[Deleted]

Just before the royal family of the unified Hoshido-Nohr left to do other matters. Elise turned back and looked at Big when he noticed jump rope. She loved to play jump rope in her spare time.



"Ooh, jump rope. I love jump rope!" She excited yelled, only for Hinoka to pull her away and let Garon finish what he had to say to the four.



"No, not jump rope. Rope as in, the kind of rope used to break people's necks when their getting hanged. Which is what's going to happen to you four in a few minutes if you surrender yourselves to the guards." Garon explained it pretty clearly to Big, before growing angry.



"Don't get smart. I'm now greatful that you're going to die...Then again." Garon smirked.



"I'm always grateful when someone I hate dies." He turned and left the room to join his children as the four focused back on the guards. Unfortunately Emil & Big failed to convince them to not fight them, if anything it made them a little bit angry at Big now as Yumiko turned towards Emil, Big and Froggy.

"Let me try." Yumiko then turned towards the guards in a last attempt to get through to them.

"Please don't hurt us or take us to be hanged. Their is a goddess trapping you all here and if you let us go, we'll find her as soon as possible so we can free everyone in this castle. Your king is fooling you three into attacking the wrong enemy, if anything, he might be in cahoots with this unknown goddess. So what do you say?" Yumiko tried to convince the guards to not fight them.

xDhwnrAAp_1d20+3(And it worked!)

"I say...We can't do it!" The guards dropped all of their weapons and bent their knees to the four.

"Were sorry!" One of the guards cried out.

"We were just following orders. We don't, actually hang people here. In fact it makes us sad that the King would even execute people now. He never did that before, it's like he suddenly snapped. The punishments people like you often get is imprison it for a period in time." Another guard explained, to Yumiko's surprise.

"Really?" She sounded surprised as the guards nodded.

"Were sorry!" The three guards proceeded to run out of the trial room, leaving only Yumiko, Emil, Big and Froggy as the only four people left in the room, as the audience had left the room when the guards appeared. Never the less, Yumiko turned towards the three people that were here to rescue her and another girl and smiled.

"Thank you for helping me with that trial. It probably would of been chaos if you three didn't interrupt it." Yumiko looked at where the royal family sat at a few minutes ago. She was worried about the royal children of Garon, they appeared to be afraid of the king.

She then looked back at the three, mainly at Emil, who Yumiko sensed was a deity of some sort. "Who are you three? I'm confused about where I am. I came out of a portal from my world and ended up here in this world. I soon found this castle after I was forced to kill a purple monster when it attacked me." Yumiko remembered the portal and soon got worried about the boy she was with, Akemi. She hoped that wherever he was he was safe from Loki's grasp now after what happened to him.

She then looked back at Emil. "And...Are you a deity or god of some sort?" Yumiko asked the boy.
1d20+3

[Jade Callisto]

Emil was ready to attack at any moment as he had to do so many times before because he could not persuade his would be foes to let down but before he could draw his sword the girl they came to rescue managed to convince the guards to let them go. As the guards pleaded their apologies Emil lightened up his stance back to a regular standing position. 
"Well it looks like we didn't have to fight after all Emil. Be glad you didn't have to take those guard's lives today. Though something tells me we may have to fight sometime today, call it a hunch." Emil nodded to himself as he heard Ratatosk's words once again to himself. 


"So this isn't the norm then? Well that means the King might be hiding something if that is the case." Emil deduced as he leaned down toward the guards and offered his hand to help them up.


"Hey it's alright. You were just trying to follow orders right?" Emil smiles to try and re-assure them. He then looked over to the girl known as Yumiko and smiled. "Well we came to rescue some girls trapped here in this castle. I am Emil and I am with Big and Froggy that are here to help out."Emil said with a smile.  "Don't forget me Emil." Ratatosk chuckled a little bit inside Emil's head.
"Yeah and him too." Emil said not saying who 'him' was to the other three.

"What kind of purple monster? It couldn't be Big. He seems too nice to be like that." Emil pointed out as he looked over to Big and Froggy. 

That was when Yumiko asked something he had not expected to hear.

"Am I a god...?" Emil repeated out loud in almost a whisper.


"Uh Um I don't think I know what you mean." 
Emil was clearly lying that it was embarrassing for him to admit. "Just tell them Emil. It's not like you are good at lying anyway." Ratatosk would say to Emil in his head. "Are you sure? But what would they say to me if they found out?" Emil spoke in an low whisper. "I don't want anyone to be hurt as much as you Emil but hiding the truth can prove fatal as well." Ratatosk would converse with Emil once again. "I guess you are right." he whispered again.


"Yes. Yes I am a deity. But how did you know?" he would ask Yumiko in a curious tone. Emil awaited an answer but also wondered what they would do next to find the real culprit. "You don't hate me for it do you?" he would ask Yumiko somewhat concerned.

[WolfEx]

B I G T H E C A T HP: 250/250, Shield: 75/75, Status: Confused FS: Call Of The Coast

Big was admittedly disappointed as was Froggy when they found out the king didn't want to play jump rope; it was their favorite game! And second favorite passed time only second to Fishing ofcourse. When it was clarified that Big and Froggy were to be tied up and done away with, the duo began to shake in fear. And after a few brief words here and there that only really described a negative outcome for all, the three guards went from attack mode, to complete melancholy surrender.

