Evening descended upon Wutai as a normal day would come to a close; shadows lengthened in the dimming of the setting sun against the northern mountain range of Loftarasa as Jillian headed back toward the Inn she presumed Gforte to be staying at. Seeing old, ah, 'acquaintances' turn up in this way was a bit unsettling, even for her. But still, it was kind of nice to know that even universes apart, things still rarely seemed to change.

For the moment, though, Jillian was just content to push open the door of the inn and allow herself inside, looking somewhat distant from the events as she made an overt attempt to look like she was peering around the lobby.

The inn was mostly quiet, the time of night being sufficient for most normal people to begin heading into bed. Here and there, young couples are gathered, planning a time out on the town supposedly. In a more secluded corner of the room however, Gforte sits with his back to the walls.

Gforte taps the bottle of alcohol resting loosely in his hands. He seems disheveled, and somewhat unpleasant to be around at the moment, a feeling backed up by the glares he shoots at the people around him.

Jillian's vertical-irised eyes regain focus when it registers to her, upon seeing Gforte, that he hadn't seem to've accomplished much since they parted ways earlier in the day. With a small frown of her own, she approached him, brushing her hair behind one ear. "If you're just going to be angry at everything, you could do it in your room so you don't compound your bad mood by being here."

Gforte drinks deeply from the bottle, grimacing at either the taste or the burn before responding to Jillian. "Already tried that. Figured I'd need some sleep after death, had a nightmare, don't want to go back to sleep. How'd your side trip go?" Gforte's deflection seemed to be part interest, part moving the subject from his dreams.

Jillian scratches the side of her head lightly, not sure how to really explain it. "Well, to put it shorthandedly, I met someone I used to know, back from the world I lived in before this place grabbed me. It's kind of strange seeing how different two once-similar people can be, when subjected to different, or the same, situations over a period of time." Jillian doesn't seem terribly focused, for whatever reason.

Gforte grunts. "Practically everyone reacts to situations differently. Even the same person will react differently." He sets a fist against the ground, and then pushes himself up, still holding the bottle. "Since I'm pretty sure you don't actually need to sleep, the room is a bit of a waste for now."

Gforte looks at the people in the area and sighs. "Let's get out of here. Tired of being around these kids." He looks over to Jillian, eye half open, but focused. "You know where we're supposed to go for this sword?"

"Not necessarily." Jillian pursed her lips, glancing sidelong toward the staircase leading up to the rooms. "In truth, I'm feeling somewhat subdued tonight. I don't know what's wrong, but it feels like some kind of pressure. It's quite strange. I think I might actually go lie down for a bit, even if it isn't to sleep." She takes a breath, giving her head a stiff shake. "I don't. The only person I'd sought to ask, I thought better of. I'll need to think over my resources and decide who else I could consult for that information, now. My apologies, in advance." Jillian wasn't lying about the foremost statement, either; she even SOUNDS tired, which is really strange for her.

Gforte shrugs. "Well, come on then, I'll show you to the room. If anything, I can do some work on my gear before the fight while you rest." He steps up the staircase, moving a bit slowly himself.

"Okay. My thanks, then." Jillian allows Gforte to do so, stepping aside so that he might lead the way.

Gforte leads Jillian to a room somewhat close to the stairway, and unlocks the door, letting her into the already done room. Inside, the bedsheets are already ravaged, apparentally by Gforte's presence. Additionally, electronics cover the nearby table, in various stages of work.

All of a sudden, the ground begins to shake; not violently, but in a tremor that feels as if the surface of the entire Cleft of Dimensions was being shifted in some location! A flash of white light brightens the sky from all directions for the most fractional of seconds!

Jillian ascends the stairs to the room they had acquired, and reaches for the doorknob to close it behind them, a bit wearily, when the tremor hits... and she stops, narrowing her eyes. "What... is that an earthquake? Without wanring?" She looks back at Gforte, checking his reaction.

Gforte sighs deeply. "I'm pretty sure seismic events aren't frequent here. Nor bright, sky brightening thunderstorms. Either a sun just went nova somewhere, or someone is doing heavy shit."

