Final Fantasy RP Chapter 4

[Truce]

Extra info: After Fein collapsed N'Revat withdrew Ciaran and sent forward other generals to deal with a resistance that was quickly gaining members. They have trouble finding them though, as the troops are mostly in tune with the land and the animals.

One month ago Ripel, after a small "talk" with General Ciaran, had agreed to a mission in exchange for the lives of his friends, and for some reason, a N'Revat white mage and a thief that had appeared during the conversation. Now he was in Preos, the N'Revat capitol, and just was posted today (through Ciaran's influence) as one of the king's (who also happened to be named Preos) guards. The aforementioned white mage (as part of the deal) was his guide around the city. As for the thief, he and Blyr had decided to come along, unwilling to leave their friends behind.

At the moment Ripel meeting with Ciaran in the general's mansion going over the details of what they were supposed to do once again just before he reported for duty at the castle. Carolina, the white mage, was there too, seeing as she was now Ripel's guide, but she wasn't allowed to know the real purpose of the mission. The others, Blyr and the thief, Ark, were supposed to wait in a room as they had no real part in the mission.

[LilWhiteMage]

Carolina stood quietly in the large room while the two men discussed many different things, most of which were dealing with matters concerning what Ripel was supposed to do. Heck if she knew what all it was. All she knew was that from now until she was told otherwise, she was to be Ripel's guide to anything and everything in N'revat.

Oh well. At least it was better than anything that might have happened because of the whole trespassing on the airship deal.

She covered up a small yawn, quickly shaking her head to wake herself up and look at least halfway decent in front of General Ciaran, after he had been the one to allow her to accompany Ripel, though it had been Ripel's idea in the first place.

It's kinda weird that he'd just ask someone he doesn't even know to help him. Oh well. I'll play tour guide if it means staying alive.

[Forever Zero]

OOC: I assume the rest of us will be re-introduced into the new plot as it goes along?

[Darth SS]

Arc looked down from the rafters. He absent-mindedly was flipping a throwing knife around.

Mentally, he laughed at them. They thought they'd found all of his stuff. What they hadn't known was how easy some of it was to just remake. And they'd also thought that they'd set up a fool proof guard on the room. Heating ducts were wonderful things, especially since he could now get back to the room in about 20 seconds flat.

He watched the general. blab on and on in between, and sometimes during, bites of chicken that couldn't be healthy.

Would it be so hard for them to just say what they want to say?

[Krylo]

Jareth stood with his arms crossed behind his back looking over a map of the castle as he discussed his plans with Ripel occasionally pointing to a place on the map to illustrate a point.

Ciaran spoke in hushed tones, nearly whispering to be sure Carolina didn't hear, to the blue mage who stood near him. "After breakfast the target should be here," Ciaran pointed to a place on the map before continuing, "which has only one entrance or exit and it will only be guarded by one person. This would be the best time. Afterward..." He traced a finger along a quick route to the castle stables, which, unfortunately involved passing a few guards on the way. "You're going to have to hope you aren't found out until you can make it here..." His finger tapped on one of the stalls in the stables as his sentenced finished. The volume of Ciaran's voice then increased and he looked directly at the White Mage standing against the furthest wall, where he had directed her to wait earlier. "Come over here." He waved her over to the table.

(OOC: Edited slightly, information is all exactly the same... just stated a bit differently)

[cruelty13]

OOC: I'm in Preos too. Is it now one month after 3? I geuss so

Elyse (I don't know about Luce) had travelled into Preos. She was walking down the street and thinking. She was smiling. No one knew, not even Luce, that she was once again in her homeland. Her grandfather, had been on the side of N'revat in the last war. Saddly he was forced to join Rab after an interrogation. There he had quikly risen in ranks and was soon an owner of a mansion. Her father had grown acustomed to Rab. In her childohood, Elyse heard the story of her heritage from her father. She heard it only once, but it was burned into her memory. She knew, she wanted to live in N'revat. But first, shed have to establish a new mansion and swich sides. Half was done. Her smile grew. She walked along and into the office of a landmass seller.

[Mr. Viewtiful]

Blyr was sitting on a couch, looking really relaxed. He didn't really know why they were here, but he knew it had something to do with the deal Ripel made with Cieran a few weeks ago. After that, the N'revat were awefully nice to him, even though Blyr made quite a few holes in their (Elyse's) airship. I think they're so afraid of the general, they don't want me to complain...but still, this doesn't seem right...

What am I fighting for now? Blyr thought. Well, I guess I am not exactly fighting right now, am I? But still...what cause do I have? All I have now is the clothes on my back, my sword, and my chocobo. Who knows what happened to my village... He adjusted his position on the couch. Well, I guess I'm just fighting for myself...and my comrades... He sighed. Cheer up, things aren't as bad as they seem.

He started to whistle to himself, wondering what would happen next...

[IHateMakingNames]

OOC: I think Dante and I just pop up where we please...

[Truce]

ooc-As a precaution the target is simply referred to a target. It could be anything, a noble, a safe, anything.

He hated to have dragged the others into this. He was about to do a something he would rather not, and he didn't want anyone to be involved when they didn't need to be. However, it was the only way to save his friends, and he knew what Ciaran would have done to Carolina and Ark had he not done something.

Ciaran didn't seem the type to believe in mercy or light punishment. He saw the man as ruthless, quick, and efficient, and would've had dealt a sentence that was quite like him. Though he didn't know the two at the time he didn't feel like just letting them die, no matter what they had done.

Shaking these thoughts out of his head he focused at the task at hand. He was here for a briefing. "General, can you go over once more on exactly how I'm going to get close to the target. I know several of your troops have been temporarily placed to guard it, but only the king's most loyal troops are allowed close.

