[action] The Fall of The Would-Be Dynast-King

[xbalthierx.livejournal.com]

[In Troia, just across from where the Invincible will let off passengers, Balthier is hidden in a building. Dressed in all black, he has ensured that Irvine is in a different building nearby.

This is all planned and both have perfect lines of sight in order to do what has to be done. After sending a quick text to make sure Irvine is ready, Balthier loads his gun and waits on the eldest Solidor.]

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[dynast-king.livejournal.com]

[Irritated with the sensation that nothing much was accomplished in the meeting, beyond conjecture, Vayne walks off the airship with Larsa beside him.

There is much for him to do in dealing with Cid's funerary services in the morning.]

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

[A moment later, Garnet is coming up behind them.]

Vayne. May I speak to you for a moment?

[mademyresolve.livejournal.com]

[Her baby son bundled safely in her arms, Ashe waits for Rasler to be ready before she begins to follow after the Solidor pair.]

[She wants to avoid an encounter, and find an airship back to Figaro as soon as possible.]

[artemistardust.livejournal.com]

[Rosa is likewise anxious to get off the ship. Her illness is catching up to her and the stress of Troia's safety and Cecil's disappearance have made her weary. She looks ahead, feeling as though the whole meeting hadn't gotten much done, but unsure what else could have been said.]

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

[Zidane is following after Garnet, though he's a good ten feet or so behind, just...waiting, really. Respectful distance and all that. He is also waiting to speak with the regent, but that's a secondary goal.]

[dynast-king.livejournal.com]

[Vayne turns at the sound of Garnet's voice, a genuine smile crossing his face, rare as those might be. He's been awaiting a moment to speak with her outside of business matters.

Two gunshots ring out through the air, and the elder Solidor immediately slumps over onto Larsa, dead from the head wounds.]

[xbalthierx.livejournal.com]

[Task over, Balthier texts Irvine to tell him to get the hell out. Now.]

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I SLEEP/WORK! GAH! SORRY!

[ladiesmanirvine.livejournal.com]

[Irvine gets the message, wraps the heated gun from his back and runs out of there as fast as he can, not before picking up any traces of him ever being there first]

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

[Garnet clamps her hands over her mouth, stifling a horrified scream. She barely notices the blood that's just been splattered on her. Too focused on the terrible, gore-filled sight in front of her]

[artemistardust.livejournal.com]

[Rosa is equally shocked and her own hands reach to her mouth. She can't react properly, but the surprise of this, the strain of everything else... it's too much and she sways violently where she stands before her knees give out and she crumbles to the ground.]

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

[Zidane doesn't actually realize what the crack of sound was, he just sees Vayne suddenly dropping in a way that meant 'dead'...though he didn't see an arrow or anything. Still, whatever it was had to have come from a bit off, there wasn't anyone near enough to off him like that.]

Dagger!

[He immediately launched himself forward, grabbing the Queen around the waist and hauling her back up off the gangway and into the safety of the ships doorway.]

[mademyresolve.livejournal.com]

[Ashe recoils sharply upon hearing the shots with a cry, clutching her baby to her chest, the infant wailing loudly at the sudden, harsh noise.]

[mademyresolve.livejournal.com]

[Insistently, she peers around Rasler's shoulder, wanting to see what happened - what was going on? And there, Vayne Solidor. Dead. Her eyes widen in shock, a thousand questions overwhelming her, but her motherly instinct overcomes every last one. She embraces Shain, shushing him, to no avail.]

Rasler...

[mademyresolve.livejournal.com]

[She knows he's trying to protect her, but Ashe forces herself around again to look upon the panic, the... blood, disbelief at the fact that Vayne had been assassinated before her very eyes. She can't watch for longer than a few moments, the cries of her son motivating her to comply with her husband and step back inside. Ashe almost feels her legs tremble upon walking, the shock setting in.]

... He is... truly dead?

[But she knows the answer already - after all that blood, there was no way Vayne could have survived.]

[mademyresolve.livejournal.com]

[A nod, and Ashe gathers herself. Without a word, she carefully passes Shain across to Rasler, finding that without something to hold, her hands threaten to tremble.]

[She undresses from the waist upward, gathers the whimpering infant back into her arms, sitting at the bed's edge. Shifting, she finds the baby keen, cries and tears ending altogether once he begins to take his milk, contenting again.]

[Ashe visibly shivers as she nurses, though it's far from cold aboard.]

[arrogant-flirt.livejournal.com]

[Edge jumps to ready until he sees Rosa buckle. Responding immediately to her welfare, he leaves the execution to other and grabs Rosa before she's trampled in the ensuing chaos.]

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

[Garnet's shaking pretty violently as Zidane hauls her back]

R-Rosa, someone needs to-- [She sees Edge jump in to that task, and stops speaking.

[Oh god, there's so much blood, his hair is just soaked...]

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

[Zidane is doing his best to try and comfort the Queen, he really doesn't know specifically what to do. It's not like assassinations happen all the time.]

Shh, it's alright, someone is taking care of her.

[He keeps one arm hooked around her, holding her close, trying to give her a solid support to lean on.]

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

[Oh, she's really not standing on her own at all. Zidane is pretty much the only thing holding her up.]

H-He's-- [And then she realizes, oh god, that's the back of his head, and it's blown apart, and there's a sea of blood, and Larsa is soaked in it]

[She hasn't even noticed that there's a fair splattering of his blood on her HER.] Ohgod-- [her face is an image of horror, not to mention she looks like she might be ill]

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

Shh. Don't look.

