[IC] Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

[Hero]

"Oooh, scary." Lola raised both her hands in the air, shifting back into her usual, purple suited self. "I wasn't expecting Zodiark to get involved again. If I knew that, I would have taken an entirely different approach." She sighed, putting Emiri's bow and quivers down.

Emiri looked down at her duplicate, who looked right back up at her. Deciding not to take a chance, Emiri stabbed her. Much like the duplicates in the illusions, the fake turned into a dark cloud substance, but instead of just disappearing, the darkness instead flooded the room. Nadeline let out a yell of alarm, thinking they would be pulled into the nightmare again, but it seemed this was just an extremely effective smokescreen.

Emiri looked around, though the darkness was thick. She heard someone behind her, and without a moment's hesitation, she swung her dagger. To her surprise, it clashed with another blade, and she saw that she had swung at Nadeline. "Emi! What are you doing?" The blonde exclaimed, clearly displeased at nearly getting sliced open. The brunette's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "You need to be careful." Nadeline reprimanded her.

"You're so eager to use that dagger. I wouldn't go swinging it around so easily." She heard Lola say.

She looked around, but she couldn't see her. Nadeline raised her rapier and it glowed white. Its magic pierced through the darkness, illuminating the room in its entirety and dispelling the darkness, and Lola was gone. Emiri let out a yell, clearly frustrated. After a few seconds of just venting out her anger, she was calmer, but still very much annoyed. Meanwhile Nadeline narrowed her eyes at Jaakuna. How exactly had he been able to tell the difference so easily? And what was with Lola mentioning Zodiark?

"Well that happened." Grant stated, looking at Emiri. So Lola was a shapeshifter? Fantastic."What's wrong with you?"

The brunette picked up her bow, slinging her quiver on. "Nothing." She muttered, inspecting her bow and making sure the nutjob did nothing to it.

---

As expected, Francis deflected her attack, and she found herself pushed back a distance. Good, he wasn't made of glass. She watched him, her amber eyes studying him. At that moment, however, Lola was reaching out to her. Great. Once he approached, she raised her katana as if to defend herself, though as soon as both blades made contact, she lifted her katana upwards. Of course, she was well aware his attack was much stronger, the result being that the force would knock her down. As she fell, however, one hand held his armor, pulling the judge with her to the ground.

"Oops. I surrender." Shion told him, lightly tapping his nose. "Looks like you win."

[AlteredTundra]

Lola had denounced herself of being the fake Emiri as she would place her hands up and she would shift into her usual self, big tits and all. This didn’t make Jaakuna feel any better and it would even worsen Lola make the mention of Zodiark. How did she find out already? Jaakuna was getting worried at this point, but just as he was, Emiri would stab the Emiri dupe and a black smokescreen would take over the area. Jaakuna thought this was just like last time, but it would seem that it was just a smokescreen as Lola was gone.

When it did happen, Jaakuna looked over to Nadeline, who shot him a glare of some sort. Jaakuna didn’t know if she suspected anything, but for his sake, he hoped that she didn’t. Still, Jaakuna was severely worried that he would be found out sometime about Zodiark. Whichever the case, Jaakuna looked at Emiri, walking over and hugging her. He never wanted to let her go. “I’m so sorry, Emiri.” Jaakuna simply said.

---

As his attack went in, Shion raised her Katana up to defend herself from the attack, but perhaps the force of Francis’ own was too much for her as it would knock her back. However, as she would fall to her own back, she would grip Francis’ armor, pulling him down with her, and he was on top of her, Alpha Blood out of his grip, and dropping(as heard from it crashing on the ground). She would then say that she surrendered, tapping his nose, and inform that he won. On one hand, he was extremely pleased that he won, but he couldn’t help that there was something that was at play that made it to where that it distracter her. Still, Francis was over Shion and he couldn’t help but feel very excited.

“Indeed I have, but I think it’s far too soon for us to be like this.” He smiled, obviously commenting on their compromising position. “Let’s see how dinner goes, and then maybe..” He said just looking her with a rather half-naughty, half-suggestive expression.

[Hero]

As Emiri deemed her bow alright, she found that couldn't quite calm down. Her arm was shaking somewhat, and she had to put her other hand over it just to stop it. It was then that she noticed Jaakuna approaching her. She looked at him, though to her surprise he pulled her into a hug. As he apologized to her, she remembered how she ended up stabbing him in the illusion. Before she could control herself, she felt her entire body shake. She didn't even realize she started crying, and she held onto Jaakuna tightly, sobbing into his chest. Indeed, despite the nightmare being over, the group still felt its effects on them. Nadeline felt somewhat guilty, though she made sure she would not forget Lola's comment on Jaakuna. For now, she would leave it for another time.

"I don't think I can stand this place much longer." Grant told the group, lightly rubbing his neck. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he hadn't exactly gotten over his nightmare just yet. "Can we go now?"

"We still have our original goal, I don't think Lola took the Esper, her intention was clearly to eliminate us." Nadeline reminded him, though she too was growing quite weary of this place. "If we can still move on, we should."

