Raid #18 [Plot]

[radianttwilight]

This time, Seifer at least was prepared for Rinoa's attack. When he heard the familiar whizzing sound of her strange, ranged weapon, he was able to manoeuvre Hyperion to deflect the brunt of the impact form hitting him in the ribcage a second time - he knew that taking another hit in the same area so quickly would have been crippling, and he could not afford to go down even for a moment against three opponents at once. The impact of Rinoa's weapon on the blade of the gunblade did wrench his shoulder a bit though as he redirected the Shooting Star from hitting him. He flinched slightly as he felt the strain on the muscles in his shoulder and back, but inwardly congratulated himself on at least deflecting the more dangerous part of the weapon from actually hitting his skin. Again. Especially because he was still fuming about her earlier attack making it through his defences.

However, it was becoming harder and harder for him to concentrate on all three of his attackers at once, especially because they continued to relentlessly pound him with assault after assault. Thus, when the blonde man, Tidus or whatever, rushed in for a close-ranged sword attack, he was not completely ready for it. Seifer's side was still throbbing a bit, and his angry thoughts had been directed at Rinoa, both of which were distracting to him. Thus, Tidus' attack hit him rather squarely across the chest, the blue blade of the sword hitting him from his hip all the way up to his shoulder. The attack threw the gunblader backwards, smashing him into the wall of a nearby building and completely knocking the air out of him. Pain seemed to shoot through his entire body like it was flowing in his very veins instead of his own blood, and his eyes closed for a moment as he gritted his teeth together.

No...this couldn't be the end - one attack made by a man that couldn't be any older than he was? Someone he had never even seen before? Seifer refused to let some total stranger take away his glory, and ruin his chances of redemption - not to mention save this planet from Seifer's rule, as he saw it through his eyes. He lifted a hand to his chest and could feel that familiar sticky substance he had been hoping against hope to not find, and as cyan eyes opened once more, he saw that he was definitely bleeding, especially where the blade had hit the bare skin of his stomach. Eyes narrowed, Seifer glared at the wound, and then at the one that had caused it. "Its gonna take more than that, chicken wuss, so you'd better try harder," Seifer's words were dark, that underlying tone of confidence still evident despite his anger and pain.

Again, Seifer reminded himself that he had faced odds like this before - there were several times where it had only been him versus Squall and two of his loser friends...and he had learned a lot since those times, so he could do this! He would be victorious - there was no other option. Seifer pushed himself away from the building, raising Hyperion once more as he faced the armoured man, doing his absolute best to act as though he was not wounded at all, despite the fact that both Tidus and Rinoa's attacks were wearing him away a bit. "Maybe someday you'll learn how to take care of yourself," Seifer spat in response to what he saw as a ridiculous and cheesy comeback by the armoured man to his earlier words before he prepared himself for the assault.

As the balls of energy flew past Seifer, he knew better than to simply assume that the other man had missed him - thus far in the battle, the armoured man had showed more skill than that, so to suddenly miss his target with four balls of energy just seemed unfathomable. Thus when the energy balls changed directions and began to soar back towards the blonde from behind, he was ready and was able to dodge what could have been a lethal attack, throwing himself out of the way. Even evading like that was starting to hurt him, though, and he was uncertain how many more times he could do it - he was going to need to swing the tide of his battle his direction, and soon. Even Seifer knew when he was starting to run out of time.

All the while, he could feel that power within him growing...growing....if he could withstand a few more attacks and deal out a few of his own, he knew that soon he would be able to make a powerful move himself. THAT could be what could change things for him - he just needed a way to make it to that point. Even as these thoughts crossed his mind, though, the armoured man was attacking again, this time with his sword - and this time, Seifer was able to block it with his own weapon. The man's weight was incredible, as was the force behind his attack, and the gunblader felt his knees buckle a bit. However, in a desperate attempt to stand his own ground, he fired Hyperion even at that close range, ducking his own head to avoid the rash attack himself. He hoped that even if the attack did not actually HIT the other man, the surprise of it would at least give Seifer a few precious seconds - though hitting him would also be a very positive result.

