Chronicles of Gaia (RP)

Iliya noticed the brown-haired female watching her, immediately feeling uneasy and taking a very slight step back despite her barrier being up. She then flinched when the angel landed, noticing that he was in pain. The Bishop in her wanted to help him, ease the pain Seth made him feel, but she could not betray the man keeping her captive. She kept a close eye on the three that were now in front of her; no matter what they tried, they would not be able to break through her barrier. Even so, it was easy to see that the blonde girl was terrified, and she couldn't help but shake the feeling that these people were her enemies. Iliya's eyes had widened upon overhearing the angel speak again though. "A Silver...rose?" The way Kuja was glaring at both Seth and the blonde girl wasn't helping either; the silver-haired mage was feeling angry, and this girl was the one thing standing between him and the one holding Mizuki. "Sending up a flare would be unwise, if you call for help he may end up feeling threatened by the reinforcements...and if that happens, he'll no doubt kill Mizuki instantly", he mentioned to Rowan. He then turned his attention to Aislin. "Rikazu told you about her sealed memories?" He shook his head, that didn't matter right now. "Mel sealed off her memories in different layers, even for him it'll take a lot of time to destroy each and every seal. After all, she sealed every memory Mizuki ever had of the first ten years of her life", he added the last bit in a lower voice, clearly not proud of his actions. "If we can stop him before he destroys all of those seals, then perhaps she won't lose control." Kuja could've strangled Rowan when the angel mentioned that they'd been warned before, but reigned in his temper. "Then talk to her, it seems like you already have her attention. But I'm not leaving to look for a flower of all things, not while this coward has his hands on Mizuki." Mizuki inhaled sharply as Seth seemed to lessen the strain on her mind momentarily. "Why are you...doing this? Showing me nothing but lies...what are you after...?" "I want to make Rikazu suffer, just as I have suffered. You're just a means to an end", Seth said calmly. "Rikazu doesn't care about me one bit", Mizuki hissed as she struggled to stand on her own again, though Seth didn't relinquish his hold on her. It was still hard to believe that Rikazu might've in fact cared about her all this time. Seth let out another chuckle. "Your father loves you far more dearly than you realize." "He's not my dad!" Mizuki snapped, shaking her head at the dark-haired male. He couldn't be...there was no way. Why did this man insist on telling her these lies? "Deny it all you want, little light, it doesn't change the truth. But I do enjoy the challenge of seeing just how long it would take for me to break you all over again. Now, where were we?" Mizuki could feel the strain on her mind returning as the male cast yet another illusion, though this time it was different from the images he'd been showing her. This particular illusion was the same one he'd trapped her in when she was a child, and it only took mere seconds for the blue-haired girl to start screaming in pain again. "And that was the first seal...I'd tell you it hurts less after each one of them, but then I'd just be lying to you", Seth mused, the amused look on his face never changing.

Aislin just nodded. "Okay, Iliya. Got it." She frowned at the suggestion, thinking hard about how the goat looked when they returned, and felt herself pale a little at the implications. "That... might not be the greatest idea ever, Rowan. I don't think Tore's um, all there at the moment?" She murmured the last part, not wishing for Seth to hear. She glanced back at Kuja when he said his piece, nodding almost absently as she offered, "Yeah I pretty much know everything that happened. We'll talk later about it." She focused a bit more on Seth once Mizuki began screaming again, "Okay, first one's gone, however many more we need to go," she was now mumbling under her breath, struggling to find a true solution to this mess. Finally Aislin gave a sharp shake of her head and a forced smile to Rowan. "How about we start by telling Iliya here what we've learned about her, hmm? I can't say anything for myself since the guy who was supposed to come was too hot-headed to listen and ran off to Linareth, some guy named Frau I think he said? Anyway I can always talk about what Kudret learned from Castor instead," She was now holding a stern gaze towards the angel in an attempt to silently communicate, 'Play along!' She really, really hoped this would at least get the girl to start asking questions. And if Seth could keep turning his attention away from Mizuki in the process, even better.

