twave

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

@t2wave I was going to respond to Ariel, but I was too tired to finish.

@hatakekuro

Gotcha.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Why was I mentioned @hatakekuro?

Lantern

The initial shock of seeing a large wolf was dispelled slightly by Anise's much calmer reaction. Though to be honest Chris still wasn't sure how best to respond to anything at this moment. The girl did seem to have a better grasp of what the situation so as she spoke he listened. Not that it made a whole lot of sense. So she wasn't from this place, wherever it was, either.

The explanation still lets a lot of questions unanswered. Like how he actually got here and where this forest was, among many others. During the time the forest was being explained he looked about at the dark sky and surrounding trees. Something like this sounded more like a dream or nightmare. Curiously Anise spoke about protecting him in the forest. At first it sounded odd, but then again he had no idea what environment he would actually be facing other than what he could see in the immediate area. And if Reus was any indication there were potentially dangerous animals out there.

After appearing rather dumbfounded by it all Chris spoke again. "It's nice to meet you Anise... and Reus. Do you happen to know how I got here? That detail is bothering me." That seemed like a decent enough quetion to start with. Really most of the questions sounded slightly crazy to him. Without knowing more maybe it was best to keep them simple for a bit.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

I can't really use Ariel right now. Waiting on a reply.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Work in progress, feedback please

Character Sheet
Name: Vallen
Age: Early 20's
Birthday:
Magic: colour absorption.
Magic is everywhere, even in light. Vallen extracts that magic through his eyes and can enhance himself with it. Each colour is associated to some feelings and can also be used to affect his emotions or another's. The magic can also be condensed down into a small physical manifestations. It is temporary and each colour has different properties.

Vallen begins only available to manipulate yellow light.

Colour: emotion- enhancement. Physicality

RED: Act (physical)
Anger/aggression
Endurance/str
Sticky volatile goo

BLUE: Feel (emotional)
Sadness/acceptance
Empathic/empathy
Soft flexible light

YELLOW: Think (mental)
Hope/determination
Speed/clarity
Solid sharp brittle fragile

Magic Level: No. Of colours.
( C ) one ( B ) two ( A ) three
History: Vallen had a normal upbringing, his family was well off, his mother caring and his father an important banker. He was quite content staying at home and following in his fathers footsteps. Then he discovered his powers, his family thought so highly of him and knew life was passing by the quiet shy Vallen that they forced him out to live a life of adventure. Little did Vallen know his parents were once great adventurers.
Personality: Vallen is quiet and shy and has very little confidence in himself. He has very little combat experience and avoids fights as much as possible. However he is in his element when confronted with a puzzle or mental challenge, also when he is creating or inventing something new.
Guild and guild mark location:
Currently guildless
Team Members:
Three Strengths:
1. Highly Intelligent
2. Inventive/creative
3. Highly observant/strong senses.
Three Weaknesses:
1. Physical strength
2. Low confidence
3. Needs glasses
Greatest Love: Overcoming challenges, learning and creating new things.
Motivation: To do his parents proud, to get a life story so he can go back home.
Appearance: (A picture works, use the image function)
Additional Details: alchemist - makes potions.

@Dark Light

I feel like Ariel would not interact well with this character given her magic set. Red would be a disaster.

Lantern

It wasn't long until Chris stirred. Being transported from one world to another was quite jarring. Though he didn't recall going to sleep the hard ground and rustling of leaves in the wind alerted him to a change in scenery. He heard a voice that was unfamiliar to him. Opening his eyes he was greeted by a forest, a rather dense one at that. Silently confused, Chris sat up to get his barrings. Before him was a young girl who appeared to have been waiting for him to wake. "Who are you? Where am I?" As far as he could recall there weren't any large forests nearby where he lived.