Big seemed confused at the sudden shift in mood after the girl known as Yumiko, only said a few simple words to get them to change their ways. Big was impressed knowing full well he could never sound that convincing even on a good day. And seeing as Froggy couldn't speak any language except amphibian, it was certain that Froggy couldn't do any good trying to convince someone either. Once the guards ran off, Yumiko addressed Big and the Emil fellow in appreciation.

When Big heard words about him being a purple monster his face grew white and terrified. Froggy also turned pale. "P-P-Purple Monster? I shouldn't look in the mirror anymore then! I guess I need to run away from myself! Oh Froggy, I'm terrified of me!" Big began running in a circle as if trying to get away from himself with Froggy running right behind in a panic. It was like a scene from a mystery cartoon during one of those silly chases.

Emil then reassured Big that he was in fact, not a monster, but a kind being. Upon those words he stopped and let out a sigh of relief, Froggy mimicked the cat in this gesture. "Thank the chaos emeralds I didn't turn into a nasty purple monster after all! That would have been horrible." Big decided to properly introduce himself to Yumiko now that he felt calm again. "I'm Big The Cat, and this little feller next to me is Froggy, my best friend!" Froggy ribbits happily.

"I can tell you we are pretty harmless! But we can also hang with the rest when things get tricky." Froggy ribbits again, this time more seriously. Big then starts to flex his arms showing off some, well, actually lack there of, form of muscle mass. Froggy shook his head in embarrassment at Big's taunt. Big just loved to be funny, Froggy sometimes got a bit irritated at that but didn't love Big any less for it. Emil later mentioned something about being a God, in which at that statement Big and Froggy immediately went to their knees and began to bow at Emil.

"A God? We have never been in the presence of such ancient wisdom before! Our God and our Lord, it is an honor to be in your presence Almighty Emil!" Big and Froggy began to kneel deeper and rest their heads on the ground while stretching their arms across the floor giving Emil a large bow of respect and praise.After the gesture, Big asks a question and slightly tilts his head up to Emil to ask it while still very much in a bow position. "Lord Emil, shall we depart to find the missing persons while you smite the enemies along the way? We can rescue those girls no problem with your Godly powers!" Big and Froggy were so excited to be able to adventure with a God and now began waving their arms at Emil in broadened worship.

OWL

[Deleted]

"Yeah, I won't be surprised if he's working with the Goddess and he trapped everyone here on purpose." Yumiko wondered, but then she went into detail about the Purple Monster that attacked her seeing as how Emil and Big asked.

"It resembled a person, although it was shooting out this purple gunk and was showing off a purple aura. He didn't make any sense when he spoke and tried to bite me like some zombie. I had no choice but to fight back or he would've infected me with...Whatever virus he had." Yumiko said about her ordeal with the purple monster man that she ran into prior before her arrival to the castle.

Emil was in denial, that was something Yumiko had thought when he tried to make up an excuse as to how Yumiko can sense that he was a deity. Although she was about to say something, Emil had fortunately relented and told Yumiko, Big and Froggy that he was a deity, but he also asked about how Yumiko knew about his status.

"Oh, i'm the reincarnation of the Goddess Izanami. I figured since i'm in a strange world now that information about myself doesn't matter, since i'm currently speaking to a deity right now, but because i'm a reincarnation I had a range of powers that Izanami previously had, along with the ability to sense other gods/goddesses and deity's nearby, such as the Goddess that might have caused this curse to befallen in this castle and took those people Garon mentioned." Yumiko explained herself to the trio. It seems as though she was in a whole strange new world now that wasn't like Earth, and she was alright with it.

Although, she was worried that her father maybe worried about her and that other incident involving her school...And Akemi...

Akemi...He might not even be on this world, he might be in a world that's stranger then this one judging by what he said when he created that portal so him and Yumiko could escape...Loki.

Yumiko hoped that Loki and Miss O'hara were not here either or she could be facing more trouble then Garon and his obviously evil assistant, and this goddess who has trapped everyone in this castle.

Yumiko smiled to Emil as she reassured him when he asked if she hate him now. "Of course I won't. This is modern times. I don't judge people for having powers or being a god and quickly assume that there some evil person that wants to take over the world. Your a good person because you prevented a life from being taken just now, you and this cat named Big." Yumiko reassured Emil before Big made plans to go on ahead to find the Goddess and rescue the other girl that they were here to rescue.

"There's another girl you have to rescue? Then she has to be further in this castle. Hell I won't be surprised if she's with the Goddess, who I sense is in a bedroom on the top floor of this castle. To get to it, we have to go through this door over here and past a few hallways." Yumiko pointed to a door near the stands where the royal family were sitting at, in fact this was the same door that they went through once the guards came to try and capture everyone.

"Let's go, i'll lead everyone the way." Yumiko promised as she walked towards the door and opened it...

Only to find herself in a hallway that was similar to the one that Emil, Big and Froggy had ended up in, only there was only one door to the side and nobody around, not even the people that were present at the trial.

"That's weird. Shouldn't there be people around here?" Yumiko thought as she looked back to her teammates.



Only to hear growling coming from the end of the hall. "H-Huh!?" Yumiko shouted out...But the growling got louder...

