Chapter 23: And Broken Hearts
Part 1
Much thanks to Major, who was busy, but helped anyway.
_
Without a thought, Taylor turned and leapt down after Gilgamesh, back in through the broken skylight, the sight of the Travellers having both alarmed and unsettled her.
Taylor reasoned that it was hard not to be alarmed and unsettled when one of their members controlled, or possibly was, a lion...centipede...THING!
As the cracked, blackened glass littered bank floor rushed up at her, Taylor braced herself for the impact.
Crunch.
As she hit the floor, there was, surprisingly, no pain, not even a little. Instead Taylor felt a slight hardness under her feet and heard the crunch of glass under her boots, signalling that she had indeed landed.
Taylor ignored the questions this raised along with the dozen other ones bubbling up after every that happened today. Shaking the questions away she saw Gilgamesh rush towards the Undersiders, who had hunkered down behind the end of the bus that had been thrown at the bank, the crumpled front end having smashed all the way through into the bank proper.
Taylor moved after Gilgamesh, her Dad's words haunting her.
"I don't want you to see me like this."
Tough, Taylor thought with a snap of anger, he hadn't seen her in months.
He had seen her departed mother more in the last few weeks than his alive daughter.
If it helped, she would stay away from him as he recovered, somewhere safe, not while his body was being used by some jackass.
Gilgamesh pivoted on his heel and from… somewhere, pulled out a yellow plastic looking gun.
The nerf gun, as reported by Miss Militia.
Taylor didn't slow, but she didn't ignore the weapon either. Anything that Gilgamesh used could be a weapon, had to be a weapon, and after seeing what he could so with a hockey stick, she wasn't going to take any chances even if it was a nerf weapon.
Gilgamesh took aim with one eye closed, the gun held in the his ghostly arms. Both arms looking slightly more transparent than before.
"Show me how fast you are!" Gilgamesh called out loudly and the nerf gun pulsed slightly.
Taylor stopped and quickly raised the Keyblade up in front of her face to parry as a yellow dart impacted the Keyblade with enough force to shake her arms.
Taylor moved forwards while twirling her body to the side letting a dart fly past her, and then moved back dodging the second dart as it followed shortly after.
"Faster!" Gilgamesh said and his voice carried as the weapon glowed brighter, the yellow aura shining from the guns joints.
Darts exploded out of the spinning chambers, far more than Taylor imagined the gun could possibly hold.
She spun on her heel, twirling out of the way of the way and bring her blade up. As the stream followed her, she used both hands to weave the Keyblade in a dizzying dance, the flat of her blade knocking aside the barrage. As the stream of bullets only seemed to get faster, Taylor began to move faster and faster, the Keyblade blurring in front of her, forcing her to rely almost purely on Scan and her own instincts to avoid being hit.
There was a cracking boom like a bomb going off and Gilgamesh's gun began to violently shake as the barrel spun so fast that the darts changed from a stream and into a storm, water flashing into steam above the barrel, droplets sent flying with the salvo.
Unable to block them all, Taylor dived to the side, flowing into a roll as the yellow barrage followed her, concrete chips flying everywhere as the bullets missed and struck the already cracked floor.
Gilgamesh jumped on top of the bus, somehow maintaining his footing on the water slicked metal surface protruding from the bank wall. Crouching to aim better and tilting his head, Gilgamesh started firing again, the gun still glowing and steaming. Instead of dodging, her lip curled in anger and Taylor pointed the Keyblade at Gilgamesh and a stream of ice exploded forward in an attempt to match Gilgamesh.
The falling water instantly became snow, the burnt and cracked concrete became frozen and slick, while a storm of blunted icicles raced forward. The ice and bullets clashed, frozen fragments and glowing shrapnel flying everywhere. However, the ice only managed to push the bullet stream back so far before the bullets ripped the ice and snow apart in a cacophony of noise not unlike shattering crystals. Worse, as Taylor kept the spell going, the point of shattering began moving back towards her.
Realising she would lose at this rate, Taylor abandoned the tactic and threw the Keyblade to the side. Melody whistled away even as she launched herself into a backwards flip, her body moving faster almost like it did when she was rolling. She felt her hands touch the ground, coarse and hard through her gloves, and pushed herself up, completing the flip. Then she was kicking off the ground, again and again, hand and legs blurring as she kept moving backwards across the lobby in a series of flips, forced to keep moving to dodge the bullets chasing her.
Then one of her hands landed awkwardly on a piece of glass and Taylor flinched as she felt it pierce her palm. Pushing off poorly Taylor stumbled as she landed on her feet. As she took a moment to adjust and try to dodge again... The bullets smashed into her. Rocked backwards, Taylor stumbled again, managing to raise her hands and protect her face. As the bullets struck her in a never ending deluge, each blow becoming lost amidst the stream until it felt like her bruises had bruises. She imagined this was what getting hit with Miss Militias water cannon of doom must have felt like.
Then the blows shifted lower, no longer battering her arms and chest and Taylor's breath was driven from her body as the bullets crashed against her stomach. Shocked and winded she was carried off her feet and sent crashing into the teller's counter, her thighs hitting it and flipping her over the top, landing on the other side. Finally. behind some cover, she took a much-needed breath, struggling to get air into her lungs.
Lying there, struggling to breathe even as the bullets began to rip the desk apart, sending the chunks of the computer and various clutter flying overhead.
After a few seconds, there was the sound of Gilgamesh yelping and the bullets suddenly ceased.
Pulling herself up with great effort, Taylor watched as the Keyblade flew back to her, carving into the ruined desk head first with a heavy thunk, the handle falling slightly to lean towards Taylor.
Looking past it, Taylor grinned as she saw Gilgamesh holding the remains of his nerf gun which had been neatly cut in half, the foam darts falling out one by one. Her plan had worked, no one ever expected a boomerang sword.
Taylor flexed her hand and the sparks of green healing washed over her, restoring her forming bruises to pale skin and closing the cut on her palm.
She climbed onto the desk and pulled at the Keyblade; it slid out easily, almost eager to return to her hand.
Gilgamesh scowled at the severed half of the gun still in his hand.
"Tch, you keep breaking all my toys." Gilgamesh said and threw the remains of the nerf gun aside in disgust. The broken half clattered loudly as it hit the floor.
Taylor jumped over the desk and landed, rubbing her chest to ease the lingering aches.
"So sorry." She said with scorn, her lip curling unseen.
Gilgamesh crossed his arms as he stared down at her.
"Don't think I like the sarcasm." The warrior said with a sigh.
Calmly, Taylor began to walk towards him.
"Don't think I like you." Taylor replied and leapt at him, swinging the Keyblade in a wide slash.
Gilgamesh shook both hands and two black night sticks slid into his palms out of thin air.
Taylor tried to ignore how much the act reminded her of Jess.
He crossed them in a x pattern and met her, the Keyblade clashing with the sticks as they began to glow.
