Chapter 7: Contagious Rage

Chapter 7: Contagious Rage

Smoke billowed from the scorched rubble around the once beautiful city as Aura sat looking over the ruins, perched atop what was left of the stone walls. The lack of wind, and the dull light of the sun from behind the smoke and clouds overhead made the moment even more depressing for the Elvaan man. 

Soft clanking footsteps sounded on the stairs behind Aura. He turned around to see who it could have been when a small metal head popped up from the floor above the one-sided stairwell. As Kenbishi took step after step, Aura looked at the small Automaton with a blank expression on his face. Ken noisily walked over to Aura and plopped down next to him, both of them sat there looking over the destroyed city. The Automaton slowly turned and looked to Aura with its shadowy hole of a face. Aura caught this out of the corner of his eye, but leaned his head down and sighed. With the depression woven into his voice, he said to Ken "I don't know what to do now." The Automaton tilted its head and replied "Continue... what you... were already... doing?" Aura looked to the Automaton and nodded. "First I need to find Raven. I have no doubt she survived the attack on the city. She was always able to defend herself, even when we were younger." The tall Elvaan man said assertively while he stood up, towering over the small Automaton. "Let's go." he continued. The Automaton popped up onto its feet as if controlled by invisible strings and nodded to the tall man. 

The two walked down the stairs and into what was left of the city square. The Automaton noticed something in the distance and said to Aura "Look..." extending its thin stringy black arm outward, pointing a tiny finger toward the fountain fragments. Aura walked over with Ken following behind and saw something reflecting the dim sunlight from within the dust and rubble. He began digging with his hands, throwing stones out of the way. The Automaton looked at the now revealed Animator and sighed dejectedly while he let out an unenthusiastic echoing "...oh..." 

Aura pulled the Animator out of the rubble and dusted it off with his hand. "Ken, we're going to need this and I am going to need your help." he said as he looked at the Automaton standing next to him with its back hunched over and its stringy arms dangling downward from its metal body. "I... understand..." It said, lowering its head. "Let's keep going. Raven would likely be in the Imperial Palace protecting the Empress." Aura said before continuing to walk toward the alley leading in the opposite direction of what used to be the markets. Ken kicked a puff of dust into the air and followed behind Aura reluctantly.

The two of them walked through the alley and into the Imperial Court. Stepping over the debris that littered the area, they heard a familiar noise. "...pu...po..!" it said, muffled by the rocks they stood on. The Automaton asked curiously "...Moogle..?" Aura shrugged and replied bluntly "I don't know. Perhaps." Ken then suddenly whipped his thin arms around a large boulder-like chunk of stone, and tugged on it until it rolled down off of the small pile of rubble under their feet. As the stone rolled away, a small pink furry Moogle bottom was revealed, fluffy bunny-tail and all. One of its tiny back paws wiggled free from the rubble and began kicking the air frantically as the Moogles muffled voice came from the debris again "pu... poooo!!" Ken and Aura both began digging away the small rocks and pebbles until finally the Moogle was free. "Thank you, thank you, kupo!" the Moogle said gleefully as it started to shake the dust from its body much like a dog would shake off water. Aura smiled at the Moogle and asked "You've been down there all night?" the Moogle stopped shaking and fluttered its wings in a short spurt, stopped, then began again, carrying itself into the air before it said "Yes! I was sure I had met my demise, but then you showed up and saved me, kupo!" The Automaton leaned back with its hands held together behind its back, while Aura comically scratched the back of his head and smiled with closed eyes as he stood there blushing.

The Moogle floated in front of Aura and informed him "I was following Miss Raven when I was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. Apparently fire wasn't their only weapon, but my Moogle Magic Shield took most of the damage. I landed here and was buried before I realized it, kupo." Aura's smile drooped into a frown and suddenly turned his head toward the prodigious palace across the court. "The entrance to the palace foyer is over there. Hopefully Raven is inside, I don't know where else she would have gone." He said. "...shall we... then...?" the Automaton followed-up, completely forgetting about his earlier reluctance. Aura and the Moogle nodded in sync and the three of them walked toward the Imperial Palace.

