Glancing over, Alex found his question unanswered as Tori chose that moment to reappear once again. She was really good with that vanishing act, enough to make him wonder if she had a tome that let her act in such a way. It was the only idea he had that made sense, even as he watched her addressing the power for the robot that they had brought with them.

"Gah!" His cry was for a good reason, the Relic having done exactly what he was worried it would do as it became a sword in his pocket, ripping a nice big hole in his shirt even as it flew to point at Tori. Well, that answered the question of whether it could move on its own, though he hoped that it wouldn't have come at such an expense to his clothes. Why did a Legendary Relic have to be such a hassle, when all the other treasure he could think of was nice and sedate. Hopefully it was worth a lot, cause he wasn't sure he was willing to put up with the trouble.

Then things went downhill yet again, his gaze flickering over to see the soldiers appearing, just before the Twins took off, with monsters appearing on the city streets shortly thereafter. "Oh come on," he grumbled to himself before snapping. "Give me a break." He dove forward and grabbed the Relic, wishing it would go back to being the size that it had been before. It would be so much easier to hide then. But it looked like Linea and Siena were running for it, and with the robot in tow. Tori would doubtlessly follow, given her apparent love for the machine she had barely interacted with.

Well they could do that if they wanted to. He'd done a bit much to spend some time cooling his heels in prison, certainly not when he hadn't done anything close enough to being noteworthy by his own standards. What, being in a giant robot that fell apart on its own? It didn't exactly have the sort of attention grabbing moments that won you free drinks at the bar, now did it? And whatever they had in mind, armed soldiers was not his idea of a fun time.

Fortunately, the large scale chaos being caused by the chaos and the monsters as the soldiers advanced was not lost on Alex, and he hauled the Relic after him, if it refused to change back, at the best speed that he could away from the soldiers and towards the Church. He waited for his moment then, and once he had passed by a monster that was near the corner he would swerve down the intersection, away from the ongoing chase. Fortunately there was a convenient distraction nearby for the troops to focus on, and he used it to his advantage as he looked to make his way out of here in a different direction. His Tome activated as well, ready to propel him onto a rooftop in a double back should his path be cut off at some point

But for now the running. At least he was back to something familiar.

Sudden was best way of describing events in with the cathedral, and they were all sparked by the catalyst that was yet another Legend Relic. It hadn't even afforded them a moments wonder in its radiance before it sprang to life of its own accord. The Abyssal Knight wretched from the force of all the air in the room being sucked into the divot in the floor, and were it not for the speedy response of Asgard she may have perished before there was every a chance to recover her wits. Yet as things stood, Lorelai recovered her breath despite the lack of ambient air and took the relic in hand.

"What?!" The series of unfortunate events transpired beyond any involved parties control. All but one of the windows were shattered in a cacophony of glass that rained down upon those present, the shrapnel bouncing off of Lorelai's armor to leave the floor a glittering minefield. Seeing the panes she'd so ardently tried to preserve shatter was an apt metaphor for Antonia's betrayal now laid bare with the introduction of the city guard.

It didn't cut as deep as Lorelai expected. Perhaps she was becoming numb to the constant destruction of all that she held precious. The notoriously, cute fox girls weren't even worth any of Lorelai's attention, as everything would become a mute point if the rampaging relic continued to absorb the air around them and overwhelmed Asgard's countermeasure.

We...came here seeking aid... The Abyssal Knight spat through clenched teeth, rising to stand facing the approaching soldiers and Farris with the Purple Relic clutched in her grasp. "Time and time again, my loyalty has been spurned. Knights of Ragnarok, Generals, and now the Chantry. All have turned on us, but we are not the traitors! Not us!"

Now was the time for Lorelai to be within her element, casting aside puzzles and schemes for the savagery of combat. There was no need to agonize over how she could possibly succeed against the numerous soldiers before them when the means was already in hand. The Abyssal Knight poured her mana into the rampaging relic, hoping to curtail its outburst and bring forth the armament of a legend from halcyon days far gone.

@TheWindel@KoL@TheFake

Grinning at Jessi’s comment, Fei watched with pride as he swiftly defeated the approaching warriors.While they both knew she truly didn’t need a bodyguard,she was still grateful for his presence. Who else would keep her rashness at bay? Chen’s icey attitude even managed to help step in as he froze one of the enemies, finishing the killing blow with his ice dagger. It was still so strange to fight alongside allies, of course describing Chen and Si as allies was a long shot, but part of her still felt a little bit stronger. She was no longer just fighting for herself, but for Jessi, and for the world. It was.. a nice feeling.

While the three had been absorbed in fighting, none had noticed the small group of mercenaries sneaking from behind. Poisoned arrows were fired toward the group and Fei cursed out loud. Unsure what to do, Fei followed her instinct and sent a wave of fire at the arrows. However, while the body of the arrows had disintegrated, the poisoned tips remained and continued to descend upon them. She hoped her comrades could dodge for despite her agile body, she felt a small prick on her leg. Ignoring the pain for now, she continued on the battle.

