A Festival to Remember (Plot/Open)

[Cloud Strife]

The dusk had finally settled over the town known as Traverse. Lights, lamps, and lanterns flickered on across the town one by one, basking the town in a low, orange glow that seemed to dance along the walls and the ground. The residents settled in the streets in chairs and steps, some climbing on roofs, others leaning out the windows, looking to the sky eagerly.

Fireworks began shooting up along the north wall, bringing gasps of awe and cheers out from around the town.

A lonely figure sat up on the south wall, looking towards the north as the sky flowers lit up the town while atop his motorcycle. Cloud Strife stood, watching, waiting, enjoying the show and for the first time since his world fell, he was relaxed. He had found Cid, Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie, so far, and it was a matter of time before the others would show up. Barret and Marlene. Vincent. Red XIII. He wondered where they were, and how they were... if they ad run into Sephiroth, or maybe if they had been lucky enough to stumble across Sora.

He revved up the motorcycle and traveled up the wall a short distance, lining himself up with the town square, where, unbeknownst to him, Sora had met Donald and Goofy for the first time. He dismounted the bike, and pushed a switch, engaging the bike's hideaway scabbards for his swords, which when assembled, creates the Fusion Sword, similar in shape and size to Zack's Buster Sword. He even wondered that, because Aerith was back, perhaps Zack was around... it was hard to tell, though... and he had chosen not to get his hopes up regarding that he may see his old friend again.

He peered towards the Fireworks, and let a small smile play on his face for a moment, and enjoyed the show, unseen by anyone below.

[Fandral]

A dark spiral seemed to open up in an alley, unseen by all. The darkness lingered before a form was spit out from it, the young man be thrown against the wall of the alley. A groan escaping him as he fell with a thud, blue eyes slowly opening with a blur as he noticed the darkness. "Wait!" he yelled to it. Because that thing brought took him away from the battle field, and by a quick glance he could tell that he was not there. And he needed to return. Despite his sore body he leaped for the dark hole in the floor however before he reached it the darkness disappeared leaving him.... where ever he was at. "NO!" he growled at the ground as he slammed his fist into it.

The young man sighed, okay he could get through this, he was a brave knight. Panicking was not what he should be doing right now. Though that was when an explosion was heard, Fandral acting fast as he drew out his sword seeing the explosion in the air. Was this place under attack!? Several other explosions happened, all of them filled with colors and shapes and it was all so off to him. Where in Caswell was he!? It was when he stood himself up in the ally that he looked around. Nothing looked natural. Was this brick? Odd there shouldn't have been any home made of brick unless it was within castle walls. Unless the person was rich then maybe.

"Hmmmm, best investigate," he commented, rotating his sore joints lightly. He was still hurt from the battle with the black creatures, he just hoped that the kingdom would be alright. He couldn't help but wonder who would take up leadership with now both him and his father gone. He drew back his sword as he ignored the harmless colorful explosions, most likely something of a sorceress, perhaps entertainment considering the colors of them. He held onto an injured arm as he walked out of the alley looking around in slight surprised as he looked at the lights that lit up the area.

"What sorcery is this?" he questioned just looking at the street light, unable to help himself from poking it with cation. Was it a fire spell that was keeping that up? But what of the other lights that were all strange and colorful as the explosions in the sky. It was as he looked round as he noticed the man on some type of metal monster. Fandral couldn't help but look baffled at all this. Just what were all these things!?

[Rain]

Rain was not sure what she had been expecting, when she tried the stunt. Something smooth and simple, like those people that used the dark portals to and from the Island. No such luck.

In the second district, the keyhole shimmered in the fountain, just before a thin beam of light shone to a point just a few feet away. It was just a split second, a brief flash before a shape took form, and she was whole. The moment the shimmer faded, Rain gasped, like a drowning woman finally breaking the surface of the water. She doubled over from her vertigo, and heaved and she tried to get her breathing back to normal.

A sudden whistle and explosion nearly made her jump. When the ground under her felt unstable, she reached out blindly and held onto the short wall of the fountain, and instinctively ducked down. It took a few moments, but she managed to stabilize, and when she did, she noticed something she had not noticed before: murmuring. And hearts. Lots and lots of hearts. She finally opened her eyes when she trusted her world would stop spinning. And she froze when she saw the faces looking back at her. People on the benches on the outside of the ring, chairs set up across the cobblestone, people sitting on the wall, and the rooftops, looking at her with an expression that was hard to read in the dark, and she could not see all of their hearts to know.

