Post by Aerith Gainsborough on Apr 21, 2007 13:19:11 GMT -5
Xenos-
Edea-
Xenos-
Xenos smiled at the weak glow surounding the sorceress. That wasn't the kind of power he was looking for. She wasn't with Edea, no matter how much his brain had tried to fool him. He needed someone magically stronger for his future plans. He was glad for the threat of the fight; it was all he could remember how to do.
Edea-
Seeing the sardonic smile playing across her enemies mouth Edea shuddered. He found her strength so pitiful it was funny to him!
She couldn't win this fight. Unless her 'new friends' were considerably more powerful than she. She had other weapons - she hoped. The word can be mightier than the lightning bolt.
"Xenos. Ultimecia's knight, Ultimecia's prince. Once one of MY white SeeDs. Remembered through past and future as the one who failed."
She paused a moment, savouring this last word, hoping that a part of the anguish she remembered him feeling was still in his heart.
She said it quickly, violently, filled with contempt.
"Traitor."
Squall-
Squall looked back and forth between Xenos and Edea several times. His memory was starting to take on that slippery quality he'd begun to hate. The woman with the black hair was... a sorceress. Squall remembered fighting her. But if Xenos had been a White SeeD, and she was calling him a traitor... A splitting headache descended on him suddenly and he shook his head as if he had water in his ears. Better not to think about it. You're here to fight. Squall checked his revolver and wondered why he hadn't bothered to upgrade it since he'd been thrown into this world. He was not sure how much help he'd be without any GF magic and a weapon that was only serviceable. But Squall had a few tricks up his sleeve, and Xenos had only brought him for support, he was sure. He waited for Xenos' orders.
Tidus-
Glaring at the newcomer, Tidus clenched his teeth with a rage he hadn't felt for a long time; not since his last battle. Reaching for his sword, the young (former...?) Guardian steadied his posture for combat. These men seemed threatening, based on what Edea had said and the looks they were giving Tidus and his party. Still, Tidus was not about to let friends be lost again - no, once was more than enough.
"What do you want?" Tidus breathed sharply, his angry whisper echoing through the crater. In any other place, he may be more casual and perky for the fight. At any other time, he may welcome something new - something different from the humdrum quiet that had taken hold over him and Alexander. But a disturbance in his home, Zanarkand, and a threat to his newfound friends? This was no joking matter - this was war.
Focusing his mind on his allies, Tidus braced himself to protect them from the worst, and looked at Alexander, willing him to understand. "Alexander..." he thought, praying that the Aeon was focused on him and not the newcomers. "Alexander, if you can understand this, I want you to protect Edea. You can help her and you've worked with her more than me. Stay junctioned to me so we can keep in communication, but ensure that she remains safe. I'll distract the guy with the mask; you focus on guarding Edea and maybe she can help you watch my back."
This was not going to be pretty.
Xenos-
Xenos straightened in response to Edea's words, a spark of anger leading him to take a few reckless steps closer to the edge of the cliff. "I am no traitor," he called to those watching, Edea's words rang painfully in his heart. Hadn't he, indeed failed to stop Her. Hadn't he failed to keep these worlds from forming? Wasn't he at fault? Still, he had not switched sides; his goals were the same they had always been. "You who wander the world like mindless insects sit idle and stare at the state of the world with bovine eyes. You do nothing and isn't that worse?" He pointed a long, gloved finger at the party. "You are the traitors. You fight amongst yourselves because you do not see the overlying problem. Your sins blind you. Your past blinds you." He grit his teeth. "My name is Xenos and this is the world I created."
He turned his head to Squall. This was the time to test his work. "Focus your efforts on the Sorceress. Do what you were trained to do. I'll take care of their leader." He drew his katana, the Chirijiraden murmuring the hums of battle in his hand.
This was all he knew how to do.
He stepped forward at the direct edge of the cliff and stepped off into the air beneath and skidded against the rock with the soles of his boots.
