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Post by Vincent Valentine on Feb 3, 2009 9:09:47 GMT -5
The only parts of Vincent that moved were his raven black hair and tattered cape, rippling in the wind that scattered the sands along the beach. Although his eyes were trained in precaution on Kadaj, his focus was on Tifa as she corrected the Remnant and raised a point. It did make Kadaj look petty and weak speaking useless insults if they held no value to them. Even if they did, Vincent doubted if he could trust them unless Kadaj had some viable proof anyway. He knew she would do so without a question as his friend, but he felt touched by Tifa's words that she would protect him, as he would for her in return. He knew her well from their time working together, and could tell she was trying to control her emotion to prove Kadaj did not effect her, but being a passionate woman was one of Tifa's greatest strengths and because of her motivation and strength of heart was one of the reasons why she was so decicated and powerful in her resolve.
He couldn't see what Rufus was doing, but had heard he had drawn his gun. This would probably not help ease tensions between them and Kadaj, but because Kadaj had proven to be violent even with possessing some superior intellect, a fight seemed to be inevidable. But, that was fine, as it was the way Vincent prefered it. Rufus was not the most perfect man, even now deceptively drawing a gun behind Vincent's back, but Vincent wouldn't let a human life die if they were trying to repay their sins. He had been all his life... what would have become of him if he hadn't survived? Confidently, he wouldn't find out in this confrontation today.
Kadaj's words were merely annoying and irritable at this point, and Vincent was half-listening for any information that might even be half-relevant to the situation that was about to explode into combat the second the Remnant was tired of hearing himself talk. And then, there it was, something relevant. Vincent looked doubtfully at Kadaj. How did he know about those events? Vincent had not even been there himself about the situation when Aerith had been kidnapped by the Turks, so how could Kadaj know about that, as well as when Rufus had ordered the Turks to gas Tifa and Barret? The Remnant had not even existed then, and was still a value of Sephiroth at the time. Either somehow Jenova had spied on the situation, so the information had been passed from Sephiroth to Kadaj, or... he had been talking to someone who had been present or heard of the event. Who could Kadaj have been listening to in that scenario? The man standing behind him, the woman standing next to him? It was foolish to jump to conclusions without some substantial evidence, so Vincent tucked this piece of information into the back of his mind for a later date. It could have simply been a clever plot for Kadaj to place doubt in them all about what he knew about that. The only shred of truth lay in his retelling of the events. As Vincent finished thinking of this within the shortest of moments, the Remnant made another ultimatum, this time at Rufus. Hmph. Was Kadaj actually honorable enough that he was giving everyone present an option before he went into combat? Or was his bark worse than his bite, and he couldn't stick to his previous ultimatum to him and Tifa to step aside now he knew they were not backing down, almost sounding like he was pleading now to Rufus to make himself an easy target? Didn't Kadaj revel in the fact of wanting a challenge? He didn't know. He hadn't really spoken much, even now to the Remnant, and didn't make a habit out of talking to his enemies unless he wanted information out of them. So, Kadaj wanted Rufus to answer? As he finished addressing the ex-president, he stepped aside slightly, to allow Rufus to make eye contact and answer dignantly.
Whether that be with simple, smart words like he always used - or with shotgun shells. Vincent tensed his muscles slightly, ready to spring into combat at the slightest rapid movement.
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Post by lala on Feb 7, 2009 23:58:01 GMT -5
Tifa felt her anger rise everytime she heard that laugh. That cold and heartless laugh. It just made her so mad. She felt her fingers start to twitch when she heard it. She knew what they wanted to do and what they were trying to trick her mind into doing. She just wanted to curl them into a fist and aim it right at that face of his and just wipe that smirk right off. But she knew that she shouldn't just attack right off the hand. Plus she had already gotten a bit of this out when she gave that punch she had given to Rufus. But it seemed within a matter of moments she had been able to change her opinion on him and lose her hate. Was that a weakness? She tended to be pretty forgiving for the most part? What if she got talked into forgiving Kadaj like she had Rufus? No...that wouldn't happen. Kadaj was the enemy. But then again wasn't Rufus once the enemy also?
Kadaj repeated her statement about Rufus. And he laughed even louder. The louder and the more he laughed caused the quicker rise of Tifa's anger. Now she really was tempted to punch him or kick him just to get him to shut up and to stop laughing at her. She didn't like to be laughed at. She wouldn't stand for that. But she knew that she shouldn't jump into combat with her. She couldn't fight him alone. He was much stronger then her that was certain. He probably matched Cloud or Sephiroth in strength and skill. And both of them were certainly above her in that department. So for now she just stood still clutching her hands in fists while trying to cool down and relax herself in her head. She listened to Kadaj speak of Rufus. Tifa lowered her head and her eyes as he said this. He actually did have a point.
Rufus had been the enemy not too long ago. He had tried to kill her and her friends. But now she was supposed to help him? It was a bit random and slightly awkward. But she couldn't help but feel like she could trust him. Her gaze went up to Vincent. He was trusting Rufus. Tifa knew that Vincent wouldn't betray her or AVALANCHE. She trusted him greatly. So if he was trusting Rufus. But just the thought of her working alongisde the man who had tried to kill her made her uncomfortable. But she couldn't hold grudges. That was like living your whole life in a memory. She had to look to the future and put the past and all of the bad of it behind to make the future a brighter and happier one. Much like the advice she had given a certain spiked haired blonde not to long ago. Something deep within her was telling her that it was the right thing to do to protect Rufus.
