melodiesoflife | Endgame || Apocalypse

Entry tags:

Endgame || Apocalypse

Characters: Anyone
Where: Pandaemonium
When: March 05th
Summary: The first phase of endgame begins! The Heroes of Light are on their way to deal with Garland as they’ve left their unfinished businesses in the hands of their friends amongst the NPCs. How will it end? The mingle threads shall not be modded, only The Guardian will be modded. Please do not start individual threads for The Guardian, reply in a single thread. Starting from now on, the game is officially in endgame. Please do not post any new posts on Mognet or in the Log Community, unless they’re backdated to before this event. The second phase of endgame will be posted once The Killer Of World thread will have been unlocked and completed.
Warning: ̩̼͋ͬͅ.̷̳̗ͦͣ͐ͭͣͬ̈́ ̤̙ͫ̉.̨̯͖̗͓̥̭̣̂̄ͣ̏ͯͫ ̶̼̻̳ͫͧͥ̆.̭͎ͮ͂ ̳̤͓̖̫͌ͪͥ̄͗̐̌.͚͍̀ ͈̻̠̥̜ͦͦ̆ͨ͋.̼̹̹̠̟͚͎ ͙͇̲̘͖̉̌̒͂̈ͮ.͇͙͑̍̽ ̪̭̹̤͓̯̜ͦͣ̒̾͆͗ͦ͟.̝̯̲͗͊̽ ̛̙͌̈ͤ̚.̪̮̰̘͚̏ͦͤ ̲̼̺͓̣̝̐.͗ͨ͜ ̧́̑̄ͥ.ͬ͊̋ͣ ̝̠͍̭̯̽.́ ̊̽̈.̡̥̖̣͓̬̠̰͗͑͂ ͍̭̩̝̉͊̑̃̓ͤ̇.͆̔̀̈́̐̋ ͇̬̤̲͉̜͙̓̍ͦͯͤͥ̔.̯̻̺͔̰̞̙͋͡ ̻̼̣̮͖̮̋ͬ.̖̝̞ ͕̦̙̞̹̲̖̓̃.̌ͯͯ͟ ̺̘̪͊̊.̲͖ ̧̼̙̋ͦͧ̂́̑͑.̷̼̬̭͔͙̹̫ͦͧ̔̄͐̏ͫ ̱͎ͥͥ̈͝.̲̣͖̪͓̯ͩ̓̈̿ͧ̅́ ̪͈͚̺̦̝͎̒ͦ̇̚.̂̆ͯͦͩ̃̀̀ ̬͕̼̆.͎̃́͐̄͒̑ͪͅ ̠̳͎ͬ.̛̭͓͗͌ͪ ̴͉̱͉̘̯̟̔͐.̫̣̥̔͑͛́ ̝̭̤̜͖͎̙̈ͪ̿̓ͯ͂̚.̟̲̥̥͈̭̳̈̋ͥͦ ͔̩̈͋͐͗̚.͓̝̼͍̈ͧ͊ͅ ̥ͥ.̷̬͍͙ͥ̓͋ͅ ̪̯̠ͨ́̂.̱̙̘̫̰͕͈̎̓̊ ̧̻̃̎.̬̇̄ ̘̣̺̼ͯ͋̀.̯ͬ ̆͗͆̆̋͝.̴̞͖̫́ͬ͌̉̍̿ ̪̹̥͙̑ͅ.̵̻̮͓̉̃ͯ͑̊̈́̚ ͚̽̒̚͘.͇̮͇̻͍͈̠͂̓ͣ̀͡ ̩̠̖̋.̺͎͈̦̺̈́ͮͬ͌̋ͧͩ ̳̠͕͙̎ͩ͜.̛̆ͥ̒͑ ̘̠͓͚̱͗͜ͅ.̢̠̠̥͍̬̂̊͋͊̂̄̐ ̦͛.̰͚̫̱͙̩̅̓ ̲̜͌̒ͭ͑͠.̠̆̈̏͆̉ ̰̹̳̻̥̮̬ͨ̍̐̆͗ͫ͜.͕̥͔̳ͩ͞ ̣͓̥̑̍͊̽̄̀.̳̘̭ͭ̔̎̍͜ ̟̞̯̏.̙̯̦̞̱̘ͬ͐ͩ ̯̠̣͉̪̅̅ͣ́ͅ.̡͗̍̿͊͐͊ ̲̙́̽̽́.̝̟͇͈͚̿͝ ̑͜

