Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

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'Challenge' :

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Agnes Nera
Chapter 4: The Path Ahead~
Dome of Fontaine

Agnes had planned to cave in the tunnel all along. She knew that the blast from her Ultima Bolt would surely cause a sufficient amount of explosive force, one needed to crumple the walls and ceiling. It was a risky strategy by she knew it would pay out somehow.

Her plan had worked nearly flawlessly. The Vampires got buried by the collapsing structure and it also prevented the other blood suckers from chasing after them. However, the entire tunnel structure was going to collapse as a result of her direct action. Agnes now had to run as fast as she could to avoid suffering the same fate as the Emo-looking Vampire and his half naked friend.

The white lizard came back before she could leave for the next area. He was mad-pissed at Agnes and the Savage woman, and was saying something about that blasted heavy armor. It was a waste of time in my opinion and a burden if I had to run really fast while wearing it. But it would seem that the Lizard would not have it any other way.~

Sooooo~! Agnes was forced to put on the silly armor just to make her life a living hell.~ The savage woman already went ahead of them. She obviously didn't care what happens to Agnes or the Savage woman's lover, the White Lizard Freakazoid.~ To be fair, she was very useful in the battle against the vampires, and Agnes meant that in a sarcastic way~! Being utterl useless and now the first one to flee like a cowaring little redhaired-squid face-muscle bound-lizard-loving-tavern wench.~

"WHAT A COMPLETELY USELESS TWAT~!" Agnes commented.

Agnes was about ready to run out the tunnel but she was more concerned of the Limping Lizard who was left in the back. Instead of running ahead like a total prick, Agnes thought she would help the ugly Lizard. She didn't want to get too close to his scales though, because she found them disgusting.~ But still she gave effort to save not just herself.~

(I am using up 2 tries to help Cid the Lizard get out)[/color]

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Agnes Nera
Chapter 4: The Path Ahead~
Dome of Fontaine

That was easier than she expected. Also it just as displeasing as she had expected too. The White Lizard had a funky smell and Agnes was having a hard time carrying the old lizard while trying to hold her breath. The Lizard's mouth was worse. All that Reptile Saliva was making her nauseous and to he honest, Agnes was about an inch close to spewing out her last meal.~

The armor was making things worse. Agnes wanted to take it off but it would require her to let go of the one-legged lizard. The collapsing tunnel was not helping either. Rocks and other solid soils elements are falling from the ceilling. Agnes was getting his in the head and face with these tiny stone and it was gradually irritating her.~ So despite all the negativity still pushed forward~!

But in the middle of the path she suddenly heard a voice speak to her. It was Nero, her demon. The words were inaudible at first but the demon kept repeating it over and over, until it was clearer that  anything Agnes was seeing or hearing. She was starting to lose her temper, she didn't like hearing the demon's voice, telling her all this revolting things. Unknown to Agnes, the more she let her anger get the better of her the easier it was for the demon to corrupt her mind.~

She stopped in the middle of the path and dropped Cid on the ground. She wasn't herself. In her mind, she was trying to shut out the demon Nero from ranting perverted things in her head. But in reality she was already being controlled by the demon.~ Her pupils were of a different type. They her eyes were no longer that of a human being. It started glowing a very murderous yellow glare.~

She turned her eyes on Cid and stared at him for a couple of seconds before she blasted the Lizard with numerous Dark Spear's.

LANCEA TENEBRIS (M)
SP	LEVEL	STM	MOVES	Damage	Requires	Target
1	50	300	1	10872	Chaos Form	Cid
(Spear of Darkness) A demon skill that allows them to shoot a bolt of pure dark energy at the opponent. Has a 0 turn cooldown

LANCEA TENEBRIS (M)
SP	LEVEL	STM	MOVES	Damage	Requires	Target
1	50	300	1	10872	Chaos Form	Cid
(Spear of Darkness) A demon skill that allows them to shoot a bolt of pure dark energy at the opponent. Has a 0 turn cooldown

LANCEA TENEBRIS (M)
SP	LEVEL	STM	MOVES	Damage	Requires	Target
1	50	300	1	10872	Chaos Form	Cid
(Spear of Darkness) A demon skill that allows them to shoot a bolt of pure dark energy at the opponent. Has a 0 turn cooldown

LANCEA TENEBRIS (M)
SP	LEVEL	STM	MOVES	Damage	Requires	Target
1	50	300	1	10872	Chaos Form	Cid
(Spear of Darkness) A demon skill that allows them to shoot a bolt of pure dark energy at the opponent. Has a 0 turn cooldown

