Safe Haven? [FINISHED]

[Loz]

His grip tightened, and he squeezed around…nothing. Loz’s tense expression loosened up into a look of surprise when he found nothing in his leather fists. No cloth, no figure, nothing. Immediately, he tried to turn, knowing what he was going to find. But it was too late. The thing grabbed him by the hair and the collar, and tossed him with a strength unimaginable from such a frail figure. Loz pivoted in mid air, lowered his torso and slammed the spikes of Dual Hound into the ground to create traction, refraining from being tossed too far from the circle of battle or right off of the path and over the cliff.

Upturning earth, Loz finally came to a stop. Even with the thing’s strength, the elder brother proved to be a difficult enemy to toss, considering his heavy body set and strength. Pulling his smoldering fist out of the ground, Loz reached out slowly and…grabbed the back of his head where the masked creature had gripped. Patting his head, he pulled his arm back, revealing in his black glove, a few strands of silver hair. Though his hair was not comparable to Yazoo or Kadaj’s silky smooth hair, Loz took pride in his silver locks. It was a symbol of his masculinity, and well…no one was allowed to touch it, let alone pull it straight out from the roots.

Letting the breeze whisk the silver strands away, the silver haired brother growled viciously, murder in his eyes. The large man began to glow a toxic blue. He was quite a distance away from the targeted masked monster. Loz took a step. The large man was suddenly two feet away from the masked creature. A faint trail of iridescent blue followed after him. Another step and suddenly, he was behind the creature, much like how it had disappear and appeared behind Loz. Wrapping his thickly muscled arm around the thing, Loz squeezed with all his might. All three steps were done in less than a blink of an eye. The thing would not have had any chance to perform its trick or even to even consider what the heck Loz had just done. All it would see was the shimmering trail of blue as Loz tried to choke it to death with his titanic strength.

[Kadaj]

Kadaj's target also disappeared before his eyes, his parallel blades cutting nothing but air. As mentioned, he felt the weight increase behind him on the bike. His already spinning weapon was instinctively adjusted towards his back, but he wasn't faster than sound. The teenager was blown forward, torso slamming down into the top front of his vehicle since he was already down on it in a seating position. He started to slide up it and would have been blasting clear forward by the screech if it weren't for the sound waves having to reach his weapon as well by that point. For some unknown reason once they did the force simply stopped. Kadaj's left arm flicked off to the side and suddenly the sonic waves were all thrown in the same direction, causing a blast of dirt and loose rocks to shake loose from the wall of the canyon as it collided.

Kadaj didn't like being made a fool of and spun towards the one who'd damaged him, left leg rising to sweep up over the back of the ride in a kick to kick them off. The Souba was close behind in a stabbing motion towards its head.

[High's .Valentine.]

[Luckily this wouldn't have any affect on Cid since he was probably just as bad of a smoker as a steamboat.…Highwind approves. XD]

Click, click, click. Cid Highwind stared at the blank screen. Again, he tapped the keyboard, giving up on the nervous twitch of looking over his shoulder. Static zapped across the cracked screen of the large computer, which gave a tired hum. Highwind looked down at the keyboard, making sure that he had not clicked the wrong thing in his hurry. To his surprise, he found his calloused hands trembling. What he had seen up there behind the cover of the clouds Cid had not yet fully registered. Though his mind had dulled from shock and fatigue, his body was reacting just fine. As much as he hated to admit it, he was not shuddering simply because of anger or fatigue. Gripping his quivering finger between his teeth, Cid tapped again at the keys single handedly, trying to calm down. It was apparent that it wasn’t anything Cid had done wrong. It was beyond him.

Again, the pilot found himself taken aback by the lack of violent reaction to the situation. It was apparent that he had done nothing to help the situation after such struggles. He had just…gone around in a circle. It might have been more effective if Cid had tried to reach the castle with Leon. Some part of him, perhaps the more logical part knew that he had failed. And how bitter that failure taste on his tongue. Cid told himself that he had just bit his tongue too hard drawing blood and bile. Spitting out blood, the blond pilot again tried something else on the computer.