Another set of whistling and exploding caught her attention, and she turned to look up at the sky. Fireworks. A celebration. People viewing the spectacle. And she had just become a part of it. She blanched when she realized she had screwed herself over the moment she entered this world.

[Cloud Strife]

A bright flash caught his attention as he skid to a halt on the wall, looking down at the plaza with curiosity. He then idled for a moment, looking into the sky.

"Hm." no fireworks. Must be an intermission. He rolled down some steps and coasted past a blonde young man that looked oh so confused and hopeless. He ignored the young man and kept going, blinking when he saw people crowding around a girl. Was she the cause of the flash? Who knew. What he did know is that people started to murmur about Heartless, and Monsters. He couldn't blame them... when worlds are lost, what could one do other than come to Traverse Town? This was a home away from home, but not for this Delivery Boy. Not for Cloud...

Used to strange things, and people, he rolled up between the crowd and the girl. Several recognized Cloud as being a part of the Hollow Bastion Restorative Committee, and relaxed as he stepped off of Fenrir. "You ok?" he said. This girl had an air of dread around her, which made Cloud's instinct shout Just walk away. She'll be fine. But, then again, ti was more or less against his Psyche to leave anyone alone, possibly hurt, in a place where she could be mauled for her little display of power. Even Mages catch flack around here, because of their Magics... last thing this party needs is to turn into a lynch mob.

"Nothing to see here folks, just a visitor." he said, glancing over his shoulder, his Mako Green eyes glowing in the dim light. People shrugged, and went back to looking up at the skies, waiting for more sky flowers to explode and light up the usually dim town. Cloud held out a hand and awaited the girl's response.

"Welcome to Traverse Town..." he said quietly to the girl, hoping not to scare her.

[Lightning Farron]

Darkness. All she could see was complete and utter darkness...

After exiting her crystal stasis after her miserable failure to save her world or her sister, Lightning later awoke at time's end. Where the world was barren and dead and not a living soul existed. The bleak vision of the future was almost too much... But a small swirling dark portal sat just across the way. Hesitant at first, the warrior simply ignored it and continued on. But as her footsteps pulled her further away she couldn't help but feel that maybe some sort of salvation may lay on the other side. With a quick turn on her heel, she bounded quickly back for the portal only to stop just short of entering.

Icy blue eyes stared into the endless darkness it seemed to hold, unsure of whether entering was wise. But what did she really have to lose? Her sister was gone as were the rest of her friends and the only thing left of this world was the rubble and wreckage of ages that had past. Nothing was left for her here and wandering aimlessly through this desolate world was her only other option.

With a deep breath, Lightning allowed it swallow her, suddenly being jerked about through the darkness. After a short time, her feet felt solid ground, though still nothing but pure darkness met her eyes. And now, she walked in this strange place continuing to push forward with no real way to determine where exactly she was going. 'Great.. Instead of being stuck in a dead world I'm now stuck in absolute nothingness...' She thought angrily to herself. Though, her feet continued to carry her and after a short time, a bright light shone. Her pace quickened as she burst out into a run for the light. It was her only hope here. It grew brighter and bigger as she approached until it enveloped her completely.

She was now in a town like setting, several people staring up at the skies as the gasped breathtakingly at the fireworks in the sky. Fireworks.. That was the last thing she wanted to see...... The portal closed quickly behind her, leaving her stranded in this strange new place. Where exactly WAS she? From the looks of it, it was an average town and with her bright silver armor she didn't exactly fit in... Great. She ignored any looks she may have gotten and continued on her way, deciding the best thing for now was to just figure out where the hell she had ended up.

Through the crowds, her gaze caught a glimpse of a blonde haired man, spikes jetting out from his head in every direction. Now, why did he look so familiar..? She rattled her brain for the memory to surface but with no luck. No big deal. It was probably just the hair. Maybe it was just Snow he reminded her of. She almost took to walking up to him to ask if she knew him but dropped the idea the second it occurred. No. She didn't need his help nor did she like this feeling that she knew him but couldn't recall the memories...

Nothing to do but keep walking...

[cloufka]

(Hope this was ok... Fighting off Kefka muse to write this >.>


After departing from the two that inherited Angeal’s spirit, Genesis had begun to wonder just how he’d made it to the island where he’d found himself after Gaia had fallen. He hadn’t been transferred through a corridor of darkness, but somehow had been delivered from the fate of his home world by the loving blessing of the Goddess herself... He’d been whisked away in a blur of lifestream and delivered to the soft sands of the beach. At first he thought he’d found himself in Costa De Sol, but the luxurious city was replaced by a playground of sorts. It was here that he’d met Cloud and Zack, before leaving to figure out how to carry out his goals.