Edea-
Edea's eyes narrowed and adrenaline spread through her body. She had hit a sore spot on her possessor's old lover, perhaps now he would be reckless.
Though Edea bore no weapons her sorceress' blood made weapons unnecessary. She raised a hand and shot a ball of blue energy at Squall, then began to chant softly under her breath the words that called fire.
Xenos-
Xenos used the momentum to launch himself at Tidus, the point of Chirijiraden aimed at the young man's chest. Squall could take care of himself. His training, like Xenos's had been for the sole purpose of slaying sorceresses. Those witches who had done nothing to anger the world would always taste the weapons of SeeDs.
Xenos bit back the sudden memory of his comrades surrounding him, urging him to follow what he felt rather than what he'd been told. He hissed inwardly at himself as he charged towards the blonde. "I am doing what I think is right."
Squall-
Squall smiled grimly as the Sorceress sent an attack spinning at him, just a slight upward turn at the corner of his lips. Oh yes, he had tricks of his own. He muttered a brief incantation and before the magic could crash into him, it fizzled into a glittering thread and spiralled into his palm, sinking through the glove and into his skin. Then Squall followed Xenos over the edge of the overhang and advanced on Edea.
As Squall got closer to the Sorceress, he could feel his chest constricting. He put it down to nerves and swung Revolver so that the broad side would crash into the woman's shoulder.
Edea-
The Sorceress stepped into the blow, feeling her body shudder with it. He was holding back, Squall - her Squall was still in there.
Still, this was life or death. She was so close she could feel his breath on her hair, her shoulder was a ball of pain, but she gasped out the last word of her fire spell and shot it point blank into her child's chest.
Alexander-
Alexander froze. No phrase could quite place what was happening as well as that one.
Alexander heard Edea’s sweet voice call his name one moment, and the next moment regret was shooting through him like an entire fleet of Invincibles. It just figured that very the moment he found the one person he had missed most in the whole world; he would find himself junctioned to someone else. One who, at this very moment, was thinking the words ‘some holy aeon’ in reference to the white knight. The fates never sided with the righteous, Alexander figured. Not in matters of personal interest, anyways. Oh, good always won in the big picture, sure, but would destiny dare grant a little convenience? Never.
And so he stood, frozen. He simply stared at his dear friend as a million questions ran through his mind: Not the least of which were her current mental state and what time frame she had been from.
Tidus introduced himself, and he felt Edea’s senses graze his bond with the boy like a gentle breeze. She could tell they were junctioned now, it would seem. Pangs of guilt then proceeded to run through Alexander for reasons he wasn’t entirely aware of, and he closed his eyes for a fleeting moment to block it out. He had to say something, after all, and dealing with even more emotions was not the way to get around to doing that.
He did not move, however. He was still frozen. Alexander remained speechless in spite of his efforts. She was staring at him now. She had been for what seemed like a short eternity, and all he could do was stare back.
This woman had been in the back of his mind all day every day since he awoke in this accursed place. Indeed, since his days in the eighth realm had he entertained memories of their friendship. He had spent a good deal of time with her, trying to ward off Ultimecia to little avail, and in that time he grew closer to her than anyone he’d ever known. He then proceeded to spend an agonizing, vague amount of time junctioned to what might as well have been Ultimecia until he was finally drawn out by force. All that, and he couldn’t even open his mouth to say hello.
Shaking off the dreamlike feeling he was experiencing, Alexander finally unfroze himself and opened his mouth to speak; only to be interrupted by Edea. She had sensed a presence he did not, and he silently cursed himself for letting his guard down. Edea then proceeded to announce the visitor’s name, and the color drained from Alexander’s face. Well, it would have, had he possessed a blood flow.
Xenos. Xenos, the White SeeD. Xenos, Ultimecia’s failure of a knight. Xenos and…
“Squall…?’ Alexander mouthed bewilderedly as he absentmindedly drew his Holy Blinding Sword from its place by his side next to the Murasame. What in the world was Squall doing here? Alexander noted Tidus saying something, but Alexander only acknowledged it after searching Tidus’ memories for what it was he’d just tried to say.
