melodiesoflife | Event || Doppelgangers

[Croach had been looking at the Heroes encased in the crystal around them, seeing if he recognized any of the faces or see if he could sense a way to get them out of the crystals when the sound of bodies hitting the ground caused him to spin around and draw an arrow out of its quiver.

The Tracker looked around, trying to figure out who had attacked when he saw Sephiroth take out the crystal.

Don't trust him Croach! He ain't nuthin' but trouble!

Croach was confused for a second, but he quickly shook it off. The last thing that he needed to be was distracted while facing this.]

Hero designated Sephiroth. Explain yourself. Why have you attacked our comrades?

Edited 2015-04-22 01:13 (UTC)

What the hell is going on here?!

[ She caught the worse part of the scenery just as she rushing into the scene following her other allies watching the crystal stasis, searching for people she cared about, searching to see if they were embedded in these crystals. She whipped her head around when bodies were piling. Why were they piling? This was not right. A voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked around as if she was trying to find something. Yet, somehow it felt like the wind was just whistling. ]

Now that's a scene.

[ Ishtar didn't know where that came from but she narrowed her eyes. She really trusted her allies, and she hoped that things would not end up where they were. Yet, they were and she didn't know what to think. ]

Sephiroth what are you doing?

[The Jhereg had a saying: 'no matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades really cramps his style'. Still, Vlad hadn't expected that. Or the pull that insisted, yes, this is a reasonable thing your ally has done, killing two of your allies. Former allies.]

Boss, that isn't like you...

Loiosh, go see what's going on.

[Once his familiar was no longer in the picture, and without thinking about it, Vlad used the old misdirection trick: a clone and then an invisibility spell on him so it looked like he was still present. He staggered past, nearly to the wall, trying to focus.]

Cowardly Easterner! Stop hiding and kill the traitor!

[Now that sounded like Tazendra. Vlad didn't believe in ghosts, but this wasn't their world, and there wasn't a Paths of the Dead for her soul to end up in.]

[She'd known him as a hero, even before the many adventures and exploits that had transpired in this new world. He'd been known as a savior, a strong sigil for those that were hoping for a greater Midgar and a resolution to the conflicts in Wutai. Here, he'd inspired and lead many of their fellow heroes towards numerous battles for the safety of the world they'd been brought to.

Now, however..

The blackness which surrounds him is unlike any shadow her eyes have bore witness to. The vapor like cloth of darkness swirls about and flows over him like a shower of dread that quickly covers and washes the SOLDIER she once knew into something far more sinister. Tifa is but a country girl, a woman housing an elementary knowledge of the martial arts that at best will keep her alive for minutes rather than seconds in what is to be a rather gruesome conflict.

Lips curl as she feels the betrayal sink into her mind, the realization that the person she had once thought an idol of hope was nothing more than a selfish git seeking to reign himself as the Coachmen to this hellish ride into despair.]

Se-.. Sephiroth?! How.. How could you?!

Even in this time, he's still just a monster.

[From his position knelt at where his crystal flicks the surrounding air with it's inky black smoke, at the first sound to come from his 'comrades' Sephiroth flicks his head up and takes a moment to scan over faces. Terra is off to the side, he knows, and somewhere he can feel Vlad off towards the back.

Fluidly Sephiroth gets to his feet and spreads his arms wide, looking from Croach to Ishtar and finally to Tifa as they had directly asked him the obvious questions. He curls his lip up into a smirk and draws Masamune around ready-

There is still a member of their team in the back that haven't yet caught up, though, more than likely looking for loved ones within the crystal walls. As confident as Sephiroth is, he cannot leave them where they might yet be able to get away - he catches sight of this victim with a telling glint to his eyes. He's going to enjoy this one. A low, if quiet chuckle precedes his disappearance from sight. Teleporting to the outside of the gathering around the carnage he left, two wide strides later and he's upon her.

Celes Chere, a second later, is catapulted vertically into the air by an unseen force as Sephiroth appears back into reality directly beneath her. Pausing only for a second to glance again at the remaining group before launching himself skyward. Masamune slipping through her torso in two quick successions before another body is thrown into a bloody, crumpled mess on the floor. Mere feet from a crystallized Hero peeking out of the wall.

