Enemy at the Gates

Enemy at the Gates
Date of Scene:	13 October 2012
Location:	Rabanastre - Gates
Synopsis:	In the wake of the chaotic fusion of worlds, bandits roved the sands of the Eastern Continent, but rumors now abound that these bands are disappearing without a trace, despite there being no evidence of battles between them. Those waiting in line to enter Rabanastre hear the eerie creak of the gates malfunctioning, and a dark wind begins to blow, revealing the sinister truth to these tales...
Cast of Characters:	Ivo Galvan, Lily, Skoll Ulfang, Mercade Alexander, Avira, Sora

---

Ivo Galvan has posed:
The gates of Rabanastre are open but unwelcoming. Beyond those massive doors can be seen the edge of a lively marketplace, beckoning to travelers weary from their desert travails, yet the walls are manned with forbidding knights, and before the gate extends a long line of diverse people and their pack animals, each one being thoroughly inspected by the guards. Progress is slow, and after such a harrowing journey, many are in poor spirits, irritated by this further delay and yearning for fresh water and a little shade.

Nevertheless, gossip and chatter sprout up, some about the situation of the Archadian Empire after the fusion of worlds, some about the nascent political relations between Rabanastre and Fluorgis, some about the recent winner of Miss Costa Del Sol, and more than a few about a most mysterious phenomenon: the recent vanishing of bandits from the surrounding desert. Caravans have had to contend with monsters and strange creatures of darkness, but greedy human adversaries have been conspicuously absent in recent weeks.

Not that anyone's complaining.

Under usual circumstances, Ivo Galvan would be decidedly enjoying this new company after their difficult adventure, and grateful for rest at this half-way point to Fluorgis. But he looks oddly fatigued, his expression dull and deadpan.

"...I couldn't get rid of her..."

He mumbles something unintelligible to himself, and then glances sidelong at Avira, their helpful huntress, with a long-suffering expression drier than the sands.

"...all this for a drink...?"

Mumble mumble.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade is s a wanderer.
Mercade is a detective.
Mercade is a sneaky bastard.

But mostly, Mercade is broke and hungry. Rabanastre (and anywhere else in the general area) doesn't take XanatosCard (Don't leave Manhattan without it! In fact, he might not leave Manhattan period after some more of this doodoo) however, and Will stole his wallet again (probably to go buy ramen), so he looked up the local job board for something easy to get some cash to buy some food.

And that's why he's here. In the hot desert sun, Mercade wipes his brow, frowning. "I'm going to get my hat back from that conniving wench eventually." Mercade mutters, leaning against the practically stationary caravan. "I see why you're so hungry all the time, Avira, if you have to put up with this kind of thing." He grins to Ivo. "Chin up, man. We'll get inside eventually."

Lily has posed:
The burning sands are pretty inhospitable, but this hasn't bothered Lily all that much. She's been hanging around happily with Ivo. "Nnnh.." Or well they weren't inhospitable until recently. By now, though, it's gotten a bit dry even for her. "Sorry! Making more water with magic... I don't think I can do it." She's been refilling the water supplies for half of the trip, until inexplicably feeling too drained to cast water-natured spells.

Possibly because the desert itself offers nothing to really work with for such magic. But who knows?

Either way, she's also sweating a bit, but her white robes do a marvelous job of keeping the sun at bay, so less than most.

Avira has posed:
"Ugggh what a pain. I hate it when the line is this long." Avira murmurs to herself, pulling her set of goggles on the top of her head down so they instead dangle loosely around her neck. Sweat trickles down her forehead and neck as she stands out in the hot desert sun, awaiting their turn in the line to get inside. Her ears are turned outward, catching snatches of gossip here and there, though the matter of vanishing bandits does really get her attention. Maybe there was a clan out there getting /really/ aggressive in their anti-bandit efforts?

Some dejected sounding murmuring rumbles forth from her ~fantastic companion~ in her trek across the desert from Costa Del Sol. Where Ivo has been miserable the whole trip, Avira has been exceptionally cheerful-at least up until the point of the long line-and especially personable to the young Lily. Her irritation quickly vanishes, leaving everyone to wonder just how much of it was an act or how much could be accounted towards strange swings in mood. "I'm sorry, what was that, Ivo?" she asks patiently, turning to face him with wide, almost innocent-looking, brown eyes.

"I couldn't quite hear you. Was it a 'thank you for being my guide, Avira'? Because it's alright, that can wait until we're actually inside the city." She smiles.

The smile doesn't fade, the very thought of being so HELPFUL to Ivo is enough to counteract the grumpiness of waiting. "Oh yeah, this heat's normal. That and the stuff I do with the clan is pretty physical, so I burn a lot of energy. I'm pretty sure I lost ten pounds in the past three weeks just from that."

Lily mentions making more water for the group and Avira looks a little surprised. Maybe she's managed to miss most of that magic. Cupping her hands together, she murmurs something softly and blue light gathers in her palms. A brief flash follows and in Avira's hands remains an ice crystal about the size of a baseball. She holds it out and, given the sun, it already begins to melt. "I don't really do water but....well technically it is water..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Looks like she's got you over the barrel, figuratively." MErcade says, before looking over at the caravan. "Unless you want her to put you over one literally. I think she could probabbly break most of us in half right now, so ler's not taunt the happy fun Avira."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"She doesn't seem that bad." Skoll is wandering next to Ivo. He'd managed to show up for just a little bit between his time 'away' from the HQ, and was dragged into this little outing. As usual, in these desert areas, he's decided to toss the shirt and even has forgone his jacket. Leather and heat don't mix well, if you are trying to stay reasonably cool. He ends up moving a bit away from Ivo as Avira decides to comment on the young man's mumbling statement.

Skoll then glances around, making sure nobody is looking, and quickly grabs at a small flask at his side and takes a nice swig of water. After all, he's probably the one with the largest amount of reserves of them.

Sora has posed:

Somewhere in the approach to the city, there's a young man walking. He's being quiet, the heat bearing down on him and a large hood is worn to keep him cool. There are few hints to the boy's identity, but there is one. Just one. A pair of giant yellow boots peek down from below the clothes that offer much needed shade.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo rouses slightly when Lily makes her adorable little sound of frustration, smiling despite his uncharacteristic weariness and patting the girl on the shoulder. "You've done a great job, Lily," the knight-errant says. "No one could ask for more." With even the petite girl doing her best, he doesn't have much excuse to look down-and-out. Ironically, though, the desert journey itself doesn't have a lot to do with it. Frankly, he found the bleakness possessed of an arresting beauty, and the creatures which populate it are preposterously diverse. What's gotten him fatigued is--

"How can I contain my gratitude?" he replies to Avira charmingly, betraying only the faintest twitch of an eyebrow above his brilliant smile. "You've been so generous, I surely could not thank you enough." This woman is inhumanly persistent. "A mere drink now seems unworthy of your service. Perhaps we should set that promise aside under we think of more suitable recompense." She's like a limpet. A desert limpet. Attached to his wallet!!