Taking a second to observe the forest a bit more he straightened his glasses which had leaned to one side when he landed. Aside from trees the figure of a large wolf caught his attention. Even if it wasn't ready to pounce that particular detail didn't register. "Oh god." Scrambling to his feet he grabbed Anise and pulled her away from Reus. Had she not noticed it? It wasn't exactly hiding. By now a million and one questions were going through Chris' head. Very few of them had anything resembling an answer.

Lantern

I'll try and get my post in tomorrow. Today was rather busy for me.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Ariel - Crocus

@hatakekuro
Only a few days. It was hard to believe it had only been a short time in that lab. It felt a lot longer. The experience somewhat clouded her mind for a while. But as they walked it suddenly occurred to her that Nolan was the one to come save her. What's more he hadn't had a breakdown and run for his life even though she had touched him and was walking next him now. When she felt that they were clear of anything Tidius might have had planned she spoke up.

"You're surprisingly calm right now. What happened while you were off training?" There were also a few things he had said that had yet to register in her head. Hopefully Nolan could clear some things up.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Tidius, Nolan, and Ariel - Crocus Underground

Tidius gave a heavy, annoyed sigh, and said almost bitterly, "I research things, child. I try and make the world a better place, for all worlds. Tell me, what have you done, but try and destroy some potentially valuable work? I would appreciate it if you left, now, before I'm forced to use...force. I will return Ariel. I feel there is a breakthrough coming. Would you, your guild, have let me borrow Ariel? That seems a bit like slavery to me. If Ariel wishes to stay, then she can. If she wishes to go....I'd be distraught, certainly, but I see I can't keep her here, especially if you are intent on creating war between guilds. oh, yes, I am with a guild myself. You attack me, and my master won't be too happy"

Tidius gave a thrilled smile and said "Which, given the fact your guild is on the cusp of a war with iron enigma too, wouldn't bode too well with Master Jamie, now would it?"

For a second Ariel scowled. Tidius knew nothing about how Phoenix Wing worked. The expression did not last long though and soon became brighter. "The guild doesn't own its members. They would have asked if I wanted to help you. "

"I put criminals in their place while you go around kidnapping women and experiment on them like slaves already. I couldn't give a less than a damn if you found a panacea for every ailment if it meant her safety would be compromised." Nolan stepped forward, his eyes exuded a great pressure that would induce fear in most people. If it wasn't for promising Ariel that he will not hurt Tidius he would've already been trying to beat his face in. This incident was making things much more complicated. If news leaked that Ariel was kidnapped by another guild then a war between them would certainly break out. He couldn't leave empy handed.

He looked at Tidius' wide shit eating smile. He scowled and grated his teeth in frustration. "Your master does not have room to complain if I beat you half to death. That is only a fitting punishment for kidnapping another guild's mage that has not provoked you or your guild in any sort of fashion. You've committed an injustice against our guild and you should suffer the consequences, but if you are true to your word and will let her go on her free will then I'll keep this incident between us. If you wish to further your experiment then you take that up with Master Jamie and her.

Tidius very nearly laughed. "Like your guild committed an injustice against mine when it took down our ship? Or was that a provoked act as well?" Tidius didn't' know everything that had happened there, having not had much contact with the guild the last couple of days, "And given the way your guild treated the Edolasians, who just wanted a better life, why should I have expected any sort of kind treatment, given that I am from Edolas myself? I have heard that your guild does not wish those that have come from edolas to have magic. So why should I have asked, when chances were, I wouldn't have gotten any help? I haven't really kept Ariel here against her will-the few times she did try to escape I prevented it simply because the magic she possessed and the personality accompanying it would have been damaging to Crocus, and the magics out there could cause something drastic, for Ariel. Do you really wish t take her out there, were there is so much magic? That could hurt her, but if that is what you want, go ahead"

Tidius stepped back, waving a hand as if in invitation, shaking his head at this. Youths were so...eager to make a name of themselves, weren't they? He sighed, and waited to see what would happened.