And a few shadows began to appear at the end of the hall. Shadows that resembled something, monstrous and unknown. There was multiple growls now, as if there was fifty to ninty of these things at the end of the hall and they were about to appear any second to pass by this hallway so they can enter the trial room.



Yumiko knew that her and her new friends were not going to be able to defeat that many monsters, and so she eyed the door to the side and raced towards it. Fortunately it was unlocked and she turned to her allies. "Quick, we have to hide. I don't know how many of, whatever those sounds are there is, but there's probably going to be a lot to the point that were going to be overwhelmed. I suggest we wait inside this room until they pass." Yumiko quickly suggested as she hid inside the room.





As she waited for Emil, Big and Froggy to enter the room, she turned to see what was inside the room itself. It seemed to be a storage room filled with numerous weapons that the unified kingdom had. At the end of the room, Yumiko saw the words "Yosuga" written at the end of the wall, curious, she walked towards it.

Only to stop when she almost tripped over someone. She looked down.

And saw that Leo was on the ground, knocked out, along with Hiroka, Takumi, Xander, Elise & Azura all six siblings were knocked out as Yumiko moved back at the door, but stopped to allow Emil, Big and Froggy to enter the room.

"Leo...Wake up, what happened. Leo?" Yumiko quietly tried to wake Leo up since he was the nearest.

Another thing that Yumiko had noticed was that both Garon and Iago were nowhere to be seen in the room...

[Jade Callisto]

As Big and Froggy bowed down and praised Emil for being a God he looked down at them and sighed with a bit of sadness. 

"I'm not a God you should worship.... Please get back up, I don't deserve your praise." Emil admitted more to himself as he knew that his other 'self' had killed a man named Aster and then took his appearance. He knew it was because he inwardly regretted doing so but he couldn't help but feel shame when he thought of it.

As Yumiko told her story and how she was a reincarnation of a Goddess it threw Emil for a loop a bit. He knew there were other Gods and Goddesses out there but he had no idea there was one standing right next to him. As surprised as Emil was he learned of a few new things like that the other girl was also somewhere in this castle. 
As Emil was lost in his thoughts he noticed Ratatosk not speak through his mind and that scared him a bit until he finally spoke. 
"Emil the past is in the past. We all make mistakes, even us who claim the title of Deity."
The voice in his head would try to reassure him. This coupled with Yumiko outwardly trying to reassure Emil as well.



"I guess you both are right. God or not I need to focus on what makes me who I am." Emil once again didn't tell them who the 'other' one who was part of the 'both' he mentioned. Emil was more ashamed of his other self that he once tried to kill himself to end Ratatosk once and for all. But before he could that portal showed up and sucked him into it making him now live in the world known as LI. 
Before he could finish his thoughts he took notice of Yumiko leading them down a new corridor. It looked pretty much the same as when himself and Big entered it but a little different.

All of a sudden as he followed along with Yumiko they heard an unearthly growl which was much like a monster. Sure he could tell them there is nothing to worry about as he could possibly command the beast to go away but this was Li now not Aselia meaning he was not the lord of monsters anymore and that could spell trouble for them all. 
"Emil as much as I would like to fight this possible threat I agree with your new friend here. We should run for it even if it pains me to not get out and fight again." Emil viisbly nodded his head as he ran in toward the door as he awaited Big and Froggy to come in before slamming the door shut then locking it. 



"Those are some of the people from the trial! What are they doing here and unconscious?!" he would ask in surprise. 
Emil looked down to them as he tried to see if any of them were okay. "Hey are you alright? What happened here?" he would ask them as he tried to get them to awaken. 
"Emil it is possible that 'thing' we ran from is what caused these people to collapse, but I am unsure why." 
Emil nodded again as if responding to someone else talking to him.



"Right so we need to figure out if that monster is the cause of this or not." Emil said in response to Ratatosk.
Emil then sighed again as he looked over to Yumiko, Big and Froggy.
"Sorry for keeping it a secret but there is another me inside my head that is talking to me and giving advice. He's the one that has all the memories of my godhood and existed way before I was born in his mind. He's the God if anything but I am him as well."  



"We should see if these people are alright though before we go more into that explanation." Emil would say in concern as he did what he could to help the people up.

[WolfEx]

B I G T H E C A T HP: 250/250, Shield: 75/75, Status: Confused FS: Call Of The Coast

After being given an explanation of who both Yumiko and Emil really were and being reassured there was no reason to praise or revere them, Big and Froggy just looked at eachother more confused then they usually are. Big eventually just shrugs after a few moments of confused stupor and smiles. He gives the two of them his appreciation regardless. "Either way, from what I know after meeting you guys, I just know you're nice, kind people. And that's good enough for me. I'm just glad we are on the same side, and we are all working to make things better on this world together." Big was seeing the positive in the situation despite them all being in quite a scary place and had a feeling that as a team, they could really conquer some obstacles.

There was then a sudden growling sound interrupting the conversation of the team and Froggy shudders, hopping up onto Big's shoulder and curling up behind his ear in fear. Big gets into a defensive stance and balls his hands into fists preparing himself for danger. Through his long and painful experience on Li he has grown more courageous overtime, but all the same, he continues to be surprised at the evil lurking in the planet's depths. He wouldn't let his teammates down by cowering. After another moment or two, the one growl turns to several, and shadow begin to dash around the hallway.