"...No. You are wrong. I'm not going to live my life in the past and in just a memory of my former hate. I do have reasons to hate Rufus but we all agree that you are the main enemy to all of his. And if Vincent can trust him then so can I." Tifa said in a rather quieter tone of voice. Despite it being quiet her strength in the speech was able to come through. She noticed that Vincent moved back for Rufus to answer Kadaj's final statement. Tifa staye quiet figuring it be best to do like Vincent had done and just step back and leave this part between the two of them. But she was ready to fight should a battle come out. Which she had a feeling that one would emerge.
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Rufus ShinRa
Neutral
[AWD:03]Turk[M:100]
"Heh, that's all for today."
Posts: 320
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Post by Rufus ShinRa on Feb 9, 2009 17:14:25 GMT -5
'You won't let try and attempt to kill Rufus?! Oh that IS rich! ...Yes, protect the man who ordered his Turks to kidnap Aerith, protect the man whose employee locked you in a gas room and left you for dead! Protect the man who thinks fr only himself and will ultimately end up becoming your enemy once again.' The laughing from Kadaj was loud and amused. It was true, after his attempts to eliminate his competition, he had tried to kill all of Avalanche. Though, he had helped as well. He wasn't sure he could completely put his full faith in Avalanche either. At this point, his Turks had completely abandoned him as well. He'd become so dependant on them that he wasn't used to doing things completely on his own. At least he could appreciate someone covering his back all the time. Now, since he was completely defenseless, he had to rely on Avalanche. He knew, since Vincent was a Turk, that this truce would be held until someone did something stupid. But Tifa had plenty of reasons to hate him, as well as Shinra. From the reports, it seemed her father had been killed by Sephiroth. Sephiroth was created by Shinra. Only Hojo knew the side effects. Rufus wasn't completely to blame for anything except the gas chamber attempt. He had taken up Shinra at a point where it was already pinned for defeat. Plus, he had only learned what he'd been taught. Now he had some sense of morals, whether they play all the time or not. Then, a deal came. 'Here's the deal Rufus. You come with me now, and I'll allow your 'friends' here to live. Fail to comply, and you all will die!' [/color][/center] As this was said, Vincent took a pause and shifted to allow Rufus a little satisfaction and dignity. That's all Rufus really had. He was very persuasive and held himself very high. Other then that he would have been little to nothing. Luckily, he had grown up in the right family. Or the wrong one if you took it the other way. Tifa's snide comment didn't come too soon either. It seemed they were going to be at his side, and it would have been an insult to them if he were to just hand himself over. So, he began with a shrug. "I believe I am going to stay right here. I'm not going to make everything easy for you. You'll have to come to me." His gun was now obvious in his hand as he flashed his signature smirk, the same one he had when he dropped mother off the building. It seemed this was it. The fight was going to start and Rufus wasn't sure he was ready.
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Kadaj
Villain
[M:125]
You won't like me when I'm angry!!
Posts: 577
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Post by Kadaj on Feb 11, 2009 6:19:46 GMT -5
Vincent was silent as always. Nothing new there. Tifa was still trying to keep her emotions under control and seemed she was having more success in doing that then Kadaj was in flaring them back up. Alright, no problem there either. Seemed the two AVALANCHE's had made up their final decisions so it appeared the inevitable was about to become reality. Pity though, Kadaj thought the comments about having Tifa protect the man whom tried to kill her, might have worked, but it seemed he was wrong. The Remnant had managed to gather such information by relying on his Jenova Cells. They were certainly curiously things to have inside one's body. Ask Cloud or Sephiroth. Still, it seemed there was not much left to be said verbally and perhaps the three of them needed to be convinced in a more, physical way.
That was a problem though. Two gunmen, one of them being an extremely capable shot. Tifa wasn't too much to worry about and perhaps the Remnant had more use for her in the upcoming battle. As long as he could keep her between Vincent and Rufus, then they wouldn't be able to get any shots in at him... but that would merely be a waste of stamina and time. Tifa wasn't Kadaj's target... Rufus was, and so long as he had his new 'bodyguards' with him, things would not go as planned. Kadaj raised his free hand up to his nose and scratched at it gently for a couple of seconds, his eyes narrowing greatly as he clearly started to put himself in a more concentrated state. His left hand was still gripping tightly around the Souba's handle, much like Vincent did with Cerberus... Rufus was one step ahead though.
Kadaj didn't say anything else now. There was no point. He just stood there in silence, waiting patiently as if the four of them were in the Wild West and they were all preparing themselves to draw. Silver hair blew across turquoise eyes silently, matching the direction in which Vincent's cape blew in the sea breeze. A hard stare, piercing through Rufus' defense of Vincent and Tifa, was locked solely on to the blue orbs of the ex-President. That was when the man in white finally spoke up, mentioned that if Kadaj wanted him, he'd have to come get him. A sound plan.
With that made up, Kadaj smirked and started to slowly pace forwards, one step at a time, listening as his boots gently placed upon the sand, crunching the small, fine stones underneath. Souba still sheathed, he was not going to be the first person to attack and Vincent didn't seem the type to attack first either, so there was a new game being played... Who'd snap first... Tifa, or Rufus? Or would Kadaj be able to get close enough to Rufus without anyone shooting or punching? Time will tell. Another small step forwards, the gap between the four of them growing ever so smaller, inch by inch.
