Desperation --- Roleplay of Pairs

[Taichii]

"Be good now, Mama." The kid said as she hugged Taichii which made him shift his eyes towards the girl.
The ancestor noticed that this girl always calls Taichii his mama... A wild thought then appeared on The ancestor's mind.
"Well..  Do you know the main reason why Mama's on a rampage dear? It's because your daddy cheated on us!
He has been seeing that girl who i just turned into ashes.. They were planning to take me out... And after that, They will take you out too..
But don't worry.. Mama will protect you always..."
Taichii's ancestor said as he tried to speak like Taichii..

Taichii then felt something plunge through his skin... He felt shocked as his toy still was able to pull off a move from Taichii's fear grip, He accidentally withdrew his right hand, ripping out (1)'s heart from his chest. As the tip of the sharp needles plunged in taichii's skin, His rage started to build...He started to breathe heavily as several veins appear from the side of his head... Taichii then crushed (1)'s heart.
In a brief moment, he heard fading footsteps... "Meh~! Running away eh?" Taichii murmured as he quickly dashed towards the two ninjas, bringing along the kid that still hasn't let go of Taichii.

Along the way, a ninja (6) who doesn't know what's happening stood up. He saw (3) and (4) coming but they only ran past him...
When (6) turned back, he saw Taichii and the girl... Taichii kicked (6) which sent him flying ahead of (3) and (4) towards the end of the alleyway. Taichii's eyes glinted in a redish - violet shade as he generates purple lightning at his scythe... After a few more sprints, He threw his scythe and yelled "CREZ VERTUGO~!" which made it multiply by ten. The barrage of scythes flurry towards the ninjas that were running towards what they didn't know, a dead end - because of the alley walls that collapsed.

The scythes hit (6)'s chest , (3)'s legs and spine, and (4's) shoulder and back. As Taichii heard the ninjas' screams He could not care but to hurt them more... He commanded his "Crez vertugo" to release its force.. Purple lightning generated along its hilt and blade which merged with the other lightning stems... As all the stems connect a final blast occurred which disintegrated the ninjas and destroyed the dead-end alley walls.

As the scythe left Taichii's body.. the light in taichii's mind became stronger...
In Taichii's Mind..
"Young boy.. it is time..."
The white spirit turned into a blade with a single sharp edge like a samurai katana with shark like teeth on the other edge of the blade.
As Taichii held the hilt, the whole place turned into a dark blue dungeon with a red orb sitting along its center.
Taichii saw the image of his ancestor in the orb... He also saw what happened in the real world while he's caged inside his mind.
"No! Why does he keep destroying things?!" Taichii shouted.. He then looked at the orb.. "It's time for you to get back!"
Taichii rushed into the orb and stabbed it... As he pulls out the blade, the orbs shattered in pieces...

In the real world
Taichii felt pain in his chest.. "Uuuurggh!! Stop! No!"
The ice that was attached at Taichii's shoulder crept up and reached the pendant....
Taichii froze in his tracks...

Back in Taichii's mind
Taichii's ancestor appears in Taichii's mind barehanded...
"Aaaaaaahh~!"
A scream echoes from above as Taichii strikes from above... His blade pointed at his ancestor....
Taichii's Ancestor faced him and smiled....


OOC : To be continued XD

[Mirthean Ascael]

Was the incident at the Inn connected to what he felt around the nearby area? The heavy feeling around town? The distress in the elements around him?

Something was disrupting the balance- and something must be done. Mirthean wasn't exactly sure how, or why, or what. Many questions ran through his mind when he first entered this area of town. It has been quite sometime since he last felt this kind of strange feeling, and the last time he did; the outcome wasn't very pleasant.

After a brief rest, Mirthean packed his things again and set off to do some investigating. He donned his usual Mystic clothing but still had his   trader stuff underneath.

     The Inn finally calmed down when he went down to the lobby, it seemed the authorities were able to do their initial check on the place and got the needed info; but it seems they didn't do anything more than that. The Innkeeper was back to his usual place in the front desk, while a receptionist stayed nearby.

He took a seat down in the lobby after checking with the Innkeeper when somebody went up to him.

"Hello there, my name is John Hawkins. How are you?" The man said.

Mirthean nodded to the man as he stood up, and offered his hand for a shake. "Mirthean. Mirthean Ascael. Do you have any business with me, kind Sir?" He asked, wondering if the man needed his services as a Mystic; or probably as a Trader.

[Ryqoshay]

   "What's 'cheated'?" Anita asks, teleporting away, leaving her double still clinging to Mama.

   "Statement: Irrelevant." Charon's voice says in her mind.

   "Meh~! Running away eh?" Mama taunts some of the ninja-guy-people.

   The girl giggles as she watches him kick one of them and send him flying. He throws his scythe and yells something strange sounding that she doesn't understand. Her eyes widen in awe as the weapon splits and takes out several badies. He says the funny phrase again and pretty purple lighting blows up a bunch of stuff.

   "Awww... over already?" Anita pouts, scanning the destruction in search of remaining vic... opponents. She dismisses her wings to alight upon the shattered cobblestone.

   Glancing back and forth at the two ends of the ally, she suddenly begins to fear that the guards will arrive at any moment. She takes a deep breath and prepares herself for the performance to come.

[Dokurider]

ooc: captain =/= senior guard guy

The hastily assembled guards ran past down the ally and by an inconspicuous wall. Reports of a massive bloody battle were flooding in by the dozens. Citizens were fleeing the area in droves in an absolute panic. It was chaos. All guards were immediately summoned for duty to keep the peace and to investigate the battle. As the group of soldiers ran to the scene, guards from around the city converged onto their location and fell in rank.

As this bloc of guards rounded the next corner and up to an intersection with the alley that lead to the scene, two ninjas could be seen down the ally the guards were headed to. Then a third one went flying over them. "You there! Stop right-" the captain began to shout, but as they got closer, scythes flew down the ally at the ninja's backs, completely eviscerating them. They all flopped to the ground with the wind and life knocked out of them.

They were running to us for protection, thought the senior guardsman who was posted at the gates. But as he neared, he saw that their faces were not of fear, but of determination. The last thing they did was look at the guards expectantly as they fizzled to ashes. The guards were shaken at this ungodly act of violence; many prayers uttered to Ajora could be heard. The captain was taken aback as well, but immediately recovered. Whatever did that clearly need to be dealt with swiftly and definitive: there was no time for hesitation.

"There is no time for cowardice here gentlemen. If Death himself is around that corner, we will face him down and take him out. Let's move!" He immediately went around the corner, with the rest pulling themselves along. As they came around the corner, they saw a boy just standing there. The senior guardsman recognized the boy's distinctive clothes immediately. "It's Taichii Soul-Cross, the most wanted man in the land!" he shouted.

The captain's eyes widened in recognition of Taichii. His former bravado was damped at staring down this mere boy. "Look at the chaos he has wrecked", he thought. "If we have to fight him, we will be taking heavy losses at the very least" With him being the very first causality. Still, there was no way he was going to back down now. His pride and honor of Captain would never allow him to. His men looked up to him. They needed his bravery. They all needed to be brave. For Dorter and it's people. "We are all just soldiers here, facing down a demon." he though one last time before making his move. His men waited for him with bated breath.