“Right.” He pulsed back mentally, as he fell back to Edea’s side and began casting. Xenos began shouting back at Edea in anger, which brought a small smirk to the so-called Aeon’s lips. He spoke of the world’s state, and how nothing was being done of it. The smirk faded at these words. It was true that even all of the summons, in all their power, were incapable of fixing the world. More brief moments of regret shot through Alexander, and he once again pushed them aside for later.
Then Xenos took responsibility for the world, and Alexander nearly shot off towards him in a rage. He couldn’t, though. The bonds of love and friendship held strong against the pull of vengeance, and Alexander held still. Holding still, however, proved to be foolish; as Edea had been struck thanks to his emotional rollercoaster.
“No!” Alexander yelled deeply in a rage. Edea had recovered and countered well enough, but it served little to quell Alexander’s righteous fury. Quickly finishing up his Wall spell and casting it on Edea, Alexander promptly positioned himself between the two and taking a defensive position. “No!” He shouted again, in a steadier tone; as though Squall were a bad puppy.
{Edea,} He called mentally, blessing her magic nature. He could speak to her in much the same way he could speak to Shiva, although not nearly over the same distance. {Stay back and provide fire support, and try to talk some sense into your boy. I’ll try keeping him away from you while you do.}
Tidus-
Bracing himself for Xenos' attack, Tidus placed Heaven's Cloud in front of him, and leaped onto a rock farther up the jagged slope, toward the menace in the mask. This...this was the man that had created such a warped place? This was the man that had lost him Yuna? This was the person responsible?
This person would die, at all costs.
Weaving in a zig zag pattern up the slope toward his opponent, Tidus prepared to do his best to catch Xenos off-guard. Making a motion to attack the man from Xenos' left, Tidus lifted his head to look the villain in the eye.
"This one's for you, Yuna!"
At the last minute before the sword made contact, the former blitzer jumped into the air, flipping over his opponent's sword and landing on Xenos' right. Making another quick (albeit abrupt) lunge toward his opponent, Tidus awkwardly aimed a slash at Xenos' sword arm. Balancing properly and orienting himself on the rough, sloping terrain was more difficult than Tidus had expected, but his agility was certainly helping him in the situation.
Edea-
Edea felt Alexander shove her behind him, his protective rage vibrating off him before his good nature calmed him a little. She tried to stifle a smirk at his admonition of Squall, he always had trouble fighting the essentially good.
{I will try to talk with him, old friend. I fear he is under Xenos' powers}
Edea began to prepare an ice spell while she knelt behind Alexander's magical wall.
"Squall, my child, please see reason! Remember your friends! This is not the way to save our world!"
Xenos-
Xenos felt Tidus's sword bite into his shoulder, grazing him but not causing enought damage to severly hinder his movement. "For Yuna?" Xenos laughed and spun on the blitzer, glad that his training as a SeeD had stressed his speed more than power-- that had been for someone else.... "Do you really think that YUNA is even bothered by this?" He sent a quick attack to Tidus, but feigned it back. Catch him off guard. Play a little. This was what they deserved. "She could be here, but you wouldn't know. I wouldn't know!" He struck again, viper fast and pulled away before hitting. "All of this is a mistake made by someone of the same cloth as your beloved 'Yuna'." He staggered back slightly. "But you have to wonder- Is she the one who's real, or are you?" With this, he lunged again aiming for a deep blow to the chest.
Xenos peered over the ledge over which the sorceress and her chocobo had so recently skidded. He smiled beneath his mask. "Edea Kramer," he whispered with a fond smile, "still turning sides, I see." He straightened and turned to Squall, "That's them down at the base of this cliff. The blonde is our main objective, but it seems that he's swayed the influence of Alexander as well." He shook his head, "This might be pretty difficult, so prepare youself before we go down."
Edea-
Edea turned and looked up, seeing the predatory glint behind the mask she took a quick inbreath. No, Squall, no. Why side with a monster? Was it really only Rinoa and your friends that gave you a concience?
