What a pain in the ass this had been. From posing as soldiers to nearly dying due to a three-way explosion that would use a lot of them taxpayer gils to work. It blew off the rooftop of the Emperpor Tower so clean off that the cleanup crew was surely to have their work cut out for them. You can’t say that Hamut didn’t do any good for Archades. He has already provided the Archadians with jobs. Too bad it had to be at the expense of the cleanliness of her streets.

Speaking of which, the groups seemed to have been forced apart due to the force of the explosion. At least DOminic and Shinto were still in one piece. And that they were still with Lorenzo and Shion. Oh, and they rescued Reia. That’s something, right?

As Dominic and Shinto respectively made sure that they weren’t [i]too[/i] injured, they would make sure that the others weren’t as well. Thankfully, most were unharmed due to that weird, black mass that originated from Shion’s arm. Dominic didn’t know what the hell it was, but he sure was thankful for it. Still, one thing he knew was that it looked harmful. 

And, after a few back and forth exchanges between the Empress of Rosarria, Lorenzo, and Shion, the latter felt that she needed to tell Jaakuna something, which left the rest of them to wonder what that was...or at least Dominic. The rest were simply silently accepting it. Or, that’s the way it appeared to be. Dominic didn’t like it though. He almost voiced his opposition, but by the time he thought of the right thing to say, she was clear gone, and out of hearing range.

“[color=cd0015]Now what?[/color]” Dominic asked bluntly, looking around to the others for a suggestion. 

It was clear to him that they had to do [i]something[/i]. As to what that “something” was, well it remained unclear to Dominic at the current present.
[hr]
At first, there was darkness:  black, nasty, and almost putrid—like a swamp, only it was comforting in a way. Unlike previous incarnations of the blackness, it wasn’t threatening. It was a veil from the collision of forces that severed the top-half of the Emperor’s Office. Not only did it protect those within its reach, it had some kind of magnetic force that protected the innocents roaming below either in Aircabs or walking on the low streets of Archades. It suspended the chunks of rock and concrete, and launched them opposite of the streets to Occuria-knows where. One could bet that it was towards the Tchita Uplands.

As for those who were blanketed in the blackness, once it ceased, they were scattered along the streets. While Shion and her group were at one location(Roman as the only addition), the rest weren’t to be seen, not to them at least. Far, three hundred paces west, rubble surrounded a street, aircabs surrounding as they have been set aflame, and intrigue at an all-time high. Crowds gathered around the wreckage as they bore witness to a sight they have never seen before.

“[color=ed1c24]What happened?[/color]” Jaakuna groaned, trying to find balance, trying to center himself amid the chaos. 

He looked around him. A little out of the ordinary. The first thing he noticed were the aircabs. They were completely wrecked. And they were empty. Not completely odd. Maybe I landed at where the aircabs are stored.

As Jaakuna would try to recollect what happened, his head hurt just by thinking about it. So, that wasn’t going to happen.

Jaakuna looked around. He saw the crowd. They knew who he was as if right away. He shrugged, for Jaakuna Darcone wasn’t exactly one to be subtle. It just wasn’t in his making. Instead, he would focus what energy remained on finding Lannit. Or anyone for that matter, 

He scanned the area, but to no avail. He saw no sight of Lannit or Roman. Either they landed elsewhere or he was too hurt to increase his field of vision. Regardless which it was, Jaakuna wasn’t going to get anywhere just by standing around.

So, Jaakuna started to walk, rummaging through the wreckage of automobiles, pushing through the crowd of Archadians. They were insistnat that he talk to them, so Jaakuna had to get aggressive. He cursed at them. Loudly. They frantically fled, as if threatened by his rhetoric. Jaakuna would receive a scolding lecture from Belias not too long afterwards. He shrugged, walking along the streets of Archades. 

Jaakuna Darcone was on a mission to find anyone that wasn’t his grandfather or the many soldiers of the Imperial Army that were sure to figure out something was afoot. Hopefully he would reach friendly faces before that happened, because Jaakuna only had enough energy for a steady walk.

What fun this will be.

[hr]

Of all times to get separated, [i]now[/i] had to be it?

Lannit was cursing himself halfway and back to where the remains of the Emperor Tower was and back to where Old Archades resided. 

How did this happen? Last thing Lannit remembered was crashing through the roof of the Emperor’s Office, then blue magick that turned abyssmal quickly, and an orange-sepia light from Hamut all collided at the same time, and that produced such a massive — albeit condensed — explosion that sent the three parties off on their own. Jaakuna went west, Shion and her group fell straight down, and as for Lannit..

