Truce - Mana Sanctuary
The destroyed remains of the once-graceful Mana Sanctuary lie in a
rubbled heap, forming a small mountain of obliterated brick and concrete.
Several marble columns, which once held the establishment tall, are the only
recognizable pieces that remain, and even then are cut by half, a sad
placement of the former glory that this place once presented.

The doors to the sanctuary slam open. A figure in a cloak drags herself into
the room as she gazes around. Seina removes the cloak's hood and falls foward
to the ground breathing hard.

Seina says 'So... hard to... breathe...'

Lackey just happened to be around... she certainly wasn't casing it and
searching for anything or anyone valuable, oh no. But y'know, she's trying to
set herself up as a 'good' person nowadays, so she goes over to the girl and
starts prodding her.

Lackey says 'You alright there? Need a doctor, or just to rest?'

Seina says 'W...Water...'

Lackey shrugs, handing her own canteen to the girl after removing the top.
"Anything else?"

Seina gazes at the canteen before snatching it out of Lackey's hands. She gulps
down the water viciously.

Lackey quirks an eyebrow, making a note to charge her for it if she asks for
food.

Seina holds the canteen upside down trying to get every last drop of water
within the canteen. She lowers the canteen and wipes the water off her face
with the cloak's sleeve, "Thank you..."

Seina hands the canteen back to Lackey and sighs, "This body doesn't work well
without an excess amount of water.."

Lackey shrugs, taking the canteen back and secreting it on her body somewhere or
other. "Not a problem... new here, or are you just one of those crazy people
that like to explore?"

Seina says 'I guess you can say I'm new... Where is -here- anyways?'

Lackey shrugs again, motioning for the girl to sit on some of the debris. "Some
weird place called Cleft. Kind of a Lost and Found for the universe. You're
not the only person to get taken from your world, y'know. I'm Lackey."

Seina nods at Lackey, "I am called Seina... I think..."

Footsteps are heard approaching the Mana Sanctuary from the main street. Sounds
like a single person walking though.

Lackey looks over to the entrance... and figures it's just some sap there to
pray for some reason or another. So she just turns back to Seina. "Well Seina,
you'd have a better chance of surviving this place if you stuck with me... a lot
of beasties wander around, and not all of them stay outside the gates.'

Seina looks at Lackey, "Beasties...? What are those?"

Lackey says 'Monsters. Animals. Things that like to kill and devour whatever
they find.'

Nocturne enters into the area, obviously looking around at the debris, etc. Its
gaze pauses upon the two other people in the room.

Seina looks over to the door way and then back at Lackey, "What... are
animals...?"

Lackey quirks her head to the side, those red eyes narrowing just a touch.
"Must've come from an odd world, if you don't know what animals are. They're...
things that aren't human, machine, or plant." And then Lackey turned to
Nocturne, scowling.

Lackey says 'Bugger off. She needs a woman's touch. She's delicate.'

Nocturne walks towards the two, and stops a few steps away. "Hrmm?" It says to
Lackey. "Pardon me?"

Lackey says 'I said bugger off. You can pray or whatever you want in here, but
she doesn't need more exposure than necessary right now.'

Seina looks over at Nocturne, and then at Lackey. She thinks to herself,
/*Humans, I know... Machines... I don't want to remember... What are
plants...?*/

The thought of humans made Seina think back to the scientists as she moves her
right hand over the crystal on her left arm's gauntlet.

Nocturne chuckles softly. "What are you talking about miss? Do I look like the
praying type?" It glances in Seina's direction momentarily. "Is everything
okay here?"

Lackey nods, definitely not trusting Noc. Takes one to know one, after all.
"They will be, as soon as snooping robots go away. Shoo, shoo."

Nocturne shakes its head at Lackey. "You seem awfully suspicious miss..."

Lackey says 'Yes, well, I don't like crowds. Besides, your face bugs me. Now
shoo and let me talk to Seina alone, hm?'

Nocturne crosses its arms and faces Seina. "Young miss, you should be careful of
such suspicious people like -her-." It tilts it's head slightly in Lackey's
direction. "Who knows what their up to..."

Lackey says 'Yes, yes, I'll use her in dark rituals as a sacrifice, because I
have red eyes. Heard it all before. Now will you leave us alone or do I have
to do something I'll regret?'

Her eyes widen as she hears specific words from Lackey's sentence, Seina sits as
she wraps her arms around her legs bringing them close to her body, "Use me...?
Sacrifice...?" She starts to shiver in fear as she thinks back to the
scienstists.

Lackey blinks, and then turns back to Seina. And shakes her head quickly.
"That was called sarcasm, Seina. Saying one thing and meaning another. I don't
dabble in magic anyway."

Nocturne says "I wasn't aware that sacrifices were part of society here... I
can't leave such a young girl with one like you alone." It looks at Seina.
"Are you okay?"

Lackey -scowls- at Nocturne. Boy but he's getting her miffed...

Seina can't stop thinking about her past with the scientists as she begins to
shake more violently. She omits herself from reality, consumed in her past.
She mutters quietly, "No... please... no...!"

Nocturne ignores Lackey and watches Seina. "Seina, was it? You okay? See what
you did?"

