Betrayal of Baert: Final

Betrayal of Baert: Final
Date of Scene:	24 June 2014
Location:	Ivalice
Synopsis:	The Lord Baert has now been indemnified by all parties, and all appears to be lost. He may well get away with being responsible for the deaths of innocents, engaging in illegal backdoor deals, and attempting to assassinate his own Chief Operating Officer. But there's still a problem... one nosy little Burmecian Rat still has the evidence and the motivation to have that judgement overturned. He'll have to be dealt with.
Thanks to:	The players! All one billion of them! ;_;
Cast of Characters:	3, Tomoe, 109, 129, 151, 152, 183, 236, 275, 307
Tinyplot:	Of Stones and Sins

---

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Clockwork City, Goug -

Night has fallen upon Goug, yet even so - it is well lit tonight despite the only major light sources being torches and window lights scattered throughout the city. This is primarily because there is a festival being held here today, a small but meaningful event sponsored by the Church itself - intended to take the edge off of recent events for the citizenry. All of the city's streets are flush with people, but the market place is paricularly busy. Stalls are scattered about, selling various goods - many hand-made by the peasantry - and for sale. The smell of various inviting local dishes being prepared is also pervasive here and the organized chaos of this event manifests itself even in sound.

Puppet shows, dancing, improvised theatre, and other spectacles are also here. On this day, seeing all of the excitement and energy of the citizenry - one would be hard-pressed to figure out anything had recently been wrong...

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
Oh damn does this smell good. Faruja mentioned the festival, and Adelaide is more than happy to show up. She's been through the market already, snagging a random item or two, and at the moment is settled in at one of the tables in what passes for a food court.

And the meal before her tastes even better than it smells. If she weren't the dour sourpuss she always practices being, she'd be grinning from ear to ear and absolutely loving it; it's almost enough to distract her from the real reason she's here - which is, at the moment, folded up and tucked discreetly into the backpack she's got on.

But the carbine and spare magazines, as well as her concerns about Faruja's safety, aren't entirely off her mind.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Despite what she's wearing, somehow Mizuki manages to blend right in with the crowds. Her parasol is up and her countenance radiant as she strolls by a few stalls, heels clicking. It has been a while since she was last in this world, and that time she never made an appearance at all! All that she did was done in the interest of staying hidden, but now... hoho~. She's free to wander, flaunting her fine clothes and expensive tastes wherever she pleases. Really, she may not mesh well with the whole 'church' business, but that's not why she's here. She's here for the culture! The ambience! And... well... the coincidence.

See, despite appearances, Mimi doesn't plan on much. At the very most, she probably saw an advertisement for the festival a few days ago. At the least...? She was on a stroll and just ended up here. Whatever the case, she's here /now/, and if there are festivities then... well. That does bring up some darker thoughts, doesn't it? Public events like this -are- a rather lovely method of covering it up when something goes wrong, but let's give the situation the benefit of the doubt for now, yes? Yes. And... maybe she could find Faruja, just in case? If she's right - and really, she always is whenever she can feel her authorial sense tingling like it is now - she will find other members of the Union here. And possibly...

... others.

Well. That was a sobering thought. She takes a deep breath as she recalls the two 'demon women' she had seen before. If they're still here, and if this tale is anything like other stories she has read, there's some connection between them and the church. The law of irony, you know? And judging from the prevalence of the church here, well... there might be conspiracy afoot.

But! Innocent until proven otherwise. Until something explodes, she saunters down the road, smile as bright as ever.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Outside the city, there's a dustcloud forming up. The cause becomes obvious fairly quickly, a veritable stampede of local monsters is chasing a teenage girl, armed with little more than a bronze breastplate, bronze spear, and abstractum shield. She is being creative with her spear, stabbing backwards at the monsters that get too close, but it's too much for her to fight. "Help!" She yells out to the guards at the gate. "I can't fight this many!"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is here with Faruja and sees that people have been throwing a heck of a party. She seems in a fairly good mood with this and she's here to enjoy herself somewhat but she's collecting food and shoving it into her inventory. Why? She'll take it home later to her body that can /enjoy/ it better. Still she did stand out towering in at 6 foot 3 before her boots added a few more inches in height? It left the Salamander towering over people, also the ears were a give away too. Still she looked for all the world to be some sort of Templar or paladin though the crosses on her armour are very likely alien to this world. Some sort of foreign paladin? Odd no?

Either way where was Faruja hiding today, Tomoe would have to seek him out and see just what he was up to.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Having decided to visit this place, because so far out of the places he has visited so far this has been the place he has felt the most comfortable, even if things are far more advanced than his home. It just has a certain feel to him, s finding a festival leaves Allyn a little surprised, but he takes it in stride, well something a bit relaxed might be nice after all the recent troubles he'd been finding himself in. He's currently stalking through the festival in his preferred form, the wolf today with a slight limp, seems he got himself injured somehow again, but he's happy its not as bad as a few days ago.

He lifts his head and sniffs the air as he smells the scents of food and his muzzle wrinkles a little and he sighs. It may smell good, but it's most likely all cooked, but of course that doesn't stop him from sniffing at the scents in the air, while he may not eat cooked things, he does appreciate the smell of them. He also perks up his ears and listens to the sounds of the festival around him, while keeping an eye out for anyone who might try to chase off a wild animal.

Auron (236) has posed:
Festival! Yes, even Auron is interested in seeing this. Not just because he wants to see what kind of parallels he can draw between the Church of Glabados and the Church of Yevon, but because... festival! Food! Games! People-watching! Now that he's not so morose and moody -- or alternately, high-strung and moody, as he was when he was younger -- he actually has the capability to enjoy a festival.

He's come in his usual attire, with the long red coat. It doesn't look /too/ out of place. There is, however, one addition. Auron usually keeps his left arm tucked in his coat. This evening that arm is a perch. Sort of. Seems a black-and-white cat has taken up residence there. Auron had made repeated attempts to remove it, but all of them had been in vain, so he'd eventually just let the thing stay there. It wasn't hurting anything.

Thus, the cat remains. The cat's head pokes out of the coat, and it looks as though it's either asleep or near it. The spectacle draws odd looks and the occasional snicker from passersby. Auron doesn't seem to care.

Roll (3) has posed:
Robot Masters cannot enjoy human food, but even so, why not enjoy the FUN of a festival? Roll's been helping Faruja for a while, but hasn't even really gotten a chance to see Ivalice as the place it's meant to be, outside all these crazy issues! So she's come to Goug to see the sights, study the foods (maybe collect some recipes!) and hang with some friends. With her humble little red dress, she doesn't look the least bit out of place while standing...

RIGHT BEHIND AURON!

"... Where did the little one come from, mister?!"

Faruja (152) has posed:
Today is a religious festival. It wouldn't take long to find out just where Father Faruja Senra has made himself off to. A pulpit. One that's suspiciously made from a few wooden boxes that once contained fruit, but any port in a storm. Short stature or not, he makes up for it with /volume/. This might not be comforting for his newly acquired Navy-girl Guard (tm).

"...Aaand give thanks to Him, for all that ye hath been given in life! Though times art dark and war looms near, that tragedy befalls this place, never forget thine Faith and the love of Saint Ajora! For in the worst times of tribulation art true believers tested! This do I swear to ye, oh Children of the Lord, that these things shall all pass until the Kingdom of Heaven greets ye all! In the name of Holy Faram and Saint Ajora, Amen!" The crowd about him is rather large. He didn't even bring his Inquisitorial cross. At this point, the rat doesn't need it. He's gained quite the reputation amongst certain circles, both good and bad.

Stepping down, it takes him a good five minutes to dispense enough platitudes and blessings to actually be able to wander over to Addie, Tomoe, and the many others who are here. Notably, he was all but shoved his food and drink by a faithful stall-owner. In turn, the rat 'accidentally' left a coinpurse.

Flump! Faruja lets out a sigh, and takes a pull of a large mug of beer.

"Lady Flowers, Lady Tomoe, to a day of celebration, life, and bloody normalcy for once." Sigh.

Faruja doesn't seem to notice Auron and his feline friend just yet, too busy devouring food and drink with exhausted gusto. Allyn, in dog form, is dismissed as just that for the moment. It'd be easy for Mizuki, and really everyone, to find the rat after that loud performance though.

Two ears perk. "...Doth someone hear the sound of...a chocobo stampede?" The rat's not near the gates, but those fuzzy ears are good for something.

