World Tree MUSH

    It has been a week since Rydia of Mist has gone missing.
    In that time things have mostly seemed quiet around Snowpeak Garrison, without the little ball of sass carousing about and never letting anyone hear the end of what's on her mind. Even Chocobo, Rydia's stalwart avian mount has felt the keen pain of the Summoner's vanishing.
    But in the brief span of that week something has invaded the lands of Hryule. Something terrible and monstrous; a beast the likes of which that has not been seen before. Villagers have gone missing. Small towns have been smashed. Hunters and trackers disappeared hunting this quarry, and only scattered reports of this creature have come in the form of hushed and terrified whispers and rumors.
    The people have grown to call it... Deadeye.
    They say it came from another world, they say its hide changes from blue to red when enraged, that it is missing an eye and has a broken horn, and that it swims as well and as easily as it walks.
    Those from the Blue Earth would know this description as a creature from legend. A creature called a Behemoth.
    And they say it's on a course straight for the little hamlet of Hylia's Reach. Hylia's Reach is a small town with a population of less than a hundred and fifty settled on the bank of a serene lake, and all it took was a rumor of Deadeye's approach for the town to clear out fast. But that makes thing's easier for anyone coming to try and stop the beast, doesn't it?

  It's been a week since Zelda was finally dragged out of the ocean and back to relative safety. After hours of searching, even she had been forced to admit that Rydia was gone. It's been quiet both in Zora's Domain and in Snowpeak Garrison without Rydia's sass.

  More importantly... Zelda's been angry, but in that terribly cold and quiet way of hers. Rydia was taken on her watch. And so, when a convenient target to vent her frustration on makes itself available, the princess of course immediately saddled Lynel and set off down the hill, along with whoever else wanted to accompany them.

  Sounds like a monster, by the rumours. Plenty of those in Hyrule. Nothing particularly familiar to Hylian sensibilities, but it could happen.

  So, Zelda is standing in the middle of whatever serves as the town square of Hylia's Reach, black robe fluttering in the breeze, an arrow drawn to her string. She simply stands there, motionless. Did she fall asleep like that? Nah.

  She's listening. Waiting.

  The hood is tossed carelessly down low over her face to conceal it, but there is light leaking from beneath her hood.

  And the arrow on her string is made not of wood and steel or even wood and stone; it's made of scathing light that jitters, snaps, and refuses to maintain a coherent structure when looked at directly.

  The quiver full of them is glowing at her hip.

  ...That's probably not good.

>> GAME >> Zelda spends an Edge for: Arrows. All The Arrows.

    The past week has been rough for Yumi. Those who've run into her during that week have never seen her quite so silent, nor her usual warm demeanor so muted. Having Rydia snatched way from her so easily has jarred the magical girl in a way few things ever do.

    She's already making plans to take a trip to Cecil and Rydia's world, with a seriousness and drive that's rare even for her. She's not sure where to even start with 'my friend was eaten by the King of the Eidolons and I want to get her back or find a way to track Leviathan down', but she'll find a way. Somehow. She has to.

    Those plans are on hold now, though. Some kind of monster has come to Hyrule. Something big and dangerous on the order of a natural disaster. That takes priority. If this 'Deadeye' is heading for Hylia's Reach, Yumi Tachibana intends to be there. And while she's still not exactly the best at riding chocobos, Rydia's faithful steed is swift enough to get her there... more or less without trouble, right behind Zelda and Lynel. And as soon as she's arrived, of course, she swings herself off the saddle and leads the bird off to one side where it'll be safer.

    She doesn't even say a word to Zelda; she doesn't have to. Her armor appears in a flare of radiance not all that dissimilar from the princess' own, and she hefts the tremendous form of Prominence up, tense and ready.

    If anyone had expected the Dark Knight Cecil to be angry at Zelda... well, they were dead wrong. Cecil had considered Rydia his ward, after all, and had made a promise to her. The fact that he wasn't THERE when she vanished didn't matter to him, so he has ended up doing what he does a lot lately.

    Brooding.

    That being said, he is often at Snowpeak as well, so the knight has heard the description and recognized it. By way of his own chocobo, he skids to a halt outside of the village.

    The Dark Knight doesn't rush toward where he thinks the Behemoth will be though. It's better to find Zelda and the others, where the armored knight tromps up with a sigh.

    "I've only heard of these in legends, and only that they fiercly attack anyone that disturbs them, and are resistant to many types of magic and damage." He fingers the blade next to him but doesn't draw it in Zelda's presence. "Be prepared for a tough battle. Even in my time as Captain of the Red Wings, I never even saw a behemoth."

    There's a whiff of darkness in the vicinity ...

    Off to one side, Serrah Delany steps out of a Vine and looks around in confusion. "Wait, did this thing get redirected?" she mutters. She's looking as scruffy as ever, and still has red eyes, but she is unquestionably alive and human -- or perhaps half-human, half dark. She looks over at Zelda and recoils slightly from that light, but almost immediately relaxes. It's clearly not meant for her, and if it was, it'd be less, um, destructive to her than it would have been this time three weeks ago.

    Probably.

    Maybe.

    "Uh ... hi," she says uncertainly, "what's going on?" This assembled group is clearly much more grim than you'd expect from a simple defense against an incoming invasion or monster. Still, her hand carefully goes to the baseball-filled sports bag at her hip.

Mercifully, Sonia was not one of those hunters of beasts and evil that did not go missing, though not for a lack of trying otherwise--more to her displeasure that she had chanced upon more than a few stories, a few bloodied trails that painted the grisly pictures of those less fortunate. 

