Scene #1159:

Owner	Pose
Faruja	~Ivalice, plains near Eagrose Castle~ The good Inquisitor, upon asking for assistance, may well have not anticipated so many. Thus, he may look slightly baffled as one enters the tiny camp that's set to guard the entrance to Phoenix's abode. The local population is quite literally doubled. Faruja can't help but smile, and reassure the newly promoted guard captain before seeing to his arriving compatriots. The red silk-clad rat straightens up, then gives his usual bow and round of blessings to those assembled. For those that know him, they might seem slightly short than usual. Beside him, is a distinctly thin young woman in brown robes, clutching a staff. She seems to almost be devoured by her clothing, but nevertheless manages to almost look the group in the eyes. Faruja reaches over, steadying her with a hand. Then he addresses the group as he begins to lead them into cavern proper. The group, as he explains, passes first down a hot rocky tunnel emerging into an utterly massive chamber. A bridge spans two large outcroppings of rock. Below, fire-based creatures mingle peacefully amidst flowing lava, and even those above seem to utterly ignore the group. Across the bridge, and through a pathway across a lake of lava has one ending at a large cathedral-like structure, complete with engravings of the Phoenix esper, as well as Ajoran crosses. "As ye all may know, not several months ago, a rogue Summoner managed to corrupt the Lady Esper's shrine. Though slain, and her evil curse contained, 'tis somehow being maintained yet when it shouldst hath died with her. We may only surmise 'tis being done by a person or persons unknown. We shall enter the greater depths beneath the Lady Esper's shrine, and my fellow Summoner shall attempt to Call her spirit in order to discover what link remains between Phoenix and this blight. The caverns beneath art home to powerful creatures. Be on thine guard, they likely shall be most agressive." Faruja opens the door to the shrine. It's open and lacking in the oppressive heat from outside. The likely reason? The large flaming bird-spirit looking down kindly atop a bronze nest-like dias in the center of the room. "...So many!" The esper sounds honestly touched at the amount of people that care. The kindly creature shuffles from one birdy-foot to the next in embarrassment. Then, she straightens herself. "You all risk much here. Please, be careful. All of you." Her eyes in particular look to Faruja and his fellow Summoner. Then with a tap of her foot, the floor partially drops, revealing stairs downwards. Even now, cries of monsters can be heard from below. Large enough to walk two abreast, there's ample room for the group as it descends into yet another lava-lit cavern. Those cries, rather than angry, may sound maddened and agonized. The corruption runs deeper, perhaps, that at first realized. "Form up, Sers and Dames, and God be with us."
Kyra Hyral	This would be Kyra's second visit to Ivalice! She is completely prepared to show her current travelling companion/person to hide behind the way there. She also gives him warning that Ivalice is a very sunny place so he might want to wear sunscreen before going out. Dominic no doubt heard a brief story about some sunburn incurred the last time she was here. Knowing that today's aim would be to remove a taint, Kyra's come equipped with a different loadout than usual, leaning towards the more esuna-type potions rather than the copious amounts of explosives she usually carries. Meaning she's carringly slightly /less/ copious mounts of explosives. But the rest is a precaution in case she was to risk magic-which she might, actually. Kyra seems excited about this particular adventure. Extraversal Phoenixes! Stopping corruption! Saving the day! It was exactly the kind of stuff their little club was formed for! She just wished that more of the members could be here today. "Miss Phoenix!" she greets once they all have been lead down into the shrine. "Don't worry, we'll be just fine." Kyra holds up her needlegun, which is already slotted with a potion dart. There is a manically enthusiastic grin on her face. "I'll make SURE they are fine!!"
Audrey Stormfist	PREVIOUSLY: Souji has assigned a special team to Audrey's command, and tasked her with studying the Multiverse, its inhabitants, and how they act. This is not a small job given the size of it. NOW: It is either through luck or keeping her ears to the ground that the Heritor has learned of a field trip of sorts a few students were going on. Paperwork has been forged, and one of her teachers in the arts of the Heritor Job (as unusual of one as it is) has granted her special permission to intrude on a field trip for the purposes of finding off-world weaponry for his classes. Even mundane blades are nothing to scoff at; unlike native blades, they won't be made out of magic at all. It's a big deal! Also let's be honest she just wants to see KIRIN's services to Faruja and the Church. Gotta make contacts and friends. Gotta make Souji-senpai happy. This is why AUDREY STORMFIST is here today. Perceptive magical entities would probably notice she's carrying some manner of magitek or another, which is recording activity and data she comes across. As they enter the shrine, the girl averts her eyes from Phoenix, before realizing the bird is not so bright that she needs do so. It is however as hot as she expected, up close. Her eyes trail to the energetic Kyra, the slightest hint of a frown breaking her neutral stare. "Perhaps you could explain, as we descend, what the effects of this curse are? Should it be kept unchecked, what will happen? You say it is contained, but the urgency of the request implies that is at best a temporary measure."
Finna	"Risky? Firefeathers, this is a Steward's duty! ... Admittedly more of a No Moon thing, but I'll help where I can!" States the young woman who's also joined the group. Finna's standing confidently, hands on her hips. She's wearing a fairly minimalistic attire - juuuuust on the edge of 'skimpy enough to not drown in her own sweat' and 'covering enough to not get Faruja up in arms.' It's a delicate balance, to be sure, but strips of leather make up most of her outfit. She doesn't have any obvious tools or weapons though. Of course the Esper will have no trouble at all spotting that Finna's oozing strange moon-aspected magic from some foreign land, whatever the heck that means. Perhaps she's not risking that much. yes, Faruja. Finna just referred to Phoenix as 'Firefeathers.' Affectionately, at least! Into the mouth of Hell finna walks, tail wagging evenly as she makes tracks down the path... and halts when the screeches reach her ears. "E-eergy... what's up with this place?"
Dominic Masoch	If Dominic Masoch were a Sword Saint (And he's totally not), he would be excited to come on another Extraversal Trip, especially into a world similar to his own. It would increase the chance that he might see a really cool move that he could learn, since he'd be a fledgling Saint and his roster would be totally devoid of new moves, save for a few core ones. But he's not a Sword Saint and that's silly. You're silly. So instead of that excitement, he's showing a casual aloofness that all Ramuhan nobility should display. And he's listening to his mPhone using the music function. Or he was until Faruja started talking. He took one earbud out and turned it down to listen to Faruja while hanging out near Kyra. There's TOTALLY no ulterior motive and it's purely his desire to protect his new friend. When Faruja finishes, he nods his head, "I will be happy to help you in this endeavor." He asserts firmly, lifting the corners of his mouth in a polite smile, "I believe we have met on the radio. I am Daniel Masoch, nice to meet you in person." Of course, as Faruja FINISHES talking, the earbud is put back in and he turns up his music again. It's an electronic sort of crashing noise that erupts from the earbuds and is audible to people standing near him. It's MogStep. Way to go, Kyra, you have a convert.
Allyn	And not far behind Finna coems the large wolf, fllowing after the others, the large wolf peers up at Phoenix and wags his tail at the esper, "It's good to see you again. As he follows he tilts his head at Finna, "Probably more of the same as last time? Or maybe something worse? Well, we're back here, so what could go wrong?" Yes, the wolf is talking, just in case anyone ws wondering, becuuse well, that's usually a surprise to some people, especially those who've never met him before. He does then look at Faruja and listens, ears perking as they go along.
