[IC] Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum [7/10 Slots]

[Kissu]

Ace too turned her head towards the direction of the explosion, smoke billowing from somewhere behind the mountains as Duncan's words were confirmed to be true. SeeD really wasted no time, huh? "It's unfortunate, I admit." Ace agreed with a slight shrug, turning back to meet him with an unfazed expression. "But still...'a bad day for a Galbadian soldier'? A bold claim. And utterly, utterly wrong."

She tapped her nose with a secretive smile, implying that not all was as it seemed, before getting up to her feet with a sense of purpose. "Fett, get the kit. As for you, Duncan Lerwick, I want you to sit tight and enjoy the show...whilst you still have the means to enjoy anything."

She walked over to the generator, her eyes raking over her work one more time just to make sure she didn't miss anything. The boosters were working, the circuits replaced and connected to the transformers...everything appeared in order. Ace took a long, deep breath as she gripped the lever, preparing herself for the worst before switching on the power, her heart praying to all the deities in the world that this would work.



The sound of crackling electricity was the first thing Asa noticed, her eyebrows disappearing under her fringe in surprise just before the floor began to tremble violently beneath their feet, whirring and zapping and screeching filling their heads like a chaotic cacophony.

"Idon'tlikethisIdon'tlikethis" Fett's panicked mumbling could barely be heard over the noise as he cradled himself to the wall, a startled yelp escaping him as the summit of the tower slid open and a tall, cylinder-shaped object erected from the centre.

Everything became still for a moment, Ace's breath catching in her throat as she watched the spectacle unfold. Was...was that it?

Before she could even begin to feel disappointment, the cylinder split open, metal plates sliding out and connecting to form a dish, and a large spined antenna protuded outward towards the vanilla sky. Static could be felt crackling in the air as the antennae started to glow with energy, a bright beam illuminating the skies above and dazzling their eyes for only a moment.



And then...it was quiet.

"Fett." She called over to the quaking soldier, the male in question scrambling clumsily to his feet. "Contact HQ. Inform them that the Communication Tower is in operation."

"Sir!"

"Also inform them that we have a SeeD captive. There will be undoubtedly more on their way, so prepare for a Code Red if necessary."

"Yessir!" Fett gave her a quick salute and a smile. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. Drinks on me tonight, sir."

Ace scoffed at his offer. "Worry about that later. Right now...I thought I asked you to-?"

"Oh, the kit!" Fett fetched a leather case from their supplies and placed it between Ace and Duncan. "All equipment sterilized and accounted for, sir."

"Good." In truth, Asa wasn't much fond of torture, unlike most of her Galbadian comrades. She found it brutal and undignified, and the carnal enjoyment some of her superiors reaped from it was a little unsettling.

However, this man had slaughtered her fellow soldiers without remorse, even allowing one of them to suffer a long, agonizing death from Bug Bite venom. For that...he would truly suffer.

Besides, roughing him up a little would send a firm message to his rescuers, when they came. The Galbadian Army was not to be messed with.

"So let's get better acquainted, Duncan," Ace gave him a faux polite smile, snapping open the suitcase and picking out what appeared to be a mouth clamp and some surgical forceps. Should she go for the teeth first? That would cause some problems with the interrogation... "You know what? I'll let you break the ice first. Tell me which body part you like least."

[Lennon79]

It was a bit disturbing to see the lack of concern in the officer's eyes; either he hid his emotions better than most soldiers or he really didn't care about the lives of the substation garrison. Duncan prayed it was the former, as the latter made his own survival even likely... Deciding that antagonising the guy would be a bad idea, the SeeD sat in silence as the soldiers activated a generator nearby. A dozen ideas ran though his head as to what it powered, from some kind of defence mechanism to an inactive horde of mechs. Fortunately he was quickly proven wrong as the antennae rose along with his own bafflement. Long-range radio transmissions simply didn't work, hadn't since he was a child; some kind of atmospheric interference. No nation had successfully penetrated that interference in over seventeen years despite a dozen attempts. Then again this tower was a holdover from the Holy Dollet Empire a century ago and the Empire had a reputation for using brute force technology... But even if it did work, what could Galbadia use it for... If Garden had know about this, then the first stage of the mission would have been to blow that tower, never mind the substations. But the Galbadians had other plans it seemed, including... and yeah, there was the infamous standard issue torture kit... Every Galbadian unit was given one, full of needles, electrodes and a selection of less refined tools. The officer withdrew several such pieces of medieval history... Despite fighting down a wave of nausea, Duncan stood firm, grinning fiercely. 'I've always thought my teeth were a bit bent. Care to fix them, Mr..?' At this point the bravado was more for his own sake than theirs.

[Kissu]

Ace blinked, a little surprised by the man's show of false bravado. He didn't look the type to be so...ballsy. But then again, he did tackle that substation all on his own...

And then the recollection of his efforts in killing most of her comrades flooded back to her. Oh yes, there was that bloodlust back.

"You can call me Ace," she finished his question with a half-smirk, handling the metallic object in her hands with a sense of complete ease. "You may as well know, since we're becoming such good friends and all. Now..." She leaned in close, mouth clamp in her hands as she planned to pry his mouth open for easier access. "Front or back?"

[Shiinen]

Electricity crackled as Eika charged up the pathway to the tower -- activated. It was activated. That's where they had him...

tђคt'ร ฬђєгє tђєץ ђค๔ ђเ๓.

Her hand yanked off the makeshift blindfold she'd wrapped over her eyes, emotion overcompensating for the logic she wasn't applying for the situation at hand as a few of the soldiers that had taken station in the entrance turned to. With guns aimed, she showed no fear as bullet sang her way. Her orbs deflected each that came her way, whilst her own voice rang out in a monstrous bellow far beyond that of the quieter girl that'd been in the classroom not too long ago.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

And with that, she'd grab hold of one of the orbs and slam it right against the face of the first guard that came in reach.

вσσм.

Lightning exploded forth from the makeshift punch, the force traversing through all of the guards there and clearing her a path through. ...Ah. They were...In the way. Getting in the way of her getting to her instructor. Getting in the way of her saving the man that had taught them all he could throughout the classes, lazy or not.

"...Ah...I suppose it is time for that...isn't it?..."

A smile perked up on her face as she stepped into the tower. Careless, reckless usage of her Thundara spells would fly throughout the walls as guard after guard was bought down by a swift, vicious assault to the face or other precious body part with her magic, or rendered completely unconscious -- pained, harmed...maybe even dead from her lacking care that had come from this point. Into the elevator she went- ..Ah. Too many buttons to understand quite well...

Fuck it.

She slammed her hand on it, that same electrical current traversing through her hands and down the mechanism to get it going. Worked well enough, and it had her going up. Only when she was up, and when she could step out and see...

