A u r A • H e a r t Z : Introductory Arc ~ [ Lit. O / A ]

Epic battle is Epic!

Hale v Crimson FTW!	40.6%	[ 13 ]
Leonoka v Twins FTW!	18.8%	[ 6 ]
JuCien v Xanas FTW!	28.1%	[ 9 ]
Captains v AlaJi FTW!	3.1%	[ 1 ]
Recruits v AnLance FTW!	6.2%	[ 2 ]
Ocean Team v Juriza FTW!	3.1%	[ 1 ]
Total Votes:			[ 32 ]

[Q-Mo]

xxxxxxxxxxxx»»»» my name is . . .

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx☀ Jack : ☆ : Sanguine x↘↘x the freeFIREx ↘↘xxxxxxxxxx

→ tracking location . . . The Vengeance, The Lifestream

" I wish you'd just drop it. Nothing is precious to me. Got it? "

☆ t h o u g h t s x i n s i d e → o o c
Jack returns to being a jerk. All is well again.

....................................................... n e x u s . . . deactivated .......................................................

A fake smile...is that it?
Are you happy? You're not lying?
Locking it away isn't living wisely
Go with the flow...is that what you want?

"Well. I wouldn't have lasted long at making a living out of killing things if I wasn't... But you're not a bounty hunter are you? What's a kid like you doing with this kind of ability?" Shino however, went on speaking for the time probably not wanting to answer the question; Jack shook his head with a rueful grin most hunted criminals didn't share their histories so easily anyway. "You make being stuck with me sound like such a bad thing... Maybe I'll offer more than you think... like this lovely backwater island with reso-... Bugger." The mercenary was cut off as the map was brought up complete with warnings of worlds that would probably kill Shino on sight.

"Just don't pick anything that will get me killed... And try not to bleed all over my seat, alright?" Jack raised an eyebrow at the number of planets with crosses over them, "By the Twilight... You're almost as hated as my family." the mercenary commented in a suitably impressed tone. The mercenary blinked as Shino glanced away at something with a similarly bemused look on his face, "What?" Deciding to find out himself, Jack turned to face the direction that Shino had glanced at - just in time to see Neera launch herself at him.

Flying into him hard enough to knock the chair he was sitting on into a fully reclined position, Jack let out a yelp of surprise as he fell backwards under the weight of the silver haired shadowsili, "AGH! Ouch! Ouch! Please be gentle - girl... I'm delicate you know." the mercenary coughed out indignantly as he surprisingly flushed red despite the Sanguine's family's legendary confidence with this kind of thing. About to push her off, Jack stopped as he saw the huge smile on Neera's face, faltering as he did, it was... a smile that he hadn't seen in a long time and despite himself, the mercenary found himself giving a rare real smile of his own.

Letting go of him, Neera went off - returning quickly with medical items before addressing the wounds that himself and Shino had suffered in their scuffles in Adamitte, she worked quite effectively... surprisingly so. It brought a sense of nostalgia to Jack who waited until she had finished before inspecting her work and letting out an impressed whistle. "Not bad... You haven't lost your touch have you? ... I guess you're pretty used to patching me up huh?" Would she know what he was talking about? She had a sense of familiarity when she was patching them up... just like old times but... she couldn't remember any of that could she? ... And did he really want her to remember?

Snapping back to reality, the mercenary found himself staring at a notebook... Neera's with a question written upon it. For a moment, Jack found himself confused as to why she had written her question and then he remembered... this girl was and wasn't the same girl as... as from back then and one of the things that was different was that she had lost her voice. And somehow, somehow he felt like it had been his fault. "Well." The mercenary thought for a moment trying to collect his thoughts... what exactly had he done? He could have left them alone but... "I... well... Shino and I. We broke you out I guess... Not before we managed to blow up a small piece of Raine though. You know - something to remember us by." Her next question and the expression on her face caught him offguard, causing him to turn away with an embarrassed shrug - "It takes a lot more than that to kill me... Explosions? Psh. Pu-lease." In truth, the mercenary had teleported out of the Firehawk long before it began it's destructive downward spiral into the city, using the distraction of his exploding ship to get inside the gigantic worldship that held his targets.

And finally her last question. The one that Jack had been dreading. "I... well... Y-..." The mercenary stopped, catching Neera's eyes by accident as he tried to look for a way out... so full of trust, the only eyes in the entire Lifestream that trusted him like that... eyes that he wanted to continue trusting him, he wanted to keep that trust no matter what. "No I had no bloody idea. I was just doing business with those guys and... They doublecrossed me before we even started - nobody does that to a Sanguine and gets away with it. You should know that huh?" The mercenary put on his best assuring smile, which was a good one considering that he had so much practice with the art of making fake smiles for others to see.

Trying to find some kind of way to distract or change the subject, Jack's eyes fell upon his, Shino's and Neera's ragged and worn clothing, they couldn't go walking around looking like this. People already assumed that because Shino and Neera were Shadowsili, they were blood splattered monsters, why give them proof? "But. That isn't important, what's important now is getting you, and us, out of those rags before our clothes fall off and we lose what dignity we have left. Then we'll talk plans." Jack turned to Shino, sliding a credits card out of his pocket and passing it over - "Permission to use your stuff? Can't exactly go walking around looking like this... You can charge us if you like."

Turning back to Neera, Jack blinked as she confronted the pair of them with one last question, this time - he had no real answer for it either... the blood wasn't hers... or so he thought - she didn't really seem to be wounded in anyway... so then... "I'm... not exactly sure myself about that but we'll save it for later... right now... I'm starving, these clothes need changing and we've got Keepers and companies to blackmail." the mercenary said the last line with a rueful grin, winking at Ishida especially as he did so - hinting that he managed to salvage something from the whole fiasco.

... Something that they could apparently blackmail someone with... Hell - blackmail the KEEPERS themselves with.

Isn't that no better than a machine?
Awaken the hot spirit within your cold body
Let loose the chains and unleash your a u r a - h e a r t

.................................................................. ☀ - ☀ - ☀ - ..................................................................

[.Halcyonia.]

fall into [a light sleep],

........ it encompasses my very being

................ I never carry out my [ p r o m i s e s ] .

........................ so long ago, I threw away my brightness

................................ and like the light from the morning sun, it can never return.

........................................ it lies beside this cold h e a r t, frozen

................................................ so completely mindless that it persists {.forever.} xxx

- - » [location.] cabin of Vengeance, The Lifestream

. Ν . Σ . Σ . R . Λ .
† . t h e . c a s t a w a y . [ h e a r t ] . †

{{ ooc - Um, sooo... pretend this went before Cumo's post. xDDD;;;; }}
...


Inside the cabin of the Vengeance, Neera stirred and blinked her eyes open. She put a hand to her head and sat up slowly, a headache pounding dully at her temple. She tried to remember what happened last, but it was slow coming back. In the meantime, she looked around.

Which ship was this? It was unfamiliar to her, and the thought frightened her a little. No one else was in the room, but she could feel the ship shaking slightly beneath her, so she knew it was moving. That, and she could see outside the window from here, where the Lifestream glowed beyond the glass.

Gathering her thoughts, Neera unbuckled herself, stood from her seat, and walked around the room, inspecting the space. It was somewhat messy and disheveled, as if things had shifted and fallen during flight. She glanced among the fallen items, looking for anything recognizable - but found nothing.

Neera sighed, annoyed at the headache. What had happened last? She scanned her mind, trying hard to remember.

Oh!

It came flooding back to her all at once. Docking at Raine, she and Shino being taken, put in the prison, and... and then...? She searched her mind. She recalled Shino coming to her cell and breaking her out, then running with him to escape the ship. She remembered going into a certain room with large windows. She remembered...