Mingle Thread
The Guardian
The Killer Of Worlds

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A mass retreat? It was a tough call, given the circumstances. Even as the ground crumbled to dust, he could still move around with ease, circling past the Heroes who worked their way towards the Enterprise, but not hesitating to extend a helping hand to anyone who needed it.

Just go. Catching Minato’s unsettled expression, he motioned for the boy to flee while he still could. As much as he hated the thought of leaving Ramza, none of them was capable of enduring another display of Kalki’s abilities, let alone in the air.

Not everyone seemed to show the same level of concern. Ace listened to the Barkeep's declaration with a heavy heart, but if the possessed Hero was to hear anyone out, this was probably their best bet. The least he could do was plant a thought in Ramza's mind, using the Telepathy skill, hoping that it would reach him where ordinary words failed.

“Don't let her take over! You can still fight it, Ramza. Listen to him.”

With no more time to spare, he finally reached his primary objective. Tear. Mindful of her injuries, he lifted the melodist off the trembling ground and into his arms, ready to Teleport any moment now.

The former imperial knight hers the words that escaped Ira's mouth. That's not Ramza.. He did hear it clearly. That only made things worse. So Kalki was going as far as possessing other people for her plan? He somehow had lost all mercy he had for her. None of this sat well with Yuri. He knew that whatever came from this wasn't going to be a good thing. At least, he understood and heard what the silver haired boy had to say. Yuri saw the young man fall into the pit and he even tried to grab the other but he didn't make it. Neither did Selphie. She watched him fall into the Abyss and Yuri could only close his eyes as he watched the other's form disappear into the darkness. He didn't make any move to jump but Selphie's voice made him turn to her briefly, "Yeah, I know. I'm not about to do that right now."

Not after what he saw happened to Jaune. Following Selphie's response, his ears rung from the ordering tone of his favourite Princess. Oh jeez, could they all just give him a break. He didn't exactly jump in now did he?

"Right, I forgot we had something like that and hey no need to shout at me. I wasn't going to actually jump in."

He replied with a big sigh, "Alright ladies, let's get this thing going then. Grab whoever you can and get out! I'm going to go help with the stragglers. "

As soon as he said that he watched a fellow ally run straight for Ramza. Seriously?

"We aren't going to kill anyone. We had to stop Kalki and that was the only way, and now she's refusing to stay dead. We're short on resources. There's no way we'd be able to take her down right at this moment," Yuri replied as Chrom started to speak. He may not know the other but he had seen his face around a lot and he sort of deducted from the other's response what kind of person he was. Yuri wasn't going to repeat the past mistakes. He was trying to so hard, yet things were still not working out.

"Hold it!"

Yuri shouted at him before making a break for Chrom. They had to get out pronto, "We can't fight right now! Did you not hear what I said? You'll be dead before you could land a hit!"

"Sunshine cover me!"

He ran at Chrom who was facing Ramza in order to make sure the boy wasn't going to get himself killed. Yuri was a reckless and he understood Chrom's thoughts but they couldn't die here. He couldn't die and Chrom definitely wasn't.

Chrom didn't have time to argue. What could he say? How could he explain the bond between himself and the others who had agreed to fight together as a unit? Perhaps they hadn't as much time to grow as cohesive as his Shepherds in Ylisse, but they were still his responsibility.

