A Priest in Need

[missionmod]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 8px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 0px 0px 10px;][STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 128px; color: #EDEDED; line-height: 30px; text-transform: uppercase;] W[/style]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 5px 10px 0px;] [STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 40px; color: #EDEDED; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -3px; line-height: 28px; margin-left: -4px;]HAT I'VE BEEN LIVING FOR [/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 9px; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #EDEDED; text-align: justify; padding: 0px 15px 0px 15px;]❝ HEROS TO COME AND AD US IN OUR HOUR OF NEED, AND HOPEFULLY YOU SHALL SUCCEED. ❞ [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][atrb=vAlign,top] [STYLE=width: 274px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 5px; text-align: justify; border-bottom: #2F2F2F 8px solid;] █ Was today the day things would finally go his way? Tobais had been working as a priest for this small village for almost a decade now and during that time this village had been under several attacks from the monsters that kept coming. Several villagers have lost their lives to them. It broke his heart to have to bury these victims, well if they were even left a body to bury that was. Several of the victims had been kidnapped and taken from the village, and even eaten. It was a sad sight to see. Though now hopefully things would be different. He had hired heroes to help take care of his problem. Sure he had called heroes before to try and help him out however every single one of them failed. They were lucky enough not to lose their lives however it didn't change anything. He waited on the outside of the village having told the three heroes to meet him there for he didn't want the villagers knowing he was doing this mission yet again. Besides outsiders weren't the most well liked people. He looked up at the son as it hit its highest point, looking around to see if any of them would come soon. [/style]

[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: -10px;] [/style] [STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: 15px;] [/style][STYLE=width: 120px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; text-align: justify;] █ TAGS Cloud, Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod █ WORDS --- █ NOTES Posting order is the same as in the tag [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; color: #B3B7BA; padding: 5px 20px 5px 5px; text-align: right;] made by ayu of btn[/style]

[mrstrife]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; btable][atrb=style, width: 500; background-image: url(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/GullwingVegeta/lifestream.jpg); border: 1px dotted #ffffff, btable] Is the way to preserve the future: [If we remain strong, we can continue to fight for what we believe in. Falter and become weak however, ourselves and our dreams fall to naught.] Tagged: [Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod,] OOC: [Spirits used by permission of Night. Will not be used in battle, they are merely an internal conflict for Cloud to deal with. Thread Theme: Shinra Army Wages A Full Scale Assault]

Honing Our Skills Soaring above the village was the shape of what many of them may have considered a monster. From its head seemed to protrude large dangerous spikes, and from its shoulder a singular demonic wing spread as it flew overhead. As it drew closer, what at first seemed to be a monster proved to be just a man, the blond descending before the priest before fluttering above the ground and dropping to his feet. Cloud stood tall, turning his glowing mako blue eyes upon the priest with a nod as he crossed his arms over his chest. He glanced around, remembering that others were supposed to meet him and aid in the freeing this village from the tyranny of the monsters. One would be an angel clad in Darkness, the other a young mage... Vivi, if the description given to him was the same as the boy he’d seen in Disney Castle. He could only hope to help them see the wrongness in their ways, but ultimately that was only a secondary objective. His goal here was to train and sharpen his skills, prove to the Masked Man that he was indeed worth the time and effort that he was putting into training him. Cloud glanced down at the bracelets on his hand, carefully tucked beneath his armlet to that they wouldn’t be seen by anyone unless they were taking special note of his appearance. He hoped the kid was alright, he’d left him alone in Agrabah before leaving to meet with the Masked Man. Instead of heading straight to Beast’s Castle however, while the Masked Man went to take care of other things Cloud was sent on this mission to test himself. A waste of time in Cloud’s opinion, it did nothing for trying to help balance the Light and Darkness in his heart... But whatever, there’d be plenty of time for that later on. For now he had to focus on the job at hand, letting out a small sigh as he turned towards the priest. Before he could speak though, he started hearing the voices of the spirits in his head. Amusing, this guy has an interesting amount of darkness in his heart for a priest, Dusk’s voice came first. Dawn’s voice came next with a sigh. It’s an average amount for most, Dusk. That may be, but this guy is a priest it’s different if you ask me. We all have our internal struggles with the Light and Darkness in our hearts. Position means nothing in that regard, Cloud interjected, interrupting the upcoming squabble between the two spirits. Besides he is a man of God, what suspicions could you possibly have of him? Fine don’t listen to me, but don’t blame me if something happens. Tch, we'll see. Let's just wait for Vivi and the Dark Angel so we can get this over with. Yes more dark users, how amusing. Cloud and Dawn just sighed, the blond finally opening his mouth to speak to the priest. “Cloud Strife, come to answer the call. Was sent... By a friend,” he said carefully, not trying to reveal more than he needed to this man of the Light, or of 'God' as Dawn had said.

made by Rosalyn of BTN

[Deleted]

At a far distance from the village, a Corridor to Darkness opens on the northern outskirts of the village. A hooded figure stepped out of the corridor and glances up at the morning sky in time to see a one-winged figuring soaring toward the same location she had been headed for. Her head canted to one side as she watched the figure fly to the village. Genesis?[/i] wondered the lonely angel as she stared down at the village as her memory served that he had a single wing. The cloaked woman frowned down on it as it reminded her of certain memories of her own home world, Hope Village, and it made her briefly wonder if the village of this village is much kinder than Hope Village.

