Altered Tundra

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Watching the rest of the group take her leave, Shion would then turn her attention back to the asshole. “We’re all ears,” She stated coldly.

Venat’s eyes scanned all of them. As per the usual, Aloa was neutral in every sense of the word, while Jaakuna and Shion had leaned more towards the anger axis, though it was obvious to him that Shion was far right. “How rude, Blue Rose. You don’t even want to enlighten them as to why it’s you three that should hear this?”

“The truth of Rio Corona is not one she is willing to share lightly,” Aloa mused. As Shion looked at her, surprised, Aloa pointed to her ears. “They’re not just for decoration.”

Shion scowled, crossing her arms. “You’d call me rude...and yet you dare speak his name.” She muttered, closing her eyes.

“It’s not as if the reveal would be a shocker to anyone here. You two and myself know how he oh-so-tragically died by her hands. And why? Because he wanted to see who was stronger.” Venat was enjoying this too much. “I guess we know who proved their strength that day. And what a shame since it had to happen just moments after they were got engaged.”

Shion turned away from the three of them, completely quiet. Aloa sighed, deciding to try to steer the conversation back on track. “I understand it amuses you, but I would very much like to get on with it if you will.”

He offered her a nod. “Very well, but Blue Rose, allow me a question: did you ever go back to the scene of Rio’s death?” He asked her. “No, I’m not meaning that grave you made for him similarly to the one you made for innocent Avira - I mean the same spot that he took his last breath before passing into the afterlife.”

“It may be difficult for someone like you to understand, but I’ve avoided that area of the Paramina Rift for hundreds of years,” She started quietly but bitterly.

“A pity.”

“Care to elaborate?” Jaakuna answered for Shion to spare her the wasted energy.

He let out a sigh, his full attention on Shion who seemed to be one push from attacking him. “I imagine, had you gone back to that site at any point in time you would sense that your dearly beloved, the Fallen Knight Rio Corona is very much alive.”

Shion stared at Venat. “He died over two hundred years ago,” She said. “It isn’t possible.”

“Are you sure he was dead?”

“I murdered him.” She said plainly.

Aloa let out a hum. “Interesting...and that is truly something to ponder,” She couldn’t help but say.

“And yet, I’m sure if you focused, you’d sense him.”

“Stop toying with me,” She seemed to have lost her patience. “What could any of this have to do with anything? If there’s a point to be made, then get to it.”

“I wasn’t speaking to you, Blue Rose,” Venat stated, “I was directing that at Aloa.” He specified clearly. “I’m sure you felt it, did you not?”

Scratching the back of her head, Aloa averted her gaze for a moment. “It certainly would explain how it was able to get to the Dynast-King’s place of rest with little issue, though I couldn’t imagine it to be the case,” She would admit, though she looked at Shion. “When we collided, there was the faintest sign of life deep within.”

Shion froze.

Venat had kept his eyes on Shion. “You may not want to believe it, Blue Rose, but it is the truth. The Creature is your beloved, Rio Corona.”

Whilst Aloa had confirmed what Venat had been saying, Jaakuna also looked to her, but he did so for a different reason than Venat did. He was genuinely worried about her, so much so that he had approached her, a hand on her shoulder, though a scathing gaze was shot to Venat, eyes burning gold. He had an entire mind that had decided to take him out in honor of Shion, but he knew he couldn’t. “So what then? How’d this happen?” Jaakuna asked Venat.

“By all rights, Rio died, this is true, but my influence — the power that drove him to become the man that Shion had killed — manifested itself in the form of a shadow that consumed his body. When that happened, a literal Creature of Death was created. It was my creature. Every bit of me lives within it, but...”

“But?”

[color=36454f]“There is hope.”

“Hope for...?”

“There’s hope to bring back Rio.” Venat revealed, no doubt earning the attention from Shion. “This is why the Dynast Dome is required. The life force of the King Raithwall is enough to purify even my power.”

“Why tell us this? With this knowledge, who’s to stop us from using it on you, and ridding your presence of Ivalice?” Jaakuna asked.

Venat chuckled, smiling at Jaakuna. “You could do this. I’m sure the knowledge is within your grasp, but it’ll take the entirety of Raithwall’s life force to kill me.” He informed them. “ You could do this, but you’ll be wasting your one and only chance to save the Blue Rose’s beloved.”

The bastard. He knew exactly.

Jaakuna wanted to say something in retort, but he’d only say what had already been said. So rather than sound like a broken record of sorts, his eyes went to Aloa and Shion. Certainly one of them had something to say to all of this.

