World Tree MUSH

 Normally, the Church handles it's own affairs. But with the Blossoming of the world, a civil war, and starvation rampant among the poor, even such a large organization is stretched to it's limits. While not against hiring mercenaries, it's always considered either an act of desperation or an attempt to keep things quiet. Today, it's not about being quiet. 

 The mountains near Gollund are particularly intimidating, this area constantly swept by snowstorms year round. It's a lighter fall at night thankfully after two days of immobility. On the break of morning, a sizable camp of the Templar and it's retainers sprung up before the fortified mansion cut into the mountainside. The structure before them is large enough: strong wooden walls ending at the stone of the mountain, a grand proper mansion past that, and a single bridge leading in and out across a moat that's currently frozen and stuck through with wooden spikes to keep out anyone who'd try to siege the place. 

 The walls are patrolled well, flying the flags of a minor Baron. Demands have gone out already during mid-day, Claudia declaring those who refuse to surrender to be Heretics. The Baron himself and his wife returned them with protests of innocence. Both sides eventually traded intentionally ineffectual arrow shots, before retreating back to their respective strongholds. The Baron's troops patrol the walls and holds the thankfully unretracting bridge. Church troops stay just outside the range of arrows and magic. Classic, competent posturing from both sides. 

 Mercenaries make up the bulk of both sets of warriors though. Even offworlders have heard calls for aide: the Church in sieging down evildoers, the Baron in stopping an army hell bent on killing him for crimes minor if not illusionary in nature. There's even been calls for healers given how both sides' are stretched for troops. 

 It's as night falls that the attack begins. Knights assault the bridge, archers and mages fire on the troops massed near the bridge. A few chocobo mounted cavalry brave enough to slip out into the snow to harry Church lines. But the assault is rather lacking for the famed competency of the Church's forces. Light, even. And the commander of the Templar is nowhere to be seen. 

 Far from this frontal assault, however, near a part of the frozen moat without spikes slips a rope ladder down the side of the walls. A line of robe-garbed civilians huddle against the cold. First, three armored soldiers make their way down: a monk and two knights. Then, one of the civilians starts to make their way slowly down. A stealthy escape. 

 The civilian screams as a crossbow bolt zips from out of the light snowstorm and embeds itself into her back. Thud. Six figures emerge from the cover provided by a mountainous outcropping. Two mages, a pair of knights, an archer, and Claudia Kinborrow in full Templar regalia spread out. The monk takes the fore, whistling jauntily as the knights take up defensive positions. Civilians try not to scream up above. 

 "I /thought/ you Heretics would try something! What's all this then? Sneaking off into the night like a pack of rats? Now, now, we just cannot have that, by the Saint no! More proof of your crimes yet!" 

 One of the civilians calls down. "We're innocent! It's the Baron you want!" 

 Claudia laughs. "Oh, come off it! No one is innocent, lad! And you lot less so than most! I mean, serving a heretic highborn is the same as doin' the crime, way I see things. Sorry friends! Stick the lot of them, lads!" Her grin is bloodthirsty. The mages begin to cast, and soon Claudia is moving faster thanks to a haste spell. The White Monk spreads a regen spell across herself and the troops. The archer takes aim at another civilian. 

 The three soldiers ready themselves, outnumbered and caught. But is there an ace up their sleeve?

    Despite Toadsworth's protests, Princess Peach hasn't actually stopped wandering the World Tree in her endless curiosity to explore strange new worlds.

    Dressed in rather stereotypical 'explorerer's clothes' - she looks more like a pilot than anything really - and carrying a large backpack on her back, the princess has... quite frankly no idea where she is.

    As she surverys her surroundings, she spots what appears to be a bastion under siege in the middle distance. She hesitates for a moment - she HAD promised Toadsworth to consider the ramifications of meddling in the affairs of other worlds and how it would impact relations with the Mushroom Kingdom.

    But, frankly, she can't just stand there and listen to people screaming. So she swiftly starts to run towards the disturbance.

    She's actually wearing shoes suitable for running this time, for once. Sneakers!

    It's been an odd week for Goku. After wandering through a weird gate that'd appeared outside a village, he's ended up in this big wide collection of worlds... wandering pretty aimlessly.

    Yup, the boy's lost, and he's somehow managed to wander his way into this grim and war-torn land.

    It's cold. Incredibly cold. Colder than he's used to dealing with! Not long ago someone dragged him half-frozen into an inn to warm up. One thing lead to another, and with the Baron's men shouting all through the town about the Coming Trouble...

    The moment the archer readies their second shot a WICKED WIND kicks up, a bunch of snow flies past the group... and the cause of this ruckus is revealed!

    "I should've seen that!" Growls out the boy who now stands daringly in front of all the readied weapons! Instead of armor (not that anyone MAKES it for kids his size, really...) he's clad in warm winter clothing of no real defensive merit. He bears a red bo staff and his... tail?! Yes, tail. Is curled up and out like a viper ready to strike.

    "Attacking people who didn't do anything to hurt you is nothing to be laughing about! You guys go home or /I'll/ be your opponent."

    He sure doesn't... look very threatening. But nor is facing all these weapons frightening.

>> SUMMARY[Goku] >> Dragged into the local town after getting lost here, was told about invasion by Baron's men and... leaps into the fray! Goku superspeeds between the bloodthirsty soldiers and the evacuating civvies with an ultimatum for Claudia's men: go home or get beat up!

