Raid #119

[Deleted]

Blue Planet (FF4) has been attacked by Light.

Light Being | Attacking:

Cloud [Leader]

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The Darkness has ten days to get a team together to counter this attack or the Light will have a claim on the world! Light, feel free to post here. Another post will be added when the Darkness gets a Raid Group, or if the Light has won the world! Keep an eye out!

[Deleted]

A Dark Group of One has Countered the Attack!

Dark Being | Defending:

Genesis Rhapsodos [Leader]

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Posting Order: Cloud then Genesis Rhapsodos.

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If no winner has been decided by August 29th, then a staff member will review and decide the winner!

Remember the Rules!! - [RULES HERE]

Let the Battle Begin!!

[cloud]

You were standing in the wake of devastation

You were waiting on the edge of the unknown

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So, this was Cecil's home world.

During his travels with the knight, there had come a time during their journey they had all spoken about what they could remember from where they came from. Cloud was often tight lipped when attention was given to him, and gave them a general summary of what Shinra did to the planet and Sephiroth before being dismissive. Cecil was much more open to talk, and talked about his friends and the hardships they had gone through to battle against Golbez and the Archfiends. He had woven a tale of many places, but the one he spoke fondly the most he called by name. And here as the hub of all the locations on the Blue Planet, the kingdom of Baron lay out before him.

Cloud wished he could have discovered it at a much more peaceful time.

Darkness had taken over the world in the knight's absense, and Cloud could see Heartless freely roaming the streets of the castle town from his place up in the castle ramparts. With any guards that were meant to be here absent, only lesser Heartless remained in his wake. With only a few hard slashes from his First Tsurugi, and they were nothing but fading darkness and floating hearts once more. There weren't a large abundance of them, so he had to assume there was no driving force behind their random appearences. Still, his path lead up through the castle's gates to see if he could find any survivors and find out why the castle town had been abandoned.

He couldn't find anything within the keep except more lesser Heartless, and after exterminating some of the wretched creatures they didn't appear to regroup and return. Well, even his fostered home world of Radiant Garden was never free of Heartless, and yet the Restoration Comittee there kept them out as well as dealing with any visiting troublemakers. The residents of Baron would have to come back and learn to do that as well, now it seemed the numbers of Heartless had thinned in activity here. Cloud returned to the parapet of the castle once his round-up of Heartless was complete, moving across the wide balcony to look down at the view of Baron and the landscape below. The wide balcony reminded him much of a same semi-circle shaped arena, in a slight painful flicker within his mind along with the reminder of Golbez as a memory returned to him. The rest of it was hazy, but what he could make of it was that he had fought... side by side with Cecil's brother once before.

The irises of Cloud's eyes had shifted to vertical slits once more as his Jenova cells responded receptively to his own memories, and then came back to their rounded nature once more as Cloud placed a hand to his forehead in response to the splitting headache.These memories of serving as a warrior of Chaos unnerved him, but he was here to help Cecil's world and knew his comrade would do the same for him in his stead. Just as well he was experiencing this without witness, that it was just him and the Heartless here... that he felt, at first. But as he could feel Sephiroth, he began sensing a presence he had not sensed in a long time. Familiar to his senses, but he was unable to put a finger on exactly who it was. His senses to him now concerning this presence he could relate to, like having met a person a long time ago, but he was unable to remember their name. He knew the aura as if he knew their face, but was unable to identify who it was exactly.

Whoever it was, Cloud continued to observe over the balcony with a stern look at the fact that he was not the only somebody here, keeping his perception open for when this being might show themselves to him.

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[Genesis Rhapsodos]

This world was barren of all life... nothing seemed to be alive here. Apart from the trees and plant life, there seemed to be no humans, no animals... nothing. Just those Heartless creatures going about their daily lives of causing terror and misery upon those unfortunate to have to cross paths with these monsters. Back in the day, the exact same thing could have been said about the man in the scarlet coat. He were a 'monster' once and possibly still was. That black angel wing wasn't going to go away anytime soon while the cells of Gillian Hewley and JENOVA remained within his body. Those themselves, impossible to remove? Rumors of the Lifestream back on his home world of Gaia stated that it had the power to cure near on anything... but the Scarlet SOLDIER stood within the Lifestream itself when meeting the Goddess, only to have his degradation removed... nothing else. The SOLDIER 1st Class instinctively reached an arm over his shoulder, placing the palm of his hand upon the scar that spawned his wing.

He stopped moving for a moment, lowering his head down enough till his auburn hair covered his eyes and most of his face, hiding himself from whatever happened to be nearby. However, he wasn't able to dwell on anything for a presence up ahead suddenly caught the SOLDIER's attention, forcing him to raise his head and perk an eyebrow. A look of confusion spread across his face for a while as thoughts raced through his mind.
~Where did that come from...?~
The LOVELESS fan asked himself within his mind, his eyes laying to rest upon the city just up ahead where the subtle, sole feeling seemed to linger. It vanished soon after however, as if whatever it was had only exerted strength for only a moment. Well, nothing else seemed to be here and this world itself felt drenched within the Darkness. Perhaps who or whatever that presence was, was the one responsible for the state this world was in?

Moving onwards, Genesis Rhapsodos made his way towards the castle, questions popping in and disappearing from his mind as he wondered. Could it be Angeal, or Sephiroth? But why would they be here? Sephiroth was chasing some kid called 'Sora', right? Angeal had vanished ever since their encounter together in Twilight Town... Maybe it was a resident of this world? That would be useful, for then the SOLDIER might get information as to where everyone else had gone. Soon enough though, the Scarlet SOLDIER reached the castle city of Baron. Casting his eyes to the walls, Genesis flexed his knees and jumped into the air, his feet catching the vertical wall before he began running up to the summit, leaping over the wall and down to the other side with ease, landing on the grounds below with a soft thud. The flapping of his coat were the only sound, until that died down when the long crimson material came to a rest against the backs of Genesis' legs.

"There is someone here... somewhere... And they feel strangely like Zack..."
Genesis said aloud, walking with the city walls until he reached a main street leading directly to the castle at the far end. Hoping that whoever this were, was indeed Zack Fair, Genesis' pace quickened to a fast walk, brisking making his way down the street until the castle loomed over him. The presence from before was stronger now, and Genesis was able to get a better understanding of who it might be, and sure enough, it did feel incredibly like The Puppy. Apart from the Heartless, there seemed to be nothing else around, so after raising his hands up to his mouth, cupping his fingers to create a make-shift 'megaphone', the SOLDIER called out.
"ZACK?!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!"
Genesis' voice echoed about the 'ghost city' for a few fleeting moments before silence returned.

[cloud]

With the cataclysm raining down

Insides crying, save me now

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(OOC: Sorry Gene, I actually posted this before my other Cloud post, but noticed I was still logged in as Vincent at the time. Had to copy/paste and post them as Cloud in reverse order. This raid comes first before any threads Cloud is in though. |D And I imagined the castle parapet (not the wall surrounding the town) is the same rampart Cecil, Rosa and Kain were standing on in the opening intro of FFIV. With arches and everything, just for visual reference.)