"Taichii Soul-Cross! You are under arrest for murder, destruction of property, and disturbing the peace!" He moved foward towards him while pulling out handcuffs. This was their city. "You are coming with us. Comply or be killed!" We were born and raised here. "This is your only warning! Do not resist!" We've seen the strong prey on the weak. "Put your hands up in the air!" We were not going to let anyone terrorize anyone, not even demons and gods. "Put your weapons down!". He was trying his best to keep his body from rattling too much. He knew that he was laying his life down and this was going to end badly for him.

The guards readied themselves. More guards from around the city now appeared around Taichii, boxing him in. Magic was being charged and honed on him. Dragoons were in mid squat ready to take off. Knights brandished their swords and shields. Archers trained their CONCENTRATED arrows onto them. They were all ready to strike him down at the slightest provocation, all ready for the fight of their lives. Even the non stop rain failed to clear the stagnant air of intensity in the atmosphere.

The captain was now just feet away from him. "This-" His voice faltered. "PUT YOUR HANDS! IN THE AIR!" he shouted in the dim hopes of a non violent confrontation as he edged in on him so slowly. This seemed so stupid to him. Asking a demon to polite lay down and get arrested. But he knew he nor anyone else stood a chance against him. This was their only chance. He was a sacrifice for his city. He only wished he could say goodbye to his boy and wife.

[Taichii]

"Tugshk~!"
the sound of the blade piercing through the chest of Taichii's ancestor echoed throughout the hollow dungeon. "Goak!" Taichii's Ancestor spitted blood and his body slightly fell. "Finally, It's over." Taichii muttered after a sigh of relief.
"Over?" The voice of Taichii's ancestor disturbed Taichii's sanity. "You really think you can kill me boy?" Taichii's Ancestor grabbed the blade and stood up... "I will take back what's mine. I will, get back at the real world..." Taichii's Ancestor pulled out the blade from his chest slowly and pointed his finger at the tip. "looks like you're in trouble back at the real world...Alright, I wont fight you this time... I can't risk another vessel.."
"What do you want?! what vessel?!" Taichii struggled to stab his ancestor but for some unknown reason, he isn't able move a muscle.
The ancestor ignored Taichii's questions and held out his right arm. surges of blood came flowing out his hand which  slowly formed into a Scythe with a crest of rose..
"I'll let you use a bit of my power... but if you give me even the slightest chance... I wont hesitate. I will rule over you."
Taichii's ancestor faded slowly as everything turns black...

Back in the Real World
Taichii slowly regained his sanity..
"PUT YOUR HANDS! IN THE AIR!" Taichii opened his eyes and looked straight at the man approaching him.
Taichii was at a loss.. "What's happening?" Taichii whispered.

[DarkShade]

John shook the man's hand and  said, "Do you know what's going on around here?" the both hear guards outside patrolling. "Something is amiss. I am not exactly sure what it is, but I shall be heading out today to check. There was a previous incident in this Inn earlier today--" Mirthean was cut off as he heard the door slam open; turning his head toward that direction. Soon after Mirthean turns his head, John looks towards the door and they both see Michael coming in. "Well your finally up," John told Michael as he walks towards them. Michael was carrying his sword as always. "And if you'll excuse me, I shall be on my way." Mirthean replied and he gestured a bow. "It seems there is a ruckus going on outside;" He added, sensing the noise made by the guards and soldiers rallying up.
John looks at Michael and then tell Mirth. "Okay we will come with you. This is Michael, Mirthean." Michael gives "Mirthean Ascael. Nice to meet you Sir." They then waited for a good time to go investigate the area.

[Ryqoshay]

   "Nooo~~~!" Anita bawls, running between Mama and the mean guard-type-person. "Don' hurt Mama!" she wails, holding her hands out defensively. "Mama saved me from bad-ninja-men!" she insists. "Mama saved me! Mama di'n' do anythin' wrong!"

[Dokurider]

As the captain half approached and half waited for a response from the boy, a little girl suddenly ran out in between them. Her sudden appearance startled everyone but the boy.  "Nooo~~~! Don' hurt Mama! Mama saved me from bad-ninja-men!" the girl begged. "Mama saved me! Mama di'n' do anythin' wrong!".

The captain backed up slightly, keeping both girl and Taichii in sight. This had all went from bad to worse. Who is this girl? She could be anyone; a demon in disguise, or even the extension of the boy himself. Her clothes looked battered, torn, and soaked from the rain. She could be a combatant. She could also just some poor girl who got mixed up in all this.

What was he going to do? He could just have his guardsmen take her into custody and remove her from the scene. But that could be dangerous. Just trying to take her into custody could set off Taichii. Or the girl. Actually taking her into custody might make him rise in her defense as she makes a commotion. He could try reasoning with her. That will not work. Children are unreasonable, period. It may not actually be a child, but it is certainly acting like one. He doesn't know exactly who this girl is, so just ordering the guard to strike them down can't happen. He couldn't just back off and let him go. Who knows what it was going to do if was set free? The guard wouldn't let him leave the city, but who knows what it would do? Any chance that it would just hide in the city quietly until the military came was squelched by that possibility.

There is simply no way around it. He didn't want to put any of his men's lives at stake, but they had sworn to protect this city with their lives. It was an ugly option that he might have to live with if it went wrong, but the clock was running: there was no more time to think of a better option, if there was one. He had to act. Asking his guard to take the girl then Taichii into custody was the only reasonable option here. The possibility of a bloodless resolution was practically nonexistent. It seemed he was supposed to be asking how deaths of his friends could he prevent tonight? How much blood was going to be on his hands and how many funerals would he have to go to? How many would be at his? But that 1% chance of bloodlessness resolution just could not be ignored, desperate as it may seem.

He summed up his nastiest authority persona and let her have it. "GET ON THE GROUND! GET ON THE GROUND NOW!" he yelled as loudly as possible, now brandishing a sword at her. It was now all on her. Would she be threaten and attack him? Would she try to be more persuasive? Or would she actually comply? Time had seemed to grind to a halt as he blindly waited for her reaction.

[Mirthean Ascael]

"Mirthean Ascael. Nice to meet you Sir." The Mystic said as he shook hands with Michael.

The sounds of guards rallying outside seemed something to be most concerned about. Even the people at the Inn started to worry and have packed most of their things to leave the immediate vicinity. Someone- or something seems to be running amok nearby; and it seemed to be quite a big matter; as an army of soldiers isn't supposed to be mobilized just to catch a petty thief; or a wild animal from the woods.

The earlier incident at the Inn was somewhat connected to this it seems. Was it the same person? or thing? Mirthean wasn't quite sure yet; But his mind and heart is heavily bothered by how the land reacts; it was showing signs of fear, of hurting.

The group took off to the where the soldiers were headed, it didn't seem too far; but from what they saw on the way there- it was just chaotic. A bloody battle seemed to have taken place in the streets of Dorter; and it wasn't that far from the Inn's main entry. A battle like such would have probably made noise loud enough to be noticed by the nearby people; but why did it have to reach an end like this; before someone was able to take notice of it? Was the place surrounded by a barrier? Was some magic blocking the sense of people nearby? He wasn't sure either. More questions pile up in his head as he and his companions walk to the path the soldiers took.

The rain was still pouring down on the Trade City; weeping.

