[IC] TTG Chapter 5: Wrath

[Bfroger6]

Mommo

 

The reveal was a shocking one. She'd not come to know Aries all too well during their brief interactions, but she'd certainly come to care deeply for this man who extended her such trust. She gripped the meditative gift tightly, but couldn't quell her heart. There was not much she could do aside from letting her usual composure slip into a display of uncertainty, eyes widening ever so slightly. However, this issue was outside of her predetermined plan. She'd already lost the need to win the tournament and gained a new desire. She couldn't care anymore about defeating the Tenth God and becoming as such herself. No, she had a new ideal that was placed in front of her, one that, at the moment, outweighed all doubts she might've had about his decisions.

 

She met his eyes, standing up to the fierce gaze as best she could, not defiantly, but embracing its weight. There may not be much time to rest in the forseeable future, so she didn't intend to take this too fast. She had to think it through, consider everything she knew and consider everything that meant something to her. Her past was spent for the tournament and her present was a crossroads. Throw away the past and choose a new and uncertain path? Or keep on existing? Existence would be in touch with how she'd always felt up until now. Mommo's sleepiness, her need to rest, her sloth. Throwing it away felt unnatural, yet she knew she would regret rejecting Aries. This burning wasted chance would be forever etched deep in her heart, turning it into a furnace that suffocates true peace of mind. She would never again be able to rest in that scenario.

 

The only choice was to find a new path with Aries, for perfectly selfish reasons.

 

Mommo raised her head, eyes sparkling, reflecting Aries's visage, mixing the vibrant red with her deep lazy blue. What she was about to say was clear enough without her having to utter a word.

"I don't care...about Tempest. I don't care...about numbers." She glanced at Morgan, the girl who defeated her yet was also so kind. But the moment she would've made eye contact with her, she shook her head and focused on the man again. "Aries, I want to...I will come with you, whatever you choose." She took a step forward, turning to face the two other girls as she stood next to Aries. In silence. "..."

 

 

 

"..."

[IntSys]

Tai

 

Tai hesitated.

 

Why did he still need to live? The life he had fought for was all but gone.

 

Would she actually die with him?

 

...

 

"You wouldn't die with me. You wouldn't die willingly. There's something else that's driving you to fight against the other gods. The same motivation that made you use me. You're lying. You're lying!" He shouted at Cardinal.

 

His memories echoed, and he quickly realized that he wouldn't have a choice in the matter. She would knock him out and drag him back with her if that was what it took to save the object of her guilt. That was what happened the last two times. She only cared about herself.

 

"... Fine. I won't- no, can't stop you. Do what you want."

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki, for her part, was only getting more incredulous by the moment. Aries seemed dead-set on his path; it was bad enough that one of the gods was doing something so insane, but now others were following him? "Slumbering Giant, you're joking, right?" Her natural voice echoed slightly ahead of the artificial one, her formalized speech pattern breaking down; she was forgetting to keep the act up. She cleared her throat, trying to compose herself despite the pointlessness of attempting to continue the disguise. "This could kill everyone in Tempest, and Cardinal could turn on you just as easily as she turned on Supernova."

[Shamitako]

Cardinal

 

If Tai believed her to be lying, there wasn't really anything Cardinal could do. Do what she wanted? She'd already done what she could to save him, there was no way for her to free him from being trapped in the Void. There wasn't anything more she could do. And if Tai wouldn't accept her life as recompense for all she had put him through, then there wasn't anything more she could give either.

 

"There isn't anything I can do." She told him, "You're stuck out here, there's no way back. I wanted to save you, but I can't, I don't have that power. If you don't want to kill me, then I'll stay with you as long as my power allows. That's all I have to offer. Even if you hate me, my company is better than the misery of being alone."

 

Aries

 

Aries's heart leapt when Mommo came over to his side. What the other two thought of him hadn't mattered, not really. Regardless of what happened from here on out, as far as Aries was concerned, he'd already won. But that wouldn't make him complacent, his victory was not the only one he needed to deliver.

 

"If you don't wish to join me, then I hold no animosity towards you, you're free to go." Aries said to the other two, "Leave on the train you came in on, from there you can decide on your own what to do."