Cloud could feel the presence, much like Sephiroth's, get stronger now. As he looked over the parapet, suddenly a figure mostly clad in crimson vaulted over the side of the castle wall. To any normal onlooker it would have looked like a red blurr, but to his eyes Cloud could immediately identify the ginger hair and black wing of the individual as if he was standing just as still as he did when he landed. His eyes widened slightly as his breath hitched silently in his throat, and watched as the individual advanced towards the castle deep down below. The height of the castle walls were tall enough that an airship could rise alongside it some feet without touching the town below, and Cloud took a moment to take in who he had just saw.

Genesis? What was he doing here, of all places? Cloud may have been in his head for the last few years back on their home planet of Gaia, but even he knew what he experienced before his mako poisioning was real enough to remember. He had been deployed with Zack to Mideoheim near the Icicle Inn to engage Genesis's forces and eventually confronted Genesis himself, although it was Zack that fought Genesis while he tried to go after Hollander. That was where Genesis had fallen over the railing and died... wasn't it? Genesis's forces had appeared some time after that, but there had only been rumors and uncomfirmed sightings of him before the Nibelheim incident. At least, that Cloud knew of.

And then... swimming in the suffocating, constricting darkness of his comatose, he thought he had a dream. In it he could hear the voices of Genesis, Zack and another... he couldn't quite remember what was said as it was all a blur, but for some reason he was reminded of... apples. Strange. Or... had it all really been a dream? Regardless, like Sephiroth as he disappeared into the Lifestream, that was the last time he had really thought about Genesis before he had vanished from his life. And now like Aerith and Sephiroth, another ghost from his past had come back from the dead.

He walked down the stairs from the rampart and around the wall through the gate, just as he heard the infamous SOLDIER yell out for his best friend's name. The instant he had come around the corner to the front of the main keep, to meet Genesis on equal footing.

If only he had realized how much his next words were so alike to the one he had stayed with so long, he would have missed her even more than he currently did.

"There's no-one here." he spoke up immediately after the words had escaped forth from Genesis's lips, their defensive words reverberating into an echo around the abandoned kingdom. Glowing blue mako eyes now met Genesis's own, remembering the malice Genesis had inflicted whilst fighting Zack. He was no longer the meek little infantry Angeal had swatted around that day like a chew toy, gripping over his shoulder a very large familiar weapon in his sheath he had little to no idea was very much like the iconic buster sword passed down to Fair.

"What do you want with him?" he questioned quite sternly, skipping the introductions that wouldn't be so friendly anyway and cutting right to the chase. He knew the type of person Genesis was, at least more so than others from their brief encounters with one another in the past. What he didn't know was if Genesis knew that Zack... had passed on into the Lifestream, like he thought he had. I wouldn't be surprised if he was back, too, but I have yet to believe it with my own eyes. he thought to himself. Maybe Genesis knew this, as well? If that was the case... could Zack be alive, and possibly here because of him?

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[Genesis Rhapsodos]

Genesis' voice echoed throughout the silent castle city as he shouted out in hopes of finding the whereabouts of one of his old friends. There had been many rumours reaching the Scarlet SOLDIER's ears of Sephiroth, mostly coming from the Turks, but little had been said of Zack. At least nothing Genesis had heard of. The last time the two SOLDIER's crossed paths was inside the stomach of a gigantic whale, where a small girl/boy called Emil seemed to be desperately seeking a way out of the large creature. Since then, nothing. It was almost as if he had vanished much the same way Angeal did. Perhaps the Goddess claimed them? They returned to the Lifestream maybe? Such a thought began to niggle at the back of Genesis' mind, tempting him to make a return journey to Gaia and see if there was any way to meet the Goddess once more.

No reply came from the castle, or anywhere else from that matter. This really was a completely deserted place. What had happened? A few moments passed and any other ordinary person may very well have turned tail and left by now. Not Genesis. He wasn't 'normal'. That presence he felt earlier was grow stronger and it was also heading towards him. Someone was within the castle itself and after the fading remnants of Genesis' shout out for Zack died away in the wind, a spiky blonde haired male revealed himself in front of the massive keep before him. Genesis' bright blue eyes narrowed a fraction as the figure's face triggered memories within his mind. The SOLDIER 1st Class had met this person before in the past... yet something seemed much different now. It didn't take long for Genesis to notice the fellow SOLDIER's eyes and he then knew what was different.
"Mako... And JENOVA Cells no doubt?"
Genesis spoke up, his voice much softer and more poetic now that he wasn't shouting.

"I guess it was Hojo, no?"
The SOLDIER asked, his arms raising up from his sides slightly before his crimson leather gloved hands found their way into his coat pockets. Wrapping the long piece of attire around his waist slightly, as if wanting to protect oneself from the wind, the Scarlet SOLDIER tilted his head a subtle fraction as he peered past the blonde-haired man and towards the weapon upon his back. That wasn't the Buster Sword, but more of an advanced version. It was hard to tell with most of the large blade hidden behind the male's figure, but it would seem there were several blades forged into one.
"Other then Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack and myself... there was only one more experimented on. You're Cloud Strife, no?"
Genesis' gaze narrowed further. Other then the time back in Mideoheim, this was the only time the Scarlet SOLDIER had stood face to face with this man and it was a pity that Genesis felt like a battle was approaching ever so quickly. Truth be told, Genesis wanted to talk to this fellow, but Cloud's reputation of being an enigma was not unknown to the fellow SOLDIER. Getting anything out of this guy would be like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

"I've noticed..."
Genesis answered Cloud, looking first to his right and then off too his left in hopes of trying to spot anything else that wasn't a Heartless.
"Do you know what happened here?"
Questioned the SOLDIER, his hands remaining within his pockets and his legs holding his ground strong. Then came the other question, on what Genesis wanted Zack for. Really, did Zack never speak of the Scarlet SOLDIER before? What a disappointment. Genesis smiled suddenly and shook his head from side to side a couple of times before returning his hawk-like gaze upon Cloud.
"Zack and I were once in the same squadron for Shin-Ra. I felt a presence that was very much like his and I wanted to reunite with an old friend. I found the 'Puppet', as Sephiroth says, instead. Pity... you do feel awfully similar to him."

[cloud]

You were there

And possibly, alone

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Cloud looked up at Genesis, sizing him up now he was in the flesh before him once again. He stood still and remained silently composed as Genesis noticed him and did the same, hearing his questions which were really correct assumptions. Once Genesis had finished summarizing about Jenova cells, Hojo and his name, he gathered up his reply to all three guesses into one answer. "Yeah." he said flatly, letting Genesis himself decide what it was the answer to. Or since he was smart and didn't need an answer, all three of them. He wasn't sure about the second one about Hojo as he had been comatose at the time, but it was more than likely from Hojo's berating of him back at the Northern Crater when he found Sephiroth.

He was getting impatient, and thus annoyed slightly with Genesis's question about why the town was with it's current desertion. Much like he did when he had talked to Rufus Shinra all those years ago, being talked at with everything but what he wanted to hear before threatening to leave. This situation was much different, though, as unlike Shinra there was the fact Genesis would not care if he left. Still anxious, he resisted the urge to shift the weight of his feet from one to the other to turn around to leave and looked Genesis from eye to eye. "Well, good for you for noticing. This kingdom was like this when I got here... do you know what happened here, Genesis?" he questioned, implying that the villain perhaps had something to do with the intensity of darkness and Heartless abundant in the area.