[DarkShade]

As Mirthean took the lead heading towards where the soldiers were going with John behind him, Michael started to remember the city when his dad took him here. Michael never thought the city could have something as bloody as this. Michael was confused how it happened right near the Inn when the people inside of it was there. He gripped his sword if anything was going to happen.

They soon started getting close to where the soldiers where at. John slowed down to where Michael was next to him and asked. "Who do you think did this? It cant just be a few people fighting. It has to be somewhat like eight to ten of them here." Michael look at him and nodded his head no. Mirthean still in the front, wandered how this happened as they continued to get even closer to where the soldiers were heading.

[Taichii]

OOC: here's ryqo and taichii's jointed post


As the little kid rushed between Taichii and the guard captain, Taichii snaps from his trance and looks at his scythe. The scythe now started to glow and a rose shaped pattern started to appear and became engraved near its hilt.

   The guard captain, now more flustered, shouted "GET ON THE GROUND! GET ON THE GROUND NOW!"

   Taichii, not knowing what to do, just let out a simple sigh. He tried to stay calm as he looked around and saw archers atop the roof. He looked behind and saw wizards gathering magic which would cast spells on them upon the captain's call. He returned his gaze to the captain and saw knights and lancers that were ready to strike them down.

   The half-vampire walked slowly towards the little girl. "Take it easy..." He says to the guard in charge. "I mean no harm... We did nothing wrong..." After gaining enough distance, he lowered his scythe and blade slowly beside the little kid's feet. He knew what would happen if they give in. He had experienced this before with the very first horde that swept Araguay in fire.

  "I can't fight them... I don't want any bloodshed anymore..." He thought before looking at the captain's eyes. "The captain is focused on the little kid more than me... This is dangerous... do they want to involve her? She's just a little kid..." He thought. His attention was drawn to the captain's sword. "It's unsheathed..." he realized. "We have to escape... But I have to think of a plan to get away safely both for me, for the kid, and for the people of dorter."

   After he deduced a way to initiate the plan, the young man whispered down to the girl. "Hey baby, do you know a way to make the captain move backwards, maybe a few feet away?" He assumed, based on what he had seen her do, that she had powers she had yet to reveal.

   What he did not expect, however, was for her to glare up at him and retort, "I am not a baby!" Her lips pursed with dissatisfaction.

   Perhaps she had already done something, as the captain had yet to call an attack despite the delay. Some of the gathered guards appeared ill at ease with their superior's hesitation, but they waited nonetheless.

   Taichii was at a loss for words for a moment at the girl's reaction, but then added, "And dear, can you please do it without harming them?" He smiled at her.

   "Already done." She declared with a huff.

   "Very well, thank you." Taichii said before looking back up at the captain. "We didn't do anything wrong. I may be a wanted man by mistake, but that doesn't mean that I'm the one who started all of this. We we're ambushed! You're a man of the law, you know that you should know our sides too! You should be fair in enforcing the law!"

   After a few cold sweating moments, the guard sheathed his sword and took a step backward "Alright then..."

   "The captain would never do that!" A lancer from behind shouted.
   "He might be in a spell!" One of the knights from behind shouted. 

   The army of knights began to unsheathe their swords, the archers concentrated their aim at the kid and the boy. The lancers were ready to jump and the wizards were ready to cast their spells.

   At any moment, the army would storm the pair, but the guard captain raised his hand and spoke. "All of you, worry not! I am not under a spell. What he said was right."

   The guards obeyed their superior, but remained vigilant nonetheless.

   The captain then looked at Taichii. "If we do take your statement, would you come with us?" The guard captain opened his arms bravely.

   Taichii murmured something to the girl again. "Do you know any spell that could protect us? We will escape from all this men."

   The little girl then thought for a bit then, "I dunno..." she replied with a shrug.

   This came as a bit of a surprise to the boy, but he quickly decided to make do as is. "I will go with you." He said to the captain. "But, please, let this innocent girl go! She has nothing to do with this! I only saved her from the bad men that tried to take me away but unfortunately, she got involved. So please make way, and let her go."

   The guard captain, who was under the little girl's influence, thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, she can go. But you get on the ground and don't fight anymore!" The guard captain then stepped backwards.

   Taichii looked at the little girl. "Are you ready?" He asked with a smile.

   She blinked at him. "Ready, Mama!" she replied.

   The half-breed boy slowly got on the ground and touched his scythe. An inverted star starts to glow from his eyes. The rose pattern engraved on the scythe glowed and started to expand. It started to grow and the black phœnix emerged and screeched at the Dorter knights. The little girl and Taichii appeared sitting at the phoenix' back. The phoenix flapped its huge fiery wings and started to hover in mid-air.

   Taichii shouted, "I'm sorry! But you all got it all wrong!"

   The guard captain, regaining his control, commanded the knights, "Everyone, open fire! Attaaaaaackkk!!!"

   The knights rushed with their swords, the archers charged their bows, the lancers jumped in the air and the wizards cast their spells. At the moment that the knights were at the spot where Taichii and the little girl were, the only thing they could do was try to pick up pieces of shattered cobblestone and throw them at the phœnix.

   A moment later, the lancers came down, some found their marks and drove their weapons into the great bird as it screeched in agony. Others missed entirely, but one clipped the girl's shoulder and she winced as the blade destroyed her sleeve and left a sizable gash in her arm.

   The archers had even less luck. Many had trained their aim on where the pair had been before the bird appeared, so their arrows ate stone. Those that had made proper corrections found that their arrows were incinerated as they neared the dark fiery wing of the giant beast of myth.

   The spells, or at least the non-fire ones, proved a bit more useful than the other methods of attack. Shards of ice tore at the pair, leaving them chilled and shivering.

   Taichii exclaimed once again, "I'm sorry, this is not what it's supposed to be! Get your facts straight and ask the head of the army! They're the one who tried to hunt me and I don't see any reason why I became a wanted man! I did nothing wrong! That's the truth!" He then spoke in his mind which resonated with the phœnix. "Home."

   The bird took off and began to head east. The people of Dorter stared in awe, some of them in fear, as they saw the dark phœnix soar through the skies.

   Half an hour later, the little girl spoke, "Mama... Where are we going?"

   Taichii smiled at her. "We're going for a trip dear..." he replied.

   "A trip?!" Her eyes sparkled. "Needa loves trips! Yaa~y!" The little girl cheered with joy.

  "'Needa'?" the young man repeated the name in his mind. He had never heard of such a name. Perhaps, "Oh... so maybe her name is Anita."

[Dokurider]

The captain laid on the ground, stunned at the events that miraculously left him unscathed. The boy, Taichii and that girl were flying away on a giant bird made of fire. After failing to attack the boy and his companion and watching him fly away, the guard came to the captain's aid and helped him up. A sense of relief and camaraderie had replaced the now waning tenseness that the standoff carried.

Many of the guards disagreed with the way the captain handed that standoff. Some thought he should have just backed off and let them go. Other thought he should have just blasted them right where they stood. The captain knew he was never going to hear the end of it, and not just from his fellow guardsmen. The gossip mill was guaranteed to be all about how ineffective the city guard is yet again, when the excitement of tonight's events wears off. The city council was going be all over him, drilling him endlessly. Not a single one of them considering exactly the odds that just faced them and how miraculous it was that no one was hurt in the standoff. Nevertheless, as they all hugged and reassured one another, they were all just glad to be alive tonight. For the moment, no one seemed to care that they failed to catch the boy.