He could not leave a single one of them behind. "Stop worrying about me, and see to the others!" he growled between clenched teeth as Ramzki once more vanished and reappeared beyond his reach, toying with the young lord. "We're not leaving a single person behind, possessed or not! GO!"

"Look it's not like I don't get where you're coming from but we don't have any way of subduing him! She possessed him but he's still alive. There's a chance we can get him back, so listen to the guy that's usually diving into dangerous situations head first for once!"

Yuri snapped at Chrom as he finally made it over the other with huge strides. He didn't have time to watch another Hero die.

"Let me remind you that you're also one of the others. Don't make this difficult."

Chrom could barely spare one glance at Yuri as he approached. "Shut up and help me then, man!" Would that he knew Yuri's name, he might have used it instead of ordering him the way he might an unfamiliar troop. But what could he do? What spell or ability was at his disposal that might possibly make a difference?

Chrom stopped with his feet spread wide, grimacing as he drew upon the power of Soul Eater. It would devour some of his own life force, but it might slow Ramzki down long enough to get in one good blow to the side of the head...

"Sorry pal, but I don't have a death wish and you sure as hell won't be harboring any death wishes either."

This was becoming really annoying. This guy was stubborn and he couldn't really blame him. Whoever this Ramza is, he must be important enough for Chrom to lose his shit over. Well, Yuri would have too if it was one of his friends but it was beside the point. There was no more time for negotiations.

He flipped the handle of his sword up and stood directly behind Chrom after he was distracted by casting Soul Eater.

"Blame me later but I-- we don't have time to lose another able and functional ally," without warning, Yuri used all the force he could muster and struck Chrom's pressure point with the hilt of his sword in hopes of knocking the guy out fast.

"Nngh--!" Chrom's eyes flinched wide with the force of the blow, before rolling up into his eyelids. The nobleman slumped loosely to the ground in a heap of clinking crystal and armor fastenings, Falchion clattering to the crumbling platform from out of his nerveless gloved fingers.

Yuri truly felt bad for this but he knew better than anyone that fighting right now was suicide. He didn't want Chrom to die in vain. As soon as the man collapsed, Yuri sheathed the other's sword back in its place along with his own. Quickly, he hoisted the unconscious Prince over his shoulders in a piggy back manner and made a run for the Enterprise. He'd still hope that Selphie was covering on his tread back as well. Yuri heard another voice but it wasn't like he could stop Barkeep right now. He was one person.

Well, this all just went to hell very, very quickly. Ramza was about the last person Jade would have expected to turn on them. No doubt Kalki had been very happy about that.

Knowing Rukia could handle herself with flash step, Jade sought out those who couldn't teleport or otherwise get away on their own. No time to think about it too much. He Vanished to Ruby's side and took the girl's shoulder before using Teleportation to get them both to the Enterprise.

Selphie nodded as she dashed after Yuri. She didn't know what he was planning but felt some relief when he confirmed that he wasn't going to jump. She grinned briefly at Natalia for backing her up before continuing to pursue her friend. She could hear people trying to reason with Ramzki and part of her wanted to try but it felt too late to reason with them now. She cursed silently under her breath before stopping in front of Yuri, drawing out her nunchaku and spread her feet wide against the bucking platform.

It all happened so quickly that Selphie didn't have time to say a thing to Chrom before Yuri had knocked him out. Chrom didn't want to leave anyone behind and she could understand that sentiment but now wasn't the time as Falchion came clattering to a halt near her feet. She backed up to the two men and quickly undid the belt that held Chrom's scabbard and put Strange Vision down. The sword was heavier than her own as she grabbed the scabbard and slid the sword inside. It was no small feat for the perky brunette to loop the belt across her right shoulder but she managed it.

"I've got your back, Yuri," Selphie said as she reclaimed her nunchaku and settled back into position. "And I'll talk to that blockhead on your back later."

Selphie let her eyes narrow into a sharp, serious glare before anyone could tell her otherwise. "TIME TO GO FOLKS," she bellowed at anyone who would listen.