"Recognition isn't much of a problem, I could simply say I defected. Carolina here can also say you're having her watch over me in case I am not totally loyal, and as an extra precaution we'll have official notices from you.

"Still, unless you were there yourself we would not be allowed close enough to the target to complete the mission."

[Darth SS]

There was a light banging sound as Ark scurried out of the vent and back into the room. "I give up. They just keep rattling on and on and on. Oh, and there was a mouse that had been crawling all over me." He sighed, and plopped down on a chair.

[Mr. Viewtiful]

Blyr saw Arc, and wondered Hey, I'll ask him. Maybe that'll put my mind at ease.

"Hey, Arc, what cause are you fighting for?"

[LilWhiteMage]

Carolina flinched slightly as she heard the rattling above them, just knowing on a whim that it was probably Ark trying to listen in on everything. She let out a sigh, then realized that Ciaran had addressed her. "Oh... yessir."

She made her way over to the table, holding both of her hands folded in front of her. "You wanted me General?" She glanced over to Ripel, and would have given a friendly smile, yet she just tried to keep a straight face in front of Ciaran. He didn't seem like the kind of guy that would like that kind of thing...

[Krylo]

Ciaran nodded. It was a reasonable question, and the single most difficult part of the mission. Unfortunately, it would require a bit of work on Ripel's part. The general pointed to the entrance to the study. "There should be two guards here, you'll have to get rid of them somehow. I don't care how you do it... but make sure that they don't know you went into the room. Inside the room there should be one more guard with the target, this one you're going to have to either put to sleep, knock unconcious, or kill... otherwise he'll have the castle alerted before you can escape... unless you think you can be assigned to guard the target for that time of the day." Ciaran shrugged. He doubted it was possible for Ripel to get much closer to the target than he already was, at least not without far more time in preperation than would be worth making. As such, he doubted getting that guard position would be possible.

Ciaran looked up from the map as Carolina came over and nodded, moving his hand to point to the stables. "Yes, I want you to be waiting here for Ripel and have a horse ready to ride. Two if you're a skilled rider yourself, and be ready to guide Ripel back to my mansion immediately upon his arrival, understood?"

[Darth SS]

Arc sighed. "Well, I never wanted to fight. Just keep myself alive, and make up for what I've done. Now it's mostly morality. That, or my friends. Which I only have one of, but that's completely beside the point."

[LilWhiteMage]

"Oh..." Carolina took a quick glance at the map, recognizing where the stables were that Ciaran was pointing out. She nodded quickly. "Yessir, I understand. I'll have a pair of horses ready for us."

[Mr. Viewtiful]

"Really?" Blyr raised an eyebrow. "Only one friend? It seems you've ran into more trouble than I assumed you would. It must be tough, having only one person to depend on."

He rose, strolled over to where Arc was sitting, and said: "I'll watch your back, if you watch mine."

[Forever Zero]

Dezil had drifted away from his job as Chief Engineer for the N'Revat Kingdom since accepting the position as Commander of the N'Revat Magitek Armored Division, but he still found time to tinker and think of new ideas, and occasionally pass them by his old apprentices back in the workshop. He was currently walking through the Magitek Barracks however, making sure that proper upkeep was being maintained and that they would always be ready. After he got into his office, he found a letter, and fumed as he learned it was another rejection from one of those pompous blowhards that had taken control now that peace was back on. He had been working on a new weapon in the workshop, and had most of the design thought out, but this machine, like all the others he had been suggesting, was rejected by the idiot in charge because he didn't think it was necessary. He dropped the paper on the floor and shot it with his Magitek pistol, which shot a fireball and reduced the paper to a scorch and ash. He couldn't take it anymore! Those incompetant idiot didn't know the first thing about engineering or technology, yet felt that they should be in charge of what was and wasn't necessary. Some of his designs weren't even combat devices, but civilian machines to improve the quality of life and efficiency of the N'Revat people, and they rejected those too! He began to pace in his office, then simply flopped down in his chair and sighed, once again coming to the conclusion that getting angry wouldn't help, and after getting a drink of whiskey from his drawer and relaxing, he began to work on all the mindless drivel he had been assigned for today.

[Truce]

ooc-The next time I post or the time after that will be when the chaos, and most of the action, shall start. Ripel will either get caught/seen, Ciaran is receives an unexpected 'visitor', Ripel succeeds, or a mix of the three.

Ripel nodded. "That settles everything...except for the horses here. Me and my friends will have to escape soon afterwards you know. Me and Blyr both have chocobo, however the other two will either ride with us or get their own steeds.

"The second option sounds more doable, I'd rather not burden Boco with another person. It would only tire out my chocobo even quicker.

"It won't take long before word spreads out that the target is gone, and it'll take less time for people to resort to fighting, wether seeking revenge or advantage in this situation. I don't doubt you'll be one of these people, so I don't have to warn you. However, don't let my friends come into any danger, okay?"

Sighing, he turned towards the door. "Carolina, it's time for me to go. As you know you won't be guiding me there first so you have some free time before you have get into position.

"Tell the others I've already left," he added before making his exit.

[Krylo]

Ciaran nodded at Ripel as he left and smirked. Everything was going perfectly according to plan, now he just had to hope that Ripel wasn't totally incompetent. Of course, if Ripel got caught, Ciaran would simply resort to using his underground connections. He would have to... because there is no doubt the man would be connected to him by the authorities. 'Oh well... Hopefully it won't come to that...'

Blyr and Ark were speaking between each other when Ciaran entered the waiting room, his hands crossed behind his back, and the smirk still on his face. He spoke calmly, there was no reason for him not to... he was confident as ever, "Ripel and Carolina have left. I expect them back before noon. In the mean time you may help yourselves to breakfast, but you should prepare to leave. I believe you'll want to exit the city quite quickly upon their return."