Finally the answer to his question came he had been waiting for, and in response he simply responded in a disapproving "Hmph." to his statement. He turned his head slightly to the left and looked off into the distance, shaking it from side to side as if in disbelief of what he heard. "Yeah... reuniting, like you did with him... back at Mideoheim." he commented off-handedly, giving Genesis a snide look as he looked back from the deserted castle town around them and back to him. "Zack is gone. I... live his life for him, and Sephiroth doesn't pull the strings anymore. If you want anything to do with him, or this world, then... you have to deal with me."

The grip on his First Tsurugi tightened slightly, but he did not draw his weapon just yet. Perhaps instead of making this about fighting, Cloud could win a war of words instead. But first, he was going to lay down the law by calling the shots of this shattered world. I'm not just doing this for you, Zack... this is for you, Cecil. Your world... has been in ruin for too long.

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[Genesis Rhapsodos]

There was a subtle smirk pulling at the corners of Genesis' mouth as his head lowered the smallest fraction, his eyes rolling up but remaining locked onto the Mako orbs of the Puppet. This was exciting! The last time the Scarlet SOLDIER crossed paths with this young man, it was when he were a mere Shin-Ra grunt. A man with a gun and no confidence to shoot it. And now look at him, all dressed up differently with an outfit that resembled that of the SOLDIER 1st Class uniform. There were changes here and there, but the LOVELESS fan had a keen eye. Was this part of what he had heard, of Cloud not being able to let go of the past? Was that why he constantly fought with Sephiroth? Not just in Niblehiem or the Northen Crater, but during the Metamorphism in Midgar and the two times here in these worlds of Kingdom Hearts? It was a shame, really it was. Cloud had so much great potential... it was almost as if he didn't want to be who he was.

The blonde-ex-SOLDIER gave a single word answer and Genesis snickered lightly. Lifting his head back up again, almost so he were looking down upon Cloud, which wasn't that hard being 7 inches taller then him, Genesis just continued to observe the young man before him, allowing his senses to detect as much as he could. Cloud's voice reached the SOLDIER's ears and Genesis pulled his hands from his pockets as he took a few small strides forwards towards the young man. Obviously he wasn't intimidated by that weapon on his back.
"I have only just arrived in this world... I felt your presence and came here to see if you were Zack."
Genesis stopped only a few feet away from the blonde-haired man, looking him up and down and sizing him up before continuing.
"However, seeing as you're the only strong 'Light' I can feel, I'd assume you're here to 'save' this world from the 'Dark', no? The Heartless don't seem to want to challenge you, but the Balance of the Worlds has to be maintained."
The LOVELESS fan turned away slightly, the opposite direction to which Cloud did and cast his blue-eyed gaze off across the deserted city himself, taking in the lifeless, bleak surroundings.

Cloud sounded disappointed and the tone of his voice caused the SOLDIER to peer back at the AVALANCHE member. An almost sypathetic smile was spread across Genesis' lips, his eyebrows raised slightly as well as he gave out a small chuckle and shook his head from side to side.
"Mideohiem? Oh of course... you were to capture Hollander. Really Cloud, when will you let go of the past? Zack was ordered to find and capture me. The world of LOVELESS had to be created and he was getting in the way. Fortunately, he shown me the Light and there is no longer any hate between us. Pity the same cannot be said for you and Sephiroth. He's dying to meet you again, you know?"
Genesis' final sentence was said with a smirk and in perhaps a threatening manner. Cloud's next words confirmed what Genesis was thinking and caused the SOLDIER to turn to face 'Zack' completely, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"I see... so you are still dreaming. Sephiroth doesn't pull the strings, but you still admit to being a Puppet... only Zack's puppet this time? Zack has issues with Sephiroth you know... so it seems he really IS still pulling your strings."

Genesis raised his right arm, his fingers flexing before curling around an invisible item within the air. A flash of flame burst from his palm as he summoned the crimson bladed Rapier to his hand. Clenching his fist around the weapon, Genesis brought the blade to his side and locked his full attention back onto Cloud.
"Zack is alive... so maybe it's time you became Cloud, no?"
The Scarlet SOLDIER fell silent for a moment as the wind picked, catching his hair and the long coat that hung from his shoulders like a cloak of a king. After the attire finished it's dance within the air, falling back to the SOLDIER's legs, Genesis closed his eyes and brought his Rapier up to his forehead, much like how Angeal did with the Buster Sword. Keeping the blade in place and eyes shut, his poetic voice spoke out.
"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess,
We seek it thus, and take to the sky.
Ripples form on the water's surface,
The wandering soul knows no rest."
He quoted, lowering the weapon from before him and back down to his side, eyes opening as he did so and returned their gaze onto Cloud.
"You are not my enemy, but I will deal with you, Cloud. This world must remain in the Dark as spoken by the Goddess. I hear you're strong, strong enough to be in SOLDIER. So give me everything you have. I want to see the strength that not only defeated Sephiroth once... but countless times... Unless that was the 'Zack' within you?"

[cloud]

do you feel cold and lost in desperation?

You build up hope, but failure's all you've known

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The more Cloud saw of this place, the more he could see there had been a great battle fought here some time ago. Now at ground level, he could see out of the corner of his eye the slight scorch marks and discarded rubble broken off of buildings. Not much, but enough to indicate some sort of rebellion had taken place when the Heartless had invaded. Or, was it the Heartless? For all he knew, it could have been the ruthless dicator standing before him. Or another like him, carelessly allowing the Heartless to do their bidding while they sought the weakness of a crumbling kingdom brought to it's knees.

Full attention back on Genesis, and he wasn't sure if he could take Genesis's words for the truth. He felt cold eyes sizing him up and down, before he was labeled as a Light in the Darkness. "I don't care about the darkness or the light." he said outright, and rather defiantly. He dismissed Genesis's words for what they were, just more mind games like Sephiroth's that he didn't want to get caught up or associated with. "Darkness doesn't have to be evil. I'm just... here to do what I can, to make this place safe again."

Genesis told him to let go of the past, and he had to wonder if he had somehow met Sephiroth somewhere. Low and behold, after admitting he'd seen his foolish ways after Zack had defeated him and supposedly come to terms with him, he confirmed that very fact with a arrogant and possibly threatening tone. "Already met him." he said flatly, dismissing the veiled attempt at a threat. Genesis really did seem behind the times that Cloud had let go of the past and they had already met Sephiroth, but the more things change the more they always stayed the same. If Genesis had turned over a new leaf and made peace with Zack, he'd have to have it proved to him to actually believe it, and even then he would be skeptical.

His next words, though, made him believe that Genesis hadn't changed a bit at all. "You can twist around my words all you want. But I carried his ideals and morals on when he couldn't anymore, and that was my choice alone. You can't ever say the same." he said confidently. He watched as Genesis summoned his rapier to his side, and immediately he withdrew First Tsurugi from his sheath and wielded it out before him. The sound of a sharp blade whistled through the air as came to a stop before him, holding the weight of the heavy weapon before him with both hands around the grip. "Maybe you should be the one to let go of the past... now you have me here, and not Zack."

Genesis sounded convinced that Zack was still alive; but he still wasn't trusting of him from his snide remarks and regarded it as more mind games Genesis was trying to weave. Just as he did again and again with the words from LOVELESS as he recited them before him, Cloud not the least bit amused.