    Rydia had... Not actually planned on staying. What was originally meant to be a shortcut through one world on her way back to Snowpeak turned into something a little more extended when she had passed through only to hear there was a need for healers. Well, her White Magic was beginner's level at best, but even that can be helpful when there are innocent people who are hurt, right?
    The mountainous terrain and chill snowy weather is something Rydia has grown somewhat accustomed to, since moving her 'home' to the fortified barracks of Snowpeak, back in Hyrule, and the fluffy white pelt of her new favorite White Wolfos cloak is just as helpful here as it is there, as she holds it clutched tightly to her chest, the Wolfos' grinning head worn atop her hair like a hood and keeping her much warmer than the plain green robes she wears.
    Her heart is pounding, though. She should have left EARLIER. Now here she is, leading her chocobo by the reins, letting an older man who needs it more to ride in the bird's saddle as she tries to make something of an escape with the group of civilians, after hastily being attached to them as a 'White Mage'. The battle beginning to rage out on the bridge isn't exactly heartening, but it's the sharp cry of pain that makes the green-haired girl's blood run cold.
    In an instant, she's by the fallen woman, hands quickly pulling the bolr free from her back. Normally this is a horrible mistake for a healer to make, but that is of less concern when the healer has magic at their disposal.
    "What is WRONG with you?" The girl snaps up almost on reflex, hands glowing and warm as she presses them against the injury to try and stem the flow of blood and seal the wound with a Cure spell.
    "These people are trying to get to safety, they have nothing to do with... Wait... Wait I know you." She recognizes that voice. She recognizes the scarred woman leading the attacking knights.
    And then... Then Goku. Goku interposes himself between the knights and the civilians.
    She has no idea who goku is.
    "... Hey kid, be careful. These people aren't playing around. They *will* kill you." She warns. Not like she has any right to call him kid, though, when she's not even into the double digits for age, herself.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Rydia, sidetracked on her way home to Snowpeak, finds herself attached to the fleeing civilians as a White Mage. And is now tending to the shot woman while sassing Claudia and Goku.

 Wind kicks up, and quite gamely ruins that Aimed Shot from the archer. The man curses, loses his bolt, but is up on his feet deftly. When it turns out to be a short child standing in their way? The Church group as a whole pauses. The /Baron's/ group as a whole pauses. There is a single moment of serenity on the battlefield as disbelieving eyes stare at the boy. 

 Claudia first her words first. "By the Father, are you stupid, boy!?" She admonishes in a tone that's more 'annoyed Aunt' than battle hardened warrior. The scarred woman's shout snaps them all out of it. The archer's reloading. The Baron's soldiers and the two Church knights are preparing to square off. 

 The second mage is still casting. Preparing something distinctly /big/ to anyone with a mystic sense. 

 Claudia stalks forward, moving confidently. She seems at home on the battlefield, and eyes the boy's bo staff. The civilians huddle, essentially trapped. 

 Peach would see the battle near the gate to be a stalemate. A few lucky shots put down soldiers on both sides, but it's a feint. The real fight is where Claudia and now Goku are. She'd get a good view of the tactical situation as she rushes over. 

 Claudia and co. have neatly cut off the escape of the civilians. Peach isn't yet noticed, she's well set up for a flanking assault! 

 Meanwhile, Claudia frowns. "Lucavi nip my hind, but the Baron is now hiring child soldiers? Pity you, lad, but you've sided with criminals. Lucky you I'm no Heresy Examiner. Time to puni...eh?" 

 Before she can call on her chi and get to punching Goku, Rydia is being a proper young white mage. The appearance of the young summoner actually rattles the Templar for a moment. It gives Rydia plenty of time to patch up the wound. A close thing, the archer missed her heart. The fall too broke plenty of bones. But she can live, /if/ gotten off the battlefield. 

 "Rydia of Mist, curse you a fool for showing up in places like this. Nothing wrong with me, lass. It's these highborn criminals that hire out /children/ to escort Heretics and condemn their souls in the doing of it! Now I have seen it all! Hanging out a young lad and a moppet right out to dry. Alright, change in plans!" 

 She glances back to her troops. "Leave the lass and lad to me. Take them back to Mullonde and get them straightened out. No survivors otherwise, understand?" Her voice rages, hate and the slightest hint of regret in her voice. She doesn't want to fight Goku and Rydia. But they're unwitting agents of nobility, and so she /has/ to. 

 Claudia's troops seem relieved at this. A shared sentiment, even these hardened troops don't want to kill a pair of well-meaning kids. 

 Then Claudia Kinborrow glows with a holy aura about her body, and launches herself first at Goku. Made even faster by the mage's Haste spell, the gigantic monk leaps into the air with a quickness that someone so huge shouldn't possess. And then she's aiming a thunderous falling jump-kick to the side of the diminutive martial artist. Should it connect, it might feel a bit like having a gigantic tree slammed into one's side. She's dialing it back a bit. This is meant to be painful and debilitating, not a killer blow. 

 "No blasphemous noble scheme will survive the justice of the Saint! Have at you lot!" Comes Claudia's warcry.

    Peach has seen plenty of sieges in her time. She is, to her annoyance, fairly good at picking out what's actually going on - this sort of feint is just like something her duplicitous nemesis-slash-go-karting buddy would do. She scans the area for a few moments longer while racing to make her entrance.

    Peach is remarkably light on her feet, despite carrying such a bulky backpack. She reaches the moat swiftly, and simply hovers her way over it towards Kinborrow and her entourage, completely silent in the air. Why, if no one happens to be looking in her direction, she may come in entirely unnoticed!

    Two of Claudia's knights promptly have their heads slammed together from behind, with such force that their helmets split and buckle. It's not a killing blow, but... they may not be standing up for a while.

    Peach then gives a theatrical sigh. "Really, Dame Kinborrow?" She hooks her arms through her backpack, then lets it drop - leading to it crashing to the ground with a loud slam and actually cracking the ground. How much does that thing WEIGH? "Pick on someone your own size, et cetera," she says, while... unbuttoning her jacket. What?

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Peach fights like a comedy character. ... And is also getting changed on the battlefield. Bravery or foolishness? You decide!

    If Goku can just STARE DOWN the soldiers into retreating, he'll call that a win! But sadly it's not to be. The militants recover their composure and get right back to their violence!

    If he knew anything about magic he'd be worried about that guy chanting in the back, but nope. Goku's eyes are on Claudia. Who promptly calls him stupid!

    He has just a moment to look aside and spot Rydia calling out to him. He sends her a reassuring smile! "Don't worry! I can take care of these guys!" Well. He hopes.

    Something about the woman up front has him a bit worried. And on the same note, his blood sings with the thrill of seeing what this warrior from another world can do. Pity she's apparently a meany though, huh?

    Facing Claudia means he gets an awful of her antics. And the moment soldier-heads go BONK-THUNK and helmets crack... the boy's eyes go wide. "Wow..."

    He's never seen a girl who's so strong before. 

