The Darkest Day

[Lilith]

lilith was unaware that her mouth was left open as she looked over every detail of Abigail's new outfit, she stepped closer to get a better look.
"yeah... it looks g- great"
she looked off to the side a little.

"Do you have anything in the castle?"
"no, lets get going"

the vampire followed behind the two mages, listening intently to their conversation.
"Kind of like you, actually..."
Lilith was sort of taken back by the statement, the shade of her cheeks changed again.
"hmm... yeah I guess so..."
she smiled lightly, closing her eyes as she did so.

as they reached the dock Lilith began to break off, but the white mage's preaching kept her there.
the vampire continued to stay at the two and she continued to smile.

[Vivi]

When Abby started talking to the Black Mage with that all-inspiring, reassuring talk of Cosmos again, Vivi's quivering eyes would begin glistening. As she spoke of the glimmering light what possessed even the darkest of Cosmos' children, he began to sob audibally, and stared into the White Mage's eyes, hanging on her every word as if he would miss something vital.

"Th-thank you, Miss Abigail," he breathed, returning her warm embrace with one of his own. "I will find my light, then, by training with the Miss..."

Turning, he reached out to grab Lilith's hand, as well. "I'm sure we outcasts--the lot of us--will find what we're looking for together."

[General Beatrix]

Beatrix had just passed several soldiers on her way out of the palace who were just going back in for the last bit of luggage carried in from before. She passed them with a less-than-worthy salute, her forlorn visage depressing everyone who took a second glance.

Halting on the steps leading out, she stared up at the Red Rose, and then down at a fresh, clean uniform neatly folded in her arms. Looking back only once she whispered her goodbye and pressed on through the gates to the large bridge, and ascended the ramp leading into the loading dock.

As passersby asked how she was she only frowned more. And when she made it up to the bridge where Ellis and the navigators were stationed they didn't question her as she took her seat.

"We must leave this place..."

Several moments passed before Ellis would respond, and she finally broke out demanding that she ship simply wasn't fit for flying just yet, but the general waved her hand.

"Once the last of our soldiers boards, I want this craft airborne, is that clear?"

Weakly, hesitantly, her first mate nodded and assisted the crew start up the engines. Minutes later when everything was ready Ellis went on the intercom and made a head check. Nexus was nowhere to be found aboard the Red Rose, so Beatrix ordered her to send a search party.

"He is part of this group just as much as Lexia or Lilith, so find him."

"Y-yes, General..."

[nexus]

The soldiers sent would find Nexus and Airinose still in the same place as before, in the front courtyard asleep. Upon approaching Airinose would lift her head in the soldiers direction. She squinted her eyes at them and huffed some smoke. One of the soldiers seemed smarter then the others, for after the smoke came, they stopped, but only one came forward, best not tempt a dragon protecting some one.

The soldier saluted to the dragon. "General Beatrix requests your presence upon the Red Rose." The soldier said before motioning to the airship.

Airinose looked to the airship before looking back to the woman in front of her. With a bit of a sigh Airinose nudged Nexus a couple times, but to no avail he was out cold, exhausted from the battle. Airinose shook her head a couple times then mentioned to the soldier then to Nexus.

The soldier took the hint that the man wasn't waking up. She called over two more soldiers, one to help with Nexus the other to grab his gear, including his sword which a soldier of the castle had returned to him earlier. The walk back to the Red Rose was an interesting one with the soldiers a little nervous with have a dragon so close in tow, a little worried about dropping Nexus while they boarded the airship.

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail smiled softly, happy to see that Vivi was feeling better. She giggled a bit, then reached over to take Lilith's hand as well, pulling it gently over to Vivi's to hold them together, her hands cupping both. "That's the spirit, Vivi!" she said, smiling to both of them. She slowly let the hands go and took a step back. "I think we're about ready..." she said softly.

Looking down, she felt that the pin was still there and sighed. It seemed she had to take command while her friends recovered from this ordeal. That was fine. She'd do so to the best of her ability. Adjusting her staff, she slipped it into her bag of holding and nodded to the two. "Get to your rooms asap, okay? We're getting underway!"

