Lost and Confused [INVITE]

Location: Traverse Town - District 2

Mood: Relieved, Confused

Status: Minor Injuries

The help he prayed for literally fell from the sky. A women, nimb and agile, with amazing martial prowess started to fight against the swarm of creatures. Was she a monk? She fought like one, but didn't use the standard clothing of one. 

The woman ordered him to flee. He would be happy to oblige, but was hesitant to leave her to fend for herself against the creatures. He decided to do it half-way: He Dashed twice, creating enough space that he could outrun the horde safely until the entrance, and the shouted back: "What about you? I'm not leaving you to the fiends, milady!" She did seem capable of defending herself, and more used to this situation than Ramza. Then again, Ramza was not useless either, and wouldn't allow someone to sacrifice herself for his sake. He wouldn't flee completely until he saw that either she would win or flee safely with him.

As he watched her battle from a somewhat safe distance, he used Tailwind on the girl, making her moves faster and facilitating an escape, should she decide to run as well.

@tifa

a falling star fell from your heart.

000WORDS FOR N/A amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;― notes go in here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In nec nunc sit amet ante lobortis viverra. Sed pellentesque, nisi ac volutpat bibendum, diam ante bibendum odio, eu aliquam metus felis a arcu. Nulla facilisi. Nunc tempor neque nec tristique dapibus.

Strange new worlds

and the war within them.

“Heartless…” Beatrix repeated the woman’s answer, testing the word in her own mouth. It felt wrong, like a word that belonged to the lowest pits of Hell. Looking at these creatures, that wasn’t beyond comprehension. She glanced in the direction of the approaching two Heartless, only to watch as the woman tried to trip them up to no avail. They attacked and that’s when the man decided to act, rushing forward and cutting them down with ease. He was quick to extinguish another pair that made to halt his approach to the kill box that the dark haired woman and Beatrix now owned.

He seemed fairly content to chatter away, apologizing and expressing his want to aid them in his own rescue. Beatrix didn’t bother to look back at him; one look away could have meant one of these creatures getting an opening strike on her. She held Save the Queen directly in front of her, firm and stiff with the point upwards. She watched as several of the creatures moved among one another, trying to form an impervious circle before they started to move in on them. Her ears perked as she heard the man shout some orders, as if he had the rank and privilege of commanding them. He was quick to apologize but she’d have to give him a firm word about barking orders during his own rescue. It helped in his favor that his ‘suggestion’ was actually the best possible choice at the time.

Instantly she turned so that her back faced the other two. She was putting a lot of faith in the two of them, handing them the responsibility of not letting the defense fall and leaving her wide open from behind. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked over her shoulder at the other woman, who seemed more comfortable beating these creatures with her fists. Herself and the man had weapons so they were capable of putting up a steel defense but not her. “Reflect,” she said simply, casting the spell with a slight wave of her sword. Instantly Tifa would feel yet another buffing air around her body, as if her body had gained invisible armor. Now whenever those Heartless attacked her back, they would find their greedy claws bouncing back the damage.

“No cracks. Shoulder to shoulder. When they charge, hold your ground,” she said, her words authoritative but lacking coldness. If she wanted to get out of this, she needed them to trust her just as she was now forced to trust them.

Location: Traverse Town - Second District

Mood: Determined

Status: Minor Injuries

The two women apparently accepted his suggestion, putting themselves in the formation. Ramza was thankful for that. He knew he was demanding an enourmour ammount of trust, since they were all literally guarding each other's backs, but anything else would mean the party would be overran by the creatures.

In truth, this was still a possibility. But the Knight of Ivalice felt he could trust those girls. One of them seemed experienced at fighting those things, while the recently-arrived lady possessed a might that Ramza had rarely seen elsewhere. The knight woman reminded him a lot of Agrias, in her posture and general demeanor, but seeing her in battle was more reminiscent of the Thunder God himself - which was the highest praise Ramza could ever give to a warrior. And the way she complemented his own command solidified Ramza's theory: She was a veteran warrior, and likely a commander as well.

The other girl, meanwhile, was considerably... ruder. Ramza was puzzled on why she complained about receiving support. All three lives were on the line here, and all three depended on the optimal fighting prowess of everyone else. Quite honestly, the complaint sounded a bit selfish. And unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to comply.

One thing the Monk girl said, though, caught his attention, the line about Ramza not being from "around here". She said it casually, as if this was a normal occurrence in this wicked, dark place. And also made clear that "here", wherever it was, likely was not Ivalice. According to the Monk, the Knight was also from somewhere else. Ramza initially supposed the Knight could have been someone from Ivalice or maybe Ordalia, Romanda or a neighboring kingdom. But, in truth, he had never seen the garments she wore. Ramza had studied extensively the banners of the many royal families on his world, but never saw any forces that used the garments the woman was wearing right now.

