melodiesoflife | We are off to see the Crystal Tree!

Vincent was not bothered by quiet. Never had been, and that had made him a bit odd as a child. Made it easier to hear potential threats too. Idle conversation...

He supposed it would make sense, since the other was new. "We had all split up, to find our own reason to continue on our journey. Those of us who found reason to, were to meet up again the next morning. I remember falling asleep, and waking up here."

On the other hand, Duster grew up with mostly quiet, which made him appear as the odd child of the village. While he enjoyed a lonely evening like this once in a while, he couldn't let his days be dominated by solitude anymore. Like Vincent and his friends who had split up.

"Hmm," he hummed. "You remembered falling asleep while I remembered the world breaking apart." If there was a pattern to this, their kidnapper took them at the moment where they wouldn't be able to fight back.

"It must have been a tough decision, huh. Even I had my doubts when I was travelling all over the islands with Lucas and Kumatora, but I decided that in the end, I knew in my heart that following my friends and making sure they world was safe was important." He looked at Vincent, hoping to see some sort of reaction, but expecting none. "Did you decide if you wanted to stay?"

Vincent let the silence go on as he thought about how and if he wanted to respond. "I do remember the vision of the world breaking apart." Murmured more quietly. "I also decided to stay, to meet up again and continue." Perhaps not any visible reaction as he was as stoic as ever, but his words were clear enough.

"...Then it makes two of us." The Heroes he met when he woke up in Aqures Ixen didn't mention that their home worlds were destroyed, which struck him as strange. Though none of that registered on his face.

"Wait, a vision? Do you mean it didn't really happen?" He stood up straight. Vincent's answer could mean there was still hope for he Nowhere Islands.

"In the absence of certainty that what we saw actually happened, then 'vision' seems the best description." Not exactly the answer Duster wanted probably. Vincent wondered himself too, especially given that he and Tifa were the only ones from the same 'point' of time being pulled. Every other Gaian was from a different point.

That made it a LITTLE suspicious to think it was 'fact'.

"Vision? Like how the future might be?" He understood how those worked. Drinking Saturn coffee lead to a long session of introspection and ideas of the future, but if he had psychic powers, visual...visions would be possible.

"Well, in that case, it's possible you guys would be able to stop it."

He shrugged; honestly not sure how to answer that. Unwilling to give false reassurances either. "You would have to ask those who are more familiar with Crystallis, and why we're all being brought here."

"Right..." He folded his hands on a knee and gazed at the empty plains out in front. The night was quiet, and it echoed back sentiments of unease. He may be alive and well in this world, but his friends back home might not.

A large, shadowy figure moved across the distance. Whether it spotted the camp or not, Duster wasn't going to make an opening attack just yet.

"I'll try to talk to the old man in the castle when we go back. He might know something."

Vincent had noted it as well, his posture loose and open, ready to bring his gun up to bear if needed. Personally, he thought that it would depend on if this old man would even bother telling the other anything. People who'd actually been willing to share information with the Heroes at large were a small commodity, in his experience.

"Don't move until we know it's a threat. We can determine that without provoking." Crimson-eyes tracking the shadowy-figure in the distance, even if some of his attention was given to the Hero on watch with him.

"You might also check with Zelda. She's been keeping archives and records of those of us who've arrived and experiences we've had. I believe she was one of the first to be brought to this place."

Edited 2016-02-10 00:44 (UTC)

The large shadow lumbered towards the camp and the same steady pace. Duster's shoulders relaxed. "It hasn't seen us yet." Unless it was running at full speed, he found no cause to worry. However, judging by the size of the creature, he had to prepare for battle early.

Without taking his eyes off of the hulking shadow, he addressed Vincent. "I met her in the music store. She mentioned coming to visit her at the observatory if I had any questions." She seemed nice enough. "My housemate told me he'd been one of the first, too. One and a half years is a lot of time to be away from home."

His gazed turned to the ground, and if Vincent looked close enough, Duster appeared to be remembering something.

Vincent also kept his gaze focused forward, stance still relaxed but ready in case they were threatened. "Who is your housemate?" Tone casual and neutral, conversational even.

"If trouble starts, let me take first shot. I can support you from a range while we raise the alarm." Just in case, but he could at least provide a shot and cover for Duster.

"Sparks Nevada," came the quick answer. "He's a policeman with a half-mechanical horse." There were many Heroes among them, and he had no clue who knew whom.