[IHateMakingNames]

As Ripel left, he passed Cecil coming into the room.

OOC: I'm not sure where the waiting room is, since I would assume it would be connected to the exit, but apparently Ripel didn't go that way...

[Dante]

OOC: And Dante has picked up a follower...

"Dan-dan, where are we going now?"

Again? The curiosity of some children...

Dante turned and looked down at the girl following him. She was young, little more than seven, and she still had the innocence and naivete of that age.

She probably doesn't even know...

And that's why you keep her around, right?

What did I say about shutting the hell up, Etrigan?

Nothing that I paid attention to, Dante. Kill her and end the charade. You don't belong in a world like this.

I can fit in. I will. Even with you around my neck.

Nonsense. You are kalesh-nai, unclean. You were, you still are, and you will ever be. You could confront your fears, your oppressors now, scatter them away upon the winds of your power... but instead you choose to wander the countryside with this little whelp. Stop running for once. Face it.

Shut up, just shut up!

The throbbing began again, and Dante had to stop as one hand flew up to steady his temple. In his mind he saw himself again, great and terrible, wielding magics the likes of which the world had never seen, bending the earth and sky to his command in a burning world, revelling in the blood, the fire, the REVENGE

Become who you were meant to be.

Then a small hand tugged on his simple cotton shirt.

"Dan-dan, what's wrong?"

His vision cleared, and as he looked down he saw only a small girl who followed him.

"Dan-dan, what's wrong?"

He struggled to focus, then shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing, Rin. Just... a slight headache."

He reached down and took her hand, then urged her gently on.

"Come on, Rin, the next town's just a while ahead."

"Are we going to fly again like last time, Dan-dan?"

"No, I don't think so. It might scare people. But walking's fast too... we'll be there in no time."

"But I'm tired..."

"There... I'll carry you."

He swept Rin up and onto his shoulders, then continued walking, oblivious to the increased burden. Every time he saw her, he remembered...

It had been just a month ago, after he had left Fein, with no destination in mind. He'd done odd jobs at farms, lifting carts and other heavy objects, helping them reap the grain (no problem with supersonic air blades) and fend off the occasional wolf or bandit attack. It had been relatively uneventful, he'd gotten to see some of the most beautiful sights in the country, and he'd learned a little more about the world.

Until that night. The night when Rin had brought him home to her parents.

The village they stayed in had been attacked by bandits halfway during dinner. True to form, Dante had destroyed them in a flare of blood and magic. He had returned to the table, expecting at least a little gratitude like the others had shown him after he had helped them. He received a pitchfork in the back, along with screams of "Demon" and "Devil". And that, in turn had brought back even older memories...

Memories of the betrayal.

Etrigan (the name of the other entity inside him) took control of him again, and when his orgy of destruction was over, not a single person in the village was left standing. The only exception was Rin. He had expected her to run, to flee, to scream, cry and in the end, die. She did nothing of the sort, instead toddling up to him and looking at him with those soulful brown eyes. And he knew, at that moment, that this might be his only chance to redeem himself. For the slaughter of his parents. For the countless lives he had taken during the war. For everything.

And so, Rin followed him around, never once talking about her parents, never once asking him about who he was or what he planned to do. She just followed him.

You'll kill her too. It always ends that way. Everyone you know will die at your hands-

You bore me, Etrigan. Your place has already been taken. There is no room for you here.

You'll put her down someday. And when you do, I'll be waiting. Waiting for you to beg me to take over. And I will enjoy taking your life and watching you die like so many others.

But Dante paid the voice no heed, and instead began to quietly sing a travelling song he had heard in a tavern once.

"... The road goes ever on and on..."

[LilWhiteMage]

Carolina nodded to Ripel, following him out and into the hallway. She started towards the room that Arc and Blyr were, only to find that Ciaran had beat her to it. She figured he was going to go in and tell them that they would be leaving soon, and just decided to head out on her own for the while that she could be alone.

I wonder what they were talking about... a target... I probably shouldn't worry about it. Though, we're to leave as soon as... no, I'm not going to bother worrying over this. It's not my place to question the general when he allowed me to live.

[Truce]

Dressed in N'revat uniform he easily made his way towards the study. He was sure of where he was going, he only stopped just at the corner where his hall and the hall towards the study so that he wouldn't be seen, and questioned, by the entrance guards.

He sure had a predicament. The hallway was always left empty, and it would be hard for them not to see him sneaking about. However, he was prepared.

Blue Magic he had learned from his father. However, his mother had taught him the skills of a beastmaster. With that and Ripel's foresight in mind it isn't hard to expect that Ripel had had a plan.

You see, there were vermin in this castle just like most other dwellings of this size. He could control them to an extent. Enough for him to distract the guards.

With a whistle inaudible to human ears he summoned forward most of the castle's rats. Needless to say, there were a lot, and a while most of them were small together they made one reasonably size 'herd'.

They all gathered at the opposite end of the hallway before attacking en mass the guards. Though surprised, they quickly fought them back, and as the rats began to retreat the two chased them off.

Knowing they wouldn't be gone for long he immediately headed right before the chamber. He paused, knowing what laid beyond the door. He closed his eyes as he focused as he concentrated on one of his newer learned abilities. As he finished gathering the necessary energy he entered.

When he opened the door the guard turned his head to see a pair of yellow eyes gaze back at him. The knight could only yell in surprise as his body turned into stone.

Before his spell had even finished he turned to his target, the king, who was in a petrified state of shock. Despite all the damage he had caused, all the damage he would cause, Ripel could not help but pity the man in the state he had been reduced to.

With this single action N'Revat would become a place of chaos. The king had no heirs, and with his death a power struggle would undoubtedly occur, one which he was sure Ciaran would take advantage of.

He knew it was inevitable with people like the general controlling most of the politics of the country, but despite that he hated that is was his hand that would bring about this chaos.