Jillian frowns, apparently fearing the worst. "I'm going to go back outside and see if something's actually happening." And without waiting for a response, she does just that, re-descending the stairs at a hurried pace and flying past all the bewildered tenants of the lobby in her haste to get out the door.

Gforte groans. He had been hoping to work until he passed out. That and get a look at how Jillian rested. He begins packing his gear into his backpack, quickly clearing the table with the effieciency of someone used to being hunted. Soon, he too is on his way downstairs, downing the rest of his alcohol on the way.

The rumbling persists at a consistent state, continuing to rattle the floors of establishments and the very earth at one's feet! Gradually, however, it subsides... only to be followed by a global, piercing keen not unlike metal being scraped against metal, as the tip of something huge suddenly appears at the surface of the Manawyden ocean, slowly rising out of it!

Jillian furrows her brow, getting ready to comment on something when the keening hits, and she covers her ears loosely from the surprise of it. "Agh, hey! What in the world makes that kind of racket?" Even after the noise has gone, Jill still keeps her ears covered, possibly as though waiting for a repeat. Her eyes, though, scan the immediate area for anything threatening, wondering why she isn't seeing anything.

Gforte steps next to Jillian, looking primarily to the sky. "Ever work on metal?" He tosses the now-empty bottle away, eyeing Jillian. "Need to get you sat next to a fire alarm for a while. It'll get you used to ignoring sounds like this."

Jillian frowns softly, letting her hands down from the sides of her head and glancing off to one side at nothing in particular for a moment. "Ugh. Hold on one second. I need to find out what the hell just happened." She places a hand alongside one of her temples, apparently focusing elsewhere...

Slow at first, then gradually picking up speed and sending waves of displaced water crashing down upon the shores of Phendrana's northern coast, the object rises out of the ocean; a massive, black fortress set upon a chunk of land not much bigger than the construct itself, eerie in design like some twisted mass of metallic circuitry.

As it rises into the air, lights begin to illuminate its exterior; pale, flickering blue lights crossed with violet, darkly casting a gloomy aura around the floating fortress as it ascends high into the sky... and then stops suddenly, merely hanging there in suspended air. An obnoxious crack of thunder roars across the Cleft of Dimensions, signaling its arrival!

Gforte raises an eyebrow. "Real fucking subtle. Looks like you have your answer Jill." He hitches his backpack up a little, and grunts. "Going to have fucking wannabe heroes from all over clamboring to try and get there. We need to do it first, make sure none of them die. Think you can shadow walk us over?"

Jillian freezes in place, not from what she can now visibly see, but from what she's obtained in the form of mental information, the fruits of her search. Stiffly, she turns to face the direction that this abomination rose from, looking up into the sky as the fortress hovers in the sky. "What..?" Her voice is a whisper, at first. "... What?! Why? Why THIS?" She screams this last bit out, seemingly at nothing; she's freaking right the fuck out, which is an absolute first.

Gforte drops a hand on Jillian's shoulder. "Hey, Jill, calm down. Between the two of us, you need to be the rational one, not me, considering you actually know what you're doing here." Concern and a hint of care coat Gforte's voice, trying to call the succubi out of her freakout.

Jillian shakes her head, which actually turns out to be more of a shaking thrash than an actual shake of her head; her black tresses are everywhere as a result. "No.. no no. You don't understand. They.. how did they do this? NOTHING should have been able to raise that.. that monstrosity!" Her voice is trembling as she looks up, eyes wide with... fear. Deathly fear. "That's not the Fortress of Doom. That's not Doom Island!"

"And? The mission is still the same. Doom island, Fortress of Doom, fucking Dairy Queen of Doom. I'm going to go in there and kill them all, so pull yourself together." Gforte is more insistant now, still trying to calm his companion.

Jillian stands up fully after a moment, placing a hand on her forehead. "Haut, I hate to tell you this, but the rules have just changed. For all of us. I regret, now, not telling you any of those stories I promised I would, back awhile ago." She pauses, composing herslelf. "We.. we need two swords now. Not just one."

