2019-09-28: Maybe I'm a...
- Log: Maybe I'm a...
- Cast: Lunata Croze, Jacqueline Barber, Leon Albus, Lily Keil, Fei Fong Wong, Elhaym van Houten, Shalune Amira, Josephine Lovelace
- Where: Macalania
- Date: September 28, 2019
- Summary: The Black Wolves, Jacqueline, and Shalune all rush to the door leading to Cloister of Trials where Lunata stands guard - but her experiences have taken a toll on her...
===============================<* Macalania *>================================ The Macalania region is home to two ancient, crystalline formations of unsurpassed mystery and beauty. The first is the Macalania Woods - a shining maze-like forest overseen by strange, ancient, birdlike Beastmen who speak in bizarre riddles and weave light like silk. The second is Lake Macalania - an eternally frozen lake surrounded by snowy crevasses, which one can just see the frozen Temple beneath. Macalania is a distant, remote region -- and full of its own dangers. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jz644GeAdE
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
THE IMMEDIATE CIRCUMSTANCE,
A frightened Templekeeper bursts onto the scene and accidentally drops a sphere with Jyscal's revelations. That Maester Seymour killed his father. That he implores those with the ability:
Stop my son. Stop Seymour.
And then the proposal reception receives uninvited guests in the form of Odessa soldiers and their metric ton of ARMs.
Yuna and her entourage are in the Cloister of the Fayth. Seymour has gone in too, closely followed by Belize, who...
Who...
Lunata has just shielded from gunfire. The Wolves, Jay and Shalune arrive to find her at the door to the Cloister of the Fayth. An antechamber directly preceeding it on the lower rings of the Temple with a view overlooking the lake below--
AND NOW
She's riddled with bullet wounds. Several puncturing her red Yevon robes. One straight through the now-broken Yggdrasil Alliance patch on her left forearm. It's symbolic. Maybe.
monster
The Odessa soldiers around her aren't moving.
such a monster
Their bodies aren't suited to be called bodies anymore. Cold hard steel paid them an unfriendly visit.
such a villain
Orochi-Agito is dripping with fresh blood in Lunata's trembling hands. Her shell-shocked look is evident on her face. Violence and fighting isn't new to her, it unfortunately isn't, and yet...
She catches notice of people. They look like blurs to her right now. A black blur, a grey blur, a colourful blur... it's a trick of the eye. Monsters don't have eyes like humans.
what do they ... see?
do they even see a person anymore?
"I'm... guarding this door..." she whispers, as if reasserting someone else's words.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Chaos had broken out in the temple.
Seymour's true nature had been revealed. Compounding this, Odessa attacked immediately after, throwing everything into chaos.
Concerned, Jacqueline immediately rushed off into the temple to find Lunata and Shalune - both to warn them about what she heard and to check and make sure they were both okay.
Her trail brings her to the antechamber leading to the Cloister of Trials where Lunata stands guard, the door firmly sealed behind her...
...and, the floor around her littered with corpses.
Jacqueline freezes in place, the breath stolen from her, but then she looks up at Lunata and gasps at the sight of her current state.
"O-oh, Guardians, Lunata...!" Jacqueline says, shocked. Fear and concern for Lunata's well-being takes over and she hurries toward her, reaching into her bags for one of the reverse potions she kept on hand specifically for Lunata. "A-are you okay? N-no, that's a silly question... Just hang on..."
She is not yet immediately aware of anyone else who might be arriving, her focus taken up completely by Lunata and her current condition.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon Albus came to the party late. His entry involved some lying, some acting, and using the Crusader sword that Josie gave him to pretend to be a former, now penitent Crusader.
He spent most of that party in a side room, wringing out his clothing, and made himself look as presentable as possible. It was when he adjusted his shirt's collar, smoothing it down, that he felt Macalania Temple shudder under the impact of a cannon shot.
He took a second, after that.
He cracks the door open with his foot -- frowns as he sees nothing but chaos -- and then closes it. If he was a more heroically minded sort, he would charge out there shooting.
He decides against it, waiting a moment for things to calm.
He didn't come alone -- he got some of the Wolves inside the little storage room. It has casks of wine, some stores of food, and a knocked out Guado Guardian. Leon rubs his fist, before he looks up at the others. "Well," he says. "Time to see what that calamity was about."
Which is when he kicks the door open.
The inside of the Temple is a smoking mess. Most people fled the Temple; even the surviving Warrior Monks and Guado Guardians had fled, getting the civilians clear as Drifters fought with Odessa. Some Odessa soldiers are inside, bodies strewn over the floor. Leon glances at them.
Then, he glances at the door to the Cloister of Trials -- and the girl in front of it. He sighs, hand on his hip, as he looks at her. "Lunata," he says. "You... seem like you've seen better days. Do you need healing?"
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily Keil had intended to wait, to meet up with the others and continue watching the Temple for further trouble. But with the assault by Odessa... Well, it could've gone either way--arranged a later rendezvous, or meet up now. Here she is, though--
She was not with Leon in the immediate storage room, but she did make her way towards the temple amidst the assault. A single woman can slip by much more easily when Odessa's looking for ARMS and a battle is raging, after all. So, through the giant front doors--
"This is a mess," Lily says as she puts the wall to her back, examining the room; she sees the door opening, the bodies... looks up--
Red robes. The patch on Lunata's forearm... and her shocked look. A whisper...
"Lunata," Lily says too, looking for a moment to Leon and nodding to him, before she starts to walk forward. "You did well. It looks like you kept all of them out. Let me have a look at you, and we'll see where we can go from here."
She notices Jay wanting to help, naturally--but Lily has a different way. Holding no weapons but the knife at her side, she starts to ascend the stairs directly towards Lunata.
DC: Lunata Croze switches forms to the Girl Who Lost Her Time! DC: Lily Keil switches forms to Lily Keil?! DC: Leon Albus switches forms to The Black Wolf!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei was at the party but when shit went down he just kind of rubbed at his forehead, sighed, and laid low for a bit so he could figure out what to do next.
But once Leon arrives, Fei joins up with him and follows after him, whispering. "Are we still kidnapping Yuna?" A pause. "What's so important in this temple besides the Fayth...?" He mutters to Leon as he looks around. This is more than just trying to harass some Summoners isn't it?
He is tense, but his movements remainfluid as he gazes about.
He spots Lunata and his eyes widen, "Lunata!"
He jogs over, concern wracking his face. "Aw geeze, what did they do to you?" Lunata seems to havve trouble, uh, 'dying' but bullets still probably hurt! And he doesn't, really, want her to die you know?
"Uh, yeah I guess it is a dumb question," Fei admits. "We'll make sure nobody else jumps ya, alright?"
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly had gone to the party to have a nice time with her daughter* and generally enjoy herself while also, covertly, feeling out the situation, and possibly corralling the Summoner herself in order to complete the mission. This is not the first time she has heard of missions that ALMOST went horrifically wrong turning into abrupt last minute successes; indeed, Kelvena once--
Ah, but that was long ago, and far away, when things were so much different than they are today.
In the interim... She drank two glasses of wine - large glasses, strong wine - in rapid succession just a few minutes ago. There was a brief interval with Fei, with a charming Veruni of all people.
And then all this shit happened.
Elly has been near Fei, and has been sobering up rapidly but not very directly. When Fei speaks up, Elly makes a single cold giggle into her curled fist, and then it dies, because she can smell blood.
The Odessa troopers are there. They're dead. Decisively so. Elly stares ahead, her face blanching. She is a little behind the others, and she sways for half an instant. Perhaps that instant will be taken by Lunata as judgment. Yet within Elly, there is instead a memory -- which seeps down...
Elly looks at her hands.
Then she raises her head.
She steps forwards, hands at her side. Jay gets closer. Leon speaks with the calm of command, Lily with the efficiency of operation, Fei with the honesty she loves. Elly doesn't say anything, though she swivels around Fei to keep coming closer. One sandalled foot steps in something wet.
Her arms spread once she is close enough.
Her face crumples, not with fear but with sympathy, written in bright watercolors. "... Lunata...!!"
And if Lunata isn't quick on the draw she is going to be gathered up into a hug.
Elly may not have thought this through completely, given that the sword is still out there.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
For Shalune, the wedding wasn't exactly something she was part of. For all that she's been around Yevon as of late, she hasn't really been included in the organization of it all - she's been more than happy to accept room and board in exchange for some light labour, but the engineer's a little too free-spirited to really tie herself down to the Yevonite religion, and she's made no excuses of the fact that she's around to support Lunata rather than be particularly fervent.