The computer screen flickered, to Cid’s alarm. It seems his little landing had done more damage than it seemed. Snarling, Cid pulled back his feet to kick the machine, but thought better than to further abuse the poor thing. It had done its best, even if it was to no avail.

What was he goin’ to do now? Wait for Leon to reach the castle? Follow him? Cid knew there was no way he himself would be able to reach the lab. Outside, three road blocks awaited him, and there was no doubt going to be more on the way up. Heavily, the pilot pushed himself away from the computer, which sputtered weakly. The pilot coughed, almost choking on the ashes in his lungs before backtracking and stepping out of the cover of Merlin’s house. There was only one thing the man can do now, if Leon did not succeed. He needed to help the people of the Garden. Luckily for him, Radiant Garden’s population was small, and if needed, evacuation would be easy, what with the amount of gummi ships Cid had kept in his garage. Unlike last time, this would not be a massacre.

Undoubtedly, the three bane would be waiting for him outside. Highwind gripped his spear, reading to take them on again. Glancing behind him at the hole he had made in the roof, Cid caught sight of the castle, looming over the town of Radiant Garden. “Come on Leon…”

[Squall Leonhart]

Leon didn't pursue the three as they moved back to avoid his swing, a predictable evasion. He could have pressed it, let his pent-up emotions explode from deep within and then focus them into his combat to storm the three with all his skill. But he didn't. Instead he stood there, weapon held low. The light encasing the revolver sparkled and then went out leaving only the metal blade behind. He put it away.

With his now free right hand Leon would reach into his jacket unless the enemies decided to stop him from doing so. What he took out was no weapon though. just a small compact piece of plastic. One half of it flipped upward in his hand, opening the thing. Squall's thumb pressed on the inside a few time before he held it to his ear.

"Cid. It doesn't look good."

Not exactly better than "Hello" would have been.

"Any luck on your side?"

Maybe Cid would tell him about the lost cameras in the castle. Maybe he would learn about the thign in the sky, which eh already suspected must be there. Or maybe one of the two or both would be attacked, interrupting the call. But if not Leon still had to say what he had to say.

"Get everyone off the Garden," he instructed with total seriousness. Leon didn't know what was going to happen here, but he did know that he wanted nobody else here when it did. "Tell them to leave everything behind and go to Traverse Town. I'll do everything I can. I don't think these guys will try to stop you or them from an evacuation. Can't be sure though, so stay on guard."

A tall order. Leon was basically saying he intended to save his home or go down with the ship, possibly to certain death, but needed to make sure nobody else was at risk for the same fate. Whatever the engineer's reply might be though he would get cut off mid-way through as Leon collapsed the tiny object back together and returned it to his coat, drawing his gunblade again afterward.

If the three stooges in front of him really were just preparing for an attack then he would have just given them plenty of time.

But if given the chance... then now he would let his pent-up emotions explode from deep within and then focus them into his combat to storm the three with all his skill, blade once again lit up in white light and slashing through the air with ferocity and precision as he ran forward.

Renzokuken

[High's .Valentine.]

Cid Highwind gritted his teeth, glaring…

And then a dramatic little battle tune filled the tense atmosphere. Cid jolted, surprised by the sudden music. Looking around, the man tried to remember why the song sounded that familiar. Not to mention it was really loud too, and it came from…him? Looking down at himself with confusion, Cid patted his large orange belt, where the source of the music was apparently coming from. Reaching in, he pulled out a sleek metallic rectangle.

He almost forgot that he had this nifty little piece of technology with him. Probably because they only use it in the case of an emergency. Cid flipped it open and held it up to his ear. Hearing Leon’s stoic voice was a relief. At least the man was still alive and breathing. At least there’s something for Cid to save if he was needed. But Leon’s words replaced the fret that had just been lifted. Cid kept his eyes on the three before him, waiting for them to interrupt his conversation.

“The bastards did somethin’ to the cameras in the castle,” Cid replied, then proceeded to tell him about the hulking ship above their heads, shooting sci-fi laser beams down on the Garden. Then Leon’s next message would have sent the man running towards the castle if not for the fact that he had a duty to the people of Radiant Garden, and that there were three masked freaks here who would no doubt block any advance.

