Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Tianshi City: Senasi Gardens

as written by Script

As the gathered crowd continued to chatter, Blink continued to keep an eye out for Nao from his vantage point on Tugark's shoulder, but eventually shrugged and turned his attention back to the others. It wasn't long afterwards that the lights on the Empress' balcony lit up, and a ripple of excitement rolled through the crowd.

As they watched, the doors leading onto it swung open.

The woman that stepped out onto it was undeniably beautiful. Her dress was a shimmering display of jewels and vibrant silks, a blend of the traditional red-and-gold of the Imperial family with strategically placed gems of jade and emerald. Her long black hair fell in carefully styled tresses over her shoulders, portions of it tied with jewelled golden clasps and rings. The Imperial Crown - resembling a blazing sun with a phoenix rising from its core of blue-and-red gemstones - sat upon her head, shining gloriously in the light. Her face was painted primarily white, in the manner of a Celestial spirit.

Empress Kaida Kokuro smiled down at the crowd, raising a hand in greeting to the roar of cheers that came at her appearance. Beside her, her personal guard took up positions on the balcony.

When the Empress lowered her hand, a hush overtook the crowd in short order, and she began to speak. Her voice was amplified by a microphone and broadcast through speakers throughout the gardens - and the city - so all who listened could hear her clearly.

"Greetings, my people. It is with great joy that I stand here to welcome the return of summer to our lands, and join you in celebration of the spirits that bless us with prosperity in all aspects of our lives..."

She continued on, speaking at length of the bond between humans and spirits that made Losenji the great nation that it was, and how important maintaining that harmony was. She spoke both of traditions and of new ways of celebration, and continued on into speaking about the nation as a whole. Though young - having not yet seen her thirtieth year - the Empress spoke with the command and confidence of a woman twice her age, as was expected of her station. She held the majority of the crowd's undivided attention.

It was rare that the people of Losenji saw their Empress speak in public. Most decrees and announcements came through the more universally disliked face of the Ministry, usually the one most pertinent to the nature of the address. As a whole, the nation loved her - and had her predecessors, and likely would her successor. All of their dislike for taxes, unjust laws or poor working conditions was directed onto the ministry, whilst their patriotism went into love for their Empress.

"I wonder what it's like," Blink murmured, as much to himself as to anyone, whilst she spoke, "To be up there. Powerful, rich... but trapped. The only time I've ever seen one of the Imperial family leave the palace compound is for state business. It's weird... you'd think they'd get bored."
 
as written by Sokka

"I'd go insane." Shirou muttered in response to Blink.

He listened and looked on. He'd only seen the Empress a few times in his life. Everytime was treasured but he had to agree with Blinks statement. Not leaving the palace no matter how lavish it was must have been undeniably boring.
 
as written by Krysis

Manami had to smile at the thought of spirits 'blessing' people. Maybe she did, in her own way, but mostly it was a means to an end. Now if only she could remember the end. The kitsune gave a little shake of her head to regather her thoughts, or dislodge the faint unease that tended to settle on her mind if she thought too deeply.

She'd look over at the group by the cherry trees then, smiling behind her fox mask at the way the larger creature was providing vantage points for the smaller ones. Like a father for children, she thought, and then immediately felt sad again though she couldn't say why. Nor could she say why the word that came to her mind was 'sons' and not merely children, when obviously one of the ones aloft was a female.

At their comments about the empress, Manami laughed a bit and boldly stepped closer, looking up at Blink and Shirou primarily. "Perhaps you might be surprised. After all, who can say what she really looks like? Have you ever seen her not in mask or make-up? If duties permit, I would not be surprised if she has walked these streets to know her people and her city."
 
as written by barney_fife

Another voice typed up behind BLink, Tugark, Shirou and the others. "Royal life is not always what it is cracked up to be." The gravelly voice said. If one turned to the source of the voice, they would find an elderly man, long hair done up in a ponytail. He was wearing traditional priest garb, and tucked in his belt, was the wooden hilt of a sword of that seem to have no blade.

The mysterious elderly man offered a smile, before he turned his attention to the Empress. " A life like that is very stressful, I prefer the quiet solitude of my shrine."
 
as written by Knosis

The winged beast held them both steady on his shoulders with very little effort, as if he had done this many times. He listened to the young woman's speech and could understand how one so young could be well loved and respected by so many people. She reminded him of the young woman who had been his charge another life ago.