Gforte shrugs. "I can't say I'm good at using two swords at once, but I can try." Gforte lets his hand linger on Jillian's shoulder for a few moments more, before he gives it a slight squeeze and lets go.

Jillian frowns, looking up again toward the fortress high in the sky. "I just.. I don't understand. Could they not find Doom Island? And why is the Mana Fortress even still in one piece? It was supposed to have been completely destroyed, utterly, in the last war! How in the nine hells did THEY get their hands on it without breaking the seals on the Seeds?" It verily sounds like she's talking more to herself than Haut, at this point, but she doesn't seem to care; she's still pretty well beside herself.

Gforte seems to have resigned to allow Jillian her ranting, instead turning his sight to the flying fortress. "Okay, since you're busy freaking out too hard to listen to my delightfully heartening cocky responses, just, answer me this. How long until they destroy the world with that thing?"

Jillian coughs, rubbing her nose with the back of a hand. "They don't want to destroy the world. They want to subvert it. Complete domination and allegiance from the mortal populations. But for an honest answer regardless, I don't know. This.. things have changed way too drastically. They.. but.. I.." She stops, trying to pull herself together. "I never meant to lie to anyone. But this... this has ruined pretty much everything."

Gforte raises an eyebrow. "Jill, what have you not told me?" Paranoia quickly begins prickling the back of Gforte's mind, a voice screaming at him that he's in danger, he should have never trusted her, and more.

Jillian brushes the hair out of her eyes, looking at him with a hardened expression. "You're not in anymore trouble than you already were, so don't give me that look. I know how you work by now." She sighed. "I promised the Mana Tribe, and my superior, Lillian, that if I was given the chance to guide you and help fulfill the destiny that you wanted so badly, it would have to be under the discretionary terms they gave. And seeing this..." She gestures to the floating abomination high above. "Just broke a very strict 'discretion' that they set upon me." Jillian looks up toward where she'd gestured. "Like I said, very few wanted you to be given a second chance. They figured they'd let you die, and there's an end to it; let it fall upon someone else, when the time came to solve the issue. But I went against their wishes, and got them to give me a chance. But the biggest stipulation they gave me was that under NO circumstance would the Holyland ever come under any threat, while while you were under my guidance."

Gforte sighs and shakes his head. "Great, so they're being a bunch of pussies and worried that the big bad mortal is going to ruin their little flower garden. I mean, did anyone ask me if I wanted to ruin their shithole?" Gforte huffs, getting rid of some of the built-up anger before continuing. "Alright, enough. What's this other sword we need, how do we get it, and are we getting any backup?"

Jillian hesitates, then sighs. Why not? No point in keeping anything or anyone in the dark anymore. "We need the Sword of Mana. And no, now more than ever, we're definitely not getting any more 'backup'. At least, not from the Holyland. If anything... you'll be getting less.'

Gforte shrugs. "So? Look, if I have you here Jill, then I have basically all the backup I thought I'd have, and all that I need. Let's just settle up, get these swords, and do this shit."

Jillian stares at Gforte for a long, long moment, before speaking again. "Haut.. I broke my promise. I'm going to be reassimilated. As soon as the others get a grasp on what is going on, they're going to demand that I go back with Lillian... and re-merge with her, so that she can use her full power to aid in the Holyland's defense." She doesn't mince any words. Not this time; there was no reason to. Everything was out in the open now.

Gforte stares at Jillian for a long moment, before his jaw clenches and he swallows. "Jill. I- we-" He looks at the succubi for a long while. "I have two questions. I need you to answer them before anything else. If I stop them, could I get you back?"

"Haut, some things aren't as simple as 'stopping' someone from doing something. You're a mortal, a man. You have limits. You could take every known technology on this planet, on this realm, in this universe, and you couldn't prevent two goddesses, an oracle, and an entire realm of wisemen from doing what they feel is in the better interest of everyone involved. This was the contract I made with them... and I need to uphold it, without kicking or screaming." Jillian doesn't avert her eyes from him as she speaks, hands loose at her side. "Beyond that, there's one more thing. Lillian and I are one person. One being. When I made comments in the past about only being half of something greater, this was the point of my crypticity. When we fuse back together, Lillian will be at full strength, and provide a much better asset to defending the Holyland against this.. threat. That I failed to foresee."