Originally he’d planned to unite with Strife in order to save Sephiroth but... If Zack was alive, then perhaps Angeal would soon join them as well. Still, it was apparent that the one of them that had never been a member of SOLDIER somehow managed to surpass them all. Maybe even if Angeal was alive, with his legacy within Strife he should still seek the blond’s aid in order to free Sephiroth from his madness then return to their home world and free it from the Darkness that consumed it.

Either way, that left him in the same predicament. How would he manage to find his way between the worlds? Genesis had already discovered that unlike on Gaia these worlds were incredibly small, and the skies were incredibly thin and easy to escape from. Even more surprising, it seemed that the lack of air between the worlds wasn’t a problem for them. What was a problem, however, was the Darkness that choked the space between worlds and attempted to poison the heart. Genesis returned to the island, not wanting to risk the trouble the Darkness caused. Perhaps there was a type of ship, or armor that one needed in order to combat the darkness. If either was the case, well he had no way to attain such things. He started to worry... Was he stuck on this tiny world forever?

Then it struck him: Perhaps Minerva had given him a final gift, the ability to travel between worlds using the Lifestream as a vessel! After all, he had arrived in such a manner. Running a hand through his hair, Genesis sighed as he shook his head.

“Why had I not thought of this sooner? Perhaps my senses are not yet fully sharpened, after such a long sleep within the cave...” he thought aloud, then held his hand out to the side. He tried to concentrate within himself, on the energy he’d felt when he was with Minerva all those years ago... That he’d felt when she’d saved him from the Darkness. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He needed to relax, concentrate... And then it came. Slowly at first, his hand began to glow the eerie blue green of The Planet’s Lifestream. Soon strands of it slowly began to slither from his hand, the strands of energy making their way around the crimson EX-SOLDIER as the light consumed him, and within seconds he was gone in a flash of light.

That same flash appeared on the outskirts of a town known as Traverse, and Genesis found his eyes falling upon the beautiful display of fireworks in the sky. He smirked a little, the flashes of color illuminating the landscape as the explosions consumed the sky. Withdrawing his wing back beneath his coat to keep from standing out more than he already would, Genesis started making his way behind the crowd as his eyes wandered amongst those in the town. There was no one he recognized, nothing he remembered that he could see. It didn’t matter, this was a town and that meant a base of operations. He could rest here, and perhaps learn more about the worlds and where he could begin his search for the others. With this in mind, he had begun to pull away from the crowd when a glimpse of armor caught his eye. He turned his gaze upon the young woman, the arrangement of her spiked hair not looking so familiar to him as her face. It was apparent that she wasn’t him, but...

“Strife has a sister..?” Genesis whispered, blinking before he shook his head. No, it must just be a coincidence. He knew all there was to know about the infantryman, and there certainly wasn’t a sibling hiding in the woodwork. Speaking of the chocobo head, Genesis spotted him a little further off. He had apparently just gotten off of Fenrir, and begun speaking to a young woman. Strife was a man of few words, so whomever he spoke to must be of importance. Things seemed to be falling into place, perhaps it would be easier than Genesis thought to get things going in the right direction. After all, fate was handing him Cloud on a silver platter. This time, he couldn’t let him get away. Genesis made his way to Cloud, remaining just out of sight as he approached. It wouldn’t be until he heard the sweet sound of Genesis’s voice that Cloud would even know he was there.

“So, Strife, have you considered my offer since last we met?” Genesis asked, his eyes falling upon the blond with a small smile. He knew from last time that Cloud was truly considering his words, all he needed was... A little more motivation.

[Rain]

She could feel the tension thickening. It was more than just the general fear that people developed when caught in a precarious situation like this, her senses could feel the suspicion. It was very slight, it mounted very slowly, but it was very there. And she feared she may have to make a break for it. She half shuffled back, but felt a bit of resistance, and looked down in confusion. Water? Of all the places she had to land, it had to be in water? Perfect.

Then she heard a roar. It was an odd sound, a whirring grind that she had never heard before. It sounded a bit mechanical. She spotted it, a mass that was moving far quicker than normal. She tried to focus in a little better, but when she tried to utilize her sense, she started to feel lightheaded, so backed off. The urge to jump and tear down the street grew even stronger, but for just a moment, she managed to sense the presence of a human heart (or at least, one that she could feel was as vibrant and complicated as a human). If she ran, then it would, most likely, seal her fate as a fugitive in this world, before she had even had a chance to commit anything. Then it slowed and stopped in front of her, and she heard a sound that was definitely footfalls on cobblestone. Boots, from the sound of it. Then it was a person riding on a contraption.