---

"I'll have to get back to you on that. Duty calls." Shion replied, pointing to the trees. Francis would be able to see someone there, though he would not recognize Lola as she sat on the branch, lazily leaning against the tree and awaiting the pair to finish. She had a rather cheerful expression, though she was not looking at the two, instead tracing her finger on her lips rather wistfully. Shion remained looking at Francis, still smiling. "You can get off whenever you feel like it, though." She told him, pointing out that he was still on top of her.

[AlteredTundra]

When Emiri and Jaakuna had finished hugging each other, sharing a sob or two, they would release each other from their embrace. It was just in time too as Grant would state that he couldn’t handle another minute in Nabudis, to which Nadeline would interject and state that they had their original goal of getting Chaos. Jaakuna nodded and Nadeline as he knew they needed to get the esper. It was the main reason they came to Nabudis in the first place.

So, with that, they had all decided to go on further to find Chaos, but where exactly would they start. Nabudis was so large, it wasn’t like they could go and ask someone. “So, where exactly do we venture off to? I don’t even know where to start.” Jaakuna mused aloud, also asked the others. Wesley and Savayna thought about it and they didn’t have any clues either.

---

When Shion mentioned something about duty calling her, she pointed to a tree. Francis would see a woman with rather large breasts and in a purple jumpsuit. The woman was smiling in a cheerful manner. He would look back to Shion only for her to mention that Francis was still on top of her. Perhaps Francis was subconsciously not wanting to get off, but he instantly stood up, helping Shion up as he did so. They were both up and he had a slight redness about his cheeks.

“I guess it will have to wait.” He said as he lifted his Alpha Blood Greatsword and placed it on his back with ease. He then looked up at the tree. “Hi there, miss..” He simply said waving gently to the woman in the tree. He then looked back to Shion. “Do inform me when you aren’t busy, Shion.” Francis’ charm took the form of flirtatious winking.

[Hero]

Emiri wiped her tears away as the group discussed on their next action. She didn't even want to keep going, but Nadeline had a point. When Jaakuna asked where they would even start to look, she felt she needed to locate it. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to focus on finding Chaos. Just like the other Espers, he radiated his own kind of Mist. What made it difficult was more the location: the Necrohol of Nabudis swam with Mist and made it difficult to properly pinpoint his location. Still, she could somewhat get a hold on where he was, even if it was slightly fuzzy.

So you have come, child.

Why did she recognize this voice? No matter how much she tried, though, she couldn't match an identity to it.

Come along now. Don't keep me waiting, scion of time.

Nadeline thought to herself as Emiri was concentrating. As big as this place was, she was sure they were pretty deep in. As she was the one who had been running around the place the most, she was pretty sure they would have to just keep going. After a moment, Emiri would then open her eyes, taking out her bow. "He's not far." She stated, beckoning the group to follow her. Grant let out a small sigh, clearly displeased at the thought of having to go in further, though he followed nonetheless.

---

Sion smiled at Francis. "Pay no attention to her, she plays for the other team." The blue haired woman informed him, lightly waving Lola away. The brunette pouted, not appreciating being sent away. Still she stood up, and instead headed deeper into the jungle. "Until next time, Wolf." Shion bid her farewell and followed Lola. After a distance, the purple girl hopped down from the trees, though she knelt down as Shion approached her. "You've become reckless." Shion stated to Lola, her expression one of clear displeasure. "What is your excuse?"

"Don't blame me.." Lola mumbled as she stood, crossing her arms. "If Zodiark hadn't interfered I would have had them all."

Again with the damned Esper. Still, Shion was not an idiot, and she glared at Lola. "I told you before, that girl needed to be eliminated, I don't care about the rest." She snapped, and Lola winced. "At the very least if she was dead, the other Espers would lose their physical connection, and the only one we would have had to be concerned with was Zodiark himself." She reminded her. "Not only that, you had her, and instead of killing her you decided to have 'fun'. I warned you, giving her the slightest opening would be your downfall, that ability of hers greatly outclasses any natural magic."

Lola nodded rather guiltily. "Sorry, Boss..."

"I'll have to send Meli, get to Giruvegan and start looking for Ultima." Shion ordered.

"What? Aw, come on, that crystal is much too big, I must have sent nearly a hundred men in there and none of them have been able to locate the Esper!" Lola whined. "I tell you, that place knows, it creeps me out! Not to mention that rather nasty giant mimic we encountered...thank goodness it was inactive or we may have had a problem..." She pointed out.

"Consider it punishment."

[AlteredTundra]

As Francis was about to get the name of the woman in the tree, Shion would just state to pay no attenton to her and she would bid Francis ado. He watched as she went away and the woman in the tree would as well. Francis thought about the day he had and boy was it eventful. There was finding out that his son was in Utena, then coming to the Gilmore Jungle and getting the attraction of two women. Though, what had in such a giddy and happy mood was the thought of Shion.