Froggy shudders even more at the danger. Before Big could speak to the noise, Yumiko urges him and Emil to find cover inside a nearby room. Big figures this may be the only best option for not knowing who or what made the noise. "Come on Froggy, let's get to the room and make a plan!" The duo follow Yumiko's orders and get inside the room with her and Emil. As they enter Big and Froggy see bodies on the floor and stop in their tracks keeping themselves stationary within the room having no clue what they just walked into. Big also sees some writing on the wall in front of him and scratches his head.

After hearing Emil explain about another voice in his head being his former godly self, it strikes in a idea for the cat. "So if you have a voice inside your head giving advice Emil, could you maybe....see if this other thing inside you with its almighty god like knowledge will know what that word means or could assume what happened here?" Big was no god. He was just an anthromorph from another world that he missed dearly. The ocean waves, the crystal beaches, the green pastures. He just wanted to peacefully fish in his favorite pond again with Froggy at his side and out of danger....but those times were long gone.

Yumiko was also a goddess of a sort so Big turned to her as well. "Or maybe you can give some idea as to what could have happened here Yumiko...we're here to help but sadly are not psychic. I feel like this territory is more for the speed of you two. Castles aren't our thing really." Big looks at Froggy who ribbits in agreement. They were used to other types of climates and areas, not big spooky castles. They would investigate as much as they could within the room, but they had a feeling time would be running out soon for them if they don't find out what is going on quickly before whatever things were out there swoop in to attack them. They needed the upper hand and the readiness before the pursuit.

OWL

[Deleted]

"Aww, why thank you Big." Yumiko was happy that Big was one of the people was saving her, as well as Emil as she entered the Storage Room and looked at everyone who was unconscious. Thanks to Yumiko and Emil trying to wake them up, they all soon did and they all had a look of confusion on their faces when they saw the four and at the fact that their in a room that they weren't supposed to be in.



"Ugh...Why are we in the royal storage room?" Xander wondered, before Takumi took out his bow and arrows and aimed them at Yumiko, Emil, Big and Froggy, causing the former to gasp.



"More importantly, why are these four scum not hanged yet!?" Takumi demanded answers, only for Azura to stop him.



"Hush now Takumi, their on our side. If they wanted to hurt us then they would of had an advantage against us due to us being unconscious just now, but they didn't. They woke us up normally." Azura told off Takumi, who lowered his bow in disgust, but Yumiko supported Azura.

"She's right, were not here to hurt you, in fact, we want to know how you ended up unconscious in the first place...Where's your father and his so called assistant?" Yumiko asked, nobody wanted to ask her question, sans Leo, who felt as though they shouldn't leave Yumiko and her friends hanging in the dark.



"I think I remember what happened here. Me and my biological and adopted siblings were about to go back to our living quarters when we heard father arguing with a woman in this room. So we all came in here to investigate." Leo started to explain what happened, which made Yumiko curious when it turned out that the mysterious person was a woman.

"A woman? Could it be the Goddess that might be causing the curse on this castle?" Yumiko asked as Leo was unsure.



"I'm not sure, but she had long brown hair and was wearing a weird purple or blue outfit. Anyway, our father pleaded with the woman about something, but upon seeing us, she, shot something at us. The next thing we all knew, everything turned black until you four came to wake us up from our slumber." Leo finished explaining as Yumiko thought about the mysterious brown haired woman.

Maybe it was her that wrote down the Yosuga word at the back of the room, but either way, the group's answer about the identity of this woman was held in the bedroom on the top floor of this castle, along with the other identity of the second girl that's trapped in this castle. "She must of went back to the bedroom. I can sense her in a bedroom on the top floor of this castle." Yumiko revealed to the group, causing Elise to gasp.



"Top floor? The only bedroom up there is Fathers! Maybe he went up there to fight the Goddess so he can protect us." Elise theorised as Yumiko was unsure. Giving Garon's personality so far, it seemed weird that he was pleading to the mysterious goddess to not do something horrible, but either way there was only one goal now.

And that was to get to Garon's room on the top floor of this castle, but first, Yumiko needed to respond to her teammates before the group could move out. She turned to Emil. "You have a voice in you're head. So it's sort of similar to me?" Yumiko said to Emil before turning to Big.

"Unfortunately despite my powers. I don't have any kind that allows me to gaze into the past." Yumiko shot down Big's plan politely before turning back to Emil.

"Do you Emil? Maybe we can find out more about the Goddess if you do?" Yumiko asked Emil before turning towards the door.



She heard the sounds of...Something moving past it as she gulped. "Looks like we can't leave now, not until whatever's out there leaves first." Yumiko advised everyone in the room as they remained silent.

[Jade Callisto]

Emil would close his eyes in order to contemplate this new information.



"So we're dealing with a woman that has long brown hair and a strange dark outfit?" Emil put his fore finger and thumb to his chin in thought. "We met a woman with long brown hair before we got to the trial but she didn't seem like she would be the same person. At least I don't think so."
Emil would say as he then looked to Yumiko and Big when they suggested that Ratatosk might know something they don't about this Goddess and what is going on. 
"Emil I might have an answer for you but I will need you to let me take over for this." Emil sighed before giving control to Ratatosk. Suddenly a large dark aura surrounded Emil as he closed his emerald green eyes but once they opened they were a noticeable crimson red. 