The moment he arrived, she felt the tension alleviate. The people here respected him. Was he a mayor? No, doubtful, but he must have been someone important, probably wanted to investigate her. She swallowed nervously, bracing herself and trying to come up with a plausible story to give him. There had to be some way, some story that would still make her seem a part of this. A normal girl caught in a display, not an alien traveler.

You okay?

The words caught her off guard. No "who are you" "what are you doing here" like she expected, but a simple inquiry to her well-being. He did not sound suspicious, at least. She stared up at him, trying to distinguish him, but not able to make out more than a blur of very light colors against the darkness of the night. Must have been blonde. And wearing dark clothes. She nodded slightly in answer.

Nothing to see here folks, just a visitor.

She glanced behind him and noticed the shift. For the people farther away, she could see their attention diverting, thanks to his directions. Now he was actually helping. The fact that someone would extend a little help in such a situation, despite her abrupt arrival, made her a little unsure and wary at first. Was there a reason? She had just interrupted some sort of celebration, and she was not sure if there was not some sort of penalty for that.

Welcome to Traverse Town...

And then the tone of voice erased all of her fears. It was the same voice she herself adopted when trying to console a scared, shy animal.

The thought made her laugh. Not an actual laugh or chuckle, but a little huff that made her grin and filled her with a mixture of amusement and relief. Yes, she was acting like a scared animal now, wasn't she? She smiled up at him--

So, Strife, have you considered my offer since last we met?

And then her smile dropped as a different voice almost startled her. One that told her this man was ‘Strife’. What a strange name. It was not the new arrival that scared her, it was… his presence? Something about his words and his voice just sounded so heavy. No, not heavy, but something that made her feel even more self conscious and unsure of herself. She shut her mouth and backed down, a force of habit she found herself reverting back to. Hands still on the wall, she shuffled to the side of Strife before stepping over, keeping her embarrassed face down and away from view. Rain really wanted nothing better than to run off and forget this ever happened, but her conscience reminded her that Strife had come to see her. She had better honor than that. She just really hoped that her conscience did not betray her and make her stay with a man that intended to take her into custody. Or something like that.

She sat on the wall, back straight and tall, willing to wait. But even after a few seconds, she was feeling lightheaded again. And a little nauseous. Good thing her stomach was empty. She held back a groan as she crossed her arms and rested her head on her knees, not bothering to wring out the damp hem of her long sweater. It was probably a good thing she had not tried to stand, too. That could have ended badly. Guess she could not have run anywhere even if she tried. She took a slow breath through her nose and exhaled softly.

[Unknown]

Clicky before reading

The pieces were all in place. This Haven for the lost souls who lost their worlds was in the midst of celebration, and now, the finale had begun!

Fireworks lit the air in a fantastic display, permeating the darkness with an almost sun-bright light as the pops and booms echoed through the night. It was an even better show than expected, some people decided as the flashes and bangs seemed to grow even bigger, and closer... and a faint voice could be heard in the distance. However, it was a party! What did they need to worry ab-

"BURN!!!! BURN EVERYTHING!!!"

The inhuman voice rang out suddenly, having only just been whimpering before, while traveling the air above the spectators in the large square below, where Cloud, Rain, Lightning and Genesis just so happened to be. Suddenly, the fireworks reached their climax as it lit up a darkened scaly hide of what looked like a giant serpent, cutting through the air like in an insane pattern of flight, letting out jets of blue flames in arcs that grew dangerously close to the spectators on the roofs of the buildings.

BURN! BURN FLESH!!! BUUUUURN!!!!

The beast then converged on one of the abandoned buildings, diving through it as if it were made of foam, completely obliterating it as it took to the skies again, floating around idly, it's jagged grin looking down at everyone, now panicking and searching for shelter, seeing who would make a nice snack.

It's maniacal laughter then filled the night, as tonight was the first night of doom.... the second in a large scale declaration of war.

____________________________________________________________

Warning!
A new foe has appeared!!

Opponent
Unknown

Players
Cloud Strife
Lightning Farron
Genesis Rhapsodos
Rain


Objective: Take down the mysterious monster!

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud looked into the crowd, seeing the woman in armor, and feeling a slight twinge of familiarity in the back of his head. After a moment of trying to recognize her, he gave up, and looked back towards the girl, who had taken a seat up on the wall, and was doubled over. Before he could reach out and ask if she was ok, a familiar voice rose from behind him, causing him to turn slightly and see a familiar coat of crimson, inquiring about what they had discussed before on the Islands. Ah, yes... the impossibility of saving someone who doesn't want to be saved... but, still...