    Sadly he can't watch her. Claudia makes her move and his attention shifts straight to her!

    "Grrrrr. I warned you!!" Instead of moving to dodge, Goku raises both arms, grasping the Power Pole between them! All his strength goes into taking that blow.

    And it was a wise choice to brace himself! Because the kick connects with his upraised guard and the pair go skidding backwards many yards across the snow-covered path!

    "Hgggghghhgghhkgkgkhhhhh!!" The young martial artist's confident face loses some of that spunk, with both arms screaming painfully in protest from all that strain. It was more than he bargained for!

    Eventually he manages to regain his footing, slam his tail into the ground, push the kick up a bit and SPRING into the fray with his own power kick aimed at Claudia's gut! Enough force behind it to send her back towards her soldiers if it lands solidly enough!

>> SUMMARY[Goku] >> Reassures Rydia! Is a bit awed at Peach's sneak-attack. Then puts his everything into the tussle with Claudia. Goes full defense absorbing the kick with the Power Pole and is drastically pushed back. Retaliates with a power kick of his own!

    Jade eyes meet green as Rydia locks her gaze with Claudia. The girl does the best she can for the injured woman, but it's not much. A more skilled White Mage would be prized right now, but she can at least have her in a condition to travel. And she quickly motions for one of the men in the civilian train. "Take her. Be gentle, get her away from here as fast as you can without making her wound any worse. I'm staying." Yes. Yes she means, that, she's staying, and the girl rises to stand, wiping bloody fingers off on the hem of her robes as she holds eye contact with Claudia the whole time.
    Rydia is quietly thankful it's so cold. Though she shakes for wholly different reasons than the chill, it makes a convenient excuse for hiding how her heart is beginning to beat.
    This is going to turn into a fight. Someone is likely to die. It may very well be her.
    This realization does not help.
    "Curse me, call me a fool all you like, these people are scared, and now some of them are hurt, and none of them can fight. You'd kill them just because of who they worked for?" She murmurs, a shaky hnd trailing to her belt.
    Peach interrupts. It is a windfall; seeing a friendly face appear like that. The diminutive Summoner's eyes widen by a fraction when the familiar princess deftly clonks two of Claudia's followers, but that still leaves the monk herself, and then Claudia and Goku are at blows. Rydia... Cannot join that. She can't physically keep up with a trained fighter and Goku's tenacity. She would only get in the way. But there is SOMETHING she can do.
    With a sudden snap-CRACK that breaks the air, Rydia's whip lashes out from her belt. Goku says he can take care of them but that doesn't mean she can't help as she attempts to use that whip to snare the monk's wrist and yank her off course as Rydia heaves with her whole by to try and offbalance the woman.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Pretending to shiver because of how cold it is. Helping Goku by not so subtle application of cheating via whip.

 The Baron's soldiers have a reinforcement or two, being first a black mage running along the walls to that ladder rope leading to the area where the civilians are fleeing. Unfortunately, the second Church mage's spell turns out to be a formidable one. Thunderous lightning rakes across the walls, killing the Baron's mage instantly. A few of the civilians ready to clamor down get glancing blows. More work for Rydia, if they can repel the Church soldiers. 

 It helps when Peach flanks in, and smashes two knight-skulls together. They fall, helmets rended to pieces. One of the more feisty ones tries to elbow Peach, but they're not Monks. It will irritate more than anything. Landing in a heap, two of the Baron's soldiers stalk up to try to finish the job! 

 Peach gets the kind of hate-filled glare that only a proper zealous, bloodthirsty noble-hating commoner can summon up. There's something unhinged in that look. Pained, irrational, and knee-jerk. If the wounds didn't already say so, this is a woman who is missing more than a few screws. 

 The battlefields of Ivalice are cruel, and create cruel people that see themselves as heroes. 

 "Well well well! The highborn comes to rescue her Heretical sackpuppet, eh? Now I'm not saying this isn't a surprise! Brave moppet you are, right on in! Real shame that, if you threw away your name, maybe I could help you make something of yourself!" She snarls. And yet, Templar she is, the offer hangs poisonously. 

 The archer is back on his feet. Claudia's too enraged to notice Peach's attempts at changing equipment, but he's a cooler man than her. Taking deft aim, he aims a crossbow shot hoping to catch the woman right in the forehead. His Templar superior didn't say not to shoot the woman dead. With grim purpose, the archer acts on the carefree princess! 

 Claudia's good eye goes wide in surprise as Goku deftly uses that pole to block. The duo of martial artists skid in the combined impact, and Goku might just sense a shift in the woman. She recognizes someone of martial talent, she's been doing this too long to /not/. Goku, young though he may be, is a potential threat. Strong. Not to be underestimated. 

 In comes Goku's kick, and...she doesn't block, per se. She lets out the air in her lungs, clenches her muscles, and turns /just/ enough that in theory the powerful kick should lose quite a bit of power. A subtle motion, the kind of thing learned by facing fellow battlefield monks stronger than her and surviving. A motion of pure experience, and it saves her from losing half of her ribs. 

 Goku's foot slams into the human equivalent of rock, but underneath that iron body two ribs shatter by the young boy's kick. The veins on the good side of Claudia's face flare, her eye is bloodshot in pain. Then her free foot digs into the ground with a flare of holy chi. She's sent skidding back, but up ankledeep in snow and mountainous ground? She arrests her slide after the length of a man skidding. 

 Only for a whip to lash out, and catch her on the wrist properly. Rydia's strength is miniscule on the whole, but it's how she interrupts the monk's momentum that matters! That mere full-Rydia-body tug has her crashing onto her side and skidding as the sound of her ankle breaking fills the battlefield. She lands on her side with a cry of pain. 

 It takes her half a moment to rise back up. "A Heretic, Rydia, is a Heretic. The knew who they worked for. They helped keep the grounds that the Baron used to hide his evil works, made sure he could use his coin to ensare offworlders like you to do his bidding. Their souls are tainted, my little sweet Summoner. Same as yours will be if you persist in this. I'm doing them a favor. A clean death on the battlefield is going to be nothing against swinging on the hangman's noose, moppet! You're a confused offworlder, so I am going to give you a chance. Run off. Get out of here. Ivalice is no place for you. Too blood-soaked and flled with corruption!" She speaks like a crusader, so /sure/ of her righteous acts. Her tone lowers. 