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Post by Vincent Valentine on Feb 13, 2009 4:45:28 GMT -5
Vincent was secretly proud of Tifa's words. She had come a long way from her hatred towards the Shinra, and like him and Cloud she was finding some resolve and closure with her past. It was like the alliance between Organization XIII and the Light - both parties had reasons to spite the other, but they worked together towards a common goal. Unlike what Tifa thought, Vincent didn't completely trust Rufus, but there was a difference between trusting someone and being able to co-exist peacefully with them. As long as Vincent could watch out for his back and those of his friends, he wouldn't have to be paranoid that Rufus and the Turks would come after them.
Speaking for Rufus, as he stood aside for him, he realized he had used his smart words to handle Kadaj. He stood and waited to see how Kadaj would handle it, as Kadaj didn't seem torture the President when he took him hostage during the Geostigma crisis, the ugly way he had tortured Tseng and Elena. Perhaps it was because Kadaj did not consider Rufus a threat, until he threw off his robes and revealed he wielded a shotgun and Jenova's 'head'. Or maybe it was that the President was already under torture from his own Geostigma. Either way, circumstances had changed now Kadaj wanted to end his life.
Crimson eyes watched Kadaj carefully as he strode towards Rufus to call his bluff. Although he did not move, his body was as tense as ever. So he had been correct in his theory all along, Kadaj was trying to provoke them to get a violent outburst from one of them. Come to think of it, during the Geostigma outbreak, he couldn't think of an instance where Kadaj had attacked first. Cloud was provoked to stop him and his brothers when they kidnapped the children, and then again Cloud attacked him when he escaped with Jenova's head.
Ebony black hair and a seemingly organic crimson cape flared out in the ever-shifting cold sea breeze, his eyes the only moving part of him to indicate he was alive, the rest of his body still and pale as a marble scupture. Vincent was far from reacting from being psyched, and he would be the quickest to react if Kadaj made a sudden attack, but he could not speak for Tifa or Rufus. Who would start this fight first?
Like he had told Cloud - was this even about fighting?
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Post by lala on Mar 29, 2009 14:20:51 GMT -5
Tifa appeared strong and ready on the outside for the most part. The weakest part of her would be if you looked into her eyes. They seemed to show fear. She was trying to make eye contact with Kadaj when he looked at her, but she didn't want him to see her bit of fear. She was always a shy sort of person and doing all of this speaking out was a big step for her. Naturally some fear would come along with that. But she was still doing a pretty good job of keeping all of her emotions under control for the most part. They only really got the best of her when she started to think about them and everything.
She really did feel like she was the weakest one along here. Not because she was a girl or anything like that. Though that did add to her emotions, seeing as woman tended to fall more to emotions then men did. She was also nervous about fighting. Vincent, Rufus and Kadaj were all gunmen. She wasn't handy with a gun at all. She used martial arts for her style of fighting and that was more up close then shooting a gun. She knew that she would probably be able to dodge bullets from Kadaj but she couldn't shoot them back or anything. She wanted to be a helping aid in this fight since she believed that she partly pulled all of them in. Seeing as today she decided that it was time to use her mouth and words. Shy girl comes out of her shell if you wanted to look at it that way.
She took a glance over to Vincent. He was always able to stay so cool in the face of danger. Hiding all of his personal thoughts and emotions. She wished that she could be more like that. And even Rufus. He was a businessman so he was pretty much a natural at hiding emotion and putting on a fake sort of act. Tifa was trying her hardest to do the same. She was pretty good at hiding somethings. Mainly her feelings for other people. Usually not in the fashion of hate though. But this was a very personal situation for her. She was feeling weak. And she hated the be viewed as weak, by anyone. She had a feeling that Kadaj was thinking that she was probably the weakest link of the three. Which she did partly believe she was. But that didn't mean that she couldn't give it her all and show what she had.
She glanced over at Rufus as he spoke. He was smirking at Kadaj and pulled out his gun. He seemed pretty confident especially since he was smirking. She didn't dare do the same thing. She looked to Kadaj who came closer to them. Every second they were drawing closer to battle. She turned her gaze up to Vincent. He wasn't moving but Tifa had a feeling he was probably ready. She bent her knees a bit and raised her gloved fists to her face, her usual battle stature. Her eyes focused on Kadaj showing much more confidence then they had been before. She didn't know what the outcome would be or if a fight would even hapen. But she was going to give it all that she had and prove to herself that she could be just as strong as he was. Since right now she had her mind set on the thought of her being the weakest.
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Tseng
Neutral
Leader of the Turks[M:0]
"We're paid much better then you are."
Posts: 131
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Post by Tseng on Apr 17, 2009 23:25:42 GMT -5
[ooc- sorry that its short I was in a hurry but wanted to post.]
Tseng walked out onto the beach and looked ahead to see a group of people just standing there. He wasn't exactly sure why but Tseng knew he had to be here. He had this gut feeling that told him Rufus was in trouble. He looked on not sure at first if he should intervene right away but saw that everyone was getting a little tense. He first only saw Tifa and Vincent standing there but on closer examination he saw Rufus there as well. It took him a couple of seconds to see what was happening Kadaj had started walking toward Rufus with the intention of killing him. He was right Rufus yet again needed someone to come in and save him.