"Frau...?" If the blonde Ghost still had a beating heart, it surely would have skipped a beat when the brown-haired female mentioned his name. She took a step closer to the three on the other side of the barrier, though she then started coughing. With the wound on her chest and the poison still coursing through her veins, using this much magic to keep up the barrier was pushing her to her limits. The symbol on her hand gave off a soft purple glow, her powers as a Ghost intervening to ease her pain, though it didn't help her much. Even so, she still kept up the barrier; the thoughts of what Seth would do to her if she dropped it were much more terrifying to her than the risks to her health if she kept it up. "Y-you said...Frau...he went to Linareth...?" A tear rolled down her cheek at the thought. She'd been so close to seeing the one she loved again. "He went to find me..? But I was...locked in that room..." More tears rolled down, the thought of him having been so close was painful. "Please, tell me...are my friends okay? Where are they?" Mizuki had pressed both hands to her head, trying desperately to block out the images she was seeing and the pain she felt, though it was to no avail. She soon collapsed again, Seth catching the female just as easily this time as he did last time. It was odd, he'd expected that seal to be the one that would awaken her Avanquilist powers fully, just as his attack that day in Madain Sari had awoken her powers. And yet while the magic explosively lashing out at him certainly seemed more powerful than before, she hadn't fully lost control yet. "Well, first things first..." he mused as he knelt down, holding Mizuki in his arms. "We don't want anyone to seal your memories again, now do we, little light?" Seth let his magic flow, binding it to any seal he could find in the girl's mind. If anyone were to try to seal her memories again, the remainder of the seals would collapse immediately, like a house of cards. "Now there's another interesting seal here, looks like not only Mel, but Rikazu too, sealed this particular memory off. Another traumatic experience for her, hmm? Tell me, Kuja...can you guess which memory I'm talking about?" Seth gave the silver-haired mage a wicked smile, clearly taunting him. Seth then turned his attention to Iliya. "Iliya, remember what I told you. The only way you'll find your friends is with me, if you betray me..." Iliya turned slightly, looking from Seth to the ones on the other side of the barrier. "I just...want to know if they're okay...I want to see them...I want to see Frau..." "My cloaking magic works on all of you, you will not find them, and they will not find you. Besides, I'm the only one who can keep you safe from the person that's been trying to track you", Seth mentioned, clearly intent on keeping the Ghost with him. He would not allow these people to take her away from him. Kuja on the other hand was still processing what Seth had said. A memory that had been another traumatic experience for her? There were the times he'd forced her to summon an Eidolon, but those weren't sealed away, what else... His eyes soon went wide in shock, realizing what Seth was talking about. "No, leave her alone, she doesn't deserve this. If you want to make Rikazu suffer then I'll gladly help you myself, but let her go. You've done enough damage", Kuja's teeth grit together audibly, his voice lowering afterwards. "We need to hurry, if he destroys that seal, there may be no saving her..." Rikazu, realizing soon enough that he was unable to leave the campsite, was initially looking around in confusion. This wasn't Seth preventing him from doing so, it was something else...and it seemed like Toré had something to do with it. "Oi, goat. Stop whatever you're doing and let me leave, I need to go help the kid!" he snapped.

Rowan gave the smallest of nods to Aislin, then turned back toward the girl supporting the barrier. "You're friends are alright, Iliya. We've met them. Castor, Frau, Labrador, Lorica, They're all looking out there for you, looking for ways to get you out from under the magic he's controlling you with." Rowan turned partially toward Aislin, inviting her to join in the explanation. "Frau was pretty desperate, wanted to see you more than anything. But the others came to talk to us, asking for help."

---

Laura, wandering back into camp, was surprised to find the strangest scene. Rikazu was being restrained, supposedly by tore, from rush off to help 'the kid.' Well she had an idea what might mean, at least in terms of who needed helping, but it was still fairly strange. "Hey there boys, what's all the hubbub?" She asked, walking over toward Rikazu as though this was an everyday occurrence.

"No." the Goats eyes were transfixed on his flames, for a moment they had gone through a state of Static, as if something was trying to change, but they went back to the way were before, "I see no reason to let you go and make things worse, she'll make it back here alive, don't be a fool about it, or are you finally going to let the whole 'Not her father' act drop?" as far as Laura popping up went, he was completely blanking her, and judging by the look in his eyes, Rikazu would be wise to do the same, -Why not let him go? If he wants to die that badly, let him.- There was the Human Soul again, questioning, *Because it makes my job coming up far harder, I need it to be as smooth as possible, and the less I have to rely on the three that can't reach her right now, the better.*