Seifer knew he had to attack now that he had a chance - and fast. He closed his eyes for a moment, reaching inside himself for where he knew the energy lay that had been dormant until it was awakened again only recently with his returning memories. When he grasped it, his eyes snapped open again as he aimed Hyperion towards all three of his adversaries. "Burn," the word was low, his voice deep as he summoned that energy forth, casting Firaga at all three of them at once. He knew that the damage would be lessened on each one because he had not focused it on only one target, but he hoped the remaining damage would still be enough to make an impact.

And then, another rash idea came into the gunblader's mind, and one corner of his mouth twitched into a bit of a devious smile. In the time he had managed to gain with the attack on his foes, he suddenly rushed Rinoa, his hand grasping her sweater as he slammed her against one of the buildings, attempting to physically pin her there as he raised Hyperion's blade to rest on her neck. "Almost like old times," he then said a bit arrogantly to her, raising his eyebrows for a moment as he left that statement up for her to interpret however she would like, a bit high on his own power-trip, before glancing back over his shoulder at the other two men. "Back off, or I'll....I'll...I'll kill her!" he then yelled at them, not certain why he had to try three times to say that he would kill the sorceress he was pretty certain he had trapped, but forcing his mind to quickly move on from that fact once more - this could gain him the upper hand. This could buy him the time he needed, if the pieces fell into place properly.

[lalax]

Rinoa focused on her aim, unsure if it was going to work. Seifer knew what her weapon was, and the limitations that it had. She knew that pretty soon, she would have to use her powers as a Sorceress. But...she was still being cowardly and avoiding it. Rinoa watched as Seifer was able to notice it coming at him. He was able to deflect the attack with his gunblade. Rinoa watched as it came for her, moving faster then usual as he head hit it. She managed to catch it though, stumbling back a bit further then usual. She hoped that this had been a good enough distraction. To buy Tidus some more time with his attack. And have his attack be more successful. Maybe even avoid Seifer from being able to defend himself from it.

Rinoa watched as Tidus had succeeded with his quick sword attack. Rinoa watched as Seifer fell back hitting the wall. She knew that the impact from this must have hurt him. But...was it over? Rinoa looked to him, noticing that he looked much more weakened. Compared to how he was when the battle initially started. It was to be expected, as he was fighting a battle against three people alone. But Rinoa didn't pity him at all. Her hate for him was one of the main reasons why she was here. Even though Seifer seemed to be falling down hard and struggling, Rinoa clearly knew that this wasn't the end of things. She knew Seifer too well. She knew how stubborn he was. And how he wasn't going to back down like that after one attack. No matter how hard the attack had been. Rinoa just stared at him, waiting for him to get back up. She knew his next attack would probably be even stronger. He was going to step it up.

Rinoa watched as he got back up, calling Tidus out. He was probably trying to make it seem like he was alright, and that the attack hadn't done a thing at all. But Rinoa knew that he was probably just putting on some sort of act. He didn't want to seem like he was weakened from that attack too much. Rinoa knew that Seifer had always been like this. He wanted to be that sort of 'tough guy'. Rinoa watched the energy balls that had been coming toward Seifer. He managed to dodge every one of them, to her surprise. Rinoa didn't think that he would have had it in him to do something like that. She thought that he was being weakened by the attacks from all of them. But instead of growing weak...it felt like he was actually growing stronger. How was this possible? It just didn't make much sense to her. Usually after attacks you were supposed to weaken. Rinoa wondered if maybe he had been holding out. She had no idea if he had gotten stronger or not, from his time spent awy from Archipelago.

Rinoa watched Seifer dodge yet another attack. This one from Cecil. He just seemed to unstoppable. Things had been looking good for them before. But now, they were all seeming to turn in Seifer's favor. She waited for his next attack, now feeling more motivated then before. She noticed him raise his weapon, unsure whjo exactly it was directed at. But then, she saw the firaga spell coming for all three of them. Rinoa gasped, reacting quickly and she ran out of the way of the attack, as quickly as she could. She looked back to her comrades, wondering if they had managed to avoid the flames from him. Since, Rinoa had took the moment to consider those she was fighting with, her mind forgot about Seifer for the moment. And her eyes were looking toward her comrades, instead of focusing on him. Which is why his next move seemed to work into place perfectly.