"Phoenix Wing is filled to the brim with idiots, but they aren't blood thirsty idiots. If they attacked your guild then your guild must've done something to wrong them. Our mages have been getting kidnapped by other guilds so it is very likely that your guild must've been behind one of them judging by the fact that you also took one of our own. Admittedly I don't know the exact details of the incident so I may very well be wrong." He glanced around at the shelves of lacrima and walked over to examine them. There were so many that he could only assume that Tidius had been obsessively trying to obtain magic even though it physically wasn't possible as far as he knew.

He turned back to look at him and said,"I want you to get this through your head. I may be a member of Phoenix Wing, but don't assume that I am like the rest of them. I've seen desolation, corruption, and poverty in the country of Caelum. I've seen absolute misery and then some in the eyes of those that wanted a better life. If you and the rest of the Edolasians have to come here to prosper then I don't mind." He sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He could sympathize with the struggles of the Edolasians since he's seen humanity at it's absolute lowest. Beggars shaking empty mugs for money from foreigners, mothers holding screaming babies that they could hardly feed on their own, and perhaps the worst of it all was seeing the disparity between them and their leaders, who lead excessively luxurious lives.

As much he did sympathize with Tidius, he wouldn't let this be his excuse. "I understand why you did it and why you concluded you wouldn't get any help. I wasn't aware that the situation was like this...However, I can't look the other way when someone I care about is spirited away." Nolan walked over towards Ariel slowly as if he was cautious. "Life always has hurt, but it's when you're hurting the most is when you decide to push forward or give up. What do you think Ariel?"

Ariel stayed quiet while the two talked. She noticed that Nolan was being rather careful with his actions and words. Most of the time he wasn't like that. Actually come to think of it he was saying some rather strange things as well. Spacing out in the mean time Ariel heard everything. However even now she was feeling rather burned out mentally, physically, and magically. With the situation under control for the moment she let out her breath slowly. "Yes, I agree. This is rather complicated. I do want to go. But I would also like to help. I'm from Edolas too after all. I don't know how my magic works but I think I should understand it better. Tidius has helped with that even if he didn't do it in the best way." She shook her head a tad, her thought getting a bit fuzzy.

Relaxing perhaps a bit too much she weaved a bit before steadying herself. Losing the pink color her clothes turned to the dull orange and her hair and eyes brown again. Unlike last time though her white bangs also turned brown. What feeling of magic she had died out. Pausing for a moment she held her hands out. Obviously she couldn't use magic with the cuffs on but at the moment she felt nothing. "Oh..." After a second she reached for a lacrama. Holding it nothing happened and eventually she dropped it. "My magic isn't working." There was somewhat a mixed feeling about not having magic. On one hand she had wanted it to stop because of the personality stuff. But at the same time she was getting somewhat used to having magic."Um, I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe I reached my limit or something."

Tidius gave a heavy sigh, and said to Nolan "if my guild master had done that, I would know. It isn't like him to plan things without me" no, the master was a gullible sort of person, and that's why Tidius stuck with him. So easy to get him to do what Tidius wanted. As Nolan began to move cautiously, Tidius watched him, ready to attack if need be.

His eyes flickered to Ariel, at the distress she seemed to be in, and before anything else happened, he stepped towards her, watching everything, taking in the change. This must be Ariel's true form, the one that didn't rely on magic, but what was going on? Perhaps she had used too much magic, but the completely a sense of magic? Everything had magic! was her Edolas side coming out? Or had something happened?

Forgetting Nolan for the moment, Tidius reached out to Ariel "Are you okay?" he had to first establish if she was alright, before doing anything else, and there was concern in his voice.

What the hell? How was is physically possible for anyone to run out of magic? Wait, she did say that she was from Edolas so how was she even capable of using Earthland magic to begin with? His knowledge of the Edolasians went as far as knowning that they don't have the ability to use magic from their bodies so it should've meant that Ariel couldn't use magic in theory. If she did have magic in her body then did she finally run out?"You, explain why Ariel was capable of using magic up until now." He asked Tidius with a cold, suspicious glare.

