Altered Tundra

*waves* hiya, newbie here.

Hiya and welcome to the Guild! Happy RP-hunting~ :D

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Jaakuna was fully convinced, but Savayna was still on the fence. Even after Lorenzo explained the facts about that key on her necklace, she still needed more proof. It wasn’t until Emette would walk over to Savayna’s wall of ice did the proof of the second identity reveal itself. Just one hand on the ice and a single moment did the ice crack under the pressure. A gasp from Savayna was all that anyone would need. She was made a believer in that moment.

Emette revealed a path once again for the group, which caused them to give her varying glances. Some of the glanced were no doubt ones of acceptance, but the ones that came from Savayna was one still of disbelief, but not in the same way she had been before. The blonde taken a turn and as Mateus waited for her to make a move - any kind of move - she sighed and shrugged. That was the closest anyone had seen her get to admitting defeat.

“I suppose we should get going then.” Jaakuna suggested to the group. He would be the first one to follow Emette. Despite revealing herself as Justine and Emet, Jaakuna knew calling her either of those things wasn’t accurate. And yet, he could tell something about her was familiar. The Justine aspect aside, part of him felt comfortable - well, as comfortable as siblings were. But what did that mean for Jaakuna?

As he walked, Jaakuna found the area in front of him fade from the dark, musky mines into the site of the Tomb of Raithwall, Belias standing in front of him. His Esper would whisper something to him. After a few minutes of hearing it all, Jaakuna was in shock, though as the image of his esper left him, Jaakuna was running. Somehow, though he couldn’t quite understand it, he also knew why they were running. But what Belias told him was unsettling. If true, then there truly was no time to waste. “Hastega!” Jaakuna suddenly called out, several clock gylphs hovering over the entire group and they would find themselves moving three-times as fast as they were.

They truly had to make haste in order to prevent what was about to happen.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

After Grant had chimed in, echoing Savayna’s rather extreme stipulation of Emette telling her exactly who she was or no one would be able to go. DEspite it being ice and how the likes of Jaakuna could’ve gone through with ease, the additional strife between friends was something that he didn’t need. Besides, now was as good a time as any to get the truth out of Emette. Despite how the situation involving Emiri was getting direr as time went on, Jaakuna wanted to know as well.

And before Emette would state her real identity, she told them that she came up with the name Emette on the fly and how she had two names. She warned them that her real identity would probably throw them off guard. As much as Jaakuna doubted that, she would then explain, but first, she pulled out a necklace. It took Jaakuna a moment, but when he looked at it and heard her speak, it clicked with him. He figured out who she was just moments before she revealed her name.

Justine. It’s Justine.

That realization came with a notable gasp from Jaakuna. It came at the right time as she had announced her other name, Emet-Selch, the Angel of Truth. She was the opposite of Zalera. And she was Emiri’s mother. It all made sense now. How could he had been so blind to this? The way she acted, the way she was towards Jaakuna, and how she knew so much about everyone - all of it was so obvious. As the Transcendent, Jaakuna should’ve been able to see this, yet he was as blind as he was when he was under Venat’s Influence.

“Bullshit.” Jaakuna suddenly heard Savayna speak. “Justine died in that explosion in the Stigma Mines. Even if you are her, how are we to believe you about your other name?”

“Emette did say not all of us would believe her.” Jaakuna mused. He turned his head to face Savayna. “She’s telling the truth.”

“You’re as gullible as ever, Jaakuna. She’s trying to bullshit us.”

“No she’s not.”

“And how do you know.?”

“That necklace of hers, specifically the key.”

“What about it?”

Jaakuna let out a single chuckle, looking at Emet. “It’s the key to the house that she and Emiri lived in before Karolina married into the royal family, isn't’ that right, Lorenzo?”