Her blood froze at the thought. The Firehawk. She remembered seeing it explode and fall, spiraling towards the city. After that, she remembered nothing.

Jack...

Neera crouched to the floor, feeling weak. She took a deep breath and tried counting.

One... two... three... four...

Voices. Neera's eyes snapped open. She stood and walked towards the open hallway at the end of the cabin. The voices were coming from the next room. She stopped in the dark hall and listened. She heard a voice say something, but she couldn't quite make out the words. She shuffled closer, straining to hear.

"Just don't pick anything that will get me killed... And try not to bleed all over my seat, alright?"

Neera froze. She recognized that voice. Shino?! Quickening her pace, Neera strode to the end of the hallway and poked her head carefully around the corner, looking into the cockpit, one hand resting on the doorway. At the sight of Shino, a wave of relief washed over her. So... he was okay. The corners of her mouth tipped up a bit into a smile.

Sensing that someone else was in the room, Neera turned. She blinked. Sitting in the cockpilot's seat was... was - but it couldn't be-

Neera could only stare for a few seconds, completely shocked. She took a step forward towards Jack, glancing back at Shino once as if to ask if this was real. She hesitated.

Then she practically glomped Jack, knocking back his chair, a huge smile on her face. She tried to laugh, but the most she could manage was a few exhalations of air that resembled laughter, like how a person laughs when they're trying to be quiet.

Neera stood back, seeing that her hugging him probably wasn't doing any good for his wounds. Wounds... with that thought, Neera ran back into the main cabin of the Vengeance and shuffled through the pile of things she'd seen. A minute later she returned with a first-aid kit, which she promptly opened and began pulling things out of - guaze, bandages, tape, antiseptic. A few of the things she'd never seen before and didn't know how to use, but she certainly knew how to wrap a wound. Taking to the task immediately, she went to work on both Jack and Shino at the same time, going back and forth from one to the other until she'd managed to bandage all the wounds they allowed her to. The strange thing was, she wasn't quite sure where she'd learned how to do it - it just came to her naturally, it seemed.

Jack whistled in surprise. "Not bad... You haven't lost your touch have you? ... I guess you're pretty used to patching me up huh?" Neera glanced at him, blinking a few times. She smiled hesitantly, then turned back to bandaging Shino. What does he mean...? She hadn't ever bandaged him before... had she?

Why did she feel like she was missing something? For a moment, Neera touched her collarbone with her fingertips, resting the palm of her hand over her heart, and looked down, frowning. Why did she have this feeling... as if there was a small pain there? She couldn't describe it, really. It was like feeling an emptiness inside of herself. How was that possible? She hadn't noticed it before. Snapping out of it, Neera quickly went back to the task at hand, though the thought remained in her mind.

Finally done with her work, Neera dusted off her hands and sat down on the floor of the cockpit. She then looked down at herself and realized something - she, too, was covered in blood, and not from bandaging Shino and Jack. No, this blood had been there before, but it wasn't hers. She frowned slightly at this and shuffled through the folds of her dress, reaching for her notebook (and again, realizing that her sketchbook was still lost). On a blank page, she wrote a message, then held it up for both Jack and Shino to see.

"What happened?"

She glanced up at Jack, and then, her face growing pained, wrote down, "I thought you were dead" and held it up to him. She hesitated then, considering asking the question she so badly wanted to ask... but she found herself afraid of the answer. What if they were right? Neera pushed the thought away. She would never allow herself to believe it. Slowly, she scrawled it out on the paper. "They said you turned us in... but you didn't right?" Neera's eyes leveled on Jack's face, trying to understand his reaction. Very gently, she smiled, her eyes full of trust. Of course he didn't turn them in - none of it was his fault...!

Feeling silly for bringing that up at all, Neera looked back to Shino and wrote, "The last thing I remember is watching the Firehawk explode..." She winced again at the memory, but held it up for Shino to see all the same.

Then she paused, thought of something else, and held it up, smiling at both men. "Thank you for not leaving me behind." For Neera, having someone who cared about her... that was a first, as far as she could remember.

Neera's face grew serious again, and she scrawled out a last message. She swallowed and held it up for them both to see.

"Whose blood is this? On my clothes?"

† † †

n u m b l y, I gather the remnants of my emotions ...................... and, [searching for redemption], I........................

..fall into [a light sleep] ...................... on a { l o n e l y } night

I'm beginning to learn the designs of { s o r r o w } .

......the hiding away of your [warm presence] .......................... makes me { f e a r } the overflowing darkness.

so long ago, I threw away my brightness

and like the light from the morning sun, it can never return.

† † †

[Q-Mo]

xxxxxxxxxx»»»» my name is . . .

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx✩ Jace : ~ : Vistus x↘↘x the hopefulDAWNx ↘↘xxxxxxxxxx

→ tracking location . . . Vectiras, The Resolve Of The Past

"Everything is precious to me... That's why... that's why I can't lose !! "

☆ t h o u g h t s x i n s i d e → o o c
Confusing flashback is confusing.

....................................................... n e x u s . . . deactivated .......................................................

Can you hear my voice calling out
Through the darkness, trying to shout.
Trapped within the void of the night
I call out for the light . . .

xx......................................... To Be A Heroxx.........................................

It was over.

Alone in center of an isolated world strewn with the bodies of both Nith and otherwise, a world blanketed in the depressing fog of war, a solitary figure clothed in white bearing a large wooden cross upon his back looked to the sky and underneath his once pure white hood, now stained with the marks of battle, breathed a sigh of both relief and sadness. He looked at his own hands, covered in grime and blood, shaking from exhaustion tracing his eyes down from his hands and to inspect the rest of his body; the young man realized that it wasn't just his arms that were shaking. His entire body was being racked by tremors, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he tried to stop it but to no avail - despite the warm light that was now returning to his cold world as the veil of darkness and mist melted away before light of dawn, he continued to shake.

Taking in greedy gulps of air, as if they were his last ones, the figure fumbled his way urgently across the battlefield, tripping and stumbling as his exhaustion began to fully set in as the rush of combat began to fade taking his remaining strength with it. "Saji? Saji are you there? Saji where are you?" Ignoring the cries of those searching for him in the lifting fog and field of bodies, the hooded figure found his way to the shore of the beach where the battle had taken place, the ocean had been dyed an awful dark hue by the blood of the fallen but as the light began to seep in and wash away the darkness, the tides of the ocean also began to sweep away the ugly tone of the ocean to replace it with a sparkling blue.

It was this sparkling blue mass that the young man fell to his knees before, sinking into the wet sand as the gentle tide went in and out taking away a small bit of the battle's ugly remainders with every wave, throwing off his hood; the young man only a bit older than a boy found himself glimpsing the very thing he had feared in his reflection. Before his increasingly weary and despairing eyes, the last vestiges of the gold began to fade from his once blond hair that now reflected the dawn's rays with a sheen of pure snow white. All at once, the last remnants of his strength seemed to fade, a sinking feeling dragged itself within his chest and something caught within his throat... it couldn't be... not yet...

"Hey... Priest." The "priest" stopped shaking almost instantly at the sound of the voice, it could only be one person; the only person who called him that... although he wanted to be alone, he was thankful for the speaker, he might never have snapped out of his state if it wasn't for him. "They're waiting for you." The figure continued to stare out into the ocean, the sounds of tropical birds, the gentle lapping of the waves against his body, the sound of the wind brushing against the exotic trees... it was like the terrible calamity had never happened... it was all so beautiful... it was home.

