Mai-X-Project Act I: Zero Hour Part 2 [Complete]

"Join you?"

Oscar laughed her on-alert spasm off and returned the rapier into it's sheath. She took a few steps forward to meet Saki and Midori's new friend. "My apologies, Miss. I am Oscar François de Jarjayes."



"Assigned to Marie Antoinette. Now, guardian to Mademoiselle Natsuki. Please state your name and rank."

"I suppose we will have to start without further delay." Seymour replied, "I am certain we will see Lady Yuna and guardians soon enough. No harm done with that. Besides, this group of strangers you are referring to have peeked my interest."

The blue haired Guado looked up at the grey sky. More clouds were gathering, as if a storm was coming soon. Then, he glanced back to the forbidden where Nao's group had just departed to.

"At any rate, we must go on with our mission." Seymour ordered the captain and her team, "Have your team go ahead of the area at once! We need to be ahead of the strangers as soon as possible."

-------

"Hey, Saki and Midori are back! Yaay!" Cat goddess Mikoto cheered, "Where have you been? And how did you meet our new recruit?"

"Great!" Rezetta smiled, "Everyone is here. Thank goodness for that! What happened?"

Lerena wrote:"My name is Kyoko Sakura, a Puella Magi. Basically, a magical girl granted with magical abilities. What do you mean by rank though?" Kyoko decided to leave out the dark and gritty bits about being a magical girl.

The commander of the Imperial Guard gave this Kyoko a sparkling smirk, "I got my answer. After everything I've seen as of late, another magical being doesn't surprise me. No matter what, you can't convince yourself that it's a dream. She took in a deep breath, "Sigh, I suppose not!" laughed Oscar. "Please meet our leader, Natsuki Kuga. She knows how we ended up here in the first place. We all just ended up here like you."

Bluholic711 wrote:"I suppose we will have to start without further delay." Seymour replied, "I am certain we will see Lady Yuna and guardians soon enough. No harm done with that. Besides, this group of strangers you are referring to have peeked my interest."

The blue haired Guado looked up at the grey sky. More clouds were gathering, as if a storm was coming soon. Then, he glanced back to the forbidden where Nao's group had just departed to.

"At any rate, we must go on with our mission." Seymour ordered the captain and her team, "Have your team go ahead of the area at once! We need to be ahead of the strangers as soon as possible."

The young and able Crusaders looked at each other with intense worry. "Isn't that  a bit, dangerous?"

"You heard Maester Seymour," informed the powerful woman. "The Crusaders never back down, even in the face of our deaths. Mount your Chocobos are follow me!"

“So wait,” Summanus grunted, lowering and tilting his massive head so that his platinum eye—larger than any of the humans standing around—was on level with the group. “This little fleshling the size of my smallest toenail is our leader?”

“Oh behave.” Elsa scolded him, earning her a smoke-filled snort.

Midori smirked at Mikoto. Catching her, Saki sighed but said nothing as Midori explained,
"We found her trying to be tough by walking in this weather to her destination. We offered her a ride at first, she refused. After a little brawl she agreed."
Saki rolled her eyes.
"It was hardly anything close to a fight Midori."

WolvenBane08 wrote:“So wait,” Summanus grunted, lowering and tilting his massive head so that his platinum eye—larger than any of the humans standing around—was on level with the group. “This little fleshling the size of my smallest toenail is our leader?”

"Of course," smiled Oscar as she patted the big galoot. "Natsuki is more knowledgeable about what's going on and she said her friend is directly involved with whoever put us here. Size doesn't matter here. I don't even mind that she lacks proper, French military prowess. There's something about Mademoiselle Natsuki that is full of grandeur. You are a beast of high respects back in your world, am I right? I'm sure you can understand what I'm saying," winked Oscar, her sparkling face being so damn sparkly right now. It doesn't seem to be some kind of power; it just happens!

Summanus just grunted again. "Whatever you say, Sparkles." He let his head thump down to the ground, sending a spray of snow up and jostling Elsa, before curling his bulk around the group; effectively serving as both a windbreak and source of heat.

"Honestly, I think none of us would have survived with our skins intact without Kuga." Rezetta admitted, trying to shield her face from the inexpectdedly strong winds. "In fact, we still need her advice and guidance when it comes to arriving here in this...cold."

Rezetta noticed Kyoko's spear. She never quite seen such a weapon before. At least not in a while anyway. "Anyways, nice to meet you, newbie Kyoko! Nice design of your spear by the way. Did you create it yourself?"

Mikoto had already noticed the Newbie's spear. She stared at it with curious eyes. "Yeah, that looks cool! You could beat up bad guys with it easily, right?"

(( Sorry everyone. My internet is barely working right now. I apologize for not posting sooner.))Natsuki narrowed her eyes at Kyoko, trying to inspect the new comer. There was no time for judging so she went along with with it.

