Several months had passed since Shade had freed Lassiah from her unfortunate imprisonment. The first time the two had met, Shade granted the Raen White mage a special crystal that gave her the form and powers of Bahamut, albeit one from a different world, and not the monstrous destroyer of hers. When they crossed paths after that, the raven witch discovered that the poor girl had been overpowered and captured by the Garlean Empire, the magic from the crystal drained and channelled into their troops and weapons. Whilst this was bad enough on its own, this incensed Shade to the point where Raen had bared witness to a furious anger that was rarely ever seen in the normally kind and playful witch. The magic that Shade wielded was potent magic that had been developed and practised for hundreds of years, as well as being from an entirely different world and realm. Despite the sheer level of power she controlled, and the mastery of transformational magic she commanded, she never used her spells for evil purposes - she used it to improve people's lives, as well as to defend herself and deal punishment to those who deserved it. Knowing that her magic was now in the hands of truly wicked people who only seeked to cause death and destruction ignited a fire inside of her, and now she wanted to bring this army to their knees and reclaim the magic that was rightfully gifted to Lassiah. Having busted Lassiah from her confines, the duo had spent many moons, give or take a few periods where Shade had to return to her world, following the trails of destruction that the army was leaving, trying to find any form of information relating to whatever the army was planning. Sadly, all their leads so far guided them to towns and areas that had already been gutted, the residents of each place killed or gravely injured. Eventually, they had been clued in on some promising information from Amatsu, a friend of Shade’s. From what he had heard, the army was going to swoop in on a village nestled away in the Black Shroud, with the intention of testing a new weapon that the Empire had created using some of the magic that was taken from Lassiah. They were hoping that they’d be able to beat the troops to the punch and take them out before they could do any damage, reclaiming the stolen magic in the process. Unfortunately for both of them, they had arrived at their destination just a few moments too late. Upon arrival, they could see a fleet of Empire ships flying away from what remained of the village, most of the buildings there having been levelled by whatever their weapon was, the few buildings that were still standing shrouded in flames. The village’s residents were scattered about, a good many of them having been killed in the attack, whilst others had managed to escape with minimal injuries due to hiding. For as many people that were dead, there was an equal amount of people clinging onto life, battered and bloodied, scattered all around what once was a peaceful village. ~~~~~~~~~~~ “Damn it…” Shade muttered to herself, looking at the carnage that surrounded her. She used her magic to clear away some of the debris, moving away anything that was pinning down civilians, alive or not. “I swear to god, when I get my hands on these bastards…” She added with a frustrated growl, the markings on her body momentarily flashing an angry crimson. “We’ll get them back, don’t you worry.” Lassiah tried to assure her, placing her hand on the chest of a man who was writhing in pain, chanting a healing spell under her breath as a warm, magical aura surrounded the man, the wounds across his body slowly healing up. “I really thought Amatsu’s information would have helped us stay a step ahead of the Garlians…” “So did I, he’s rarely ever steered me wrong before.” The raven sighed. “That Empire must have eyes and ears hidden all over the place, cause he gave it to us in a secure enough location!” “They’re a tricky bunch, and that’s just putting it mildly.” She responded, finishing up her spell, the man now resting calmly. “They know how to stay one step ahead of anyone who tries to oppose them for the most part!” “They’re doing a good job, I’d say… I’ve had so many people try to stay ahead of me, but they’ve all been bested before long. These guys are on a different level altogether!” “Don’t worry, we’ll catch up to them eventually… just hope we can do so before they cause any more destruction…” Lassiah sat against the remnants of a well, catching her breath as she recovered from using her healing magic. “Lassiah… you know, you’ve been using your healing spells quite a lot in recent times, and I think the continuous use is beginning to take its toll on you.” Shade approached her, looking and sounding concerned. “I’m fine, I think I’m just overexerting myself a little bit with how many people there are here to heal.” She tried to shrug it off, looking up at the raven. “You’re NOT fine.” Shade insisted, looking down at her friend. “I can tell just by looking at you - you’re looking pale, for starters, and your hair looks frazzled. I don’t recall seeing you getting like this from other mass healings.” “I think… it might be from the lack of aether in the earth here.” Lassiah told her. “Aether, I remember you telling me about that. It’s responsible for both magic and life in this world, isn’t it?” Shade asked. “Yeah. I know that it’s not a thing in your world, but it’s a vital part of mine. Whatever weapon the Garlians let loose here, it must have depleted all the aether in the surrounding area.” “If there’s no aether here, then how have you been casting your healing spells?” “That’s the tricky part… I’m having to cast it from my own life energy. It’s easy enough when they’re not badly injured, but people like the man I just healed require more from my reserves.” “Lassiah…” Shade stepped