|
Post by *~Nikkole~* on Dec 9, 2006 17:49:34 GMT
Kamen was twitching but took a deep breath and nodded silently. He drew his blade and turned to face him. He looked pissed but held it in to the best of his abilities. He copied Vincent and shifted his grip slightly. He was better with a sword then a dagger any day but was still not as good as he hoped he could be...
Nikky rubbed her jaw and swore. ><
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 9, 2006 17:56:09 GMT
Jared was running a few final checks... and handing out little black strips of something that looked like electrical tape with a layer of glitter glued to the back of it. He returned the Souba to his uncle and retrieved the Angel Cry, handing over two of the strips as he did so.
He looked at the strips strangely. "What are these for?"
"Head on, apply directly to the blade, head on, apply directly to the blade, head on, apply directly to the blade..." Jared chanted humorously before moving on.
Kadaj shrugged and placed the strips on his sword near the hilts of the double blades... A faint bluish glow faded in a fraction of an inch over the metal and dissolved to invisibilty. He tilted his head curiously... he tapped his blade and the glow returned, quickly fading again. Force shields... in case we have to deal with more energy blades. Pretty good piece of thinking, young man.
Jared approached Cloud. "How many blades does that Buster have? I only got so many strips, and I haven't even talked to Aunt Nikky yet..." He realized Cloud was paying him no attention. Instead, her seemed to be staring at a piece of pink ribbon he'd gotten from somewhere... "Hello? Ground control to Cloud Strife."
"Hmm?" He looked up at Jared.
"How many blades?"
"Just give me one strip," he said dismissively, staring at the ribbon again.
Jared sighed and did so. Cloud could not take his eyes from the ribbon... How has this Unknown met her...? It doesn't matter. This is a good sign... she is with us. He took a deep breath. If you're listening, thank you... I needed this.
He attached the force field strip to his sword and the blue glow faded in... Cloud tied the pink ribbon to the sword's hilt, his expression resolute. They'll pay for all they've done... past and future.
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 9, 2006 18:00:49 GMT
Vincent kept his gaze trained on the boy. "I personally prefer firearms, but one can't help picking up bits and pieces, here and there, after running with this crowd for long."
He attacked without warning, pressing the boy with a series of precise strikes. "With a lighter sword, it is well advised to expend as little energy as possible. Don't lose your head... think about where your weapon is going. And never forget where your feet are... you lose your feet, and the rest of your body follows."
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 9, 2006 18:02:48 GMT
Jared approached Nikky. "How many weapons do you have?" He got a handful of strips out of his pocket... his eyes widened as he saw just how many blades Nikky had on her. "Um... let me rephrase that. Have you got any favorites?" He grinned weakly. Compared to her older self, Nikky was like Rambo or something...
|
|
|
Post by *~Nikkole~* on Dec 9, 2006 18:09:13 GMT
Kamen harnessed his powers quickly and blocked most of the attacks before pushing him back with his own. His sword swift and his movements more fluid. He seemed vicious but calmer. Nikky just pissed him off, Vincent he was still deciding what to think...
Niny laughed. "I'll stick with my short sword for now..." She motioned to her favorite weapon of choice.
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 9, 2006 18:20:59 GMT
Jared handed over a couple of strips. "Use at your discretion. Just stick 'em on the blade near the hilt and the shield ought to be enough to repel most energy blades... except any with a cross-sporadic frequency." He shivered... only a few the highest under-generals used those, and they were deadly enough without them.
****
Vincent blocked the boy's attacks and was satisfied... the boy was learning quickly. "Very good. But can you maintain your power without the aid of someone deliberately provoking you?" He shot a stream of Chaos fire at the boy's feet, being sure to not aim too close to the Sierra's floor... Cid would almost assuredly lose his mind if he ignited the ship. It was less an offensive tactic than an demonstration of his following point... "Take it from someone who knows. Emotion, if allowed to interfere with battle, can result in disaster." Kamen was holding his own against him fairly well, but he could see clearly that if he were facing an expert swordsman, like Cloud or Kadaj, he wouldn't stand a chance...
|
|
|
Post by *~Nikkole~* on Dec 9, 2006 18:43:39 GMT
Nikky nodded. "Got it..." She grinned and did so to a few of her weapons.
Kamen took little time to react before jumping up and dodging the fire. He hissed quietly before landing low and waiting for him to finish his speech. He took note but showed little sign as he sprung at him, clashing with the other sword. He pushed him back with force and used that to propel him backwards and in a more defensive stance. He hated fighting... and it showed slightly.
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 9, 2006 18:56:13 GMT
"I notice this is not one of your favored activities," Vincent observed. "Again, this is the interference of emotion." He's putting too much into this forward push... a manifestation of his eagerness to have this over and done with.
He sidestepped Kamen's push, letting the boy's momentum bowl him forward. "Always be fully present when fighting... but never put your entire self into any attack. That is strictly foolish. The only exception is when holding back will allow your opponent to overpower you... then it is still foolish, but neccessary." He swung the blade down at the boy's back.
|
|
Ru
Chocobo Keeper
Let's poke it!
Posts: 51
|
Post by Ru on Dec 9, 2006 19:10:36 GMT
Cid glanced over at Asuka when she approached him. "Arms the cannons," he answered, when she indicated one of the buttons, "Don't touch it." Although, considering the circumstances, things had gone well on his airship so far. Usually, the younger types would be full of annoying questions, or they would at least be scrambling to press buttons. But these kids just planned battles. Wow...they were almost helpful. That was a little creepy.