But she'd at least recognized it as a chance to boost everyone's spirits. At least, up until everything had happened.
And now she's left staring at the slumped and broken body of her dearest friend, blocking their path as she mumbles words to herself - barely seeming to even register their faces. Odessa lay strewn around the corridor in a manner that makes the engineer suck a shaky breath through her teeth, and something about Lunata's bearing has alarm bells going off in the back of her mind.
Jay rushes forwards. The others rush forwards - but she hangs back a little, taking a more measured approach. "Lunie..." she says gently, her hands up for a moment in placation. Crowding the other girl... she's not sure about how well that will work right now, so she's a little slower to walk forwards, keeping her voice as soft as she can given the way it tremors. "Lunie, it's okay. It's us. You don't haveta-- you don't haveta stay here, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie had not arrived with Leon. Not immediately. This was probably not cause for concern.
At least, not until about fifteen minutes ago, when a bedraggled, furious, and cannon-toting archaeologist had more or less forced her way in through means unknown and uncertain, pushing past the guards.
This is probably where Leon had been forced to intercede. After that at least there was alcohol and time for Josie to simmer in silence.
Long enough to get about half her drink down before the temple had been rocked by an explosion.
"Let me guess," she comments to Leon, as he checks outside the door, "Odessa." Her feet are propped up on the cannon.
She keeps drinking, regardless of his answer.
It's a good bit after this that the lot of them venture on out into what can be lightly described as 'a goddamn mess'.
Drawing a sidearm from where it's holstered at her hip, Josie proceeds across the ruin with caution.
And pauses when she spots the figure at the door ahead.
"Hey, little bear," she says, her lips curved in a lopsided smile. "Wasn't expecting a friendly-like face in a place like this." She squints, taking in Lunata's condition. "...You look kinda bad. C'mere, kiddo." She gestures, stiffly, with her free hand. "We'll sort you out."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
She's here.
Of course she's here. It's got to be Jay. Because she's everywhere, doing everything, for everyone, the best that she can do... doesn't she?
"I--" Lunata hitches her breath very lightly. "Jay, why are you... I can't let you pass through here..."
She doesn't sound incredibly in the right mindset.
The Wolves probably found a poor helpless Hypello boy who just wanted to cook for a Maester on their way. Tobi doesn't seem to mind that they're taking some of the food, as he flees.
Leon arrives next.
Do you need healing?
She sees a reversed potion in Jacqueline's hands. And Fei arrives and asks the fateful question that seems to set something off in her-- as her pupils shrink and the skin around her eyes contort and wrinkle dramatically--
What did they do to you?
Elly arrives. Her face blanches. Lunata can't see clearly, so she doesn't have a face that reacts with judgement. Not for anyone but herself, perhaps.
"I'm. I'm..."
She looks to the door behind her, looking for all the world like it yawns unending into a courtroom of judgement.
Elly moves forward and gathers her into a hug. She shouldn't do that. Not because there's a sword and she might shank her, but because she thinks-- all of that icky, inky black stuff, that goo coming out of her, it'll splatter all over her...
that's a disgusting thing to get on you...
"You don't have to do this..." she whispers to Elly. "You don't..."
She sees Shalune. Of course, she's not far from Jay. They're always together. They'll always be together. ... they're not together. The whole reason this is a problem in the first place was because there was a weak link in that bond.
it's me
It's okay. It's us. You don't haveta stay here, okay?
Those pupils shrink further, and Elly can feel tension crippling Lunata's body. She quietly pushes her away, letting her have a bit of time to step back...
Little bear. Josie, too. The Wolves are here. That means their objective... their objective...
i'm not even a lunie
"I-- have to stay here. I have to--" she holds her hands to her head tighter. "Protect this door. I have to..."
you're going to let someone else die
all for a flimsy hope you aren't even sure is real
an egotistical monster like you...
"I have to!!"
you don't deserve friends like this
An enormous displacement of air SWATHES across the outer ring's antechamber - a soldier's body is flung loose and hits the railing; a clatter of spent bullet cases ring in sequence against a wall; debris flies everywhere.
It doesn't hurt, but it-- it's an intent.
they're too good for you
"Please... go. Leave me alone. Leave this door alone!"
She's not even sure if she's making sense. But she is raising Orochi-Agito. Her eyes are full of misery and confusion. She would cry. But she can't.
Because it's a trick.
Monsters can't cry.
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Shalune Amira with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Elhaym van Houten with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Leon Albus with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Lily Keil with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Sudden Burst! GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Fei Fong Wong takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points! GS: Elhaym van Houten takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Shalune Amira takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points! GS: Jacqueline Barber takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points! GS: Lily Keil critically Guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points! GS: Leon Albus guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Odessa," Leon says to Lily and Josephine both. "I think they're fighting outside."
He approaches Lunata with Elly, Fei, and Lily. His eyes flicker to Jacqueline Barber; he takes stock for a second, then looks back at the door. Lunata, though, presents a more immediate concern; he can consider charging into the Cloister once she is seen to.
He watches Shalune take a measured step -- she only passes him as he slows to a stop. He looks sideways at Josie, and then nods. He starts up after. "The Summoner and her party should be through there. We'll see to--"
He stops talking. Lunata says something, and his attention is directed to her and his words die in his throat.
'Please... go. Leave me alone. Leave this door alone!'
His silver eyes narrow, slowly, and there's a moment where he is the same mercenary who told Ida Everstead-Rey that Ignas was better off with her dead or gone; the same one who tried to shoot Ragnell in the head the moment her allegiance was clear; the same one who looked at a former comrade, and then rammed his sword through his skull length-wise. It is a cold, practiced stare.
Then there is a flinch, because that stare is practiced and not innate. Leon sighs, raising an arm -- and the shockwave blows his too-long hair back and ruffles his shirt and clothing. "Lunata," he repeats. "We have to get through there. You're too hurt... and this entire thing has gone so far south that you're practically in Slayheim."
GS: Leon Albus has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline glances back as she hears Shalune's voice, a little relieved to hear her voice and see that she's safe. She sees the Wolves, too, and they get a brief nod before Jacqueline turns her attention back to Lunata.
Jacqueline pauses in her steps, however, as she addresses her.
"I...I-I'm not here for the door, Lunata, I'm here for you. Is...is everything okay...?" Jacqueline says. She can tell there's something...off, about her, and it concerns her. She looks toward the others as they speak, and back toward Lunata - and is shocked by a shout and sudden outburst of air that nearly bowls her over, forcing her to recoil back. She takes a deep, shaky breath.
She can see the misery and confusion in Lunata's eyes. She raises her empty hands, taking a slow and careful step forward.
"I... You know I can't leave you alone, Lunata. Not when you're in such a state." Jacqueline says, shaking her head. She removes her hand from her bag, raising both of them to show that they're empty. "I don't want to go through the door. Please...lower your sword and let me tend to your wounds. Please. I...I promise it'll be okay. We can...we can talk about it. We can help you. Everything will be okay..."
Her voice is a low and reassuring whisper as she edges forward carefully toward Lunata.
She looks briefly Leon when he speaks, briefly concerned. ...She hopes that doesn't make things worse.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Sudden Burst for 0 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Huh?" Fei says.
He is promptly thrown backwards and crashes to the floor rather anticlimatically. Here ends the Demon of Elru, defeated by gay knockback aura.
But even as he groans and picks himself up, he seems more confused than anything. "Huh? I don't get it." He rubs at his forehead. He looks to Elly, perhaps hoping that she has some better idea of what's going on here than he does. He looks at the corpses.
Fei doesn't seem very happy to see these corpses.
He stands himself up slowly and says, "Uh..."
He looks to Leon next, then back to Lunata. "Hey I'm not mad at the guy for killing his dad if that's what you're worried about. Honestly, in my experience, I'm kind of worried about what the prevalence of evil dads says about society but, like, I know way too many people with evil dads to, uh, not consider that he may have had it coming? Like, I can probably count a few evil dads just right here in this room. It's fine. I don't know what this 'twisted' stuff is about either."
He looks over to Leon again and then adds, "So uh... can we go through? We're not gonna fight you, Lunie. We're friends."
GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Lunata Croze with Dad Chaser Mush! GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Fei Fong Wong's Dad Chaser Mush for 0 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly holds Lunata, but not tightly. Something gets on her.
It can't be worse than blood, can it?
She makes a soft noise, below 'there there' but above a mere hum. She turns her head a little. "I know," she says. "You did well... were you all alone?" The embrace loosens. That is a god damn mistake, or so Elly may think later.