As the Fey unsheathed disturbing weapons coated in the same green-like poison, they marched forward to attack. Yet as they caught sight of Si, they froze. Whispers of ‘the white death’ were muttered throughout the group. Fei glanced at Jessi, sending him a confused look. What were they talking about? What secret was Si hiding from them? Whatever it was, they didn’t have long to think for the Fey’s commander yelled for them to attack. As he took Si on directly, the rest charged at Jessi, Chen, and Fei.

Looking down at her double swords, Fei wondered what damage the green substance would cause to them. She couldn’t afford to lose them so early in the mission yet she didn’t want to be defenseless. Only time would tell as there was little time to dwell on useless thoughts. By now, Fei could feel a numbness creeping up on her leg slowly. The elves must have noticed too for only one of them approached her. She growled in annoyance. Sending intense flames toward her attacker, Fei forced herself to follow the attack by a punch to the face. As the elf lost consciousness, Fei extinguished her flames. She bit back her dizziness and looked up to hopefully find Chen and Jessi finishing the rest off.

Once they continued on, Fei’s breathing grew heavier and it was only a matter of time before she couldn’t walk anymore. The group eventually made their way to site of the actual war and blinking, she could just make out the thought to be dead, Black Knight, Tegonay Sidonius. “Well damn, why does it have to be him? I thought we killed that old man last time.” She groaned in both annoyance and pain. Why the hell did she have to be injured when their mission was only beginning? There was no time to deal with poison! It was taking all of her energy to stand and stay conscious, how could she take on a single warrior? Looking at Si, she hoped the damn Fey had another secret about curing poisons.

@KoL@floodtalon@Awesomoman64

---

They swiftly dispatched the group of mercenaries, not noticing the other group moving around to fire poisoned arrows at them. Chen heard the whistle of arrows through the wind and swiftly turned towards the sound, summoning a wall of ice to keep him safe. Then Fei shot a wave of fire towards the arrows, weakening his wall from the sheer heat of the blast.

The arrows pierced the wall and Chen flinched as he saw the arrowhead come out the other side, just barely stopping its momentum.

Chen finally got a glimpse of their attackers as they moved towards them, unsheathing their obviously poisoned weapons. A clearer poison would be more tactically beneficial honestly- not the time. Their Fey attackers marched towards them, but stopped once they caught sight of Lady Si.

Whispers rippled through the attackers of "The White Death", obviously speaking of Lady Si. It would appear these Fey have a history with Si, not that it mattered. They would all be cut down regardless.

The Fey charged the group and Chen took on two while Fey and Jessi handled the rest. A full sword of ice formed in Chen's hand and he engaged one of the Fey in combat, parrying his blows while dodging the other whenever he had to. He made the ground slippery over the course of ten seconds, finally capitalizing on a misstep from his opponent and slicing his neck open. Without the advantage of numbers the other went down quickly, left behind as a statue frozen in horror.

The others finished their battles and moved onwards, Fei with a noticeable limp. "If you are injured, I suggest you disengage from battle and recuperate." With that being said they arrived to find the Black Knight, reported to be dead last he recalled. He was doing battle with the leader of these Fey, the same one who had attempted to kill him and had killed an innocent woman in front of him.

Chen clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes upon seeing the Fey, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Green Relic. He didn't activate it immediately, instead choosing to watch and wait to see who would come out victorious.

@Awesomoman64@BlueAjah@KoL

Watching Chen dispatch a mercenary as well, Jessi tossed him a thumbs up; he was starting to warm to the icy rebel. But as the warring woods showed once again, there was little time for anything but fighting. Moments after finishing off the mercenaries, Jessi heard the ruffling of foliage nearby. By the time he realized it was another attack, the enemy fey had already descended upon them firing a wave of arrows. Fei burned off the body of the arrows, the tips were still in flight and headed straight at them.

Jessi watched closely as the arrows heads closed the distance. Thanks again to his tomes abilities, Jessi could see and time each arrow head perfectly avoiding each one with minimal effort. Oddly as each tip passed, Jessi’s arm seemed to shoot out as if he were shooing a fly at the same time; A strange action that would soon make sense.

Drawing closer the fey traded their bows for obviously poisoned swords ready to make this a quick fight. But to the group's surprise the approaching fey halted in fear at the sight of Si exchanging whispers of “The White Death”. Fei looked at Jessi confused at what she heard. He simply gave her an almost uncaring shrug. While it was annoying, he was starting to get used to being kept in the dark about things. Their questions for this would need to come later as the fey commander had rallied his squad back into action and they continued their advancement.

Either out of prejudice towards the Imperial army or from assuming he was the bigger threat, the majority of the fey surrounded Jessi; a total of four out of the original eight. Jessi chuckled a little flattered the fey though they needed this many to take him on. Unfortunately for them, they would still need more as the crafty warrior had a trick up his sleeve.

Instead of simply dodging the arrows heads from earlier, Jessi had caught them, and now had one between each of his fingers. The fey would learn this all too late as Jessi acted first, spinning and throwing the first arrow head behind him, tearing into the elf’s necks dropping him instantly. Bringing his arm back around he launched the remaining two into the front elf’s eyes. The fey screamed as blood poured down his face him too dropping to the ground.