LANCEA TENEBRIS (M)
SP	LEVEL	STM	MOVES	Damage	Requires	Target
1	50	300	1	10872	Chaos Form	Cid
(Spear of Darkness) A demon skill that allows them to shoot a bolt of pure dark energy at the opponent. Has a 0 turn cooldown

LANCEA TENEBRIS (M)
SP	LEVEL	STM	MOVES	Damage	Requires	Target
1	50	300	1	10872	Chaos Form	Cid
(Spear of Darkness) A demon skill that allows them to shoot a bolt of pure dark energy at the opponent. Has a 0 turn cooldown

Regardless of the outcome, Agnes left Cid there and went on to the next area without him.~


(I'm still going to use 2 tries because I did stall a bit.)

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#2 Result :

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian


Yui had taken up position near the exit and was looking down the hallway as she rested against one of the walls, prepared to assist Agnes or Cid if she needed to. She heard explosions of varying degree, faintly making out the flashes of what she could only assume to be magic.

She was still rather sore as she pushed herself off of the wall and onto her feet fully, hoping that the creatures they had fought didn't make it through the collapsed section of passageway as she started to make her way back in.

Yui was almost back to normal mobility, still using her spear to somewhat support her weight as Agnes came into view, heading towards the exit without Cid. She didn't even bother stopping as she instead picked up speed and blew past the girl, not even noticing her eyes or taking the time to ask what had happened.

She was more concerned with what had happened to Cid, hoping that he didn't happen to get buried in the passage as well. Or at least that if he did, that he was actually dead. Suffocating under a bunch of rocks is no way for anyone to go, she thought.

While she did go ahead originally, it was simply for her to catch her breath. She certainly wasn't expecting to see Agnes come out by herself, or for Cid to be missing after he came back to keep Agnes and herself from dragging their collective asses.

(OOC: Rolling for Re-entry to investigate.)

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Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian


Yui made it only a few steps past Agnes before being able to spot Cid laying on the floor in a bloody pile. The dust and dirt flying about prevented her from seeing exactly what types of wounds he had sustained, but she could clearly tell he was injured. She started to pick up the pace further in order to get to his aide, but a large stone dislodged itself from the ceiling above her.

She was so focused on getting to Cid that she didn't notice the sound of the stone dislodging itself, but she certainly felt the result. Yui was forced to bend forward as the stone came down atop her head, the stone rolling down off the back of her head and falling to the ground behind her.

Yui struggled to avoid falling on her face on the floor, the sudden bending causing a minute amount of blood to come up into her mouth. A little bit of blood dribbled from the corner of her lips as she stumbled around, the stone opening a moderately sized wound on the back of her head.

She could feel the strange warmth running down her back as her own blood started flowing from the back of her head, down her neck and then down her back. 

Yui felt nauseous and dizzy as the corridor started to twist before her, tripping over the rock that had landed behind her and causing her to stumble further. She was flailing her arms around at this point, simply trying to regain balance as she tried her damnedest to get to Cid.

But she simply couldn't tell which direction she was going anymore, still trying just to stop herself as she stumbled around in nearly full reverse.


(OOC: Rolling to see if Yui falls out of the exit, or just falls over.)

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Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian

Cid was glad that the young girl took the time to help him through the tunnels. But even if he was missing one leg, he didn't really need Agnes' help. Even still, it was nice to receive some help. He was wondering why Yui didn't come to help him and why she left in such a hurry. Cid couldn't blame her, the tunnel was collapsing and if she had stayed worse things might happen. Cid only hoped that Yui made it out quickly.

The tremors were intensifying and the walls were already starting to give way. Cid was about to ask Agnes to let him go and just go on ahead. But then he felt something strange, a dark aura coming from the girl. Cid asks her, "Are you alright Ara, you seem different..."

Agnes didn't seem to here Cid. In fact she didn't seem to be minding anything. Cid notice that some of the rocks falling on Agnes' head were being redirected by some invisible force. Cid felt like he was being threatened somehow. Like an animal sensing danger. He stares deeply at Agnes' face....


Moments later she looks at him sharply with her eyes, possessed. Cid is stricken by fear. Agnes throws him on the ground and proceeds to blast her with dark magic. Cid tried to endure the savage attacks but to no avail. He is torn apart by Agnes' powerful spells. The force of the blows caused some of his body parts to explode, including his head. The once proud Dragoon was butchers like a wall lizard being shot by a rapid fire BB gun.