“I’m going to marry that woman.” He said aloud to himself smiling like a fucking idiot. Francis did think about his son though, more specifically how proud he was of him. Yes, truly Francis was not mad at Michel for being apart of Utena. He just wanted the chance himself to tell him that he was proud of him. However, for now, he would just return to Archadia to report back to Roman and have a conversation with Levi.

---

As Emiri would say that Chaos wasn’t far from their current location, she would beckon them to follow her. Savayna noticed the reluctance on Grant’s face and she just chuckled as they all would follow Emiri. Jaakuna was beside her, Wesley behind them beside Nadeline and Savayna the same with Grant behind Nadeline and Wesley.

As they would walk further, Wesley couldn’t help but think about Jaakuna and how he was able to figure out the real Emiri so easily and then there was the mention of Zodiark that got him troubled. He didn’t know if Zodiark was around and somehow came into play about the three Emiris or if it was something much more complicated than that. Even so, Wesley would speak quietly to Nadeline. “Does something seem off to Jaakuna? I mean, how exactly did he know that Lola was pretending to be Emiri.” Wesley would try to whisper loud enough so that Nadeline heard him, but not too loud so that anyone else heard him.

[Hero]

As the group walked, Wesley would ask about Jaakuna to Nadeline. "Something is very off about him. Whatever Lola's abilities are, those Emiri clones were flawless. She managed to get her mannerisms down and everything--I encountered Lola as Emiri before I went to help you. Whatever method Jaakuna used, it isn't a power of his own. Zodiark may have his own body, but I don't think Jaakuna is entirely free of him, either." She murmured to Wesley quietly. "I'm not going to make any assumptions, but once we are out of here, I am going to get some answers from him. I am not making the same mistake twice."

Chaos was definitely calling out to Emiri. She wasn't really surprised, though she may have been if Justine didn't reveal that said Esper was where she got her powers from. It's not like he was influencing her, and the louder he got, the closer she knew they were. And what is your name, daughter of Justine? He asked her.

Emiri. She replied mentally.

Why so cold? You should be thankful. Not many humes possess the power that you do. He wondered. Even now, you wish for more, do you not?

Stay quiet, Esper, your talk is a distraction.

Is it? Forgive me, I only thought you would want to thank me.

Alright, thank you for cursing my mother and having her pass said curse onto ME and making my life a bother. Truly, you have my deepest gratitude. Emiri rolled her eyes, though at that moment only one hall remained. There you are.

Here I am. Best of luck.

"As if I need it." Emiri scoffed out loud, though she continued walking.

[AlteredTundra]

As they would continue deeper into Nabudis, Nadeline would express that she too has her respective worried about Jaakuna. She would point out that Lola was able shift into Emiri in every way. Her mannerisms were perfect, her voice, and right down to every aspect that made Emiri herself. Wesley would nod and release a “hmm” sound quietly. He also wished to know what was the deal with Jaakuna, but like Nadeline, he would not press the issue until they were out of Nabudis. “That’s if we even get out of here.” Wesley grimly murmured.

Going deeper to the center of Nabudis, the group would come to a door. It had three medallions placed into it. Wesley noticed them and he knew that someone must’ve gone to a lot of trouble to gather them. He knew that they weren’t at all easy to obtain. Still, he saw no one come, he saw no one run pass them as they would approach the door, so it would seem whoever tried to get Chaos failed in their endeavor.

The group would only take a moment to admire the door and it was with that they would enter through the door and there would await Chaos, The Walker of the Wheel.

[Hero]

Nadeline caught Wesley's murmur, and she looked ahead. It had been quite the treacherous journey just to get to Chaos, no doubt this battle needed to be swift. It was one hell of a day, after all, for some more than others. She made it a point to make sure to keep an eye on everyone, no doubt that this fight wasn't going to be simple. As they entered, there Chaos was. The Esper before them looked somewhat familiar to Emiri, though once again she credited that to her power. He sat, awaiting them, though once they all entered the doors closed behind them. The group would prepare their weapons as he would arise, a wind expelling from him, signaling the start of the battle. Several of his swords floated in the air, and Grant eyed them warily. At least they didn't have any minions to deal with.

A large glyph appeared behind Chaos, signaling the start of his spell. Despite this, when it was over, only a breeze had passed through them. Nadeline raised an eyebrow, and as she was just about to question it, she saw Emiri putting away her bow. "Emi, what are you--" Her question was cut off as she noticed her looking around, withdrawing her dagger. Before Nadeline could react, Emiri swung her dagger at the group. No doubt everyone scattered after that, and Emiri went straight for Jaakuna for her next attack. Had she gone insane? Yet as she turned to Grant, she saw him aiming his gun at Wesley. The blonde ran up to him, and Grant saw her and shot at her instead. She flinched, stepping back as the bullet grazed her shoulder.

"They're Confused!" Nadeline called out, but the Confused Emiri and Grant was not their only problem, as Chaos had gone in for the attack. She found herself barely blocking a sword of his in time, pushed back somewhat by it.