Trying to get the better of him, the two remaining fey flanked and attacked at once both running full speed at the soldier. Just like back in Exilia, Jessi held still and listened for each step, deducing which one was moving just slightly faster and engaging him first. Shifting Jessi rammed his spear through the fey’s stomach and with the few moments he had left pulled him around and flung the horrified fey into the charging partner. The two crashed into a nearby ice sculpture Chen had made out of another fey.

With that encounter finished the group moved forward though Jessi couldn’t help but notice Fei was walking funny, like she had a limp. ”Hey, princess, is everything alright? You seem to be-” He failed to finish his thought upon entering the clearing as scanning the ensuing battle, Jessi noticed none other than Tegonay Sidonius. ”You’re kidding! How the hell did he survive?” Jessi was in disbelief but couldn’t deny that his rival was standing right there.

Though he wanted to rush in and challenge the knight once more, Jessi realized Fei was not well. She had gone completely pale and it was painfully obvious she was struggling to stand. Glancing her over, Jessi almost immediately saw the cut on her leg and it didn’t take long to put two and two together. ”Oh shit, Fei!” Jessi practically leaped to her side holding her steady while being ready to catch her if she collapsed. ”Please tell me one of you has an antidote or knows some sort of spell for this.” He asked the others in a panic.

@BlueAjah@floodtalon@KoL

Noisy, noisy, noisy… what a crowd displeased at the growing noise and commotion, more than anything else really. Looking at what was basically a mob ran her hand through her hair, combing it back to look somewhat more presentable. Rolling her eyes annoyedly she looked to the twins

“Just calm down girls, it’s no prob… lem…” seeing the twins escaping any member of the crowd would hear a sharp, bone crunching, popping noise. Tori’s teeth were clenched and it sounded like her jaw was cracking. Whether it was from all the wear and tear of the Arcadian adventure or something older, no one could say but her. Either way, Tori was livid. Those girls were running off with the find of a century!

“GET BACK HERE WITH THAT ANDROID!” her bone white tome activating with a vague glow that made her indistinct to all around. Cloak splayed out like wings, Tori bent over in a sprinter’s start. Cloak sweeping down, Tori looked disdainfully at the crowd for spooking such skittish girls and shot after the twins, flying as fast as her tome could manage. Ignoring all obstacles, Tori followed the girls and folded in her ‘wings’ as she dive bombed the Cathedral, phasing through the roof before splaying her wings just before she hit the ground, death glaring at the twins.

"You're not very polite... why did you do that, girls? I clearly stated my interest in her..." casually brushing her clothes, Tori did her utmost to appear not upset at all. Tori's eyes betrayed her though...

@KoL

Titania was still having a difficult time understanding the correlation between Axon and Yggdrasil. Sure, he said he was the Platinum Knight’s son, but as far as she knew Yggdrasil sired no children. Furthermore, why had Stark acted like it was common knowledge? Unless he was just screwing with them to further confuse this whole mess…she couldn’t help but glare at Axon for starting this chain of lies in the first place.

“Don’t worry about me,” Titania said with a sigh, eyes scaling up the massive floating tower. “I’ll just go up the old fashioned way,” was all that she said before gripping her massive weapon in place. Rumors had it that one of the Seven Heroes of the past was able to propel themselves with their sword…following that tale, Titania knew she would have to climb up in a similar matter. And it wasn’t like this was alien to her since every Ragnorak Knight had a damn floating fortress in their name.

“Oh, and I think the other one turned into an animal or something. She’s rather good at that trick,” was her last comment before she exploded upward in a sudden force of motion. In actuality, she was propelling herself up and up with concussive blank shots of her sword-cannon, getting higher and higher until she could reach a platform. She made a mental note to have these damn structures torn down at the next city hall meeting…

Of course, that tactic worked for all about a minute before Titania found herself slowly plummeting from the sky. Figures. Sighing yet again, she looked around for a platform on one of the lower levels to land on before spotting an inconspicuous looking Roc. That had to be Měihóu, right?

Making sure to put her landing as light as possible, Titania landed upon the bird’s back with grace. Having leapt from higher heights, this wasn’t too much of a problem for her and she allowed the bird to carry the both of them up towards their destination. So much for recreating a legendary feat.

Nearby, Stark gave Farris a deathly pause of silence, the difference in power between them evident in their aura. But he didn’t lash out at her impudent tone, instead moving aside to let her pass. “Then I shall join you,” he said, already sensing a Relic’s presence beating in that direction. “Follow,” he ordered, leaping away at the source of all conflict.

In the Cathedral, Solanne gasped as air was ripped right back into her thanks to Eleonor’s blood magic. But no sooner were they out of danger, that danger came knocking at the front door literally. Soldiers had been summoned by Antonia herself, the priestess proving herself to be a traitor. Great. That meant there was no holding back for Solanne.

“Elly, you’re not getting a birthday gift this year for making friends with someone who’s so shady her sheets are dyed in black,” the Crimson Hound said before turning a toothy grin to Antonia herself. “And as for you, I think I’m going to eat you alive little girl,” she snarled.

Her shot would have been deflected easily anyway regardless of the appearance of two random fox girls. She wasn’t sure what Antonia’s bright plan was considering two of their trio had Legend Relics at hand. A fact that Lorelai was doing well to point out through her newfound powers. The purple gem within Lorelai’s grip hummed with power before unleashing a sudden barrage of rampant wind that would easily blow away all beings except Eleonor and Solanne.