 

(OOC: Out of time, Grima and Nastasia posts next time)

[IntSys]

Tai

 

...

 

What? Tai couldn't believe what he was hearing. That was it. No more divine intervention.

 

He sat down on the cold ground. "Have a seat, then" he said. "Can't believe my last hours have to be spent with you... But then again, the other option would be to spend it with some doctors and nurses at my deathbed. Better with someone you know and hate, than with someone you don't know at all."

 

"... Let's change that. Tell me your story," he said. "Maybe I'll die before it ends, but do it anyway. Is this what they call an icebreaker?" He tilted his head slightly upward, gazing into the skies. "If I'm still alive after, I'll tell you mine."

[Bfroger6]

Mommo

 

The mention of everyone dying grasped her heart for a moment. Could she do that? Could she keep being as selfish as she's always been even in face of such a decision? But she wasn't as selfish anymore. She'd always kept the people who were useful to her close, not really caring, but now she had someone she cared about.

 

Mommo sighed.

"Hellfire Knight..I'll think about things such as that...when the time comes." Mommo answered with determination. She took another step back away from Hiroki and Morgan, now standing next to Aries. She looked up at his face with a smile before looking back at the other two. "I appreciate your concerns...but I choose to ignore them anyways. I apologize." She gave a slight nod of her head which was supposed to signify a bowing gesture. Morgan kept her gave a bit longer than Hiroki though.

[Chevaleresse]

The only reply Mommo received was a short burst of static. Hiroki wanted to tell the Giant what should have been obvious; that the time to think about it was now. It was pointless, though, she was just going to embarrass herself and possibly anger Aries. It hurt to admit, but she just wasn't ready to fight a god. And if that were to happen here, there was no guarantee that she would survive the encounter, particularly with Slumbering Giant in play. She turned, awkwardly, haltingly due to her disguise, and did her best to storm out of the room, saying nothing else. 

[Shamitako]

Seeker

 

Seeker nodded to acknowledge the risk presented should something happen to Nastasia. They could discuss the details on the way to confront Aries, but she was sure they could work something out.

 

"Aries's special ability makes him completely immovable." Seeker explained, "Not just in a sense of not being pushed around, nothing about his mech can be "moved." This, combined with his armor, makes him virtually impervious to kinetic attacks. It's not insurmountable, but it's troublesome. And in the midst of a large-scale battle, it's going to be hard to focus enough damage on him to take him out.

 

"That's where you come in. You have the power to instantly defeat any opponent that isn't moved by your signature, Aries is immovable. The plan is that when we confront Aries, Blink will use her speed to take you to him, and you'll face him alone. Blink and a few others will be dedicated to keeping anyone else from interfering with your fight. Since it's likely that Aries is the biggest threat we'll face, taking him down early will give us a massive advantage. If he takes the role of commander, it may even directly lead to our victory."

 

Grima

 

On her way to the station, Grima noticed a building that looked familiar to her. Though she didn't see any protesters, she felt certain that it was Aries's audience chambers. A dark-skinned man in armor was standing guard outside, he had to be melting in this heat. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn't be sure what. At least she'd found her destination.

 

Just as she was approaching the building, a person ran out. They were covered from head to toe, concealing every aspect of who they were. They were also apparently concealing their ability to pay attention, as they ran directly into Grima. The two toppled to the ground violently, becoming hopelessly entangled. When the dust settled (both figuratively and literally), Grima was laying on her back and noticed a strange feeling on her chest. When she looked to see what it was, she would discover a platform shoe attached to a girl's leg.

[Komodojoe]

Morgan

 

"...I-I see." Morgan's heart sank when Mommo made her decision. She didn't want to see anybody get hurt or killed, and that's all war seems to bring. Even if a soldier were to die a painless death, their loved ones would feel sorrow. And sure, the fighting would eventually stop, but at what cost? 

 

It wasn't that she was entirely against helping the Tenth if what he said was true, if the she really was just alone and afraid. Morgan can relate to that to at least some extent. The problem doesn't really have anything to do with trusting Aries since he basically just laid out his plans in front of three of the best fighters in Tempest. Having Mommo on Aries' side would help a bit as well. I'd be nice to have a friend if she were to choose Aries. That being said, she has friends and family back home as well. Can she really do that? Can Morgan Belle leave everything behind for this?