Careful not to jar the two passengers, Tugark turned ever slightly to regard the strangers who had commented. "Perhaps. But although it would be hard to imagine her life to be in danger, it could be that not everyone within her reign appreciates your lady as much as others." He commented, sounding as in experience. "Where there is love for one, there is also hate and envy. People covet power, and although the lady is young, she is a very powerful individual." He whispered. "I have seen first hand what a very well loved leader must face, even when most think it a time of Peace. And I do agree with you sir." He nodded to the old man. "So do not take it the wrong way when I do wish her a long, boring, life."
 
as written by CelticCat

Hye Ja held still and quiet as she listened to the voices surrounding her. Not only the Empress, but her client, her guild members, and the strangers that had entered the conversation. Each was so distinct in tone, inflection, volume...Each brought something different to this festival. She smiled brightly as she opened her eyes and looked over the new faces to attach them to their voices, bowing her head slightly in greeting. "I can't imagine what her life is like, what she does or doesn't do with her time...but what I always find myself wondering is what it is she desires to know. You can tell so much by what someone actively seeks out the answers too, I've found. That may be a bias of my work, though."
 
as written by Script

Blink nodded solemnly (or at least a good attempt at it) and turned his attention back to the balcony.

Hye Ja would be the first to notice something was wrong. A flash of foresight, a figure dropping from the wall.

A shout came up from one of the dragonwatch as a figure draped in a black shroud and wielding a glaive appeared at the top of the wall over the balcony and jumped. A glint of steel flashed from their sleeve as they fell and shot downwards towards the Empress. People screamed.

The knife struck the floor of the balcony where the Empress had been standing moments before with a resounding thud of metal hitting wood. She had sidestepped, moving in the moments before the dagger even flew. The figure landed beside her, but found her personal guards had swiftly moved in to block his path, drawing weapons.

Before either party had a chance to engage the other, another shape rocketed from beyond the balcony's door and impacted with the would-be assassin. The two were launched from the balcony in a tangle of limbs, and people scattered away from where their trajectory was carrying them even as something slowed their fall. They landed within the cordon, in open ground.

As they pulled themselves to their feet, the assassin's shroud fell from his face, torn by his assailant. Blink's breath caught in his throat.

"Spirits! It's Nao!"

There was no mistaking the face of Golden Phoenix's 'poster boy', nor his distinctively engraved trident-spear now that he was closer. But what was he doing? Why was he attacking the Empress?

The dragonwatch had already gathered around the cordon and raised rifles to point at the two figures. "On the ground!" one yelled.

The second figure, the one that had tackled Nao from the balcony, raised his hand to pull his own hood down. Another ripple of gasps radiated through those of the crowd that hadn't scattered, as this man was just as - if not more - recognisable. Prince Kenji drew a midnight-black dagger from his cloak and scowled at Nao.

He seemed about to back away to give the Dragonwatch a clear shot, but Nao didn't give him a chance. He shot forwards, thrusting his spear towards the prince, who sidestepped it easily, swinging his knife out and scoring a slash across Nao's side as he tried to step clear. The two exchanged blows like lightning, and despite Nao's advantage of reach (and ostensibly experience) it was clear that the prince had the upper hand. Their close proximity left the dragonwatch unable to fire, and so a number of them surged forwards, drawing swords to aid their prince.
 
as written by Knosis

The crowd was in shock with what was transpiring upon the stage, and a sense of 'static' seemed to fill the air. Some could say it was tension, until they looked at the Avand that stood among them.

Tugark felt many emotions all at once, and it looked like a storm could be brewing around him. Pain, regret, betrayal were hinted upon his face and in his eyes, but most of all was anger. His entire being shook with fury, with confusion and pain of having to make this choice again.

It was obvious when the white beast made his decision. Bright blue runes began to glow on Tugark's body. He gently picked up Hye Ja and placed her to the ground without a word or uttered apology.

"Blink, get off."

The sound was foreign. The beast's voice was no longer friendly, and he himself seemed to have transformed into something that no man wanted to face. He was not angry at Blink himself, but it was all the warning Blink would get before Tugark spread his wings and flew off towards Nao, aiming to dig his claws into the man.
 
as written by Sokka

Shirou was already jumping out of the tree when the Assassin attacked however just as he was about to start running to assist Nao's shroud fell and Shirou's jaw dropped. His gaze was now fixed on the fight between the prince and Nao however he managed to say something.