The dark keybearer began her long trek down to the village. Selena had not wished to disturb the village in fear of them being able to sense the darkness that she wielded without hesitance and she recalled that the source of the request was rumored to be a priest. The lonely angel knew that would not end well if the priest or if the other two that she had supposedly heard about would be helping her on this mission should ever find about her leaning toward the shadows.

Her mind wandered to her own village and their hatred for outsiders and the Nightmares, a non-human race with the sole ability to use magic a race that she only knew of by the fairy tales told to her by her mother. Selena remembered that it had eventually translated to anyone who had the ability to use magic and that included her, crossfire, into the crossfire and was surprised that she hadn't been banished to the Europa Mountains right away. Perhaps it was because of her young age, or her own mother's protection but the thought of being able to use her did cross her mind.

Raising a hand to herself, the lonely angel reflexively summoned a small orb of silver 'flame' and watched the flames lick her palm. The pale light the 'blood flame' provided danced around her, but it did not bring her any comfort and she dismissed the flame. A sigh escaped her as the dark warrior neared the village. Selena sincerely hoped that when she returned, that they would change their way, but was mentally prepared if it was not the case. Her heart remembered how unmoving the wills of her people were and hoped it wasn't the case with this specific village.

The lonely angel soon arrived at the village and approached the spiky-hair man and the priest. Her hooded face remained neutral as she was surprised to see him instead of Genesis. Selena didn't allow herself to dwell on it as she gave the priest a polite bow of respect before straightening up. "I have come to answer your call, priest." answered the dark keybearer, her cold voice somehow kept neutral. She noted that if two of the three are already here then that they were now waiting for the third warrior to arrive.

[vivio]

Vivi was silent as he piloted the gummiship towards the place he'd received the instructions to go. It was only one stop in a myrad of detours for the young mage. It seemed that Master Deumion believed that solo training and learning for oneself was very important; and Vivi would be lying if he'd said he hadn't used this freedom to attempt to find clues on Zidane. He'd been searching for hints of Mordred's handy work on every world he'd encountered. So far, however, he'd not yet come face to face with the Nobody since the littlest mage and the memory witch had discussed him.

Thinking back, Vivi's mind reached for when he and Deumion first met, in Disney Castle, where everyone seemed to be concerned for Vivi's predicament. It did seem very long ago that the evil clown had tormented him and run him into the ground. Hadria had rescued him; then he had returned home to Gaia. The return had been so very brief because of Zidane and Mordred... and Vivi still wasn't sure how he'd survived that fight. Maybe an angel was looking out for him? Well.. one besides the angel of death...

Somehow, he had managed to find Sora again, despite their previous meeting having been so very very short. Sora was a great person. He reminded Vivi a lot of Zidane. Maybe that's why Vivi was so very willing to trust him when he said he would help the littlest mage find and restore his friend. But the thoughts of that meeting were not all happy...

Vivi wondered if somewhere out there Sora, Snow, and Laguna and all their friends were ok. He hoped so, since he felt like he'd traveled so far away and hadn't been back to see them in such a great length of time that perhaps something bad had happened to them. And, hopefully, Cloud was ok too, despite not wanting anyone to have anything to do with his quest to find... whatever it was he was trying to find. Vivi shook his head at the thought.

'Those guys are warriors; they're really strong. Stronger than me. If I'm ok, surely they're ok too.'

Vivi looked up and realized that he was there. From the other side of this world, the littlest mage had been seen practicing his magic against the monsters here and had been mistaken for some sort of hero... Possibly someone they'd met before? To which over and over he'd modestly tried to correct these people, but they'd pushed him and he just wasn't aggressive enough to argue when people were so determined... especially when he was alone. So the request had been pushed into his hand and he'd been sent in the direction of this village. Thankfully the Gummiship made this much easier.

The tiny black mage parked his Gummiship well away from the village so as to keep attention off of him. Being thought of as a hero was all well and good, but Vivi didn't like taking credit for what he hadn't done and he hoped that maybe this priest would actually listen when Vivi told him he wasn't whoever it was that everyone seemed to be expecting. Though Vivi had helped to fight a Garland, that was a completely different world and Vivi was sure he had no right to be accepting these people's generosity here.

And so a big floppy yellow hat walked cautiously through the streets, unaware of what was going on except that there were more monsters to be taken out. Vivi could deal with that, but he didn't want to be thought of as some sort of hero... he really didn't belong here; wouldn't this count as meddling?

It wasn't difficult to find the place; the village was decently small. Vivi found himself trying to look in all directions at once at the quaint little town as he sauntered forward, clutching the letter that had been given to him. He almost didn't notice the young woman standing directly in front of him and speaking until he was so close he was either going to bump into her or fall over to avoid it.

