They sighed as they defeated some of the enemies within Angiratha, before Keyara stiffened, her eyes blank. She could feel him...that man she tried reasoning with, the man she saw as a brother, the man she trained with, studied with, did everything with. He was there, in Angiratha...at the doors to the Core. Keyara didn't come back to reality, until she felt a hand on her arm and jumped a bit.
"Keyara, are you okay?" the voice of Alvis questioned, the others looking at her confused.
"Hn? Oh, uh...y-yeah. Just...just spacing out a little." Keyara stated distracted, the ether rolling around her, speaking to her.
It warned her of her next moves, that she shouldn't be reckless...but she needed to speak with Egil. She sighed before a harsh wave hit her, making her wince and back into Alvis, who held her protectively, even as the others gathered around.
"Keyara?!" Alvis shouted in worry, seeing the pain on her face.
Keyara growled as the wave was persistent, letting her feel Egils' anger, pain, and...his sorrow. He was upset, that was obvious, everything had gone smoothly...then Zanza came and destroyed everything! She slowly relaxed, letting her own ether-waves push the other waves away, before she was fully relaxed.
"Keyara?" Alvis asked worried as she straightened, and backed up a bit.
"I'll be okay, a ether-wave hit me, but it's passed now." Keyara explained, unsheathing her sword and looking it over.
'Okay...it's still sharp. I need to sneak away from the others so I can confront Egil...I need to explain to him what happened. I don't want to hurt him...but if it comes to that, then I will protect myself.' Keyara thought, seeing the others talking to one another.
She looked at Willow, the black-haired, pig-tailed Homs was watching her silently. Keyara sighed, before she looked toward the Core, then back at Willow and gave a small nod, her ether waves rolling off her toward Willow to explain her reasoning. Willow nodded back, Keyara reading understanding from Willow and Keyara smiled her gratefulness. Using ether to silence her footsteps, she ran off, before she bolted only a fleeting feeling of ether left behind.
"So Keyara, what do you-? Keyara?!" Shulk shouted, seeing her gone.
"Oi, where'd she go?!" Reyn shouted, and Willow sighed.
"She left to get some fresh air and told me to let you all to not worry. She wanted some time for herself." Willow covered and while she normally wouldn't lie, she knew Keyara had important business to attend with...'someone'.
"She's been awfully closed off lately, I hope everything's okay." Sharla stated, sighing.
With Keyara: Keyara zoomed through the city, dodging Mechon or jumping across the buildings to avoid battles, she needed to speak with Egil...urgently! As she reached the Core and entered the Teleporter, she appeared before the doors to the Core and spotted him.
"EGIL!" Keyara shouted, running up to him, sword unsheathed.
"Hm? YOU?!" Egil shouted, shocked to see her...alive.
"H-how?! How are you still alive...you're not Machina or High Entia." Egil growled out, glaring at her, red eyes showing nothing but hate for her.
"Egil please, you must listen to me! I know you hate me, but what I did to Meyneth...it wasn't of my will!" Keyara shouted, hurt he thought she killed Meyneth willingly.
"Hmph! As if one, allied with Zanza, would speak so willingly of the past. You lie." Egil sneered out, not wishing to listen.
"Please, just hear me out! I-!" Keyara was cut off as he threw a metal dagger at her, but she dodged it.
"Enough! I will not listen to your black-hearted lies any longer, wench! You betrayed Meyneth, betrayed us, betrayed the woman you called mother, betrayed your people! You dare speak of the past as if it's easy, as if I could forgive what you did." Egil growled out, clenching his teeth in anger at the end.
"But I'm serious, I ran here to explain what happened. If you remember, like I'm sure you do; then you remember I went to battle Zanza. I lost the battle, I was suppose to die as a result...but Zanza...he did something I never thought he'd do." Keyara stated, her voice shaky near the end...it was still a seething scar.
"Your shaking...what could be so terrifying?" Egil asked cautiously...she wouldn't relent.
"Back then...Zanza, he...as you know, he is a God. When I lost t-the battle...he took something I could never regain, he took something precious away from me." Keyara stated, her eyes blank with the pain she felt of that time.
"He took...he took everything away, away from me, never to be regained until either his or my death. He took my will...my freedom...my heart, literally...he took it all away. I...I was, no...still am his slave. But I have the power to fight back, the power to try and keep him away, as I still do. Even as we speak, he might try to take control, but I will never let him regain control of my body!" Keyara stated but Egil looked away, and Keyara growled, stomping her foot.
"Don't you see what I'm trying to tell you, Egil?! I didn't strike down Meyneth of my own, free will...Zanza made me!" Keyara shouted, tears streaming down her face but Egil shook with rage.
"You say...Zanza, can control you? YOU BLACK-HEARTED WENCH!" Egil shouted spinning and shooting his orbs at her, and Keyara gasped, eyes wide as they headed toward her.