"LOVELESS again..." he trailed off, not surprised Genesis had still not gotten over his love for it. "You should find something new to read." he remarked, watching Genesis for him to make a move as he so often did after quoting from the infamous literature.

The 1st class SOLDIER challenged him to a duel to show his worth, claiming the world had to stay in Darkness as the will of some goddess decreed it. "No." he said quite clearly and loudly, not turning away from looking him square in the eye. "I don't have anything to prove to you, Genesis. But... I will stop you. If I'm not the enemy, you'd know the difference between being told what to do... and the choice to do it. Darkness may not mess up the worlds... a friend taught me that. But if you let the Heartless steal more hearts, you're no better than they are."

He launched forward without another word, swiping First Tsurugi along the ground before lifting it up and bringing the massive sword down upon Genesis's rapier. Then he quickly detached Ascalon from the side of the fusion sword, flipping out into his left hand as he quickly brought it down upon Genesis in a forward vertical slash. Not missing a beat, he pushed forward with his strength of his right hand to parry and attempt to force Genesis off balance with First Tsurugi, spinning around with his forward momentum regardless and catching his rapier to block again this time with Ascalon. First Tsurugi came down again in another vertical chopping motion, finishing performing his Double Cut.

He jumped back upon finishing the move, attaching Ascalon back onto First Tsurugi. He leapt forward once more into the air, but this time pulling the hilt of the completed blade with both hands alongside his head as the blade was pointed forward. His feet off the ground, First Tsurugi glowed with a blue aura as it rushed forward towards Genesis. Braver attempted to slam into Genesis with pure force, then again as the sword swung around a second time. Cloud had found his reason to fight this time instead of being forced into a battle, and he was not backing down.

"I still remember what it means to be a SOLDIER... do you?"

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[Genesis Rhapsodos]

The time for talking seemed to be growing short, but the SOLDIER 1st Class was curious and had many more questions for the member of AVALANCHE. Cloud had been in these worlds for a lot longer then Genesis did. Perhaps if he provided a decent challenge in swordplay, he may get Cloud to open up some more? Very unlikely, but maybe he'd get information out of Cloud if he were able to defeat him. That caused concern for the Scarlet SOLDIER. Cloud could supposedly defeat Sephiroth and manage to do so in every encounter. Genesis himself came close to defeating the One Winged Angel, but was interrupted by Angeal. Putting the pieces into place, Genesis was actually wondering if he'd manage to cause any damage at all to the blonde-haired ex-SOLDIER. Darkness was an added strength, but he wasn't too keen on relying it. The Pride of a SOLDIER didn't rely on the forces of Light and Darkness.

Genesis nodded his head in agreement to Cloud's words. Darkness didn't necessarily mean being evil... but the way he said it.
"Sephiroth is your Darkness... so they say. What makes you think YOU'RE the Darkness and possibly Sephiroth the Light? I've heard some horrid things about my old friend... Killing President Shinra, killing a young woman in pink, trying to destroy all of Gaia..."
Genesis looked away from Cloud for a second, an expression crossing his features that matched Cloud's whenever he didn't believe the Scarlet SOLDIER mention Zack. A subtle shake of his head caused the SOLDIER to return his attention to Spiky. The end of Cloud's sentence repeated itself within Genesis' mind a few times.
"Wanting to make something or someone safe... That is not an act of the Light? You bring about peace with Darkness? Then you can be blamed for why the Heartless are here?"
Genesis cocked his head to one side and gave Cloud a cold, stern stare for a few minutes, trying to see into him and see what's going on in his mind, but soon released a small 'heh' of a laugh through his lips and shook his head from side to side. It seemed there was no hope of getting anything out of this man.

"You're right."
Genesis answered, nodding his head as he did so in reply to what Cloud said about him never being able to say the same about carrying on someones ideals and morals.
"At least not on the same scale as you and the Puppy. Re-enacting a scene from LOVELESS makes you feel like a different person, but to those who don't know, you're just the same on the outside."
Genesis' action of summoning his Rapier apparently threw Spiky into red Alert, the massive blade swinging over his figure and being held out before himself, the sharp, large blade aimed in the Scarlet SOLDIER's direction. Genesis was able to get a much better look at this interesting weapon and could indeed see that it was made out of several smaller blades. Very interesting... did their combined form have more strength then when used alone? Did he make this himself or find it somewhere? Taking a mental note, Genesis made sure to keep an eye out for Cloud pulling this thing apart and using it to attack from different directions. His eyes returned to Cloud when he heard him speak up.

"Me? Maybe... Pity the first person I ever met when I arrived in these worlds was the Goddess herself. A heavenly female of such glorious status... A voice as beautiful as the Muses themselves... hair as golden as the suns rays. She told me about the wars waging in these worlds... how Darkness and Light were fighting one another for control of the worlds and how an utter catastrophe awaited both sides if one were to wrestle too much control from the other. Thus is my reason to fight on both sides of this war. I am Light and Darkness. I am the New Hero."
Genesis said, speaking as if he were giving a speech as if he were the new elected President of Shinra. He raised the Rapier up and pointed the long, thin blade in Cloud's direction, holding the blade in an out-stretched arm, feeling the weight pulling at his muscles. Genesis' eyes widened slightly as he lowered his arm down and relaxed the muscles in his legs, being ready to pounce and get this conflict started, but Cloud's next words halted him in his tracked.
"Every action I make is my choice. The Goddess merely informed me of current affairs and I chose to go about changing it. And the Heartless? You think I would lower myself to be on their level? I have no connection with those Heart stealing monsters... they are my enemy, Cloud, as much as they are yours. Who knows... maybe after today we'll fight side be side against them, no?"

It has finally begun. Cloud didn't answer with words and instead answered with his sword. The young man jumped forth and swung that large sword down with such grace, you'd think it were as light as a feather. The crimson Rapier was pushed towards the sky, the blade parallel to the ground as it came into contact with First Tsurugi. Genesis' coat blew out behind him wildly from the pressure Cloud's sword brought with it. The blade was heavier then Cloud made it look, Genesis feeling it within his knees, but his figure didn't falter as he simply watched the ex-SOLDER release one of the smaller blades from the main one.
There we go... as I expected, thought the Scarlet SOLDIER as he sent some strength into his legs, side stepping off to his left around to Cloud's right, his bright blue eyes watching as the separated weapon swung through the air in which he once stood. A strong force came upon him then, which was Cloud's larger sword being pushed into him. Genesis' arm held strong as he stepped back as Cloud approached, watching as he span around and quickly having to decide which of the blades Cloud might attack with. The Rapier was pushed into the sky again, Genesis deciding to go after the First Tsurugi seeing as that would carve him in two rather effortlessly. This time he held the Rapier at an angle so when Cloud's second strike came down, it would slide down the length of the Rapier before reaching the hilt, to which Genesis would shrug off the blade and out of harms way.

