Chapter 3: Sleep

Chapter 3: Sleep
Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon..


Yui was all too happy that the trip was over, jumping off of the boat like a fool rather than disembark like a normal person. She landed with a minor stumble before straightening out, doing a little bit of in-place jogging. Whilst the trip was certainly faster than she expected, it was boring and cramped!

Once she felt she was ready she began to walk along the docks, unsure of where exactly the entrance was. This place looked more like a fortress than a town, but then again, that's probably why it was called Redhold.

She didn't quite understand the red part, though. She had more red in her pinky finger than most of what she was seeing, though she imagined that the inside was probably more red.

The entire place looked pretty beat up, though. There were notable cracks in the walls and what she thought were burn marks here and there, not exactly making Redhold the most appealing place to be.

Many former citizens of Mitchzen who had moved away in the earlier weeks were sort of just hanging around, most of them panhandling for money, whilst others seemed to work with loading and unloading the ships that came into port.

A handful of them were fishing from a portion of the docks closer to the hold itself, so that the boats wouldn't startle the fish.

Yui stretched out, leaning back slightly on her spear as her back popped. She let out a relaxed sigh and took a second look around, still unsure of where the entrance was, but maybe she'd find it.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

It has been two days since Yui Saki embarked on a journey to find Jenn. She arrives at the historical place of Redhold. Redhold is one of the Old Holds used back during the time of the Undead Invasion. It is more famous than the rest of it's brothers and sisters because it was the last hold remaining where Wrozan made their last stand against the Undead, right before the Empire came to air Wrozan rid of the undead. When humanity was pushed into a corner, this is where they stood.

The hold gained it's name because of the countless sacrifices made by heroes on that historic day when man was nearly wiped out from Wrozan. The Redhold stands a symbol hope and of friendship. Today it is used a base for the Ramoan military forces. Incidentally, one of the agents of the Red Mask was stationed here, following the events in Drakestone City. Using their special visors, they are able to screen out the Earthlings from the ordinary folk. When the ship carrying Yui arrived, the Agent stood near the entrance to Redhold, scanning the citizens one by one, searching for any sign of the Earthlings.

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon


Yui knew she wasn't going to find anyone if she kept wandering around outside, so, rather than be a complete fool she simply followed a group of people around, figuring they at least would know where the entrance was.

She walked behind a large burly man, probably some sort of lumberjack given the sheer amount of muscle this guy was packing. Yui managed to catch a glimpse of the one thing that actually looked red to her-- some weirdo with a three faced mask, or at least she hoped it was a mask. Just looking at it creeped her out, so she ducked behind the larger man, using him as a bit of cover as they approached the entrance.

She hadn't quite figured out how to request a holster for her spear, or even how a holster for it would work. So she carried her spear in hand, trying her best to conceal it all the while.

She absolutely looked suspicious with a weapon in hand and a crouched down stature, as if she were sneaking around. But she simply didn't like the look of that person.

She panicked and almost smacked this "King" guy with the shaft of her spear, but instead she hooked it beneath one of her arms and rummaged through one of the pouches on her belt.

She raised her index finger to request a moment, pulling out her usual writing gear and scribbling down "Sorry. New here. Passing through.". She paused for a moment before tacking on a secondary message on the bottom. She wasn't sure if she was communicating anything properly, but she wrote "Looking for friend daughter. Jenn Gerdis. Help?". These two seemed like they might know something, since King at least carried himself like she expected a soldier would.

She was..incredibly reluctant to relinquish her spear, but kept the blade pointed towards the ground so that she could converse for now without giving either of the two to take action.

Yui frowned, she was actually hoping that she could find Cassea's daughter for her. She flipped the piece of cloth over and wrote "Sorry. Belongings? Take to Mother?" on the opposite side, still keeping hold of her spear, although clumsily due to the fact that she had to write as well.

She made sure that both King and Peach could see what she wrote, holding up the piece of cloth slightly. She didn't want to make any sudden movements, considering she was armed and, quite frankly, doing a dicey job of actually holding onto her spear.

She started considering heading to this "Lake Supot", but she generally didn't know where it was. Plus, undead seemed like a thing she ought to not mess with, although she was fairly confident she would come out on top if she ran into one.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon


"Belongings? Nope sorry we don't have anything of hers-o. She-" King was in the middle of talking when suddenly a group of Ramoan guards grabbed Yui from behind. Turning around, Yui could see the same Red Masked Person standing from a distance and pointing to her.
"Hey-o What's the meaning of this-o"

"This woman is under arrest. The Imperial Representative has identified her as a wanted criminal in Thanatos. She is to be taken and interrogated before transferred to the Imperial authorities. 



"King..." Peach doubted that Yui was a criminal but orders were orders and the Empire was in alliance with Ramoa during this time.