After brutally killing Cid, Agnes walks away like nothing happened. Yui came back to check on Cid, but she didn't account for what she saw next, Agnes walking alone towards the exit. Perhaps it was her inablity to notice certain minor things or perpahs it was her haste that made her fail to notice, that the girl was litterally not getting hit by falling debris. Yui suffers a painful and disorganizing blow to the head by a falling rock. She sees Cid but is unable to decern his status. A large piece of the wall collapses on Cid's body. His spear was blown towards Yui, hitting the girl in the head.

WEAPON
Dragoon Lance Lv:100 (G)
MOVES	HP	STM	STR	DEX	MAG	DEF	M.DEF
0	0	0	0	800	0	0	0
Info

Meanwhile the Cid's Crew members had already gone past the Sentry area and are already outside. They found themselves near the water's edge. It was several kilometers to the shore and without a boat, it was nearly impossible for them to swim across without alerting the Lake's Guardian.

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian

Yui continued to stumble backwards like a fool for a few steps, finally managing to right herself as she hunched forward and put most of her weight on her spear. She was using it as a support as she shook her head, her eyes locking onto an object flying at her through the passage.

She tried to follow it with her eyes and had minute success, barely able to make out the general shape of Cid's spear. She would have a brief window to react and catch it, if it was in fact what she thought it was.

The thought of it being a flying blade that would lop her fingers off and slice her in two crossed her mind, but her hands were already moving. She moved her metal arm up to try to catch the spear, keeping her non-metal one on her own to avoid losing fingers and to maintain her balance.

The sound of a metal object rushing through the air grew louder as things seemed like they were slowing down for her, the rush of adrenaline going through her body causing it to seem slow when it in fact was not. She knew full well that if she messed this up, it was going to hurt if not straight up end her existence.

She adjusted the height of her metal hand as best she could, trying to ensure that she didn't miss it completely at least. At the speed that spear was coming at her, it'd likely cut through her and her own spear like a hot knife through butter. 

The spear was travelling at such a speed that Yui was barely able to close her fingers around the shaft, trying her damnedest to slow the weapon before it hit her. But she failed and, spectacularly, the spear forced her metal hand back and crashed into her own face.

Blood spewed from her now excessively bloody nose as the back of her metal hand collided with her head, catching her nose in the process. What little force she managed to mitigate amounted to absolutely nothing, the sheer force of the shot to her head throwing her already poor balance completely out of whack.

Blood poured from her nose and joined the little that had escaped her lips earlier, traveling down to drip off her chin as her vision went completely black for a few moments. Yui struggled to stay conscious as she continued to stumble backwards, though practically running backwards like a drunkard who was fighting to keep their own. She could do little to stay on her feet as the force drove her to tumble backwards, a spear in each hand and a small trail of blood following her.

She was hardly able to see in the few moments of clarity that she had, but she managed to turn herself from tumbling backwards to tumbling forward. She was still practically running as her upper body started leaning forward before her lower body could start moving, but she did her best to make it to the exit.

Yui was practically on the floor already when she spotted Agnes, losing her balance completely and doing the last thing that she could do in this scenario.

With stone, bricks, dirt and such crumbling down around her. Yui took a moment of clarity and jumped with what little strength she had left, angling both of the spears forward to make herself a little more aerodynamic.

It was a half-assed jump, for sure, but if she were lucky she would be able to traverse the distance. She gained no additional speed like she would from a normal jump, travelling at very average speeds, although very much improved over her stumbling and shambling.

If she was unlucky..Then that would simply be the end for her.

She had many regrets, namely that she stabbed that kid way back and couldn't help find anything of what had happened to Jenn for her mother. She felt a bit of regret that Cid was likely dead, too, thinking that she could have helped him if she had stayed behind.

But she couldn't focus on that now! She needed to keep her attention to where it was needed, so that maybe she could make the distance!


(OOC: Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' for my life~)

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'Challenge' :

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Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian

The tunnel finally collapses behind them, Yui made it out just barely. Agnes on the other hand, was still going in and out of herself. They are not inside a chamber filled with hundreds of Dragon Statues. Each statue is fitted with traps, set to strike down anyone not a Dragoon or not wearing the ceremonial armor.