"It's not quite that simple Nolan. We're not really sure why I had magic. That's what Tidius was trying to figure out. But it's probably because my father is from Earthland. I don't know the whole story about that myself. I didn't even realize Edolas was a whole different world before joining Phoenix Wing. So I have some questions for my parents about a lot of things." Rubbing her temples a bit she turned to Tidius. "I'm fine really. This is how I was for years before the magic sprung up out of nowhere." Yeah this being the center of attention thing was not for Ariel. Both of them, for one reason or another, were being protective of her. Fidgeting for a moment she looked at the door. "Can we try and figure this out some other time? I don't want to be stuck down here any longer." Tidius did say she could leave if she chose to. Ariel held out her hands to have the cuffs removed.

He really didn't know what to say to her about this. Ariel's abilities were either gone or lying dormant though if she still has her powers then when would they activate? Her powers were already sporadic enough as it was so this only made it more complicated. That's if she still had her powers. He looked at Tidius and motioned his head towards her. "You heard the pretty woman.

Tidius frowned slightly, unsure of why this absence of magic occurred. He was reluctant to remove the cuffs, and said so "The cuffs aren't to imprison you, but rather protect you against magic. If you go out there now, you'll be overwhelmed. I don't care if you can't feel it right now, what happens if you could, and felt all of it? You could dange yourself, and anyone around you if things got out of control" he said, ignoring Nolan again, wanting to impact the danger on Ariel, and see if she still wanted the cuffs off

Sighing a bit Ariel looked at the cuffs. "They're kind of in the way. I would like to be able to use my arms. Could you at least get rid of the links and the key for when I do want them off?" This was starting to get irritating. It had been a long time since she'd been herself. Whatever hangups her magic gave were gone with it it seemed.

"Oh for the love of..." Nolan muttered and he unsheathed Kaso and with two quick, precise slashes that were much too quick for the untrained eye to even follow. The chain links fell to the ground with a light thud. "Listen to the woman and give her the damn key. You have no right to forcibly keep them on her." He was getting tired with Tidius' rigidness and was tempted to just forcibly cut the cuffs off himself, but if helped her resist outside magic then he didn't want to harm them.

This was getting tiring, and Tidius was sick of explaining himself, so when Nolan unsheathed a weapon, Tidius decided enough was enough, and as the cuffs were cut, Tidius was very tempted to attack him. "They are magic cuffs, they have no key. Are you so ignorant of such things, or are you just that stupid?" Tidius said in annoyance, "Your Master Will be able to get them off, that is if you don't do anything stupid to try and get them off for her." Tidius shook his head, wondering if this was how it was always going to be. "And draw a weapon in front of me again, and I will not hesitate to attack. There are lots of ways to counteract magic, and lots of ways to hurt without it, none of which I did here."

Tidius really didn't want to see Ariel go, there was just so much he could have tried, could have learned, and it annoyed him that someone tracked them down so quickly. Another lost chance, and Tidius sighed.

And again Tidius seemed disappointed. Groaning slightly Ariel was done with this. "Could you lighten up a little? So far you're still the only person that seems to..."

If this were a different situation he would've beaten him into a bloody pulp and throw him back into his guild to face his punishment. This man had one hell of a mouth, one that dared to insult a man that was worried for his guildmate that was kidnapped by him, which was reasonable for him to be angry. He tried to reason with him that if word that Ariel was kidnapped by Tidius then it would've sparked a war between guilds. He tried to sympathize with the man's cause even though he disagreed with his methods. This man had been nothing, but an obstacle the entire time and he had to restrain himself from removing said obstacle.