“Shit, Leon, shit,” Cid managed to mutter before the line went dead. Did he hang up? Did they attack him? Cid pulled the phone away from his ear and stared helplessly at it. He put the communicator away, his fingers trembling. He didn’t know what was going to happen if they don’t get to the castle. He didn’t know if Radiant Garden would once again become Hollow Bastion. But Cid Highwind knew what his friend was going to do. If Cid had been an emotional man, he would have burst into tears right on the spot. Fortunately, the pilot didn’t seem like the kind to cry, especially not when he had such a command looming over his head. There was a horrible feeling of déjà vu creeping at the back of his mind. Just like last time, he had not been able to do anything to save her…this time, Cid would be forced to watch him fall…

“F**k you, Squall,” the pilot growled. Incapable of crying, the only thing he can do is cruse and vent his upset. F**k him and his courageous bullshit. F**k him for his need to be heroic, his stupid little dream to redeem his goddam self. F**k him for leaving Cid behind and thinking that it was OK. However, he could not stand around ripping things to pieces and blowing holes in the ground, not right now at least. He began to move to the left, towards the residential district, hopefully he’ll bump into one of the RGRC member on the way. And hopefully, the three freaks would leave him well alone for now.

The fact that he might be able to save all of Radiant Garden this time around did little to comfort the blond, but he continued on. Grimly pounding on doors, directing confused citizens towards his gummi hanger, where several ships awaited them, telling them to carry with them only the clothes on their backs, telling them they’ve once again lost their homes. Cid had trained some of the young men the basic knowledge of piloting, and hopefully, they would be able to help save themselves and others. The citizens left, most of them running, a few turning to look at the grumpy engineer as he headed further into the residential district, towards the direction of the castle…

[Sorry about all the cussing, Bilby...and anyone I offended. >.> Cid still <3 Leon. =D]

[Yazoo]

Yazoo's spinning didn't hinder his sight whatsoever and yet, even still the things blinked from existence. Before they had been fast enough to dodge bullets, and Loz's wave of earth had sent them flying up in a confident stride. Then they were gone just out of reach of any of the brothers. They were fast but they simply couldn't be faster than he could see. It was impossible. And yet he couldn't see them. Out of the corner of his eye one appeared behind him, and his eyes shot open. Even during his rapid spin the thing seemed just barely fast enough to get a kick in at the back of his head.

The kick met with metal. Yazoo had just barely managed to slide his gun between the creature's foot and his own head. The ploy managed to remove some of the force from behind the attack, but there was no doubting that it not had relieved much. His downward spiral was forced back and away from the beams blocking their way.

Yazoo braced himself, keeping Deadeye active, aiming his guns back up less than a second later. By his miraculous mental and physical quickness, the silver-haired marksman had forced himself out of his pain reflexively, bullets flying up at the thing's chest testingly. Each one had a focus on accuracy before anything else. He began a headfirst fall to the cliffside path, and let several shots ring. Should the thing approach from the front or sides he was tensed and ready to kick or swipe at it with either of his guns. Should the thing disappear from sight once again, an elbow would assuredly be prepared to meet anything popping up behind his back.

[Iris|Kairi]

And stop she did. Mid-kick. With a pained expression she lowered her leg and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't kick with the person in the way...these things were pretty smart. Not like heartless. Tifa thought only a moment before she switched to plan B. The dangerous woman was near enough to reach forward and wrap her arms around the person who had just nearly serves as a shield. Either she would pull the comatose human from the grasps of the threat or she would go with them into the portal. In the meantime, her heels dug into the floor and her strong legs started to put up some resistance.