Ainsley	It's sure a good thing that Ainsley can fly. She can orbit around the group much like some sort of faerie without getting in the way, and she is quite happy to just let them enjoy the sights along the way. She lingers near Faruja in particular. If she brushes too close to someone, they'll feel the faint bluster of the storm magic that keeps her aloft, feeling and smelling like she has a dry thunderstorm around her. As they walk across the bridge, she takes a moment to float over and look down at the fiery creatures below. She is wary of them in a way that suggests she expects a fight, as if she had trouble with these creatures before. She likely did, as a matter of fact. The lizard woman comes in for a landing when they reach Phoenix's temple. She steps up and gives a curtsey motion in Phoenix's direction, smiling up at the spirit of resurrection with a bright attitude. Once they're in the temple, she turns a curious eye to the Alexander Academy students, measuring their reactions to Phoenix. A moment of mirth shows on her face at Audrey for whatever reason, especially when spotting a frown through the neutrality. Kyra's presence gets a click of her tongue, "Good, we have a healer," and that is about the first time she even uttered a word to anyone in the party. She waits patiently with her hands clasped behind her back, waiting for the others to head on inside. Being a squishy scholarly-type, she would prefer NOT to be on the front line if she can at all help it, especially with Faruja right there to panic if she were to get hurt. Her own neutrality soon replaces the gentle smile she was showing. Now she starts to seem serious, when before all her floating and lingering looked more whimsical. To complete the transformation in attitude, an arc of electricity crawls across her crown of feathers.
Auron	It wouldn't change anything in Spira, no... but it /is/ second nature for Auron to want to help in this case. Not for the church, but for Phoenix herself. So of course Auron was going to come to her aid. Ivalician or not, the Esper Phoenix seemed very much like the Aeons from Spira, now gone from his particular iteration of Spira. In some small way, he felt like helping her is somehow returning the favor that the Fayth had done for Spira. He greets Faruja and those present and then goes with the others into the shrine. Upon seeing Phoenix, Auron bows respectfully. "I will do what I can to keep us safe," he promises. He's a tank, after all. That's kind of what he does. For the time being he remains quiet as the others speak up, watching the group as they speak, assessing. Whoever is most likely to need a human shield is likely to find him at their side once they enter the cursed place proper. Also he's quiet because most of the time someone thinks to ask his questions, so he's generally not needed to.
Frederica	Frederica's ... not exactly a regular in Ivalice, but she promised to help Phoenix however she can. More than that though, she WANTS to help the firebird. The spirit of the healing flame, at least in this world. Of all the godlike beings in all the worlds, this is the one she's found most like what she wants to be. She hangs back though, a little uncertain and perhaps a bit uncomfortable. The trip through the fire shrine is one she's taken a few times now, and while it holds no surprises it's still rather fascinating. She only seems to perk up though when she sees Phoenix herself. Frederica smiles slightly at the esper's embarassment. "This has gone on long enough." she promises. "We'll fix it!" she adds... not quite speaking 'somehow' aloud at the end even though she definitely thinks it.
Maya	Maya had been willing to help Faruja often he was a friend after all, right? She'd also wanted to see things to the end here she was noticing a few people she'd not seen before and takes note of them, The rifle on her back was strange to those who'd not seen here, it was almost klunky looking, yet those who might be able to sense magic the weapon is rife with it's touch. "I agree we can figure out something and ... I'm just happy to be able to help with this."
Quentyn Westwind	Get to see a summoner in action, another world's phoenix and so much else? Sign Quentyn up for that! And so he shows up, notebook and pencil in hand. He stays to the back of the party, pencil scratching against paper as Faruja gives the details of their mission. And the same but much more quickly when he sees the esper and she speaks to the group-- after the white mage gets a good look anyway. When they head down the stairs, Quentyn will follow.
Faruja	Kyra's words gets a tilt of the beak from Phoenix. It's as close to a smile as she can manage! "Confidence is good." Audrey's question is particularly relevent, and Faruja addresses the group, nodding to the woman. "Thus far? Madness in any of the monstrous denizens that it comes in contact with. More worrying, prolonged exposure may..." He pauses, visibly disgusted by the mere thought. "Effect the esper herself, in ways that we may only conjecture. As well, any Summoner pacting or attempting to Summon her wouldst be at risk of body, and potentially, mind." The young woman beside him, the Summoner Izuru, shudders at the reminder. "Hence, to ensure the pair of us doth not become incurably insane or otherwise dead, she and I shall balance the load, as it were. Do what ye must if we show signs of...instability." Faruja's dour tone may well communicate how horrible of an idea this is. Desperate times. "Quite. It may spread again, depending upon what exactly is fueling it. Or its effects worsen. We art working primarily on conjecture, as the one whom wouldst know best is dead." It might be telling just how worked up Faruja is, though he tries not to show it, as Finna's words don't even get a rise out of him. Phoenix herself actually laughs as they descend. "I have confidence in you, oh silver hunter." The talking wolf gets another one of those beak-tilty grins, Phoenix staring at Allyn. "And you. Good luck, child of nature. There are things to set to rights." Dominic Masoch gets a nod from Faruja, formalities skipped thanks tot he urgency here. "Ye hath mine thanks, Ser Masoch. We require every blade and stout heart we may gain." Responds the rat formally. Ainsley's presence is one of the few things helping the rat keep it together, and there's a small nod to his lizard-love. As she floats by? There's even a brief hand-squeeze. Other than that? He's focused on the mission, and often muttering prayers. Izuru, for her part, looks a bit in awe of the flying lizardess. Phoenix returns the smile with a flare of warm fire. It doesn't burn, oddly. Auron's presence is a Faram-send. The Inquisitor nods to him. As for Phoenix? She similarly bows. Faruja is a bit more vocal. "Protect the Lady Summoner, please, above all else." He asks, motioning to Izuru. The woman blinks, then scurries over to Auron. It won't be hard to cover such a stick of a woman! Maya and Frederica both get nods from Phoenix. "Hope shall carry you through." Agrees the Esper. As for Kirika and Quentyn? Phoenix is silent, but there's suddenly a feather slipped into Quentyn's notebook. Who know Espers had levels in Thief. Kirika gets a glance from Faruja. "Let nay ambush threaten us, Dame Kirika!" Once the group has descended the stairs, the tunnel widens. No doubt there was once an active magma tube here, long since melting the rock into a smaller cavern that opens up before them. The source of the screams becomes immediately obvious; the cavern itself is split in half by a somewhat precarious strip of rock, flanked on both sides by glowing molten rocks. The fire itself is tinged black, corruption all but radiating off of the area here. Faruja looks horridly green. Worst still, lizard-like creatures looking similar to komodo dragons lurk, radiating heat and that same corruption. A good fifteen of the creatures lurk, snapping and howling in agony. They hardly seem to notice the heat. They /do/ notice the group. Several rush forward, jaws snapping, while others remain behind to suck in breath. Gouts of black flame seek to buffet our heroes!