"Lunata... things have changed," Elly begins to say, but then Lunata's voice raises and a moment later SHOCK!!! and the bursting force throws her away, twisting, landing face-forward against the wall of the nearby Cloister and trailing her fingers to scrabble for purchase, three nails and one piece of covering metal doing little more than scraping.
She is able to recover, even as Fei speaks.
Elly breathes out. "Lunata," Elly says, looking up at her, "there was a recorded sphere from Seymour's father. It was... like a letter left to be read after one's death."
"Yuna's in danger," Elly says, straightening up. "We wouldn't intrude, otherwise. Please...!"
GS: Elhaym van Houten has attacked Lunata Croze with Let me absorb the shame within your tears - Or - Dead Communications! GS: Elhaym van Houten has completed her action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Elhaym van Houten's Let me absorb the shame within your tears - Or - Dead Communications for 0 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"That's what it looked like," Lily answers Leon about Odessa. "It was a close thing even getting in here--they're swarming." But with the Summoner ahead, preventing Odessa getting to her or her Guardians or... the inside of the Temple, for that matter, seems a solid bet. Lily hasn't heard, yet, of the matter of Seymour and what he's done, wasn't present at first--
But... Lunata doesn't answer her--doesn't answer any of them in a way that makes sense. The shockwave comes--and Lily sees the.. trauma? The something in Lunata's eyes, feels the explosion coming before it hits. She stares forward, and when the air crashes around them, a black shield of shadow manifests before Lily, curving the air around her to either side and leaving her unmoved--though she does pause.
She, too, has cut down former allies. But with what she's thought lately...
Lily listens to current events. She makes a decision quickly--and walks further up the stairs.
"Go ahead and strike at me," Lily says, "If that's what you feel you have to do. But you aren't well. I can feel it."
Lily makes no motion to attack as she approaches. "Look at me; focus on my voice. Do you hear me, Lunata?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"I thought so. They were all over the field back before. Figures they'd make a second pass," Josie says, shaking her head at the situation they've been wadded into.
And then they find Lunata.
She has to stay here, she insists. She has to protect this door.
"Why? For him?"
The response may as well be in the Lunata's next action. Force slams into Josie; she staggers in response and stumbles back a step; her grip remains firm on the gun in her hand.
"Tch..." she hisses out, then shakes her head as she rights herself.
"...Is that all you got, kiddo?" she asks Lunata.
She's not smiling now.
"If you want us to go, you're going to have to do better than that."
She holsters her ARM and draws a second one -- the one she had used in the fight against Brad and Matilda. She cracks it open and slowly begins to load it. Her gaze does not leave Lunata. "But you're holding back. Right?"
The ARM snaps shut. She does not aim it at Lunata: it reains down at at the floor. "I don't think you really want to do this, little bear. C'mon. You remember what I said to you, right?"
Her eyes hood before she quotes it again:
"'Just make sure, whatever you do, that it's without any regrets.' So if you're going to take a swing at us, go on and take a swing at us! But do it for real. If you're not, just put that sword down. ...Little bear."
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Josephine Lovelace with The Quick And The Dead! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a solid hit from Josephine Lovelace's The Quick And The Dead for 0 hit points! GS: Amplify! applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Josephine Lovelace assumes the Avenger stance!
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune has spent enough time around Lunata to have some tiny inkling of what must be running through the other girl's head. She remembers clinging to the pilot's chair of the Rephaim prior to their being sent to Spira, remembers watching as Lunata faced down Odessan forces with wild abandon despite the rush of terror that had passed between them, remembers the way she'd clung to Lunata's shoulders in an attempt to pull her out of the blood-haze she'd started to sink into.
And she's more aware than anyone how much stock Lunata had put into the Maester. She hadn't been sure why that faith always seemed to be in Seymour directly, rather than in Yevon as a whole - but she'd accepted it nonetheless, thankful for anything that might offer Lunata some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. She'd promised to be there for her friend as long as she could - but there were some topics she couldn't help with. If Seymour could, then that was okay. Would have been okay. Not so much, now.
So the flat way in which Lunata says she's guarding their path makes Shalune shiver with dread, feeling a nausea start to climb up her throat. It's a much different feeling to hearing about Seymour's duplicity, or witnessing the bodies of Odessa strewn around them. It's a much more deep-rooted fear, the one she's really carried all this time. The one she thought she'd worked past, and clearly hadn't.
That Lunata might have just decided to give up, there and then.
Her instincts scream at her to be careful, and she listens to them. She loves Jay dearly, and she loves Lunata dearly, but she could write a long essay about how she of all people turned out to be the most grounded and cautious one of the trio. She doesn't know yet if rushing to Lunata's side is good or bad, or what would help most. And she hates herself for the way her fingers creep towards the sash of her robe.
In that respect, the reaction to Jay and to Elly - the way Lunata is at least coherent enough to speak - it almost comes as a relief. Shalune feels herself step forward, letting out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding-- only to have to gasp for it again as the sudden wave of intent slams her backwards, sending her skittering a few steps before she can find her balance.
She catches herself on her shotstaff, instinctively pulled from her belt and extended to dig against the floor and offer her a way to brake. For a moment she glances towards the alchemist with fear - and then she sucks in a breath, chewing at her lip. "Lunie... I know this really sucks right now. And I know you're feeling hurt. But I don't want you to hurt even worse later. And I think-- I think something real bad is going to happen."
It doesn't feel like nearly enough, but it does gives her time to gather herself for what might come next. She can't be Jay - she can't accept everything and anything. She can't be Lunata - flying into action, even if that causes problems later. She's just Shalune. But her hands tighten around her staff.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
On some conscious, rational level, Lunata probably wouldn't be surprised if Leon had to get rid of her to complete his mission. Because maybe that kind of discipline was what attracted her to the Yggdrasil Alliance, before the Wolves rebranded and broke off in the first place. In a way, there's something very similar between a kitchen and a battlefield.
The summoner and her party should be through there.
That seals it, doesn't it? They need to go through there. Because they have someone they need to protect.
Yuna is in danger. We wouldn't intrude otherwise.
"I know. I saw it. You've got..." Lunata whispers to Elly. "See... you all want to... protect someone..."
they'll think otherwise
they're vets. they're broken. they're mercs
but...
really they're heroes.
and you have even less than them
Can we go through? We're not gonna fight you, Lunie.
She closes her eyes again. Something still feels like it's burning. It's all a trick. Nothing burns inside of her.
We're friends.
Jacqueline cuts through her for a moment though. She hears her step forward. She's getting rid of her bags. "Nothing's okay..." she whispers in return, and the trembling clatter of Orochi-Agito's blade tap-tap-tapping against the stone floor is heard again as she gets agitated.
Shalune, similarly, gives her reassurances. It sucks.
it sucks real donkey eggs right now
She's feeling hurt. She's holding onto that shotstaff of hers. She hates that it's come to this. After so many weeks, months even, of having her patiently follow and tend to her despite the misgivings Shalune herself might have had. So patient.
Lily summons a shield and walks to her. Tells her to go ahead and strike her if it's what she feels she has to do.
But you aren't well.
i'm not well
i know i'm not well
Look at me.
Lunata greatly hesitates. Her body still feels stiff and paralysed. "I'm-- looking--" she opens her eyes. They're tiny, drowned out by a huge world around her. "I hear... you. But..."
It's gone so far south she might as well be in Slayheim. Shalune comments that something real bad is gonna happen.
She can feel it too.
"But where does that leave me? Back to having no leads... just more time gone. Time won't wait for me... I already lost it."
Josephine presses more intently.
For him? For Seymour? Was there something special about him? How can she just say and admit that? Risking another person's life to chase some kind of hunch she's not even sure about! How many lives is she willing to discard for herself to find a fitting end? To just die?
"...so pathetic..."
Josephine tells her that if she's gonna take a swing at them, do it for real. The goading seems to really get to her at this point in time.
"I can't not disappoint someone... no matter what I choose... I'm pathetic... so just--"
Her face contorts drastically. Another semblance of pressure rises in the air. The glint of the Original Medium's activation can be seen on Orochi-Agito. Her jaw snaps open--
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"
And it isn't swordplay that comes out. What comes out is an enormous contortion of earth and water, both from the structure of the Temple, and from the frosty air of Macalania itself.
It comes, spiking; spikes of earth, spikes of frost, spikes of something in-between, a very visceral representation of an inner anguish expelled in one breath.
... and yet it fails to touch Jacqueline and Shalune, nor Lily or Elly. The spikes race inbetween them, coming close but not catching; the intoxicating, confused mess of magic dissolves soon after. The very air is supercharged with desperation, oozing out from Lunata herself. It surrounds them with quiet, frantic, manic energy.