Lackey blinks... and shakes her head, taking a second canteen out of her
pockets. And immediately douses Seina with it. "Snap out of it, deary."

Seina mutters quietly, "No more pain... no more..." The crystal on her left
arm's gauntlet begins to burn a fiery red glow, "No more... No more pain!!!"

Fire explodes all around Seina as it surrounds her as a barrier. Seina sits in
there muttering to herself, "No more pain... no more pain..."

Lackey quirks an eyebrow and backs up a few feet, quickly revising her 'you'll
be safer with me.' theory.

Seina screams out, still enveloped in her past, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" The
barrier begins to expand outwards through the room burning anything it touches.

Lackey -definitely- revises that theory, and thinks on this for a moment. If
she lets the church burn, that'd be a bad thing... but if she saves Seina and
the church, she might get regarded as a hero. But that involves pain.
Decisions, decisions...

Before the barrier could burn anything or anyone, the barrier disperses into
thin air as Seina snaps back into reality. The red glow from the crystal dims
away back into its clear state.

Lackey has an eyebrow quirked up, taking several mental notes. First of all, no
sarcasm. Second of all, stab Nocturne.

Lackey says 'You alright there, Seina?'

Seina sits there and looks up at Lackey. Tears begin to build up in her eyes as
she whispers softly, "I'm... sorry..."

Lackey sighs, sitting down next to Seina as she says, "Hey, it's alright... you
just have control issues. A lot of people do." Of course, she was THINKING
about how she nearly ended up crispy, but that's in her own head.

Seina nods slightly at Lackey, "I'll try to... controll... my...-" She falls
backwards unconcious due to all the exhausion of the burst of magic.

Lackey quirks her head again...and sighs. Well, at least she could get points
by taking her to the healer's. So she tries to lift up the girl, at least put
her arm over her shoulder...

Lackey and falls short because of the -amazing- weight of a half-robot girl.
"Dear Dark Wizard... what do they FEED you?"

Seina mutters in her sleep, "M.. Mommy...?"

Lackey decides to simply stay there with her... not like she had much better to
do. "Mommy's not here. Will I do?"

Seina mumbles quietly as she falls deep into her slumber.

Lackey sighs, deciding to make herself comfortable as she puts her arm under the
girl's head. She didn't seem hurt, anyway.

Seina twitches lightly... she swings her arm punching Lackey in the face by
accident.

Lackey SWEARS, and loudly... and decides to make herself a bit more safe by
putting her cape over the girl. At least that'd give her time to dodge next
time.

Nocturne reappears again. "Trying to smother the poor little girl now?"

Seina twitches once again... she thrusts her foot straight into Lackey's shin.

Nocturne waves off Lackey. "You're the problem, from what I see, causing such
stress in Seina. You should, -bugger off- as you say it."

Lackey decides she'll be a LOT safer if she gets away from the girl. Say, two
feet.

Lackey says 'Last warning... ye GADS, the girl has a strong kick. Anyway, last
warning... you shoo, or you get an arrow right in the face.'

Nocturne chuckles. "My first warning. You shoot, you will die."

Seina twitches again...

Lackey says 'That's a no, then?'

Seina flings her hand backwards, slamming into the ground cracking it a bit.

Lackey looks at the girl... and decides another foot away couldn't hurt.

Nocturne ignores Lackey once more and approaches Seina. "Tsk, you are a fool,
wanting to fight near innocents."

Lackey has finally had enough. She takes out a small square from her pocket,
one with a sword emblazoned on it, and -somehow- has it change into an arrow.
Which is then fired at Nocturne's head, and well away from Seina. "Just go
away."

Nocturne quickly bashes the arrow-plate-thingy with a shield. "You go away."

Lackey already has another one out, and fires again! "I would, except I can't
carry Seina. Now scram."

Nocturne dodges this arrow and scoots over to Seina. "Would you really shoot
near Seina?"

Lackey hesitates... and puts her arrow down. "Well, no. I won't." She even
hesitates further... before she rather suddenly and instantaneously turns into a
wolf, LUNGING at Nocturne's throat. Ah, the element of surprise...

Nocturne's right hand suddenly sprouts claws as it swipes at the wolf's head
while moving diagonally back and left.

Lackey manages to writhe -under- the claw, though it still strikes her back...
and she still headbutts into Noc's chest. Right before changing back to human,
with a knife in each hand, and each hand lunging at the head.

Nocturne falls backwards using the force from the headbutt and tries to kick
Lackey off as his right hand comes back for a backslap...

Lackey had already planned for him getting knocked back, that's not throwing her
off a bit... and as for getting thrown off? She's heavier than she looks. He
doesn't give -quite- enough force to really stop her. The backhand connects,
and it hurts, but it doesn't stop Lackey from planting two long pieces of metal
in Noc.

Nocturne clutches a hand at Lackey's throat. TIGHTLY. The two knives stab into
its helmet and some sizzling noise is heard... and the sounds electricty
powering up...

Lackey doesn't even swear, she just reaches in her pocket and pulls out another
rectangle, this one with a shield on it. And as soon as she grabs it, there's a
purple glow around her... and that hand doesn't seem so bad. In fact, she tries
to pull out her daggers and stab Noc with them AGAIN. Such odd things Lackey
has.