Fortunately, both Yui and Agnes had it on. Thus they were allowed to safely make it to the next area and eventually to the outside world. It was nice to finally be able to see sun light once again, even though it was greatly obscured by the Vampire Lord's weather spell. Unfortunately, Cid Highwind never made it out. He has, however, passed on his legacy to Yui, a stranger from another world. If was now up to her whether or not she'll use her newly acquired power for good or for evil.

Meanwhile the Crew anxiously awaits for their captain. One of the crew members, who was too scared to ask Agnes, went over to Yui and asked her, "Where's the Captain?" after seeing her come out with Cid's mechanical Spear.


CHALLENGE EVENT COMPLETE!


2000 XP awarded to Agnes and Yui.

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian


Yui landed on her stomach and slid across the floor for a few feet, rolling over when she finally came to a stop. She was bleeding quite notably and clearly out of breath when the crew members approached, moving both of the spears next to her so that she could have both hands free.

Her movements were a little shaky at best, the adrenaline still driving her as she tried to remain aware of her surroundings. She was able to fight off blacking out much easier since she now had a moment to rest, but she still had to be able to write.

She dug some slips of paper out of her pocket along with a piece of paper, holding them up where she could see both as she started writing on multiple slips of paper. Her handwriting was pretty bad, given that even her metal arm was a little twitchy at the moment.

She wrote a few words on a slip of paper before moving onto the next, trying not to crowd any of the pieces so that she could make the words a little more readable. Tears started to build up in her eyes as she handed the notes to the nearest crew member in the order she hoped they would be dead, her hands still shaking notably.

Note Order:
"Cid Hurt"
"Didn't See"
"What Happened"
"Had No Time"
"To Save Him"
"Sorry"
"Think She Saw"
"Need to Ask"

She then gripped both of the spears with her metal hand, holding them up and pointing to Ara with them both. She knew full well how close to death she just came and it began to weigh on her, Cid's possible death hitting her harder due to that fact.

The look on her face was very serious, but it would warp into that of someone who were crying every now and then. She was trying excessively not to start crying, but the tears were already beginning to flow quite steadily.

It was apparent that she was trying to put on a brave face, but she barely could contain her feelings. If it were possible for her to make any sound, she probably would have already.

But there was simply silence, outside of the occasional sniffling to prevent snot from going everywhere. She laid there for a few moments, bleeding from the back of her head and her nose, possibly internally wounded to boot.

She rolled over onto her stomach and forced herself onto her hands and knees, still holding onto both spears with one hand. She coughed heavily due to her upset status, her throat hurting as a little bit of blood shot from her mouth and onto the ground. She wiped her mouth with her free hand before pressing up off the ground, holding Cid's spear with her metal hand while her own was taken by her opposite hand.

She used both of the spears as supports as she made her way back to Ara, a very serious look on her face as tears rolled down the sides of her face. She stayed a few steps away from the girl and hooked her spear beneath her own arm, using the paper and writing utensil to write another small note.

She tapped Ara lightly on the shoulder with her spear before pulling it back, holding up the note at arms length from the girl with two words written in very large letters on it.

"WHAT HAPPENED" Was all that note said as she watched the girl for a reaction, taking note of the strange coloring of her eyes. She couldn't quite tell if what she was seeing was accurate, given that she took multiple shots to the head not too long ago.

But she kept staring, trying to focus the picture in front of her. Was something different about the girl? If so, what was it? Yui simply couldn't tell between the tears in her eyes and her sporadically fading vision, though she was quickly regaining her sight.

She was far too impatient to wait for a response, however, repeatedly tapping Ara on the shoulder with her spear whilst holding onto the note with the opposite. She didn't make any effort to move without the support of at least one spear, knowing full well her balance probably wouldn't hold out. But she needed to press the issue.

She needed to know!

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian


Yui ceased the tapping once she got the girls attention, scribbling a second note and placing it next to the first. The notes together read "Cid is Dead. What Happened?" as she held them up towards Agnes, hoping to get some answers as to what had happened.

As far as responding with why she didn't help, she thought it might be a bit more obvious with her coughing up blood. But she didn't really care about answering the girls questions, she was simply too busy trying to get questions of her own to write even more notes.

She wasn't just suspicious of the girl due to having left her in the tunnel with Cid, oh no, she seemed to recall that the girl had given her two different names when introducing herself.

It was quite odd indeed, for someone to introduce themselves twice with two different names. But she didn't really care to ask why that was. She needed to know if she did anything to Cid and, if she hadn't, then what had happened.

Yui was holding back a number of emotions, including enough anger to make her want to punch the girl in the face. The only thing keeping her from trying to shut the girls incredibly rude mouth was the fact that she didn't want to hit her without good reason, like if she had killed Cid.