His ghostly chuckle seems to come from all around by the time he appears back within a closer proximity to the remaining Heroes. Sephiroth raises Masamune now as if in preparation to rush at them.]

I want to congratulate you all- on a job so perfectly well done-

[His first move is to feint a dash towards Tifa, then at the last moment immediately alter his trajectory and slash for Croach instead-]

[Terra watches as Sephiroth moves, her feet glued to the ground as he dashes from his position in front of them. She isn't able to do anything to stop him as he attacks Celes. She can only watch as his blade slides through her with a sickening sound and her body falls to the hard ground. She hasn't really gotten along with the woman because of her affiliation but she is from her home and even showed remorse at the torture she had been forced to endure.

She can't speak and the voice inside of her is silent as if that guiding light has vanished. Were they to fight? Could she even fight him? So many questions fluttered through her thoughts as she watches him attack. She can easily counter, easy fight back and yet she pauses trying to understand.

Terra relies on instinct and now the beast within her is telling her to run.

Why?

The voice is weak when it returns and the Esper feels invisible tears form at the corner of her eyes. These are not her feelings and she pushes them away focusing on the fight that has just begun. Her claws flex and lighting dances at her finger tips. There is nothing now but the fight she had been craving. No matter the target she is going to fight.]

[The blue man watched the other Hero as closely as he could. He didn't trust the other man as far as he could throw him. He didn't react much besides a narrowing of his large dark eyes as another Hero fell to his blade. Sephiroth was quick and he didn't have enough time to react as Celes fell, but he could do his best to save Tifa.]

Youngling designated Tifa, run!

[He fired his arrow in hopes of distracting Sephiroth, but the shot missed as he changed targets at the last second. He didn't try to draw another arrow, instead he threw himself to one side, rolling quickly to put more distance between him and that blade. He came up in a crouch. Now he drew an arrow and fired it as quickly as he could. As long as Tifa was safe, he could heal.]

[ Ishtar flinched at the sight of Celes being murdered. She didn't have time to stop it from happening and clearly she was beyond just a bit upset. ]

Well done my ass. They were your allies, comrades! Are you seriously going to do this?!

[ She snapped. Ishtar rushed towards her other companions in hopes of defending them against Sephiroth. She bit back tears since Ishtar wasn't the type to stay rational when her loved ones were in danger-- especially if he just killed one of them. Ishtar took a stance to defend Tifa as Croach was hit instead but he evaded it somehow, and Ishtar rushed to get to the side of Tifa and Croach because she wasn't taking this lying down. It felt like she was suddenly braver, like shoving her forward.

She dismissed that thought quickly as she held her sword. ]

[She's been the cause of injuries before, and the last thing she needs now is to see another friend of her's fall to the deplorable acts of the reckless SOLDIER. Her eyes go wide as she watches the attack come at the selfless Martian, calling out his name before her eyes finally catch up with the movement of both men. Speed and agility were on Croach's long list of talents, thankfully, and to see him evade helped snap her back to the present. Ishtar's presence only adds to the urgency, the young woman darting to the side so that she might catch Sephiroth off guard.

Her feet move in haste, coming around the side as the silver-haired murderer is preoccupied with the target he's chosen. What little power she has in her fists might be enough to keep Sephiroth entertained, just enough that Ishtar and Croach might be able to bring him down so that no further blood need be shed.]

[It happens so fast. Sephiroth wasn't expecting for Croach to be able to dodge so on-the-spot like that so as he rolls away and prepares to fire again it's left to him to quickly pivot with what's left of his momentum and prepare to-

The follow up attack at Croach is stalled as the arrow fired comes right for him. Masamune is turned away from the group and Sephiroth moves his opposite arm in a dismissive gesture. The arrow is batted away in mid-air by way of his telekinesis- one of the many powers his customs Jobs award him that he's not used that extensively in other battles; even in training back at their Water shrine base.

At least the distraction has given the remaining Heroes chance to group tighter together- a tactic he had hoped for considering his invisible will still has Terra rooted to the spot. As if he were really inside of her body, with his influence ignited within her he can feel the electric power there humming as if it were at his own fingertips.]