The blue haired woman never took her eyes off Venat, and she wasn’t about to do so now. She knew where he was going with this, and as she raised her chin, her amber eyes were unreadable, her line of thinking impossible to guess. Aloa eyed her curiously, though she decided if Shion would not speak, then she would.

“A generous offer,” The viera commented, a finger on her cheek. “What, exactly, do you have to gain from this? This generosity is unbecoming of someone like yourself. It begs the question of why you would go out of your way for your former protege.”

”Much like you, I’d rather not be destroyed by the Creature. It is that simple.” Venat stated to Aloa’s question.

“The word ‘simple’ doesn’t apply to someone of your nature,” Aloa would remind him, though despite her statement, she would not press the issue any further. “How would we go about getting rid of your creature?”

He closed his eyes, smiling. When he would open them, one of his long fingers pointed to Jaakuna. “That is how.”

The blond Archadian looked to his left and right only to realize that Venat was pointing at him. “Who? Me?” Jaakuna didn’t quite understand.

Venat nodded. “You are in possession of the Sigil, are you not?”

Jaakuna nodded.

“Then that’s how you do it. With that power, you can purify anything, including me.”

Venat stood up, rolling up the cloth that had been covering his entire right arm. As he did, the three of them would bear witness to a bright light trailing down like tribal marks from Venat’s right shoulder down to his inner-elbow. He had then turned his gaze to Shion. “This is what happened when we fought, Blue Rose. And you weren’t using your full power then, yet, since that fight…” Venat let the cloth fall back down. “Bottom line is that she used that power she passed to you and it was able to weaken me - and she wasn’t meant for that power. So, just imagine what the Transcendent could do to a mere shadow of the great Venat.”

Jaakuna thought on what Venat said, though he did turn his eyes to both Aloa and Shion. He wondered what they thought about this. He had the thought of calling it a bunch of Chocobo shit, but seeing the injury on his arm and a smirk that he caught from Shion, he had to admit there was a lot of merit in what he said. Still, all of this is putting a lot of weight on Jaakuna’s shoulders. He could handle it, of course, but it seemed no matter where they went or what obstacle they faced, all of the worst of it seemed to be placed in Jaakuna’s hands, making him the only one to deal with it.

He let out a sigh, though it was one of fatigue. “Ya know, I’m not exactly sure what you expect me to do.” He said to all three of them, sighing once more. “I get that I have this awesome power and all, but surely I’m not the only one who can do it. What about Nadeline? She’s got Ultima. Or maybe Grant. Levi did say he’d be stronger than me when he finally ascended. Why’s it always the same? ‘Oh Jaakuna, you have to do it. Oh Jaakuna, it’s all up to you. Oh Jaakuna, you’re the Chosen One.’”

Aloa held her hand up, signaling Jaakuna to cease, if only for a moment. “I suppose we do have another option, if we so chose another path,” She stated airily.

“If it doesn’t involve me having to constantly save your asses, I’m all for it!”

The viera gave him a small smile, a rarity. However, it was not genuine, and Shion had to hold back her own chuckle. “So eager to agree before he hears the rest of it,” Shion noted.

“Technically, your Transcendent Light would be the most effective,” She said. “If you would shirk your responsibility to another, we could ask the Scion of Time to take a shot at it.”

“What? No, absolutely not!”

Venat mused a surprising sound. “She could reverse time to the point that Rio’s darkness wasn’t overwhelming his hume body and destroy the Creature.” He stated, offering even further insight since he knew Jaakuna wasn’t necessarily all that bright despite him gaining some of Shion’s observational skills.

“It would work, though it would be strenuous on her,” Aloa added, looking at Jaakuna. “As you said, you are ‘all for it’, no?”

“I--no, I didn’t mean--”

“If I recall, your exact words were ‘if it doesn’t involve me constantly saving your asses, I’m all for it’.” Venat said, chuckling.

They all had walked him right into that corner. “I hate you all.” He mumbled through a scowl.

“That should teach you not to agree without hearing the entirety,” Shion scolded him.

Jaakuna had turned his head towards Shion, almost saying exactly what had been on his mind in that very moment, but as he thought about it more, he decided against it. Instead, he turned away, facing Venat. “So, how would I go about this exactly? Just fight him and hello Rio?”

“I suppose you’ll have to find that out for yourself. I’ve more than done my part.” Venat stated, refusing to say anymore. “You’d best hurry; the Creature isn’t going to wait that long before the Reckoning enters stage two.” He gestured them away with a smile.