But he relaxes slightly when Mercade offers him some encouragement. "Oh, you caught me," he responds, grinning at the other man despite his exhaustion. "How unbecoming. But thanks. A little respite and I'll be fine." A little respite from this limpet-woman.

Don't you side with her, dog-man! "You're not the one who allegedly owes her money," he says out of the corner of his mouth to Skoll, glancing over with eyebrows raised. "If you-- hey! Is that wa--"

The ground shakes.

Wagons creak and pack animals cry out as the sands beneath begin to shift, and a disturbing splintering sound emerges from the gates, the walls themselves trembling. At first, there is paralysis, but as the tremors intensify rather than fading, confusion and panic begin to ensue, with those closest to the gates attempting to rush into town and occupying knights moving to stop them. Ivo grits his teeth and reaches out to grip Lily's shoulder, stabilizing her as sound roars all around. 'Let us in!' 'What's happening!?' 'Close the gates!' 'Close them!? Are you going to abandon us out here!?' Shouts and scrambling. And then, a cry that pierces the tumult.

'The gates won't close!'

Just then, at the peak of a closeby dune overlooking the gates, darkness begins to boil forth from the sands, taking a shape that, though still amorphous, begins to grow, and grow...

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I do not." Skoll answers in a frustrated tone. "She owes me for being her tutor. If anything, she owes /me/ money." The wolfman then suddenly moves his arms out wide, trying to keep his balance, as the ground begins to shake. His ears flatten closer to his head and his gaze makes for their surroundings. He looks left and right, but sees nothing.

All he sees is people trying to close the gates, and failing. And then finally, he spots it. The amorphous body that is growing. Skoll is quick to be his knightly self, and actually moves in front of the group. One must note of course, that Skoll is not exactly well armored - but he's still showing that wolven pride and desire to protect those he considers his allies.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade jogs ahead, casually leaning back on his heels as he speaks to Ico, his back to the gate. "Paying her in pizza always worked for me. I don't see why you have so much trouble with..." Mercade shudders, stumbling as the ground shakes. "Whoa! That was helluva unusual sit...u...a.." He pauses. "Why is everyone staring?"

And then he slowly turns, looking at the gates.
And then the Darkness.
And then the gates.
And then the Darkness.

"Well, crap." He looks at Avira. "LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT SOME HAZARD PAY and we need to save the city from being overrun by horrible darkness SO LET'S GET MOVING!" He charges forward, rushing across the dunes as he pulls some pistols from concealed holsters.

Lily has posed:
Completely unknowing of what money is, Lily's not really sure what Ivo's all hacked up over. The girl gives him a confused look, but eyes Avira almost jealously at the display of ice magic.

But then. Darkness.

"Oooooooooooooooooh!" Don't be fooled by the letters. Lily trembles and backs AWAY from the glowing darkness, hands scrabbling around and waving about wildly. "No no no no no no! Not more of those things--hyeik!"

WHUMPF! ... that's her, toppling over onto her tush while windmill-arming. She gets to her feet in a hurry though, and DIVES behind Ivo, who she seems to be using as cover while looking out from behind his back....

Sora has posed:

It's though the hooded fellow with the giant boots anticipated the arrival of the Darkness, or at least, is used enough to that kind of thing not to be surprised. His right hand reaches out, and a keyblade materializes. His gaze goes towards the Darkness, and though wordlessly acting, he doesn't immediately move to engage.

He's checking out who else is gonna be fighting this thing, and it seems he's noticed a few people. Carefully, he takes to his position, more than willing to let others move in front of him as he things. This mysterious keyblade wielder doesn't even notice he's being all mysterious.

It's just so hot out here, don't you know?

Avira has posed:
"Oh no no ~no~" Avira lifts her free hand and waggles a finger at Ivo. "I could not possibly dream of imposing even more of a reward on you. A promise is a promise, after all, and I will accept that drink, nothing more, nothing less." Seems she's oddly hung up on this drink thing.

When Mercade pays her that particular compliment, she actually seems struck completely off guard, right up to including that 'deer in the headlights' sort of look. Nervous laughter follows. "I could never. Not to friends." Either Mercade was giving Ivo a hand there or he really had no idea of the "extent" of her skills. With luck, maybe neither would have to know.

The ground shakes and Avira drops her ice crystal, which disappears in the shifting sands. Nope. No luck today at all.

Avira says a bad word and quickly backs away from what was the line at a ninety degree angle, expecting the ensuing panicked stampede. "C'mon, quick, they're going nuts!" she motions to the others, encouraging them to get out of the way before they get trampled in the chaos.

She looks out towards the dune and spots the darkness squirming and massing there. Once again, there's that deer in the headlights look that only seems to end when Mercade starts shouting and runs off. "Uhhh THAT'S RIGHT! Skoll, let's go, I know you can fight too!" Out comes Avira's weapon.

For the unitiated, imagine for a moment a human spinal column, from tip to tailbone with the pelvic bone still attached. Now straighten it completely and join the tip of the tailbone to the far end of the pelvic bone. Add a spire on the other end and sharpen each of the three ridges from each vertebrae into downward curving points. Then coat the whole thing in metal. This is what Avira pulls out of the strangely-shaped sheath on her back.

"Maybe this is what's been getting those bandits." she realizes as she quickly catches up with Mercade.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo is staring intensely up at the roiling darkness atop the dune, his brow furrowed in deep thought as Lily scrambles behind him. Skoll moves protectively in front of them and Mercade charges boldly, but Ivo stands where he is for the moment, processing. At last, he reaches behind him to squeeze Lily's shoulder tightly. "Lily," he says, cutting through the chaos of the crowd, "there's something I have to do. Be brave. You can do this." He then turns to her, sand whipping around them, and smiles. "Trust me." The moment lingers only briefly, before he spins to the wolven. "Skoll, I'm going to attend to the gate! I'm counting on you to protect Lily!" The knight-errant, though often playful, is all business now, and in the seriousness of his gaze he looks at Ulfang as one knight to another.

Jokes about balls and bones aside, he can rely on this guy.

Avira's weapon is certainly striking, but Ivo, even as he turns away, can help but have his eye drawn to that seemingly fearless stranger's weapon, which by all appearances materializes out of thin air. "A... key...?" Why does that sound somehow familiar? Wasn't someone telling him about something like that? Ivo files it away for now, as there's simply no time, and dashes toward the gates, running in the opposite direction as his allies. Weaving through terrified merchants and animals, he makes his way to where unsympathetic knights are struggling, and failing, to hold off the horde. 'Get out of the way!' the knight captain shouts. 'If you're all trying to get through, we can't fix the gate! The city will be in danger!' But Ivo interrupts him, introducing himself as an engineer, and in their desperation the Archadians allow him to begin seeing to the gate, which after cracking in the tremors has begun to collapse under its own misdirected pressure.