The rat's free hand descends to his robes, patting a small lump at his side. Within, the Holy Stone rests, a warm and almost comforting feel to the rat. Recently, he's rarely been able to part with it.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
On her little stroll, Mizuki runs right into Faruja's sermon. Spinning her parasol slowly, she listens carefully, giving a small tilt of her head. She knew Faruja was /religious/, but she didn't know the man was a pastor! Or... well. Of high enough status to be giving such public 'performances'. She smiles, soon hiding her expression with a free arm so as not to offend the masses. 'You learn something new ever day', she inwardly quips.

But as soon as he finishes, Mizuki shadows him. Weaving through the crowds, she, too, runs in to Tomoe and Flowers... though none of the three may notice her until she gives Faruja a (likely surprising) taptap on the shoulder.

"That was quite a sermon my friend." Smile~. "And I must say, this city is quite beautiful during times of celebration."

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron turns at the sound of the voice. "Hm?" Pauses, looks at Roll. He offers a bit of a wry halfsmile, looking at the cat just sitting there like it owned his coat. "It happened to crawl into my coat while I was looking at what one of the food vendors had, and has resisted all my efforts to evict it from its current space." He's kidding around a little, even if he's serious. "But it's not causing trouble." He hears Faruja's sermon, and looks to Roll as it ends. "Shall we go say hello?" he suggests, heading over in the direction of Faruja and the others. Not out-walking Roll, mind.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
The lizard girl is, of course, here, but hard to spot among the crowd. She has found a place to climb on top of, and happens to be surveying the proceedings from there. She is in a set of leather armor as always when she comes to Ivalice, never seen without it. She keeps her red eyes fixed on where Faruja is at all times, only occasionally looking around to check out what is happening.
She does not seem impressed or disapproving of the sermon. She has always had a very neutral affect to most things. It would be boring, but she is a very intense creature, so the neutrality comes with this air of constant examination and thought.
She has her Thaumostatic Harness on, allowing her the luxury of moving from perch to perch in case Faruja moves out of her field of view.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn perks his ears again, as he hears the sermon, hmm, that voice sounds familiar, doesn't it? He starts to limp off towards the source of the voice, but for a moment he gets stopped by a young child, "Oh, puppy." the child then begins to pet him and he gives a sigh. Imagine that a noble wolf being treated like a common dog and being petted? Ah well, he suffers through it and just for a moment he thinks about wagging his tail for the child, but no, he wont lower himself that much. Besodes, its a cub that's petting him, so he settles for pushing his cold nose against the palm of the child's hand, which gets a giggle.

He then limps back off once he's had enough of the emberassing petting.

Then he has found his way towards where Faruja and the others are gathered, he stops a few moments and tilts his head, seeing who all might be there. Well he knows Mizuki and Faruja it seems, so he stalks over closer to them, "Good evening, Lord Faruja, lady Mizuki."

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
Pff, he keeps calling her Lady. Well, it's a habit he's not gonna break anytime soon, that's for damn sure, and Addie just kind of sighs. Instead of complaining at him again, though, the gunsmith just nods and grins right back. "Inquisitor Senra. Bloody normalcy indeed, eh." She glances back to the makeshift pulpit, and smirks slightly.

"Seems you've not lost your touch, that's for sure. But it never hurts to put a nice spin on things..." Chocobo? It makes the woman give a glance around; she doesn't quite hear the commotion at the gates - but the distraction buys just enough time for the elegant Mizuki to appear at Faruja's shoulder.

Which /does/ startle the quick-nerved guard, though the clear presence of an Elite before her is obviously not a threat. And Mizuki is being polite, so Addie stands down (short joke!) and instead settles back into her lunch. For a moment, anyway...at least until the talking dog appears. Facepalm.

Hello multiverse, almost forgot you were there.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Through the gate, Lex helps the guards fend off the incoming stampede of monsters, after a bit, she heads deeper into town, shouting "Thanks!" Then she starts to wander through town, inadvertently heading towards Faruja and company. "Huh... guess this town is having some kind of festival." She stops at a food stand, and orders something tasty looking.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki gives Allyn's nose a few polite taps - not pets, taps! There's a clear distinction, really! - on the nose in greeting. "Evening, Allyn~." Then, she... stares directly at flowers, smiling. She, uh... really has this creepy thing down, doesn't she? Without a word, she bows slightly, both hands clasped around her parasol.

"And a pleasant evening to you as well, miss~."

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
"You too, milady." There's something about the rather well-dressed woman that sets Addie's protocol-senses tingling; she curtseys a moment as best as she can before setting the last bits of her snack aside. The words are honest, and immediately identify the peasant as what she is, but there's a look in Addie's eyes that isn't quite completely accepting. After all, Samael's a perfectly sociable girl when she's not immediately trying to kill people in batch lots...

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll's beaming up at Auron, though the expension turns a bit wryly mischevious at the tale of the kity. She reaches up to gently stroke the cat just once, then dashes off to go listen to Faruja's speech.. sermon?

"Yeah, definitely!"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe sees that Faruja has been busy preaching, she doesn't mind he's more interesting than some of the priests she's listend to over the years. EIther way she looks as she getg the food, she takes it with a grin and thanks the man before turning her attention to Faruja.

"Quite the party isn't it? Some things don't change regardless of the era or the world."

If it can be formented humans will find a way to /do/ so. Mizuki also gets a noice as she seems to pop in.

"Hello to you as well."

Allyn (307) has posed:
Well, he seems alright that Mizuki taps him on the nose, good thing he considers her a friend, he even deigns it appropriate to lick her on the hand in greeting. No he doesn't feel bad about it and doesn't think of it as degrading, but no she wont get a tail wag, no one will get that honor, expect for maybe another wolf. He also greets Adelaide, "Good evening."

Ultima (129) has posed:
The pair of heavily armored gate guards were quick to rush to Alexandra's aid, engaging the monsters in combat so that the girl herself can slip into the city. Upon entering, she'd likely note that more guards clad in evergeen cloth and shining silver steel rush past her to see that this little disturbance is put to an end swiftly.

Upon a stone rooftop above, near the base of a smoking chimney - the object... or rather objects... of Mizuki's concern literally sit watching like hawks eyeing prey. (Pic: http://goo.gl/3lhe90) Two bodacious, scantily-clad, blonde bombshells in violetand royal blue dress sit side-by-side... watching the spectacle of Faruja's sermon. It'd be hard to tell which was which, if not for their signature colors.

Celia speaks, "How cute, he's reciting his own little funeral prayer.", the girl lets her chin rest upon an upturned palm... blonde hair curtaining her right eye as she watches.

Lettie, meanwhile, is eyeing the market streets silently for a good stretch of time. After sweeping it, thoroughly, she stands, and adds, "...Let's get this over with." before leaping from the building roof.

Within mere moments, Faruja would see a fellow priest walk into his field of vision. An elderly gentlemen, he approaches a pair of commoners to engage them... and then almost immediately topples over before reaching them.

A scream permeates the marketplace. The gentleman had, apparently, been the recipient of a thrown knife to the neck. Wha happens next is swift, almost a blur... the violet-garbed assassin leaps to the ground and snatches the body before darting away from the crowd... straight toward a maze of city back streets...

Auron (236) has posed:
The scream instantly puts Auron on his guard. In addition, the cat in his coat decides that's a good time to beat feet, and hops out, running in the opposite direction of the chaos. Immediately he's heading for where Faruja is, and asks, "What happened?" He didn't see the murder. His question is not necessarily aimed at only Faruja, but to anyone in his area.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Old habits die hard, particularly in places where it's expected. The guardian of an Inquisitor deserves at least that much to the old fashioned nezumi!

Siiip. Ahh, Goug ale is the best. "There is no need for 'spin', my dear! For the Word of the Lord is immutab..." Addie gets saved another more personal sermon as he's tapped on the shoulder. Perhaps understandably, he's been jumpy lately. A hand goes for his blaze gun, only to halt as his brain works out the voice. A call of 'Heretic' dies on his tongue.

Instead, the rat stands, and offers a deep bow for the girl. Faruja honestly likes Mizuki, and it shows in his wide smile. "Lady Mizuki, how good to see ye! Ye do this humble nezumi far too much honor, I merely preach the word of the Lord as it hath been passed to me. Enjoying the city then? Yes, 'tis quite lively." His voice drops.