Shion gave him a short, curt nod, and then turned on her heel. Aloa’s smile faded, though she would follow Shion. For a moment she wondered what was on her mind. Venat certainly knew how to dangle Rio in front of her, though she expected her to have a more emotional response to his idea. The blue haired woman seemed more concerned about finding the rest of their entourage than anything. A distraction, or perhaps she had a plan?

Crooked Young - An Altered Lies Production

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What in the holy hell was that?

If Eli hadn’t seen it for his own eyes, he’d swore what he just heard was a colony of mice letting off death screeches much like how the mice in Wanted did before they all had been blown up. Of course, as he had seen the origin of that unforgiving noise, it was revealed to him(and everyone else digging into their ears to make sure their hearing was intact) as a tiny teen in a blue dress. The only thing Eli had to say in response was the following.

“How?”

Yes, how could someone so tiny and so petite have such a shrill scream that put heavy metal singers to shame? It was almost inhuman how she could project her voice in such a way that, no matter who was in the room, what they were doing nor how important it might’ve seemed, as soon as her voice cracked a few of the glasses(an overexaggeration), their attention was on her, the little, hopefully-legal brunette with a smile that most certainly drew more attention than her lack of front — and as she turned around — back curves.

Well, now everyone knew what that voice was compensating for. Though, Eli did have to admit he was intrigued. He wondered what this girl’s story was. Did she simply have such high energy that it demanded her to scream at the top of her lungs? Was she only like this for Audrey?

Eli had more questions but seemed to be interrupted as she had propped herself on Audrey’s lap(much to the further annoyance by the older brunette). It was interesting to see how these two seemed to look a lot alike. If Eli were a man who knew about genetics, he’d swore the two of them were sisters. They certainly could pass as such, but their personalities were, if nothing else, polar opposites. One had displayed a snotty cheeriness and the other was more lax. Chill. She seemed way more interesting than this Delilah was.

And, as Audrey would use this as the perfect chance to get away from him, she walked off with the older chick, leaving Elijah with the Human Screech. That also left them with a few, long moments of awkward silence. It included Eli not knowing what to say that wouldn’t be entirely rude. He didn’t want to ask the question he’d been thinking since hearing her scream, but at this point, anything was better than silence.

“So,” he said after a full minute of silence. “Are you always that obnoxiously loud?”

---

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Since taking his leave from the main room on account of Elass’ underhanded, not to mention hurtful, tactics, Alexandros had been enjoying himself. Not as much as he could’ve been, of course, but it turned out coming here didn’t end up becoming a total waste of his time. He had a few chats with his parents, some of Audrey’s cousins, and even enjoyed a conversation with Audrey’s father, Arthur. It turns out he was a stand-up guy. He was everything his mother said he was(and then some). That being said, ALexandros dared not state his past relationship with his daughter. One, that would further drive a wedge between them. It wasn’t that he had been expecting something to happen from what his mother did for him, but he’d rather not ruin the chances. Besides, it was nice getting to know him.

In between conversations with the guests, Alexandros had the displeasure of having Ava follow him everywhere he went. She’d contribute nothing but her usual, bothersome commentary about everything.

“I get that you’re mad, but at least be a man and say so. I’m tired of following you around.”

“Then don’t follow me around.” Alexandros suggested.

“Nice try, but I know you, Alex.”

“Do you now?”

“Stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

She gestured to his refusal to address the bigger picture. “That. Stop avoiding the subject.” She got in front of him as they reached an isolated corner. “Just admit it! You’re jealous that she was giving Eli some attention.”

He said nothing, just took a slip of his drink.

Ava scowled, taking his drink, and setting it on the table next to them. “No one can hear us and Eli’s currently busy with her. Just tell me. You’ll feel better.”

Alexandros let out a sigh. He hated it when she tried to make up for the wrongs she committed. It was always the same thing. When she did something she shouldn’t have or said something that made the situation at the time of the wrong-doing, she tried to make it up to him. Regardless of how annoyed he became by it, she did have this way of getting him to say things he wouldn’t normally say.

“Fine,” he let out another sigh, shrugging. “I’m—” Before Alexandros could get one more word, he heard Audrey speak. Only when he turned around did he see her. Upon this first glance, he noticed something off about her. He couldn’t place it, but there was a different air about her. “You sure you want to speak to me and not someone—” Alexandros felt Ava punch him in his ribcage, causing him to lowly grunt. He looked back at her for a brief moment, seeing her eyes wiggle towards Audrey. This all happened in a short moment. He sighed inwardly and looked back at the stout Audrey. “We should probably do this with less noise.” He suggested.