Still, it was saving his friends, and quite possibly his country. Feelings aside, he knew he only had one choice in this matter.

Ripel never did like murder...but, this was something he needed to do. "I'm sorry," he said as he once again focused his mind for another spell. "At least you won't feel this."

A minute later he left the room, not even bothering to close the door. Hearing footsteps, probably belonging to the returning guards, he ran off, heading for the stables. I...I just want to get out of here.

ooc-As you can guess, King Preos was the target and Ripel just assinated him.

[Forever Zero]

OOC: :rmage: DUN DUN DUNNNN!

[cruelty13]

Back at the day fore thet night. Elyse walked out the door of the landseller. She had just bargained of a farmland for a reasonable price. She walked on down the road. Her plan was to build a factory there. A big factory producing silk, yewlery and other stuff like that. Also, she had recently had a great idea. She should let someone build a machine to think unsing magitech. That would ease work and make lives simpler. But more to that later. She walked into a tailors shop. She just took a look and walked on. She went into her in and slept the night. It was the best in ofcourse. Next morning, she went out and something was wrong. It was gloomy. And then suddenly a herald walked down the street and exclaimed that the king was dead.

[Mr. Viewtiful]

this is occurring during Ripel's mission

Once again, Blyr was in deep meditation in the waiting room. It was tough, because Arc and Carolina were apparently fighting about something, but he still concentrated.

The village elder had taught him several abilities, one of them he was using right now. Okay, Rip...what are you doing? Feeling all the souls and spirits of the people and places, Blyr searched for his friend's essence.

After a while, he found an approximate location of where he was. The castle? What could you be doing there? The skill he was using allowed him to feel the thoughts and intentions of someone, but only to a certain degree. When Ripel used his blue magic, Blyr could take a glimpse into his feelings, for only a brief second.

Heh, his sense of duty is still there. At least he's not drunk...hmm, uncertainty. Ripel is always confident with himself. He's never like this...

Blyr never expected this, but he felt a dear life fade away near his friend. The death, combined with the strong emotion of his friend, felt like a dagger to Blyr's very essence. Blyr's meditation-state ended, as he winced in pain.

Blyr fell off the couch he was on. Ignoring the fact he disturbed his comrades, he got up and ran for the stable, where Toc was resting. He whispered "C'mon, Toc. Ripel's in trouble!"

[Forever Zero]

Dezil was doing his paperwork when suddenly one of his soldiers ran in and shouted, "Commander Dezil, the king was just assasinated!"

Dezil jumped up and said, "What?! What happened?"

The soldier replied, "No one knows yet sir, a mage of some sort apparently was able to draw the guards away and kill the king and his personal bodyguard. Everything is going insane, what do we do?!"

Dezil thought for a moment and said, "We don't want this situation to get out of hand and we have to try to get control before the kingdom falls into chaos. Summon every Magitek trooper you can get a hold of and send messengers after all the others. Assemble as fast as possible, but in thirty minutes, I want every one here to activate their armor and head out to try to keep the piece. I'll give a finalbriefing before we go, now get moving!" The soldier gave a quick salute and took off.

Dezil leaned back in his chair and thought about the effects this would have on the nation, and then realized the total effects of this. <There is no heir, their will be a power struggle for the new leadership. And what's to prevent me from becoming the next leader...> Dezil realized. He began to think about the possibilities and if he even wanted to go through with this.

[Dante]

OOC: Who are you talking to?

[LilWhiteMage]

I think whoever it was deleted it after he posted... o_o; *shrug*

After seeing the general leave the room, Carolina went into the room to tell the two boys basically the same thing, but somehow it ended up with her getting into a large arguement with Ark.

Suddenly, Blyr had just fallen off the couch and made a dash out of the room. She stopped for a brief moment, raising a brow. "Hn?" She thought for a second, then yelped panickly. "Gah! I'm supposed to be at the stables by now!" She ran out a few minutes after Blyr, heading towards the stables near the castle.

Along the way there, she realized something odd was going on. There were an awful lot of castle personel out searching the streets, which was strange for this place. In all her times coming here when she was young, she'd never seen something like this happen. She slowed her run down to a quick walk, catching a few words from one of the men that had passed. "The king..."

Carolina stopped for a moment. "The king?" She thought back quickly. Ciaran had been talking about a target, and how when Ripel was finished with the target, he was supposed to meet her at the stables. "It couldn't be that...."

She resumed her walk towards the stables, worry growing down in her stomach that this had to do with Ripel. As she reached the stables, she was stopped by a pair of men from the Royal Guard. "Halt! No one is allowed in the stables."

"But I..."

"No buts, miss. The king was just assassinated, and NOONE is allowed to leave from this area."

Oh gods....

[Dante]

OOC: Incidentally Ecurt, thanks for the hook... I won't do anything with it yet, but I assume the killler won't be caught so soon, right?

[Mr. Viewtiful]

Blyr, mounted on his chocobo, was about to leave when he noticed that some guards were posted in front of the exit. Great. How can I get out now?

He looked up and noticed a loose beam above the entrance. Wait...that's a good idea!

He thrust out his hand, and the board, responding to his geomancy, fell down on the guards. They didn't know what hit them, but they really couldn't do anything about, since the beam knocked them both unconcious.

That went well...huh? Then he noticed Carolina looking at Blyr from outside the stable. Woah...I wouldn't have done that if I knew she was right there. I could have hit her on accident...

[LilWhiteMage]

After the dust had settled, Blyr could clearly see Carolina there, staring blankly at him, her face white as a ghost nearly.