What in the world was this?

Attempted torture?

"Excuse me."

To hell if she'd let that happen. Sorry to crash the party, but one of her orbs flew from the rotating ring around her in order to send another Thundara spell flying her way. To hell if there were a thousand guns pointed to her, or mechs that might be lingering around. All that could be said for her at the moment was that there was traces of blood speckled across her arms and legs, a bit on her face, and that eyes...

So many eyes were staring up now.

From her trio of orbs that weren't being used. From the shadow lingering underneath her feet. All cracked eyes staring through the room as Eika rose her one free orb up with her hand.

"๔๏ภ't ץ๏ย קยt ץ๏ยг Ŧเltђץ ђคภ๔ร ๏ภ ๓ץ เภรtгยςt๏г."

And then...The beginning of it. To see beyond these complicated little things required her guardian...White hands. Dozens of white hands began to raise up from under her, grabbing at her legs -- at the empty air -- at anything that could be used to begin dragging out her Guardian Force. Call it a cold greeting, but she was completely alright with turning this into a bloodbath for the sake of getting Duncan out of here with her.

Costs didn't matter, at this point.

[soren]

Syrus hadn't answered the SeeD that had thrust his weapon in front of Eika. Even when she had taken off and Kein finally had grew a spin and started off after her. He had just stared at the man until he knew that he wasn't going to be anything rash. Syrus was fired up and ready to smack down whomever was in the direction that Eika took off in. "Well then unless you wanna be left behind we should get going." Syrus then started off after Kein and Eika.

Catching up to Kein was easy as he was still hurt. Eika was in psycho mode so the adrenaline pumping through her veins was now putting her into fight mode. She definitely had something for Teach. No one had this much admiration towards their teacher unless they liked them. She was going to get herself in trouble if she lost it. Suddenly as he was running towards her direction a satellite dish sprouted from the tower they were heading towards. Syrus didn't stop but instead picked up his speed. He remembered thinking earlier that this was something other than a take over and his suspicions were correct. But what did they had to gain. Those dishes were unless right? Nothing could broadcast from them because of some frequency interference or some shit. He knew that was all bullshit anyway. Esthar had tons of transmission everyday to what he had no idea because he was never told. Either way this wasn't good. That had to be where they were keeping Duncan.

Syrus finally reached the tower and saw Eika electrify her way in with her shocking personality. Approaching the entrance he heard screams of pain and horror. Suddenly he felt a surge of nightmarish power coming from Eika as he entered the room. "Eika!! NOOOO!!!!" Summoning what every she was summoning in here would be very...very bad idea. He was hopeing he wasn't going to have to do this but he had no choice. "Crystal Prism Prison!!" A combination of light, ice and earth magics swirled around his hand at his command. "I am sorry Eika." He went over to her and touched he forehead as she was looking up and a crystal like prison formed over her both rendering her inert but conscious. It wouldn't take long for her to break free with the power of her orbs still at her command but at least she might not be able to summon the thing she was about to summon. He would have to free Duncan from his captors before Eika lost control.

Syrus stepped out in front of Eika and looked at the Soldiers. "So I suggest that if you don't want that to happen to you then I would put your guys down. Also if you don't get the hell out of here then she is going to break free and kill all of you in a single swipe." Syrus looked back at Eika then to the soldiers again. "So what's it going to be?"

[Zarkun]

Jericho sighed and turned to go after the trio of examinees who were determined to save their instructor. While it was completely against their orders, SeeD didn't leave their own to the enemy, simply because it wasn't what they did. I just hope someone's ta- His thought was interrupted by the sound of an explosion coming from one of the substations followed by the sounds of the building falling in on itself. The spectacle, at least the explosion, was pretty impressive. However, he didn't think the examinees were responsible. SeeDs used what they had, even though they might have been issued explosives.

"Impressive." Taking his eyes off the scene, Jericho takes off at a sprint after the trio, passing by the boy named Kein quickly and soon spotting the activating long range communications dish, causing him to hesitate and slow down. This...this wasn't good, but it was also confusing. No one could use them, they didn't work because of some kind interference. He wasn't sure what, he hadn't paid close attention to that part of class. Still, the head instructor needed to be informed. {James? Jericho. Galbadia just activated Dollet's long range communications dish.} Pausing, he listened to James response and sighed. Jericho hated when James yelled at him. {Look, tell the head instructor what's going on...No, I'm not off mission. Apparently the examinees' instructor got captured and taken up there...I know, I know, but my orders are to back them up. That's what I'm doing...Right, right, sure. Jericho out.}

Turning off the comlink, he continues after the trio, catching up to them at the base of the tower. The red haired boy froze Eika in place, but Jericho didn't slow down, flipping over the frozen Eika and the casually stopped red haired young boy and slamming his scythe blade against the sword of one of the Galbadian troops. "Mission objective is to force these people into retreat. Why are you waiting?" Pushing off against the sword wielder, he engages in a furious attack, spinning and blocking and counter attacking.

[Little_ninja]

Once he got ready, Xerox did not pay any attention to if Charlotte had stayed or gone to rescue. Sneaking in through the North entrance of the substation, he made it through to the hanger. In the hanger, most of the mechas were charging, but two were ready, a SAM08G and a GIM52A. Exactly what he needed. Laying out his tools from his toolbox and some other equipment, he was spotted. An alarm was blaring aloud. It was to Xerox's plan and expectations. Equipping his gauntlet and taking his spanner off his back, he prepared for battle. Soldiers pouring into the hanger. Not wanting to shoot, in case they ricocheted in the enclosed space. The hand with the gauntlet extended at a frightful pace, launching some disc blades, cutting through some soldiers at random. Numbers were charging at him.

Xerox was vastly outnumbered, but he was taking down numerous soldiers while taking a few hits. Smashing them with his giant spanner, and with powerful punches and kicks. Taking some cuts, kicks and punches, he must of taken about 50 in this manner. His gauntlet had a low number of discs to launch, and had ended up using it's other disassembled form as a whip to get some range. Taking another punch, Xerox felt power surge through him. Power, energy, adrenaline, whatever it was to be called, it was time for him to unleash it. Slamming his spanner down, and punching it on a certain spot, it reverberated. A shock wave pushed people back. He had the room, he had his tools. It was time for the Rise of the Machines.