Taylor let go of the Keyblade, pushing the handle towards Gilgamesh with her palm, the Keyblade spun lazily and Gilgamesh's eyes shined, he dropped his night sticks and reached for the Keyblade.
Taylor ducked low and pivoted on her heel, moving behind Gilgamesh.
As Gilgamesh grabbed the Keyblade, an expression of delight on his face Taylor slapped both hands against his back.
"Ice." Taylor spat and twin pillars of ice erupted from her hands.
Gilgamesh was shot out and up, smashing into the chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. The extravagant piece of furniture that was sent crashing to the floor as Gilgamesh rammed into it, still holding her Keyblade.
Which reappeared in her hand at the mere thought of needing it.
Gilgamesh was contracted by his nature to look after her father's body, to heal it and in the small time since he had, her Dad had looked better than he had in... well, ever.
The fact that Gilgamesh could jump from the roof to the bank floor without a hitch told her that whatever Gilgamesh was doing to her Dad was the same thing that he did to his weapons, empowering him somehow.
So she had shot her Dad into a fancy light fixture and had to hope he was going to be okay.
Most girls had to deal with curfew and maybe boyfriends.
Taylor had to wrestle her Dad's body from the control of a nebulous chaos spirit while stopping a bank heist.
Never let it be said Taylor Hebert settled for other people's standards.
The chandelier screeched as it was moved aside, Gilgamesh standing up as remains of decorative crystals fell off him, cracking his neck.
"Anyone else and that would have been… lights out." Gilgamesh said with a smile.
Taylor just scowled.
She was about to move when there was a blur in her vision. Turning she, saw someone standing where Regent used to be.
A full black suit and top hat was the first thing she saw, the second was the red mask, like a smiling comedy mask.
He looked at her and then out the window.
"Nice, I didn't expect you to be so tall." The cape said to her, his voice calm. He sounded younger than she would have guessed.
Taylor didn't ask questions, she just leapt at him.
One moment she was flying, water beating off her cloak… and then there was a strange moment where Taylor wasn't sure where she was.
She was at the bank, then she wasn't, instead she was somewhere else? There was a void of endless black all around her.
And there she floated, alone in the dark. No noise, no clashing weapons or falling water, not even the distant rumble of traffic. No sight, no colour, no white ice, blackened concrete, or colourful costumes.
Just her… Her and her heart beat.
In that seemingly endless moment ,Taylor looked around at this dark and empty world, black sand beneath her feet and...
In every direction, the darkness was filled with small, yellow eyes.
They all looked at her, each and every gleaming eye staring straight at her.
They rushed at her.
Taylor screamed, the darkness swallowing her, the yellow eyes almost on her and-
She was standing on a roof, the open sky above her. Taylor panted and crouched, her Keyblade in hand, ready to defend herself.
But she was alone.
Standing on slightly shaky legs she looked about, the bank was across the street.
How did she get here? She paused as she noticed people on the roof nearby.
A small person in black, a rifle in their hands. Despite it being dark out now, the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles and street lights let her make out the letters 'PRT' printed on their back, which was pretty telling. A sniper.
This must be what happened with Sabah when Lung attacked, switched away by the cape called Trickster.
Sabah had never mentioned the darkness or the eyes.
Taylor felt cold at the idea of being trapped there, alone in the dark, no real up or down, no color or sound. Just those things.
A flash of colour snapped her attention back to the present.
The soldier below was suddenly Sabah, stumbling likely unprepared for the switch.
In the distance she could still see Trickster through the bank windows.
Why did he put her here? Why not the closer sniper? Taylor ran and jumped the small distance to the next building, landing next to Sabah, startling her.
Sabah placed a hand over her heart and sagged in relief when she saw that it was Taylor.
"Taylor? Where are we? You just vanished and this guy with a sniper rifle fell out of mid air and then the top hat guy, the one from before, he pointed at me and then… I was here." Sabah finished, mumbling. Taylor was about to speak when there was a noise like scuffling feet.
Taylor turned to see a girl, shorter than Taylor, in a black costume with a red sun decorating her chest armour and a few more scattered about her costume. Her head was completely encased in a helmet that resembled a knight's given the odd grilled front and backwards swepping spikes.
"Please, just stay sitting and don't move." The girl said, her voice coming out more pleading than threatening.
The helmet may have hidden her face, but Taylor had the feeling that the girl was… upset at her own actions.
Taylor stood, trying to appear as friendly as possible.
"Hey, listen we-" Taylor began.
But the girl… Sundancer, Taylor realized, held her hand out, a tiny flare appearing and illuminating the girl in the dark, shadows dancing away across the roof.
"No! Just stay there!" Sundancer yelled and the tiny spec of light grew bigger and Taylor felt a wave of heat so hot that her skin felt itchy. Sabah gasped and moved back.
The concrete roof below the girl turned shiny, but not the ground directly under her.
Sun… dancer. Taylor felt her body tense.
There was no way, such a cape could exist.
If a cape could generate a sun, they would be known, tracked and feared if they weren't a hero. Even then, there was no amount of self control that could counter a sun.
It was a power that could never be used anywhere. It would destroy anything it touched.
Sundancer let the flare flicker out and the air instantly cooled.
They were on the highest building the PRT forces had occupied it seemed, as no other snipers seem to be locking on to Sundancer's head as no red dots appeared like they had on Gilgamesh.
There was a thump and a person landed, following Taylor from the roof she appeared on to land near Sundancer.
A man in bulky army armour and square mask, almost like a robot's, stood and dusted himself off.
"Sorry Sun, she got away before I could warn her." The man said gruffly.
Sundancer nodded, stiffly.
"It's fine." Sundancer assured him and they both turned back to Taylor, pausing to look her over.
"She took down Lung and Hookwolf?" Ballistic, maybe, asked, sounding dubious.
Sundancer's voice turned hard.
"Don't judge her like that, it doesn't matter, she's a hero and we're… I'm sorry." Sundancer said to her.
Taylor nodded slightly as Sabah moved to put herself behind behind her, taking hold of Taylor's arm protectively. Taylor scowled at the pair of villains, the usual brightness Sabah seemed to radiate was somehow… bleaker. She hated anyone who made Sabah feel less than the amazing woman she was.
Feeling more secure with Taylor's closeness, Sabah shifted to get a better look at the two villains.
"What do you want?" Sabah asked Sundancer.
The sun cape paused.
"We're just here for the Undersiders, that's all, just let us have them and we can all go home tonight." Sundancer said to them, her voice back to the soft tone.
Taylor snorted.
"They robbed a bank, they're robbing the central bank. No offence, but it's not really me you have to convince. The entire PRT is down there." Taylor exaggerated and Sundancer fretted slightly.
Ballistic snorted.