A few moments after the initial shock, Carolina came back to, seeing Blyr there on his chocobo. "By the gods...." She carefully made her way over the debris and unconcious guard and to him. "There's big trouble going on.... The king's been assassinated..." She reached up and petted the chocobo out of habit. "And I'm afraid it had something to do with Ripel... General Ciaran kept mentioning a 'target' after he had told me to wait here."

[Mr. Viewtiful]

I knew it...Rip, what have you gotten yourself into?

Blyr told Carolina: "Now, we have two choices. We can try to find Ripel and help him, or we can run off and forget about it.

"I don't know what you and Arc are going to do, but I'm going to do everything in my power to get my friend out of this. He did the same for me, as well as you, and I plan on returning the favor."

He and Toc got ready to leave as soon as possible, but Blyr wanted to wait for Carolina's decision. I can use all the help I can get, but time is something I don't really have right now.

[LilWhiteMage]

"....."

Carolina looked down for a minute in thought, then looked back at him.

"I'm supposed to be waiting with a ride for Ripel here. You go on ahead and get Ark and get out of here before they start to completely lock down this place." She started towards the stable where Boko was. "I'll make sure Ripel gets out. I know a few ways we can take if the guards have the main throughways blocked by then."

[Dante]

Meanwhile... in the N'Revat High Tower of Sorcery...

The black wizard master ran, as though he were an apprentice. Indeed, he would have farmed the job out to one of his underlings, but he doubted the grandmaster wizard would approve of such a lack in sincerity. He reached the foot of a massive black throne and fell to one knee.

"Grand Master Gai, I bring terrible news. The king has been assassinated by forces unknown."

The wizened old man upon the obsidian throne opened his eyes.

"So I have seen. Have you any clues as to who his assailant was?"

"All we know is that he used magic, very powerful petrification magic. And apparently, he used stealth to gain entrance to the castle. Could it be-"

"Yes, it certainly could. Even if it was not him, we need to eliminate him before he becomes a thorn in our side. Already he has slain two of the High Council, and quite a number of our better recruits as well. Gather the Inner Circle. Tell them to prepare for battle. Inform the Tower that Gai is on the Hunt."

Saying so, the grand master wizard levitated himself off the throne, his scrying globe still floating serenely over his left palm. If one were to look inside, one could see a couple of figures, one large, one small.

Dante and Rin.

"So, you have acquired a follower, have you now? No matter... we shall see how mighty you are once the Inner Circle and I begin work on you..."

[Darth SS]

A hand landed on Carolina's shoulder. "No way I'm leaving without making sure you're gonna' get away safely." He looked at Blyr. "You ride on. There's countless ways to get out of a palace, but try to hang around the river. I'll meet up with you there. Most likely by crawling out of a window."

[LilWhiteMage]

"GAH!" She whipped around quickly as she felt the hand hit her shoulder, landing a nice little slap across Ark's face. "Er..." She cringed slightly as she saw it was just Ark. "Sorry... you shouldn't scare me like that."

Boko tilted his head slightly, letting out a confused wark.

"Ark, I'll be fine on my own. I'm NOT a little girl anymore, okay?"

[Darth SS]

"Well, yes. I'm pretty sure we established that a few days ago." He winked at Carolina.

He looked at Blyr. "Okay, fine. I'll go with you." He looked back at Carolina. "Get yourself killed...and I'll do something bad to your corpse." He hoppped onto the chocobo. "Okay, let's go."

[LilWhiteMage]

Carolina's face turned beet red, and she would have slapped him again if it hadn't been for the fact that he had turned away from her.

She turned and began to undo the hatch to Boko's stable, leading the chocobo out before getting one of her own to ride.

"Get yourself killed...and I'll do something bad to your corpse."

Carolina glared back at him. "Two words. You're disgusting." She mounted the older chocobo, holding Boko's reign in her hand. "I'll wait here for a few minutes longer, and if Ripel hasn't shown up by then, I'm gonna go out and look for him. I guess we'll meet up again soon."

[Darth SS]

"I meant cremate it. Don't know what you were thinking of. Oh, and you're cute when you're blushing."

[Forever Zero]

Dezil had assembled all his troopers and issued the briefing. The Magitek troopers were to keep everyone in their homes, and to try to keep the streets clear. Anyone who resisted would be imprisoned, and the Magiteks would do their best to keep the peace without resorting to violence, although it was the final solution if nothing else worked. Dezil suited up, along with the others, and soon most of the Magitek army of N'Revat was patrolling the streets, keeping the assasination from turning into a full scale panic, but also awaiting further orders from Dezil and ready for any attempts to take the throne by force from others.

Dezil took a squad of six Magitek armored soldiers and headed to the palace, to defend it from trouble, to try and learn more about what happened, and to see if he could catch the ones that did this. He had heard magic was involved, so he had ordered all the Magiteks in the city to have full Anti-Magic Fields going while on the patrol, and Dezil's squad was no exception as the headed ot the palace at full speed.

[LilWhiteMage]

"You're gonna think 'cute' when you find my fist upside your head if you keep blurting stuff outloud." She snapped at him, but quieted down as she heard something. "Huh?"

She rode her chocobo forward a bit, looking out into the street, only to see a squad of Magiteks heading that way. "Oh crap. We've got trouble coming." Carolina glanced back at the two men. "You two better go on, back exit. Looks like we won't have much time to get out of here if we don't hurry."

[Darth SS]

"Yes dear. Blyr? Let's go."

[IHateMakingNames]

A cloaked figure jumped down from the rafters of the stables, landing infront of Boko. The cloak hide all of his features, and his face was covered in shadows.

He turned to Carolina, since she seemed to be in charge. "I was hired by Ciaran to... Assist you all to get out."

OOC: I'm bored, and couldn't find a good way to get in...

[LilWhiteMage]

Boko let out a startled squawk, jumping up slightly and flapping his wings at the stranger.

