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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 6, 2007 7:16:52 GMT
The tentacles unwrapped, releasing Sephiroth's now swollen fingers. "Default shutdown setting. Emotional interference. Stand by. Now scanning for file corruption." The computer powered down.
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 6, 2007 8:29:43 GMT
Sephiroth waited, perched in his spot in the dark, waiting for his prey to arrive... It was going to be a sweet moment...
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 15, 2007 0:23:17 GMT
After what had seemed like an eternity of ocean, the island of Wutai finally appeared on the horizon. Xima knew better than to assume none of her brothers or sisters would be there... however, the interference was too strong for her to detect just who might be lying in wait for her...
As the signal strengthened, Jared squirmed more and more. He bit his tongue to keep from whimpering and tasted blood. It was strong enough by now to give even Rufus a mild migraine...
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 16, 2007 6:44:54 GMT
Fighting through the pounding in his head, Rufus brought the copter in for a landing with Tseng's help and they all dis-embarked from the vehicle. "So what should we be expecting here?"
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 16, 2007 6:51:33 GMT
"We should expect Tseng to stay here with Jared. He can't come too close to the beacon or he could be killed." Xima got out and extracted her blade, checking it for sharpness. "We should also expect AT LEAST one of my siblings to be here waiting for us." She began stalking up the slopes. "And my guess is, no one would activate such a valuable signal without having decent defenses or fail-safes protecting it. We must be careful." She turned back to Tseng, the tip of her sword pointed none too subtly towards his throat. "On no account is the child to follow us. Got it memorized?"
****
After a great deal of climbing (which in Xima's case consisted of leaping from boulder to boulder), a dark, seed-like shape lay ahead. "That must be it."
She hunched down on an outcropping and concentrated. "D**n... I should be able to tell if something is there or not... s**t..."
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 16, 2007 6:57:54 GMT
Tseng glanced at the blade at his throat. "Understood."
---------------------
A few moments later, Rufus and Xima were nearing the entrance of the ship. At the signs of her distress, Rufus flashed her a questioning look, trying not to make any noise.
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 16, 2007 7:04:26 GMT
She signaled him to wait for her and crept closer. All seemed quiet, but this was a Patran ship after all...
The beacon pulsed away quietly. She gritted her teeth and advanced. If I can just deactivate it... maybe reprogram it...
Tiamet rematerialized within the ship, inches from where Sephiroth lay in wait. "Maternal signal detected."
The ship door opened with a clank and a hiss. Xima jumped back, sword at ready.
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 16, 2007 7:08:16 GMT
Sephiroth waited, stone silent and just as frozen in place, waiting for the perfect moment... Because of the signal, he couldnt tell which sister it was... but he knew it was one of them. His grip tightened on his sword a bit.
-----------------------------
Rufus waited anxiously for his mate, watching her enter the ship cautiously, he looked around, feeling paranoid... Almost like he could feel someone was approaching...
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 16, 2007 7:15:04 GMT
A pungent scent pierced Xima's nose, and a form suddenly appeared before her...
She gasped and almost dropped her sword. "Tiamet..."
"Correct," the memetogram replied calmly. "My construct is patterned after the form of Tiamet, the Uber-Matron, the All-Mother, dame of the Four Sisters." She gave a slight bow. "But of course, the real Tiamet lived so long ago that there is no trace of her left. I am merely a representation of this vessel's virtual--"
"Skip it," Xima interrupted sharply. She had just caught movement, deep in the ship's recesses...
"Please initiate final stages of germination."
"Be quiet."
"Please ini--"
"Shut up!"
"Please--"
"I SAID SHUT IT!"
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 16, 2007 7:29:14 GMT
Before she could even blink, a heavy metal object slammed into her head like a hammer, knocking her across the room and into the bulkhead, stunning her badly. "Hello sister..."
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 16, 2007 7:37:16 GMT
Recognition. The world went red.
Anger flamed through her body as she pulled herself back up from the floor. "You worthless, traitorous..." She couldn't find the words to speak. "This family has..."
She got back to her feet and set her sword against her kinsman. "NO PLACE FOR YOU!"
She barreled full tilt at him, sword first.
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 16, 2007 7:39:57 GMT
He stood still, waiting for her to reach him, then at the last instant, reared his blade back and struck, slamming her's as hard as he could and knocking it aside, then back-handed her in the temple, taking advantage of the fact that her head was already swimming. He scoffed. "Family.... What family?"
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 16, 2007 7:48:32 GMT
Her new body was still unused to battle, and it wasn't cooperating in ways she wanted it to... D**n it... She forced herself to wheel around sharply and spring towards him again, her sword colliding with his. She strained against it. "The penalty..." Her strength was insufficient, and her blade kept inching back. "...for attacking a Matron's child..." She took a deep breath and collected her reserves. "...is death!"
She shoved violently, knocking him off-balance. She dropped and swung her foot under his legs, bringing him down to the ship floor.
She pounced, but he was faster. His blade blocked hers, and she hissed over it. "Mother would be shamed by you."
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Post by mistervillainman on Sept 16, 2007 7:52:02 GMT
Sephiroth's blood boiled and he brought his feet up to her stomach, shoving off with all his rage-powered might. She flew off him, hitting the ceiling roughly and sending her toppling to the floor again, where she managed to catch her footing, but just in time for him to perform a flying clothesline to her throat, knocking her off her feet once more. "Oh you think you would know what mother wants?" He asked, ripping a length of piping from the wall. "YOUR the one mating with the Shinra dogs..." With that, he kicked her roughly in the ribs and began pummeling her viciously with the pipe, making sure to put the full force into each swing, connecting with her shoulders, her head, even her face on one swing.
He was merciless, blood drunk.
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Post by Amnesty Lazuli on Sept 16, 2007 8:00:27 GMT
Xima had never taken such a beating. Her new body could barely move... her mind could hardly form a coherent thought...
****
Her son sat upright in the helicopter. "Tseng..." He grabbed his crossbow and started getting out of his seat.
****
She forced herself to think. Her sword caught the pipe, cutting it halfway through. "B... Bas***d..." Flat on her back, she strained with all her might to keep the weapon from descending on her again.
An alarm began to sound off in the ship. The memetogram spoke with synthetic urgency and rising volume. "Maternal fatality imminent."
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