"Poor people need it, desperately after all that hath befallen them. Their souls and spirits must be kept high, to survive through these times." Is whispered to Mizuki, Addie, and anyone who gets up close.

Speaking of! There's a wolf. Faruja can't help it. Allyn gets a scritch on the ear and a plate of salad and steak.

"Please, call me Father Senra here, Ser Allyn! I am...well, here for the festival. Nothing official for once."

An Auron and a roll and a kitty are strolling up.

"Dame Roll, Ser Auron! Come, come one and all, for the Lord is most blessed and offers thee His bounty this day!" Seems Faruja's needed it too, as his spirits are running high. Almost desperately so.

Tomoe gets a laugh! "Celebrations art food for the spirit, and rememberance of history, Dame Tomoe!" he passes her a glass of ale. On yes. Ale is celebration too.

All good things come to an end, and in Ivalice it's often violence. Case in point, a good priest is struck down and his body carted away. Faruja's reacting almost before he can process it all. Weapon drawn, one hand flicking his Inquisitorial cross from within his robes, his voice calls out over the screams.

"GUARDSMEN! HERETICS ART COME! Find anyone suspicious, particularly two blonde women in shades of violet! Not a single person leaves!" Orders the rat, praying his authority will be enough to galvanize the locals.

Then, he's motioning towards Auron and the rest even as he hastes himself. The rat charges towards the path blazed by one of the Assassins.

He taps his linkshell. "Ainsley, make sure ye follow that one! Mayhaps her accomplice is about as well, ensure we doth not fall into a trap!"

"A murder, Ser Auron. And mayhaps a trap. Those women art corrupt! We must track them down!" Should they catch one of the assassins, it would surely be a doorway for the rat to kick the hinges off of the 'closed' investigation into Baert.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Her authorial sense is never wrong, is it? She sighs. No, not even if she wants it to be, apparently.

As soon as she hears the scream, she's... gone. Vanished. Flowers, who had just been staring her down, would see nothing there after the literal bat of an eyelash. She... /was/ actually there, wasn't she? She had to have been. And yet... now she isn't. Maybe it's some sort of power of hers? Regardless of what the others can see, hear, or otherwise sense, though, Mizuki is still there. Watching. If and when someone comes, she will be there... and she will be ready. Meanwhile, she carefully studies the world around them. What had killed that man?

Whatever it was, it was silent. Deadly.

Silent and deadly are words used to describe assassins.

She can't be certain, but if her authorial sense is correct this time, someone else could be on the chopping block too. Who had just died? A clergyman, it looks like. And who had just been giving a sermon...?

Her skin crawls, and she looks back to Faruja. Now more than ever, she hopes that she's wrong.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex comes into the marketplace proper just in time to see the murder, she instinctively gives chase, but abandons that before much time, she heads to Faruja, doing some breathing exercises to help her calm down from all that running faster. When she's done with them, she greets, "Hey. Uh, do you mind if I stay near you while there's assassins prowling about? I can't give chase after all the running I just did." Both sides of her spear are covered in monster blood and slime.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
A frown grows on Ainsley's face when she hears the scream. She reaches to draw a dagger out of its scabbard, squinting off in the direction it came from. She notices the figure dart off, carrying someone, and likely trailing a bit of blood along the way. She is already getting up to a stand when she overhears Faruja's words.
She pops up into the air, a beacon of electricity. She turns and follows after the fleeing woman. She has several advantages here: Flight, maneuverability, and sharp eyes. It's very unlikely that the woman can easily escape an Eye in the Sky kind of approach, she feels, unless she finds some kind of underground passage to throw off the tail.
"Tracking now," she tells Faruja over the linkshell.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe was enjoying herself and she looks back to Faruja.

"We should enjoy it yes."

She takes the Ale from Faruja and is starting to sip at it just as everything goes to hell.

A certain pair of murdering women drop in and there's no time to respond to them sadly. She was not expecting cold blooded murder today, not one little bit.

"Damn it."

she's not going for her sword no she's just moving to follow up with Faruja's orders.

"Faruja I suspect we'll have more blood to deal with if we don't find the those trampy looking hit women."

She seems to freeze up for a moment, why? She's turning on fraps there may be some use to that later and now she's going to move to chase after the two women.

"I had enough of gutter trash like you two on my world!"

Roll (3) has posed:
Sensing that trouble's brewing, what with Faruja roaring about, Roll starts loading up her combat protocols and other code to help handle the situation, but that's only AFTER she shrieks, "WHAT?! During the festival?!" With a panicked look up at Faruja! She glances about at the others around, including the crowds, and flinches where she stands. "No way... not here! There's so many people around...!"

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
The reaction from the guards is something Addie didn't quite expect, but she sees where they're going - that must be the chocobo problem Faruja mentioned. Meanwhile, said Faruja is greeting this well-dressed newcomer as a friend, and Adelaide relaxes...

Until, that is, there's a scream - and a clergyman goes down, knife to the neck. It doesn't take long for the body to disappear, and Addie has the barest glimpse of the corpsejacker. "Faruja! It's them, the pair!" She recognized the outfit, at least, and runs after the rat.

One hand reaches into the backpack, drawing the carbine and unfolding it quickly. A metallic snap as the magazine goes in, and Adelaide does her damn best to catch up to the inquisitor. "There's still number two! Don't fall for a feint!" Ruby eyes scan around; she's looking for the other one of the duo. And the gun comes up, following her line of sight - just in case she can get a quick shot off at the assassins.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn lets Faruja scritch his ear, after all he considers the ratman a friend as well and he's jsut about to push his cold nsoe into his palm, when the scream is given. He pulls away and his ears perk and he sniffs the air, though its not easy with the other scents around. As Farjua takes off, he follows along with the others. then ponders, maybe it'd be better if they weren't all going the same way, but different. Noticing that Faruja's protectio is pretty much taken care of, he glances around for another way to go. Alright, so he does kind of do the dog thing, he backtracks back to where the body had been and sniffs, maybe he can track it, but maybe not.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Guards do, in fact, come at Faruja's behest... a mix of Templarate clad in evergreen and silver steel and plain city guard. They stop to inquire with the citizenry the route of the assassin, and then they take off running... likely accompanied by Faruja and his allies or perhaps a bit ahead of them.

Entering these streets, or watching from above, one would notice it is a maze. Ainsley's assumption is partially correct, a trail of feshly spilled blood leads into the corridors... but it literally stops at a wall. This could mean that either the pair went -through- the wall or...

...over the building. In any case, it does not make it easy for those on the ground to follow her. Those in the air, however, could see that she -has- in fact taken to leaping across rooftops. No sign of the other one yet. The violet-clad assassin girl seems to be making her way to the river bend at the back of the maze of city streets. Like either to cross a bridge there, or to dump the body IN the river one...

As such, the guards following are forced to split ways... breaking into groups to try and cut her off at the pass.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja pipes an awknowledgement to the Lizard in the Sky, glad that Ainsley had such forethought! He keeps a sharp ear out for any reports she makes.

Alexandra gets a nod, and then an almost feral grin at the slime and blood on her spear. "Blessed timing, my dear! Come! The more arms at our call, the better. These pair act as a coordinated, powerful team. Assume the worst. In Faram's name!"

Yup, the rat's blood is up, notable as he speaks to Tomoe. "God willing it shall be theirs!"

To Roll, the rat nods. "Exactly why we must follow them, and in turn, hath them follow me. Away from the main concentration of people." Even now, the rat's mind is on his fellow man, feeling the weight of his duties far too heavily.

Faruja lets Addie stay just a step or two ahead of him. Likely not too hard, given the rat's limp, Haste spell or not.

Following the blood trail, there's a wall. Something so simple as a wall isn't going to stop a very angry, very frustrated young Inquisitor. Particularly when they're a Summoner. A quick incantation and there's an icey staircase leading upwards for his fellows thanks to Shiva, who remains floating beside him as he dashes up the ice-stairs. Claws help with not slipping.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki follows Faruja... but quickly falls behind. Yeah, the girl may be an elite, but she's not exactly athletic! ... which is why she has wings. She sprouts them in an invisible flourish and takes to the sky. Once she's had some time to get used to the air again, she's finally able to get her own view of the city... while also staying close enough to the ground to strike someone if things get hairy.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex immediately follows Faruja, she stays close to the inquisitor, following him up the ice stairs and trying to get Faruja as much coverage from her shields as she can. "I would advice slowing down some. If we move too quickly we risk getting separated, these assassins could take advantage of that." She murmers, analyzing the situation. From the way she talks, as much for her own sake as Faruja's.