Seina twitches a bit more violently this time...

Nocturne pulls at Lackey's throat hard and shakes left and right with the hand
before pulling her for a headbutt. The daggers stab into its shoulder and
glance off the helmet. The powering up noise is getting louder...

Seina starts to roll around uncomfortably as her face starts to go pale. The
crystal begins to react to Seina's actions as it starts to emit a light green
glow...

Lackey swears with most unladylike grace, her red eyes definitely flaming up...
and then she sees Seina glow. She takes that as her cue to grab yet another
plate, this one with a foot on it. Even though it only works on her feet,
that's enough for her to get a few rapid kicks in with heavy boots before
turning into a Lackey-wolf to break the grip and get AWAY.

A gentle breeze blows by... and then chasing the breeze are fierce winds. Seina
lies there unaffected as everything inside the sanctuary seems to be blown into
the air in a circular direction.

Nocturne casts a quick Mend, causing some of the damaged metal to bend back into
place before getting up and sidling over to Seina's side...

The crystal now shines its green glow brightly as Seina tumbles back and forth
within her nightmare. The violent winds grow stronger and stronger as it forms
a small tornado within the sanctuary. The eye of the storm is only big enough
to shelter Senia from the chaos.

Lackey has scrambled behind one of the pillars for shelter, back to human form
again as she watches what was happening... and hey. If it were anything but
wind, that bow would be aimed at Noc.

Nocturne shifts its shield at an 45-40 angle against the wind as it crouches
down and digs its clawed hand into the ground as it gets buffeted by the wind.

Lackey simply... y'know. Watches.

Seina tumbles uncomfortably in her sleep and then suddenly just lies still as
her crystal dims back to its clear original state. The winds calms down almost
immediately, dropping everything to the ground.

Lackey takes advantage of her sheltered position-and Noc's not-so-quick
position-and shoots out another arrow or two at him while trying to rush to
Seina again. "So why do you want her so badly?"

Nocturne gets hit with the arrow as it embeds slightly into its back. It
retracts its claws and rushes to Seina too. "Why do YOU want her so badly too?"

Lackey is, fortunately, just a bit faster... that 'flee' plate has its
applications outside of simply running away. "Because I'm TRYING to be the good
gal here!" That yell was underscored with quite a bit of frustration as she
tugged out two more knives-from conspicuously empty pockets-and LEAPED onto
Noc's back. If Lackey landed, there'd be swiss cheese robot...

Nocturne chuckles as it teleports forward next to Seina as Lackey comes down...

Nocturne says 'You? A good -gal-? You scare this little one.'

Lackey doesn't miss a trick... she simply shifts to wolf form again, landing on
all fours as she leaps at the bot from her odd landing, shifting back with the
knives in hand again. "Bite me!"

Nocturne quickly twists its torso around for a shield deflect/bash at Lackey
while grabbing Seina with its free arm... "I will, but I dislike eating red
meat."

Lackey yelps as she's hit, even being knocked back a few feet with quite a bit
of blood on her face... but she's back at him, changing her target slightly.
She's going for Seina, shifting from wolf to human once again in midleap,
attempting to pull the girl out of Nocturne's grasp. Lackey was hoping it'd at
LEAST wake her up.

Nocturne loosens it's grip slightly and goes in for a bodybash at Lackey while
attempting to maintain a hold on Seina.

Lackey has taken a few too many blows to simply fall for that... she shifts yet
again, her wolf form better suited for going down and away from Noc, shifting
her trajectory mid-leap. And with that miss, Noc would fall over like a ton of
bricks...

Nocturne had already expected Lackey to switch back to wolf form, as she's
already done so many times. Going down onto one knee, it skids for a bit before
spinning around quickly and lunging for Seina once more.

Lackey is definitely on her last legs, and decides for something drastic.
Shifting for the umpteen millionth time... she doesn't go for Seina at all. She
simply yells, "There's no need to sacrifice her! Seina, electricity!
Electricity if you don't want to die!" Lackey was going for broke...

Seina lies there asleep as she hears a voice calling her. She struggles to
awaken... She thinks to herself, /*Mother... is that... you...?*/

Slowly, her eyes open up and Seina sits up looking about to you and Nocturne,
"What... is... going on...?"

Nocturne points at Lackey. "She's trying to kidnap you!"

Seina looks at Lackey as her eyes widen, she looks back at Nocturne, "W-what?!
No, you're lying...!"

Lackey gives Nocturne an amazing deathglare as she replies, "Like BLAZES I have!
I don't kidnap people! I have no motive, and if I wanted her to go with me, all
I had to do was keep talking! You passed out, little girl, and I was just
waiting with you until you woke up! Now you let go of her right now, bot, or so
help me I'll put a knife where the sun don't shine." Lackey was -pissed- at
Noc, and didn't really care if Seina knew that.

Nocturne points accusingly at Lackey. "She was preparing to cut you up while
you were passed out! See how violent she is? She's already tried to cut me
up!" It points to a few open cut areas on itself. "She eats little girls like
you."

Seina starts to zone out again with all the yelling going on, "Kidnap...
Me...?" Her eyes start to go blank as she's put back into a trance state. She
murmurs to herself, "They wanted to kill me..."