 

... The answer is no, the reasons for that being the people she cares about at home and too many unknowns. The former is obvious. Morgan can't really say what she's been told on either side is false, since a few of the things she's heard have been conflicting, mainly about the Tenth. Granted, she trusts Aries enough as stated above, but it's only to the point that she believes that he believes Cardinal. She'd have to meet the "God" herself before she had any real opinions or beliefs on who she is, which might be a bit ironic considering Morgan is, well... Morgan. She also believes she knows enough about the events leading up to the tournament to believe that they're true, but whether or not Cardinal posed any real threat to all of Tempest is still up in the air. She knows a bit about what the Tenth is capable of, and she could take an educated guess on top of that, but what she would do further down the line seems to be the million dirk question.

 

Basically, taking what Morgan believes to be true and the rest with a grain of salt, it seems to be a bit of a gray area for her with no real right or wrong answer. She feels torn, unsure of what to do about all of this. Right now, she would like to stay out of this until she's figured things out, but she doubts she'll get that luxury. Either way, she can't side with Aries. Not until she's sure it's the right thing to do.

 

"I'm sorry, but... I-I can't help you." Morgan says, sounding a bit upset. "I have friends and family back home and I can't turn my back on them like this. I can't even begin to imagine how they'd feel if I did that to them. Not to mention that this is war we're talking about. There's gonna be a lot of fighting and killing. I don't want any part of that. I-I mean... I'd like to help, but... i-it's just... I-I..." She looks over to Mommo, her eyes beginning to tear up. It's obvious that she feels guilty for not siding with her, but it's either her or everyone else. "... I'm sorry." Morgan's head hangs low as she turns around to make her way out of the throne room, fighting her own tears as she did so.

[Chevaleresse]

The abrupt assault on Grima also reached her ears, as a sort of discordant, electronic screeching sound burst from the figure on impact; the voice changer was thoroughly uncertain in how to handle the sounds Hiroki made upon crashing into another person and falling over. Thankfully, she managed to quiet herself down when they stopped tumbling. This wasn't exactly a savior to her dignity, though; she was flushed red beneath her hood, and before even attempting to get up, she tried her best to rearrange her cloak to cover herself back up. . . which, of course, meant her hands actually coming out from under the cloak for a few moments. After all of this squirming about and squishing atop the stranger, she finally rolled sideways off of her. The cloaked figure tried to stand, but was evidently having difficulty doing so in tall platform shoes.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

Like with the stranger, Grima had also shouted in surprise when they barreled into her, falling backwards and, rather roughly, hitting her head. That, combined with the electronic screech coming from them, meant that when the dust settled, Grima was more than fairly disoriented, to the point that even her vision was still blurry. For a bit, she was confused on what just happened, considering everything had happened extremely quickly, and as to what that feeling was on her chest. It felt weird, but wasn’t really…

 

Suddenly, once her vision and mind cleared enough to get her to look down, she realized what it was, and shortly after, the stranger rolled off of her, fixing her cloak and allowing Grima to stand up herself, rubbing the back of her head and wincing as she did so. It wasn’t hard for Grima to at least see that they were trying to conceal their identity, considering they were busy rearranging their cloak right now. However, when it became clear that they were struggling to stand due to their shoes, Grima immediately stepped forward to try and help them up, “Sorry, should’ve gotten out of your way quicker” Grima stated. Technically, it wasn’t really her fault, but she felt compelled to apologize anyway.
 

[Shamitako]

Cardinal

Spoiler

 

Cardinal sat down next to Tai, the cold snow against her bare legs making her regret not getting dressed before joining Tai in Gluttony. But it was too late to turn back now. She hoped she would be able to hold on long enough to tell her story, and maybe even for Tai to tell his. She steeled herself against the cold, there's wasn't time to waste on shivering, and began to tell her story.

