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Lloyd was now back up on his feet after putting out those flames, in time to see what was unfolding. At this time, he thought it was best to hang back until it all played out, but drew his swords once more. Gripping them tensely, he thought about the next move he could make as he watched.

One hit out of three, but Azriel still cracked a smirk at her thrust successfully going through. The others' attacks were landing as well, anyway. The projections of Chiaro and Oscuro pushed harder at the doppelgänger's sides, putting him into more of a pinch, Though that was short-lived, as they dissipated in a few seconds.

Now seeing Eduardo carrying Rhone over, Azriel pulled her blade back and made a couple of jumps backward to make way for what they were trying to do.

"Not the most conventional battle tactic" Kai sweatdropped



"who cares? as long as it damages Mr. Big-Bad Replica over there" Lilith said trying to get a few hits in.




((lol,Tales of the Abyss reference emotion_awesome ))

Being scratched by Rin and hit by Sol's arrow causes the doppleganger to reel back before his wounds can heal and leaving him unprepared for Eduardo's throw. As Rhone sails towards his target, his thoughts race for a moment.

Didn't think I'd show this off so soon, but now's as good a time as any, I suppose...

A second before impacting with the imposter, Rhone's coat seems to come alive as it shifts form, becoming two sets of bat-like wings; one set portruding from his upper back pointing mostly sideways but a little up, the wingspan only slightly wider than he would be with arms stretched out to the sides, and a second, slightly smaller set portruding from his lower back pointing mostly down, but sideways some as well. He uses the wings to steady himself, hitting the imposter head-first, causing him to slide backwards. Rhone, now a head taller than his imposter, uses his limbs to hold the imposters' idle and carries him into the air with his wings.

"Now what? You can't harm me without the use of your sword...and you need your arms to use it."

Rhone slowly opens his eyes and glares at the imposter. His normal blue eyes changed to red, and the whites of his eyes changed to black.

"YoU hAvE sOmEtHiNg ThAt BeLoNgS tO mE...."

After that moment, Rhone sword impales them both through the imposter's back and into Rhone's chest, finally leaving the bodies through Rhone's back. Coming from just below the wing sets was Rhone's tail, being used to grip the hilt of his blade. A red glow is seen as Rhone takes his stolen mana back from the imposter before flinging him into the ground. Barely able to stand, the imposter laughs for a few seconds before pointing at Rhone, who was now standing on the ground and glaring back at him.

"Heh...I almost forgot how alike we are...very clever..."

He slowly dissipates into a blue mist and scatters throughout the area, bringing the plants he had killed back to life.

".....BrOtHeR...."

((WHOO, finally able to pull my thoughts together for this. ^.^;; I hope this is alright, let me know if something's lacking.))

Lloyd's eyes widened in astonishment as they witnessed what unfolded, and he gaped as he watched Rhone's change. His stance relaxed as he followed the action skyward, feeling that the fight was nearing its end. "Whoa, that's...surreal..." was all he could say at the moment, rendered mostly speechless at witnessing abilities he never had before---in what appeared to be a relatively normal person on the surface, at least. Then he grimaced as he watched Rhone impale both his imposter and himself, a concern growing as he imagined how painful that must be.

Azriel had watched with a mostly neutral expression, save for the sheer awe that could be read in her eyes. Her otherselves and her spiritual guest within looked on with intrigue as well, through her eyes.

Chiaro and Eloysio, arms folded, actually seemed rather calm and indifferent, but there was a twinge of curiosity in their thoughts. Oscuro, on the other hand, had worn a wide-eyed and gaping expression that could match Lloyd's, which soon became replaced with narrowed eyes and a slight pout after she took a quick look over her body. "All of a sudden, I feel like I could've been a little more creative." >:T She was feeling a subtle sense of annoyment, and probably jealousy.

Eloysio turned his attention to Oscuro, quirking an eyebrow. "...But neither of us could exercise any control over how your finalized form would turn out."

She huffed. "...Yeah I know, but still." >:T

Eloysio smirked in amusement. "Well if it's any consolation, your form is enough for your function. You don't need to look so overly, eh...impressive to get the job done." Concluding with a shrug, he looked back up and slightly flinched along with Azriel, catching what Rhone did to himself and his imposter in time.

When the doppelganger disappeared from the area, Lloyd approached Rhone. "Is that it? Is that the last we'll see of him? And hey, are you alright?" He looked at where he had impaled himself.

Catching up shortly after, Azriel followed up, "Um, yeah, are you? I think I have enough left in me for a few instances of First Aid, if that'll help."

Rhone's wings close around him and form the open longcoat he normally wears as his height returns to normal along with his eyes and horns. The wound in his abdomen slowly closes within the span of a few seconds and he dismisses his sword by sliding it into the core of his exsphere, which seems to absorb it. Afterward, he simply shrugs and looks at everyone.

"Don't worry. I'm feeling a lot better, actually. Has anyone seen my hat? I'd really like to have that back... I should probably explain what happened as well. I can do that once we're on our way to Mizuho."

Rhone sighs as he finds his hat on the ground nearby and place it back on his head.

"Alright, you want to know? I can give you a short version now. See this thing on my right arm? Experimental exsphere. The prototype of the ones I worked with Zelos to make. It...er...didn't work as expected. The creatures I defeated to power the exsphere weren't the normal monsters you'd find around here. The exsphere backfired during a fight and exploded. When I woke up, my opponent was gone and I was... as I am now. The creatures' power infested every part of my body, and as a result of the mana released from my exsphere, my body is held together purely by magic. As long as I have mana, I can heal my wounds quickly, despite the severness of the injury...however, this also means that by using my magic, I am expending the very force that holds me together. That good enough for now?"

He crosses his arms and waits for Sol's reply.

Eduardo listened eagerly- he would tell the story at once! That saved him some waiting. However, if the energetic half-elf seemed to calm down a little throughout Rhone's story. "Exploded? That sounds rough." He sat down and looked into the air. Whether he was seeing something up there or simply recalling a memory was anyone's guess.
"If only you could have gotten those fancy power things in some other way, huh?" He nodded sympathetically. "But hey! You have 'em now, so you might as well enjoy them!"

Both Sirea and Colette sighed with relief as Rhone's wound had closed up. Thankfully, he didn't need to be healed. Sirea's fox ears twitched from hearing Sol's comment regarding Rhone's explanation. "You know, he could tell us when he's ready. No need to push him." She said. She was quite curious herself, though she didn't want to pry. When Rhone gave his explanation, she gazed at the exsphere on Rhone's arm.

Colette frowned a bit after listening to Rhone's explanation. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Rhone." She said in a sympathetic tone.

"In other words, it was an experiment gone wrong? You really got it rough, man. " Rin said with a frown, which soon turned into a small smile when he heard Eduardo's comment. "Ed's gotta point there. You got those abilities of yours, you may as well make use of them, right?"

Sirea was distracted with staring at the exsphere until her fox ears perked up from hearing Ilene yell at Sol to apologize to Rhone, which snapped her out of it. She glanced over at Ilene. "There's nothing wrong for him to ask questions. It helps sharpen the mind."

Rin couldn't help but laugh from listening to Sol and Ilene. "Are you both sure that you're not a couple? You both seem to love to get at each other's throats." He said with a grin. "Though seriously, I don't like this place either. I definitely do not want to get lost in here."