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Leon Albus with Aqua Viper! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Aqua Viper! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Delta Petra! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Lily Keil with Reviva! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Elhaym van Houten with Reviva! GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Stay Away... Jay... Shalune...! GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Shalune Amira with Stay Away... Jay... Shalune...! GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action. GS: Lunata Croze heals Jacqueline Barber! She gains 125 temporary hit points! GS: Amplify and Surge! applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Delta Petra for 139 hit points! GS: Fei Fong Wong guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Aqua Viper for 70 hit points! GS: Cripple! applied to Fei Fong Wong! GS: Lunata Croze heals Elhaym van Houten! She gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: Lunata Croze heals Lily Keil! She gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: Lunata Croze heals Shalune Amira! She gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: Amplify and Surge! applied to Shalune Amira! GS: Leon Albus critically Guards a hit from Lunata Croze's Aqua Viper for 22 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline hears everyone. She wants to give them some attention, but right now, she keeps her eyes on Lunata - sparing a glance only for Shalune when she speaks.
Jacqueline can feel it, too - the fear that something bad might be about to happen. She looks back toward Lunata, then, as she replies.
Nothing's okay...
"...I know." She concedes. "I know you've...been through a lot..."
She listens quietly as Lunata says she has no leads.
"...I know it... I know it must hurt, but... We'll...we'll look for them together. We'll track down Ge Ramtos himself, if we have to." Jacqueline replies. "I promised you I would...and I'll stand by that promise. We're...we're here for you, Lunata. You don't... You don't have to do this alone..."
She takes another, careful step forward.
She shakes her head, then.
"You're...you're not pathetic, Lunata." She says.
And then, Lunata shouts. It's loud, and its anguished, and it feels like a stab directly at Jacqueline's heart. Jacqueline braces herself a spikes of earth, frost, and things in between rush outward. For a moment, Jacqueline fears she might be impaled on them - but they completely pass her by. Coming close - close enough that she can feel the confused energy off of them - but never putting a scratch on her.
Jacqueline inhales. She freezes in her tracks a moment, shaking...and then, very slowly, she takes off her gauntlets and stows them away in her bag.
"I...I can't, Lunata. I won't. I...I can't leave you alone when you're like this. When you're...hurting, and suffering... I can't let you bear all of this alone." Jacqueline murmurs, shaking her head. She takes slow, careful steps forward, reaching out to her. Her ultimate goal is to rest her hand on Lunata's sword hand - not to take it away, or to make her drop the sword...but just to rest it there.
This may not work out the way she envisions.
"Please... let us, let me...help you. Please."
GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon's lips tighten into a line, as he watches the assortment of reactions -- from Elly's and Shalune's pleas, to Jay trying to help, to Lily and Josie advancing on her. He frowns, hand shifting, but not quite going for either his ARM or his sword. Not yet, even as he looks straight at Lunata. His eyes never leave her.
And spikes of earth and ice come raining down. Leon presses a button on his belt; the Raid Funnels fly up, unfolding, nad a shimmering barrier of aquamarine light appears between them just in time -- and smashing into the barrier instead of him. Ice and dirt rain down, bouncing off of it.
"Lily, Josie," Leon says, keeping his voice calm through some extraordinary effort. "She's not in control of her spells, I think." He starts walking towards her, and directs his voice to her. "Lunata. We're not going to fight you."
He speaks firmly. He was a field commander, when he in the Yggdrasill Alliance; he is the commanding officer of the Black Wolves. "But... I'm not going to stand by, while you destroy yourself."
He pulls his ARM in a flourish. It spins up, shotgun moving with a smooth, one-handed motion -- and the sight of the gun is aimed at Lunata. No, just to her side--
Just for her sword.
He fires, and tries to shoot the sword out of her hand. Perhaps it will be dangerous -- but, at the moment, Leon wants that sword away from Jacqueline.
GS: Leon Albus enters a Counter stance! GS: Leon Albus has attacked Lunata Croze with RR-2 Diplomacy! GS: Leon Albus has gained 1 Combo! GS: Leon Albus has completed his action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Leon Albus's RR-2 Diplomacy for 42 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei gets blasted in the chest by a water blast and is sent sprawling onto his back, groaning in pain. He is slower to get up this time too, but get up he does.
"I don't get it." Fei says slowly, pushing himself up to his feet and gritting his teeth. Fei is not exactly known to be a guy with great control over his anger impulse. He does check to make sure Elly is okay before turning to look back to Lunata. "You never treated me like this."
He squares his shoulders, shifting his posture a bit as he takes a defensive stance. "You know everything that I've done. Well, okay, not everything but you know I've done terrible terrible things, and you never treated me like the way you're treatin' yourself! And you know I could do all those awful things again at any moment. What makes you so special that you get to self-flagellate yourself like this??"
He walks closer but stops before closing into melee.
"So you're pathetic? So what?? We're all pathetic!" He gestures broadly with both arms. "We're all cowards who are acting on behalf of our own interest and fears."
He looks towards Jay for a moment before looking back to Lunata. "Or at least, we all feel that way too, Lunata, and we've all fallen short of our self-expectations before... All of us have. And we've all given up. But Jay's right. We help each other through it. You just gotta let us help you too. Least...it's worked better than anything else so far. You want me to punch a Guardian in a face? I'll punch a Guardian. In the face." He stalls for a moment before adding, "Wait does that one have a face?"
He kind of loses his groove here. "Like I've seen it represented as this sort of crow thing before? But also as like this cowled...gear...sleeve thing? Point is...I get that it's overwhelming right now but we can't let what we've failed to do stop us from doing what we can."
He pauses. "Right?" Uncertain. "Right."
He looks back to Lunata. "No self detonations."
GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily recognizes the sort of approach Josie is taking; she knows full well that it isn't a bluff. It wouldn't be, even here. ...There are times when she would have taken the same. Is that more like her? Or is it more like... Someone else?
"I think you're right," Lily tells Shalune, of something bad. "...But maybe it has to."
Lily studies Lunata's expression, and the scrutiny may be uncomfortable. It isn't unkind--but it's a deep analysis, a piercing kind of gaze that could well cut far deeper than the eyes, seeks the heart. Maybe, if she had more talent in emotion...
Maybe, maybe. 'If.'
Time won't wait, she says. She's pathetic...
Lily sets her jaw--but as it turns out, the magic that comes does not touch her. No, something else hits Lily, something healing, frantic, energetic. She feels that particular pwoer sink into her, and the sorceress remains still.
"You're right," Lily tells Lunata. "One way or another... You'll make someone unhappy. You'll disappoint someone; you'll let someone down. The conflicting web of expectations on us all... The longer you live, the more you do--Not just you. All of us."
She inclines her head, eyes turning for a moment to Leon, in acknowledgement. "I'll cover you," she says to him.
"So, Lunata--I know it's difficult." She lifts a hand, then--and gleams red with power, light radiating from her--and then blossoming from Leon, Fei, and Josie, to heal the wounds from the uncontrolled burst of magic ahead.
"It hurts. And it will hurt. So... don't try to get away from it. Don't try to avoid it."
"Feel it! Let yourself see it! Let yourself have the only thing that belongs just to you!"
She reaches out--to move for Lunata's wrist.
GS: Lily Keil has attacked Leon Albus with Red Aura! GS: Lily Keil has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Red Aura! GS: Lily Keil has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Red Aura! GS: Lily Keil has gained 1 Combo! GS: Lily Keil has completed her action. GS: Lily Keil heals Fei Fong Wong! He gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: Lily Keil heals Leon Albus! He gains 100 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Nothing's okay.
They want to protect someone.
I hear you, but where does that leave me?
I can't not disappoint someone...
Elly has a sudden foreboding sensation in the pit of her stomach and she raises her arms to shield herself, however futile as it may turn out to be. The surging storm of cold and water and spikes passes her, for the most part, lashing out and leaving her surrounded by a refreshing, cooling, desperate feeling. She snaps her head to look with a moment of terror towards --
fei the others, but they're not dead, and so the momentary terror fades, and Elly even forgets it was there. She breathes in deep.
She lets it out. Leon makes a hypothesis. Elly feels her stomach tighten. The sword is doing it.
There's always something, Elly thinks.
Something hurts people. Id, whatever Id is, has plagued Fei, hurt others. Whatever rests within Lily. Even Emeralda was suffering.
She takes a little breath in and out. (Fei can tell she is doing fine.) Then she breathes in -
In - IN - IN...