Rinoa felt someone grab onto her. She whipped her head around quickly and she saw Seifer, who managed to get a hold of her duster sweater. Rinoa felt him put her against the wall. She tried to escape from his grasp, but she stuggled. She knew that Seifer was physically stronger then her. She wasn't physically strong exactly. So her attempts to struggle just seemed futile. Eventually she just gave up, feeling him put Hyperion to her neck. When he said it was just like the old days, she gasped and looked up to him, with a look of pure hate. It did in fact, remind her of the old days. Except that one factor was clearly missing in this picture. Squall. Squall always seemed to be around to save her. She felt like she relied on him too much sometimes. But right now, she could just not escape. She needed him here. Her hero...her knight.

Rinoa focused her thoughts on Squall for a moment, completely forgetting about the battle that was going on. She heard Seifer speak again, this time to both Tidus and Cecil. He told them to back off, or he would kill her. Rinoa gasped, looking to the two of them. He...was using her. Using her to save himself. He was holding her here, knowing very well that she wouldn't be able to escape. This plan was clever, but in her eyes it was a bit of a cowardly thing to do. She could see Seifer doing it though. He was a coward after all, in her eyes. Rinoa took the tie to speak, for the first time in awhile. And to the one who she didn't want to speak to at all. "This is your master plan, Seifer? Using me to save yourself from attacks. You aren't brave Seifer. You are still just a selfish coward!" Rinoa told him. She stared at him with a look of pure hate.

[shogun]

Tidus' eyes widened as Seifer summoned forward a firaga spell at the three warriors. It probably would have worked on anyone else who had a dislike for fire, but Tidus just watched Seifer with a growing annoyance in his brow. This guy was becoming more cocky and egotistical by the minute, and in some way Seifer had begun to remind Tidus of how Jecht always used to act. Tidus held forward his free hand and from it came a Waterga spell that crashed into Seifer's firaga orb, drowning it almost immediately. He then attempted to dash forward, however was caught off guard by Seifer's next move, which had resulted in Rinoa pinned against a wall.

He became motionless, looking at Seifer who was now holding Hyperion to Rinoa's throat. 'I bet if her boyfriend were here, you would get slapped around' thought Tidus about Seifer, tightening his grip on the Brotherhood sword. His eyes slowly moved over to Cecil, who was probably staring down Seifer as well. He nodded at the Knight of Baron, then looked back to the man in white. It wasn't a usual thing for Tidus to have to lay down his weapon, the last time being in Bevelle when he was forced to watch Seymour kiss Yuna. The memory was revolting, and only put a further dislike in Seifer for him. Instead of dropping his sword, Tidus reversed his grip on it and threw it into the ground like a spear in front of him, so that now the sword was standing with the hilt to the sky. It was not but a foot from Tidus, but well out of the reach of anyone else.

"Alright. Let her go, chicken." said Tidus to Seifer. He remained still for several moments, allowing Seifer to believe he had gained the upper hand in the battle. Without warning though, he pointed a hand over at Cecil and cast Hastega on the man in armor. He then darted for his Brother hood sword, and instead of picking it up, Tidus jumped onto the hilt and leaped into the sky. If he could pull off his Bltiz Ace technique, perhaps Seifer will have been beaten.

[Hastega, if successful, will last 2 posts for Cecil until it wears off.]

[ch]

The bullet hit Cecil right in the chest, and it knocked him back a bit. It had caused some minor pain but the bullet did not penetrate his armor. Next a fire ball was launched at everyone. The next set of event came into play and now Seifer had Riona in his grasp. Cecil let out a sigh and looked at Seifer. Tidus stabbed his blade into the ground like a spear and casted Haste on him. "Thank you Tidus."
Tidus must have remembered that while in this form, he was slower. Before he knew it Tidus grabbed his sword and jumped in the air. He was getting ready for a special ability of some sort. "You fought bravely." Cecil said to Seifer. It was time he tried and ended this. Quickly, he started to dart down the field. Thanks to Haste he moved faster than normal. He made sure he was behind Seifer.

