melodiesoflife | Event || The Enemy Within

Albel turned at the approach of footsteps and raised an eyebrow. "Yuri."

He hadn't exactly expected the sass, but maybe he should have. Yuri always had had a bit of snark. Albel didn't take it personally, though he wanted to roll his eyes and scoff. As if this was new. Lunar Base, and by proxy this gate, were of great importance to the heroes who had any sense. Power. And anyone in opposition to him, or Terra, would be barred from passage -- if not cut down.

"I have no problem with you, Yuri. But the others..." He narrowed his eyes at Sayaka, Kyoko, and Tifa. Oh, he knew of them. And there was no way they were getting past him. Of course, his cool demeanor changed when he saw another person with them.

"Sheena..." Albel tensed noticeably.

Terra was only a few steps behind Albel. There were a few things weighing on her thoughts but this was her task and at least for now she was going to complete it. She followed his gaze down towards Sheena before lightly reaching for his hand. "Are you okay?" Her voice was soft, meant for Albel's ears only.

She then looked over at those gathered and nodded her head. "As Albel said, Yuri... Sheena... You two can go through." Her bright blue eyes turned towards the other three; they couldn't pass.

"This is our post to guard." Terra announces finally, her tone having no room for argument.

While Albel and Terra looked to the trio with a stern gaze, Cloud's expression a bit more torn. In fact, he was avoiding eye contact with one of the three in particular. He chose to look at Yuri instead, nodding in agreement with Terra moreso than Albel. "Please. Turn back. This doesn't have to become a fight. Enough blood has been shed and lives lost. There's no time left to try to find that 'ideal solution'. Now we have to do what we have to."

Slowly, he drew the Masamune, the blade ominously slicing through the air as he rotated it to his side. Had he pointed it forward it would have easily cleared the gap between the assembled Heroes. But he didn't want this to be a fight. He wasn't going to point that blade at anyone unless he was forced to. This was a warning.

It was only then that he looked Tifa in the eyes, his own glowing a familiar green thanks to the Job that he was using in concert with the Onion Knight. "Tifa...Please...turn back."

There was an unimpressed "Hmph," in reaction to Yuri's flippant comment about his loyalties. But the harsh truth was that these days, when the heroes were clashing against one another, loyalty was a rare thing. She hadn't been counting on him anyway, the only people she trusted were those she knew for certain to be on her side... the brawler and the lancer that she stood with.

Sayaka had only one cutlass in hand, gripping it tightly as the tension in the air seemed to tell her a fight could break out at any moment. "So tell me, what are you guarding it for exactly? In order to sacrifice more people to further your own goal? If you think we're just going to let you do that right under our noses..." the blade shifted in her hand, a flash of light gleaming off the turning blade. "Then you don't remember what we all stood for very well."

Sheena, on the other hand, remained quiet as they moved with the protagonists. The ninja was equipped with her maxed Custom and Ninja jobs and looked the other way when Yuri told the others his position on the matter. She didn't join him or refute his claim, knowing that by doing so could result in their efforts being stopped by either side. There had to be another way to solve this; there had to be. Not for the first time, she wished she was as smart as Raine and Genis. They probably would have come up with something...

Something to save everyone.

Other than that, the ninja was having trouble reigning her own impatience in at the moment. Not to mention her anger--which really had nothing to do with any delays in what they were doing. No, that was reserved for who she knew would be up ahead. That was one bit of information she had kept from Yuri, although considering they both gathered information, she wouldn't be too surprised if he already knew.

And was with her for more than providing protection to others.

However, as they approached the gate, she tried to remain calm--until Albel addressed her and Terra reached for his hand. That was the last thing her barely there composure needed. Her flinty gaze traveled from Albel to Terra, to their hands, then back to Albel.

"What?" she snapped. "Want to rub it in some more?" she asked, giving a quick glance to their hands. Just because it had been almost two years didn't make the pain of what they had done hurt less.

Edited 2016-01-29 01:24 (UTC)

Kyoko, for her part – was eating a popsicle. She gave no reaction each time her teeth sank into the frozen treat. As the friction between everyone grew she continued to take her time enjoying the last few bites as if the people in front of her posed no threat. Only when it had been fully devoured does the girl actually seem to pay them any heed, eyeing Cloud’s sword and tsking a few times chidingly with a shake of the head. “Rude.”