"Please. You're a good girl, I can tell. I do not want to hurt you. Have enough nightmares, don't want your face among them." The last, a more personal plea. 

 Her eye shimmers. She might not be lying. 

 "For now though, take a nap!" A rock is pulled from the snow, and hucked right for Rydia's face with her free hand. She snaps up to her good leg, and takes another leap straight up into the air. And then she slams that foot down even as her broken ankle and ribs slowly start to repair, thanks to that regen spell. 

 "SAINT AJORA'S CROSS!" When she falls, the snow melts away and rock shatters in a small crator around her. Holy chi rends the earth, as is crashes in a blinding wave of light riht towards Goku.

    Peach barely glances over towards the archer before her hand snaps up and snatches the arrow straight out of the air - and cracks it clean in two in a death grip. She just holds one finger up in Claudia's direction - 'wait a sec' - before finishing her costume change.

    She's... wearing a pink athletics top and a pair of pink running shorts. In THIS weather.

    She's very suddenly in front of the archer with a glower. "Rude!" is her only admonishment as she knees him right in the stomach.

>> GAME >> Peach spends an Edge for: Arrow Catch!

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Arrow Catch! And then a knee in the stomach. None of that, archer.

    Goku takes the time while Claudia's sailing back to wring out his arms and return the Power Pole to its holster on his back. "Ow ow ow...!!" That kick of hers really stung and strained his muscles! "She's strong...!" But he's not expecting her to get back up after what his foot felt there. Or that nasty fall that Rydia sent her on.

    He does spare a second to look at her choice of weapon. He's never seen a whip before, it's kinda cool-looking! "Wow. That thing cant wist just like a snake... must take plenty of practice."

    But they're still in battle. Picking up on Claudia's uncowed fighting spirit, he turns a glare back towards the monk whose physical strength has surprised him. "I don't understand a word you're saying! You keep using all these big and weird words I've never heard before! It's not making any sense." He scowls her way, sticking out his tongue, then re-assumes fighting posture.

    Though come to think of it... "That's THREE girls who are really strong!" The Saiyan youth then comments in pure innocent surprise. It's just one thing after another in the places beyond that portal!

    When Claudia decides to go after Rydia though, Goku decides enough is enough. And deepens his stance, frontleg in line with back, both knees bent and back foot turned 90 degrees for balance and better bracing. Because he'll need all the traction he can get in the snow.

    But eyes should really be on those hands of his, cupped a few inches apart, palms facing each other.

    Mystical senses will swiftly detect a SPIKE from Goku. And moments later...

    "Kaaaaaaaaaa Meeeeeeeeeeeee.....!!" Bluish-white light flashes between his hands, compressed into a roiling sphere of surging energy.

    Just in time too, because Claudia recovered before he was ready to send her flying! Goku deepens his stance further.

    "Haaaaaaaaaaa Meeeeeeeeeee...... HAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

    With a thrust of both hands forward, the compressed sphere's unleashed, to become a pulsing wave-beam of incandescent blue-white energy! It slams straight into the cross, its the Kamehameha's head deforming in a shower of hotly sparking radiance!

    The ground beneath the clashing powers begins to crack. It's probably not a good idea to stand too close to this clash!

>> SUMMARY[Goku] >> Complains about Claudia ranting using big unfamiliar words and sticks his tongue out at her. Is pretty amazed at all the Combat-Capable Girls here! And unleashes his own Ki Attack to answer Claudia. KAMEHAMEHA vs SAINT AJORA'S CROSS. Probably not a good idea to be anywhere near that...

    This is... Hectic. Rydia doesn't celebrate tripping Claudia either. Taking her eyes off the woman for a second will probably end in some kind of terrible disaster, she just yanks her whip back and coils it in her hand.
    Not being ditracted is hard though when Peach... Changes clothes so rapidly on the battlefield. The girl's jaw falls slack as she tries to make sense of it, but inevitable decides focusing on the Monk is more of a priority. "How...?"
    "I've had practice." She replies to Goku. But it is something Claudia says that makes Rydia lock up.
    The child's hands ball into tight fists, quaking where she stands.
    "Am I a heretic?"
    It's a very pointed question the girl asks, hair shrouding her face with a dark shadow.
    "Mist was burned to the ground. The people were killed. My mother died in my arms. DON'T think you can tell me a place is too blood soaked. I'm young but I'm not dumb."
    The Summoner's voice cracks sharply as she glowers. "One man said 'all the Summoners of Mist need to die' and my world was ripped from me. Does that make me evil because a king said so? Are these people heretics just because you say it?"
    Once again Rydia finds herself wondering why this world is such a sad and cold place as she rears back with her whip again, ready to strike out. Only for a rock to be hucked her way.
    There's a dull thump as it smacks into her forehead, and the girl crumples to the snow, stunned and blood running down her brow. "G-guh."

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Rydia snaps. Then eats a rock to the face. Stunned.

 Claudia is...well, busy. When she finally notices Peach's change in this hell of weather? She'll no doubt mentally call the highborn either insane or a lucavi. Now, though, it's the Archer that gets the pleasure of dealing with her. Knee to the gut is a classic. To his credit, this archer takes the blow expertly. Sees it, sucks in his muscles, and is flung about three man's lengths back. He smacks into the mountain, small crater behind him now. 

 He's not /quite/ out though. He desperately reaches for his side bag, and downs a Hi-Potion. His wounds heal, but he's still on one knee. And reloading! 

 Amidst the Chaos, Claudia eyes Goku. Her laugh is bitter. "Ooooh, I get it lad! Let me take a gamble now! Your father was a Monk, and he trained you in some sort of secluded Convent? I striking anywhere true, friend? Or are all you offworlders just so queer? Either way! Let me give you a bit of advice from someone who's lived most of her life on the field of battle!" She's almost cheery here. A confident grin, despite her many wounds. This is not the kind of woman to back down from any threat. 