Rikazu's gaze remained fixated on Toré, the blue-haired mage clearly furious at the goat for not willing to let him go. "It makes no sense for Seth to let her live, even if she'll make it back here..." There was no doubt Seth had some kind of plan, Mizuki was his tool for revenge, so if she returned alive...no doubt she'd be in a bad shape. "If I go now, I may still be able to minimize the damage." The male was having a hard time controlling himself, barely able to hold back his Trance. His attention then shifted to Laura; how was she even awake right now? "There's someone targeting us, and he's taken Mizuki. I'm surprised you weren't affected by his magic...perhaps you're resistant to it because you're a Siren?" the last part was more spoken to himself, but still audible enough for anyone to hear. "Just be on guard, most who are asleep right now will not be able to wake up for some time." The tears continued to roll down Iliya's cheeks at Rowan's words, even if the angel was her enemy, the things he said about her friends was exactly like them. "T-thank you...for telling me that..." Her gaze turned back to Seth for a moment; no matter how hard she tried, he continued to terrify her. She was too afraid to lower this barrier, knowing she had to stay with Seth, but would no doubt suffer more by his hand if she betrayed him now. She then turned back to Rowan. "He's not...controlling me, I'm his...ally. I joined him of my own...free will", she spoke, the terror audible in her voice. It would be clear to anyone listening that she wasn't being honest in the slightest. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you pass. If I do, he'll..." she shook her head. Seth kept a close eye on Iliya, though felt no reason to speak again since the girl mentioned she wasn't going to let them pass. Kuja's words were also promptly ignored as the illusionist turned his attention back to Mizuki once more. The blue-haired girl seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness, which made it easier for Seth to access other memories of hers. As he cast more illusion magic on Mizuki, he spoke again. "You went to Madain Sari that day, didn't you Kuja? Fourteen years ago, that is. You were ordered to destroy the Summoner tribe back then, and you did. You had killed nearly all of them by the time you came across this girl here. She summoned an Eidolon that had been considered 'Lost' for decades back then, though little as she was she had no control over it", he paused a moment, enjoying the look on Kuja's face as he continued. "That's when Rikazu made you that promise, isn't it? That he'd let you make a pact with Mizuki when she was old enough, in return for letting her live at that time. I wonder how she'll feel when she remembers that? She'll probably end up hating you both, I can't wait to see that." As he showed Mizuki more visions of those memories, he could feel the seal cracking further and further, until finally another explosion happened; one powerful enough to send Seth flying backwards. By the time the dark-haired male jumped back on his feet, a wall of green flames had created a barrier between him and Mizuki. Through those flames he spotted a green-haired female, looking at him with a cocky grin on her face. "Hey there, how's it going?" she mused, her grin turning to a glare as she looked at Seth, subtly placing herself between him and Mizuki as he dispelled her flame wall. "Well, well, if it isn't Phoenix...or rather, what did you call yourself in that human form again, 'Rockna', was it? You just had to interrupt, didn't you? And I was just getting to the fun part, too", Seth drew his sword, patiently waiting for the female to make a move. Unlike the three on the other side of Iliya's barrier, he actually felt slightly threatened by the female that had appeared in front of him. "The fun part? That's my sister you're talking about", Rockna spat at him.

Aislin had gone from watching Rowan for his cooperation to watching Iliya while she lied to their faces. While it was clearly obvious to anyone who listened about the lying, it was also clearly obvious to Aislin that Seth was being appeased by the girl speaking of not letting them pass. Tentatively, she poked the barrier, than laid a hand on it, feeling little more than a solid structure underneath. The other male speaking caught her attention then, and when she heard Seth and his obvious intention to rattle the genome she couldn't help but giggle. She reached out and patted Kuja's shoulder with a whispered, "I don't think you need to worry about that; if anything happens I'll talk to her." She downright grinned at the green flames erupting out of nowhere, using the explosion to mask their appearance. A gleam in Aislin's eyes told she would positively enjoy what might happen next, if anyone glanced at her right then. It only took a few moment for her to mask it with seriousness and a frown. Kudret watched the goings-on at the camp with nothing short of confusion. Tore was currently restraining Rikazu, who looked a little desperate, and while most of the others were asleep at the moment, the scent in the air indicated magic was involved. ...Which is exactly what Rikazu said a moment later. He couldn't help himself but to ask curiously, "So the magic in the air is to cause someone to fall asleep? Is that what you're saying?" The beastman was a little confused on how that would work. Judging by how heavy the scent is meant that the magic was rather thick; could Rikazu mean that it was more of a continous effort to fall asleep and stay asleep? Or did he mean something else?