The look on her face was clearly showing that she was trying to figure something out, staring at the girl like she was waiting for some sort of answer she didn't have. She started to use her spear to steady herself, now that she wasn't continuously bopping the girl with it.

She simply waited for a response that didn't involve the girls nonsensical screeching. She couldn't really expect much, though, given the possible age difference. Yui couldn't quite figure out the girls age without being told, but her mannerisms seemed like that of one quite young.

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian

The crew members all gathered around Agnes and waited for her response. The crew knew what she was capable off after seeing her survive a airship crash and her almost beating one of the Twins. Also her scary transformation. But they decided to face their fears in he search for what truly happened to their Captain.

But before any of them could ask Agnes. Suddenly there was a tiny voice coming from on top of the hill. "Hello!!!" The tiny voice said as it echoed down to where Agnes and Yui were. The volume was pretty low because the distance was really big. But being the joyful being that she is, the girl decided to communicate with them as is.

"Hello!! There can you hear me!!?" she said with her tiny and almost inaudible voice. "I'm coming down there to eat you all!! Heeeey! Don't go anyway I'm coming down!!"


The voice was from none other than the Vampire Lord herself. She appeared as a young girl barely in her teens but she's old than Agnes, Yui, and all the Crew members combined. She was skipping like a child playing down the rocky hill face, like she was not affected by the pull of the planet. She displayed her ability to hop down a steep cliff horizontally, like the laws of gravity don't affect her. All the while she was humming to this childish tune.

Also, an army of Vampires followed her down the hill. There were too many of them to count, but with their speed, they would reach the humans in no time. This leaves the humans with no other choice but to either stay here and fight the Vampires or take a chance by swimming in the lake. There was also no guarantee that they could out swim the vampires, who could just float over the surface and pick them apart one by one.

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian

She wasn't going to let Agnes off of the hook if she had actually done something to Cid, but her attention was forced to shift to the excessive number of vampires coming from above. She had no idea if she could trust the girl on any level, but she didn't believe that she would simply ignore all the vampires either.

Yui was still beaten and bloody, but she took advantage of the fact that she already had some paper and her writing utensil in hand. Since she couldn't speak at all, she scribbled "Find cover. Tell all." onto a piece of paper and handed it to the crew member nearest to her.

She took a deep breath, making audible gurgling sounds before exhaling and sending a very small string of a saliva and blood mixture from her mouth. Slowly but surely she began moving forward, little droplets of blood running off of her chin and down the back of her leg due to the injuries to her nose and back of the head.

Yui stumbled slightly, swinging both her spear and Cid's outwards with one in each hand. She used them to keep her balance, since it wasn't entirely back under her control. She was probably suffering from some level of concussion as she slowly made her way toward the advancing threat, not intending to cover much distance.

She hoped that she could take out a little bit of her frustrations on the vampires making their way down the cliffs, but she wasn't so sure that she could after the last time. At the very least perhaps the crew could find somewhere defensible, or swim for it. But deep down she knew they likely wouldn't survive the encounter unless the horde of vampires could be overcome, no matter what defenses they could muster.

Chapter 4: The Path Ahead

The Dome of Fontaine
Lake Guardian

It would seem like a great idea to go back into the tunnels. But suddenly more vampires came out from the tunnel, Vincent and Pythea were among them. It seems that they were able to clear the path. They had obviously been attacked by the Sentry, they had wounds indicating that they encountered it. But being, the immortal Vampires that they are, they were soon able to get past it.

The vampire army were zoning in on them, and with nowhere left to go, the crew members decided it would be best to just swim and gamble their lives rather than stay and be eaten by vampires. As soon as the crew members got deep enough, something just suddenly pulled the into the water and they never rose back to the surface.

A bright white light suddenly emerged from the water and it was proving to be too bright for the Vampires. They disperse and hide behind the rocks to shield themselves from the blinding light. Then a giant creature emerged from the lake, it was the Spirit guarding this lake, the legendary beast Shuirin. The beast intensified it's glare, soon it was even too much for Yui or Agnes to bare. Majority of the vampires were forced to retreat into the darkness.



Suddenly, Yui heard a voice coming from the lake. It was very bright and it made it difficult to see exactly who it was. But the voice sounded like it was Cid. The voice called out to her and told her to run towards the light. Agnes heard the voice too, it called out to her and told her to run towards the light. And that they had to hurry.