in closer to the Raen. “I’m going to be blunt with you - what you’re doing is slowly killing you!” “Killing me? No, no! It’s just making me feel a little bit exhausted is all!” Again, Lassiah tried to brush it off. “Lassiah!” She crowed in a harsh tone. “This is serious! I know you’re acting on your best intentions and doing what any decent person would do, but you’re quite literally working yourself to death!” “I…” She tried to think of a good counter-argument, but she knew Shade was right. What she was doing was slowly killing her, and she was feeling the effects with how tired out she felt. “Look, I know that you want to make sure that no-one that’s still alive right now slips off the hook, but I’d rather not see you join those numbers. You’re the only person I know who’s got a good enough knowledge about the Garlian Army, so you’re a valuable ally in this fight!” “I know that, but still, I can’t just leave all these people to die!” Lassiah replied. Shade went silent for a few moments, thinking of something, anything that could be of help to them right now. Suddenly, it dawned on her what she could do to assist her friend. “You’re right, it’d be wrong to do so.” She spoke. “And I know for a fact that once your mind is set on something, it’s next to impossible to derail that train of thought.” Lassiah looked at the raven with a raised eyebrow, not expecting her to be so easily swayed. “So, with that said, there’s only one thing I can do…” She closed her taloned hand into a fist, muttering a few words under her breath, her markings glowing as she channelled her magic. Lassiah watched on, the avian creature finishing up her spell. “Here.” Shade extended her hand, opening it to reveal a shiny red and blue crystal. “Is that?” Lassiah reached out, picking the jewel up from the raven’s palm. “Mhm, another job crystal. Normally I’d put a little more time and thought into making these, but given time is of the essence, there was really only one option I could go with in this situation.” “And just what would that be, exactly?” “Hey, if I didn’t tell you the first two times, do you think I’m gonna tell you now?” Shade smirked. “All I can say is that it’ll help you with your mass healing!” “I don’t know how, given the lack of aether around here…” She continued to look at the crystal. “Trust me on this one!” The avian insisted. “Sure, the first two I gave you turned you into big, hulking monsters, but this one’s more suited to the task at hand!” “Yes, and both times that happened, I got more than a little bit frisky. I don’t think these people - or what’s left of them - really want to see that, do they?” “Considering the… somewhat unique situation that’s on our hands, I’ve made this particular one lust-free. I’d say that’s a bit of a rarity for myself, but then again, I’ve transformed just as many people cleanly as I have transformed many people and had fun with them.” “Well, ok, you haven’t steered me wrong yet, so…” Lassiah removed the job crystal from her weapon, slotting the new one in its place. The gem shone with a brilliant ruby light, a great crimson glow surrounding her. Shade stepped back, watching the magical energy spread further around her. In typical fashion at this point, the magic began to take hold, hundreds of small quills emerging through the skin of her arms, blossoming outwards into vibrant crimson feathers. “You’re turning me into some kind of bird? How’s that going to help us?” “Really, there was only one type of bird that fit in with your healing job!” Shade replied, glowing blue feathers also sprouting along her limbs. Her fingers merged together, the musculature in her arms reforming, becoming broader, the appendages stretching longer whilst the feathers continued to grow. Soon enough, what used to be her arms were now an impressive pair of wings, the blue feathers giving off an ethereal light. “I don’t recall seeing any birds with glowing feathers, though…” Lassiah questioned further, her clothing vanishing as the plumage continued to grow outwards. Her chest barrelled forwards, her breasts receding into her expanding torso, the blue feathers spreading over her front, separated by thin patches of red down that then overtook the rest of her body. “This one’s a little on the special side. I saw this design whilst playing a game back in my world, so I wanted to see how well it’d transfer over to the real world… well, not my world, but you know what I mean!” Shade watched on, the red feathers spreading further. Lassiah was so entranced by the feathers, she hadn’t noticed that she was steadily growing bigger, now standing two feet taller than Shade. She gave her wings a gentle test flap, creating a small gust that rustled the raven’s feathers. “Whilst I’m not familiar with the plumage, I think I recognise what you’re turning me into…” Lassiah rested up against one of the fallen walls, feeling her legs throb and twitch, the muscles growing stronger as the lower halves of the limbs were covered in deep crimson scales, the brilliant blue light shining through parts of them. Lassiah’s toes curled and stretched, digits fusing together as five became three, gleaming blue talons poking free at the end of each toe, a fourth jutting outwards from the heels, her feet expanding in size, now resembling the monstrous claws of a great bird. “I will say it’s a slightly different design from the phoenixes that I’m used to seeing - most of them either sport red and yellow feathers, or red with various rainbow accents. This one was something special, as if from a realm reborn!” Shade continued to watch, her friend’s body still growing taller and longer. Lassiah was having a hard time keeping herself balanced on her now-avian feet, not at all used to having a fully feral body type compared to her previous shifts. “Do you think we might