"Let her go." Cecil forcefully placed his blade against Seifers neck. At any given moment, he could take of Seifers head. As well as the boy could take Riona out. Everything was up to Tidus now. "Tidus Now!" Everything was riding down on how Tidus was going to make this all work. Cecil did not care if he would get hurt in the process. Just as long as Tidus would get Riona free from the boys grasp.

[radianttwilight]

Seifer could feel Rinoa struggling in his grip, but he was physically stronger than her, so her movements were more irritating than anything else. However, eventually she stopped, something that brought a smirk to the blonde’s face – just like old times indeed, and in more way than one if his tattered memories served him correctly. Her words, however, wiped the expression from his face very quickly. What did she mean, that he was being a coward? That was NOT how he saw himself, nor how he could stand to have anyone else think of him, least of all someone like Rinoa. After all, he had a point to prove with this battle, and he wanted said point to reach home to her most of all, more than the two strangers that were present. Them he just wanted to defeat, to teach them that he was one to be feared – to Rinoa, though, he wanted to show her that things were going to be different than they were before. They just had to be different.

Why else would he be getting a second chance?

“I’m not being a coward, I’m being resourceful!” Seifer hissed at his past love – wait, he used that word again…past girlfriend – locking his eyes onto hers for a moment to be certain that she saw the glare he gave her as he pushed Hyperion a bit more into her soft skin, though still not enough to draw blood. “Besides, I didn’t realize this brawl had any rules, so I don’t see what the big problem is,” he then continued, a hint of his old arrogance flaring up in his tones as his cyan eyes flashed a bit deviously.

The gunblader watched with moderate satisfaction as Tidus threw his sword into the ground, though he did not appreciate being called a chicken, either. However, he didn’t feel like rehashing what he had just said to Rinoa, so he let the insult slide – for now. Gone but not forgotten. His fellow blonde’s next actions were a bit more unpredictable, however, and in a matter of only seconds Tidus had his weapon once more and the armoured man was directly behind Seifer, doing exactly to the younger man what he was currently doing to Rinoa. In Seifer’s eyes, he was being mimicked – and he did not appreciate that one bit.

When the armoured man spoke to him, whether his words were a true compliment or not, Seifer took them straight to heart. “Well, at least you’ve seen the light about something,” he replied smoothly despite the blade pressed to his throat, his tone casual as though nothing were out of place at all, his words a bit mocking. But there was little time for more conversation, because the other man was already ordering him to release Rinoa, and it was hard to miss that Tidus was spiraling above him, and though he had left his sword planted in the ground, there was a strange ball in his hands now – wait, a ball? Was that even a threat? Somehow, as unlikely as it seemed, Seifer knew it had to be…otherwise, why else would he be doing it?

As soon as he saw the ball leave Tidus’ hands, Seifer quickly pushed his captive to the side, a quick “Outta the way!” escaping his lips before he could really think about what he was doing. However, even with Rinoa out of the way of the attack by her fellow warrior of light, that still left Seifer at the armoured man’s mercy…not to mention he was completely open for Tidus’ assault upon him – and the attack hit him hard. The aftermath was only a few seconds long, but to Seifer every moment was starting to feel like a lifetime, and the world around him seemed to slow to a disgustingly slow pace.

The blonde was uncertain what had happened to the armoured man, or whether not he had gotten struck by Tidus’ powerful attack as well, but all he knew was that he was free for the moment. However, his wounds hurt worse than ever, and his entire body was screaming for him to just stop after the last attack’s success wreaked pain through every last nervous cell he had. However, Seifer Almasy always had been stubborn – and this time was no different. He knew that he could not carry on much longer….capturing Rinoa had not done him much good, but it had bought him a few seconds to catch his breath and formulate a quick plan.

This attack had to be all or nothing.

Attack after attack, strike after strike, injury after injury had slowly built up within the gunblader’s system, and he finally felt the power within him climax for one grand performance. Finally, he initiated his limit break, Fire Cross – specifically, Blood Fest, his personal favourite. He could not remember the last time he had used the attack in his blurry memory, but he felt his instincts driving him through the moves needed to execute it as though he did it every day. He closed his eyes, focusing his energy mostly on the armoured man though he knew the attack would branch out to the other two as well, and fire shot towards his target before he launched himself into the air.