Auron (236) has posed:
Fast running is not Auron's strong suit. However, he isn't about to just not go after Faruja. He takes a tack that he's learned many times is the better one for him. He takes to the roofs. Fast he's not, but agile is another matter. He's trying to keep the rat in sight as he hops over the roofs with surprising lightness for how he normally carries himself. He won't get the height or reach that any of the flyers here will, but it'll hopefully allow him to keep Faruja in sight.

He's also listening to the radio. That woman has an accomplice. So as he heads in the direction of the others, he has his eyes (eye, actually) and ears open. His hearing's pretty good, even though it's not quite superhuman. With any luck he should be able to hear if anyone's nearby. Hopefully before they get the drop on him.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn considers changing into a faster form, but decides against it, his wolf form may not be as fast as his cheetah, but he's got better sense of smell in his current one. so he goes off running through the streets, to see if he can catch sight of the other fleeing assassin, keeping mind what the others had said the person may have been wearing.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks about as she's chasing after the two women and she's moving pretty quickly at this point. She knows there are others skilled people holding back with Faruja and the rest. She's now on the move at this point she's moving fast but she's got the advantage of not getting tired physically in this state. Still where the heck did those two go do.

You'd expect two women wearing as little as they do, to /stand/ out. Wait there's one.

She's moving after the one leaping from roof to roof maybe she can catch up with her. Still something feels off to her but she can't place her finger on this. This was a daring hit it had to be more than just to get rid of someone, it was a message. Yet what was it? Was it you are not safe no matter what? Was it something else? She does not know.

Roll (3) has posed:
Ugh, out in public in a world that thinks robots are heresy! No summoning her armor, no calling Rush, huh?

Roll's overreacting, since nobody would even know what a robot is, probably, but that's no consolation when you're in a panic. So she breaks into a run the normal way, dashing alongside Faruja to the best of her ability. And that's pretty impressive, but even then she's barely able to keep up in a full-out sprint - her legs aren't so long, y'know!

Thakfully, there's no panting or anything. Machines rarely need rest!

Her gaze sweeps across the rooftops, through a variety of spectrums - but mostly thermal! If those assassins are up there...

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
Lead she does, nodding as Faruja dispenses orders and decisions. Staying ahead of Gimpy The Wonder Wizard, leading his position while Knox brings up the rear, she raises her free hand as a means of signalling the others. A closed fist, move on - a spread hand, halt. Hopefully they're following her instructions, as they pass through various points.

And it hits her - they're being directly led somewhere. "Guys. Ambush bait. Knox! Faruja's yours; I'm going ahead and gonna try and trip the bastard." The apparent ambush, she means; the naval infantrywoman surges ahead in a burst of inhuman quickness thanks to the divine blood in her body.

Adelaide should stand out all too well as an Elite; unlike everyone else around - Burmecian and Multiversal alike - her clothing is unique. The typical casual outfit, t-shirts, skirt and jeans, flat slipons; Addie looks more like someone at a picnic than a battlefield. That, and the compact black carbine in her hands that exudes a mechanical nastiness not at all like the typical simpler firearms of Ivalice.

Following the trail, she moves through the thinning crowd easily. The carbine stays at her shoulder, covering position after position as Addie tries to determine where the attack is coming from. With a little good luck, she'll be enough of a threat that Murderous Evil Busty Curvy Assassin Bitch Number Two will need to deal with her directly and not wait out for the main target.

With a little /typical/ luck, she'll walk right onto a fake stone in the road that's secretly a trapdoor or a bomb or some other damn thing...

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley's trajectory puts her far above the buildings, narrowing her gaze upon the fleeing girl. She knows that something is Wrong with all of this. Those demons in the mine, and what Baert was digging for... These girls given to him, and the way they killed that man effortlessly, and /knew/ they were there. This tactic of theirs, using the death of an innocent as bait... Even if they are not corrupted by some dark force, they are absolute monsters one way or another. Her nose wrinkles as she thinks about it. Awful, awful creatures, she thinks.
She makes sure to stay out of range of any knife throws, or at least far enough away that she can dodge fatal blows.
"You are not getting away," she murmurs, with venom in her voice. She has already grown tired of people getting harmed in this world for some obscure secret war that she barely understands. She will see justice is done here. All will know what is transpiring in Ivalice. The truth.
History will not be denied.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The assassin proceeds swiftly from one rooftop too another with agility that is, indeed, seemingly not human. That body is not even remotely inhibiting her speed, it is as if it weren't even there at all. With a clicking of boots against stone, she reaches her final destination... looking back over her shoulder momentarily to check. Ainsley and anyone else in the air or on the rooftops following would likely have a few eery seconds of her staring at them with a completely unmoved expression... not even a flinch of surprise... before she... smiles... and then leaps from the roof and momentarily disappears from view.

The guards which disappear down various corridors would likely disappear at some point if someone is not watching them. Whether they got lost or... something -else- happened to them is anyone's guess.

Adelaide's attempt to cut Lettie off at the pass would soon find that, -yes-, Busty Curvy Assassin Bitch #2 is watching. And she purposefully leaps from a nearby rooftop at the girl, producing a knife mid free-fall before swining it for her face. whetherther that hits anywhere or not, the blonde bombshell in blue then darts off down another alleway... attempting to lead her and anyone nearby watching astray.

Lettie meanwhile is still cutting across the bridge and heading toward a mostly abandoned square...

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
Y'know the one problem with trying to get ahead of your opponent and trigger their ambush prematurely? You end up on the wrong end of all kinds of nastiness when it works. And as the blonde leaps down from above with the knife out, Addie's got just enough time to swing the gun in her hands around before she's stabbed.

The knife still strikes home against her arm, though the blade isn't deep. A yelp of pain, followed by a sharp pull on the trigger, and an earsplitting crack as the gun fires as a means of trying to get the blonde assassin away. It works, even if she'd meant to do that, and as she springs upwards Adelaide tracks and fires off several rounds.

A quick report on the radio, and Addie's off, canvas flats slapping hard against the street. The quickness and reflexes she was given by Psyber's blood come fully into play, and Addie darts right after the blue-clad woman...taking a shot as she can spare the moment, forcing her target to keep running or take a round right between those...excessively fantastic boobs.

WHY THE HELL ARE ALL THE EVIL ONES THE GOOD LOOKING ONES! God, maybe she should just join the confederacy and get a free makeover or something. Is that how they recruit?!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki smirks, landing near Faruja. She becomes translucent, turning back briefly to the Inquisitor to show off her shiny teeth... or something. And then... she summons her sword.

And then she strikes the air.

Soon, a vortex opens up, causing the air within a few yards of it to grow cold. And two familiar figures - to some, at least - would step through. The first has pink hair, and the second white.

And both of them are carrying some totes awesome scythes.

"Nyahaha~!" The pink one smiles like a little kid about to pull a prank. "You raaaaang~? Who do I get to chop into little bits today, Mimi~?" Her voice is musical. Almost sing-songy. This one seems a little bit too much like an anime villain for comfort, honestly. The other girl, meanwhile, giggles demurely as Mizuki herself would.

"Patience, Palora, patience~." She waves her free hand dismissively. "Listen and you will learn~." Palora huffs, folding her arms. Then, Mizuki waves her hands down, and speaks.

"Ladies, today I need you to track down two scantily clad, might-be and-or would-be assassins. Lethal force is, of course, allowed, though if you can find a method of incapcitating them for inquiry that might very well be preferred~." The demure one bows slightly, sprouting wings of her own and taking off in Addie's direction. The other gives a cute (yet unnerving) two-finger salute and takes off to intercept the one her sister isn't already going for. After that intriguing display, Mizuki becomes fully invisible again... probably leaving Faruja wondering what the hell kind of hereticism he just saw.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley growls when her target darts out of view. She moves to follow, but not get close to her path. She continues to move, occasionally getting closer to get a look into alleyways. It'd probably be prohibitively difficult to avoid getting spotted by her when taking routes open to the air. And, having lost her patience completely, she charges energy into one of her hands. The moment she spots her target -- Lettie, perhaps? -- she points her finger and projects a bolt of lightning down at her! She hopes to lock up those leg muscles and make it harder for the assassin to run around!
A self-perpetuating cycle of frustration and hatred is making her magic a lot louder and brighter than it should be, the thunderous noise shaking windows for several blocks around the projected electricity.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn hears the call over the radio and decides to give up on trying to track with his nose, as the wolf runs down the streets towards the direction Adelaide has given, his form shimmers and he shifts mid-run the wolf being replaced by a cheetah. He doesn't use his full speed available to him, it'd be hard through here, but at least he is a bit faster now. His target may not be a gazelle, but maybe she is something related?