 

"I'm from a place that the people of Tempest know as the Sphere. It's the birthplace of humanity, and contained in a much more finite realm than Tempest. A long time ago, it became corrupted and unstable, the universe around it started to die out much faster than it should have. Humanity began to be erased from existence, and the world was fated to follow.

 

I was the last human left, barely six years old at the instant that time vanished. In the same moment that time ceased to be, I recognized that time continued without me. This caused time to continue to tick around me. It's a strange thing, as a young child I remember being confused as to why things could happen when I wasn't there, and in the singular moment that I came to understand it, it stopped working that way. The Sphere is frozen in a strange limbo, I am the only thing alive, and nothing acts without my input. Outside of my immediate influence, things seem nonfunctional unless I need them to. Which is probably good, because from my understanding the planet would freeze over if it kept moving through time properly.

 

"I spent ten years trying to understand what had happened, studying the magic that had destroyed my world. I also discovered many ways to entertain myself, but we don't have time for me to go on about those. By studying so diligently, I gained a deep understanding of it, but struggled to manage anything more than the simplest of spells due to the volatility of Favor. When I was sixteen, however, I found an ancient book that taught me how to look into souls and stabilize my spells. I also discovered my own unique Spark, which allowed me to alter my Dream Space to experience a sort of future. With this I became powerful enough to be recognized by the world, empty as it was.

"Using this newfound power, I was able to study Tempest, the place the rest of my kind had escaped to. I peered into the present and explored the future in my heart. I found that while I had only grown a few years older, humanity had existed for so long that the Sphere was little more than a legend. I tried to transport myself directly here, but found that I could do no more than observe. Eventually I worked up the courage to contact the most powerful beings in the Planes, hoping they would know how to transport myself from the loneliness of the Sphere to this place with so many other people. But they couldn't help me, and as time went on it became apparent that most of them didn't truly want to help me.

 

"Abandoning the gods, I sought to find the answer on my own. Then it struck me, if I were to gain the power of the Planes in addition to the power of the Sphere, I would be able to craft a bridge between the two. I used my ability to craft a future wherein I overcame Lord, undeniably proving to the Planes that I was worthy of ruling over one of them. Tempest recognized me as a god, yet could not offer me a plane of my own in reality due to my being trapped on the Sphere and Lord still possessing her strength. Thus a conceptual space between Tempest and the Sphere was formed, my bridge was begun. But to complete it, I have to legitimize my power in this reality. The fastest way would be to defeat on of the gods, but it will eventually happen if enough of Tempest's residents recognize my legitimacy.

 

"I knew the gods would form the tournament to stop me, and reached out to one of its competitors whom I had befriended in my false future, hoping to obtain his help in preventing the tournament from continuing. Not only for my own sake, but for the sake of those eight that had fallen prey to the gods' machinations and cowardice. But in the end, all I did was make things much worse for everyone involved. The tournament fell apart as I had hoped, but not before I had destroyed any hope at living a new life in Tempest when I finally crossed my bridge.

 

"You said I was fighting for something before, and I am. I'm fighting to escape the emptiness I've inherited."

 

Towards the end of her story, Cardinal's body had begun to spazz out on occasion, like static on a television. She would not be able to remain in Tempest for more than a few more minutes. Though they were both freezing, she was certain Tai had a while yet before his death. Cardinal wasn't entirely sure what would happen if she refused to return, but it seemed apparent that if it would lead to her death like she expected, then Tai was going to outlive her. She was alright with that, at least she'd spend her last moments with a living person.

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki was having difficulty actually formulating a response; she was already a bit emotionally compromised from the audience, and this was humiliating. She actually refused to accept the proffered assistance for a few moments, futilely struggling to stand and continuing to fail. She stopped for a moment, then begrudgingly and wordlessly seized Grima's hand, levering herself upward to the point where she could actually get her feet under her, then stumbled backward awkwardly. It almost looked as if she was about to topple over backward again, but thankfully Hiroki managed to right herself. "No, it was my fault. I apologize." Hiroki was glad that the artificial voice hid the strain in her speech, because there was a lot to be found in it at the moment.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Nastasia

"Ohoho!~" Nastasia blasted into her signature laugh once more. "l never thought that aspect of the Holy Shroud of Retribution would be useful. However it seems l find myself incorrect." Nastasia mused, a amused look on her face. She honestly never thought such would come into play with Ninefold Archangel. After all, the Shroud was made when released early only to blast back opponents, however if they did try and resist it destruction was inevitable. The blast was still synthiesed by the systems responible for Divine Judgement... an attack meant to utterly destroy anything. lt was just channeled to reset the enemy position if a full charge couldn't be reached. However it was that same destructive force. lf tht enemy would not budge they'd take the full brunt of it regardless.