"Whoa!" Carolina jumped down from her chocobo and tried to calm Boko down. She pulled the bird's head down close, stroking it gently as she looked towards the cloaked man. "General Ciaran hired you? Then maybe you can explain exactly what's going on..."

[IHateMakingNames]

"King's dead, Magitek aren't letting anyone leave anywhere."

[LilWhiteMage]

"I KNEW that much..." Carolina narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "What I meant is do you know whether the king is dead because of Ripel...?"

[Mr. Viewtiful]

Just wondering, are Ark and Blyr gone before IHMN's character appears?

[IHateMakingNames]

OOC: I would doubt it, since Magitek Armors are guarding most buildings, not letting anyone leave...

[Truce]

ooc-Nope, Ripel won't be caught as the assasin. I do find it interesting that Dante's getting the blame. :D

You know, after having gone through the 'hard' part, taking care of the few guards along the way (it was a good thing I kept the guns), and finally making it to the stable you would've thought that I could rest.

No. Not at all.

Where was Carolina? I didn't care she wasn't here, because royal guards have been posted, but I wondered if she had been caught. If she was caught then the others would probably be too, and they all would suffer.

Even if they weren't captured he was sure that at least Blyr would try something stupid and try to save him.

I couldn't let that happen to any of them.

A Magitek unit had started to patrol the area around the stable...

"What the? Aagh!"

"Sorry," he said, throwing out the unconscious pilot of the Magitek Armor. "I need to borrow this."

Ripel may not have been trained extensively on Magitek Armor, but he had been trained in the basics in the past month. He knew how to move it, and how to use the basic elemental beam attacks. Luckily, he wouldn't need to use any of those.

"You there!" he yelled in a somewhat commanding voice as he approached the pair of guards. "I found an intruder posing as one of our soldiers around. I knocked him out, so you guys take him to the prison while I guard this post."

"Yessir!" They said quickly, not to intimidated to notice that Ripel's uniform was wrong. "We'll get on that right away!" The pair ran off to find the soldier he had just knocked out earlier.

As they left Ripel smiled to himself. Well, now that that is done I should probably get going. Nodding to himself, he headed into the street.

Maybe he could find the others before something bad happened. Why is it, whenever I say or think that something either blows up or smashes into the ground or me?

[Mr. Viewtiful]

oh... I forgot that detail...good thing I asked first

"Relax, man!" Blyr told his chocobo. Toc was ready to leave at any second, and wanted to get there fast, mostly because he wasn't used to holding two riders at once.

Time to asses the situation...we have a cloaked figure, most likely a mercenary, helping us get out of here. That means leaving Ripel behind...I can't do that.

Blyr hopped of his chocobo and addressed the cloaked man. "Look, my friend is somewhere near the castle, and I intend on rescuing him. Now, did Cieran hire you to help us do that, or just get us out? I don't want to leave until I know he's going to be safe."

[IHateMakingNames]

OOC: I say we have some fun...

The cloaked figure looked out of the stable doors, and saw a Magitek coming towards them (And lets say it just happen to be Ripel's, shall we?) Quickly, he pushed Carolina, along with anyone else near the door, away from it. From underneath his cloak, he pulled out a large Claymore, then waited at the door of the stable for the Magitek to get closer. "Shut up." He said to whoever had asked him something.

[Mr. Viewtiful]

I'm with you on that, it's funner that way :cool:

The cloaked man pushed Blyr on the opposite side of the stable. Blyr drew his longsword as the man drew his claymore. I can hear the Magitek coming...I hope it doesn't have an anti-magic field...or any weapons, for that matter. I've never fought one of these before, and I don't intend on fighting one now.

[Truce]

Well, he hadn't expected this. They were all in the stable. With an odd cloaked man. Well, they aren't in danger.

Relieved, he sighed and moved closer. Waving his arm sorta sheepishly, he laughed weakly. "Hi guys...what are you all doing here?"

Elsewhere, while Ripel was rejoining was his group, Ciaran was planning something back at the mansion.

He would have been grinning from ear to ear as he watched the chaos and the panicking people, except he had to maintain his villainous look. Instead, he simply chuckled to himself as he ordered the troops around him.

Under his command were his loyal troops from the army as well as the not so honorable members of society that joined his forces as time passed. At the moment he had an army that was bigger than just about any other general had.

He also had, thanks to Dezil's designs, Magitek Armor and guns as an advantage over most of his rival's soldiers. "Go!" He commanded, pointing towards the castle. "Place it under my control. Destroy anyone and everyone who stands in my way. Noone can beat us."

Cheering, his army charged.

[IHateMakingNames]

OOC: I said inside the stable...

[LilWhiteMage]

Well, Carolina was close to the entrance anyways, so I guess we could just say he saw her from the entrance before you pushed her further in


"Wark!!" Boko squawked angrily as pushed Carolina in the back of the stable with the others. "Hey! Wasn't that Ripel though?" Carolina tried to hold the angry chocobo back from the cloaked stranger. "We can get out of here now.."

[Mr. Viewtiful]

"It's good to see you, Rip!" Blyr emerged from the stable with a smile on his face. As he said this, he heard some Magitek plodding from the mansion.

"Get down!" the cloaked figure yanked both friends into the stable.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me..." Blyr mumbled, "How are we going to get out of here?"

[Darth SS]

"We could do it my way, but I somehow doubt you can climb as well as me."

[IHateMakingNames]

"Or, we can do it the easy way." The cloak figure walked outside, as a magitek came up up to the stables.

The Magitek warrior looked down at the cloaked figure, then aimed his Magitek cannon at him. "Go back inside, it's an order."

The cloak figure laughed, then charged forward. Before the Magitek could do anything, the cloaked man was already infront of him, and swung horizontaly. The Magitek was cut in half, and the top half flew off, landing nearby. The soldier controlling it quickly got out of the cockpit, then ran away, screaming for backup.