Rushing towards the two mechas, with tools in hand, he disassembled the SAM08G and GIM52A at lightning speed. The soldiers tried to come in to attack him but were in awe at the speed he was disassembling the two machines. Not only that, they had trouble approaching, the spanner on the ground would vibrate again and again, causing a shock waves. The shock waves were smaller, but prevented them from engaging him. Over the course of 10 seconds he had disassembled the two machines. He then began assembly. Combining the power sources, and reconfiguring the limbs, the joints, everything was changed. Xerox's limit break was fading away. Finishing it, he had combined the two mechas, creating his first full-sized mecha. It's performance, firepower, everything was superior to it's previously uncombined parts. It was only inferior in it's power usage, consuming more power for the speed to move.

Taking his spanner and tools, the soldiers tried to charge at him, the mecha, being changed to a voice activated control, swept the Galbadian soldiers through the wall with it's arm as Xerox called out, "Left arm sweep 14 meters." A large portion of soldiers were hit against the wall, bleeding all over, dying. The others ran, trying to get backup and getting into some of the mechas outside. "Down." Xerox commanded, the mecha leaned down, and Xerox got up on it. "Forward". he called out, it started moving forward, walking through the wall of the hanger. It won't last long though, only about 5 more minutes of juice It was difficult to give it power efficiency while boosting power and mobility. It continued through the front entrance to the East, squashing some of the soldiers and not being effected by their attacks.

"Stop." Xerox commanded once more, having taken some distance from the substation. "Fire the Type D explosives." he called out. Having modified the machines, he also disassembled the weapons and made better weapons. With this, the mecha had fired at the substation, blowing up the whole substation in a giant explosion, followed by he explosions of the mechas in the substation. Within seconds, the mecha powered down. The enemies scattered away from the substation, the few who remained alive at least did. Getting down, Xerox activated his ESS, underneath the mecha, and it fell into the rift, being stored away. "Mission complete." he felt relieved, but he was in danger. Taking cover to the trees, he had little energy left after forcing his limit break Rise of the Machines to last longer than it should have. He sat down, on alert. Taking a few potions from his ESS he waited to recover.

Suddenly, in the direction of the tower, Xerox saw the beam of light coming from it. Communication? But, the interference ... Unless ... Xerox had a bad feeling and was suspicious abut some sources of information, but could not do much, he continued to rest, until Charlotte would hopefully use the item he left with her.

---

Rue painfully watched the Vinzer come into his mane. Normally uncomfortable about the idea, he had to accept it at this point in time. After it had nestled in, Rue continued to move. Vinzer was not heavy, so Rue could move at a reasonable pace. Seeing soldiers, Rue flanked around, climbing the tower with it's own limbs.

He watched the situation unfold of the beginning of the interrogation, but he could not just go gun-ho and jump in. Rue understood, he had limited fighting capability, against many opponents like this. Suddenly he heard Eika approaching and eventually coming up the tower, followed by Syrus and what seemed like the other SeeD that came to assist Jericho. With Eika taking attention, followed by Syrus who froze the girl and Jericho who started to fight, the attention was drawn onto the three. Waiting a little longer, Rue jumped down, deploying the DS to shield bash the lieutenant, Ace from above. Landing, he quickly went to free the captured Instructor Duncan. Although, he was sure the Instructor did not want him around, Rue was still obliged to help with the rescue. The moomba's shield was rather big for the moomba himself, but it's fine, since it was designed for human use. While freeing the Instructor, Rue was sure to keep the shield between himself or Duncan and any assailant.

[soren]

Syrus shrugged his shoulders at everything and gave up playing nice. In a flash he threw back the sides of his trench to reveal the gunblades. A smile formed on his lips as he quickly gabbed each of them. "This is going to be fun." the first two that made it around the SeeD's scythe charged Syrus while holding their swords out. "That's not how you play the game boys!" Syrus erupted forward batting both swords away and appearing behind them. Both feel to the ground. Syrus then heard a commotion behind the soldiers; turns out a little red and orange moomba and a bitebug had dropped from the ceiling. "Well then guess he is going to earn his keep after all." Syrus then flung himself into the middle of the rest of the soldiers and began to fight. Some of them weren't going do and others dropped like flies. Syrus began to take so hits too. A slash to his back, a slash to his arm, and finally a gunshot to his leg. Syrus was anger now but saved his burst of energy just in case they needed it during an escape. Syrus pushed through to the person that the Rue landed on. Assuming this was their leader he grabbed the guy and held a gunblade to her throat. Syrus didn't know if this play would work especially since his leg was so badly injured. Would the person he was holding prisoner notice and use that or would he panic. One this was for sure and that was if these soldiers didn't want their commanding officer to die then they would leave. Behind him Rue was untying Duncan. Syrus hoped this would give them enough time as well.

[Kissu]

Ace immediately dropped her tools as she heard the sound of thunder and loud screams pierce the tower, her head shooting up warily towards the direction of the lift.

So. They've finally arrived.

She gritted her teeth as she heard the chaos down below, the guards stationed at the entrance clearly failing in their duties as their painful cries echoed in her head. Shit. Sounds like a massacre down there.

Revenge didn't matter anymore. Disfiguring the SeeD's pretty face was the last of her priorities now as she quickly rose to her feet and-

The sound of the lift jerking into life broke the silence that had swept over the tower, capturing the young Lieutenant's attention immediately as she waved over to the remaining Galbadian soldiers to get into position and to commence fire upon sight. After what felt like an eternity, what finally emerged was the last thing Asa expected to see.

It was a girl, dressed in a SeeD uniform that was soaked in blood, with long flowing black hair and pale skin that was speckled undoubtedly with the remains of her men.

That wasn't what was so unusual about her however.

She appeared to have control over enchanted orbs that spiralled around her like she had some kind of gravitational pull over them, all of them glistening with what appeared to be potent elemental Paramagics stored within. The spectacle was enough to distract Ace's men from acting immediately like they were instructed, which gave the vengeful girl enough time to make her move.

Before Ace could even register what was happening, one of the girl's orbs catapulted itself in her direction, electricity beaming fiercely towards her, leaving Ace with merely seconds to act.

Immediately, Ace threw herself forward, landing heavily on top of her captive as the Thundara spell singed her hair by mere centimeters. That...was too close. She craned her head back up just in time to see the cold fury in the girl's empty crimson eyes, the following words that flowed from her mouth chilling her to the bone.

"๔๏ภ't ץ๏ย קยt ץ๏ยг Ŧเltђץ ђคภ๔ร ๏ภ ๓ץ เภรtгยςt๏г."

It was like a scene in a horror movie. Eyes started to appear from the strange orbs that floated around the girl's head, all watching her with a blank expression that made the hairs on the back of Asa's neck stand on end.

The girl rose one of her orbs with her hand, strange white hands appearing from the ground and clawing at her legs, the whole spectacle both terrifying and bizarre to witness. As Asa quickly got back to her feet, it took her only a moment to assess what was really happening here.

She was summoning a Guardian Force. And it wasn't going to be pretty.