It was why the robed and hooded figure was out here as well--though her means of getting here was by horse as opposed to merely being on foot. There's only so much distance one can traverse, and as much as chocobos had her interest, she was not as yet comfortable with riding them. She may not well have had the same level of connection (by her own preference) but she knew of the young lady, and was displeased enough to hear of it by rumors and tales that passed her way. 

It was perhaps purely by chance that such events brought her to this world, dismounting her own steed a fair distance away from the square solely for due caution given the steed owed to what's said to be coming. The Vampire Killer collected in one hand and held just beneath the traveler's cloak. 

"That aligns well with some of what I've heard." the woman's voice offers when she hears tell of it by way of the Dark Knight. "Reasons may not matter now, as it is said to be coming, but I am left wondering as to what provoked it's near endless furor, and if it is simply not chance that it draws towards this place and the others before." Her eyes flick briefly beneath her hood towards Serrah, that momentary instinctive spike of 'predator' surfacing before she tamps it down for her benefit alone. Her head bobs once as a means of greeting, not just for her but for Yumi as well as those gathered here. 

The sheer volume of light that Zelda has at the ready already has her beginning to think she'll need to do well the same, the woman letting a quiet breath out as she spares a quick glance around the town's structures as it relates to this coming conflict.

    A chill wind breezes through the empty town, blowing in from the direction of the lake. And with it comes a scent akin to that of a great, wet, cat.
    It's here. It comes.
    The serene and still waters of the lake darken as something churns up the bottom, causing silt and clay and dirt to render the clear waters a murky brown mire, impossible to see through. Yet there's no missing the gargantuan silhouette of something moving slickly through the water, as smooth and slippery as an eel yet hundreds of times bigger, and more feline in shape.
    A great horn crests the water, and then this is followed by a feline snout, as two massive paws dig into the loamy earth at the edge of the lake to pull the beast out.
    Easily bigger than the little houses of Hylia's Reach, the gigantic purple-hided cat that pries itself from the water gives its massive muscled bulk a good shake, flicking water off its caudal tailfin as it turns its gaze on the center of town.
    The reason why it has earned the name Deadeye becomes very apparent as its right eye is a dead shade of grey, a massive scar dominating the right side of its face, right horn long ago broken by whatever must have caused such damage.
    On seeing the little town's group of defenders so defiantly waiting for him, Deadeye lets loose a sky-shattering roar, carelessly rushing the group with little care save for the taste of blood it can just feel on the tip of its tongue in anticipation.

    Terra has been a bit flighty and absent lately. Not around, wandering off on her own. Often taking a mount and disappearing for days, weeks at a time. Her last walkabout led to her not being around to help when Rydia went missing. Her ennui or simple strangeness has cost her enough, whatever her problem is. She may be late, but the rumors got around.

    A beast that size really isn't hard to track, even to someone with relatively little woodcrafting skill. There's only so much stealth such a large frame will allow and really, she's drawn by the same rumors everyone else likely followed.

    And so, her fears are confirmed as the beasts roar splits the air in the village ahead of herself. She urges her chocobo, the poor brave creature that likely knows even better than her what it's carrying it's rider toward. There's steel in the half-espers eyes now and as she stands up in her stirrups, she may be coming into view. Red and white and licking flames in one outstretched hand. She doesn't know who the beast is charging yet but no matter; perhaps she'll steal a little of it's bloodlust by pounding at a colossal flank with a blast of fire.

    "Firaga!"

    The behemoth is charging. Cecil grunts as he sees Deadeye emerging from the water, gritting his teeth and adjusting his helmet. "All right. Do what you can, I suppose we'll just have to slow it down enough so that those at long range can eventually-"

    And then, there's a fireball. He glances up, then back at Serrah and Sonia who arrived after him. Nodding, "Well, that's at least a little more magical support. Let's see if I can't get its attention though."

    Cecil breaks into a run, moving surprisingly swiftly for someone in that heavy armor. "HRRAAAAAAGH!" He has to be careful with how the dark blade saps his vitality, but getting the beast's attention is important. His life force saps as he boosts his physical power... and sends out a wedge-shaped wave of pure necrotic energy toward the beast, attempting to both hurt it and to keep its attention on him.

    Serrah asks a question, and Yumi's response is a simple, "We... Rydia's been abducted. We can talk more about it afterward." It's not tense or dismissive; her tone is simply businesslike. They're about to have more immediate concerns. Up rises the Behemoth from the depths. Yumi spares a brief glance and nod at Sonia, but any further discussion is quashed by the deafening roar of a colossal monster.

    Yumi's answer to the beast comes without a word. The temperature around her rises noticeably as she draws up her magic, and the runes along either side of Prominence begin to glow faintly. There'll be no holding back against Deadeye. No, when the senshi launches herself into a dead-on charge against the Behemoth, she does so at full speed, weapon cocked and ready, right behind Terra's Firaga spell. But at the last second, as Cecil swings his own attack, she suddenly vaults. Hurtling into the air, she whirls into a spin that will give her sword extra momentum to accompany the magic already flowing through the strike. Needless to say, she's swinging right at Deadeye's face.

  Oh look at that, that thing is huge.

  Zelda's nostrils flare beneath her hood, scenting the beast. Her sense of smell is no better than the average human's, but it's enough to detect the musky wet smell of a Behemoth.

  She draws herself up as something approaches. The bowstring creaks as she tightens it against the arrow. A soft sound; a subtle one, but not the sudden panic-draw of somebody who's lost their nerve. There is a slow, predatory deliberation in the sound. When she raises her hood just a fraction of an inch, more white-gold light leaks from it.

  Most people would quail at the sight of that big cat. Most people should quail.

  Zelda does not. She makes no announcements. She gives no speeches. She simply raises her bow, draws an arrow of crackling light back to a pointed ear, and lets fly. The bowstring thrums as the light leaps irregularly forward -- it twists and turns within a narrow radius like lighting.