The Scarlet SOLDIER jumped back a few feet, opening the distance between the SOLDIER's, as Genesis felt the palm of his right hand stinging from the sheer brute force Cloud had put into those two strikes. Impressive... No wonder Sephiroth lost, he were much more confident then Genesis was and unlike Sephiroth, Genesis gave credit where credit was due and it already seemed that he was going to have to play very carefully if he wanted to walk away from this encounter. Cloud was on the move again already, leaping into the air and swinging his blade around as if he were going to pull off a Hell's Gate. Genesis decided to act as well and he stood his ground, moving only his left arm that was swiftly engulfed in flames as Flash was summoned. The ball of flame within his palm grew in size as he watched Cloud's assent. The moment the blonde's upward momentum changed direction, Genesis' palm was pointed at the SOLDIER and 8 Flashes burst out in a fiery eruption. Oddly enough, none of them were aimed at Cloud himself, for the Flashes spread out as if allowing Cloud safe passage to go through them. Genesis then found himself jumping back a short distance to watch as the massive First Tsurugi plunged into the ground right where he stood.

Unfortunately, he wasn't expecting the next swing, believing Cloud would have zero momentum left. First Tsurugi met it's target, smashing into the upper arm on Genesis' right side and thus flinging him backwards as if he were a ragdoll. However, instead of crashing through a nearby wall and disappearing in a cloud of dust and rubble, Genesis actually managed to flip back to his feet at the last instant and aggressively launch himself off the wall, directly back at the SOLDIER. His Rapier glowing red as he unleashed a Dancing Sword Counter, starting with two fast and wildly swung horizontal slashes first from right to left, then back left to right before going into a combo of three hard forwards thrusts, all strikes aimed at Cloud's chest. Finally, he leaped into the air and mimicked Cloud, swinging his Rapier around so it pointed to the ground and fell upon where Cloud stood, plunging the weapon into the earth so it created a shockwave, blasting the fellow SOLDIER away if he didn't retreat far enough back. Genesis paused for a second as he slowly withdrew the Rapier from the ground, holding the blade at his side as he eyed Cloud carefully.
"The Gift of the Goddess is the Pride of a SOLDIER. I am a SOLDIER. You are a clone, a pretender, a wannabe. Zack was a SOLDIER, not you, so you know nothing of what having a SOLDIER's Pride is."

-=Cooldowns=-

Flash - 1 Post (Cooldown will start when the current Flashes are disposed of.)
Dancing Sword Counter - 2 Posts.

[cloud]

remember all the sadness and frustration

and let it go; let it go

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Genesis had truly lost his way... and quite possibly, his mind.

Moments before the battle, he kept going back to the same two words. Light this, darkness that... but it was true. Sephiroth was in a manner of speaking, his darkness. He had said so himself to the kid, Sora, that the fallen SOLDIER had been an embodiment of his own darkness. But that didn't mean he came from Cloud or was his Heartless or Nobody... what he meant was Sephiroth was everything to blame for in his past that continuously haunted him for the dark and horrific memories. If it hadn't been for him and the Nibelheim incident, he and Zack wouldn't have been part of Hojo's Reunion Theory and hadn't have to escape and have Zack hunted down and shot. If it wasn't for him, Aerith would not have died. If not for him, loads of people wouldn't have died from Meteor, Geostigma, and the Remnants which continued to spread their own evil. And yes, he had ultimately been the dark puppetmaster in forcing Cloud to do his evil bidding and be the 'puppet' all the villains loved to label him as.

That part was in reality the truth, but again he started to take the words out of his mouth and assume Cloud had implied he was the darkness when he never said such a thing. More than likely Genesis was still trying to antagonize Cloud and make him defensive about something he had never said... he wasn't about to fall for an impression Genesis may or may not have thought of him. But the antagonism spoke for itself that the former SOLDIER didn't take too kindly to him. The same thing could be said that Genesis was trying to pidgeon-hole him, questioning his motives to wanting to bring peace to the world as one from a perspective of darkness when the action was something one of 'Light' would do. Again, with the Light and Darkness, just as repetitive as he was about LOVELESS. Was this because of Cloud's line that Darkness didn't have to be evil that Genesis had misinterpreted he was coming from the darkness, instead of expressing his open-mindedness from Genesis's ambition coming from it instead?

Perhaps Genesis had coined onto the fact that the blond had implied Genesis did indeed come from the darkness, but was 'playing dumb' and turning it around on Cloud that he was the villain. This would make sense as he had labelled himself as the 'New Hero', whatever that meant. Cloud certainly didn't consider himself a hero, but he knew the path of one was of self-sacrifice and humility, certainly not aspects that Genesis seemed to endure. But what he said next really did make him think Genesis had delusions of grandeur that the bad guys always seemed to possess. The guy truly still was quite insane.
To those who don't know, you're just the same on the outside? What was that supposed to mean? His words really weren't making a lot of sense to what he was getting at, and Cloud wondered if Genesis had been alone for way too long. Perhaps he had talked to himself for such a long time, that the lack of social contexts had made him forget what it sounded like to be sane. Or, perhaps he was talking in riddles again like he always did to confuse Zack. Well, whatever, he wasn't going to get stuck on it nor did he care much about it.

But he questioned if he had been alone all these years in hiding, for soon he conjured up a supposed story in reaction to his ultimatium of standing up for Zack's passing on of his SOLDIER honor and the Buster Sword. That he had been visited by the Goddess, the one he was always talking about in LOVELESS. Golden hair... his mind sprang to the thought of Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony that had summoned him to fight Chaos and his forces of destruction. But, no, there wasn't any way that the Goddess from LOVELESS and Cosmos were one and the same. LOVELESS was just a fictional play, and Cosmos came from a different world in which she believed for peace to rule rather than discord to annihilate the world.

Was it possible Genesis could have been visited by Cosmos however, and this was her new plan? To bring peace by bringing balance to both Light and Darkness, only to abolish evil with good? Anything was possible in these worlds these days, but Cloud could not be sure after questioning Genesis's state of mind. This is what was going through his mind when he had bashed Genesis into the wall with the end of his Braver attack, anticipating the Flash fireballs would come soon and kept their assault at the back of his mind. Maybe Genesis could be fighting for the same thing he was to destroy the Heartless and bring a balancing peace to the worlds, but he couldn't trust anything he had said after what he did to Zack.

"You may have met Cosmos, and made your own choice...." he began, before Genesis took the hit and negated it, kicking back off a wall and coming at him with a sword attack. He blocked with First Tsurugi for the first horizontal hit, but the force knocked him back off balance, taking a back-step to cement his position as the next two horizontal hits cut across his chest and left arm. "...but I didn't mean just because Darkness isn't always evil that I brought the Heartless here. If you're always using my words against me like that, then we will never fight on the same side." he grunted in some pain, bringing both swords back around to block the thrusts stabbing towards his chest. Finally the shockwave came as his sword charged up, deciding to quickly dodge this one as it would most likely break through his guard as his Braver had with Genesis. He leapt back to avoid the energy wave, and since he had walked from the castle had the castle wall behind him. Instead of copying Genesis and kicking off the wall however, he turned around and began to wall-walk up it as Genesis had walked up the castle wall surrounding the entire kingdom. Once he had reached the top of the wall, he then proceeded to kick off the top of the wall and flip backwards, sailing over Genesis and landing behind him all while keeping a close eye on the Flash fireballs.

Once he had accomplished that, he launched into Cross Slash, slashing forward with three heavy strikes that would make kanji symbols upon contact. Hopefully this could catch Genesis off guard with attacking him from behind, but he morphed smoothly into his next attack anyway without missing a beat. Next he darted forward with Climhazard at close range, and with such an attack that closed such a short distance in such a short time proceeded to attempt to knock the one-winged angel up into the air with his First Tsurugi, before knocking him back down to earth again as he spun around quickly with a bludgeoning strike from Ascalon. He flipped again and landed upon the earth, down on one knee, his arms spread wide open on either side of him as if his blades were his own clipped wings after he had fallen from the heavens.