"Well you know Emil but I am his true self! I am the Lord of all Monsters and the Guardian of the World Tree. I am the Deity known as Ratatosk!" Emil's posture and attitude did a total 180 from what it was before. Ratatosk was more egotistical and had more of a lazy posture compared to the always nervous Emil who had a straight and proper posture on him. "But there is no worry for you mere mortals I am here to help you with this possible threat." 

He then stared back at Yumiko and Big. "I cannot see into the past or access memories of others but Emil knows someone who possibly can." 
"Ratatosk you don't mean 'him' do you?" Emil would ask in his mind. "That I do Emil. The Summon Spirit of Heart Verius could possibly help us. While they may be from my world they are also within the hearts of mortals like yourselves. Simply call out his name with your entire being as if making a wish then he will appear." 
He then looked over to hear the noise go by the door and silenced himself for a few mere moments as it passed. 
"You lot should get to praying then. Not to me though even as much as I would welcome it we need to make Verius appear somehow, so hop to it folks." 
As Ratatosk put his hand on his heart to join in the prayer he would look to the others to hopefully see them joining in this prayer to summon Verius. 
Suddenly a brilliant light was forming into the center of the room and out from the light came the form of a fox which many tails. 
The fox did not speak at first as it took in its new surroundings before speaking.



"Ah Emil I see you and Ratatosk are doing well. What is it you need of me?" The fox would speak and then address the others who may have prayed for his appearance.

"We need you to show us the memories of this place Verius. I know you are capable of such things." Ratatosk said with a annoyed grunt.

"Yes it is indeed true I can see the memories of one's Heart. This place is full of memories of several events over many years in the history of this castle. However there is one memory which is the strongest. I will show you what it is right now." Suddenly everyone in the room was warped to what seemed to be an entire blank area devoid of color and life. It was entirely white and there seemed to be no floor or ceiling anywhere. Before anyone could react to this though the memories of the Goddess painted the surrounding area with color as the events played out before them while they were invisible to the people in the vision. 

"It begins here." Verius would say as he showed them the past memories of this place. 

(This is where you come in Starli. You show us what happens next.)

[WolfEx]

B I G T H E C A T HP: 250/250, Shield: 75/75, Status: Skeptical FS: Call Of The Coast

After the knocked out patrons gained back their vitality Big expected them to be alot more friendly and approachable than they were. Instead they were very shouty and playing the blame game with Big and his team, which the cat did not like. He didn't get the best impression of these deemed, royal and prestigious individuals. They were actually quite snobby. They did, however, seem to provide a little backstory of what could have happened here, though not all of it.

The rest of the backstory seemed to be coming, or would be coming, out of Emil however, or more specifically, his inner God known as Ratatosk, who was also not a personality Big was that fond of, but, understood the good motive behind the assistance being offered and went with the requested prayer to summon something that could help the group find answers. As soon as the praying started, a majestic creature appeared that looked like something that only some Chaos Emeralds could emit.

But it was far stronger than what any emerald could provide, and gave off an immensely powerful energy that couldn't even compare to Big or Froggy's low energy, always hungry, auras. With a quick precursor to what could be the key memory of the castle to get the team the answers they seek, the entire room flashes white and everyone is transported to a completely different world or astral plane it seemed. Big twitched in both surprise and delight as did Froggy who hopped on Big's shoulder in a nervous cantor.

This sudden flash of light and transported experience reminded Big of a memory of his own which he shared with everyone without hesitance. "This reminds me of the time I ate some really bad fish and felt like I was dreaming. What a trip! I'd say this is much more exciting and real feeling though." Now did Big need to share that information? No, but he certainly felt more comfortable in the moment with a dose of dry humor. Froggy seemed to be the only one that really laughed sharing in that memory and moment with Big.

But the two had to focus on the matter at hand, and were excited to see the culprit of this whole mysterious and dangerous castle scenario. Finding the victim(s) of this horrible curse or castle villain would be no easy task, but at least they were taking a step in the right direction with this fun little day dream, and they will take it as far as it could go. Big and Froggy anxiously awaited the revealing.

OWL

[Deleted]

Hinoka just looked at Big when he told his story in disbelief.

It seems as though Emil had an answer with finding out what happened in the storage room and the identity of the Goddess that they were looking for. However Emil's attitude quickly changed, as did his eye colour, to show that someone else had taken over. "Huh, are you the voice that he keeps mentioning?" Yumiko asked, but the other half of Emil, now known as Ratatosk, explained that he can get someone to look over a memory of this place. Most likely the one that had Garon, Iago and the Goddess.

"Oh you can? Why couldn't Emil just mention it instead of having you take over his body?" Yumiko pointed out as Ratatosk explained how to summon the person known as Verius, which was to simply call on him by praying, although they had to do it quietly as to not disturb...Whatever was outside.

Sure enough the noise stopped and Verius soon appeared, explaining who he is. He quickly agreed to show the group the memory of this place and they were transported to a white void which Verius quickly painted back to the Storage Room so they can see the memory of what happened in here half an hour ago while Yumiko and co were still in the Trial Room.



Once the memory began, Garon and Iago appeared in front of the group, which Elise was all to happy to point out.



"Look it's Fath---MMM!" Xander quickly grabbed his sister so they can hear what they were going to say.