"Doesn't matter, we're not here to fight. The Wards are messing around with Genesis and we have you guys here. Trickster will get everyone else out. Now sit down and shut up." Ballistic said, his voice was deep and somewhat cold. There was a slight buzzing noise and Ballistic pulled out a phone.
"I'm up, he's ready. Don't let them mess with your head, remember why we're here Sun." Ballistic said to Sundancer, with far more warmth in his voice. He then stood up and stepped on to the roof's edge, Taylor could almost reach out and push him off.
Then he was gone, replaced by Miss Militia, who began toppling forward still unconscious. This time Taylor did reach out and grabbed the hero, the heat erupting behind her letting Taylor know she had startled Sundancer.
Pulling on her fatigues, Taylor caught Miss Militia as the heroine fell backwards. Sundancer instantly extinguished her sun.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean… Is she okay?" Sundancer asked, staring at Miss Militia.
Taylor grimaced.
"Her jaw was hurt pretty badly." Taylor told her and then looked at Sundancer,s mask where the eyes would be.
"I'm going to heal her, are you going to melt me if I do?" Taylor asked seriously.
Sundancer shook her head furiously.
"No I would never, I don't kill people." Sundancer said in anger.
Taylor have her a cold look.
"Could have fooled me." She said and her Keyblade glowed as the green light of cure settled over Miss Militia.
The woman stirred, but did not wake and Taylor frowned.
It was her father all over again.
Taylor stood and pointed her Keyblade at her with both hands, she was done being unsure and torn inside.
She knew she could heal Miss Militia, make her as healthy as she had even been. Taylor grasped this idea, this will and focused it, she pushed at it and repeated it.
She could do better, she should do better and she would do better.
Taylor raised the Keyblade over Miss Militia with a flick of her wrist and her voice thundered with the determination behind her words.
"Cure… More than cure, it has to be more. It is more. It is...Cura!" Taylor intoned and instead of green sparks, a green circle surrounded Miss Militia, a single flowerlike bell hovering over its centre.
There was a slight tinkling noise and the flower shook slightly showering Miss Militia in golden pollen.
The effect vanished and Miss Militia blinked her eyes open and froze.
The older cape attempted to stand, but Taylor put a hand on her shoulder.
"We're prisoners." She said simply and the fatigue clad cape turned her gaze to Sundancer.
"I see." Miss Militia said, as if she had already adapted to the situation.
"Throw your gun over here." Sundancer said with a calm touch to her voice, but her hands were shaking.
Obligingly, Miss Militia slid her pistol across the concrete without a word, standing as she did so. As the gun reached her Sundancer kicked it through a trap-door where it went down the flight of stairs that lead into the building.
But Taylor was sure that, like her Keyblade, the gun would not be parted from its master if she didn't let it, and that it wouldn't stay gone either.
"Are we to be taken?" Miss Militia asked Sundancer who shook her head fiercely, but didn't answer.
Taylor suddenly felt like she had something figured out about Sundancer and spoke up.
"We're in the way, so Sundancer is going to kill us if we cause a hassle. They want the Undersiders." Taylor said bitterly.
Sundancer's head ducked as if the villain had been struck by Taylor's words.
Taylor snorted, knowing this was nothing more than a distraction for them. Sundancer was not here to hold them prisoner, her job was to distract Taylor with her sun.
But Taylor didn't have time to waste, she had to get back to Gilgamesh and work out how to save her dad. He didn't get to just leave her now. Still, the sun was a force Taylor couldn't hope to fight, but not that long ago she would have said the same about dragon fire.
Sabah tugged at her sleeve.
"Key, don't, please, I can't lose you." Sabah begged, her hand tightening its grip on Taylor's arm.
Taylor paused, Sabah, sounded so…
Sad. Sundancer had made Sabah sad, this entire thing, had made her this way.
Taylor looked down at the girl she..loved, and smiled, the hate and fury that had been churning and growing in her stomach eased.
"I'll be right back." Taylor assured her, putting her hand over Sabahs before gently prying Sabah's fingers free and lifting her best friends hand off her.
They'd made Sabah break down , were keeping Taylor from her dad, and were threatening people? And they thought she'd let them get away with it?
Sundancer let her sun erupt again, the shining orb flaring to life and the rooftop suddenly so hot Taylor could feel her skin beginning to burn…
Her lip curled in anger. Bakuda, Lung, and now Sundancer. They'd all burned her.
This time there would be payback.
Taylor tugged on the golden wire in head, pulling at it without a shred of hesitation.
Unlike on the bank roof, where every little word or movement made her falter, she pulled the wire as tight as she could, feeling heat like the summer sun coarse through her veins, her fear burning to cinders as confidence filled her mind. She was invincible! Better still…
She smirked, her teeth bulging in her mouth, sharp edges gleaming in the sunlight as nothing but a pleasant breeze washed over her now. Sundancer's searing heat was nothing to her now.
Taylor took a step forward and Sundancer took a step back. Taylor saw the sun grow bigger and she stopped pulling on the wire, instead Taylor pushed her thoughts into it, pushed herself into the wire.
And inside the wire… Ifrit was waiting for her, as if he had expected her arrival in this odd headspace a long time ago.
'Careful, a complete fusion is still dangerous but… I see no harm in a small gift. Taylor, you take that energy, that fire, I can feel it from here, take it, and send it to me. It will burn you up otherwise. Now… Show them what happens when they try to burn us.' Ifrit whispered and Taylor felt a rush, a surge of Ifrit's essence run through her heart.
Her skin turned bronze instantly, and her empty socket burst into flames, crackling with power, but her coat stayed white, and her head hornless.
A gift... There was a feeling like the air was rapidly cooling, no longer just pleasant but actually cool despite the sun. It gave Taylor a pretty good guess at what gift Ifrit had given her.
Invulnerability to fire and heat.
Still smirking, teeth gleaming and eye socket blazing, Taylor sauntered towards Sundancer as the miniature sun in the villain's hands swirled out of her control. Sundancer screamed in panic and fear as the sun slid from her grasp, the power of a the sun unleashed as the fiery orb whipped towards Taylor.
Eagerly, Taylor licked her lips once as the fire rushed towards her, her lips parting, jaw opening wide and...
She ate it.
It was almost automatic, reflex, as if she had no control over herself. Taylor swallowed the sun and pretended it was a spicy meatball, because it was hot, scalding hot, burning her throat as she swallowed.
As the sun hit her stomach, the heat spread through her body and as the heat began to build, burning her as her body rose in temperature, the searing flames of a star licking her insides, cooking her from the inside out... She pushed it into wire; took the heat, the energy from herself and...
Sent it to Ifrit.
'What a glorious flame, such purity, such… humanity. It's tinged with sadness and grief, such a rich experience. So… human.' Ifrit murmured and then the wire glowed brightly in Taylor's mind.
Sundancer fell to her knees, staring up at Taylor.
"You… ate my sun." Sundancer said in a small voice tinged with fear.