In a flash of light, the magical girl’s lance summons into her hands. She gives it a couple twirls before slamming the tail end into the ground. “Just because you cowards claim lives while people sleep, you think you have the right to claim the moon as your territory? There’s not enough piss in all of you combined.”

Tifa's eyes remained forever glued on Cloud, committing a cardinal sin of martial arts as she did nothing to acknowledge the other members of his party. Each of them was just as much a threat to their cause as Cloud was, but her fight wasn't with them.

The gloves she wore on her hands slid past the worn, experience knuckles. Slender, piano-player fingers went straight to ease the leather and metal off of her grip until the mitts fell to the ground with a heavy thud. She flexed her digits back and forth, cracking them without the use of each opposing hand, shaking them out as her last encounter had left her feeling a bit more rusty than she had anticipated.

Her front foot pressed into the ground as if she were stamping out a small fire, getting the ball of her foot loose and ready for in inevitable scramble that was about to occur.

"Give me one good reason why I should." She bats her right hand into her left, punching against her open hand as the sound of her bare fists slamming into bare skin echoed loudly around the gathering of opposing forces. She turns her head side to side, facing her companions to make her intentions known. "The blonde one is mine, got me? No one lays a hand on him except for me."

"Yo, Albel."

He raised a hand to greet the other as typical as ever. There wasn't much change in Yuri's expression as he greeted his former sparring partner. They've gotten a long way since. It's not like Yuri hated him. They got their reasons. He was pretty sure Albel was thinking just that and he didn't blame him, though there was a slight raise of his brow from the sudden reaction to Sheena. However, the questions he wanted to ask remained unspoken for the sake of their mission and their goals.

"Yeah you're going to have little miss ninja and I across. We're on the same playing field," he replied giving him a shrug, "Like I said they're on their own. Don't get too vicious with each other alright?"

He added giving the others a once over. Honestly, this was more favorable for him. It made moving through locations more fluid. Terra even agreed to the offer and Yuri was fine with that. There wasn't much else he needed to say. There's a nod of his head as he acknowledges Terra's response. He did make an attempt to take a few steps towards the antagonists, in hopes of passing through soon. Yuri glanced back at Cloud as the man looked at him. Cloud had been someone pleasant and someone he'd spoken with on several occasions. He supposed they were once friends. He's not sure how they are now.

"You heard Cloud right? You're still going to squabble? He's being pretty damn nice about it too."

That was much easier for the both of them. The girl's scoff did not go unnoticed as Yuri waved his hand in the air as if to acknowledge that as well. Yuri turned back to Sheena as she had been quite silent for the time being. He didn't question why but he was certain she had her reasons. Yuri was very much trying to save everyone but he couldn't reason with two sides being extremist on their beliefs. He chose to let them deal with it on their own. If it's a fight they want with each other, then he had no right to stop them. He was sure that the same would be done for him if he were in that position but Yuri was a bit different than most people.

He had a clue on what made her that way though he didn't intervene. He merely watched silently before hearing he speak.

"Hey now, we're not here to chit chat Sheena or have you forgotten our positions on the matter?"

Yuri steps further to the side as the conversation continues to thicken. He's not in the mood to be part of this and makes an attempt to push Sheena forward so they can get out of the way of the fight that was starting to brew between these groups of former Heroes and Heroes.

Edited 2016-02-03 19:36 (UTC)

"Tch." Albel's hand tightened around Terra's protectively, teeth clenching in a snarl. As if any of this had anything to do with Sheena, as if any of this was somehow orchestrated to spite her. How selfish could someone be?

At least that's how he saw it.

"If you want to pass, you should go already," he bit out at Yuri, nodding toward the gate. His attention turned again to Sheena and he growled, "And if you didn't want to see us, you shouldn't have come. So pass through, or leave."

Because he wasn't about to argue this again, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let her disrespect Terra. It hurt, strangely enough, and it was uncomfortable, but Sheena had made her feelings known.

Terra didn't understand Sheena's venom, she never had, and after a certain length of time she stopped caring. Her and Albel had nothing to do with Sheena.