Lackey points to her face and chest, especially at the blood. And... she tries
to calm down. "That was in self defense of her, tinman. Now how about letting
her go and letting -her- oh bloody blazes. Make it a good one, kiddo. You'd do
your mommy proud." And with that, Lackey'd start inching towards a nice, safe
pillar to hide behind.

Seina looks up at Nocturne, "I'm doing mother proud..." She stands up as her
facial expression becomes more serious.

The area is filled with a gentle breeze that is followed by violent winds
seconds later. The rune on Seina's gauntlet shines a hue of green light. The
winds surround Seina blinding all sights of her.

Nocturne starts shifting away from zoneout-Seina with shield in front, held
ready. "Whoaa, you lie. I only tried to get her out of your evil grasp. You
were planning on cutting her up. Don't listen to her, she's evil."

Lackey rather quickly decides to hide behind another pillar, another dagger out
and inserted into it... just in case. "Y'know, I'm kinda sick of this tinman.
What say we let Seina make her decision? We have plenty of time to fight
later."

Her hair whips around within the winds as her eyes focus. She raises her left
hand as the crystal's green light shines at its max. Seina yells out, "Kaze no
Seirei! Byakko!" (Spirit of the Wind: Byakko)

Nocturne just inches back some more to a smaller broken pillar. "She how
bloodthirsty she is? Always talking about fighting!"

The winds start to condense into a ball the size of a human next to Seina. The
ball's wind shell explodes outward, exposing a white tiger that stands within.

Lackey says "Give it a REST, tinman. She's her own person...she can go by
herself if she wants." And with that, Lackey'd stand beside the pillar instead
of behind it. "She's a free woman, same as me."

Byakko glares at both Nocturne and you, he roars, "State your reason of being
here in the presence of Seina."

Lackey says 'Attempting to protect her. And might I say, she's got an
impressive left hook.'

Nocturne says 'Trying to get her away from -that- evil influence, trying to
corrupt her. Besides, I only came to look at the sanctuary.'

Lackey sighs.

Byakko snarls as Seina still stands there tranced, "HOW DARE YOU IGNORE ME!"

Lackey says 'Ignore? Trust me, you have my FULL attention.'

Byakko roars sending out a blast of wind at Nocturne and Lackey.

Lackey ducks behind that pillar toot-sweet, hoping it'd take the blow... if not,
well, at least it would soften it -before- she got crushed by the falling
pillar.

Nocturne crouches down and deflects the wind with the shield. "I answered your
question."

Byakko mounts Seina on top of his back, "Talks of taking her, evil influences,
and corruption. You make me sick..."

Lackey says '...I never -tried- to take her. I'm just trying to protect her
from the tin man there.'

Nocturne says 'She was trying to convince Seina to follow her, but she was
preparing for a sacrifice. I was only trying to get her out of her grasps.'

Lackey says 'Oh, give it a REST already. I don't -do- sacrifices. I don't even
have an ounce of magic in me! Well, aside from shapeshifting.'

Byakko leaps off of the ground and kicks off of a pillar demolishing it. He
jumps out of the sanctuary and turns his head around, "Just leave Seina alone.
She has enough to deal with as it is." He turns back and escapes out of the
building.

Lackey sighs... and without even giving Nocturne a chance to finish the fight,
that good ol' fleeing plate is active. She -speeds- out of Truce herself,
heading for the south.

Nocturne chuckles as it gets up. "Well, at least -she- won't be getting that
girl anytime soon."

Byakko runs through Truce to its west gate with Seina on his back. He looks
around, "It seems safe for you here Seina." She lies on his back silently due
to her tranced state, "..."

Atolla comes out of the building near the gate, curious... even with that
bandage over his head, he had eyes. He could see well and plain that
-something- odd was going on. "What in the world...?"

Milo startles from daydreaming as a tiger with a girl on its back runs past the
area. Blinking, he stands up and starts to amble after lazily... hey, wouldn't
be the first odd thing to happen around these parts.

Byakko looks at Atolla, "Hal-... wait... you're a lion..." He carefully
demounts Seina from his back and leans her against a wall.

Atolla says "Yes...I'm Atolla, captain of the Western Garrison. Is she
alright?" Atolla tilts his head, wondering what all this was -about.- "Does
she need medical attention? We have a few medics..."

The local bipedal winged turtle strolls in, taking in the scene with a sense of
detached curiosity. "Umm, hi. Friend of yours, Atolla?"

Byakko snaps, "No! No, she'll be fine." Looks back at Seina, "She's at least
safe this way..."

Atolla quirks his head to one side... and shrugs. Which is impressive when it
comes from a lion. "Hello Milo. Now... safe? Perhaps you should explain this
to me from the beginning."

Byakko shakes his head, "There is no time... I'm up to my limit as it is." He
turns back to Seina, "She isn't as strong as before..."

Atolla says '...Right. Should we take her inside?'

Byakko nods at Atolla, "Thank you." His body changes back into wind and
disperses into the air. The energy from Byakko floats back over to Seina and
into the crystal. The green hue dims away.

Milo just shakes his head and walks up to examine Seina. He didn't even get to
cuddle the tiger :(

Atolla shakes his head, and does the same as Milo. "Very strange. Want to help
me carry her inside? Just sling her over my back."