It was the most brilliant sight of his life. It was a phoenix expanding from the middle of the gaggle of guardsmen below. The flames that define and decorate it's body like feathers shimmered and waved beautifully like fire was supposed to. Just the act of flapping to take off from the ground was made from an already naturally beautiful act to just simply majestic. Tom couldn't even believe what he was seeing. Without the guards and other citizens gathered to watch the commotion that was happening downtown also looking and pointing at the sight now above him, he would have never believe this was anything other than a waking dream or a fever dream.

As it flew over him, he could see that it was easily bigger than a house. He was in awe. He had dreamed of this day, since joining the The Scythe and Blade, but it's sheer beauty surpassed even his wildest dreams. It was all coming true, just as our Anisuasor said it would. He has finally come to save us all...

When the phoenix finally flew over the horizon, Tom sat on the roof of the building for a solid minute in mesmerization, before realizing that the Good News had to spread to the other members. He got down from the rooftop and ran nonstop to the Anisuasor's house with the excitement of a child going home to his birthday party.

"ANISUASOR! ANISUASOR! YOU MUST RISE! QUICKLY!" he said while excitedly knocking on the Anisuasor's door. He simply could not contain his excitement. The Anisuasor stirred from his sleep, eyes hurting. He did not want to wake just to respond to yet another crisis of faith. "Honey, can you tell him to wait until tomorrow?" His wife was also coming to as groggily as he was, but as she opened her mouth to complain, a thought crossed her mind and promptly shot her eyes open. "He sounds serious. What if it's the church is cracking down on us again?" The Anisuasor bolted upright. The memories of barely escaping the last crackdown were still fresh even after all this time. "I hope you're wrong." he uttered as he moved with haste to make himself presentable.

He rushed to open the door and before the Anisuasor could even say a word, Tom was already letting loose an avalanche of words. "It's come true! It's all coming true!" "Wait, slow down. What's coming true, my child?" "The prophecies! Everything the Denique Ton Deo said would happen is coming true! I saw the phoenix, and I saw HIM. The messiah!" The Anisuasor was dumbfounded. "Are you sure, my child? It's not that I don't believe you, but I'd like to see-" "Then come with me, the messiah left the city on his phoenix after the guard accosted him, but the judgment he delivered is still there! Come see!" As Tom took the Anisuasor by the sleeve to take him to the battle site, the Anisuasor stopped him to suggest something more rational than walking all the way there. "I have a chocobo with me. Why don't we go on that instead of walking?" "Of course, Anisuasor. Let's make haste."

[Dokurider]

The Anisuasor and Tom approached the wreckage of the battle-torn slums where the battle took place on chocobo. The guard had cordoned off the section tight, so they had to climb on a roof to get a view. The violence that left those buildings torn apart was evident even from the distance they stood. "I saw when the guard had Him completely surrounded. I heard he was also fighting some other people before they came. You should have seen the phoenix that the boy summoned. It was just spectacular! It was the most- You just had to be there, to just see it in action, in all of it's majesty." Tom closed his eyes, taking in the memory fresh in his mind.

The Anisuasor's shock over the carnage before him had eventually melted into an unreadable face. "Tom, this is history in the making. Which way did he go?" "He flew that way.", pointing towards Zirekyle. "By the scythe's cut, it really is happening." He had to stop to gather himself. "We need to act quickly. We must follow him. Gather everyone and meet me at the temple. Tell them gather their things and to bring as many chocobos and carts as possible. We leave tonight." "Oh, Anisuasor, this is simply incredible. Amazing! I can barely contain myself!" Tom continued on as they left the roof and got onto the chocobo. "Now, Tom, the guards are everywhere enforcing curfew. You must avoid them at all costs. I'm counting on you to get the word out to our fellow members. I'll lend you this here Chocobo when I get to the temple." "Yes, my Anisuasor. For the Scythe and Blade." "Defend the heart. Swipe away the sin."



"I am so glad you all managed to come on such short notice." His followers, all clad in black, were all gathered in their usual meeting spot, a condemned old church that was somewhat fixed up. There were candles, but they were not lit. Only the moonlight illuminated the church. "Before we begin, I trust that all of our brothers and sisters are here, yes?" The Anisuasor motioned to an expectant crowd of his followers carrying their bags of worldly possessions. "So it seems everyone is here. Excellent! I was so worried that the guards might have stopped some of you, but it seems I was worrying for nothing. Now, all of you must be wondering what I've gathered you all here tonight, ready to leave? To be blunt, our Savior has finally arrived!"

The audience erupted into a fury of excited exchanges of looks and conversation. The Anisuasor motioned to continue to speak. "Now now. Let me continue. The Savior was seen summoning The Phoenix and escaping the brutish city guards by riding on top of it towards Zirkyle. It is time, my brothers, my sisters. He has come to deliver a new era of prosperity and paradise to those that have followed his teachings and to smite those that have caused suffering. The age of misery and unhappiness is at its end. We must go to Zirkyle and meet and serve our Savior!" The crowd's cries of euphoria throughout had risen to all time high to a roaring cheer. "Abandon your mortal here, because your new life, the one you deserve, starts today! You are the Phoenix! You are the Wolf! You are the Blade! You are the Scythe!" The crowd was exploding. Members were crying tears of joy, and clutching each other in ecstasy in knowing the misery and desperation they suffered was going to be all over.

"Now, we need to get moving immediately before the guards completely shut down the city. We have managed to procure many chocobos and carts, but it's still going to be a very tight and cramped ride for us all. It's going to be a rough trip, no mistake, but we need to be there for Him. We needed to be there for Him when those gorillas were harassing him in the slums. They could have killed him before he got the chance to fulfill His Destiny! He might even be hurt. This is his time of need. So let us waste no more time. Follow your appointed member's directions to the carts. Be sure to make room for everyone else. Have faith, my brothers and sisters, for tonight, everything changes for the better." And with that, he and the membership makes their way to the carts outside.



Dorter has not seen enough excitement tonight it seems. Carts overloaded with dark clothed people clinging to each other were flying down the streets of Dorter hell bent on following the Phoenix. It was a miracle nothing or no one was lost navigating the bumpy streets as they sped to the edge of the city. As they neared the outskirts, guards could be made out obstructing the road out. The carts decelerated, narrowly avoiding running over the city guards. There were only a few there, as the rest had yet to arrive. "No one is leaving this city tonight. Turn around this instant, or you will all be arrested." The followers moaned cursed in disappointment and frustration, many giving dark looks for antagonizing the Savior. "Now, now, gentlemen." said the Anisuasor, "We are not criminals. All we want is to pass. I'm sure we can work something out. Maybe we could negotiate the toll?" "Not this time. Turn this carts around. Now." "You don't even want us in the city! You've been persecuting us for a time and a half now, and now you want us to stay?!" "Last warning, Anisuasor."

The Anisuasor collected himself and let his magical tongue loose. "No, time and time again, you've cracked down on us unfairly when all we wanted was to live and worship in peace. Our congregation has been chased from city to city trying to-" He was interrupted by the front most guard. "Nice try, Anisuasor, but your magical tongue will not work here. Arrest him." As the guards moved to arrest him, they were immediately met by his bodyguards. "Woah, woah, let's take it easy here. Nobody needs to get hurt here. Just let us go on our way and we'll be out of your hair for good." The guards held their ground. They knew they could take his bodyguards. They weren't as well trained or armed as the guard were and they only outnumbered them by 2:3. "I see that it had to come down to this. Then you'll have to answer to the power of the people." He began to mutter in an incomprehensible tongue. His followers bowed their heads and began to chant.