For a moment, the gunblader thought that his pain was going to bring him back down to the ground before he could do anything, but he knew he needed to hang on a few moments longer. With a bit of effort, he raised Hyperion, and making two quick slashes he formed a cross on the ground before him, the center of it crossing over his armoured adversary, though the arms of the cross reached Tidus and Rinoa as well…and then the cross exploded.

This was his last chance. Outnumbered and overpowered, he could only hope that his limit break that he had been saving the last of his energy for would bring him the success he so lustfully desired.

[lalax]

That smirk. Rinoa hated when he smirked at her. She probably hated that one facial expression of his the most. She had seen that smirk on his face one too many times. That smirk always expressed Seifer's overconfidence. When he was so certain that he was going to win. She just hated it. She always wanted to just slap it off his face. It just made her so mad. She wasn't sure why she let something like that get to her. But it did. Maybe because she knew what Seifer was thinking about. The memories that she unfortunately had with him. Of the 'happy' times that she had with him. The time when she thought that she was in love with him. And then they had the 'hate' times. When he officially becae an enemy to her. This battle was just all the more personal for Rinoa and Seifer. Rinoa wondered if Tidus and Cecil were able to sense this relationship between the two of them. She wasn't sure if it was coming across as obvious.

Rinoa felt Seifer put the blade closer to her skin. She knew that this was just his way of telling her to watch her tongue. He probably didn't like the fact that she was insulting him like that. Rinoa didn't feel too scared in this position for some reason. Even though that Seifer had his weapon at her neck, and could easily kill her, something in her felt that Seifer just didn't have the will and the power to kill her off. Maybe it had to do with the past. Maybe the fact that at one point, they actually did have a relationship that had plenty of love. She wasn't sure if she was just living in the past too much with this. But...that was just what she thought. Maybe she was just letting herself believe soe sort of fairytale. Something in her gut was just telling her that she was in fact right with this assumption though. It was all so...weird.

Rinoa watched as someone came behind Seifer, pointing a sword at him. Rinoa looked to see Cecil, one of her allies in this battle. He had his weapon resting at Seifer's neck. Like how Seifer had his weapon resting on Rinoa's neck. One wrong choice could easily become a chain reaction situation. Rinoa was very impressed with Cecil who was actually coming to her rescue like this. She had just met this man, and he was here to help her out. Rinoa was very grateful for this. She'd have to thank him for his kindness. Rinoa was partly angry at herself. She was the one that needed to be saved once again. She was tired of that. She wanted to have some of her own independence. Be able to fight her own battles. Maybe if she actually used her Sorceress powers, she wouldn't have gotten into this situation. But of course...she was too afraid.

Rinoa had almost completely forgotten that another ally was around. Tidus. That is until she heard something coming from above. She looked up to see Tidus coming down, knowing thatt his aim was for Seifer. But she was still being held captive by Seifer. The next thing she knew, he pushed her and told her to get out of the way. Rinoa fell down on the ground. She sat up, moving back a bit. Why had Seifer pushed her away like that? It was almost like...he didn't want her to get hit with it in the first place. She was...very confused. Rinoa watched as the attack came down hard on Seifer. And to think that a moment ago, she would have been hit with that same attack. Rinoa knew that Seifer wouldn't take kindly to this attack. And so many other attacks that had been started.

She watched as he went into his limit break form, an attack that she had seen before. She knew that this was very strong and she watched as he formed the cross. It was too late before she realized that she was within range of the cross. And when it exploded, she had been hit. Rinoa let out a scream of pain, and she fell backward. She fell to the ground, her eyes closing for a moment. No..this wouldn't be the end for her. She had to fight back. Then it came to her. It was time for her to fight back. Rinoa rose to her feet, managing to keep her balance for the most part. She shut her eyes and she focused on something. She was entering her.Angel Wing form, which was also her awakening as a Sorceress. In this form, her magic was increased as well.