“[color=mediumslateblue]Why must I have the worst luck of all?![/color]” Lannit groaned as a meteor spell came his way. 

He rolled to the side, though he groaned again when he felt the pain of bruised ribs compromising his equilibrium. He fell to his left side, and a massive form came from above.

Lannit found the strength to roll to the side before a massive boot surrounded in mist obliterated the ground. Though he was safe from the direct hit, a shockwave created from that metal, dark red and orange boot sent him rolling ten paces. As a result, Lannit was disoriented. Still, he was able to catch himself mid-roll, and jump to his feet in a half-corkscrew flip.

After half of a moment, Lannit’s eyes adjusted to the sight in front of him. There he saw the Judge-Sal, Exodus, off his chair. He was large. And strong. His entire form was surrounded in a thick aura of orange. Beside him was his Chosen One — The Just Bahamut. 

There was a strong sense of dread running through the battered up body of Lannit. He was in no condition to fight, let alone take on one of the strongest warriors in all of Ivalice. He’s not only a Judge Magister of the Archadian Imperial Court, but he’s the freaking leader of them! How was Lannit to try and compete with that?!

Fuck me. 

[color=977316][i]Surely you don’t kiss your Wendy with that mouth. Or perhaps she likes it crude.[/i][/color]

Okay, now I’m hearing things. Wonderful. “[color=mediumslateblue]Listen, I don’t know who you are, but now is not the time.[/color]” 

[color=977316][i]Really? I would think that you being half-dead and against a foe you couldn’t dream to defeat even if you had a hundred years of intensive training. But, do go ahead and prove the voice in your head wrong.[/i][/color]

Lannit didn’t know who this voice was, but he knew it was right. Against his own better judgement, he would indulge the voice.

[color=977316][i]Good. Now that you have seen to my reasoning, listen well. Exodus is strong, there is no mistaking that. And Hamut is plenty strong on his own. Put them together, and you’re pretty much destined to fail.[/i][/color]

“[color=mediumslateblue]Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.[/color]”

Though in his head, Lannit swore he heard the voice scowl at him.

[color=977316][i]I can give you unbelievable power to hold him off.[/i][/color]

Okay, that was something I didn’t know.

“[color=mediumslateblue]How?[/color]”

[color=977316][i]Let’s just say that, when you defeated me, I hitchhiked a ride with you.[/i][/color]

Now he was full of shit. It was a rarity that Lannit would defeat anyone(or anything), but for that very person or thing being able to give him powers was, at best, a crock of shit. 

The thing inside his head sensed his doubt and would chuckle, but no further verbal sounds came. The only thing that would follow it was a flash of a form in Lannit’s head. He saw this form. It was blurry, but he made out something of a man in a cloak. Didn’t seem to be no taller than Lannit himself was, but this form had weird magicks surrounding him. It was radiant, golden, and shining so bright that it was like this cloaked man was the embodiment of light itself.

“[color=mediumslateblue]You’re shitting me. Fuck, it’s you Gilgamesh..[/color]”  

Lannit saw a smirk of confirmation from the figure. And then the form would disappear, only to reappear. This process repeated until an outward explosion of light towered so high that anyone within a quarter of a league of the area would notice it. The light stretched ten paces around Lannit and a full league into the sky, piercing the heavens.

Lannit stepped through the light. When he did, it ceased. He stepped forward once more, and he covered the distance that separated him and Hamut in one second. Forward his arm went, aimed for Hamut’s gut. Instincts kicked in for the old man and he blocked it with a fist. The next moment would see that the two exchanged in blows so fast to the normal eye that it seemed like a sequence of blurs. 

They first exchanged blows on the ground, then it became aerial. Some of the exchange landed on Hamut, some on Lannit, and some on Exodus. Throughout it all, shockwaves from the high-octane fighting would be sent to a distance of at least twenty paces, the results causing even more damage to the surrounding area.

And that was only the start of it. As the fighting would get more intense, the more powerful the shockwaves. It was only a matter of time before something drastic happened...
[hr]

Oh thank the gods.

Wesley let out a sigh of relief. He feared that he would have arrived too late. If it wasn’t for his gut feeling, he would have been weeping the loss of his fiance rather than holding her in his arms.

