Nor Harbor

[Mimizuku]

Kaufman walked through the grass, approaching Nor Harbor. When she finally reached the town her eyes widened, looking at Nor Harbor, once known as a town. But now... It was almost completely destroyed, the only places untouched were parts of the dock, but obviously that was because the townspeople rebuilt it, for just a temporary dock.
Kaufman walked towards an also untouched boat, she stood next to it , looking out towards the ocean, seeing the ghost ship Atherum. That place was creepy, and it had always made her feel like any second a monster would attack. Thinking for a second. " What could have happened here...? " She said to herself.
She turned back around to look at the town. The inn was completely destroyed... " Hm... " She thought to herself, trying to come up with some reason to why this might have happened to the harbor. It almost looked like a tornado hit, but that didn't seem to be the case, if it were a tornado, the boats, even the dock would fully be destroyed, but some spots of the town were completely intact. Though the inn and most of the start of the town was destroyed, the side of the town with the lighthouse were intact.
She walked towards the lighthouse, stepping over some rubble. ' This part of the harbor is completely intact, but... ' She thought, looking over to the other side. ' The other side is destroyed... ' She finished her thoughts. With a sigh, she walked back to the boat, which just happened to be her new boat, that she had gotten after giving her old boat to Brave Vesperia.

[Daisuke]

As Flynn and the gang made their way into the harbor, they(at least Flynn did, he didn't know about the others) had a look of terror, as if this was more like a blow to the security of the people than just some monster attack. This seemed organized. Deliberate.

"This is..." speechless, it seemed. What he needed was to take a minute and take it in. He was a war veteran of sorts, and a hardened soldier. He could handle this.

"I'm going to go see if the Imperial building is intact. Iris, we should probably go make a status report there. Everyone, we will join you shortly."

Flynn and Iris departed, with some idle chat between them, every so often in the distance Iris would shout at thin air. This left Vera with the others, and she decided to nod off somewhere else without telling anyone. Probably to a craftsman to get those fangs toyed around with.

[[For those who didn't get it, this means none of Dai's characters are near you.]]
::Oh, shut up and let them figure it out, they're smart!::

________________________________________________


Flynn and Iris checked into what was left of the Imperial office. Flynn gave his debriefing of the situation and asked for some medical supplies, which were granted hastily. They weren't for him, but he knew well enough that the corruption of the knights was still present, and that they would hoard all of their gels without aiding the needy townsfolk. So under direct order, he would do so himself.

Iris was chatting with a new recruit, who seemed so new she didn't even have a uniform yet. In fact, she was so new she looked like she had no idea what the Hell she was doing at all. She found out the girl's name, and the two got to end their conversation there. The recruit went into the back to answer a call she received from the standing leader.

"I see. Alright." Flynn gave a nod, and then for a moment in the back of his mind, he wished this were a different scenario. However, he was Commandant, and the outpost leader was right; if the rookie would learn best from anyone, it was him. He bowed and introduced himself formally, as Commandant Flynn Scifo. He then forewarned her of the dangers that lie ahead, and that in order to keep her safe, he would need to teach her at a very fast pace. He then asked her name, and when she told him, he jogged it to memory, and aided her in signing the official paperwork it took for her to be recognized as Flynn's apprentice.

Vera, heeding Iris' words, decided to actually go through with this little idea of hers. Those snake fangs, as the man appraising them stated, were not of this world, and truly the biggest trophy of a monster he'd ever seen. Vera ordered two pieces of equipment to be made, and paid the man handsomely for his work. He told her to come back in a few hours, thanked her for the donation to the town relief fund, and got right to work. As she left, she spotted Flynn, Iris, and a new girl. Peculiar, at that.

"New party member?" she asked.

The rookie blanked out for a moment, recalling her first memory, and then her eyes widened. She had since that day cut her hair, and done much to make her look, well... She looked nothing like Yuri now, except for hair, eye and skin color. She was wearing such a new outfit, too, that Vera didn't recognize her until Luria herself spoke up.

"A-are you..." Luria silenced immediately, confused and generally seeking insight. Where was Raz when you needed her?

______________________________________

((Anyone who chose to follow Vera would see this. Flynn and Iris wandered off alone, but Vera was followable.))