The Ether comes and resonates in her throat as Elly says, loud enough for the words' shape to be visible coming out of her lips,
LUNATA
"none of us have thought what you are saying," Elly says, "and none of us resent you. None of us dislike you. All of us will try to share our strength with you. You know that - I - I can't prove it to you, not with words... Lily is right. The most we can do is offer what we have already offered..."
"But you have to reach for it... even that tiny bit... I know it must feel impossible, like you're reaching with a hand made of lead across such a vast gulf... but the very first thing, that first moment of motion, I promise you that that is always, always the absolute hardest part, and once you've started you will find yourself going, and it won't be long at all until you can look back and laugh, at how hard it seemed to spread your wings and join hands with others -"
Elly breathes out. "Once you've taken wing," she concludes. And she smiles. (Even as Lily and Leon go for the disarming maneuvers.)
GS: Elhaym van Houten has attacked Lunata Croze with Screamer! GS: Elhaym van Houten has gained 1 Combo! GS: Elhaym van Houten has completed her action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Elhaym van Houten's Screamer for 0 hit points! GS: Disrupt! applied to Lunata Croze! GS: Lunata Croze has lost 1 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Lily Keil heals Josephine Lovelace! She gains 100 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Something sharpens in Josie's gaze. She takes a sharper breath than before. A line to the side of Josie's mouth twitches. She is still not smiling. "...Kiddo--"
There's a glint. It's Josie's only warning sign. It's not enough.
Earth unfolds upwards in a long and incredibly fast crawl; Josie's attempt to duck -- to sidestep at least -- comes far too slow, too late. She's born along with the rock, slammed and run along a length of the floor before the magic slides past her.
Poor showing for a magus' daughter runs the thought as she touches her hand to her side, investigates that wound further.
And eventually rises.
Josie glances sidelong at Leon as she stands, her side bloodied. She may grimace, but--
Slowly she inclines her head in a nod.
Rather purposefully, she holsters the ARM at her side and spreads both hands out before her, openhanded. A gesture of peace?
She snaps the fingers of her left hand.
There is one tattoo on her back that is the basis of every other tattoo -- save one. This tattoo reflects her first-learned spell, the one that she understands better than anything else.
A small globe of light manifests in the palm of her hand.
"Kiddo. I'm the last person to tell you what you should be doing. You want to take a swing at us? Let's do it. You want us dead? Let's go. But," the light dances as she speaks, hovering gently over her palm.
"This ain't what you want. ...You've got a raw damn deal. It's bullshit, in fact." She shakes her head, her mouth twisted in a scowl. "It's fine to be mad, sad, or whatever you want to feel."
One way or another... you'll disappoint someone in life... huh. Josie's gaze falls to the glowing sphere in her hand, her expression distant. Red light shines about her body, knitting her wounds, and her gaze is for the light in her hand alone.
"Ain't that the truth," she murmurs.
"Lily. Leon. C'mon. ...Let's bring the little lost wolf home."
She tosses the ball of light for the ceiling, lets it hover there above them all.
"May thine eyes traitors be!" she calls out, as the ball streaks down for Lunata.
"Light Flare!"
And bursts.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Lunata Croze with Light Flare! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Josephine Lovelace's Light Flare for 0 hit points! GS: Slow! applied to Lunata Croze!
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's heart sinks a little as her grip on her staff tightens, trying to figure out to herself what to do or say. There are too many conversations going on; there's Leon's calm and neutral assessment of the situation, realistic and stoic. There's Elly, careful and gentle but still insistent. There's Josephine's goading and Jacqueline's unstoppable faith and hope. It all mixes together into a cloud even she can't pull apart, so how can she ever expect Lunata to?
But she knows she can't run away from this, can't leave Lunata alone; she'd never forgive herself. And staying still isn't working, and she's sure that promising a nebulous sort of help isn't going to be a comfort, not like this, not with all the uncertainty stripped away like this. "... you want to protect someone too," she mutters softly to herself as she straightens up. "You wouldn't be here otherwise. Or-- well, maybe you would, but it wouldn't hurt so much to do it. I'm sorry, Lunie."
She's only been able to come this far on Spira by understanding and accepting Lunata's wishes - by allowing Lunata her own path through life and towards death, whatever that path might happen to be. If it weren't for that, maybe she'd still be clinging too tightly to the both of them, torn apart by the way the rift between them has widened. Maybe she'd still be burying her own feelings deep down, maybe she'd have cried and begged for Lunata to not go to the Sending. Maybe she'd just have gone off on her own again, slipped away and let everything crash down.
Is it really fair of her to demand that Lunata change her wishes now? To go 'no, you shouldn't protect him or 'you shouldn't protect that? Maybe she could suggest that Yevon, as a whole, still had a way to help Lunata. That maybe she could just shift aside just a little. But that isn't the point - and somehow, trying to shift her wishes feels even more unpleasant a thing to do to her than to say she's wrong.
That thought makes Shalune swallow tightly; the nausea is still stuck at the back of her throat, to the point where it feels like she's going to throw up any second. But it's with a bravado she didn't know she had that she presses forwards, her mouth drawn into a thin line. "I'm not disappointed in you," she whispers fiercely. "And I don't think you're pathetic. Not for a second. But I'm about ready to punch Seymour in the face for what he's done to you."
Another step, and Lunata screams; a rolling wave of spikes and icicles, racing towards her. Her first instinct is to flinch - but her knuckles whiten against the metal rod in her hands as she pushes through the feeling, making herself face the attack head on. The way it flickers and twists around her is not a comfort; Lily's quiet word towards her is not a comfort. But she faces it anyway, knowing she has to.
"... Lunie... if you want to protect him, that's okay. I don't blame you, not for a second. I'm proud of you. But I want to go talk to him," she voice tremors. Part of her can't believe she's saying this - but focusing on that protective part of herself helps, and makes her expression harden as she continues pacing forwards. "I want to find out what's going on. I have to find out if maybe he's just using you. And if he is--..."
It doesn't feel right to end it like this, but she's never exactly been good at speeches. Affection mixes with fear and anger, and leaves her with a quiet hiccup before she trusts herself to speak. "Then I'll kick his ass for it. Even if you try to stop me," she whispers, blinking back tears.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Jacqueline and Fei both offer it. That they'll track Ge Ramtos down themselves. That they'll punch him in the face if they have to. What does he even look like? She always thought he looked like Ge Ramda, except... bigger? More... final boss-y, if Ge Ramda was a lieutenant.
what's a final boss
Please... let us -- let me -- help you. Please.
For a moment, it gives her solid pause -- enough that the strange, spell-sculpted effigies of earth and water start to shake. Lunata tries to think and imagine, as Lily urges--
Feel it! Let yourself see it!
What does letting others help her look like? Elly takes a breath, in in in... and then the Ether comes out and rings in her head-- her name. No one thinks that way. No one resents her. No one dislikes her. Sharing that strength...
Letting people in. What does that look like?
Let yourself have the only thing that belongs just to you.
What does that look like?
... what does that look like??
... ... why can't i see a thing in here ... ???
oh.
Lunata's expression just drops at the exact time Leon's shot rings and she feels a slight flare of pain in her hands as Orochi-Agito goes skidding across the floor. It sweeps a faint brushstroke of blood where it clatters.
it's because there's nothing in there.
if you let them in they'll see how empty it is in there.
Josephine's flare makes traitors of her eyes, but-- what Josephine can't know is that most of her vision was already blurry right now anyway. It's a trick. Vision is a trick for a monster.
because you haven't wanted a darn thing for yourself all your life.
not a single thing. does something like a 'self' even exist in you?
She looks at Fei as he challenges her with the truth about her contradictory behaviour: Why doesn't she treat anyone else with challenges, difficulties, failures, the way she treats herself? Why is that?
you wanted to cook to impress your aunt.
you wanted to serve to impress your customers.
What makes you so special that you get to self-flagellate yourself like this??
you wanted to pilot to impress the yggdrasil folks.
you wanted to fight to impress...
"I'm... not special. ... it's because I'm the opposite..." Lunata starts responding, but it's flabbergasted; her thoughts are a broken mirror, a million shades of light, and she can't find the answer even if she runs to the end of the world, it feels like.
He steps closer. He urges that she can't let what she's failed to do stop from... doing what we can.
do the right thing
"B-but I promised Belize... just as Odessa appeared... they shot at her... I stood in the way... they shot me... then she... went to protect Maester Seymour..."
is that the right thing
"I promised I wouldn't... let them in..."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
is this really the right thing
She lifts her head at Shalune when she appears. To tell her she wants to go talk to him. To Seymour. To find out what's going on. That maybe he's just
using me
using me
using ... me ...
"That's not TRUE!"