Standing some distance behind the now snow haired figure by the shore, the taller man with dark aqua hair and crimson eyes with a large strange blade strapped to his back watched seemingly impassively for a few moments as the other didn't respond. Then, without a word, he walked forward to where the priest sat and stood by him respectfully as if he would wait for eternity if needed for a reply - a silent guardian. "Storm..." There was no reply from the man who stood beside him, as enigmatic as he was the day that he met him, the priest sighed with a sense of finality, "Storm. You know what this means don't you?"

Storm looked to the priest, his face betraying no emotion and his eyes containing some unknown emotion before he spoke, uncaring and roughly like he always did; "What?" The priest smiled sadly, he didn't need to play dumb for him, they both know what it meant; "... You know what." Storm continued to stare at him, it was just impossible to know what was going on inside the mind of the distant and cold warrior. "Yes." Was the curt reply, nothing more.

Then, as if by unspoken agreement, the two of them became silent again - observing the life of the world around them returning as the final vestiges of the choking fog lifted to reveal a world full of life, full of vibrancy, the most beautiful thing that either of them had ever seen in their long and extensive travels. "...It's beautiful..." Storm glanced to the priest before looking back at the ocean, "Yes." The priest smirked, his eyes betraying the feelings that he tried to bottle up within, "You're usually better company than this you know? Although that isn't saying much..." Silence. "Yes." "I... I don't want to leave all of this..."

This time, there was no reply... not even a "Yes" from Storm, instead he simply stayed silent as if waiting for the priest to elaborate. "I said... I said that I would sacrifice anything to protect life but... but what about my life? I... I need more time, I... I want to live to see this all again... I... I want to keep protecting this... everything but..."" The priest was cut off by his own lack of breath as he felt his stomach seemingly constrict, his throat catch and tears begin to form in his eyes, substituting words with a cry of frustration as he punched the sand - his fist sinking into the wet shore, "I need more time... I... I want to see everything when it's peaceful, I want to... I want to live... here... home, it's unfair... it's so unfair...Why does it have to be us? ... I... I'm not a hero, I'm not what these people think I am Storm! Why do we have to do this? I just... I just want to stay here..."

"Because if we don't do this. Nobody else can. Nobody else will." The priest flinched as if he had been slapped, "Because an idiot foolhardy priest told me once that life is beautiful and that without it... all this... would be worth nothing. That life is worth dying for. That if we don't do something now, then there will be no future to worry about." Silence reigned for what seemed to be an eternity as the priest stared into the ocean, his newfound home that he would be leaving behind... he had to - because if he didn't, if he didn't fight then countless others would lose their homes, and eventually, his own home would be worth nothing. Without life, it'd be as ugly and twisted as the most barren wasteland even with it's beautiful ocean, it's radiant sun and exotic trees.

"Huh." The priest turned with a smile on his face, accepting the hand that was offered to him to pull him up, "Did I really say that?" "Yes." Finally standing, the priest looked to the shore behind him where a small crowd now gathered; waiting for the pair of them, the priest took one last look at his home... no, just this world... his home was with them, with Storm... protecting them and his true home. Their home. The Collective itself. "You're pretty good at this you know? Plus, you're a lot taller and maybe better looking than I am too! Why aren't you the big hero again?" Storm gave him a dry look of bemusement, "Because making loudmouthed foolhardy speeches is your job." The priest grinned playfully, the idea of Storm getting up in front of a crowd and making a speech was an entertaining one, "Oh I don't know... You were pretty inspiring back there!" Looking the other way stubbornly, Storm gave his usual reply; "Whatever."

And with that, Saji Vectus knew things were back to normal... Well. As normal as defending the universe against an ancient apocalyptic threat could be anyway.

The only reason Im here is just because of you
Behind you, taking your cues
But now its time for me to find out all the things only I can do . . .
For the answer has been here all along - in this beating a u r a - h e a r t

.................................................................. ☁ - ☁ - ☁ - ..................................................................

[PyroXTech]

The Rogue
Shino Ishida - Raine, Adamitte - Vengeance, The Lifestream
"Yeah... You just keep thinking that, and I'll just keep ignoring you. Dumb a**."

"By the Twilight... You're almost as hated as my family."

Shino smirked at the remark, as much as he played dumb even he knew that the Sanguines were arguably one of the most disliked groups still in existence, save maybe the Nith and Shadowsili. "Well, can't say I'm exactly the friendliest person in the Lifestream... The hair and eyes don't help much either." Hearing the faint sound of footsteps, the rogue turned back towards the door in time to see Neera see that Jack was quite alive and only a few feet away. Turning to him in disbelief, he merely softened his grin and nodded. "What?" Silently Shino watched as Neera lunged at Jack in his chair, smiling and making noises that hinted at an attempt of laughter, rolling his eyes while they were distracted. Guess I'll be keeping him around for a while, if only for Neera's sake. No point bitching and moaning about it for now.

"AGH! Ouch! Ouch! Please be gentle - girl... I'm delicate you know." Shaking his head at the comment Shino turned his chair to face the two of them. "Oh, quit your bitchin' Mr. Merc, she weighs like five pounds, what's the worse she could do to you?" He knew quite well what Neera was capable of, he watched her slaughter a dozen guards before turning her sights on him... but that couldn't have been the same girl that stood before him now. Could it? He didn't take much notice when Neera suddenly stood back up and ventured into the cabin, only to return moments later with a first aid kit. With minimal bitching the rogue removed the tattered remains of his jacket, hoping to whatever deity came to mind that he still had another somewhere amongst his clothing.

It was incredible to watch Neera work, with almost no sign of medical experience or training she did a better job than he could have even if he didn't just get the s**t beaten out of him. When she finally finished fixing him back up he laid back in the chair, realizing that a majority of the blood stains had not even been from his own wounds, which wasn't that much of a surprise after the slaughter that had taken place with him and Neera. "Not bad... You haven't lost your touch have you? ... I guess you're pretty used to patching me up huh?" Cocking his eyebrow slightly for a moment, Shino wondered for a moment if this is why they were so close. Is it possible that this a*****e actually knew Neera earlier in his life, sure Neera was affectionate towards him, but... He neither bothered finishing the though, dismissing it as some wild story designed only for the sole purpose of confusing him.

She finished her work, retrieving a notepad or something of that sort from her dress, scribbling down something on the pages before she turned it towards him and Jack. "What happened?" Shino paused for a moment, wondering for a moment why she had not simply asked the question before it dawned on him. He had been so stupid, believing that she had simply been silent the entire time around him, how had it not been so painfully obvious to him before that she had been a mute. "I... well... Shino and I. We broke you out I guess... Not before we managed to blow up a small piece of Raine though. You know - something to remember us by." Mentally shaking himself awake, he turned to Jack. "Damn right we did, woulda' saved us a helluva' lot of time though if that fugly son of a b***h didn't need to be killed two damn times."

Neera flashed a couple more questions to Jack and himself, nothing much of real importance from what he could see, just recollections of the past events, but the next question stunned Shino. "Thank you for not leaving me behind." Thank you? Such simple words for most, just simple gratitude, but this wasn't ordinary by a long shot. He had spent a good portion of the last two years running, hiding, fighting and running again, nobody would have cared if he simply just vanished from existence so that's what he decided to do, but now... Those words, even if it was just a simple sign of gratitude, showed him that he couldn't just keep running anymore. He had someone else to help, someone else to protect. "Don't mention it, I wasn't going to stand by and let those guys hurt you. You just owe me one, alright? His cocky smile had returned by the time he finished speaking, giving Neera a thumbs up in the process.