"This however begs the question... how aware of Archangel is Aries? lt's rather important as if l don't have it as a trump card he doesn't know it'll be much more difficult to land this decisive blow. As much as it pains me to admit... l'm not the most well known in those terms. So it'd take perhaps an overly paranoid pilot to seek out wht Shackled Ninefold Archangel would be cpable of. However, Madame Argyle... Blink. You both are aware of this information. l'm sure it was Lain that filled you in... even if he neglected to do so for me. But, you've obtained this information. lt is not unreasonable that Aries also has these means at his disposal as well. Perhaps we can count on his impulsiveness... but, l do not like relying on the flaws of one's character to come into play unless l can invoke them purposefully." her last line was dripping with some sort of implied meaning, though it was hard to discern what. "l did not expect to be fighting one of the gods, but l suppose this is where l stand."

[IntSys]

Tai

 

"... Man, your story puts mine to shame," Tai muttered. "You're... lonely. Whereas I'm just... alone."

 

He inched toward Cardinal slightly, so he could speak at a low voice, saving the strength he had left. "Here goes." He said softly.

 

"I'm from here, the plane of Gluttony, born under a middle-class family. My childhood was pleasant. I went to school like any other kid, and I took an interest in the mech combat scene. Every punch and kick had so much energy put into them... It was exciting and mesmerizing."

"My dad was an entrepreneur of some sort. Can't really remember the specifics, but he must have borrowed money from loan sharks. At least, that's what Mom told me. He eventually got himself in a real bind. The last thing I heard he said was a meek 'It's over.' After that, he ceased to be my dad. He set up a plan to kill everyone in the family with fire. It was too late when I realized it. He killed Mom with a knife when she tried to reason with her, but I managed to escape through taking a four-floor dive into the snow, from the window in my bedroom."

"Knowing that the same people that drove him to madness would come after me if I were to return to the scene, I escaped into the cold streets of Gluttony. Tai's not the name I'm born with, but rather a name I use to lie low. I've forgotten my real name already, so Tai may as well as be it."

 

"I had this chance encounter with a homeless man named Todd. He was willing to teach me, a thirteen-year-old boy, how to live on the streets, and he taught me how to get a part-time job so I wouldn't have to beg for money. It was nice... Working and using the money to reward myself. Todd let me share his shelter while I worked part-time in a small, local restaurant."

 

"I've always loved mechs, and I've done some research on the meta, so I figured that I'd have some chance in the scene. So, I saved up money and got myself a mech, largely based on my old doodles. I entered the local scene, with the name Supernova. The build I had in mind was apparently already somewhat outdated already. That one year changed the scene so much... But it didn't really affect me. I was quite successful, and my methods were scarring - You've seen it with Temperance."

 

"Anyway, with the prize money, I didn't have to live in a shelter anymore. I gave a portion of my money as thanks to Todd, and bought an apartment for myself. Knowing him, though, he's probably given it all to the other homeless people to put them back on the track."

 

"I lived and fought alone after that, but for some reasons it didn't really affect me much. My life was filled with all the adrenaline from the thrill of the fight. My prize money was mostly used on fine dining, as food is the only thing that grants instant gratification. I wanted more, though, and then this tournament happened. How naive I was... Godhood was the bait, and I took it."

 

"You know what happened next."

 

 

He started to feel a bit drowsy. "You... don't have much time left here, do you?"

 

"You're trapped in the Sphere, and now, it looks like it's trying to pull you back in. The emptiness you've inherited..."

 

...