The emotion explodes extremely suddenly along with this erratic, emotional outburst of energy; there's nothing meticulous and calculated at all here. No artful swordplay, no calligraphy of ancient characters, no taiko drummers or shamisen flute renditions. No illusions, and for that reason,
She's being more truthful right now.
"Do you think I enjoy this weird feeling tugging at me like something's important despite not even knowing how to put it into words?! Like some kind of dumb-- dumb-- something--"
Her knuckles grip together. They're already white, sickly with pallor. Her cheeks tighten again, her jaw clenching. There would be tears. There are no tears. No tears for the trick of a human being.
"Like someone might know what it feels like to be a walking dead body, a laundry list of tricks, a recipe of lies?! Like it felt like... like... like hope, for the first time since I died?!"
is that it?
is that what's uniquely mine?
being a dead body
"... after not being able to be Sent... I carried on...
... after not being able to walk into the Farplane... I carried on...
and now it feels like that hope's turned to a lie again..."
She lowers her head...
"... so beat me up, Lunie."
The sword is gone, but the Medium is active; the magic hits a wild, frenzied crescendo as the air turns gold for a moment; once more, it is an unordered, lawless mess of power, descending from what looks like a frantic and dead girl's imagination of a cruel and uncaring heaven--
"Because I need something to cling onto right now...!!"
--one rapidly decaying as black-purple spikes erupt from both the ground and the ceiling, zig-zag zig-zag zig-zagging everywhere. And they descend, they erupt, reaching for everyone this time except-- except--
Jacqueline, still.
GS: Lunata Croze has spent 1 Combo on Poison, including 3 on Gatling! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Leon Albus with the Start of Heavenly Demise! GS: Lunata Croze has activated a Boss Action! GS: Lunata Croze has spent 1 Combo on Poison, including 3 on Gatling! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Fei Fong Wong with the Start of Heavenly Demise! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Josephine Lovelace with the Start of Heavenly Demise! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Shalune Amira with the Start of Heavenly Demise! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Lily Keil with the Start of Heavenly Demise! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Elhaym van Houten with the Start of Heavenly Demise! GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Jacqueline Barber with But I Still Can't...! GS: Lunata Croze has gained 1 Combo! GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Fei Fong Wong takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's the Start of Heavenly Demise for 0 hit points! GS: Infect extends negative status by 1 round! GS: Fei Fong Wong suffers an additional 23 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison and Reaper! applied to Fei Fong Wong! GS: Fei Fong Wong takes an additional 15 damage from Reaper! GS: Jacqueline Barber guards a hit from Lunata Croze's But I Still Can't... for 0 hit points! GS: Shalune Amira takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's the Start of Heavenly Demise for 0 hit points! GS: Infect extends negative status by 1 round! GS: Shalune Amira suffers an additional 21 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison and Reaper! applied to Shalune Amira! GS: Shalune Amira takes an additional 20 damage from Reaper! GS: Elhaym van Houten takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's the Start of Heavenly Demise for 0 hit points! GS: Elhaym van Houten suffers an additional 27 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison and Reaper! applied to Elhaym van Houten! GS: Elhaym van Houten takes an additional 15 damage from Reaper! GS: Lily Keil takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's the Start of Heavenly Demise for 0 hit points! GS: Lily Keil suffers an additional 29 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison and Reaper! applied to Lily Keil! GS: Lily Keil takes an additional 20 damage from Reaper! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's the Start of Heavenly Demise for 0 hit points! GS: Infect extends negative status by 1 round! GS: Josephine Lovelace suffers an additional 25 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison and Reaper! applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes an additional 15 damage from Reaper! GS: Leon Albus guards a hit from Lunata Croze's the Start of Heavenly Demise for 0 hit points! GS: Leon Albus suffers an additional 25 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison and Reaper! applied to Leon Albus! GS: Leon Albus takes an additional 15 damage from Reaper!
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon looks at Josie, his silver eyes meeting hers -- and then there is a single nod of his head. And his resolve hardens, for a moment -- and then he blinks as he hears what Shalune says, and turns his head. He looks at her for a second, realizing that maybe he missed something.
"Shalune, wait! She isn't--"
He never really thought Shalune would do that. She always seemed to be the one who had a cooler head. The surprise takes him -- and then he looks back at Lunata, eyes widening; he grits his teeth, then, and black-purple spikes explode around him. One strikes into his leg, and he stumbles, twisting as he does. "Barber!" he shouts at Jay. "Get clear! Everyone, try to subdue her, and we'll talk to her after!"
This, he concludes, is going pear-shaped.
Leon swings up Diplomacy, aiming the shotgun for Lunata, and he goes sprinting. He feels faintly bad for shooting at her; he buries that with the knowledge that at least two people with healing are here. He fires a shot, sending it hurtling towards Lunata.
"This Maester--no, Yevon--are using you! That's what things like Yevon, Kislev, Aveh, and the rest do, Lunata! They pretend they understand us -- they tell us how we're different -- and use us!"
Leon rushes to take cover behind a pillar, slamming a new round into the shotgun's chamber.
"Ask yourself if these priests and liars really know anything about you!"
GS: Leon Albus has attacked Lunata Croze with Shotgun Blast! GS: Leon Albus takes an additional 20 damage from Reaper! GS: Leon Albus takes 24 damage from Poison! GS: Leon Albus has completed his action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Leon Albus's Shotgun Blast for 73 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The little lost wolf; the one being used. Elly's words of peace, and comfort. Her own, of... whatever they are, really. What she wants, and what she wants for herself...
Lily keeps staring at Lunata, as Lunata starts to respond, fragmeted, of her promises. The outburst of energy rushes through her--passes straight through Lily, the air turning gold around her, power crashing into her. Spikes erupt towards Lily--
She doesn't move. One pierces through her shoulder, another through her side, and the wounds burn, energy still crashign through her past that one moment. But here--Almost, she can see--
"...I understand," Lily says. "He wasn't just using you. You were using him, too. You saw a chance, you saw a hope, and you held onto it--and you don't want to let it go."
"The world you knew is gone. Everything you counted on, growing up, has changed. You can't live, the way you once could. Even your friends are growing, and changing... and you feel alone. You don't know who you are. You don't know how to cope with what's come, with something you were never prepared for."
"...Betrayed by what you knew, you found something. But that fell through, too. And you hang on, not wanting to experience it again. You hope, that now, maybe, you can make time hold on for you after all. If you just keep your promise, maybe--maybe it will make sense again."
Blood drips from her shoulder. Lily ignores it; she reaches up to her neck, instead, lowers her collar, and pulls out the strange gimballed necklace she took from the same ruin in which the Rephaim once rested. "Because you're already held back, yourself."
Lily doesn't get clear--she seems, in the moment, to forget everything except the girl before her--she steps forward, again. Closer, where she was driven back.
"I don't know what that feeling is, within you. I don't know what it's like, to be the way you are. But I understand the loss of what you knew."
"...I understand, when you learn that maybe... Maybe that person you thought you were never existed in the first place."
"If it's what you want..." She stops. She pauses, and she lifts her other hand. "...Lunata. <You don't belong behind, do you?>" she wonders, then, in a dead language.
She reaches out--and Ether spikes around her, the skin at her collarbone traced suddenly with golden circuitry, gleaming with power.
"...I'll help you. Not just here, with how I think you should be helped. But with what you really want, when you find it. If it's death, then that's as it is."
"...But a promise won't make time stop. Maybe you won't find the answer, before that day."
The light intensifies, blinding.
"...It's all right. If that's true... You can use us, to help you move forward, too."
GS: Lily Keil has activated a Force Action! GS: Lily Keil has attacked Lunata Croze with Hitze Crush! GS: Lily Keil takes an additional 15 damage from Reaper! GS: Lily Keil takes 24 damage from Poison! GS: Lily Keil has completed her action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Lily Keil's Hitze Crush for 115 hit points! GS: Dispel reduces positive status durations by 3 rounds each! GS: Lily Keil's Avenger stance ends. She enters the Stoic stance!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Shalune spells it out - Lunata wants to protect someone. Jacqueline can understand that. If the situations were switched, would she be doing any differently than Lunata was now?
She can understand that...but even so, she can sympathise with Shalune right now. If Seymour was manipulating Lunata, she wouldn't tolerate it.
And then, a gunshot rings out. She hears it nearby - striking Orochi-Agito and knocking it from Lunata's hand. The shockwave of it forces Jacqueline's hand back, too.
"Oh, Lunata..." Jacqueline whispers, as Lunata speaks of her promise - her promise not to let them in. She hesitates for a moment, and then flinches back as Lunata shouts again - an explosion of emotion.