Quentyn Westwind	'Protect the lady summoner'. The nice thing about being a white mage... Quentyn can take that literally. He glances to Kyra for a moment, eyeing her needle gun. Then to Izuru. Aether gathers around him in that usual final fantasy way and he casts Protect on Izuru. Then Shell, then Stoneskin, and finishing up with Blink, as long as the summoner doesn't object to any of this. As protected as the white mage can make her. It's not until after that that Quentyn looks at his notebook and notices the feather. His face utterly lights up. Christmas come early (or Victory Day, as a Galianda). Quentyn's gaze snaps back to the Phoenix and he gives a very warm smile just before the enter the place below. Quentyn then carefully tucks the feather away. Once the lizards start rushing the group... Quentyn doesn't immediately do much save draw his PDW into his hands. Otherwise, he just keeps a careful eye on each of his fellow party members, ready to heal where it's needed.
Ainsley	As the group advances into the deeps, Ainsley remains in the back. There's a very good reason for this, and that's her magic. She steps up behind everyone as they advance, and leers at the lizard monsters that give a bad name to reptiles. As a few approach with hostile intent, she instead focuses on the ones preparing for an obvious breath attack. "No," she denies them, and swipes her hand in a wide motion. Almost as if the air itself rose to answer her motion, a gust of visible white light swirled between the party and the black fire. She keeps moving her hands like this in painfully slow motions, like trying to force against the power of a tornado. A howling wind kicks up in the tunnel. The only thing that makes this easier for her is the fact that hot air is easier for her to manipulate. She's only doing this for as long as the lizard beasts attempt to breath black fire on everyone.
Finna	"It's not my fault you haven't come out of your den in forever!" Finna reaches down to stroke Allyn behind the ears, quite pleased by the other shifter's presence. Her eyes scan about though, spotting many familiar and a few unfamiliar faces. She'll have to see what the unrecognized folk can do, won't she? When they reach the lizards on the cavern floor... "Eeeeeeeewghhhhh... Faruja, you do NOT get to complain about ANYTHING that happens in this heat!" Whatever THAT's supposed to mean. Finna VAULTS upwards. "You handle things on the ground!" Whether that was to Allyn or someone else is unclear. But she's somehow jumped STRAIGHT up to the ceiling and spun about to land on it and... starts RUNNING UPSIDE DOWN along it at tremendous speed while readying a bow that she was NOT carrying a few moments ago. Arrows rain down on the fire-breathing lizards from above!
Frederica	Frederica's strength, in a place like this, may not look quite so effective as it might otherwise be. She calls up fire, sending several tiny orbs of flame orbiting about her body in a chaotic pattern. It won't be her primary defense however. She also takes a step to the side, putting the comforting mass of Auron between her and any direct threat. Reacting quickly to the threat, Frederica frowns at the incoming black flame. It IS flame, at least in part. As such, it's hers to manipulate. This isn't easy, of course. Manipulating flame at range is tough. It takes less power the closer it comes however. By being careful and selective she should be able to deflect flames away from some of the group. She picks her defenses well, shielding those unable to dodge or otherwise protect themselves. She can't spare enough power to shield everyone, so those who'd otherwise be unprotected will find the black flames veering away from them at practically point-blank range. Enough to feel the heat, maybe even take some damage from the attacks, but hopefully not enough to cause serious damage.
Kirika	There are an AWFUL lot of Alexander Academy students here. Kirika arrives quietly, her hood up to conceal two fluffy ears as she approaches the group, her katana close at hand as always. She listens to Faruja's briefing intently, nodding once afterwards. The kitsune knows what must be done here, and it's second nature for her to help a colleague and friend. Only a cursoy look is given to the others attending, including the /other/ fox here tonight it seems. Finna may get a raised brow, but Kirika otherwise remains on-task. Besides her trusty holy blade, she's also brought along her Mithril sword and shield, just to be safe. Given their properties they may be of use if things get hairy, a backup weapon to fall to never hurts after all. THey remain on her back for now, while she keeps a hand rested on the grip of her katana. As the group inches deeper and deeper along towards the shrine, Kirika remains alert, her eyes and ears sharp and ready for whatever may come to harm this group. Lizards. Lots and lots of lizards. Kirika gives Faruja a grim nod as she draws her blade, and Kinugiri's edge glows blue with frost as she begins to close ranks. As the lizard creaturs rush forth, Kirika returns the favor as she takes off to engage them with blade in hand. Taking a leap, she slashes down upon one of the lizard monsters before landing on her feet, her blade making several fierce slashes at the creatures. Her cloak manages to block the flames somewhat, despite leaving the cloth material singed noticably. For good measure, she pauses only to unleash a gout of frost towards the bulk of the enemy force.
Auron	Auron nods as the lady Summoner takes refuge near him. "I will do that," he notes to Faruja. Being a Guardian comes natural to him, and 'being a Guardian' means 'protecting Summoners'. He also nods to Quentyn's heavy protection buffs to Izuru. That'll make his job easier! He does serve as a human shield as they head down. And then suddenly corrupted lizards? He's quick to get in front of the Summoner and block as much of anything the others don't handle with his sword. And then he focuses on one of those lizards. And growls, his voice taking on an odd timbre, as if it were echoing inside its own wavelengths, "Do not move!"
Allyn	When Finna strokes his ears, Allyn licks her hand and gives her a nuzzle, well that is ebfore she jumps straight up. He does nod to her though and once he sees the lizards the large wolf is bounding off towards them, sure it is hot, but when has such a thing ever stopped the shifter? Besides, it's good to know that Finna, a fellow shifter is here and has his back. He growls at the lizards and crouches down, before launching himself at the nearest one with a pounce and bite. Yeah, no hesitating.
Kyra Hyral	Uuuuugh, why was KIRIN here? Why couldn't this just be a Light Warriors outing where it concerned people from Kyra's world? Even worse, why did it have to be AUDREY STORMFIST. But even this misery cannot quash Kyra's OVERWHELMING ENTHUSIASM. It could be further augmented by the fact that she can recognize the faint wubs of her music coming from Dominic's earbuds. Actually yes talking wolves are pretty surprising to Kyra. She stares at this large, apparently ally-friendly wolf that has come to join them. "...whoaaah. Hi! You have not one, but two healers-" Kyra points to Quentyn, singaling out the shier white mage because sometimes he needs it. Down they go right into the corrupted chamber. Kyra nods appraisingly. "Yep, that sure is corrupted. I know because of my learnings. Looks like there are a couple of dire salamanders here too-" Kyra lifts a hand, muttering a few words that Quentyn would recognize for a standard Protect spell. Magic swells within Kyra...and does not stop. It swells beyond the MP required for such a basic white magic spell. Kyra's eyes widen as she realizes that this seems to be happening. "Oh /fuck/!" Everyone in Kyra's immediate area is going to have a sudden problem as the ground cracks all around her and corrupted flames erupt from the cracks, followed by molten lava slowly oozing forth. Kyra swears again and hops backwards several steps, evading flames as she does.
Audrey Stormfist	"I see. That is an unfortunate curse to have lingering on a being the likes of Phoenix, yes. Naturally, KIRIN offers you its services in keeping such a thing contained. It would not do for it to spread to other such creatures or worlds," Audrey responds, glancing towards Quentyn as he actually gets to work early. She reaches into a pocket, producing small, bullet-like capsules. All of them hollow, with a different color shining within. The one she keeps glows ice blue, and she inserts it into the chamber of her sheathed gunblade. As she pulls the blade out and clicks the trigger, it becomes coated in an icy mist, the temperature around the sword obviously lower than in the cave. Audrey charges into the melee, swinging the gunblade at one of the lizards. It trails bright blue magic, obviously delivering ice-elemental attacks instead of just physical ones. Fortunately for her diving into the melee spares her Kyra's sudden lava burst, but that does not spare Kyra a glare when and if the Heritor has a chance.