“Have fun you two!” Ava spoke cheerfully as she trailed away, leaving Alexandros and Audrey to their devices.

Music Appreciation Thread

@Heat I see you're still on your Black Queen binge?

Anyway, good song. Beat is pretty sweet and everything else that followed flowed well in the song in all the right ways. I kind of get a The Cure vibe from this certain track - well, vocal-wise, that is. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this track. This whole project is so unorthodox but I can't say I'm not loving it(Because I am).

7/10

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Naruto: Revival

^{Konohagakure | Chunin | NinTai-nin}

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^{TIME: Present Day - Morning | LOCATION: Konohagakure - Forest of Death(#winning) | INTERACTION:Surprise Guests! @Angel Eyes @Syn @Ladyinink}

That landing had not been the softest of landings, but Jaakuna wasn’t dead, so, at the least, it wasn’t all bad. However, he might’ve further injured his body than it had been before. So, definitely not all good. Despite that, however, there was one thing he had been thankful for and that was seeing his wonderful if not-slightly-assholish, teammates again. To think they took off without a word. Although it did help their case after Shizuka explained the reason why he still held some sort of anger towards the actual decision. But, he nodded as a sign of forgiveness. Remember! Jaakuna was not only a man but he was the bigger man, so he couldn’t hold onto such petty grudges for what was, a the very least, a decision made out of passion. Lord knows Jaakuna knew all about those.

After a few moments of just taking it all in, he eyed all three of them: his two teammates and Oichi and company. “I’m fine. But my arms could use a bit more healing. They’ve yet to fully recover from the earth trial,” Jaakuna regretfully admitted, looking to his arms briefly before returning to Shizuka’s gaze. “Oh fuck me!” Jaakuna blurted out when he had been asked about Kurin. “He told me to run. Before this whole mess around us began, he sensed some enemy shinobi — well, enemy in the exam-wise —coming towards us, so he gave me the Earth Scroll, and I got my sexy ass out of there.” He told them.

After Shizuka explained what they needed to do, Jaakuna nodded. HIs silent agreement obvious and he gave them a smile. “I may not be in full-working condition, but I’m willing to fight if you are, Windseeker!” Jaakuna chuckled through a smirk.

&&𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚.

---

Francisco Delgado Jr. was one of those men who never stayed in one place for more than a week at a time. It wasn’t good for the trade he specialized in. His employer understood that which was the exact reason why he was only contracted for jobs that included him to acquire entry into whichever location his target — no matter whether it was a person or object — was, procure his target, and once it had been made secure in the designated drop off point, the usual orders he’d receive through a secure line was to meet an associate of his employer who’d handle the transfers: Item for payment. That was how it went. Always.

As soon as the transaction had been done, the next series of orders for Francisco after any job was to lay low in exactly five towns over and await the next job.

This was Francisco’s life. This was what he did every month, receiving exactly one-hundred-thousand US dollars each time a job had been completed. And each time, he’d assume a new identity to ensure absolute anonymity.

Of course, there were always risks. It came with the nature of the job, but Francisco, being the kind of resourceful man that he was, always had a backup plan in case things didn’t go according to what his handler specified he’d do.

Such as his most recent job that had him tailing an Italian businessman who was importing special goods with an appeal from various well-connected parties. Among these goods was a special statue, which was rumored to have been crafted over a century ago by some great craftsman that has found its way from one pair of hands owning it to another. It was strange. It was one that had the form of two dragons or serpent-like creatures interlock in each other’s forms and ended up facing opposite directions of each other. It was also said it had two, priceless gems

That’s what Francisco was hired to obtain. It wasn’t the statue itself that he was contracted to steal. Those gems that were rumored to be worth more than the largest fortune was what a certain representative on behalf of the Rossi crime family, someone represented Giovanni Rossi’s interests, was in New York City for. There was a special shipping container coming at night on a freighter. The dock workers who were set to work that night had been paid off and a group of seven men who had been hired through various shell organizations to investigate the shipping container the statue was said to be in. However, when it went down and Francisco had been listening in not far from it, he overheard through the phones of the hired muscle’s phones(he synced his with theirs), he heard them speak in Italian but was able to catch a few phrases that he knew.

The bitch isn’t here.

That’s what they said. On that night, Francisco had to assume the ‘bitch’ was the statue, which had brought his investigation to a speeding halt.

And a few weeks passed. Francisco had reported his failure to his handler but told them he’d keep searching. He never liked to leave jobs unfinished and for a month more, he had kept his ears peeled and contacted all of the contacts he had made in his lengthy career. They had sent him anywhere from the neighbors of America’s north, Canada to his distant cousins, Mexico. He also found himself in the various, surrounding countries and islands. A full month and the trail had gone from hot to cold; lukewarm to scathing hot only for him to catch his first, major break.