Eyes widening at the implications of this, she ordered her men to commence fire. With enough power, they would be able to break through the spell and destroy their antagonist, but they all remained immobilized from fear, their eyes staring at the alien ones reflected in the orbs like they were hypnotised. "Dammit! Listen to me! Commence fire" She yelled, activating her own stock of magic as she frantically searched for a powerful spell that would deter the girl.

Fortunately, it appeared the action was unnecessary, as amongst the distraction, the lift had reoperated for two other people, both of which she quickly noted were also in SeeD uniforms. The red-haired one bellowed the girl's name before touching her forehead with some sort of foreign magic, causing her body to freeze in the midst of her summoning, her cold, furious expression fixed on her pale face. Ace breathed a sigh of relief at that brief aversion to disaster before turning her head curiously at the young male's arrogant words. "I think you've forgotten who you're dealing with, boy," she growled, aggravated by his flippant manner and the rather unwelcome intrusion as she gripped the back of the instructor's hair and pulled him back to his knees. "Look around."

The Galbadian soldiers, who had previously frozen in terror of Eika's attack, had now quickly recovered their senses, rifles and sub-automatics trained on the intruders in case they dared to make a move on rescuing their instructor. It was true; they did have limited time whilst the girl was frozen in place. Whatever that girl planned to unleash, it was certain to cause blood to spill, and with the state of the old, rickety communications tower as it was, it was certainly possible she could capsize it in her fury and kill them all.

So, she had to think and act fast. There was no way she was going to allow this situation to slip away from her fingers now. Not whilst she could still hold her head up high as a Lieutenant of the Galbadian Army.

Before she had a chance to speak, one of the other members of SeeD had moved impetuously towards one of of her troops, his scythe clashing loudly with his sword as the soldier staggered back in shock. "Wait-!" She stepped forward quickly to intercept, sword unsheathed-

But it was too late. With a vicious slice of his scythe, the inexperienced soldier fell to his knees, a deep gash across his stomach, and with a pitiful clatter of his sword, he slumped to the ground.

Asa fought back the bile rising in her throat. "Enough." Her voice was hard and unforgiving, her tone sharp enough to cut through all the people on the summit of the tower as she tugged Duncan's hair painfully and rested the razor sharp edge of her blade against the throbbing pulse in his neck. The action was enough to stop the two mobile SeeDs in their tracks, her own men looking weak at the knees from the sudden death of their comrade, and the risingly dark, dangerous tone that crept in their leader's voice. "One word, and I'll slice your dear instructor's throat. One move, and my men riddle you with holes." She said these words with a deceptive sense of calm, her eyes gauging the SeeD soldiers coldly. "You doubt me?" She allowed the blade to bite into Duncan's neck, with just enough pressure to break skin as a single drop of crimson trailed down his jugular. The sight appeared to be enough to paralyze the two SeeD members, the two groups finally reaching the stalemate over what was more dangerous; Ace's blade, or Eika's awakening.

Ace knew she had little time left. It was foolish, arrogant to lead this many SeeD here, with a squadron so unprepared in the ways of battle. But now wasn't a time to reflect, but to act. And she knew what she had to do, as cowardly as it was. "This can all end in bloodshed if you wish. No victors, no glory. Just death. Or..." She kept the blade firm again Duncan's neck as she met the red head's gaze firmly. "You can take that girl with you and leave. In return, you will know mercy from the Galbadian Army. Yes, your instructor will be our prisoner. But he will be alive. And so will all of you."

It was a long shot. And gauging by their reactions, it wasn't a welcome option either. But they were running out of time. I just have to pray that Fett got to HQ before I get any more blood on my hands. She bit the inside of her cheek to contain her anger, and the taste of iron flooded her mouth. She had to keep cool.

However, unbeknownst to her at that point in time, Asa's anger would be her own undoing as it would distract her from noticing an orange fluffy creature descend on her from behind, something hard and blunt hitting her on the back of her head as her vision spun for a moment and she loosened her grip on her captive, her sword clattering to the ground.

"Lieutenant!"

She could hear one of her men yell out her name, but she could barely focus on it as she staggered to the ground, groggy from the unexpected blow. Dammit...sword...where's my sword?! Her hand graced the handle blindly, and she felt a brief wave of relief, but it was short-lived as she soon felt someone pulling her up and pulling her tightly against him with something sharp and cold against her throat. "Talk about...turning the tables..." Ace coughed, a wry smile on her lips as her men looked at her position with trepidation and uncertainty. She held a hand up to stop them.before they did something stupid and rash. "It's okay...what can I say, you've got me." Taking note of the way the young SeeD held himself, she played to his cocky nature, making a show of being 'helpless', whilst simultaneously scanning for something that would be used to her advantage. Hmm... Her eyes fell to the blood seeping from the male's leg, and the way it shook as it supported his weight. "Just please...don't kill me." Her voice sounded pitiful and desperate, and as soon as she spotted the first sign of hesitation, she aimed a deft kick straight for his bad leg so that could attempt to writhe out of his grasp and grasp for her sword.

[Lennon79]

Fortunately Duncan's last chance for defiant wit was cut off by the sound of a melee below, coupled with a familiar voice in angry tones; Eika..? Couldn't be, the candidates had no way of knowing he was missing, much less that the Galbadians had him prisoner here. Still... whoever it was down there wasn't messing about, the sound of cracking bones and thunder floated up to the top of the tower. Suddenly the sounds of combat ceased and the lift creaked to life. There was a moment of frenzied activity as the solders prepared to receive whoever was coming up, followed by an inordinately long wait for the lift to arrive. It was with mixed feelings that Duncan watched as Eika strolled off the platform, blood-soaked and outwardly calm; the very reason he had gone off alone to the second substation was to ensure that his students remained together and yet here she was, cut off from her support. Then again, her timing was impeccable... a minute later and Duncan would have been eating soup for the rest of his life.

Eika's outer veneer of calm soon crumbled and the instructor was dumbstruck by her actions; was he that much of an inspiring teacher..? Lying underneath the Galbadian officer and struggling to free himself from the bonds, Duncan wrestled with conflicting feelings of pride and horror at his student's actions. But before he could do anything, a rough grasp pulled at his hair, dragging him to his knees and he watched helplessly as Syrus and an unknown SeeD arrived on the scene. Had his attention not been so divided, Duncan would have found the technically impossible sealing magic Syrus used very disturbing. As it was, a sword had suddenly appeared at his throat and any questions he may have had died in his throat. With blood pounding in his head, a mild concussion and crashing after a sustained adrenaline rush, Duncan was in no state to follow the situation spiralling around him. There was a sensation of motion as if he were being dropped, then a warm fuzzy feeling around his arms... his free arms. 'J... just give me... my junction drive.' With his conciousness rapidly fading, perhaps from stress, perhaps from the unceremonious beating earlier, he only had a matter of minutes before he would pass out. With his junctions back, Artio's presence would help stabilise him, at least until proper medical care could be administered.