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

What just happened? The backup of Jaakuna, Grant, and Lorenzo was supposed to mean that Lola wouldn’t be able to escape, yet, as her body had faded into shadow after saying some interesting things, what did she do? Escape. None of them seemed to try and stop her. And that’s what Savayna had the real problem of coping with. Lola - or Nabriales - was right there and she could’ve been stopped with the joint efforts, but instead, they did nothing - not even an effort from Jaakuna.

“So, you’re the one who was talking to Emiri, huh?” Savayna approached the brunette, shoving past all of those who were in her way (Grant, Lorenzo, and Jaakuna). “Who are you?”

“Savayna, this is Emette.”

“Is that supposed to mean anything?”

Jaakuna shrugged, “I don’t know much about her except that she seems to know about what’s happening. And apparently, Emiri going to the place where the real Zodiark had been sealed befor--”

“Real Zodiark? You mean he’s here?” Savayna’s voice cracked, her attention now on Jaakuna. “What in the Gods do you mean?”

“Yes, Jaakuna, I am also curious.” Mateus echoed his Chosen One’s sentiments.

Jaakuna let out a sigh. “Earlier today, Emiri came to me after I received the Belias Sigil and told me about the things that happened to her: she grew taller, her bust got bigger, she has lines of silver in hair, and she had some sort of dream about a statue that resembled the common appearance that Zodiark had. Based on the legend of Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca, he was originally here in Henne Mines, so we decided to check it out.” Jaakuna informed Savayna, feeling the continued glares from Grant and Emette. No doubt they felt it was a stupid plan.

“Wow.” That’s all Savayna could muster. She knew that Jaakuna was stupid, but she never thought he was this dumb. Absolute ignorance. “Let me guess, it was your idea?”

Jaakuna nodded.

Savayna shook her head. If she kept thinking about Jaakuna’s stupidity any longer, she was going to punch his lights out. Instead, she would focus on the other matter at hand - the matter that she was more interested in.

Her icy eyes glared at Emette. “I don’t know how, but you’ve convinced Jaakuna to follow you blindly, but why should we trust you, huh?” Savayna asked her, closing the gap between them. “I’m not denying that you know things about Emiri. Lola seemed to know you, so that much about what Jaakuna implied must be true, but some of this doesn’t add up. First off, you appear the same time Emiri and Jaakuna did. And from what I heard during your conversation, you seem to know exactly what’s going to happen and what could happen should Emiri go through her awakening. But here’s my problem, Emette,” Savayna scratched her head, glancing at Mateus who seemed to be on-board with Savayna’s thought. “Your place in this is too coincidental. Emiri has a dream about Zodiark - the real Zodiark - and somehow, at the same moment she comes with the buffoon here to investigate, you happen to be here too.” She continued, “so it’s time you tell me who you are?”

“Already tried that. She won’t do it until we go forward.” Jaakuna said, sounding almost disappointed.

“Yeah, well I’m not letting anyone go any further until I get some answers.” Savayna signaled Mateus and a wall of ice formed, blocking anyone from going any further. “Ball’s in your court, honey.” Savayna would give Emette an arm gesture as if letting her have the floor.

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

650

Naruto: Revival

^{Konohagakure | Chunin | NinTai-nin}

---

^{TIME: Present Day - Morning | LOCATION: Konohagakure - Forest of Death(#winning) | INTERACTION: Wind’s Favorite Cloud@Ladyinink Woodworking Wonder@Reflection The Windseekerand Womanizer @Syn}

Amidst all of the chaos with the medic ninja running around aiding those who needed to be treated, Jaakuna knew the head bump he and Kurin did was a bad idea when he realized his Senju teammate had a headbutt just as hard and strong as Jaakuna did. So, on top of his burns and other miscellaneous effects he was feeling from the hell they all just went through, Jaakuna could include a banger headache on top of it all. But at least he had his health, no matter how scarce it might be. Yeah, that’s the brightside. Score one for brightsides!