According to one of his exes who was fortunate to forgive him after she caught him with her sister alerted him of a city that really had no name. It had several of them, but the most common name for it was called ‘The Badlands’. As weird as it sounded, the lead was credible. His ex had heard it from someone that you only knew through the process of “I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy”. Francisco hadn’t known what the details exactly, but she had told him all she knew and that the statue was somewhere in the Badlands.

Once he had arrived in this odd city, he discovered something about it almost instantaneously: it was full of wonders. It had equal parts of modern architecture and gothic imagery. It was like something straight out of a picture book that highlighted religious buildings and technological breakthroughs. That wasn’t even considering how beautiful its parks and rivers were. How one could easily get lost in its vastness, Francisco was reminded of his homeland of Spain. Not because it had similar appearances, but rather how it seemed so beautiful and rich with stories. Not one moment had gone by that he found himself in awe, practically forgetting his real reason for coming here.

Though he didn’t forget about his purpose for trekking here, it would’ve been rude of him to not enjoy the sights. Who knew how long he’d have before the job demanded his full, usually-divided(mostly towards the opposite sex) attention? As they say: Gotta enjoy the little things.

So, Francisco had done just that. For a full day(and some into the next), he indulged in some of what this place had to offer. From casinos to clubs, he spent several c-notes just giving into the temptations. He had even paid for a few nights of some…private entertainment. If this city truly was a bad land, then he’d show them just how bad he could be.

But of course, after a while, he was contacted by his handler. They informed him that the statue had made its reappearance at some building known as the Herilon Building. At the moment he was told this, Francisco could have sworn he saw that name before. Only after pondering it seriously did he remember. Of course, it came after he had pounded away a glass of wine. It was this odd building which had some angelic statues at the top of it. Apparently, there was a big story behind it. One of his friends told him about as they were ‘talking’. It had been quite the tale. Something symbolic, sure, but probably not up Francisco’s alley. Although, it did give him some ideas.

But first thing’s first! He had to pay for the time well-spent with his “friend”.

He handed his female companion of the night a few one-hundred dollar bills. She was a beauty. Her skin was like freshly-fallen snow but her eyes had a glimmer of burnt auburn while her hair was a natural honey shade. She was so thankful for his hospitality, she gave him her personal number should he need it for anything. “Como siempre, mi hermosa rosa.” He spoke, his voice oozing a rich, Spanish accent that practically made her knees weak as she forced herself to walk out the door, closing it as she left Francisco to his solitude.

He was in a room he had paid to stay in for a full week. This had come just before he got the news about that Herilon building and had staked it out, showing up as someone who loved art, which wasn’t a total lie. He did enjoy art of all kinds, but he was doing this purely to scope the place out. Every day around midday, he had dressed up in his finest suit that brought out every part of his physical attributes in the perfect way. His eyes that glimmered like amber but toned down when in the artificial light of the building and his dark locks were groomed back to show off his above-average forehead, but most importantly, in the light, his normally-light brown skin was darkened just slightly, yet it was obvious to anyone who glanced towards his direction that he was a charming, attractive male. And if they met his expectations, there might’ve been a glance back at them.

This was Francisco Delgado Jr, Spain’s Forgotten Rose. A fire had fuelled his passion for anything — or anyone — he did. And like the sun had on the day he’d take action in Herilon, Francisco rose from his bed, a glimmer of red aligning as the sun shone in his face. He stretched to the sounds of birds chirping just on his balcony.

Time to get to work.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Their reactions had been understandable, but as all Utena members knew, Shion and the one called Leviathan had a very complicated relationship. One could say they helped each other when necessary and worked against each other all the same. It had depended on what one had to gain from the other. If they needed information, one would provide it. If someone needed to set up some form of a trap, then, of course, the other would provide the means. Truth be told, Leviathan, despite what actions she has taken in the past, though not officially, was a member of Utena.

But of course, that didn't make Shion's decision to allow her entry despite the outspoken disapproval of her being her any easier to digest. If anything, it made it even worse - well, as far as Emiri and Grant seemed to be concerned. The others didn't particularly like it any less than they did, either. Leviathan has done at least one thing to everyone in the room to warrant hatred. Even so, Shion, at least for the moment, had placed some amount of trust in her. What were they going to do?

"Why have you come, Levi?" Michel asked her. He figured it should be someone who was at least half-unbiased towards this woman to address her.