Cloud opened his mouth to answer, when suddenly, several people shrieked in terror, and Cloud followed their gaze in time to see a monster erupt from the night sky, it's shriek louder than even the explosions of the fireworks. Cloud, riding on instinct, drew his weapon, and looked back at Rain, then at Genesis, not knowing if she had any abilities other than mysteriously appearing at different places.

'Keep her safe!" he said loudly to Genesis, and then proceeded to mount Fenrir and peel out, riding up onto the high wall to get a better reach at the flying terror now burning the town.

Calculating his jump, he then ramped off of a roof, the Motorcycle slamming into the side of the creature and pushing it into the ground. As soon as they both hit, Cloud flew off of the motorcycle and through a wall in a nearby house, the building collapsing as the serpentine beast collected itself, and roared again...

-opening this up for others to attack-

[Lightning Farron]

Several of the townsfolk began ooing and aahing at the fireworks display now lighting up the night sky. Lightning only looked up for a brief moment with a look of sorrowful nostalgia. Fireworks. It had been one of the last things she had seen while life was still normal. Before the world seemed to completely throw its weight onto her shoulders. "Tch.." The annoyed sound slipped through her lips. It almost seemed as if fate was toying with her and throwing her into such a situation just for the sole purpose of making her miserable. To remind her of all of the mistakes she had ever made.

She was torn from her thoughts as the sounds of amazement quickly turned to fear and terror as a loud booming voice roared over everything else. A large serpentine beast now hung in the sky as it thrashed its way down into a building, completely destroying it in the process. It quickly took back off into the skies, obviously preparing to attack again. Without another thought, Lightning threw her arm out at her side, a flurry of white feather erupting into a tunnel before scattering and fluttering to the ground. A gunblade was now gripped tightly in her hand as she prepared herself to fend off this monstrosity.

But before she could summon Bahamut to bring the fight to him, a motorcycle had already leaped from a roof and collided with the beast and dragged him back down to the ground. That idiot... It was something Snow would probably do. Well, at least the fight was now on the ground. It gave her the better advantage. "Odin.." She quietly called as a hand reached up to rest on her chest. A small pink light filled her palm as it hardened into a rose shaped crystal. She held onto it tightly as she threw it into the air and diced it in half; a large sigil erupting from its core as a large armored man emerged. She only gave him a slight nod as his body contorted into a horse shape. Hopping onto his back, she quickly rode past the crowds and to the landing site.

With the serpent now in view, the warrior leaped from Odin's back as he transformed back and followed closely behind her. While it was down and within reach, she'd bust out the big guns before it had a chance to run Odin rushed in first for his attack, zipping past the pink haired warrior using Crushing Blow as he split his blade into two and darted forward at a blindingly fast speed and cut in an X pattern with them both before moving aside for the real attack being prepared. Drawing her blade back, she began her Legion of One technique. A bright energy surrounded her as she spun, dragging her blade up and to the left across it's body before drawing her blade back and dicing horizontally right then to left, falling back a bit firing a shot then backlfipping to regain the distance she had put between them and landing a few solid kicks in before dragging her blade across it again. Her knees bent as she crouched and pulled her blade back again and slashed upwards as she dove into the air, gaining a good distance before coming back down with her blade aimed and as it sliced through, an explosion erupted from her blade as it's height reached for the sky. As her attack finished she backflipped away a few feet and landed gracefully back on her feet as she prepared herself for another round.

---

Cooldowns

Odin: Duration 3 posts
Crushing Blow: 1 post

Legion of One: 3 posts

[cloufka]

Hardly paying attention to the little girl, he ignored her as he kept his eyes intently on Strife. Genesis cared not for the fireworks display above, not so much as he did Cloud’s answer to his question. It would determine just how easily he was going to be able to save The Planet, whether through Angeal’s spirit that the infantryman possessed or through Angeal himself... Wherever he was. Before he could be given an answer, a sinister scream rang out before the flood of panicked people flooded the area to escape the carnage of the monster that was upon them. Genesis and Cloud saw it at the same time, the former immediately letting his wing tear from his back once more with a sigh. He’d just put it away, but he couldn’t allow such an advantage to go to waste. Besides, it’s not like it would terrify the people around them anymore than they already were.