"But. That isn't important, what's important now is getting you, and us, out of those rags before our clothes fall off and we lose what dignity we have left. Then we'll talk plans." Shino turned to Jack as he pulled a card from pocket, the rogue gladly excepting it as it was handed off. "Permission to use your stuff? Can't exactly go walking around looking like this... You can charge us if you like."

Shino slipped the card into his own pocket as he stood up, heading towards his room at the end of the hallway. "Yeah sure, give me a sec to make sure I still have anything to give you first. I'll just hold onto this card for now, wouldn't want ya to blow all our credits on booze now would we?" The door opened as he approached, allowing the rogue to slip into his quarters before it closed shut behind him. It wasn't as grand as most ships, just a single bed in the middle of the room, a desk littered with books and papers that were now thrown across the floor from the recent battle, a closet full of clothes and a nightstand. Contemplating cleaning up the books, he threw a lazy wave towards them and moved towards his closet, searching for anything to fit his new companions. It didn't take long for him to toss a pair of pants and an undershirt onto the ground behind him for his own wear, but Jack and Neera would be more difficult, he'd probably end up having to go buy them some clothes when they landed. For now he slipped on his old clothes and returned to the closet, digging out a large chest from the bottom littered with numerous Keeper insignia, heaving it out of the room with him. "Damn this thing's heavier than I remember... Alright Neera, you can go try to find something to wear for now. We'll have to go get you two something proper once we land."

Finally reaching the cockpit he tossed the chest to the side and slumped into his seat, letting out a sigh of relief as he felt himself begin to relax once again. "So Mr. Merc, make up your mind yet? I don't want to have to sit here all day."

[Taska Neko]

【 】→ º fιηd α ωαу σя мαкє σηє º ← 【 】
❖ xxKirin & Karin Balthazar ↵

♰ Worldeater Tower Rubble, Vectiras ♰

My soul is a solitary grave
Without you just the cold stay inside
You're the only one able to save
Me from this pain I had to hide

Kirin and Karin had been battling the Grim for quite some time, he had managed to hold up well enough for fighting alone, but Kirin was a bit disappointed that it was so easy for him and his brother to overwhelm him. Being from Alar themselves they had grown up hearing tales about the great nation, of course that was quite some time ago. Still he hadn't thought Grim's would be such pushovers...and here he was hoping he and his brother would finally have a worthy opponent to test their skills on...

Just as Kirin was about to tell Karin to end it, their play toy decided to finally step it up a notch. Kirin felt a sense of excitement as Leonoka finally seemed to be getting ready to fight back. His eyes quickly flicked to where Karin was though having saw him being pushed back by the shockwave the Grim produced. He wasn't surprised to find his brother alright though, which was the main reason he hadn't stepped forward to help. Seeing Karin the twin's eyes danced, "Karin...looks like the fun will finally start!" Kirin gleed happily from the distance loud enough for his brother to hear.

Karin looked briefly back upon his twin, then glanced back towards his foe, his eyes glimmering with crazed excitement. He was raring to go, to tear this Grim, this fine enemy apart, and this new burst of energy and that beautiful, clean aura... It was a temptation, a tease, a call for more power. Hot-headed Karin's bracelets began to jangle nervously - with one already glowing bright red, the other a brilliant purple, there was only one step next, and as his bracelets and skin darkened, so his grin widened. He was ready to let go, to tear apart this fine new enemy.

Of course it seemed fate decided not to give the twins their fun for mere moments after Kirin had declared his excitement a loud rumble shook causing the earth to quake beneath their very feet. The source was not from the Grim. Blinking slightly in confusion Kirin took a quick look to find out what was happening only to find the tower beginning to crumble before them. "No!" Kirin screamed...but it wasn't the tower crumbling that make him scream...it was the light that had begun to break it's way through the darkness, light that hit Kirin who was closest.

The sound of destruction caught Karin's attention, along with the earth that trembled beneath their feet startled him out of his reverie, his mouth dropping open slightly as he turned to catch the sight of the falling tower... And the light lancing through the clouds, his attention falling upon Kirin, who quickly lifted his hands and arms into the air over his head trying to shield himself from the burning sensation now clawing through his skin. Kirin released an agonizing pained scream as he stepped backwards trying to get out of the light. The book in his hands disappeared as his left bracelets lost their color returning to their normal silver hue, as Kirin's bracelets went out, so did Karin's.

Karin's first tremble of fear came with this downfall. The second came with the sight of his greatest love. Things weren't looking good for Kirin, his body was weaker compared to that of his brothers for his strength focused on the mind aspect. If Kirin couldn't escape the light rays soon then he would suffer more then just burns, and Karin knew it. Even as his brother felt pain, so too did Karin feel a ripple of agony, even before sunlight fell across his own pale skin. His fangs bared, he cast one last snarl at the Grim, a wordless promise of swift vengance on some undetermined eve before he turned.

Even without the added strength of his Aura, his bracelets a flat silver, Karin charged across the earth with surprising speed, fear and something that could be called love driving him faster than he would normally run. Even as the sun hit his skin, causing its surface to discolor and peel, Karin drove forward with determination, strong arms wrapping around the slightly frailer shape of his brother, his face buried in Kirin's soft, silky black hair to protect his eyes from the offending light. In a flash, the other was in his arms bridal-style, one arm hooked under Karin's legs, the other under his neck, cradling the other close to his body. Kirin could only press himself against his brother's chest as pain shot through his body.

Where to hide, though? There was nothing close in either direction, neither forest nor mountains. At least, nowhere close enough that he could safely go to. So there was, of course, only one option left - as the tower crumbled, Karin dove within its tumbling walls, one hand braced over his head, creating a small, safe place where they could hide from the sun... And hopefully be forgotten by the Keepers and other such distasteful figures.

A cool sensation washed over the twins bodies when they were finally freed from the sun's harsh rays, they had managed to get away quick enough, but the burns they suffered would take some time to finally heal. Kirin's own body seemed to be in worse shape as his pale skin was now red and hot, peeling and flaking in some spots. It hurt for him to even move the tiniest bit, but that didn't stop the vampire from shifting himself slowly in his brothers arms to look up at Karin. "Karin...you...okay?" Kirin gasped his breath ragged and lips chapped. It seemed right now Kirin was more worried for his brother then himself.

Karin lifted his head, his eyes opening as he pulled his face out of Karin's hair, his eyes thankfully drinking in the darkness around them, interpreting them as images. His own skin was burned in quite a few places, but he could handle it, not like his Kirin. Though his brother said nothing of his own pain, Karin knew. There was no secret that a twin could keep from another. Gently, he settled into a cross-legged position, still holding Kirin in his lap, the other vampire's head against his chest. "I'm fine," was all he said, his cool, pale hands running through Kirin's hair and over his cheek and forehead, trying to give some relief.

Kirin shivered slightly from his brother's touch, though his cold hands felt wonderful against his own hot burns. Relieved that Karin seemed to be faring better then himself Kirin lifted one of his own arms before snaking it inside his brother's clothes until he touched Karin's cool bare chest. His brother's touch...felt so since. He wanted more. "Karin...it hurts...help me...forget," Kirin stated lightly wanting more of his brother's attention. The pain had already dulled for him, what he really craved was Karin's loving embrace and being fawned over. "My lips...are hot...cool them for me?" Kirin suggested as his other arm began to snake it's way around Karin's neck.

Karin flinched, but only slightly, and not because of the touch itself - but from the heat of the normally chilled skin. Though it was not seen in his face, worry ate at his insides, and he allowed Kirin to do as he would. His brother's words almost didn't process for a few moments, but Karin swiftly obliged, one arm still supporting Kirin as his other hand gently cupped his brother's chin, the touch of his lips light enough so as not to hurt, but close enough so that their cool caress could leach away the heat that radiated off of the other's skin.