He immediately took action. As Tseng started to move toward Rufus he looked up at Kadaj seizing up his opponent. He wasn't sure if he should straight up shot him or come in and wait with the rest of the group. Tseng decided the best course of action was to just shoot him and get it over with. Out of Kadaj's view Tseng fired at him aiming for his shoulder. After he fired the shot he reached Rufus and stood right in front of him in a protective stance so Kadaj couldn't get to Rufus or anyone else in the group. He held his gun firmly in his hand ready to fire it again if Kadaj continued his attempt to kill Rufus. What happens next is up up to fate.
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Rufus ShinRa
Neutral
[AWD:03]Turk[M:100]
"Heh, that's all for today."
Posts: 320
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Post by Rufus ShinRa on Apr 18, 2009 9:06:04 GMT -5
(OOC: Yay! *hugs Tseng* You rock! *clings before poofing to post*)
Ha, yes. Rufus had used his smart words. Those words had saved his life and got him out of tight spots before. It had also gotten people to join his side and it had definately helped him in the long run. These were the same words that had helped him form the truce with Vincent. Rufus was not a stupid man, he knew what he was doing most of the time.
Right now, it seemed the words couldn't help him. When Kadaj wanted something, he would kill and turn over rocks to find it. That is what happened when he tried to retrieve Jenova. He knew Rufus had knowledge of it's location and kept trying to dig out information. But he always checked the places that Rufus named, in fear it was there. But since he had finally managed to get it, Rufus had no more bartering chips. He was facing a man that wanted revenge. At least there was a reason for it, Rufus deserved it. But he was not going to just fold, he was going to fight with the little power he had.
The president had finally lifted his gun to aim directly at the advancing Kadaj. Neither Vincent nor Tifa seemed to have moved from their positions as they watched the battle starting. Damn, Kadaj hadn't pulled his weapon yet. This meant Rufus was going to technically start this battle. Well, if he didn't do something soon, Kadaj would have exactly what he wanted. But, before he had a chance to pull the trigger, fire from a second source emerged.
Instinctively, Rufus looked only to see a blur of blue block Kadaj's path to Rufus. It didn't take long to realize it was Tseng of the Turks. Gaia, he could hug the Wutainese man at this moment in time. It was impecable timing. His demenor suddenly seemed less stressed and he shut his eyes for a second before smirking. "Took you long enough, Tseng." The tone was purely a teasing tone, it meant nothing really.
Tseng had been one of the Turks, along with Elena, to get captured by Kadaj and his gang. He only hoped that Tseng was up for the battle that was obviously here.
Rufus shifted his position and moved his gun so it was not pointed at Tseng's back and shifted to wait for the onslaught to start. Tseng better keep himself safe or so help him.
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Kadaj
Villain
[M:125]
You won't like me when I'm angry!!
Posts: 577
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Post by Kadaj on Apr 19, 2009 5:49:40 GMT -5
Kadaj's eyes locked onto Rufus the second the silver-haired Remnant noticed the white-suited man lift up his gun and point the barrel in his direction. Just as Kadaj predicted, even the mighty Rufus Shinra was starting to feel the crushing power of Kadaj's presence, his threat... his strength, up to the point that nearly drove the President to let off the first bullet and officially declare this fight had started. Kadaj's hand gripped the handle of his Souba, getting ready to drew the blade and send the bullet from Rufus' weapon straight back at him! It would be wonderful to get the President's blood stained all over that nice, posh suit of his. Unfortunately, the Remnant was so bust concentrating on Vincent, Tifa and Rufus, that he was completely oblivious to the 5th presence drawing in until an echo of a gunshot rang through the Remnant's ears.
Although Kadaj's eyes didn't leave Rufus even for a split second, the Remnant instantly shifted his weight to one side, kick up some sand as he did so which just fell back down onto the beach. The bullet however, that came rocketing out from the 5th persons weapon, shot past the Remnant's shoulder, only just catching his clothing which was evident from the sound of tearing leather. A small cut could be seen beneath the leather covering the Remnant's shoulder as a fine, yet thick line of dark, almost black, blood trickled from the wound. Another second later, and a odd, black, liquid-like substance covered the tear in Kadaj's leather and sealed the cut closed as if the tear had never happened. The cut on his skin was still there though but it was hardy anything to be concerned over.
Yet instead of counter-attacking the person who fired at him, within the instant of barely dodging the bullet from Tseng, the Remnant instead just smirked as he noticed a familiar figure step out in front of the President. With his hand still held tightly onto the handle of his Souba, the Remnant finally decided to draw his twin bladed sword, but in doing so, knew very well that Vincent and Tifa would both be coming at him now. As the Souba sung gracefully as it's perfectly sharpened blades sliced through the warm air as they left it's sheath, Kadaj had, within the blink of an eye, vanished into thin air. All that was left behind was a familiar looking small cluster of black feathers that gently drifted down to the ground and disintegrated upon touching the warm sand. What was also odd about the Remnant's disappearance, was that the singing blades from Kadaj's Souba now seemed to be coming from behind the group, followed by a rapid build up of energy.