Perhaps it was the emotional shock of finding out his siblings were still alive that made him much more emotionally unstable or if it was simply the fact that this man was a complete giant asshole even compared to Nolan, but he couldn't hold himself back. In a blink of an eye Nolan closed the distance between them and in that moment Kaso was pressed against Tidius' throat, a small cut opened up, creating a drip of blood running down his neck. The cold blade shimmered in the light of the hideout with a sheen that seemed almost unearthly. The intent to kill was radiating from the weapon. "Shut up." He pulled Kaso away from his neck and swiped it in the air, leaving droplets on the floor. His magic wasn't the only thing that he was working on while he was training for two months. He pushed his body to its limits so that he wouldn't become too reliant on his magic.

He walked away from Tidius and sat down against the wall, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Dalton who was somehow absent from all of this stumbled onto Nolan's lap, groaning after vomiting into one of Tidius' flasks.

Things seemed to be getting out of control again. Like before she tried to get between them. "Calm down Nolan. Quit being such a hot head." Nolan seemed to dismiss himself. By now it seemed that it was a better idea to just get out of this place. Following him she grabbed his arm to lift him back up. To some extent she was expecting him to freak out. But at the moment Ariel was more intent on leaving than actually paying attention to such details. While heading to the door she looked at Tidius. "If you want my help in the future please ask next time."

With no hesitation he grabbed her hand and pulled himself up with Dalton clinging onto him. "Thanks." He was done with all of this bull. No waiting for Tidus to respond he walked out of the room holding Ariel's hand so that neither one of them would get separated in the cave. Now he can at least enjoy the Magic Games without this nagging his mind.

Tidius was annoyed enough to be petty, and that's just what he did. At once, a stone door began to fall over the door, preventing exit. He would not stand for being pushed around like a rag doll. "let's face it Ariel, you would have said no to a stranger asking if you minded being experimented on. You wouldn't have come here, of all places, so I did what I had to do. Even a few more hours, a few more, and I think I would have broken through something so astronomical, that I could have restored balance! If this hot tempered bull hadn't come..." Tidius sighed and shook his head, walking to the other side of the room, he grabbed one of the fruit lacrima, as if studying it, Unafraid.

The stone door came down and Ariel drew back from it. Surely Nolan could break through but this was beginning to get on her nerves. It was kind of nice having a normal transition with her emotions over the jarring ones from magic. Turning back she threw her arms out. "Well it doesn't look like you would have gotten that hour anyway because if you haven't noticed whatever magic I had isn't working now. So what are you going to do exactly?" Somehow Ariel felt that she was going to regret asking that question.

So they were going to be playing this game huh? Nolan rolled his eyes and turned around to look at the sore loser. "I really don't care about the if, ands, or buts of your research. Like I said before, if it ended up hurting Ariel then I would gladly do it again. You're only lucky that she hasn't been hurt or else that cut on your neck would've been your entire head rolling on the floor instead."

He gripped his hand into a fist and then threw a straight jab at the stone door. The stone flew around in pieces as it was quite literally was turned into rubble from the sheer force of the attack. The dust settled and Nolan simply was standing there with his hands in his pockets. "He's not worth your breath. Let's go."

Shifting sounds could be heard again, as Tidius just chuckled. He figured he could have a bit of fun with Nolan, who didn't seem to think things through. Reckless, that was the word. But it wasn't even just that. There was some arrogance there too. Tidius just smiled, not concerned that Nolan had blown a hole in his door.

"Have fun trying to get out. I doubt you can blow through miles of rock" Tidius said uncaringly, "Oh, and do be careful upon exiting if you do. There's a lot of magic out there, and just cause you can't feel it now doesn't mean you won't later."

"I'm just going to have to live with that. It wouldn't be the first time. And if I recall correctly you're the one who teleported me here in the first place. You're making this really hard to consider helping you again." Tired of this she steppped out of the open passage that Nolan had broken. Surely the sound from a moment ago was the earth moving to stop them. Earth magic would be useful right now.