But, as the medic ninja would attend to him, they’d deliver the grim reality for Jaakuna. “Your burns are bad - severe, even. Nerve damage from the looks of. We can’t be certain, but hand sign weaving might be slowed.” The medical ninja told him as the warmth of their chakra healed what they could.

The words would resonate with Jaakuna, though he wouldn’t linger on the negative for much longer. He had to keep a positive mind. Nerve damage or dead nerves huh? Well, then he’ll just have to find alternative means to get them back. There’s always a way if you keep your head up. Burns on the arms? That’s ironic since he’s mainly a katon user, but burns go away after time, so that’s of no consequence. Fighting from here on might be challenging, but what Hinoko doesn’t love a good challenge? None that Jaakuna knew. The Hinoko’s are a stubborn and resilient bunch. Not even the lake spirit of their ancestors could keep their fire from spreading. Jaakuna wasn’t going to let a few dead nerves or burns on his arms keep him from achieving his dream.

Although, the announcement about their next exam happening shortly sure caught him by surprise.

He took a brief moment of letting it settle with him. He looked around at his team and those who have already finished and he then glanced down at his arms. Another moment passed and he started chuckling, then stood up and laughed as if he had gone mad. “Bwaha, very well then, Lord Hokage! Challenge accepted!” Despite every fiber in his being that hoped the next round of fights wouldn’t come so early, Jaakuna would face it head on. No self-respecting Hinoko backed away from a fight. He looked at Kurin, Kiku, and Shizuka. “Just because we fought tooth and nail to get that scroll doesn’t mean I’ll hesitate to kick your asses.” He snickered, overflowing with exciting confidence.

Sundance was back and he was going to outshine all of their bitch-asses.

Sensei Has Arrived

Fifteen posts already huh? I can tell you're going to fit in nicely here, @Ms Patoots. If ya ever want to chat and whatnot, feel free to pm me~

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Mateus uncharacteristcally laughed, his form coming from his own dimension. As his lower body would be seen, a surprised gasp from Savayna would be heard as instead of the typical merman fin half, a set of legs were seen, clad in sea-colored light armor. He then stepped forward, exchanging a glance with Savayna before his full, undivided attention would center on Lola/Nabriales.

"As always, you're boasting nature knows no bounds. And as always, you only know half the truth." Mateus said, letting out a laugh, hinting he knew exactly what happened. "You see, Savayna and myself have this odd relationship. It's not like most Espers and their Scions. Let me use Hashmal and the Dalmascan hume as an example. You see, the Bringer of Order and that hume have something that Humes call 'father and son', while myself and Glacie have a betting relationship. We bet about everything: who could land the most hits in a fight, how many times Belias' Scion will dig himself into a grave, and, of course, my favorite, how many times must we use distractions to fool our foe." Mateus chuckled, eyes firmly on Lola. "You see, the Vacuum spell, the vortex of our weapons - it's all a diversion. It's to distract you from--"

And as if on cue, it seemed they were here.

"Well, speak of the devil and they shall appear." Mateus snapped his fingers and the vortex faded away as if it was an illusion the whole time. As it would, there were a few things that Lola would notice. The first would be how she was restrained where she stood by vines of mist that was from Mateus himself. The second, of course, was the appearance of Jaakuna, Grant, Lorenzo, and some other girl that Mateus didn't know. "So, as you can see, this was never meant to kill you, Nabriales. It was meant to bide us time for Jaakuna to arrive."

"What the hell?" Jaakuna stated, seeing Lola. "What in all hell is she doing here?"

"That's a good question. Please, do tell him, Nabriales. And know that as long as I remain summoned, your escape options are limited."

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

"I beg your pardon?"

Savayna could've sworn she heard wrong. It was almost as though she said she was the motherfucking Scion of Light opposite of the Impure Scion. That couldn't be right. That Scion of Light was not a repulsive, crazed lunatic like that of Lola. From what she remembered from her history lessons as a child, Nabriales was a beautiful woman who, despite having the appearance of a scorpian, was gentle and kind. Despite being a Scion who wished evil upon the world it ruled over, she was described as not wanting the total death and destruction of it - at least, not like the rest of them wished. Lola, on the other hand, seemed to have not a single qualm about seeing to that exact result.