Jacqueline shuts her eyes for a moment. And...she starts to cry, just a little. Tears of sympathy? Or is she crying for her, because Lunata can't cry herself?
She can feel the Medium surging again, as power floods out in a frenzy. She can feel it all around her - and she can see it, when she opens her eyes.
And yet, none of it touches her. Not even as the magic turns into decaying, zigzagging black-purple spikes.
Jacqueline takes a deep breath. She moves in, tries to close in on Lunata with her arms spread to wrap her up in a wordless hug...
...And then, she hears someone shouting her name, and someone rushing toward them.
"...W-wait! Stop!" Jacqueline pleads, turning toward Leon with a look of fear on her face. There's a sound of a gunshot as Leon fires on Lunata. "D-don't hurt her, please!! Let me-"
She gestures with her left hand, trying to call upon a spell to protect Lunata...
But nothing happens.
Earlier, she had taken off her gauntlets, so that she could take Lunata's hand in her own bare hand. She had become so used to casting through it, that she didn't realize she was no longer wearing it until it was too late.
She could try to equip it again...but would she have enough time?
And then, Lily approaches. Jacqueline watches cautiously, and a bit fearfully. She listens to what she has to say to Lunata, but doesn't stop her - she couldn't right now, anyway, even if she wanted to.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's possible that her attempt to goad -- or shake Lunata out of her conflicted state by lighting the road in a sense -- may have been a little too harsh.
But at the end of the day Josie is Josie. This is Lunata's choice. Maybe this is just how it was always going to be.
"Leon's right," she says, opting still for his real name rather than his nickname. "You got used. And you're not the only one. Listen. I was hanging out with the Crusaders for a while. They busted their asses for the sake of the people, and Yevon turned on 'em." She shakes her head as if to punctuate her point. "Yevon uses people. So don't turn that feeling on yourself -- turn it on them. They're the ones messing with people's hopes--"
There's a glance Shalune's way and Josie inclines her head in a slight shallow nod. "Listen to her. We go in there, we talk to them. And if he's an motherfucker, we kill him. That's that!"
That is not that.
Josie is not certain what she would name the emotion that scythes through her, that seeks to nearly throw her across the room. Rage? Despair?
But she knows it, regardless of its unnameable quality. She staggers, just maintaining her balance, and lifts her head. "Ha..."
She looks at Lunata and Lunata alone for a long series of moments. "Kiddo," she utters, in that moment. "You're way too young for this..."
Slowly, she takes a step forward.
"...Damn. We're gonna have to knock some sense into her," Josie utters, punctuating that statement with a shake of her head. "...Lily. Jay. Might need you to patch her up when this is all said and done." She pauses, then with a slight and crooked smile. "Or maybe just me. Kiddo can pack a whallop when she's mad..."
The Reaper's Hand just about leaps into her grasp.
"I get it. You want to know which way to go. ...It's rough. Not knowing what to do in life. Not knowing who you should be. And you're at that age, too..." Josie shakes her head and raises the handgun. "You want someone to show you what you want. I can't do that. I don't think anyone can do that. Hell, if someone could do that I'd've been darkening their door a long long time ago." She pauses, aiming for Lunata. "That's how it is. We're all just fumbling on through. But we're not doing it alone, kiddo." She pulls the trigger.
"Lunata."
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Lunata Croze with Out Of The Blue! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes an additional 25 damage from Reaper! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes 19 damage from Poison! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Lunata..."
Lunata trembles, and speaks of what has happened, and what has happened to her. A walking dead body, Elly thinks, blinking once. She presses her lips together. And then Lunata pleads with them - or at least, with Shalune - to beat her up. Because she needs that, to cling to, now.
Elly's heart cries out. She does not want to strike Lunata. Their foe was Odessa, and whatever force Odessa sent here, Lunata has slain them. Lunata is calling on the strength of her Medium; the spell, however jagged and ill formed, rakes out over her, and Elly finds to her frustration and distress that she cannot guard it away. She cannot hold away Lunata's pain.
Silently she curses all the ill forces of the world. But they aren't here, are they? Lunata is here, and she remains here, however badly she may wish to leave. Perhaps she wants them to destroy her, Elly thinks, with a sense of bleakness. That would resolve things, and maybe resolution is preferable to existence itself.
Except... that's not something Elly can accept, and so she looks over towards Fei, blinks once, and turns her attention back towards Lunata. As the light brightens, she says, "I suppose there's no choice. I'll go low," she says, and a moment later she pulls away from the wall and a heartbeat later there is an explosion.
Elly closed her eyes at the right moment to avoid being blinded. A moment later, Lily may get the surprise of feeling two hands on her shoulders as Elly uses her as *living furniture*, hurling herself upright and doing a momentary inverted handstand ("hup!") on her way forwards, aiming to throw herself forwards with a twist - in order to land on her hands once more, facing towards Lunata.
At this point the wrap she had on her hair gives way and falls free.
That's probably less important than the sweeping kicks at Lunata's hip and sweeping her leg, though. The wind raised by the swift, striking sweeps throws the scrap of colorful cloth high up into the air, though...!
GS: Elhaym van Houten has spent 1 Combo on Gatling, including 1 on Gatling! GS: Elhaym van Houten has attacked Lunata Croze with Cyclone Kick! GS: Elhaym van Houten has gained 1 Combo! GS: Elhaym van Houten takes an additional 25 damage from Reaper! GS: Elhaym van Houten takes 21 damage from Poison! GS: Elhaym van Houten has completed her action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Josephine Lovelace's Out Of The Blue for 125 hit points! GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Elhaym van Houten's Cyclone Kick for 96 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei is honestly kind of impressed that Jay is willing to track down a Guardian and, as he interpreted it, punch him in the face but it makes sense. There's only one Fei and if you really want to make a Guardian learn their shit it's best to punch them across each cheek coming in from both sides. That way they really feel it, Fei reasons. Not that he's ever punched a Guardian.
He...thinks.
He...hopes?
But Ge Ramtos is really tempting it guys.
"Belize?" Fei asks, blinking. "Who--well we're not going to shoot Belize? Probably? I mean we're just trying to protect Yuna here, nobody's gotta get shot--"
A slew of zig-zaggy spikes slam into Fei and he howls in pain, sinking to a knee, struggling not to let the horrifying nature of these assaults defeat him. But honestly, he is kind of out of words.
"Hope's usually a liar," Fei manages. "But sometimes..." He nods to Elly once, wordlessly answering her before he runs forward.
He jumps into the air!
"Sometimes hope gets it right!"
See the Weight of the World scene and the Hope Fatigue scene, Fei Friends, to see how he came about to this conclusion!!
Either way, he's aiming to land feet first for Lunata's face.
He doesn't want to do it, but then--how often does Fei do things he doesn't really want to do? A lot more than you'd think!
GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Lunata Croze with Tenbu! GS: Fei Fong Wong takes an additional 15 damage from Reaper! GS: Fei Fong Wong takes 26 damage from Poison! GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action. GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Fei Fong Wong's Tenbu for 143 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune swallows again when Lunata breaks into an angry yell at her, forcing herself to listen properly to the words, to take Lunata's feelings head-on and face them with her own. Behind it all, there's a grim relief that she's shocked her friend out of-- well, maybe that's not the best way to think about it, she winces inside her own head. But she'd rather face an angry Lunata than an empty one, and she'd rather have a raw outpouring than a shellshocked silence.
And dimly, she's aware that she's getting angry too. It's slow and unfamiliar, but there's a burn behind her eyes and a buzzing in her head. Every anguished sentence stokes the feeling, and leaves her more certain. It isn't towards Lunata; she knows what being angry at Lunata is like, and this isn't it. It's something a lot more fierce, raw enough to make her jaw clench hard enough she nearly sees stars.
"Of course I know you don't enjoy it!" she yells back, feeling her voice creak. There's a sadness behind the anger as well, and a fear, and most of all a frustration that she's finally broken her own patience in a situation like this, for something so ridiculous as this. "Of course I don't want you to be stuck-- carrying on! We already-- didn't I already prove that much to you? Didn't I come this far with you?" she adds, the last part almost a whimper.
She doesn't expect Lunata's sorcery to spare her this time, but can't bring herself to try to block it either. There's a soft noise of pain as the spike stabs into her chest; there's no blood, but a disorienting and rattling feeling of pain that makes her head swim and the world whirl, and threatens to rip her balance from her in an instant.