Milo says 'Umm, first, what's going on here?'

Seina moans lightly as she tumbles around in her sleep.

Atolla says 'Your guess is as good as mine...'

Milo lifts the girl and balances her on his lion friend's back, staying nearby
to keep her in place in lieu of a seatbelt. ...Lionbelt?

Milo says 'So where are we going?'

Atolla simply walks her on in to the garrison, heading for his own room. "My
cot. She should be comfortable enough there."

Milo walks along. He's pretty confused.

Seina feels something fuzzy against her body and wraps her arms around Atolla's
neck snuggling against his back.

Atolla calmly walks to his cot - a simple affair, nothing fancy at all - and
motions for Milo to help him get her off. "I miss hands..."

Milo says 'I can understand that. I have two hands and sometimes feel it's not
enough.'

Seina sleeps soundly as she tightens her hold around Atolla's neck, she murmurs
quietly, "Fuzzy...."

Milo starts to do as asked, but stops short as Seina seems unwilling to let go.
"Hmm."

Atolla purrs, despite himself. And then lies down. "Y'know...she's awfully
heavy for a little girl. Think she's another... what do you call 'em?
Reploids?"

Milo shrugs. "I'm no expert, but I thought reploids had different ears... eh,
what'd I know. I don't even have ears."

Atolla nods, trying to shift his weight so that he's not being utterly crushed
by the girl. "Urgh. Right... I guess I'll be waiting until she wakes up."

Seina's gauntlet starts to glow yet again, a green shade. A voice speaks from
within, "Maybe I should clear things up for you, I guess." A gust of wind blows
through the cot as they focus on one point to materialize Byakko.

Milo says '...Hey. Welcome back.'

Byakko opens his golden eyes as he looks at Milo. He nods lightly and looks
down at Seina hugging onto Atolla and chuckles.

Milo walks over to listen and can't resist scritching the creature's ears a
little. "I'm listening."

Atolla says '...That'd be nice, yes. Also helping pry her off me, if you
could.'

Byakko says, "Good luck getting out of that hold, Seina is known for her
grappling moves."

Atolla mutters, "Lovely."

Byakko purrs lightly as to Milo's scratching. He shakes his head lightly at
Atolla, "Its nice to be -not- grappled in Seina's sleep for once."

Milo says '...This is a normal occurance?'

Atolla says 'Y'know, I'll settle for an explanation right now. Who are you,
this girl, and why is she able to put me in a deathgrip while she sleeps?'

Byakko says, "Whenever she is asleep, unconcious, or even in a trance, us
elemental beasts come out to protect Seina in case of any danger."

Milo says 'Sounds like a fun job.'

Byakko blinks at Atolla, "I apologize. I am called Byakko, Elemental beast of
the Wind. Protector of Seina, that's the girl whose arms are wrapped around
your neck. And why is she able to? Hmm... Never thought about it, she just
does."

Milo leans a little closer on the elemental beast's furry body, still listening.

Byakko looks at Seina and sighs, "As of the moment, she can only conjure us when
she's unconcious. It's nearly impossible for her to conjure us while she's
still concious." He glares at the crystal on her left arm's gauntlet, "Due to
that blasted contraption."

Atolla tries to get comfortable. "Alright then. So why were you summoned,
anyway?"

Milo says 'So she's more powerful when unconcious? I'd like to know how that
works...'

Byakko looks at Atolla and then back at Seina, "I never thought as to -why- I
was summoned... I just remember that I'm supposed to protect her. Me and the
other three elemental beasts."

Atolla nods.

Atolla says '...Exactly how much property damage should I expect when you're
summoned? If it's going to be a lot...'

Byakko sits down against the wall, "When she's unconcious, she's in a clear
state of mind. Thus all her magic can be concentrated to full potential. As of
this moment, full potential allows her to summon one of us." (Seina)

Byakko looks at Atolla, "We only fight if Seina is in danger. Otherwise we're
very peaceful."

Atolla nods a bit, quite a few more questions coming to his mind. And a bit of
envy... blasted magic-users get ALL the fun. "And the bracelet thing... I'm
guessing there's a reason you can't just take it off?"

Byakko nods at Atolla, he then turns his attention to Seina's gauntlet. "The
blasted scientists set the crystal to explode if ever taken off, unleashing a
powerful amount of magic that will kill Seina."

Atolla nods again. "Impressive. Wish I could help."

Byakko sighs, "And if Seina dies... Then us elemental beasts don't exist.
Until another child is chosen."

Byakko says "...Which happens every 100 years or so..."

Byakko sighs, "We feel so bad that we put such a burden upon Seina... I just
never thought she'd have to go through such pain for us."

Milo says 'Y'know, all of us destined-saviour-of-the-world people should start a
support group or something.'

Atolla says 'Lovely. Well... huh. You don't seem like a bad sort. And she
should be safe enough here...'

Byakko looks at Atolla and chuckles, "And the reason that Seina is so heavy is
because she's part cyborg. She's not a reploid like others, but a human with
metallic parts that replace her organs. Another 'wonderful' idea from the
scientists..."

Milo says 'What's up with these evil scientists of doom, anyway?'

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'Everyone needs a hobby.'

