the least.

Master Jamie
@GamerXZ@Joshua Tamashii
Jamie gave Amelia a smile and a quick hug, "It wasn't selfish, sweetheart. It was brave, and it was what you needed to do" She looked to Alan and Aura, and smiled at the sprite, "Yes, I think they are too. Amelia's always self conscious about them, however. I keep on telling her that she's beautiful" Jamie didn't seem to care that she might be embarrasing Amelia. What was a mother for, after all?

Sasha
@YipeeXD@oblivion666
Sasha gave a sigh, "It wouldn't hurt to be friendly, he is from dragon fang. Just becase we are against each other in the games, Lazarus, doesn't mean we can't 'be friends." She said, "its the day off. We can stand tohave a little good will towards the other guilds"

Jarvis
@Burthstone

Not many people had a strong connection with Lacrima. Every single lacrima Jarvis made, he had a connection to. So he knew when onen of the guild members lost on, or broke it, or just didn't have access to it. He could never explain it, but knew it was important for the guilds safety.

So he knew that Mayt's lacrima was gone, and could pinpoint where he had last been, although it would be a challenge to find out just where he was. Jarvis decided that, unable to leave sam by herself, he couldl either go to the last known location and take Sam with him, or wait until he could give sam to Jamie.

He began to make inquiries, connecting with Lacrima near where Mayt's lacrima had been, eventually discovering what had happened. It didn't take long to find that Mayt was okay, and Jarvis left a message for him, saying they would come, and help with whatever needed to be done.

James stopped and turned, looking at Joshua. "Continuing to berate Cody on a mistake he has already admitted as being in the wrong for serves no purpose. And as my student at the current time, it was my job to remind him of the fundamentals of attacking an opponent before we left today. And because I was sure today would be peaceful, I didn't. So rather than constantly berate the poor lad, let him get over it. As it stands, I'm not sure he could have controlled himself, as the two our friends have in their custody right now are a part of the guild that wiped out his family." James let that hang in the air and continued walking, mentally grumbling about the lack of concern for the rest of the guild.




Hunter sat at one of the cafes in Crocus, triumphantly enjoying a fine sample of food that he'd been searching for during most of his down time when a rather potent and unpleasant smell assailed his nose, causing him to wrinkle it. Oh what the hell is THAT?! Standing, leaving payment for the food at his table, he took it with him as he followed the source. While it wasn't the worst thing in the world he had smelled, he decided that it ranked up there with at least the top six worst things h'd ever smelled.

His first stop, just down the street at an intersection from the cafe turned up nothing, so he went back up the next street over to his left, which also turned up nothing, though he did see the park he and Amaya had sparred in was way more torn up than he remembered it being. He frowned at the sight, wondering what had happened after he'd left her to chase down his tasty treat, but didn't linger for too long, opting instead to follow the smell down the next street where he found an odd site of the two girls who'd attacked him yesterday tied up with one unconscious and being carried by another group while Amaya and her mother hen reeked of...SOMETHING. He still couldn't place what it was. There were also two other Phoenix Wing mages with them, but he didn't bother, instead opting to approach the two who stank. "So I could smell you from two streets over. What did you fall in?"




Jack nodded at Jackie, smiling at the idea that just maybe they could get along after all. "I trust your judgement on the matter, Jackie. Aria, allow me to welcome you to Dragon Fang, so to speak. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll do what I can for you."

@Zarkun@hatakekuro@oblivion666@liferusher@Caits@Raijinslayer@Lugubrious
Ash held the lifeless form of Harper, still trying her best to heal her obviously dead new comrade. She knew Harper was dead...but she just didn't want to accept that fact. Ash had always been stubborn, if she set her mind on doing something then nothing would stop her.
She couldn't accept failure in any department....so there was no way she couldn't save Harper right? It was that kind of mindset which set her up for disappointment, frustration and various other unwanted scenario's but it was just how Ash acted.
Even so she still tried, wasting magical power and strength to heal Harper till eventually she suddenly just gave up and punched the tree they were sitting under. This sudden action caused her to drop Harper softly onto the ground, her fist now quite embedded in the trunk as various cracks ran up and down the tree.
"Damnit!" Ash's fist suddenly erupted into an inferno, turning the once large tree into a flying mess of splinters and other debris. The larger bits of debris damaged other nearby trees and covered Thor's cloak in ash and sawdust, along with whatever other crap the tree made. That also meant whatever cover they had from the rain was now gone as well of course, quickly washing away a lot of the debris from Ash.
Despite the intense frustration Ash felt, no tears came. She grieved the loss of Harper, but she had barely known the ninja....and she was used to death. There was no use wasting tears on the dead.
It was only at this stage that Ash had noticed the black fog that had enveloped them....it had the same powerful negative influence that the fat bitch had created. Anger was begining to build up within Ash now as she realised something which should've been obvious to begin with, the bitch wasn't alone.
She was just about to get up when she noticed something...strange happening to Harper. Was she breathing?
No she had to be seeing things...she had to get back and-no. She was definitely breathing. Ash took the time to...well stare in clear confusion while scratching the back of her head. Hell she JUMPED backwards as Harper suddenly took a large breath, her eyes as wide as saucers.
And who could blame her? She just watched her comrade suddenly come back to life!
She watched in horror as the ruined flesh quickly stitched itself back together and Harper herself seemed to be freaking out. But Ash had an inkling about what was happening. She had caught a glimpse of the dreaded rune in Harper's eyes when they had shot open...coupled with what they had seen Ash could only make an assumption here.
They might be dealing with a necromancer type bad guy here....no it couldn't be Nidhogg. This form of magic was foreign to her...
Harpers freaking out caused Ash's train of thought to crash like a drunk driver, blinking a couple of times as she stared in disbelief at the ninja.
"You...You died....Did the fog...Of course. Those things earlier were undead then? We're dealing with some serious dark magic then....maybe even her level of dark magic." Ash had began responding to Harper but quickly began mumbling to herself somewhere along the line.
Regardless she stood up and grabbed Harper's hand, also forcing the ninja up off the ground and onto her feet.
"We need to get to Sanders. Now. Everyone else is in danger...and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out to this damned rain."