Taylor grinned, revealing fang after fang, her eye socket blazed and her cloak flapped in an otherworldly breeze. Licking her lips again, Taylor opened her mouth to say something to calm the other girl.
Instead she had to jerk her head up as she belched a stream of flame up into the night sky, a loud disgusting burp accompanying the effect.
Sundancer fell backwards, waving her hand in front of her face.
"Oh God, it smells like rotten eggs." The sun themed cape gasped out between coughs while trying to crawl away.
Taylor sniffed and smelled the faintest wisp of sulphur. Huh, fire and brimstone.
Letting her head lazily fall back down, Taylor shrugged nonchalantly and apologetically.
"Sorry, it's the demon in my head." Taylor said to the retreating Sundancer, who paused and looked back at her.
Taylor thought about the sentence.
That had come out wrong, she should apologize. Make sure Sundancer understood. She should also beat the snot out of her for making Sabah upset.
She shook her head trying to clear it even as the words tumbled forth.
"I mean, he's in my head and he told me to eat your sun to give him power." Taylor expanded the explanation, digging the hole deeper.
Sundancer stood, trembling, putting her hands in front of her as if to ward off Taylor.
Taylor, feeling like Sundancer was massively misunderstanding her, felt a need to explain and to beat her down… Or was it to protect Sabah? She took a few steps forward.
"Wait, I didn't mean it like that! He's a spirit of chaos, he loves soap dramas!" Taylor half wailed, half raged, not quite sure what she was trying to do anymore.
Before Sundancer could formulate a reply there was skittering sound and suddenly the lionpede form earlier scuttled over the edge of the roof and... recoiled as it smelt the air. The lionpede almost fell off the side of the building, leaning backwards dangerously. But it managed to hold on as Sundancer scrambled off the roof and climbed onto the liopede's back, Miss Militia came to stand near Taylor, who noted the woman was carefully breathing through her mouth.
The gun back in her hand.
The lionpede took off and there was a moment of indecision. Taylor had to hunt down Sundancer for making Sabah cry and she needed to protect Sabah. She needed to defeat the Travelers and she needed to beat Gilgamesh to save her dad. She needed to beat the snot out of Sundancer and apologize for being scary… She could do all of that right if she just brought Sundancer back here, right? Right... Taylor jumped, grabbing onto the back of the creature, letting herself be dragged away and off the roof, leaving Sabah in Miss Militia's hands.
There was something nagging at her, as if the entire day had finally come crashing down on her and that she would regret this later, though how that worked out she had no idea.
She just knew it was a sort of insanity that made her focus on one thing, helped along by the pulsing of the golden wire. And she needed to win.
"Listen to me! I'm not crazy!" Taylor yelled as the Lionpede moved across the side of the building and down on to the road.
Sundancer whipped her head around and gave a strangled shriek as the sight of Taylor crawling her way along the creature's body.
"Genesis, shake her off!" Sundancer yelled, half pleading, half panicking. The creature, Genesis it would seem, began to shake its long body, its needle like legs digging into another building, climbing furiously.
Taylor held on. Fingers clenched tightly around sides of the insect.
"I'm not possessed! But if you don't come back with me right now I will hit you!" Taylor yelled and began slowly crawling up the monster's body. Sundancer looked around in a panic before she reached down and took off her red boot, throwing it at Taylor.
The rubbery shoe smacked Taylor in the face, her sharpened teeth biting into the sturdy material of the footwear. She needed to catch Sundancer and she had the villains shoe!
Genesis stretched between building's then, still skittering along, the chilling wind rushing past and making Taylor feel cold in the spring night. Lights flickered past and she could hear shouting from below as the PRT scrambled to get countermeasures ready and blockade the bank.
Despite the rush, Taylor held on to the shoe, she would not let go! As they whipped up over the building, a few rubber bullets pinged against the building around them… At least, Taylor hoped they were rubber, she wasn't bulletproof! Well maybe.
The golden wire in her head pulsed more erratically and Taylor felt her focus tightening. Wait, why was she holding a shoe in her mouth?
'Sorry, just hold on a bit longer, I need your control, this form is hard. It's more opposed my nature than most, such control and soul is needed…'
Shoving the question away Taylor bit down on the boot in her mouth to keep it from flying off. Her hands curling tighter around the sides of the lionpede, finding their grip in the glowing green chitin, she kept climbing.
Genesis curved around a billboard and slammed her… his? Their tail end into it almost knocking Taylor off. She held on though, her grip tightening till she felt the carapace creak beneath her fingers. She smiled, her socket burning and teeth flashing in the...
Wait. Smiled?
She had lost the boot! Wait. No. There it was stuck between her and genesis. She took it back into her mouth, though she didn't quite know why. Anyway... She had almost lost the boot! That was unacceptable!
They had to be stopped, she had to stop them. If she stopped them she could explain how Ifrit was a douche and she was actually a very nice person, she could hit Sundancer for making Sabah cry and haul the villainess back so she… could protect… Sabah?
Something like that? Mostly? Taylor gave up, today was just a bad day, it was a Tuesday after all! So she just needed to… make them stop. Just… make them stop and the world would make sense again.
Hmm… Stop.
Mog had done this, how hard could be? Time was easy, even Clockblocker could do it!
Pssh, easy right?
She took the boot out of her mouth and held it in one hand, wrapping her legs around the lionpede to keep her grip on it. Her other hand now free Taylor called and the Keyblade appeared. Swinging the Melody high Taylor almost slid off Genesis as bug leapt to another roof, quickly circling the bank.
Shifting her legs for a better grip, Taylor pooled her power and gathered her will. They needed to… She needed...
"Okay… I command you to… Stop!" Taylor cried, waving the Keyblade back and forth, her mind a fireworks display exploding with dizzying emotions.
Nothing happened. Just Sundancer looking over her shoulder fearfully before urging Genesis sharply downward. Taylor screamed as the ground rushed at her, she flailed the Keyblade, feeling a little ill with vertigo.
"Stop, freeze, halt, enough, just stop, stop, staph." Taylor gagged as a fly caught in her mouth, the ground rushing towards her, the boot in one hand, the Keyblade in another, a damn fly in her mouth, and Sundancer screaming her ears off.
She just wanted a second to get herself together! Was one second too much to ask?
A clock appeared above them and it stopped.
And then... everything was quiet.
Genesis stopped, Sundancer stopped, the nearby pigeons stopped, the flashing sirens stopped below them and even the wire in her head stopped.
Taylor tried to move, but found she couldn't. She was frozen, trapped. She couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't breathe, couldn't anything. She was trapped!
As Taylor tried and failed to hyperventilate she realized it was more than just her and the two Travelers who had stopped. It was… It was as if the whole world had come to a complete stand still. Every car on the ground frozen mid flash of their lights, Troopers standing perfectly still mid run or as they tried to adjust their aim, the smoke curling from bus had stopped, black clouds looking almost silken as they sat still in the air.