Most unfortunately, people calling out to Ramza didn't seem to be helping in any ways. Any attack delivered against the possessed knight resulted in the now familiar phasing out effect and it didn't seem his consciousness would overcome Kalki's. As the floating platform crumbled Garland's and Kalki's corpses fell into the abyss and soon, Ramza-Kalki himself fell as well, without trying to move away from the crumbling platform. Anyone clinging onto him for a reason or another will fall into the abyss as well. The rest of the platform had only seconds left before crumbling entirely.

Going up the stairs, they would find the entirety of Pandaemonium and the Imperial City slowly collapsing and crumbling as the earthquake's intensity grew. The soldiers were already retreating and only the potion-selling soldier and a moogle with him weren't running away yet. They greeted all the Heroes of Light coming from the stairs with a simple sentence, pointing toward the exit.

"Go! Get to the airship!"

Meanwhile, the situation on the Enterprise was hardly better. The ship was shaking as it was still landed close to the imperial city and most of the crew seemed to panic, with Cid yelling out orders to the crew members left and right while holding the wheel, as the first Heroes of Light started appearing on the airship.

"I said we're not going till they're all back." Then noticing whoever were the first Heroes to have appeared. "Speak of the devils. The hell's happened down there!?"

Sonic came to a stop facing Cid, an annoyed look on his face.

"Hell's right, Cid!" He said. "Garland's dead, Parasraya was actually Kalki and Ramza's been possessed by her and even that I have my doubts on! Some of the heroes are MIA thanks to those two!"

Though Natalia raced up the stairs into the city, she didn't stay with the other heroes. Instead she went for the soldiers, shouting orders of evacuation. They'd all fought so bravely for the rest of them, the last thing she wanted was to see them meet their deaths here.

She shouted her warning as she moved, making sure it was heard, making sure it was spread.

"That means you too!" she told the vendor. Why hadn't he budged yet? "Come on, you won't sell more of your wares in this place!" If he needed help picking up his goods, he'd get it. But she had no intentions of leaving any of this world's people to their own devices, using the last of her healing magic on any who was wounded or struggling.

He tried to hurry the others to escape the best he could, even though he knew they would not trust the darkness at his disposal nearly as much as he'd wanted to believe. After watching everyone had either been dragged off by others or had willingly begun either climbing the stairs, he reached for Lydia's hand before taking her through the Dark Corridor as well. If only what he first heard on the other end was something that didn't make his blood boil.

Why did no one trust his observations? Was it because he was the lowly replica of the hero that should have been here instead? No, such thoughts needed to wait. Shaking his head, he took one step onto the deck of the Enterprise, and-

"He is right on one point," Ira said, fully stepping out of the portal. "Garland is dead."

With that said, he turned his hard glare to Sonic. "He wasn't in control at all, and I refuse to believe someone who so strongly advocated the laws of this world and stood beside us all this time would betray us willingly.

"Feel free to doubt my ability to sense the darkness of others' hearts all you want. It won't change the fact that he is in Kalki's thrall."

[ooc: If anyone else wanted to escape with him, he will have waited for them to go through! Feel free to handwave it!]

If it was a choice between darkness trusted by another Hero and falling into the abyss- well. The choice didn't seem that hard to her. She shook herself once she was on the deck, unsettled, and reached up to pinch her nose as she listened to the others. One conversation like this had to be enough for one lifetime, surely.

"I don't believe it, either," she said, shaking her head to try to settle herself. "I don't know why Kalki went for him, but… We have to find a way to deal with that now." Admittedly, she wanted a little time to not deal with anything for a few moments- but she wasn't sure that was going to happen. "As for the earthquake- I believe that's something she did as well."

Ramzki dodged his bullet, not that it was any surprise. Of course she'd use that same trick as before and not get rid of her new body. Did all Avatars have the ability to possess other people upon death? Magic was stupid, so Ales didn't bother to ponder that while he jumped into Ira's portal.