Kadaj didn't flee, no way. Vincent Valentine, Tifa Lockhart, Rufus Shinra and his Turk, Tseng, were going to become a very interesting display of blood and guts if they didn't catch on that the silver-haired, dark hearted Remnant was right behind the lot of them, charging up one of his feared Draw Slash attacks! Kadaj was crouched slightly, knees bent and back arched, with his Souba held at his side, the blades themselves starting to gain energy as they begun to glow dimly, before getting brighter until the twin blades looked as if they were made from energy themselves. It didn't take long to charge up, as bodies made from flesh and bone were much easier to slice in half then a building for example. In fact, Kadaj had perfected this technique so well, that by time the small cluster of feathers from Kadaj's teleportation technique hit the floor, the attack was ready! Much like Odin's devastating Zantetzuken and Yojimbo's equally damaging Zanmato, Kadaj's Draw Slash attack was on par to both the famed Gods legendary attacks and could just as easily slice practically anything clean in half... Anything stupid enough to get in the way at least.
As soon as the Remnant was ready, even if his 4 opponent's weren't, he let the attack rip! A massive sound of metal slicing through metal was heard followed by a flash of light as the blades of energy charged up in Kadaj's Souba were released, a thin, bright white blade of energy shot out from the Souba as Kadaj slashed his weapon horizontally in front of him. This battle had begun and that was all thanks to Tseng! If the Turk hadn't been to quick to attack, the 4 of them may have actually discovered that the Remnant wanted something a little less important the Rufus' life. But now, the fight had started and there was nothing that was going to hold the Remnant back. He was certainly going to have to fight at full power if he had any hopes of walking away from this match in one piece. Yet Kadaj was not without heart. All he wanted was Rufus so he had decided... apart from his Draw Slash attack, to allow everyone else to live... even if the Remnant had to fracture their skeletons in several places in the process. Then again, Kadaj wasn't exactly being very truthful as usual. He never said why he wanted Rufus... Never said what he wanted from him...
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Post by Vincent Valentine on Apr 23, 2009 5:11:11 GMT -5
For the longest of moments, the face-off seemed to go on forever. Vincent's red eyes kept Kadaj in his vision as he felt Tifa's soft brown eyes wash over him, turning to face her slightly, to return a shared look of his that seemed to say 'Get ready'. He wondered what Tifa had going through her mind, if she was looking to him for guidance, a stoic, head-strong figure of AVALANCHE in the place where Cloud was not. Vincent was no role-model or peer to look to, as far as he felt concerned. But he couldn't help but notice that she looked back at him after she glanced at Rufus, most likely wondering if he was ready. He nodded back to her once, sharing this sort-of mutual telekinesis with her based on her expression and gestures, and knew that out of all of the people here he could co-operate and rely on her trust the most. He would have even told told her she was not the weakest link here, if he had been able to anticipate what was about to happen next.
Vincent sensed another presence as he turned his head back to Kadaj, not turning around to dare to look at who it was as Kadaj continued to stride arrogantly towards them in a swagger. Only when they got closer did he pick up the familiar scent... ah, he committed this person's scent to his memory already, and could tell instantly it was the Wutainese Turk. Only too little, too late, as Tseng stepped out in front of Rufus and raised his gun. Pulling the trigger, Vincent followed the bullet with a flicker of crimson eyes as it shot out and grazed the shoulder of the Remnant. Instead of coming for Kadaj, he stood and waited, to see how Kadaj would attack. And it was a fortunate thing he was a patient man, for if he had rushed in and shot at Kadaj, he would have hit nothing but thin air after seeing a confident smirk and a explosion of a cluster of black feathers.
That, and the teleport the Remnant displayed proved Kadaj had inherited some of Sephiroth's powers, but there was no time to even begin thinking about that, as he pulled out Cerberus from it's holster the moment Kadaj had unsheathed his Souba. In the same instant out the corner of his eye he saw something shining, and whirled around to point his tri-gun at Kadaj in self-defence, with only seconds away before Kadaj unleashed his Draw Slash. Vincent had little options before him now - he could not transform to his cloak form, for it only was impervious to physical objects like bullets and swords, and not energy and magic attacks like Draw Slash. He couldn't transform into any of his forms, not this early into the fight, to block the attack. He could not move in time to shield the blow from the others, as he had little hope that would succeed, or be able to move three people out of the way in time. So he did the only thing he could do, which he had done for Cloud from Kadaj before, and what he had done for Shalua when Shelke was about to strike her. With Tifa near him, he grabbed hold onto her and shielded her with his body, with his back facing Kadaj so that his body would absorb most of the damage and save Tifa. Even if Hojo had modified his body to become near-indestructible, it didn't mean he was invincible, so before the attack reached them he attempted to jump into the air whilst his arms were wrapped around Tifa's body. If the attack did hit him in his attempt to evade with the jump, at least it would hit Vincent first, and Tifa would be spared with Vincent having sacrificed himself instead.
With Kadaj's Draw Slash being horizontal, he had hoped that he would jump clear of the blade of energy, in anticipation of the next attack Kadaj would by now have in stall for them. He was glad he was wearing plated boots in case the attack did clip his feet, but he somehow managed to clear the wave with Tifa, feeling only a part of his cape had been sliced off. Just like Kadaj's suit however, like when Yazoo had shot him back in the Forgotten City, it burned at the damaged area before reforming completely back into it's tattered edge. While still in mid-air, Vincent unwrapped his arms from around Tifa, and gave her a trusting look as his eyes locked with hers for a split second. A look that seemed to communicate he had his complete faith in her, as he was sure she did with him, and hoped she would understand and not hold it against him for what he was about to do. "Fly!" he yelled quickly, and with his arm holding onto Tifa in the seconds they were at the height of their jump, spun around and threw Tifa towards Kadaj. She was a close-range fighter, and used to defying gravity with her jumps and slams into her opponents, so she would be much better utilized in Kadaj's face. But Kadaj was not completely in the wrong here, just another aggressive side of the fight, which had started because of Tseng. Kadaj had only defended himself, and while Tseng could have mistaken Kadaj's advance as an attack, it was his fault he had made the error of starting an attack they would have to stop from him and Rufus as well - if they had survived the Draw Slash.
