FINAL FANTASY: XIII. (The RP.).

[Elrandir 783]

"The souls, the ones here, are not aware that they are dead." Aura said. "But the moment they notice their condition then they will try to hold into the world of the living"Reya then slowly spread her arms."The next thing we know is chaos all around us. Souls trying to take control of the closest living thing.""It is best to avoid that." The Oracle said. "In this case at least."The Professor nodded in front of him."We are close." He said. "And for the traps...they are inside the buildings. Just be careful with anything you touch. Not everything is what it seems."Once the group was almost at the entrance of the Forbidden Archives Aura suddenly felt a presence inside the building."Wait!" She whispered. "Something is not right. There is something, or someone, inside the building.""But you said-" Milo said."I know what I said, but the presence just appeared out of nowhere." Aura muttered. "I don't understand it. One moment there is nothing then the next one there is."

Reya placed her hands on Auras shoulders and slowly rubbed them in an attempt to relax the Oracle.

"Calm down. You won't get anything done if you stress yourself."

Aura nodded and took a deep breath.

"Is everyone ready?" She asked. "We don't know what awaits for us once we go inside."

Edited August 22, 2015 by Elrandir

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

Cassandra's sour look deepened when Aura reacted to a new presence. Magic was just so damn unreliable. If it wasn't for her eyes, she'd have abandoned it a long time ago. She could feel Dagnet move to pull his axe out with his free hand.

<Um, how do we deal with this?> the voice asked.

The raven in the sky cawed as it swooped down and perched on the Huntress's shoulder. She let go of Dagnet's arm and drew her bow.

"Covered." She said.

She took up a position directly opposite the door, drawing the bow for a shot.

"Ready." She told the Oracle.

"Green space hamsters divulge markers." Dagnet said enthusiasticly.

<He means 'ready'.> the voice translated.

[Elrandir 783]

Aura leaned against the wall and quickly took a peek inside while taking out her gunblade.

"A long, narrow hallway. Nothing else." She said. "The presence is still. We just need to reach the end."

The Professor unsheathed his sword and grimaced.

"This is bad news."

Reya took out her daggers while her carefree attitude slowly changed to a more serious one.

"It's just one presence, right?" She asked the Oracle.

"For the moment." Was her answer.

 

The Silvan Oracle waved her hand to signal her companions to follow her. Slowly walking through the hallway. After a couple of minutes Aura felt a change in the environment. There were souls in there, souls that passed away recently, filled with fear and sadness. It was when they where almost at the end of the hallway that Aura saw them. At least a couple of dozens of bodies laying on the ground, some showing fear or pain in their lifeless faces while others were leaning on the walls or holding parchments. And in the center of the room was the source of the presence. A lone white haired girl in a cloak that ,apparently, was made of mist.

 

"Greetings." The girl said. "It appears that you have business in here."

Aura looked around before her eyes stopped at the mysterious girl.

"Who are you and why did you killed all these people?"

"Rabiyu. Special Intelligence operative of the Templar." She answered in a monotonous tone. "These sacrifices were needed to find a way to open the gates of knowledge, they failed and paid the price. Their deaths were not of my doing."

Rabiyu slowly looked at the group starting with Cassandra followed by Reya, Dagnet and stopping with Milo.

"Your past expeditions are known to us, Professor." She said flatly. "Open the gates of knowledge or I will use force."

Milo's eyes wandered between his friends before he looked at Rabiyu square in the eye.

"I think I'll pass." He said. "I doubt someone who is willing to sacrifice many people just to gain knowledge is a good person. Sorry, but the answer is "No""

A red rune appeared at the tip of Rabiyu's arrow while she was aiming at the Professor.

"Unfortunate. Then, let us begin." Rabiyu said as she let go of the arrow.

Reya's eyes widened with surprise as she quickly muttered some words and summoned a barrier in front of the group.

"Take cover!" She yelled. "She infused the arrow with!"

Before Reya could finish, the arrow made contact with the barrier and, to the surprise of the Professor and the Oracle, it exploded.