He tumbled onto the deck of the Enterprise, rolling with the graced of a floppy Teensie armored with uneven spikes. The puppet following him fared better as it stood up to face Cid while Ales struggled to stand on his feetl.

"Either way, Ramza's body is still down there and probably will join the other Heroes. Not counting him and Puras--Kalki. Not counting them, 11 of our number are gone." His mouthed tightened. "What's happened out here?"

Cloud followed the order he was given, hefting up Reno and carrying him through the dark passage. He spared one last glance to Ramza as he fell away, his brow furrowed. He wanted to believe in his friend but part of him wondered just when the change happened. Before or after? And how much was he involved in it.

He pushed the thought away as he stepped through. It wasn't going to help.

Upon arriving at the Enterprise, Cloud joined in the pessimism. "It was a trap to begin with. Kalki knew we wouldn't have any choice but to do this so she took the chance to make it her victory." He was cut off by Ira before he could get to Ramza and maybe it was for the best. He was running hot on adrenaline and anger right now, not thinking clearly and hope was being held at arm's length.

But Ira was right. He felt the same way about Ramza and so he felt betrayed, but he also knew enough about Ira's powers to believe in his words. "Maybe it's because he never used any Jobs. Or maybe it's because of who he was." He shook his head, there was no way of picking this apart now.

Instead he rolled off of Ale's comments. "Cid, have you seen any of them?" He rattled off the list of names of the missing, including Deadpool.

______________

Elsewhere, closer to the stairs and that exit the other Heroes were using an unaccompanied gold chocobo fussed and fretted as it waited for its Hero to emerge from the crumbling keep. Zack had never accepted Cloud's decision to leave him behind at the ranch for this and he slipped his hitching post and stable stall shortly after the Heroes had landed at Pandemonium.

But Zack is a smart bird and he'll listen to anyone who tells him Cloud is safe and will also help carry any of the unconscious or wounded to safety.

Tsubomi was a bit disoriented with her sudden arrival on the Enterprise. If anything, she'd be just a bit annoyed at Levy for not warning her about the jump. She's more grateful that she saved her.

Letting out a sigh, she heard the commotion over Kalki and Ramza. However, it was Cloud's comments that got to her.

"W-wait...!" She called out. "Didn't the video say that, for one to be a God, they had to conquer their Shadow self? He must have... does anyone remember what Ramza had to deal with?"

Jack makes it to the Enterprise, breathless, and has to lean against the nearest supportive surface. "Next time...equip Dragoon, Harkness."

He lets the names, the list of the fallen wash over him. Nanami. Mary. Damn it all. They never would have gotten this far without them. It's Tsubomi's question that gets Jack back on the ball, and he opens his eyes again. "He succeeded. Outside of that, what does it matter? He found his faith again." As much as Jack can say without revealing things that are not his business to speak of.

But, okay, it's showtime. "This was not entirely a trap. We did need to defeat Garland and prevent the cycle from being restarted, that was always a part of the plan. We just didn't think that someone else had her own plans to capitalize on this. We did succeed here today, so now it's time to figure out how to do it again."

Jack is looking around for Jade and Chiaki, specifically. "We have options, none of them are good, some of them are much stupider than others, so let's start with the best we've got. The plan from the very beginning was that once Garland was out of the way, we would activate the Soul Divider to try to reconnect the Calamity back to the broken pieces of the other worlds. We just expected that we were going to have more time to be able to do that. If we were to go turn it on right now, to try to interfere with what Kalki is doing, what are the odds that it would work?"

Jade had been taking count of who had made it safely to the airship, but stopped and turned at Jack's question. The next step...

"The Heran scientists are only just starting to modify the Soul Divider. I can't say for sure that Crystallis would be able to take that much energy." He rubbed his chin, frowning. "And before that, we'd have to influence the Calamity so it'll be absorbed into the cycle of souls without devouring the planet in the process. To do that, I'd say we most likely need the Black Crystals and the help of the remaining Avatars."