Vivi managed to chose option two and found himself once more chest to ground as his hat slipped a few meters away from his grasp.

"I-I'm sorry... I wasn't watching where I was going..." Vivi stammered as he crawled forward for his hat and set it on his head, adjusting it. Vivi's eyes noticed something as he was adjusting his hat and the dark face with inset golden orbs turned to see a familiar spikey head of hair.

"...C-Cloud..." Vivi whispered to himself, looking up curiously, still holding the letter. He gingerly stepped up next to Cloud, still looking up at him before turning to meet the priest. Vivi timidly adjusted his hat and took a deep breath.

"Hello... I-I received this... a-and I don't think I'm who everyone thinks I am... b-but I ..." Vivi looked at the other two warriors who'd come for this same reason and then looked back to the old man. "I'd like to help your village."

[missionmod]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 8px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 0px 0px 10px;][STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 128px; color: #EDEDED; line-height: 30px; text-transform: uppercase;] W[/style]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 5px 10px 0px;] [STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 40px; color: #EDEDED; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -3px; line-height: 28px; margin-left: -4px;]HAT I'VE BEEN LIVING FOR [/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 9px; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #EDEDED; text-align: justify; padding: 0px 15px 0px 15px;]❝ HEROS TO COME AND AD US IN OUR HOUR OF NEED, AND HOPEFULLY YOU SHALL SUCCEED. ❞ [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][atrb=vAlign,top] [STYLE=width: 274px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 5px; text-align: justify; border-bottom: #2F2F2F 8px solid;] █ These were the heroes that have come to save him? The priest couldn't help but wonder as he noticed the first arrive, he took a few step back in fear, "A-A demon!?" he couldn't help but seem slightly worried since he just flew, and the demon wing did not help any. However when he said he was there to help him and was told about his request for help. He nodded to him, giving a light bow with his head since this priest was always open minded. And if this demon worked to at least help others who was he to reject the help? "I thank you then warrior for coming to my aid, forgive my comment from before, we are under constant attack by monsters and the wing, well sally you can understand my outburst," he explained giving a smile that asked for forgiveness. After a few more moments of waiting he watched as another approved them, a young lady from what he could tell by her voice. "I thank you young lady for your aid, and now to wait on one other," he commented, having heard that the last hero he was waiting for was suppose to be a hero from what he had been told. Though when a small child looking thing came claiming to be the last one that was suppose to aide them he couldn't help but be in slight shock. "You are the hero mage I have heard about?" he questioned indeed surprised by his size, though he supposed he couldn't judge a book by its cover. Once again he smiled a friendly smile, "I would be honored to have your aid young mage, any help would be very grateful." "As I mentioned in my call for help, a spirits has been summoning monsters to our village to try and destroy it as well as its villagers. My name is Tobais and I wish for your aid to help vanquish this problem. I have asked warriors before, but the spirit had defeated them," he closed his eyes in sorrow, as his voice was filled with grief, "I have seen far to many villagers lose their lives, I hope with your aid we can defeat this spirit." he opened his eyes once more to look at them,"the spirit lives atop of that mountain, his medium lives in a small shrine if we can destroy that medium we defeat the spirit. It has a powerful aura protecting it which I can break.... given time which no warrior has been able to give me, hopefully you three will be the exception. Now may I ask your names so that I may address my heroes properly? And do you have any questions for me before we head out?" [/style]

[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: -10px;] [/style] [STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: 15px;] [/style][STYLE=width: 120px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; text-align: justify;] █ TAGS Cloud, Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod █ WORDS --- █ NOTES --- [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; color: #B3B7BA; padding: 5px 20px 5px 5px; text-align: right;] made by ayu of btn[/style]

[mrstrife]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; btable][atrb=style, width: 500; background-image: url(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/GullwingVegeta/lifestream.jpg); border: 1px dotted #ffffff, btable] [atrb=vAlign,top] Is the way to preserve the future: [Just like old times... Zack, remember the plans we had? When the war is over, and the worlds are closed once more... We can have the life you always wanted. Aerith beside you, Tifa beside me... Everything will be alright... Finally...] Tagged: [Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod,] OOC: [Spirits used by permission of Night. Will not be used in battle, they are merely an internal conflict for Cloud to deal with. Thread Theme: Shinra Army Wages A Full Scale Assault]