You misunderstand, dearest Ishtar- [He goads, catching movement off behind him some as Tifa moves in for a flurry of fists. She is already in too close to bring Masamune to counter so instead he has to lift and block with the forearm on that side. He grunts as Tifa manages to get a fist in underneath, planting into his side, but then with a further pulse of telekinesis he swats her away as well. Then re-positions himself so that he can better face all of them.]

-how do you think this is going to end?

[It is like the act of a play moving forward while Terra stares on. She can't react as if her feet are glued in place, paralyzed by something. Fear? It can't be fear. She hasn't experienced such an emotion in so long but then there is that voice within her. Was it that voices fear?

You can't hurt him!

But what if she isn't given a choice? She won't die in place of others, she's lived this long. It is selfish and maybe even cruel but the beast within Terra doesn't care. She said she'd return and she will.

A growl rose in her throat and her claws twitched as magic danced threatening between her fingers. She in unaware of the pull in the back of her mind as if the dark seed has only begun to bud after being rooted into her very core. It is as much a part of her as her bestial form.

Her inhuman gaze locks on Sephiroth and it appears as if she is reading for an attack.

Who's your target?]

Tifa?

[ Ishtar watched Tifa move past her and at Sephiroth and she didn't have time to do anything to stop her from rushing at him. Why was this happening?! Why were they fighting?! She didn't get it! They were doing just fine before this, and now everything was falling apart and she didn't know what else to do but she had to keep herself from getting too emotional and gritted her teeth. She watched Tifa try to attack Sephiroth and she watched as Sephiroth as the man was hit by one of Tifa's punch. ]

How am I misunderstanding this!? Are you going to tell me this was all a lie?!

[ She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to be betrayed again, not so soon. ]

Dammit Sephiroth!

[ Ishtar cursed, moving to call for back up through the crystals because this wasn't going to be good, and Sephiroth was really strong. She wasn't strong enough to take him on her own, and everyone else was having trouble. She had to reach Cloud. She didn't really know what happened to the other but regardless, there more back up, the better. This was not turning out good. ]

Cloud, Hey!

[ As she tried to do that, she also noticed that Terra, who was standing there the whole time was acting strange and it put more panic to her. She had to make sure she didn't leave herself open for attacks either since being distracted would mean she could get hurt. Ishtar tried her best to keep her eyes on all the people that were around her, allies and what not while trying to reach their other companion. She didn't know what happened but they really needed back up. ]

[Cloud curses as he hears the call come through his crystal. He doesn't need to hear what's next, the tone already speaks volumes. When the passageway closed and he was cut off from the rest of the group he swore he saw that familiar evil grin on Sephiroth's face. Not simply a taunt, but a promise of an atrocity to come. He'd been dreading that this would come before he rejoined them and of course fate did not disappoint.]

What is he doing? I'll be there as soon as I can!

[Cloud runs recklessly through the narrow halls of the cavern, bouncing off of them at tight turns. He doesn't even bother to stop and fight the random monsters that live at these depths, using his momentum and worry to power through them, cutting them down or rolling past them without stopping.

There's no time!]

{Sephiroth...You think he turned on the others?}

[And no time to ignore the voice in his head either.]

Of course he did, don't be naïve.

{But why would he} He's a madman! {But then who} I have to keep my promise {Tifa} We have to save her {We have to save her}

[Vlad can feel the same pull as Terra does, the awareness that someone wants him to strike. He nearly steps out of his concealment, and does start directing the double to help him flank...]

Boss, hey Boss!

{What do you pretend that you are doing?}

[Loiosh's voice is familiar, but he doesn't expect the Dzurlord. She's dead, after all, and wasn't even a witch. Her soul should be on its way to the Paths of the Dead, unless the Calamity had messed that up.]

[But the force of her personality was useful. Vlad's mind doesn't work like that, so he lets the force of her ire take what he now can see as a psychic attack. One he's not sure if he could resist without the deeper link to Loiosh that he doesn't have in this Job.]

[As an afterthought, he moves the clone closer to his hidden location, and has it draws sword and knife. Let Sephiroth think he has everything under control. He can't do anything. Yet. He's not even sure if he can keep himself and Loiosh alive, let alone everyone else. But someone has to warn the others and stop Sephiroth. Why not him?]

