In The Name of Love

~Balias Swale~

<Well, then, our business is done here. I shall give some thought to whether or not I need to cut off a toe from the hostage.>

*The archer tries to shoot him, but he ducks behind the tree.*

<Now, that was just rude.>
======================================
~Limberry~

"Come on. We need to meet with someone."
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~Lesalia~

*Once they're on the roof, they see Senthose slash at Euryale's head. Euryale ducks. Ignoring being stabbed in the leg, she puts her fists together & swings them into his stomach, knocking him back. She then hits him with an Aurablast. Annoyed, he swings the red sword in his left hand at her, spraying her with angry ghosts. She only has a few cuts, while Senthose only sports a few bruises.*

Clyde: <Cutting off a kid's toe? What kind of sick fuck does that?>

Sab charges a graviga on Senthose.

Noct lets out a sigh of relief, happy Euryale is alive, and relatively well. She begins to dance a Slow Dance.

Mortal rushes to Euryale's side, "Euryale! You're alive, I was so worried!" She then sets her sights on Senthose, "I won't waste time with threats." With that she uses a fire breath on him.

--

"Alright, lets mosey," Zac said.

~Warjilis~

<Why, it's basic kidnapping fare. Because I actually know how to do my job. You ought not blame me for your own ineptitude.>
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~Lesalia~

*As he's blinded by the fire, Euryale steps forward & swings about a dozen repetitive punches at him. In the end, they cause him to trip & fall of the roof. About halfway down, he teleports away.*

"Hey...we beat him."
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~Limberry~

*They travel down the hall to where her old bedroom is & hang a left. When she opens the door, a white-haired woman with green-and-white robes hugs her.*

<I don't know whether to be more proud or relieved!>

"...Hi, Mom. This is...Zac, he's...well, it's hard to explain, but he helped me defeat Argath."

"I wouldn't go that far," Noct said, "I think it is smarter to say he got away. That said, we now have a pissed off assassin out to get us."

Sab frowned, "You're always such a downer."

"I'm sorry..."

--

Zac smiled and bowed, "It is an honor to meet you, Lady Psyche."

~Lesalia~

"We foiled his every attempt to kill us, Mortal shot fire in his face, & I punched him off of a roof. What part of that isn't winning?"

The battle is won:

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~Limberry~

<Please, call me Binah.>

"Then it is a pleasure you meet you, Binah," Zac corrected. "You have an amazing daughter."

--

Mortal hugs Euryale and begins to weep, "I'm so happy you're alright! I was so scared..."

~Lesalia~

*Euryale returns the hug with one arm while reaching into a carefully hidden dress pocket with her other.*

"I'm glad you're happy, & sorry that you were scared. I survived because of this."

*She produces the bottle of Chantage from her pocket.*
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~Limberry~

Binah<I'd like to think that I have two, but Thiera is hiding right now. Thank you for helping to keep my Lilith safe.>

*Clyde goes silent and draws his sword.*

~Warjilis~

*Zerro jumps, stepping onto the river. He then begins running across the surface of the water. As the monk runs ahead to get a clear shot, he springs a trap that sprays gas that puts him to sleep.*

Archer<Idiot.>

*The archer jumps to the hill in the middle of their end of the river & begins climbing it.*

*Clyde follows the archer.*

~Warjilis~

*Once she reaches the top of the hill, 2 Squires pop up from the other side & immediately attack her on either side.*

*Clyde casts Haste on the archer.*

~Warjilis~

*...As well as the 2 thieves. When the Dark Knight pursues them, one of the thieves slides down & takes the sword out of his hand. The archer uses the new space to gain some distance & shoot the other thief.*

Mortal wipes her eyes, and smiles, "I'm glad." She let out a small sigh, "We should probably get off of the roof..."

Noctab was already getting down.

--

"It was my pleasure," Zac said, "She has been an excellent friend to me, I want nothing but the best for her."

*Clyde casts Slow on the thief that the archer is firing at.*

~Lesalia~

*The group climbs back into the bedroom level of the house.*

"So...what are we going to do about everyone who was petrified?"
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~Warjilis~

*The squire who wasn't slowed equips the Dark Knight's sword & moves towards the other bank, attacking the Archer on the way. Meanwhile, Zerro has reached the other bank of the river.*
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~Limberry~

Binah<Glad to hear it.>

"Anyway...I just wanted to let you know I was okay before I got back to work. There's another thing...the Sleep Plague was--"

Binah<Your doing, yes, I know.>

*Binah observes Lilith's shocked reaction with mild amusement.*

Binah<Sleep Herbs have no taste or odor, but they make the dish a faint blue-green color. And of course I could tell that a great deal of dried herbs were removed from my storage.>

"And you took it anyway?"

Binah<Of course. I knew you must have been pushed to extreme action, and I trusted your judgment.>

*Clyde casts Haste on himself and makes a dash after Zerro.*

Noct shrugged, "I'll go get some golden needles."

"We're in a city, why can't you go find a chemist to help us out?" Sab asked.

"Why pay for something I can do myself?"

--

Zac felt warm and fuzzy inside. It was nice to see a mother trust, and love her child.

~Lesalia~

"I think at least one of us should also check on your parents. Just to make sure he really left."
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~Limberry~

*The hug before Lilith sets off back into the castle.*

<Stop by soon!>

*She waves.*

"...Sorry if that was awkward at all."
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~Warjilis~

*He enters deep water & quickly realizes there's no way he'll ever gain on Zerro. As the Squires jump into the water & begin wading through it, the archer takes aim & fires at them.*

"Not it," Noct said, flying away.

Mortal let out a sigh, and began to make her way over to her parent's room.

--

Zac is still warm and fuzzy on the inside, "No, no... It was... I wish I had a mother like you."

~Lesalia~

*Euryale follows Mortal, looping her arm around Mortal's as she opens the door.*
=================================
~Limberry~

"...I'm sorry."

"For what?" Zac asked, "It isn't your fault."

--

Divum is sitting at his desk, downing some alcohol to calm his nerves. Dawn looked over at Mortale, "Did you get that asshole?"

Mortal nodded, "We knocked him off the roof, and he teleported away."

"Good, now get out of here," Dawn said.

--

Noctab is buying some golden needles, "Do you remember how many people we need this for?"

Sab thought for a second, "Um... I don't remember."

"Five should be enough."

~Lesalia~

*Euryale shrugs & follows Mortal out of the room, where they meet up with the Dragoon.*

"Oh, I'd kind of forgotten about you. Sorry about your boss, I guess."

<He was the last Brigade soldier in the church hierarchy. Frankly, he had it coming. But I suppose I should return to Mullonde.>
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~Limberry~

"No one should have to feel unwanting of their own mother."

"Safe travels then," Mortal said.

From inside the room they could hear something being thrown onto the bed, and a rhythmic whine coming from the bed frame as a weight stressed the wood repeatedly.

"We should leave this area..."

--

"My mother liked me," Zac said, "Enough that I didn't get a complex from it anyway. I just always feel bad for my sister."

--

Noctab returns with needles and begins bringing everyone back from petrification.