The workings of the gate of Rabanastre and what will be needed to both safeguard Rabanastre and mollify the maddened masses are all very interesting, of course, but perhaps we can leave that aside and focus on a matter that our heroes will find slightly more /pressing/--

The beast which emerges is biblical in proportions. Like a black bull, its four mighty legs like tree trunks, it rears from the sands roaring, its eyes hypnotic yellow spirals. Red horns protrude from its head and two massive tusks jut from about its jaw. Its body is living terrain: upon its dark hide thrive mosses and plants fed off the aquafiers far below the sands. Most shocking of all, however, is the monster's rider, whose torso and separate head emerges from the middle of the main body like some misshapen centaur. Masks of abstractly-rendered animals shift across its upper face, and its separate set of arms grasp at the air, conjuring blossoms from the verdant body below and fiery pillars to erupt from the dune about it. It overflows with power, and with every gesture of its strange hands and every paw of the earth with its lower hooves, the amorphous darkness takes small separate shapes.

Below, the darkness takes the form of ragged swordsmen, their bodies shadow and eyes mere points of light, wielding scimitars and clad in ragged robes. Surely, Avira is correct in her assessment -- these are bandits, their hearts long since devoured by darkness and drawn to this monstrosity like moths to a flame. Above, the darkness takes the form of darting orbs with beady eyes, their bodies resembling little tunics, each one leaving trails of darkness in its wake. Together they all form a small army, centered around this beast larger than a battering ram, prepared to lay siege to the city.

The Groundshaker steps forward, and the earth quakes beneath.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll nods his head quickly at Ivo, "I will keep her safe." He says, moving back a little in order to get closer to the girl. He moves his hand a bit in front of her. "Stay close to me, Lily. I won't let any harm come to you." His gaze then skips to the front again, while drawing the chain that forms his belt from around his waist, and lets it clatter down to the ground. It seemed to get a bit... longer. But when his eyes finally take in the black monster that comes out from it all... Skoll swallows loudly. The werewolf looks down at his chain, then up to the beast again. "I'm going to need a bigger chain..."

Sometimes, size does matter.

Skoll decides to remain at a distance, moving back and waving his hand to get Lily to back up along with him, before he starts jerking on his chain, slowly letting it lengthen further and further, getting ready for whatever may come.

Sora has posed:

This is a sizable threat indeed, and though the mysterious stranger doesn't move closer, he does decide to attack, his key raised like a wand or staff, several blasts of fire aimed at the combination of heartless. Most of them go for the Groundshaker, though there certainly are other heartless being targeted, they're smaller targets and there's many of them, so the stranger unfortunately can't hit all of them.

He walks around, trying to avoid getting too close to the heartless, knowing they're likely to come for him anyway. He doesn't know what makes him such an appealing target, but it's like they can smell him wherever he goes. And so, he knows that avoiding the fight is not an option, not even if so many innocent people weren't at risk.

Avira has posed:
When the Heartless finally reveals itself, Avira actually hesitates for a few seconds. Just...look at that thing. This is easily the most messed-up looking Heartless Avira has witnessed thus far. Her hesitation is easily a good idea, as it summons up pillars of fire and even more Heartless. With a sinking feeling, she realizes her assumption was right. The implication is pretty awful as well-this Heartless was so powerful, it could make /people/ into Heartless.

If this thing got into Rabanastre, the city would be decimated. That is to say nothing about the veritable army of bandit heartless that it has in its employ.

Avira's quick to notice that Ivo did not join them, unaware that he's off trying to fix the gate, "Why that lazy..." furthermore, Skoll was hanging back, meaning...meaning she had to get up in this thing's face to keep it off the others. Steeling herself, she narrows her eyes.

"Give me some cover, Mercade, I'm goin' in to keep it distracted!" she shouts out before darting off at the Groundshaker.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade skids to a halt as he sees the great beast that pulls itself up out of the ground, and the massive horde of mages and bandits that come with it. "Ooooooooooooooooooooh hell."

He frowns. "Behold now the behemoth that I have made with you; he eats grass like cattle. Behold noe the strength in his loins and his power is in the navel of his belly..." He pauses, and shakes his head. "Naaaaaaah. Too pretentious. OKAY PUNKS, YOU'RE BUYING ME DINNER!" He yells.

Mercade waves to Avira. "I'LL HANDLE THE SMALL FRY, YOU GO AFTER THE BIG ONE!" Mercade leaps forward, tumbling and launching himself back and forth erratically, trying to draw the ire of the bandits. He finds a good outcropping and waves at them. "HEY! I GOT A NICE TASTY HEART RIGHT HERE FOR YA!"

Lily has posed:
Run. RUN. Run away, using the tremendous power of magic and propel yourself far away from these horrible things. That's what Lily's instincts are screaming at her even when Ivo tells her to be brave. The young woman's shaking where she stands in a combination of fear...

... and intense hatred. Her lips have peeled back in fear and disgust, her arms and legs tremble as memories assault her. Of a land without land, without light, without up or down, or even then and now. Of torment that almost seemed without being and without end at the hands of claws in the darkness.

The girl in white's teeth grind.

"not here. go away." She mumbles at the beast with incoherent fury burning in her eyes.

But she backpedals over to Skoll, almost tripping at one point on the uneven ground but manages to hop and save with a landing near the wolfman - whose animal features really don't seem to bother her one bit.

"It can't... it can't attack here. NO!"

And with that spike of will, the gem on Lily's forehead shimmers. Wind stirs the sands into a vortex around Skoll and Lily for just a moment... and when it disperses, both the Wolfman and Lily seem... well, unchanged.

On the outside, anyways.

On the inside though, Skoll will feel it. Playful winds surrounding his body and spirit, moving with his body, the endurance of the earth within.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
The mysterious stranger's bursts of fire rain down upon the giant Groundshaker and its Bandit minions, the quickly darting Wizards weaving behind the boss's massive bulk to protect themselves. Yet while Sora obliterates several of the bandit heartless, the bizarre shaman atop the huge bull reaches out its hands and emits small shields of energy which partially deflect some of the fiery darts, though some still impact against the beast's hide.

With Mercade taunting them and moving out of range, though, rather than retailiate against Sora, many of the bandits begin to pursue, clambering and leaping up after him and lashing out with swords and claws as they approach, attempting to crowd around and overwhelm the brave man.

Meanwhile, the wizard heartless which had been previously hiding behind the Groundshaker then fly forth, passing over Avira and Sora and approaching Skoll and Lily. Pulses of darkness emerge from them, raining curses down upon the two.