[Only after making sure Tifa, or Croach were not thinking about diving right back into an offensive again did Sephiroth pull himself back up to his fullest height and then some- he activated the slightest touch of his levitation, his feet only leaving the floor by a few millimeters. As if to pile on even more intimidation.

He could feel the heavy thrum of his power knotting up behind his right shoulder -if he wasn't still mortal, he could almost imagine how his mighty black wing might have exploded itself into reality from there. Still, some things were yet still outside of his grasp.

Sephiroth peered down on the group and locked eyes fiercely with Ishtar. Another that had managed to somehow evade being snared by his will as he'd sought to unfurl it throughout all of the invisible ties that bound all so-called Heroes of Light together. Given time, he might have made more of an effort, but time wasn't a luxury he had any longer. He sneered at her, with an glint in his eyes that was almost jubilant.]

There are no lies. We've come here to defeat the Calamity that threatens to turn this entire World to Crystal and leave nothing behind. Nothing changes in this regard.

[He glimpses over to where he left his crystal, still smoking on the ground - the air around it rippling tangibly as his essence within it interferes with the unseen energies in the surrounding crystal formations within the cave.]

However, there is no way to stop its advance now that its come so far. We can only look to the future. By taking over the will of the Calamity myself, only I can divert the course of the otherwise inevitable end to this story-

[He calmly raises his gaze up and over the others once more before finishing.]

-so only through death here, can you all be reborn once we find a new Planet to inhabit. Perhaps.

[Another flash of a darker smirk tells that it might not be all quite so simple as that. At the same time Sephiroth wills the dark root seeded within Terra to expand itself. He's not stupid, after all. With his essence which will seep further into the Calamity as time goes on now that it's started, all tools he can use will be used entirely.

Kill. Terra. Unleash.]

[Croach was different from the others. He didn't seem to be effected by what Sephiroth was doing. Or at least he didn't show it. He could feel something, but he wasn't sure if it was the other presence he felt in his mind.

He glanced in the direction of another cavern. Someone else was coming. He wasn't sure who it was, but his attention quickly went back to Sephiroth.

Be careful, Croach. He's tougher than anythin' that ya ever faced before.

He didn't move to attack, but he did draw another arrow. He kept most of his senses were focused on the supposed Hero in front of him.]

[Terra swallows the lump in her throat as he begins speaking, each word drips with truth vibrating deep within her her soul. Her gaze follows his to the crystal as lighting and energy began to dance around her thin frame. She doesn't know how much longer she can hold it, it's unbalanced.

Her inhuman gaze flicks up back towards Sephiroth hanging on every word as if the man before her held her life in his hand.

Why can't you move? What's going on? The frail voice returns sounding frantic as Terra remains seeded to the ground. She breaths in slowly listening to the strings pulling inside of her.

{Kill. Terra. Unleash.}

The cord snaps and a growl ripples forth from the Espers chest. Energy dances in the air around her as she springs forward. Pitch black spheres gather around Terra as if charging for an attack with one sphere resting in the palm of her hand. There is no indication that her target might be anyone other than Sephiroth because her gaze stays on him as the energy around her threatens to release.

She dashes forward, towards Sephiroth, changing her target in the last second. The orb of energy slams against Tifa's side while her claw sinks into the Girls flesh throwing her a few yards away from her puppet master.

The remaining spheres continue to float around her as her eyes shift towards the others.

The voice is screaming now, crying, but the Esper no longer can hear it's words.]

[There's no time to react, not a moment to turn her focus as the Esper comes at her without warning. Tifa had been so narrow in her observations that the attack strikes true, claws sinking deep into her skin and tearing a sizable chunk from her torso that leaves the young woman lying upon the ground in writhing agony.

Her voice is sharp, shrill, piercing as she cries out in pain. The amount of fluid which leaves her open wound disguises the color of the earth beneath her, changing the floor to a dark crimson shade that reflects a mirror image of her shuddering form.

Eyes do their best to keep on the figure which wounded her, scanning back and forth while their poor attempt at focusing becomes all the more arduous due to the shock coming from her injury. While her nerves were reeling, her pride had taken a large hit as well. She hadn't expected herself to be down so soon, at least lasting until the inevitable conclusion of the crystallization taking her. To fall in this manner would be inexcusable, but she at least would have the solace of having spoken with her childhood friend before falling in battle.]

