melodiesoflife | Event || The Night of the Thirteen Moogles

[Still working away, on this night of all nights? In such a hurried fashion?

Indeed, Sephiroth has caught on that Meredy was working on -something- during his various patrols over the course of the week but had been perhaps unfortunate never to see those minions of hers returning to that particular area.

It's the delivery from the goggled...girl(?) that he spots going in that catches his attention. Having grown to have been quite the zombie hunter recently, it's almost automatic for Sephiroth to now pick up on the lumbering movement that tends to be a sure indicator. That said, it could just be the gloom playing tricks, though. To say nothing of battle fatigue...still, what could be so important to be fixing on the Night of the Thirteen Moogles? The streets were empty; they needed for this evening just to pass.

Catching the last of Kaji's comment as he slips through into the area where all the tinkering is going on, Sephiroth is quick to appraise the situation even if for the moment he says nothing. One hand lingering back towards where the catch was on the harness that would give him his sword.]

[When the two un-undead Heroes approach, Ramza steps out of the shadows. He says nothing. His skin has a slightly purple tinge, and his lips are stained black. His sword hangs on his belt, but he makes no more for it.

He shambles forward, intent on putting himself between the tinkering Meredy and anyone who would seek to stop her.]

( when meredy's head finally turns, it almost looks like something akin to a cog turning in place something rather mechanical about the movement. her violet eyes sail between both rikku and ramza before regarding sephiroth and kaji. )

Mo— ( whoops, no, that wasn't right ) Meredy has no idea what you could possibly mean! ( oh good, more parts. she'll just reach for them as guards step up. ) S-sp if you'll excuse me, there's so much work to be done still, KUPO.

[ Recalling what she had seen during her time of guard duty, and warned by events of last year, Sheena had spent a good amount of her time near where the WEAPON's being kept this past week, so she hadn't seen Meredy working.

Tonight, however, she had decided to expand her patrols, and this is how she manages to be where she is--watching the others for a few moments. Finally determining the situation, Sheena steps from the shadows, her proton pack gleaming in the light, its particle thrower already in her hands. ]

Stand down, Meredy... Or whoever you are.

"There's no research on the WEAPON, and last I checked, you weren't one of the researchers..." Ohhh boy. Kaji's voice keeps his confident tone, but he is suddenly less happy about their chances when he sees Rikku and Ramza.

Just a kid. But something is using her. "How about we settle this like grown-ups, hmm? Put back what you've taken, we all go home, and talk this over when there's a little more light out?" He holds his hands up and out as if to show that there's nothing in them.

[Rising from a hunch beside her friend turned master, Rikku scuttles to place herself in front of the hurrying Kupo-engineer. A second undead barrier. Unsteady, she seems to sway in place slightly - if the girl weren't hunched forwards so, it's as if she might fall over.

In response to Sheena's pointed plasma weapon, a gloved hand raises to point at the ghostbuster in turn - Rikku's hand poised with two fingers out and thumb up like a child playing guns. A second pretend weapon aims for the sky - goggles honing in on Sephiroth at the silver haired man's telltale reach. The voice that sounds is more wheeze and air than vocals, like someone struggling for breath.]

Rude.

[Ramza fixes his flat stare on Sheena, then on Kaji, his attention drawn by their voices. His mouth opens, as if to form words, but nothing comes out but a rasp. His tongue is black and swollen, and his teeth look unnaturally sharp.

Unable to form the words to tell them to be gone, he lifts a gloved hand and points down the path they'd come from. Leave.]

[Steadily Sephiroth starts to bring himself, one stride at a time towards Kaji. Flicking only the briefest of glances over at Sheena as she appears as if out of the very shadows themselves; well these hangars are full of the deepest shadows even on relatively clear nights.

Though his hand still lingers with just fingertips brushing the handle to his sword, he hasn't drawn it...yet. Locking goggles contact, hoping it's not who he thinks it is. Even her voice sounds dead. If she's going to launch for him, first, then he wants to know about it in good time to react.]

I- I'm not sure they're able to hear you, Kaji.

[A light suggestion, but from the weight in the air the fight almost seems palpable.]

Heh, heh... ( there's something a little off-putting about the tone of hr laugh, as though it was more of a tick than a sound. ) This is not research. This is not reasearch, this is mechanics, KUPO!

( her back remains turned on them, as though she's neither paying attention to the heroes, or the two that have stepped in. a distinctfully moogle shaped puppet stands up alongside of ramza and rikku, as well.

none of that matters. none of it matters! only WEAPON! )

Edited 2016-11-04 00:41 (UTC)

Sephiroth's right. They died.