"magic" Reya finally said.

Rabiyu quickly jumped into one of the pillars and began to shoot more magic infused arrows at the group of l'Cie.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Elrandir

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

Dagnet followed Aura, staying near the middle of the group. He moved surprisingly quietly for someone his size. Cassandra took up the rear, keeping an arrow ready for a quick shot. The appearance of the dead didn't seem to phase either of them, though they watched Rabiyu like wolves ready to spring.

<See, and I was getting use to meeting people who didn't Attack us on sight.> the voice bemoaned.

As soon as Rabiyu's first arrow hit, Cassandra returned fire with an arrow of her own. Dagnet laughed as he charged. Rabiyu's change of position didn't seem to bother the giant l'Cie as he hacked at the pillar with his axe, causing a chunk of the pillar to fly off and a long crack to form along it. Cassandra stepped behind another pillar to avoid Rabiyu's Magic arrows. Then popped back out, firing back in a way she hoped would force Rabiyu into the fire of one of her allies.

[Elrandir 783]

Rabiyu's eyes were moving quickly around the room, focused on the targets."Should neutralize the bigger target." She thought. "Followed by the rest."As Dagnet hacked at the pillar, Rabiyu jumped in the air while firing another arrow towards the Professor."Damn." He said.In a quick movement Reya stood in front of Milo and summoned another barrier to protect both of them from the explosive arrow."That was close!" Reya said flatly.The young Huntress then noticed a few arrows coming her way."Keep that woman on sight." She thought again. "Do what is possible to neutralize the enemy with the ranged weapon."Aura quickly ran towards where Rabiyu was going to land, and in a quick movement she slashed with her sword against the Specint Agent before she could land. But something was wrong, Aura noticed that Rabiyu didn't looked worried about the coming attack. On the contrary, she was rather calm, even with something that looked like a smile. Somehow the swords had missed its target, and said target was nowhere to be seen."What the!?" Aura yelled. "Where is"Rabiyu then appeared from under the Oracle and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying against the wall. she then turned around and shoot another arrow against the giant l'Cie, this time an ice powered arrow towards his feet to restrain his movements and another fire powered one towards Cassandra to make her come out from her hiding place.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

Dagnet yanked his ax out of the column and turned in time to see Rabiyu's ice arrow come for him. He managed to move his foot in time to prevent the actual arrow from skewering his foot, but the ice effect took hold and frozehis feet to the ground.

"No lava in frozen dough!" The big l'Cie yelled in rage.

He brought the handle of his ax down on the ice chunk around his feet. The force of the blow cracked the ice in two, freeing one foot. He raised his ax for another blow.

Cassandra took a breath, then stepped around her column, two arrows notched. She let both got around the time Rabiyu fired her fire arrow at the Blind Huntress. One arrow hit the fire arrow, causing a plum of fire in the middle of the air. The other arrow went straight for Rabiyu. As it flew, Cassandra's other raven flew into the room, and began to circle around the room, behind the columns.

[Elrandir 783]

Rabiyu was carefully watching as Cassandra shot two arrows, one activated the magic in her arrow, the other was flying towards her. Meanwhile Aura was running towards the Specint agent, trying to take her by surprise while having her back turned against her."Don't be too confident." Rabiyu said flatly.The young woman then began to run towards the Blind Huntress and, more specifically, her arrow. It happened in an instant, the arrow was merely inches away from her face while the Oracle was already going to attack her with her gunblade in the back, when said arrow passed through her and towards a wide eyed Aura, hitting her right in her shoulder and making her stumble."Aura!" Rabiyu yelled as she ran towards her friend. "Don't worry, I'll heal you."The blue haired girl quickly took the arrow from the Oracle's shoulder and casted a healing spell."Thanks." Aura said. "But how did she do that?""Calm down." Milo said while stopping in front of the two girls. "Don't get distracted or bad things could happen."The Specint agent took out a dagger from her belt and threw it towards Cassandra. She then infused another arrow with magic, this time it glowed in a pale yellow light."Change threat from level 3 to level 2."Rabiyu said. "Releasing first limiter. Allowed the use of level 2 spells. Thundara."The arrow was now flying towards Dagnet, in an attempt to stun or paralyze her enemy with a stronger spell than the ones used a few minutes ago.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

(I am super sorry about not posting recently. I'll attempt a better track record in future.)

