Chronicles of Gaia (RP)

Aislin looked around at the shifting scenery, tensing slightly at the Desert Palace's appearance. Oh yeah, she remembered this portion of the storyline. She merely nodded at Kuja's words, knowing he wouldn't see her response as he was already walking toward the door. Even Aislin could feel the magic now; that more than anything else told her it was very powerful as she had no real aptitude for sensing magic. She walked in right after the genome, flinching at the feel of the magic within the room. She was beginning to feel as though she absolutely needed to flee, but that wasn't really an option, now was it? Moving to the side to get a better look only meant she had caught the edge of the magic blast that knocked Kuja into a wall. It still felt painful, enough for her to gasp. "Geez, Mizuki!" she wheezed out in shock, "I can't tell if you're angry or scared right now!" Taking a breath to recover, she added, "Besides, we weren't the ones who did this to you. We came to rescue you from here." Tact, Aislin reminded herself seconds after, you need tact! Though it was a little late now, she hoped the girl would start switching to confusion over fear. Kudret watched Laura abruptly leave with slight confusion. They were getting along okay, was it something he did to make her leave so suddenly? The beastman checked the sky instinctively and blanched. The moon was high in the sky now, which meant it was very late indeed. Kudret double-checked his bag to make sure he had put everything away, and then headed for the small tent set up for him and Marco, or was until he had disappeared. Kudret shook his head again; sleep spell or no, he desperately needed to rest before he drove himself crazy. ((You may now return to your regular posting schedule. We are sorry for any problems the delay has caused.))

Seyr left her Vantage point, having seen enough of the Magic Rikazu was using to get a grasp on it, her mind formulating and reverse engineering said Magic for her own personal use, she couldn't tell what was going on in Mizuki's head, but judging by the sudden spike in Magical Outbursts from the overgrown girl, clearly, those two were not going to work out, her footsteps were silent, drowned out by the loud explosions, her first attempt to grab Rikazu's shoulder failed miserably, the second actually had a hand to grasp it with, "It doesn't take a genius to figure out where this will lead and how anti-progress this is going so far, be ready to go in after your daughter, I'm taking this over from here." Sitting, Cross-legged, the Kitsune held her hand rock-steady above Mizuki's face, a Tail going Bolt upright as her own Mana copied the Magics Rikazu had been using, "You'll owe me for this later."

Victoria just barely held onto the barrier from the last explosion of magic, though she didn’t really show it, only showing a slight wince while her hands remained steady “I must say you have one amazing daughter.” Victoria addressed Mizuki’s parents “She’d be an incredible force for good if she could control her magic. But as it stands now, you better do whatever you’re going to do quick. I’m not exactly sure how much more I can hold back if each burst keeps getting stronger.” Victoria was clearly concerned, but her composure did not falter as she did her best to compensate for any increases. Ricardo’s music also helped as she was able to absorb some of the magic his music seemed to have drawn out, but it only just barely helped her stay on top of things ”I’m doing some serious training when this is all over.”

Mel had been chanting for a few minutes, until finally a bright light came from Mizuki's chest, said light soon enveloping Mel's body, turning it solid. She then turned her attention to Victoria. "This magic isn't meant to be controlled, anything we're doing here is just a temporary solution, that's why it's a curse after all. However, for the time being I have taken back the magic that was once mine. It should prevent any further outbursts from her for now." Mel then got back onto her feet, powerful magic exuding from her body, though unlike her daughter, the former Avanquilist was in full control. "Rikazu, the kitsune is right; you need to get in there as well. There are ten years worth of memories returning to Mizuki right now...and in those memories, you were most certainly the person that was most important to her. She needs you." Rikazu had seemed ready to argue when Seyr took over the magic he'd been casting, not quite appreciating her words regarding the favor he'd owe her later. It wasn't as if he'd asked for her help. He kept his mouth shut though, his attention instead focused on Mel when she took the Avanquilist magic from Mizuki. He felt it clearly when she did, the pact between himself and Mel still active; it was a strange sensation. "Mel, what are you planning on doing with that power?" he asked. Mel smiled at him. "I have a score to settle with the fool that decided to hurt our daughter again. Now go help Aislin and Kuja, and once you're done...remind Hades that he made me a promise, alright?" The words seemed to amuse Rikazu, knowing that his wife was still the same as always. He had his suspicions on what she was going to do, but he wasn't planning on waiting around for it. "Alright, I'm going then", he finally said, closing his eyes to focus on entering Mizuki's mind. Mizuki shook her head when Aislin spoke, though her eyes showed no real sign of even recognizing the brown-haired female. "He left me here before...of course he'd leave me here again..." The childish reasoning was all the overwhelmed girl could muster right now. There was nothing but pain, fear and panic right now; she'd been seeing things that couldn't possibly be real, yet seemed oddly familiar to her. None of it made sense. Kuja let out a pained groan, leaning against the wall he'd been knocked against. After the blast just now, it suddenly seemed like there was...suddenly much less magic around? That was real strange, but perhaps it would help Mizuki listen to what he had to say. "Rikazu kicked my ass for doing that to you, remember? He took you away from here, and I gave you your own room after that. You would get lost on the way to your room so often; you'd end up falling asleep in the hallway, and I'd find you and bring you back to your room." "Rikazu...? He's...not here. W-where's daddy?" It wasn't the reaction Kuja expected, but Mizuki at least seemed slightly calmer than before. Though she also seemed...more childish than usual, perhaps due to the memories that were flowing back?