Just as Cloud drew his weapon, Genesis summoned his own in a flash of fire before pointing it towards the monster with a smirk. He crouched, preparing to launch himself at the opponent when Cloud’s order of ‘Keep her safe’ reached his ears and caught him before he struck. “Tcht,” Geneis stood tall holding his free hand out towards the girl to signal her to stay put. As long as he knew where she was, she’d be an easier target to protect. He watched Cloud’s suicidal attack, shaking his head as Fenrir collided with the side of the monster and sent Cloud reeling through the side of another building. “Fool,” Genesis muttered as a pink light caught his attention. Glancing towards the light he spotted that girl once more, this time atop some sort of metallic horse as she charged through the crowd seemingly without care if anyone was trampled in her rush. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of it transforming before striking the foe to create an opening for her attack. As she gracefully landed Genesis clenched his fist, annoyed by being on the sidelines.

“Stay here, the world needs a true hero!” Genesis called out to the girl as he took off with a flap of his wing towards the enemy. He couldn’t have her running off to somewhere he couldn’t find her if he was going to be responsible for protecting her. The best way to do so was to attack the foe and destroy it, and that was precisely what Genesis intended to do. Running his hand down the blade of his Rapier, he charged it with the brilliant red glow of Spellblade. The fiery glow still upon his hand, Genesis swung his arm to launch seven fireballs towards the monster as he darted through the air around his opponent. He swung it a second time as he drew closer to Strife, not caring that all of his fireballs didn’t strike his opponent. In fact, he’d counted on it. With a swift turn of his hand while he gracefully landed beside the broken wall he sent the fireballs back upon the monster to consume it in a brilliant sphere of energy. Then, with a scream Genesis charged one final blast before throwing it with all his might towards the monster to ignite the attack in a magnificent explosion that signaled the end of Genesis setting Fire To The Rain.

Immediately as the attack erupted Genesis spun and quickly started pushing rubble aside, trying his best to help Cloud fight his way through it. “A true hero shouldn’t need to be rescued,” Genesis told him before turning back towards their opponent. “The girl will be fine, let’s focus on the matter at hand and show this monster the true power of SOLDIER!”

------------------------------
Abilities Used:
Spellblade: Three Post Remaining
Set Fire To The Rain: Four Post Cool Down

[Rain]

The surge of lights and booms in the sky reminded her of the show. Fireworks. She just wanted to stay in her hunched over position for a little while longer. But temptation proved too great, and the girl tilted her head, resting on her own lap as she looked to the sky.

Red. White with green. Gold then blue. Each rocket sang into the velvet black of the sky to bloom into numerous flowers. Sparkling, magical flowers that popped and lit up the sky like a work of art. A year ago, she merely saw each show as a haphazard collection of lights. But now, she saw the patterns. She saw the careful selection of the colors released, each contrast bringing out the best of each other. And the space each firework decorated to create the best picture. A work of art. Each shot. But of course, she could only talk about this with someone who thought that way. Even if she had said anything to her family… no one would have cared the same way. And now she could not look at it any other way. Not like the others and everyone around her. Just watching the fireworks.

And for just a moment, she saw blue and green come together. The girl lifted up a little, surprised at her pull from the combination. Blue was not a special color. Green was a vibrant, energizing color. But together, they were… beautiful. So Rain watched, half lifted, half hunched over as she wished for that same combination. Come on. Just a little more…
Then she blinked, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Up in the distant sky, she could see everything clearly, but… there was a weird shadow flickering across, something-
She nearly jumped out of her skin. The inhuman roar screeched through the whistles and booms like a gunshot. Her very skin was buzzing with excitement, her brown eyes wide and dubious as she watched the serpentine shape weaving through the sky. That was… a dragon! The blue fire almost looked like it was part of the fireworks show, and Rain watched with only slight reservations. She could not believe it. She was here watching a real live dragon—

But… dragons were dangerous… weren’t they?

She kept her eyes on it, the arcs of blue fire lighting the scaly hide and the building it was diving toward. It was getting too close to it for her liking. It should pull up soon. It had to pull up soon. Why the hell wasn’t it pulling up? For crying out loud, it was going to-

It crashed. Destroyed the building like it was nothing, and Rain was frozen in disbelief as the building cracked, and the dragon burst through and climbed in the air. She watched as the roof imploded and the infrastructure collapsed and crumbled. It broke a building. That dragon just destroyed a building. And as the people on the surrounding rooftops screamed and held onto each other, Rain wondered in horror if there had been people inside.

Keep her safe!

Rain looked to Strife in surprise as he jumped on his black whirring thing and zoomed off.

Tcht.