Edited 2015-05-09 18:05 (UTC)

[ Ishtar was scanning, still on the crystal with Cloud. She had to hurry and let Cloud know, and she had to hurry and run to her allies’ side. ]

The bastard’s attacking our teammates! I don’t know what happened but he turned on us Cloud!

[ Maybe that’s not the best term my dear

No, he killed someone already! I can’t believe this!

Ishtar didn’t have time to argue with the voice penetrating her mind, she’s going to do what she can right now. With that being said, there was no time and Ishtar left the area to join back with her teammates in the battle. She didn’t want to let them take everything while she dill dallied the other way. With her sword drawn, she moved to flank herself between her allies, and preparing to strike when there was any attack. Sephiroth’s eyes connected with her fiercely and she returned the stare with a glare of her own, fire burning in those bright green eyes. She didn’t want to believe, but this was what it was turning into, so be it. She didn’t want anyone else to die right now. ]

I’m not interested in being reborn for something like this! We came to destroy it completely, not be reborn in the process! I’m not interested in you playing some kind of god right now Sephiroth!

[ She hissed, biting back tears that were welling in her eyes due to her own frustration. Croach was there, so was Tifa and Terra. Why was the girl so unmoving! What was going on with her and before Ishtar even had a word to shout at Terra, for she came at Tifa. Ishtar moved on her own, when Tifa was hit with the attack from Terra. She rushed to Tifa, ]

Tifa! Terra what are you doing?! Tifa's not the enemy Damn it!

[ She rushed to support her other teammate. She’s not a fighter, but maybe if she could heal them just a little. They might survive. What the hell was even going on. Everything was disjointed. Terra just turned on Tifa and Sephiroth, god. ]

Vlad cursed. A lot. Sephiroth was bad enough, but Terra helping -- willingly or not -- meant they were all going to die. While he'd grown up with a belief in reincarnation, he wasn't eager to try that. He'd have to hope that getting Sephiroth down would stop Terra.

'Loiosh, ready to provide a distraction?' he subvocalized. Hopefully, Sephiroth would discount his familiar as a pet, since Vlad normally didn't use him in combat. He could only hope that a moment's distraction would be enough to get a knife in his back.

Ready as I'll ever be, the jhereg replied. But you owe me some nice dinners after this.

'Sure. We'll all get a nice meal and a drink.' He doubted either of them would survive, but... maybe someone would.

Sephiroth's soliloquy echoes off the walls of the crystal passage with no indication of how far away the man actually is. It's a fruit held agonizingly out of reach and ironically it's probably not something Sephiroth had planned. Then again, it seemed as if Fate always wanted the moments surrounding him to be as painful as possible.

Cloud's heartbeat sang in his ears as he ran, his lungs burning from the effort but he didn't have time to slow down or rest. There was no clue how long the others had. What he was going to do to them. He could hear the calls for help but they were just so much background noise.

And then he heard the scream.

A new burst of energy, and that voice in his head screaming for him to go faster. The passage ahead was blocked but the crystal covering it looked thin. He had to hope! He lowered his shoulder and slammed right into it.

Shards of crystal rained down to the floor as Cloud burst into the room from an upper ledge. His momentum carried him beyond it and down to the ground, a long fall that knocked him silly as he was jostled in his heavy armor. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he looked around.

Sephiroth was floating and looking right at him. Terra was bristling with an anger and energy that he'd never seen before, and yet felt familiar. The shock from those who were remaining was palpable and Tifa...

No...

Time snapped back to normal flow and in all likelyhood only a scant number of seconds had kept him on the ground. He swept back to his feet and pulled one of the two swords from his back. He had been carrying a lot of weight there but with purpose. One of them was a battered sword that belonged to a friend, one he had used for the longest time and now kept as a reminder of what was important.

The other was a weapon, plain and simple. A symbol of rebirth and strength and unity. He'd beaten Sephiroth with this sword before and he'd do it again. He stood straight and put himself between Sephiroth and Tifa, watching Terra carefully. He pointed the First Tsurugi at the man in the black cape and glared at him with all the hatred he could muster.