The Heartless advanced, knocking Ramza off his divagations. Fortunately, the creatures were individually very weak. With his increased speed and power, Ramza managed to keep them at bay with expert strikes. A plan formed in his head, to break the Heartless formation and hopefully open either an escape route or an opening for his partners to explore, but he needed to thin the lines a bit more before trying it, or it would equate to suicide.

He couldn't see what the women were doing, and could only hope they were doing alright.

RAMZA'S SHOUT: 2 MORE TURNS 
SHOUT COOLDOWN: 2 MORE TURNS

@tifa @generalbeatrix

Strange new worlds

and the war within them.

General Beatrix glanced in Tifa’s direction, a slight cocking of her head to acknowledge she wasn’t ignoring the hand-to-hand fighter. She seemed far more familiar with this area, going as far as to assume that the two of them weren’t from wherever they were. “No. I am General Beatrix, commander of the Alexandrian royal guard. I know neither this place nor these fiends before us.” She cast a glare at the Heartless that seemed to be regathering their thoughts before resuming their assault. They were confident in taking on a single fighter but apparently adding two more to the mix had confused them. Not the most intelligent of creatures then, she noted mentally.

As for the complaint from the dark-haired woman, Beatrix ignored it. Whining about buffering magic was like the rich complaining about too much gold; she saw no advantage in acknowledging it. Instead, she swung her blade around in front of her, rolled her shoulders back and shifted her feet enough to give her solid grounding. Her eyes darted around as the horde began to expand and advance, their numbers ten times more than the defense. Ten to one weren’t the worst odds that Beatrix had ever faced, her face unprovoked by the daunting task ahead. She heard the man begin his defense, his weapon sliding through the air with meticulous practice. An impressive feat for an outrageously young looking fighter and yet, Zidane had proven himself worth of battle time and time again on Gaia. So who was she to honestly judge?

Her eyes snapped to movement; a shimmering in the air that expanded out into a metaphysical tear. As she watched, a young man walked himself out from it, clearly the owner of such strange magic. The general had to avert her eyes for a moment to slide her weapon in several different directions, slicing several Heartless monstrosities to billowing wisps as she did so. Her gaze returned and now her face twisted in hard curiosity. This man wasn’t looking to aid them from the looks of it, seemingly more content to stand back and revel in his… blue-gold orbs that he plucked from his bag. And the Heartless paid him no mind, shifting around him like a school of fish would move around a water bound boulder. Her good eye narrowed; she was more than experienced to understand that anyone that can stand among an enemy army without danger was not an ally.

But the new entrant’s observance didn’t last for long; he got apparently dismayed over the fact that the three were fighting valiantly. Beatrix lost her gaze of him temporarily as she once again had to put up a staunch defense, her body shifting from side to side. She cut down another small swarm that had made its presence known within her proximity, her speed and tenacity causing a few to back off in surprise. But that was only temporary, as the all-too-familiar sound of chanting caught her ears. A spell… a mage. Unacceptable. She swung her sword forward, its blade not pointing towards the caster. “Holy!” She shouted, prepared to stop both him and the endless wave of Heartless with one, powerful spell.

But nothing happened. There was no immense rush of magic, no glittering orb of sapphire light that pierced the sky and swept the enemies away. She blinked and looked at her sword in confusion, just barely moving in time to swing it down and through a leaping monster. “What?” She hissed between clenched teeth. Why hadn’t it worked?

Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to question or experiment further. For the spell that man had cast began to take effect on the Heartless swarm. Their onyx black forms were painted with magical markings. And as her sword slammed was brought down against the back on one of them, it did not simply cleave it into smoke. The sound of metal on scale echoed familiarly in her ears as Save the Queen ground against the Heartless’ form. She brought her right leg down and forward, kicking the creature with her heel with enough force to drive it backwards, though not enough to defeat it.

Yet more surprises remained, as one of the creatures was further imbued with magic. Its form grew and shook, shrieking as it was morphed against its own will. When the spell had taken full effect, wings sprouted from its torso along with another set of arms. And then the man dared question them in the midst of the carnage, demanding that they retreat. Her head spun to face him, her eyes ablaze with righteous fury. “Who are you to command us and make demands?” she shouted back at him, her voice as chilling and sharp as an icy peak. With that, she rushed forward, bounding off the top of the closest Heartless and leapt into the air above the mutated, winged monster. Save the Queen ignited with energy, the blade humming and glowing with a light nigh unquenchable. As she came down, she swung the weapon in front of her, the Climhazard ripping through the armor of the creature and bisecting it. Beatrix landed on the ground where it had stood, the inky black tendrils of its disgusting life weaving between her limbs. She swung the blade away from her , as if clearing it of the creature’s ichor and then brought it up, so that she held the guard next to her face.