[Cao]

"Yeah, yeah. Take your time," Yuri said, his tone light. Yet though his tone was light, it was obvious to anyone who actually knew him that he was worried about the harbour. Nor had been attacked once, sure, but nothing on this scale. Not to mention that the Knights' absence — while he'd never actually admit it — was way too strange and unnerving.

With Iris and Flynn gone, and Vera off... probably following them, that left Yuri to do what he wanted.

"Nor... "

Again, the kid was saying the town's name. Yuri couldn't help but frown.

"I've noticed it for a while now," he decided to say, looking at the foreigner. "But what's wrong with the kid?"

"Nothing," Tohru replied, perhaps almost too quickly. "We should get the injured into the Inn."

"You're dodging the question. Weren't his eyes... not green?"

"Yuri... "

"Quit hiding things. It's not that hard to explain, right?"

"Nor... Knights... !"

Before either adult could continue their argument, Alex suddenly took off, much to their surprise. Cursing, Tohru followed after him without a second thought, commanding his Golem to go to and stay by the Inn. Yuri, not one to let things go so easily, followed after them. Almost at once, as they crossed the bridge, Yuri could get where they were going.

The Magistrate's Palace.

What the hell, he wondered, annoyed but also curious. It didn't help when Alex went in through the front, wings once again sprouting on his back as he somehow managed to shove the door open. Just before he could go inside, however, Tohru managed to grab him.

"Alex, what do you think you're doing?" the foreign Knight asked, holding the child in his arms, easily managing to keep him still even as Alex tried to squirm out of his grasp. "Hey!"

"That's some kid you've got there," Yuri remarked dryly.

"S-Shut up!"

A small breeze slipped around them, causing all three to freeze as a painfully familiar scent made its way to their senses. Coppery, warm, thick, burning...

Blood...

What in the world... ?

Yuri was the first to react, steeling himself as he dared to step forward, pushing the doors open a bit more, revealing the gory scene within.

Knights. Everywhere. On the ground, on the stairs, balcony, coming from the rooms, the basement. All of them were down, unmoving and some even rotting already. And everywhere... everywhere was blood, splattered all over, chaos everywhere...

It was too much...

That has to be almost all the town's Knights in here...

"A-Ah... !"

His stomach lurched uncomfortably, and Yuri was forced to look away, clumsily managing to get outside and leaning against the side of the building, wincing as he heard Alex screaming. A chanced glance over at them showed Tohru holding the child close, covering his eyes and visibly shaking, despite the way he appeared to have been unaffected.

Too much... there was way too much blood...

What... What the hell happened, Yuri questioned, focusing on breathing, his body giving way as he sank to the ground, shaking himself. Sure, he'd killed people, and he'd had nightmares of killing people. Seeing it all in real life, however, was a different matter all-together.

[Mimizuku]

As the golem shut off, Raven jumped off of it, falling over. But he reached his hand up to grab the golem's leg, and got up.
He walked towards the magistrates building, walking up behind Yuri. " Looks like their all dead... " He said. " Obviously this didn't happen by some natural disaster. " He sighed, scratching his head. " Don'cha think we should go take a rest? " He asked, pointing towards the inn. Parts of it were destroyed, but most of it was still there, well... The beds were still there...


' The Imperial knight are here.... " She sighed. She didn't really like the Imperial Knights, saying she liked to do things her own way, not listening to the laws that much. She crossed her arms, looking at all of the dead bodies around. " What the hell happened here... " She said to herself, walking off the dock, and onto some more rubble.


Karol followed after Flynn, holding his shoulder with his arm. Karol was lucky, that Megraffe thing came about an inch from landing on his head, but luckily, did it just squashed his arm. It was bleeding a bit, and it hurt a hell of a lot. He followed him, and finally stopped when seeing Luria. " H- hey your Yuri's replica! " He said, but flinched when he accidentally moved his arm the wrong way, and it hurt like hell. " Ow.... " He sighed.