But it is the Groundshaker whose roars split the heavens. Rearing back slightly in irritation, it then /slams/ its hooves upon the sand toward the two heroes in range, Sora and Avira, emitting an enormous shockwave and blast of dust which threatens to launch the two of them into the air. As it does so, the shaman atop the beast, seemingly acting independently, lashes out with its arms, which stretch like putty and attempt to batter the two of them right back into the sand.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
It's about at this point that Mercade realizes the problem with hitting the taunt button.

He's not main tank. "Crap." MErcade says, looking at the small sea of HEartless Bandits. He leaps, bouncing off of the wall and rebounding over their heads, blades gashing him several times as he begins unloading a wave of bullet hell upon them, both guns blazing as he hits the sand, skitting backwards as he uses the recoil itself as a weapon. "I'm not going to give up against the likes of you!" Mercade says. "Come on! Show me what you've got!" He doesn't seem like he's planning to back down, even if he is outbumbered... uh... 'yes' to one.

Sora has posed:

The battle has started in earnest, and the mysterious stranger is thrown up and back and is now kind of sorta in midair. Let's say he's standing on some kind of ledge. Well that's just not right. He looks around the battlefield and sees other people are still mostly fine, so he'll just handle it from here. He opens up a bottle and gulps it down.

His left sleeps wipes his mouth and then he points his key at the giant heartless, considering it the biggest threat around, and saying some things from the distance, not easily overheard. This does come with some tendrils of magic shooting out, which are aiming to make life difficult for that poor, poor, rather dangerous heartless. Well, poor doesn't apply, really.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
As the wizards come, the chain of Skoll's seems to split into a second as he lays his other hand on them, and begins to 'rattle', moving around and forms a circle around Lily and Skoll. Of course, they can do nothing against magic that slows or curses, though they certainly react to them and try to 'flail' towards these magics... only to suddenly have Skoll pulling them back, and lunging both chains out towards the wizarding heartless...

The chains grab onto them and slam them to the ground, though there is no damage to be had from it. Not until the chains let go and then slam inwards towards them once more, one suddenly glowing in a mean darkness, whilst the other glows in a pale cyan shine - and come to 'scissor' against them whilst Lily supports him from behind. The young wolf then barks at Lily. "Keep up the support. We'll keep these off of our friends."

Avira has posed:
Believe Avira, Mercade, she would love to tank a whole army of Heartless bandits just for you. Only, no, not really. It's scary enough tanking the big guy here-she's not sure how she'd manage with multiple targets (later experiences will show 'not very well'). Paying attention to the Groundshaker, she sees it rear back up on its feet and immediately anticipates either a kick or a groundslam and jumps in anticipation. Thanks to her timing, she misses the shockwave completely. Thanks to her focus, she sees those long arms stretch out to punch her. Twisting, she swings her Spine out before her, smacking the arms away before they can touch her.

Landing, Avira hits the ground running, immediately aiming to flank it. She takes note of the other MYSTERIOUS PERSON that has joined her in this fight against this thing and immediately feels relief. Now the Groundshaker has multiple targets to worry about!

A brief sheen of blue light spreads across her weapon-ice magic by the look of it-and she's quick to dash in and plunge the blade into the Groundshaker's meaty flank. The blade is bitingly cold and the wound seems to spread a debilitating chill through what it touches.

With a cry of excitement, she pulls it back, then smashes her entire body weight against the bigger Heartless. Though the size difference is considerable, Avira still manages to strike back with an oddly large amount of force.

Lily has posed:
"--Wah!" Wizards of evil flying out of nowhere. Lily should've spotted them earlier... but, no matter how she'd have tried, it would've been impossible. There's simply too many presences here to keep track of all the Heartless as anything more than a seething mass of WRONG.

Consequently, when they launch spells at her, she attempts to blow them away at about the same time that Skoll launches his chains. The girl extends her hands even as the dark powers sap at her strength... and swings them both downwards in a mighty gesture. Light gleams from the crystal once more and--

The skies are filled with a powerful gust of wind. A harsh pressure SLAMS through the wizard formation, aiming to slam them to earth and hold them there.

She hurriedly nods at Skoll, momentarily mesmerized by his odd chain tricks, before picking back up the pace herself. "R-right!" Support? Well, she's not sure what she did that anyone wouldn't have done, right?

Does Skoll mean he can't do that?

But out there in the distance she sees the cloaked figure with the golden key that sparkles in her sight take a terrible blow. "Watch out!"

This time, she raises a hand into the heavens and gestures at Sora. The air around him shines and shimmers, coaelscing inwards, full of life and warmth.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
The wizards are sent crashing to the ground with the combination of Skoll's chain assault and Lily's blast of wind, which continue to hammer at them as they squirm upon the sand. Mercade's hail of bullets tear into the pursuing bandits with admirable accuracy, Heartless after Heartless exploding into nothingness, the glimmering remnants of their hearts dissipating into the blisteringly hot air. Sora's magic takes hold of the Groundshaker, causing the plants on its back to overgrow, beginning to entangle the lower beast's legs and the upper shaman's arms. Yet the strange pilot of this abomination shakes off the boy's power long enough to lash out at him with a long black arm, smashing him off the ledge and back down to the earth.

Avira's acrobatics are quite the display and carry her to safety, but the Shaman, now freed, seems to detect the magic emanating from her glowing sword and devises a countermeasure. Just as the Spine is about to strike against the Groundshaker's flank, its rider gestures downward and summons a small shield of energy, reinforcing the beast's already thick hide, causing her blade to glance away. The massive creature itself doesn't seem to notice.

In fact, the Groundshaker itself is much more concerned with lumbering closer to the gates, where presumably Ivo struggles with the repairs and the knights strive to keep the panic under control. As the creature lurches onward, the Shaman continues to gesture, and at once the sun's glare seems to brighten, the whole area heating up yet more -- who knew it were possible! Whereupon fire begins to rain from the eye, orbs which explode on contact with the ground or any unfortunate targets, aimed generally at the three closest interlopers.

The bandits are continuing to pursue Mercade as well, though there are decidedly fewer of them. You may not have thought that Heartless could be intimidated away from their hunger, but perhaps these ones retain some of their bandit's sensibilities vis-a-vis cowardice and bullying. Only a few of them continue to lunge at him with swords and claws, while others hesitate and consider regrouping.

Meanwhile, the wizards that Skoll and Lily forced to the ground begin to fight back. Rather than rising to the sky again, they begin to glow and then unleash with bursts of force and runes of flame, attempting to force the two apart and isolate them.