There wasn't any point in making a snarky remark to Tidius. Nolan walked out of the mad scientist's lair with Dalton and Ariel though he could tell that this man wasn't going to let them go easily. The shifting sounds of earth and rubble echoed through the cave and began to form barriers to keep them from progressing. "Huh, what a dirty tactic. No matter." He said, walking to the front of the group. "Cover your ears." Nolan leaned back and then soon leaned forward, launching a massive tornado of ashes that blasted through the walls of earth and rock. The whirl of the wind sounded like the roar of a raging monster. Soon enough once the ashes and dust subsided the pathway was clear as well as scorched as if flames had ravaged the area. Not saying anything else, Nolan began to walk with his hands in his pockets.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

Tidius, Nolan, and Ariel - Crocus Underground

Ariel's Charm magic had more of an effect than just there in the lab. It spurred from actions of a month ago. Yet no one, not even those involved, were aware of it. Like a beacon her magic rang out faintly to one person, Nolan.

Tidius frowned at the change in personality. He imagined that it was sort of like a whiplash effect, changing so often it was like being thrown about, or so he thought. Perhaps he should let Ariel rest for a longer time, if this personality was more appealing, as he gave a slight nod.
"that's okay, for now we shall just slow things down and let you get some balance" he said, returning to his notes, he wrote a few things down.
"do you need anything else?" he asked, moving towards providing some comfort to Ariel. He couldn't let her go just yet, but could show that he wasn't a monster at least. Not that he knew what he was anymore.

His eyes went to the fruit again, wistful and wanting to try more, but also not wanting to waste it, until he could figure out a way of keeping the magic within him. However this was differently progress, after years of failures. He knew that sooner or later, Phoenix Wing would realize Ariel was missing and come after her, but until then he would try and find out all he could. Looking up from his notes, he looked back to Ariel, frowning slightly as something didn't seem right.

A...cave? After following the beacon of magic that Ariel emmited Nolan and his side kick exceed Dalton found themselves at the entrance of a cave from the outskirts of the city. If Nolan was suspicious that something happened to Ariel before, now he was postive. There was no reason for her to be anywhere near Crocus unless she had taken a job request, but what were the odds that she would be by Crocus for work when she was trying to avoid it in the first place? Tch, looks like she really did get herself into trouble. Why didn't anyone else sense her though?" Nolan muttered to himself as his flying feline friend stared at him strangely.

"Um, ya know you've been acting really weird today. First with running away from Marlene, then ya bad mood, and now this! Ya sure ya aren't sick or something? Who are we chasing after anyway?" Dalton stated nervously, hoping that Nolan wasn't slipping into madness.

I'm fine. Just having a rough day. We're looking for a guild mate named Ariel. I don't know why, but I felt a surge of her magic hit me. She isn't supposed to be anywhere near Crocus due to her powers. He held his hand up to the exceed to tell him to shut up and not ask any questions. He motioned him to follow him into the cave. Nolan was on high alert. There could've been traps laid around anywhere.

Whilst Tidius was making his notes Ariel was simply drinking a cup of water. Seemed she was quite content with the situation for now. There was a clear difference with this magic. Even way back in the Fairy Tails days Charm magic was banned from use. It had been abused and since its discovery. But nowadays there wasn't the same rules. Magic was coming back into use and the fact that Ariel could just pick it up meant at some point things were going to have to change. Humming to herself the Charm mage paused briefly. She sensed something, what exactly she couldn't tell. But it seemed to be getting closer.

Tidius watched Ariel, eyes narrowed either in thought or suspicion it was unsure. Tidius was good at watching people, good at determining body language and right now, something didn't seem right. He frowned, glancing about. Had someone tracked Ariel here? How could that be possible? He had safe guards in place!

He seemed to hesitate, going over to a concealed door, he opened a compartment, and seemed to do something, unseen what, but he clearly wasn't happy with what was happening. He stepped back from the door, muttering to himself and approaching hos table, pushing things aside as he searched go a lacrima, grabbing it and moving over to Ariel, keeping it away from her, it glowed a light green and tidius seemed pleased at that. try and get through this, you won't like the Results!.