“[color=fff79a]Believe it or not, but it was Ultima that led me here, even if unknowingly. Hashmal sensed her worry for you. And just as well, because we got here just in time.[/color]” Welsey told Nadeline, informing her of the crunch of time that was between her dying and her, well, not.

But they weren’t out of the woods quite yet, because the thing that was inches away of piercing Nadeline’s heart had been staring at Wesley for the entirety of the past minute. Wesley caught the glare mid-minute.He couldn’t palce it, but something about this thing gave him a sense of familiarity. Maybe it was the eyes, or maybe it was the foul mist he sensed. 

Curse the seal, now I’m suspect to what the Viera feel.

Wesley put whatever feelings he had towards the foul stench in the air to rest as he returned the gaze with the thing ten paces across from him. He scanned the beast, trying to get a measure of what it was. It failed, so he tried a few more times. All of them failed as well. There was nothing that Wesley could do, no technick that he knew, no spell that would help him get a better understanding. For all intents and purposes, this was a foreign enemy to WEsley, and he seemed content on simply watching Wesley.

“[color=#9E0B0F]W[/color][color=#91201B]e[/color][color=#853527]s[/color][color=#794A33]l[/color][color=#6D5F40]e[/color][color=#60744C]y[/color] [color=#489E64]A[/color][color=#3CB371]l[/color][color=#489E64]e[/color][color=#548958]x[/color][color=#60744C]a[/color][color=#6D5F40]n[/color][color=#794A33]d[/color][color=#853527]e[/color][color=#91201B]r[/color][color=#9E0B0F],[/color]” he heard the beast speak. It was raspy and deep, layered with an echoed tone.  “[color=#9E0B0F]T[/color][color=#9C0E10]h[/color][color=#9A1112]e[/color] [color=#961716]p[/color][color=#941A18]r[/color][color=#931D19]o[/color][color=#91201B]d[/color][color=#8F231D]i[/color][color=#8D271F]g[/color][color=#8B2A21]a[/color][color=#8A2D22]l[/color] [color=#863326]s[/color][color=#843628]o[/color][color=#82392A]n[/color] [color=#7F3F2D]r[/color][color=#7D432F]e[/color][color=#7B4631]t[/color][color=#794933]u[/color][color=#774C35]r[/color][color=#764F36]n[/color][color=#745238]s[/color] [color=#70583C]t[/color][color=#6E5B3E]o[/color] [color=#6B6241]c[/color][color=#696543]l[/color][color=#676845]a[/color][color=#656B47]i[/color][color=#636E49]m[/color] [color=#60744C]h[/color][color=#5E774E]i[/color][color=#5C7B50]s[/color] [color=#598153]b[/color][color=#578455]i[/color][color=#558757]r[/color][color=#538A59]t[/color][color=#518D5B]h[/color][color=#4F905D]r[/color][color=#4E935E]i[/color][color=#4C9760]g[/color][color=#4A9A62]h[/color][color=#489D64]t[/color][color=#46A066],[/color] [color=#43A669]y[/color][color=#41A96B]e[/color][color=#3FAC6D]t[/color] [color=#3CB370]d[/color][color=#3DAF6F]o[/color][color=#3FAC6D]e[/color][color=#41A96B]s[/color] [color=#45A367]n[/color][color=#46A066]o[/color][color=#489D64]t[/color] [color=#4C9760]k[/color][color=#4E935E]n[/color][color=#4F905D]o[/color][color=#518D5B]w[/color] [color=#558757]t[/color][color=#578455]h[/color][color=#598153]a[/color][color=#5A7E52]t[/color] [color=#5E774E]o[/color][color=#60744C]f[/color] [color=#636E49]w[/color][color=#656B47]h[/color][color=#676845]i[/color][color=#696543]c[/color][color=#6B6241]h[/color] [color=#6E5B3E]h[/color][color=#70583C]e[/color] [color=#745238]h[/color][color=#764F36]a[/color][color=#774C35]s[/color] [color=#7B4631]c[/color][color=#7D432F]o[/color][color=#7F3F2D]m[/color][color=#803C2C]e[/color] [color=#843628]h[/color][color=#863326]o[/color][color=#883024]m[/color][color=#8A2D22]e[/color] [color=#8D271F]t[/color][color=#8F231D]o[/color] [color=#931D19]c[/color][color=#941A18]l[/color][color=#961716]a[/color][color=#981414]i[/color][color=#9A1112]m[/color][color=#9C0E10].[/color]” The Beast spoke, stepping forward. Each step he took created a rotted spot on the ground in the shape of its large foot. “[color=#9E0B0F]A[/color][color=#9B0E11]n[/color][color=#991213]d[/color] [color=#951917]n[/color][color=#931C19]o[/color][color=#91201B]w[/color] [color=#8D271F]y[/color][color=#8B2B21]o[/color][color=#892E23]u[/color] [color=#843528]c[/color][color=#82392A]o[/color][color=#803D2C]m[/color][color=#7E402E]e[/color] [color=#7A4732]h[/color][color=#784B34]e[/color][color=#764E36]r[/color][color=#745238]e[/color] [color=#70593C]t[/color][color=#6E5D3E]o[/color] [color=#696443]s[/color][color=#676745]a[/color][color=#656B47]v[/color][color=#636F49]e[/color] [color=#5F764D]y[/color][color=#5D794F]o[/color][color=#5B7D51]u[/color][color=#598053]r[/color] [color=#558857]q[/color][color=#528B5A]u[/color][color=#508F5C]e[/color][color=#4E925E]e[/color][color=#4C9660]n[/color][color=#4A9962].[/color] [color=#46A166]A[/color][color=#44A468]d[/color][color=#42A86A]m[/color][color=#40AB6C]i[/color][color=#3EAF6E]r[/color][color=#3CB370]a[/color][color=#3EAF6E]b[/color][color=#40AB6C]l[/color][color=#42A86A]e[/color] [color=#46A166]e[/color][color=#489D64]f[/color][color=#4A9962]f[/color][color=#4C9660]o[/color][color=#4E925E]r[/color][color=#508F5C]t[/color][color=#528B5A],[/color] [color=#578455]b[/color][color=#598053]u[/color][color=#5B7D51]t[/color] [color=#5F764D]h[/color][color=#61724B]e[/color][color=#636F49]r[/color] [color=#676745]d[/color][color=#696443]e[/color][color=#6B6041]a[/color][color=#6E5D3E]t[/color][color=#70593C]h[/color] [color=#745238]w[/color][color=#764E36]i[/color][color=#784B34]l[/color][color=#7A4732]l[/color] [color=#7E402E]h[/color][color=#803D2C]a[/color][color=#82392A]p[/color][color=#843528]p[/color][color=#873225]e[/color][color=#892E23]n[/color][color=#8B2B21].[/color] [color=#8F241D]T[/color][color=#91201B]h[/color][color=#931C19]o[/color][color=#951917]u[/color][color=#971515]g[/color][color=#991213]h[/color][color=#9B0E11].[/color][color=#9E0A0E].[/color]”