  No sooner does Zelda let fly than she slaps another jagged line of light onto the string like some weird mockery of an arrow.

  In the meantime, the first one she aims right for the eye that isn't dead... although part of her has to wonder if the beast is more dangerous to them with no eyes than one. The throes of injury or death would be destruction on a massive scale to the tired houses of Hylia's Reach.

  Begone from this place.

  Zelda speaks, but it's kind of like getting hit square between the eyes by a hammer made of sunlight, too. It might be vaguely uncomfortable to the recently-undead. It might not. Whatever it is, it's telepathy on a level that is very definitely Noticeable, with a capital N.

  Whether the beast understands her doesn't seem to matter to her so very much.

    Serrah manages not to flinch at that feeling of 'predator'. "Hey, Belmont," she says dryly. She just lets her recovered humanity speak for itself, and doesn't worry about wasting time going on about it. "Good to see a familiar face." She looks in confusion towards the unfamiliar Yumi. "Rydia ...?" She blinks. "Wait, that green kid?" she says, sounding conflicted. She'd only met the girl all of twice, and the second time, Rydia had reacted poorly to Serrah's vampirism; but concern is clearly winning. "Uh, I'm sorry to -- Holy shit that's a big one."

    Oh jeez, that's a bunch of fire from somewhere unexpected. Oh nice, necrotic power -- "G'dah!" She recoils back from that Light from Zelda, and she exhales raggedly, shaking her head. "Whatever, time to just jump in," she mutters. "Stop the World!"

    Sonia would see the familiar ripple of light and the world turning purple as Serrah stops time, rises into the air and flies sideways, and throws half a dozen baseballs. She actually becomes slightly winded from the exertion, panting with exertion, which probably says everything Sonia would need to know about the subject.

    She resumes time, and from everyone else's perspective, it looks like Serrah is suddenly floating in midair off to one side, as abruptly as if she was a video skipping ahead, and there's a bunch of baseballs flying at the Deadeye's side faster than a car on a freeway.

One thing that gets to root itself in the back of Sonia's head for now is to ask later of Serrah what precisely happened to her--that, namely, she wouldn't necessarily be offering her a swift end. A notable lack--nay, something strangely unique about that state of being. Which in turn, probably would make more tolerable one's presences and vice versa. 

Such a thing would have to be considered later, especially with the one that had been so deemed 'Deadeye' on very violent, aggressive approach. 

... Hn. Direct approaches are probably not the best of ideas, given the raw size and what not. While one potential idea comes to mind of 'go for the remaining eye', given what's been described she doesn't like the potential behind enraging it further. And with Cecil launching himself, followed by Yumi, she elects not to go forth--her close range options are poorly suited with a beast that large in such a way--at least, not right now.

"Well then. The magical arts I wield would seem the best, for the moment." she muses aloud, sparing a glance towards the very obvious Light aspects of those arrows. Drawing back her hood, she murmurs a quiet prayer, before an array of white-lit glowing circles appear beneath her, drawing together some measure of runic, holy pattern beneath her. 

And as it coalesces together, the robe she's wearing starts to billow and snap around her as she stretches her arms out, 'grabbing' the power in one hand, gripping it tightly to weave together arcane fire and holy light into one point, the circle completing underneath her with a bright flash and audible pulsation that signals the spellwork brought together. 

And with it, she unfurls her whip, a double step backwards before she lashes down into the ball of light and fire just released, the lash sending off not one or two, but splitting it into multiple, curving beams of radiant flame not unlike arrows themselves, but they seek not a scattershot location on the Behemoth, but to follow in the wake of Cecil's attack, or even Yumi's attack. 

Find a point of weakness, or make one--and hammer it until it is naught but ash. 

    Deadeye comes. 
    And is immediately met with opposition.
    A great plume of fire blasts into its side, hide smoldering as it snarls, a sound much akin to an enraged truck engine as Cecil's Darkness hits it next, causing the great beast to turn its attention on the Dark Knight, the pupil of its good eye narrowing into a thin slit with Cecil Harvey focused right in the center of it as it continues its bull rush.
    Whatever this horrendous monster is... It's... It's hideously resilient. Even as the crushing heat and impact of Prominence's blade collides with it and baseballs slam into its pelt with bone breaking force, and even Sonia's holy fire, the only thing that even slows it by a degree is the sudden spearing ray of an arrow of Light glancing across its good eye and the sheer FORCE of Princess Zelda's will.
    Rearing up, furious and snarling, the beast roars; pawing at its freshly injured and bloody eye before it slams back down with a growl that shakes the earth.
    Before it turns around.
    Flailing that great caudal tailfin it churns the air as easily as it does the water-- flapping powerfully enough to kick up dust and debris and a monstrous gale force wind to bowl the unsuspecting over before turning its claws on the group with violent haste.

    It's not going to be an easy fight. Yumi can tell almost immediately. As Zelda's arrow sails by, the armored girl springs back from the impact of her strike and lands, bounding back a pace or two to give room. She very quickly finds herself wishing she'd gone further. That sudden, deceptively swift spin doesn't just hit her with powerful wind, it comes very close to hitting her with the tail. Even with Prominence up to guard, she's blow back and off her feet.

    But a tumble turns into a roll that allows Yumi to plant boots, and in half a heartbeat she's charging forward again. One clawed swipe glances off Prominence's flat, another off her armor - that's going to be a bruise across her entire left shoulder and side, she's sure, but the force of it doesn't even slow her down.

    The magical girl's aim is to get under and behind the Behemoth... but while she's underneath, she reaches up a hand and unleashes a burst of solar fire at Deadeye's underside. Given its sheer size, it's probably tough on the underside to prevent smaller creatures from easily killing it from below; but hers is no ordinary fire, and even if she doesn't hurt it much, the distraction for her allies is well worth it.