[AlteredTundra]

When they entered the room, there sat the esper sitting upon what it looked like a pedestal of sorts., in a meditation position. As he looked at them, the doors closed. The group briefly look back at the door as it surprised them that it closed suddenly, but their attention would soon dart back to the Esper known as Chaos. As they did that, they would see swords floating around. They wouldn’t have to deal with any other monsters, but that didn’t really ease any worry that Jaakuna, Wesley, or Savayna had. It just meant that Chaos was indeed the strongest Esper they would have to face thus far. Well, maybe second strongest. Zodiark probably takes that spot.

As they continued to look further, a large, light green glyph appeared behind Chaos and a gust of wind would take the room. It wasn’t a strong gust though. Jaakuna was surprised at this, but what took his surprise more was that Emiri seemed to be taking her dagger out and turning to Jaakuna. She would then go after him with a full-force strike. Jaakuna took one of his Swords and blocked her attack. “Emiri, what are you doing!?” Jaakuna called out. Had she gone mad? Wait, was she still under the influence of Lola’s nightmare juice. No, that’s not it. There was something more simple to it. She must’ve been struck with the confusion aliment.

While Jaakuna was trying to figure out when exactly Emiri became overtaken by the confusion aliment, Wesley would look and as he did the only thing he heard and saw was a gunshot and Nadeline getting grazed by said gunshot. He looked and saw that it was Grant’s gun that did it. His eyes were full of shock, but also full of curiosity. Why would Grant even do such a thing? Wesley would wonder for a few seconds and then he arrived at the conclusion that he must also be confused just like Emiri seemed to be. “Well, this is definitely not good.” Wesley mused aloud. He was right though. Emiri and Grant were confused and they also had Chaos to worry about. Wesley definitely knew this wasn’t a good situation that they found themselves in.

While Nadeline and Wesley held off Grant or at least tried not to get killed by his gun, Savayna was angry. Well, she’s always angry, but this was just something to add to it. The fact that both Emiri and Grant got themselves confused and the rest of the group didn’t really sucked ass. She didn’t like it and boy was she going to give them hell later on. As for now, she would focus her attention on Chaos. With the others trying to at least hold off Grant and Emiri, Savayna would use her ice to float over them, and as she took her sword, Chaos saw her. A gust of wind was sent her way and Savayna evaded it by turning her body towards the right.. She would then go for a strike from her Ice Queen sword, but Chaos had saw it coming a mile away. One of his swords would block hers and another came in. Raising her shield, she blocked it, but another came and would graze Savayna’s arm, sending her flying in several flips and turns. She landed on one knee, hand aiding her recovery, but she slid back five feet. As she looked at Chaos, she would dart her gaze to the others and they were at least able to hold the others off. Savayna looked back at Chaos and the Esper just waited for her to make her next move.

[Hero]

Nadeline found herself among a barrage of bullets. Damn it, why did Grant have to be so fast?! Once she saw Savayna get Chaos' attention, she held her hand out to Grant. "Esuna--" She started, but Grant simply avoided the spell. He slashed his gunblade at Wesley, then fired off several shots. "Esuna!" She called, trying again, but Grant looked at her, his own arm extended. "Graviga!" He called, and Nadeline felt an immense pressure suddenly. She dropped down to her knees, unable to stand. Wait, if Grant could use his magic, did that mean Emiri could as well? "Oh no." She muttered, trying to get to her feet. Being on the receiving end of Grant's onslaught was not fun at all.

"Vanish!" Grant called, and he disappeared from their view.

"Oh, come on!" Nadeline yelled out frustration, finally on her feet in time to get knocked back by one of Grant's attacks. She looked at her arm, cut by Grant's gunblade, and she looked around. "Wesley, he'd probably coming after you next! You need to evade and counter, the only way to snap them out of it is to hit them!" She called, looking over at Jaakuna and Emiri. As Jaakuna blocked Emiri's attack, the brunette would jump back, bringing out her bow. Nadeline knew what she was going to do next. "Jaakuna! Look out!" The princess called. Jaakuna would find himself on the receiving end of a dozen arrows.

[AlteredTundra]

While Savayna was occupied with Chaos, Wesley and Nadeline were really getting difficulties from Grant. The man was obviously able to use his full set of skills, which even included his fluid movements and the way he’s able to use that Gunblade. Even his magic was fully intact, which meant only bad things for Nadleine as Wesley watched him use graviga, which weighed her down to her knees. That’s when she would be cut from his Gunblade as he used vanish on himself.

Nadeline would inform Wesley that Grant would be coming in for an attack on him. Wesley acknowledged, and held his Yagyu Darkblade and Demon shield up for defensive measures. He felt something in the air and he looked to his right and saw Grant slash downward. Wesley raised his shield, and it blocked Grant’s attack. Not wasting any time, Wesley would reverse grip his sword and straightly pop Grant in the gut. Wesley heard the raven-haired man let out a slight groan of pain, which would signal Wesley that he was snapped out of confusion.