 

Cassandra side stepped the dagger thrown at her, then notched another arrow. With a quick look at the situation, she fired the arrow to intercept Rabiyu's infused arrow a few feet fro Dagnet. As the arrows collided, the spell went off, giving the big L'Cie a bit of a shock. The Huntress had been hoping for that, as a little pain would just make Dagnet angry.

<Oh, great.> the voice moaned as Dagnet roared with anger.

He smashed the ice that incised his foot, then slammed his axe down, into the floor. Cracks snaked along the ground towards Rabiyu, kicking up chunks of rocks and debris along them.

"How bad?" Cassandra called to Reya as she got another arrow ready.

[Elrandir 783]

(Not a problem. Don't worry about it.)

 

"Nothing serious." Reya answered. "I will be done in a moment.""I don't get it. I saw when that arrow went through her." Aura said flatly. "It's impossible."The Professor slowly shook his head."Don't be so sure, Oracle." He said. "That arrow went right through her, there's no doubt about it. She is hiding something."Rabiyu quickly looked at the Blind Huntress once her arrow was activated close to the giant."She is a nuisance that needs to be taken care of." She thought. "But more importantly..."The Specint agent then ran towards the giant L'Cie, and as she ran chunks of rocks were passing through her. Once she was getting closer to Dagnet, Rabiyu changed her way, she was now running towards Cassandra."The giant is unstable. I can use that blind rage against his comrades."Rabiyu then took out another dagger once she was close enough to Cassandra before jumping into the air and slashing against the Huntress."Why is she focused with those two instead of taking the chance with us." Reya asked. "Aura is in no condition to fight for now."Aura was watching Rabiyu closely. The Professor nodded in agreement."Probably because  she needs me." He answered. "I guess that's the reason she doesn't attack. She can't risk to hurt me and fail to get the info she needs."

Edited December 24, 2015 by Elrandir

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

<See, why can't people feel like that bout me and the big guy?> the voice bemoaned in response to the Professor's observation.

Cassandra jumped to the side as Rabiyu slashed at her with a dagger. Her raven fluttered off as the Huntress rolled away from her opponent. As soon as she was back on her feet, the raven returned to her shoulder.

"Well, I can guess what her plan is know." Cassandra said sourly.

She broke into a sprint at the charging Dagnet. As soon as they were close, the Huntress leapt into the air, trying to vault over the lumbering giant. With one hand, Dagnet gave Cassandra a push to ensure she got over him. Without a human obstacle he cared about in the way, the big l'Cie swung his axe one handed in a vicious arc, trying to scythe down Rabiyu.

Cassandra landed a little awkwardly and was trying to regain her balance.

[Elrandir 783]

The Templar agent stood still while the giant swung his axe. The Professor used that moment to sprint towards the Blind Huntress without Rabiyu noticing."Where are you going?" Reya said. "It's not"Aura stood up once her wounds where fully healed."Thanks Reya" She said. "Let's join the others."The Oracle and Reya followed Milo. Rabiyu then finally moved, the axe doing completely nothing as it went through her again, she ran towards Cassandra."I got you" She said. "I'll make this quick for you."The Templar took out a final dagger and, once she was close enough, attempted to stab the Huntress. Her attack was stopped when the Professor catched and twisted her arm, followed by getting stabbed on her lower abdomen by Aura's blade and Reya's daggers on her shoulders."It's over." Aura said."There is also no way for you to make the Professor talk." Reya said sourly.Rabiyu was not moving, her mist cloak slowly reappearing around her, instead she was looking at the Professor square in the eye."You can see, you can hear. And yet you are blind, deaf and dumb." Rabiyu said flatly while slowly turning her head to Aura. "I worry about you, Daehiril."The mist covered Rabiyu completely before it flew into the ceiling."You think you bring happiness, but death and sorrow is what you bring for the world. The Reimaging, The Conception, The Beginning and the End. The World will decide who is right and who is in the wrong in the end. "The mist then flew towards the hallway and left the building, flying away from Aeviternus.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Elrandir

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

Watching the mist retreat through the eyes of her ravens, Cassandra sighed.