[Arriving at the door, breathless, Akane rests one hand against the wall and another on her chest, fresh tear stains on her cheeks. She turns her head to gaze sadly at the wretched corpses that Ramza and Rikku have now become, then her shoulders wilt with a heavy sigh. She moves forward to stand beside the trio of Heroes, making it a quartet.]

But if they're embraced...if the strength of your love is truly strong enough...perhaps you may shake them back to their true selves. It's risky, but...

[She mutters something else just under her breath, shuddering, and draws a chef's knife from her belt as she assumes a defensive position.]

There's four of us. We should split into teams.

[ Sheena's been listening to everyone, but her focus has been on what "Meredy" is working on. Looking up, she tries to catch Sephiroth and Kaji's attention and point to her "work" with her eyes.

If they destroy that, they'll stop her and then they can deal with them, right?

Wait. She looks at the newcomer, her eyes wide. ]

Embrace them? Does that really work? [ If it does, Sheena's all for it. The last thing she wants to do is shoot a fellow Hero who's not exactly themselves. ]

With Akane? They might win this. But Sheena's signal has a point. Destroy what they're working on? It doesn't matter if they all fall.

"If you don't want to be grown up about it...then I think it's time for some parental discipline."

Kaji's Thoron spell isn't aimed at Meredy, but next to her. Oh, it might still hit her with the blowback, but he is more interested in destroying her half-finished project. He doesn't want to hurt them. Even Ramza, in Kaji's eyes? He's still too young for this. And Meredy is just a kid. But they can talk after Kaji's broken their toys.

[Thunder?! Lightning?!
For the living disinclined, Rikku’s startle response to Kaji’s spell is quite impressive.]

Kkkkrrrkrkrtttttttt!

[Honing in on the offender, lips part in a snarl exposing coyote styled incisors and the discord of a death rattle. Previous clumsiness vanishes with sudden supernatural speed as, completely unhinged and frenzied – the restless Al Bhed bursts forwards after Kaji, fangs first.]

[The attack spurs Ramza into action. When he moves, he does so silently. Rikku has Kaji covered, so he lunges toward Sheena. She had seemed open to an embrace moments before. When his eyes meet hers, he uses his Charm ability. The skill usually has about a 50% chance of temporarily ensnaring the target.]

Edited 2016-11-10 02:02 (UTC)

What, what, what what what! ( meredy doesn't even attempt to back away from what she's working on. the blast doesn't seem to deter her any, though a frenzied look comes about her. )

No, no! No, no, no, no, no, no! KUPO! It's not finished, it's not finished yet!

( with her minions to distract the heroes, she was free to put those pieces back together, now that they'd been so hastily jarred apart! )

Oh no!

[Akane gasps, flinching away as Rikku and Ramza both lurch forward. With Kaji and Sheena occupied, that leaves Sephiroth and Meredy. If they face off against one another, it's probably easy to predict how that will go.]

[Frantically Akane turns to Sheena and nods vigorously.]

It does! It's the only way I was able to momentarily suppress my brother long enough to get him treatment!

[She'd offer to show the bruises if they weren't in the middle of the fight. Akane sidesteps closer to Sephiroth, as if seeking his protection.]

Please go easy on her. This isn't her fault!

[If the strength of your love...

Akane is leveled with a look of almost complete and total disbelief in the moment before he caught Sheena's more direct glance. Sephiroth himself needs only a brief look passed Meredy to see exactly the objective here. Trust Sheena to be razor-sharp, as always. Naturally, it would be preferred if they could stop this madness without harming another Hero but given not only past events but simple facts; they are already dead, there is no way he's ever allowing himself to be so naive again.

The creak of leather could be heard by Akane as she stepped closer to Sephiroth, his hand tightening around the handle of his sword on the opposite side to her. Narrowed green eyes don't even flick to her as he's already weighing up options.]

Regardless, it needs to be dealt with-

[Cold and bitter in truth but Sephiroth doesn't hesitate further. Combat Mode initiated and he then executes a Dash passed Meredy in order to put the 'project' between the two of them, first.

It's a beat of a second before he leaps; Hellsgate coming crashing down from above. At the very least, at least the damage to Meredy, if she doesn't get out of range, won't be the full-force of that attack. Besides, adding a Deathblow to what is already dead? He's not convinced.]