"I figured as much," Mateus mused. "There was something very off-putting when we cross blades. I didn't think, but this is most certainly Cuchulainn's opposite. This is the one my dear brother opposed and yet.." Mateus was bothered by something. "Tell me, Cuchulainn, are you so far gone that you would accept the one you opposed all those years ago as your Chosen One?"

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

“We’ll see about that.” Savayna retorted, glancing one of her eyes up at Mateus. He gave her a simple nod.

The two would utilize the moment that Lola took to speak and seemingly lower her guard. Their weapons were tossed into the air but not without cause. Both trident and sword started to spin around the three. Eventually, as the two weapons got to a fast enough speed, they multiplied double their numbers, then triple, and then to the point of going past one-hundred times their numbers. By a point, there were several hundred of them, surrounding Savayna, Mateus, and Lola within a vortex.

“You know, you’re right, Lola. This fight was going nowhere. I have ice - cold, frigid, deadly ice. And you’re using fire. These two elements, no matter their force, will always cancel each other out. But tell me, what is it that one needs to create fire? What is essential for you to summon your flames?” Savayna could see Lola was blanking on it. She was strong and a formidable foe but she wasn’t bright. “Allow me to tell you: it’s oxygen. Even if you have all of the magical power, one needs oxygen to create fire. And you can feel it now, this isn’t just any ordinary vortex.”

Savayna held up her left hand, a glyph appearing on the backside of her hand. Lola would recognize it as the glyph corresponding to the forbidden magick spell Vacuum. She extended that arm and mist started to form around it, pulling the remaining oxygen within the vortex into it. In just a few short minutes, she would have gathered every bit of oxygen left int he vortex.

“As I’m sure you now realize that this is Vacuum, the forbidden spell that sucks out any air from any surface of five meters or less. It is forbidden because it not only affects the air the opponent of the caster breathes but the air the caster themselves breathe. But, there is a way out of this, dear Lola,” Savayna gave a wincing smile, “bow to me and serve your Ice Queen.” Savayna laid out her ultimatum, stepping closer to Lola. As she would, the effects of Vacuum would increase and Lola doubtless felt it. “Get on your knees and swear your fealty to the Glacie name and you will live.” Like the most northern reaches of Ivalice, Savayna’s words were just as cold.

---

”Admit it, we’re lost.”

Jaakuna had lost the amount of time he had seen the same trashed cart as the trio of Rozarrian and Archadian tried to find their way out of the Phase One Dig. Jaakuna succeeded at a number of tasks, but when it came to traversing through underground areas, he was just as useful as Lorenzo was in just about anything that wasn’t building machines or causing his siblings to repeatedly bash him in the head.

So just try to imagine Jaakuna’s decreasing patience as Lorenzo insisted he take the lead despite it being the one thing that had them going in circles at least ten times over. That aside, they were wasting time. Emiri was out there with Savayna. Jaakuna feared what could happen if those two were to get off on the wrong foot again. He sure remembered the last time they had an argument.

“We’re lost,” Grant would repeat himself for maybe the dozenth time. At least this time, Jaakuna was on his side.

”You see, even your sister agrees with me.

Lorenzo frowned. “Are you gonna let him talk to you like that?” He asked Grant.

“I’ve accepted my fate,” Grant admitted, a rather defeated expression on his face.

Letting out a sigh, the blond man looked around, scratching the back of his head. “Eh...okay! Fine! I have no idea where I’m going!” He yelled out, running in literal circles. “Everything looks the same! We’re going to be stuck here forever!”

Jaakuna let out a sigh, looking at Grant and the panicking Lorenzo. ”Well, there is a way we could get out of here, but I must admit it’s a tad extreme, not to mention it could kill us all.” Jaakuna said, informing the brothers about a possible way out, though warning them at the same time.