"Oh, how good to see you again Michel. I heard about your unfortunate run-in with the Creature. How awful it must've been for you. To think you had to resort to using the Void Whisper." She eyed him sweetly, tone feigning concern.

"Please, spare me your theatrics and just tell us why you've come all this way."

She let out a disappointed sigh. "You're no fun, you know that? Fine, I'll tell you all." She turned around, looking at everyone. "I heard through the grapevine that the dear Creature has stolen something of value."

"Why doesn't it surprise me that you know about the Dynast Dome?" Wesley muttered, shaking his head.

"My dearest nephew--"

"Not another word!" Wesley snapped, earning a genuine oh from Levi.

"I know of someone who might be able to help you. In fact, this third party has agreed to help you all."

"Who is it?"

"Why tell when I can show you?"

As Levi had raised her arms up into the air and over her head, she let out a loud, passionate scream. Once she did that, a dark mist surrounded them all(minus Ren). It put them in some kind of vortex of blue and black mist, their eyes seeing the images of famous locations in Ivalice from the Phon Coast to the Tchita Uplands, the Pharos of Ridorana, and how it towered high in the sky, but not even that could penetrate a dark castle the was as high as the heavens itself. Before anyone could say a word because a couple of the group knew where this was, they were brought to a single throne room with only one inhabitant in it.

And they all knew who it was.

"As we've discussed, I've brought them here."

The figure in the throne smiled. "How wonderful it is to see you all again," Venat spoke, smiling at all of his lovely guests. "Please, make yourself at home."

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

There was a lot of truth to what both Emiri(no matter how misguided it might’ve been) and Shion theorized. Only someone with Dalmascan blood in their veins could make the Dynast Dome appear before them. But there was something that they weren’t considering, or at least what they didn’t know. “I know how the Creature got the Dynast Dome to appear before him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nadeline knows this, but when she was first taken by Caeru and Sanguine, she was brought to a man who was revealed to be my brother. Or at least, it was someone using his body. I can’t honestly tell you which it was, but I knew that it was my brother’s body. And somehow the Creature revived him or was using his body as a front. Again, I don’t know which it was, but if he still had some of Sylvester’s blood in his system, I’m positive that’s how the Creature was able to get their hands on it.” Wesley revealed to the group.

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“I was there, so I’m positive,” Wesley retorted back to Savayna.

There was a moment of silence, though it was followed by Michel’s voice. “I suppose now we have to figure out what the Creature is going to use it for?”

“A pity the only thing that ascended for you lot was your ignorance to the obvious.” Before anyone could react to that obviously-familiar voice, shadows rose up in the middle of the room and revealed Leviathan. She eyed them all, stopping at Grant. “And how is my favorite silent knight?” She brought her hand to his cheek, smiling sweetly at his face.

“Hey bitch, hands off!” Savayna roared.

Levi let out a small laugh, smiling at Savayna. She removed her hand from Grant’s cheek and glanced around the group. “Meli, how good it is to see you. And it seems my old friend, Shion, the Blue Rose and Aloa, the now-Death Seraph, are here as well.”

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Venat’s rage felt throughout his throne room. He tapped his chair repeatedly, almost to the point where sparks of black lightning surrounded him, further emphasizing what had actually happened. “Damn that--that Creature! Betraying me like this! Did it really think it could do this and not think I wouldn’t react accordingly?!”

It had been days since the Creature was sent off on a routine mission on Venat’s orders. He wanted the Creature to collect an ancient relic that was paramout to the final stage of his plan. It was the only thing he needed. He had everything else: droplets of the Time Scion’s hair that held traces of her mist(as well as her time powers), he had the essence of Loghrif, and the most important facet of this multi-century-long plan, the bones of a certain deceased emperor. It had all been gathered. His Followers — his Scions, whom were created for this sole purpose — had all been awaiting this grandmaster plan to go into fruition. The Relic, the Dynast Dome, no bigger than an urn, was the last thing he needed. It was the last piece of this puzzle.

And it was gone!

“My Liege, I understand that you--”

“You understand nothing, Halmarut! My plans are ruined! And it’s all because of that Creature!”

“Surely there is something else that could replace it? Perhaps the Tome of Ivalice?”

Venat stood up and reached his hand across five meters to grab Halmarut, who was formerly known as Hamutby the throat, lifting the False Ram Scion off of his feet. “Do you not understand what the Dynast Dome is?” Venat asked, though it was rhetorical. “It holds the spirit of Raithwall himself within it. The very man whose will split nethicite into three pieces. It’s not simply something that can be recreated.”

