[Following the explosion of the turrets, Ikuri's rage had nearly bubbled over. Tremoring with wrath, her hand had snapped to her sword hilt, and she'd nearly launched herself at Zahi then and there.]
[Nearly, and then she'd stolen a glance at Colin. That glance, in turn, had stopped her cold: actually caused some of that wrath to drain out. That feeling of menace, directed at their shared enemy, the traitor... that wasn't illusion: neither bluff nor feint, nor mere bravado. He knew. There was something he knew that no one else did. Control had not left him. This situation...]
[Zahi was walking into the lion's mouth. Colin knew it. He anticipated it.]
[Ikuri understood all this on an instinctive level, but her rational side - the part of it that managed to remain awake despite escalating mutual hostility - was briefly puzzled. It was enough to make her conclude that attacking right away was not necessarily the best course. Colin, the Bastion's defender along with the rest of them, was not threatened.]
[And then Ghaleon spoke.]
[It astonished her, held her in place, but in a way she hadn't expected: his words lit a fire in her, stirred her will to fight in a manner entirely different from what Zahi had accomplished. Ironically it also served to calm her, to return her to that one place her loved ones said was most important, that place of focus and control.]
['Remember Crona.' This man had killed her. To make matters worse, he'd marched into their home with his little army, openly intending to usurp control of the Bastion to fulfill his aims. If either act alone had been his only sin, he would deserve to die for it. But everything else...the risks he took, the danger he placed Ibuki in, and Ikuri, and indeed the very world if Colin was to believed (and Ikuri absolutely believed him); the horrors that he could bring down on each of them and he. didn't. care.]
[The dark-haired girl spoke to him next, his daughter...and Ikuri did find some part of her softening, just for an instant. He wanted loved ones back...she understood that. yes, she did. of course she wants hers back, too. But at what cost? At what risk? Ibuki would be torn apart if it didn't work as Zahi predicted...Ikuri too, for that matter. And by Colin's account, the fabric of space-time would be damaged for it, eventually bringing horrors forth...all without the assurance that anything would change at all.]
[Yes, you can say it's about your loved ones, but is it really? Her thoughts are kin to Zayna's; what would they think if they saw you now, or rather, what you did to get to this point? Or were you even thinking that at all? Perhaps you were confident that all it took was rewinding time, and it would wipe memories clean. According to Ghaleon, that won't happen either.]
[No. She will not take the chance, nor suffer it to be taken. And you know what else? Like so many people here she really. Really. Really does not appreciate that you tried to force the matter.]
[And nothing here can excuse all you've done and intended: no argument made today can absolve you. You've directly threatened the Bastion, their home, her home, her family, for the sake of your agenda...you fired first shot, and now you threaten their future. Crona is dead. More could still die. All because you live in a universe of one.]
[That...will not go unpunished, whatever is decided today.]
[Ikuri reaches for her black blade once more, this time in a determined and even motion. Grasps the hilt, slowly draws the blade out; a dull shine dances off as light catches it. She's still up on stage, in full view of everyone.]
[Her stance shifts, still battle-ready but this time it's as much to command attention. Not of the crowd itself, no...her eyes lock onto Zahi's face: onto his own eyes, if they should meet.]
[It's probably not hard to guess what sentiment is behind them.]
[Even if you surrender, you're not seeing day's end unmarked.]
'scuze all the grammarderps
[Nearly, and then she'd stolen a glance at Colin. That glance, in turn, had stopped her cold: actually caused some of that wrath to drain out. That feeling of menace, directed at their shared enemy, the traitor... that wasn't illusion: neither bluff nor feint, nor mere bravado. He knew. There was something he knew that no one else did. Control had not left him. This situation...]
[Zahi was walking into the lion's mouth. Colin knew it. He anticipated it.]
[Ikuri understood all this on an instinctive level, but her rational side - the part of it that managed to remain awake despite escalating mutual hostility - was briefly puzzled. It was enough to make her conclude that attacking right away was not necessarily the best course. Colin, the Bastion's defender along with the rest of them, was not threatened.]
[And then Ghaleon spoke.]
[It astonished her, held her in place, but in a way she hadn't expected: his words lit a fire in her, stirred her will to fight in a manner entirely different from what Zahi had accomplished. Ironically it also served to calm her, to return her to that one place her loved ones said was most important, that place of focus and control.]
['Remember Crona.' This man had killed her. To make matters worse, he'd marched into their home with his little army, openly intending to usurp control of the Bastion to fulfill his aims. If either act alone had been his only sin, he would deserve to die for it. But everything else...the risks he took, the danger he placed Ibuki in, and Ikuri, and indeed the very world if Colin was to believed (and Ikuri absolutely believed him); the horrors that he could bring down on each of them and he. didn't. care.]
[The dark-haired girl spoke to him next, his daughter...and Ikuri did find some part of her softening, just for an instant. He wanted loved ones back...she understood that. yes, she did. of course she wants hers back, too. But at what cost? At what risk? Ibuki would be torn apart if it didn't work as Zahi predicted...Ikuri too, for that matter. And by Colin's account, the fabric of space-time would be damaged for it, eventually bringing horrors forth...all without the assurance that anything would change at all.]
[Yes, you can say it's about your loved ones, but is it really? Her thoughts are kin to Zayna's; what would they think if they saw you now, or rather, what you did to get to this point? Or were you even thinking that at all? Perhaps you were confident that all it took was rewinding time, and it would wipe memories clean. According to Ghaleon, that won't happen either.]
[No. She will not take the chance, nor suffer it to be taken. And you know what else? Like so many people here she really. Really. Really does not appreciate that you tried to force the matter.]
[And nothing here can excuse all you've done and intended: no argument made today can absolve you. You've directly threatened the Bastion, their home, her home, her family, for the sake of your agenda...you fired first shot, and now you threaten their future. Crona is dead. More could still die. All because you live in a universe of one.]
[That...will not go unpunished, whatever is decided today.]
[Ikuri reaches for her black blade once more, this time in a determined and even motion. Grasps the hilt, slowly draws the blade out; a dull shine dances off as light catches it. She's still up on stage, in full view of everyone.]
[Her stance shifts, still battle-ready but this time it's as much to command attention. Not of the crowd itself, no...her eyes lock onto Zahi's face: onto his own eyes, if they should meet.]
[It's probably not hard to guess what sentiment is behind them.]
[Even if you surrender, you're not seeing day's end unmarked.]
[You may not see it at all.]