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon


Yui instinctively tried to pull away with her spear arm, a look of both fear and confusion very clearly in her eyes. She tried to voice an argument, a denial, something that might get the soldiers to go away. But all she managed was a few scratchy sounds, the muscles in her throat too far gone for her to actually be able to form words.

And even if she did, she'd never spoken in their language before. All she could do was shake her head back and forth in denial, gripping onto her spear so hard that the wood that made up the shaft started creaking.

She was always nervous around law-types, but to hear that she was wanted? She knew she was in some deep shit from this point on.

Yui was starting to panic..

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

The Ramoan, guards stripped Yui of her Weapons and Potions. She was taken to the interrogation room while waiting for the Imperial Representative to come and question her. The Agent of the Red Mask scanned all the other passengers from the Ship before making his way to Yui. Upon entering the room, the Ramoan guards who were guarding Yui left the room, leaving Yui alone with the Agent.

In his Visor it is pretty clear that Yui is from another world. The "Gate Pass" as they call it, spell is circulating around Yui's body. The Agent sits in front of Yui, from across the table and proceeds to talk to Yui, "So where are you from? Gaia, Solaris, Midgard, Earth, Nubirus, Seldar."

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

Yui put on her best poker face, trying to completely seem disinterested. Though the mentioning of Earth piqued her interest, giving Yui a little bit of a shock since nobody typically knew about it, or so she thought.

She pointed to her mouth with her middle finger, intentionally, a few scratches of sound escaping her lips as she mouthed the words "Fuck you" in English across the table at the Agent and then gave them the most sweetest of smiles.

She was intently trying to figure out how to kick his ass, when the sound of clapping broke her concentration. Yui began looking around the room, not seeing anywhere that the source could be coming from.

Then she heard an all-too familiar voice. "Well, well..You really want to smash this guy, don't you?" Ikas spoke in her mind, the clapping stopping once she continued. "I suggest shoving that mask up their ass, personally.."

Yui shook her head repeatedly and focused, trying to drown Ikas out for now. She motioned to the table with a tap of her index finger, then moved it around to try to indicate that she needed to write.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

Th Agent unfortunately didn't speak English and he found Yui's silence as an act of defiance. He stood up and paced around the room and said, "It matters not the truth shall present itself soon. Your silence is irrelivany. I know you understand my words. Now let me look into your mind."
The Agent casts a binding spell on Yui, immobilizing her body. He then extends his hand over Yui's head and begins extracting information from Yui's mind. The process was very painful and the Yui resisted the more painful it became. He started with Yui's most recent memories and then eventually making his way to her older ones.

"I can see them. Your friends. There's three of you here. No... four."

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

Ikas spoke "You'll be like me some da--", pausing for a few moments before completely bursting out laughing. "This fucker is mind-fucking you! Hahahaha! That's hilarious!!" Ikas laughed as Yui did her best to resist the agent, each little bit of resistance opening an entirely new level of pain for her.

After all, they didn't have..whatever this guy was doing, on Earth.

Her body was largely paralyzed as it rocked against the chair, her nails digging into the table as her body instinctively clenched muscles wherever she felt pain, which currently was everywhere. 

Yui could do little more than sit there in agony, her mouth agape and clearly screaming, but nothing but scratches and air could be heard. She was completely silent.

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

The Agent delves deeper into Yui's memories, he learns of Yui's childhood, her parents who demanded so much from her. Parents whom she could never please no matter what she did. He discovers the Yui is a mute and that she is... "From Earth."

It was very important to these Agents to know where their other worldly beings were from, for it determined a critical factor in their mission. The Agent, though he hides behind a mask, looks delighted to find out that Yui is from Earth. "The last piece. Finally the return of the Old Gods is at hand. Now if you don't mind I'm going to take what doesn't belong to you." 

The Agent assumes his hands in a catching position and pulls the "Gate Pass" magic from Yui's body and seals in inside a metal canister. The process knock's Yui unconscious. He opens a small man sized rift, a portal back to Thanatos, he then steps in and leaves Yui unharmed. The portal disappears as soon as the agent steps through.

Redhold
The Path of the Dragoon

Yui felt awfully relaxed as she slipped into an unconscious state, though admittedly anyone would be relaxed when not experiencing a truckload of pain. Her mind wandered, remembering when her father scolded her for getting a B instead of an A in school.

She also remembered the little shit-throwing qin children, then Cassea and the request to find her daughter. She remembered how boring the boat ride to Redhold was, how annoying that one soldier guy was, how creeped out that masked guy made her..

And before she knew it, she was back in the interrogation room, staring down at the table for some reason. She started to look up, everything moving abnormally slow as she gained view over more of the table and eventually the other end of it. Rather than the masked person who had tortured her, sat Ikas, with legs crossed and a huge smile on her face.

The table seemed to shrink almost instantly as Ikas leaned forward and thrust her own spear into, and through, Yui's chest.