There were no more words. There was no reason he could bother asking Sephiroth to give for what he'd done. This moment was inevitable and for once Cloud had been the only one not running from it. He'd been the only one ready for it.

[To stretch out his will within another's once more, yet still remain firmly within his own body was a sensation not savored for a very long time. Sephiroth exhaled slowly as Terra's work towards Tifa was done and his smirk folded further upwards on either side of his mouth as the young girls' cries betrayed well the extent of her injury even before the thick crimson began to pool on the floor beneath her.

Though, Terra's will is reigned hard backwards and her attention turned towards one of the others. Any one of the others, all of the others. He couldn't afford for Tifa to expire so early on, Cloud hadn't even caught up yet-]

You fail to see the obvious. [He spoke to Ishtar since she were the one who had made the attempt to continue the conversation.] None of you really have any choice in the matter-

[The sharp smashing noise, as Cloud broke through some upper part of the cave, resounded louder than any normal shatter of glass might. Even the thick black smoke starting to plume from Sephiroth's planted crystal wavered some in the disturbance, and then again when Cloud hit the floor.

Impressive. By the time he'd turned from watching Loioish, the familiar there but apparently without it's master, to face Tifa again there was a familiar sight all but thrust in his face. For a second, without even raising Masamune to deflect it, Sephiroth dropped gleaming green eyes down the edge of the blade that last time had claimed his life.

Not this time. They couldn't stop him, not now. Not again. The sharp 'ching' of metal followed as Cloud's sword is heavily batted aside and Sephiroth looks to take only one step back and is in the next second immediately beside Tifa. He twists his sword around as if defining an area surrounding Tifa, then pulls it up between two hands-

-at least Cloud may well take some comfort in how quickly, and without a single word that Sephiroth juts the point of Masamune down and up. All that's needed to put the struggling girl beneath him out of her misery. Of course, Sephiroth's eyes are locked with Cloud's, and his smirk is beaming as he pulls the sword free.]

[Terra feels the command drumming within her very soul. Her inhuman gaze shifts to the others leaving Cloud and Tifa to Sephiroth's furry. She doesn't care either way. Her claw twitches dripping with crimson liquid as her eyes settle on Ishtar and Croach.

Please don't do this. I can feel it too and it isn't you.

The voice cries desperately at Terra but it's lost within the darkness that has covered her sight. A low growl rippled from her chest as her arms rose in front of her lethal form. Energy surrounds pulls at the air tangibly shifting around her as she gathers more into the sphere's the float around her.]

Die.

[She releases her spell throwing ultima at the pair and anyone else who might be caught in it's area of attack. The orbs fly faster than most can react and a good chunk of the floor vaporizes with the spell.]

So you'll kill all the innocents of this world?

[Croach was doing his best to reign in his anger at Sephiroth and wasn't able to keep Terra from attacking Tifa. This man was willing to kill everyone to supposedly save the planet, but there had to be other ways to do so.

Terra's next attack had him jumping to one side, hitting the crystal walls of the cave as he let another arrow fly. He couldn't get out of the way of the attack and he hit the wall hard. Her spell had more magic in it than he believed possible. He didn't know how long he could do this, but if he could keep Terra distracted, maybe someone would be able to heal Tifa. Wincing, he let another arrow fly at Terra. Come on, focus on him.]

Edited 2015-05-16 03:02 (UTC)

[ Everyone was throwing themselves into battle, and she was preparing for that too, since there was hardly anything she could do right now to stop the fighting and Sephiroth. She bit back more tears as Cloud comes flying in.

At least, there was more help as she was relieved to see the blond. Everything was moving faster than she could keep up. Heal, heal, heal! She was trying her best to get that out of her mind so she could heal the other while trying to fight as well. ]

We're not going to let you do as you please!

[ Ishtar was sent flying a good couple of feet from the impact, in attempts to protect herself and Tifa since the other person was injured and she rushed over to heal them. Ishtar was covered in a good amount of wounds, though, she was still stable enough to keep her footing.

There were a good amount of injuries that made it hard for her to move, though, Croach was trying his best to keep the attention to Terra, judging from his move, so she had some time to attempt to save her teammate before saving herself. Everything hurt though. She was covered in injuries when she braced herself for the attack. ]

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