Ifrit's bond had frozen as well, but… it twitched.
The world was frozen and she was the last thinking person alive.
Or so it seemed.
'Eh maybe that was a bad idea, Taylor? You there? Everything's stopped. No. Is it? It feels like time magic, but not… Taylor, what did you say? To cast this?'Ifrit's voice sounded as if it was underwater, echoey and far off.
'Uh...Staph, I ate a bug by accident.' Taylor admitted bashfully.
Ifrit stifled a laugh, merely snorted in amusement.
'Of course you did. Only you can cause a temporal effect by accident. Let's see… You're good but not that good, I don't think everything is frozen.' Ifrit suggested.
Taylor wanted to blink at his words so badly.
'Really? Cause everything looks pretty frozen to me… Oh God i put a boot in my mouth! Why did I put a boot in my mouth?!' Taylor asked with horror.
Ifrit did laugh at this.
'I warned you that I would take your control, the world is much simpler when you aren't so self aware yes? The flow must have been cut when you did this, control returned... But I digress. Taylor, I think the world is not stopped...I think our mental processes are accelerated to frankly alarming speeds.' Ifrit told her.
Taylor could still see the clock in the air.
The second hand moved forward a single tick.
'Ifrit, how long does this last? The clock thing doesn't seem to be moving very fast.' Taylor told him, a slight edge of worry creeping into her tone and Ifrit shrugged… somehow.
'Time and Space magics are not my forte, if Chronos was here, or maybe Gasper, or perhaps a Sorceress, or even that damn skeleton, I could give you some numbers, but… Eh… How fast is the big hand moving?" Ifrit asked and Taylor watched it with a sinking feeling as it moved for the second time in their conversation.
'Slowly… Really slowly.' She offered and Taylor heard Ifrit grumble to himself.
'Magic… Anyway she likes, how would she like…' Ifrit's thoughts slipped in and out before he coughed.
'Right. Magic lesson number yadda yadda, all spells are subject to the casters whims, unless cast via ritual or magical object. So if you cast a spell in an arcane circle or a black materia with ill intent, you're gonna have a bad time.' Ifrit began to lecture.
Taylor eyed the Keyblade that was in her sight.
'The Keyblade is a magical thing… right?' Taylor asked.
Ifrit snorted.
'It is indeed a magical 'thing', but it doesn't count. Keyblades draw strength from your own heart, neatly side stepping that little rule. So, what you have to do is command the spell to end but, the kicker is that most magic will be stuck in the time effect, so you'll have to counter the spell with another spell, of a temporal persuasion, it's the only magic that can cancel out this one, got it?" Ifrit asked.
Taylor mentally tried to nod. She'd like to think she succeeded...
'I'll take your… uh… flopping as agreement.' Ifrit replied and went quiet.
Taylor tried to sigh, forgetting for a moment that she was frozen.
So, with apparently nothing but time to play with, Taylor thought. First, she tried to push her magic out into the world, to feel or do something, but it seemed to struggle to do anything, moving sluggishly, lacking its usual fluid grace.
Okay, so that didn't work. Why not? What had she done exactly? Thinking back on it, she wanted everything to stop when she cast her spell... and it had.
But why?
What had she been thinking, what had she wanted? Why had she wanted to stop everything… Oh. Because everything was too much, her brain had been too hectic, too out of control. She had just wanted a moment so she could stop and think.
But what if they stopped for too long? She would be stuck here in mid air, on a lionpede, forever. Or close enough to it from her perspective.
She would go insane.
Would she ever get out before her mind went crazy? Never seeing Sabah again, never seeing or rescuing her Dad, never getting to know why Mog lied, or why…
Why everything went wrong on a Kupo-be-damned-Tuesday?!
According to Mog, the third high note of the U in Kupo gave it a swearing quality if stressed. Kupo truly was a word good for every occasion.
Taylor knew what kind of spell she needed, even if she didn't know its name. A time spell to counter time spells.
To slow down the accelerated, to speed up the slowed, and to unfreeze the frozen.
The power of temporal equilibrium, to set time to its natural flow
Such a spell had to exist, because logically, she could not be the first magic user to swallow a fly when casting a spell and get themselves stuck in time.
If a mistake has happened to you, then it's happened to someone else, the internet proved that a long time ago for Taylor.
'Ah that works, the name you're looking for is Restart. It's an old, hardly used spell since Dispel came about, but it should get us out of here since Restart… well, restarts temporal energies. Then again, I can't remember anyone who got stuck inside their own time spell.' Ifrit mused.
Taylor ignored him, her pride hurting.
'Resta-... wait. Ifrit, if we go back to normal time, won't I… um… go slightly mad again?" She asked worriedly.
Ifrit hummed.
'Unfortunately, but I'm feeding the energy into a little project, it should stabilize us both.' He half boasted half announced.
Taylor felt a chill in her mind which would have liked to run down her spine, except, you know, stuck in time.
'Project?' Taylor asked wearily.
Ifrit smirked, how did he do that? Taylor couldn't even nod.
'I am, well was, making a little gift. Gilgamesh has stolen the Mouse's sword, claiming it as his spoils. I think she tried to call him a scoundrel, but she was in a rather sad condition, so I thought… Why not make her a better one? A sword worthy of a true warrior! Permanent enchantments sink a lot of energy, so it's a plus plus.' Ifrit said with excitement.
'Ifrit, do not give Mouse Protector a magic sword!' Taylor tried to say sternly, but it came out more panicked.
"I'm going to do it." Ifrit said with a grin.
"Ifrit, no!" Taylor said with a bit of mental flailing.
"IFRIT, YES!" He laughed.
Now Taylor was torn.
Return time back to normal and let Mouse Protector have a magical sword, made by Ifrit.
Or stay frozen in time and never have to see the world end with a 'huzzah.'
Choices.
Difficult choices.
Taylor felt Ifrit watching her with glee.
'I dislike you a lot right now.' Taylor said off handedly.
Ifrit just shrugged.
'It's appreciated.' He said with cheer.
Taylor finally worked how to smirk across the bond.
'In season two of Rose of May, the lady Warrior married the Duke and puts down her sword, forever, dying of illness." Taylor said confidently.
Ifrit froze.
'No! Lies! She is a strong independent main character! Blatant lies!' The demon howled.
Taylor pushed her magical energy again.
If Ifrit stopped to think about it, how could Taylor know anything about a show… she never watches?
'Restart!'
The world lived again.
And Sundancer was screaming again, it matched Ifrit's screaming in her head.
It was good to be back.
While her mind was still mostly sane, she whipped her Keyblade at Genesis's legs and froze them to the building in a block of ice.
Flipping forward, Taylor landed on her feet and ran down the shiny body, Genesis stuck mid plummet towards the ground. Coming closer to Sundancer the villain raised her hands above her head, the flare returning to her hands, the ice instantly beginning to melt.