Mercenary Time Cloud couldn’t hide his grimace at the mentioning of him being a demon, opting to close his eyes for a moment with a sigh before opening them to continue what he had said. When the priest apologized, Cloud just shook his head and turned his back to the priest while crossing his arms over his chest. “Whatever,” he said quietly, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched for the dark angel to appear. The priest couldn’t possibly understand what he’d gone through if he was so simple minded to be tricked so easily. Cloud didn’t care what happened to the village either, all he wanted to do was get the mission done so he could continue to Beast’s Castle and get their mission accomplished. Soon she was upon them, the hooded figure trading glances with Neutral’s Prize as before he looked back towards the horizon. Hopefully Vivi would get here soon, and the kid proved tougher than he appeared. Then again, if he accompanied Zidane on his adventures he couldn’t be that weak... It didn’t take long for Vivi to arrive, the littlest mage stumbling before falling over to crash to the ground. He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. He just couldn’t understand why this kid was putting himself in danger when he obviously wasn’t ready for it. He shook his head, bringing his arms back across his chest while Vivi called out to him. Cloud turned towards him and nodded, acknowledging that he was right. He was relieved that Vivi and the angel hadn’t questioned his wing, and that the latter hadn’t questioned his new appearance. He really didn’t feel like explaining himself. Silently Cloud listened to the priest, nodding slightly as he explained what they were to do. So the priest was taking them to the shrine atop the mountain, where they would do battle with the spirit and its monsters in order to stop it from hurting the villagers again. Simple enough, if the spirits were anything like Dusk was then this battle would be a piece of cake. He narrowed his eyes, just shaking his head again as he turned away from the priest once more. “As both I and Vivi said, I’m Cloud. The only name we don’t know is her’s,” Cloud jerked a finger towards the hooded woman before the voices in his head began to speak. “And award for greatest fast actor goes to THIS guy!”

[/b][/color] the dark spirit said, clapping as he did so with a chuckle. Dawn sighed.

“He’s not that fat Dusk.”[/b]

...What are you talking about?

I'm telling you based on the darkness I sense I'm gonna assume all this guy says is BS.

You're just annoyed that he is accusing a spirit like us for doing the attacks on the village.

Maybe just a bit...

I told you, everyone has Darkness... It's not a direct link. We'll wait, if Dusk is right... Well, we'll take care of it when it happens.

IF I'm right? Psh please I'm always right!

No you're not.

Quiet you no one asked you![/i]

If you were right you wouldn't have fought me.

I fought you for fun, there’s a difference!

...Whatever.[/div]
[/td][/tr][/table]

made by Rosalyn of BTN

[/center]

[Deleted]

As the hooded keybearer straightened up after being thanked for her help, her ears heard a thump from behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see a child had fallen over. She watched him put his hat back on, but could only nod in either to accept his apology or to acknowledge his presence. For what he was apologizing for, the dark angel was not sure. After hearing the child speak about helping with their task, the keybearer had found herself raise a brow in slight shock, but kept her silence.

He had appeared to be a bit too young, and she wondered if this was a case of 'looks can be deceiving'. After all, Selena herself had forced herself to walk her path to be the warrior she was right now from an incredibly young age which made her wonder what had him started on his path. Perhaps in the end, it's all about our choices... mused the hooded angel but then shook her head, Focus. You're here to help this man and his village. Don't start reminiscing about a past that's already been set into stone. [/i]

Her mind returned to earth just as the priest began to explain the situation, and beneath the hood, the dark angel frowned at the mention of a spirit summoning monsters to his village. And he's sure that he hasn't angered it in some way...? [/i] wondered the cloaked keybearer as she carefully watched the priest's facial expression. He seemed genuine, but her instinct screamed at her that something was off. I'm probably just psyching myself out or having some sort of before going on a quest type of fear. I'm sure that any warrior would have felt the same. She mentally shuts out that scream and locked it away.

Her icy eyes darkly glared at the warrior named after visible water vapor [Cloud] as he mentioned that the only warrior who hadn't introduced herself outright. If it hadn't been for the hood obstructing everyone's view of her face, her glare could have killed him. "Artemis, and no questions." answered the dark keybearer as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the ground. 'Artemis' closed her eyes.

[vivio]

The littlest mage listened to the other two warriors speak, at last learning the name of the mysterious woman. Artemis. Cloud. Their names were ethereal and mysterious. Vivi felt his own name was simple and innocent, easy to overlook. But looking at their physical forms didn't disprove this either. The black mage found his golden eyes looking from one person to the other before settling back on the priest who was, at this moment, most important.

The priest once again called Vivi a hero before he could protest... Vivi began to feel uneasy about the misnomer. It was one thing to be mistaken for someone else... it was another to be deliberately called by that person's title despite being told otherwise... The littlest mage desperately hoped that somewhere out there he was not causing trouble for the one who truly had earned the title "Hero"... But there was no time for insistence or corrections; the priest seemed to require any help he could find.

A spirit..? The idea of a spirit trying to destroy this village with monsters made Vivi's mind as a million questions... what kind of monsters? Were they native to this area? Where had the spirit come from? Was it a guardian spirit? Why was it vengeful to the point of trying to destroy a village? What was this medium? If it was a spirit, was it sentient enough to reason?

Both Cloud and Artemis stoically refused to ask questions... and so Vivi lost the nerve to ask the ones burning in his mind. He adjusted his hat as he remembered Cloud had once pushed aside Vivi's own dilemmas in favor of his own, which seemed much bigger. The littlest mage didn't want to waste more of the warriors' time with his silly questions and curiosity... He'd come to help, after all, right? Despite something in his mind still wanting to ask questions, Vivi looked up at the priest and nodded that he was ready.

'...but something about this seems kind of funny...' Vivi thought to himself.