Kalm was drawing closer in the distance, and Cid could make out the outlines of some of the troop transport ships. He adjusted a few of the levers on the control panel, slowly descending towards the ground.
|
|
|
Post by *~Nikkole~* on Dec 10, 2006 1:09:32 GMT
Kamen took a different to his anger. He regained his balance and watched Vincent, studying his movements and taking slower more skilled steps. He switched hands with his blade and crouched slightly as he circled him. He then moved to keep eye contact with Vincent. His gaze was calmer as he lifted his blade and moved his feet in the defense. He waited, not knowing what he was going to do next. He shied slightly but stayed within ten feet of him. He was determined to at least not get hurt in all of this....
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 10, 2006 2:01:07 GMT
"You're a fast learner." Vincent closed the distance with a wide step forward, swinging the blade down towards the boy with a slashing arm. "Just don't forget the best defense is a good offense. There is a difference between avoiding full commitment and constant retreat... a difficult balance. You'll develop a knack for it eventually."
Their blades met and ground together. "You have a notable amount of potential. Your master has exploited it by using it against you... learn to access it without his help, and there will be no stopping you."
|
|
Ru
Chocobo Keeper
Let's poke it!
Posts: 51
|
Post by Ru on Dec 10, 2006 6:51:31 GMT
"Heads up, ladies 'n' gents," Cid said, as the engines of the airship wound down a little and the landing thrusters kicked in with a roar, "Team whatever - whoever the h*ll's goin' first - this is your stop." The airship landed gracefully on the hills behind the town of Kalm, with barely a thud, and Cid left the engines running as he marched over to the door and opened it for those who were leaving.
"Right, get! We gotta get goin' too, remember that. Good luck - don't getcherselves killed and all that." He nodded to Cloud, "That includes you, Blondie. Meet ya in the center, eh?" He clapped a hand hard on Cloud's shoulder before heading back to the wheel.
((to Kalm Inn))
|
|
Ru
Chocobo Keeper
Let's poke it!
Posts: 51
|
Post by Ru on Dec 29, 2006 9:29:33 GMT
The Sierra touched down just beside the mountain, the propellors slowing but not stoping - it was clear Cid did not want to spend too much time here. "Do whatcha gotta do, then," he called, loud enough for his voice to carry to the cargo bay, "I'm staying here. You'd better hurry up if you want me to chauffer you around any more, though." He leaned back against the control panel, watching the scenery outside as a distraction, although in reality he was trying to put the fragments of his memory together. No matter how hard he tried, things didn't seem to flow - even the fact that Sephiroth had apparantly been killed again didn't help him at all.
|
|
|
Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Dec 29, 2006 9:44:55 GMT
"OK, everybody split up," Cloud said to the others in the passenger area. "Get to the wreckage back at the Ragnorak and salvage the supplies in there. Squall, we'll come back to see about fixing it, but not now. Meantime..." He headed for the cargo hatch. "The foursome and I have a memory to dispose of."
Vincent caught him. "Sure you want to do this alone... with them?"
Cloud shrugged him off and went ahead without a word.
****
Just inside of a half hour later, they'd gotten the d**ned thing dumped inside the cavern and some rocks piled into the bottleneck opening, to prevent tampering from strangers and monsters (not as if the monsters would mess with it anyway... they'd felt that dark, trapped presence coming and scattered).
"That's it?" Ami wiped some cave sludge off her face.
"That's it." Yazoo finished pushing a boulder into place. "We're out of here. Hopefully for good."
Kadaj gave that pile of rocks a long look. All my life it felt like I had two minds. One always wanted to destroy. The other wanted to mend.
The destroying mind is dead now. It's gone. Since I pulled apart from him back there, it's quiet for the first time since I can remember. But too many things are broken. The mending mind doesn't even know where to begin.
He walked away with his siblings. They were giving him funny looks, he noticed. He decided he was just being paranoid again and forgot about it.
Cloud gave it not a backward glance as he began heading out. He'll always come back, no matter what we do. So why bother pretending this is anything that will matter in the end?
They arrived at the ship. The siblings got into the cargo bay and Cloud rejoined the other party members as they began to trickle back in with the miscellany they had collected. They missed a few things... but it's better than nothing.
They waited to get to the Seventh Heaven.
Cloud approached Cid. "You need a drink bad as I do?"
****
Ami noticed Kadaj was staring at a blank wall when they got into the cargo bay. "You living in there?
"Don't talk to me about life," he replied flatly.
She shrugged and sat back.
|
|
|
Post by lutz on Dec 29, 2006 9:48:02 GMT
from the top of a large tree branch a shadowy figure sat watching the group board the airship, the figure then turned his glance to the cave were the remains of Sephiroth was being hidden, the figure hopped off the tree branch and landed in the snow swiftly, the light reviling the creatures Appearance, blueish skin, white hair and tusks, his outfit filled with bones from humans and even other unknown creatures, this shaman grabbed a skull from his belt and began to shake it and chanted some unknown tongue, the skulls eyes glow green, the shaman then tossed the skull onto the ship where it stuck there to detect where the ship was going. then the figure looked back at the cave and slowly walked towards it.
|
|