And the beast was a mere two paces away from WEsley. Close up, it was much bulkier than Wesley thought it was. But height-wise, it was around WEsley’s own. And even though it was so close to him, Wesley didn’t feel threatened. Why was that? Surely something that tried to kil Nadeline would want to kill him too, yet it didn’t raise a finger, nor did it have a tone that hinted at violence.

“[color=fff79a]Though what?[/color]” Wesley bit, hoping not to fall into whatever trap this beast was leading him into.

The Beast looked at Wesley once more, smiling at him. “[color=#9E0B0F]Y[/color][color=#981314]o[/color][color=#931C19]u[/color] [color=#892E23]s[/color][color=#843728]h[/color][color=#7F402D]a[/color][color=#794833]l[/color][color=#745138]l[/color] [color=#6A6342]f[/color][color=#656C47]i[/color][color=#60754C]n[/color][color=#5A7D52]d[/color] [color=#508F5C]o[/color][color=#4B9861]u[/color][color=#46A166]t[/color] [color=#3BB271]s[/color][color=#41AA6B]o[/color][color=#46A166]o[/color][color=#4B9861]n[/color] [color=#558657]e[/color][color=#5A7D52]n[/color][color=#60754C]o[/color][color=#656C47]u[/color][color=#6A6342]g[/color][color=#6F5A3D]h[/color][color=#745138].[/color][color=#794833].[/color][color=#7F402D].[/color][color=#843728]W[/color][color=#892E23]e[/color][color=#8E251E]s[/color][color=#931C19].[/color][color=#981314].[/color]”

And in that moment, as the Beast would shatter its form into particles of red and black and white, a voice clear as light resonated in Wesley’s ears. As the Beast had disappeared from sight, the voice of a ghost hit the prince like a ton of magicite to the face.