Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

The boulder suddenly cracks, before cracking again, the cracks going deeper before the boulder explodes into a cloud of dust. A figure can be seen stumbling before falling over through the dust.


I appear a short distance away next to Aeris, holding a change of clothes and some silver armour. Aeris taks the clothes, before turning redder as she realises she has nowhere private to change.

 

Milla turned to see it was you reappearing, then weaves a blackout curtain around Aeris.
She then turns to look at the figure.
"Hah! I called it!"

 

Aeris quickly starts changing, throwing her torn clothing out.


Once the dust clears, a young woman with muddy brown hair wearing heavy looking armour and a sword at her belt lies face down on the ground, unconscious.

 

Milla turns to you.
"Unconscious because we're flying or because she couldn't breathe?" She asks.

Sapphire lowers herself back down into Selene's mouth.
"We're almost above the t-trapdoor I made into Xlentia's quarters."

 

"Earth guardians can't suffocate from a lack of air, however there's basically no earth or rock around here so breaking out of the massive boulder she trapped herself in probably drained almost all of her energy." I say off handedly.


Aeris steps out of the curtain, her outer layer of clothing slightly concealing her armour, and her silver hair kept under a streamlined helmet. Aeris' wings are nonetheless visible, holes in her armour and clothes allowing them to be spread with ease.

 

"Hopefully she can recover soon..." Milla says, concerned.

The curtain around Aeris collapses into a bundle of yellow threads.

"Looks s-sturdier than my mask." Sapphire comments.

 

I grab my cup and take it over to Tirra, before setting it down beside her and possessing her. I unconsciously make Tirra grab the cup and take a drink from it, before appearing beside her as she begins to stir slightly, reclaiming my cup.


"It makes me feel safer...better." Aeris says, her mood improved as she smiles at herself whilst looking her armour over.

 

"Whatever that is, keep it out of the Hive." Milla chuckles.

"Miss... A-aeris? If you feel okay, c-could you fly down to the roof of the palace and unlock the trapdoor? There are t-three blue tiles that just need to be pressed..."

 

"Do they not like coffee?" I ask, taking a sip.

Tirra wakes up, rubbing her eyes, before getting up.

"Ugh...I feel like shit. Where are we? All I remember is losing most of my power and being stuck in that boulder." Tirra asks me, confused, her eyes slightly bloodshot.


Aeris nods, jumping out and gliding toward the trapdoor.

 

"Is she just tired?" Milla asks.

"Hello, Miss T-tirra... you're on Selene. Milla said I should pull up your boulder out of the horde that p-pushed your group out of the palace..."


Two tiles are in sight, but the third apparently isn't.

 

"Probably," I say, "She lacks all of her power, however. She's still strong, or at least, almost as strong as she was before, though. She could probably still break almost all your teeth in one punch."

"Ugh, I would've told you to break me out of it if I could." Tirra says, rubbing her head like she has a headache.


Aeris flies down to the two visible tiles, pressing down each one, flapping her wings to assist the amount of weight required.

 

"I-I... um..."
"She's not going to slug you, Commander. You did get her out of certain death."
"S-still... um... get ready to drop down, we're just descending now."


The tiles click when pressed, a small blue flash on the center of a circle-pattern in the roof.
Looks like the third tile.

 

"Ughn, what? Slugs?" Tirra says, not quite with it yet.

I disappear, before re-appearing a short while later with another red cup, a bit of steam coming from the small hole with which to drink from.

"Here. You probably don't want to be half awake fighting a god." I say, handing the cup to Tirra.

Tirra removes the lid before chugging most of the strong looking coffee in the mug.

"Thanks. I don't know how much I can do, but I'll assist you if I can." Tirra says, wiping her mouth.

"I'm pretty sure the plan has changed to 'destroy Xlentia's magic tomes that erase stuff' so if they're made out of any kind of rock you should be golden." I say.


Aeris throws a boomerang at the cieling tile, her aim perfect.

 

"They're made out of a rock of sort, but it's twice as dense as that boulder. I'd say the best any of you could do alone is crack it."

"Get ready to drop... I-I need to run, so Xlentia won't be slowed anymore." Sapphire says shakily, ropes dropping down from the construct's teeth.
"Commander, can I... uh... help them?"
"I... won't r-risk you... no."


The circular rune becomes transparent, Xlentia visible etching something into a tablet, nearly finished.

 

"It's dense rock. It'll give me some if my power back, and I'm sure Ignia can handle the explosives." Tirra says, glancing over at Abigail and Ignia, armed to the teeth with explosives.


Aeris channels electricity through her wings and boomerangs before releasing a massive bolt of lightning toward Xlentia, before flying back up to the group.

 

This seems to tick her off.
"Who the... SAPPHIRE!!" Xlentia roars.


Sapphire pushes the ropes over the hatch.
"G-go... please... f-faster..."

 

A few non-flying members of the group use the ropes, while Tirra jumps down toward the tablet without hesitance, Aeris, Ignia and Abigail following, Ignia and Abigial with lit explosives.

 

"G-good luck..." Sapphire calls out.

Ihra is slid down a rope, still unconscious.

 

Tirra aims to land on Xlentia's tablet, assisted by Aeris as Abigail and Ignia fly down and start throwing explosives at it.

 

Xlentia notices this, covering it with her wing.
"You've got a lot of nerve taking the back door... I'm disappointed Ruby was unable to convince you to kill those two..." She growls.