 

"Had we met on different terms... No, what am I saying? That wouldn't be possible."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

When the stranger seemed like they were going to fall over again, Grima instinctively stepped forward, hand coming out to catch them, only to stop herself when they managed to correct themselves, taking a step back at the sight, bringing a hand to the back of her head. This was a fairly awkward situation they found themselves in now. But, thankfully, with a single glance back at the Audience Chamber… The one she had been instructed to go to, to meet with the competitors. Granted, the only one she actually knew was the so-called “Hellfire Knight”, but while she could be staring at them right now, she should always be somewhat cautious,

 

“So, I take it you’re one of the competitors for that tournament that went on a while ago?” Grima asked, looking back at the stranger as she did so.
 

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki nodded, adding a slightly belated "Yes" when she realized the gesture wasn't particularly discernible through her cloak. "I am the Hellfire Knight." It felt odd to just introduce herself as such outside the context of the tournaments and the audiences before them. It was doubly odd to think about the tournament being over. . . just, over. No victor, just a crushing defeat by Lord as if to drive in how unworthy of the title she actually was. There was no real way for it to continue, what with only three competitors even showing up to the audience and Aries's betrayal. 

 

Of course, Grima wasn't clued into any of these thoughts, simply left hanging awkwardly as Hiroki lost herself in thought.

[Shamitako]

Seeker

 

Seeker shook her head, "Aries shouldn't be aware of your abilities at all, if he even knows you exist at all. It would be a different story if you'd participated in the Favor-gathering competition before the tournament, but since you didn't, you should just be one more in a sea of 'good fighters from other lands' to him." She looked to Blink for permission before continuing, "The bigger problem is Blink, he knows exactly what she does and while he can't stop her himself, we expect him to take precautions against each of us. It's possible that you won't even make it to Aries in the first place. We won't be able to know who he's prepared for until we reach the battlefield, so we can't plan around it easily."

"It won't be a problem though." Faerie said confidently, "Mel won't let anything stop her, she'll just have to think a little outside the box."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

With that, Grima let out a sigh of relief, "Phew, that makes my job a lot easier" she stated, bringing her hand back down, "Name's Grima, or Valkyrie, when I was a fighter. Whichever you want to call me. I was sent here to help bolster your strength for... Well, obvious reasons" she continued. Hopefully Hellfire Knight didn't recognize the name "Valkyrie", at least in terms of who piloted it and why they went out for a time. She did notice how they greeted her with their title, rather than their name, but it was obvious they were hiding that part.

 

But, either way, Grima gave the 'Hellfire Knight' a small smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you though, despite the circumstances."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Nastasia

Nastasia shot a glance over to the woman that had brought her there. Curious that what was clearly a servant should speak in such a conversation, but she supposed this is just what Envy was like. Besides, she did actually like when servants would speak their mind rather than wait for permission. She'd never admit that publicly though. "Ohoho!~ Quite confident l see. Good good, l like that." however she quickly turned to her important conversation, the ones that had asked for her help... or so she presumed.

"l see, so our trump card is an unknown factor but our delivery system is not. That could prove quite the problem, after all what good is an ace in hole if you can never reach the hole?" she mused knowing no answer was to be brought forth that was different from what Faerie has said. After all, they couldn't know what Aries was planning. "l can try to provide firing support, but Archangel's effective range is only medium to short range engagements. l also can't use The Shroud while being carried it'd probably vaporize whatever was attached to Archangel. So, l can't provide full fire support like usual."

Nastasia seemed to be finished, before she perked up a second. The clear sign she'd forgot to ask something. "Oh, and Madame Argyle. One more thing... will Lain be present for this battle, or has he asked me to do something in his stead once more?" Nastasia's expression was quite the conundrum after this question. Hard to discern why she was asking, or why this mattered just from looking at her. She didn't seem angry when asking it.

[Chevaleresse]

Bolster her strength? "I'm strong enough." She didn't need anyone to help her. Opponents, maybe, to build up even more Favor and try to challenge a god again. And obvious reasons. . . what, her loss against Lord? She was better, already better, cutting the fat out of her build, and unless this Valkyrie was some kind of freak, she wasn't going to be strong enough to challenge Hiroki realistically. Unless she meant the tournament effectively coming to an end, but how could she know that? It's not as if it was common knowledge, given that it had just happened. "Who sent you?"