[Zidane shifted, forcibly (though gently) turning Garnet around so her back was to the scene of carnage...though he took a step or two back to make sure she wasn't near the edge of the doorway either. No sense being foolhardy, since there might have just been someone looking to kill some royalty out there.]

[He's still holding her up too, and he uses his free hand to tug a hankerchief from his pocket, wiping the bits of blood (was that brain?) off her face.]

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

[Still shaking, she clutches handfuls of his clothing, her arms around him as tightly as her rattled state will let her. Even turned away from the scene, she can't get the image out of her mind.

Him looking at her. Smiling. I was going to be hard to turn him down. And then suddenly, the sound of a strange weapon, all of it in seconds. Blood, and gore, and there was no more smile there. She could see the light go out of those eyes]

W-who would do such a-- a-- ... [coherency? not likely. That's her friend who just had his head blown apart right before her eyes.]

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

I don't know, Dagger. But...we'll find out, alright?

[He continued trying to be soothing, but it was something of a lost cause, really.]

Maybe...you want to go sit down? We should go back into the ship, anyway, it might still be dangerous...

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

[She's silent for a long moment. Still shaking every time she breathes in. Eventually she just.. nods, coiling into his chest, hanging on for dear life. Gone is any shred of dignified royal demeanor.]

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[After Margrace's daring leap to ensure the Marquis' safety, Ondore had to resist the urge to beat the Rozzarian off with his cane once he heard the panicked gasps. While this was the first time, he ever witnessed such lunacy with his own eyes, Marquis Halim Ondore felt rather detached from the scene before him.

There was Larsa kneeling beside his deceased brother looking quite pale himself after nearly being embraced by Death. With Vayne's blood splattered across the face of the Alexandrian Queen who stood aghast with fear, Ondore allowed this horror to silence him.]

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[Once the younger Solidor became animated again, it was then that Marquis Ondore rushed forward.]

Larsa, are you hurt?! [Stopping his approach once he saw the boy try to use his potions, a sense of dread washed over him once he realized it was too late. Vayne Carudas Solidor was dead and no elixir or potion would bring him back.

Tearing his gaze off the deceased, Ondore's worried gaze settled upon the little emperor.]

...Larsa?

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[Watching this heartbreaking scene before him, the Marquis gained a steely rigidness about him as he knelt down beside the boy. No matter how old Larsa is now, the young man resembled more of a young child than the emperor that he is once those tears began to fall. Ondore's heart sank further once those eyes turned towards him, the sight alone enough to make his voice waver.]

H-he's gone, Larsa. Your brother...[Swallowing thickly, the Marquis tossed away his words for they weren't needed here. Instead of trying to console the emperor by using heartfelt condolences, Ondore decided to pry Larsa away from Vayne’s side.

There's blood all over you.

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

Lord Larsa, he's already gone. His spirit has left him, he...[Giving up in his protests, the Marquis decided to send word to Gabranth about this news. The boy won't budge unless Vayne's body is moved but maybe the emperor's guardian can talk some sense into him.]

Stay there, understood? I'll fetch Gabranth myself.

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[Just when he was about to leave the boy, Larsa's bloody hand reached out to grab his sleeve. Pleading with him to stay, Ondore let out a distressed sigh as he settled beside Larsa again. Instead of leaving to go find the judge, the Marquis opted to call the Judge Magister instead upon his sky phone.]

Shh, shh... Very well, I'll stay. Calm yourself, Larsa.

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[Unfortunately for the Marquis, he could think of a few people who would wish for a such a tragedy because he was one of them. Being Vayne's fiercest opponent beside the Queen of Dalmasca, Ondore couldn't help but feel as if this entire event was his fault. He felt sick, honestly sick of the bad politics that has brewed over the years, sick of the underhanded tactics of men and kings alike. For the first time in a long time, the Marquis felt his age of sixty-two.

Speaking briefly with Gabranth upon the phone, Halim noticed a hue of crimson upon his orange and tan sleeves. Pausing to stare at the blood upon him, the Marquis felt slightly humored by this dry sense of irony. While Vayne and Ondore never shared a single handshake, it seemed rather ironic that Vayne’s blood would drip from his sleeve.]

Humanity, have we all lost our humanity…? [Taking a moment to recollect his thoughts, Ondore took a deep breath.]

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

[The Regent approaches them.]

Larsa... You must get back on the airship. There's no knowing if the assassins who shot your brother are still around.

We'll take his body aboard, and bear him wherever you wish.

[He indicates to two of his knights, who come forward to pick up the corpse.]

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[Giving the Regent his thanks, the Marquis decides to help Larsa up so he could lead him back to the ship.]

Come, we'll stay by his side together.

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

[Cid nods.]

I understand. We'd better get you all cleaned up as well...

[The knights bear the body back into the Invincible, Cid leading the way.]

[marquisofthesky.livejournal.com]

[Following in silence as well, the Marquis glances at his sky phone again while wondering where Gabranth could be. While he doesn't mind watching over Larsa, he knew that the boy's guardian would be able to reach him better than he can.

This is why he looks forward for the Judge Magister's arrival.]

[tidesnpcs.livejournal.com]

[Regent Cid was still inside the airship, but he hears the gunshots and immediately investigates.]

Everybody back on the airship! You, take a band of knights and scour the area. The gunmen can't be too far away.

[The Lindblum knights rush off to see if they can catch the culprits.]