Protecting My Devotion - Group 17

[smallmage.livejournal.com]

Characters: Cissnei, Kain, and Refia
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: New!Memoria
Location: IT'S IN MY HEAAAD!
Date: March 11, 1805
Warnings: Iiiiiiiiiii... think we'll have to wait and see on this one, but probably nothing big, or at least excessive

It would have been impossible for Refia to not get a sense of extreme deja vu at that pink tinge in the sky - after all, it had only been just over a year. But as the days passed and nothing seemed to happen, she'd put it from her mind and kept going.

Until one day, early, it flashed, and in the next second, she was somewhere entirely too familiar, that she hadn't really wanted to see again.

She raised both hands to cover her mouth in a gasp, taking in the environment around her - dark metal everywhere, with walkways made up of a combination of stone, wood, and more metal. Looking over the catwalks, one could see the group was situated far above the ground level, as bits and pieces and turning gears continued to be seen through the holes for several feet below. Everything was bathed in a reddish glow, coming from a large furnace, much bigger than a person, that seemed to pierce the center of the tower and was clearly functioning, molten metal pooling slowly inside.

"The Tower-!" she whispered to herself, and then was swept into the memory before she could even check and see if others had been brought with her.

Four other people were with her - a boy with his silver hair in a ponytail, a short brunet boy who appeared fairly timid, and a blond with a determined air, all in her age range, all once on Gaia and now gone. But the focal point of the group was a young man who appeared a little older than them with dusky blue hair and a long blue jacket. As the other four started patching themselves up after what had obviously been a difficult battle, the young man ran up to the furnace to look at it closely. Refia was the first one to notice what he was doing, and a look of sheer panic crossed her face.

"Desch! Don't get too close! The fire... I think it's going to blow up!"

Comments

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

Cissnei had just about had enough of this world and everything it had to offer. A few days ago, she arrived with no memory of the past week or so, wearing foreign clothing and now she found herself in some strange place. The sky had been an interesting color, she noticed, but suddenly she was somewhere else entirely. She frowned slightly as she began to investigate, as a proper Turk should, when she noticed a girl. Cissnei had heard her speak something but she didn't catch what exactly it was but when she approached Cissnei saw the look of panic on her face.

"Hey... are you okay?" she asked.

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

Kain had been on edge ever since noticing that pink tinge to the sky. He'd had a horrible time with the last time this had happened, revealing his humiliatingly strong attachment to Rosa to Rydia and Eiko. Along with reliving many of his worst memories. He would be fine never going through such an experience again.

So he was in a very wary mindset when he was transported away. He gave a glance to Refia, and then the other redhead.

"Not again..."

GDI LONG but I'm done!

[smallmage.livejournal.com]

Completely blind to the other two with her, Refia continued to stare at the young man before her, starting to reach out in an attempt to grab him back from the blisteringly hot metalworks but pausing as he hung his head and began to speak. "I finally remember... everything." His head raised, the look in his eyes more focused, more determined. "I'm the guardian of this tower... An 'Ancient,' as you call us. I was asleep for a very long time. I was supposed to awaken when this tower was in danger..." With a slightly self-depreciating smile, Desch turned back towards the four Warriors of Light, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I slept a bit too long... It took me forever to remember my task." Once again facing the furnace, he leaned back to look up the tall machine, calm again as he became certain of what he was to do. "The damage is extensive... but it's not too late. At this rate, the floating continent will be flung away from the sun... The negative effects on its inhabitants are unimaginable... I'll go inside and try to stabilize the tower."

The other four either stared at him or stole quick glances at each other, not sure what that meant but really not liking what they were hearing. Before anyone could ask questions, though, Desch was turning to face them once again.

"I guess this is goodbye," he said with a smile. "I thank you for everything you've done for me. And... it was fun being with you guys."

Luneth wasn't about to let him go without a fight. "Desch, no! You're going to die if you go in there!"

"This is my destiny..." It was incredibly clear Desch wasn't listening to any of them; he continued talking as he turned back to the furnace. His voice was harder now, more determined - time was running out, quickly. "Go to the dwarves' island! That is where you'll find the power of fire!" He took one step, two, three, braced himself- and paused. "...I won't forget you. Goodbye."

And with no more pauses, he took that last step and jumped into the fire.

Refia shot forward, trying to grab him, trying to bring him back, barely feeling Luneth and Ingus grabbing her on either side to prevent her from falling into the machinery herself. Her cry was wild, terrified, almost heartbreaking. "DESCH!!!"

Everything went black and the entire area shook. Four voices yelled out as they suddenly came into contact with something hard.