With the others: The others sighed as Vanea teleported away, intent on speaking with Egil and they hadn't seen Keyara at all...they were getting worried. What if she was hurt? What if she was lost in the ether again? Shulk sighed, banging his head against the wall he was leaning against, his body slumped...he was worn out. Suddenly his eyes glowed as a vision flashed.
-Vision- Keyara screamed in pain as she hit the ground, before she stood and something hit her against a wall, before laser's shot at her and she tried to stop them with her ether-shield, but it didn't do much good. After the barrage was over, Keyara slid to the ground. Suddenly, Keyara was laying face-down against the ground, someone standing before her but they were too blurry to make out any details. Keyara tried to stand, but then a sword went through her back, and she went limp even as Vanea, bound, screamed.-Vision End-
Shulk gasped as he shot away from the wall, eyes wide with panic, fear, and worry. Alvis noticed his change and got worried himself, he walked toward him catching the others attention.
"Shulk, what's wrong? Did you see something? Alvis asked, wondering if he should do his ritual to see what was wrong.
Suddenly, Alvis' own eyes glowed their silver-blue and he groaned, holding his head. He saw what Shulk saw, but it was a shorter version and he saw blood. He fell to his knee's and Shulk knelt to him.
"Alvis, are you okay?" Shulk asked worried and Alvis nodded, standing.
"Y-yes...but now I'm worried. Keyara is in danger!" Alvis shouted, and the others gasped.
"Oi Shulk, Alvis, what'd you two see?" Reyn asked, and Shulk sighed.
"Keyara, she was fighting someone and Vanea was bound, she couldn't move. Keyara is being attacked by someone who can use laser's, and orb's and her ether can't defend her! If we don't hurry, she'll be killed!" Shulk shouted, and they nodded.
"Then we must hurry to the Teleporter." Fiora stated, and they nodded, running off.
With Keyara: Keyara rolled away, even as Egil struck her with the orbs again, and Vanea appeared.
"Vanea, where have you been?!" Egil growled out, taking attention away from Keyara to look at Vanea, who seemed shocked.
"Wha-?! Egil, please stop this! I have seen Keyaras' reasoning and I know what she did, as well as you did, but I believe it wasn't of her own free will." Vanea shouted, even as Keyara hit a pillar.
Vanea was about to run to help her, but she was suddenly bound by coils and yanked toward Egil, who had seemed worried.
"I cannot afford to lose my sister to this woman as well." Egil stated and began shooting laser's at Keyara, in which Keyara used her ether-shield.
It didn't help much as some of the laser's penetrated her shield and struck Keyara, making her give a yelp of pain. As the barrage was over, Keyara stood and outstretched her sword, and it soon had red ether gather around it, and turn to fire, and Keyara charged.
"If you won't listen to reason, then I'll force you!" Keyara shouted, and Egil laughed.
"You finally show your true color's!" Egil shouted, and laser's shot at her.
Keyaras' eyes flashed purple due to the ether, and she dodged the laser's, then they flashed purple again as she jumped over another barrage, and clashed swords with Egil who threw her back, and they began their duel. Keyara started to use a little more ether to make her faster and stronger, but one arm was glowing green, something that confused Egil. Keyara knocked his sword away, and slammed her hand to his head.
"Please Egil, this is what happened! Let it show you the truth!" Keyara shouted and green ether poured into Egil, showing him what happened.
After a few minutes, in which the others appeared, Egil growled and threw Keyara back, and she made contact with another wall, before she fell face-first to the ground.
"You...wretched woman. It's a lie...A LIE I TELL YOU!" Egil shouted and charged Keyara, and struck even as she struggled to stand.
Alvis took action, and blocked Egils' sword; he seemed shocked to see them, and jumped back, even as Vanea was released from her bindings. She ran toward the others, standing beside them; facing against her brother.
"What were you thinking?" Alvis whispered harshly to her, and she sighed.
"I just...wanted to talk to him." Keyara replied, and sighed sadly...Egil didn't listen to her memories.
After the talk, in which a battle ensued, before Egil disappeared into the core, Keyara looked at him.
"I swear Egil, it wasn't me back then!" Keyara shouted, ignoring the others call to her.
"As I stated before, I won't listen to your black-hearted lies!" Egil shouted before he disappeared into the Core.
Keyara felt someone grab her wrist and saw it was Shulk, and he seemed panicked.
"Keyara, let's go!" Shulk shouted and pulled her with them, even as Keyara looked toward the core.
'Egil...why won't you listen to me?! You were a brother to me, why?!' Keyara shouted, as they entered Angiratha, and continued running.
"What was that all about, about 'it wasn't me back then'? What's going on?!" Shulk shouted as he ran beside Fiora, the others running from a light.
"Nothing, don't worry about it!" Keyara shouted, even as the light closed in on them...they would know in due time.