Taylor leapt off Genesis back, diving over Sundancer and past the pleasant warmth of the sun with a graceful flip, falling the remaining two floors before hitting the road feet first. As Taylor stood up, the pair of villains broke free of the ice and moved away, bullets now spraying much more liberally after the pair, along with large... foam balls? Either way, the men following them with guns were no longer holding back.
Taylor was about to point up and add some magic of her own to the chasing volley when the bus that was lodged in the wall of the bank shot back out at such speeds that Taylor barely managed to roll away in time to avoid being hit.
Darkness spilled out of the open hole and Taylor stood as Genesis landed nearby, Sundancer slid down the lionpede and pointed her sun at the armed forces, the front of their cars melting as the sun left her palm, moving forward slowly,
The men fled as their guns began to bubble and the protective armour began to glow, some bits of plastic even catching on fire.
Taylor felt nothing, Ifrit was still keeping her safe.
All three dogs rushed out of the darkness.
Grue and Tattletale on one, Bitch and Trickster on another leaving Regent and Ballistic on the last one.
Then Gilgamesh flew out from the darkness as well, landing in a shower of yellow sparks as he slid across the ground, a manic grin visible beneath his helmet.
Sundancer eclipsed her sun and turned, to see her teammates slide off the dogs. Trickster looked past her and in the distance, men began to swap randomly, only the most similar ones however, the very tall and very small were spared, even some of the police cars were swapped around to add to the confusion. The PRT and SWAT forces scattered, men trying to find some cover and Genesis curled around the Travellers to keep them safe from bullets and foam.
Taylor… was outnumbered.
Gilgamesh could match her, Bitch and her dogs would make it worse, but Regent, Ballistic and Trickster would make it nigh on impossible.
The darkness next to them exploded into fire, as a huge man walked out of the hole they made.
"Tch running away, not very manly of you Gil." Ifrit growled.
Taylor's eye went wide.
Ifrit was about eight odd feet plus horn tall of pure beefcake muscle.
He had muscles, his muscles had muscles, his face was mostly human, a rugged handsomeness to it that not even the single protruding fang could ruin. Even the hooves seemed more mythical than monstrous, his long red hair flowing down his back, a metal symbol hugged his chest, the tip leading down to his…
"Those are some tiny leather panties." Regent pointed out, loudly.
Taylor looked away, but then looked back.
She couldn't help it.
"It's a pouch brat. This old demon still has two horns at the end of the day. Now… Which one you mortals wants to go first? I've been aching to show off this body since we got here." Ifrit said and walked forward, his hooves cracking the concrete, almost the same sound his knuckles made as he cracked them
Taylor went slightly pink… everything… moved.
"Uh I vote we don't do that. Bitch get us out of here!" Grue said, taking charge, the Undersiders moved forward and the Travellers all climbed aboard Genesis, following.
Something from the back of Regent's dog began to unravel.
Gilgamesh had been subtly flexing his arms, frowning when staring at Ifrit's large arms.
"I'm telling your sister you're walking around, almost flashing minors." Gilgamesh said.
Ifrit snorted loudly.
"You won't, you're scared shitless of her and she has no room to talk. That brat sister of mine has caused men to die of heart attacks." Ifrit said flippantly.
Gilgamesh thought about that.
"Can't argue, but you see, I would love to get it on, smash our manly bodies together, conquer each other in the act of war and glory, but…" The warrior trailed off.
Taylor stared at him scandalised. That was her father's voice, oh god.
Ifrit tilted his head.
"But?" The demon-man said, almost close enough to grab Gilgamesh.
"I decided to adopt minions, so I have to make sure they're okay. Til next time old friend, remember this as the time you almost got your backside whooped by GILGA-" Gilgamesh began to shout before the rope in his other hand, a very long skipping rope, went taut.
Like as if he'd been shot from a canon, Gilgamesh was yanked after the Undersiders, the tennis rackets he wielded earlier now serving double duty as ski's. Gilgamesh hollered with joy as he slid over a police car, swinging a sword over his head that indeed looked to be Mouse Protector's blade. There was a sound of shots being fired and Taylor looked up to see Miss Mitita taking aim at the rope, her gun muzzle following Gilgamesh. The rope flashed gold and the bullet pinged off
"Gilgamesh and collecting lost pets… Should have guessed." Ifrit snorted.
The demon-man crossed his arms and looked down at Taylor.
"You okay?" He asked gruffly.
Taylor couldn't meet his eyes. She nodded, not used to a body like Ifrit's, and it being so close.
Ifrit closed his eyes and blinked.
"Oh, I see, human customs are a pain, but I understand, my glorious body is simply too much for you." He said with such smugness that Taylor did manage to meet his eyes with a glare.
"No you'll get arrested for indecent exposure, cover up already! Put some damn clothes on!" Taylor exploded, no longer able to contain her embarrassment. Her reputation was ruined, being associated with a… with a… With a pervert like him!
Ifrit rolled his eyes.
A leather kilt appeared in a flash, covering his… upper legs.
"Better?" He asked snidely.
Taylor nodded thankfully, her face still a little flushed with her associated embarrassment.
"Much." She said with relief.
As Taylor watched, the villains broke through the final barricade at the end of the street. The Undersiders turned in left while the Travellers turned right, making any attempt to chase both groups an exercise in futility. Not that Taylor could catch any of them at the moment, with Boco delimbed and her inability to drive making her… quite at a loss as of what to do even as squad cars peeled away to give chase
Then suddenly Genesis rose up above the buildings almost in a u-turn. What followed was an odd moment where one of the civilians, a teenage girl with wavy hair was suddenly replaced by Tattletale, the blonde villain turned in shock, her legs spread apart from riding on one of the beast's back. Desperately the blonde reached for Taylor, who started to hesitantly reach back but the blonde was suddenly replaced with another woman.
Turning her gaze Taylor saw Tattletale get swapped with similar shaped people until she was on the other side of the police force.
Genesis rushed down, the needle legs cracking the buildings brickwork and unhinging the lion's jaw, swallowed Tattletale whole, like a python. This time Genesis took off a lot more slowly, but they scuttled between two buildings as people with foam guns approached, their huge canisters making it clear as to their purpose.
Taylor looked on as… one villain group kidnapped, another villain. Taylor saw the first civilian girl that got swapped with Tattletale come rushing back around the corner and then the Undersiders rode after the Travellers, their hell mounts clawing their way over the roof tops.
Taylor watched all this happen, unable to do anything.
Not that she could, she was hardly capable of flight or moving that fast.
Even then it was Tattletale who got taken.
The girl who antagonized her, who mocked her, who brought lung to her door, who almost got Sabah killed! The same girl who… came back to rescue her, persuaded the other Undersiders to do so too, who helped her with her Dad, telling her to talk to him, to challenge him, and somehow knew that Taylor could fight Gilgamesh, and even more, that she needed to, to see him.