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll brings a finger up near her temple, and focuses. It's a simple gesture that implies frustration and deep thought, but only people unaware of radios would think about it that way. Somewhere across the Multiverse, a faithful support unit receives a radio signal...

*FWOOOOOOSH!* A short-lived column of crimson light splashes down next to Roll, depositing Rush.

"Let's go, boy! We've got an assassin to track! Skyward we go!" Rush complies with Roll's wishes, transforming into the rideable Rush Jet - and up, up and away they go!

Roll swoops back and forth, her optics and infrared sensors both working overtime to try and spot the oddly dressed assasssins.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Some part of Faruja is /dancing/ inside. Ainsley's almost zealot-like approach to the fleeing assassins will likely have him gushing in pride at the woman later. For now, there's evil afoot!

The assassin flees, and Faruja follows. A swift Float spell, and the rat hangs in the air as he leaps. Lady Knox, too, gets a similar treatment if she continues to play bodyguard. With Addie taking the lead on one, the rat focuses on the one with the Priest's body.

Not one for subtlety when he's in the mood to kill, the rat orders Shiva before him. Using the Esper as a shield, he has her tossing spikes of ice at the woman as she leaps! The body of the priest bears little concern for the moment; he's certainly dead after that strike. Catching his killer is paramount.

There is a flying robodog, and then Mizuki summons the two maids. One professes a love of cutting things with a big scythe. Part of him looks noticably suspicious, particularly when they sprout wings!

They love cutting things. "Prove thine worth, Ladies." Offers the Inquisitor. He'll be the judge of whether or not they're Heretics!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is flying after the assassin at a fairly high rate, but will it be enough? She's not sure she's got a high speed but this is also dealing with a city so it's not really a easy guess. There's plenty of places, she could lose them. She wonders just how is she moving like that with a body to boot. She'll figure it out later as well? It just done went and happened as over the ledge she goes. She wonders if the Guards are alive or not as she attempts to hover and find the missing blonde bombshell.

This was harder than she thought if she dropped down it would do no real good for the moment but she might have to figure out where blondie has got her hiney too.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Trusting on Faruja's magic, Lex leaps along with Faruja, putting herself in front of the summoning priest. Close enough to allow her to protect Faruja from attacks that come from a variety of angles with little movement, but far enough away to allow Faruja to not be overly bothered by her presence. Her spear is held menacingly enough to help dissuade a melee engagement, but she sticks to protecting the Rattus Praedicans.

Auron (236) has posed:
Faruja seems well-protected for the time being. Addie, on the other hand, is not. She seems to be following the other assassin alone. So auron turns in the direction, hearing the gunfire in the distance. He's pretty fast over the roofs, even if only because he doesn't have to dodge around people and through streets. So he should catch sight of Addie and her quarry soon.

...But who's hunting who, is the question.

Ultima (129) has posed:
Celia springs off the ground before darting into the alleyway opposite Adelaide, turning a flip in mid-air and doing a handspring to dodge the first of many shots fired at her. Though she never quite stops moving, the moment her feet hit the ground again she produces throwing knives and tosses them backward at her pursuer - as well as Tomoe, Roll, and Allyn who're attempting to close in on them. As much to make her threat seem credible as to make it harder to keep up. She then springs again, kicking off the walls with inhuman agility, springing from place to place like a jack-rabbit before reaching a bend in the alleyway. It's there a shot Adelaide fires finally grazes her, throwing off her concentration enough to cause her to lose her footing and slip...

...temporarily. She manages to latch onto a rooftop edge, pulling herself to the top before darting around the corner like a blur. She catches the sight of one of Mizuki's servants out of the corner of her eye, attempting to enter the fray and assail her. The assassin scoffs, before leaping to an opposite rooftops whilst muttering some manner of incantation.

Suddenly, the ground around the area would EXPLODE as a ray of dark energy blasts out from the sky and smashes into the ground! It's not an attempt to hit one though, she's just trying to throw her pursuers off. The chase would continue down several alleyways until Celia finally leaps from the rooftops again and onto the city streets... heading straight for...

...Lettie, meanwhile, is still making her way toward that empty square. Sensing the crackling magical energy being fired upon her person by Ainsley from afar, she tumbles into a handspring and literally dodges Ainsley's assault. The icicles too are deftly dodged, crashing harmleslsy into the stone bridge and piercing int the river below. Landing upon her feet, again, a few feet away... the assassin drags that body directly into center of the square before dropping it and leaping up toward an open windowsil... to perch quitely with her shapely legs dangling off the side. She almost seems to be waiting... so patiently...

Once those chasing her have come within ear shot, Lettie smiles... "...So glad you all accepted my invitation. I thought, perhaps, at least some of you were smarter than that...". She turns her gaze off to the side, to stare at the rooftop from which Celia is descending with the one eye that is not curtained by that luxurious golden blonde mane. "Oh well!"

Within moments, various men and women begin to walk out the buildings surrounding the square... mages and archers too begin to appear upon various rooftops from doorways. This most certainly was a trap.

"Apologies... your Excellency... for not inviting you myself..." a familiar voice calls out... from the rooftop above Lettie. "...But that was the surprise! You see..."

...the voice comes from a very wealthy-looking fat man... clad in earthen and forest colored silks... Baert. The chestnut-haired, earthen-eyed, man chuckles... "...I suppose Your Excellency no longer applies however... you see..."

Those Templar from before appear, dragging the bodies of dead city guards behind... only to cast them aside.

"...you are to be relieved of your position."

Faruja (152) has posed:
And the trap is sprung. When all is said and done, Faruja stans, peering at his fellow Templar as the bodies of guards are tossed aside. Slowly, the rat's eye narrows as he fixes a death glare upon Baert.

"Baert, ye VILE HERETIC WRETCH! Relieved!? What in the bloody abyss art ye talking about?" The rat spits upon the ground as he notes /Templar/ working with this scum.

"Ye call thineselves Knights of the Church? This man is corrupt! He is a danger to those we art here to protect! Arrest him for conspiracy to murder a Priest!" Orders the rat. Still, his weapon is held.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Lex makes sure to stand in between Faruja and the archers, she does not go on grand speeches, or insist on voicing indignation, but she does hold on to her bloodied spear and holds her shield firm, "If you wish to murder his excellency in broad daylight, you will have to go through me." She puts her feet down in the ground, setting into a firm stance which is a challenge as much as her words are.

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll's only a kid, but she's pretty alert for one. This looks bad. REALLY bad. Spotting the grounded gathering and people emerging... from above, she can even see the great lord Baert atop the rooftop. Rush swoops and swerves as Roll changes her balance and goes into a dive. She lands on the roof with a very loud THUMPCRACK, having leapt from Rush at speed and impacting with enough force to break human bone. Still, the Robot Master rises from a crouch without missing a beat, and points accusingly at Baert.

"Hey! I know you! You're Baert, who runs that company! Just WHAT do you think you're doing?! Is this all your doing? The assassins, the monsters...?" Childish, but pure rage shows on her face and soon Roll's STOMPING Baert's way, glowering and scowling at him fiercely.

Rush lands behind her merely, and transforms back into dog form, but he's incapable of speech. Instead, the support unit snarls and growls Baert's way.

Sadly neither of them can do much. Yet.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley pursues her target doggedly. Her fury boils over, but her mind remains sharp. And as the group is led to a square, and surrounded by mages, and Templars, her brain sizzles. The beings before him, these holy knights, they cannot possibly be...

Baert.

He walks up and speaks to Faruja as if relieving him of his position. A dramatic reveal, a gloating, nonsense thing for him to say. The way he says it like he's already won. She just can't hold it in anymore.

"You are a cancer!"

She bellows this with a Latin Fire in her voice, the Spanish accent boiling up over her neutrality. Her voice picks up a thunderous quality. Perhaps from her nature?