“By killing Lorenzo brutally so his dying screams attract Savayna and Emiri?” Grant asked, completely deadpan.

“Wow. That was just mean,” Now it was Lorenzo’s turn to scowl at Grant. “And to think I went out of my way to let you talk again!”

“It was Savayna’s idea. Not yours.” Grant reminded him.

Jaakuna shook his head at both of them. Honestly, how long were they going to go on like this? ”Honestly you two, would you focus. I have a way for us to get out of here.” Jaakuna raised his voice, getting the attention of both Lorenzo and Female-sounding Grant.

“Then spit it out already,” Grant’s usual annoyed tone came off rather whiny, though he outright ignored Lorenzo’s snickering.

He grew annoyed by Grant’s whiny tone, more so because of his more feminine voice. That prompted Jaakuna to not reply with words but rather action. Shoving past Lorenzo and Grant (putting more force on Grant’s side), Jaakuna’s hands flickered red and white, the mist in the air being drawn to both of his hands and centering at the base of his palm. After a few seconds of facing thea direction in the mines that had the thickest formation of rock and steel, Jaakuna held both palms out. By now, they were ablaze of white and red fire, mixed in with the natural green shade that Mist tended to appear as.

I should’ve known. Grant thought as he would put some distance between himself and Jaakuna.

Lorenzo, on the other hand, seemed confused. Was he trying to track the others down via magic? That was an awful lot of mist he was gathering. “Uh...What are you trying to do there?” He asked slowly.

“What does it look like? I’m going to mine us an alternate path. So either you find us the right way out of here or stand back. I can control it when released, but there’s no telling how rocky this is going to get.” Jaakuna warned them, raising his hands up as he prepared to fire, though giving them time to back away, of course.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold it, hold it!” Lorenzo exclaimed, not noticing that Grant wisely chose to put a greater distance between them. “The entire pathway could collapse on us!”

“Don’t worry, Lorenzo,” Jaakuna gave his blond brother an assuring smile. “Unlike that ex-wife of mine, I know how to aim my attacks.” He told him with a nod.

After a moment passed, Jaakuna focused his the magickal energy he collected in conjunction with the manipulation of mist, he brought his flaming hands together, placing them opposite of each other. His fingers were spread and slightly bent, yet perfectly aligned. “Sea of Flames!” Jaakuna called out.

At maximum power, his hands flashed white and then red, after which magick and mist flowed from his hands and unleashed a powerful stream of red and white fire that began to pierce through the rock, melting any steel that had gotten in the way. However, before any real damage could be done, a pair of hands would put themselves on Jaakuna’s, lightly touching them. He would see the girl in white, shaking her head at him, though would go so far as to outright dissipate his mist, returning his hands to normal. Without so much as a word, she took a step back, staring at him. Grant was surprised at Jaakuna’s hesitance. “What is it?” He asked, frowning.

“He probably realized that this isn’t a good idea,” Lorenzo noted.

“What the fuck did you just do!?” Jaakuna roared, noticing the complete lack of fire from his hands and more importantly, the lack of an escape route being forged. He turned to the girl in the white dress. “I was about to get us out of here. Why’d you stop me?”

Grant couldn’t help but stare at Jaakuna. “...Neither one of us stopped you,” He said, raising an eyebrow at him. “I still think it’s a bad idea, but you do you.”

“Not you princess -- the bitch in the white dress! The one who kind of looks like Emiri but not as hot.”

Lorenzo and Grant looked at one another, concerned for a moment. The girl raised her eyebrows at him, amused as Lorenzo would walk up to him. As if taunting Jaakuna, she would wave his hand in front of Lorenzo’s face, but the man wouldn’t react. “You, uh...you alright Jaakie?” He asked him seriously. “What bitch? We’re the only ones here.”

The girl gave him a rather mischievous smirk. “They can’t see ‘the bitch’,” She told Jaakuna simply. “I’ve only revealed myself to you.”