The guard instinctively did not want to see what he was going to do, so they moved to attack him. They clashed with his bodyguards who assembled a solid line in front of the congregation. They began to hack and bash and the bodyguards responded with punches and kicks. They knew no actual Punch Arts, but they knew enough to make their fists do some hurt. As the chanting got louder, the guards began to feel rather heated. They knew what was coming, they've been all hit with a Fire spell before, but this was different. Not only was this an unusual method of casting, this heat, this magic, felt strange, even evil. Like it was eating their lifeforce. This was dark magic.

Suddenly, the Anisuasor cried out and the guards exploded in fire and umbra, leaving only piles of smoking gore. The bodyguard promptly returned to their cart to nurse their wounds. The Anisuasor took a deep breath. "It's unfortunate they had to stand against us, but we must defend ourself. Let us carry on. The Savior needs us." The chocobos were disturbed by the unholy magics and scent of blood in the air, and reluctantly moved through the bloody mess.

[Mirthean Ascael]

It was a breathtaking sight to see. People who opted to stay in the City was able to see this amazing spectacle. A Phoenix,flying off towards the east; carrying to people with it. Who were they? Why was the army after them? Mirthean has added tons of questions to his mind again and answers were yet to come.

Sparks flew from left to right, Arrows darted to the sky, and Lancers charged towards the flying being hoping to subdue them. But it seems their power was not enough. Townsfolk started to come out of their houses as soon as the flying creature was out of sight, and murmurs went on about the recently concluded events. What was to happen next?

The heavy feeling around the city already lifted after the battle; thus confirming the connection to those two mysterious people. He plans to follow the trail toward those two; but the City has now been closed off until further notice.

With his newfound companions, they went off to take a look at the surroundings area a bit more before they would decide to return to the Inn. Clues would probably be around somehow; even if the army has already done most of the cleaning already.

[Taichii]

"Oh... so maybe her name is Anita."
This statement keeps running over and over Taichii's mind...
Taichii hums while they're soaring high above araguay...
After a few hours of traveling, the phoenix screeched which Taichii took note of that they're reaching the falls...
"Alright anita.. off we go now." Taichii said as he got off the dark phoenix...
Taichii then walked around the house slowly... He sneaked back and forth to see if there was anyone there... He let out a sigh of relief when he managed to secure that the place was empty... Taichii summoned back his phoenix and it reverted into a scythe..
"This is Mama's house~!" Taichii exclaimed at Anita as he introduced the little girl to his house...
Taichii then slowly opened the door.. He then got shocked as he saw everything was in its proper place... A thought came across his mind.. "That's odd.. Why didn't they check our place? Maybe they couldn't find everything"

Taichii then looked back at anita... "Hey , dear go ahead sit on the couch, You must be hungry.. I'll bring you something to eat"
Taichii then went to the kitchen to whip something up..."It has been three days" He thought..
He then went to the large wooden cabinet where they keep a stock of their food in ice.. After an hour of prep and cooking, Taichii finally walked out of the kitchen with a roasted chicken on a wooden plate....
Taichii placed it in the table along with the other utensils...
"Anita, its time to eat now... This is my dad's recipe." Taichii said with a smile...
"I'll be back in a moment honey..." He told anita and went into his dad's room.. Taichii searched the place for any clues that the army left....
And then.. on his dad's table lies a note...
Taichii picked it up and read it....

[DarkShade]

Michael was seeing what everyone else in the city saw. The phoenix carrying two people away. but he remember who one of them is. It was the girl he tried to save. He kept to him self so he won't cause any suspicion towards the guards in the city. But John began to notice something from Michael.

"Is there something wrong Michael?" Michael look at him and said quietly, "I'll tell you later." As they continued towards the area John was the only one in the group that wanted to talk about what happen. "Come on guys did you see that? that thing in the city, i can't believe it! I ju-" Michael cut him off when he slapped him upside the head with his sword. "John please shut up, your causing a lot of commotion right now." Mirthean notice what John was doing but continued to push the group closer to the area.

The only thing that is going through Michael's head was about the girl. "Why is she with that one guy and the phoenix thing?" The group only continued to the place where the destruction occured. Mean while John's Chocobo, that he left at the Inn, began to start roaming the area.

[Dokurider]

In Dorter...

The captain and the bulk of the guards left the area shortly after Taichii's dramatic exit, leaving a handful of guards behind to keep interlopers from stealing/compromising the scene until the investigators arrived. The investigators could not get to work fast enough. No one was going to sleep all night long.

After taking notes on the destroyed and damaged buildings, they got to the bodies, or what at least that's what they assumed what the piles of ashes were. It was absolute cremation, pure ash through and through. Not a tooth, bone fragment, or even a single piece of evidence that showed that this pile of ash was even the remains of a human being could be found in the ash piles. It was basically soot and unidentifiable. It was scraped up as best as wet ash spread around by the rain could possible be.

Then they moved on to the bodies that wasn't reduced to soot. First was the body of a ninja. The most prominent aspect of the body was the fissure of broken ribs, sunken in where his heart should be. The hole was strange in that the hole was ripped entirely from the inside, as if the heart had just burst spontaneously out of his chest. His heart lay feet away from him, carelessly thrown to the side.

The man was identified as a member of the Black Platypus. It was easy to intuit that most of the piles of ashes were also members of the Black Platypus. This had dire implications for the city of Dorter as the Black Platypus were fiercely loyal to their members. They go to great lengths just to avenge the murders of one of their own. They will not take these particular deaths very well, not at all. Not only were they killed, they were apparently completely slaughtered and their bodies desecrated and unidentifiable for the their respective families. It was complete and utter humiliation and complete disrespect for the family heritage and disrespect for the dead. To them, this was the greatest insult. Even with the power the boy apparently wielded, he had just made a dire enemy. They will do anything to get revenge on this boy and anyone that got in the way had a horrible death in store for them.

The news got even worse when then inspected the bodies of the thieves. They were known members of the local mob, The Pals at the Tavern. Their deaths meant nothing special, unlike the Black Platypus. What was notable was how one died. This one had all of his blood drained, and two neat punctures were found on the side of his neck. This was the work of a vampire. This had to have been that boy's work.

That goes to explaining a few things about tonight's events. But knowing a vampire is involved is involved in the center of all this still had many pieces missing. Vampires do not go around causing absolute chaos like this. Even when cornered, most show off their powers like this. Most don't even havethis kind of power. Even the most ancient and powerful vampires would prefer to avoid direct combat.

This was simply beyond what Dorter could handle. This was the jurisdiction of the Church. They handle vampire exterminations and it seems they were going to have a handful with this one. They immediately wrapped up the investigation, gathered the bodies and ashes, and headed back to HQ to message the Church about tonight's events. No one was looking forward to having the Church quarantine the area for vampirism and they would be here quickly. It would only take a day to have a force fully mobilized here. What's more, the agency that was originally pursuing Taichii was on it's way here and would not be happy about Taichii getting away. The city was already uneasy about having the Black Platypus storming in here and tearing the city underworld apart, and now they would be locked down for vampirism? At least the Church coming here could mean finally getting rid of that blasted cult, so there could be an upside to all this.