A sound like Wind seemed to be faint through the door, but there. Clearly it was some sort of protection charm.

For awhile they had walked through the cave up until they halted at multiple paths heading in different directions. "God dammit Nolan, just how are we going to find our way through this?" Dalton said in despair. It would take forever to search to search the cave and that's if they didn't get lost. This was it. They were done. Game over. Finished! Never to see the light of day ever again! What a world!

Nolan on the other hand wasn't melodramatic about it. He unsheathed Kaso and with swift slashes he cut an x on a wall to mark their location for future reference. "You're right. It would be impossible to search the entire cavern on our own. He sighed and clapped his hands together. "Summon: Ten Lesser Souls." Ten small spheres of white light appeared before them. "Search the caves and report back when you encounter anything out of the ordinary." Wordlessly the spirits followed his command and went ahead to go search the cave. Meanwhile Nolan sat down and waited for the souls to return at some point.

The exceed joined him and sat down next to him, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Tidius glanced at Ariel to make sure she was okay, before retreating to his table, and grabbing another lacrima, this one curiously flat, and sat down, studying it. On it was several different images, clearly connected to some lacrimas that were acting like cameras. He grimaced, and then gave a sigh, twisting to open up another compartment in the wall, he seemed to do something. Seconds later a slight rumbling could be felt and something, very faint, like stone on stone, as walls seems to appear in the labyrinth that hadn't been there before.

All Tidius hoped for was to delay for some time to prepare himself for what was, chances were, going to be a battle with magic. Tidius had long ago learnt to fight magic users, hunting up nullification lacrimas and other things, as well as using the environment to his advantage, not to mention physical skills. It didn't matter what you had, magic or not, once you were on your back, you were typically finished.

Satsified he he had done enough for a delay, Tidius began packing the lacrima fruit away into travel bags, perhaps ready to flee, as well as gathering his great stores of lacrimas, occasionally looking back to the flat lacrima, watching the screens to see how close the intruders were getting.

Ariel watched as her captor began to run around preparing for something. Had someone found where they were? That could potentially mean that they were coming for her. But judging by Tidius' reaction he was prepared and had things in place already. "What's going on? What are you doing?" Who would even be able to find her in the first place? She was in Crocus, the one place she wasn't supposed to be. A detective Ariel was not. So try as she might she wasn't able to figure it out. And still the strange feeling was getting stronger.

Tidius looked over at Ariel as she asked her questions, pondering the for a moment. Should he tell her what was happening? He hesitated, before saying "I am just moving some things around. I've used these tunnels a lot, and have had them made to fit....security in" He said calmly, truthfully. Even if it wasn't the whole truth, it was all he said though, deciding to leave the rest out. He didn't need to be fending off Ariel as well.

All he could do now was simply wait for a spirit to come back to him. He couldn't have possibly guessed how many different paths there were in the cave or how long it would take to simply to find Ariel. There was also the chance that if she was kidnapped and that her kidnapper had taken her to another location. If that was the case then he was wasting time and should be trying to find other leads. He should've told someone in his guild what was going on, but what if he was wrong? Sending his guild on a wild goose chase wouldn't exactly be the best idea especially with the games needing to be the main focus.

Before he could question his actions further one of the glowing white spheres floated towards him, hopping in the air a few times as if to signal them to follow it. Nolan stood up and followed it with Dalton right behind him. He unsheathed Kaso in case some traps sprung up on him. He would have to expect anything to come from the darkness. What he didn't expect were there to be no traps for almost the entire path. Just what kind of kidnapper doesn't lay traps around for unsuspecting intruders? No self-respecting scum of the earth would not set up traps when they don't want to be found in their lair.

"This is too easy! There was to be a catch!" Said in a hush yell. Nolan didn't say anything though he silently agreed with him. It really was too easy. Was the spirit leading them to Ariel or was it leading them purposly in the wrong direction? The high whistling of wind could be heard in the distance. "Huh? What's that?"