He was no angel himself, after all. At least, he could admit to himself and not openly.

"You're right about one thing. I never was in SOLDIER. But you don't need to be, or to have pride... a SOLDIER's honor isn't something that's taught. It's inspired... something that's felt. Can you honestly say... you're not fighting just for survival? Because you give a damn!?" he pressed harshly in query on Genesis, some residual anger and resentment in his tone.

---

Cross-Slash: Cloud slashes forward with three slashes, each slash making a piece of kanji on the target so when all three slashes hit, forms a complete kanji. The kanji is only for show. If he misses, the kanji will not be completed, but he will turn and track his target to make sure the remaining slashes hit. If successful in striking and following through with the attack while using The Power of Mako, it will trigger Omnislash.
Cooldown: Three posts.

Climhazzard: Cloud sides a long distance along the ground with his sword forward to strike the enemy, then strikes them up into the air with an uppercut slash, then while in the air points the sword downward and stabs them earthwards with a third and final slash.
Cooldown: Two posts.

Braver: One round remaining.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

[/blockquote]

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

Had he really lost his mind? It had been several years during the time spent within the Flooded Cavern, awaiting the day for when the world needed a new hero. That time was obviously now seeing as he was here, in the flesh and even receiving guidance from the Goddess herself. But something was starting to tickle the back of Genesis' mind. An itch that was too deep to scratch. Was he really heading back down the same path again, first with wanting to re-enact LOVELESS and now again with wanting to bring about a balance? He didn't feel like he was... this time there was no Hollander, no foster parents, no Zack, Sephiroth or Angeal. It was just Genesis and the Goddess as well as his own decision to follow this new path set out before him.
Set out before me...?
Cloud walked his own path now, doing the things he wanted to do, helping those he wanted to help. His puppet strings were cut from the hands of the puppeteer and Genesis actually wondered if by glancing up over his head, he'd see if his own puppeteer was up there, gloating back down at him.

Maybe it was time to walk his own path? Perhaps Cloud had indeed moved on from his past or at least tried his best to do so whenever the past returned to him. It was clear as day that Cloud never returned to the past himself... unless maybe thinking of a certain flower girl or Zack, but the Scarlet SOLDIER wouldn't know this. Genesis pondered for a moment, looking back to his actions since arriving in these worlds to see if he hadn't changed. But then again, why should he care about what Cloud says? The ones Genesis turned to when wanting advice were his friends, not some failed experiment. But maybe it was wrong to think of Cloud as such? Genesis wasn't the enemy here yet neither was Cloud. The reason the Darkness and Heartless were here was because of whoever had attacked this world first. Was Genesis' view on keeping balance between the sides, wrong? No! It was impossible. The Goddess would never lie to anyone! She was of the purest Light! The purest Heart! An embodiment of such would be unable to lie, surely?!

Sharp blue eyes looked towards the heavens, watching as the tiny figure of Cloud flew overhead, plummeting back down to the earth upon where the blonde took Genesis' rear. The Scarlet SOLDIER didn't turn around, nor was his Rapier raised in any position, but simply was resting in the semi relaxed grip of his right hand. Knowing Cloud wasn't going to stop his assault at the drop of the hat, Genesis spoke up before the first blow of Cross Slash crashed into his back.
"Now it's you who are mishearing my words..."
A large kanji symbol appeared before the Scarlet SOLDIER as he was forcefully shoved forwards from the first blow of Cross Slash. No sounds of pain left Genesis' lips as the second blow swung around and smashed into his figure.
"... I did not say the Heartless were here because of you. I did not mean to accuse you of being the reason this world is in it's current, sad state..."
Genesis was barely able to keep his footing as he staggered forth again, two nice large slashes within his coat and black top underneath, revealing the skin of his back. The Scarlet SOLDIER watched the second kanji get joined by a third and he tilted his head at the words that appeared.

Bad Luck...?

The ground started to fly out from under Genesis' feet as he was thrown forwards with incredible force from the end of Cross Slash. The pain was within his back and across his shoulders, but not even a hint of a wince or whimper was hear from the SOLDIER. Before crashing into the ground, Genesis stuck out a hand and flipped himself around in a cartwheel, landing back on his feet in a crouched position, sliding backwards along the ground until he lightly bumped into the castle wall that Cloud had ran up. After the dust settled, Genesis pushed himself back to his feet and watched through narrowed eyes as Cloud started to home in.
"What I meant, was that I hardly see you being on the same side as the Heartless. You have a reason to fight? That reason being to protect this world from the Heartless, no? I too wish to protect my friends and loved ones from these merciless monsters, which would make them my enemy, as much as they are your enemy. Do you understand?"

Genesis wasn't trying to be patronizing, he was trying to make his words clear. Maybe the LOVELESS fan was speaking in riddles again unintentionally? Cloud was close now, that 'Buster Sword' aiming straight for him. Genesis tightening his first upon the Rapier's handle within his grip and dug into his SOLDIER strength, slashing the crimson blade before him and swatting Cloud's attack away like a feather caught in the wind. The Scarlet SOLDIER then jumped into the air, watching as Cloud followed him skywards. However, a massive bright glow swiftly grew behind the LOVELESS fan, his figure turning to a silhouette and then being blotted out completely, as the 8 Flashes were in descent and plummeting rapidly past Genesis, straight towards the blonde SOLDIER.
"Everyone fights for survival, Cloud. Rufus and his father would have seen us all off years ago otherwise. If not them, then at the hands of Sephiroth."
Genesis answered, his voice soft and calm, despite the pain within his torso. Twisting his body within the air, the Scarlet SOLDIER flipped himself so his feet came into contact with the castle wall, using the new solid surface underfoot to launch himself back down to the ground where he landed with a thud.
"You know my reason for fighting. I am here to stop you returning this world to the Light. Where as you fight to protect this one world for whomever it belongs too, I on the other hand am looking out for the future, for the survival of EVERYONE, for if Light or Darkness take too strong a grip over the worlds, everything as we know it will end. Check mate. The chess pieces will be cleared for a new game to begin. I do not want to see that happen, so I will fight you, Sephiroth or the entire Heartless hordes themselves to stop it from happening!"

The Scarlet SOLDIER tightened his grip on the Rapier as his eyes begun to glare at the blonde SOLDIER. If words weren't going to work, then actions would need to speak for him. A black flame with a purple aura appeared in Genesis' left hand, which he swung before his body slowly as power began to gather within the forming spell. Shifting his feet so he crouched down slightly, Genesis slammed his palm into the ground at the same time a large purple-flamed eruption exploded about a foot behind Cloud. Hoping to blast the SOLDIER in his direction, 2 more Shadow Flares exploded out the ground, each tracking Cloud and being close enough to further propel the SOLDIER towards Genesis if the first connected. With a twinkle in his eye, Genesis launched forwards himself, Rapier in hand which was brought from the ground in a fast vertical slice, aiming to smack the blonde skywards if he was foolish enough to let down his guard.

-=Cooldowns=-

Flash - 1 Post. (Cooldown begins)
Dancing Sword Counter - 2 Posts.
Shadow Flare - 2 Posts.