What had happened in this city was simply incredible and it seemed it was going to get even incredulous: this was not over, not by a long shot. Hopefully, this was the first and last time Dorter would play host to the story that would going to unfold here in Ivalice. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

[Ryqoshay]

   "Trip! Trip! We're goin' on a tri~~p!" Anita sings cheerfully as the phoenix rises high into the sky. She sways back and forth to the rhythm of her made up song, caring little should she lean too far to one side and fall. After a few moments, however, the melody subsides, and the questions begin. "Where are we going, Mama?" she asks. But before Mama even has a chance to respond, she fires again. "Is this a phoenix? Where did you get it? Is it magic? It's pretty, can I have it?"

   Mama smiles and opens his mouth to speak, but...

   "Hey! I can see a moose from here!" the girl proclaims, pointing off in some random direction. "Is that a moose? It looks like a moose. You know, a moose once bit my sister... Ooo, bird!" she points at a large bird of prey that is giving the strange group wide berth. "I wonder if it's hunting the moose... It better be careful, mind you, moose bites can be pretty nasty."

   Mama smiles and nods. He seems to do that a lot.

   The barrage of questions, random observations and bizarre ditties continues to the point that one may almost begin to suspect the girl has no need to breathe. Mama is given no chance to get a word in edgewise, despite the occasional seemingly serious question directed at him that he honestly wanted to answer. But by the time he had a response prepared, the topic had shifted yet again. So, he smiles and nods, over and over.

   "... and that's the legend of the 76,000 battery llamas." Anita concludes a long-winded, practically pointless story as the magical beast makes ground near a ramshackle house quite a ways from the trade-city.

   "This is Mama's house~!" Mama exclaims and leads her to his home.

   "Oooo~~~" the girl responds, looking around in awe, taking in everything there is to see, a childish look of wonderment on her face.

   Mama opens the door with caution as though expecting an ambush, but after a moment, he turns back to her. "Hey, dear, go ahead and sit on the couch. You must be hungry." He motions to simple, yet comfortable looking piece of furniture. "I'll bring you something to eat."

   "Ya~y!" Anita cheers. "Food, glorious food!" she begins another random refrain. "Hot sausage and mustard! While we're in the mood - Cold jelly and custard!" Mama walks into, presumably, the kitchen, as she sits on the couch. "Pease pudding and saveloys! What next is the question?" She bounces up and down happily. "Rich gentlemen have it, boys: Indigestion!"

   She does not know how long Mama is gone, but the time is filled with more inane inquiries, random remarks and chaotic choruses. Finally, he returns with a full roast of poultry.

   "Is that the bird?" Anita asks, referring to the one they saw hours ago, en route here.

   Mama apparently does not get the reference and instead replies, "Anita, it's time to eat now. This is my dad's recipe." He says with his now familiar smile.

   The girl breathes deep. "Mmm! Food! We're anxious to try it!" She returns to her song from before as she makes her way to the table. "Three banquets a day! Our favorite diet!"

   "I'll be back in a moment, Honey." Mama tells her before walking off to some other part of the house.

   She barely takes note of his absense as she begins to devour the delectable meat before her, finally falling silent for the first time since leaving Dorter. There will not be much left if he takes too long to come back.

[Taichii]

"WE HAVE YOUR FATHER. TURN YOURSELF IN AND WE'LL SPARE HIS LIFE."


"Oh god no... I have to rescue Dad..."
Taichii quickly stood up... and as he walked back towards the dining room, a thought crept upon his mind... "It's been days since i got away... Is Dad still alive? I saw it... I saw the lance pierce his chest.....I have to find out... But i won't give in... And i certainly can't do it alone..." Taichii finally reached the dining room... He looked at Anita and sat with her... "Is it delicious Anita?" Taichii smiled... Then he lifted the fork and knife and proceeded to eat with Anita....

After eating... Taichii quickly fixed the table and washed the plates and the glasses... He then went back to the living room and told anita...
"Hey darling.. we'll be playing night hide and seek tonight But be careful.. there'll be danger ahead..."
Taichii strapped his scythe and sheathed his blade.

"Let's head out now, We'll reach the perfect spot by night time..." Taichii smiled again at anita... He then held out his hand and proceeded to walk with her along the mountain path... He then noticed that there are no monsters along the mountain path... "That's odd... Something's wrong" Taichii Unsheathed his blade and moved forward with caution....
"Anita stay behind me.." Taichii said as he extended his arms..

[Dokurider]

The Morning


Clayton finally woke from what had seemed to be a coma. Now that his body was no longer in danger mode, he can now feel all of yesterday's injuries in full force. He momentarily forgotten why he was in this state and his situation and assumed today was a normal day. He shuffled towards his kitchen to make him some breakfast. When he walked into the kitchen, he remembered last night's dinner being quite filling. "It's been a while since I've been served dinner. This house has gone too long without a woman's touch." He paused on that thought. "Wait, when did I have guests?".

It had finally hit him. Everything from yesterday had finally came back to him: The bounty hunt gone awry, the people he'd been working under for years setting him up, his near deaths, and his unlikely rescues   . He wanted to just believe it was all just a crazy dream, and it seemed unreal enough for him to almost believe that. But the aching of his body was genuine. He knew the longer he stayed here, the less time he had to escape.

He remembered he put Mother and Zero in the guest room, so he ambled back towards the hallway, and knocked on the door. The sound of a book closing and rustling of clothes was heard from behind the door. "Mother, Zero, are you awake?". A few seconds later, Mother pulled the door open. "Zero is still asleep." She glanced over at him. "Likely to be for a while now.". Clayton sighed at how the knight can sleep like that given the situation they are in. They need to be able to move at a moment's notice.

Mother turned her head quickly back to Clayton. "Good morning, is something the matter child?". "We need to make plans to get out of this city today. Will he wake to the smell of breakfast?". He deduced that the knight would wake on smelling food. "Zero wake to food?" She laughed at Clayton's words. "That's the only thing I have found to wake him." Mother pushed her way out the room and past Clayton headed to the kitchen. Clayton moved to stop her. "Today I will make food for my guests."

Upon hearing such words, Mother stopped in her tracks. "Are we going to be eating out of cans?" "Yesterday was bad manners on my part. I will make something proper this time." Mother now faced him. "I do not think we have much of anything left." "I kind of used a lot of what you had" "Well you can just eat what's left up here. I have more food downstairs, but it's preserved via poison, so I will eat that. But I will make your breakfast first." "Alright."

"We still have some of last night's dinner left, right?" Clayton said as he headed towards the kitchen. "Tons"   Mother said as she followed him to the kitchen. "I'll just heat that up then." "That was my plan"  "Feel free to light the fire" Mother told Clayton, as she walked further into the kitchen where she placed the clean bowls. Clayton lit the fire, resenting Mother's unnecessary command.   

He added some water to rehydrate the stew and began to stir and think. Did this woman not trust him to do the most basic things? He was being a good host, why should she take that as an insult? It wasn't like he resented her help or anything. More hands means the quicker we can leave. It also lessened the amount he had to move around as his pain and exhaustion slowed him down. However, he could not let his dull aching beat him. He has to give today all he's got if he wants to escape and survive, pain or no pain. He could not rely on the mercy of fate.