>> SUMMARY[Yumi Tachibana] >> Blown back, charging in again, tanking blows, sunblasting from underneath.

  Zelda raises her eyes to track her massive, monstrous target; gaze flicking this way and that to judge its distance from the tired old buildings of Hylia's Reach, which as they are would break like cheap toothpicks if Deadeye breathed on them a little bit. Hmm. If she can keep it from charging towards the buildings, that should be enough. The others can finish him off, but she can do her part to protect the people of this village. Or at least their livelihood, in lean times.

  It's also a good challenge, even if it's a suicidal one. Zelda stands her ground in the middle of the square. She blinks, and between one breath and the next, Serrah has flung herself sideways and chucked like twelve -- what even are those? -- at the Behemoth. Or were those fired? They're going awfully fast.

  Zelda shakes her head as though to clear it, and when she raises her head, the hood is swept back from her face. The reason it's full of light is because her eyes are full of light -- so much light, blazing so radiantly, that it's almost hard to see where her eyes even are.

  So she does what comes naturally, which is to slap another light arrow onto her string, drawing it to her ear, and letting fly again. There is a flicker of concern for Serrah's flinch, though. Oops.

  ...Oh, yes, those arrows are Very Obvious Light. Those arrows are practically blinking neon sign screaming divinity over an overdriven megaphone.

  And suddenly she's too busy to do anything but watch as Deadeye falls on them like a purple wet-cat hammerblow.

  She throws an arm up to seize her hood and yank it back down over her face, shielding her blazing eyes from the dust and grit swirled by the beast's tailfin. The white-gold light winks out for a second or two.

  Zelda is at least quick on her feet. She manages to dance away from the beast, but just a hair too slowly. Sharp claws catch against the black robe trailing her, and put holes in it. The sudden resistance knocks her off her feet, and she snatches her cloak, scrambling backwards and firing another scathing arrow at the thundering, angry Behemoth.

  Zelda also finds herself reflecting, somewhat crankily, that there are dragons in Hyrule that are less of an urgent hassle than this thing.

"Serrah." is one of the one-word ways to answer the seemingly former--or perhaps partial? Vampire that she remembered. Yes, many questions--though as she feels the slight twinge in her senses with the way she still has that temporal ability of hers being followed by her definitely being a bit taxed by it answers some questions. Or at least, paints things in a different light. 

Speaking of light, however... 

It does in fact, come to light the way that the thing is just as resilient as both rumors and truth had said. Whatever actually /hit it/ to make it's horn go and the eye go... well. Perhaps she would just have to pour it on in a different way. But the reaction is not what she's expecting--the sheer force of will that accompanied that cutting force of the Light was one thing--the way it swung at that distance goes from 'not using the tail directly' to 'using that tail directly indirectly!' Which forces her to brace herself, arms coming up to shield her from the initial barrage of dust and debris and wind. 

But in the same instance of wind, her eyes suddenly shine with the hue of seafoam at first--and the same wind, nay, the same dust and debris... stops. It's an unnatural kind of halting, one that's notable and hopefully she catches enough of it to keep it from impeding others, before she releases another wave of arcane force--force that tears apart the debris and more. It... probably won't be enough of force to halt or even remotely slow down the Behemoth? 

But she does seek very keenly to keep the same wind and debris from opening up the others to those easy attacks that could come in the wake of galeforce winds and debris like that! 

>> SUMMARY[Sonia Belmont] >> Wind/Arcane Soul - Unironically halting the wind and sending a shredding, magical wave to keep said things /in/ the wind from being so harmful! She hopes.

    Cecil knew this would be a tough battle. He's just throwing himself into it carelessly right now, with little regard for his own safety. At least it seems to have worked. Serrah's blipping about confuses him for a moment, but as Yumi said, time to explain later. Right now he focuses on making himself a target, so that the seemingly-effective light barrage can continue. Yumi looks to be a striker as well, so he'll be a tank and-

    Well, Cecil is more of a tank than he realizes. The beast turning around has him hopeful for a moment, then he realizes the tail is coming for him. He can't dodge, so the knight lifts his shield instead, bracing his arm while letting his body go limp. The massive tail strikes him firmly on the shield, and he allows himself to be lifted off his feet and flung backward into a nearby house, crashing through to land on his rear with a grunt! Less damage than if he'd tried to block it without letting it send him flying though.

    He can't afford another dark strike like the first. He needs to save his endurance. Cecil crashes through from the ruin and rushes forward again, this time lashing out with the necrotic blade. "Ngh." He's silent otherwise... perhaps channeling his frustration into this fight.

Keeping a chocobo running in the presence of a behemoth is easy enough. Keeping it running the way you want it to, on the other hand... Terra has to keep a hand on her bird to keep it from doing the SANE thing any other sensible being would do. Alas, Terra has a pretty good handle on the poor beast and keeps it running into the danger zone!

    The combined efforts of everyone smashing into the thing doesn't seem up to the task of halting the beast, or even giving it a momentary pause. Or did it? Zelda's arrow has the most profound effect, seemingly. So, rather than risk too much and ride too close, the half-esper opts for a bit of extra caution. Cecil and Yumi, directly in reach of the monster, get her attention and she spreads out her focus as she begins to channel a supportive release of magic. While steering her mount. In a sudden gale of dust and tumbling debris. Hopefully her chocobo isn't blindsided or she might miss her mark. Maybe.

    "Cura!" She lets fly, briefly exposing herself as she tries very hard to capture Yumi and Cecil in a wash of healing motes of light. They're in the thick of it, getting banged up- Oh, Cecil flying off through a house might be a little much to ask for her range but she's going to try anyway before turning her attention to anything else.