"I have seen dark creatures in this world, I have seen mortal men fight over petty ideas of land and ideals. I have seen a great deal of things, Baert, but you, you are the worst of it. You are a greed, gluttonous, ignorant man and a bane against the very ground you walk on. I tire of looking at your sweaty, contemptuous face. So I am going to cut it off, so I do not have to hear another damnedable word escape your lard-filled lips."

Wow she is mad-- And she keeps going.

Electricity pours around her body, her harness buzzing and burning. "I do not care about Faram. I do not care about the fight of supernatural good and evil. I only care that you just walked out where I can see you, and you threatened someone I care about, as if you were the only one who had the audacity to kill someone they dislike."

Wait what--

She flicks her whole body in a snapping motion, flinging the dagger toward Baert's eye. The lightning magic in her body propells it like a bullet. The scream of metal accompanies it, and magic disperses in the air from the destroyed speed enchantment. Metal shavings from the air friction crackle in its path. She used a lot of magic, because she refuses the idea of failure. She is trying very, very hard to kill him.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
As Baert speaks the last word of his sentence, Callia and Palora land - perfectly synchronized - in the dead center of the square. And they stand there, hands joined... as they both curtsy. Then, one after the other, they begin to speak. Callia goes first. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen~." A snicker from the pinkette. "It is sooooo sad that we have to tell you, buuuut..." Both of them together: "You will -NOT- be getting what you came for!" Before any can react, they release their hands and split up, dashing around the square. Scythes in hand, they rush with inhuman speed, going from one foot soldier to the next. Any sensitive to illusion magic would have no idea where they were or what was going on -- they leave... clones of themselves behind as they go around.

The girls don't go for the demon girls or Baert. No, they... just go for the cronies! And yet, they do a fairly good job of looking intimidating. They jump, leap, hack, and slash their way from place to place, likely leaving severed flesh and crimson liquid in their wake. Unless you're an elite - or in this case, a demon - you would never be able to track their movements. Unfortunately, though, some people present might be just that. Still, the girls are relentless, keeping up their offensive without rest.

This would, of course, provide everyone else some time to collect themselves and get into the action.

Meanwhile, Mizuki stays right by Faruja. Still invisible, she's actively gauging the enemy in terms of perceived strength and numbers... while making sure that her friend -- er, colleague -- is safe. Her confidants are out there doing the grunt work so that she can stay back and be ready for anything.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls softly to himself as knives are thrown towards him and then the expplosion and the person getting away. He's not hit by any this time, luckily it seems, but as the woman gets away on the rooftop again he jsut growls a little louder, well what to do now..He shifts and changes forms once more, a large eagle launching himself into the air as that form takes the place of the cheetah. He flaps his wings and soars upwards and peers around from above, hearing the order to attack archers, that is what he does, he begins to dive at an archer that he spots. Well, what will the do if they see a large bird barreling down.

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron was totally expecting a trap. That's why he brought his ranged weapon too. At least now Auron understands what's going on. For once being the slowest unit on the battlefield pays off! Due to not having come in with the others, being a little behind, he might just have been missed by the emerging archers and mages. Maybe he can find a hiding place before he's noticed.

Speaking of that, once the archers start coming out, he waits, just long enough for the battle to 'begin'. Ainsley's attack will provide enough of a distraction, he hopes. He pulls the bow from his back, unfolds it, and loads one of the small spear-sized arrows. He takes aim and fires, loosing the arrow in a long arc up and over, hoping to land it at the feet of a grouping of enemies.

Why at the feet? Because when the arrow hits, it will create a burst of icy power roughly equal to a Blizzara spell. It'll be a pretty big blast too, though maybe not much bigger than the normal range of a Blizzara spell.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is clearly keeping up and Tomoe then shows she's got similar skills as she stop moving via flight and starts using the terrain about her to chase after Celia. She's also just almost hit with the knife. It's a pretty near thing as she keeps up with them another throw would be very likely to catch her. Still she's not about to give up but damn this is harder than expected. She continues to make use of the terrain s she chase3s after the woman in blue but does not like what she sees at this point. She pauses for a moment.

"..."

Yup her day just got a hell of a lot worse here it seems.

"I see vermin can wear fine clothing."

She's going for her sword at this point it's time to fight in all likelihood.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Templarate standing about seem in no visible hurry to mind Faruja's words, perhaps giving credence to Baert's talk of 'relieving' him. One of them even crosses his arms, silently, staring at Faruja as though he'd not heard a word.

To the various words launched at him, some positively dripping with venom, Baert chortles. "Oh... I don't think I've been given a choice!" He stuffs a fat hand into his cloak, producing a mechanical pistol, waving it about a bit with an artful flourish of his right hand. "And I'll not be giving any of you one either...", a dark chuckle escapes him as he turns slightly to let his earthen eyes fall upon Roll... and her little dog too. "Madam... if you can but wait a moment... I'll be with you shortly."

The turning of the fat man from the square gives Ainsley's knife ample time to find its mark... and a perfect opening too!

It's just a shame that Lettie is having none of that! She kicks off from the windowsil, turning top side down and kicks the flying dagger into the distance without a word.

Mizuki's deadly pair's assault, in tandem with Auron and Allyn's own attacks is when the fight begins in earnest. Two archer's fall from the roof, sent stumbling by Allyn, before a nearby mage hurls a Thunder spell in his direction. Mizuki's deadly pair eat through a good few soldiers on the ground, at least beore those Templarate step in, they'll find that these two are FAR stronger than Baert's hired swords. They're only atempting to cut the pair down with sword swipes at this point though! Auron's freezing volley, too, catches a group of archers on an opposite roof head on... turning two to popsicles before the others attempt to return fire!

From this point on, what's left of the hired hands charge the square where Faruja, Ainsley, Tomoe, and others wait and proceed to attack!

The assassin girls aren't content to sit by and watch either... in fact, they same determined to go after Faruja himself. Both pull knives, leaping into his vicinity on either side of the fray, with both offering at the exact same time, "...One last dance before you die, Holy Rat?"

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Using the full reach of her nine foot spear, Lex stays in front of Faruja. They may have numbers, they may be charging the square, but she has reach and position. She has every intent to make them pay for attempts to pass by her on the way to the Rattus Praedicans.

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
There's a horrible moment of silence in the square before there's a horrible sound. An earsplitting crack shatters the momentary tableau, and a single heavy bullet is freed to fly from the barrel of the gun. Pure physics take over, as does a moment of gravity, before the round smashes into its target - sending shards of wood and metal flying, the remains of the gun in Baert's hand suddenly possessed of a mind of its own and leaping far to the side, clattering to the ground out of his grasp.

Addie's dogged pursuit of the blue-clad one had continued, even as she's confronted with someone who loves throwing Still More Sharp Objects. She'd managed to avoid the worst of it, but one blade still manages to score her thigh. Denim splits, and starts to turn red from blood, but it's not a serious wound - not just yet. Neither does the blast from the energy bolt from the skies...and the assassin waiting for her to recover before leaping away had exceptionally pissed her off.

She's being fucking toyed with, and it's /really/ getting a certain sailor's dander up.

Rising from her hide, Addie keeps the gun on Baert. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" The voice of a noncommissioned officer in full-power rage-fueled ass-chewing mode can be heard across the square, especially after the gunshot. "NOBODY FUCKIN' MOVES A FARAM-FORSAKEN MUSCLE OR THE FAT BASTARD DIES!" The two ninja can outrun a thrown knife, even one thrown as magically hard as Ainsley - but now they're out of position and unable to protect Baert from the still faster heavy bullet. One of them wounded as well - the knife apparently was even more powerful than Addie had seen, as there's no small amount of blood on one of the assassin's feet. "Nice throw, Ains." The knife the librarizard had thrown certainly got his attention, and moved just where she needed him.

"Treason, assassination, and conspiracy, eh Faruja? And this time where noone didn't see," she adds, as faces come to windows observing the standoff. "LISTEN UP! PAY ATTENTION! YOUR FAITH IS BEING OPPRESSED BY THOSE WITH THE MONEY!" Addie's calling to the crowd now, the regular people that are far too many to slaughter - even for Baert and his assassins. "COIN FOR BLOOD! POWER FOR MURDER! DO YOU ACCEPT THIS?! Or are you going to stand against the kind of evil Faram hates most?!"

When the fuck did she become Che Guevara..."

Roll (3) has posed:
How messed up this is! A bunch of humans killing each other over who knows what. Roll knows about crime, of course. It's supposed to be a handful of creepy, weird, misguided folk making trouble and being stopped by the lawful pecekeepers! But here...