Feeling his hand tighten was a comfort and she felt a slight smile pull at her lips though she did well to keep it from her calm expression. She wanted to stand firm and protect the gate as planned. However, with each passing second, she felt her confidence waver.

Her bright watery blue eyes moved away from Sheen and over to the other three; the heroes. "Unless you intent to fight?" Tifa in particular didn't look like she was going to back down and she had a feeling that the other two young girls would follow suit.

Those gloves. Even if nobody else recognized them Cloud did. They were the gloves that he got for her...three years ago now. Christmas. One of the last times he saw her at one of the mass gatherings. One of the last times she hadn't been trying to convince him to forget about his Promise to her in one way or another. To sit aside and let the grownups take care of things.

Even as her eyes remained on him, his followed the gloves to the ground. So that's what it all came to. This is what he meant to her. She'd made it clear years ago but somehow now it felt all the more real.

But she still meant something to him. And so too did his promise to her.

Looking back up, he glanced around at everyone. This was a pot threatening to boil over, but Tifa declared that she alone was going to fight him. So that's how it would be. He wouldn't let her down.

"Terra, Albel. I'll be back in a moment." He muttered under his breath, just gently inclining his head towards them. He looked back and met Tifa in the eyes, "I'm sorry. Activating Combat Mode."

Even for anyone watching him closely, unless their eyes were trained for it, he was there one second and gone the next. In that one second he closed the distance between himself and Tifa. He was crouched in front of her with the Masamune coming around to her. But not the blade. A second second passed and the pommel of the sword was driven into her solar plexus, knocking the wind clear from her.

A third second and he was standing, holding her limp in his free arm. The Masamune was held out, the blade's keen edge pointed at everyone else around. "It's over. I'm keeping a promise I made to her years ago." Shifting his stance he held her out to her allies. "Take her somewhere safe. I don't know where that is now, but this isn't it." The steel in his eyes was clear. He didn't want to fight them. He would, but he didn't want to.

Sayaka hadn't even made a move yet. It seemed to happen way too quickly even for the veteran magical girl she had become. "What do you think you're doing?!" she shouted in Cloud's direction, distraught and angry at what he'd just tried to do -- was doing?!

"Don't think we're just going to let you get away with that!" The hilt of her sword seemed to click into place in her hands. "Kyoko!" she called to her ally -- the only one she could be sure of now, as she took off like a shot with a burst of speed, sword first, aiming for the first one standing in their way.

The lancer had shot up to the sky at the take down. Coming to a stop overhead, her weapon unfurled into chain links. Holding a section in each hand, the sharp edge loomed over the girl like a serpent's head. Red eyes looked to the SOLDIER clasping her pathetically fallen team mate. "Ain't any of you got better things to do with the world ending than sucking each others faces?" Cloud - he could have offed the dark haired chick, but chose to knock her out instead. So he was an idiot or he had a soft spot for her. Probably both. She could use that.

"You want her safe? You stay out of this and keep her that way. Or I'll kill her myself for being such a screw up."

From the fire in her eyes and dark smirk that reveal pointed fangs...it seems she is quite serious. It's only the girl in blue that fights with her that knows any better. As the descent begins, Kyoko twists her body hard, reaching out with her magic to slam her modular spear downwards like an oversized ball and chain towards the unoccupied of the two still blocking the path.

Sheena couldn't stop looking at Albel and Terra even as Yuri spoke. True, she had taken a neutral stance in the battle between Heroes, but there was nothing neutral about her feelings towards the couple in front of her.

Very personal, hurt feelings as time and again they demonstrated their disrespect for her without once acknowledging those feelings or offering her an apology. The irony of the situation? She had taken the position she had in order to save everyone including them.

But things were quickly spiraling out of control around her, and Yuri's pushing her wasn't helping her mood. "Yuri! Will you stop pushing me? I can walk you know!"

Anything else she could have said was cut off by Cloud's actions, and the thought of knocking everyone out to prevent the fight entered her mind. But she didn't even get that far before all hell was breaking loose and instincts she thought long-buried kicked in...

And she placed herself in the middle of it all--unmoving, protecting everyone the best she could.