    She's going to have to hope what the others are trying does something about the behemoth's galeforce tail flailing. Now, she's too busy hanging on as the chocobo leaps over a tumbling cart, still running flat out and now, likely, somewhat blind.

    Serrah is slightly blown back through the air by that gust of wind. It quickly stops when Sonia steps up to bat, however, and she decides to fly in and do the really dumb thing. Though she does slightly recoil from Zelda's light again. She grimaces and shakes her head, and flies upward into the air -- slightly unsteadily, as if she was new to flight -- and ... does the dumb thing.

    Yeah, she just flies right down to the Behemoth from above and begins raining punches at rapidfire speeds. "POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW!" And then she stops time again in the name of preemptively evading retaliation ...

    This time, her instantaneous movement puts her near the house Cecil just crashed into, once again looking more exerted than she expected. "Whew ..." But she's grinning, a grin which reveals smaller, blunter fangs than she had before. She takes a deep breath, and rises up off the ground again.

    ... She twitches at the sight of Terra's curing. "Y'know, I'm not sure if that'll hurt me anymore," she calls out to the half-Esper, the only other familiar face here besides Sonia, "but I'm pretty sure it'd still hurt." Beat. "I mean, uh, it won't injure me, but it'll still be painful."

    It's a furious battle to say the least. But resilient as old Deadeye may be, the group's attacks ARE beginning to get through that thick armored hide. The beast actually looks puzzled for a beat when the gale force winds it had caused are simply... Undone. But it does not give much of an opening as it roars a challenge, swiping at-- where Serrah was just a split second ago. This too confuses the beast, before it gets angry.
    As Cecil and Yumi lunge in again, one sliding beneath it, unleashing that vibrant sunlight to make the beast jolt, the other slashing at it and drawing blood with that dark blade, it quickly turns its great claws upon them, gnashing drooling fangs as it does, when it so nearly catches Zelda in its grasp only to lose her thanks to another arrow of Light.
    Then... Then the beast truly gets angry.
    Behemoths change colors with the change in their body heat, and Deadeye is rapidly turning a furious shade of red as it rears up and splits the skies with a roar, good eye, bleeding and wild as it draws a sharp breath, ready to unleash its fury on the group as...

    As a cold mist suddenly floats over the town of Hylia's Reach.

    Thin at first, but quickly rolling in, thick enough to obscure vision and lower body temperature by a few chill degrees, the mist overtakes the whole of the town. And something... Something inside that mist lets loose a roar of its own. A sharp, trill, keening and almost song-like sound that seems to come from the mist itself.
    Before that very mist coalesces into the form of a great white dragon. And though this dragon is only half the size of the Behemoth, that does not stop it from drawing a deep breath, and unleashing it upon the beast in a frigid plume that sends Deadeye into a fit of shivers, coloration rapidly turning a sickly blue as it cancels whatever attack the monster had in store for the defenders of Hylia's reach.

    Once again, Yumi simply weathers the storm. She chooses to lean into blows, to let them glance off her armor or stop them with a jarring impact against her weapon, letting her superhuman toughness blunt the worst of it. It makes her harder to displace, harder to lead into a vulnerable position; and with Terra's healing mending some of the damage as it happens, it's a fighting style she can keep up for quite a while indeed.

    More than long enough to get herself behind the Behemoth, at the very least. Putting herself on the opposite side of it from Cecil should keep the thing from being able to focus on either one of them for very long, and it also gives her an opportunity to start swinging at that dangerous tail-

    -but after the first swing, she stops dead in her tracks, finally noticing the mist.

    Instantly, the senshi takes one step back, dropping into a defensive posture. There's no telling what Deadeye could be... wait. That's not Deadeye. Yumi's eyes widen a little as the mist takes shape - in a very familiar way. "That's..." It's like an adult version of Whyt. Another of Whyt's race? How is it here? Why?

  With the same puzzlement as the Behemoth, Zelda lowers the sleeve she'd been using to shield her face as the wind dies down. Where? Oh, Sonia. There's an appreciative nod from the Hylian as cold mist settles over the battlefield, dulling the edge of town and muffling the sounds of battle. There's something familiar about them as Zelda suddenly straightens, staring at the mist. The familiarity is explained immediately as it rolls in and... trills? It almost sounds like Whyt, but his voice was more of a squeak than anything else.

  Yeah no it's totally Whyt.

  "How--"

  Zelda looks up at the mist dragon, sweeping her hood back and staring. As Whyt gives them an opening, she whirls, plucking a jagged arrow of light from the quiver, nocking, drawing, and letting fly in a single fluid motion. Two more arrows follow the first: Drawn smoothly, released expertly. Time to put this critter down while they have a chance, before it starts committing property damage on a massive scale. At least the others are doing a fine job of pummeling the thing. She wants to gawk, too, but... no time. Not while Deadeye's still breathing.

    Serrah frowns grimly as Deadeye turns red. She completely missed the stories, having only wandered here by accident, but the way the Behemoth is acting, even she can see that this is bad news. "Belmont, gimme some ideas!" she calls out to Sonia. "I can throw baseballs or punch this thing, but I think we're gonna need to get creative, and I ... uh ..."

    She frowns in confusion at the sudden chill. "Wait, what?" she says. "Where's this mist coming from!? What ... Why is there a dragon!?"

    She ... hasn't actually seen Rydia summon before, having fled before Rydia conjured Whyt up to deal with the vampires in Vincent's attack.

    "Thanks," Cecil says brusquely but genuinely to Terra. He caught the edge of that curing spell, and even if it didn't hit him fully, it let him get his breath back. He doesn't have time for more chatter, nor even to really admire how different Yumi is from when he first met her, back when he was trying to randomly stab her to keep her on her toes. "Look out!" He calls out, seeing the color change.