Kirin let himself be fully embraced into Karin's gentle kiss, his brother's touch cool and refreshing. Kirin found himself forgetting about his pain focusing only on his brother while his body slowly tried to heal itself. Kirin indulged himself in Karin's kisses only breaking away when he spotted one of Karin's own slightly red spots near his brother's neck. "Karin...you're hurt," Licking his lips Kirin lowered his head slightly until he came to the spot before opening his mouth and running his wet tongue over the burn hoping to aid his brother a bit on healing as well. He pressed his body against Karin's own their clothes sticky with sweat from the earlier fight and the heat of the sun.

Karin stiffened at his brother's touch, his grip tightening just a little bit as his head fell back. Slowly, his muscles loosened and a content sigh escaped his lips. He was burned, yes... but not enough to require this level of attention. Still, it was so...so... There were no words. He was sure that no one else in all the worlds could love him as much as Kirin did, and he returned this by pulling his brother on top of him, running his hand smoothly over every inch of his brother's slowly cooling skin, bending his own head to press his lips to his brother's jaw, his neck, his shoulder...

The two brothers probably would have continued even further had a sudden shift caught their ears. Kirin stopped his licks, saliva stringing slightly as he pulled away before looking worriedly at Karin. "Karin..." Kirin whispered softly worried that the source of the sound came from their earlier perusers. The two vamps were in no shape to fight again so soon. Karin looked up. The tiniest sliver of light hit the crumbling wall opposite them, and it aws slowly widening. A low growl escaped his lips, and he sat up, taking Kirin with him, holding the weaker twin tightly to his chest. He knew what Kirin was thinking... And while Karin thought that this was true for his twin, he thought he could fight off anything that threatened his Kirin.

[Goldfish Sushi]

⚖.......With this, I've been granted the power to choose my destiny - and that of the world around me.

» Tactical Awesome Action! «
― Team 9-AC Espionage & Covert Ops Specialist ―
☯ June Yakushi ☯
X Location, X World
(♭)

[OOC: This is it! Not super epic, but enough for closure.]

"Argh, what the ********] June scrambled upright, wiped the wet sand from her face and scowled at the little marmoset who was sitting on Lucien’s shoulder, chattering sardonically. Buki was definitely going to be a pain in the a** on the return trip to the Academy.

The Keeper rubbed her head. Her headache did not go away since her nap on the beach, and the glare from the sea only helped to aggravate it. Gotta get some asprin. Bet the shrinks are going to put me on a detox diet. Ugh. She stood up and pulled her suit on, shaking it free of sand. A group of medics were running toward her as she walked back. One of them, who was carrying a litter, said, ”Hey, we’re going to take you back. No patients are allowed outside the tents without supervision.”

June eyed the medic, then the litter he was carrying, and responded in an indignant tone, ”I was about to get going. Don’t coddle me. I’ll walk back by myself.” Without another word the team of medics turned back and followed her.

”Oh June, you’re back. Your coat and boots are being washed right now, and your gun is being cleaned up too. Speaking of washing, that suit of yours could some right now.” A nurse handed June a set of pewter-gray scrubs. ”Don’t worry about walking about in your skivvies. The showers are over there on the other side.”

”Thanks. Here you go. Could you get me some aspirin by the way? Got a killer headache.” June simply zipped off the suit and handed it to the nurse, who now looked at her awkwardly. She then put on the scrubs and sat down on the bed as the nurse went away with the suit. The nurse came back shortly with a glass of water and a small plastic cup with two pills. June took them, popping the pills and chugging the water in record time, then put the glass on the floor next to the bed. She lay down and went to sleep.

June’s second nap only lasted about an hour or so, but she now felt refreshed and free of her headache. There were faint sounds of hectic chatter outside the tent; out of curiosity June decided to take off again. ”Someone’s calling for us I’m sure. It’s been a while since I’ve taken orders from the top.” She smiled slightly.

Hey, are these yours?” A young boy came up to June just as she was going to exit the tent, carrying a bundle of clothes under one arm, a gun belt over one shoulder and boots slung over another. ”Good as new.” The boy made a toothy grin and handed the stuff to June. ”Man, I wish I was a Keeper! You must do lots of cool stuff, don’t you?”

”It ain’t easy stuff kid. It requires physical and mental fitness, which by the way, you don’t look like you have a lot of. Don’t mean to burst your bubble, but life’s not fair to all.”

”I don’t care! I’ll do it if I’ll need to! The way I’ll do it is by coming with you guys!”

June was amused. ”Hmph. How old are you?”

”I’m gonna be nine soon.”

”Wait a few years. Don’t skip gym class, and eat right! I’ll be going now.”

”Fruits and vegetables?”

”Yeah!”

”Aw, man! Mom was right!”

June laughed as she exited the tent and headed toward the sounds of the crowds.

So, what will it be? Fight or Flight?.......⚖

[PyroXTech]

.: Lucien Von Kroenen - Aedif, Vectiras :.
Team 9-AC: Assassination and Reconnaissance Specialist

[OOC: That wraps up Lucien. To the next arc!]

Slowly the fox girl awoke from her rest, slightly confused by what Lucien had been whispering in her ear. "S-somebody… for me? … Oh!" Suddenly realizing what was going on Mei darted off towards the infirmary, leaving behind Buki in her mountain of juice boxes, but he seemed content enough to be left to himself for the time being. Watching the marmoset for a moment, he reached into the pile and grabbed another box for himself, the fruity liquid burning less and less with every sip. Feeling free to let his mind wander freely for a moment, enjoying the peace as momentary as he knew it would be, the Keeper didn't seem to notice the marmoset wander off and grab some wet sand.

"Hm?" Catching movement in the corner of his eye, Lucien turned to see Buki crawl into the darkness of June's uniform, moving his hand over to fish him out before he realized where the marmoset had gones specifically, retracting his hand in fear of the ensuing conflict. Flying out of the pant leg Buki tossed the sand toward June before climbing his way onto the Keeper's shoulder, looking over the head of his new friend to taunt June with his tongue. June in the meantime glared angrily at the marmoset, not willing to risk anything while he sat on the soldier of her injured ally. Sighing slightly he murmered to himself, allowing Buki to hear the words coming out of his mouth. "If you keep this up, you're going to get yourself killed... We should probably get you back to Mei, before your curiosity gets the better of you. Again."

Noticing the oncoming medics, Lucien quickly bent the light around his and Buki's bodies, rendering them invisible to the group as they approached. Trained as they were, his condition wasn't severe enough to draw attention away from the others that were in dire need of help, he'd only be wasting their precious time and resources if he allowed them to take him back now. Without a sound Lucien disappeared for the beach before finally canceling his invisibility outside of the medical tent, the marmoset chattering anxiously as it reappeared still up on his shoulders, surprised by the sudden disappearance and reappearance of his body. "Sorry about that." Mei must be around here somewhere.Buki pointed towards the entrance of the tent as the fox girl walked back out onto the beach, clutching the feather carefully in her hands. Lucien took a step towards her, pausing as he realized that there was nothing he could do for her now. She was so kind to all of us, but... It must break her heart her to know that she may never see any of us again. No words can cure that kind of pain... I can't even overcome the pains of my own past, what right would I have to try and comfort her?

Without any signs of sound or movement Lucien appeared behind her, extending his arm towards her shoulder to allow Buki to return to her. The marmoset looked at his curiously for a second before crawling down his arm to perch on Mei's shoulder, turning to face Lucien once again but the masked Keeper was already gone. Like a ghost he appeared inside the medical tent, slipping between the medics as if he didn't even exist, catching glances of those injured in the battle. His injuries were nothing compared to what some of the others had endured, all he could do was hope that they had the strength to pull through in the end.