And she burned with humiliation. Strife had just told him to protect her. Was that it? She was some helpless little girl now? But, it wasn’t fair, damn it! She could fight dozens of heartless in a row without a problem! But as she looked to the great, flaming beast in the sky, she could not help but wonder: how could she stand against a dragon?

If Rain had been the type to scream, she might have, when she saw the dragon crash to the cobblestone. She saw the giant wheeled machine crush into the hide, and Strife went sailing. He was no more than a body at this distance- all she saw was a male body in dark clothes and blond hair like she suspected- for a moment before he went careening through the wall. She choked, as some of the people on the sidelines screamed for her. The cracks in the wall and crumbling debris made her wince. Did he survive that? She could only imagine the damage he just took with that stunt. Strife, oh God, Strife, are you hurt, are you-

Fool.

She looked at him in disbelief. That was all he was going to say? Strife just went crashing through the wall, and all he could do was criticize him? Fine, it wasn’t smart, but that did not mean he should insult someone who could die if he was trying to help! She looked to the building, seeing the people had scattered from it, but no one had gone back to look for him. He needed help, Rain realized, and she straightened to her feet. She dropped her bag and it fell with an alarmingly heavy clunk just in time to see the flash of pink light welcome the next player. The crowd parted, jumping out of the way for the stallion that bounded past them. And Rain gaped in amazement when she registered what she was seeing.

It was a warrior. An armored warrior galloping into battle on a steed that was so covered in armor it looked like it was entirely made from metal. The warrior was fierce, determined, and female. A woman flying straight into battle without a moment’s hesitation. And she was beautiful, Rain realized as she saw her. Even from this far away, her flowing hair and lithe form were unmistakable. So was the obvious change from a horse into a man, as the world started tilting.

Rain dropped quickly to the ground in a crouch. Her head started swimming, and she blinked as her vision darkened. She was still disoriented, it seemed. Was the transformation a hallucination? As her eyes were on the ground, another light caught her attention, and she looked up, forcing her eyes to focus. Light. Light and strikes that flowed with the surety and grace of someone who was well practiced. Rain’s heart skipped a beat, awestruck at the power displayed before her, following the explosion of light that beamed into the night sky. Unbelievable. This was the power of people from the other worlds?

Stay here! The world needs a true hero!

There was a rustle, and a quick gale of wind as the man in the crimson cloak shot forward. Rain stiffened as she looked at the back of him, feeling like she had been punched in the gut. All around her, she could hear the people panicking and stampeding to try to find safety. In the erupting chaos that had taken place in all but two minutes, everything felt like it had fallen apart. And here she was, crouched on the floor, doing nothing. Like the helpless little girl everyone thought she was, because she felt sick. No, it was not because she was sick. She was shocked, and amazed and gawking like an idiot at everything that had happened. And for what? Hadn't she known she was going to encounter strange and incredible things? Was this what she had striven for when she finally left home to strike out on her own? When everything came down to it, was she no better than a spectator after all?

They- Strife, at least- thought she was actually meant to be kept safe.

Pathetic.

The thought made her sick.

There was a crash that made her jump, and she turned to see something that confused her. The panicked crowds of people were outside the buildings, pounding on doors and windows to try to get in. Rain could only assume they were homes, but she realized the crash was a window breaking. She heard a shout over the noise “Hey, let us in!” and she realized with horror they were breaking and entering into houses to try to find shelter. And the only thing going through her head was the abandoned building that had been demolished not two minutes ago.

“Wait, stop!” Rain called out. She jumped to her feet, and sprinted across the lot, ignoring the new lights blazing across the monster. “It’s dangerous to go in there! You have to get out of here, get out of the square!”

But her cries were a pathetic peal against the roar and scream of the crowds. Why could they not listen? Did they not understand the danger? Were they really that blind? A blessing in disguise came when an explosion of heat swept through the place. There was a collective cry and gasp as people ducked and huddled against each other from the shockwave. The thin, plain girl in the beige sweater was probably the only one who actually turned to gaze on the great blast of energy as it soared in the sky. She could feel the burn against her face and eyes and she had to brace herself against the floor, grateful for her boots. And it ignited a new determination in Rain. She took a deep breath and turned to the now silent people, the explosion lighting up the side of her almost eerily.

“You get it now?” It was not a scream, but a yell from deep in her belly, carrying over easily. “If you stay here, you’ll get hurt! These things aren’t safe! That thing and these people will destroy you if you don’t move! Take everyone and get out of the square- no, get out of the city! Otherwise you’ll get crushed to death like with that building!” She pointed to the rubble that was once a building, as the burning light finally died down behind her, and she turned to look down the line of people. “Now hurry up and move, people! GO, NOW, before I shoot you myself!”