Dominic Masoch	"Not unlike the corruption of Chaos," Dominic comments darkly, looking to Kyra and then to Faruja as they enter the tunnel and come across the black fire that permeates the rocks and cavern. His amazement at Phoenix is kept practiced and well-maintained. Ramuhan Nobles are trained from birth, after all, to hide emotions both positive and negative to prevent people from manipulating your desires. Once they were actually underway, he had taken off the mPhone and earbuds, placing them in the pocket of his jacket and replacing it with a magitech earbud so that he could switch over to using it as a radio. One of the few benefits of being a member of his family: State of the art communications magitech. As Ainsley's wind shield and Frederica's defense both work against the incoming fire, Dominic brings a gloved hand up across his face as a blast of hot air washes over him. in the next instant, his hand is moving to the rapier kept at his side, drawing it in a clean and practiced motion. A hand slides forward while the rapier's grip is shifted and his feet carefully move. "Foul tainted creatures!" He says, flicking the blade as the yellow bolts that run through his eyes begin to glow. A moment later he flicks his wrist and a current of MP runs through it before releasing out of the tip, forming a streaking hawk through the air that seeks to strike one of the dragons right at the head. The Fencer class does not excel at ranged combat, but the Nighthawk move allows them to make due when necessary. Dominic doesn't have time to admire this move, though, as Kyra immediately shouts 'Oh Fuck' as the ground erupts underneath the both of them. He's blasted by flame and is forced to swat at his clothes to put them out as he shouts at her, "What did you just do? Are you trying to fray me to death?!" His voice has more confusion than anger, and he's dropped into some of the more street dialect of Ramuh rather than the more noble gait he usually has.
Maya	Maya is looking at Phoenix and smiles a little bit , sher thinks for a moment as other plans are noted and she's about as ready as she's ever going to be she want to do what she can to help but she must not tax her magic too much, given it's only recently been restored to her after all. She however has her rofle and she levels it opening gire before leaping out of the way of a burst of fire!
Faruja	Quentyn's spells take effect almost immediately, Izuru soon a living firework of particles and magical lights as the protections are weaved about her. In turn, the Summoner holds her staff, and slams it on the ground. One of the rushing lizards is almost immediately impaled by a duo of earth-spikes that erupt from the ground to pierce jaw and head alike. The poor creature writhes, quite stuck, but not yet dead. One of the other corrupted creatures turns, and starts to devour the weakened one. Ainsley's shield causes that sheet of fire from the multiple lizards to be pushed back, and quite a few are blown away by the resulting backblast. Grrr! Finna gets an answer almost immediately. "I shall bloody well complain when...nevermind! Less whining, more purging Senra!" What /are/ these two on about? Several of the lizards look up, their beady, pained eyes flashing. Arrows bisect a trio of them, but a fourth tries to blast a gout of flame at Finna! It only partially works, a particularly well aimed, but small fireball thanks to Asinley's previous efforts! Frederica's manipulate of fire saves Faruja quite a bit of fire to the face, veering away with only a light sense of torched rat. Kirika's blade proves more than useful, several backing off, and another losing its head! The sudden gout of ice causes some of the rock to freeze, lizards slipping and bumping into one another, tangled up. The charge of far too much scaley flesh is fairly well halted as they try to extricate themselves from swiflty melting frost. Cue an ample opportunity for one Allyn the fuzziest knight-errant to leap atop one of those lizards! It doesn't stand a chance, those sharp jaws ripping through granite-like scales until Allyn tastes blood. It swiftly dies, its pain ended. Several others look to the wolf-creature, sizing him up while trying to snap at their dead compatriot. Auron's intimidating nature proves more than able to cause those lizards threatening Izuru to back down, freezing in pure fear. Izuru is all but clinging and looking out from behind the much taller man. Kyra's magic goes haywire, and Faruja now needs new robes as lava and fire very nearly consumes him. Teleporting away, he's left with his armor, now scorched, and /definitely/ smelling like burnt rat. "Lady Hyral, WHAT IN THE BLOODY ABYSS WAS THAT!?" Comes Faruja, with all of the fury of an Inquisitor. And the volume. Izuru looks to Kyra, staff half-raised. This little event now gives the group a problem: namely, a growing pool of lava and even more burning dark-flame. "The Holy Church welcomes any assistance, of course, once we know whom or what we art dealing with. Eradication is our goal, Lady Stormfist, not mere containment. The Lady Phoenix shall be cleansed!" Ice attacks, predictably, cause the deaths of the lizards that Audrey strikes. Their numbers are quite thinned by now, only a handful left as Dominic strikes with a hawk of magic at the creatures! One quite literally has its eyes pecked out. Ouch. It's finished off by a shot through the head, courtesy of Maya! By now quite livid, Faruja motions to the others. "Down the tunnels, Sers and Dames!" Faruja starts to incant, and Izuru follows suit. Shiva appears, and through their combined efforts, the last remaining trio that are combat-fit are encased in a block of ice. When the resulting steam settles? What few that are left alive shrink away from the pure power of those gathered.
Faruja	Faruja leads on. Across the room, the cavern narrows once more into a proper tunnel. It leads downwards, narrowing quite tightly, barely enough to pass by. Faruja's limping more than usual, Kyra's magic likely having done far more damage than their enemies! Eventually, after minutes of claustrophobic tunnels, it opens once more into a circular room. This looks far less natural, diamonds sparkling in the walls in geometric patterns, only to connect across the floor in the center of the room. There's a slightly raised platform, upon which sits another faux-nest. This one is made of crystal. Perhaps worryingly, rather than reflecting lava from below the room, it exudes a darkness that quite literally seems to devour the light around it. Izuru and Faruja step towards the dias, the rat looking very, very ill as he senses the corruption coming from it. He turns to his compatriots. "Right. Cleave to faith, mine friends, I hath nay bloody clue what shall happen here. If either of us seem...infirm, do what ye must. Guard up, hmm?" The pair nod, and kneel. Saying a prayer, the two begin to incant. "Oh blessed God-Servant, heed our Call! Kindly Mother of Flame, oh cleansing light, come forth! Phoenix!" It's a short incantation, but magic flares around the pair. At first, everything seems normal. Mana starts to gather to form the spiritual body of the creature. Fire erupts before the blackened crystal nest as Phoenix's form comes into being. A textbook Summon, though Izuru already looks taxed...if holding steady. But the flames swiftly turn blackish-purple. There's a strangled squeaking noise from Faruja as he begins coughing, falling to a knee. Izuru similarly drops, bleeding from the eyes before spitting out a gout of blood. Phoenix, so motherly above, appears a rotting skeleton. Missing an eye, covered in dark flames and rotting flame-flesh, the creature appears sickly and horrid in its corrupted form. The blood from Izuru is sucked into the creature, causing its image to distort...and start to split, until a pair of rotting Phoenix's appear before the group. "Gah...t...traitors! A blackened forest! Be...beneath...moonlight! Away...from the blessed city..." Stammers out the tainted manifestations in one voice. The darkness from the crystal nest grows, covering the floor like a mist. Reacting to so much magic from the summoning, much of it starts to take the shape of smaller, equally dark birds. For now, they do nothing, though they grow in numbers swiftly.