“Hey, y’know fire and wind really go together, right?” she said, at once adding flames to the practically hurricane until a full blown inferno was unleashed. But Solanne was no maniac, easily manipulating the vortex of dancing flames and wind towards their enemies, sending a special cyclone right towards Antonia.

Meanwhile, Alex was once again attempting to leave the story. Thankfully, his Relic would have none of it, rapidly shaking and rumbling in his pocket. It had since transformed back into its more sensible gem state and was now pulsing bigger and brighter….back in the direction of the cathedral. Perhaps it sensed the joining of other Legend Relics nearby…whatever the case, it was determined to get Alex back to the Cathedral. Either by choice or by force.

---

Alex thought he had done well so far, managing to avoid the guards closing in while they were distracted chasing after the twins and Tori. Unfortunate that the latter had gotten wrapped up in all of this, but with how she had treated him over the duration of the trip he didn't feel too bad about it. Besides she'd be fine, probably. Well, assuming she didn't phase out of existence like a ghost again as she had done previously.

Yet as he ran he found himself distracted, the Relic he had managed to bring along shaking and seemingly determined to leap out of his pocket, as if the thing itself was angry with his decision. A quick glance showed that it was flashing back in the direction of the Cathedral, but even so he wasn't about to listen to a rock. If it didn't like it then it should have gone with Tori while it had the chance.

"Geez," he grumbled, glancing down at the Relic that he held at the same time. "Apologies for not heading in towards the place where apparently every soldier in the Imperium is heading." Sure, he was a daring thief and what have you, but that didn't mean he was a full on idiot. the only way he was going to get anything out of that adventure back at the temple was if he managed to get away and not be arrested. And so far he seemed to be doing a pretty good job at that.

His muscles worked as he finally let out the energy, exulting in the adrenaline rush of his flight for safety. He didn't know what was up with his Relic, but he was not going to let it stop him from doing what he wanted. "Should save myself the trouble and just drop you off in a thrift shop somewhere." Not that he would do that, even if it was very tempting. One way or another, he wanted to get something out of this.

A thrift shop? Ok, that was uncalled for and the Relic inside Alex's pocket paused as if miffed by the statement. He was running in the opposite direction they were supposed to be going and...and...well, if he couldn't see reason, then he sure as hell would listen to it. Thankfully no one else was around, the majority of people gathering near the Cathedral thanks in part to human curiosity. Now would be the perfect time to do what needed to be down and so the Blue Relic activated once more in a shining cerulean light. But instead of shifting into its sword form, the gem leapt out of Alex's pocket as if by force and blinded him with its light. A few seconds of this passed before Alex would see not the Legend Relic, but a girl standing before him.

"Alright, that was weird," she muttered to herself before fixing a glare on the boy, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You there! Alex was it? Look, I don't know what your problem is but we need to go back to the Cathedral immediately. There's something weird going on and I can't really explain it, but there's something there calling out to me. And since we're now connected, you need to bring me there right now," she said, though she didn't exactly give an introduction to herself.

Alex was perfectly content in his running, sporting a grin of satisfaction and triumph at the clean escape. Apparently all the soldiers were busy chasing after the others, and while he felt bad about ditching them, previous experience had shown that they could handle themselves. Besides, all those guys wouldn't be chasing them for no reason, and after nearly dying in the temple he didn't feel like having any more death defying adventures for a little bit. He just wanted his payoff from this whole thing, and then he'd work out what to try next afterwards.

"Oh come on," he protested again, coming to a stop as he felt the Relic slip out of his pocket again, acting as if with a mind of its own. An abortive grab was cut off by a bright flash of blue light, yet to his confusion when it faded away there wasn't a sword, but rather a girl standing nearby. And as if it wasn't bizarre enough, immediately afterwards she started haranguing him for not going to the Cathedral! He looked on in shock for a moment before recovering, not allowing himself to simply be steamrolled over and drawing on those improvisation skills that had not failed him yet.

"Wait, you can do that," he protested as he shot her an accusatory look. "Why bother sticking around as the rock this whole time if you can become a human?" That said, he glanced back towards the Cathedral before shaking his head. "No way. I know it might be surprising, but in general I like living and freedom, neither of which I will have if I go running towards the place that half the security force in the Imperium is headed. You can always walk there yourself if it's that important."

"Well, it's not like I can do this kind of thing freely," the girl, who apparently was indeed the Blue Relic, said; even now she was clenching at her stomach and wincing. "Doing this takes alot out of me but I did it because I needed to talk to you directly. And besides, did you just forget that you have a Legend Relic at your side now? Just bust in and let me do the rest. What's so hard about that?" she asked.

Slowly Alex was coming to grips with the fact that he was indeed conversing with the Blue Relic, somehow. Though if energy had to be used to transform then shouldn't it be stable at this point? How did a rock collect additional energy anyways? All questions he did not have the answer to, and somewhat unimportant at the moment as the girl challenged him once again, claiming that he could somehow just jump in and she'd deal with everything. "Well it's not like you came with an instruction manual or something," he pointed out with a gesture, a hand resting on his hip. "And I don't think you get just how big the Imperium is. Direct confrontation never works, because I guarantee that no matter what you can do, there's someone ready to show up and murder me without either of us being able to do anything about it."