 "Ser or Dame doesn't matter one lick! Only the skill, faith, and experience you have! When you fight for what you believe in? Lad or lass melts away. Only thing that matters is the cause you dedicate yourself to!" SHe shouts even as her Holy Chi races for Goku. 

 The magic has Claudia at least able to use her leg lightly by now, and so as Goku deepens his stance? She painfully takes up a defensive one. The light, the /power/ in his hands is formidable. That roiling surge of energy isn't her land's Aurablast, not quite, but close enough that she knows to fear it. She steps backwards, and shoves the pair of mages out of the way with a quickness. 

 Twin surges of chi erupt, and hit each other in time. Astonishingly, the chi blast from Goku pushes back Claudia's Cross, and eventually the two shatter. The older monk was right to shove away the two mages as the explosion hits. The older woman's technique is more powerful, but hamstrung by Rydia's breaking of her ankle. Thus, despite how a crater opens up between the pair clashing? 

 One last stray lance of the kamehameha that remains smashes into Claudia and rips right through her. She's send flying as blood splatters the ground, and there's a quite literal hole in her side. Goku's attack may well have killed her if she hadn't used her own wave of holy energy. 

 She skids to a stop, and coughs. 

 Meanwhile, the now dazed remaining soldiers of the Baron here ready the execution of the fallen Church knights. 

 Claudia falls still. Have they won? 

 The flare of chi and magic around the White Monk says otherwise. She lets out an angry howl, and one arm shoves her to standing on a half-broken akle, her good foot, and now a red, bleeding gout in her side from the young goku's side. She descends into a delirious laugh. 

 "Now...now /THAT/ is what I call a battlefield technique! You've the luck and strength of a Lucavi, lad! Not enough yet to take down a proper Templar though! Oi! You lot! Quit dying and see this battle through! Spirits of life, return to us! Raise!" 

 She doesn't heal herself. She casts a powerful white magic spell on the two fallen Knights. They grab their swords in time to stab the Baron's remaining two melee units. Weak, exhausted, but they turn towards Peach. And then taking their swords in hand, they rush for the shorts-wearing 'monk' Royal!

 Rydia eats the rock, and yet her words sting. One hand clutching her rapidly healing side, bleeding on the ground, Claudia regards the summoner with a look that's almost insultingly sympathetic. "Alright. Rydia, going to speak to you plain. That King that said you fine Summoners should die? He's a Heretic, as far as I'm concerned! A highborn! That's what they all do, don't you see!? They have their ambitions and press people down into the dirt! And kill the ones they don't like! So no. You are no Heretic. Just a lost little moppet that some highborn wants to /use/. And trust me." She coughs, sputters blood from her wound out her mouth, then grins. 

 "The Saint and the Church of Glabados declaired these people Heretics. It is not a matter of blood, my friend. Summoner, maid, knight? Our justice is /pure/! We alone only uphold Holy Law as the Father would have it. You've been duped, lass. On my honor as a Templar, I say you are an innocent fool. So back off. I can't judge Mist. In fact, sounds of things, I shall add them and you to my prayers at night, Rydia." Smile. 

 A glance to the Haste Mage. A nod. "End this." 

 Then the monk leaps once more, just before her buffs fade. Her first target is Goku, aiming a Pummel of punches towards the young man, swift and hard. Already he might see how her side is being repaired. The mage begins her casting. It could well bring Rydia out of her Stone based stupor. 

 The Church mage is a Summoner. And a /good/ one judging by the power wrapping around her.

>> GAME >> Claudia Kinborrow uses a Free Edge for: Raise @ Church Knights

    Peach isn't really used to tracking everything going on in such a confusing melee. Flashes of light and explosions of power receive worried glances, but neither Goku nor Claudia's attacks are getting anywhere close to her so she keeps most of her attention on the archer she just threw into a rock.

    Rydia is given a glance and a wince - Peach wants to leap over there and save the day, but she needs to make sure they don't all end up surrounded by knights and archers!

    So she chases after the archer while he fumbles with his ammunition. Instead of just charging headlong into him again, though, she instead leaps up into the air - a ridiculous arc, almost ten feet at its apex - before aiming to land both sneaker-clad feet right on the archer's shoulders, before bouncing off - one can almost hear the cartoony 'boing' sound effect - and flipping in the air to land facing the two charging knights.

    She sighs. "I really wanted to hit Claudia with a frying pan, you know," she complains while adopting a stance not... entirely dissimilar to one Claudia might take. More fuel for the 'Monk' fire. "Rydia, can you heal yourself?" she calls towards the summoner above the din.

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Traditional Mushroom Kingdom Martial Arts Technique: Goomba Stomp

    KABOOOOOOOOOOM! Goku put a lot into that attack! It probably wasn't his attention for Claudia to end up with a nasty wound in her side - he would've been content with knocking her into a wall or leaving her scorched and burned but fully intact... but the severe wound?!

    "HYGHKH?!" A high-pitched wail of alarm's squeezed from the boy's throat as he draws his hands back in the follow-through! That outcome was WAY more lethal than he really intended.

    Relief shows on his face when Claudia somehow manages to weather it and get back up. So he decides to answer her. "Close. I don't have a dad! But my grandpa raised me to fight. We lived in the mountains! ... Then a monster got him..." He answers though a few moments later. Bringing up his grandpa's death in the middle of this fight is disheartening, but he just heard what Rydia said too.

    And it's awakening a whole new level of alertness in the young Saiyan. He's a kid, and he might be simple-minded, and half of the words Claudia likes might be going over his head... but he's not entirely an idiot.

    Which is why he says plain and simple, even amidst the crazy show of magics flying everywhere and miraculous healing... "No idea what a... 'highborn' is... but aren't you doing these nasty things too?! You're killing these people just because you don't like them!" Well, that is the best interpretation he can figure out for 'heretic' anyways.

    The moment of talking in battle's over quickly though.

    Because, startling Goku, CLAUDIA IS BACK UP AGAIN! Now amazed for entirely different reasons, Goku scrambles to get his dukes up and show a proper defense. The Kamehameha left him just a little winded and it shows when the re-invigorated monk's up in his face again!