be able to heal everyone once I’ve changed into this phoenix?” Lassiah asked, a fan of blinding blue feathers spreading out wide around her hindquarters, punctuated by two long, peacock-like trails, the shining light spreading out around the two creatures. “We can only hope - so many of the people here are too far gone to be healed by conventional means, I’m sad to say.” Shade looked around at the devastation that had been spread by the Garlian army. Lassiah’s body had slowed its growth, now standing at least three times the size of the raven, the spread of feathers working their way up her stretching neck, separating her head from her shoulders. She could feel the plumage sprouting around her face, overtaking her horns as they two grew in size, the shining blue down making them stand out, a third horn-like crest growing out through her receding hair, ears shrinking into the sides of her head. “There’s only one way to find out, I suppose…” Lassiah groaned, her teeth fusing together, pushing out past her lips as they were tinged the same shade of red as her feathers, barring the areas around the edge of what was now her beak, her nose also fusing with the upper half of her new bill. The changes ended with her eyes moving towards the sides of her head, taking on the same blue hue as the shining feathers. “I’m sure you’ll be able to pull it off!” Shade spoke softly, stepping back. The phoenix nodded, taking a look at everything around her. “Well, here we go…” She took in a slight breath, focusing her magic into the attack she was charging up. Shade looked up, anticipating what was to come as Lassiah let loose a loud, melodic screech, kicking herself up from the ground as flames roared from underneath her talons, spreading wildly around the ruined village. The few villagers who were still conscious instinctively threw their arms in front of them, as if to shield themselves from the intense heat, but to their surprise, it didn’t burn at all. In fact, the flames began to heal the wounds on their bodies, the cuts and bruises vanishing before their eyes. Shade looked around herself, smiling as the injuries of the wounded were healed in a matter of seconds. The flames spread further still, engulfing the many slain bodies, enveloping them in her healing warmth. Their bodies slowly stirred, eyes opening as they sat upwards, looking up at the phoenix who had revived them all. “Amazing!” Shade smiled, seeing everyone who had been killed in the cruel attack be brought back to life, the damage dealt to them undone by Lassiah’s power. “I knew you had it in you!” Lassiah looked down at Shade, smiling back to the raven as the flames dissipated, the magic having run its course. Loud murmuring could be heard from the gathering crowd, the townsfolk staring in awe at the phoenix and the raven. The only damage that couldn’t be undone was that which was caused to the buildings and surrounding areas, but they’d be able to rebuild that. “Words cannot begin to describe our gratitude to the two of you!” One of the men stepped forwards. “If it weren’t for you, I doubt any of us would have lived long enough to call for help!” “I’m just glad we were able to help you out… and at the same time, saddened that we couldn’t intercept the Garlian army BEFORE they reached your village!” Shade sighed. “If we had cut them off, we’d have been able to find out just where my stolen magic is, and we could have saved you from suffering like this…” “It’s fine - the town’s a little worse for wear, but no-one lost their lives thanks to your help!” Lassiah chirped in an appreciative tone, looking back down at Shade. “So what are we gonna do now? The trail’s gone cold, and now we have no clue on where they’re going to head next!” “That is the problem…” The raven hung her head low. “This game of cat and mouse is starting to get old…” “If I may…” One of the female residents approached the duo. “Before I was cut down by one of the soldiers, I overheard just where they were planning to strike next, as well as where that stolen magic of yours is being held!” “Oh?” Shade perked up. “Yeah. It is in a place that is swarming with Garlian soldiers, however, so you’d have to plan your approach carefully!” “Carefully, you say?” The avian anthro smirked. “After how long they’ve been leading us around, and having seen the damage they’ve caused with my magic, I think I’m long past the point of going carefully!” “Do you really think you’ll be able to take them all on? It’s two of you against several hundred of them!” “What can I say, I feel like raising a bit of hell~” Shade’s eyes and markings flashed a bloody crimson momentarily. “And as someone who’s seen Hell for themselves…” She channelled a ball of deep crimson flames in her talons. “They’re gonna see first-hand that they pissed off the wrong witch!” “You’ve actually seen Hell for yourself?” Lassiah asked. “What did you see?” “Lots of interesting looking demons, singing, hotels…” “Wha…” Both Lassiah and the townsfolk closest to them exclaimed in disbelief. “It’s something that makes sense in context, trust me!” Shade laughed. “So how about you fill us in on all you know about where the Garlians are heading, and where my magic is being stored?” “We can do that over food - one of the food stores remained untouched in the attack, and I’m sure that the two of you must be hungry after all your efforts! It’s really the least we can do to repay you” “I COULD go for some food, honestly…” Lassiah trilled. “Same here. We’ll get some meals whipped up, and after that, we’ll be on our way!” Shade nodded, the townsfolk cheating as they gathered around the birds. Hopefully, with the info they were to obtain from the townsfolk, it would allow them to finally cut off the Garleans before they could bring out any more death and destruction. Only time will tell…