"You called us here in our storage room Miss Hayasaka?" Garon would call out to an unknown voice at the other side of the room. The sound of someone writing was heard around that area as well. Yumiko was confused at the name, but she sensed...That the person in the shadows was a goddess, presumably the one they were going to look for.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see if you dealt with the people that would try and kill me."



"Of course, we made sure that they will be hanged soon. They won't be a problem for you soon."



"Good, then we can keep this illusion alive. Both mine and yours..." A female voice called out as she walked forward to reveal who she is.



The girl matched Leo's description, however to the surprise of the group, she looks like she's from modern times and looked like an average teenage girl.

"That's the goddess. I sense her. But she looks normal, and she doesn't look like she belongs in the era from where we are." Yumiko as the girl. Chiaki Hayasaka moved out of the way to reveal the word that she wrote, which was "Yosuga"



"Miss Hayasaka, I would like to know. When will this end? People are getting restless and they wish to go outside sometime soon. Hell they think that executing the four people that might try and stop will end this curse."



"Well that was stupid of you to tell your people that. It's better to stay in here where I can easily control you and make sure you don't stay out of line."



"But this is unfair, my people and children wish to leave. They don't want to stay in the castle forever, everyone is already on edge!"



"Heh, you do know they can't, remember. It's best for them to stay here, if the people that want me dead try to wake up the girl then this will all end. So I suggest you do as I say and keep you're false facade as a king that you lost a very long time ago, which I can see why. Your an aloof king who treated his kids like dirt. You and you're assistant losing your free will is more like a punishment then bliss."



"And a world without free will is a paradise...You understand that?" Chiaki proceeded to click her fingers, which caused Garon to scream in pain as he fell onto the ground, clutching his heart as Iago stood still. He looked afraid, but he didn't say anything.

Garon sweated in pain as the children and Yumiko looked on in horror over what Chiaki was doing. He slowly looked up to Chiaki as she continued to smirk.



"My...My heart!" Garon clutched his heart in pain.



"Is in my control, if you dare to think free thoughts that I will take control of you're heart and crush it with my bear hands in front of your people and you're children and I will forcefully take control of everything if you ever dare think about having second thoughts over this dream. You know this dream is what you want. You continue to act like the false aloof king that you are and never ever treat people as weak. Even your children, as you know what you have to do if you find people that don't belong in this kingdom right. The ones that are weak?"

Garon didn't say anything, so Chiaki slowly balled her hand into a fist as Garon cried out in pain.




"I...I'll kill them. Only the strong can survive in Hoshido-Nohr!"

Chiaki proceeded to stop and smile.



"Good, and for everyone to follow the reason of Yosuga..." Chiaki proceeded to turn.



"Anyway, I have to go and check on Felicia. If she wakes up then were scre---But before Chiaki could leave. She heard the sound of the doors opening. Yumiko and the royal children turned to see that it was the vision's version of the Royal Children entering the room.



"Father...What's..."

Leo and the children looked on in shock to see Garon on the floor, who was recovering from what Chiaki was doing to them. Upon seeing the children Chiaki raised her hands towards the children.



"What are you!?"



"You made a bad mistake coming in here." She fired a blue beam of light towards the children as Garon cried out.



"NO!"

The vision ended soon after, sending the group back into the Storage Room as everyone took the time to take in what had happened.



"So...That girl is controlling everything and everyone, and expects only the strong to survive..." Leo felt sad over hearing that.



"Why...Why didn't she kill me when she did...I'm probably the least favourite."

"Leo, don't say that, were not going to let Hayasaka kill you or anyone in this room. We just have to get to Garon's room and wake up this Felicia girl. It seems as though Hayasaka is using her to create this illusion that were all in and if we wake her up. This castle will turn back to the way it was before Hayasaka turned it into her own kingdom, and we can all leave here." Yumiko explained, but Xander was worried about something.



"Actually...Do you think something will happen to use...If we do wake up Felicia?" Xander wondered, the room was filled with silence as Azura shook her head.



"Whatever happens, we need to stop that girl and free Felicia. Let's see if those monsters outside are gone yet." Azura walked towards the door and slightly opened it to look around, only to find that the hallway was as empty as before. Azura turned towards everyone in the room.



"It's clear. In that case, me and my siblings will go up to Garon's room to check it out first, Yumiko, Big, Ratatosk, please meet us up there. As I feel as though if Hayasaka senses us all coming to the room together, then she may do something, horrible in an attempt to stop us." Azura explained as Yumiko nodded.

"Right, be careful." Yumiko told Azura and co as they all leave, but Leo was the last one to leave.



"I'm...Sorry about the trial and everything. Please stay safe." Leo asked as Yumiko nodded.



"It's alright, I know that you were uncomfortable with the idea, and don't worry, were going to get out of this together. You're not a burden Leo, your a good person." Yumiko said to Leo as he smiled before he left, once he did Yumiko turned back towards Verius.

"Thank you for showing us the memory of what happened here. What's going to happen to you now?" She asked, she wanted to know what Verius was going to do before her group leaves for the top floor.

[Jade Callisto]

Verius would then vanish from sight once they had been shown the vision. "I will be in your hearts should you ever need me." he would say as he vanished.



"So the King was not as corrupt as I had initially thought. It was all an act to protect the people here." Ratatosk would then put his thumb and forefinger to his chin in thought. 
"Emil what do you think of this situation?" he would ask to Emil internally. 