As Emiri would be staggered backwards, Jaakuna didn’t want to hurt her. He knew he had to do something to alleviate the confusion from her, but how was he to do that without hurting her? He would hear Nadeline call out as he acknowledged her and saw that twelve Artemis Arrows were coming his way. To not get hit by any of them, Jaakuna would doge roll to the left over and over again. In the place that he previously was, arrows would strike the ground. As the twelfth one hit the ground, it was mere inches away from Jaakuna’s head. A sigh of relief came over him, and Jaakuna was on his feet. He stared at Emiri, not sure what he could do to help her.

Let me help, Jaakuna. Zodiark told Jaakuna.

Damn it, why won’t you stay out of my head!? Jaakuna mentally asked him shouting.

You’re in a bind and I can help. Just use my power, Jaakuna. Zodiark suggested.

And why should I? Last time I used it, I lost control, or do you not remember what happened to Robur? Jaakuna said reminding Zodiark of what happened the last time he used his dark powers.

That was at a time when you didn’t have full control. You do now, all you gotta do is tap into it, like a fosit or something. Zodiark told Jaakuna.

Jaakuan thought about it and with Emiri’s time-stopping ability, he didn’t have much of a choice. Plus, more arrows were coming his way. “Fine.” Jaakuna said as he would hold out his hand and a red and black, low-strength blast came from his hand and would maneuver its way through the arrows and lightly hit Emiri in the gut. Jaakuna could hear Emiri react to the blast and Jaakuna would rush over to her. “I’m so sorry, you alright?” JAakuna asked as he was at her side.

[Hero]

The Rozarrian prince was in a daze. What had just happened? Grant held his free hand to his head, though he felt like he had gotten hit in his stomach though. He let out a groan, nearly doubling over. Nadeline let out a huge sigh of relief, shaking her head. Putting two and two together, he realized he had been fighting Nadeline and Wesley. He then shot Wesley a look. "Ow." He told him, straightening up but still rubbing where the Dalmascan prince had hit him. Still, now that that was said and done, he saw Savayna fighting Chaos and readied his gun again, shooting several times at the Esper. Nadeline grinned at Wesley, and then joined Grant for the attack.

Clearly horrified, Emiri outright dropped her bow. She had attacked Jaakuna again. He didn't seem to have gotten hurt, but she saw her arrows a distance away from her. She really did attack him. As she recalled her nightmare, she slowly sank to her knees, trembling. "I can't--" Emiri put her hands to her head as another sharp pain shot through it. She must have used her power again, she had no idea what she had just been doing. She looked up at Jaakuna, then at Chaos. Shaking her head, she picked up her bow. "I'm fine." She replied, rubbing her gut, though she did back away slightly from Jaakuna. Not from him attacking her, no, if it wasn't for that she was sure she would have hurt him. Taking in a deep breath, she turned her attention back to Chaos.

The brunette readied another arrow, aiming it at the Esper. As it fired, he easily deflected it with one of his swords. She then held out her hand, a clock appearing beneath him. "Slow!" She called out. Despite the hand turning slowly, it had no effect on the Esper. Don't insult me. Chaos' voice echoed in her head. You're going to have to do a lot better then that. She shook her head, agreeing. She needed to get her head in the game, what was she thinking? "Everyone, get back!" She called out, putting her bow away. Once everyone was in the clear, she held out both her hands, closing her eyes. The Mist around her shifted, crackling slightly in small bursts. Electricity could be seen surrounding her, and soon the same thing would be happening to Chaos.

"By my hand, power shall prevail, incarnate here and now, blessing us with might--Creare!"

As she finished her chant, several bolts of Mist appeared, striking Chaos. Each one would explode on him, converging on top of each strike, until finally, what could be only explained as a Mist explosion happened. The resulting wave surged through the room, cleanly knocking everyone down. The Esper was silent, yet sunk to the ground, fading away. Its crystal appeared and shattered as it did with the rest, its mark appearing on the brunette's left hand. Emiri panted heavily, clearly exhausted by the attack, though she stood up as Chaos appeared before her.

"Impressive." He chuckled. "And now, I am at your command."

"Told you." She muttered, clearly displeased.

"Now, is that tone for me, or for yourself?" He asked, clearly amused.

She remained silent, and he disappeared. Nabudis once again filled her sight, and she looked at the door. Without waiting for her teammates, she simply walked out. "Emi!" Nadeline called, having gotten to her feet as well. Grant seemed to follow her lead, though, clearly not wanting to be here anymore. Nadeline had a feeling that despite getting the Esper, this had been a Pyrrhic victory for them.

[AlteredTundra]

As seen from his face, Grant was not happy with Wesley for hitting him, but soon the expression on his face afterwards would make it clear to Wesley that he understood what happened, so he just would let it go, it seemed. Meanwhile, Emiri and Jaakuna looked at each other. Her look of disbelief was then taken over by a sharp pain in her head as she gripped it. Jaakuna knew this had to be from her power. The more she used it, the more the headaches happened and Jaakuna knew they would just keep on getting worse and worse. Still, she would stand up, claiming she was fine, but Jaakuna knew that she wasn’t.