"What the hell is he doing...." He muttered however his gaze was torn from Nao as Tugark charged toward the incident. Again he was frozen, he was too far to intervene, all that he could do was watch.
 
as written by Krysis

The woman in the fox mask tilted her head at the priest and was about to answer him when all hell broke loose. She gave a startled 'Yip!' that sounded like a real fox and crouched partially, startled lavender eyes opened wide and her feral expression exposed as she yanked off the mask. She gave Blink a glance when he recognized one of the two, but mostly her attention was on the incredible display of combat that was actually meant to harm.

Then Tugark's transformation from cuddly white creature to blue streaked monster broke the kitsune out of her paralysis. The fox girl stood up straight then, letting the illusions of her being 'normal' go completely as she drew a fan from her stash and gave the bells in her clothes a good shake as if to be sure they were still there. She took a few steps, as if dancing, and then made a lobbing motion with her free hand towards the lightning fast fighters.

Nothing flew from her fingers, but when that nothing landed, it was like a smoke bomb went off within a few feet of them. Dense white fog blossomed rapidly, then stood static as no fog should do, a perfect dome about 30 feet across and 10 feet deep. Manami's thought was that, if the guards couldn't see where their Prince Kenji was, they wouldn't dare to shoot at Nao.

Now why she was helping Nao... well, it had to do with Blink. Her fractured memories, broken from too many years of life and a temporary loss of something now recovered, often featured a pair of boys who were 'different', and their mother's failure to protect them adequately. Sure aiding some random spirit-touched lad wouldn't fix what happened back then, but it wasn't in Manami to say 'no' to that urge either.
 
as written by barney_fife

Yosho decided it was time to act as well. He saw that the Empress herself was fairly removed from the confrontation. However he had seen far too many attempts at assassination, and his eyes narrowed at the famous Golden Phoenix poster child.

Those nearby would see the man, garbed in traditional Hakama, and a montsuki kimono withdraw a strange ornate wooden sword hilt imbued with three red gems. The Mystery man then rose up, before he disappeared in a flash of blue light, only to re-appear between the Empress and the ongoing fight. As he appeared, the sword ignited with an audible crack and a flash of blue light, as a blade of blue shimmering light extended from the hilt, crackling with energy.

Kaida would likely recognize the blade almost immediately. The Sword of Heaven and Earth 天地剣. The symbol of the Taiyou Empire, rumors in which only the true Emperor of the Taiyou Empire or his successor could wield the blade in this manner.

One thing was for certain, though this elderly man appeared to wield the famed sword, he was not Nobuo Takayama.

No doubt the royal guard would be closing in, but Yosho would try anyway.

"Stop him! I will protect your Empress!" He called out.
 
as written by CelticCat

"Tugark, no!" Hye Ja called, as soon as she could see his intentions. "This isn't your battle to claim!"

She meant to intercept the beast, but she'd worn traditional clothing for the festival and it hampered her normal speed and agility. Instead, she remained at the tree and spun towards Blink and Shirou. "The face of our guild has just attempted to assassinate the empress, if appearances are to be believed. We need to do something. Together. And quickly." The words poured from her as quick as she could manage, but she almost didn't dare to turn and see what had occurred behind her.
 
as written by Script

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. No pun intended.

Blink slipped from Tugark's shoulders almost without thinking, instinctively obeying the sudden shift in the beast-man's tone. Only after his new friend had launched himself forwards towards the fight did Blink cry out. "No! Wait!"

Then fog claimed the battlefield, and he lost sight of both Tugark and Nao. Hye Ja's words registered at the back of his mind, but the youth was hardly paying attention. Already fingers were being pointed towards Manami, who Blink briefly noted looked rather fox-like, and some of the guards were turning to shove through the crowd towards them.

Some of the others had halted at the edge of the fog, but more had forged ahead into it heedless of their own safety.

Within the fog, blades continued to clash. Nao had lost sight of the prince, but Kenji showed no sign of letting up. Seemingly following his target's movements without trouble despite the fog, he scored two solid slashes across the young man's tattooed chest, slipping under his guard.

He was poised to deliver a finishing blow, when he blinked in shock and jumped backwards.