That just raised more questions than it answered.
Though if Taylor ran off now, she would also be leaving behind a very big mess. Sabah would be left alone, Mog would think she abandoned him, Boco needed help and a lot of other things.
Taylor tensed when there was the sound of moving rubble behind them, turning she saw Mouse Protector shambling out of the new doorway left by the bus, a line of panicked people coming from the open vault door that Taylor could see from where she stood.
The fire, destruction, ice and so on must have been enough of a sight to stop all the people from stampeding over Mouse Protector.
Or maybe it was the new sword in her hand that had an eerie red glow to it.
Mouse herself seemed a bit out of it, mumbling to herself as the heroine stumbled towards them across the rubble strewn street, lit eerily by flashing red and orange lights.
Taylor thought back to how Mouse had smacked into the wall and held her Keyblade up.
"Cura." Taylor said.
The ringing flower bloomed over Mouse Protector's head, making the woman pause.
"Oh… That is awesome. Oh…" Mouse Protector groaned in relief, moving her neck in a circular motion. The line of people behind her stared before a soldier appeared, a PRT trooper who saluted Mouse Protector and then turned to the civilians, motioning for them to follow him as moved off. The visibly shaken civilians followed without question, a sheep like mentality seemingly overtaking them.
Taylor wished she could just follow at the end of the line, it would be nice to fade away and be looked after.
Mouse Protector walked closer, her new sword slung over her shoulder.
"Very nice, apprentice, feel as good as new. Feel like i can go a few rounds with that one upper rapscallion." Mouse said, idly scratching up under her helmet.
The Mouse Protector paused, her fingers shifting about beneath her helmet, pushing above her visor. Slowly, her hand withdrew, fingers hovering inside her visor for a beat, before she pulled it out slowly, almost hesitantly.
"...Thank you." Mouse Protector said very softly.
Taylor scuffed her feet at the sudden serious tone.
"It's no problem, I got a boost and my healing got better." Taylor said trying not to appear too pleased at herself.
Mouse smiled softly then nodded, mostly to herself.
The heroine took a deep breath and pointed her sword heavensward, the Mouse Protector persona reappearing, draping over her like a well worn cloak.
"Next time I, the great Mouse Protector, will not be stopped. My new number one rival, Gilgamesh, will face my justice, huzzah!" Mouse cried and her sword hummed like a generator before a gout of fire shot out of the tip and up into the night sky.
Taylor's mouth fell open and Ifrit clapped once.
"Ifrit yes…" Ifrit rumbled from behind her.
Taylor swallowed hard as Mouse Protector lowered the sword and looked at it, breaking into a somewhat confused smile.
"Huh… Where did I get this?" The heroine said, her bemused tone matching her expression.
Ifrit puffed out his chest and thumped his fist against it
"It was I! Ifrit!" The demon said in an overly dramatic voice.
Mouse looked up, and up, and up, then back down, and then back up.
"The sisters warned me the devil was good looking, they slightly undersold you Mister Devil." Mouse Protector said, as if her mouth was on autopilot.
Ifrit's nostrils flared and he crossed his arms.
"Sisters? When did you speak to Shiva? Bah, either way. The Devil doesn't hold a candle to my mane. Seeing as he's bald and all." Ifrit said, grinning, running a hand through his long hair.
Taylor was about to tell him to knock it off when she repeated what Ifrit had said in her head.
"The devil is real?" She asked in a high pitched voice and Ifrit shrugged.
Mouse Protector tried to sheath the sword, but her eyes seemed glued to Ifrit's chest and she kept missing.
"Which one? The edgelord? Or the grouch stuck in the mountain?" Ifrit asked with clear amusement.
Taylor opened her mouth, thought better of it, and sighed.
"I don't think I'm ready for this yet." Taylor admitted to herself.
Ifrit patted her on the head.
"Just wait until you meet Bahamut, there's a dragon that will give your brain whiplash." The demon-man offered.
Taylor pushed his hand away with a scowl, her eyes drawn back to Mouse Protector's sword.
"What did you make her? It look's… violent." Taylor said after a pause then lifted her gaze to Ifrit.
Ifrit looked at her incredulously.
"It is a sword. It is supposed to look violent. But if you mean the glowy red part and the black hilt? Sue me, I have a theme and reputation to maintain." The muscled demon waved her off.
Mouse managed to tear her gaze away to look at her new sword.
"It looks so cool." The heroine said with delight.
Ifrit nodded sagely.
"See? She gets it." Ifrit said, jerking a thumb in Mouse Protector's direction.
Taylor was about mention that Mouse Protector's definition of reality didn't exactly match everyone else's.
But Sabah's voice cut her off before she could say anything, cutting through the cool night air.
"Key… Are you okay?" Sabah said as she grabbed one of Taylor's hands, as if trying to examining her entire being through touch alone going by how strong and tight the grip was.
Taylor guessed Sabah just wanted to make sure that they weren't going to be parted soon.
And so she squeezed back reassuringly, because honestly? Taylor felt the same. There were far too many people in her life vanishing on the back of a hellhound.
"I'm fine, I just want today to be over at this point." Taylor admitted quietly, as Sabah pulled her into a hug which she returned gladly, feeling warm and safe. And damp, Sabah was rather wet and unlike Taylor, her costume wasn't water proof.
Over her shorter friends head, Taylor saw Miss Militia walking towards them, slowing as she eyed Ifrit.
"Keynote, Mouse Protector and… I-Ifrit?" she said, stumbling over her words.
Ifrit snorted again, pleased at the reaction.
"I hope Ingrid is watching, her new top model is on tv no doubt." Ifrit said, preening as if tv cameras were rushing at him now.
Taylor rolled her eye and spotted Mog and Boco hovering near the hole that Mouse had come out of, Boco hopping on one leg with Mog hiding behind him.
Sabah saw them and Taylor could tell the arabic girl was biting her lip. It was the way her head ducked slightly, turning in towards her chest.
And Taylor knew, without a doubt, Sabah was feeling the exact same as she was.
Confused, angry, worried.
The way only a friend could make you feel.
"Let's just… Let's just calm down, Parian, he might have… hurt you, but… but he's been making up for it ever since, right?" Taylor said softly , leaning her head forward to rest upon damp yellow locks.
Sabah nodded slightly, her head shifting beneath Taylor's cheek.
"I know, but I can't help it, to think that he lied… out of shame To think that I… That I died. I… We need to talk to him later." Sabah agreed softly, squeezing Taylor between her arms.
Taylor smiled somewhat sadly as she squeezed back.
"We got time, we can go home. We can sit in the living room, we'll talk, and we can go back to the way things were. We're a family, aren't we? Family forgives." Taylor said sadly, as the kitchen being filled with white patches and her Dad's proud smile flashed through her mind.
It made her feel lighter…
Sabah leaned into Taylor's embrace, resting her head on the taller girl's chest, relaxing at last.