Quentyn Westwind	At first Quentyn doesn't notice. Then Kyra gets a glance. Was she about to unleash a Holy? In the meantime, he gives a thumbs up to those shielding the group. Buuut then the ground starts erupting and Quentyn backpedals fast, Stoneskin fortunately eating the brunt of the flames. Still scares the Chaos out of the white mage. He looks back at the monsters, searching for a caster. Then back to the ground. Then back to Kyra. Then to the flaming Domonic, and Faruja. Confused as he might look, Quentyn knows his next action. Aether gathers around the white mage again -- "I got Masoch" he calls to Kyra -- and a regen spell envelops Dominic. With any luck, between the two of them everyone gets healed. "Kyra? Um--" Quick glancing to the lavafied floor and to his fellow white mage, then a quick adjustment to his glasses. "Um-- where did that come from?" Quentyn, once more, just stands around the back of the group while the summoning takes place, giving a thumbs up to Faruja at his instructions. He fiddles with his glasses while he watches the incantation, even fishing his notebook out of his ADVENTURE BAG (Ok really it's just his bookbag) to scribbling more things in it. As things go belly up, it looks like the bottom of the white mage's stomach drops out from him. He freezes up for several crucial moments. "Um-- Um-- Holy?" Quentyn suggests to Kyra. "Or--" Quentyn looks quickly between Faruja and Izuru... maybe they wouldn't have time for offensive spells after all. Quentyn stuffs the notebook away again quickly and tries to fire off the highest power cure can muster at Izuru. He's going to need an ether after this.
Auron	Auron is careful to keep Izuru away from the lava created by Kyra's misfiring magic. Sending a look to Kyra, raising the brow of his remaining eye, he notes, "And now you see why I stay away from magic." Thinking quickly, he reaches in his coat and brings out what looks like a tiny glass orb with a blue icy wind swirling inside it-- an Antarctic Wind. This he tosses at the spreading lava, hoping it will curb the spread in case they need to run while getting out of here. It's not too terribly powerful, so if this is very aggressive lava there will need to be others dealing with it too. Once they start again, he follows Faruja and the others. He keeps to the middle of the group here as best as he can, and as close to the left wall as he can. This allows him to be in front of and slightly to the left of Lady Izuru, keeping her well within the sight of his good eye if he but turns his head. It also keeps others behind the lady Summoner to watch her back. He stands by to keep watch as the summoning starts... and then he shifts suddenly as everything goes horribly wrong. He'll try to get Izuru out of danger as soon as he realizes there's a problem. But he's kind of slow, he may not be able to prevent the Lady Izuru's ultimate fate. It shouldn't affect Quentyn's casting of curative magics.
Kyra Hyral	Typically Kyra doesn't know /geomancy/. It's not her job. It's not her thing. Her magic is not supposed to produce geomancy effects. This would be something to calmly explain to everyone later when she's not TOTALLY FREAKING OUT AND ALMOST ACCIDENTALLY KILLING PEOPLE /INCLUDING POOR DOMINIC/. The effect persists even when Kyra manages to cut off her magic to it completely. Audrey glares at her (unsurprising) and Faruja howls at her which gets quite a bit more reaction than the usual expected glaring from Stormfist. She takes a step back, startled. "I DON'T KNOW!" she blurts back, "Maybe the corruption messed with my magic! It was just supposed to be a simple protection spell! I don't know what the fuck happened!" After a moment, she calls out again. "Is everyone okay? Does anyone need a potion or anything?" she seems worried. Guilty, even, that the latest magical fuck-up might have gotten people injured this time. She makes confused worried noises at Quentyn. "I really don't know. I...I think I'm just going to stick to potions and stuff for now." Fortunately, stuff also includes a variety of offensive potions. Offensive in that they unleash effects, such as a flash-freeze created by a liquid nitrogen mixture beyond what non-Galiandan physics is accustomed to. The colloquial term for such mixture would be an 'artic wind', generally. She targets not the rotting summons but the crystal nest itself.
Dominic Masoch	Dominic is unsure how to proceed in the face of everything that is presently happening. It's clear to anyone that this has gone incredibly wrong, incredibly quickly. And the nobleman is sure to pick up on this. He lifts his blade, "How could this have happened? Is the taint too strong or has something gone wrong in the ritual?" He looks to Quentyn as the light envelops him, wrapping him in a regenerative aura that causes his wounds to rapidly close. He has lingering pain, but the actual damage done by the burns KYRA CAUSED HIM LIKE A JERK have faded to a dull ache. He steps back and in front of Kyra a moment later, wanting to put himself between her and any threat these creatures may pose. "This has gone terribly wrong," He assesses the obvious fact, feet digging into the ground, "I am unsure of how to proceed forward in the operation." He scowls a bit, trying to figure out his next course of action, "We should attempt to fight back the corrupted manifestations and recover enough for exorcism or purification."
Allyn	Allyn blinks as the two corrupted looking Phoenix, "You can't be the real one." he growls at them and sniffs the air and then he ponders for a few moments. He doesn't really have time to say hi to Kyra properly after she greeted him so nicely, but he can do that later. He growls again and bounds a little ways off from the others and shifts form, become a huge three headed wolf and howls at the phoenix there. "What are you?" all three heads seem to ask them at once. Though then he moves in closer towards the healer types, got to keep them safe anyway.
Maya	Maya is lucky as she avoids the attack uon he and sees that they go down. She quickly is on her feet foolowing the party and remains for a moment she listens however as Phoenix is summoned she starres for a moment at what she beholds she frowns just ... what is going to happen here. "Agreed Dominic something is very much wrong here."
Finna	Finna deals handily with the incoming fire. Whirling about at tremendous speeds, a single slap of her tail creates enough wind to deflect most of it in the same motion that she springs off the ceiling and down towards the further tunnels... she's pretty quiet all throughout the following. All until the summoning begins, then she hisses oddly. And leaps back, much like a cat, into full tension. With corrupted, tainted Phoenixes appearing everywhere she gets MORE and more on edge. "Uh... bad. BAD! She didn't look like that in person! This isn't the full spirit, right...?!" And more of them keep appearing. "...right?" Finna takes a deep breath. Essence surges through her body and soul. Answering her usage, the crescent moon glows from her forehead and silvery light billows out from her body. The whole cavern, for one brief instant, is AWASH in shifting silvey-blue-purplish light until the 'burning' anima compresses back in around Finna. Anyone who couldn't see it before can now EASILY see her fox ears and tail - they sparkle in her anima's light and draw the eye. The illusion covering her tattoos fails and silvery tribal patterns. But in moments all of that vanishes as her human form's wreathed in opaque light shadow that waxes and wanes like the moon's phases - utterly hiding all of her features in favor of becoming a vaguely glowing, indinstict humanoid with a gigantic white fox superimposed over her in moonfire. She's almost NEVER channeled this much power during a Multiversal Crisis before. This has her REALLY spooked.