    The severe difference in build plays in Claudia's favor. Her limbs are longer and Goku has to use both of his arms to deflect her rain of blows. One, two, five, eight... the rain of punches just keeps coming! He blocks and deflects with great speed but weathering precision and power. Eventually blows start slamming through his guard! The boy grunts and splutters, recoiling back again and again despite his best efforts!

    But his tail, now that's another story. Though battered, bruised, bloodied, and winded by the beatdown.... he targets the moment that Claudia's footing is poorest! And that mischevious monkey tail snakes out to curl around her ankle and yank her off-balance... a manuever matched by a deep elbow strike to her solar plexus! And then a leaping kick to the jaw!

    "Grandpa said to be nice to girls, but you're not being very nice to anyone!!"

    Rydia is still stunned. The girl tries to pick herself up and only stumbles on her own feet, staggering in a dizzy haze. One hand rises to her brow and finds it sticky with blood as the young Summoner's world swims. She only distantly realizes that she's being spoken to, green eyes turning on the battered Claudia and staring through her for a long moment before Rydia's eyes come back into focus and her whole world slowly begins to stop ringing like a belltower.
    "... Don't look at me like that..." She says harshly to the look of pity. "I've already decided I'm going to see that king for myself and wring the answers from him if I have to, but do not look at me like that."
    This is a girl who does not want to be pitied. This is a girl rife with a doom-driven determination as she wipes the blood from her brow. And while she could heal herself as Peach suggests, she withholds that for now. It'll bruise and look nasty later, but she deems it not worth the expenditure of her energy. "I'll be fine." She replies to the princess. The girl is about to open her mouth to speak when Goku says something that stifles her.
    A monster killed someone close to him. It's a recurring theme in this world. Bad things happen to good people. And it makes the girl sag where she stands, still wobbling, but for more reasons than simple dizziness as a new melancholy washes over her in waves.
    She hears 'finish it'.
    Though the Summoners of Mist and the Summoners of Ivalice have their differences, there is enough similarity for Rydia to understand and realize what the Church mage brought to the fore for what she is. And she understands what she is doing.
    "Su-Summoner..." Rydia whispers, eyes flying wide. Of course she would know the damage they can do. She raises her voice sharply as she tries to lash with her whip and can't manage it with her nauseating dizziness. "-No! Don't let her summon an Eidolon!"
    The warning may very well be too late.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Talking. Still dizzy. Panicking at the reveal of another Summoner.

 Peach is after the Archer! And her leap plays true! The man, barely on his feet after the Potion, is met by powerful heels. Boing! Off goes Peach, and he falls like a Monk did him in the stomach. 

 Nearby, Claudia is suddenly getting a ridiculous amount of JP between the two martial artists in the room. 

 Thud. The twin knights' swords cut air, and the 'Monk' Peach is behind them. They turn around. They change tactics. First, one rushes for Peach wordlessly. A single strike, desperate and true. And then the other knight tries for a flanking blow on Peach. Two handed and hard, this knight doesn't care if they cleave into their friend. 

 Twitch. 'Monster got him'. Claudia finds some part of her softening. Indeed, perhaps Goku feels her fighting spirit growing weaker for a second as he says that. She might be a zealot true, but this is not a heartless woman. If anything, she has too much heart. "Sorry lad. If it's over your head then I do not have time to explain. Might seem like rank hypocrisy, and that is why you are welcome to live tonight. Let me put it this way: you leapt to a battlefield without considering 'why'. There's two armies clashing. Care to tell me which side is in the right, eh, lad?" A piercing glare. She leverages her knowledge, right down on the boy. She doesn't need to say it. 'Which side is right'. 

 Then she pummels, and back goes Goku. Only on a leg and a half, his tail lashes out. And then she goes forward! 

 Hurrrk! Claudia thrusts a single elbow forward, and catches not the first smash to her body, but the second kick! Spit flies, but she blocks the much shorter young man's strike! 

 And then proceeds to offer her stone-like forehead towards Goku's own, all to try to rattle the brain and knock him out. 

 Rydia pipes up, and Claudia peers to the girl. Her forehead bleeds heavily. She can relate to Rydia. It hurts. More than Goku's mystic strike. More than any blow dealt her today. Claudia simply nods. 

 "As you ask, Rydia of Mist. I, Dame Claudia Kinborrow of the Holy Church, do hereby say that the King that rent your people to dust is a Heretic. Go with the Saint, and may you wring answers and life aplenty in your crusade." Her tone is somber. 'Go forth and kill them', her tone is. 

 Then she chuckles. A snap of fingers to her Summoner friend. 

 "King of flames, burn into cinders! IFRIT!" 

 The esper appears suddonly. A giant, horned red-burning creature appears high above the battlefield. And then flame erupts down upon it. Rydia's warning is far too late indeed. Avoiding Claudia and co, furious burning magic flame tries to crash down not upon the fighters, but on the civilians in part. 

 But the vast majority of the Fire Esper's power is aimed for the grand walls of the Baron's fortress, ready to burn out the single man that caused this bloodshed.

    Peach has faith.

    Not in any god or spiritual entity, really. But she has faith in destiny and stories and her role in the world. She knows, in her heart of hearts, that protecting innocent lives is just, so that makes her, Rydia, and the strange boy whose name she doesn't know the Heroes of this story.

    This goes a long way towards explaining why she doesn't seem particularly worried when a gigantic horned creature appears. She trusts Rydia and Goku to be able to handle this sudden Boss Monster.

    She's more concerned by the knights trying to chop her in half anyway. She rips the crown from her head with her left hand, swiping left with it to parry the first blow. Leaving her bare right arm to deal with the two-handed blow.

    Peach grits her teeth and strikes out to the side. A yellow aura flashes over her body as she slams her arm right into the two-handed sword blow. With a sharp inhale from the princess, the blade cuts deeply into her arm, but it stops dead in its tracks a moment later.

    Teeth still clenched, Peach has no witty words to say to her opponenes - just a short hop into the air and a scissoring kick to both knights' stomachs, with enough force from her sneaker-clad feet to buckle armour and send the grown men flying.

    It's only after that that she rips the sword out of her arm and falls down to one knee, catching her breath.

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Arm wounds are preferable to stomach wounds! Right?