They jumped to obey. Rain took wary steps back from the standing crowd as she breathed heavily, the yelling having made her feel a little sick. Focus, she told herself, and looked to the side, remembering Strife. But she was relieved to find the one-winged man already digging through the rubble to help him. She quickly peeled off her sweater as she ran back to the fountain. Two belts crisscrossed over her torso, each one lined with little pockets filled with knives that were about hand length, with one extra dagger strapped to her thigh. She tossed the sweater on top of her bags as she grabbed the handles of three knives from their pockets and one of the tonfas from her back. With a few flicks of her wrist she shuffled the knives in the barrel, locked it, and drew the second tonfa before crouching down, right arm forward and left arm back in her familiar battle stance.

The girl saw the people already streaming into alleys, up the stair case, and through gates that connected to more alleyways as they evacuated, hurrying as best they could, but were still moving too slow for Rain’s liking. If those three weren’t enough to distract the dragon from hurting the fleeing bystanders, then she would shoot it and jump in, but not before. Not when it was already exerting her just to keep her vision straight and her knees from buckling. She prayed that she would catch the dragon’s interest before any innocent people.

[Unknown]

GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

The beast felt the motorcycle slam into him, the weight plus the force pushing him to the ground, the brick/cobblestone street cracking and crunching under the sudden weight of the beast's body. After his assailant flew into the building, he slowly brought himself upright, and opened his mouth to attack, before suddenly someone else was attacking him from behind.

He felt the weight of the blows strike seemingly through him, an otherworldly power that, if not for his insanity, he would have recognized as simply Godlike. Slicing and slashing across his diamond like hide, fire and molten blood spewed out, splattering around and burning through several buildings. By this time, the fire had grown to half the town, but the civilians were evacuated.

The wounds closed up slowly as he glared at the Crimson SOLDIER who had suddenly advanced, but, then he was struck again, and thrown to the ground, into another building as Genesis had advanced to help Cloud out of the rubble. At rattlesnake speed, he burst out of the building, a sudden voice catching his interest. A few straggling civilians! Lunch...

He then saw a girl direct them out of the way, and let out a strangled cry.

"KURATA!!"

The beast, now known as Kurata, looked up.

"Make short work of these petty fools... I haven't the time for you to play."

Kurata hissed towards the sky and opened his mouth, a large, blue fireball growing rapidly. He then blasted the fireball into the sky, which exploded. Smaller, yet still large, fireballs littered the area, exploding in a barely recognizable version of Firaja.

MASTER SAID BURN ALL AND KILL, SO KILL!!!

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud's ears were ringing. The dragon's hide was scaly and smooth, as opposed to the rugged, rough look he determined from the distance. Fenrir had slipped upon impact, and lurched forward, throwing him into a house headfirst, knocking him dizzy. He heard Genesis's words...

The wall exploded outward, the tip of the Fusion Sword pointing outward, the Imaginary SOLDIER stepping out of the rubble and glaring up at the Dragon, his eyes glowing, and, as if called out by Genesis himself, a single wing on his back, folded. He looked over at Genesis and nodded, holding his sword up and out, the blade gleaming with Mako Energy. Before he could attack, however, several blue, molten orbs of energy had spread out, causing him to grab Genesis's arm and pull at him. Where they were standing erupted in blue flames, a concussive blast ballooning outward as Cloud flew straight up, his sword still glowing. What was going to be Omnislash turned into Omnislash Version 5, the deadly dance of Cloud's form, wielding his sword, slashing up, down, and through the dragon's hide. He landed, holding his hand up as he caught his sword, his wing disappearing as he uttered "Don't take it personally.'

An explosion from the attack erupted outward as Cloud then acted, rushing to Rain and grabbing her hand as the blue spheres of fire burst around them. "Stay close to me. Maybe we can get some blows in before he destroys the town!" he said, moving towards the fountain as he turned, and raised his sword up, firing a blade beam at the now grounded fire snake. He spun his sword around and prepared to defend as he awaited the Dragon's next move, not paying heed to the voice that rang out above them all.

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Omnislash Ver 5
Cloud's sword separates, surrounding his foe as he drives through them 13 times, striking one last time from above. This is his strongest physical attack.
Cooldown: 11 posts left

Blade Beam
Cloud raises his sword above his head and brings the blade down, firing a beam of energy across the ground that explodes on contact.
Cooldown: 2 posts left