The shadow continued approaching them and the vague blob of an outline grew clearer: the legs, the horse, the heavy breath. It was a Behemoth. Duster tensed. It had to have spotted the camp, but why wasn't it running? "Got it. I'll do my best." He drew a wide stance, prepared to run at the monster at a moment's notice.

Vincent nodded to show he heard, and confirm he did know the other hero. They'd worked together, briefly, a few times. Not a bad man, although Vincent wouldn't say more without prompting.

It wasn't charging, which was about the only good thing so far. "We'll need others to deal with this as well." Tone as neutral as ever, but crimson eyes narrowed. Drawing the fire-arm suited for Crystallis in his right, Vincent's clawed hand came up in front of his chest. Focusing, calling upon his secondary-job and the 'clone' skill. Creating a copy of himself, who crouched nearby and kept an eye on it.

"We'll need other Heroes, this is simply a delaying tactic."

"You can warn them, I'll fight." It's about time he tested the strength and abilities of these mysterious powers. Him, the low-level Monk and the Behemoth. It would all come down to teamwork and outsmarting the monster.

He turned his back on Vincent, rubbed his kicking foot on the ground and slowly stepped closer to the Behemoth. Once Vincent attacked from the distance, Duster didn't want the Behemoth to have enough time to react before the second wave of assaults began.

Vincent blinked slowly, both the clone and the real one. "Do not let it strike you. We will need help from the others." The clone, crouched, took careful aim--making sure the Behemoth was well within his sights.

At the same time, so did Vincent, posture tall and eyes focused. Calling on the Gunner job, and the sky was suddenly lit with a burst of the staccato sound of rapid gun fire. Trigger-Happy, his the gunslinger's aim true, ignoring the ammo spent for now in favor of the assault. Providing cover for Duster to move closer and strike.

At the same time, the clone added by preparing to follow up. After an initial shot, timed with the real Vincent's actions, the clone waited. Waiting until and unless Duster needed cover-fire or distraction. The real one, while his clone stayed focused, turned and sprinted to raise the alarm in their camp.

Temporarily blinded by the gunfire, the Behemoth stopped its steady march, allowing enough time for Duster to cover the distance between them. He took one long step with his right leg and, keeping his weight steady, spun around to deliver a powerful kick with his left foot. He struck the Behemoth on its lower front leg.

The beast hardly reacted to the attack, though it took a step backwards as it recoiled in pain. Once it realized there was only one person to fight, it swiped a large paw at Duster.

He jumped back, and the sharp claws scraped his left arm. Duster tumbled to the ground clutching his injured arm.

At first, Jade wasn't certain what had woken him up. He lay still for a moment, listening, until he could make out the sound of distant gunshots. Then he pushed himself up, snatched up his glasses and staff, and ducked out of the tent.

The noise hadn't roused everyone in the camp, though a few others were alert and ready to act. Jade scanned the surrounding plains before catching sight of Vincent running towards them.

"Well, well... It was about time something went wrong."

When out in the field, sleep was never heavy enough so as not to be disturbed at the slightest sound out of order. As soon as the gunshots were fired, Sephiroth's eyes shot open; instantly -if for a moment mis-comprehension from the sudden jerk from sleep- sitting up and peering around in the gloom of the inside of the tent. Counting those present, identifying those who were also disturbed before near enough ripping himself out of the sleeping bag and off of the camping bunk, deciding not to wait for others. Boots were pulled on, jacket thrown around his shoulders, and he was out.

With a sing of edged steel Sephiroth tore his short-katana from it's scabbard as he exited out into the night; there was little point taking the time to get it all buckled on around him in this instance.

Eyeing Jade for a moment as he swept into the vicinity of the other man, Sephiroth quickly also found the familiar red mantle rushing towards them. Taking strong, determined steps in the direction he'd come from already, weapon already held firmly out to one side and then curled up behind his forearm. He keenly threw a sharp gaze around, surveying for other risks and for other Heroes who had also been called from their beds.

"Let's go."

Tazendra was used to keeping an ear out for trouble, so she was awake almost immediately, and grabbing her sword in one hand, while hopping into her boots with the other. She'd left armor in her tent, but that was far from important. "Ah, what is it? What are we facing?"

She sounded excited and happy, in a way that tended to make strangers worry she wasn't understanding what was going on.

Others, including those among the troops Sephiroth had brought, were rousing. Vincent skid to a stop, catching Jade, Sephiroth, and Tazrenda running towards him. "Behemoth." Pitching his voice to be heard, but not yelling or shouting.