“As always, Venat, you’re missing the bigger picture.” Suddenly, as Venat released Halmarut, a familiar voice had spoke. It was only after a moment did she come out. Dark-skinned and beautiful by Hume standards, she came out from the walls, forming from some black tar-like mist.

“Leviathan. Or should I call you Zodiark now?”

She laughed at his confusion over her name. She walked with confidence, offering Hamut a smile. “Been a long time, old man,” she teased him as he continued to cough.

“What are you doing here?!” Hamut asked her, demanding to know.

“I believe we can help each other.”

“Oh?” Color Venat intrigued, “and what can you, of all people, possibly help me? Do you wish to steal more of my Scions away from me?”

“Mitron and Nabriales were never yours to begin with — at least, not after I got my hands on them.” She seemed to gloat, but let out a breath, signalling that she was getting off-topic. “I am here to propose something to you, Venat.”

Deciding to take a chance, he allowed her to speak, gesturing to her with a nod. What was the worst that could happen?

---

Both Shion and Emiri gave no room for anyone to interject. When one had something to say about one thing they said, the other would retort in such a way that made it nearly impossible for even the most daring(Savayna) to speak. It got to the point where Emiri had enough of Shion’s words and, as the kids say, wrecked her shit. Sweating was a given, but there was a slow clap from Jaakuna. It wasn’t helping, sure, but it seemed highly appropriate considering what Emiri had said. Even though Shion retorted, one had to admit it didn’t have as much effect as what Emiri had said about “had it been Aloa”.

And when asked about the Reckoning, there were a bunch of blank expressions among the group.

“That isn’t true,” Michel stated, interrupting Emiri in her last sentence. “In retrospect, we learned one crucial fact that has to do with everything surrounding the Creature.” He went on to say, eyes now on Emiri, though his eyes went to everyone else as well. “What Ren didn’t show you was what happened when we landed in the Phon Coast--”

“You mean when you almost died because of that damned portal on your stomach!” Meli scowled at Aloa.

“But it’s fixed now, my love.”

“You have a portal on your stomach?”

“This I have to see.”

“I am also curious.”

“I had one. Aloa healed me using Emette’s light.” Michel said, “but we’re getting off-course.” He sighed, looking at all of them, “what I was going to say is, during a conversation with Aloa, she told me that Grigori — that multi-colored monk — is actually a Watcher of Ivalice. It’s apparently someone that watches over Ivalice and he’s the one that intervenes only when Ivalice’s livelihood is threatened.”

“And you think the Creature is the one who is threatening it?”

“Given what we saw and what I saw, I’d bet my life on it, which brings me to my next point.” He started, “when Ren showed us what happened, I noticed something. It was only for a moment, but I’m sure of it now!”

“What was it, Michel?” Jaakuna asked.

“The Dynast Dome.”

Wesley blinked his eyes, uncertain he heard right. “Did you just say the Dynast Dome? That’s impossible. That was…”

“Yes, I am aware what it is.” He said, bothered by this revelation.

“Someone want to clue us in.”

Wesley cleared his throat, looking to Nadeline as he grabbed her Tome. He knew exactly where to look for it. ”And here it was said: when I die, I will rest in the furthest reaches in Jagd. To my descendents, I leave my crown and kingdom to you, but most importantly, my life force. It is in this relic that will be forged from my bones and enchanted with my mist that I will live on in. It is, above all else, the greatest power I can leave you.” Wesley read, looking at everyone. “Those were words written in King Raithwall’s will. It was his final wish. This Relic, if it’s truly the Dynast Dome, the Creature poses a greater threat than we all thought he would.”

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

There have been stories about where the Flowers of the Blue Rose had flourished and how they lived. One tale spoke of an underground cult that was full of skilled assassins. Whilst true to some extent, there were contradicting reports of the true location and nature of this group of thieves, assassins, and other like-minded individuals living so high up in the mountains that it was almost like a monastery of monks. As one could believe, that was even more far-fetched than some of the other stories of them being actors in a constantly-moving theater traveling through Ivalice.

As everyone had found out for themselves, none of the rumors about the always-evasive, always-secretive, group known simply as Utena was, in fact, more grounded than one would imagine. Their headquarters was actually pretty normal. Aside from the scathing glares everyone except Shion had gotten from the flowers(one had to assume that’s who they were). It was obvious to anyone(except Jaakuna) that these ‘flowers’, who had absolute devotion to Shion as noted by their bowing when she walked past them, didn’t like outsiders. It was especially noted with how they reacted to Jaakuna’s ignorant glee. If Shion hadn’t been leading them, one would be willing to bet that a brawl would’ve broken out between the Transcendent and the Madame Blue Rose’s Garden.