[Zarkun]

The exchange wasn't too shabby, but it was quickly becoming apparent that the Galbadian soldier had never used the weapon outside of training, and possibly not much in. It wasn't long before he presented an opening in his guard, one which was quickly exploited by a quick jab from the butt of the scythe's haft to the man's chin. As he stumbled back, Jericho spun the scythe around, creating an ice grip near the top of the blade and putting a lot of strength behind the slash, gutting the man. "The Reaper always gets his due." As the Galbadian fell to the ground, the grip vanished and he spun the scythe into position to stop the second blade when the Galbadian squad leader's voice sounded through the noise.

"Enough." Jericho turned to face him and saw what he was doing. He had tugged Duncan's hair so his head sat high and rested the razor sharp edge of his blade against the throbbing pulse of the jugular in the instructor's neck. This had turned south quickly, and it seemed that the turn over rate would simply keep going. Through Glaciem, Jericho could almost FEEL the magic containing Eika fading away to...somewhere. On top of that, her Guardian Force would soon be summoned, which freezing her hadn't stopped. Think fast and act faster. We don't have the time to debate this. Guardian Forces are't all good natured and never when facing their junctionee's enemies. He'd made the mistake personally during one of his first missions.

"One word, and I'll slice your dear instructor's throat. One move, and my men riddle you with holes." He wasn't sure what the squad leader was thinking, but clearly they were willing to push thing envelope as far as it took to prevent more deaths. "You doubt me?" He allowed the blade to bite into the instructor's neck, with just enough pressure to break skin as a single drop of crimson trailed down his jugular. Jericho slid out of his combat stance and put one hand behind his back, ice magic already forming in it. The man didn't know that her hostage was simply another SeeD operative to Jericho, and for now, it was probably opportunistic for him to keep it that way.

"This can all end in bloodshed if you wish. No victors, no glory. Just death. Or..." He kept the blade firm again Duncan's neck as he met the red headed boy's gaze firmly, allowing Jericho to keep increasing his magic outflow. "You can take that girl with you and leave. In return, you will know mercy from the Galbadian Army. Yes, your instructor will be our prisoner. But he will be alive. And so will all of you."

At this point, Jericho felt it was time to make a move when something orange fell on the leader's head and hit them with...A shield? What the hell is-nevermind, focus. While the Galbadians were trying to help their lieutenant, as one of the soldiers was so nice to point out, he struck.

"Blizzaga!" Throwing his hand out in front of him, the powerful ice magic attack blasts the soldiers immediately in front of Jericho away from him, leaving a few with a nasty case of frozenness that would take some powerful fire or healing magic to get rid of.

Spinning around, he knocks away a slash from a soldier behind him, but catches the edge of the thrust from another's sword to his side, leaving a gash along it. Grunting, Jericho kicks back, knocking the offending soldier away. He returns to exchanging blows with the first soldier, this one with a little more skill than the one from before but still inexperienced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy grab the lieutenant and put the edge of one of his gunblades, a rare and impressive weapon, to his throat. Good move, might buy us some space. The soldier he's fighting doesn't stop though, pushing his attack as though it would help his lieutenant.

The Galbadian slashes viciously downwards towards Jericho's head and he spins around the Galbadian, kicking him in the back. As the Galbadian stumbles forward, he catches himself and turns around, swinging horizontally and causing the SeeD to jump back a step to avoid getting hit. Leaping forward, Jericho unleashes a series of vertical and horizontal spinning slashes. The Galbadian blocked most of both, but got knicked on the side and shoulder from a couple of them. The Galbadian counters with a series of quick slashes and thrusts, even slipping in a pommel strike, knocking the SeeD back and giving him a couple of fresh cuts. Jericho didn't slow down though. Stepping back into the fray, he brought his scythe towards the Galbadian's head in a feint, hoping to force the soldier into ducking or jumping back. It was during this that the lieutenant attepted to break free from the boy's grasp, which only emboldened the man Jericho faced. Jumping back, the Galbadian goes for a thrust, but instead gets knocked in the chin by the butt end of the scythe, knocking him back again. "Stand down, Galbadian." The man lunges in response, forcing Jericho to side step and counter with his own downward slash. He leaps forward and rolls back into a standing position, but this was the end game. Jericho had used a couple applications of Haste to give him increased speed and he appeared on the other side of the man, behind him a ways with the scythe poised to strike. "The Reaper comes for all, but he's here for you now." The Galbadian tried to stumble away from Jericho, but it was already too late. With a flash of cold steel, the Galbadian's body froze in place for a moment as he looked back at the Lieutenant with a small smile, the instructor's arms free but him quickly loosing consciousness.

"S-sorry, s-sir..." Falling with a thud, a puddle of blood formed around the dead Galbadian and Jericho stood with his scythe at the ready for any further attacks.

[soren]

Syrus fell to the ground as the commander hit his bad leg. The gunblade that he had held to her throat skidded across the floor. He yelled out in pain as he tried to get back up, this time knocking over the tools and instruments of torture that had been laid out. Syrus wasn't going anywhere sadly. His leg was beyond the amount of damage that anyone but himself could mend and there was a pissed off enemy off whom was now standing over him. "Alright guess we are back to this. Still you have a choice." Syrus was hoping to play to her fear. "The barrier on that girl is weakening and well she will kill you if you don't retreat." He shot a glance over to Eika the prison was cracking around the top and soon she would be free. The power he felt coming from her felt horrifying. He wasn't about to go down with the tower so he wanted to get himself and everyone else out of there. In be back ground he heard what the reaper boy was doing and was greatful that he had slain some more enemies. "See come on you may have me down and out but you don't stand a chance against that SeeD over there." Syrus was taunting her now. If she made an attack scythe man might protect him but then again he could get stabbed with a blade. Either way shit would go down afterwards. "Duncan get your ass up! Please man I need some help over here!" Syrus hoped the man was ok but now he needed help. Another crack on Eika's prison light was now erupting from it which meant her power was starting to break through. "What is your move Galbadian?" He waited there almost helpless.

[Hero]

Take the test, they said. It will be fine, they said. Intercept the others, he said. Well this is just fan-tucking-fastic, he said. No, he didn't say that. All I gotta do is pump this thing with magic and then boom. Simple. Sure. Except this entire situation is SHIT.

Those thoughts were running through Charlotte's mind as she sat with her back against the wall.