Vincent could not have hoped to have saved them in time, or to have used himself as a human shield when Tseng had instigated the violence. He and Tifa as AVALANCHE would now have to play the role of peacekeepers and bring this combat to a halt as a neutral party, if Rufus and Tseng were still in fighting condition. Vincent knew Tseng wouldn't have opened fire on the silver-haired youth if he hadn't already known, or at the very least prepared, what he was doing. He trusted the Turk would risk his life to save the ex-President, as that was his job, and trusted he would have somehow negated around the Draw Slash so they could learn from their mistake. Tseng had his life saved by the ex-Turk from Kadaj and his gang in the past, and it would be a shame if Tseng had not learned from the incident and had managed to preserve his life as well as that of Rufus.
Vincent was unsure now if his alliance with Shinra would hold if his Turks opened fire on their enemies without warning unless it had been a measure taken that hadn't been fully thought through; or else, who really was the villains here if they started to shoot innocent people? With this in mind and having Cerberus drawn, as he fell back to earth he aimed around Tifa and opened fire, knowing Tifa would smartly make sure to stay clear of the bullets that raced past her before she pummeled her lightning fists into Kadaj. He was an ex-Turk, and that meant he no longer served to protect Shinra personel, just the people he cared about like Tifa. He didn't need to protect Rufus from Kadaj - that was now supposed to be Tseng's job, and hoped he was smart enough to know how to get Shinra intact out of this one.
One would think...
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Post by lala on May 14, 2009 16:39:25 GMT -5
Tifa could feel her hear beating like a rocket in her chest. She felt the fear increasing as each second went by. But she couldn't show her fear since everyone else seemed so calm and cool in the face of Kadaj. And she didn't want to come off as vunerable making her seem like the weaker one in this situation. She had been through much worse then this and she knew her true strength. Now it was becoming her time to show the rest of them what she had. She knew Vincent's style of fighting quite well and she knew that he knew hers also. But as for Kadaj, he was still a bit of a mystery. As was Rufus. She had only seen Kadaj fight Cloud from afar. In her mind she was trying to recall his style of fighting so she knew what attacks would be best to use. She certainly wasn't going to be the one to make the first move unless the others thought that it would be best. But not much conversation was going on. They all seemed to be waiting for one of them to make a move.
Tifa turned her head quickly when she heard the sound of another person. It wasn't one of those 'brothers' of Kadaj, was it? Thankfully she was relieved to see Tseng. Normally she wouldn't be one bit happy with seeing him since he had been the enemy before. But now they all had one enemy in common and that was Kadaj. She said nothing but on the inside she felt a bit more relieved that Tseng had come. Now it was four against one. She wondered if maybe Rufus called any of the other Turks. Reno and Rude had been quite useful to her and the others before. She watched as he shot at Kadaj. And now the battle had officially started. The hit had landed on his shoulder. Not the worst wound but it was better then nothing. And it certainly wouldn't be the only one of the battle. Much more would follow. And odds are they all would get wounded. She watched Kadaj's smirk. It gave her chills and made her skin crawl. It was just so cold and cruel. But the next thing that she knew. He was gone. He didn't forfit that was certain. She felt some sort of prescence coming from behind them.
When the attack started some of her fear came back and she panicked a bit. Thankfully Vincent had her back on this one. She was surprised as he came up and protected her but also incredibley thankful. She owed him for protecting her like this. She didn't get hurt much just a small cut on her ankle and a bit of blood. She could have been dead or heart severely though if Vincent hadn't come and protected her. When her eyes met with Vincent she communicated with him through it. She could sense what he was trying to tell her. He seemed to be telling her to have faith in her since he seemed to have it in her. That made her feel better and gave her a bit more confidence. She nodded a bit showing that she was ready for whatever Vincent might have in store for her. She knew that he must have something up his sleeve as far as attacks go. He seemed to be always ready for things like that.
She felt him grab a hold of her and then she flew through the air heading right toward the remnant. Her eyes and face were hard and serious not showing any signs of fear as she looked into his cold eyes. Vincent believed in her...so she should be able to believe in herself and just hope for the bet with this attack. She was careful to dodge any of the bullets that the other might be aiming. She had always been good at dodging these attacks since most of her fighting was in a physical style. She clenched her fist as she came closer and then aimed right for his face giving a hard punch.
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Tseng
Neutral
Leader of the Turks[M:0]
"We're paid much better then you are."
Posts: 131
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Post by Tseng on Jul 11, 2009 19:57:48 GMT -5
(Sorry for the delay. Here's a post!)
The bullet had done little damage to the remnant, just as he had expected. It was a pathetic twist of fate. At least it got Kadaj's attention. Yet the damage the gun had done was quickly reversed and the cut was healed. This battle was going to be a long one, that was obvious. But at least Rufus was safe for the moment, he was supposed to keep Rufus safe all the time. This was hard to do, but it would be managable.