She glanced at her new companion, Tidus.
"Not to sound cliched but what did you do to piss these guys off?"
Closing her eyes she focused herself and a gentle white-blue glow flowed through her veins. So much weaker than she once was, but she'd taken Squall before and Xenos' history did not exactly prove him sorceress-proof.
She glanced at her new companion, Tidus.
"Not to sound cliched but what did you do to piss these guys off?"
Closing her eyes she focused herself and a gentle white-blue glow flowed through her veins. So much weaker than she once was, but she'd taken Squall before and Xenos' history did not exactly prove him sorceress-proof.
Xenos-
Xenos smiled at the weak glow surounding the sorceress. That wasn't the kind of power he was looking for. She wasn't with Edea, no matter how much his brain had tried to fool him. He needed someone magically stronger for his future plans. He was glad for the threat of the fight; it was all he could remember how to do.
Edea-
Seeing the sardonic smile playing across her enemies mouth Edea shuddered. He found her strength so pitiful it was funny to him!
She couldn't win this fight. Unless her 'new friends' were considerably more powerful than she. She had other weapons - she hoped. The word can be mightier than the lightning bolt.
"Xenos. Ultimecia's knight, Ultimecia's prince. Once one of MY white SeeDs. Remembered through past and future as the one who failed."
She paused a moment, savouring this last word, hoping that a part of the anguish she remembered him feeling was still in his heart.
She said it quickly, violently, filled with contempt.
"Traitor."
Squall-
Squall looked back and forth between Xenos and Edea several times. His memory was starting to take on that slippery quality he'd begun to hate. The woman with the black hair was... a sorceress. Squall remembered fighting her. But if Xenos had been a White SeeD, and she was calling him a traitor... A splitting headache descended on him suddenly and he shook his head as if he had water in his ears. Better not to think about it. You're here to fight. Squall checked his revolver and wondered why he hadn't bothered to upgrade it since he'd been thrown into this world. He was not sure how much help he'd be without any GF magic and a weapon that was only serviceable. But Squall had a few tricks up his sleeve, and Xenos had only brought him for support, he was sure. He waited for Xenos' orders.
Tidus-
Glaring at the newcomer, Tidus clenched his teeth with a rage he hadn't felt for a long time; not since his last battle. Reaching for his sword, the young (former...?) Guardian steadied his posture for combat. These men seemed threatening, based on what Edea had said and the looks they were giving Tidus and his party. Still, Tidus was not about to let friends be lost again - no, once was more than enough.
"What do you want?" Tidus breathed sharply, his angry whisper echoing through the crater. In any other place, he may be more casual and perky for the fight. At any other time, he may welcome something new - something different from the humdrum quiet that had taken hold over him and Alexander. But a disturbance in his home, Zanarkand, and a threat to his newfound friends? This was no joking matter - this was war.
Focusing his mind on his allies, Tidus braced himself to protect them from the worst, and looked at Alexander, willing him to understand. "Alexander..." he thought, praying that the Aeon was focused on him and not the newcomers. "Alexander, if you can understand this, I want you to protect Edea. You can help her and you've worked with her more than me. Stay junctioned to me so we can keep in communication, but ensure that she remains safe. I'll distract the guy with the mask; you focus on guarding Edea and maybe she can help you watch my back."
This was not going to be pretty.
Xenos-
Xenos straightened in response to Edea's words, a spark of anger leading him to take a few reckless steps closer to the edge of the cliff. "I am no traitor," he called to those watching, Edea's words rang painfully in his heart. Hadn't he, indeed failed to stop Her. Hadn't he failed to keep these worlds from forming? Wasn't he at fault? Still, he had not switched sides; his goals were the same they had always been. "You who wander the world like mindless insects sit idle and stare at the state of the world with bovine eyes. You do nothing and isn't that worse?" He pointed a long, gloved finger at the party. "You are the traitors. You fight amongst yourselves because you do not see the overlying problem. Your sins blind you. Your past blinds you." He grit his teeth. "My name is Xenos and this is the world I created."