A somewhat irritated Charlotte had separated from Xerox and had done as he instructed. Too bad the terrain and the stupid boots made her journey much more difficult then she needed to be. Not to mention having to tread carefully and walking along to make sure she wasn't spotted. Oh and that beam from the tower, yeah, that was great. She bitched and whined internally, her exterior just being extremely annoyed. Why couldn't things ever go smoothly? It's just A, then, B, then C, and the rest of the damn alphabet but of course, everything needs to go wrong. It provides tension, drama, excitement. Charlotte hated all of those things. And yet as she made her way, one hand clutching Xerox's device, a million possibilities running through her head. How did this even happen? Why did it happen? Rescuing instructors was NOT in the manual. No, no, no, she needed to calm down. Ah damn it, she was nervous. Taking in a very long and deep breath, Charlotte kept on going, though now she was more relaxed. Now that her head was on her shoulders again, she let the possibilities run through her head again. Once the tower was close, she began doing as Xerox instructed, placing magic into the device.

Now that she had seen the situation inside, she figured they were all royally and thoroughly screwed.

"There." She stated (to herself) as she finished charging Xerox's device with magic.

[Hero]

double post pretend rue is dancing please

[Little_ninja]

Accessing his ESS Xerox took out a device similar to the one he passed Charlotte. So far, no soldiers had caught him, and he had mostly recovered. Waiting for the device to be ready to activate. Moments later, he saw it blink. It was ready. Pressing the button, he activated the device, alongside activating his ESS at the same time, where the device was. A black vortex appeared from the device. There it was, his proudest invention, Teleportation Gates. The same black vortex appears from the device Charlotte has as well. Whether she is holding it, or placed it on the ground.

This paired device has two requirements, tons of paramagic, partly due to the inefficiency of the energy conversion and the rest due to the raw energy required. He has pumped thousands of paramagic into the device to activate it once. This is his second time ever activating it. The other, the most crucial requirement, is the distorted space, his ESS. This device allows to opening of the ESS for organic material, that is living things. More energy is required for extra distance and material. Of course, there were limitations to it. The energy burns out the engine, therefore requiring a fix after a single use, also, it locks up the ESS for 36 hours. Another is the strain on the living thing that passes through. The engine can take days to fix, so he would take a while before he could fix this. It took him a long time to charge it up, and to use it once, let alone this second time.

Jumping through the vortex, the device used on Xerox's end is taken into the ESS behind him. The strain he feels on his body is due to the dimensional distortions and laws of physics changes he has to experience through the vortex. Not long after the portal appears in front of Charlotte, Xerox appeared. Depending on where the device on Charlotte's end was, or the direction it faced, would change where Xerox landed. If Charlotte held the device in her hand, and it pointed away, he would land neatly on the floor. If it faced her, he would obviously crash into her. If it was on the ground and away from Charlotte, he would end up rolling along the ground as he came out. If it faced her, he would, again crash into her, however, would end up in a .... position that would lead to many misunderstandings. After appearing, he would feel a great strain on his body, making it difficult to move. He had not fully recovered from using Rise of the Machines, therefore the strain was greater than the last time he used the device.

---

Nodding at Instructor Duncan's words, Rue turned to see Syrus had taken the leader of the Galbadian soldiers in the area down as hostage. Scanning the room, he saw a soldier at the back, with what looked like wrist mounted PDA. That was definitely Duncan's Junction Drive. Pressing the button to cause the DS back into it's bracelet form, on all fours, Rue weaved passed the soldiers, they were unable to match his speed and agility as he passed through most of their legs. Some soldiers tried to slash, others were ready to aim, but none ended up attacking, in fear of injuring their allies. Jumping up to the soldier at the back, he deployed the DS into it's shield form. Smashing into the soldier. The soldier lost his footing and fell to the ground, dropping the PDA. Dashing again, he made it to the PDA.

He was far from any soldier to use as cover as he did before however. The agility and speed he had would get hit shot before he could make it back to Duncan. Rue threw the PDA over, accurately towards Duncan. As he threw it, Syrus was taken down by the Lieutenant. The PDA flew above the two of them, dropping towards Duncan, who hopefully could catch it. In the midst of this, the soldiers came to shoot at Rue. The DS was made very resilient, that the shots were not even making a dent on it. But Rue was not really in a position to move.

[Lennon79]

An object landed in his lap, triggering a brief jolt of awareness. His junction drive. Whoever that fluffy sensation had belonged to had come through. In a series of motions so drilled into him as to be instinctual, Duncan strapped the drive to his arm and keyed the startup button. Within seconds he felt the presence of Artio resurface from the back of his mind like a force of nature, filling him with vigour once again. The GF didn't heal any his wounds but with the resilience of Artio's junctions, Duncan no longer felt any pain. He rose to his feet, for the first time actually seeing what was going on around him. The only one actively attacking the Galbadians was the unknown SeeD and Syrus' attempt to diffuse the situation had failed. Casting an eye toward the frozen Eika, Duncan was at a loss to why she had been sealed in the first place. Even if she did manage to take down the tower, which was highly unlikely, that could only have been a good thing for them. The SeeDs could have escaped easily and the majority of the soldiers would have perished in the collapse. If we have the time, I think we'll do just that after we wrap things up here. He didn't see Charlotte or Xerox but the presence of the ginger suggested that they were close; come to think of it, he would have to thank the moomba later although it would be grudgingly. In the meantime however, Rue was pinned and that Duncan could do something about.

Taking advantage of the fact that none of the Galbadians had noticed him yet, Duncan focussed on Artio in his mind, summoning her to fight. As an experienced SeeD he had a significant advantage over the candidates in this department; years of working with Artio had forged a deep understanding between them, effectively slashing the time it took to summon her to a third. Seconds later he relinquished control and the great bear manifested with a bestial roar. She bounded forward, leaping over Rue to engage the soldiers attacking him, foot long claws slashing through the air.

---

God only knew how it happened, but Kein had once again fallen behind. To be fair, Eika hadn't set an easy pace and the others had sprinted past without a care for his injured leg. By the time he arrived at the scene, flashes of magic could be seen from the top of the tower and a squad of beat up looking Galbadians were gathering near the entrance, ready to storm the building. They must have blown past these guys, he thought grimly. It'll be a mess if they hit the others in the back. Decision made, Kein forged ahead, charging the squad's exposed flank. One injured soldier was down before the others knew what hit them, a deft slash removing one leg by the knee. But he had lost the element of surprise and Kein soon found himself on the defensive, blocking a steady stream of attacks while back-pedalling toward the cliff face. In hindsight, perhaps taking a full squad head-on hadn't been his best idea ever; he prayed that his actions had at least prevented those upstairs from being stabbed in the back.

[Shiinen]

ς๏l๔.