And not a moment too soon, for in the next instant Tugark barrelled straight past his previous position into the blinded Nao. His claws struck home and the young man's spear went flying from his grip. In a desperate move to avoid being driven to the ground, Nao thrust out a palm and pushed.

Some form of force shoved into Tugark's chest, not enough to deter his path, and Nao rocketed backwards directly up away from him. He was propelled up clear of the smokescreen, breaking out into the open air.

Blink took in the blood flowing freely from Nao's wounds, and cried out. He couldn't just stand here. There wasn't time to talk. "I'm sorry, Hye Ja," he said quietly, before breaking into a dash forwards. He took a breath in, and jumped.

He vanished in a flash, reappearing in the air over the heads of the crowd for a brief second before vanishing again. Blinking from place to place, he flashed across towards the site of the confrontation. More shouts came up from the guard as they moved to try and intercept him.

____

Up on the balcony, for a few moments the dragonwatch had seemed ready to descend on Yosho without waiting for him to speak, but a sharp command from Kaida had halted them.

"Your Imperial Majesty," a female guard hissed, "We must get you away from here."

"One moment!" Kaida insisted, "You there! Who are you? And how did you come by that blade? Explain yourself immediately!"
 
as written by Knosis

A slight blue shimmer would seem to haze over the guild's golden boy after Tugark made impact. It was faint and barely noticeable, but it would be similar to what Tugark had done to Blink when they were in danger prior.

Tugark's massive form twisted rather gracefully as he too started to fly upwards out of the blinding fog like a white twisting vortex. It was a wonder how a creature his size could move with such agility. At the last moment Tugark's wings shot out to catch him with a loud 'pop', his wings stretched to their limit momentarily until they had corrected the tilt enough to send the large creature gliding towards Nao again.

The Avand's actions were quick, but he aimed to grab Nao before he disappeared back into the smokescreen.
 
as written by Krysis

Manami continued her little dance for a few steps more with a feral smile, working her way through the crowd towards the soldiers and away from the rest of the group that had been with Blink. A flicker of her fan and a jingle of her bells and there were six different 'Nao's running out of the smoke cloud in different directions. Unfortunately, they were in costumes that were more common on the posters for that guild instead of what he had actually been wearing, but such details usually escaped people in the heat of the moment.

It wasn't until after that distraction that she realized that Tugark diving at the smoke screen was like a big glowing arrow saying 'look here!' and she made another lobbing motion. This time, the illusion was for the beast man and made him nearly invisible from the ground, though when that illusion hit the smoke illusion, it caused a weird rippling effect and the cloud turned sky blue instead of white. They both still worked, but the fog looked more like cotton candy then, and started to break up and roll away, buffeted from within by Tugark's wings and dispersing more quickly than intended.

The end result, which she was pretty pleased with, was that Nao was only visible above the cloud for a split second before Turgark was swooping towards him. That was the best she could possibly do in the situation and had to leave the rest to the others.

So, as the soldiers reached her, she bowed over her fan, graceful as if that were the expected end of the dance. Then, with a loud sound, reminiscence of a cork gun, more smoke billowed away from her and left a fox. A golden fox with three tails, and a bag in its mouth, crouching on the clothes that the lady had been wearing. It lashed its tails and dashed between their legs at the first hint of aggression, soon vanishing in the crowd as if it had no more actual substance than any of the other illusions.

Meanwhile, a very old woman with a stooped back and a black hooded cloak, stepped back from the billowing smoke while the cork gun sound was going off. Of course, everyone else that was nearby was also stepping back, so that probably got no attention. She shuffled along, letting the crowd take her along with them, playing the part of the innocent bystander pretty well. Mother Hamasaki muttered under her breath, "So that is why it was so important for me to be here today. Damn cards actually knew what they were talking about for once."
 
as written by barney_fife

The strange man made no outwards aggressive movements as the guards closed in on him. The blade remained ignited, letting off a slight but audible hum as the energies maintained a coherent solid mass of blue light.

The blade before Kaida was particular. It would have been impossible for this strange man to have stolen the ancient blade, as only the blade's owner could operate it, and only those with royal Taiyou blood could even touch this strange artifact.