A nod, and Vincent let the smoke-bomb of the Ninja-skill engulf him. Reappearing further ahead back the way he came, to come to Duster's aid. Sprinting, hoping his 'copy' was doing a decent job of helping keep the other alive.

Said 'copy' was taking careful aim but, and constantly moving, trying to draw the Behemoth's attention and annoy it. To play distraction and support for Duster, until others arrived.

The Behemoth roared as it was pelted by bullets from all sides. Duster took the opportunity to roll out of the Behemoth's path, his wound stinging each time his arm touched the ground. But there was no point in complaining, and he grit his teeth to keep it in. Once he felt he was a safer distance away from the monster, he pushed himself onto his feet.

He could see the copy by the light of his gun, keeping the Behemoth distracted but needing help. Despite the throbbing sensation in his left arm, he could see any large pools of blood around him. Never mind that lightheaded feeling. He ran back to the battle, heading to the Behemoth's unprotected side this time.

"Hah!" He kicked the beast right below the ribs, sending it howling, but drawing all its attention to himself.

He leaned forward, fighting every urge to hold onto his wound. A dark shadow blocked the moon. With such an easy target, the Behemoth ignored any other fighter that would be coming its way at the moment.

To think that they might have gone the whole trip across the Plains without encountering one of those fabled beasts, that had been the talk around one of the hunting boards back in Mysidia once, had almost made Sephiroth feel just a little disappointed as the days had drawn on. When Vincent mentioned the name of the beast, a spike of excitement shot in the back of Sephiroth's mind though not at all showed outwardly. He was much too professional for that.

Clenching the handle of his sword tighter, as Vincent smoke-bombed further ahead again it encouraged the SOLDIER to break out into an all out sprint towards the location. A long tail of silver following behind him, tied up, but still almost like a beacon in the darkness.

Skidding to a stop as he came into the fight scene the silver haired man took only a second to register how similar this beast did indeed look to those monsters back on Gaia. Quickly opening a combat stance and swinging his sword around Sephiroth flashed a grin to himself; not hesitating to wait for anyone else before opening.

The edge of his sword flashed as he silently called Power Break and he leaped in quickly while its back were still turned, bringing his sword up and aiming to score a clean line up the back of one of it's hind legs. At the very least, the debuff would help Duster weather whatever blow might be coming.

Jade was right at Sephiroth's heels. Even if he didn't usually care to get too carried away with the thrill of battle, this was admittedly a welcome diversion. If killing giant monsters didn't get him some catharsis, nothing would.

And this one was indeed quite the giant. Jade halted a short distance away where the monster wasn't likely to go after him and began to cast. It would have been nice to get straight to the fun part, but first things first -- being the healer had become his job again, somehow.

The first thing he did was cast Curaga on Duster. With that taken care of, Jade would have to spend the next minute or so putting up their defenses; Mega Regen to keep everyone healed while he was busy, then Shell and Protect on each fighter, one by one. It was tedious work, but someone had to do it.

The pain gradually subsided, and Duster found himself able to run away from the Behemoth. Sephiroth's attack had done sufficient damage to make him the new target, and while Duster would not abandon the others in the middle of the fight, he decided to let the other focus on close range combat.

Jade was the perfect point to rally around. Far enough from the fight that he wasn't in immediate danger, but close enough that Duster could keep an eye on the fighting. He slowed his escape to a brisk walk when he got within earshot.

"Do me last, I'm going in when it's distracted." The others were more powerful than he and needed the protective spells urgently.

Talk about pulling the hate. At the Behemoth's reaction to his enhanced, initial sword strike Sephiroth had to essentially hop back a good few feet to allow the beast the room to turn around to face him. This time was spent looking over the creature, comparing it to what he knew of Behemoth from his own world; they seemed almost entirely too close. However, just as Jade were taking the time with mitigation and healing spells to keep them all on their feet for longer, as soon as it was in position its forearms bent down and it too cast protect upon itself.

Sephiroth continued to edge himself further away, completing a dodge as the giant forearm came out in an attempt to swipe his feet out from under him.

"Look out for any magic," He called back as he lowered himself back in preparation to spring forwards and into his next flurry of chained attacks. "It seems to have some capability, at least."

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bloodypast - 2016-03-10 07:46 (UTC) - Expand

We are off to see the Crystal Tree!

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We going to have excitement?

Yes!

Do you want Vincent or Duster to sound the alarm then? ^^

Vincent can fire the first shot

Gonna open up to others too, if that's ok. [OPEN]

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[For the record: MAX Warrior & Initial Paladin here]

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