Avira has posed:
The Spine bounces off the creature. Annoyed, she tries again at least two more times and fails to inflict any damage whatsoever. Her spirits fall and-oh man, she /really/ hopes nobody was watching when that happened. Pathetic! More importantly, she's not really doing much to stop its approach. "Ffffff-"

Dropping that particular avenue of attack, she runs ahead of it, intersecting exactly with a descending fireball that engulfs her completely. Though she would rather put on a stoic and brave face, "ARRRRRGH!" Desert fashion meant a lot of exposed skin...which also meant a lot of burned skin.

Pushing ahead, she's quick to interpose herself between the gates and the lumbering Groundshaker. Her teeth grit and she tries to stare the creature down, even though her heart is beating wildly against her chest. "YOU WANNA GET INTO THE CITY, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH MEEEEE!" at least she had the willpower to stand up to it...whether or not this would just end horribly with the Heartless swatting her aside, remained to be seen, but as she braces herself, she plans to make it not easy for it.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade isn't a noble warrior or a wise magician. He's just this guy, you know? But he does have a few things on his side. His guns, his friends, his heart, and perhaps most importantly...

His feet. Mercade launches himself back and forth, scrambling through the Heartless in a manner that would probably be comical if it wasn't DEADLY MORTAL COMBAT. He leaps backwards, the bombardment barely missing him. He takes advantage of the fact that he is now falling to burst from the middle of the bandits, unleashing a few quick shots at them and the Earthshaker on his way!

Sora has posed:

The fight might only just be getting started to some, but the mysterious stranger doesn't seem keen on making it last. Even as those searing flames wash down on him, he just marches on. He defends himself from some of the fire, but doesn't let it stop him, allowing it to hit him as he marches at a rapid pace.

And then, when he gets close enough to strike, that key lashes out. It lashes out like there's no tomorrow, strike after strike after strike, trying to kick the beast up into the air and then smash it right back down to the ground, whereafter more violent assaults are made. This mysterious stranger is not beating about the bush. It's beating the bush, and the beast on whose back it sits.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Correct, Skoll isn't good at 'supporting' people. He's a warrior. A knight. A fighter. His abilities are made to 'hurt'! Instead, he keeps his concentration on the battle at hand, while the girl behind him flings her healing magic at the 'mysterious stranger' in the distance. His eyes then widen as he notices that the heartless are preparing for something far better. "Look out, Lily." Skoll comment, quickly turning to face her and letting the chains quickly form a circle around them - winding around a few times to form a sorts of protective bubble!

Yet the chains do little to stop the incoming attack. The blast breaks through the chains and rattles them, bringing heavy 'burns' of magic down upon Skoll - who keeps looming over Lily, protecting her whole. When the attacks finally halt... the wolfman is sizzling, and clearly biting down with his jaw - but not showing as much pain as one might expect. Nor does his back look as damaged as it should.

The wolf's eyes then seem to 'flash' for a moment. "Keep the attack up Lily, I'll be fine." He hisses, as suddenly the chains seem to come alive. He throws his hands forwards, still holding the metalic constructs, and has them 'cross' and 'zig-zag' through the area for a moment... before they suddenly dig into the ground! The ground momentarily rumbles...

Then suddenly, like massive chainswords, gigantic sharp chains spike up from the area, slicing up at the Wizard Heartless, trying to carve them to bits and pieces! This is not the kind of attack you'd expect from the good-guys. Especially not with how the chains seem to have darkened in color!

Lily has posed:
Instead of be isolated, Lily instead runs BEHIND Skoll in a squawking, squeaking panic, momentarily forgetting that she could probably counter magic of that sort with her own - coincidentally, about the same time his chains move to protect her. "S-Skoll!"

The girl in white's whole body shudders fearfully at the sight of him being immersed in mystical torment. "If... if you're sure! Okay!"

She hops back out into view again to adjust her aim.

Cerulean light flickers around the girl's body from the gem in her forehead, containing a core of brilliant and purest white. It flashes like plasma as she raises her arms high...

Bolts of that power flash up into the heavens, rapid piles of them... and then they come back down like machine gun fire upon the Wizard horde, exploding like grenades and sending sizzles of the flickering, strange power everywhere.

DESTRUCTION RAINS FROM THE HEAVENS!

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Several of the bandits are pulverized by Mercade's additional shots -- though one of the Shaman's stray fireballs ends up crashing into him for his troubles -- but it is Skoll's terrifying display of dark power which annihilates the most adversaries this round, the vast majority of the curse-casting Wizards consumed by his chains and popping like bubbles. What most catches the eye of the onlooking crowd, stirred from their fear and confusion by the sight of this epic battle being waged against the foes of Rabanastre, is the mysterious keyblade-wielder's tremendous combination attack. Launching the Groundshaker into the air, as though its massive bulk were weightless, the Keyblade slams against it again and again, the darkness shuddering back as though recoiling from his weapon's touch. At last the Groundshaker crashes back to earth again, briefly on its side, the giant creature struggling and finally righting itself.

Though one can get a glimpse, in that moment, that the beast's underbelly seems unarmored and vulnerable. Perhaps if it were only lifted off the ground again...?

The Wizards at last stir from their beating, and begin to pulse with a dangerous dark energy. With Skoll wounded from his heroic defense of the girl, they begin to encircle him dangerously, threatening to unleash a powerful assault-- until Lily's attack rains from above in rapid-fire, reducing them to dust and neutralizing the magical threat. Seeing this, the Bandits, having halted in their pursuit of Mercade, turn instead to charge toward Team Spice and Wolf, lurching toward the protective Skoll in a desperate attempt to finish him off, all of those who remain charging in with claws and swords, a veritable desert whirlwind of attacks. Can the brave wolven endure!?

Amidst all this, the Groundshaker briefly pauses in its advance, its great swirling eyes staring down at a defiant Avira, glaring up at it as she brims with spirit. The Shaman appears dazed by Sora's previous assault, and so it is the Shaker which seems in charge, its big head tilting, snuffling once, and hesitating.

Then it roars right in her face.

"GWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAARGH!!"

And all at once the enormous beast begins to charge forward, threatening to trample everyone around it underfoot as it accelerates toward the gate, sending all the onlookers into a panic once again!

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade finds that he is free of the bandits chasing him thanks to his clever strategems! "Ah ha!" Mercade says, looking back at them as they fall back in confusion. "I'm getting away! I'm getting away! I'm..."

GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARGH

"Totally screwed!" Mercade says, not even needing to look to know the beast is right in front of him. He looks anyway, and the shadow falls over him. "Mommy." Mercade says, quietly to himself before

SPLAT.

Sora has posed:

The fight is suddenly not looking good, and the keyblade bearer is trampled by the beast, yet he stands, and he turns around to see if there are any others in trouble right now. And lo and behold, there appear to be. Rather than settle for healing just one person, or healing himself and making the remainder of the people fend for themselves, he juggles drinks, first downing one and then the other.