"This blade has been in my family for generations, it was passed down by my father." He said cryptically, as he assessed the threat level below. His eyes followed Nao's movements, through the fog and above it, with near superhuman precision. Yosho wasn't actually able to see Nao, but he was attempting to feel his very life force through the power of his blade.

As the threat level was diminishing, given multiple people were now on top of Nao, the blade extinguished with a snap, and the blue coherent blade of light disappeared.

"I apologize for the intrusion, your majesty." He said, offering a bow. "I am Katsuhito, master of the Masaki family shrine; and I am humbly at your service." He said, pulling the blade hilt back to his belt. His eyes weren't completely off guard, as he kept a sidelong glance at Nao and the fight below.
 
as written by Script

Though many of the guardsmen were either lost in the smoke or distracted by the illusory replicas of Nao, some of those present were not sufficiently misled. Whether by sheer perceptiveness or supernatural means, several were able to keep track of the real targets.

The crack of gunfire echoed across the square as rifles loosed their payloads. Around four shots were directed towards the imposing form of Tugark - who the guards had assumed part of the attack. One found its mark on the real Nao, whilst a final shot rang out in a different direction entirely.

Nao was struck in the shoulder, but deflected off of some form of barrier around him - something which seemed to catch even him by surprise.

Then, some invisible force seemed to grab him from below, and faster than gravity would have allowed for, he began to fall, yelling out in anger. In the rapidly disappearing smoke, a figure was visible mirroring his movement, shooting up towards him. It was Prince Kenji, one hand extended towards him in a grasping gesture, the other brandishing his dagger. It was clear he was poised to strike as soon as they met in the middle.

As Nao began to fall, a cry of pain cut through the air in response to one of the shots. Blink had appeared on the edge of the clear area, only to be met by a bullet timed perfectly with his exit from the jump. Blood blossomed from his midriff, and he slammed into the ground hard, unable to focus through the pain enough to continue his teleporting.

Guards began to move in to restrain him.

____

Kaida eyed Yosho thoughtfully for several long moments, despite the continued urgings of the dragonwatch that she retreat with them inside the palace. "Katsuhito," she nodded her head in acknowledgement, "I must depart to safety, now. But I would much desire to speak with you, once this situation is contained. If you will, one of my guards will escort you to a separate chamber until I am able to do so."

She nodded to one of the dragonwatch, who reluctantly bowed his head and stepped towards Yosho, as the Empress finally allowed herself to be led away. The guard - a middle-aged man, brown-haired and with a scar across his lips - eyed Yosho warily, but addressed him respectfully when he spoke.

"Please, follow me, Master Masaki," he gestured towards the door that the Empress had left through, "I will take you by another route into a waiting chamber. Once we have subdued the assassins and confirmed the safety of the grounds, the Empress will be able to see you."
 
as written by Sokka

Shirou watched in utter shock as the shots were fired. He looked at the guards that were slowly closing in, they didn't have much time. He moved closer to Hye Ja. "We need to go. Now. If we don't move now it's going to be hard to get out of here. " He whispered into her ear.

He glanced around already looking for a path out, he kept an eye on the guards some ducked others surged forwards but more ran from the gunfire. This was going to be their only chance.
 
as written by barney_fife

Yosho/Katsuhito offered Kaida a respectful bow as she offered to take a moment to speak with him. Though it was not what the man was expecting, rather he appeared to become slightly suspicious. He knew that Volaria, Losenji, and the Sato Shogunate were aligned with the AXIS, and he knew that Shimizu had been to Volaria, and was close to Avantia.

His was planning his escape in his mind, while the guard offered to escort him to the saferoom.

"Thank you." He said, offering a respectful nod, following the guard through the door that the Empress had left through, to wait in the designated area for her to see him.
 
as written by Krysis

Manami, in the guise of 'Mother Hamasaki' kept shuffling along with the crowd, trapped by the face she had donned as much as the press of panicked bodies around her. The sound of Blink's pain stuck her like another bullet though, and she whipped her head around quickly towards the boy's cry.

By then, there was no chance of the kitsune seeing him and all she could do was make her way out of the square with the humans. She had to hope that the guards wouldn't let the boy die while they were restraining him. Tears streamed down her face from her lavender eyes, catching in the wrinkles and eventually dripping, unheeded, into the long white tresses that streamed out of the hood of her black cloak.

Now if only she could remember which guild it was that those kids were from. Maybe she could find a way to reach their allies.
 
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