It was clear, despite the overwhelming odds, her heart and spirit were unwavering. She wasn’t backing down.

Location: Traverse Town - Second District

Mood: Furious

Status: Minor Injuries

As Beatrix spoke, Ramza now learning her name, it became clear she really wasn't from Ivalice - or the world in general. The young Beoulve was positive that there was no Alexandria anywhere, and yet she claimed to be from there. And, as Ramza suspected, she was a commander - a general, in fact. 

Amidst the chaos, a new person emerged, a man, as young as Ramza or potentially even younger. The Beoulve heir gasped as the creatures circled the boy; Ramza was sure he was a goner, Ramza too overwhelmed with enemies to save him in time. However, for some reason, the creatures didn't seem to attack him. They circled around him as if the young man did not exist. This, then, filled Ramza with hope - from the clothes, Ramza suspected the man was a magician of sorts, though he did not wear the standard clothes of either the White, Black or Time mages. Still, if the youngster was quick-witted, perhaps he could strike before the Heartless noticed him and save the three. 

And, indeed, he casted a spell on the fiends. Instead of destroying them, however, the spell made them stronger. Ramza's blade, which cutted the creatures like butter, now ricocheted in impact, incapable of easily penetrating the magical shell that had enveloped them. Enemies that fell in one strike now required four, and the constant clanging made the chaining of slashes much harder. 

All Ramza could think was: Why? "Cursed be thee! What have either of us done to you?!" Ramza was livid. He had come from a world in which evil was abundant, but purposeful. Gaffgarion tried to kill the Princess for money. The Church wanted power, and so did the Lucavi. One could understand evil actions done for a reason. This, however, was even worse - it was evil for evil's sake, putting the lives of three strangers in risk just because he could. As the young man gave them their back, the Knight of Ivalice memorized the face. Someday, he would make that youngster pay for this. 

Now, however, the focus was in saving his newfound allies, as well as himself. One of the creatures was enchanted more than the others, growing in size and might, as well as acquiring wings. In an impressive move, she leaped into the air, splitting the creature in half with a powerful strike, immediately protecting the group from the most dangerous foe. 

But, as she did that, she broke the formation. The Heartless rushed from that position, eager to flank Ramza and the bare-knuckled fighter. At the same time, the Beoulve heir felt the women, whose name he still didn't know, bounce against his back, cornered by the creatures. 

A split-second decision was made. He never tried using this technique this way, but he had to try. 

"Don't move!" He ordered the Monk girl, pulling her closer by the waist. Such sudden and uninvited contact was pretty rude, but Ramza didn't have time to process politeness right now. He needed her as close to him as possible in order for his attack to not hurt her. "Chirijiraden!" he exclaimed, raising his blade to the air. The ground around him seemed to explode with energy, destroying the eager fiends that had rushed first. Fortunately, his idea seemed to work - the explosion left him and Tifa intact. Ramza had never used the technique to protect something other than himself, but apparently it was safe to do so if they were close enough.

The other heartless were forced to wait in place until the attack subsided. With the technique, Ramza had bought him and the Monk a second of relief and re-established a perimeter, as well as giving Beatrix enough time to return to the formation, should she so desire. However, he needed another plan, and fast - he was saving Chirijiraden to break the heartless lines before the man interfered, and it would be a while before he was able to use his technique once again. "Sorry for handling you that way, Milady", he apologized to the Monk, blushing a little. Finally, by his calculations, the effect of Tailwind on the Monk had ended. With two quick hand gestures, he renewed the spell, increasing the Monk's speed. He did the same on Beatrix, which he hadn't before, increasing her agility with Tailwind

------------------------------

TIFA'S TAILWIND: 3 MORE TURNS 
BEATRIX'S TAILWIND: 3 MORE TURNS 

RAMZA'S SHOUT: 1 MORE TURN
  

SHOUT COOLDOWN: 1 MORE TURN
TAILWIND COOLDOWN: 3 MORE TURNS

Battle Situation:
-18 Heartless remain
- Head Heartless destroyed by Beatrix (from what I understood from her post. Please correct me if I'm wrong)

@tifa @generalbeatrix  @amal