[missionmod]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 8px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 0px 0px 10px;][STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 128px; color: #EDEDED; line-height: 30px; text-transform: uppercase;] W[/style]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 5px 10px 0px;] [STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 40px; color: #EDEDED; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -3px; line-height: 28px; margin-left: -4px;]HAT I'VE BEEN LIVING FOR [/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 9px; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #EDEDED; text-align: justify; padding: 0px 15px 0px 15px;]❝ HEROS TO COME AND AD US IN OUR HOUR OF NEED, AND HOPEFULLY YOU SHALL SUCCEED. ❞ [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][atrb=vAlign,top] [STYLE=width: 274px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 5px; text-align: justify; border-bottom: #2F2F2F 8px solid;] █ It seems there were no questions to be asked then. He thought as he heard nothing but silence from his three heroes. Well other than hearing the name of the young lady in the cloak. He smiled to the three giving a nod, taking their silence as a sign they were all good and ready. Silent types all three of them seem to be. Such a shame he would have liked to learn more about them, but if they were not the talkative types who was he to force them to speak? "Alright then since there are no questions then just follow me to the mountain's path, feel free to ask anything as we travel if you like," he said to them as he lead the three out of the village which didn't take to long since they were already near it's boarders. It was about a half hour walk to reach the mountain's path which had a warning sign near it, telling of monsters and warning of death. If the warriors took notice to their surrounding they would have seen that the closer they got to the mountains that the cloudier it seemed to become. The priest paused and turned to the warriors pointing his finger to the peek, "The spirit's shine is up on top, monsters have tended to attack when I have climbed up here before with the other warriors so we might have to fight them," he gave small warning, he gave them a serious look, "The monsters are dangerous and as is this spirit, so I want to ask again are you sure you warriors wish to do this? You shall be rewarded greatly for it of course if you choose to do so." [/style]

[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: -10px;] [/style] [STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: 15px;] [/style][STYLE=width: 120px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; text-align: justify;] █ TAGS Cloud, Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod █ WORDS --- █ NOTES --- [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; color: #B3B7BA; padding: 5px 20px 5px 5px; text-align: right;] made by ayu of btn[/style]

[mrstrife]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; btable][atrb=style, width: 500; background-image: url(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/GullwingVegeta/lifestream.jpg); border: 1px dotted #ffffff, btable] [atrb=vAlign,top] Is the way to preserve the future: [Kinda makes me want to visit my sleepy little town...] Tagged: [Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod,] OOC: [Spirits used by permission of Night. Will not be used in battle, they are merely an internal conflict for Cloud to deal with. Thread Theme: Shinra Army Wages A Full Scale Assault]

Almost Like Home Cloud hardly noticed the glare coming from the young woman, his attention focused on the priest before them. That, and the fact that the spirits had finally silenced in his head. He let out a small sigh of relief, his thoughts unable to keep from wandering to Finally some peace and quiet.... So, her name was Artemis, and like him she had nothing to ask him. There really wasn’t any need for questions anyway, the mission at hand was a very simple mission to understand. They just needed to go to the cave, defeat the Spirit, and then they were finished. The one he expected to ask specifics such as information on their opponent was Vivi, but he remained notably silent. Perhaps he was just as confident as they were, or more likely he lost the nerve to ask questions after how stoically he and Artemis had refused to ask. After a quick glance to the kid, he returned his attention to the priest as the holy man began to speak. He seemed hell-bent to get questions out of them, something that Cloud wasn’t going to oblige to him. Crossing his arms over his chest he followed behind the priest, leading the others out of the village towards the mountain path. Cloud continually scanned their surroundings, looking for anything possibly strange on their way towards the cave. It reminded him of home in the Nibel Mountains, the cold mountain air hitting his lungs was refreshing. The landscape was just as monotone too, something that made Cloud feel naught but relaxed and calm. Even the signs didn’t bother him, he’d in fact lived nearby a reactor all his life and between the strange things that were in the Shinra Mansion and the monsters produced by the reactor as well as those natural to the mountains... This was nothing but the same old thing all over again. He doubted the spirit was much tougher than one of the Dragons either, especially if Vivi and Artemis were as strong as he thought they were. Vivi might not be the best, but he surely wasn’t a weakling since he’d fought against Kuja on his own Gaia. As it grew cloudier, Cloud waited for a pun from Artemis. It would’ve lightened the mood for them, but for Cloud it’d only make him shake his head at their silliness. The clouds weren’t abnormal for mountains, so Cloud wasn’t alarmed by them. He’d been a country boy from the mountains his whole life, he doubted anything here could shake him. Stopping with the priest, Cloud focused his eyes back on the man as he began to speak. He fought to keep from rolling his eyes before returning to his scanning of the area for trouble. Again, this was nothing abnormal there was no reason to get them riled up or alarmed. He truly was an ignorant priest; at least his heart was in the right place. Unless Dusk was right, then he was trying to give an advantage to their enemy for some sort of gain. “We’ll be fine, let’s go. The longer we wait the more time the spirit and monsters have to attack the village,” Cloud pointed out coldly, wanting to get this over with.

made by Rosalyn of BTN

[Deleted]

The hooded angel felt the heaviness of the uneasy silence hang in the air as neither Vivi nor Cloud dared to ask the questions that needed to be asked. She hung her head low as if that weight had affected her and began the trek up the mountain after the priest began to lead the way. Her mind noted that he had left the offer of answering any questions available and tucked that note into her mind for future reference. As far as 'Artemis' was aware of, it was supposed to be a simple mission of just go up, beat the spirit and the medium, then head down and continue life as if nothing had happened.