"You really need to have more confidence in yourself," the Relic said with a sigh. "Is it because you really believe that or because you just don't want to get involved? Because let me remind you that you're wielding a Legend Relic. You know, a weapon that's meant to take down armies? And as much as you don't wanna admit it, we're connected now. You got involved in this the moment you snatched me up and that means for the time being, we're partners. Or in other words, you can be assured that I won't let a single person hurt you, let alone allow them close enough to kill you," she said, beaming with a grin. "Assuming you do go back....which we should probably do right now."

Alex tapped his foot on cobblestone as he faced down the Relic, who seemed so self confident in spite of the situation. Which was probably because she was obviously delusional. Maybe too many years stuck in that robot or what have you. It was hard to tell. She certainly seemed confident of herself, but he could perhaps be forgiven for being a bit more skeptical. "While I'm certain that a flying sword can deal with any grunt that comes along, fighting someone like Asgard makes success a bit more dubious. Especially if your claim of how much energy you burned simply becoming human is true. Besides, it's the truth. I didn't make it this long by getting into every fight with the Imperium that presented itself. Discretion is the better part of valor, and all that."

"Well, it's true that I can't hold this kind of form for long. But I'm much better in my weapon form, trust me," she said before giving a small sigh. "I can tell that I won't be able to change your mind, huh? I can sense at least two other Relics in the Cathedral so I guess they'll be fine without me. But if something serious comes up, we are coming back to the Capital."

The Relic said this with a wistful look back in the direction of the Cathedral before shaking her head. For now the situation wasn't so dire where she could force Alex to come with her, so she would abide by his wishes. Still, something didn't feel right and even now it was calling out to her. Eager to get away from that pulling sensation, she walked over to Alex's side. "Oh, and if you even think about selling me off again, I'll make sure to put holes in all your pants," she warned before flashing in that same blue light, the Legend Relic turning back into a gem that laid on the ground.

While the Relic said that she was more impressive as a sword, Alex found himself dubious. So far all she had done was fly around, and that wasn't exactly wowing him with the potential that she claimed to be able to have. Still, at least she had the common sense to realize that he had a good argument as to why he wasn't going back, enough so that she herself didn't go off without him or go find someone else who'd do what she wanted to do without question.

"Yeah, of course," he replied, not entirely sincere but figuring that was a problem that could be addressed if it ever actually came up. For now he was more focused on exiting the immediate area before the Imperium realized that they needed to tighten their cordon, assuming they ever did. For being here in such numbers they had done a pretty bad job of area security. But presumably the Twins could be thanked for that, if he ever saw them again. "Alright." With a shrug he watched as the girl flashed and returned to being that gem again. Leaning over he picked it up and went to put it into his pocket, only to remember the hole there. Given second thought he held it in his hand as he went on the run again, with a mental note to stop in a clothes store at some point to fix that problem. Well, on his way once again.

Things were getting chaotic very fast on the depths of Rivenwood. Tegonay and his men seemed to have a significant numerical advantage over the elves, so the fight was becoming one sided rather easily even if the Elven Prince was making use of the Relic to bolster his men's spirits to nearly suicidal levels, which kind of balanced them for some time. Even then, the long time conclusion was evident.

Turning her attention away from the conflict for a moment, Si looked at Fei in her downed state. So, she had been afflicted by the poison, despite the 'His' protection, huh? Good thing that Si could deal with it.

"Don't worry... guh. I can help her." Si said as she moved close to Fei, taking the redhead from Jessi's hands and using her mantle to cover a patch laid with a thick bed of dry leaves, behind a few bushes to keep them out of the sight line from the battlefield bellow, before resting Fei on it. "Please, try to stay still... guh." The cat fairy said as she grabbed Fei's leg, locating the wound with her fingers, she checked if Fei was showing any reaction to pain by lightly squeezing the wound.

"The damage wasn't very spread... guh. Let me treat it..." With those last words, Si did something that was very unexpected, moving her face closer to Fei's wound, until the redheaded warrior could feel the cat fairy's breath tickling her skin. With a deft move, Si began to actually lick Fei's wound in a very dedicated way. With each stroke of Si's soft tongue, Fei would feel her strength being returned as not only the poison was neutralized, as well as the wound was healed by the Si's magic. There was the small side effect that Fei would feel her body grow hotter as Si's healing seemed to affect other areas of her body as well, but better that than being a dead weight, right?


Things weren't much easier to get at the Cathedral as well. Eleonor was sincerely baffled how badly screwed their plan was. "Is it too much to ask for everything to go as planned just once?" The Crimson Guardian thought. Still, to think that Antonia could have betrayed her trust like that. Was she so bitter of Solanne's defection, and the effect it had on Eleonor, that she couldn't even see that things had changed now?

Nevertheless, there was no time to try to talk down Antonia as in just a moment the Cathedral was flooded by soldiers at the main entrance and none but the Aquarian Twins, followed by some flying girl that Eleonor didn't knew. "The Aquarian Sisters? What in the name of heavens is happening here?"