Johanna stood up from the ground and finally expressed her opinion. "I don't trust random people that show up here but if it's a way for me to figure out how to get out of here....so be it. I will do what it takes to get the job done."

Johanna huffed and looked away before introducing herself. "Johanna, Johanna Mason." She ruffled the back of her hair.

Natsuki glared over at Johanna and proceeded with her introduction. "The name is Natsuki and we could use another member to help us. NO funny business." Natsuki said as she pointed a finger at her.

"We all gotta take chances so let's have Kyoko be apart of the group."

Natsuki turned her attention to Rezetta as her hair flipped in the wind. "I'm afraid trusting people comes in second if we want to still be alive. We need to take chances and just go with it."

"First things first, we need to find out where this Hime signal is coming from. It could be someone from our world and they could be in danger. We need to find the fasts way possible to get there."

Natsuki turned around to look at everyone with a determined smile. "Who's with me? Let's put aside the pointing fingers and join in as a group. We need it at a time like this."

Elsa leaned over her perch on Summanus’ head with a cheeky smile. “Summanus here could fly us there. He’s big enough to carry us all.”

Summanus rolled his eyes in her direction. “Thanks for that, Iceling. I was just settling in for a nap.”

“I know,” Elsa said as she settled back into her nook. “That’s why I suggested it.”

Shizuru, for her part, thought this a fantastic suggestion, and let her opinion be known by sweeping Natsuki off her feet and launching herself onto Summanu’s head, just behind the nook Elsa was in.

Summanus eyed the newcomer again, amused that this girl thought so little of him. "Whatever you say, Toothpick. Just don't expect me to catch you if you fall."

He rumbled as he rose back to his feet, his head towering above the cliffs to either side of them. He shook himself out a bit as he rose, flexing his wings and stretching them out in preparation for the upcoming fight.

Giving one last stretch, he lifted his head skyward and let out an earth-shaking roar that would be heard for hundreds of miles.

Fully awake and ready to go, he turned his head to look down at the specks the rest of the group were.

"If you're coming, get on." He rumbled down at them. "And if you fall...that's not my problem."

"I'll save Gakutenou the trouble and ride you this once."
Midori hopped onto Summamus while Saki floated onto his back, whispering into his ear,
"Thank you very much for this."

"This should be amusing. The idea of flight is an impossibility...until I came here."

Oscar attempted to climb the mighty beast dragon. Though nimble as she may be, it turned out to be quite a tedious chore. "Sacré bleu! I wouldn't be shocked if we did plunge to our doom."

A look of surprise and fright spread across Natsuki's face, not expecting what had just happened. She was okay with jumping on Summanus by herself but she was completely caught off guard by Shizuru.

The blue-haired Hime gripped onto to her so tight that she had closed her eyes tight to not look down. Her mouth was gaped opened but no sounds came out.

Once she landed on top of Summanus, she felt herself being lowered again. She opened her eyes and looked at Shizuru. "HEY! What was that about?! Warn me next time." Natsuki said with a slight blush on her face.

Johanna snorted with a jealous laugh as she witness everyone jump onto Summanus. "Well, I guess I'll have to find my own way."

She shimmied on up, trying to get a good grip but she kept slipping a bit. "UGH!!!" Johanna said with frustration.

"Why can't everything be on the ground?" She said as she finally reached the top with every one else.

Johanna rolled her eyes and laid down with her hand supporting her head.


Natsuki huffed at Johanna and stared off into the distance. "We're coming for you. Just hold on a little bit longer, whoever you are."

Summanus rolled an eye back toward Saki. “Glad to see one of you fleshlings has half a brain.”

Elsa continued to ignore the cranky dragon, instead choosing to build snowpiles on his head.

“Would you stop that, Iceling?” He rumbled to the Queen.

“I’m testing my abilities,” Elsa replied in her best Royal Voice. “Your body heat naturally melts any snow quickly, I’m attempting to see if I can create snow that won’t melt so easily.”

“Bullshit.” Summanus snorted, but Elsa could feel his amusement nonetheless.


“Ara, my apologies, Nat-su-ki~” Shizuru replied, giving her Natsuki a beaming, and utterly unapologetic, smile.


Summanus grunted once everyone was settled with varying levels of security, before spreading his wings once again and launching into the air. They rose quickly into the sky, and soon the mountains were but rocks beneath them.

Meanwhile.

"Oh, terrific! Didn't the sun indicate funny, sunny weather today!? Ooo! Rain is totally not what my cool new outfit needs right now!" scowled Anna, as she quickly lifts Kanako over her head. "This should work..."

Nao and her allies were heading towards the rumored area where dead fiends with holes in their bodies were found. It's bad enough that the dirt road of Mi'hen seemed endless, but under heavy cloud and rain, it would be difficult to spot enemies.

"Ahh, touch me as much as you'd like fair maiden.~"
Lost in another delusional state, Kanako lay flat in Anna's hands, not minding the mighty torrents of rain soaking her body endlessly.