The weight continued to affect her as she was slow in her walking pace and was soon lagged behind the rest of the group. The hooded keybearer was lost in her own thoughts as she couldn't shake off the familiarity of these mountains. They somehow reminded her of the Europa Mountains of the home world long gone. Despite never having trekked those mountains herself due to the dangerous reputation and her youth, Selena imagined that they would be like these mountains.

'Artemis' had begun to accept that her home and everyone that she had ever known were gone. The people who had hated and shunned her despite her own naive acceptance of them even when they did try to kill her once before were dead. Her mother, although murdered, and her younger twin sister were dead. Despite that the woman herself had never run into one, the Nightmares were likely gone as well. Dead with everything else that had lived on that desolate, lonely world. Gone. Never to be brought back.

The hooded keybearer felt the insides of her throat constrict and remained silent as a result. The ears who wished to hear some light-hearted pun or joke would not be able to hear it from her. Besides, the lonely angel was socially awkward and too serious. Selena wouldn't know a joke if she had heard one. 'Artemis' felt a shiver run down her spine, causing her wings underneath the velvet cloth to quiver.

As the priest and Cloud stopped, the lonely angel hadn't noticed of the stop until she had bumped into the SOLDIER's back. "Sorry..." mumbled 'Artemis' as she took a few steps backward with the next thought quickly flashing through her mind before her Heart could even comprehend it, I'm sorry for being alive. The sight-seeing and the mental comparison of the uncanny similarities between this world and her long gone home had caused her mind to lose focus on the mission.

'Artemis' listened to what the priest had to say. He stopped us just to make sure if we still wanted to do this? wondered the dark angel, incredulous. They were wasting precious time and Cloud voiced her thoughts as if he had been reading them. "He's right. The longer we wait the likelihood of your people dying to this spirit and the monsters will grow. We're trained for this, priest, and we need to keep going. Now." spoke the hooded woman, her voice ice-cold and irritated with a snarl to the last word to emphasize the importance of timeliness. They needed to go up there and get the fight done and over with.

[vivio]

Vivi followed, doing his best to keep up and avoid any slips or falls while he was following the Priest and the two warriors up the path away from the village. As the sky grew cloudy, Vivi couldn't help but look around in curiosity. Was the strange weather caused by the spirit? The littlest mage tried not to think about the problems that could happen on this path but this was pointless; the Priest stopped and gave one last warning.

The tiny mage adjusted his hat as Cloud and Artemis gave their answer and urged to keep moving forward. Vivi glanced around, trying to stay alert. He'd had bad experiences in forests before... carnivorous plants being one of them.

As he was watching the group's flank, Vivi spoke up, finally unable to withold his musings.

"...These monsters you're concerned about... do they have a black face with gleaming yellow eyes, sir?" Vivi asked, still watching around him warily. "O-or are they native to this area?"

Vivi took a few steps forward, still watching around them carefully as he continued to voice his concerns as he kept vigil.

"... This... spirit... Does it think for itself? Why would it try to destroy your village?"

The yellow mage hat tilted back as Vivi looked over his shoulder back at the man. "...seems like a long way from here to there." It would have to be a serious matter for it to try to reach out that far, Vivi thought to himself.

"...I said I'd do it, so I will... but if we're gonna risk our lives for you, sir," Vivi turned his body to fully face the priest, "We should know the full story, I think." Vivi then looked to the other two, bowing his head humbly.

"...I mean, I would like to know."