He turned his head to Squall. This was the time to test his work. "Focus your efforts on the Sorceress. Do what you were trained to do. I'll take care of their leader." He drew his katana, the Chirijiraden murmuring the hums of battle in his hand.
This was all he knew how to do.
He stepped forward at the direct edge of the cliff and stepped off into the air beneath and skidded against the rock with the soles of his boots.
Edea-
Edea's eyes narrowed and adrenaline spread through her body. She had hit a sore spot on her possessor's old lover, perhaps now he would be reckless.
Though Edea bore no weapons her sorceress' blood made weapons unnecessary. She raised a hand and shot a ball of blue energy at Squall, then began to chant softly under her breath the words that called fire.
Xenos-
Xenos used the momentum to launch himself at Tidus, the point of Chirijiraden aimed at the young man's chest. Squall could take care of himself. His training, like Xenos's had been for the sole purpose of slaying sorceresses. Those witches who had done nothing to anger the world would always taste the weapons of SeeDs.
Xenos bit back the sudden memory of his comrades surrounding him, urging him to follow what he felt rather than what he'd been told. He hissed inwardly at himself as he charged towards the blonde. "I am doing what I think is right."
Squall-
Squall smiled grimly as the Sorceress sent an attack spinning at him, just a slight upward turn at the corner of his lips. Oh yes, he had tricks of his own. He muttered a brief incantation and before the magic could crash into him, it fizzled into a glittering thread and spiralled into his palm, sinking through the glove and into his skin. Then Squall followed Xenos over the edge of the overhang and advanced on Edea.
As Squall got closer to the Sorceress, he could feel his chest constricting. He put it down to nerves and swung Revolver so that the broad side would crash into the woman's shoulder.
Edea-
The Sorceress stepped into the blow, feeling her body shudder with it. He was holding back, Squall - her Squall was still in there.
Still, this was life or death. She was so close she could feel his breath on her hair, her shoulder was a ball of pain, but she gasped out the last word of her fire spell and shot it point blank into her child's chest.
Alexander-
Alexander froze. No phrase could quite place what was happening as well as that one.
Alexander heard Edea’s sweet voice call his name one moment, and the next moment regret was shooting through him like an entire fleet of Invincibles. It just figured that very the moment he found the one person he had missed most in the whole world; he would find himself junctioned to someone else. One who, at this very moment, was thinking the words ‘some holy aeon’ in reference to the white knight. The fates never sided with the righteous, Alexander figured. Not in matters of personal interest, anyways. Oh, good always won in the big picture, sure, but would destiny dare grant a little convenience? Never.
And so he stood, frozen. He simply stared at his dear friend as a million questions ran through his mind: Not the least of which were her current mental state and what time frame she had been from.
Tidus introduced himself, and he felt Edea’s senses graze his bond with the boy like a gentle breeze. She could tell they were junctioned now, it would seem. Pangs of guilt then proceeded to run through Alexander for reasons he wasn’t entirely aware of, and he closed his eyes for a fleeting moment to block it out. He had to say something, after all, and dealing with even more emotions was not the way to get around to doing that.
He did not move, however. He was still frozen. Alexander remained speechless in spite of his efforts. She was staring at him now. She had been for what seemed like a short eternity, and all he could do was stare back.
This woman had been in the back of his mind all day every day since he awoke in this accursed place. Indeed, since his days in the eighth realm had he entertained memories of their friendship. He had spent a good deal of time with her, trying to ward off Ultimecia to little avail, and in that time he grew closer to her than anyone he’d ever known. He then proceeded to spend an agonizing, vague amount of time junctioned to what might as well have been Ultimecia until he was finally drawn out by force. All that, and he couldn’t even open his mouth to say hello.