Atolla sighs, shifting again. She was -heavy.- "Well, I'm guessing she doesn't
have a place to stay. I suppose she can stay with me for a while..."

Byakko purrs at Milo as he continues to scratch Byakko's ears, "They stole Seina
at the age of 6 and performed tests on her. Excrutiating painful tests. Just
for research to create supersoldiers for 'the better future.'"

Atolla says 'Oh, for the luvva... point them out to me. Please. I'd like to
eat them.'

Milo says 'Oh, right, the old supersoldier gig. Like people aren't killing each
other enough already.'

Milo says 'I've heard it all before. ...Bah, they want a supersoldier, I'll
show them what a parakoopa knight can do. Super enough for me.'

Atolla says 'And I'll show them what a ticked lion can do. Anyway...when will
she wake up?'

Byakko looks at Seina, "Lets see... 1 elemental blow up... 2 elemental
conjurings... I'd say about five minutes from now."

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'Good. I'm starting to lose circulation to my brain.'

Milo says 'What I have trouble understanding is how someone smart enough to be a
scientist could even be stupid enough to try these things. Unless they got
their diplomas from one of these
get-a-university-degree-free-for-no-effort-in-one-week advertisments I keep
seeing.'

Atolla says 'Oh, they're probably under the payroll of someone that doesn't have
enough IQ to fill a paper cup.'

Atolla says 'Being brilliant is nice, but it doesn't pay the bills.'

Byakko looks at you and chuckles. He nudges closer at you for more scratchings,
"The scientists believed that a young girl like Seina, harnessing the powers of
the elemental beasts. Would mean 'world peace.'"

Milo says 'Because designing a supersoldier is an excellent path to world
peace.'

Milo says 'Of course.'

Atolla says 'Might makes right. Seriously, point them out to me so that I can
slowly dismember them. Please.'

Byakko mutters, "They aren't of this world, of course. Seina was lucky to
somehow create a malfunction in the last test which ripped a portal to the
Cleft."

Atolla says 'That doesn't stop me from wanting blood, you realize.'

Milo says 'I figured as much. Well, if they ever show up here, I have a
get-out-of-life-free card for them.'

Byakko looks at Seina and sighs, "I just wish there was someway to unlock the
seal of the crystal... Then maybe she could see who she strangles at night..."
He chuckles lightly.

Atolla says 'You and me both.'

Milo's hand gets tired of scritching, and he settles on just nuzzling a little
for now. "There's probably a way to remove it. Problem is, we have to do it
right on try one or we go boom."

Atolla says 'Indeed. Though...'

Atolla says 'Just an idea. If we cut her arm off at the wrist, would we be able
to heal that?'

Milo says 'Is it a normal payload explosive or a more magical one?'

Byakko chuckles, "But seriously... Seina's body cannot take much more of the
crystal's absorption. The scientists failed to realize that our power feeds off
of her body's energy."

Byakko sighs, "Seina has at least a couple years left to live... And we'll be
the ones to blame..."

Milo says 'In my experience, hands that are cut off do not usually regrow. We
could bandage the wounds so she'll survive, but I'd prefer not ending up with a
one-handed girl if it can be helped.'

Atolla nods.

Atolla says 'Just an idea... and that's a bad thing. Hand-cutting is plan Z,
then.'

Milo says 'Right.'

Byakko looks at Atolla, "Cutting off Seina's wrist is bad. And the explosion
will be a huge magical one."

Atolla says 'Hrm... so, if we remove it, we'd best do it in a wide open space,
just in case.'

Milo says 'If we remove it, we'd best do it with several ten-foot poles.'

Byakko sighs, "Plus... Us elemental beasts won't have a master. So most likely
we'll go berserk and create mass chaos."

Atolla says '...If we cut off her arm, -would- it trigger the bracelet? It'd
still be attached, after all.'

Byakko looks at Seina, "It would trigger the bracelet for it cannot feed off of
her magic that's within the center of her body."

Atolla sits down and thinks deeply.

Byakko looks at Atolla, "Either way, Seina dies and we cause chaos that we don't
wish to do."

Atolla says 'Teleport it away, then. But again... that's plan 'Only if we have
absolutely no other choice.''

Milo says 'Couldn't we just dispel the explosion? My skill in antimagic runes
is limitted to primarily defensive applications, but...'

Byakko looks at you, "If you think you can try and stop four elemental beasts...
be my guest. Fair warning, this is my 'peaceful' body."

Byakko says, "Once enraged and berserked... we change into much stronger
demons."

Milo says 'Show me what else you have, then. I'm curious.'

Milo IS smart enough to back off a little. From, y'know, snuggling-range.

Byakko shakes his head, "We're happy the way we are. And we're happy with the
master we have." He looks over to Seina.

Atolla sighs.

Atolla says '...Your time's about up, isn't it. Should we tell her about you
when she wakes up?'

Byakko nods as he lets out a long yawn. He walks over to Seina as she begins to
toss and turn, "Perfect timing."

Milo waves.

Byakko condenses himself back into air. The energy needed to create Byakko
seeps back into Seina's crystal as the green light dims to nothing.

Atolla tries to stay as still as possible, so's to not shock the poor girl.

Seina mumbles lightly as she turns, falling off of Atolla's back. Her eyes
slowly open as she starts to awaken.

