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[color=lightgray][b]Mentions:[@HereComesTheSnow][@Psyker Landshark][/b][/color]
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[b]Crack.[/b]

The projected orchestral figures splintered soon the last of the hydra heads were vanquished. A sharp pain shot across the Faye's expression that caused her to stagger in place. Her vision became distorted, uneven as if everything around her was spinning and bending in impossible ways. It was too much. The bow stopped sliding across her violin's string and her voice grew quiet. The phantom figures that had join in her grand performance fractured further and soon shattered into nothingness.

[color=B2FFC4]"Ru..dolf..."[/color] Delirium has clouded her mind as she looked at him with a happiness that defied their current situation. A thin trail of blood ran from her nose as her movements felt weighed down. She stopped when her eyes caught sight of Esben and Eve barely hovering in the air. Izayoi's words were muddled but she understood enough that something had to be done. The moving water was hard to look at in her current state, but even so she stepped towards railing. [color=B2FFC4]"I will...I..."[/color] Ciradyl felt her legs give out first and she fell, barely able to brace herself as her shoulder struck the deck. Her eyes vaguely looked out towards the water before fluttering shut.

Arton checked over Neve and Ciradyl briefly to ensure that nothing that managed to break through and hit them. He had no illussions that one of them would have been seriously injured had Rudolf's materia not arrived in time. The very man in question flew briefly into the air and landed solidly in front of the three. [color=537DAE]"Yeah, we're okay here for the moment..."[/color] He had been about to thank him when a chilling sensation shot along the length of his spine and his gaze quickly turned to Ciradyl. The sudden absence of the music twisted something in his stomach. [color=537DAE]"Ciradyl! Are you alright?"[/color] He called out to her but she didn't even glance in his direction.

The sound of gunfire breaking out prompted him to action once more and he quickly positioned himself in front. His shield blocked a stray shot, the fragments peppering into the wooden deck. It was then he heard Izayoi's voice call out her plan and immediately after the sound of something hitting the ground. Arton tried to glance back to check on them but the force of a couple more bullets breaking upon his shield prevented him from diverting his attention. 

His master was caught wide open drawing all of the aggression towards herself. The moment Rudolf's offer processed in his mind, he found himself charging forward. [color=537DAE]"Keep them safe!"[/color] His eyes narrowed as he closed in to where Izayoi was standing. What else could he do but be his master's shield in this moment? 

The massive form of Arton came between Izayoi and the shooters, deflecting a shot that seemed to have a good read of on her movements. His barrier activated and from there he made short work of the incoming volleys of fire. The training he had done with the limbtaker was constantly running through his mind. It was surely something he would never mention to Neve about. He couldn't give her another reason to worry. Arton grinned slightly as the frustration grew in the riflemen. 

[b]What?[/b]

He understood that Izayoi was a master of the sword but this? Arton felt honored...no blessed...to be under her tutelage. A grimace quickly came over him as the parting waves revealed Esben and Eve. There was nothing he could do for them that wouldn't end up just adding another body to the pile. Besides the armor and heavy clothes that protected him, the swordsman was never that strong of a swimmer and he doubt he would be able to fight against the wicked current.