After what seemed like hours he finally came across the bed that he had been in only minutes before, searching for any sign of his weapons or uniform, but they were nowhere to be found. Aggrivated by the wasted effort, Lucien turned to leave, bumping into a younger man carrying a bundle of clothing in his hands. "Oh, I'm sorry. You wouldn't happen to be Lucien von Kroenen would you?" Intrigued by how this stranger would know his name Lucien responded. "Yes, I am Lucien." With a sigh of relief he handed the bundle to the Keeper, unfolding it to reveal his automatic pistol and Executioners wrapped carefully inside."Oh, I'm sorry it took so long, but it took a while to find your uniform variant. Here are your weapons and uniform, now if you'll excuse me there are others I must attend to." Without any sign of approval the man disappeared and Lucien slipped the trench coat on along with the pants that were included, slipping the weapons into their respective holsters and fastening them to his person. With that complete he vanished from sight, slipping out the front of the tent without a sound as he headed back towards the beach.

Aimlessly he wandered back towards the beach, hoping to find some time to relax now that his equipment was in order, it was only a matter of time until they would be crammed back into a ship to return to Krux. Walking to the edge of the Keeper camp he rested his back up against the wall of the temporary structure, staring out at the waters and those who had already gathered on the beach. For a while he enjoyed the relative quiet of the day, but soon those on the beach began clapping for some odd reason, spreading through the camp like wildfire until even he was applauding the sight before him. Captain Hale had returned with Mattheis, the two seemed indestructible to still be alive, let alone walking after the fall of the Worldeater. Lucien found himself smiling at the whole thing, remaining in his place as people rushed down to the beach to greet their heroes, shaking his head slightly at the sight. "Hale. Maybe I was wrong about you... Crazy or not, you might just earn the right for me to call you Captain after all."

[Makihyu Hiashin]

★☆★
||||| This Golden Sun... This Freedom... For All! |||||
― Rebel Of A New Generation ―
Team 9-AC Aerial Operations Specialist
⚡ λlthalia §aloshin ⚡
Ocean Battlefront/Island of Aedif, Vectiras
{ OOC: }
Alright, so since we're wrapping everything up soon, I decided to wrap up Althalia/Mav/Juriza for Cumo, Hiro 'n me. C:
As usual, lemme know if there's anything you guys want me to add/cut/edit. ^^ ACADEMY AAARRRRC

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|.......Shout out!
|.......Shoot up!
|.......Spread your wings and soar up high,
|.......Scream out loud and light up the sky!
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......."Hrrngh!" Juriza barely had enough time to raise up his anchor to block the head-on charge by the teenage Keepers - even so, he only managed to redirect the board itself a few inches away from himself. While this prevented the strike from being fatal, the two still had enough force and range to tackle him into the water. How did they even break through? That should have been impossible!

.......Just as the pirate's Aura solidified the water beneath him to form a platform again and allowed him to recover, Althalia, with all the might she had left to muster and the last bit of Vylli mana and Aura she had available to pump into the engines, grabbed Mav by the back of his uniform with both hands and swung. "Let's finish this dickhead! Here... You... GO!"

....... The green blaze finally split off from the gold as the Skyrider threw the sharpshooter at the still-recovering Shadowsili, who looked up at the Keeper soaring toward him with surprise and rage. "Missed me, ya' big brute?!" Mav feinted a charge with his blades forward, bringing his feet forward at the last minute as Juriza brought his anchor up again to block. Still, it was too slow now, and he was met by a dropkick in the chest that knocked him back again - granted, his skin hardened to deflect this, but what was happening was still unacceptable. He stood up as his much younger opponent landed on the platform, beginning to fight him at close-range; no, he would keep fighting! He would not allow himself to be so humiliated by these two children who kept running circles around him like a pair of rats -

......."Retreat!"

.......Juriza heard, and was not pleased. "What?! No! We can still crush all of these cowards! Arrgh!" He raised his fist, prepared to prove this by beating the s**t out of this little sharpshooter punk in front of him, but stepped back as the reinforcements began to arrive at their battle; Keepers in their black and white uniforms were quickly growing specks in the distance on whatever boats and hover vehicles they had brought, dozens of gurgling, growling Waterdrakes and their spear-wielding riders popped their heads out the water, and a tired but still determined Althalia circled overhead, now joined by another Skyrider who seemed to be delivering orders through his communications device in lieu of his Captain.

......."For Vectiras, the Kingdom, and the Collective! Arrest this b*****d!"

.......Mav backflipped off of Juriza's platform, and Althalia, as if in sync, dove down and allowed him to land on her board, teetering slightly as she once again balanced the board to support the extra weight on the back end. "Looks like y're outta luck! Any last words 'fore we take you to the Council?"

......."Grrgh...!" Now, Juriza was stubborn, but not stupid. He glanced off into the distance where the Keepers were becoming far more than just specks - their blazing Auras could already be seen against their ugly monochrome uniforms - and decided for the better. "Don't think you've won yet! You haven't seen the last of the Shark of the Life-Stream! Huagh!" The anchor was raised up again, vertically this time. Althalia and Mav already knew what was coming.

......."Everybody, look out!" Both shot up into the air just before Juriza slammed his weapon down, creating yet another explosion of water that sent any of the seaborne predator units that weren't quick enough to dive away flipping about in the air and crashing back down into the water. The arriving Keeper reinforcements hesitated as well, as the force of the explosion evolved into a giant wave rushing toward them. The attack was not as fatal as he'd intended it to be, but it did what he needed it to do. When the splash died down, they found nothing but seawater where Juriza was standing before. Althalia and Mav looked off into the distance, and they saw the giant beginning to shrink away into a speck.

......."Hey, no!"

......."Get your a** back here-" She staggered, now fully beginning to feel the effects of Juriza's Aura and charging through that wave with her adrenaline going down; there wasn't much left for her to give Aura or bodily-wise, at least not safely, and even Skysplicer began to power down as her own natural Vylli reserves were almost depleted. Althalia cursed under her hoarse breaths as she crouched down on the board and hugged her knees while the other Keepers and reinforcements gave chase - but doubted that they would be able to reach him now. "Damn it... sorry, dude."

.......As Ruhalis descended back down to join his sister and her partner in crouching tiredly after directing the other troops to go after Juriza and any other enemy Shadowsili they found, what appeared to be another Skyrider launched from the beach toward the gathering in the ocean. Normally both Althalia and Ruhalis would have recognized the roaring engines of their father's old board, but they were really too exhausted to be recognizing any sounds now.

.......Sir Thalhar Saloshin hovered behind the trio, "light armor" clinking as he lifted up the mask of his knight's helmet so he could see his younger siblings and their sharpshooter friend clearly. From a brown sack he drew three rather large, but purposely fragile vials of bluish liquid and threw them at their heads. All three of the fighters yelped as the pseudo-glass shattered into fine sandy grains over their heads and splashed Vylli potion all over them - with the Magelancer laughing all the while. "Hey, hey, don't worry! It's just me!"

....... Mav had nearly lost his balance and fallen into the water. "What the hell? What was that for?!" The knight was still chuckling as he realized Mav's didn't have their accent, much less their own mana signature.

......."Oh, you're not Hylravine... Ah well, a potion can't do you any harm, kiddo - woah," suddenly Althalia was on him with her arms wrapped around his waist, still crouched slightly as she began to cramp. Even Ruhalis had (somewhat reluctantly) come over and rested his arm on his older brother's shoulder - and Mav was left squished between the three siblings on their boards, muffling complaints. Ugh; at least the three boards now gave him a bigger platform to stand on.