The President's usual tone stated Tseng was late. Yes, he had been. Thankfully he had made it intime. He knew that Vincent and Tifa would not go out of their way to protect the president.
Glancing back at Rufus, he noticed that Rufus's nose looked sore. Had he walked into something? It wasn't important right now. "I know, sir. It won't happen again." Within an instant, his gun was aimed purely back on Kadaj. But... he was gone?
The feathers were the main clue, right before the slash came. But there really wasn't too much time to move out of the way. So, he instictively pushed Rufus to the sand before ducking below the blade himself. He was familiar to different type of fighting. This was not too far out of his league.
After the blade passed, he stood and pulled Rufus to his feet. It seemed Tifa and Vincent had already continued the assault. Good, Tseng carefully avoided Tifa and fired the gun at Kadaj's side. Kadaj would probably be busy dodging Tifa and Vincent. This might work. But he remained infront of Rufus to keep him safe.
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Rufus ShinRa
Neutral
[AWD:03]Turk[M:100]
"Heh, that's all for today."
Posts: 320
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Post by Rufus ShinRa on Jul 14, 2009 14:32:40 GMT -5
(I thought this thread was completely dead. Hmm. I guess I need to hold on to Rufus to finish this thing then. Huh. HEY GUYS! Hopefully you see Tseng posted!! You need to post now!!)
Well, this was quite strange turn of events now. Wasn't it? But Rufus was not going to complain. He now had someone here with him that he could trust much more completely. Tseng had never let him down before, and would not start now. But Tseng's apology was truly sincere. So, he took the comment seriously again. "It's fine. Don't worry about it too much."
But the reply was left short as Kadaj drew his blade. This was it. Here came the fight that everyone knew was coming. That's when he noticed that Kadaj vanished. He was...gone. The pressure and the suddenness of Tseng's shove was enough to send Rufus to the ground, laying flat on his back, with the Turk ducking low as well. It didn't take long to notice the attack. Well, good thing Tseng was there. Hmph.
Tseng pulled him to his feet and that was that. Rufus calmly brushed some of the sand off his gun and aimed. Well, this would be an interesting battle. A Turk, A President, A Martial Artist/Bartender, and an Ex-Turk turned experiment against a returning Remnant.
Rufus simply fired a few shots at Kadaj himself, also carefully taking Tifa and Vincent into consideration. It would be very bad if she was hit with a bullet since all the gunners were on her side of this scrimmage. Well, the truce was hopefully still secure. He'd also need to inform Tseng of this fact. Wouldn't want the Turk to break it when he's not aware of it to begin with.
Actually, only two of the Turks really knew about the truce, but Rude and Reno were missing once more. Elena was just gone. He hadn't had a chance to tell her about it since they only spotted each other for a short while in Agrabah. At that time, Rufus was having a huge fight with Reno. The two were on... strange terms. Couldn't even remember what they were arguing about.
Rufus was returned back to the reality. He was on a beach, fighting Kadaj. What a twist. He didn't even know what Kadaj wanted, other then Rufus. But it seemed obvious as to why he'd want Rufus. Hopefully Vincent hadn't expected to Rufus to turn himself over. Heh.
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Kadaj
Villain
[M:125]
You won't like me when I'm angry!!
Posts: 577
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Post by Kadaj on Jul 14, 2009 17:17:39 GMT -5
This was it!
The fun had finally begun, and what better way to kick it all off, then to try and mow down all four opponents in one move. It would have been impressive to say the least, but unfortunately for the Remnant, the three men and one woman, were experienced fighters, much like Kadaj was. Well, not entirely sure about Rufus, but Tseng seemed to have been one step ahead of the president, who, after getting up from the sandy floor and dusting off his gun, seemed to be in a world of his own. Tseng had dove across the beach and pinned the white-suited man to the floor, having them both duck under the horizontal Draw Slash attack. There was little point unleashing a vertical Draw Slash, as that would have had to have been aimed at one specific person, and even then, a mere side step would have avoided the attack. Vincent and Tifa thought, seemed to have gone the other way, and leaped up over the attack, which incidentally, was where Kadaj's eyes followed. Vincent and Tifa were the biggest threats out of all four. Rufus and Tseng were just mere men, good with a gun. A simple slash of a Souba, would sort both of them out.
Kadaj turned, kicking a small pile of sand out ahead of him as he did so, eyes skywards, watching Tifa and Vincent carefully. With Souba held tightly in hand, he was just about to pounce, to ran and jump up into the air, following them. Then a gunshot was heard. Several in fact. Tseng and Rufus had managed to get back to their feet and had opened fire. Not all their bullets were on target though, yet the ones that were, had been quickly met by steel, as ricochet sounds echoed off in all directions, as Kadaj blocked the bullets, sending them off in random directions, not having had the time to deflect them back at the attackers. The bullets were forcing him backwards as well, as Kadaj started to take small steps backwards, his eyes sharp enough to see the bullets incoming, but only just. Zipping sounds rang through the Remnant's ears as the bullets that missed, and only barely missed, zoomed past his ears. "Is this all you've got, Mr. President?!" Kadaj beckoned, confidently. His smirk was still etched across his face. "I thought your Turks were professionals, at least TRY and hit me!!"