[A New Familiar]

There was a massive wind that went over all of Capua Nor, as outside of it a small group of people had arrived. One of which, a very worried Razulen who was glowing a bright red. The glow faded, as she checked up on everyone. She had recently made a new batch of friends. Raine, Lloyd, Sync, Saria, and Ai the little computer thingy on Raine's wrist. She had met them all at Aspio, the City of Scholars. Like her, also, they weren't from this world either. That was all fine and dandy, if it wasn't for two things that were severely bugging Razulen. The first, being that she had sensed something off. She hadn't done so, since the initial inclination that led to her leaving her home world. Second, was that her companion, Luria, had up and disappeared on her. She didn't know what to do, as Luria knew next to nothing about most of the world and the things in it. Granted, Razulen barely knew any more then she did about 'this' world, she didn't want to think about what would happen if she went off on her own.

"Sorry for doing that, you guys. I hope the ride wasn't too ba-"

Suddenly, the air came blowing past her nose. Razulen couldn't help but pick up the thick and heavy sent of blood that no normal human could pick up. She knew full well the blood was further into the city they had landed next to. As she turned around, the sight before her eyes sent a wave of dread through her. Ruin. The city was in absolute and utter ruin. She sniffed the air of her own volition, and this time, she knew full well what the scent was. Among the smells that went through her system, she could pick up the distinct smell of Luria. After all, her own had rubbed off on her. Granted, the scent was strong, far stronger then it had been in her search for her.

Without a word, Razulen blasted off into the sky with a downward drop of her wings. She sped off towards the harbor, seeing that it wasn't as damaged as the rest of the town. She could smell people here, and hoped that Luria was alright. It didn't take her long before she found her...and she was with others. One, being one of those Imperial Knights she had heard of. Another, looked rather familiar. A young boy she had seen before in Halure. The last, being some woman she hadn't seen before. She heaved a heavy sigh of relief, as she descended to the ground. She landed with a large thud on the ground, the pavement cracking a little under the force of the impact. She, though was fine. Standing, she looked at Luria and smiled lightly, her eyes watering a little.

"Oh, thank heavens, Luria, you're okay!" She rushed up to the girl, and hugged her tightly. She was safe, and that was all that mattered right now.

[Daisuke]

Flynn was the first to react to the strange woman, and his immediate reaction was to back away. He then noted Karol had joined them, and--

"Replica?!" Flynn exclaimed.

And Vera, of course who could forget that Luria's mother was there, and slightly confused, but also understood some of it.

"Ah, I thought you were familiar. Luria~ you've grown so much in the last few days!" shesaid, giving the woman who hugged her a slightly confused, slightly jealous look.

"I guess you took care of her huh? Thank you, I knew she would grow up stronger with someone else."

Flynn immediately shifted gears.

"Vera... This isthe clone of Yuri you mentioned?" he had toehold back several laughs for several reasons. Yuri Lowell, the man, was a member of one of the most renowned guilds in the world, and yet his clone was a woman, who seemed to be eager to join the Imperial Knights.

Luria found none of this funny.

"Slow down, nobody told me I was a clone! Y-you've got to be kidding! T-that's not even possible is it?!"

She fell into Razulen's hug, feeling no energy left in her body whatsoever. All her vigor, gone.

"I joined the Knughts to find out what happened to my parents. Razzy, please tell me they're lying! I-I'm not Krityan, she can't be my mother right?!"

Iris of all people decided to butt in.
"Hey Rook! I've got aer sickness, ya think I give a damn? It ain't about where you're from, it's about where you're going!"

Flynn nodded, and holding back a laugh gave Vera time to get a word in.

"Luria, darling, it's true. But you're a clone ofwhat most people consider the strongest man-"

"I'm a dude?!" she butted in.

"No honey, you're all woman. But you were cloned after a guy. I'm sure you know his name. C'mon, think back!"

What was that one memory? That one thing everyone kept saying, over and over. Was that a name?

"Yuri?" Luria asked, starting to feel herself snapping out of shock.

"That's the one," she pointed to Flynn, "And this guy's teaching you to fight right? Sounds good, he's a strong one." this earned her a strange look from Flynn, who gave now to chance and tried changing subject.

"Rookie, even if you are my friends replica. I will give you the training I know you can complete. Are you sure you want to begi-"

Cut off by Vera heading the other way. She saidshe was going to find Yuri.

"Vera, shouldn't we..."