Here, the ones in power are CONTROLLING those peacekeepers and killing others. It's so alien and wrong that it leaves her scared inside.

She didn't know people could be like this! Even Wily wasn't quite like this!

But still, to be brushed off by him, Roll makes a face. Sometimes it's fun to be underestimated, and it works in her favor. But not this time it isn't!

"Nuh-uh! Justice doesn't wait for SLIMEBALLS! You're under arrest, /Lord/ Baert." At that very moment, Roll raises her left arm skywards. Light pulses at her fingertips... then streaks down her whole body in a wave, leaving her now garbed in the skintight pink and red armor she's not used ONCE in this world.

But she doesn't just open fire like most might expect, though the upraised hand is brought down in form of the Mega Buster and slams into momentary rest within her right hand. No, instead, Roll charges for Baert and leaps, accompanied by a bounding Rush!

Her hand whips out with great speed for his weapon. Her goal? Grab that thing, crush it into metal scraps!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
At the call of their lady on the radio, both of the girls - who had probably been blocking sword strikes with their scythes beforehand - rush away as fast as they had come. They fly in tandem to intercept the demonic twins. They spin their scythes, hopefully deflecting any projectiles in enough time to keep them from making contact with Faruja. And then...

... Mizuki finally shows herself.

Her invisibility shatters, and from Mizuki spreads a huge, monochrome sphere. If it is effective, it would almost completely stop the demon sisters in place, making it seem as though the world around them had sped up dramatically. Then, without a moment's hesitation, she kicks up her wings and dashes for the blue one with her sword. As she does, she announces to Faruja: "FARUJA! If you have anything you can throw at them, throw it -NOW-!" Mizuki dashes straight for the blue one, sword backed by the sheer force of a projectile travelling too fast to be seen while the sisters go together to attack the pink one...

Allyn (307) has posed:
After having dive bombed the two archers that were thrown off the roof, begins to flap his wings to climb again, just managing to notice the lightning bolt coming his way. Uh oh, that doesn't look good and it is most likely going to hurt. He wonders for a few moments how he gets himself into these situations and thinks he should have changed to his falcon form, smaller and much more manuverable, at least compared to this huge eagle shape. He begins to bank, knowing that he wont be able to escape the bolt, but perhaps he can at least not take the full force of it.

It does mean that he is going to get his wings clipped again and most likely he's going to fall, but its better than the other day when his wings got ripped to shreds by that gatling gun, right? He does manage to turn though, the bolt of lightning catching him on his left wing and turning the feathers there extra crispy. He gives a piercing shriek of pain and then he's spiraling downward. At least he's not unconsious this time, so he doesn't revert back to his true human shape, instead he changes once more, a lion, instead of an eagle falling, hoping wherever he ends up landing, maybe on that wizard? that he'll land on his feet.

Ainsley (151) has posed:
Ainsley drifts to the ground, and does an agonizingly slow draw of the longsword out of its scabbard.

"I don't know about all of you," she speaks up in her hoarse tone of voice, "But I'm tired of being manipulated!" She tries to complement Adelaide's words. She holds her sword up toward the two assassins. "Like these two. I can see it in the way you act. You're manipulators." She frowns at them heavily. "Can you kill all of us, I wonder?"

She lunges for one of them, just so she can get close to Faruja by swiping to get them to clear space for her. She would try to do a back-to-back sort of stance. No one can sneak up on Faruja if she's there to deflect anything that's /truly/ lethal. She probably can't hurt these girls, but she can make their job prohibitively difficult.

Ainsley is, however, wheezing, and some of the color seems to have faded out of her face. Which is weird, because she has scales, so that shouldn't actually happen.

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron is suddenly forced to dodge a volley of arrows coming his way. Which is hard because they're not coming straight at him, but going up and over. He has to make some quick footwork from his perch to avoid getting turned into a pincushion. Not all of which is successful, since he takes an arrow in the arm for his troubles. He stumbles, emitting a grunt of pain and ducking behind a chimney.

There's no time to work the arrow free, so he merely reaches up and snaps it off so it's not so cumbersome. Doing so prompts and cry of pain that he quashes ruthlessly. Last thing he needs is to give away his position to the enemy. In that time he hears Addie's words, and chances a look out from behind his cover in her direction.

He's fully aware that there's a chance someone's going to try to silence her for good and all. Just as she's shouting the truth, she's also making a spectacle of herself. It would be easy to just shoot her with a bow or gun, or throw a knife at her. So Auron folds the bow and heads in Addie's direction.

Hopefully he can get there before the Universal Evil Mind picks the idea out of his head. Since that /always/ seems to happen, the big bad gets an idea to exploit the one weakness that wasn't covered. He'll draw his sword in the meantime, intending to use it to parry and/or deflect and blades or projectiles that come her way.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja is speechless. His lover attempts to Righteously Purge Baert, only to be met by an assassin. Addie is stirring up the populace. The others attack. Even as the assassins loom, Faruja simply clutches the Cancer Stone.

"...Filth. Filth filthfilthfilthFIIIILLTHYYY TRAIIITORS! EVERY LAST SINGLE ONE OF YE ART DAMNED! HOW DARE YE!? HOW DARE YE CAST JUDGEMENT UPON ME, OH SINNERS! FOR I HATH BEEN GIVEN THIS OFFICE BY FARAM THROUGH HIS EARTHLY AGENT, AND I SHALL NOT BE CAST ASIDE BY SOME DISGUSTING BLUEBLOOD AND HIS TRAITOROUS DOGS!" His gaze strikes each and every one of those arrayed against them for a moment. In it, is absolute, sure-hearted judgement. Weighing, testing, and declaring them unworthy.

His hand never leaves the stone as he invokes his magic, the two assassin's blades meeting nothing but air and likely the spear of Alexandra as well. The rat backs up behind her shadow to let her guard him before teleporting high above them.

"IN THE NAME OF HOLY FARAM I SHALL SEE EVERY ONE OF YE DEAD!" Announces the rat, loud and clear as his back hits Ainsley's. Now fully protected, the rat invokes arcane words.

"Oh Master of Wyrms, hear mine Call! Come forth and lay destruction upon the unworthy! BAHAMUT, KING OF DRAGONS!"

The world shudders, and the King of Dragons fades into being. The great Dragon opens its mouth, and with a roar that makes the air shake, pure nuclear energy gathers. Spitting the massive ball to the ground, it explodes amidst the rushing hired guns, as well as the Assassins to attempt to scour them to the bone with the dragon's power.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe takes a deep breath as he looks them over for a moment she's not about to move as the hired hands come in. Tomoe summons a Shield out of seemingly nowhere. Oddly if one looks names flicker in and out of existence upon it's face. Most of them seem Japanese or almost like internet handles for those who'd know them. She now moves to get ready to intercept them and she's going to strike out with he blade attemepting to disarm or disable she dopes not seem too bothered for the moment. She may be pressed soon but this is just the start of the fight, she has to keep them busy and on her.

"Come cowards I'll deal with all of you myself if need be!"

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
Behind her rifle, Addie grins. Faruja's fuzzling of Mizuki should help her feel better.

Ultima (129) has posed:
There's a crack, and a squealing of strained metal, as Adelaide's bullet smashes into the barrel of Baert's handgun... splintering it before sending the gun itself hurtling out of reach. Baert grasps at his right hand, crying out loudly from above, seemingly already injured. The gun breaking had likely sent shards of metal and wood across that hand... if not into it. Compounding things further, whether intentional or not, Roll manages to snare his silken tunic in her inhuman grasp... as she goes tumbling over him... and pretty soon everyone who can remote see will be getting an eyeful. Buttons squeal, straining to resist, before snapping off and his loose tunic flies away... caught in Roll's grasp. He's now standing barechested, for all the world to see, flabby man breasts, rolls of thick fat, and all. ... The indignity.

One of the blonde assassins look up, eyes narrowing, as people poke their head out of windows who weren't supposed to be there. Surely, they'd not been that careless. ... Neither of the pair has time to think about this too hard though, as they're being assaulted from all sides. Mizuki's rushing Celia is responded to with a drawn sword - the girl attempting to deflect the attack immediately. The attack itself is too fast, and too unexpected, to be completely repelled however. Instead, the blades meet briefly...with a hissing of metal... before Mizuki's sword skirt off to the girl's side... cutting her face diagonally and chopping of an enormous amount of that lovely hair.