.......Althalia was particularly enthusiastic about this reunion; this was the first time all three had been together since she'd left for Krux and Ambery. "Thalhaaaaar! What are you doing here? Aren't you with the Knights and the Army?"

.......He chuckled, resting his heavy, armored hands on his younger siblings' heads. "Welp, His Majesty finally convinced Parliament to repeal the Collective-Hylravine Neutrality Act and now we can officially send out the, uh..." Shifting eyes glanced at his younger brother, who rolled his matching eyes at him. Thalhar tried to scratch his head, but remembered he had his helmet on. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry for calling you guys the 'Reject Army'. But, uh, yeah... You were on the Preposterous, so I had to come! Didn't know you'd be here, though, 'Thalia, heh; but officially? I'm here to check up on our Prince. Knight's duty and all."

.......She let out a short laugh, and rolled her eyes as well. Oh yes, Prince Mattheis over there... Incredible. He'd been a huge a*****e to her a few times, but still, maybe he was a better guy when he wasn't, well, at war... And with that show of power... "Trust me, big bro, he'll be just fine. Dude, you should have seen what he did, it was so awesome! And it was my idea! Oh, and you should have seen the time when Ruhalis beat the s**t out of him-"

......."Althalia, let's not mention that to the Knight in the family-"

......."Let's go back to the beach, we'll tell you on the way!"

......."Well, yeah... alright. Oh, and uh..." Thalhar, deciding to change the subject for now, looked down in the space between the trio's embrace, where Mav was imprisoned and glaring up at them, and noted the Keeper uniform. "By the way, who's this? Your boyfriend?" The question was not meant teasingly - he was serious.

.......Althalia looked down at Mav, then up at her brothers, then back down. She grinned. "Ha-ha-ha! No."

......."Aw, come on!"

★★★

.......The three Skyriders and pistolier arrived at the beach just in time to join the cheering welcoming party for the Captains and Jace. Mav seemed quite relieved to see Captain Hale alive and well (and Junior Captain Telosia too, of course), considering all that had happened and the kind of opponent he'd gone up against, and he eagerly went up to greet him. Surprisingly, Mav seemed to remember something, then reached somewhere in his uniform, and pulled out a small, crushed box of cupcakes.

......."Aw, damn it!" he exclaimed regretfully as he opened the box and cradled a disappointingly smashed cupcake in his hand. Nothing seemed to be going his way, even after everything was over. Mav shot something of a glare at the Skyriders, his eyes momentarily blaming them for squishing him and his cupcakes between them. Still, sighed and he offered the rest of the pitiful box up to his Captains anyway, producing a short wave of chuckles from the other present members of the team.

.......Entropy seemed to act the same way toward (the much more damaged, but still alive) Captain Mattheis, tail wagging and all, and none of the fighters who had witnessed his power dared get between the two. Althalia and Ruhalis both kicked off their boards and plopped down on the warm sand, chugging down potion after sweet potion; after his younger siblings finished retelling the entire battle, Thalhar eventually got quite impatient with handing them these one-at-a-time and simply surrendered the whole bag to them before leaving to tend to his all-important "official duties".

.......Althalia had originally intended on going and slapping the Hiashin captain in the face to show Thalhar that he wasn't really the sort of "glorious" guy to be "untouchable by lowly hands" - the Knight freaked out when he heard exactly how hard the Chief Communicator beat the Prince, somewhat ignoring the fact that Mattheis had slapped his little sister first. She, however, decided against this when the fearsome silver-haired Militia General marched straight into the crowd around the Captains and gave Mattheis a stern lecture - if such a prank involved her getting between an Alaishin and a Hiashin, she wasn't going to risk it... at least, not for now.

.......Unbeknownst to her, while both seemed locked in debate, the General and the Fourth Captain were, in reality, thankful to see one another - like two old, bickering friends. General Alaishin was sincerely grateful to the Keepers, too, and took his time shaking hands with Hale and Telosia and apologizing for all the inconveniences (and slightly tilting his head with red eyes narrowed suspiciously at Telosia's bosom), patted the head of the sleeping Shadowsili boy on his back - he chuckled; Jace looked like he could pass off as an Alaishin himself, minus the Nith arm - and then turned to Mattheis, which foiled his attempt to sneak away with Hale and Jace so he could get some sleep in the medical tents or the hospital. Althalia giggled a bit to herself as she watched the Captain hang his head in an expression of exasperation and returned to his General.

.......She could only barely hear their conversation, but watched anyway, in curiosity. Valthes handed him something wrapped securely in a tattered red cloth and a black-and-gold cord, which Mattheis turned over and over in his hands. Just before he could pull the cord, however, the much taller Alaishin General stopped him, stooped down and muttered something inaudible, to which the Hiashin Captain seemed to roll his eyes and chuckle. There was a mention of the Great Mother Hylkiras and "fairytale bullshit", and further words of wisdom were exchanged but nothing else quite interesting happened in Althalia's eyes until an Aquilina in Militia uniform rocketed past in a blur of feathers and tackled her Captain to the sand, sobbing hysterically into his chest. Next to Althalia, Ruhalis also watched the spectacle and howled in laughter at his molting and wailing Navigator - "Ha-ha-ha! The Great Wall of Stoic has been breached!"

.......In between sobs Altya handed the Captain her book-sized Aura detection device (Dude, that model is way out of date... when was the last time they imported equipment from Krux?) with what appeared to be a sample of the same black and white Aura displayed on the Preposterous sparking on the hologram display, and some erratically behaving graphs displaying levels of Aura and Nith energy. The chattering from her beak was loud enough for most anyone around them to hear, and many of the Keepers who had not yet been informed of the events that had occurred there turned their heads at this:

......."C-Captain! You've... You've become a Shadowsili!" A small wave of silence washed over those who heard, and everyone began to look at each other - those not in the know seemed about ready to spring on the Hiashin Captain, those who did know were ready to spring on those who would spring on the Captain. Then they all turned to Mattheis, staring eyes demanding that he explain what kind of demonic deal he performed to be imbued with such cursed power - he had never displayed a trace of Nith power prior to the ramming of the Tower, much less any Cyrasili potential, and if he did, the Kingdom wouldn't have ignored it. As he looked to the people, then at Altya, then at his General, then in the direction where Jace was taken, then at his hardened-over black wounds, then at the blue, blue sky above, it seemed to Althalia that the Prince knew something that they didn't, because the next thing he did was...

......."Heh. Heh heh. Heh-ha-hahahaha!" Laugh.

.......It wasn't a sarcastic laugh, it wasn't a villainous laugh, it wasn't even an uneasy laugh. It was a healthy, happy, honest laugh, like a child's. Somehow, it was contagious, at least for the people who understood. Soon, Valthes was smirking to himself, Altya's tears of pain became tears of laughter, Ruhalis was chuckling along, and it spread out to the crew and the locals and the Dreskans and some of Team 9-AC and all who knew what happened. Mattheis grinned - he finally did what he wanted to do: Laugh. An honest, complete laugh. And for those who were still looking at each other, unsure of what to make of it all, with an archaic but upbeat tone he answered:

......."Have you ever seen the Life-Stream? It's the most preposterous... and beautiful thing in the universe."

.......Althalia smiled at this. Surrounded by the warmth of the sand and the sun, the teenager's eyes began to shut as she drifted off to sleep. She asked her brother to wake her up if there was anything important to see or do later; there was no doubt that there would be some crazy ceremony or celebration - if there wasn't one they would make one happen - but at this moment Althalia was just glad that it was all over, and she would enjoy the peace she had for now - even excitable Skyriders needed their rest. Finally she muttered, more to herself than to Matt or anyone else before letting her mind float away:

......."You're talking some weird s**t, dude..."