With that taken care off, he sends waves of magic towards both Avira and Mercade, hoping to get Mercade back up and both in fighting condition, the magic is powerful of course, and the keyblade bearer isn't looking good. You can tell by the way his feet look flatter.

Avira has posed:
Avira glares up at it, her jaw set, teeth bared at the considerably larger Heartless.

Then it roars in her face. Her hair blows back behind her from the sheer intensity of the roar and stays there, likely propped up by Heartless drool. "...eep."

To her credit, she doesn't run away. The Heartless smashes itself into her, but rather than getting knocked down and being trampled underfoot, she is lifted up off of her feet and winds up grabbing onto the rampaging Groundshaker's face. Now she is along for the ride as it tramples through the brave heroes standing against it, all the whole yelping and scrambling to stay ahold, terrified that she would be ground to paste beneath its feet if she falls off. Scrambling, she crawls over its face and manages to pull herself up onto its back, bringing her face to face with the shaman melded to its back.

A blast of magic hits her, source she cannot readily identify amongst this chaos, and the nasty burns upon her skin immediately heal up. Emboldened by this and, frankly, half terrified, she takes action. One hand remains firmly gripped upon the groundshaker to steady herself.

The other channels ice magic through the Spine, making it shine brightly with the same chill it had earlier. With vigor, she stabs her weapon repeatedly into the Shaman's face.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
As the Bandits come rushing at Skoll, The wolf squints his eyes. "You are not touching her!" He calls out like the noble wolf he is, snarling at then and withdrawing the chains from the sand, and ends up bringing them up in such a way that the Bandits' swords remain stuck on his chain without touching him, and then are flung back after purple electricity flares across their bodies - done by the dark energies on the chains.

Skoll remains standing before Lily, mightily, refusing to budge from his protective position, and then finally brings the chains back to those bandits. "BEGONE!" The chain makes to wrap up around the creatures, trying to stop their movements and further harming them in the purple lightning.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade is sitting in a sandy crater, crunched up pretty good and probably staring at a Continue screen glumly, and then... Magical heal sparkles! Mercade twitches, and sits up. "I'm not dead... yet?" He announces... actually sounding surprised this time. "Wow, that was crazy." He glares at the beast, and pulls himself to his feet as he stalks towards the massive creature. "Okay, you son of a <QUACK>." He opns up his jacket, and pulls out a Remington pump-action shotgun. He racks the slide menacingly. "Tonight I'm having STEAK." Never mind it's some kind of shadow-plant thing. Mercade charges at it, leaping up to grapple onto the Groundshaker, using its momentum and his to launch himself forward and spinning, unleashing a series of explosive blasts of hot bullets of shotgun to die!

Lily has posed:
Yet again Skoll protects Lily. She whimpers surprisedly, manuevering to stay behind the protective wolfman after letting loose a victory cry at seeing the work of her magic. DOWN WITH THE HEARTLESS DARNIT!

Well, more or less.

But with Skoll protecting her, she feels more at ease unleashing everything she's got on these creatures. "Don't you touch him!" Earlier, when she'd called upon water, there had been none. But this time... this time the air WARPS, a vast quantity of water appearing as a wave over the ground and CRASHING for the bandits to soak the land and turn sand rapidly into mud.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
You can forgive the Groundshaker for thinking that Mercade was dead.

When Avira is smashed around by the onrushing beast and ends up clinging to the creature's back, she finds herself face to face with the spellcasting shaman, who flails out desperately in a futile effort to protect itself from her repeated grim, icy slashes, one of them splintering its mask, causing magical power to dissipate all around it, some of the plants atop the Shaker's back withering in the desert heat. The beast stumbles in its advance, causing a collective sigh of relief to echo all around Rabanastre's gates. Our heroine!

This moment of opportunity is precisely the opening that was needed. Healed by Sora's magic, Mercade lunges to the attack, his barrage of gunfire launching the staggered beast directly into the air, causing it to howl in dismay as its vulnerable belly is exposed to the full assault, splashes of darkness bursting from it as though it were punctured and leaking, framed against the unrelenting desert sky as it soars against its will.

Meanwhile, Skoll appears unbreakable, casting aside the Bandits' assault and protecting Lily, sending both himself and the Bandits into the air with his electrified chain strikes, capturing several of them and shocking them until they burst. Lily's aqueous assault hammers at several more, causing the surrounding Bandits to swivel their beady eyes toward her.

"GWOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHH--!"

But not all biblical beasts can fly forever.

Boooooooooooooom!!!

The Groundshaker at last crashes to the ground and, true to its name, sends to ground to shaking, another massive shockwave threatening to blast the surrounding heroes back into the sky. Sora is safely out of range, but Avira and Mercade are not so lucky. Precisely then does the Shaman, shaking off Avira's fierce strikes, raise its hands and call lightning from the sky, striking at all who are unfortunate enough to have been in its vicinity. And unfortunately, the chain-clad Skoll seems to draw some of the thunderous assault to him as well.

With lightning thus striking down at him, some of the remaining Bandits are able to fall to the ground. Rather than pursue the mysterious Sora, however, Lily's magical attack has drawn their ire. Five or six Heartless charge directly toward her, slashing with scimitars. Can no one save her now!?

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll remains standing before Lily and stabs his both chains into the ground, which then come out again as if they were alive, ranging up into the air like mighty lightningrod. It takes the lightning thrown at him, while also creating a literal lightningfence before him, stopping the Bandit heartless from approaching Lily. He remains standing there, even as the lightning hits himself.

His body starts fizzling, but he continues to prevent the bandits from getting nearby. It's only when the lightning finally stops, and Skoll still stands there... unmoving... that he finally is unable to defend Lily anymore. "I'm going to sleep for a while..." He whispers to the little girl behind him. "Don't worry about me... save... the others." Those are his last words, before he literally falls over onto his back, chains unraveling from the sands back to his hands and belt.

Avira has posed:
Avira can feel the beast slowing beneath her and begins to realize that her bravery (or perhaps sheer stupidity) actually paid off-hooray! This was easily no time for a sigh of relief because she can see the Shaman is still very alive. Having experienced its scathing fire magic earlier, she knew that this guy was easily just as dangerous. Then something unexpected happens.

Mercade rises up and shoots it into the air. Given that Avira is still upon it, she goes flying with it and resumes clinging desperately to the beast, this time looping one arm around the Shaman's waist in order to hold on, giving the comical-looking view of her hugging the Heartless. "GAH!!!" The impact of it landing launches her up into the air above the creature, giving the Shaman the opportunity to strike her down with lighting. Those witnessing the fight will behold Avira in the air, back arched and electricity arcing over her body for several painful seconds.

As she starts to drop back down, she manages to twist herself in the air...and land upon the Shaman's head, planting both feet upon it. For a split second she precariously manages to balance herself, then one foot slips onto a shoulder. The other foot? Stomps that head.