Her sister manages a bit better against the pair of scythe-wielding minions... especially when the two Templarate who were pursuing them come to her aide! But she's at least diven back for a few precious minutes.

The wizard in black robes who struck Allyn celebrates, prematurely, as his Thunder spell hits the bird dead on and sends him spiral down...

... right toward himself. Panicking, at the realization, he flails with his wooden staff in an attempt to stop that lion from hitting him. But, he fails horribly... missing Allyn by mere inches and eating falling kitty to the face... which promptly knocks him over too! Allyn hasn't see the worst of it though, the last remaining archer on the roof drops his bow... and produces a blade before stalking toward him...

While no one had been going for Adelaide -yet-, ironically it's Auron's rushing to defend her that brings the fun. Suddenly the pair of them would find a monk, two hired swords, and a black mage rushing them down swiftly!

Ainsley joining the fray throws the otherwise prevailing assassin girl and her Templarate trio off though. So much, in fact, that her blade manages to cut the girl across her exposed midsection, perhaps alerting her for the first time as to why it's not a good idea to have so much skin exposed! Blood pools at Ainsley's feet, and the girl glares through clenched teeth before retreating swiftly.

Lettie, meanwhile, is rather peeved at having not ONLY her beautiful face scarred but her hair chopped off as well! Her eyes flit dangerously between Faruja and Mizuki, but even in her rage she seems determined to kill the rat! Leaping toward him, and all of his guardians, she begins to mutter an arcane phrase practically in time with Faruja's own...

...The sky darkens, and thunder cracks across its face...

...and Faruja's stone begins to subtly glow.

The assassin's eyes fly open... and the girl hits the ground... staring wide-eyed at the lot of them. She never even finishes her spell before the form of Bahamut descends... spewing white hot energy toward her and her nearby sister...

An explosion rocks the area and stone flies skyward... when its over... one of them is lying flat of the ground and severely burned. The other, manages to escape with mostly tattered garbs and a bleeding left arm... but the Templarate defending her weren't so lucky.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The one garbed in blue, speaks, as the other attempts to pick herself up from the ground... "...T'would seem you are fated for better things. Holy One... we will take our leave... for now."

...And then the pair of them teleport away... visibly vanish in a flash of bright white energy.. leaving Baert and his lot to die or be captured, it seems...

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Mizuki's stasis field collapses, and the girl... just sits there a while. As the demons depart and Bahamut descends, she doesn't even react - she just stays there, hand at her chest, as her wings slowly carry her back to Earth, and to Faruja. The rat might notice that her expression has... none of her usual pomp. In fact, she looks quite pale. Both of the sisters gaze as Bahamut descends, Palora even letting out an impressed 'Whooooaaa, man...!', but eventually, they turn to look at Mizuki as well. When they do, both of their forms flicker like TV static and disappear without a trace.

When Mimi touches the ground, she gives a horrified look in Faruja's direction, and then the direction of the others. She doesn't utter a word.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Having fallen out of the sky and nearly onto the wizard that brought him down, but not completly breaking his fall Allyn's left leg is completely blackened and useless for much of anything right now, and he thinks that he may have heard a snap with the impact of the roof. He elts out a roar of pain, but he's not ready to give up just yet, he'll go down fighting. He glares at the archer coming at him with a sword and growls a warning, wounded animal, not good to approach, "I'll give you one chance, jump off now and hope you die, or stay and be my dinner, you do know I like raw meat, right? Though you probably taste spoiled and foul, but I'm hungry."

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja falls to a knee, supported by his cane. He watches as the two assassins speak. The rat barely hears them. Some part of him feels awake, alive, and exhilirated. His enemies lay dead and dieing before his judgement.

"Flee. Flee, ye Heretics. I know not what drivel ye speak, but when next we meet, it shall be thine corpses adorning the gorund as well." Promises the mage-knight. Then, he turns to his fallen enemies.

Blaze gun drawn, he makes his way over to several of the dieing Templar. One by one, he begins to simply buffet their fallen forms with fire. He does a darn good job, not stopping until they're unrecognizable. He saves only one out of them. The hired hands get even less consideration.

Only when he's done, and has Baert and the last Templar tied up for capture will he attempt to get his Inquisitorial allies moving. If they'll even respond at this point. He has harsh interrogations to run.

Auron (236) has posed:
Bahamut. The appearance is different from what he remembers. But it's still most definitely Bahamut. And that's going to cause some hell! Auron remains in his place while the great dragon does its thing. However that doesn't seem to have taken care of all of them. If the mage got caught in Bahamut's blast, said mage is probably crispy critters by now; mages tend to be kind of squishy. But the monk at least may have the vitality to power through it. And who knows how tough those two sellswords are?

Well, they're about to eat another dragon's fire. Sort of. Auron raises his sword to his shoulder and extends his other arm; golden energy that crackles like lightning surrounds him for a moment. As he turns his sword in his hands, so it points down, he leaps up into the air. He seems to hang in the air a few seconds longer than he ought to, and a gleam slides down his blade.

As he lands, he buries the sword in the surface under his feet (which might be a roof so somebody may need to call a roofer). A harmless puff of energy surrounds his feet... and the corresponding explosions, these not quite so harmless, are aimed to explode under the feet of anyon of the group approaching he and Addie that Bahamut didn't get.

Alexandra Knox (275) has posed:
Excitement over, Lex sits down on a nearby crate and yawns. "... I didn't notice how tired I was." She leans forward to rest her face on her arms, and promptly falls asleep.

Roll (3) has posed:
Roll... has unwittingly disrobed Baert for the most part. She was going for the gun, honestly. But then the gun vanished and Baert started moving and she flailed an arm and... RIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

The maidrobo... frowns heavily. Ooops?

She ends up blinking bewilderedly at the man, though also makes a face of utter disapproval. "You really should exercise more, that's not health--"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Dragons apparently solve everything.

... This leaves the whole mess taken care of, and when everyone's ready to be carted off, Roll makes her way over to Faruja. "... I'm glad they didn't get you! I-I can't believe this... it's not just some deluded guy or a single criminal, but a really important person. I didn't think they could BE criminimals!" it's mindset shaking, really!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
Without another word to anyone, Mizuki lifts her sword and brings it down, re-opening the portal from before. After a very short period of hesitation and a final glance at the others, she enters it. It closes nigh immediately once she has stepped through it.

Earnestly, she just hopes she wasn't seen by anyone.

Ultima (129) has posed:
At this point, it all seems to have fallen through for Baert. Not only are his men being slaughtered or arrested wholesale, but his ace in the hole just plain up and left like a pair of... fickle women. Never the less, being that the fat man now has no immediate means of escape, and is beyond indignified at this point, he cooperates... begrudgingly.

Seeing that the battle has ended, and he really doesn't wish to become dinner to a TALKING COEURL, the last archer who was - moments prior - menacing Allyn suddenly drops his blade... and turns tail to run. He won't likely get far though now...

Auron's unusual attack catches the last vestiges of Baert's men completely off-guard... and the explosion of magical energy that erupts beneath their feet leaves them either grievously wounded or dead. They literally collapse just feet from him, proving to be far less of a threat than they thought they'd be.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is a good fighter after all but she's just playing support to pardon the pun to everyone else as they continue to fight however it seems of it won't be much longer she's not been taken to too badly thankfully she lowers her blade as the fight end and she narrows her eyes for a moment not sure about just what's going on with the two blonde killers..

She looks to start rounding up those enemies who still live as she pulls zip ties from her inventory to restrain them. She'll worry about what she can actually do something about

Auron (236) has posed:
...

It'll be a while, getting all this cleaned up. But on the way out of the festival grounds, a rustling in a tree startles Auron. He turns to look at the source, and finds...

...A familiar cat, sitting on a branch. Its eyes are wide and it seems to be shaking. Then again, with all that battling and HOLY CRAP HUGE DRAGON that just happened, it's understandable. "...Mraaau...?"

Auron pauses. Sighs. He takes a step towards the branch. "...All right. Get in there." The cat does not wait to be told twice, but jumps down onto his shoulder from the branch and crawls into the place in his coat where he has his arm tucked. This time it's hiding. But at least it's still quiet.

Once more, Auron sighs, and then heads back. The cat will leave when it wants to, he figures.

Adelaide Flowers (109) has posed:
Despite her clearly similar nature and the fact she could /fit/ in Auron's jacket, said cat is not Adelaide Flowers.