( just as swiftly as the sword slashes began, meredy looks up, wide-eyed, as her moogle puppet steps in to shield her from the brunt of the attacks, protecting both her and the materials. it's sparking and twitching, wires and gears exposed— as a single cut trails a small streak of blood down her cheek. how did he move so quickly past the guard line...?

while ramza and rikku might look worse for wear; she is not dead. this is meredy.

disbelieving that a fellow hero would attack her so directly, and looking very much as though she was the one in control, a hand reaches up to touch at the cut, pulling away to see the redness of her own blood. in her stead, the moogle activates leg aim directly aiming for the SOLDIER. )

Wh—why... ( with the crippled puppet still protecting her, meredy inches backwards, looking rather frightened. )

Edited 2016-11-14 20:45 (UTC)

[Akane gasps in shock as 'Meredy' is struck, one hand coming to her mouth. Fat tears start to spill over her lashes.]

No...no this is all wrong! Everything is going wrong, kupo! Why is this happening?!

[Frantically she runs after Sephiroth, trying to throw her arms around him.]

Stop, you have to stop! You might kill her!

[Don't be alarmed if one of those hands is still clutching the Tonberry knife in her hand, Sephiroth. It's not as if she wants to bury it in his gut or spine if she manages to catch him.]

[Oh wait. That's exactly what she wants.]

[ Sorry, Ramza, but thanks to the sudden outburst around her, plus ~~a dice roll~~ Sheena's own immunity to a certain red-head's charm, she doesn't fall under his spell.

Instead, she quickly steps back, still unsure of what to do--until Sephiroth's actions put things into perspective--and she hears another "kupo". ]

Sephiroth, look out! She's a zombie, too!

[ And Sheena will just make short work of whatever's left of "Meredy's" work with one shot from her thrower before turning it on Ramza. ]

Don't move.

This was a bad life plan. Kaji takes Rikku's attack full in the chest, barely managing to throw up an arm to block those snapping teeth from his neck. Since he isn't armored, there's nothing to protect him from staggering back, and then down, hitting the ground.

His hands can't get free from trying to push her off, defend, or something, but he manages to concentrate. Focus. You know the spell. Casting Flare right next to himself is going to catch himself in the blast, too. But the bright light and implosion might be enough to get some space away from Rikku.

['Don't move'? Those words are immediately ignored. The threat to Meredy is all that matters, and it must be dealt with.

Ramza turns silently and bounds forward to launch himself at Sephiroth with unnatural speed. He goes for the neck with sharp, bared teeth. Blood is the price to pay for daring to attack Meredy. Blood...hot, delicious blood.]

[ Damn. She should have known he'd move. Reacting quickly, she casts Zelda's Gift on Kaji, a spell equivalent to Cura's effectiveness. Any severe wounds won't be healed, but mid ones will be, and a barrier of protection will surround him.

And finally making the decision she didn't want to, Sheena raises her thrower and aiming it at Rikku, fires. ]

Edited (typo) 2016-11-16 04:54 (UTC)

[Pouncing downwards with her fallen prey, the pint sized blonde crouches over Kaji, pinning her intended meal with herculean strength. Those piercing fangs are more than happy to snap hungrily into an arm in place of a neck, fleshy parts all house the same red hot destination.

Sheena's thrower cuts deep, severing clean through a portion of the frenzied zombie's side. Viscera spills and with it a putrid, rotting smell. There's not so much as a flinch, the wound already beginning to seal as the weapon boomerangs back.

No brand of goggles could spare her from that intense wash of light. Dazed, the artificial sun briefly tricks the undead, whose strength is significantly reduced come day. One moment a creature of supernatural strength is holding the hero down; the next it feels like a 16 year old jobless girl.]

Edited 2016-11-16 08:22 (UTC)

[Leg aim catches Sephiroth's front leg, just as he lands back from his special maneuver, causing him to have to shunt his balance onto the back leg in his stance and somehow attempt to dodge away. In the end, he ends up using Dash again, just to get clear.

It's a shame that at that particular point in time a viable free space was nearer to Akane again. He missed the k-word that Sheena caught and by the time words of warning are yelled there are arms already attempted to be thrown around him. Sephiroth's next move is to bring Masamune up from where it's been resting against the back of his arm since he moved, and sharply jut the pommel-end of the handle to his sword into the bottom part of Akane's face, any connection that he can manage to get; anything to be able to get his knee up to kick her away from him. The knife comes away red and wet, having managed to stab through leather into Sephiroth's side during the struggle.

Not that he's got time to realize or even react much further before all of a sudden there is Ramza-]

Sheena! We need to...stop this.

[At least he's managed to get Masamune around and between himself and bloodthirsty-Ramza before the vampire starts drawing closer, going for the literal jugular; not that it helps with the blade pressed flat between them. He's straining his head up and away from his attacker and those teeth, as much as possible, while trying to shove the supernatural strength there away at the same time. The enhanced strength that his custom job gives seems to be holding it back, barely managing to maintain balance.

Not so much for the exposed flesh at Sephiroth's upper chest and collar-]

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