"Well I think we should investigate this Miss Hayasaka. After all she is the one that put this whole thing into motion and is definitely behind the curse too." 
Ratatosk would nod his head in response as he looked at the group.



"Alright then we will meet you bunch up in the King's chambers." Ratatosk said calmly and less egotistical than normal. 

Perhaps Ratatosk was learning from Emil? Well only time could tell as Ratatosk took charge and opened the door and headed down the corridor for what ever awaited them. 
His eyes darted around as he looked for the supposed monsters with his hand ready to unsheathe his sword. But there was nothing there and he let out a disappointed sigh.



"Oh well at least you lot are safe from any monsters. Don't let your guard down though those 'things' are sure to come back and when they do...." he paused as he heard a sudden rumbling coming from down the hall. "Hmm? What's that?"
The thing was the rumbling was coming from his own body as it echoed off the walls. It was his stomach as he had forgotten to eat before coming into the castle! "Damn that Emil. He can be so forgetful when it comes to eating. We'll have to tough it out until after this mission then we can eat all we want to." Ratatosk would say as he continued onward toward the King's Chambers.  



"Sounds like a plan!" Emil would say in his mind as they went forward.

[WolfEx]

B I G T H E C A T HP: 250/250, Shield: 75/75, Status: Surprised FS: Call Of The Coast

Once the vision was over it seemed clear whom the culprit may be that the group had to pursue. Big showed some concern at the find. He sighed fearing against what they may have to do. "But she's a lady! I don't want to hit a lady. Amy wouldn't approve of that...no she would not." Froggy agreed with Big hopping once approving the statement. They needed to be absolutely sure she was the culprit and would need more insight on awful things she may have done.

Hearing the concern and upset in so many voices over this mysterious woman did give Big at least some idea that she wasn't the best kind of soul, but maybe she could change and do better. Big always believed everyone had at least a little decency in them and everyone was capable of being a better version of themselves. Now the process to convince this lady of the dire consequences from her actions and how to change them may be a bit rougher, and Big was not the most charismatic creature out there.

Thinking of these things he threw the suggestion on the table anyway. "Even though she may sound like a baddie...what if we can change her to be good? What if we can get her to stop this in a peaceful way? Anyone got any ideas for that?" Big was doing what he could to prevent violence. But he also heard that the things lurking outside the room may be dangerous and a fight in itself that is unpreventable which Big was prepared for either way, but whether or not these were direct abominations or attacks from the said lady is yet to be determined.

Among all the fuss Big heard Emil's tummy growl which made his tummy growl and activate his hunger as well. Big frowned. "All this thinking and hiding is making me hungry too. Let's find a solution soon so we can eat! Unless anyone has some snacks now they want to give us..." Big was only halfway joking when he mentioned food. Really, he was always hungry, but he tried to keep his whining to a minimum as he always knew in these mission situations, that there were more important things at stake. "Me and Froggy are ready to follow up to the King's Chambers when you all are!" Big and his best pal were about to embark once again on a dangerous and perilous challenge ahead. They would do what they could to ensure everyone's safety at all costs. Big grips his fishing rod tight as they all get ready to move forward.

OWL

[Deleted]

Upon requesting for food, Emil and Big would find two doughnuts suddenly on their hand, as if it just came out of thin air. "Huh, that's weird. I'm hungry too?" Yumiko said out loud, causing another doughnut to appear on her hand much to her surprise. Verius soon left right after that as Yumiko split her doughnut in half and gave both of her pieces to Emil and Big so they can eat it instead. 

"Anyway, we should get going if we don't want to make the royal children wait on us for too long." It seems as though Ratatosk was going to inherit Emil's body for quite awhile so Yumiko, Big and Froggy were stuck with him until then. Which was alright, since he doesn't seem to be acting rash despite his personality.

Yumiko then addressed Big's concerns about attacking Chiaki and if there's a way for her to change her ways. "We would try if we could but something tells me she's not going to change her ways anytime soon judging by the way she acted to Garon and Iago in the vision that we just saw. But I can do most of the attacking if you want once we get to her?" Yumiko asked Big as she slowly opened the door to the Storage Room again. Fortunately the thing that was causing the distorted screaming noise from earlier was gone, allowing the four to gain access to the hallway again.

"Let's go." Yumiko said to her team as she went out into the hall and further down to it, eventually coming across a doorway that would lead to some stairs. Once Yumiko got up to the top of the stairs, she would be met with another door that would take her into another hallway.

Unfortunately for the group, there was nine guards standing around on watch, at least until they saw Yumiko and aimed their spears at her.



HOSHIDO-NOHR GUARDS +9
Health: 30% (Each)
Status: Fine (If scared)
Items: Shields and Spears



"Halt!" One guard shouted out, before another guard shouted.

"You are supposed to be hanging in the execution room by now. Why are you still alive? King Garon want's you dead!" The Second guard demanded, much to the chagrin of the first guard, who wanted to say that. Yumiko tried to convince the guards to let them through so her and her group can get to Garon's room.

D9EEhrmQp_1d20+3(She convinced the first three guards.)

p_1d20+3(But not guard's 4-6.)

p_1d20+3(But she also convinced the last three guards.)