A surge of wind blasted against them. The duo crossed their arms over their faces to protect it from the brunt of the wind. This was not a natural occurrence. This had to be induced by magic so he had to assume that he was getting closer to the base. The wind was nothing compared to other trials that he had gone through, but damn it was still annoying nonetheless. They pushed through the wild wind with the exceed holding onto Nolan's hood for dear life waving like a flag.

Nolan sheathed Kaso and ashes erupted around him, forming into large wings and then wrapping as he charged through the winds at high speed. The ashes propelled him forward as he pierced through the wind. Rather than a fish swimming against the currents, he was like an unstoppable force plowing through whatever got in his way.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" The exceed cried out, covering his mouth when he felt like his breakfast was going to erupt any moment.

Closer and closer came the sound of footsteps at an alarming rate. Whatever was heading towards Ariel and Tidius was coming fast. Then bang! In only a few moments the door to the base exploded into tiny splinters and black ashes begun to fill the room. "I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you. Nolan said as he stepped in with an exceed sprinting inside and began to vomit his fish into a flask laying around at arms reach.

At first Ariel was a bit worried about what was coming. It seemed to be charging and the door suddenly burst open. Before she could get a good look the room filled with ash. This actually gave Ariel some idea of who entered and hearing the voice confirmed it. "Nolan! Be careful he has a lot of magic lacrama." The ash didn't quite bother her as much as maybe it should. Perhaps she should get out of the way. Tidius was likely occupied so she got up and moved as best she could with low visibility. Her captor was lucky that Ariel didn't like fighting right now.

Tidius gave a sigh as Nolan and companions got through his barriers, shifting, he had a lacrima in hand, and it shattered as Tidius activated it, lightening flashing in one spot, from wall to wall between him, and the others, with Ariel behind him.

"Please, just leave" He said softly, "I don't want any trouble. I'm just helping Ariel, and she is helping me" He didn't expect that to work, but he had to try. "I have no magic, so I'd prefer to do this civil if you will"

Nolan looked down at Ariel with relief though that relief turned into a quiet rage that was ready to erupt. His attention was turned towards Tidius and had the icy glare down pat. "You've got an odd way of helping then." He said pointing casually towards the handcuffs around Ariel's wrists. "I won't be leaving here empty handed. Hand Ariel over to me and I'll forget that this ever happened. Refuse, then I'll have no choice, but to use force. This wasn't a hollow threat. He was ready to strike if things were going to go down.

Tidius gave a weary sigh, and said in a calm voice "The hand cuffs are magic negation, preventing the magic's around us, those of the games particularly, affecting Ariel too much. If I took them off, she'd probably be so overwhelmed with magic that something potentially bad could happen" He said, explaining in a tone many used with children, shifting, not worried that Nolan had magic, holding the lacrima in his hand, watching Nolan. Ready.

It was pretty clear to Ariel that things were going to turn worse before getting better. Despite Tidius' intentions right now she didn't want to see anyone hurt. Stepping around him she tried to get in between the two. "N-now hold on. Let's not get carried away. Tidius is trying to help. Well, kind of. He did kidnap me." There was a short pause as she seemed to think about it. Really she probably should be mad, but couldn't quite bring herself to it. "I still don't want to see anyone hurt though."

This bastard was talking down to him as if he was some simple minded child! He would've struck him down where stood, but Ariel was trying to play peacemaker even though she should be angry at Tidius for kidnapping her. He could only assume that she was under the effects of one of her personalities. He heaved a heavy sigh and his killing intent simmered away. If that is what you wish then I'll abide by it. However as I said before, I will not leave here without you. His gaze turned back to Tiduis.

"I will not mention this if you let her come with me. Phoenix Wing will not become your enemy and you'll live another day of your meager existence, but keep this in mind. I'll let this slide only once. If you dare to even entertain the idea of kidnapping Ariel again then I can guarantee your demise." This wasn't a warning. No with that bitter tone it was a threat.