At least one good thing was that Lorelai was finally able to synchronize her powers with those of the Purple Relic. A very bad thing was Solanne capitalizing on that to deliver a fiery blast that shook the very foundations of the Cathedral and all that were on it right now. "Sol, don-" Eleonor didn't had the time to alert Solanne, instead she dove to try and hold her sister's hand, though it was too late. The might explosion powered by the powers of both the Legend Relic and the Crimson Hound, not to say anything of Lorelai's already destructive powers caused the floor to crack and sunder under their feet, sending all those who were close to the altar plummeting into a pitch black abyss.

"What the!?"

"Oneesama, we ar-"

Despite their superior beast-like reflexes, the Twins couldn't avoid to be roped in the second crumbling building in less an hour, being sent towards the dark depths just as the floor crumbled. Siena's grip on Nebula was loosened as her legs wavered. Instead, the older of the Aquarian Twins dived to pull Linea into a hug, trying her best to protect her sister as they disappeared within the falling rubble.

Meanwhile, Eleonor —or better, Asgard— got a hold of Solanne's hand, just before using her powers to turn her own blood into fine tendrils of blood that she used to drag Lorelai together as well, sadly when she reached for Antonia, the priestess was nowhere to be seen. Trying her best to save those who were important to her, Eleonor forced her alter ego as well as her own body to go a step beyond as a great splash of crimson, Eleonor's own blood, covered them in a protective shield. No doubt such an usage of her powers would result in damage to Eleonor's body, but it was worth it.

When all of this war was said and done, at least for once, Eleonor would like to say that she didn't lost anything or anyone important to it, even if she herself had to cease to be.

---

@TheWindel@FrozenPhoenix

Měihóu Niángniang

Nodding to Axon and Titania, Měihóu walked along the rings of Yggdrasil's office, into the inside of Yggdrasil's office and knocks on the door to enter, if their was one. She moved with an entirely different body motion and position, grace and conservation of motion instead of boundless energy. Either a perfect actress or her muscle reflexes had entirely changed. Perhaps the only sign of her great strength was that her large harp was easily portable to her, idly carried at her size.

If the door was not swiftly answered, Měihóu sat down and began playing her harp at the door, apparently a complete master of the art. But not a word did she speak as she played.



Whether or not Měihóu still remembered the mission was debatable, but well, she was staying in character.

Excitement surged through the Abyssal Knight's body as the Purple Relic responded to her, every nerve seemingly electrified to finally, after such a long week, have control over the situation. The power from ages past welcomed with the shadow of a sneer, Lorelai unleashed a maelstrom of wind upon the approaching enemies that would have been ample force to disable if not outright kill them, but the sudden influx of fire from the Crimson Hound ensured anyone in the doorway was reduced to not but ash. With her back to the cathedral's altar, Lorelai didn't know if the second gout of lashing flame had struck Antonia and would likely never know for certain as the aged structure gave way to the combined power Knight and Hound.

Apparently designing a building with loose stones led to structural instability. Who knew?

The floor gave way and sent all those still living into free fall, the sudden descent ample cause to force the Abyssal Knight into cutting off the flow of power into her relics and ending the hurricane of fire above. This descent wasn't a monumentally perilous one into a seemingly bottomless chasm, though the hygienic ones of the group would likely wish it were, as they were plummeting towards the raging rapids of the Infinitum sewers. The currents were mighty, as could only be expected of the system that handled the waste of the world's greatest city, and would certainly sweep them away once they landed amidst the murky waters.

Before she could attempt to halt her descent with a downwards blast of air, Asgard reacted upon the impulse to preserve the rest of her cadre and latched onto Solanne and Lorelai with a violent disgorge of her own life fluids, creating a sphere of scarlet blood to encapsulate the trio moments before they all hit the sewers. Unable to see past the cocoon of blood, Lorelai was left with naught to do but turn her concerns to woman likely to exsanguinate herself before they ever see the surface again.

"Sir Asgard, you mustn't be so reckless with harming yourself." She chastised without any real heat, too concerned to bring any actual anger. This bubble was likely the only thing keeping them together as it careened down winding channels and bounced off the walls of intersecting paths, not to mention the matter of exposing Eleonor's open wounds to sewage water would doubtlessly lead to greater concerns later on, blood powers or not. Taking what concessions she could, the Abyssal Knight tightened her grip on the Crimson Knight and tried to find some measure of success in their unexpected escape."At least...we shouldn't be so easily pursued for the time being."
@KoL@TheWindel

That strange conversation with the Relic left behind, Alex took his leave from the scene of the fight. It really was surprising how easy it was, since he would have expected to be challenged at least once. But he wasn't going to complain about the fact that they were essentially letting him go in their pursuit of the Twins. It just made things that much easier for him.

He had made it some distance away when a loud crash filled the air, bringing him to a momentarily halt. Glancing back, a slight chill ran through him as he caught sight of the outcroppings of the Church on the skyline vanishing from sight, even as a plume of smoke and dust rose into the sky. Well, he didn't know what the Relic had had in mind before, but he was glad that he wasn't in the middle of all of that. One collapsing structure a day was generally where he drew the limit. After a moment he got back underway, leaving the area.