[cloud]

And in a burst of light that blinded every angel

As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars

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Genesis was strong, he had to admire that. Even as Cloud was laying into him with with Cross Slash, he still spoke out... he had mis-spoken? After the third slash, he watched as Genesis cartwheeled away from him and bump slightly into the wall as he came to him with Climhazard to follow up. A swift blade struck out to deflect his blow, making him stagger for only a few seconds. He was also staggering in retaliation to what Genesis had spoken. He was... in a way, apologizing?

Was this another Genesis trick? He considered this as he leaped into the air to finish Climhazard, only to notice the crimson SOLDIER had ignored his attacks to strike at that moment with the suspended Flash. The delayed attack did not reach his position until he landed however, and in that time he quickly attached Ascalon back to the First Tsurugi to block the multiple blasts. He heard Genesis's claim to his reason to fighting as he did and was following up with Shadow Flare, an attack he was familiar with Sephiroth from using. He was more focused on protecting himself however, and withdrew Avenger from the back of the blade to attempt to block the new projectiles coming in different directions. He couldn't deflect all the blasts however as they converged on his location, sending him in Genesis's direction as he struck a quick vertical strike towards him.

"Survival is relative... but who do you... fight for...?" he questioned, crossing an arm over his waist to curb the pain.

Everything as we know it would end? Is this what Genesis believed, what Cosmos or someone they convinced Genesis was a goddess told him this? He still had memories of fighting as a Warrior of Cosmos, and the battles towards the end of the chain of cycles which ended the war... even faint memories resurfacing now that he had originally been summoned to the battle as a Warrior of Chaos. If Cosmos had said this, if it was indeed Cosmos, she would have not wanted light nor darkness - harmony nor discord - to win the battle so that the cycle would indeed start repeating itself all over again. This she could have told Genesis, so she would no longer have to endure the suffering that came with the repetition of endless battle. But... he had his reservations for trusting Genesis after all he had done. And what if it wasn't Cosmos that informed him, but someone else that had? What if Genesis was misguided, and he was going about this the wrong way? Surely Darkness was not all evil... but there was something about leaving a world in a element the Heartless could be more connected to and abundant in that didn't set right with him.

If what Genesis said was true though, and he could see it in his eyes he believed it to be so... maybe he should start caring about the Light and Darkness.

"I don't know. Even if Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony, said that to you. You're still fighting against me when you just wanted me to prove myself to you, not because of the light or darkness... I'm not going to lay down my sword on your word alone, until I'm convinced I have my own reason to fight. I won't look to anyone else for one." he responded, his tone calming slightly, attempting to guard himself unsuccessfully from the surprising Shadow Flare. As Genesis came for him with a quick vertical slash he retaliated to deflect the low-powered blow with Slashing Blow, two vertical slashes in mid-air and with the first deflecting Genesis's away as if it were a twig in an explosion. "Genesis... I have lived through those cycles, both a warrior of Cosmos... and of Discord. I don't wish for it to happen, or for the end to come... but, there is always another way!" Immediately after that he dug not into his SOLDIER strength of his Jenova cells... but that of his own. For immediately after he attached Avenger back onto the First Tsurugi, the blade thrummed with a orange aura, and all the blades detached and floated around them. After he had finished executing Slashing Blow, he immediately grabbed Avenger again and arced back around in mid-air to slash Genesis with the blade, repeating the same process with Merciless. Ascalon, Sidewinder, and Vendetta. Upon finishing the strike with Vendetta, he launched himself with one last thrust of energy above Genesis, and came down with a final blow with the First Blade. Passing Genesis as he finished performing Omnislash Version Five, all the blades rained down and stabbed into the pavement from the force they had exerted, Cloud reaching up to catch the First Blade into his right hand and glancing up at Genesis.

"So, you're fighting too? Doesn't mean you'll win."

---

Slashing Blow: Cloud makes a three-hit combo, slashing horizontally forward with his sword from the right, then left before a downward slash to knock the enemy into the ground.
Cooldown: Three posts.

Omnislash Level Five: Cloud's weapon(s) glow with an orange aura as he speeds up and strikes the enemy from five different directions, before making the final blow coming from above and striking through the enemy to appear below them. If successful in striking and following through with the attack while using The Power of Mako, it will trigger Omnislash.
Cooldown: Shared with Slashing Blow, must be used after it in the same post. Three posts.

Cross-Slash: Cooldown: Two posts.

Climhazzard: Cooldown: One post.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

[/blockquote]

[Genesis Rhapsodos]

it appeared that his words were slowly getting through to the blonde SOLDIER. This fate of all existence was something not to be taken lightly. It was sad that only Genesis could see the threat looming on the horizon. Angeal didn't believe him when they fought at Traverse Town and neither did anyone else the Scarlet SOLDIER had spoke to before being forced to draw his blade and engage in combat. The Mouse King was another one who didn't believe and it was the animal's pride which deafened out Genesis' words. It also didn't help that the battleground happened to be Timeless River, the location upon which Disney Castle was built. Fortunately the SOLDIER came through on top in that match and the world remained in Darkness. The Balance needed to be restored and kept in check. At least until these supposed 'Heartless Horsemen' were dealt with. That's when Genesis' eyes widened in realization.

Of course...!

Quickly, his eyes returned to the matter at hand and he watched as Cloud staggered away slightly from his sword blow to Climhazzard. After launching into the air and watching the blonde get back to the ground to block the homing Flash attack, Genesis couldn't help but smile. Yet he wasn't convinced as of yet. The Cross Slash to his back had hurt, but it wasn't powerful enough to put the Scarlet SOLDIER down. He was also able to continue to speak throughout. A draft blow across his back, the three large slashes cut through his coat and undershirt, allowing passage for the wind to caress his skin. Rhapsodos smiled, more sincerely then with any evil intent behind it as he listened to Strife's words.
"I fight for those who cannot."
Genesis simply said in reply. It was the truth. The SOLDIER had no motives of his own as of yet, for there would be no point in planning something for it not to come to fruition when all the worlds end at once.
"The Blade of the New Hero attacks naught those of the weak or innocent, but FOR them. I fight for the worlds, for the Goddess, even for YOUR survival, Cloud."

Cloud seemed to recognize the Shadow Flare attack and was able to wiggle out of most of the damage, however he wasn't able to avoid it own for this was Genesis' version and not Sephiroth's. Sadly, when Strife was launched towards the Scarlet SOLDIER, the intended sword strike to bat the blonde away like a baseball fall short and was parried to the side. A smirk appeared on Genesis' lips again, watching as Cloud drew near with that massive sword of his.
Alright Cloud... It's time to see that strength of yours...
As the first strike of Slashing Blow knocked Genesis' Rapier away, the second hit nothing but the air in which Genesis stood, the SOLDIER using the change of direction in his sword arm to roll around Strife, twisting past him as if the pair were dancing until Rhapsodos took the blonde's back.
"I did as you to prove yourself, yes. Last time we met, you were nothing but a ShinRa grunt. You couldn't even hold that gun straight. And now look at you! A self pro-claimed 'Ex-SOLDIER 1st Class'. I want you to prove yourself to me so I can see if you have what it takes to protect this world, to protect your friends... to protect yourself. If you can't do that, what use are you are trying to save this world from the Darkness? From the Heartless?"
Genesis explained, hopping backwards a couple feet in case Strife suddenly whirled around and sliced the Scarlet SOLDIER in two with that massive blade.