The cloaked man looked at his Claymore. It was now bented and bent. Sighing, he threw it to the side, enbedding it in a building. Then he turned to the group. "Easy. We walk out."

[Mr. Viewtiful]

Blyr was in awe of what the cloaked man did. He pounded his fist into his other, and grinned. "Yeah, I like that plan already!"

[Darth SS]

"Castle walls man."

[IHateMakingNames]

"I don't even know why you would want to get into the castle at this time... But my goal is to get the Blue Mage out, your all expandable." Cloak, as he shall now be dubbed, walked over to Ark. "Since you seem to be the dumbest one here, give me your weapon."

[Darth SS]

"Which one man?"

[IHateMakingNames]

"All of them." Cloak said, taking a look at Ark, figuring he was worthless with them.

[Darth SS]

"Sorry man, no can do. That would involve revealing a lot more of myself than I'm at liberty to right now. Now, are we going to leave? I can make a very huge distraction."

[LilWhiteMage]

"Look, just give him one of them Ark. He's going to help us get out here... and he can clearly take care of those Magiteks." Carolina still petted Boko, glaring over to Ark.

[Truce]

He sighed, shaking his head as he jumped out of the armor. "I wish that you had not done that. People swinging swords and cutting Magitek technology in half attracts usually attention. At the moment I don't think it's best that we be in the limelight.

"We're trying to escape." He sighed, looking away. "As you know, the king has just been killed, and any suspicious acitivity would likely get people to be blaming us."

"I just want to get out of here...so no more fancy tricks, no more talking, let's just hurry up and get ready to leave. The original plan has been wreaked, so we'll just head towards the west gate. Unless you want to stay that is.

"I don't know about you guys, but I just want to go back home. It's been such a long time."

"In any case," he continued, unsheathing his shortsword, throwing it towards the cloaked man, "Take this. I don't really need it at the moment."

"Err...where's my ride? Don't tell me I have to ride in that hunk of junk the whole way."

[IHateMakingNames]

"Let more magitek come. I see no problem with that."

[LilWhiteMage]

Boko chirped happily, dashing past the others and nuzzling his owner.

"I've had him here waiting for you Ripel." Carolina looked over towards the man she had been charged with helping. "Please tell me that.. it wasn't you that killed the king..."

[Truce]

"It's nice to see you again Boco," he said while he mounted his chocobo, "I'm glad none of you were caught."

He sighed, then turning his attention to Carolina. "I'm no idealist, I do what I need to do, and I have no regrets. If I did life would just be a waste of time.

"I am sorry that I dragged you into this. After this is over, when we have made our escape, none of you wil have to see me again, and I'd understand.

"For now...let's just go. I'd rather not get caught now after all the trouble I've been through."

[Dante]

N'Revat had taken over Rab's small fleet of airships, and ahd rapidly customized them for their own use. One in particular, the Excelsior, was being held by the Black Tower. And today, it was going on its first sortie since the end of the war.

"Are we ready to leave?" the black master asked the airship's helmsman.

"Yes, sire. Any time you're ready."

Proceed.

The sound echoed in their minds. As one they replied, "Yes, my liege." Then, surprised by their unison, the black master walked out of the spacious pilot station, back to his own master on the bridge who sat upon a near-perfect replica of his seat in the Black Tower.

"Grand Master Bandon, why have we requisitioned this airship? In this state of emergency, we can ill afford the-"

"Silence. If you haven't noticed, we are hunting a dangerous fugitive. To make ourselves more credible, we need a symbol of authority, such as this Excelsior. When we return with the broken body of the assassin, we shall do so gloriously. Public opinion will support the return of magic academies, and that bastardization of our Art will be allowed to die its long slow death, eclipsed by our triumphant shadow. After all, where Science has failed, Magic will succeed."

Though he hardly agreed, the black wizard knew better than to voice his disapproval.

"I see, my liege. Your wisdom is absolute." He turned to leave, but was stopped by his master's ironic comment.

"When you dissent, do try to hide your thoughts better. I would hate to have to remove another one of the Council for treason."

The wizard blanched and fled the chamber. As he did, the entire vessel began rumbling as the new Magitek engines initialized their flight fields. Then the rumbling faded as the Excelsior took wing.

Its shadow passed over the stables as it left the city.

[LilWhiteMage]

Carolina looked down, then nodded, going over to the chocobo she had already had ready for herself. She climbed up on top of it, riding over to Ripel. "Alright then, we'll head out." She turned towards the cloaked stranger. "I'm guessing you'll be leading us out?"

You could just tell him no and leave now. No one would ever think that you were helping the person who assassinated the king.

But I can't just leave. He helped me and Ark when he didn't have to. I can at least repay the favor before I go.

"Huh?" She looked up, noticing a large shadow crossing over the ground outside, a rumbling sound passing overhead. "An airship?"

[Truce]

"I don't have to lead us out," he said, replying to her first comment. "As said before I just want to get out. This place...it's going to be engulfed in chaos soon."

Mostly due to me..

No, I can't think like that. No regrets, no looking back. Only the future.

But...what is a future without a past? The choices now affect the future

You know just as well as I due that I that was my only reasonable choice and...oh...just shut up. Mental arguments always ended up in headaches.

"Huh? An airship?"

He blinked, looking outside. "Gee...I knew they had been taken them to be customized, yet they already have one finished and ready?"

"Okay, enough is enough, let's go. We're further behind than I expected." Exiting the stable he motioned the others to follow him.

[LilWhiteMage]

"Come guys." She glanced back at Blyr and Ark, riding out into the open behind Ripel. Looking up, she saw the airship that had passed overhead. "Whoa..." She stared at the Excelsior in awe for a moment, then returned to her senses.