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Can you see it, this light?.......|
Can you hear it, this sound?.......|
Nothing to fear! Hold my hand, everything's alright!.......|
So let's go! Beyond the heavens, we'll go starbound!.......|
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[Q-Mo]

xxxxxxxxxx»»»» my name is . . .

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx✩ Jace : ~ : Vistus x↘↘x the hopefulDAWNx ↘↘xxxxxxxxxx

→ tracking location . . . Vectiras, The Resolve Of The Present

"Everything is precious to me... That's why... that's why I can't lose !! "

☆ t h o u g h t s x i n s i d e → o o c
Alright. Final post of the arc. We'll never forget, we'll never surrender. Maki, send me your part and I'll edit it in.

....................................................... n e x u s . . . deactivated .......................................................

Can you hear my voice calling out
Through the darkness, trying to shout.
Trapped within the void of the night
I call out for the light . . .

The smell of the ocean in the distance, the monotone white of hospital sheets and walls broken only by the splashes of color brought by "get well" decorations such as the tropical flowers, cards and most noticeably - pictures, the very same ones that had been on the wall of the hospital he had first awoken in. Back to the beginning... it had only been a short while ago, now waking from the soft folds of the stainless white sheets with his body feeling rejuvenated yet heavy at the same time, but to Jace it had felt like an eternity of being in Vectiras, enjoying the company of those that he cared for and fighting to protect the world that had become his home.

After a few moments of disorientation sitting up in his bed, Jace blinked noticing the abnormal quiet draped over his surroundings like a curtain, where was everyone? Raising himself from the bed, gladly noticing that there were no instruments or the like attached to him, no longer dressed in the Keeper uniform that felt like it had been made for him but now wearing a simple gray shirt and somewhat baggy brown trousers, his feet tucked into brown sandals; his Nith arm borne in a sling, the white haired boy left his room and set off through the hospital.

The normally inaudible noise of sandals treading across the facility were painfully loud in the otherwise complete silence, guided by some unseen force, Jace eventually made his way out of the hospital whereupon he was greeted by the orange glow of the sunset and illuminated in that orange glow lit up by the flames of candles, lined across the shore of Aedif were the people who had saved Vectiras.

xx......................................... To Be A Keeperxx.........................................

"Today. We celebrate a victory, the victory of the Keepers against their age-old enemy, the victory of a people defending their homes, the victory of those who sacrificed themselves to this cause... their victory, your victory... our victory."

Solemn faces bearing strange mixes of grief, relief and joy at the same time, the joy of being alive but the fear, sadness and uncertainty of having to go on living without a certain precious person... A sudden wave of anxiety struck the Shadowsili, throwing rapid glances around him, the anxiety was suppressed by a wave of relief as Jace saw the faces of several solemn faced but alive companions like Lucien, hidden beneath his enigmatic mask, Mei and Joshua still alive and well.

"On this day, we have lost friends, family, loved ones, and comrades. These people gave their lives, their futures, and everything they had - for us. To... keep the fire of life burning on this planet, so that we may find our strengths and overcome the darkness that manifested here." Mattheis's dry, parched mouth paused to swallow, and his solemn, tired eyes darted around the crowd, then at Hale; for the first time in years, he was having a bit of trouble choosing his words. They did not flow from his lips like they used to - but this was possibly the most honest formal speech he'd given for a long while. The words flowed not from his lips - they flowed from his heart. "Today, we celebrate their memory and the impact they made on our lives.... and... while they are gone here, know that... they're not truly gone. No; tonight, and forevermore, they smile upon all of us from above, in the Life-Stream."

He paused momentarily, remembering something, to look up at the quickly-fading sunset sky where the sparkling night sky and the Life-Stream were beginning to unveil for the first time since the whole ordeal began. "So, never forget - never forget the love that you had for them, and the love that they had for us and their home. And, as we mourn for our fallen, remember them not with sadness, but remember with joy and gratitude the flames of their lives that warmed our own, and live for them."

Jace felt something catch in his throat as he looked out to the beyond the shore, the darkening waters of the sunset reflecting the glows of a legion of candles floating out at sea, so many dead... he couldn't help but feel useless... a failure despite the fact that he knew that if they hadn't given their lives then they might just all be dead. Was there something else he could have done? Was there... Because all of this... is worth dying for...

"But this. This is a celebration. Because we're celebrating their sacrifice, we're celebrating the uniting of strangers to protect a world through a sense of duty, hearth or otherwise... we're celebrating the spirit that made our victory against the Nith possible!" "The preposterous fire of life itself!" And as if ignited by the very spirit with which the words had been spoken, a "flames" of life energy seemed to burn from the floating vessels adrift at sea, first gentle particles licking at the air; the collective mass of the fallen soon became a transcendent blaze that touched upon the very heavens themselves in a beautiful aurora of all different colors, all different aspects of life that shared one thing in common. They had made the ultimate sacrifice for living beings everywhere.

"Attention!" "Salute!" Keepers and militia alike, even some of the island residents, turned to their fallen comrades in arms in a salute; each member capable of doing so letting off a small tracery of aura to join in the pillar of light that now pierced the heavens which they helped to clear, it was a glorious sight, the entire island going silent, even the white birds that flitted through the sky did so silently in respect and the ocean itself seemed to become quiet with reverence, as a final respect was paid to the fallen and also to those who would continue to the fight now left to them.

Jace felt the very core of his being stirred as he gazed upon the magnificence of the fallen's final farewell, the traceries of aura dancing through the air around him like fireflies seemed to infuse the air with the emotions of the departed themselves. And listening, Jace could hear them say, this is our sacrifice, do not mourn for us - for this is the path we have chosen and we leave this world with no regrets. Reaching out, with a heavily bandaged left hand guided by a force that he couldn't explain, Jace allowed a lifefly of a brilliant green color to land delicately on his hand as it faded away into the air around it. "I'll live for the both of us now. I promised. Your wishes are my wishes, and your precious ones are my precious ones." The words spilled from his mouth in a low murmur that the boy couldn't explain, as if a sleeping part of him had awakened and assumed control of his body, his eyes widened when he realized what he had said and seemingly with the satisfaction granted by the boy's promise, the lifefly drifted away to join it's companions.

Still standing in shock and contemplation as the crowds began to clear away from the ceremony, as the last of the aurora of life energy began to clear from the sky, Jace found himself gazing at Hale standing alone upon the shore looking to the sky, his shadow blowing it's nose with tissues composed of shadows and crying what seemed to be tears made of light, the captain had removed his glasses for the ceremony and now as he placed them back on to hide the tears that had formed when everyone else had left and walked away mouthed the words, "Farewell... my comrades." with a grim determination and finality that managed to snap Jace from his stupor as the peculiar captain walked towards him.

"They chose you for a reason boy." Jace blinked, the captain grinned and ruffled his hair as he passed by with a seemingly random comment, "Make sure you keep your promises. Jace Vistus. The boy who saved Vectiras." And with that, the captain walked away leaving Jace bewildered as the celebration if Sajimas began, honoring Saji Vectus, the boy who had saved the Collective.

A boy carrying the weight of the world in a cross upon his back.

A boy said to have hair both gold and radiant like the sun, yet pure and white like the snow.

Please... live. For the two of us now.

The only reason Im here is just because of you
Behind you, taking your cues
But now its time for me to find out all the things only I can do . . .
For the answer has been here all along - in this beating a u r a - h e a r t

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