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

"Queen sent me" Grima replied with a shrug, "I don't doubt that you're strong already. I did see your match before. It's just that the others might not be the same story... I think" she continued. Personally, she didn't really know why she was asked to do this, considering she hadn't done any fighting for a very long time. But, she was, and she had to live with that fact. There wasn't really much she could do about it other than do her job.

 

With that in mind, Grima tilted herself to look past the Hellfire Knight, "Speaking of which, where are the other competitors?"

[Chevaleresse]

"I do not know." Hiroki shook her head, the motion muffled but still discernible through her cowl. "Slumbering Giant is with Aries. The rest. . ." Where had they gone? Given up? Three had shown up to the audience chamber, and one had betrayed them; she hadn't fought with Strider yet, but that wasn't liable to happen at this point anyway. She hadn't watched where the other participant had gone. It was hard to tell, but Grima got the feeling that the individual before her was looking at her fully once again. Queen sent her? She doubted Queen had much in the way of ill will. . . but what was this Valkyrie supposed to do? Fight her, she supposed, but unless Grima was much stronger than Hiroki expected, it wouldn't do much for her growth. "Where is Queen now? There is something he should hear."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Grima

 

In response, Grima nodded, "I see... Last time I saw Queen was at his mansion, back in the Plane of Greed" she stated, before thinking to herself, "Hm... I think he might still be there, so we can try and get a train back there. It's not a guarantee though. Alternatively, I could try to contact him, but that might be easier said than done" she added, then shrugged, "Either way, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to get a message to him."

 

In all honesty, Grima was interested in knowing what the Hellfire Knight had to say to Queen, but it was highly doubtful that they would simply state it in the middle of a public area. Much better to get behind some walls and share it.

[Shamitako]

Aries

 

Aries fell back into his seat, sighing in relief. He wasn't exactly a nervous person, but he wasn't immune to butterflies. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Declaring war, in front of Mommo no less, gave him a lot of butterflies. "Thank you." He told Mommo, eyes still closed, "I don't know what more to say, just, thank you." His eyes opened and he looked at her, not speaking, just staring. All was silent.

 

"Jiiiiiiiiiii..." Ram, who was hanging around Aries's neck as a pendant, interrupted the silence, snapping Aries back to his senses.

Said snapping came quite violently, as Aries visibly jumped in surprise. "Gah, Ram, what was that for?" He asked incredulously.

"You were staring, thought I'd save you from yourself again."

Aries blushed furiously, much like he had when he and Mommo had first met. "I was just..." He stopped. Why not just tell the truth? He turned to Mommo and addressed her directly, "I was just admiring how pretty you are and thinking about how much harder this would be if you'd sided against me." He took another deep breath, the butterflies growing ever more intense. "We don't know each other well enough for me to say that I love you, but if we make it through this, I'd like to get to know you well enough that I can."

Ram was uncharacteristically silent, he seemed just as stunned as Aries was that Aries had actually said that.

 

Cardinal

 

"You don't have much time either." Cardinal took hold of Tai's hand with her own, both had turned a bluish shade some time before, "But I think my time is already up. It's as you say, it won't let me leave. But that won't matter anymore. I'm pretty sure that if I force myself to stay, it will rip me apart." Cardinal was fine with that, she wasn't alone anymore. Her friends would miss her, but she hoped they would understand her gratitude when she was gone.

 

Cardinal let go of Tai's hand, her form was flickering and distorting constantly now. "I'm sorry you've had such a harsh life, really I am." She said, "And I'm sorry for ruining your chance at overcoming it. Regardless of whether my life may have been 'worse' by some metric, it doesn't justify what I've done to you." Now even her voice was distorted, her words becoming harder and harder to understand.

 

Arcturus

 

The armored man, who had been standing by the entrance to Aries's audience chambers the entire time since before Hiroki and Morgan entered, cleared his throat to draw the attention of the three young women standing outside. "Whatever you're going to do, you should go." He told them, "Wrath is no longer friendly to you." Something about him seemed to radiate power, his aura nearly as intimidating as Lord's. Whoever he was, drawing his ire was clearly a bad decision.