She pushes through it as best she can. Even if her feet seem a dizzying distance away, she can still see from them which way 'forward' is, and aim the next step in that direction. "I have someone I want to protect, too," she mutters softly. "But I don't know how. Everything keeps hurting her. I can't feel what she feels, and I know she wouldn't want me to anyways. I'm just kind of really bad at it, really," she finishes.
"She's softer than she'd ever admit. And she's scared, and angry, and hurt. She's not been given a choice about anything. I love her, and I just want to give her a chance to-- to go home, I guess. Even if that's probably impossible, even if everything else suddenly worked out perfectly."
"But when she talks about someone tearing her hope away, of course I'm going to get angry. If Seymour's done that to you - I won't forgive him. I won't forgive myself," she adds in a whisper under her breath. For all that she said she'd fight, it's still easier said than done, her shotstaff shaking in her hands.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"Do you think I don't know that?!" Lunata shouts both to Josephine and Leon on the topic of Yevon, sparks flying anew as she trembles at her very state; a shotgun blast rings out -- she's very familiar with shotguns thanks to Josie creating one for her (it's with the Carakin, don't worry) once upon a time, but--
She lets the shots slug into her. Metal sinks into her flesh with a thud that's almost too dull. That black ichorous stuff comes out.
"I didn't... I didn't join the Church," she admits. "I found-- I found hope not in their faith but in his circumstance... and yet..."
Shalune opens up with an honesty on her own too, and she's caught off-guard by that during a lull in the fighting. She's been shot at by at least two dozen bullets at this point and has radical sneakers on her face and she's still listening.
"... you did prove it to me. You proved... so much to me," she murmurs quietly. "And..." She lowers her head. She's suppressing the instincts of self-flagellation, perhaps because of what Fei said to her. Good job Fei!
"... I'm glad she's getting angry for me. Because it's good to be angry. ... right now I don't even feel like I can be properly angry."
And she means it too, despite her emotional outbursts; she wonders what someone feeling properly indignant and in a place to be able to channel it might be like. Like them? Like Shalune?
Lily dissects her, emotionally; that she's also using Seymour. ... that's true. She was... always using everyone. Her aunt. The Yggdrasil. The Wolves, even. Shalune... and... Jay too...
She was always clinging to all of them, wasn't she?
"The person I thought I was..." Lunata whispers. She sees that gimballed necklace on Lily. From Rujm el-Hiri. All this time. That was one of the first times they met. She--
She doesn't know the Zeboim language. I'll help you. Not just here... with how I think you should be helped. But with what you really want--
The light blinds and she withers under its power.
"What I really want..."
Josephine says she understands not knowing which way to go, what to do in life... and pulls the trigger on her; like Leon's shotgun, blazing hot metal sinks into her. The sensation is agonising, yet the sound is dull and disappointing. Thud--
"... even before I died ... I didn't know that. ... ... all I--"
Thud-thud-thud. Bullets coming into her.
"... I remember now. ... all I wanted at that point in my life was to prepare a seventeenth birthday party."
Seventeen. She never even got to be seventeen.
There's no defence going on here, regardless of the attack incoming, bullet or spell or martial art. So Elly's alley-oop over Lily as she kicks her on the hip and sweeps her and she goes down--
"... I was gonna invite Jay and Heather, and Shalune just came back from Elru ..."
Fei asks who Belize is since he doesn't know and, well, you're going to have to just belize it.
Hope's usually a liar. But sometimes...
Fei plants his feet in Lunata's FACE.
in my face, haha
i have the lamest inner monologue ever...
Sometimes hope gets it right!
Lunata lifts her head which has two soleprints of Fei's shoes on it right now.
"... we were gonna just host it at home. At Meredin's place. Emma said she'd pop by with a surprise ..."
She stumbles backwards. Then a horrible rumble shakes the entire temple and demands a STOP to the fighting.
Because Sin has come.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The first evidence is the horrible sensation of gravity going all wrong; from the distance, as everything underneath the Clysmian erodes in a field of anti-gravity; the telltale noise coming from it, draconic and heralding death; and as it comes closer, closer--
The temple starts to shake, for a moment. The outer ring rattles--
And Lunata doesn't seem to flinch from this.
She's just staring at Sin. Not because she's brave or foolhardy. Not because she's not afraid; she's very much afraid. But perhaps because... because Sin right now is a perfect embodiment of 'where has my life led me'.
As his maw opens, as that Giga-Graviton ominously announces its presence...
"... isn't it crazy ... when you put it that way?"
Her shoulders slump fully now. For a moment it feels like her arms could fall off, which isn't even a joke because it DID once when she took on an Aeon on-foot (albeit with Ge Ramda's assistance). Back before she knew what Spira was.
"I just... ..."
There's another loud, LOUD crash-- and standing here at this particular spot is becoming incredibly precarious.
The ground is cracking.
She stares back towards everyone, looking the most placid she has been throughout this entire encounter.
"... I went from wanting a birthday party to..."
She lifts her hand up and points at Sin -- and it's at that point a white FLASH comes as the Queen of Metal Dragons arrives on-scene; she only gets a faint glimpse of her before--
*CRACK*
--she falls.
"... this."
The outer ring on where Lunata's standing comes entirely loose as she starts freefalling, down, down, down... towards the direction of Lake Macalania's frozen surface.
She's looking at Jacqueline and Shalune as she falls.
"... happy birthday... to meee ..."
*splash*
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline looks toward Shalune as she speaks. Her gaze lingers on her for a moment, and then shifts toward Lunata. Something seems to click in her head, but that's something she's going to have to talk about later.
She listens to Lunata speak...but she can't watch, as the others try to subdue her and Lunata just...lets them. She wants to do something, something to try and stop them, but...she can't. What can she do, right now?
She can't.
She can't do anything.
She can't do anything but listen as Lunata reminisce about what would have been her seventeenth birthday party.
It's a reminder of a time long since gone. It felt like an eternity ago now...and it breaks her heart.
And then, the temple shakes, and splits apart to reveal the sight of what caused it.
Sin.
Sin is here. The sight of it, so close, steals her breath away.
Jacqueline looks to Lunata.
"L-Lunata, we need to-" She starts. She reaches a hand out to her...
And the ground shatters. Lunata begins to fall away. Jacqueline's eyes open wide and she lets out a strangled gasp.
"Lunata! N-no! LUNATA...!!" She sobs, and then, she breaks into a run.
Desperately, she reaches out for her...
...But, it's too late.
Lunata falls, and Jacqueline can't do anything for her.
She collapses to her knees staring down toward Lake Macalania as Lunata vanishes into the distance.
"I-I was...so stupid... Th-there's...so much I should've said..." She whispers. She shuts her eyes tight, and the tears begin to flow. But then she opens them again.
She fixates on Sin in the distance - now embroiled in a battle with Lombardia. Her expression shifts, to something between fear, anguish, and fury. And then, slowly, her steps uneven, she stands up.
Her body still shaking, she turns to leave, unless someone stops her. She doesn't look at them as she does - she moves as if on auto-pilot for the room's exit, and to the outdoors beyond. As she does, she shakily slides her gauntlets back on.
There's only one thing she can do now.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"... you've seen and dealt with enough that I think you're owed twenty different birthdays," Shalune whispers in return, a tremulous little smile gracing her face. She swallows and steps forward, the staff in her hands lowering a little. "Of-- of course I'd get angry for your sake. You're important to me. I'd never be disappointed in you," she adds--
--just in time for the world, and the Temple, to sunder around them. She yelps as she tries to catch her footing, skidding across suddenly-too-slick stone as the air warps around them. She can hear Lunata's almost dreamlike tone, and when she looks up she's faced by the enormity of Sin in front of her, and the masonry tearing itself apart, and the tail end of Lunata's hair dropping out of view, beginning the fall down to the lake below.
She stares, frozen for a instant that drags on and on.
Time and time again, Shalune has shrunk back from danger and let Lunata lead the way. She's told herself before that it's because she trusts that Lunata can take it, but-- more and more, she's starting to doubt that claim, and can recognize it as the excuse that it is. Not a total excuse - she's smart enough to realize that she's pulled her own weight just as often - but in this moment, it's the first of the two thoughts that wins out.
The truth is: Lunata can survive it. But Shalune isn't sure she can take it, not anymore.
That thought brings clarity with it, and when she hesitates the second time it's for entirely different reasons. The others lunge forwards as she knows they would, and Lily is there to bar their way - leaving Shalune the time, distraction and opportunity to race forwards and slip past them. The Little Dipper is already in her hands, unfolding itself.
With no time to think or second-guess herself, she pushes off the lip, into the dizzying open air. "--I've got her!" she yells to Jay, determination edging her voice - and then gravity takes her, and she's gone as well.