Sora has posed:

Things are getting oooouuut of hand here, and excluding one girl who seems to have been protected by a now brutally wounded warrior, every single one of the stranger's current compatriots seems to be feeling it. He waits before he moves, knowing that the beast is the most vulnerable with his belly exposed like this.

Then when he sees, or feeels he sees, an opening, he blasts, sending several blasts of fire-like magic that is actually just pure magic. He's not playing nice but he doesn't have much to spare, so going all out offense with generic magic will have to do here.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade runs out of ammo, but that doesn't keep him from gloating that he's sent the thing flying. "YEAH! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, HUH? HUH? HUH?"

And then he notices that he's in the shadow again. "GOD DAMMIT, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?" Mercade yells.

CRASH. Mercade is crushed again.... But he pulls himself out from under the beast, twitching with rage that even the lightning bolt cannot stop. "If I had my hat this would NOT BE HAPPENING." Mercade yells, running on willpower, adrenaline, and the overwhelming desire for his hat. He discards the spent shotgun, sticking it back in his coat while he pulls out his guns again, unleashing another barrage of gunfire, two-gunning and Wooing It Up as he tumbles through the air, flipping towards the shaman!

Lily has posed:
Down goes Skoll. "Skoll... SKOLL?!" It doesn't matter what the Wolfman says. When he simply gets pummeled like a badass protective Knight using his amazing Cover skills, and goes down, the girl panics and gets down to shake the brutalized and unconscious wolfman. "... don't... don't do that.. you said you were okay!"

Well, she can tell he's not dead, after a few moments of panicked worying... but that was scary. It's still scary because he's hurt, when she should have been doing more to keep him on his feet.

She really should have.

Up she stands, stomping the sandy ground hard. Pulses of energy crackle and fizzle up around her, the mystical aura entering a crescendo. "I said it... I kept saying it... now LISTEN!"

The whole area tingles. Everyone with the slightest bit of supernatural sensitivity will feel something SHIFT in a region spreading outward from the young woman who's not quite acting her age.

GO AWAY

More a deep, powerful impression than words exactly, but energy pulses outwards from where she stands as she raises her arms again and GLARES at the nearest bandits as if they were every evil in the world that there ever was.

Cerulean light gathers from afar, pulling in towards the Bandit group. It congeals, coaelsces, and spirals inwards like the swirling cosmos, the blue corona that encapsulates the group tightening inwards further and further until sparks of a strange pulsing light flash outwards from within, tearing at the dome...

And then all hell breaks loose.

With a thunderous cacaphony that tears at ear drums, the magic is unleashed. Blast after blast of searing might goes off on the bandits, sending sprays of the cerulean light out in waves, melting sand into glass, and leaving craters. It's not hard to imagine what will happen to the Bandits.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
The Groundshaker is in dire straits.

Avira's foot slams down on the Shaman again and again, and as she does so the Heartless seems to panic, rapidly switching its animal masks to protect itself. Each boot to the head shatters another of its masks, but the Shaman keeps replacing them, desperately defending itself as the huntress pummels away. All the while, Mercade and Sora's ranged assaults tear into the great beast's bulk, causing to stagger and at last one of its legs to buckle, sending it lurching to a knee, halting its advance.

A cheer goes up from the onlookers, whose numbers have begun to thin, for with a refreshingly well-oiled squeak the gates begin to move again, narrowing to allow an orderly line to pass through. Whatever he's been doing, it looks as though Ivo was successful, and the heroes' efforts to fend off this giant monstrosity have not at all been in vain.

Yet even though the Groundshaker is on its last legs, it still is a tremendous threat, and with Skoll at last out of commission, Lily is isolated and, surrounded by Bandits, is in terrible danger--

Or so it seems.

Within moments, her overwhelming surge of magic reduces the Bandits to mere dust, turning sand to glass, and the fountaining power continues onward, unstoppable, rushing past her allies toward the beast of Darkness, as though unable to restrain itself from destroying this abomination. The struggling Shaman stirs and at last repels Avira with wild swings of its arms, sensing this mystical onslaught. It pulses with power, as though preparing to unleash a devastating assault all its own.

Instead, what results is a breathtaking display of clashing magical prowess. The plants atop the beast's back take life again as the Shaman begins to weave spell after spell, Lily's cataclysmic strike impacting against shield after shield, each shield crumbling but sparing the foe. When the wreckage ceases, the Groundshaker has survived, but the Shaman slumps, utterly depleted. It seems completely exhausted of magic from the effort of matching even the aftereffects of Lily's attack.

"GWOOOOOOOAGGHHHH!"

With the loss of its master's control, the Groundshaker goes into a frenzy, stomping away and shaking itself rapidly, attempting to crush all those nearby, refusing to accept defeat!

Sora has posed:

With the foe nearing defeat, the mysterious stranger knows he can not rest, he dodges the incoming attack masterfully, using that to throw it into the air harmlessly, then jumps up to try to strike it down, before striking again, wishing to throw it up again, and finally trying to once more throw it to the ground.

It's the kind of assault used by someone who knows the fight is ending, and that it has to end in favour of his side, not this beasts. This does not lend itself to slowly fighting, only to keeping up the momentum of the fight, and so, the mysterious key-blade wielder does that.

Avira has posed:
IS SHE KILLING IT? Avira feels crunching under her feet, which /sounds/ pretty hopeful. Hearing cheering, she looks up briefly to see that the crowd is leaving-or rather filing back in line to get in the city which would almost make Avira facepalm because this dangerous beast isn't dead yet! At least the gates are working and-oh no, Skoll is down again, that's bad!

The Shaman begins to flail and Avira finally leaps back off the monster, landing on the ground once more. It puts her well clear of the very impressive magical showdown that ensues and, ironically, Avira starts to feel significant jealousy for Lily's power. "...amazing..." she murmurs. Fire magic hadn't really come to her when she had tried weeks ago.

Nevertheless, Avira manages to skillfully roll out of the way as the Groundshaker comes thundering at her, barely evading being trampled. Twisting up to a crouching position, she lifts her left hand, which again glows with the shimmer of ice magic. When she casts, it's done rapidly, and each strike is no more bigger than a snowball. In fact, that magic doesn't seem very...strong at /all/. Barely noticable.

Lily has posed:
At the center of that cataclysm, Lily, at the eye of the hurricane, wobbles and almost topples. She lists like a sinking ship, dizzied at the force of the power she'd just unleashed and... by the look on her face, a little confused too.

really, the look on her face is as readable as an open book. 'What just happened?'

"u-uuuuhn..." But as she falls forwards, the rumbling howl of the big dang Heartless startles her horribly. "---Ahhh!"

