On That Day, Five Years Ago - Black Water - Misery Marsh near Esdham

[neverfirstclass]

On the bright side, Cloud hadn't thrown up when the ship went down. Of all the things that went wrong that day, at least the fortitude of his stomach remained intact.

He'd braced himself for impact and after that it was fuzzy. Dream and memory intermingled. When he and the other Heroes blacked out and later he wouldn't be able to recall which parts actually happened and which were just projected assumption. He even thought he saw Zack running around on the deck trying to help, as absurd as that mental image of a chocobo trying to help keep an airship in flight was.

The next thing he was aware of was the feeling of thick water lapping against the side of his head. That and a sense of cloying scruffiness around his face. Grunting, he pushed himself up to sitting, half in and half out of some water. The dry ground wasn't very much so, more mud. Looking around blearily he could make out shapes moving in the fog around him. Things slipped into focus bit by bit from there. This was a swamp of some sort, or a marsh, whatever. Same difference.

Next he noticed three bodies laying near him; Reno, Johnny and another he knew was a fellow Hero but didn't really know by name. Dylan or something? His mind more latched onto the fact that the way they were laying was that it was almost like Johnny and Reno were reaching for each other.

The last thing to shuffle into focus were the shapes moving in the distance. They were a bit far off, too far, hopefully, to see or smell or hear them...but there were Malboros sloshing through the marshwater and mud in every direction.

Comments

[neverfirstclass]

Scrambling back to his feet, Cloud just stared at the creature as it manifested. Not in shock, but more in annoyance. "OH COME ON!" Couldn't they have nice things? Please? Sure everything was going to shit, but couldn't they at least have this moment without having to complicate it?

He wasn't going to argue with Johnny about running, especially with the ceiling about to come down on them. He ran ahead, quickly mulling over what he could use that would get them that crystal back. They couldn't risk losing it. Not if they wanted to undo....all of this.

When they got outside he forced himself to calm down, and did so by humming a song that he'd been working on since one of the early trips to the chocobo forest. Under the Apple Tree would boost the trio a bit, not just their status but also their conviction in getting that crystal back.

[shinra_dog]

Reno skidded across the floor as he was thrown back from the power of the creature. He got up soon enough, feeling the shaking of the building as well as that of the beast's approach.

"Dammit!" He scrambled up and out, using his hands to balance him until he was able to run. Because right now, running was the only viable option. "DAMMIT!"

Maybe Johnny was right. Maybe he shouldn't touch weird crystals in creepy ruins.

[melodiesboss]

The difference between what was considered the outside or the inside of the barracks grew very thin ere long. Once the Calamity Beast was done swing wildly, the barracks were exposed to the sky and little was left of the walls. But by running out, at least the three Heroes of Light had managed to avoid being crushed alive by the debris.

And ere long, the Calamity Beast laid its eyes upon Cloud. It swung its massive daggers at Cloud, in an attempt to smash him away as if he were a vulgar rock. It ignored Reno and Johnny entirely, though they risked being hit by the swing of the blows if they remained too close to Cloud.

[charming_jerk]

In the hopes of getting some of the heat off of Cloud, Johnny used Mirage Dive to summon up two clones, sending one left and one right of the beast. Hopefully he could keep it distracted and give his compatriots time to attack.

[neverfirstclass]

Cloud kept up his humming as best he could as he drew his sword. He always knew this would be a problem being a front line fighter, how to keep a bardsong going while he was fighting. But he did his best as he turned his blade and flipped open his shield to defend against the assault. If he could withstand this then maybe he could push back with his own attack. But would he be able to last that long? Would an opening even present itself.

"KWEH~" A familiar Chocobo's cry rang out from overhead, and then there was a golden flurry of feathers as Zack flew into the scene, delivering a heavy flurry of kicks to the monster's face!

[shinra_dog]

"Oh no you don't!" Reno wasn't sure what that song was, but he really wanted that damn crystal. And seeing Cloud's resolve just made him more eager to get it back.

Reno spun from his retreat and went on the offensive, using a Smoke Bomb to duck under the Calamity Beast's swings and jut his magrod swiftly into its sternum.