    It's pretty hard to think about things like reasons when he's in the middle of an exchange of blows! Goku's far too focused on not getting his face bashed in throughout the exchange. And each blow these two trade is a thunderous impact that would certainly smash boulders and crack the bones of ordinary fighters. The surrounding snow's blown backwards by one small shockwave after another!

    This state of affairs continues right up to Goku finds his shin grabbed and momentum halted by Claudia's block. And the martial artist instincts in him scream 'oh crap, bad!'

    Bad indeed. He's headbutted straight into the ground, trenching a mighty path through the snow and plowing straight through a bank. SNOW FLIES EVERYWHERE!

    There's no way he could've survived that, right...?

    A few seconds pass with no noise from the mountainous snowbank. Then...

    "Hssssssss......HIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

    The whole thing ERUPTS, and even MORE SNOW flies every which way. In the middle of it all stands Goku, his cold weather wear now ripped pretty well to shreds. Only tatters of it still cling to his battered and bloodied body, revealing a blue gi underneath. His forehead's bleeding fiercely and his teeth are clenched with a surge of determination.

    Yep. It looks like he blew away the covering snow with just a kiai!

    "You're right that I don't know what the guy in charge's reasons are, but I know /your reasons/ stink. You brought innocent people into it! I'm helping them get away because you want to wreck everything they have! I'm helping them because they're scared and can't do anything to stop you!"

    The boy clenches his teeth. Tinges of energy crackle in one fist, his hair blown eerily in the wind of his leaking, surging Ki - visible only to mystic sight, at its current intensity.

    But this show of anger and surging power's cut short by the sudden HEAT blazing down upon the battlefield. Goku raises his arms to shield himself from it, but peeks through and sees...

    "AAAAAAAH!!! THEY SUMMONED A DEMON! GRANDPA WAS RIGHT! WITCHCRAFT IS REAL!!" Childish panic. Goku recoils away from the phantom beast in the sky with a few flickers of fear. Because it's huge and FLYING and how is he supposed to deal with that?!

    Oops it's aimed... Goku's figures out where some of those flames are falling... "oh no!"

    His guard drops entirely and Goku rushes into the flames. Before he can do anything about Claudia or the Witchcraft, he'll move to grab people and drag them from the flames and shove them into snowbanks or whatever else he can do to protect them.

    Even if it means he's going to get scorched pretty badly himself.

    "No- no no no no no!" Rydia squeaks as power builds. "Stop her!" She shouts, belligerent and voice shrill. Her crusade is put on the backburner in the heat of the moment, regardless of whether or not she has sister Claudia's blessings in her quest against the King of Baron.
    The Monk snaps her fingers. The Summoner casts a spell. In that instant that she hears the chant, Rydia's eyes go wide a saucers, jaw falling slack.
    'King of Flames' the woman says.
    "... Lord of... Fire..." Rydia whispers, her voice drowning out as the blaze rains down from the sky. "Ah..."
    "AH!"
    The child falls backwards, landing on her rear, and starts to scrabble away, devolving into an utter and insensate panic as she stares wide-eyed and horrified at the blazing conflagration.
    "No..." Rydia's voice is a whimper as she crawls away, rendered mewling like a kitten just by the heat and thought of fire alone as the snow begins to melt and steam, and Ifrit breathes his rage down upon innocent people.
    Her heart hammers. She forgets everything else. Peach fending off the soldiers valiantly is lost to her. Goku's battle of fisticuffs against the Templar is no longer important. All that matters is that Rydia gets herself away from the fiery Eidolon in the sky as he readies to bring down blazing death To Rydia of Mist, everything happens so slowly as time begins to crawl as terrible thoughts race through her head at blinding speed.
    Those people are going to die.
    The fire will burn everything.
    It's like Mist all over again.
    I can't take it.
    Why is this world so sad and cold?
    In this world... Bad things happen to good people.
    For a moment, the child goes utterly still. It would seem, for a moment, that seeing the King of Flames himself has driven the child into a state of fear induced catatonia.
    But the Church Summoner will recognize power wehen she feels it. Roiling, twisting, bubbling from within the green-haired girl as Rydia suddenly stands, pulled up to her feet as though she were a marionette on strings. She's practically glowing. 
    "Why...?" She whispers. "Why are you doing this... Why are these people heretics to you, they just want to live their lives... Why do you want to take that away from them? ... I hate that..."
    And then the last Summoner of Mist raises her hands to the sky. It is said a Summoner must defeat an Eidolon in battle before the can earn the right to call upon them. Yet children, for their purity of heart are said to make the best Summoners, enabling them to entreat and call upon the Eidolons in times of dire need.
    "Lady of Ice... Queen of Frost... Quench the passion of the master of Flame in. the gentle way only you can..."
    There is a flare of brilliant light erupting from the young Summoner... And then the world becomes so *COLD*.
    In that instant, from out of nowhere a snow storm rolls in. The temperature plummets precipitously as all warmth is sapped from the world in a sudden snap freeze. Rydia wraps herself up in her cloak and it is not enough, frost and hoar coating the white pelt and turning green hair white with an endless deluge of snowflakes.
    In that instant, a gorgeous woman of blue skin emerges from the blinding whiteness of the conjured storm. She drapes her arms over Rydia's shoulder's tenderly, the proximity to this mysterious woman only causing the child to shiver violently from the cold. Cold. So cold. It only gets colder with each passing second, the new storm making the snow that normally makes up the region's climate seem a tropical paradise- so cold it becomes difficult to breathe and Rydia begins to visibly choke.
    And then the woman drifts away from Rydia, the terrible cold following her, freezing the land beneath her feet into permafrost with every step as she approaches Ifrit, her ice meeting his raging flames head on in a storm of antipodes.

>> GAME >> Rydia spends an Edge for: Summon: Shiva - Diamond Dust

 Parries land true, and then? Peach gathers her aura, and strikes out! A hop up, and then twin kicks catch both of the knights right in the guts! Twin blades fall short, and the two go flying from Peach's powerful scissor kicks! They're right out, and then the young Royal is free. Truly, she has cut down enough Church soldiers that the remaining Baron soldiers are entirely defensive. And leading the civilians out thanks to her power. Thus it is that she isn't harrassed by the Church right now. 