Ainsley	"Oh no." Ainsley floats up off the ground when Kyra's spell backfires. This is most certainly NOT a thing she wanted to experience. Thankfully, the rest of the reptiles are quite dealt with by the time she gets her bearings again. She blinks a few times, owlishly, and looks at Kyra in confusion. Thankfully she did not combust, but it's only by virtue of being able to fly above the horrible burning failed spell. As they proceed, and encounter the Dark Phoenix(es), Ainsley becomes less concerned about the monsters and MORE concerned about the summoner that is /pouring blood out of her eyes and mouth/-- "Oh blessed serpent what is wrong?!" She just invoked Quetzalcoatl. ... Yeah. She's not normally religious, this might turn Faruja's head, if no one else's. She floats on over to land near the downed summoner, and flashes red, briefly. She winces from the sensation of being unable to use her storm magic, the wind vanishing from around her. And then she tries to reach out and touch the summoner. A faint glow of red emits from the lizard girl as she tries to channel Life mana to counteract the extensive bloodloss. "Purify them," she urges the others, quite unsettled by how badly this just turned in an instant. She mutters to herself, "Why is his world so bloody awful...?" This is, by far, not the first time she has run into a Things Went Wrong scenario when it came to Faruja's world.
Audrey Stormfist	"Of course. Research and assistance is why I am here. We will get to the bottom of this," Audrey says to Faruja, as she sheathes her sword again and follows through the caverns to the heart of the shrine. She has little to say on the decor; this is a fire dungeon, yep. It's kind of messed up, but it's nothing unusual, which is probably for the best. She crosses her arms and watches the ritual; this sort of magic is a little bit beyond her. She's seen Callers and Summoners doing their thing, but to say she understands it would be to lie. It becomes obvious past a point things are not going well, though. Especially with Zombie!Phoenix showing up. That is fairly obviously not the firebird they were expecting. "I will assume that the destruction of those creatures is the optimal course of action here?" She doesn't quite wait for an answer. She reaches into her coat and pulls a spear out. The bladetip, rather than an actual spear point, is a blue-ish snowflake. It's a very minor magical weapon, basically a +1 spear of ice. Don't ask her how many of these things she has in her inventory, it's 'a lot'. The long weapon, with its superior reach, allows her to take an arcing swipe to try and catch multiple of the gathering monsters. Let's see if ice tickles them, or if they'll need to swap to light.
Faruja	Somewhere amidst horrific pain, Izuru and Faruja alike find themselves wishing they hadn't woken up this morning. Quentyn's cure spell thankfully keeps Izuru from coughing up every ounce of blood in her body, if only barely. As Auron starts towards her, she mumbles constantly, something about confidence and promises. Whatever she's talking about, it keeps her conscious, and keeps the ritual going. Faruja's not doing much better, by now on the floor and spitting blood-flecked foam. Hopefully everyone has their rabies shots. Auron soon has a bundle of (thankfully light) Izuru. And just in the nick of time, as that rotting visage of Phoenix swoops over and tries to rip out her throat. Small as she is, Auron instead will get a rotting, corruption-filled beak towards the chest that pierces like the worst of magical arrows. Kyra's actions, however, prove quite useful as frost freezes the nest. The twin phoenixes recombine, violently, causing a portion of the crystal nest to explode! Shards rain everywhere, sharp and black. Several of the smaller black images start to simply fade out of existance, though a lucky shot has frozen one of them. Dominic could well pick up the thing! And thus, the Cerberus-Allyn threatens the zombified Phoenix. The creature pathetically spits out black blood. "Poisonous...hate! Traitors! Killers! Slay the unrighteous priest! SLAY!" Screams 'Phoenix' in response. The remaining dark phoenix-images flap up near the cieling, swooping down at the group at large! Razor-sharp black talons and beaks try to rip at the party, leaving lingering wounds that burn and seek to poison the blood. Izuru finds herself somewhat welcomed back to lucidity, and near-blinding pain, as Ainsley's healing efforts finally combined with the White Mage's to staunch the bleeding. Weakly, she calls out. "Too...corrupt! The black hungers! Destroy the images, the dark mist!" She whimpers out, barely audible amidst the cry of bird-song that rings with the screams of the dead. Light of the moon fills the place, and the corrupt Phoenix leaves Auron to focus on the Exalt. It swoops in, it's cry mournful and begging. Audrey's spear-blade proves more than useful, obliterating several of the creatures as they swoop at her! They fall to the ground, shattering. Faruja writhes on the ground, losing blood and lunch alike, before barely rolling out of the way of one of the phoenix-images. Free from the dark mist, he starts to chant. "R...return to thine realm..." Izuru weakly picks up. "With our prayers and thanks.. "Amen!" Mid-swoop towards Finna, the Phoenix-zombie halts, its very existance flittering and shimmering. The magic-body sustaining it starts to crumble and rot, but it's flailing bulk threatens her, still sharp and poisonous! The dark images remain, however, seeming fit to defy the command of the two Summoners.
Allyn	Allyn charges across and leaps towards Finna, to try and tackle her out of the way of the zombie Pheonix, "Finna!" the three headed wolf barks! Sure he knows she can heal fast if she gets hurt, but still he's pretty protective of her, she is a fellow shapeshifter after all and he doesn't want to see her get crushed or anything like that. he's big as well, so maybe he can keep that from happening. As he does go to tackle Finna out of the way, on the way past the rotting phoenix image his other two heads do snap at it, no he really doesn't want to sink his teeth into the rotting looking flesh, but maybe he can break it up somemore so it doesn't crumble on top of his friend.
Kyra Hyral	There will be time for apologies and explanations later, though Kyra really didn't have an explaination as to why her magic suddenly went out of control in a way that even hurt some of her friends. She felt /especially/ bad about burning Dominic even if she hasn't really voiced that yet. Being kind of smart, Kyra can recognize what might be a phylactery, which is why she's targeted the crystal nest to start with. The bronze nest upstairs seemed important to the true Phoenix since she kept coming back to it. These twisted shades might be the same. "Quentyn! Keep doing the support thing, I'm taking out this nest!" It seemed to be having adverse reactions on the spawning birds, after all! Grabbing the final, third 'artic wind' from her belts, she hurls it deep into the center of the remains of the nest. ALWAYS DOUBLE TAP. /Be sure you killed that corruption/.
Dominic Masoch	Dominic is left largely amazed by the various extraversal beings that are showing off. A three-headed wolf that is battling on their side. A woman who just transformed into a powerful being with a flash of silver light. For a man for whom the most spectacular thing the extraverse had shown him to date was a pony with magical powers, both Allyn and Finna are simply amazing sights to behold once they've kicked into high gear. In fact, he even takes out his mPhone, recording both of them just so that he has something amazing to show the Light Warriors later. And maybe Souji. Mostly the Light Warriors, "Wow..." He says aloud before the phone is back into his pocket. Kyra, ironically, was forgiven for the incident almost as soon it happened. Or at least as soon as danger presented itself. Dominic flicks his rapier several times, trying to find a good target to press in on. But the fiery opponents are a bit thick for a man with no armor and a thin blade. Instead he opts to stoop over and pick up the frozen black image on the ground from a stray shot. He can, hopefully, carry the creature out and bring it to safety for later study.
Auron	Auron doesn't move when the Dark Phoenix strikes. That's what he does -- he acts the part of the wall. The only thing he does is move just enough to ensure that the strike doesn't pierce his heart. He bears it with little more than a choked grunt, more concerned with keeping Izuru out of the way. He can feel the corruption sinking into his flesh from the strike. And then the thing leaves off, and Auron falls forward, barely catching himself on his hands and avoiding going facedown. He shifts, to prop himself up on the blade enough to get to his feet. Nope. He's not down yet. He does seem unnaturally pale, though, with a greenish cast to his skin. Not the neon green of poison. It's a sickly, disgusting shade of drab-olive. He has to pause a moment, to get his bearings. And then he lifts his sword up, in a one-handed (?!) high katana stance. The gleam at the end seems to grow unnaturally bright... and then he executes a single downward diagonal swing. And as if in response, a flurry of slashes seem to sprout in mid-air, vaguely in the location of one of those images.