@Caits
"...If you say so." Jasmine responded softly. She had a feeling that Penny was simply saying this to make her feel better, but surely Penny would've wanted a much more peaceful day off just to rest up for the last day instead of being dragged out to where they may or may not find Jasmine's parents.
"...I think I remember a couple of large oak trees. I know it isn't a lot to go on, but maybe we should look for a group of large oak trees? Just as a base for the search."

@Caits @Oblivion666

Lazarus

He frowned. "Fine, I dont mind." He stated. It couldn't hurt to travel in numbers anyway, what with his copy in the city too. "We should try to keep a low profile today..." He looked seriously at Sasha, before remembering Zephyr was there too. "I mean... we're contestants! We wouldn't want to be swarmed!" He sheepishly chuckled, nailing the save.

@Zarkun@Joshua Tamashii@Roseletta@Infichi
Cody solemnly nodded at Amaya's mention of controlling his anger. It wasn't that he couldn't control it...he was usually quite good at keeping his emotions in check. But something about the situation just made him...snap.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it but.
"Ah you're the slayer. That would explain this whole mess. This makes a whole lot more sense to me now." Sora glanced around the group before sighing suddenly. No one here was worth fighting...damn.
"You think their entire guild is after slayers? That's a rather vain way of thinking. This one in particular has some form of beef with you slayers. Something about religion and destiny, etc, etc. You know, pathetic crap that I don't give a shit about." Sora gestured towards Manamai as he spoke. He felt the need to correct this girl's, Amaya's, line of thinking. Although to be honest Sora didn't have a huge knowledge on Shadow Heart, but from what he had encountered, it was Manami who was going after slayers. Shiro was tagging along for reasons unknown to Sora, but the reasons didn't matter to him.
He had a job to do, so he was going to do it.
"I assume this 'Jamie' is your guildmaster, so then let's hurry up. As I stated this lot is rather heavy." Sora sounded impatient as he responded to James' comment on Jamie being just up ahead.
"Ethel can help...Ethel doesn't have healing magic, but Ethel can make disinfectant. Ethel has a bottle somewhere..." Ethel rummaged through her jacket pockets as a thought came to Sora's mind. This Amaya girl was a slayer, and was using ice to heal whatever wounds this 'mother hen' was talking about. So it was natural to assume that this girl was an Ice Slayer of some kind, whether it be dragon, devil, god, etc.
So if Jess was here, she could help her regain some magic. Not that Sora was going to voice these thoughts however, it was just something which popped into his head.
Ethel now pulled out a vial of clear liquid and held it up above her, carefully looking it over before nodding. Yes this was the disinfectant...either that, or the vial of pure magic.
Fifty-fifty chance.
Cody meanwhile was grateful for James' help in trying to get the others off his back, but he really wished that he hadn't mentioned that last part as Ethel gave him a weird look now. Almost that of confusion....
"No it's ok James...really, I shouldn't have run in there like that. No excuses." Cody mumbled with a downcast look. The images of the previous event now replaying in his mind till it got to a certain one...the one when he had gotten caught in that giant hand and dragged underground for the briefest of moments before Ferrin had saved him.
Do you crave Freedom? Do you wish to be unbound from the tethers of this world? To become strong?
Only through strength, can one become truly free. . . to do whatever they wish and grasp whatever they desire.
He wasn't sure what that feeling was back there....nor was he sure where those words had come from. But they seemed to resonate within his soul.
Ethel eventually tore her gaze away from Cody again to hand over the vial to Amaya, her nose scrunched up in disgust.