As she listened to the two, Aislin abruptly realized that Mizuki had been reduced to her childhood self with the memories returning. She wouldn't recognize her at all. Somehow that was a little saddening, but she shook it off to reassure the girl. "He's coming soon, don't worry. We kind of got here ahead of him, that's all." It may have been an utter lie, but at least it was something that would work to calm her down. ...Probably. Aislin managed a weak smile and took a step closer, gesturing towards herself and remarked, "I don't think I've told my name yet, sorry about that. My name's Aislin Darkonar; it's nice to meet you, Mizuki." Whether or not she'd be called out on the lie was debatable, but she'd have to seriously rethink Kuja's capabilities if he didn't go along with it at all.

Had she been able, the Kitsune would've happily flipped off Rikazu given the situation, she was wholly ignoring the woman in their midst, tunnel vision having set in the second she sat down, "You gonna get yer backside in gear already or are you going to stand around all night flapping yer gums at people? Get a move on." she might have more of a Mana Pool than Rikazu, but she wouldn't be lasting forever any time soon, infallible she wasn't after all, keeping this going would be a LOT easier with both arms, her mind wandered, and thoughts became vocalised, "Wonder if my little Saboteur is around, that prick has a face I'd love to disfigure horribly so that not even his own mother would recognise it."

"Daddy's on his way?" The blue-haired girl's eyes had turned somewhat hopeful, looking between Kuja and Aislin, though she still remained in the same corner. "He's not...hurt? That man, he...he attacked me, and then daddy protected me..." She paused for a second before speaking again. "Aislin?" The name sounded so familiar to her, and her head was throbbing; why did it sound so familiar? Kuja narrowed his eyes, realizing that what she was talking about was the memory of Seth attacking them ten years ago. "There's no way he'd leave you here, right? Rikazu is alright, don't you worry about that." If the old fool wasn't in fact coming here though, then what little trust she seemed to have regained in them would be shattered immediately. And then there was the matter of convincing her to remake her pact with him; he wasn't quite certain how to go about that either. "Mizuki", he spoke softly, getting back onto his feet and taking a few steps closer to her as well. "You're in pain, aren't you? If you let me, I can help you, and then we can all get out of here." He got a wary look from Mizuki, and she shook her head. "...I don't want to go back out there..." she whispered. Rikazu had entered Mizuki's spirit world by now as well, though with a little intervention from Mel, had ended up close to where Mizuki was already. This palace...oh how he'd hated Kuja for having left Mizuki in the dungeons that time. But that was all in the past, and right now Mizuki needed them. The blue-haired male soon reached the door that Mizuki was behind, and took a deep breath. He had no idea what to expect right now.

Marco, Felicia and Razar remained waiting with Ama all trying their best to not worry about the situation after Ricardo ran off...well that is to say Marco and Felicia were trying, Razar seemed to just be bored and seemed to be staring at Ama deep in thought “Hmm...Hmmmmm...Nope not working.” Razar said slightly disappointed and Felicia gave him a hard look after hearing that, almost as if she knew exactly what he was doing, but before she could call him out Razar spoke up again “Well, if we’re going to be sitting here, I might as well do it in the water.” he then looked to Felicia with a cheeky grin “Want to join me Felicia?” Felicia just gave him an unamused stare “You only asking this because you know my Girlfriend isn’t here to kick your butt.” “Yeah...” Razar said, his cheeky grin replaced with a more nervous one “So...?” Felicia just gave an exasperated sigh, but shrugged “Sure...I could use a good laugh.” Felicia said walking off towards the springs. Razar was surprised but happy at first at the response but then realized what she was implying “Hey!” Felicia just grinned as Razar grumpily followed after her mumbling with the only recognizable words being “not small” Marco watched his two friends walk off and gave a small chuckle “Hard to stay in a bad mood with those two around.”