The great doors slowly creaked open as the Moogle, Automaton and Elvaan all pushed the two large golden structures as hard as they could. With the enormous doors fully opened, a cloud of dust flowed outward from the palace foyer into the Imperial Court. Aura covered his face with his sleeve and walked deeper into the aphotic antechamber before entering the foyer. The three of them entered the beautifully decorated archway leading into the room beyond where they found a young girl crying among the rubble and large chunks of stone whose color matched that of the palace dome.

The young girl's cries were soft and quiet, echoing in the deep dark foyer. The skirt of her dress, enormous and violet-colored, sat with fullness up around her body. Her small pale arms were propped up with her hands covering her face as her long wavey strawberry blond hair laid veiled over her near-snow white skin. With the dull sunlight streaming down from the hole in the high ceiling, the dust around the young girl stirred slightly, letting her know someone was behind her.

Aura stood there with Ken next to him and the Moogle quietly hovering over his shoulder. Before he could take a step, he heard something from the other side of the room. A resonating sound pulsed through the rubble and walls, originating from the pitch black shadows on the other side of the young girl. As they all stared at the darkness in wait, a womans pale white hand emerged from the shadows. The hand began to swim upward through the dusty air, falling back wrist-first into the shadows while a beautiful woman stepped forth into the dim light. Her body was covered in silky black ribbons and sashes, with her moist light skin showing from underneath the openings in the many pieces of drapped cloth.

The woman's steps were gentle and fluent. Her body swayed with grace as she lightly slid each hidden foot in front of the other. With the back of her wrist resting on her forehead and the inside of her other sitting on the gown at her waist, she flowed flawlessly onward from the shadows. With her jet black hair set in loops and silver ornaments holding it loosely, Aura realized she looked so very familiar. She reached the young girl in the middle of the dark foyer and set her risen arm to her waist with the other. With her head held high, the dark lined eye lashes opened slowly, revealing those ever potent emerald eyes. 

Aura felt a sense of shock as he realized this antimonious woman was his own sister. He had never seen her act like this before, thus the feeling that something was wrong flooded over all of his senses. With his gaze locked on Raven and this anonymous young girl, he finally took his delayed step forward, and said quietly "..Raven..." but a sepulchral voice stopped him from taking another step toward the matron of the empire. It's low tone and familiar resonating pulse washed over Aura as it spoke soft yet furious words.. "Our city... was destroyed... ...so many lives... were lost. Someone... must pay." 

Aura looked onward, trying to subdue his intimidation as he repeated himself, "...Raven..." the hollow voice replied once again "Someone... must pay." With the final echo fading into the shadows, Raven's eyes became engulfed in a blazing red light, with this energy looking almost as if her eyes were emitting fiercely burning flames. She rose her head to the broken dome and her long black hair fell from its silver restraints. Her hair began to once again defy gravity as it once had before. Each strand rose individually into the air, and with them, the young girl in front of her. The small pale body unfolded and outstretched. As her eyes opened, the same fiery light from Raven's were revealed within them. The Elvaan man braced himself on the ground, as the two radiant creatures ascended to the dark foyers ceiling. A crimson semblance of light spiraled around the two of them as they exited through the largest hole in the structure. 

With the two of them gone, the dark room became still and silent. Ken turned to Aura and tugged on his shirt while it said "Shouldn't we... stop... her?" "Something is wrong, she wouldn't act like that, kupo." The Moogle added. Aura turned around toward the entrance from which they entered, and stood there quietly for a moment. "That isn't her." he finally deducted, "But we do have to stop them." he continued as he jolted out of the dark empty room and back into the still dull sunlight with the Automaton and Moogle following behind.

As the dust settled in the foyer, the wind of outside pulled the entrance doors shut. Now with no other way out or in, the wind poured from the holes in the ceiling, kicking up the dust once more. But something else was swept up in the wind with the dust. A beautiful white scrap of cloth swayed in the the gust before setting down on a pile of rubble. The cloth, stained with blood and tears, read simply "Nashmeira II".