Which presented a new problem.

"Unfortunately, Ramza just took the fourth crystal with him. Unless we can get it back, we'll be one short."

Jade looked around until he found Tear being carried in Ace's arms and walked over to them. Injured though she was, there was something he needed to confirm. "Tear, that vision you saw after we defeated Palitutu... Do you remember if it showed all four of the Black Crystals in our possession?"

Normally Bonnie would be happy about Saori hugs, but she could immediately feel something wrong with it. It was a bit too tight and the fact that they were now running away made the dread begin to bubble. Her eyes widened happily at the first word that Garland was defeated, but Saori's words come just as the missing person present processes in her pom.

"Wait! Kupo! No! We need to go back for her! Kupo! Where's Mary, kupo!" The little fluffball wriggled with all her might in Saori's arms, trying to get back to the crumbling room but she couldn't break free.

Reluctantly, Minato obeyed Ace's telepathic words and exited the collapsing scene via Ira's portal. Kharon was there to greet him on the other side, fussing and worrying even more than he usually did, reasonable given the circumstances; but Minato was unable to answer. Everything happened in a blur, he was just tired now after the adrenaline wore off. His eyes were heavy, but it was nothing compared to the unease about Kalki's plans and awareness this world didn't have much longer.

He'd been gone from Crystallis a long time, there was a lot of information he needed to be brought up to speed with and shouldn't tune out. Slumped against the wall, Minato sat down quietly, paying as much attention as he can before fatigue catches up to him. He isn't looking at anyone anymore, but slips off his armband to look at it as a source of comfort. Instead, it reminds him of a friend he'd lost then too. For all his speeches earlier, he wasn't sure anymore a life without death was so bad, even if the sacrifice required to attain it was much too great a cost.

Kharon was beside him, and gently pat him with his little hand.

For once there were no objections from Tear when Ace carried her away, but it likely had to do with her being too tired to do so after keeping up the soldier front throughout the entire battle. Though they were by no means out of danger, being aboard the Enterprise meant she could try to rest a little as she succumbed to laying her head against her partner's shoulder, almost as if she were about to fall asleep.

Then her eyes opened as Jade's voice reached her ears, taking her a moment to register the question and subsequently recall the vision she had seen. Lips thinning, she nodded.

"Yes. All four were in our possession, passed on to four of the Avatars by us Heroes—Kurma, Prajapati, Varaha and Mograma."

Frowning slightly, she glanced around the ship. The setting was similar, but it couldn't have been this moment, surely...

"Ramza!" The Barkeep would continue calling for him even as the ground crumbled beneath him. Everyone else would take Ira's portal or run, but falling into the abyss wouldn't worry the man with Teleport. He'd yell at the image of the young man who would hate to see his body used in such a way until he woke up or Kalki relented. He'd talk at her until she had enough. Humans and robots alike have told him he talks too much, and if that could drive away some, he may as well attempt to drive away Kalki.

"What'd I tell you about gettin' yourself into trouble, huh? Goin' off, checkin' on dead folks right after they die, and now look at what happened to you! Kick her outta your head and come home already! This is that play all over again, what with the roles and stories and such. She wants you to get mind controlled and blow up the planet? Don't let her! Go and improvise so no one dies and everyone gets married! Wasn't that a good play we put on!"

But no reaction to the memory surfaced on Ramza's face. It was nearly a year ago they were transported to Hera and pulled into a play with doppelgangers, but it would always be a fond memory for Mordecai.

"By the way, Kalki, this story you're puttin' on? You got no creativity!"

In response, the last of the ground beneath Ramzki collapsed, and his body quietly fell below. Just s Mordecai reached his hand out, he felt his feet touch air, and he reacted by Vanishing just out the entrance where Saori and the item guy were.