It was so...very...ς๏l๔.

Without knowledge as to why,care as to why, anything between....She found herself trapped -- encased within ice that made no sense.

รςгєค๓เภﻮ เภ ђєг ђєค๔.

รкเภ ๏ภ Ŧเгє Ŧг๏๓ tђє ς๏l๔.

The orbs that had remained unfrozen outside of her encasing her set themselves aflame as she lingered in pain, aware and watching everything going on in front of her.

Syrus did it.

The magic keeping her where she was would begin to seep away, her orbs eating away at its existence -- absorbing it into equivalent parts to fill the quartet until she eventually began twitching. Until cracks along the magic began to form. Until she would curl her hand into a fist and begin whispering things that would make no sense to one that heard her.

It was so cold, it hurt. It really, really hurt.

The shattering of the ice behind her followed with a pained cry from the Orb Junctioner as she fell to her knees. Unable to try and stop the summoning of her own Guardian Force that she'd begun prior to this mess, she could only shake and hold her own body for what little warmth she could provide the hypersensitive skin as her quartet's eyes began to stare all throughout the platform that they were on. A large bear summoned, people hanging around, Duncan free and moving...

รђє ฬครภ't ﻮ๏เภﻮ t๏ รt๏ק ภ๏ฬ.

The hands that had clawed at their owner before finally began to drag themselves out, using the ground itself to force an amalgamation of flesh and horror from the prison within Eika's shadow. The smell of decay -- no, nothing disgusting. Nothing of the sort. The small of decaying senses. It was a dying trace of sweetness that found itself struggling to maintain its existence as eyeball after eyeball raised up and stared wildly around the room. It was the soft humming that came from the visage of a young girl that was bonded -- molded in with the spherical abomination that escaped from its confines.

No eyes.

Her face lacked eye sockets completely, a smile playing at her lips as she reached out to place her hands upon the poor, freezing girl.

Leaning down, the soft whispers came from all angles, all forms of volumes and tones to flood into her head. Yes, it was so...so very cold. And the pain of the one that junctioned a Guardian Force would lead to unknown effects, could it not? For the risen orb, embedded with hundreds- maybe thousands of eyes that took on all shapes and sizes, that was just the thing to happen.

The lips of the girl attached to the mess parted, revealing one single bloody eye in the back of her throat that stared straight at the one that had remained closest to Duncan -- the Lieutenant, as others had shouted out.

ץєร. שเรเ๏ภคгץ ς๏ยl๔ รєє єשєгץtђเภﻮ.

A horrifying shriek would come by, from mouths that opened up -- made themselves exist within the flesh of her sphere. Grab their attention. Make them look. Make them see the eyes.

...And the first soldier that would come to stare up? Ah, what a poor thing.

Stone.

Within a moment of seeing the Guardian Force's gaze, his body would become nothing more than stone. Not even a slow, agonizing process to allow him to have his final words or thoughts. Quite simply, a blink of the eye and his thoughts ceased.

And here we'd have it now. Eika's idea for the whole time that she'd been massacring people to get to Duncan: turn it all to stone. See beyond the flesh, gaze into the soul -- the mind -- the core, and solidify it to bring the rest of the body to a permanent stop.

All the while that this would happen, she'd be clutching onto one of her orbs -- a Fira spell driving on in it to try and recover her body heat whilst her other three had raged on back to launching Thundara spells all throughout the tower in conscious efforts to begin destroying everything that was keeping it running. Her secondary talent beyond this was breaking mechanics -- and to hell if she wouldn't be the one to break everything else, since she'd gone through the troubles of depowering the first floor with her rage. All Eika could do with herself past the manipulation of these orbs? ...Shake and shiver, like a child lost in the rain.

Her skin couldn't handle the ice, and this was what had come of it.

Good job, Syrus.

[Kissu]

Succeeding in the struggle, Ace forward-rolled out of Syrus's grasp, her hand skimming around the handle of her blade as she kicked herself back up to her feet, swinging her weapon just to a short stop by the young man's neck. "I don't think you're in a position to say anything right now." Ace's words were cold, veiling the rising anger and disgust within herself. How could she allow some lowly SeeD to best her like that? Admittedly, the moomba had been an unexpected complication, but right now, she needed to be stronger than ever. Too many lives relied on her to lead them, to get them through this arduous battle.

Weakness wasn't an option.

She raised her sword high, intent on dispatching the troublesome SeeD before her so that she could move onto protecting her men. She would make it a quick, clean death.

And then...out of the corner of her eye, she saw a reflection in her blade. The sound of steel ripping flesh. A pitiful, choked voice that somehow pierced through the cries and clashing of weapons, striking Asa straight in the gut.

"Sorry, sir..."

No.

Not you too.

Fett slumped to the ground in a pool of crimson, the life dimming from his eyes as a man stood before him. That man with the scythe.

Asa abandoned the injured SeeD without a second thought, no longer consumed by thinning the numbers or any strategic nonsense. The pain of losing another soldier tipped her over the edge, sinking her deeper into the vortex of vengeance as her sword immediately clashed with the scythe. Her speed had taken the SeeD by surprise, the force of Asa's attack causing him to stagger back slightly as he quickly started to defend every blow that came his way.

Ace showed a finesse to battle that the late Fett hadn't. Experience and determination had moulded her into a formidable fighter, and the depths of her anger only fuelled her onslaught as she threw a foreswing at the SeeD, only to be intercepted again at the last second by an impossibly quick deflection of his scythe. That Haste spell...it's preventing my moves from hitting.. The realization surfaced from the fog that hazed her mind, blinking as she immediately snapped to her senses. She spryly stepped back, hand on her Paramagic Drive as she drew out the power she needed.

"Dispel!"

Whether or not her spell had landed would be left unknown as a bolt of lightning intercepted them both, causing Ace to trip backwards from the shock as her attention was instead drawn to the growingly bizarre turn of events.

The bloodsoaked girl had finally broken free of the freezing magic, and as soon as she did, a large, fleshy, spherical abomination surfaced from behind her. Ace was immediately aware of the hundreds of eyes that roamed the battlefield, her blood running cold as her instincts screamed at her in desperation.

Don't look at it.

She immediately averted her gaze as she rose to her feet, and soon enough, it became apparent that her men had not been so wise.

One unfortunate soldier was rooted to the spot, his expression of terror frozen to his face as his skin rapidly turned stone grey. Another was crouched on the ground, sobbing as he covered his face, the petrification slowly taking effect as his limbs started to stiffen and his skin began to change hue and texture...