    But when the mist rolls in and the dragon forms, he isn't sure what to think. There shouldn't be another summoner... not that he'd be sad if there were. Except then he'll have to explain about Rydia... not the most pleasant thing.

    His warrior instincts keep him from dwelling on it too much though. He sees an opening, as do the others. With Terra able to heal, that also gives him a bit more flexibility... launching himself up, turning in midair, and then sending a crackling wave of dark energy down his blade as he slices downward, using his own life force to power a slash downward.

    No time to answer Serrah yet, but he hopes her and Sonia have the same instincts as Zelda and Yumi to take this brief window of opportunity.

    Oh dear. With the debris scattered and broken up, dust all but cleared away, Terra's free to line up a shot at the beast again. Though, with Yumi actively taking a beating, the close call with Zelda and with Cecil possibly hurt she keeps the option open to react to something instead of being more proactive in the combat. She steers her bird around who, on instinct, is absolutely on the verge of total panic.

    Especially so when the thing begins to turn red, raging and furious to the point that it begins to heat up and prepare for... She feels like she should know on some level, likely instinct but...? Annoyed with herself, she shakes her head to try and regain focus and that's when she notices the mist and the familiar, almost compelling presence of magic mixed in. The sudden blast of cold sapping the behemoth's power and rage is an eye opener and she reins her beast away, trying to keep it moving and under control to stop it from a total panic. A quick nod to Cecil, then finally she tilts her head at Serrah. Heals might cause harm...? Good opportunity to answer an open question, though. "It's Rydia." She can't know that, right? Right?? She might be guessing or overly hopeful but...

Unfortunately, Sonia has no direct point of reference--at least, not one she remembers--with regards to Whyt as it were! But at the same time, the fact the dragon is attacking the Behemoth--and the way Zelda and the others are reacting, are at least a quick mote of assurance for her, returning the nod Zelda gave due to what she did. 

"I know not, but I do believe this one is on our side, least by the way others see it." she muses loud enough for Serrah to hear. "Where it's been hit already, try and open up the beast's wounds further." She shifts her weight slightly, because asides the curing Terra's doing, there's some work she can do, now that she dispersed that gale force wind and the debris. 

And by 'doing something more', she sprints forward, putting power being her movements to close the distance between herself and Yumi. She doesn't have the benefit of say, proper long distance healing magic compared to some, but what she does have is potent all the same! Another little murmured prayer, eyes briefly closed before opening up with an icy glint in her eyes. 

And a halo of that same color falls upon Yumi as she both trades and tanks blows with the behemoth--the sensation not unlike the invigoration that would follow by applying ice to the heat of a wound, a briefly chilly thing owed to Sonia's Ice Soul, as it were. Totally distinct from the misty icy things coming down anyways. Yep! 

>> SUMMARY[Sonia Belmont] >> Continuing that Support Magic -- 'god, you made me heal - anonymous whm' -- on Yumi!

    Things are going poorly for poor old Deadeye. Though the beast had the initial benefit of its monstrous strength behind it, that's faltering now under the withering assault of blade and dragonbreath being dealt upon it.
    Try as he might to swat Cecil and Yumi away, his movements grow sluggish and labored, injury and cold sapping that very strength now as arrows of Light impact him with the force of small comets and that dark blade bears down with brutal efficiency and Prominence aims to cleave that tail.
    "Don't think too hard about the damn dragon and focus on the Behemoth!" A voice snaps sharply from the thickest part of the mist; a figure clad in green stepping from the thick fog, whip in hand.
    "White Wolfos!" She declares sharply, giving her whip a sharp crack and calling a beast down from the frigid mountains with a wailing howl.
    This beast... Should be just as familiar; hate-filled eyes gleaming like burning coals, ice crystals sprouting from its hoary, snowy, pelt as it howls and lunges for the Behemoth's throat.
    Deadeye has little struggle left in him, though, trying to fend off the Wolfos at his neck, the dragon, and the combined assault. All that's left is to finish the beast off and put it out of everyone's misery as the great cat collapses under the withering weight of its opposition, about to breathe his last.

    In battle, a moment of surprise like the one Yumi just had can be fatal. She'll be chiding herself for it later. It doesn't last very long; she at least has enough presence of mind to snap out of it after a few seconds and go back on the attack...

    ...only to stall out all over again when Terra speaks up. "...eh?"

    Rydia? It can't be, Whyt wasn't nearly that big, and Rydia was gone, and-

    Whatever Yumi's frenzied thoughts were circling around towards, they stall out entirely for a second at the sound of a voice whose tone is oddly familiar, and whose cadence and sharpness are very well-known indeed. "...Rydia?!"

    It takes just another instant before Yumi mentally reboots - and doesn't just renew her attack, she redoubles it. Prominence starts to glow entirely, heat and light radiating from the blade, and the magical knight lunges in at full speed. Leaping over a half-extended leg, dodging a half-strength swipe, weaving her way around until she can come up alongside the ribcage; and when she gets there, the senshi turns, plants her feet, and drives her greatsword straight upward between the beast's ribs, trying to plant that weapon inside the Behemoth... where she intends to unleash a burst of flames inside it.

>> SUMMARY[Yumi Tachibana] >> Yu Screen of Death

    Cecil hears the voice, and he can't believe it either... but that just bolsters his determination to get this over with. Since others are in melee, though, he can't use his dark wave to finish it off... but he quickly figures out a way to help do just that.

    "HRNG!" Another grunt that echoes in the dark armor, and the blade of darkness the Dark Knight bears swipes down. The wave of black energy crackles out, but not to stroke the chest... to slash across the legs, bearing the behemoth downward if he can to make it easier for Yumi to strike, and for Terra and Zelda and Serrah to use their ranged attacks with a larger target.