The Goat was visibly annoyed by the interruptions, and stood with surprising speed, eyes shifting to Red as the other Soul took control, "Do yourselves several favours and keep your noses out of business that has nothing to do with you, now then, off we go for a little 'Chat'." he then walked away, the fire Roaring to life compared to the tame smouldering it was before, once confidently sure they were alone, the other soul returned control of Toré's Body, further irritation showing on his face, "A Warning would've been nice." he noted how Rikazu was slightly levitating, Soul glowing Blue as he held him aloft, "Sit." the age difference made no difference, he knew what was to come, and was not going to have some old fart with a chip on his shoulder due to past actions ruin this for him.

Rockna had soon drawn her own blades, said dual blades setting ablaze the second she held them in her hands. This was going to be a tough fight, one she certainly wouldn't walk away unscathed from. 'But more importantly...', she turned her head, eyes quickly scanning from the blonde girl to the barrier she'd been keeping up. Somehow they had to lower that barrier, she wouldn't be able to protect both girls while also fighting against Seth. Rockna had no time to think more on this, however, as Seth had soon interrupted her thoughts, his sword barely blocked by the crossing of her blades. "I have to admit though, the Avanquilist power truly is impressive; summoning without even having advanced her class yet? And while plenty of her power is still sealed away?" His intrigued look only annoyed Rockna further. "Don't get any ideas into that head of yours, that power isn't yours to toy with! Speaking of which..." She set up another wall of flames, at which Seth backed off slightly again, before turning to look at Iliya again. The girl looked severely exhausted and wounded, not to mention malnourished...when was the last time she'd had a proper meal? "Iliya, was it? Please, lower your barrier and get yourself to safety, I'll hold him off as long as I can." Iliya shook her head. "I already said...I can't do that...please don't ask me to do that..." Another coughing fit followed as she leaned against her Baculus to stay upright. Kuja observed the situation between Seth and Rockna with masked anxiety, though he seemed to have calmed slightly at Aislin's words. While he and the human Phoenix still didn't quite get along, he was relieved to see her there; at least now the situation had somewhat improved. The silver-haired genome listened to the words exchanged between Rockna and Iliya, keeping in mind one thing in particular; the barrier hadn't blown Aislin back like it had blown him back. Which meant one of two things...either the girl didn't have enough power left to properly keep up the barrier, or she really did want to lower it. "I know you're afraid", he started, getting straight to the point. There wasn't any time to waste, Mizuki's life was at risk here. "But do you really think that Seth won't hurt you if you keep up this barrier?" "O-of course...not, he wouldn't..." Iliya responded. "He said it himself, didn't he? That he wouldn't tolerate getting interrupted again. Whether or not it's your fault won't matter to him, that's the type of person he is", Kuja continued, any hint of prior hostility was gone from his voice, though he wasn't sure what else he could tell the girl. Emotions really weren't his strong suit, and that appeared to be a glaring weakness when it came to reaching this girl. If they wanted her to lower this barrier, Aislin or Rowan would most likely have to try talking to her on a more emotional level again. Rikazu was about to answer Kudret's question when Toré started moving and he found himself being dragged along. There was something different about the goat, most notably his eye color having shifted to red, as if...something else had taken control over him? It seemed to return to normal when the two of them were alone, and the older male sat down when Toré spoke again. "What the hell is your problem?" Rikazu snapped at him. "I need to go save my daughter, I don't have time for this!" He took a deep breath afterwards, feeling the pain from continuously holding back his Trance; the voice in the back of his head telling him to just let go and cut loose was getting louder, though he still ignored it. "If you're so convinced I shouldn't go, then tell me what it is you know, because I'm losing my mind over here."

Aislin looked back and forth between all those involved before finally shrugging. "Don't like saying it, but Kuja's right. This guy's not the type to watch the world burn; he's the one who starts the fire to spite us all. You'll never be truly safe with him, no matter what he promises you for obediance." She pressed both hands onto the barrier now, watching her and blatantly ignoring the male within it. "Come on," she coaxed, "You know what he's done to you. Don't let him continue; don't let him win and take you from your friends for good." It took a few seconds for it to click within Aislin's head that saying that last bit may have the same effect as singing Melodies of Life at Seth again. Well, she knew how to tune him out at least; it was more a matter of what he would do. Kudret winced at the abrupt storming out the goat did, along with a floating Rikazu, before finally turning to Laura and asking, "Do you know about this magic by any chance? If not, could you possibly tell me what happened during the time we were separated?" Kudret was trying very hard to keep calm in the middle of what was possibly the strangest situation yet that he had experienced while here. ...Though it paled compared to what happened to Taika and Felix that one time. That got the whole school involved by the end of it.