"We are, even Ifrit." Sabah added.
The flexing demon paused in his posing and flexing.
"What do you mean, even?" Ifrit asked affronted.
Miss Militia moved her wide eyes off of Ifrit to look at Taylor.
Mouse Protector leaned on her new sword, smiling at them, the villains got away, the bank was in ruins, but everyone was safe, the hostages were rescued, the heroes were fine, talking, and alive to fight another day. No one died today, no heroes fell and no little people were trampled beneath the feet of warring titans.
"You know, all in all, this could have been a lot worse. The villains may have got away, even that dastardly Gilgamesh… but nobody died or was even seriously injured. We should get milkshakes." Mouse mused and everyone looked at her.
Taylor had to smile, it did sound pretty good to her as well actually. To the side Miss Militia shook her head.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to postpone that, I know this is sudden, but… Keynote, Parian, would you mind coming with me to meet Director Piggot? She has expressed an interest in meeting you both and your friends. Ah… A strong interest." Miss Militia added.
She leaned back a little and looked down at Sabah who shook her head and shrugged.
Taylor's choice then.
She looked at Mouse, whose face looked like there was something horrid in the air.
Taylor discreetly sniffed her own breath, wondering if there was any lingering sulphur.
Miss Militia clicked her tongue.
"Mouse, she's a reasonable woman if you just listen to her." The scarf wearing hero said, flipping a knife in her hand.
Mouse Protector pointed her new sword at her. It puffed out a ring of black smoke and Mouse quickly pointed it down.
"That woman is a Nun gone to war and come back even stricter! I'm sticking to my opinion, she needs a hobby." Mouse said with a grimace.
Miss Militia looked liked she wanted to argue but couldn't find the right words.
"She has a stressful job, she has to manage you for one thing." Militia finally said.
Mouse raised a finger and opened her mouth to argue the point, then thought about it, and slowly lowered her finger.
"Point." The mouse themed cape said after a few seconds, then she looked at Taylor.
"It can't hurt, at worst she'll throw you out of her office, at best, she'll make you feel like you're back in first grade and you just covered yourself in paint." Mouse Protector said. Taylor felt that was as honest as Mouse was going to get.
"She's not your boss, I am, so don't just sit there and take anything, okay? And if she goes legal on us, we can just walk, we have a lawyer." Sabah added, in a slightly harsher tone than she probably meant to.
Taylor looked out at the mess of cars, people and lights, almost every single person looking at them, at her.
Why not? What was the worst that could happen? After all… How bad could it be to meet one woman? To get out of the lights and the action to meet the person who had the power over every superhero in the city.
"Sure, I wouldn't mind meeting Director Piggot. How bad could it possibly be?" Taylor said with what she hoped was a winning smile
When inside she really just wanted to shut herself in her room, bolt the door and sleep for a week.
Ifrit groaned.
"You don't need to invoke Murphy, he's busy at the Serendipity casino but he can still hear you." Ifrit said with a sigh.
Taylor ignored him.
Devils and Murphy be damned, she was done with being uncertain. In fact she was sure that after meeting with Piggot, she would feel like today hadn't just been one disaster after another, she would get to meet with the Director of the city's PRT division.
How many people could claim that?
Plus, going home now, trying to sort through what Mog had done and said, Taylor wasn't sure she was ready for that, to hear in detail… How Mog had killed Sabah, accidentally. Looking at Sabah, she saw the girl was shaking, her words at the PRT seem to help regain a measure of herself, as if focusing on anything else, anything all was preferred, but there was still that revelation of Gilgamesh's hanging over her like an axe.
Maybe letting Sabah butt heads with the Director or just have something else going on, would give her time to think about things, to calm down and be reasonable.
To let her gather strength before talking to Mog.
"Let's go, I might as well get a head start on the reports while we drive, I'm sure they're reproducing as we speak." Miss Militia said, pointing at a soldier and giving him an odd gesture before looking back at Taylor.
"I'll go collect the Wards, perhaps you can help Aegis? He managed to get his rib cage crushed." Miss Militia asked Taylor as she turned away.
Taylor grimaced and Sabah shuddered.
"Kupo… I'm going to take Boco back to the Dollhouse. I can fix him… but I need materials…" Mog said quietly.
Taylor nodded, releasing Sabah gently before walking over to the dejected moogle.
"You going to be okay?" Taylor asked softly.
Mog was silent for a few seconds.
"I don't know, Kupo. I messed up big time." Mog admitted and turned back to Boco, his pom-pom glowing dully. Boco gently lifted off the ground and he warked at Taylor, sounding confident.
Taylor smiled.
"I know. Look after him until we get back?" She asked.
Boco winked at her, before Mog shot off, pushing Boco from behind, the pair flying over the cars and people, vanishing down the street.
Taylor sighed and crossed her arms as Ifrit walked up behind her.
"Mog is being dramatic, what he did was an accident, a bad one yes, but an accident nonetheless. He just needs a good smack." Ifrit offered.
Taylor hoped he was right but shook her head anyway.
Besides, first things first.
She walked confidently over to where Miss Militia was waiting near an ambulance, which was angled so that none of the public could see Aegis.
Taylor went green at the sight of him.
"Hey Keynote." Aegis greeted, his chest crushed, split open, and breathing sideways. The exposed lungs were moving in ways that… that… Lungs really shouldn't be doing that.
"Keynote, if you're having trouble, we can call in Panacea." Miss Militia offered.
Taylor took a couple of deep breaths and shook her hand.
"No… I got this." She said after a final deep breath.
Aegis smiled beneath his helmet and idly poked one his lungs, making it squish. It didn't seem hurt at least. But...
Taylor vomited on Miss Militia's shiny boots, somehow clean even after everything in the bank. And now they were not.
"Aegis." Miss Militia warned and the rust red Ward looked abashed.
Taylor stood and feeling like she might vomit again, even as she wiped the bile off her lips and just threw a cure at him.
Sadly, watching flesh knit back together was just as bad. Taylor felt her stomach heave again.
Miss Militia was ready with a bucket this time, a plastic thing she pulled from the ambulance.
"Adrenaline crash is a hell of a thing huh?" Miss Militia asked and Taylor nodded, watching her dinner with the Dallon's get carried away by Miss Militia as she went to empty the bucket..
"If it helps, I can't see my lungs anymore." Aegis offered apologetically.
Taylor looked at him with a weak smile.
"Huzzah…" Taylor said, and turned around stiffly trying to not stare at anything in particular as her body seemed to shake slightly... Aegis voice was still apologetic as he spoke.
"Can you… Uh… Put my spine back in place?"
Taylor shot a cura over her shoulder, the magic making her focus that bit harder on her actions, and hit the Ward without looking, her Keyblade shaking slightly, making her look queasy to onlookers.
Adrenaline was a bitch when she called to collect her tab.
_