"Oh and make sure no too stir it too much child, only enough to mix in your water. Other than that, we want it to sit still to reheat well. I figure you know the rest from there" "Right, right." he diplomatically complied, stopped his stirring for a moment. She picked up a bowl and walked of the the pot, Holding the bowl in her hand, patiently waiting for the stew to reheat. He continued to stir the stew on and off as it reheated, making sure to scrape the sides of the kettle to prevent sticking.

When it was ready Mother scooped some of the stew up into her bowl and walked to her room with it.  Clayton shifted some sand onto the fire, lowering the heat of the fire to keep the stew warm. He then left the kitchen to grab his breakfast in the basement. As he headed downstairs, he could hear Mother getting up Zero. "Wake up!" The sound of breaking wood resonated through the house. "Look what you did! Stand up!" Past the still-dead-and-starting-to-smell-slightly burglars were some barrels. In them was what Clayton had actually been eating for all these years: pickled meat and vegetables.

In truth, the food upstairs is strictly for guests only, on the rare occasion he has guests. He never leaves any poisoned food upstairs, lest someone ends up poisoned or worse, infers his background. The brine he used was mixed with an inedible and utterly toxic preservative that keeps food fresh longer than anything on the market or even possibly known to man. It wasn't his favorite, but his powers meant it can taste like whatever he wanted it to taste like. Seeing that he would be here no longer, he gave himself an extra helping and brought his poisonous meal upstairs to the kitchen table.   

The door swung open and Mother walked out of the room without the bowl in hand. She went to the kitchen    and scooped out stew from the pot for herself. Zero walked out of the room a few moments later carrying his "bed", completely in pieces and no longer able to hold the weight of a human. Zero set his broken bed down near the couch and went back into the room to grab the bowl he left in there. By the time Mother finished her meal and put the bowl in the sink, Clayton had came back up the stairs with his meal. Clayton sat himself down at the table with his pickled meal and begin to speak while he ate.

"Alright guys, we need to go over what happens today. Simply put, we need to get out of the city immediately. We will definitely leave by sundown.". Zero came back with the bowl and handed it to Mother. She took it and refilled it for him, handing it back. "I'd like to literally leave now, but we need to pick up some supplies for our trip." "Where to?" Mother asked. "We can't go to many places." "Obviously." "Although something tells me we are heading back to Dorter...", she added. Clayton was not amused at this vague prophecy.

"We are most likely already wanted in Lesalia and Gallione, the two kingdoms that borders Dorter. Trying to run into the next kingdom is too hard right now as patrols are stepping up in light of last night.   So we have to hide out for now. Are you familiar with the Sand Rat Cellar?" "I can't say I am" "It's a great place for us to hide out for a while." "Does anyone else hide there?" Clayton pondered for a second. "It's very well hidden, so not many people know about it. So not likely. We'll still be safe there because the law definitely doesn't know about it."   

"Alright. How long do you suppose we hang low there then?" "Just until patrols relax and we can move around freely." "Where will we go after that?" "After that, we head over the border to Fovoham to get away from our wanted status. "Alright. You know more about this than I, seeing as me and Zero come from far east. I'll follow you plan for now."

"We will need to buy some supplies for the trip." "Hmm...To Dorter then?" "I don't want to wait until we get to Goland to stock up. So yeah, we gotta try to buy some supplies here." "I hope nothing goes wrong while we are there: Zero's armour state isn't too great." Clayton walked up to his window cautiously and peered out to an empty city. "It's going to be difficult. It seems that the city is on the lockdown. We will have to just find some traders as the shopkeepers are all shut down. And as for your armor, Zero..." He turned to look at him. "...You're just going to have to leave that here. It's too broken to do you any good right now and there are no blacksmiths open to fix it." "That. I am fine with."

She turns to Zero, "You're going to have to part with you armour." Zero drops his bowl of food, and his eyes widen. His mouth opens to protest, but something keeps him from doing so.    "Besides," Clayton added, "We have to evade patrols and that armor probably wasn't the stealthiest when it was functional." "Looks like our first stealth mission, Zero." She turns back to Clayton, "When do we leave? I myself just need to pick up my things and we can go-", she pauses. "Pick. up. my. things...."

The Revival


"Oh! I completely forgot!" Clayton was not liking this. "You left your stuff at the inn, right?" he exasperated. "No not that..."   "Then what are you looking for?" He wasn't looking forward to looking for whatever she lost and burning precious time. Mother gets down on her hands and knees and start feeling around the floor. Now he was completely confused. "I once lost this thing, and let me tell you, I'd rather walk through he-" Her hand bumps into an invisible wall.   

"There it is." Mother grabs for the air and stands up revealing a dead monk. "You would think that I would remember this kind of matters, being a dead person, that is. Now then...Zero, come here.  I'm going to do a low level one, in the case he does anything stupid. Mother places her hand on the dead man." Clayton train of thought completely gridded to a halt. It was the Black Platypus member he killed. And he was in his house. And she was going to revive him.

Her hand radiates a white light making the man glow brightly."WAIT ONE MINUTE. STOP." Clayton screamed at them to stop their complete and utter stupidity. "Raise!" she continued. "What are you- Why are you so-" the sheer brazen foolishness of what he was seeing here had left him struggling for words. A large crystal clear ball floats down from the sky and is absorbed into the man and with great suddenness, his eyes snap open. "No, this isn't happening." Clayton thought, as he stormed to his room, his conscience temporarily freed of pain and replaced with rage. He grabbed his ninja blade out of his possessions to put the monk down again and possibly the rest of them.      

The man lay there for a moment, before his eyes started darting around the room and at the two people in front of him   . "Wait didn't I-" his speech was interrupted as he saw Clayton storming into the room, blade in hand. "Yes, you did." Clayton began to close the distance, ready to end his life again when zero pushed Clayton to the ground and trapped him underneath his own body.   

Mother spoke up "Wait a moment child." "Get off of me you idiot!" Clayton yelled at the lug smothering him. "Calm yourself little one!"   He was just about sick of her calling him 'little' and 'child' when she wasn't much older than he was. "Do any of you understand what you're doing? Actually, you know what? I want to hear this."   

The monk's mind was racing. He knew not where he was, nor why the man he killed was in front of him alive, nor why the kid was attacking him. "Clayton relax, I have this under control." "What in God's name motivated the both of you to do this?" "God's name? God did not bring me to do such. God never could, not even if he existed." "Don't you dare lecture me, woman." "Child, I am doing my duty." "Why? Just...why?"   

"I have a few reasons. Now I must talk to this poor thing, before he goes into shock, which, is when we will have to kill him again..." Mother turned to the man. "Well this sucks. You scared him." "I can't believe this, I've been partnered with the stupidest people in Ivalice." "Well wisdom doesn't mean intellect, child" She had the gall to lecture him on this ivory tower bullshit now of all times? He was going to explode "You think, you really think-?" "I think? I know"    "You really think that you can make an ally out of HIM?"   

"In fact, I do. If you calm down! Can I bring my attention to the man now? Or shall I focus on you?" Of all the patronizing- He had never been so insulted in his life and that was saying something coming from someone called pathetic by his family for his whole life. "How about I just leave you idiots with your new found friend here? That'll be calm enough for you, huh?"   