All the while, the girl was slinging Thundara spells in all directions with those mysterious orbs of hers, aiming only to cause havoc and wreak destruction to her surroundings. The power of her attacks were certainly impressive...but they lacked control as they appeared to assault both Galbadian and SeeD in their wrath. It was clear to see why; upon a closer inspection on the strange orb wielder it was clear just how much pain she was in. Physical? Emotional? Both? Either way, it didn't matter.

Ace needed to make a move. And fast.

"Move your ass! Now!" She roared, tossing a Soft from her limited stock of supplies straight to the slowly petrifying soldier. It was by pure luck that he caught the glimpse of the vial out of the corner of his tear-stained eyes, a shaky hand reaching out and grabbing it quickly before it smashed to the ground. He mouthed a 'thank you' (perhaps to his lieutenant, or to whatever faith he believed in), and drank greedily from the vial with his single unpetrified hand.

It was one life Ace was able to save. And it definitely wouldn't be the last on this tower if she had anything to say about it.

"Lieutenant." One of her remaining soldiers approached her from the side, clutching a slashed arm from the ferocity of that bear that had suddenly appeared. A GF, no doubt, but who it belonged to was hard to identity amongst the fighting soldiers. "What...are your orders sir?"

"My orders?" Ace closed her eyes, finally aware of the cuts and bruises on her body that she had sustained during the fight. Nothing, compared to the casualties of at least half of her squad.

If this kept going...what would happen? It was very likely they could take down at least a handful of the SeeD, but the body count for her squad would only climb in the process.

Could she do it? Could she give up their lives, just for a pat on the back and a 'well done, son', from her commanding officer when they were done?

No.

There was still another option. A chance that Fett had given them before his passing.

---

"Inform them that we have a SeeD captive. There will be undoubtedly more on their way, so prepare for a Code Red if necessary."
"Yessir!" Fett gave her a quick salute and a smile. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. Drinks on me tonight, sir."

---

A rare smile appeared on Asa's lips at that moment. He wouldn't have realized it, but Fett would be the one to save them all.

"Survive," she answered the soldier simply, meeting his perplexed expression with a confident one. "That's my order."

At that moment, a large shadow blotted out the sunlight, capturing the attention of everyone on the summit as they looked to the skies. A powerful gust of wind blustered through the field, knocking back the SeeD on their offense as the Galbadian soldiers looked on in wonderment.

From the clouds emerged a large, state-of-the-art Galbadian airship, coated in a blood-red sheen that gleamed eerily in the setting sun.

"They're...they're here..." Branon choked, his face streaming with tears and blood as he looked on with pure joy. "They came...for us."

There was no time to waste. A ramp had already descended from the base of the ship, awaiting the Galbadian survivors. Ace yelled at them to move, and the ones that did were quick to make their escape into the ship.

"I'm gonna give you all a piece of advice, SeeD." Ace turned her head towards each of the members of SeeD. The bleeding red-head clutching his leg. The breathless man wielding a scythe dripping with blood. The agonized girl, swathed in the force of her own chaotic magics. The instructor, fallen to his knees from the effort of calling his bestial summon.

Which ones, she wondered, would survive?

The sound of metal sliding over metal distracted them from Ace's words, as large twin gatling turrets protruded from the depths of the ship, shuddering and clicking into position.

The reality of the situation would take a moment to sink in, Ace knew. And boy, would she enjoy it when it did.

Her foot rested on the ramp, waiting for the final soldier to board, before awarding the members of SeeD with one final word.

"Run."

[Lennon79]

The bear thrashed wildly, sending men sprawling before her. Duncan was only along for the ride, with no way of directing Artio's rampage; some GF users could control their partners, others couldn't. Many SeeDs refused to summon their GFs, preferring to leech off them like magical batteries. Regardless of technique, GFs were a potent force on the battlefield, as Visionary and Artio proved. Between them and the other SeeDs, the Galbadians didn't stand a chance, dropping like flies, but the pace couldn't last. After a brief flurry of aggression, Artio retreated, abandoning Duncan's body. He fell to his knees, exhausted from the combined trauma and exertion. Lucky the enemy was beaten or else he would have been far too easy a target.

As he gasped through the exhaustion, Duncan heard a sound that made his blood run cold; engines, powerful ones. A dark, angular shape appeared from behind the clouds, silhouetted against the evening sky. He could barely offer a bitter curse in response; nothing they had would even scratch that thing. He cast about at the surviving soldiers fled to salvation, desperate for a way out. Syrus was injured and likely couldn't run, Eika was still raging out of control... at least the other SeeD alright, if drained. And of course, three of his students were still missing so they couldn't just leave... As the options dwindled in his mind, Duncan came to the conclusion that they had only one option. He drew something from one pocket, a simple gun of wide bore. He watched in slow motion as the airship's main guns locked into place, praying that the others remembered their studies.

Drawing all his energy together, Duncan overclocked his junction drive as only he knew how, spamming Protect and Haste spells on himself and the others before firing the flaregun straight up. The shell rose with an unearthly shriek that could be heard for miles around, exploding in a flash of blood red. It signified the most desperate order a SeeD could be given. 'All hands, retreat! Every fucking man for himself!' Every Garden operative in the city would know what it meant, that a SeeD team was caught in an untenable situation and had broken. No support would be coming but they would make damn sure that the evac birds were at the drop zone, ready for a hot extraction. Duncan fled, grabbing Eika as he passed and barrelling over the side of the crippled tower. Even if Syrus wasn't up on his regulation, the other guy was a qualified Seed and would know what to do; Eika on the other hand, had completely lost it and Duncan would sooner take a bullet than leave one of his students behind.

[Hero]

Charlotte peered at the device closely. Nothing was happening--or at least, that had been her last thought before Xerox came literally popping out of it. She let out a rather alarmed yell as he landed on top of her, falling to the ground. She had no idea that the device had been for teleportation of all things. She let out a small groan as she tried to sit up, though Xerox was not making things any easier. What exactly had she done to deserve this? She shot a look at her teammate, though as she was about to ask him to get off, she noticed that he was having trouble moving. Of course. Now all she needed was Duncan to come and fail her for frolicking around.

As she was about to shove Xerox off of her, a red light caught her attention. She knew what that meant. The announcement came shortly afterwards. Had they failed then? If only they had more time...but something must have happened. "Of course." Charlotte muttered, then turned her attention to Xerox. "Sorry about this." She managed to force herself into a sitting position, lightly pushing him off. Placing her rapier on the ground and after a few seconds of fumbling, she managed to get him on her back, rapier on one hand as her other arm supported him. "If you can, hang on." She instructed him, raising her rapier above the two of them. "Haste!" She called, and without waiting another second, the blonde took off in a burst of speed. As she ran, she spotted Kein. "Come on, we're leaving! Haste!" She called, casting the spell on him as she continued to run. The blonde only hoped he would follow.