A nod to a nearby soldier would signal that she wanted the cargo bay closed up, having seen everybody get back to the ship through the cargo hold. Once it was closed and secured, she made her way to the bridge.

She found her way there and stood by Beatrix's captain chair. "Everyone's on board, Bea. We're ready to go!"

[General Beatrix]

As the throne-like seat Beatrix sat in was like a loveseat to her, she took to one side, leaning herself on the right-side arm rest, her chin resting on her closed fist; her eye was barely open, but she was still conscious enough to hear Abby's call.

With a negligent flick of the wrist she signaled for Ellis to lift off. Tilting her head only slightly to her right she patted the cushion on her left, basically inviting Abby a seat.

"I wanted to discuss some things with you, Lady Abigail...about my actions, and about my dear--erm, Lady Agrias." I still do not deserve to call her by such warm titles... "What can you tell me of your Cosmos and Her rules on forgiveness? I wouldn't imagine the mercy of an all-powerful being to be...what am I saying? I've hand out less mercy than any deities I've heard of..."

[Lilith]

Lilith gasped a little when Abigail took her hand only to unite it with Vivi's.

"Get to your rooms asap"
"oh... okay"
Liliths grasp on Vivi's hand loosened as she pulled away.
the vampire stared at the white mage until she left.

"well Vivi I'll catch up with you later, k?"
the vampire grinned and disappeared into the shadows and slinked back to her spot in the hold.

[Vivi]

"But I don't--" The Black Mage was interrupted by Lilith calling out that she'd see him later, and he turned to her and nodded, hoping to give her a hug before she left, only to embrace a shadow. Sighing, he turned back to Abby, offered her a warm hug and a "thank you" and toddled off down the halls, to make his way to the Black Mage Facility Cabin.

When he arrived here he sat down in one of the pod-like tubes, and leaned against the cold metal, cylindrical wall and tried to fall asleep, clutching onto his Mace of Zeus like a stuffed animal.

[Agrias Oaks]

There was a loud roar, and a rumble when the engines began to sound off, a slight pressure would push everyone down as the ship soared up. The knight would groan a little, her eyes opening to squint at her surroundings. Brown orbs starring at the redness of her room.

Her entirety that was her muscles would feel twisted, stretched, and pulled upon like taffy. Every movement would cause her to squeak and groan in soreness.

"Oh...Gooood..." she rasped weakly, turning on her side to curl up, "Oww...!" she found herself calling out, but low enough as to not attract attention within the room. She rested a hand upon the soft cloth which had stained by her own blood, and she frowned, realizing it was not a dream at all.

She slowly bent her neck a little to look down at herself, her once heavenly white dress was drenched in dried blood that was flaking off and getting everywhere. She grunted, and tried to sit. The Socialite Class was ruined, and would could not be used for future events. That would require too much trust, and she realized how useless that class truly was, and the dream was shattered. Agrias gasped, sitting up with all her might, and standing but falling to her hands and knees afterward, "U-ugn! d-damn! "

The knight, unable to hold herself up, fell on her side with a small thud. She grew... afraid, was she to remain so useless? Was she so broken that she could not even sit up? She was never injured so before, and it frightened her.

Boco was also in similar downs. It was literally sitting, when usually he was standing straight up with neck stretched. He would kwhee sadly, still having a headache from being held up side down.

'waaaark...' it would complain, twirling its head a little to rest it underneath a wing, 'waaark..'

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail blinked softly, seeing Beatrix offer the spot next to her. The white mage sat, seeming so much more mature now in her modern garb and her longer hair. She looked to the woman with some confusion and listened as she spoke.

"I wanted to discuss some things with you, Lady Abigail...about my actions, and about my dear--erm, Lady Agrias... What can you tell me of your Cosmos and Her rules on forgiveness? I wouldn't imagine the mercy of an all-powerful being to be...what am I saying? I've hand out less mercy than any deities I've heard of..."

She sighed softly, shaking her head at the still upset General. Luckily for her, she kept her book on her at all times. Not even in her bag of holding! She kept it within easy reach, right within an easy to reach pocket. Pulling out the Book of Cosmos, she opened it up and softly began to read with a wonderful, caring tone.