Once he was far enough away from the conflict zone he slowed down, swinging into the first clothes shop that he found. One purchase later and he had a new pair of pants, and now he could walk comfortably, without any real suspicion on him. He had the feeling that his relic didn't enjoy it, but to be told he was quite pleased with the situation. He'd spent all that effort to get the Relic in the first place, and getting arrested or killed was not the sort of payoff that he felt he deserved.

Drawing closer to one of his hideouts, he contemplated his options. He was back now, but he certainly couldn't just go into hiding or what have you. After so long in Arcadia he needed to commemorate his homecoming. So he'd let the heat die down a bit, and then get on planning his next heist. That would definitely make it worthwhile.

To first do so, he swung into one of the pubs nearby, sidling up to the bar and placing a few salvaged coins down for the bartender to take. "So, I just got back into town. Don't suppose someone here would mind telling me what's happened since I left," he asked, lancing around to those nearby. Time to get some information, and then he could start his planning.

@TheWindel

---

Chen cursed his lack of foresight as he regretted not buying an universal antidote from the witch from earlier, no matter how much she would've price gouged. He shook his head in response to Jessi's question. "The best I could do is freeze her to slow her blood flow. That's only a temporary fix unfortunately."

Mistress Si spoke up however as she began hiding them from the view of the battlefield. Chen added some mirrors of ice, using a few clever tricks to appear as if nobody was where they were at the moment. He turned around at the exact moment that Si began... licking Fei.

"L-lady Si!" He squeaked as he quickly turned his head away to look at a random tree. "I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate Lady Si!" Chen's tone evened out as he said this but he was clearly somewhat flustered by the suddent turn of events.

@Awesomoman64@BlueAjah@KoL

It was all falling apart. Figuratively and rather literally. Walls crumbling as the artificial intelligence was knocked away, possibly doomed to being crushed. Possibly suffering the same fate was the Twins, vanishing from view as rubble rained from the ceiling. Adrenaline pumped through Tori’s system, everything slowed to a crawl as she had to think


The artificial intelligence is highly important, more important than any one person’s life. It has lost knowledge and the little I have memorized alone can widen my research into new fields, untouched by anyone. Twins. Daughters of a colleague and powerful enough in their own right. Obviously have knowledge and resources beyond me and I’m not an idiot, that Librarian probably has corrupted them… but if he has, they have access to their resources, their knowledge. Definite knowledge that has already helped me? The loyalty and a debt from two girls who have access to resources outside the official ones? feet moving before she had made her decision mentally Tori saw herself dashing to the robot. Gritting her teeth and growling, Tori tore herself off course and went intangible. Phasing through the falling rocks, the wings that were her cloak splayed out, Tori arrived crouching over the twins. Bracing herself for what was to come, Tori became tangible once more. Rubble and debris rained down upon her, wings defending what they could while a stabbing pain in her left leg made her vision darken for a moment, a shard of wood had lodged itself in her calf having been passing through her at the time of Tori fading back into reality.

“Y-you girls better live through this all. You… you both owe me big time!” the only thing she could hope was that a robot wasn’t so fragile to break under a battering, but she didn’t hold out hopes.

@KoL @TheWindel @Lonewolf685

The knocking on Yggdrasil's door went unanswered for a long time. It almost looked like no one was there to begin with, which was something to expect of the office of someone such as Yggdrasil who was never known to even talk with other people. In fact, the Observer Division was pretty much ran on autopilot since no one ever reported seeing Yggdrasil anywhere.

Upon a new knocking, the door would swing open on itself. The room it encased turned out to be quite ample, but destitute of pretty much all for of furniture other than a desk and chair fit form Yggdrasil's massive size as well as a stand for his tome, which laid midway between the door and the desk. On the walls there was a huge panoramic fresco depicting the story of the Imperator, the fall of the Great Beast and the unification of the Shattered World. It was almost as if the whole story of the Imperium had been squeezed on that mural. On the opposite side from the door, the paintings made to glass panels of a window that gave in to a spacious balcony, whose acoustics made it clear that it was designed to hold dramatic speeches. All that you would expect from the office of a man of Yggdrasil's status.

Except for the fact that Yggdrasil himself wasn't there.

Or so it looked like, as in but a few instants the sound of armored footsteps would come echoing from the corridor behind them. If there was an action that Miehou wanted to do before whoever was coming noticed they it would be best to do it now, otherwise, she might not have the chance to do so in the future.

---

It was a world of relief to Jessi when he heard Si say she could help Fei. Not only had he feared losing her, but dying from poison would be a death unfitting to a warrior like her. There was no protest when the Si took Fei from his arms to work her magic.

Well, it may not have been magic but she was certainly working something. Si began licking the wound vigorously much to the shock of the two men present. ”H-Hey! What do you think you-” Jessi stammered to protest the action thinking it simply the cat messing with them. But in moments color began returning to Fei’s face showing that the treatment was working. Speaking of Fei’s face, whether she was trying to hide it or not, Jessi could tell she was making certain expressions indicating she was receiving pleasure from this, the nature of which was...Oh my...