    "Rydia!" It's only after unleashing that does he call to her, as if not sure he can believe what he's hearing. This... both does and doesn't sound like the little girl he knew.

Yessss that makes--that makes a great deal more sense doesn't it? Still, having been doing a good deal to keep the frontliners up and also supported along with Terra's assistance to say nothing of that backline work that Zelda's been giving, there is a truly unmistkable sense that the beast is falling. 

And that it's long overdue to make sure that it falls swiftly and without being given a chance to thrash about.

Speaking of thrashing--Sonia's eye briefly falls upon the origin of that voice--her spiritual senses picking up /on/ said figure, to say nothing of the summons themselves, given her awareness of others. And that whip. Totally not looking in verrrry briefly in approval of a proper weapon. Nope. She's not going to display that outwardly at all. She is, however, going to display /her/ whip prowess.

By imbuing her whip with the radiant energy she had used before--but this time it's nigh full on with the divinity that makes the whip briefly shimmer with light as she launches herself into the air towards the Behemoth. She decides to make good on the place Zelda had gone for previously--twisting her body around in the air to send the whip about in a frenzy of movement that disguises the true target--snapping the sharp, corded tip right into the thing's eye as her movement keeps her hurtling out and away. 

You know, just in case anyone else had the idea to throw a shocking amount of light-infused pain into the thing's eye to maybe make it die from the amassed trauma she and others now heap upon it.

Totally also not absolutely letting the light 'erupt' from the tip when she snapped the tip right towards that bleeding eye, while keeping her attention on--wait, that's Rydia? 

    Serrah does a double-take at Terra, then smirks. "Looks like she got away!" she says ...

    ... right before the woman's shout. She shakes her head as if to clear the distractions, and rises up into the air and swoops forward back into the fray. She starts throwing baseballs once again -- at Sonia's suggestion, she aims them at the Behemoth's injured side. Two dozen baseballs fly out and hit the already-injured sides, softening it up after Yumi's internal combustion incision, Cecil hobbling maneuver, and Sonia's eye-scream with her whip.

    Terra mans the periphery of combat like a proper back row type, somehow keeping her mount calm through the bedlam until it's clear the behemoth has about had it. With the chocobo's confidence restored, she's a bit more able to help keep everyone in the melee on their feet while sparing the attention toward ending the beast's suffering.

    Her weapon comes out as she rides past and she uses what opportunity she can to ride past and try and slide the keen, thin blade somewhere vulnerable and vital. Just because this thing is a violent, merciless creature of rage and brutality doesn't mean it should suffer. If, of course, she can manage a clean hit in the chaos.

    Only once the creature is stopped will Terra finally dismount and charge at Rydia. There will be questions later. So many questions.

    One final roar. One final defiant cry that shatters the sky... And it's over. With the White Wolfos holding the Behemoth's throat with its jaws, old Deadeye can do nothing to stop the last withering and deadly assault laid out upon him. Prominence unleases the sun itself within his breast as that dark blade hamstrings him, and he drops, blinded in his other eye now by the Vampire Killer to experience the cold grip of death in complete darkness as Serrah's baseballs and Terra's blade are taken to his sides.
    The Wolfos releases its jaws and with a growl turns, returning to the cold mountains from whence it came as the great Behemoth collapses to the ground with earth shaking force.
    Which just leaves... The young lady in green standing in the midst of the mist as the great white dragon slowly dissipates into a thinner fog that lingers about her in such a familiar manner. Just as Terra comes charging.
    "T-... Terra..."
    There's no missing the crack in that voice, there's no mistaking those familiar jade eyes, even if they face they're set in is much older now. With the Behemoth felled, Rydia of Mist stands in place in an almost awkward and uncharacteristic silence as she stares quietly as though she's seeing ghosts from her past rather than friends she's always known.

    Down it goes. Down it falls. Yumi hauls Prominence free as the Behemoth breathes its last... and then, as the blade disappears to nothingness, she turns.

    She takes a step.

    Terra is not the only one to move in fast.

    She might not be as fast as a true speedster, but she can at the very least keep pace with a horse or a chocobo. And Yumi applies every bit of that speed to close the distance, only slowing down when her eyes confirm what she thought she'd glimpsed before. "Rydi... a...?" It's Rydia. But it's not. The girl who she'd seen swallowed by Leviathan just a week ago. But she looks like it's been years. It's confusing enough that for a moment the redhead wonders if it's some older sister.

    But Rydia speaks Terra's name. Looks on them with recognition.

    Yumi doesn't even realize when she'd started moving again; by the time she realizes it, she's already hauling Rydia in for a tremendous hug.

    Cecil isn't the sort to rush over and hug Rydia, but the girl has known him long enough to recognize an important moment. As soon as the behemoth falls, his attention leaves the corpse. And... his helmet comes off, shaking out the hair as the young man stares.

    It takes a moment for him to shake himself out of the stare, glancing up at Zelda with an arched eyebrow. He HAS noticed Rydia is... well... much older. But alive. "We're going to have a story on our hands, aren't we?" But hey... at least Cecil is smiling. This will probably make introductions with Serrah and Sonia a lot easier, huh?

    At the sight of the monster's death, Serrah heaves a sigh of relief and lands on the ground by Cecil, completely missing the significance of his helmet-removal. "Well, that was sudden," she says. "At least for me, I guess. Uh. Sorry." She looks around, and takes another deep breath. "Jesus I keep forgetting to breathe," she mutters under her breath. "... sort of."

    With a lopsided smile, she takes a good look at Rydia as Terra and Yumi rush forward and hug her. Serrah never really got a chance to think about Rydia, beyond 'oh boy she just comically zapped Vincent's ass' and subsequently 'oh no she only thinks of me as a rotten vampire'.