When the black lifted, the four Warriors of Light were sprawled on the deck of the Enterprise, the Viking ship they'd been gifted for their help with the Nepto Dragon, that they'd ridden to the Tower of Owen. Picking themselves up, Luneth was (predictably) the first one to find his voice, while Refia kept herself turned away from her companions. "...The Enterprise? Did Desch send us here?"

"Look!" Arc cried, pointing. "The maelstrom's weakening! We can get out!" True enough, not far off in the distance, a gigantic whirlpool placed smack between two peninsulas was slowly calming down, its roar dying down even as its motion did.

Ingus watched it fade, nodding once. "We are in Desch's debt... We must go onwards, to the dwarves' island!"

Even as she nodded agreement, Refia couldn't help but think of other things than their quest. "Desch... Please be safe..."

At that moment, the memory ended. The other three figures faded out as her eyes focused once more, taking in the surroundings that she knew so well - the inner sea on the Floating Continent, her home, the boat around them that was presumably still in Saronia. "The Enterprise?! But- how- I'm not-"

And indeed she wasn't home, as the boat and the sea began to fade down to nothing around her, vanishing with the end of the memory, although her eyes still stung with tears. Of course it wasn't real - but she hadn't wanted to relive that again, ever.

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

Cissnei nearly jumped out of her skin and took several steps back when the girl shouted. What was she even on about? Towers? Dwarves? She turned to the man near them, eying both he and the younger redhead warily. "What do you mean, 'again?' What the hell is going on?"

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

"Last time this happened... we had no choice but to watch it unfold..."

Kain trailed off, as he realized that he'd just seen some of Refia's vision. Something in her past before she'd come here, he assumed, since he didn't recognize the place. Whoever Desch was, the vision had seemed to focus upon him... But Kain kept quiet about his reaction, not particularly sure what he should say to Refia about any of that.

[smallmage.livejournal.com]

"You!" She knew that voice! Spinning to face the dragoon, Refia wasted absolutely no time in marching up to him and staring him down - even though he was over a foot taller than her. "What's going on?! Why are you here?! Why are we trapped here again, this shouldn't be happening!"

[shurikenfemale.livejournal.com]

Cissnei simply stared in confusion at the pair, cocking an eyebrow. All this talk of "again" and "last time" was already starting to annoy her and she hated being out of the loop. "Haven't you noticed this world doesn't really care about should and shouldn't?" Cissnei said.

yay my loooong comment part 1 is here!

[dragoon-rising.livejournal.com]

Kain directed a scowl toward Refia in particular. "This is no fault of mine." He was about to go on explaining- more for Cissnei than Refia's sake- but then was interrupted as the scene abruptly shifted for him, turning to that of Baron...

As he walked forward into the scene, Kain found himself as a young boy. He became more fully immersed the memory as he went along. He was heading toward his father's chambers, wanting to find him because he hadn't shown up for a sparring practice. But in front of his father's room was a small group of dragoons, arguing loudly amongst themselves. One among them stormed away, and then another did likewise, heading in the opposite direction. The child Kain frowned at the sight and approached, surprised by the force and tone of the arguing. He wasn't put off enough to ask his own question, though.

"Where's my father? He never came to our training session." Kain was still pretty upset by this, assuming that his father had been called away to some important duty. More important than their training, evidently, which saddened him. He still could have at least sent a messenger to inform him of that...

The dragoons exchanged a glance, one of them shaking his head in disgust, and another approaching Kain. "I'm sorry... The healers did all they could, but... they were too late to save him. The Commander... your father- is dead."

Kain was too stunned at first to speak.

"It'll be the end of the dragoons, mark my words," grumbled another of the dragoons, sparking further disagreement among them. Among the arguing, Kain thought he heard the word "assassination" thrown in, and felt sick to his stomach.

"But- but father can't be dead, he can't... " But as Kain turned to look inside the chamber, his heart sank utterly. His father lay in the bed, too lifelessly, too far gone for any Phoenix Down or Raise to help him. He felt like his entire world was torn apart to shreds. This all must be some horrible dream. His father couldn't have died so suddenly like this, not even falling honorably in battle... Kain tried to contain the dark feeling creeping into his mind, even then. "...Where is his dragon?" Immediately the boy's thoughts were on the one who'd been Sir Richard's closest companion in battle, and who would be missing him terribly before long. A dragon couldn't bear to be parted from their human they'd bonded with. Even as a kid, Kain intuitively understood this to some extent.

"Son, if you need some time to-"

"Where is father's dragon!?" The shout from Kain was unusually emotional, even as a boy his tendency was to be more subdued in mood and tone. But this time not even he could disguise the pain from his voice. "I must see her. I must."