"Another way? And what way is that? Your way? Cloud, you're no different from the Darkness right now... fighting to take this world back to the Light. You said you remembered what it meant to be in SOLDIER. Why don't you recall those memories and put faith in a fellow SOLDIER?"
Genesis instantly fell into full alert when he noticed the trick Cloud was pulling. That orange aura and the way his sword fell apart, something was going to happen that Genesis knew he didn't want to be in the middle of. So, he threw his left arm out to his side, parallel to the ground with an open palm and fingers extended. At the same moment, the black angel wing that signified him as a 'monster' erupted from his left shoulder blade. Black feathers fell to the floor but as Cloud turned to start off Omnislash, Genesis would be no where to be seen, merely a few feathers on the floor where he once stood. Vanished, but if Strife could sense the aura of a person's heart like Rhapsodos himself could, then the blonde would feel the Scarlet SOLDIER several feet above him in the sky. Here, out of harms way, Genesis narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth together as he became momentarily bewildered.
Where did he suddenly get that strength from...?
Thought the Scarlet SOLDIER, his bright blue eyes looking down upon the ant-sized Cloud below him. After a moment, he flew back down to the ground upon which the wing on his back vanished in another cluster of black feathers. A smile appeared on Genesis' lips as he pointed the Rapier to one of the wounds upon Cloud.

"I trust that scratch isn't slowing you down, Strife? Because you'll have to be faster then that if you want to win. Now... let me show you something amazing! I call it, The Power of the Ancients!"
Genesis said with a smirk as he raised his left arm up and tucked his elbow into his side, as if he were ready to throw out a punch. Instead of punching though, a bright light appeared with Rhapsodos' hand that formed into a bright blue/white fiery ball of Light. It was pure Light, as if it came directly from the heart of a certain pink dressed flower girl.
"Sephiroth mentioned something about a girl called Aerith who wielded such a power as this... She was supposedly an Ancient, so he says. So I guess you can also say this is The Power of Aerith!!"
Genesis suddenly jumped forth as a surge of energy blasted out from his left palm, the strength of Holy homing in on Strife with much greater speed then the Flash was capable of. If it were to hit Cloud or the ground upon which he stood, an explosion of the purest Light energy would smite whatever it touched, blasting them away like a bullet from a gun.

-=Cooldowns=-

Flash - Ready to use.
Dancing Sword Counter - 1 Post.
Shadow Flare - 1 Post.
Holy - 5 Posts.

[cloud]

Felt the gravity of tempered grace, falling into empty space

No-one there to catch you in their arms

[/center][/div][/font][/size][/sub]

"Hmph. Could've fooled me." the mercenary answered to Genesis quoting he was fighting for Cloud's survival, even though he was hampering it at that very moment in time.

"I never was a SOLIDER. I don't have anything to prove to you!" he answere defiantly, not choosing that moment to answer him about what he meant with there being another way. Cloud looked on as Genesis not only dodged one attack, but both. He watched on as he stopped from fully executing Omnislash Version Five as Genesis compltely disappeared... those black feathers left behind were all the clues he needed, though. Like Sephiroth, he should have guessed Genesis's JENOVA cells would have given him a wing and... allowed him to teleport. Frowning with some frustration even further in his aggrevation, he looked up with his senses as Genesis appeared several feet up above him. He had to frown even further as Genesis blabbed about how meek he appeared to him as a ex-footman for Shinra, and somehow knew about how he thought he used to be a first-class ex-SOLIDER like Zack... most likely through Sephiroth.

He grunted slightly, holding up his Main Blade and taking it out of it's combat mode. In a flast of bright light around the Vigilante, otherwise known as the main blade, the five blades that had come off and were dug into the earth around him in a circle vanished, and reformed back into the First Tsurugi. He would have moved to follow Genesis, but halted as he saw Genesis had purposely gained distance to allow for a new attack. And what he had said... after some ridicule about a cut that had formed from his first combo across his stomach, he confirmed he had indeed been conversing with Sephrioth... and spoke her name. How dare he mock her name that way and demean the power of Holy, after all that she sacrificed in order to use it to save the Planet... it was almost blasphemous. "That's none of your concern!" he once again spoke up harshly to summarize both taunts, taking deep breaths to calm himself, realizing this was the reason he couldn't trust Genesis because of how angry he was trying to make him feel.

As Genesis released the down-sized version of Aerith's materia, he had to think fast. There was no way he could have gotten up there in time to stop him, or the projectile would hit him. He couldn't tell if he could block such a powerful spell, even if it was down-graded in power, and if he tried to dodge it it might destroy part of the kindgom around them... he couldn't have that. That's when it hit him... Genesis had used the current distance to his advantage. Cloud turned and started strafing in the opposite distance away from Genesis and the castle, maximizing the distance between them.

Testing the range of the spell as he fell back towards the city limits of the buildings, his current plan was to use Genesis's distance against him, moving back so that he'd move out of the spell's range. If for some reason the spell had unlimited range, he waited until the last minute as the Holy spell closed in on him, then combat-rolled out of the way to avoid the large light projectile. Immediately he began charging back towards the castle and flew up the wall as he started wall-walking towards the parapet he had been looking over the kingdom of Baron from, which was tall enough to watch a rising airship float past. Now with the distance closing in between them, he concluded what he had alluded to in the battle earlier. "Like I said, never in SOLDIER. Just what it was to have that honor. There has to be another way. Why do you think this kingdom is abandoned in the darkness? These people aren't like us... they haven't been hardened in battle to learn darkness isn't always the enemy. They see the Heartless... know the darkness that follows, sending the natural order into chaos."

Reaching the top of the very tall castle wall, and continuing to run up the side of the building, Cloud pushed himself off the top. As he did, a burst of green Mako glow appeared around him, as he entered The power of Mako! form. Immediately after he executed Braver once more as he got within a few feet of Genesis, but the empowered thrust from the First Tsurugi was just a ploy. He pulled out the Vendetta from the Main Blade as he flipped over Genesis, spinning himself like a giant pinwheel of death as he did so and performing Double Cut starting with Vendetta in a different fashion with both blades. The action was a lot like when he was caught between Loz and Yazoo in the tunnel fight on Midgar, and he remembered how he had spun around to fend them both off at the least before defeating them.

"Fight for the darkness in worlds where it belongs. Not force it on those that fear it."

---

Slashing Blow: Cooldown: Two posts.

Omnislash Level Five: Cooldown: Two posts.

Cross-Slash: Cooldown: One post.

Double Cut: A fast combo of two downward chops from his sword.
Cooldown: One post.

Braver: Cloud charges forward through the air as his sword is glows with a blue aura, covering a short distance and homing in on the target before striking them once, then twice to knock them to the ground. If successful in striking and following through with the attack while using The Power of Mako, it will trigger Omnislash.
Cooldown: Two posts.

The Power of Mako: When Cloud activates this ability, gains the following effects:

Regen: White magic heals Cloud's damage in small amounts in long periodic bursts.

Ultima Weapon (ATK): The more health he has, the more damage Cloud can do.

Ultima Weapon (CRUSH): Cloud can break through normal guards or blocks.

Duration: Three posts. Cooldown: Four posts.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

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