"Wait, he's here?" Luria asked, confused and still very much frozen in place. This discovery was literally tearing her apart inside.

"Razzy... What should I do? I'm sorry I left, didn't know what else to do to get answers, please, help me sort this out?"

[A New Familiar]

Razulen blinked a bit when she heard someone say 'Replica'. She glanced over to the Knight and the young man, giving them a bit of a glare. After all, the way he said it sounded to her like a term most people use negatively. Luria was as much her own person as anyone else. Her ears picked up the words of the woman, and she glanced at her for a moment. She mentioned how she would grow up stronger with someone else, and the look in her eyes had a tinge of jealousy to it. This woman had to be the one who gave birth to Luria (in a literal or figurative sense, she didn't care). It was mentioned of her being a clone of Yuri, and then she remembered. That was the name of a hero she had been hearing about on her travels through this land. Yuri, one of the members of Brave Vesperia.

When Luria herself began to interject, Razulen held her up as she felt her against her a bit more. She stroked the girls hair, as this was a lot for her to take in. As the conversation went on, it more and more began to bother Razulen as much as it did Luria. Not for the same reasons, mind you. When Luria asked Razulen for an answer, she was about to speak. This other woman interjected, and spoke of some 'aer sickness'. The rest of her sentence, though, had more sense to it. The conversation kicked up again, and more things kept coming and coming. Razulen didn't like this new development. It was too fast, too soon, she didn't want to do this now. She only had Luria for a little while...and she knew where this would end up going. Eventually, it came down to it. Luria wanted, no, needed to know what to do. Of course, it all came down to what Razulen had to say. Taking a moment to think, she sighed lightly. She pulled her closer, and whispered in her ear.

" I know this is all so sudden, Luria, but, know this. I love you, alright? To me, it doesn't matter who made you, who you're a clone of. You are your own individual. If you want answers, seek them the way you want to. It all comes down to what you wanna do. If you wanna be a Knight, fine. If you wanna meet Yuri, fine. I will be here to support you and your decisions, always." As she spoke, her voice shook ever so slightly. She gave Luria a light kiss on the cheek, and looked her in the eyes. "So, find those answers for yourself, alright? I'll be here when, and if, you need me."

[Mimizuku]

A small girl laid down, underneath some rubble, crying out loudly. Parts of roofs were sitting on her, rocks were crushing her bones. She had never felt anything as painful as that, and it made her in shock. She was completely stiff, not doing anything but crying. " Help! " She screamed, wincing in pain as a pile of rocks fell down onto her back, a sharp rock cutting her in her face, blood coming off of it. " H- HELP! " She screamed as loud as she possibly could, barely able to speak clearly because of her crying. The rubble dug into her back, causing her to scream as loud as she possibly could, obvious in her scream that she was crying.

------

Lloyd looked at Razulen and then to everyone else, wondering who they were. He didn't really know, but... " Replicas... Clones... But-- I thought nobody knew how to make them! " He said, obviously very confused.

Karol looked at Lloyd as he spoke, then turning to Razulen. " Do-- " He stopped mid sentence when hearing what sounded like a screaming little girl.
" What the heck was that!? " Both Karol and Lloyd looked towards a pile of rubble, seeing a little girl lying there.

----

Kaufman looked to the side, seeing a familiar face... Yuri..? And another person was with him, it was some black haired man, that was a member of Altosk.... Wasn't it? She jumped slightly when hearing the sound of a little girl crying, looking at the ground to see a little girl buried under a pile of rubble. " A... A survivor!? " She said to herself.

[Mi-chi]

|| Small. But I was being rushed. xD; ||

Estellise Heurassein && Alice-Enide Sukiema


Estelle was unsure how to react to the scene. Everyone was speaking of a clone, and seemed to grow annoyed at eachother every now and then, also at times taking it as a joke.
"Luria... " She mumbled under her breath. Poor thing. She was always being called a clone, a replica, how was she supposed to face the facts? As she said, no one had ever told her. The pinkette was relieved to see Razulen and Vera comfort her. She didn't like to see Luria suffering.

Hearing a scream, Estelle flinched, and turned her heel to run to the area. "Hello?! Are you here? " She called, and a little further away she saw a woman with dark hair fumbling through the rubble, attempting to rescue the girl. "You'll be fine..." She muttered to the girl in the rubble, " Try to relax."