Well, the reassurance were working, Aislin thought to herself, taking a moment to just look around the room and subtly check on Kuja. He seemed to be fine, at least it appeared that way to her. A green flash allowed her to spot Carbuncle who seemed to be there one moment and gone the next, so Aislin wasn't too sure whether or not she should call out to him. At Mizuki's remark of not wanting to go back outside, Aislin walked over to the door and opened it, finding Rikazu just outside it. For a moment she simply blinked; then it fully registered and she grinned. "Hi Rikazu, you're just in time," she announced, stepping back and around so as not to impede his progress inside the room. She turned back to Mizuki and told her, "See, we told you he was coming, and here he is! Now, why don't you want to go back out again? Refresh my memory, please." ...Well, at least they were proven right, though she couldn't help wondering if things had gotten so bad that Rikazu was forced to come in after them. How much time did they have left now?

Rikazu had raised an eyebrow when Aislin opened the door, not quite having expected someone else to open it. "Glad to see you're alright", he said before stepping through the door, looking around the room. The male soon spotted Mizuki in a corner, and at Aislin's words, Rikazu spoke up himself. "You don't want to stay in a dark and cold place like this, do you kiddo?" he spoke gently, walking past Kuja and kneeling down in front of his daughter. "Daddy..." Mizuki's eyes had widened upon seeing the blue-haired male, her expression a mixture of confusion and happiness, though it changed just as quickly when more memories flashed before her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Rikazu pulled the trembling girl into his arms. Mizuki didn't resist, instead allowing the male to comfort her as she cried. "It's alright now...I'm here, you're safe kiddo", he said softly. "I'm scared..." Mizuki started again, keeping her face buried in his chest, that warmth feeling all too familiar to her as well. "What are you so afraid of?" Rikazu asked her carefully. "I don't know...what's going on, I keep seeing things, and hearing things...and none of it makes sense..." Mizuki rambled, trying to make sense of her own jumbled memories. "If I go back out there...then that man will be there...who was he...?" "I won't let him hurt you again kiddo, I promise", Rikazu held her tighter. "I know how confused you are right now, but once we get out of here I will explain everything to you, okay? One step at a time. But we really do need to get out of here, kiddo." "How do we...go back?" Mizuki asked. Rikazu took some time to respond this time, knowing that the blue-haired girl wasn't going to like his response. He pulled away from her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face and looking into her eyes. "Listen to me, Mizuki. Your magic is out of control right now, and the only way to fix that is by letting Kuja make a pact with you again." Rikazu could see the sheer look of terror on her face as he said that; part of him regretted even having brought it up, but there wasn't any other option right now. While Mel had taken most of the Avanquilist's magic right now, it would only be a few hours at most before that magic would start flowing back to Mizuki. Mizuki shook her head. "If we make that pact again...he'll just make me summon more Eidolons, I don't want to..." "I know you don't want it, and that the idea of losing your free will again terrifies you, but you won't ever have to summon another Eidolon again just because he wants it, alright? I won't let that happen", Rikazu let out a sigh. She was going to need more convincing, but he wasn't sure how to do so. Kuja's track record hadn't exactly been great, even though the genome seemed to be trying to change for the better lately. What else could he say to her? Mel had moved a couple of feet away from Mizuki and the ones trying to help her, having taken out two fans and taking a stance with both arms spread out. A magic circle had appeared underneath her feet, said circle soon bursting out in flames as she spoke. "Come forth, Bahamut!" Within seconds the Eidolon known as the King of Dragons had appeared in front of her, letting out a roar at his unexpected summoning. "Hey there buddy, how've ya been?" Mel mused, unimpressed by his roar. "How do you feel about kicking an old enemy's ass, hmm?" 'Melody. Ramuh has filled me in on what's happened. I'll gladly kill that fool for you, but first...' The dragon's gaze was locked onto Kuja; he remembered the events in Alexandria all too well, and he'd been waiting to get his revenge on the mage. Now would be as good a time as any. "Hey, don't you even think about it. That idiot over there is the only one who can save my daughter, you will not be torching him today, are we clear?" Mel spoke again. 'He made your daughter summon me to kill thousands of innocent people, I plan on making him suffer for it', Bahamut responded to Mel. The charcoal-haired female let out a sigh, releasing more of her own magic. "I told you to leave him be. Now sit." The pressure of her magic alone was enough to force the King of Dragons to the ground. "Good boy."