    And now, a faint blush crosses her cheeks and her smile fades, as the thought runs through her head that oh no, she's hot now.

  "I know that howl--"

  Zelda's head snaps up as though she'd been shocked, eyes snapping wide at the White Wolfos' full-throated warcry. "I know that howl!"

  No sooner does the great big beast fall than Zelda is in motion, striding forward almost leisurely. She holds her bow low, a jagged, arcing line of light strung to it and drawn three quarters of the way back. Something white bounds past her, the fluid lines of the White Wolfos in full stride, and Zelda's mouth twists in savage amusement at the sight of him.

  She hangs back, waiting. The others are sure to dispatch the beast between them; there's no need for her to wade recklessly into the melee. Zelda half-turns, regarding her friend -- now unsettlingly aged, but still so familiar -- with a twisted little smile. "The Goddesses do work in strange ways, don't they...?"

  "Whyt has grown, and so have you, I see." Zelda lifts her chin in acknowledgement.

  She doesn't run to go strangle Rydia in a hug. That would be neither elegant nor regal. But it's probably clear to Rydia that she wants to. The others are doubtless going to mob her, so Zelda hangs back.

  She's put away her arrows and her quiver's stopped glowing, not to mention her eyes are back to their ordinary summer-blue. There's recognition, there, but there's also an unfamiliar quality to the princess' stare. Rydia is changed, and even if Zelda doesn't sense that, Hylia does.

  So the Hylian hangs back, and she smiles.

  "If you ever scare me like that again, Rydia," she states serenely, "I will personally feed you to the Twilight."

"... You... are not as I once remembered you..." Sonia begins, as she collects herself from the winding attack she leveled upon the behemoth, and making sure it breathed it's last, gathering and eventually tying the whip back to the loop at her side. 

She too, is not the sort to rush over, but that's also owed to her being keeping most at arm's length. Or whip's length as it were. 

The disbelief is... somewhat rude to keep up, but it is there nonetheless as she regards Rydia in full as she's... decidedly much older than the last time she was sure she saw the young summoner, as memories drift to the surface. 

... and also trying to ignore the surprise she has at the handsome visage Cecil gives /coupled/ with the fact that Rydia is also grown up quite respectably, she closes the distance as well. She wasn't going to interject herself amidst the others, as still, that is not her way. 

"But glad I am to see you, Rydia, given what I had heard. Even more, everyone else is quite glad of your return, however obvious it may be," she remarks with a quiet little smile despite herself. Zelda's sentiment, in the tone of her voice does convey a sentiment she shares, in terms of 'working through strange ways' to be sure. 

    "Wah!"
    That is the sound of a grown up Summoner getting glomped, pulling Rydia from her doe-eyed stare at the whole of the group. She tenses as Yumi's arms go around her as though it were a foreign sensation. Not unwelcome, just strange and only distantly remembered as she brings her hands up, palms exploring Yumi's face as though if she were to let go they would all vanish in the instant she did. Slowly she detaches though, a hand setting on Terra's shoulder as though to make sure she were really there next, as she takes several timid steps towards the Dark Knight, staring at his helmetless face before she wipes at her eyes.
    "Yumi, Terra... Cecil." She whispers, voice threatening to break.
    And there's even the Hunter, Sonia, just as Rydia remembers HER, and Serrah no less.
    But's it's Zelda that the Summoner practically falls upon, breaking from the group to grip the princess by the shoulders tightly, eyes wide and wild for a beat.
    "Y-yeah right. As if. You wouldn't do that, because then who'd drag your s-sorry self home?" She manages after a beat, before she clings, close and tight.
    "It's been so long." She says. "Time is different and strange in the Feymarch... There hasn't been a day that's gone by, for the last ten years that I wasn't thinking about all of you. I didn't think I'd make it back in time, or that you'd all have forgotten about me. But I didn't forget any of you."

    For all her earnestness, Yumi is surprisingly good at reading people. If there were any doubt as to whether it was truly Rydia, the hands inspecting her face banish it. That's the touch of someone who hasn't seen her in a very long time and almost can't believe she's real.

    She has a sneaking suspicion as to what's going on even before Rydia explains it, and the summoner's words only confirm it. "...it's only been a week here, Rydia. I saw Leviathan swallow you whole a week ago. What... what happened? What did he do?"

    The thing Rydia says... that settles it. Even emotional, there's one constant with Rydia. The one thing she can't get rid of. Not her hair, or her magic, or her summon. It's that sass.

    "That's her, all right." Cecil breaks into a wider smile, relieved. "But time passes differently? That would... explain a few things." It's a lot to take in, but his time in the Tree has prepared him for some weirdness at least. Ten years...

    "Welcome back."

    Serrah relaxes somewhat. "Time shenanigans," she says. "Of course."

    She shakes her head, and hangs back from the group. She has nothing to contribute to this heartfelt reunion. She glances sidelong at Cecil. "So, uh, hi, I'm Serrah Delany," she says. "Originally human, then vampire, now sort of partway between due to complications with resurrection. And Sonia Belmont does not have any reason or justification for mercy-killing me, thank you very much." Pointedly not looking at the vampire huntress as she says that last part.

    She shrugs, and looks towards the remains of the Behemoth. "Uh. Glad I could help, I guess," she says. She starts walking over to collect her previously-thrown baseballs.

  Suddenly Zelda is seized by a Summoner, one who is very much closer to her own size. She doesn't resist, folding Rydia in close and gripping her so tightly her knuckles go white. She doesn't say anything, mostly because she doesn't trust her voice to hold. Something Rydia says, though--

  "Ten years? It's been only a week, here in Hyrule. You're wrong about one thing, though, no matter how much time you've spent in the Feymarch."

  "None of us could never forget about you, Rydia."