"That's not the end of that one, is it?" She asked darkly. "She'll be dogging us."

<Most likely.> the voice agreed. <Whoops, give us a sec.>

Still feeling hurt and angry that the arrow lady had left with out him lobbing a limb of hers off, Dagnet roared something incomprehensible and smashed his axe into another pillar.

<Just blowing off steam.> the voice said quickly. <Don't worry.>

The huntress turned to face the Professor.

"Thanks." She said curtly, not use to saying it. "So, now what?"

[Elrandir 783]

{Location: Forbidden Archives building}
Reya was looking into the hallway for any sign on the Templar before she turned to look at Aura.
"Question." She said quietly. "She called you...um..."Daehiril"? What does that mean?"
The Oracle crossed her arms and shook her head.
"I have no idea. That's the first time I heard that word."
Meanwhile Milo nodded at Cassandra.
"Don't worry, I'm on it. Just wait for a couple of minutes."
After a small rest, the moon was shining through the glass ceiling into the floor of the building, revealing glowing runes.
"Kid, did your mother taught you the song of the Moon?"
The blue haired girl nodded and smiled.
"She sang that song a lot when I was younger. Why do you ask, Professor? And a better question is how did you"
"Do you remember how it went?" Milo asked without paying much attention to Reya's question.
"Sure. It went something like this." Reya took a deep breath ane began her song.

If you want to go to the moon.
Face west from the stars, then circle 'round twice.
Haste without waste, and head to the south, then one twirl west.
There, run 'round thrice and wait for the waves. When they stop, run south and go for the moon.
If you race full of folly and take the wrong way, you'll find yourself a watery grave.

The Professor then quickly touched the center rune and began to follow Reya's directions, touching and turning other runes in the process. When the girl finished her song, Milo finished rearranging the other runes. A couple of seconds later said runes glowed before disappearing into the floor. Another few seconds later there was a glow in one of the walls, a door slowly opening.
"And there you have it. Access to the innermost chambers of the Forbidden Archives of Aeviternus."

 

 

{Location: Imperial City, Exire - Exire Castle - Templar Quarters}
Many of the Knights were moving to the side to let Rabiyu walk without problems. There where whispers among the knights, the Lady of the Mist was wounded and looked like she had been in a tough battle.
"Look, the Dark Elf is back."
"Who could be strong enough to leave the Heretic in that state."
"Did something happened in that cursed library?"
Rabiyu paid no attention to any of the comments. Instead she went straight to the office of her superior.
"Rabiyu reporting back, Sir." She said.
The current head of Special Intelligence, Ernst Aurion, was resting his arms on the desk. A calm look on his face.
"Are you alright?" He asked. "What happened after I left? Looks like you had troubles with the targets."
"I looked into the mind of Professor Steins." She said without addressing the question "I know how to get inside."
"I'm sure you do." Ernst said flatly. "Now go to the medical wing to get treated. I'm sure you need it. Besides, the staff would be happy to see you."
Rabiyu turned around.
"Doubtful, Sir. I may not possess the defining traits of my kind, but in the eyes of every person here I am a Dra'thul, an heretic, a half-breed, but dark elf nonetheless. Please notify me once the time for our next mission is decided."
Without saying another word Rabiyu left the office.
"I think I'm too hard on her." Ernst said and sighed. "Specint was made responsible for the death of the scholars at Aeviternus. "We need results, not excuses", they said. "Your pet project better bring favorable results if she wants to keep having freedom to wander the streets of the city", they said."

Edited February 13, 2016 by Elrandir