”Huh, guess they really can’t huh.” Jaakuna mused to himself, looking over to the brothers. “Turns out I’m not going crazy.”[ He mused again. “I guess it turns out this less-hot version of Emiri can decide who gets to see her and I’m the lucky one.” Jaakuna scratched his head as he informed Lorenzo and Grant of the situation.

Wow, so this was how Jaakuna would finally snap. Grant walked closer to Lorenzo, uneasy about Jaakuna’s claims. “Jaakuna...are you feeling alright?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Look, I’m just fine, Granella! This flat-chested fluezy really is only making me see her. I’m not going insane!” Jaakuna repeated, seeing the worried glances from the brothers. “I’m not!”

“They don’t believe you,” She pointed out, though she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Whether they think you’re going insane or not, you’ve lost plenty of time here. Even now, the women are locked in combat. Will you go to them?” She asked Jaakuna.

“What do you mean?” Jaakuna asked the girl. “What women? Who even are you? Why are you here in the mines?”

“Savayna and Emiri. Who else would I be talking about that is relevant to you?” Her tone was that of an annoyed one, though she caught herself, a hand on her forehead. “Goodness, you two are truly meant for one another, considering Emiri asked me the exact same thing.”

Jaakuna had enough of this bitch’s vagueness, so he gripped her white dress and brought her close to him. “Tell me who you are!” He demanded, not giving any sign of releasing her from his grip.

She scoffed. “You humes and your obsession with missing the big picture…” She muttered, though she looked Jaakuna right in the eye. “Call me Emette, bitch, whatever, the point is everyone here--everyone in Ivalice I’d argue--is in danger. If Emiri reaches the end of the mines, the only thing that will follow is our absolute doom!” She snapped at Jaakuna.

“Oh,” Jaakuna let her go, even going as far as to unwrinkle her dress; though in doing so he patted her breasts a few times. “Huh, I was right - you are flat-chested.”

Emette rolled her eyes at him, her hands on her hips. “Will you get your mind out of the gutter?!” She scolded him, raising her nose at him. “Did anything else I said register?!”

“Relax, would ya?” Jaakuna shrugged, patting Emette’s shoulders. He gave her a carefree smile. “I heard you loud and clear the first time. Danger lurks and I have to stop it.” Jaakuna recited it as if a line from a script, “same shit, different day.” He let out a sigh of pure boredom, though he understood the severity of what Emette was saying.

“How is an idiot like you the Transcendent…?” Emette asked, completely baffled. “I thought you’d care a little more considering it concerns your beloved, but you couldn’t care less, could yo--”

Before she would be able to get out that last thought, Jaakuna’s now-golden left hand gripped Emette’s throat so tightly that it would cause her to lose her next breath and he forcefully rammed her against the wall of stone and steel just three paces behind her. “Don’t you dare question my love for her.” Jaakuna threatened Emette, tightening the grip of his hand on her throat, forcing more gags to follow.

Grant’s eyes widened as a woman would suddenly appear, Jaakuna’s hand at her throat. “Jaakuna! Calm down!” Lorenzo told him, alarmed.

“Then…do something...!” Emette managed to choke out her words, a defiant glare at Jaakuna, though she seemingly did nothing to stop him. “Even now...Mitron is…!”

Upon hearing that name, Jaakuna let go of Emette’s throat. “What does Keiran have to do with anything?” He asked, surprised.

Lorenzo knelt down, offering her a hand. She took it, standing up once more, though she gave Jaakuna a serious look. “Mitron is misguided in his attempts, he has broken all my seals to bring Emiri to the statue. Little does he understand the implications of this...I can tell you more, but on the way, I urge you to come.”

“What seals?”