Whooompf. Up she goes, onto her knees and staring that way, to see... everything over there's chaos, and EVERYONE's hurt. Skoll's down, Mercade - not that she knwos them - is being pulverized... "... no, no... why is it here? Why won't it leave?! What do they WANT?!"

The little girl's really, REALLY shaken now. But the others need help. The help she's supposed to be giving, but doesn't really feel like it's working.

As her gaze focuses, the Groundshaker's going to have tricky footing for a moment. Because the ground beneath it RUMBLES... and then launches upwards in a massive piston-like spike for its underbelly with enough force to maybe sent it flying. But, like a frenzied double-whammy, the WINDS answer, coming down to smash it INTO that spike and back into the ground.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
With the Shaman out of commission from Lily's previous assault, the Groundshaker is exceedingly vulnerable. Even Avira's minor ice magic, which the Shaman might have dealt with handily, poses a threat to the giant creature, but her aim is unsteady from her acrobatics and fatigue, and before she can get a proper bead on it the mysterious Sora is upon it, hacking away with his keyblade and magnificently launching it high into the air and then back down to the ground, where it slams powerfully, sending a cloud of choking sand over Avira and half-obscuring the brave Mercade's now fallen form.

"GWOOOOOOHHHH...!!"

When it lands, the once-mighty Shaker's front legs crumble, sending it lurching forward, the limp Shaman's shadowy body flopping and swaying. The heroes' combined attacks have been simply too much. Still, somehow, it continues to push itself toward the gate, digging through the sand, as the stunned merchants -- most of whom have now managed to escape, and some of whom have climbed to the top of the walls to watch -- look on in amazement. Unwilling to submit, driven by a blind and insatiable hunger for the light of those living within Rabanastre, it writhes and pushes its huge bulk forward, forward--

A lone girl in its path.

"GWWOAAAAGGGHHHH!!"

The earth itself rebels against the Groundshaker. Magic forces it high into the sky, and then the winds beset it, tearing away at its form. The darkness itself begins to crumble, and as its final roar echoes in everyone's ears, it begins to blur and fade, tremors seizing the sands one last time until at last the creature is gone as though it had never been, motes of energy rising to the sky, leaving with them the tinkling of little bells.

Silence, until the crowd by the gate erupts in cheers.

VICTORY!

Sora has posed:

After the heartless have been taken care of, the mysterious stranger goes to enter the city he had been intending to visit, and though apparently short on words today, he does offer some before he is actually gone, the key he used as a weapon disappearing as he goes. "Thank you, I'm sorry." What is he sorry for? Why is he thanking?

He's not telling!

Avira has posed:
"OOF" Sadly, Avira never put her goggles on before this fight. She gets a face full of sand for her efforts. In fact, it's hard to tell if she even hit the thing with her magic-and at this point, she doesn't really care. She watches what she can, hearing the beast's dying wails. A squinted eye peeps open and she sees magic consume it, leaving nothing in its wake. (Darn Heartless, never leaving behind proper hunting trophies!!)

unsteadily, she rises in the silence and looks out over the now quiet sands. Slowly she smiles and she tosses her Spine down, point-first into the sand so it can stick up. Her arms fold over her chest and the onlooking crowd cheers for their victory.

(Insert Final Fantasy Victory Theme here.)

Her elation is brief as she notices Mercade face-down in the sand. Blowing past the mysterious figure that had helped them out, "No-thank YOU." with that strange pole object, she runs to the fallen detective and immediately starts applying the traditional Ivalice first aid upon him. She'll move onto Skoll next unless Lily gets to him before her.

Lily has posed:
One can , yes, almost hear the victory theme playing in the background. But, in the imagination where it is doing so... right near the last moments, there's a phenomenally flat decrescendo as the volume bottoms out, and Lily lists forwards then topples into the sand like a sack of potatoes after seeing the monster's fate.

THUMP.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo Galvan wipes the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and smiles with satisfaction at his own personal victory as he watches the remainder of the now cheering throng passing through the functioning city gates, moving to place a hand on his hip and then pausing, glancing at his grease-blackened glove, and thinking better of it. The exhausted Archadian knight captain approaches him, doffing his helmet and nodding in gratitude. 'Whoever you and your friends are, thank you, Sir. With your assistance, that abomination was repelled and no one was harmed.'

"I only did what I could," the knight-errant calmly replies. "Direct your thanks to those who staked their bodies for the people's sake. Those repairs won't hold beyond the day, I expect, so make sure your professionals take a look at it soon."

'Of course. But we must reward all of you properly. If you could just show us your License, you'll be ushered into the city immediately.'

"Sure, that's-- um, my what?"

'Your License, sir... it's against Archadian law to pass through our territory without one. You've obtained one, I trust?'

"Aheh," Ivo raises his palms, grinning. "I seem to have misplaced it. Perhaps we can sort this issue out after we've settled in? There are so many important matters to attend to, and..." Four more knights have gathered. "...I've heard so much about the generosity and mercy of the Archadians..."

'Seize the vagrant!'

"You're kidding!!"

Dodging through the crowd, sliding under a pack animal and leaping through a crowd of startled merchants, Ivo dashes away, expression flat but eyes widened, arms pumping as he runs across the sand, leaping atop a startled chocobo which has been left unattended and riding it hard. When he reaches the battlefield, with armored knights struggling to pursue behind, he sees both Lily and Skoll collapsed and, leaning over the side of the bird, grabs them, pulling them up. "Come on, guys, snap out of it...!" Draping Skoll over its back and cradling Lily on his arms, he looks over to see that Mercade is being taken care of -- by a distracted Avira.

Perfect!

"Buy a drink with the reward!" he calls out to her, grinning despite the knights still pursuing. "On me!" And with that, he turns the stolen chocobo and flees.

Avira has posed:
Even with a quick pass of healing, Mercade still seems to be completely out. Too bad Avira is too poor to buy phoenix downs at this point in the game-err, her adventuring life. "C'mon you-" after sheathing the spine, she hefts him up to prop him up with one of his hands laid across the back of her shoulder. As she's walking to the open gates, her head swelling from the praises of thankful merchants and travelers, some other sort of commotion rises from the crowd.

Out comes Ivo on a chocobo, grabbing ahold of both Lily and Skoll. Behind him, Avira spots a number of the armored gate guards pushing through the crowds, chasing after him.

To Ivo's credit, people are purposefully taking their sweet time getting out of the way as a sort of passive aggressive resistance against the Archadians.

"Ivo! What the hell did you-" Reward? What reward? All too suddenly, he's gone, easily outrunning the guards on the feathered beast of burden. Those in pursuit slow, panting and trembling in their heavy armor. "Hey." Avira calls out to him, "What did he do?"

Right away, she's filled in on how Ivo is a wanted vagrant criminal! There will clearly be a reward on returning him to Rabanastre alive.

"...oh really..." Avira smiles thinly. "If only somebody knew...exactly where he was going."