Relax? How was she supposed to when she was being impaled by the stone? "Deep breaths."
Estelle watched for a few moments longer, before helping with moving away from the rubble. The woman's golden eyes widened somewhat, but she soon gave a small smile to the pinkette. "Thank you."
With Estelle's help, it only took a few moments longer to move away the rubble that was crushing and impaling the girl.

She seemed a bit uneasy, dizzy as well -- she was pale, and by the looks of it, she'd probably helped rescue other survivors as well. Estelle, without permission, healed the girl. "You helped the others as well...?"
".... "
"Um, What's your name? " She tilted her head a bit, moving her gaze to face the woman.
"Alice."

[Cao]

So much blood and death... he hated the Knights, sure, but... this was...

Raven's voice barely penetrated through the haze of his thoughts, and Yuri jumped when he realized the old man was there. Shaking his head, muttering a soft 'Yeah' in response, Yuri got to his feet. A quick glance over at Tohru and Alex, showed that the kid had finally managed to tire himself out, silent tears ghosting down his cheeks. The foreign Knight looked as protective as ever, confused and also worried.

He couldn't blame him.

"Go on with Tohru and Alex," Yuri said, looking over at Raven, ignoring it as the former of the two started slightly. "I'll go find Flynn and tell him what happened to all his Knights." He looked to the other blond, tightening his grasp on Torrent just a bit. "Go take care of your kid brother. It looks like he might know something about this, and if he does, Flynn'll want to hear about it."

"... Alright. Shall I take your things back as well?"

"Sure. Whatever."

It was only with reluctance that Tohru walked back to the inn with Raven, mindful of the other male's injury.

Yuri, on the other hand, stayed by the Magistrate's Palace for a bit longer, looking down at Repede when the canine sat next to him, a look of concern on his face. The former Knight grimaced, kneeling down beside him for a moment as he pet him on the head before acknowledging that no, he didn't actually want to go find Flynn. He just felt... so numb right now...

Nor was just a mess...

This was nothing like the Adephagos, and it was certainly nothing compared to what Nor's former Magistrate, Ragou, had done to his own townspeople. And these were Knights, of all people. They may have been total crap at what they did, but they'd had some level of combat training.

[Mimizuku]

Raven followed after Tohru to the inn. It was destroyed in the front, and all that was there was the rooms to sleep in, everything before that point was gone, just rubble now. He sighed, scratching the back of his head, as he walked into the inn, sitting against the wall. Wondering what could have happened.

[Mi-chi]

|| If I continued, I would have gotten carried away. And I need to leave it open for replies... ||

It had been hard to get Alice to speak, Estelle wasn't quite sure whether it was because she refused to, or because she was too exhausted to reply. Alice had attempted to stand, and collapsed to her knees, it was then that Estelle was able to realize the woman had a wound as well. It was across her torso, but it was hard to tell how she had been attacked. It seemed to be a cut, but it was also somewhat deep as if it was a stab. Estelle shook her head, no, now was not the time to wonder. She would question it once Alice was completely healed up.

"This will take a moment..!" Estelle murmured as a warning that she was going to heal her. She had already healed the little girl, as well as Karol, Flynn and Raven on the way toward Nor Harbor.
She had no problem with helping the woman, she felt happy doing so.

"Ma'am... you look--"

"It's fine, I've been in much worse situations," Estelle informed, "I've had to heal much worse wounds over the years..so it doesn't bother me." She was feeling a bit tired, but she didn't want to make the woman feel worse. Alice's pride was getting a bit crushed already, since Estelle had helped with pushing away the rubble to save the girl she was attempting to, as well as healing the girl and her. She was strong enough to deal with a wound like this wasn't she?!
"You're so... so selfless..." She wanted to add "and stupid", but didn't want to be rude, considering she had just met the pinkette; she also seemed to be of royalty with the clothes she wore.