He hoped the adrenaline rush would be enough to push back the image of his Ramza falling to his death. No, he couldn't be dead. The others could be dead. They--

"Dangit! Grab onto me! We ain't givin' up just yet!" He grabbed the item guy by the sleeve and reached out to any other Heroes that were severely lagging behind, Bonnie and Saori included.

"We'll talk where it's safe!"

Once everyone that he was aware of in the vicinity held on, he used the remaining mental strength to Teleport them onto the ship. It was too much for the Barkeep, who had never gotten this tired when he had the infinite MP of the Force Galactic, and he collapsed onto his knees before planting his face into the wood floor.

...It was smooth, clean wood.

Edited 2017-03-18 04:59 (UTC)

It may have been a short trip or a long trip through the corridor, but with each step as she brought Reno through it, Sheena's anger grew. Luckily, she kept it in check long enough to make sure both the red-head and Cloud were through before letting it erupt.

"We were tricked! Again! That's what the hell's going on!" she raged at Cid. "That whole thing with Rialynn being possessed was a test, wasn't it? To see if we would--and could--kill another Hero if we needed to. Because you knew this would happen!" She didn't care if she was right or wrong, she had a point to make.

"That's why all those plays have a different number of Heroes in it, and different outcomes, isn't it? Because everything repeats, and why we were always told the ideas we were coming up with wouldn't work--because they were either already a part of a previous cycle and hadn't done anything, or weren't because people were afraid to try something different! So why not just tell us the truth and admit that you don't want the cycles stopped because you know what will happen to you--a future already predetermined by your own history!"

And with that, she turned and stormed away to look for the Moogles in her care.

"We'll do that when we get to safe place c'mon! We can't get caught in this mess!"

He ushered the girl to go ahead while he ran with the unconscious Prince on his back towards the opening that Ira kept for everyone. He may not know the guy but he trusted that he would get them all to safety so as he dashed at Ira, making eye contact as he shouted at the fellow Hero, "HEY YA GOT ROOM FOR A FEW MORE!?"

Because he could run to the Enterprise on his own but with Chrom, he wasn't sure he'd make it. Better take up the offers of the other Heroes who could teleport and or transport people back and forth. The ground was crumbling so it was really intense just trying to get to the other Hero.

As much as he wanted to argue with everything that was going on, he didn't. There was no need to. Things would pan out at some point. They'll figure out something.

He wasted no time in making his exit. As the ground began to crumble beneath his feet, he quickly judged the two options before him, before tossing the staff he'd awakened with through the corridor the kind lad had left open for the others, reappearing aboard the Enterprise in a spark of crimson light as his Limit Break finally reached it's end. Had any grabbed onto him as he'd done so - like his now confused and disoriented moogle companion - they'd find themselves there as well, though most likely not feeling their best (and likely attempting to keep their latest meal from vacating their stomachs).

Ardyn, meanwhile, simply seemed exhausted from the ordeal, moving aside as Cleitus made for the railing to purge his little furry self from the warping sickness. "Ergh, you'd t-think I'd be used to that by now, kupo..."

"Now isn't the time to be shouting at our allies," he stated in a tone indicative of a elder of authority, before turning to the collapsed Barkeep, pulling out an ether from his pocket and offering it to the man. "And I believe you require this far more than I."

Saori held onto Bonnie as she reached to grab Barkeep's hand. Just as they teleported out, she looked back one last time at the now crumbling platform.

She helped the item vendor up on his feet before checking on Mordecai.

"Thank you for getting us out of there. Rest up while we can." She looked up at Ardyn as offered the Ether. The anger she felt towards him when he stopped her from attempting to make a Kalki-kabob softened. Instead she just gave him a nod before finally diverting her attention to the moogle she dragged back.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie, but we can't go back. I wasn't able to see if Mary and the others are..." She choked back the tears. Brigid flew in as soon as she heard word of the Heroes returning and found her hero with her hood drawn up. Quietly, she went over to Saori and gave her a hug. The Assassin just needed a minute to compose herself.