Though Kadaj's cocky-ness was cut short as the sight of a female fighter came into view. The Remnant threw his head into Tifa's direction, but the only thing he managed to see was a fist, and that fist smacked him hard, square in the face. The impact was hard enough to throw Kadaj back through the air, but he flipped himself, spinning backwards through the air, until his head came around, eyes staring straight at Tifa. A line of blood... well, something that seemed blood-like, could be seen trickling out of his nose. The Remnant finished his backflip, feet smashing into the sand, which kicked up a large cloud of dust as he skidded backwards across the beach, finally coming to a halt in a crouched position. Eyes looked up, and knowing his four opponents would be on him as instantly as he would them, he got to his feet, running a hand through his hair, as if he had all the time in the world to prepare himself.
Noticing the cloud of dust from the sand was still lingering before him, completely blocking his view of Rufus, Tseng, Tifa and Vincent, the Remnant decided to take advantage of this, and after crouching himself down, took a large jump up into the air. Unlike Tifa, Rufus and Tseng, Kadaj could detect the aura of their heart, allowing him to locate their presences at an estimate. As he jumped into the air, Kadaj poined his free hand towards the sand cloud, and cast another spell. This time, it was a Firaga spell, as a small green light shone dimly from his left forearm. A second later, Kadaj fired off a large fireball, straight into the middle of the sand cloud, which then burst into three smallers ones. The three smaller fireballs, each went off after their own targets: one for Rufus, one for Tseng and the third went after Vincent. Knowing Tifa would be on the other side of that dust cloud, the Remnant decided to return her favour, and after reaching the peak of his jump, flipped his body to face the ground, and darted back off towards the floor, heading straight for Tifa's presence. As soon as he felt himself close enough, the Remnant threw out his own fist, and tried to aim a punch of his own, straight for Tifa's face. ~Have some of your own medicine!!~ Kadaj thought to himself.
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Post by Vincent Valentine on Jul 19, 2009 10:24:39 GMT -5
(OOC: Hurrah, the thread is back to life! My turn.)
As gravity pulled Vincent back to Earth again, Vincent watched as Tifa bulleted towards Kadaj, his bullets reaching his target before the young woman could. However, much like Tseng's and Rufus's ammunition, his bullets had been carefully deflected by the young Remnant. However, damaging him with bullets had not been his intention. They had merely been a distraction to ensure Tifa's punch would land successfully on her target. Vincent smirked slightly, as the female monk's gloved fist pummeled into Kadaj and sent him flipping backwards.
He landed swiftly on the earth, and while Kadaj was momentarily preoccupied with recieving his knuckle sandwich, he shielded his face with a flicker of his cape pulled taught over his arm from the sand the Remnant had kicked up to try and blind them. Yet as it settled, another large cloud of dust had been stirred up yet again, this time by Kadaj's landing some distance away from him. The haze blocked his vision of their antagonist, making Vincent cautious, and he decided to push off into a run with his feet. He started strafing in a circle around Kadaj, so he could get both a better view and not put Tifa in the crossfire. However, as he did so, a sudden green glow of materia being used illuminated in the dusty mist and before he knew it a inferno of fire exploded out towards him.
The Remnant's idea had worked perfectly, as Vincent's cape was still flared out from his previous use of it as a shield for his eyes, and before he could move away to evade it the fireball his his blood-red cape. Vincent suddenly hit the ground from the impact of the fiery inferno, the recoil pushing him into the ground and forcing him into a barrel roll. The sand smothering the flames now burning and flickering over his body, the crimson gunman kept rolling until the intense heat and light searing into his flesh and bones was replaced with the smell of burnt smoke. He bent out an arm and a leg to stop the roll, a hand and a foot impacting the ground hard as he came to a halt. His demonic crimson cape was bunrt through with blackened burn holes, but as if through some dark forboding design of it's own, much like when Yazoo had shot him back in his epic first battle with the Remnants in the Forgotten Capital the edges around the burned holes burned alight with their own fire as if in reverse as it quickly healed over themselves.
Vincent's black body suit was not so lucky, however. Some tongues of flame, now put out, had burnt both material and flesh as they created bloody battle-damage burns over Vincent's chest. Apart from charred smoke rising from his extinguished body, the demon man in red was none the worse the wear for continuing. His dark red eyes narrowed intently over to the man with silver hair, and a flicker of some dark magic ignited within the crimson irises, as the young man assaulted Tifa with a counter-punch. He took a deep breath and clenched his fist, fighting back the monstrous impulse that was building to unleash the dark beasts within. It would only be used as a dramatic last resort, if he could not stop the outbreak of violence the Turk had started to protect his President. He need to stick to the plan and disable the Remnant with a checkmate, not kill him, or he would be no better than the the larva itself. His cape self-repaired, he pulled it taught with his arm and flapped the lengths of his cape forwards with moments like the wings of a vampire bat, the sharp upwinds of gusts created by it blowing the sand quickly away. Still some distance away, he pushed himself off his feet again and ran for the avatar of Sephiroth, raising his mighty Cerberus again and squeezing the trigger. The bullets he would miraculously reflect, that was for certain - but they were, once again, not designed to injure the Remnant. Once again, Vincent was distracting him away from Tifa, who if she was or wasn't about to be hit by Kadaj's fist, could use the opportunity to recover or strike back again. The bullets were aimed for Kadaj's outstretched arm this time, where Vincent knew he could reflect them, and at the same time would slow him down if he could not.
He readied his own left armor-plated arm up in anticipation if Kadaj did successfully reflect them back at him - just in case.
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