When she stood up, Jaakuna did the same and they both looked to Chaos. Jaakuna would run in with two swords in his hand. He leaped up, struck Chaos with both of them in a succession of two vertical slashes. Chaos easily deflected them and when Jaakuna was pushed back. Due to his athletic ability, Jaakuna did a backflip in the air and landed on his feet. He would see Wesley and the others each do their own attack. Savayna would attack from the back with a Blizzaga, but Chaos blocked it with Aeroaga, smashing the ice and sending Savayna back once more. He saw Grant and Nadeline each do their own attacks and Wesley even went in with a Holara, which was deflected by one of the swords. The attacks would keep coming and they would get deflected. Parts of them would hit Chaos, but it was just the same thing over and over again. Even when Emiri would do her own attacks, they would be useless.

When everyone kept on trying, Emiri would tell them to stand back. Heeding her words, the group got behind her and they watched as mist surrounded her body. Chaos watched her intently as well. Soon the mist around her would take a form of multiple shades of electricity. Chaos would be surrounded by the same electricity. Emiri would chant out a chant and as she finished, bolts of lightning composed of mist came crashing down upon Chaos, each piling one after another. As it finished, there was an explosion of mist, which sent the entire party flying back. The force of it shocked(pun-intended) everyone. The end result was Chaos starting to fade, turning into a crystal-like object and then fading once more. The glyph of Chaos, The Walker of the Wheel, appeared on Emiri’s left hand. When that happened, she just exited without a word to anyone. Nadeline called out, but she didn’t stop. Everyone else just followed Emiri and Grant. It was one hell of a day, that’s for sure and getting out of Nabudis was their top priority at the moment.

---

In The Cubicle, a head popped out from the wall. A certain female would look as Jaakuna and the others would exit the room. Popping her entire body out, Levi was in full view. She laughed evilly and she looked around the room. Obviously the brats were only in Nabudis to get Chaos and Levi was quite fine with that. Her reason for coming to Nabudis was more important than just acquiring an Esper. Truly, her reason for coming was much more valuable.

As she appeared before the back of the room, right where Chaos was, she smiled. “As dark as midnight, as light as day; as tranquil as a forest, as loud as an engine — open the gates of Nabudis and show me truth.” She chanted as the back wall would first divide vertically and then behind it would turn and split horizontally. A walkway was revealed and Levi walked through the opening. She would walk down the pathway that had golden textiles and the walls were paved with black and silver engravings of the scions of both light and dark,. As Levi would arrive at the end, the room was as she had remembered it. The room had a pedestal up top of a raising, circular platform above ground level. In the pedestal itself, there was an object. It had a hard, grey outer crust and a glowing black inner. It was indeed the Midlight Shard.

Levi would pick up the shard and she would just laugh…and laugh. The laughing could be heard throughout the entire area of Nabudis.

---

As they walked out of the room where Chaos formally was, the walk out of Nabudis was a quiet one for the most part. There were very few words from Emiri to the rest of the group. Even though they would ask, she would just state that she didn’t want to talk about it. About halfway through the journey out, Jaakuna noticed that Emiri was getting physically exhausted, so he told her to let him give her a piggy-back ride. After a few rounds of protest on her part and insisting on his, she gave in. It was the rest of the walk that she was on his back and five minutes after doing so, she passed out. As they continued, Jaakuna heard slight noise of laughter. He would turn his head back as he kept walking. He didn’t know what it was, but he cared not to investigate it. He just wanted to get the hell out of Nabudis.

When they got out of the Necrohol of Nabudis, they would walk further away so that Jaakuna could signal Iris to beam them up. Once that happened, they would be inside the Ifrit and by the time they did, Emiri was awake and walking on her own. Everyone would head to the dining room as Jaakuna had told Iris to set a course for Archadia, since they can go there without worry now. Once he did, they sat at the dining room table. Jaakuna stretched and sighed. “So glad that we could get out of that place. I never want to see Nabudis for as long as I live.” Jaakuna said finally glad to be out of that hellhole.

[Hero]

The trek back was silent, for the most part. Nadeline didn't dare blame anyone in that aspect, and so made sure she, too, was silent. How she wished she could read minds, but as she stared at the back of Emiri's head, she let out a sigh. She was lucky, it seemed, as everyone else had the same blank expression. Savayna's nightmare was disturbing enough, she didn't know if she wanted to know what everyone else's was like. What could she say? What could she even do to help? Not only that, but Zodiark popped up...again. Jaakuna was hiding something, this much she knew for sure. She watched as Emiri protested a ride from him, insisting she was fine. Lola had managed to mimic Emiri, and that little fact seemed to have shaken the brunette up. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she somehow felt sure the nightmare was not the only thing that had bothered her.

She thought she heard laughter as they exited, but as everyone else chose to ignore it, she had no way of investigating it. She looked at Emiri on Jaakuna's back, her eyes closed, but her expression was not of exhaustion. It was of worry. Once they were in the Ifrit, violet eyes signaled that she was awake, and the group went to the dining room. All was silent until Jaakuna broke it.