She would begin to walk, beckoning him to follow. “To prevent more of Zodiark’s power from leaking out--the true one, mind you--I placed several seals around the mines a long time ago. Once they started to weaken, I awakened. His power was great, though I managed to chain a portion of it to this place,” She would hastily explain, doing very little to clarify her words. “I suspect Keiran wishes to release it fully into the world, though for what reason, I do not know.”

“Wait, so he’s not acting on Venat’s orders, huh?” Jaakuna seemed surprised by this. If Venat wasn’t behind it, then Keiran was doing this on his own. Or was he? Gah, Jaakuna wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. Regardless, he followed Emette.

“I don’t suspect Venat would have any advantage to having Zodiark at full power. So why?” Grant asked out loud.

“Anything for attention. Mitron is quite needy,” She admitted. “I know the two of you remember Emiri’s secondary ability, the more subtle one.”

Lorenzo blinked, though quickly realized he wasn’t in the conversation. As he hung his head, Grant would answer the question. “You mean unlocking the Espers, don’t you?”

“Unlocking Espers isn’t the half of it,” She informed them. “It’s not that there’s more to it, but I’m sure you’ve realized your awakenings happening within proximity. It isn’t an accident--whether intentional or not, she’s caused them.”

Jaakuna must’ve heard wrong. It sounded to him that she was saying Emiri’s responsible for the crap that’s been happening to them for the past couple of days. If that was true, then he really only had one response to that. “Ah, so Emiri is the one responsible for making Grant sound like a little girl.”

“Not necessarily,” She stated. “The side effects are entirely dependant on the person. She draws out the power--how you react to it is your own body’s fault.”

“Oh, I get it,” Jaakuna seemed to understand. “Grant secretly wishes to be a woman, so his body prepared him for the pending operation.”

“What?!” Grant blurted out, not noticing Lorenzo’s hysterical laughter.

“Focus,” She told Jaakuna as she would guide them. “You’ve always known Emiri was different, but you’ve never truly understood to what extent. The reason Venat and everyone want their hands on her isn’t simply because of the espers. It’s far more complicated than that--it’s the very reason she can manipulate time.”

“You don’t need to keep reminding me about how special she is; I know exactly how special Emiri is.” Jaakuna scowled at Emette.

Yes, he knew she was special. Yes, her powers are something that has never been recorded ever in any history book or any scroll. Jaakuna knew that. He also knew that it made her a target. It made her a target for undead gods, for spawns of ancient God-Beasts - hell, it made her a target for a then-power-hungry Reia. But not one of those people were able to hold onto her long because she always found a way out.

“One thing you’re forgetting, though.” Jaakuna said as they would turn a corner, finally getting out of the Phase One Dig, much to Jaakuna’s inward relief, “she’s not a helpless little girl you think she is. She’s got other talents other than her time ability. And if you think she doesn’t, then you obviously don’t know her that well. Despite looking a lot like her, you don’t know half of what she can do.”

Jaakuna came to a stop, halting their progress as they seemed to be near the Shifting Shaft. “No, you don’t know what she’s capable of,” She informed him, frowning. “Or rather, what she’s capable of in the wrong hands…”

“So you’ve said.” Jaakunna let out a sigh of frustration. “This is getting us nowhere and frankly, I’m getting bored, so here is what’s going to happen: either you tell us who you are really or you can forget about us following you. We’ll find our own way out even if I have to blow this place to smithereens.” Jaakuna stated bluntly, giving Emette an ultimatum. “Now, out with it: who in the hell are you and why do you think you know Emiri better than any of us do?”

Emette stared at Jaakuna, incredulous. “It doesn’t matter who I am, and if it does, it can wait,” She informed him, shaking her head. “If you truly must know, then I will tell you afterwards.”

“Fine but if you think you’re going to forget telling me, you have another thing comin to you.” Jaakuna said to her. He wasn’t going to let this go. “But, yes please lead the way.” He would reluctantly submit to her being the leader.

“Perish the thought. I am here to serve,” She said, Grant noticing her words were dripping with sarcasm. “Simply follow, I only hope we are not too late.”