Atolla says, in as quiet and relaxing a tone as he can muster, "Don't be
afraid."

Seina rubs her eyes lazily as she looks up at Atolla, a huge lion.

Seina says '....'

Atolla is all but inert, and purring to boot. Just to help.

Seina sits up quietly and takes a deep breath. She then screams at the top of
her lungs before kicking herself back to a corner, "WHAT ARE YOU?!!? STAY AWAY
FROM ME!!!!"

Milo goes with his instincts and falls to the floor, safe in his shell. This
after checking and making sure the door is closed.

Atolla sighs, looking over to Milo, and then back at Seina. "I'm Atolla,
captain of the Western Garrison of Truce. And I'm not going to hurt you."

Seina looks at Atolla and nods. She looks at now a large turtle with wings.
She screams once again.

Atolla says '...And that's Milo, my superior. Please stop screaming. My ears
are rather sensitive.'

Seina puts her hands over her mouth to muffle her screams. She takes breaths
after breaths before she calms down. "I understand -who- you are, but -what-
are you?"

Atolla waits for her to stop screaming before he replies, "I'm a lion, and he's
a Koopa - a sort of advanced turtle. Don't you have animals where you come
from?"

Milo currently looks like a cyan shell on the floor with a small crack lifted a
little off the ground on one side, showing only darkness inside. With a couple
of wings on top.

Seina thinks briefly and looks at Atolla, "What are animals?"

Atolla blinks in utter disbelief.

Atolla says '...Animals are...uhm. Living, moving things that aren't people.
And I can see right now that this is going to be a -fun- couple of days, whoo
boy...'

Seina says 'So... there are things other than humans?'

Atolla nods.

Seina crawls over to Atolla and looks at him.

Atolla says 'I'd say that humans are a minority around here, actually...'

Seina puts her hand out to reach over to Atolla, but then pulls back slightly
afraid.

Seina says 'You won't hurt me... right..?'

Milo starts to push himself up again. It seems safe enough. He makes a mental
note to run away if he's ever expected to teach anything, though.

Atolla says 'Of course not. You were unconscious earlier, and I didn't hurt you
-then.-'

Seina nods at Atolla and reaches her hand out again to Atolla. She places her
hand on his side and pets him gently.

Seina says 'Fuzzy...'

Atolla doesn't shy away or anything. Just sits there. "Now... I think we have
a few things we should tell you. Do you know about Byakko?"

Seina shakes her head, "What's a Byakko? Is it as furry as you? Or as big as
Milo?"

Atolla sighs.

Atolla says 'Byakko is... well, apparently he's a spirit beast that lives inside
of you. Looks... like a white version of me, only bigger. And he told me a few
things.'

Seina says 'Inside of me? But thats impossible. How can something bigger then
you live inside of me?'

Atolla says 'He's magical.'

Seina says 'Ma..gic...'

Seina says 'I know that word...'

Seina says 'That's what the scientists wanted to extract from me...'

Milo nods. "But they didn't entirely succeed. You still have it."

Seina hugs Atolla tightly as she closes her eyes, "They hurt me so much for
it.."

Atolla says 'Shh...there, there. He didn't know that he'd cause you so much
pain, miss Seina.'

Seina opens her eyes and looks at Milo, "If I still have my magic... how come
I've never seen Byakko?"

Atolla nudges the bracelet with his nose. "That's why. As long as that's on
you, he can't come out while you're conscious. Don't try to take it off yet...
we're going to work on that."

Milo says 'He explained that you only have the clarity of mind to summon him
while asleep.'

Seina holds the braclet close to her, "But... this armlet is something my mother
gave me... Why would it hurt me?"

Milo still doesn't like the explanation, but fights back any visible signs. No
need to snarl at the scared girl.

Atolla says '...It inhibits your powers. I'll explain more later.'

Seina shakes her head, "No... it's not the armlet... it can't be. Mother would
never want to hurt me."

Atolla is quiet... he doesn't really know what to say.

Milo says 'You sure the scientists didn't change anything to it?'

Seina thinks back, "I remember... They put four bright things into the
crystal..."

Atolla says 'That... would be Byakko and the other three elementals.'

Seina says 'But when they put it in, they said something about supressing
elemental powers with it.'

Milo nods. "Elemental powers, magic. Same thing, more or less."

Atolla nods.

Milo says 'Well, it would be more accurate to say elemental powers are a subset
of magic...'

Atolla says 'Tomato, tomahtoe.'

Seina says 'I remember they called it... rune stones. Four rune stones...'

Seina tries to think back harder.

Seina says 'Four stones, each to supress... an element...'

Atolla says 'Wind, fire, water, earth? Those are the normal ones.'

Atolla says 'Though I suppose it could be light and dark, in one of those.'

Seina starts to cough as she puts her hands to her mouth. As she removes her
hand from her mouth, blood is seen on her palms.

Seina says 'More blood...'

Atolla says 'Oh goody. Milo, can you fetch a healer please?'

Atolla says 'Don't worry Seina... we'll try and help you.'

Milo says '...Oh, great. Not only did they put in cybernetic enhancements, but
they don't even work right.'

Seina puts her hand to her head, "I want to remember more... but something seems
to be blocking my memory..."