"For no soul is beyond redemption that seeks the light and takes comfort in my embrace. My love is as the light, casting equally on those who turn to me no matter how deeply one has stared into their own shadow..." read Abigail, before closing her book. She then looked to Beatrix, and without warning wrapped her arms around her fellow sister to hold her close. She opened the book again, reading over the woman's shoulder as she held her.

"So go forth, speakers of my words, for yours are my arms, and yours is my light. Give heal the harms and give comfort to those troubled, for through you my love may find those lost... and through you may they be forgiven..." she read softly into the woman's ear, then let her go, closing her book and tucking it safely away. Into her bag of holding she went, and produced a smaller version of the same tome, for convenience and portability, of course!

"Take this..." she said to Beatrix, placing it into her hands. She closed the General's fingers around it and smiled. "I've already forgiven you... and it is the will of Cosmos that you be forgiven, should you come live in the light with us once more. As for your shadow, turn to us for aid and we will guide you!"

Standing up, Abigail allowed her hands to release Beatrix's, letting her take hold of her redemption with her own hands. "I'm here to heal the harms... and give comfort to the troubled. When you need me again, use the intercom okay? Right now, I have some more literal healing to attend to..."

She gave Beatrix a final, courteous nod before walking off to the hallways which lead to the private rooms. She went to Agrias' room first, but found her not there. This was confusing, but checking with a passing soldier who alerted her that Agrias was in fact in Beatrix's room. Abigail simply sighed and nodded. "Of course... Thank you," she said, then made her way there.

Abigail didn't knock. Frankly, she expected the woman to be asleep, so why would she bother? What a shock for her when she found Agrias laying on the floor! With a gasp, she ran into the room and knealt down, quickly checking her vitals before sighing softly. "You-" she squeaked, then lightly tapped her shoulder.

"You scared me..." she said, then helped the woman slowly up to her feet and into a chair. "My, my, aren't you a mess?" she said, knealing down and looking up at her while she started taking the woman's shoes off (blood had pooled into them, and was quite messy). "I'd imagine you're pretty sore right now... I can fix that..." she continued, working on getting Agrias out of the blood-soaked clothing.

[Agrias Oaks]

The knight groaned and yelped even when this woman helped her into the chair. Her whole body was shaking from exhaustion and stress. She looked up, her eyes showing much worry and fear, and she blinked them once, trying to calm down, "Nay...thee I've..." she paused a moment, her eyes shooting wide open in realization, "..... Lady....Abigail...!" she rasped a little, almost with no voice.

When Abigail helped her with the shoes, she felt a little better, her feet breathing and able to stretch a little from the open space, but even that seemed to bother the knight. She stayed still on the chair, her golden eyes a dim brown, "I ca...th-thank you..." she tried to communicate, her voice small and hoarse, "...you look-....art'thou...been-....you...look amazing..." she tried to form a sentence, already speechless, " stronger...w-wiser... ye' has... a more confident...aura...g-good... thine training must of been... must of been... a worthy one..." she sounded off, holding a little at the armchairs to quit her shivering. How weak she must look... she hated this.

It was difficult to complain when around Abigail, even though her eyes showed much fear. She had also been looking for her sword, but she had grown so disoriented, she found it hard to find...

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail couldn't supress her signature giggle at Agrias' struggling to get her thoughts all in one line. She smiled softly, setting the shoes aside before walking around to try and slide the dress off the woman's shoulders. She worked diligently and quickly, taking great care not to move Agrias too much to avoid hurting her. Having had to do this many times in Midgar for injured patients, she was quite skilled.

"Yes, it's me..." she spoke quietly to her, her voice soothing. "Apparently, my training took longer than I knew... it was through the kindness of a witch that I was able to arrive when I did..." she explained, then looked to Agrias with that soft smile. "Missed you guys..." she added.

Once Agrias was free of her dress, Abigail folded it neatly and set it down on top of the shoes. Sadly, this particular set of clothes might just have to be thrown out, unless one of the soldiers just happened to be a miracle worker of garments. She looked to the woman, seeing that even her undergarments were terribly bloodstained. "Oh..." she said softly, then shook her head a bit.

"You know what you need? A hot bath..." she said, then walked to the door and opened it slightly to signal down a nearby soldier, recruiting her to get the tub ready for Agrias while she worked on the battered knight. The soldier did as asked and Abigail returned to begin removing even this layer of ruined clothes.