The two wings that were usually on the back of her sweater became the true wings of an angel, and she was flying in the air. She looked to her allies wondering if they were hurt. She performed the Curaga spell on Tidus and Cecil, as well as herself. This was getting near the climaxz of the battle, so she wanted them to all have the stength that was needed. Her next spells would have to be more action asnd fighting sort of spells. That is, If she wanted to play her part in this battle. Whcih she certainly did.

[shogun]

As Seifer threw the girl aside to avoid being hit by a smaller version of Tidus' Blitz Ace technique, the blond noticed that the cocky guy in white was fixing to try something. Blue eyes looked on in sudden and brief fear as the Sorceress's Knight unleashed his attack upon the three of them. Pressure built and then suddenly Tidus felt as though he were being heavily beat in the ribs and abdomen. As soon as the attack came it had vanished like an assassin on the wind, leaving Jecht's son, and maybe Cecil, lying there on the ground with a bit of fatigue forming.

Tidus frowned a bit as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead and into his eyes, then he shook his head as he struggled to get back to his feet. Where in the world did that kind of power come from? Tidus had to make sure that had really happened, then came to remember he was now laying on the ground. "D-darn it! Where does that kind of power come from!? He wasn't doing anything earlier!" yelled Tidus as he slightly struggled to get to his knees now. Just then a bright light began to cover the area, and Tidus looked up to see....an angel? From what he could see, strange angelic wings had just sprouted from Rinoa's back and she seemed to be floating above the street.

When it was cast, he felt the effects of Curaga almost immediately and found it easier to return to his feet. However it didn't do anything to help the bad case of dry mouth he had begun to receive. Finally he was back on his feet with sword in firm grip, and threw a thumbs up to Rinoa with his free hand. "Alright! Now you're gonna get it!" he yelled out before beginning to gather energy for another powerful combination. What was he gonna use? Who knows, but now was a good opportunity for Cecil to take advantage of Tidus' distraction.

[ch]

Some how Seifer managed to slip through his grip let go of Riona and avoided Tidus attack. Before he could react Seifer launched a devastating attack which hit him directly. It sent Cecil flying back about thirty feet. Slowly, he arose to his feet wobbling around. That's when Riona looked like a angel and healed himself and Tidus. "I will not let no one else get hurt because of me. You will feel the lost ones pain."

That's when a very strange but powerful darkness grew around Cecil. Everyone here would be able to feel this darkness pain and sorrow. This was just the beginning of Cecils Soul Eater attack. Cecil's darkness was, in fact, powerful and took lives before. As he stood there the darkness around him was growing like fire ants to a human. This darkness started to spiral around him.

The Knight just couldn't let his friends or anyone else get hurt any longer. No matter how many times he would get hit, he was going to come back. The longer he stood there the more his attack grew stronger.

"I can feel it."

Cecil made a slight hop in the air now making him slightly hover in the air. Quickly, he started to move for Seifer. Faster and faster he was moving for the man. This darkness was waiting to unleash its pain on the opponent. Now that he was in range he made a single powerful slash at Seifer. With his free hand moved his left hand forward unleashing the powerful darkness. It came out as a powerful blast.

With that he jumped back and had a gravity orb burst from underneath Seifer trying to attack him. Cecil then was gone. Where did he go? Once he reappeared, he was on the left hand side of Seifer. Now he was in his Paladin form in all white armor. How did he get there? It was by his own speed. Haste and worn off after his last attack. Once more, he darted for Seifer. Cecil was not done.

He made a slight hop in the air and made three powerful slashes."Beneath the light." Next a light aura grew around Cecil as he made a 360 degree slash on Seifer. "Come Judgment." After that attack he gracefully landed on his feet. He took a few steps back and waited. Did Seifer manage to dodge his attacks?

[Larxene]

The Staff is Reviewing this Thread!
The battle is over!

[Larxene]

After Voting on the winner, we had chosen that the Darkness had won this battle. One of the staff was exempt from voting so it didn't seem bias. If you disagree with the discussion, please inform Larxene with a well stated PM listed why you disagree.

The Darkness has captured Archipelago!

Since Seifer has won, he is allowed an upgrade of one ability or one modification to his powers and will be notified. Requests are to be PMed to Vincent. Congrats!