"You're too childish. Think of it this way. Give him at the least a last wish or words. You are coming from a point of view that he wants to kill you when this man actually sent all his allies away just so that he could have a good fight with Zero here. This man has no want to kill you. He just wants to fight, to fight real battles."   

"Who cares what HE wants? He has been sent here to kill me." The will of the clan was everything to a ninja. Indeed, who cares what one wants, you always put the clan first. He will kill his assigned target, even if to trade his life for it. He could not disgrace his clan, his family, and his ancestors. What anyone wants was and isn't apart of will of a clan and their allegiance to that will.   

"With your state of condition, many would care naught of what you want." "What I want-!" he screamed internally. "Sent he has, but will he, we do not know. Lets find out his intentions. I picked not to bring him back with much life..." Clayton has finally had enough. "I don't need to find out, and I don't need this." "...Leaving him easy to get rid of if needed." "I can get to the Sand- The place without your help in my condition, thank you very much. Now get off of me, Zero before you feel pain."   

"Listen. Actually, Zero club him, lightly please?" Now things are getting physical, eh? Clayton thought. "Oh no, you don't." Clayton sent illusionary pain through Zero."We are your allies, I only have your intention in mind; and if you won't calm down, then I have no choice other than to talk you to sleep." Zero wrenched back in "pain" and fell off Clayton. "Clayton. Calm your self please. I could have already had this over. Fine Clayton. They didn't call me a mediator for nothing."

Clayton staggered to his feet, but his conscience was sinking into the floor, her words already strangling him to sleep. He tried to muffle his ears and play whatever sounds came to him to block out her speech but it was in vain as her magic words reached his ears, loud and clear as a bell. "You're no fair child. I'm not trying to do bad to you." He continued to stumble towards the exit. "Bullshit. Everyone's...out for me..." "Clayton! I am here for you! Why else would I have saved you? You are overly stressed."   

Clayton can't maintain balance against his seemingly great weight anymore and falls to the ground flat but continues to crawl   , if only in defiance. "As I said... Overly stressed..."    "I...can't lose...anymore ...How...am I...supposed...to save anyone...her...like this...dying...here?" Mother walked over to him and walked in front of him. She bent down in front of him, and placed her hand on his head. "Sleep my child. Sleep." His crawling starts to slow to a stop. "You will save her. You will."   

"I'm...so weak...pathetic..." "You have my protection. You have Zero's. You also have reraise my child." "Damn...it...Damn you." And with that, he falls asleep "I'm already going to hell child. Damning me won't do anything." She whispered to to sleeping kid. Mother Stood up and walked over to Zero and the Monk. "Zero take the boy to 'his' room." She motioned to Clayton's basement, out of the view of the monk. Catching what Mother was gesturing to, Zero picked up Clayton, and moved him down stairs.

Upon opening the door, fumes poured into the room. Even Zero knew better than that to walk in there. Holding his breath, Zero walked in a few steps, and set the boy down on a step and walked out of the basement, closing the door behind him. Zero turned around to see Mother kneeling down whispering into the Monk's ear. She stood up and walked to Zero. "Alright, I made him fall asleep while talking to him about how he has no need to go back to the ninjas. That he's already counted as dead. I don't know how he will take it, but other than that, I'll talk to him more when he wakes. I'm going to try to hypnotize him of a sort. I don't know if it will work but it's worth a test nonetheless."

Her mind shifted modes almost instantly, along with that her tone in voice changed to a more concerned motherly voice. "How is Clayton?" Zero looked at Mother and shrugged. She frowned at him in response. "Please take our new guest to the couch please." Mother walked to the basement, and opened the door. Mother picked up the boy and walked down stairs with him. She completely shrugged off the horrible and deadly fumes that she was inhaling every breath

The Dream
   

As Clayton was picked up, images began to render all around the two, making out a sphere pattern. They went by too fast and too randomly to make sense. Clips of sounds and voices could be heard in the air. Even smells suddenly because present. Mother stopped walking, and in awe watched the images fly around, and listened, carefully.   

"...Mizuhara....Clayton...disgrace to our name...worthless..." Images of a stern looking man can be made out. In every image, he seems to be looking down in disgust in every image he is in save for a few. In the few that don't, he beams with pride, looking out at the distance, away. The others have him filled with rage instead, bashing Clayton's head against the ground on some cliffs somewhere. Clayton's POV images of that are disconcerting; watching the ground that meets his vision over and over turn bloodier and bloodier. The man speaks to Clayton, but it is too difficult to make out.

There are images of a motherly servant woman. A ghastly scar always seems to end up across her face either instantly or gradually. She can be seen in POV images being slashed across the face. The same action repeating over and over again. "...it's nothing, Clayton..."

Images of a young boy and what looks like his dad can be seen all the time. The young boy seems close to Clayton and can be seen always doing something together. The dad seems to look upon Clayton with kindness. "...just run Clayton. I'll catch up later..."

Then there are images of an older boy. He somewhat resembles Clayton. He is well built. The scenes of him fighting are breathtaking, moving with absolute speed and grace. He seems to always be towering and looking to the side, away. "...just go, Clayton. Just go and hide until it's all over..."

The one that pops up the most is a young girl with blond hair. She always wears a stern and neutral, sometimes sad, look on her face. Her scenes are quite positive compared to the rest. She is often seen close, always holding on, just enjoying the feeling the sensation of skin on skin. "...I want to be with you. Always..."

Various acts of brutality and violence occasionally scattered across the illusionary sphere. Sometimes it becomes the dominating theme. Decapitations, spinal severing, throats slits, people burning in acid and fire alive, explosions, blood and poison gas everywhere, all seen, all heard, all smelt, many happening in his POV, many of them he commits. Acts of brutal violence even start happening to the people in his memories.

Even a brief glance at this spherical collage of images and garbled sounds tells a story of boy always knee deep in violence. War and death an inescapable aspect of his life. Clayton seems to try to crowd this out by thinking about his garden and the flowers he planted. But even they grow out of corpses and drink blood that falls from the sky. Most just wither and die, sometimes into more screaming bodies. The smell of flowers and fresh rain fight and mix with the smells of death, blood and poison. The sphere is a struggle between his sweet memories and dreams and horrible nightmares of his reality.   

Mother can briefly see her own face, warped in a way only a paranoid dream can warp a face.Very intrigued by the illusions, Mother was completely pulled into the story they seemed to play out of this child's life, but then all of the sudden her insides begin to scream. She realizes once more where she is standing: in poison. She forces herself out of the trance. Mother hurries down the stairs with Clayton in her arms.   

At the bottom of the stairs she set him down, and brings her hand up to her chest to mutter, "Esuna". Her body seems to flush out the poisons, only to be begin slowly refilling again. She picks the boy up and walks with him deeper into the room, so that gas doesn't interact with the chemicals/alchemy he mixes up. Mother spots two dead people lying on the ground. Not even a bit surprised. She spots a table, Mother walks towards it. When she reaches the table, she pushes aside all items and lays him on the table.   

Mother takes all his items: Blades, bombs, what ever he has, and lays them down gentle resting on the ground near Clayton. Feeling her self get dizzy. She places her hand on her chest again."Share lives with all things in nature... Regen!" After casting her blessing, Mother sits down and places her hands in her lap, waiting for Clayton to awake.