[i][color=f6989d]I'll kill her.[/color][/i] Calm down? Calm down? What was that? Who was he talking to? All Emiri could think of was killing Lola, all she could think about was plunging her dagger into the woman's chest. Why was she being held back? She was fighting the enemy, couldn't he see? [i][color=f6989d]I'll kill her.[/color][/i] Emiri's struggling would cease and be replaced with heavy breathing, her free hand gripping Jaakuna's arm. Calm down, he said. But she wanted to kill her.

"[b][color=f6989d]Let me go, Jaakuna,[/color][/b]" Emiri told him, her voice much too quiet, much too calm. "[b][color=f6989d]Lola is dangerous. We must help Lorenzo.[/color][/b]"

Dealing with crazy women was something Lorenzo had done back in his youth. He was always quite the charmer, quite the heart-breaker, though he admitted to himself that none of those women were as mentally unhinged as Lola was. No, clinically insane was more like it, though for some reason, he felt like the woman wasn't fully in control of her actions. Not that it was an excuse, but for some reason she reminded him of Emiri. Was Zodiark's mere presence causing such a toll on the mentality of the people? He knew the answer to that, but he wouldn't let his guard down, not for a second. Lola grinned at him from a distance away, as if taunting him. He wanted to get the Shard back, but as he would eye Emiri and Jaakuna warily, he wondered if it was even worth it.

"[b][color=f26522]Alright, is the Shard what you [i]really[/i] want?[/color][/b]" Lorenzo asked her, cocking an eyebrow. "[b][color=f26522]Whatever happened to that leader of yours? Or are you trying to tell me you went rogue?[/color][/b]"

Lola's eyes widened slightly, though she would then wince. "[b][color=ed145b]Boss...boss said to blow up the mines. But she said to go to the middle...so no one would get hurt. Magicite exploding would have helped put some balance into the negative air Zodiark is letting out,[/color][/b]" Lola informed him, a small smile on her face. "[b][color=ed145b]But...they're all going to die anyway. Only we, the Chosen few, would stand a chance against this madness.[/color][/b]"

He wanted to chalk it off as the mumblings of a mad woman, but something seemed to click in his head. "[b]You say that, but I feel like you're being more affected.[/b]"

Lola would put both hands on the side of her head as she would speak. "[b][color=ed145b]I can't stop hearing his voice. He whispers things to me, he tells me things...him and the Esper, him, him, him![/color][/b]"

[hr]

Grant had always known he was an idiot. Suicidal, though? Not so much. He would blink a few times, his body recovering from the shock of the attack, although with it would come a piercing pain. His able hand would shoot up to his shoulder, and he would let out a sigh. How had things come to this? What was worse, something had happened in Stigma. As the thought would cross his mind, he would see Savayna and Nadeline. Something else was surely happening, but the whole 'take a sword to the shoulder' pain was quite distracting.

Nadeline, on the other hand, was deathly silent. Even as Wesley would make his promise, this feeling in the pit of her stomach simply wouldn't go away. What had she done? What had she caused? If only she hadn't let her stubbornness get the better of her. This was wrong, everything was all wrong! Her concentration was doing about as well as a hungry wolf in a meat market, her Curajas constantly failing to do anything.

"[b][color=92278f]Not your fault.[/color][/b]" Grant then mumbled, as if reading her thoughts. "[b][color=92278f]Stop thinking that.[/color][/b]"

The princess shook her head as tears threatened to fall once more, though she would do everything in her power to hold them back. "[b][color=fdc68a]I cannot. If not as an individual, how am I to someday take the throne if I cannot even help the people before me? I should have listened, I should not have let my own pride make my decisions so brash...[/color][/b]" Nadeline shook her head as she spoke, her now blood-stained hands on Grant's shoulder as she would try and fail to cast her healing magicks. "[b][color=fdc68a]Even if Wesley were to defeat Shion, Ultima would never yield to someone as weak as I am.[/color][/b]"

Grant let out another sigh, looking up instead at Savayna. "[b][color=92278f]I think I may be going delusional, Savayna, I could swear I just heard Nadeline call herself weak.[/color][/b]"

On the other side of the room, Wesley would approach Shion. She would shake her head sadly at his words, but it would seem she accepted the duel. She would drop her katana, letting it fade to Mist as her palm would glow. She pulled out another blade, whipping it aside as Wesley and the Esper would split up. If only things had gone differently, but the call of battle seemed much too strong today.

A small charge of lightning surrounded Shion, and she gripped her sword. Hurting the prince of Dalmasca was simply not an option at the moment, and despite his boasts, she wondered if he knew what he was getting to. "[b][color=00aeef]Handle me, he says, as if I were some wild animal.[/color][/b]" Shion said slowly as she watched his strike come. She raised her arm to the side, Nadeline's glyph appearing beneath her as she would leap up effortlessly, away from the two attacks. She would point her sword downwards at the Esper, a small, black ball charging at the tip of her sword. The Shock spell would erupt from her blade, its erratic pattern charging down at Hashmaal as Shion would land some distance away, gripping her sword with both hands.

"[b][color=00aeef]Your cause is noble. But I believe you have forgotten who it is you are fighting.[/color][/b]" Shion told Wesley as her flower would glow ominously. "[b][color=00aeef]The Archadian prince learned who I am the hard way. Do you truly believe yourself to be in my league? Your arrogance knows no bounds, does it, Prince of Dalmasca?[/color][/b]" She asked, pointing at him. "[b][color=00aeef]As penance for my actions, I will offer you this. If you manage to lay so much as a scratch on me, I will concede.[/color][/b]"