Yuri sighed heavily from what was going on. He's not entirely interested in the the sudden outbreak of emotions, nor was he stopping the pushing for a moment longer. Eventually, he stops and steps towards the other group and past them if he needed to. The fight was starting on its own and he had little interest in what they were trying to do with each other. The woman known as Tifa was knocked out in a matter of seconds and he had no time to react. Cloud didn't do anything bad, so he didn't see any reason to stop the blond.

In fact, Tifa looked like she was knocked out and nothing more. He reached an arm out as Cloud was saying those words, "Fine, I'll take her with me. She's incapacitated, anyway."

He's planning on walking through the barricade with the unconscious person because she obviously wasn't awake to fight anyone right now or create conflict. It seemed fair. That was as far as he was going to stick his nose in. Yuri watched as Sheen reacted on her own before his comment was answered.

"We don't have time for this, Sheena."

They weren't here to get in the middle of a fight, "If you want me to stop, you better start walking."

Cloud was a sitting duck, holding Tifa like that. Albel couldn't fault him, though. Love made people do stupid things. He would know. So instead, with the help of Shunshin, he darted forward to block Sayaka's attack. Metal hit metal with a loud clang.

"She made her choice!" he bit out. "You should have left when you had the chance!"

Sayaka was stronger than she looked. Keeping her off Cloud's back kept Albel fully occupied -- which meant he couldn't deal with Kyoko. Who was launching an attack right at Terra. Shit!

"TERRA!" he called out in warning.

Terra's eyes were on Cloud and Tifa. She felt something twist in her chest and it was only the call of her name that pulled her back towards the battle at hand. She turned in time to see Kyoko's attack come charging towards her. She raised her hand calling forth whatever magic might be quickly gathered to her finger tips. It wasn't enough but it stopped the blow from being fatal.

She felt the pressure of the attack against her palm and then the force of the collision as she swept from her feet and thrown backwards. Her shoulders slam against the ground however Terra was quick to cast another spell this one directed towards Kyoko.

"Flare" The word dripped with venom as flames erupted from beneath Kyoko's feet. She hadn't wanted to fight, she never wanted to fight but she wouldn't just die.

Cloud frowned at the behavior of the two girls. Were these the sort of people that Tifa had considered allies? Or had she merely joined them in order to confront him. He had taken her on as she issued a challenge to him. And now they were using her as a shield to attack Terra and Albel.

And yet these were the same Heroes who refused to make sacrifices for the sake of Crystallis.

He still wasn't sure he had made the right choices over the past few years, but he was glad he didn't count these two as friends. A quick nod to Yuri and he pushed Tifa to him. At least he knew him to be responsible enough to not let her come to harm. As much as he held his promise to Tifa dear, he wasn't about to let his promise to Tifa and Sephiroth go forgotten either.

Another Dash and Cloud was standing in front of Terra, holding the Masamune up to block and braced with his other hand. He hadn't time to use his defense skills yet but he was still vastly enhanced by Onion Knight and S-Type SOLDIER's Combat Mode.

Kyoko could handle her own, which is why Sayaka stayed completely focused on the clash of blades with Albel. There was a grunt of effort as their swords scrapped against one another, where she afforded a single glance over towards her partner, then was back in the moment of her own confrontation.

With a jump back, she folded her cape over herself, and when she flipped it outwards again, five swords stood upright in the ground. The five Lillians.

In quick succession, she began throwing them at Albel, not giving a single moment of reprieve as she launched her attack. "For the sake of the people trying to protect others they care about... there's no way we could ever just leave!"

Tucking her knees, a quick twirling of the lance in a helicopter below creates a blast of air. Extinguishing the spell before it strikes.

The spear had already been extending in a blur, ready to pierce through Terra where the woman lay prone with crucify. Only, when Cloud moves to defend her foe, Kyoko pulls back, twists her weapon 180 degrees to press the the butt to the ground and parkour off to the side. Eyeing the blond nuisance irritably. The lance extends into chained portions, matching and then superseding the length of his sword in a bolt tipped whip.

There's not a moment lost before the red clad girl is relentlessly lashing at him. Looking for an opening like a cobra trying to strike.

"You're annoying, got some macho complex? Ain't you heard girls can fight for themselves?!"