"I don't think any of us do." Grant groaned, running a hand through his hair. "How the hell did Lola even...make those nightmares?"

Emiri stared at her hands on the table. "She told me...she uses information. She didn't say how she got it, but she used them for the illusions." Her voice was even quieter than usual.

Nadeline then remembered Lola's shapeshifting. "So then, she didn't put you in a nightmare? What did she do to you?"

The brunette visibly tensed up, and it was as if she could feel Lola's hands on her. She remembered stabbing Jaakuna as well. "I was in one, but she brought me out, pretending to be Jaakuna." She told the group. "Then she..." Touched me. "...took my weapons and tied me up. I guess she tried to do the same to Jaakuna." She concluded.

Grant raised an eyebrow. He was sure he wasn't the only one who caught that hesitation on her part. What did Lola do to her? Nadeline caught it too, but she didn't know how to address it. She didn't want to confront her, Emiri already looked depressed enough. Hell, everyone looked depressed as hell. The princess tucked her hair behind her ear, getting slightly nervous. But she needed to know. "Where they...that bad?" She asked slowly.

"What do you mean that bad?" Emiri looked up, a very low anger in her voice. "What, are you telling me it didn't affect you?"

Damn. "Well, I just...heard everyone's voices. And I was in a wedding dress getting pulled into the sea." Nadeline replied somewhat hesitantly, looking around. "I mean, I got out of it...but the worst that could have happened was me drowning...so...I guess to answer your question, no, it didn't."

Grant crossed his arms, the slightest tint of jealousy in his eyes. Boy did she have it easy. "Oh, so that's it? Lucky you then." He asked, raising an eyebrow. "It wasn't like that for me, I WISH it would have been something as stupid as that." He murmured. Emiri simply stared at her hands. While she felt the same way Grant did, she didn't want to admit it.

[AlteredTundra]

As they sat around the table, Grant would echo Jaakuna in stating that none of them wanted to revisit Nabudis for a variety of reasons, but maybe the main one everyone could agree on was that the place just crept them all the fuck out. That’s when Grant would then pose the question on how Lola made those nightmares. Emiri would reveal that she told her that she did so via the information she gathered on all of them, though didn’t specify how she got said information. Jaakuna, and Savayna cursed aloud and Wesley was curious and equally as angry and distraught.

When Nadeline would assume that Emiri wasn’t put in one, she would respond by saying that she was in one, but Lola brought her out of it as Jaakuna and tortured her by tying her up and taking her weapons, saying she would do the same to Jaakuna. At that point, the blonde man was thinking back on what Emiri said that Lola would do to all of Emiri’s friends and kill them right in front of her. Though, Jaakuna wondered what her nightmare really was about.

As everyone thought about their respective thoughts, Nadeline would half-rhetorically ask the group if their nightmares were really that bad. Everyone shot Nadeline a glare, and Emiri would voice her slight anger and ask Nadeline what she meant by that and then ask her if hers was affected her as bad as the others. The Rozarrian Princess would say that she heard everyone’s voices and that she was in a wedding dress and drowning. Jaakuna huffed moderately loud, Savayna did the same out of jealousy. Everyone seemed to feel the same way. Wesley did as well, but he did not do anything to hint as such.

When Grant would express his obvious jealousy at Nadeline’s lack of tragedy in her nightmare, Jaakuna, Wesley, and Savayna all looked down, each gazing their hands. Savayna was the first one to speak. “Mine was —it was horrible. I was back at my homeland, but about ten years in the past, then I was teleported to the night that Archadia attacked my village and then I saw all of you.” Savayna’s words were cut short. She couldn’t bring herself to say the rest. “It was just something I don’t ever want to think about.” She said, her whole body trembling.

Wesley saw Savayna shaking. It must’ve been really horrible. He thought to himself. “ I think we can all safely say that our nightmares were each our worst fears, I know mine was something that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.” Wesley said smiling down at his hands.

Jaakuna was just staring at everyone, then his hands. “Mine..it was..” Jaakuna stopped himself. He couldn’t bring himself to even say the beginning portion of it. Everything that led up to the end of it really was horrible, especially the part where he gave into Zodiark. Just everything was so wrong, but Jaakuna couldn’t help but feel that it was more of a premonition rather than a nightmare. The fact that Zodiark knew what happened in and out of the dream proved Jaakuna right.

[Hero]

Nadeline felt extremely guilty upon asking, seeing as how truly, everyone had suffered. No, they were still suffering. What could she even say or do? Despite their reluctance to speak on it, she knew they needed to be addressed. At the risk of earning another round of glares (Emiri outright looked like she wanted to maim her in particular) she decided to give an idea. She cleared her throat, hoping to get everyone's attention. "It is often best believed that problems are best solved by talking about them." She told the group as a whole, though when she received several looks, she waved her hands anxiously. "Not here, in front of everyone...maybe in private...if you feel like it." She hastily corrected herself, as Emiri looked ready to rip her head off. "I mean I'm here, too, I suppose." She shrugged, if only to alleviate Emiri's rather scathing glare.