 Goku...retreats. Right into the flames initially, and he does his work. The few remaining Church soldiers are retreating. Really, even the entire assault is backing off even back on the bridge. Goku will find several people that he can save before the fury of Ifrit lands upon the battlefield. 

 Then, Rydia. 

 The battle of Summoners rings true. The Church Summoner narrows her eyes for just a moment. This girl has more potential than her. Can grow stronger than her. Her eyes are free with tears then teeth grit. 

 "Because! ...Because they will kill the people I love! And the people Dame Kinborrow loves! A pox upon you,heathen!' 

 The Summoner glows, and Shiva and Ifrit clashes. The battlefield erupts in the clash of the two Espers, and finally? 

 It fades. There's stone and ice in turn. The clashes have reduced knights and archer to nothing. Claudia has the Summoner over her shoulder, bleeding the both of them and she herself half eclipsed by frostbite thanks to the pair of clashing espers. 

 "R...retreat!" Comes Claudia. She's saved her Summoner, but is in a horrible state, and dashes off the battlefield like a proper commander. 

 There's fire that erupts. It's a small thing, the last vestiges of Ifrit's power. Rydia has given the civilians a path to leave by. By the older Summoner's skill has alighted the wood fortress' walls. 

 There likely won't be much left, if one stays behind.

    After shoving person after person out of the flames and tossing people (gently) into snowbanks and doing whatever else he could to counteract the flames... Goku's quite relieved to feel the temperatures plummet to something reasonable again.

    And the flames nearby subsequently go bye-bye. THEN THE TEMPERATURES KEEP DROPPING and he starts shivering, clasping both hands about himself and wrapping up the charred and tattered remains of his fuzzy winter wear about his body core.

    The war between PHANTOM BEASTS is way beyond anything he knows how to deal with and the fact that it came out of Rydia's efforts is, for now, lost on him.

    Beaten, bruised, bloodied, burned, and now in danger of being frost-bitten all in one battle, Goku drags himself back towards the main battlefield, shoulders sagging and tail dragging behind him in the snow.

    By this time of course, Claudia's fleeing with her soldiers.

    "Haaaaaaaah... I don't get her. Why? Why is she doing these things?" There's little energy left in him. He briefly grins, upon realizing that he's encountered someone who seems to be stronger than him... but the desire to fight her again - and again, and again, as many times as it takes to surpass her - is tainted with rage!

    The boy clenches his teeth in frustration. Once again he couldn't save everyone.

    But he blinks, coming out of those thoughts as he remembers the others. He glances left and right for Peach and Rydia!

    "H-heyyyyy!!" The boy dashes over towards the latter, since she got clobbered pretty badly by that rock. He comes to a halt nearby. "Are you alright...?"

    Goku leans forward a bit to be double-sure and then...

    Then his nose twitches. Sniff sniff. "Wah...?" He glances behind and-- "HHUAH!!! HOT HOT HOT!"

    In sudden PANIC he grabs at his tail and squeezes the tip several times! Yup, as the temperatures started to equalize a few smoldering hairs reignited. Goku hammers at the flames in a tizzy and quickly smothers them out, leaving his tail just a bit singed.

>> SUMMARY[Goku] >> Saved from being TOO badly singed by Shiva! Emerges from the Saving People effort more intact than he would've been. All battered, he tracks down Rydia first to check on her... then realizes his tail's on fire! Comically smothers the flames!

    Even after the raging battle of fire versus ice, as the Eidolon and Esper fade from the physical realm, Rydia is shivering violently with cold. Coming in contact with Shiva was chilling almost to her very soul, and the girl's teeth chatter as she wobbles where she stands
    Goku approaches, and like a victim of shellshock, Rydia turns her head to face the boy but seems to stare clean *through* him as he speaks to her. Frozen blood clings to her forehead, and a bruise is starting to form, but it looks like that is not the reason she's so unsure on her feet.
    She's so pale.
    "I'm fine." She mumbles. She doesn't even laugh as Goku's tail catches fire, but reaches out, using the utter last of her strength for a small puff of frost to flow from her hand and put out the boy's tail.
    Before she collapses to her knees. And then drops face down into the snow.

    Peach is down on one knee, still panting from exertion. She's bleeding quite profusely from her right arm, and her magic isn't really doing much to staunch the flow. With a few staggering gasps, she wobbles to her feet, and staggers over to her pack.

    A torniquet is tied, one-handed, just above the wound. It's... mostly working. She then grabs her discarded jacket and practically springs over to Rydia, picking the girl up and wrapping her up. Awkwardly - she can only really use her left arm. "...Kid, could you grab my stuff? I can only really use one arm right now," she murmurs in Goku's direction before standing up, holding Rydia to her chest. "...I'm taking her back to the castle. It's not very far. ... Don't worry, I'm not a kidnapper or anything. You can come too, if you want." Just takin' charge like a princess should.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Shellshock. Put out tail fire with last MP. Good night.

    "Unnnngh." Goku doesn't look like he's in much shape to lug around Peach's bag, given how heavy it appeared earlier! He's pretty darined himself. But when she swoops in and scoopsup the collapsed Rydia, he takes a few steps back to make way for her! Quietly watching the adult woman.

    "Y-you're both hurt... wish I had a few senzu beans with me."

    He takes a good look at the damage wrought to the Baron's castle... and flinches. Yeah, no reason to stick around when these two girls are way more interesting than the stuffy Baron! The nobles don't need a martial artist anymore.

    "I'm Goku!" He introduces himself, making up his mind. And then calls out to the Heavens, "NIIIIMBUS!!"

    ... He had, in fact, been forbidden from using the cloud. But this is kind of an emergency!

    And just like that, a small yellow cloud putter-swoooshes down from the heavens and comes to a halt by Goku's feet... coincidentally also near Peach and Rydia. "You two can ride the Nimbus if you want! ... if it lets you! Walking around when you're bleeding like that's a bad idea." He does, however, go to pick up Peach's things. They ARE heavy and in his exhausted state it does take him a moment to hoist 'em up! "Wow... you go everywhere lugging this thing...?!" It sure reminds him of his training with Roshi. But to imagine a girl's doing that has him wide-eyed!

    What's she got in there? ROCKS?