"Uhm... gotta think of the easiest way out of here..." Carolina glanced around, seeing more Magitek heading their way. "Follow me." She took off on the chocobo, heading down a side street.

[IHateMakingNames]

"Fastest way out is a straight line." Cloak said, point down the street at the main exit to the city.

[Forever Zero]

Dezil and his magitek squad had just gotten to the main street, since it was the fastest way to the palace, when he noticed a group of people on chocobos in the street. Seeing this as more than a little suspicious, Dezil said, "All of you, halt right there and identify yourselves."

[IHateMakingNames]

Cloak stood there, counting the number of Magitek.

OOC: How many are in a squad? And Ecurt, do I stand a chance? (I don't really know how powerful these Magitek are against something that doesn't use magic...)

[Mr. Viewtiful]

ForeverZero can handle this one: Do they have anti-magic fields? And would we (all our chars working as a team)

[Dante]

OOC: That's what he's about to find out, right? Not that it would be very asy... magitek seem to be suits of power-assisted exoskeletons with built in magic weaponry when their AM fields are turned off.

[Forever Zero]

OOC: The way I imagine the magiteks, there are six of them (I said that a while back, so I'm not just making up a number), they all have anti-magic shields now, including the six Dezil and his troops are using (they were all fitted with it since it was so useful, I mentioned that too). They only have their arm swords, their lasers, and their missiles with the field on, and can't use their lasers and missiles in melee for obvious reasons. Normally Magitek demolishes troops in melee combat, but they can be defeated by other Magitek, explosives, extreme physical damage (And I don't think "Cloak's" super strength would be enough to destroy them. He might get one, but the others would gang up on him) or take out the pilot with a physical attack or weapon. The last resort is obviously running, since Magitek armor is huge and can't go everywhere.

[LilWhiteMage]

Carolina pulled her chocobo to a stop, turning and looking at Dezil and his group of Magitek. "Well, any bright ideas on how to get us out of here, since you're supposedly here to help?" She muttered softly towards 'Cloak'.

[IHateMakingNames]

OOC: Let me ask you this way... If there were no anti-magic shields, how much of a chance would Dante stand?

[Forever Zero]

OOC: No shields? Dante would probably mop the floor with them by summoning up a wave of lightning to short circiut/ blow up the Magiteks. And before you perform some uber trick and knock out only the shields, they are part of the engines, so you would have to destroy the rest of the magitek getting there.

[Dante]

OOC: Hey, I didn't say anything!

That said, the lightning method is disturbingly similar to what I'd do to Magiteks...

[IHateMakingNames]

OOC: Was planning on just cutting one in half, using bent weapon (Or if what Cloak got was a knife) jump onto the cockpit to cockpit of Magitek and kill pilots themselves (Cloak is obviously faster then the armors). After killing, could make armor shot missle at other armors. Of course, then he got to Dezil, random plot event that prevents him from dieing...

[Forever Zero]

OOC: Don't know how you got involved, but what do you think a big, complicated, tough hunk of metal would hate? Lightning could get it hot enough to fuse the joints, melt vital and small circutry, and probably overload the engine if it was zapped long enough. That's generally why in the FF games robots always are weak against lightning.

EDIT OOC: Since I'm just as intereseted in seeing the plot advance as the rest of you, use lasers, unless Deamon want's to be known as 'shrapnel face' for detonating higly explosive missiles at point blank range...

[Truce]

Ripel looked around, taking into account the state of dress they were in. He himself was in N'Revat uniform, but everyone else (Except for Carolina) was not. Seeing their proximity to the castle, it did look suspiscious.

Still, quick thinking as he was, Ripel had a plan. "Ahem," he started, having Boco step forwart, "I am Ripel of the Royal guard, and this," he continued, motioned to the white mage, "Is Carolina, a friend of mine and a white mage in service of our country."

"I was questioning these folks here if they knew anything. You may continue on, I can handle things here."

I hope this works.

[Forever Zero]

Dezil glared at the uppity guard and said, "Hmph, a fine job your lot was doing protecting the king, and now your questioning people on the street? I want all of you to head back to the castle or your homes, and keep the streets clear until all the generals can convene a council and figure out what happened and how to elect a new king. The Magitek guards are keeping the peace so this doesn't all spiral out of control now."

[Truce]

Ripel smiled to himself as he saluted Dezil. "Yessir! I shall escort these people home and then return to the castle."

Turning to the others he said, "Follow me. I'll lead you all to the residential area."

Waving the others to come, he headed down one of the roads. Violence isn't always the way to solve every problem one comes upon.

[Forever Zero]

Dezil nodded, then ordered his troopers to continue to march to the palace. Now that they were on the main road, they should make it there in no time, the the Magitek was surprisingly fast when it reached full run.

[IHateMakingNames]

With a grunt, Cloak walked along with Ripel. "I could have dealt with them easily." Cloak was mad that he didn't get any action.

[LilWhiteMage]

"Yes, but we're not really wanting to direct a lot of attention to us." Carolina had her chocobo follow after Ripel. "The less attention we have, the better chances we all get out of here alive."

[Dante]

The airship cruised almost silently through the air, the hum of its engines swallowed up by the gale-force winds swirling around it.

Helmsman, are we at the designated location yet?

The pilot froze again. Hearing the voice of anyone in your head was disconcerting, to say the least, to speak nothing of Grandmaster Bandon himself.

He tapped the intercom and answered in a voice as trembly as the rest of him.

"Y...yes, my lord. We are within a mile of the spot you indicated."

Excellent. Have the scryers continue to pinpoint his exact location. I want him found. Gunnery teams, prepare a full broadside from the starboard Tek laser batteries. Inner Council, assemble in the central chamber. The hunt will reach its climax soon.

Bandon shifted his focus to abovedecks and smiled. This would be a good day.