Sheena, stuck in the muddle of all of this, refused to stand helplessly by and watch people who once called each other friends attack one another. What she could do, however, was lost on her until Albel's cry forced her into action.

Always the ninja, she relied on the tried and true form of disappearing and reappearing in different spots of the group to make her way towards Terra. No matter what had happened between them, Terra and Albel were still important to her, and she didn't want to see either of them hurt.

What she couldn't see with all her popping in and out was the chance she'd place herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It wasn't even a minute short after Tifa was handed to him that the fight broke out further and Sheena was not listening to what he had to say. Yuri honestly didn't want to deal with this tedious mess of heroes and ex-heroes of light. It wasn't his place and it wasn't his interest. they have much more important things to get to. Sheena was making it complicated and Yuri wasn't having it.

"Final Gale!"

He pulled his sword, while still holding Tifa with one arm, and swings it down on the ground creating a huge wind current in the middle of everyone that was fighting and throwing them off balance if they were caught in the large blow that he struck in the middle of the two parties.

He might as well break it up now before it got any worse, but who knows if they're going to take it lightly. Frankly, he didn't care since he was not on either side. His actions were his own and he didn't want to have to deal with them and his current teammate. Some of these people were former friends, allies and people he respected.

He knew they were all better than this.

"That's enough, all of you."

"Then you're in entirely the wrong place, you ignorant, simple-minded -- !" Is that what they thought? That Albel and Terra were defending this gate for the others to sacrifice the crystallized heroes?

It didn't matter. Albel deflected blow after blow, sword after sword, until the last. That he dodged and knocked back in a counterattack, aiming the blade toward Sayaka. Yuri's Final Gale changed everything. Albel stumbled with the gust, his katana jerked, and the sword he'd aimed toward Sayaka was knocked to the side. The fifth Lillian flew through the air, propelled ever faster by Yufi's blast. It missed Sayaka entirely. Unfortunately, it was still finally stopped by flesh.

Sayaka's deflected sword sank deep into Sheena's gut as she reappeared from her smokescreen. Albel's eyes widened; he froze. He felt like ice ran through his veins. "Sheena!"

No, no, no, this isn't what he wanted!

Terra was rising from the ground as the fight continued. The energy around her was pulsing as if seeping from the earth and into her palm. Her arm had begun to shift, replacing her once delicate hand with a light purple claw. Her fingers flinched as magic and energy swirled within her grasp. She's about to release the spell when she feels the gust of Yuri's wind and then watches as Albel's blade embeds in Sheena's torso.

Her eyes widen and in an instant the magic was released back to the earth. She didn't understand what was happening, they were trying to save those who were alive and yet Terra was watching someone she knew die in front of her now.

Her arm fell to her side, her glowing blue eyes fixed on Sheena. She wouldn't fight anymore and, in truth, Sayaka and Kyoko were right. That was exactly what Robin was doing and why they had been placed at this gate. The energy flooded from her body and her heart twisted in her chest as specs of scarlet blood scattered like rose petals in the air.

Edited 2016-03-22 18:40 (UTC)

Cloud frowned briefly at the foolishness of Sayaka and Kyoko. They were given all the chances he could offer to stand down. His brief battle with Tifa was, at her own words, something she wanted to settle herself. And he had knocked her out and offered them the chance to take her to safety, something THEY had thrown in his face. The bridges had been burnt.

Struck by Yuri's gale, Cloud fared better than most of the others, braced as he was. Glancing back at Albel and Terra he took a quick assessment of them before looking back at the two offending girls. At least that was his plan. As Sheena suddenly appeared and was impaled upon the blade flung by the blue haired girl and deflected by his own ally.

This was ready to go worse than bad in seconds. Shifting from his defensive stance he held the Masamune ready. "Don't. Move." He shot his threat through his eyes and blade at the two. This was getting worse and he was running out of patience. If they were foolish enough to continue this he'd have to cut them down for the sake of T-....

He wasn't sure which name to finish that thought with, and in that moment his focus faltered.

CW: Death scene

ninjainviolet - 2016-04-12 20:43 (UTC) - Expand

Event || The Enemy Within

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Sorry for Lateness

Re: Sorry for Lateness

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CW: Death scene