Thankfully, however, that didn’t happen. Instead, when Shion had approached a young woman who had a graceful appearance like Nadeine and the shy demeanor — or was it intimidated? — one like Emiri once had. And her eyes seemed to sparkle when Shion had addressed her by her name. Ren was the given name of a lot of women from certain parts of Ivalice, though mostly in nomadic countries that still practiced the old traditions. While it seemed obvious Ren was quite nervous, there was only a brief exchange of words before they had been off to find Michel, to which Ren noted that he with Meli in her room.

As they followed, Jaakuna couldn’t help but be amazed by what he saw. To think this was where Shion spent most of her time. Hell, this was where Francis had spent most his time as of late. Not a bad setup, if he had to admit it.

“Whatever you’re thinking about doing don’t.” Savayna whispered to Jaakuna.

“What?” He whispered back.

“I know that look and bad things happen when you have that look — namely me.”

Just as he was going to open his mouth and quite possibly say something witty in a retort, he was stopped by the sudden sounds of Meli’s words, as well as a familiar Viera’s voice. And, Jaakuna might’ve not been the smartest sword on the weapon’s rack, but he knew that tone more than anyone: it was the kind of tone someone like Aloa and Shion had when they were acting superior to whomever they were talking to.

“Ladies, please, can’t we work something out—” Michel tried to reason with his savior and his beloved, but both, in their own ways, gave him a nasty glare. He sighed, wondering what he did to the Gods to deserve this.

You used a forbidden magick, for one. Shemhazai offered a suggestion.

And now he was the one to scowl. Only a moment later did Jaakuna and the others walk into his periphery. “Oh, Mistress and Ren..and--”

Jaakuna raised his hand up, “let’s just save the individual name-calling, for now, okay?” He let out a sigh. Michel reciprocated with a smile with a chuckle.

After a few hugs and the like had gone through everyone from Michel to them, Shion decided it was time to — well, quite honestly, there wasn't any indication what they were here for, but as Ren would reveal, it was something rather...shocking. This girl’s ability, apparently, was similar to Shinto’s. Both of them could share memories, though Ren’s was more of an outwardly visual whereas Shinto’s was more within the mind. As for the specific memory, they all bore witness to the gruesome fight between Aloa and some creature, which most in the room just had to assume that meant the creature. And based on what they saw, it was a back and forth tussle between them, with both gaining the advantage at some point. The Creature, of course, had used underhanded tactics to get the one-up on Aloa, whilst the latter had impressive magicks that gave her a natural edge over it.

When it seemed like all was going to be over for the Creature, it used quite a low countermeasure by forcing Justine—Emette’s—hand by submitting the remainder of her life force into Aloa, which prompted the Creature to use a last resort(that’s how Wesley interpreted it) as its form changed into a literal black hole. It threatened to suck Aloa into its empty void, there came a glimmer of hope. In front of it, colored pure white, a portal five feet in height and width intercepted her.

After a long silence, someone broke it. “That was certainly the ordeal.” Wesley commented, unsure what else to say.Considering what had happened to Emette, it was, if nothing else, a hard thing to watch. His mind went instantly to Emiri and how she must be feeling. Having lost a parent himself, he could relate. A few others could as well, but there was no one who could relate to the pain of losing a parent twice.

“You are fortunate that Michel got to you when he did.” Wesley noted, looking to the green-haired male, though he happened to see the reluctant smile from Michel. “Oh, my apologies. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“It’s not that,” Michel sighed, looking at everyone, but his eyes went directly to Shion. “Forgive me, the situation was too dire. I had no choice but to use it.” He apologized to her, bowing his head to his Mistress.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

The mention of Michel brought Wesley to something he had said just before he had disappeared with Meli into one of his portals. “Michel did say he had something to do. Perhaps it had to do with why we’re here in the Phon Coast and not going to the Sandsea as previously agreed upon.” Wesley mused, wondering now about what it could be about. Perhaps Emiri was onto something about how they did something. Shion’s not-so-subtle comment did point in that direction.

Jaakuna let out a sigh, stretching his unharmed muscles. “Only one way to find out.” Jaakuna said rather casually, looking to Shion, “lead the way!”

Savayna seemed to have something on her mind, but she bit her tongue and would simply follow Shion’s lead. It wasn’t like she had anything useful to say at the moment. If anything, it would’ve been more of the same -- just recycled and directed towards Jaakuna(as always).