"Thank you, by the way..." she said, speaking as she deftly unfastened her corset. "For your compliments. I don't mean to be rude, but I have to be honest when I say you've looked better!" she giggled softly here, hoping Agrias would get a little chuckle out of this at least.

Once she had her ungarbed, she wrapped Agrias up in a robe from the wardrobe (sorry, Beatrix!) and attempted to ease her to her feet, offering support as she did. "Come now... let's get you cleaned up..."

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias was quiet, feeling like the fool from all the events happening, although she tried hard to be optimistic of the situation. In reality, she was frightened under that controlled layer, that her time in battle was over... that she could not continue, and that she had lost Save the Queen. She felt ... unworthy.

She continued to walk along the path with some dignity, yet every step was painful, if not more than the last. Her nerves were shot and her muscles critical. To be this injured, and to have brought this upon herself was no acts of a Legendary Knight.

"I... thought I saw Cosmos... but... it was thee, was it not?"

Agrias looked to her side a moment, watching Abigail with a defeated expression. Whilst the mage got stronger, she had gotten weaker. Still... it was not the mage's fault... in fact...

"... I am..." she grunted a little, her knee failing her momentarily, but she picked up her speed, "... I am... so very proud of thee, Lady Abigail..." she would give her a soft smile, "T-truly... I've always... been proud of thee..."

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail smiled when Agrias told her that she was proud. It made her swell up with pride as well, though she did well to remember her humility. When Agrias nearly tripped, she was there to catch her, but did so in a way to give the illusion that Agrias caught herself. It was only the proper thing to do, after all! They were passing the threshhold into the bathroom now.

"It means a great deal for me to hear you say that, Miss Agrias..." she said softly, and nodded for the Soldier to leave before she would help Agrias raise herself into the bathtub, where the perfectly heated water was waiting with a fresh, hazy steam that smelled strongly of lavendar and vanilla, a mixture which was known to relax stress quite well. She'd reach up and remove the robe as Agrias sank into the water, and made sure her head was rested comfortably on a small pillow at the end before she'd sit on the edge and look to her.

"You've always been and are an icon to me, Miss Agrias..." she admitted, shrugging a bit cutely. "Ever since we first met, I've held you in very high regard, dreamed of being like you... still do, really. I've seen grown men's very hearts shatter at the things you've endured today..." she said, trying to be gentle about the wounds she herself healed earlier. She looked off, bowing her head a little to show her respect. "It's... simply amazing. You are amazing, the strength you possess. I could never be so strong..."

She looked over and smiled, showing her maturity here. "But that's okay... I'm happy with who and how I am. I get to be there to help you stay strong, you and Miss Bea both. I'll never lose sight of that again..." She giggled once, then playfully reached down to splash the woman with the warm waters.

"I should give you some privacy while the water eases your body. If anything, I'll be right outside..." she said, then stood up slowly, about to walk to the door, though taking her time in case Agrias needed or wanted her company, her counsel.

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias stayed quiet within the waters, starring as the dried blood would flake away, and simply disappear (dilute) into the waters. She closed her eyes, in thought before speaking... should she mention that she saw the others? That for a moment, she had seen her fallen comrades from before?

"T'was... not my time yet, they said." she spoke out loud, moving a bit, but stayed still so her muscles could absorb the warmness of the waters, "I saw them... all of them, even The Queen, Highness Ovelia."

The knight turned her head a little, to look to Abigail, a peaceful look in her eyes, "... They were all together... in Lionel Castle. All safe in a ghost world, but still safe." she whispered, facing forward again, breathing in the soothing aromas before whispering, " The Queen, Lady Ovelia, told me I was not finished in this world. That my duty, and my journey was not over, and that I was not allowed to die."

...she made a pause...

"I was told not to die... I could not join them for now, and I can accept that..." She closed her eyes tightly to prevent tears, "... I was told not to perish... but I was never told to not be afraid... and I am afraid, Lady Abigail... I am frighted," she whimpered a little, holding up a sore arm to show it trembled from what would be no trouble at all to do. "Am I... even fit to hold a sword...? Am I still of use?"