Maya	Maya has held back prerhaps in error however? She doe showever now move to action as she starts to move to unleash healing magic for what she can so and sh's quite concerned about this she's attemping to purge what she cvan from him with her pown magic and she looks at the Phoenbix zombie and hatls her spell. She pulls a strange glowing crystal out and lobs it like a grenade at the Phoenix. It's explodes in a blast of the sort of energy that might do to disperse the remains faster.
Audrey Stormfist	Good enough, ice works. No need to alter her tactics. There are more shadowy images than she can fend off quickly enough though; Audrey is overrun, at least momentarily, forced to pull back from the melee after one strikes at her leg and draws blood through the uniform. She frowns, but that's her natural state. She may dislike the Hyral heir, but she has to agree with her plan. One-handed, the spear is idly thrust towards the incoming images, to keep them away from the back row. Her other hand draws the gunblade again, and aims it at the nest. The cartridge inside is expended, but as she pulls the trigger, the thin barrel that follows the length of the blade visually cools itself and lets loose a burst of ice and magic towards the crystal in the nest, trying to add a tiny bit of punch to the thrown bomb. On its own it's not a lot but if every bit counts it's not wasted either.
Finna	Finna was getting ready to bolt right when the corrupt bonebird came flying at her, but -- "Allyn?!" She's tackled right out of the way and goes rolling and tumbling over the ground. She's back on her feet with incredible speed though - as if she'd not really even lost her blance to begin with, or ideas like inertia and gravity are mere suggestions. The more impressive thing is that somehow in the entire surprised rolling her whole glowing body participated in the feat of drawing her bow and nocking a half-dozen arrows. Not only is she moving faster, she's thinking faster! A half-dozen arrows go flying for the bird that Allyn knocked her away from and she's flying up for the ceiling - leaving a fading silver contrail in her wake - the very instant the arrows are past her bow. Gunshots ring out next, from a Glock that she's somehow managing to wield with her tail. Bullets fly down at the bird skulls until the weapon's out of ammo! ... Which doesn't take too long. "Take them down. FAST! Before they get more--" She's suddenly hit with the spray of black shards and goes tumbling back to the ground, wincing and pawing at a few cuts on her arms and legs... "...coordinated..."
Quentyn Westwind	Expending that much mana at once nearly takes Quentyn off his feat from the exhaustion that follows. He fiddles with his belt pounches for a moment. Pulls out an ether in a transparent phial(the color of the mixture suggests a more powerful one). Downs it. Drops the bottle. He pulls out another and does the same. Once his MP's back up again... Faruja will have to settle for a combination of smaller Cures and Regen. When the birds start attacking everyone-- Quentyn nods to Kyra-- "OK!"-- and keeps doing the support thing, as much as he can keep up. With the image-copies attack, Quentyn's Blink absorbs the first few hits-- but then one gets through. He lets out a cry of pain, but, for now, ignores the wound. Instead, the white mage casts Cure on Auron. And then again, and again, pausing only to throw in an Esuna. That looked like a nasty hit.
Ainsley	Ainsley, feeling Izuru is out of the woods, moves on to focus on Faruja, and lays her hands on him. She tries to channel more life energy into him than she did with Izuru, her whole body glowing a faint red color. It creates a corona of red. She focuses almost entirely on keeping Faruja from dropping dead at this point. Thankfully she's not getting a lot of aggression from these angry death birds, so this is actually a lot easier on her than it would be otherwise.
Dominic Masoch	Fencing >Not A Sword Saint >Observe That would have been all Dominic did this round, but instead Auron does a sword move he's never encountered before. Fencing never crosses with Samurai maneuvers, and the two clubs never spar. Dominic's eyes go wide abruptly and he staggers on his feet. For about five to ten seconds he gets a very distant look on his eyes. ~Inside Dominic's Mind~ A diagram of Auron appears in Dominic's mind's eye. It rotates in every conceivable direction and the Sword Saint can see the motion, predict the arc of the blade, even see the usage of magic as it runs through the blade. Dominic views the motion from every conceivable angle, seeing the discharge of mana, the manifestation of spirit blades, and even the eventual striking of the attack. Ashura - Basic Sword Technique. Class: Iaido Compatible Weapons: Straight Swords - Long Swords - Thin Blades Incompatible Weapons: Short Swords - Cutlass - Foil Fundamental Dynamic: Channeling Magic into the blade allows secondary manifestations of non-main striking force and creates a cumulative magical effect that is greater than the singular swing. Requires a rigid blade of sufficient length or range is diminished. Blades which are flexible or curved or short in length are disqualified Mana Cost: Minimal To Moderate Original User: Learned from Auron ~Back in Reality~ Dominic snaps back into reality about ten seconds later, his hand moving almost reflexively as the rapier strikes at the air in a singular motion, creating an almost identical effect to Aurons on a nearby enemy. [New Technique Acquired: Ashura]
Faruja	Finna's arrows now make quick work of many of the phoenix-images, as do the bullets. Seems evil birds can't manage What The Hell Speed! Our local cerberus would soon find out that, yes indeed, corrupt esper-zombies taste /terrible/. Much like rotting turkey that's been dehydrated. And vaguely like rat and nervousness. But more importantly, Allyn's snap manages to dislodge it's fall /away/ from Finna. Kyra's use of her icey chemicals proves fortuitous. The entire nest is frozen over, much the same as the phoenix-images. The images start to shatter into nothing but water. Unfortunately, so does the nest. Sharp, pointy shards of freezing-cold crystal pelt the room and its occupants. Dominic's guarding saves the source of all this, Kyra, from being pierced by the painful things. Faruja screams as a shard embeds itself straight into his bad leg. Ironically, it helps him bring his mind back into the game. Maya's magic-grenade, and the strikes from Auron's technique bisects the falling Phoenix-zombie, which twitches and bleeds blood that actually starts to eat into the floor. Audrey's strike proves perhaps all the more important; from within the crystal nest is something that clearly doesn't belong. A black diamond visibly pulses and moves like a heart within a section of the crystal. The strike cuts the thing in half, which starts to ooze similar acidic blood to the down phoenix-zombie. Ainsley and Quentyn work together, life magic and the regenerative effects of Quentyn's magic knitting together corruption-torn flesh and purging taint in the blood. When it finishes? His eye looks sunken and the veins within visibly showing, a palor to the flesh in his ears, but he's at least not dieing. "...Sometimes I truly loathe mine job, Ainsley." He manages weakly. Then, he looks to Izuru. The woman, half-conscious, nods. Dominic's strike cuts the bleeding diamond-heart in half. It pulses, spews a gout of that acidic blood, and then fades to nothingness. The oppressive darkness slowly starts to dissipate, until only the barest of flicks sits in the center of where the crystal nest once was. Warmth floods the room, gentle and familiar to those now in the room. The zombie-phoenix fades as fire leaps up, and Phoenix proper floats down. The Esper looks visibly exhausted, but otherwise none the worse for wear. "You...have done well, Summoners, valiant souls. The corruption is nearly gone. But only when its cause is rooted out, shall it truly be gone. Rest, all of you. And prepare. Did you see his face?" Phoenix turns to Izuru and Faruja. "Yes." Nervously mumbles the weakened Izuru. Faruja scowls. "Never wouldst I think to hunt mine own countrymen. Sers and Dames, we hunt a madman, bomber, and it seems one with darker powers than at first imagined. His name is Phrego Larson, a wanted criminal." Dominic, in addition to his newfound technique, now has a frozen Evil Dark Bird. Strangely, holding it seems to leave a slight tug on the senses in a specific direction. It's very, very, very light right now.