Milo says 'I don't think we have anyone that can deal with internal injuries
like these. Not something you'd normally suffer in combat, you know.'

Seina shakes her head, "I can't remember anything before the runes..."

Atolla says 'Right... should we take her to that healer that handled my
headwound? Not that far...'

Milo mumbles under his breath. "Amnesia, too. Just goes to show cliches rarely
travel alone..."

Milo says 'I can toss on a simple mending spell, but at best it'll temporarily
cure the symptoms. At best.'

Milo says 'I'd say we need a doctor with an understanding of cybernetics. And
the only one I know of isn't sane enough to be trusted with this.'

Atolla says '...Right.'

Atolla sighs.

Seina shakes her head, "I'll be fine, don't worry. I've been through worse.."

Atolla says '...If you say so.'

Atolla says 'In any case. I'm guessing you don't have a place to stay?'

Seina nods as she cuddles against Atolla's body, "Nope..."

Atolla says 'You can stay here for a while, then. Unless my commanding officer
objects?'

Seina looks up at Milo awaiting his answer.

Milo shakes his head.

Seina smiles brightly as she leaps over the crouched Atolla and pounces on Milo
and cuddles him, "Thanks!"

Milo spreads his arms and catches Seina as she lands, bracing for the impact.
Good reflexes, for a turtle...

Atolla says '...Obviously, we need to keep her away from sugar.'

Seina looks back at Atolla, "What's sugar?"

Atolla says 'A... uhm... what did you normally eat?'

Seina says 'Eat...?'

Atolla blinks in utter disbelief.

Seina says 'I was usually given mineral water. Does that count?'

Milo doesn't seem quite as interested in Seina as he was in Byakko, but cuddling
is cuddling.

Atolla says '...I suppose so. Perhaps I should just teach you were Truce's
fountain is.'

Seina says 'What's a fountain?'

Atolla says 'A... basin that has quite a bit of water in it.'

"Hey! The fountain is my domain!" Milo says with a good-natured giggle.

Seina blinks, "What's a basin?"

Milo says '...Oh, just come along and look.'

Atolla says 'A raised, circular...yes.'

Seina jumps off of Milo and climbs on top of Atolla. She seems much lighter
then before. In fact, she's as light as a normal human now.

Atolla makes a mental note to ask Byakko about that, and leads the way to the
fountain. Seems he didn't mind playing mount -too- much...

Milo takes the lead, flying a few feet above the ground as soon as he's outdoors
and heading for the center of Truce. Once there, he circles straight up and
flutters directly above the fountain.

Seina gazes at the fountain as her eyes widen, "Wow!!!! So this creature is
called a fountain?"

Atolla says 'It's not a creature. It's an object.'

Seina says 'Object...? What's that?'

Atolla says 'It's... something not alive. Like a stone. Or water.'

Seina does not understand the term stone, but nods, "Water. I know that one."

Atolla nods.

Seina says 'So how does it spew out so much water if its not a creature?'

Atolla says 'It's... machinery, if I remember right. Very simple machines that
I never really studied.'

Seina looks over to Milo, "Do you understand how it works?"

Milo says 'It's... some sort of pump. But don't ask me how a pump works. Or
looks like.'

Atolla shrugs helplessly.

Atolla says 'I was a military man. Never really thought about it...'

Milo says 'Sometimes, it doesn't really matter.'

Milo glides down, and lands on the fountain's rim, then bends and takes a sip.

Milo says 'Sometimes, all that matters is that it DOES work, and tastes nice.'

Seina shrugs as she gazes at the fountain and watches Milo drink fron it, "Its
safe to drink?"

Atolla simply walks on over to it, hopping onto the edge of the fountain
himself. "Of course. Take a sip."

Seina walks over to the fountain and knees down gazing into the water

Seina dips her entire head into the fountain and starts sucking down water.

Atolla blinks in utter disbelief.

Seina continues to suck down the fountain's water with her head still in it.

Milo says '...Is that supposed to happen?'

Seina pulls her head out of the water and falls back on her butt, "Wow that's
good water!"

Atolla says 'Offhand, I'd say yes. I guess she was really thirsty.'

Seina wipes the water off of her face and smiles at Atolla and Milo.

Seina jumps over and snuggles Atolla. Then jumps over to Milo and cuddles him.

Atolla says 'I'd best get back to the garrison and keep people on task... Milo,
could you show Seina around for a bit?'

Milo eeps as the spotlight is shifted on him.

Seina shakes her head, "That's ok, I'll just go back to Atolla's cot and rest.
I feel tired anyways."

Milo says 'Okay, then.'

Seina jumps on Milo's back and grabs hold on the edges of his shell near his
neck, "Piggy back ride!!"

Deciding not to argue, Milo drops on all fours and crawls along. Not very fast,
but he'll get there.

Seina sits on top of Milo's back cheering, "Yay!" she giggles happily.

Milo arrives at the barracks and dodges around a corner into Atolla's room,
hoping to avoid being seen by other soldiers.

Seina slides off of Milo's back and runs into the cot. She turns around to Milo
and waves, smiling happily.

Milo waves and returns to his booth next to the fountain, like nothing ever
happened. All in a day's work.