[missionmod]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 8px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 0px 0px 10px;][STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 128px; color: #EDEDED; line-height: 30px; text-transform: uppercase;] W[/style]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #2F2F2F; border-radius: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 30px 5px 10px 0px;] [STYLE=font-family: arial black; font-size: 40px; color: #EDEDED; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: -3px; line-height: 28px; margin-left: -4px;]HAT I'VE BEEN LIVING FOR [/style][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; text-transform: uppercase; line-height: 9px; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #EDEDED; text-align: justify; padding: 0px 15px 0px 15px;]❝ HEROS TO COME AND AD US IN OUR HOUR OF NEED, AND HOPEFULLY YOU SHALL SUCCEED. ❞ [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][atrb=vAlign,top] [STYLE=width: 274px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 5px; text-align: justify; border-bottom: #2F2F2F 8px solid;] █ 'Not very talkative indeed,' the elder priest couldn't help but think to him self as he noticed that the first two had no objections or questions. Heck from the tension he felt from the two they just wanted him to shut up at lead the way. It was so sad to see that the youth of today were so impatient. Always wanting to hurry and get things done and not caring about the journey there. He suppose the situation called for it however he knew the beast wouldn't attack the village now so their assumptions were wrong, but he wouldn't tell them this. Though he shouldn't have expected any less from mercenaries, that was the life they seemed to run. He probably would have asked warriors from his village to help with this battle but he knows they wouldn't bother. "Forgive me I just wanted to give one last warning," he apologized to the two warriors, thinking about just moving on until he heard the little mage He smiled down to the child, well at least one of them seemed friendly enough to talk. Tobais nodded to him, "Yes, I fully understand that you would want to understand the details, and I'd be more than happy to tell you," he replied about to continue until Cloud walked and pushed past Tobais by ramming his shoulder into him as he walked past. The man of god getting the message clear as crystal as he began walking after Cloud, "Alright I get your message quite clear, you want to just go," he looked to Vivi"I'll answer as we walk then young Vivi," he said as he began walking looking around to be sure that there were no beast, then to the sky to see if there was any change. Thankfully though there wasn't so maybe the spirit hasn't sensed their presence yet. "So answer your questions, yes the beast that attack us are native to this land, I do not know of these monsters with black faces and glowing eyes you speak of. And yes this spirit has a mind of its own, and the reason why it could be after us is because many years ago a small group of priest banded together to lock away this monster into the shrine we are going to destroy. We had a time of peace with the beast hidden away but it seems like it has learn to call its fellow monsters to try and attack us. And now we must destroy it," he answered him hoping that it would answer all the young mage's questions. And it was there were a loud roar could be heard, the priest backing up in panic knowing that roar all to well. "Oh no!" cried out as a Red Dragon came down from the skies roaring as it has spotted its pray. casting Blaze to strike the whole party. Red Dragon: 10/10 Blaze: a Fire-elemental attack usually used by enemies to damage all party members. 2 post [/style]

[atrb=vAlign,top][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: -10px;] [/style] [STYLE=width: 100px; height: 100px; background-image: url(http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww280/shiojisan/45276.jpg); border-radius: 5px; border: #2F2F2F solid 10px; margin-top: 15px;] [/style][STYLE=width: 120px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 11px; color: #737678; padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; text-align: justify;] █ TAGS Cloud, Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod █ WORDS --- █ NOTES God Modding of Cloud pushing Tobais used with permission lol [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,background-color: #EDEDED;][STYLE=font-family: arial; font-size: 9px; color: #B3B7BA; padding: 5px 20px 5px 5px; text-align: right;] made by ayu of btn[/style]

[mrstrife]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; btable][atrb=style, width: 500; background-image: url(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/GullwingVegeta/lifestream.jpg); border: 1px dotted #ffffff, btable] [atrb=vAlign,top] Nothing special here: [Reminds me of when Zack and Sephiroth fought off the dragon that blocked our way back to Nibelheim... Except this time I'm the 'SOLDIER' in charge.] Tagged: [Selena, Vivi, Mission Mod,] OOC: [Spirits used by permission of Night. Will not be used in battle, they are merely an internal conflict for Cloud to deal with. Thread Theme: Shinra Army Wages A Full Scale Assault]

familiar mt enemies Unfazed by the environment around them, Cloud’s only grimace came as the Dark Angel bumped into the his back and started him. He looked over his shoulder, setting those mako eyes within her own as he whispered “You alright?” Though his face didn’t show it, his eyes let her know that there was some concern radiating from beneath the cold exterior that Cloud put on. She was a comrade after all, obviously something was on her mind though it didn’t matter what it was. Artemis needed to pull herself together and focus on the mission, possibly knowing her allies had her back both physically and emotionally would allow her to find that so they could continue their assault upon the spirit that lay ahead. Turning back to the priest, after saying his peace he simply nodded as Artemis agreed with him. At least someone besides him had their head screwed on right during this little charade. Cloud took a step forward, getting ready to continue their journey while he ignored the apology of the priest before Vivi’s voice brought about several questions about the situation. He asked if their enemies were Heartless, a valid question in the mind of the Imaginary SOLDIER though not quite one that he thought was needed to hold up the group. He continued to ask questions, one after another, earning an audible groan from the blond as the priest almost happily continued to waste their time by staying put. With a roll of his eyes he glared forward and started to walk, running his shoulder into that of the priest as he stormed by on his way up the path of the mountain. Maybe that hint was subtle enough for the babbling duo that they needed to get going. Tobais alluded to as much when he responded to Cloud, and the Buster Basher didn’t bother turning around as he quipped “Good.” Though he continued his way ahead of the others, his eyes continually studying their surroundings, Cloud listened to the holy man as he answered the questions posed to him by the littlest mage. Their enemies weren’t Heartless; it was an actual spirit like those he carried within his bracelets. Perhaps they too had caused trouble on their world, which was the reason they were locked away in their prison upon his wrist. Tch don’t lump us in with this spirit causing trouble Blondie we have more class than that.

[/b]

Quiet, I don’t want to miss something.

Why? It’s the same old story you humans fear our power and so lock us away even if we’ve done nothing.