Shaking off the dreamlike feeling he was experiencing, Alexander finally unfroze himself and opened his mouth to speak; only to be interrupted by Edea. She had sensed a presence he did not, and he silently cursed himself for letting his guard down. Edea then proceeded to announce the visitor’s name, and the color drained from Alexander’s face. Well, it would have, had he possessed a blood flow.
Xenos. Xenos, the White SeeD. Xenos, Ultimecia’s failure of a knight. Xenos and…
“Squall…?’ Alexander mouthed bewilderedly as he absentmindedly drew his Holy Blinding Sword from its place by his side next to the Murasame. What in the world was Squall doing here? Alexander noted Tidus saying something, but Alexander only acknowledged it after searching Tidus’ memories for what it was he’d just tried to say.
“Right.” He pulsed back mentally, as he fell back to Edea’s side and began casting. Xenos began shouting back at Edea in anger, which brought a small smirk to the so-called Aeon’s lips. He spoke of the world’s state, and how nothing was being done of it. The smirk faded at these words. It was true that even all of the summons, in all their power, were incapable of fixing the world. More brief moments of regret shot through Alexander, and he once again pushed them aside for later.
Then Xenos took responsibility for the world, and Alexander nearly shot off towards him in a rage. He couldn’t, though. The bonds of love and friendship held strong against the pull of vengeance, and Alexander held still. Holding still, however, proved to be foolish; as Edea had been struck thanks to his emotional rollercoaster.
“No!” Alexander yelled deeply in a rage. Edea had recovered and countered well enough, but it served little to quell Alexander’s righteous fury. Quickly finishing up his Wall spell and casting it on Edea, Alexander promptly positioned himself between the two and taking a defensive position. “No!” He shouted again, in a steadier tone; as though Squall were a bad puppy.
{Edea,} He called mentally, blessing her magic nature. He could speak to her in much the same way he could speak to Shiva, although not nearly over the same distance. {Stay back and provide fire support, and try to talk some sense into your boy. I’ll try keeping him away from you while you do.}
Tidus-
Bracing himself for Xenos' attack, Tidus placed Heaven's Cloud in front of him, and leaped onto a rock farther up the jagged slope, toward the menace in the mask. This...this was the man that had created such a warped place? This was the man that had lost him Yuna? This was the person responsible?
This person would die, at all costs.
Weaving in a zig zag pattern up the slope toward his opponent, Tidus prepared to do his best to catch Xenos off-guard. Making a motion to attack the man from Xenos' left, Tidus lifted his head to look the villain in the eye.
"This one's for you, Yuna!"
At the last minute before the sword made contact, the former blitzer jumped into the air, flipping over his opponent's sword and landing on Xenos' right. Making another quick (albeit abrupt) lunge toward his opponent, Tidus awkwardly aimed a slash at Xenos' sword arm. Balancing properly and orienting himself on the rough, sloping terrain was more difficult than Tidus had expected, but his agility was certainly helping him in the situation.
Edea-
Edea felt Alexander shove her behind him, his protective rage vibrating off him before his good nature calmed him a little. She tried to stifle a smirk at his admonition of Squall, he always had trouble fighting the essentially good.
{I will try to talk with him, old friend. I fear he is under Xenos' powers}
Edea began to prepare an ice spell while she knelt behind Alexander's magical wall.
"Squall, my child, please see reason! Remember your friends! This is not the way to save our world!"
Xenos-
Xenos felt Tidus's sword bite into his shoulder, grazing him but not causing enought damage to severly hinder his movement. "For Yuna?" Xenos laughed and spun on the blitzer, glad that his training as a SeeD had stressed his speed more than power-- that had been for someone else.... "Do you really think that YUNA is even bothered by this?" He sent a quick attack to Tidus, but feigned it back. Catch him off guard. Play a little. This was what they deserved. "She could be here, but you wouldn't know. I wouldn't know!" He struck again, viper fast and pulled away before hitting. "All of this is a mistake made by someone of the same cloth as your beloved 'Yuna'." He staggered back slightly. "But you have to wonder- Is she the one who's real, or are you?" With this, he lunged again aiming for a deep blow to the chest.