At this point, Emiri decided that she had enough. She pushed her seat back, standing up and simply walking out. Talking about it? No way. They'd think she was crazy. Grant watched her rather abrupt departure, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah...perhaps some time to properly adjust and digest...though you are right." He offered, not wanting to hurt her feelings. And she was right. Bottling it up would just make it worse. "For now, we should just...relax for a moment."

[AlteredTundra]

When Nadeline suggested that everyone talk about what they each went through, they all shot her a look, but then she would correct herself and say that she was there for anyone who wanted to talk about it. As Wesley definitely wanted to talk to Nadeline about it, but he had yet to find a way to bring it up. What he experienced, he didn’t know what the proper way was to bring it up. It was at the moment that Nadeline said what she said that Emiri simply got out of her seat, and walked out. Clearly she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.

When everyone, especially Jaakuna, watched Emiri leave, worried, Grant would speak that they just needed to adjust to it all and digest what had happened. He would agree with Nadeline, however. Jaakuna looked down and he stood up from his seat. “I’ll go and make sure Emiri is alright.” Jaakuna said as he also left. The four of them were left and Wesley would think and maybe it was best if they all just did as Grant suggested, and relaxed their bodies as well as their minds.

As Jaakuna walked out of the dining room and into the hallway, he caught up to Emiri. He just walked beside her, hands in his pockets, and turned his eyes to her. “I guess I don’t need to ask if you’re alright. Obviously something’s got you rattled, as it does with all of us.” Jaakuna said

[Hero]

Emiri walked down the hall, not even sure where she was trying to go. She just needed to get out of there. It wasn't Nadeline's fault, but the last thing she wanted to do was talk and relive what had happened. Jaakuna caught up to her, and she held her elbows in each hand. He was right, she was certainly rattled. At the very least, had it been the nightmare, she could blame it on that. But the nightmare didn't bother her. Lola did. Emiri rubbed her arms, not wanting to look at Jaakuna. She felt ashamed, and she didn't know why. She should have killed her when she had the chance. But even then, it wouldn't undo what she did. Nothing could.

She opened her mouth, as if wanting to tell Jaakuna, but what would he even say? Would he look down on her? She decided she needed--no, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to get it off her chest. "The nightmare...it...that's not it." She fumbled her words, if only because she didn't know how to say it. "No, it did bother me, but...gods." Why was it so hard to say it? Taking in a deep breath, she stopped walking and faced Jaakuna. "In my nightmare, I...I ended up killing you." She ended up blurting out, much to her dismay. "It was so confusing, somehow it happened and...but that's...that's not the worst part. It's what happened when I got out of there...what she did..." Her voice trailed off as she held her head, clearly distressed.

---

As both Jaakuna and Emiri left, Nadeline sank in her seat a bit. She hated that she couldn't do anything for any of them. Grant drummed his fingers on the table, not really sure what to do. It had been his idea to relax, though. He started humming lightly, a song he remembered hearing a street performer sing once, a very long time ago. Nadeline let out a sigh, running her hands through her hair, though she placed her chin in the palm of her hand. As she listened to Grant hum, she vaguely recognized the song. "That's...we heard that...oh where was it? Your mother used to sing that to us." She told him. He nodded as he continued to hum.

[AlteredTundra]

There was a clear feeling of boredom around the table. Grant was drumming his fingers and humming some song that his mother sang to him as a child, Nadeline had her palm underneath her chin all bored-like, Wesley laid his head on his hands darting eyes to everyone and Savayna even found herself rapidly tapping her fingers and tapping her foot as well. It just seemed everyone didn’t know what to do with themselves right now.

Savayna figured she might as well. “So, this song your mom sang to you.” She said, “does it got a name?” She asked.

---

As they walked through the halls, going nowhere in particular, Emiri stopped and Jaakuna did as well. She would face him. She would state that in her nightmare, she ended up killing Jaakuna. He had a look of half-shock, half-I-was-expecting-that expression on his face. Though, he did wonder what exactly Lola did to her. Clearly it had her all freaked out. Jaakuna did want to know, but he wouldn’t press her for it. “You can tell me when you’re ready. This is something you need to want to tell me.” He said smiling at her and motioned her to follow him to his room.

---

In the Phon Coast, Levi, in her armor, would walk around. As she walked around, she came to one of the shorelines and she inhaled the clean, crisp air. She pressed her breastplate of her armor, and the entire armor, including the helmet, would retract, revealing a rather gothic-looking dress. The dress was cut between the breasts, clearly showing her curves. It was cut that way all the way down to her hips, but not as much. Belts closed most of the abs portion A feather-like part of the dress trailed down the back of it and she had black heels on and several black straps around her legs. The dress didn’t really cover anything below her butt, but the feather portion covered most of it.

Levi knelt down, and looked at a plant. She eyed it with a sincere gaze.“Fallen petals still have their use.” After she said that, a Blue Rose appeared in her hand. Levi smiled at the sight of it.