"Were not getting hanged today. Your king is trouble as there's a goddess in his room that's controlling him. She's also keeping the royal maid prisoner there as well so if you don't let us through, something terrible is going to happen to you're king." Yumiko explained, causing six out of nine guards to gasp.

"The king is in trouble. That mean's the kingdom will fall if he doesn't get out of it." One of the guards said.

"What do you mean? Like if he...He..." Another guard had trouble finishing his sentence, so another guard helped him.

"Died?" He smiled, although it just caused him and the five other guards to freak out and run down the halls, leaving only three guards for Yumiko and co to deal with, as they were not as easily convinced of what Yumiko said then the other six.



HOSHIDO-NOHR GUARDS +3
Health: 30% (Each)
Status: Fine (If scared)
Items: Shields and Spears

"Nice try fooling us, but your lying." One of the three remaining guards said as they pointed their spears at the group, preparing to attack.

Unless Big or Ratatosk can convince them to let them through instead.

(Good news, Yumiko has decreased the number of guards in this area by three. Bad news, the three remaining guards were not as convinced about what Yumiko said then the other six, but Rataosk and Big can still convince them by rolling a 16 in Charisma. Failure will result in the group being forced to fight the remaining three guards if they want to get to the top floor.)
1d20+3·1d20+3·1d20+3

[Jade Callisto]

"Big it is admirable you want to be chivalrous but lest you forget that woman ordered us to be hanged and attacked those royal children. I think it is safe to say she is the enemy here." Ratatosk would put it bluntly as he could without care if he hurt Big's feelings. "Now while I can see your point with this only an idiot would say something like that about the enemy. We should not show mercy to them if given the chance." 

As his stomach rumbled and at the mention of food a strange round shaped pastry appeared in his hand. "Huh? Where did this come from?!" he would ask out loud and looked around. "No shops anywhere close to here. Is this a part of the castle's curse? That would explain how these people got fed while being trapped in here for so long." Ratatosk would muse to himself as he took a bite of the pastry. "Not bad but I think it might be a little too sweet for me." he would say as he gulped it down. "No matter it will do for now."

As Ratatosk proceeded up the stairs with the group they were stopped by a total of nine guards who were pointing their spears at the group. The girl known as Yumiko had managed to convince six of the guards to leave them unharmed however three of them were not so keen on listening. It was up to him now to see what he could do. 



"Fools! You really want to mess with the Lord of all Monsters?! Do you?! If you get in my way I will kill you all!" he then proceeded to laugh manically as his dark aura raised around him. Clearly he was jesting mostly about killing them but he had done this kind of stuff before. Most of this was just his old self shining through because he knew he could trick these pathetic mortals with his act of evil like intentions. 

~ Activated Ratatosk Mode. 

Ratatosk Mode: Emil's eyes turn bright red as a demonic like aura surrounds his body. This is the true form of Emil in a sense as it allows attacks to hit much harder by buffing his Strength and Charisma stats by 4 for 3 turns giving a +2 modifier then after use becomes a 3 turn cooldown. [CON]

~ Speech check for the guards to scare them away. 


9SLFHPk5p_1d20+2

~Critical Success! Those guards are likely to run for their lives!1d20+2

[WolfEx]

B I G T H E C A T HP: 250/250, Shield: 75/75, Status: Ready FS: Call Of The Coast

Upon Big's very open and public display of hunger and concern, a delicious bunch of doughnuts appeared out of nowhere in the room they all occupied. Now the thought did cross Big's mind that it could be a poisonous food trap, but that thought quickly left his head after his tummy's gurgling overpowered his stupor and he quickly shoved the doughnuts, including Yumiko's piece, in his face and scarfed it down quicker than Sonic The Hedgehog zipping to a chili dog!

Froggy ate a good chunk of one of the doughnuts in one large gulp and licked his reptilian lips with his long tongue in satisfied appreciation. Despite that awkward food experience that also was quite enjoyable at the same time. Emil, or better yet, his counterpart taking over his conscience, gave Big a pep talk about the woman trying to get him to understand common sense between good and evil souls. But Big always believed nobody was truly ever evil. Perhaps the good in her was just hiding.

Nonetheless Big understood loud and clear the general consensus of the group of what must be done and was not going to make a large fuss about it any longer. He speaks supportively. "I apologize for sounding so sensitive on the matter of the lady everyone. Emil you are right, when it comes down to it she really did do some awful things and we will have to do what we gotta do. I will do my best to join in on the solution we choose. But I will ofcourse step away if I feel uncomfortable on something. But always count me in for support at least of some kind!" Big hoped he gave some form of reassurance that he was very much a team player.

Once Big and Froggy followed the group outside the room and into the hall, the next surprise were quite a few guards confronting their presence. These guards seemed to never end. The castle was full of angry armored peeps! Big was starting to get dizzy from seeing so many of these royal pains in the butts running around and stopping their progress to find this crazy woman. Like before, the group tried talking to them to prevent violence, and once again, it seemed to work!

Thanks to Yumiko, a good majority of the guards took off. And after Emil gave them quite a scare with his fancy glowing powers of glowyness, Big and Froggy clapped applauding Emil and his light show of rage scaring the few remaining ones left. He took care of them real well before Big could even say a word to try and persuade them away. Now it was just the continuing trek to the royal chambers to find this so called crazy lady trying to murder the king, among others, in the castle and the region.

OWL