Allyn	Allyn growls at the zombie phoenix thing and then all three heads first look to Finna, before he shifts back into something more normal, this time becoming a large sabertooth cat. "You alright Finna?" Though once the real Phoeonix is back the large cat tilts his head at the esper, "Are you alright now as well?" he eyes the fire bird for a few moemtns and then sighs, especially as listening as Faruja speaks, He gives a nod of his head and flops down and lays his head on his paws, thinkjing.'+desc sabertooth
Quentyn Westwind	Quentyn still has Protect and Shell on himself. That's better than nothing. But with Blink and Stoneskin spent and not having had time to recast them... Well. He has enough sense/training to quickly turn and tuck his head behind his arm, but the white mage still ends up with a few ice shards sticking out of him and blood slowly creeping into his clothes. He slumps against the wall, biting his trembling lower lip against the pain. From the look of him, Quentyn's putting everything into simply not screaming for now.
Auron	The cure spells from Quentyn... don't seem to be working very well. Not until that Esuna hits, then the weird greenness fades from Auron's skin. He nods in thanks to Quentyn for the healing, nonetheless. And it does seem to have had a cumulative effect, as his bleeding has decreased markedly. He doesn't seem to have noticed Dominic's examination until... Dominic uses Ashura as well? Then he blinks, looking in the Fencer's direction. And then nods, a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. "Good job," he offers. It's not at all patronizing, though. It's an honest acknowledgement of observation skills. He's semi-familiar with skills like that; in fact he wonders if Dominic might secretly be a Blitzball player! No, not really. However, with the source of the corruption being destroyed and Faruja being tended to proper healers, Auron turns his attention to Izuru. Auron doesn't have any healing magic. But what he DOES have... is a powerful Al Bhed potion! Rikku's special blend, it will -- thankfully -- not induce drunkenness in its target, but will heal a great amount of damage if Auron is allowed to apply it to the Lady Izuru.
Dominic Masoch	"Ah heh, thank you... well done to you as well, Sir Auron," He says with a nervous smile. To a degree, he can't control every time he learns something, some of them are just reflexive. He's slightly embarrassed that he learned and executed a new piece of Swordplay in front of a crowd. And so he won't say much more of it. Instead, he turns to Kyra when he sees Quentyn in pain, "Kyra! Quentyn needs your help immediately! He is badly injured!" He notes with a tone of heavy worry. Dominic is incredibly worried about the White Mage, a look of serious concern on his face. While keeping one eye on Quentyn in the most careful possibly way, he shuffles over to Faruja and offers him the frozen bird, "I feel as though this is attempting to lead you back to the source of its problems. Or at least, wherever it may be attempting to lead me is your next lead in this investigation. It will be better in your hands than mine."
Audrey Stormfist	"Then we have our next heading, or at least a name to go by. But what purpose does a petty criminal have for corrupting a force like this? One does not go from thief to threat against reality overnight, without thought-- and without influence," Audrey conjectures, before handing a business card to Faruja. "If you should like, KIRIN's troops can be at your disposal to investigate this matter to the end. Our eyes will be yours, and I assure you we have many." But not in this world. Not yet, anyway. That's part of the idea. The Heritor turns towards Quentyn, as she stuffs the spear back into her coat, having already sheathed the gunblade. "Good work, Westwind. No complaints and no whimpering for once." No smiles, though. Don't ask for too much there. Then it is Dominic she looks at, or more specifically his frozen specimen. He hands it to Faruja. She hrms. "Sir, if I may? The Zaibatsu would like to study that specimen, when you are done with it. I am certain the others here will agree we must act pre-emptively to prevent such a curse from potentially spreading to our world. It could be of great use to develop counter-weapons."
Kyra Hyral	At this point, Kyra's not even sure if she's /helping/ any more. Her magic nearly burns everyone. Now her potions nearly shred everyone with ice shards? This is definitely not her day. At least, when it seems like Quentyn really needs to be healed, she can rise to the occasion. She doesn't go for magic. She goes for the slotted potion she already has in her needlegun. Injected right into the suffering white mage, the pain from a shot is likely a lot less than the pain from being pelted with multiple ice shards.
Quentyn Westwind	It doesn't look like Quentyn even notices the needle as he is now. But he does notice the healing effect starting to flow through him. He gives a terse, quick nod to Dominic and Kyra. Though he doesn't look their way... still hurting, and focusing too much on getting through that pain, for that. So Quentyn feels along the side with the embedded ice shards. Shake hands close around them, and pull them out one by one. Biting down harder on his lip each time. But white mage knows that causes damage itself... so he follows up on each with a mini-cure over the wound. Between that and Kyra's potion, it's enough.
Ainsley	It's at this point, at the end of the battle, that Ainsley stands off to the side, away from the rest of the group. She observes the final reactions of all the members of Alexander Academy, and how the rest of the party feels about what just happened. A frown shows on her face, just for a moment. Smiling is just not on the menu anymore. "I have questions for you," she tells Kyra, with a mildly concerned tone. As for Audrey, some suspicion is given toward the whole 'company resources' offer. Nothing is said, but the look is there.
Finna	After that exertion, Finna's still pumped up and high on energy. Jumpy as it gets she stops by Allyn to check on him, then glances about like a whirlwind at the others. "Is anyone badly hurt?!" As usual, plenty of people have caught her eye but now is NOT the time to go on stalking them. She rushes to Faruja - but with others tending to him, doesn't get too close. "Phrego Larson? ... What kind of name?" Yeah that's a headscratcher. She folds her arms, ears somewhat flattened down... well, she's still glowing like a moon-beacon so... "So this'll come BACK if we don't stop him too?! Yuck..."
Faruja	The potion from Auron does much to help Izuru, and she chugs it eagerly. There's a smile on her face. "Th..thank you Ser..." Thud! The woman passes out. Healed, but utterly out of what little stamina she had. Faruja smiles. "Good as dead, eh, Gramm?" He mutters. Thankfully, Kyra has Quentyn covered. The bird is taken, with an audible dry heave from Faruja. He's glad he doesn't have anything in his stomach right now. "...So much as mine first urge is to destroy this tainted blasphemy, agreed." Audrey gets a look. "That entirely depends, my Lady. First, our specialists shall look over it, and determine if 'tis safe enough to be allowed to leave Ivalice." A nod to her, however. "'Tis not his method of operation. He is a terrorist, primarily working against governments. Never hath he attacked Church interests. Either madness, or as ye say, coin or favor hath made him do this. Troops shall be a slaughter, in this case. We need a surgical strike team." Faruja looks around, beaming a grim smile. "However, I /am/ curious of this 'KIRIN'. Send me a proposal for a squad of their troops. If found pious and able, they shall be included when we go to arrest the Heretic." If nothing else, he could use a few expendable bodies given what he's heard of this criminal. Another nod to Finna. "Quite. He seems to be maintaining it somehow. But at least we hath a face, a name, and a means of finding him." Then? He'll try to get up, and assist hauling poor Izuru out.