A wave of both pain and nausea washed over Yui, Ikas laughing in amusement all the while.

The shock and pain caused Yui to begin to stir..

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Life Stream

With Yui's Gate Pass gone, she can no longer travel safely back to her world. What the Agents of the Red Mask plans to do with it is a mystery. But the spell serves more than just a lubricant that allows an easy and safe transition from one world to the next, it also keeps certain forces at bay.

Every world has it's own life force, the source of Life. In Lunaris it is called the Life Stream, a force that flows through every creation that dwells in this planet. When the Primals first came this world, they used the Life Stream to cultivate their seeds. When the Old Gods infested this planet, the Life Stream fought back through the Dragons. Whenever a foreign entity sets foot in Lunaris, the Life Stream acts like the planet's immune system and combats that foreign entity.

Without her spell of protection, Yui has now become an enemy of the planet. But the Life Steam doesn't just destroys the foreign entity. It first tests it.

A tremor shook Redhold. Dark clouds, filled with thundering lightning, formed above the historical fort. The Ramoan Soldiers are already mystified by these sudden events. The bells were rung, signalling that there might be an impending attack. The soldiers were manning the towers and heavy weaponry such as the balista. Suddenly a heart stopping roar was heard from the clouds.

Redhold
The Life Stream

Yui sprang to life from her unconcious state, jumping to her feet so quickly that her knees banged into the table and caused it to hop slightly. She was clutching her chest where she, in her mind, had just been stabbed, as a throbbing pain slowly started to fade from the area.

She nearly fell forward as the fact that the ground was shaking finally dawned on her, her balance going out of whack and causing her to fall forward, having to brace with both hands on the table in order to stay upright. She looked around the room for the masked man, a look of pure anger on her face until she realized the man was no longer in the room.

The look of anger on her face turned to one of simple annoyance as she regained her balance, looking around the room one last time in the hopes of finding her spear before moving to the doorway and sticking her head out of it, checking to see if anyone was around before she could make her escape.

(OOC: Heading out soon/nowish, but making a quick post before I go. Will continue posting via mobile as possible.)

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Life Stream

The massive roar was followed up by flashing lights in the sky. It looked like the clouds were being set a blaze, and that something was up there in it. A huge gust of wind crashes over at Redhold, blowing away anything lighter than a small child. The soldiers had their Balistas aiming towards the sky where the clouds seem to be gathered. Everyone had their eyes to the sky, waiting for whatever it was that causing this disruption to reveal itself.

Another roar was heard, something could be seen descending from the black clouds. It was...
"What the-o is that!?" said King. No one has seen a Dragon in thousands of centuries and yet a very large one suddenly appeared above Redhold. This was no ordinary Dragon, it was the Guardian Spirit Bahamut. Strongest of all the Dragons, empowered by the Primals after the battle with the Old Gods.

"I can't be... Is that a Dragon!?" Peach was in doubt. King suddenly grabbed Peach by the arm and pulled her away from the courtyard, away from the looming battle. "Where are you taking me, we have to go back King!"

"We need to report this to Captain Durendez-o. If that thing is truly-o a Dragon-o, then the we need to tell the Capital-o. Right away-o!" king replied. Peach didn't want to admit it, but King was right. If the legends are true, then no mortal weapon could slay that beast. They went over to Redhold's commander and immediately the commander knew why the two came to him. He ordered them to ride off to the Capital.

Everyone has heard the stories but none of them believed it to be true, until now. King and Peach got on their Chocobos and rode out to Ramoa City.

Redhold
The Life Stream

Yui realized that she seemed to be alone at the moment and made her way out into the hallway, steadily creeping down them whilst poking her head into any rooms in search of her weapon.

The very ground beneath her feet seemed to vibrate slightly, a momentary feeling of weakness coming over her as she leaned over with her shoulder against the wall, bracing herself.

The loud roar was so intense that it seemed to shake the foundation, causing Yui to hurry in her searches once she had regained some strength. She wasn't one hundred percent so shortly after her experience and, while thankful for whatever was distracting the guards, she certainly didn't want to get herself smashed by whatever it was. It did sound quite large, after all.


Though she was starting to feel rather curious..

Chapter 3: Sleep

Redhold
The Life Stream

The Ramoan soldiers started shooting Bahamut with Balistas but they had no effect on the dragon's tough hide. Nevertheless, the soldiers kept attacking it in hopes that they can fell the beast or at least grab it's attention while the non-combatants escaped. King and Peach were delayed due to the massive amounts of civilians blocking the hold's main gates. The civilians were panicking, which further aggravated the traffic.

Meanwhile, Bahamut starts charging it's most powerful attack, the Mega Flare. A ball of energy gathers in front Bahamut's mouth. The energy ball quickly grows in size and in intensity. Soon it lights up the sky like a mini sun.