Following Chen’s example Jessi averted his eyes from the scene. Unfortunately this wouldn’t be enough as it was one of the few times his enhanced senses worked against him. Even though he could no longer see it, he could still hear each brush of Si’s rough tongue against Fei’s soft skin.

Desperate to get away from the awkward situation, Jessi quickly scanned the battlefield and found a clear path to Tegonay and the elven leader. ”Well you guys take care of that Chen wanna go help me kill this guy for a second time cool let’s go.” Speaking fast and moving faster Jessi broke from their cover and charged into the fray hoping a large fight would get the images out of his head.

@BlueAjah@floodtalon@KoL

The Monkey had decided to bust out a tune for....some reason. At this point, Titania figured it was better to just ignore Měihóu’s antics for what they were worth because somehow they always ended up being the missing link anyway. Leaving her to that task, she watched as the mighty doors to Yggdrasil’s private office opened in welcoming abode.

Only to reveal that the Platinum Knight wasn’t even there. Oh, how she wanted to kick something just now, ignoring the decorations and looking for the big metal can himself. Yet the heavy footfall of armored boots became a higher priority and she sighed at long last. Well, it wasn’t like they were committing a crime so at least they were safe from being arrested.

“You should probably ask them where your daddy dearest is,” she said to Axon, turning in the direction of the approaching troops. “I’m sure they should all be aware of who you are, right? Or at least know your face. Yggdrasil probably has the White Relic on him at all times, though I don’t recall him ever using its power in public.”

Back at the Cathedral, the whole world exploded around Solanne and soon even gravity was against her. She fell further and further into the darkness below before her body was suddenly caught by a restrictive force. A gasp was torn free and she noticed that it was by Eleonor’s Relic that they were saved once again, finally making their way to the bottom of Imperium’s sewer system.

“Looks like we’re not alone either,” she commented, glancing at the fallen Tori, Twins…and was that a robot? “We need to find a way back to the surface and regroup. Right now, only one Relic is left assuming the other two groups found their mark,” said Solanne before tensing her body.

Something was dragging itself through the water and heading right for them at a breakneck pace. Before she could even prepare herself for battle, something large and wet crashed into Tori, of all people. The librarian wouldn’t know it, but she had just been barreled through by the last remaining Beastkin, Ruxen glaring down as she kept Tori pinned beneath her.

“You’re going to fix the fucking hole in my roof before I shove something up your ass so far your fucking children will feel it,” she snarled, baring her teeth in front of Tori. Solanne watched the exchange, turning to her sister and her maid with a shrug. Were they supposed to intervene?

Away but not too further away, was Alex, his Relic, and a pub. The Blue Relic had not enjoyed being switched out pants wise but would admit that this new pair at least smelled nice. Still, she didn’t quite know what Alex was doing; wasn’t he supposed to be laying low? Why was he in a public place asking for information?

The bartender would gladly give him that very information thanks in part to the coins, explaining to the boy how the Imperator was growing impatient in the Relic hunting. Rumors were that she was planning to use them to build…something. Whatever that something was, nobody knew and that was all the bartender could offer Alex.

---

@TheWindel@FrozenPhoenix@KoL

Měihóu Niángniang

Měihóu did not, in fact, have anything she wished to do before Yggdrasil arrived, continuing to play, though she moved into the office proper. She was not planning to attempt to out-guile Yggdrasil, nor perhaps solve some secret puzzle of the mural and snatch the legend relic from a hidden chamber. No, she was here to talk. And hopefully neither Titania nor Axon would whack her upside the head for that. That would be no fun at all.

Upon Yggdrasil's arrival, if indeed, Yggdrasil was the one coming, she spoke, for the first time since Titania had threatened her. "Hello, Yggdrasil. I was wondering if I could speak to you about matters of import. The Great Beast. The Legend Relics. The Librarian. The Imperator, Sacchiro. Emilia. The Joker. Your Fellow Guardian, Asgard, Eleanor. There are important things afoot, great power at stake, and great people whose power will play a role in the dispensation of that power. I wish to hear with my own ears what you believe. If you would do me that honor, I would tell you what I know as well."

If it was NOT Yggdrasil, but just any old other person in armor.. Měihóu's current plans involved pouting to express her disappointment.

Had she been around to ask, Alex would have had a perfectly acceptable answer as to why he was here when he was supposed to be laying low. But given that his Relic was currently in a mode that did not predispose itself towards talking, he felt no reason to elaborate upon his methods or motives. He merely nodded as the bartender explained what was up, giving him some insight into the situation that was currently at hand in the Imperium. He'd find out about what happened at the Church later, he supposed.

Of course, he couldn't help but scoff. "Man, if she's growing impatient then she only has herself to blame," he noted aloud with relative indifference. "If she wanted it done quick she wouldn't have opened up the search to the public." Not everyone was as good as him when it came to this sort of thing, not that he felt any shame about it.

Still, he'd gotten what he came for, at least to some extent. "Thanks for the info," he told the bartender before stepping back and exiting the building once again to return to his safehouse. Now it was time to recover a bit, and the first thing he had in mind was some sleep. That should give things time to settle, and soon he could begin planning out his next big scheme. All in all it was still pretty much life as normal for him.