Kaltus shook his head with a smile at Anna’s antics, but kept one hand on his katana as his eyes darted about.

He had banished his wings some time ago, partly because no one wants to deal with wet feathers, and partly because they would only slow him down if he needed to move quickly. He could practically hear his father drilling into him that wings were a double-edged sword: they allow you to fly, but they slow you down on the ground. More surface area means greater wind resistance.

"Eh!? Why did it start raining all of the sudden?" Mako asked with wide brown eyes,"I hope none of you guys are wearing white! Hehehe!"

"The white of my school shirt underneath this blazer can be soaked for all I care!"
Kanako had a blissful smile painted on her face as rain water piled into her mouth and caused her words to come out in a gurgle.

"So, Anna-San," Mako asked the red head princess, "what are we suppose to do now? We can't scout for monsters if its raining like this right? Or maybe this rain is meant to symbolize something important?"

Bluholic711 wrote:"So, Anna-San," Mako asked the red head princess, "what are we suppose to do now? We can't scout for monsters if its raining like this right? Or maybe this rain is meant to symbolize something important?"

Still using Kanako's body as an umbrella, the pouty princess shakes her head in response to Mako's theory. "The rain doesn't bother me at all, Mako! Errr-okay, maybe a little, I just had my hair brushed! But-but that doesn't mean we should head back! That cutie is depending on me...um...US...to investigate!"

"Which cutie do you refer to? The Seymour guy or the dark skinned Barbarian princess that flirted with Shane? And "US"? Real smooth, Anna. Smooth as Kristoff's face."

"SHUT IT, THOUGHTS! Hmph...ANYWAY! The Crusaders said we'd find this rumored area as we near an abandoned chapel from long ago. The pretty Captain said this place was full of old ruins, but the one we're seeking is completely shattered. All that remains is a planted staff of a old Summoner....whatever that is."

---

As the rainfall continued, thundering sounds could be heard behind the group; growing louder and louder. The Crusaders had caught up to Nao's group, dashing quickly past everyone. "EEP! It's the Crusaders! HEEEEEEEEY! WHAT'S THE HURRY!? WE WERE ALMOST THERE! Sheesh, can you believe them. Here we are soaking wet and hungry and they don't bother to give us a lift!"

The leading Crusader turn her body around and fires a dart into the direction of Shane. The dart hits the ground right in front of the urbane woman, revealing a white rose.

"It's a shame we couldn't talk under better circumstances." said the beautiful Mediterranean Captain, riding off into the forbidden area with her team. They make inquiry of this rarely explored chasm, only to spot something rather odd.

"Ma'am!"

"Call me, 'Sir'"

"Sir, we've located the fiends. The rumors were true, they've been killed by some kind of parasite."

"Exiting their bodies through the rib cages. Horrific."

"It gets worse, we've spotted a deeper part of the chasm that's filled with eggs."

"How many?"

"I...I don't know, Sir. Thousands, it seems."

"What?"

The Captain breaks through her informant to take a look at the second chasm. "What in Yevon's name..."

As the camera pulls back, we see an entire nest of opened eggs in a stretch of gorge that goes for miles on end. "Where are the others?"

"Investigating the chasm, Sir."

"We have to abort."

"But-"

"NOW!!!"

Seventeen of Mi-hen's finest Crusaders fall one by one by moving shadows. The cries of freighted Chocobos are silenced quickly. It's difficult for the Captain to spot the action going on, so she bravely steps off her Chocobo to run towards the chasm herself. "Run away, Flight. You've served me well, my brother." Understanding her master's wishes, the Chocobo flees into the rainy night.

"Captain, you can't!"

"If we don't eliminate this threat ourselves, the group of strangers will be caught in it."

"I'm not leaving without you!"

"You have a future, Gatta. This is mine."

"CAPTAIN!!!!"

The Mediterranean woman jumps down into the fray, despite not knowing where the attackers are. Her muscles flexed, gripping her mighty sword and slashing in directions that showed signs of movement, the shadows began to scatter for a while. In an instant, her excellent focus caused her to hit one of the fast moving targets before it slipped back behind the rocks. She felt something on her arm, but it didn't matter as the creature revealed itself. Beheaded.

"Curse you, beast. In Yevon's name, you will...ughh! What...AHHHHH!!!"

The brave woman felt her entire arm fall off and dissolve slowly on the ground. The intense pain sent her into total shock. All she could do was smile. "So this is it, huh. These were not creatures of Sin. It did not-URGH!!!"

A massive tail impales her through the back, leaving her heart hanging off the end.
---

"What was that!?" cried out Anna, hearing the loud screams before they were silenced.

Kanako, who had been knocked unconscious and was nearly foaming at the mouth from so much rain practically drowning her, was startled awake.
"AAAHH!"
She yelled as Anna questioned the recent sounds of screams. No matter the situation, Kanako always knew when to run from danger