Whatever.[/i][/color]

Listening as the priest wrapped up his story, it became apparent that this was an act of revenge on part of the spirit. On Gaia, creatures of power were not locked away and in fact were sought after and used as acts of might in order to gain power and control over the rest of the planet. The idea of trapping them out of fear was... Ridiculous, Cloud thought, but if Dusk was right they were helping the enemy. Whatever, a job was a job. Not like they needed to destroy it anyway, just defeat it.

Tch no wonder the spirit is pissed off it was locked away against its will.[/b]

Weren’t the two of you?

We were locked away in these mediums against our will, so I suppose you can say we understand what this spirit might be feeling.

Our of fear, same as it?

No, out of greed, a man sought to use our power for himself and locked us away in these when we refused to join him.

Sounds a lot more like people on my-[/i] Cloud’s thought was interrupted as the loud familiar roar of a dragon echoed throughout the air, immediately drawing the blond’s attention skyward as summoned Ultima Weapon to his hand in a flash of light. He narrowed his eyes, spotting the familiar shadow of the flying reptile over head.

“Guess we got company,” Cloud observed aloud, ignoring Dusk’s quip of Have fun Blondie![/i][/color] as he glanced backwards then leapt back to the group so he could knock the priest down in beside Vivi, trying to shove Artemis back with a swift move of his elbow before bringing the massive blade before him in an attempt to block a majority of the attack with his oversized yet not overcompensating weapon.

“Vivi, keep him safe. Artemis, you’re with me,” Cloud ordered, quickly taking charge of the situation before taking to the sky with a powerful flap of his wing. As he ascended he got a better view of the dragon, it looked like the one that had been guarding the Temple of the Ancients all those years ago that attacked him and the other members of AVALANCHE when Sephiroth Jenova made its escape. He snorted, he’d defeat this one just as easily as the last, especially with the Dark Angel there to help him. He deduced the two of them were the best equipped to take care of their foe, after all they could meet their enemy in the sky and keep it away from Vivi and the priest. Hopefully they could kill it in time, Cloud guessed only time would tell.

As he drew near to the dragon, he tucked his wing to swiftly descend upon it as a blue aura began to radiate from his sword. Using the momentum of the dive alongside the acceleration of his attack Cloud drove Ultima Weapon towards the flesh of the dragon, yanking it back as he spun forward in a flip and slashed the dragon with Braver, a small smirk on his face as he hovered in the air with a few flap of his wings to watch the dragon. Oh, it felt good to be fighting again... Wait, was this Dusk’s influence? Or was it the Darkness in his heart reacting so well to this chance for combat..?

Oh how fun this is, come on Blondie let’s see you demonstrate your power.[/b]

Just you wait,[/i] Cloud thought, letting Dusk know that this battle was only beginning. He didn’t want to end it just as it began. If he wanted a little more fire power though... Then the One Winged Demon would gladly show him in just a minute.

--------------------
Cool Downs
Braver: Two Post Cool Down[/div]
[/td][/tr][/table]

made by Rosalyn of BTN

[/center]

[Deleted]

The cloaked angel had barely registered the swordsman’s concern as she tried to mentally pull herself together. This world was nothing like Hope Village. They were two separate worlds and the dark keybearer was trying to convince herself that her mind was making up the similarities due to stress or even nervousness from the mission. 'Artemis' had never given Cloud an answer when her words on timeliness were already spoken.

When the young mage did speak his concerns, 'Artemis' couldn't help but mentally groan. Her right hand palmed her face while her left arm went akimbo. These were questions that should have been asked at the beginning before they left. It annoyed the hooded keybearer quite a bit, but at least, his questions were legitimate. Was the spirit a Heartless or not? As the priest answered Vivi's inquiries, the keybearer shot the priest a dark glare from under her hood after she realized that they were getting nowhere.

The hooded angel frowned at the spirit's supposed situation. Lovely...Real lovely. We're dealing with a pissed off spirit who's been locked away for who knows how long...[/i] mused 'Artemis', I don't doubt that the spirit will be claustrophobic.[/color] It didn't occur to her that she could be working on the wrong side but the keybearer was here to get a job done. 'Artemis' didn't need any more reminders of her home world.

The fierce roar startled the dark keybearer and she froze as another memory, a legend from her home world. Before 'Artemis' knew it, she was shoved by an elbow to the shoulder out of the way of the Red Dragon's Blaze technique. The hem of her cloak got singed and her right sleeve was caught on fire. She quickly removed her cloak that revealed her Wings of an Fallen Angel just as Cloud seemingly blocked Blaze with his sword and gave the order. "Right." answered Artemis as she summoned her Heartsickness keyblade to her hand.

The dark angel flew up and joined Cloud in the sky. As the SOLDIER distracted the dragon, 'Artemis' flew toward the side and upward toward its left wing. She mercilessly slashes its wing with a five-slash combo before flying to the other one to repeat the action in the hopes of permanently impairing it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wings of an Fallen Angel[/color]: The ebony wings on Selena's back allows her to fly to great heights and jump higher than any normal human would. Unfortunately, it hinders her ability to physically run [unless she's flying too close to the ground], by making her slow. They are also a nuisance when near water especially since she has little to no ability to swim. [~Passive~]