After the healing was over and done with, Estelle took Alice into her arms, cradling her close as to make her feel comfortable. "You will be alright.. I promise. Just rest, please."
Alice gave somewhat of a nod, unable to really do much due to her immense exhaustion.
It was then that Estelle took notice of Alex and Tohru.
"Alex, Tohru!" There was a sudden, bright expression on Estelle's face.
"I found this woman... Alice... she needs some rest, so I'll have to prepare her a room..." She explained to them, glancing down at Alice.

[Cao]

Tohru grimaced at the sight of the inn, mentally sighing as he shifted Alex in his arms, his kid brother now asleep. It seems he knew something, something perhaps buried in his memories. Yet was it even possible for the boy to return to normal at this point? Not only were his memories screwed up, but he wasn't even his usual age, either. And Tohru didn't have even the slightest idea on how to revert Alex back to normal. Then there was still the matter of how he'd gotten involved with Skade, what that demon wanted with him (because he damn well knew the bastard had followed them somehow), and whether or not he could ever get all his memories back.

Alex, by this point, was damaged. Far damaged than he'd like to admit, in fact.

It would be a difficult task, but Tohru was willing to try. Hell, if it meant they could never go back to Yaluria again, then he'd just have to start a new life here.

Estelle's voice cut through his thoughts when she called their names, and Tohru turned around to face her. He nodded to her in acknowledgment, shifting Alex in his arms, covering him a bit more securely with his cloak before noticing the girl that Estelle was helping. Curious, he was just about to ask when it seemed Estelle had to have read his mind or something, for she soon explained the presence of the girl she was carrying. "One of the townspeople?" he asked, admittedly curious. "Does she know who did this, by any chance?"

[Daisuke]

Vera wandered her way over to Yuri, and even she was slightly disturbed by the gratuitous field of blood before her. Why was it so different when she herself didn't kill them? She managed to keep herself from feeling too bad by remembering she was here to bring Yuri with her someplace else.

"Yuri, can I get a minute? There's something over by the knight outpost I think you need to see."

________________________________________________

"Luria, I understand the emotional strain you must be going through," Flynn gave her a reassuring smile, the friendly as ever Commandant he was. H had yet to see the full bloodbath that awaited them when they ventured further into town. "but you're not Yuri. I've known him for many years now, and I can safely say, you really aren't anything like him."

Iris came in and poked Luria's face.

"So cheer up, 'kay? We've got enough gloom in the party."

Luria started to slowly regain her composure, though there is emphasis on slowly. After what felt like several minutes, she managed to stand on her own again, holding the clearly too heavy for her shield on one arm, and a sword on her hip. She didn't fit them well at all, and in fact, probably shouldn't use such heavy weapons.

Razulen's words kept her from snapping into some kind of depression, and she was very thankful.

"T-thanks, Razzy. I love you too." she turned to her commanding officer, and stood at as basic an attention pose she could do. Considering it had only been three days she had been alive, she only gathered this stance from her quick trek through the signup room.

"My orders, sir?"

Flynn gave a light hearted laugh and shook his head.

"You're still unused to the stances and disciplines, I'm not giving you any objectives yet. We need to teach you first." his attention turned to the dragon woman.

"You're her guardian, correct? Please, no need to worry for her. She is in very safe hands, and as expected, you are more than allowed to stay with her during her training. I am Flynn Scifo, standing Commandant of the Imperial Army, and you are?"

[Mi-chi]

| FFFFF--- I forgot about the little girl! My post is changing a little now.
Also. I can't tell if Alice knows what happened, or if she's shocked that Alex is alive. xD; lol. |

Estelle carried the young girl in one arm, making sure she was supported well, and aided Alice in walking with the other. Both of them needed rest, (and honestly Estelle did too) so she was glad to be able to help them both get to the inn. But-- no, the inn was destroyed! All that was left were the beds to rest in. Could this have really been...?
When she spotted Tohru and Alex, she spoke kindly to the two, and informed them of why she was here.

Soon, she was questioned if Alice knew of what happened, "I-I really don't know... Alice...?" Alice seemed to be a bit shocked at seeing Alex, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking about. Her face was paled somewhat, and moved away from Estelle, stumbling back a bit. Did she know him, or did Alex do something?
"No..." Her golden eyes were widened a bit.
"Alice, are you alright?"
Realizing how she was making Estelle worry, Alice snapped out of it, "I-I'm fine, just shocked is all."