"I don't blame her for lashing out like that but it's not going to solve anything. Ramza was always the type to see the best out of others. Of course Kalki would use that to her advantage."

She lets go of both moogles to take out Garland's sheathed sword as proof of his demise. "I don't know if this sword's got anything special to it, but I'd like to hold onto it if no one objects."

At least it seemed the order to retreat from the City had already been given, yet that didn't stop Sephiroth -in his determined though something staggering sprint for the outskirts- from taking a good note of how his fellow soldiers were also going about getting out. He slowed on more than one occasion, and diverted through dangerously crumbling streets perhaps more than he should have; avoiding falling debris and rallying those soldiers who might otherwise become lost.

As a result, finally -and perhaps one of the last- Sephiroth urges himself to push that sprint for the final stretch that would put him on the Enterprise. No matter how much his legs, or even his whole body, were burning from the exertion and would most likely punish him later. When close enough, Spencer was launched in the direction of the airship and he flew on ahead a few paces; just to make sure that the crew saw that another Hero was incoming.

Once aboard the deck, the seasoned Colonel gripped at a nearby railing -so he wouldn't be knocked over by the constant shaking- and began to slow his breathing in the same way an athlete might do after a marathon. Though Sephiroth's eyes appeared to be firmly only a few feet ahead of himself, pinned to the deck, he was indeed still listening to the comments and outrage being thrown around.

He didn't disagree particularly, with Sheena, but taking it out on Cid wasn't going to help at all. As for what they were going to do now; well, Sephiroth still couldn't speak past the steady gulps of air he was taking, but it seemed to him that take off was imminent.

Edited 2017-03-18 10:48 (UTC)

There was a time to argue. There was a time to be stubborn. That was neither of those times as the constant bucking of the platform was scaring Selphie more than her face was hopefully showing. She didn't bother to shoot a look back at the possessed Ramza but merely nodded at Yuri as she started to run for Ira's portal. She had a feeling that they were some of the last heroes to evacuate but crossing the decaying platform felt like it was taking an eternity.

She shouted defiantly at the platform to not give out on them as she jumped the last few feet into the portal. The darkness swirling around her for the briefest time was enough to drain the colour from her face as she eventually stumbled onto the deck of the Enterprise. She was noticeably shaking from the brief trip before moving out of the way. The adrenaline from the battle was starting to wear off as she loosened the belt around her shoulders and pulled Falchion off her back to set it on the ground. She sank next to the sword and shot a petrified look at the portal.

"Selphie," Jaelyn called out before rushing to her partners side. "Are you all right?!"

"I'll be fine," Selphie breathed out. "Yuri and Chrom were right behind me. C'mon, don't die in there. You're both needed, now more than ever."

She didn't ever dare to ask if everyone was all right; she already knew the answer.

The item-selling soldier and the moogle accompanying him did their best to take as many of their goods as they could, but alas there was only so much they could carry while running. They looked at what was left and the Moogle was the one to speak.

"We'll be back, Kupo."

They then both hurried behind Natalia, following her to the ship. And on the ship, Cid was already under too much pressure with the earthquake to ease the tension with his reply. His reply to Sheena was was on par with hers as far as rage levels were concerned.

"The fuck are you talking about? Don't you think if I'd planned to screw you over I would have gone back to get my damn coffee rather than sit here and risk my ship and life for your asses? Throw yourself off the bridge and go yell at whoever's down there or shut your clapet, definitely and permanently!"

And as soon as this was said, a crystalline pillar suddenly erupted to the left of the ship, half as tall as the castle of Aqures Ixen. It would quickly become evident the airship tilting to the side along with the ground, as if this entire pan of earth threatened to crack away from the continent or slide into the ocean. Most of the crew fell onto the ground and Cid held onto the railing, leaving the wheel.

"Someone take the damn wheel." He then went to the speakers, calling out for anyone still not on the ship. "You've got one minute before we leave! That's sixty seconds so move your asses!"

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