Gforte feels a rush of emotions, almost as bad as the feeling of the knife in his back. "I-..." He attempts to form words for a few moments longer before managing to get something out. "Just, answer me. If I can destroy the sinistrals, is there some way for me to get you back?" He tries his best to not sound pleading, but his eye speaks out.

Jillian is silent for a moment, realizing she misunderstood who he meant by 'them'. "I don't know. I can't say 'yes', but I can't say 'no', because it won't be up to me at that point. I don't have... any lack of faith in you, to be able to do what you say you will, at this time. But in order to fulfill their obligations, I will need to go back. Once you have fulfilled yours, you can ask Lillian on my behalf... but I have no guarantee of the answer you want to hear. If you actually go beyond their expectations and do what none of them expect you to do, I would hope that maybe you would be seen as deserving of at least some sort of request of them. But I cannot know for sure.'

Gforte steps forwards now, and slowly attempts to embrace Jillian, allowing her time to pull back if she wants, if not, he holds her gently, if a bit stiffly. "I'll get you back Jill. I promise you, you'll be free."

Jillian actually looks like she's going to try and step back... but doesn't. And as she is embraced, she frowns up at the fortress hanging over the skyline, and her shoulders slump. Promises didn't mean a whole lot to her, right now. And even then, she wasn't afraid of not coming back. She was afraid, as part of the being who helped guard the Holyland, of what the Fortress might do. To BOTH worlds.

Part of Jillian, though, clung to this existence that she'd brought upon herself over these last weeks, these last months. It was this part that allowed her to embrace him in return, without even actually thinking about it. "I'm sorry. There was too much to explain, and I worried there wasn't enough time to explain it in. Or, in some ways, that you wouldn't care."

Gforte stiffens a bit more as Jillian returns the embrace, but shakes his head. "Don't worry about it Jill, that isn't the issue now. There isn't an issue anymore. It isn't a matter of if I can stop them before leaving it to the next hero on the line. Now I have to do it. There's no way I couldn't. I'll find the swords, kill the sinistrals, and then get you back. That's just how it is."

Jillian finds herself with a faint smile, shaking her head almost disbelievingly. "The problems pile up, and yet you still don't waver. I think there's something seriously wrong with you, knowing how little you are in comparison to what you're going up against, and still choosing to do so without a second thought."

Gforte surpasses a portion of his old self, and for once the stiffness in his embrace leaves, allowing the damaged human a true heartfelt moment. "Love does crazy things to a person." He pulls back a bit, looking at Jillian. "Don't get too used to being a goddess, okay?"

Jillian looks stunned as Gforte speaks these words, but out of simply not knowing how to respond, she doesn't choose to capitalize on any of it. Instead, she nods, lowering her eyes. "That boy we met, those weeks ago, in that glen with his father in the woods. Find him, if you can; him and his mother are direct descendents of the Mana Tree. Even if you can't go tot he Holyland itself, they can help you acquire the Mana Sword. And maybe help find the Dual Blade, too."

Gforte nods. "Unlimited potential and the mother who hated me. Any other words of wisdom?" He still holds on to Jill, apparentally unwilling to let go of her quite at this point.

"I can't think of any, at this point. The rest will be up to you, and others who see things the way we do. I will hope for your success, Haut." Jillian smiles, again faintly, before sighing. "Prove everyone wrong. For yourself, before anything else."

And with that, Jillian's body suddenly mistifies, becoming the shadows that slink behind people at night, and quickly melds into the ground at Gforte's feet, disappearing into the earth without a trace.

Gforte slowly closes his arms, looking to the space where Jillian had been before his face hardens. "What, are you kidding me? No one can stop me." He looks up to the sky, speaking as if, maybe, someone can hear him. "All of you listen to me. You immortals, spirits, gods or demons. I'll save you, and us. Just stop fighting the idea of it, and everything will work out easier." Gforte looks around the night lit town, before cracking a smile. "Now. Let's collect some weapons and kill some gods."