[yami]

A date with destiny

The blonde was back in town and aimlessely wandering the residential area. The place was so bare, one could have sworn Radiant Garden had become a ghost town. Restless orbs darted back and forth; no significant clue had presented itself to his optics. "Maybe it was a bad idea to return--" it wasn't hard for him to miss the vocals of a certain Highwind. The elder male was practically barking orders left and right. Evaluating the direction of Cid's last bark, the warrior darted down the streets. Maybe it was convenience or Cloud's continued dates with destiny (she's a hot chick, what can I say), yet it served to provide some benefits. For one thing Cloud now appeared close to one of RGRC's staff members. Now was as good a time as any to get some information.

"So, what's going on...?"

Casual, yet straight to the point. Cloud wasn't the type to hold conversations, just wasn't his style. In this part of the garden, it was clear the place was in a state of emergency. People opening their doors only to dart out. They didn't even have luggage to carry, things weren't looking so good. Now that he could grasp a better understanding of what was going on, there was only one more thought on Strife's mind.

"Where is he?"

By he, the blonde meant Leon...the unofficial leader of this place. It was safe bets that the gunblade master was in some other area, fighting for his home. The least this soldier could do was lend a helping hand. Although it was a side thought, simply emerging in his subconscious; he couldn't help but wonder if Tifa and Aerith were around. Well, with Tifa it was hard to say if she was searching for him or not. He quietly hoped that she was out there searching and not back there. It meant one less friend to worry about for the time being. Thus, his subconscious could now focus on Aerith, whom most likely was here...helping.

[Shinn]

[Hmm Cid personality seems more like Barret than his Kingdom Hearts character.]

The creature that was in Lozs' grasp attempted to escape but its efforts proved futile. It then decided to do something drastic and unexpected. Loz would soon witness the creatures head turning around all the way until it was face to face with Loz. The sounds of bone snapping could be heard as it slowly turned to face Loz. It then reached for its black mask and pulled it off revealing its horrendous face. With its mouth wide open, the unmasked creature let out a loud wave of sound directly at Loz. Would he be expecting it? It's highly unlikely, and even if he were to let go of the creature it would still send out a sonic boom straight at Loz.

Yazoo was definetly a quick individual, managing a quick block to take less damage from the creatures kick. He recovered and began to fire his gun at the masked creature. The bullets hit their target but it was like the creature was made from some kind of indestructible elastic substance. The bullets fell out of the creatures chest. It landed on the ground and sprinted forward towards Yazoo.

Kadaj managed to avoid most of the sound wave recovering fast enough to counter with a swift kick to the creature. His foot met with the creatures face but it would stop right there as if he had just kicked a steel wall. The masked creature stayed there motionless as if it were waiting for something more from the young man.

Leon had taken this moment of ceasefire to call Cid and tell the pilot to evacuate the citizens of Radiant Garden. The creatures did nothing while this was going on and remained in their respective spots. Once Leon was finished talking to Cid, he immediately went back into attack mode and charged forward. The masked creatures remained motionless as he charged towards them.

Cid would be able to evacuate the citizens of Radiant Garden without interruption from the three masked creatures who were now gone. It was possible that he no longer proved any threat so they left him alone. It could be that they saw his act as something they did not want to interfere with. Who knows?

Tifa ended her kick just in time before she could cause any damage to the unconscious person. She then tried to reach for the unconscious person but the masked creature spun around and threw a back kick right for Tifas gut. While it was spinning around, the creature tossed the unconscious person into the white portal. The white portal vanished and it was now just Tifa and the creature. That was the last of the unconscious people in Radiant Garden. It was now just Tifa and the masked creature now. What would it do now that it had completed its mission?

Meanwhile a newcomer had just entered the area. Would his presence be a turn for the better for Radiant Garden?

[Seven turns left]

[Loz]

The grin turned into a snarl of disgust as the thing turned to face him. Apparently, crushing its throat was not an option for Loz. As soon as the thing had its head completely turned, Loz released it, hitting the floor in an attempt to dodge anything it decides to belch out at him. Instead, he was met with a large whooomp as something smacked right into him, blowing him back a few feet just as easily as if he had been picked up and thrown. It was a good thing he had decided to abandon his futile effort to kill the thing for he managed to escape the major brunt of the attack.

Slightly disoriented, the large man stood up, a few feet away from the monster. Turning, he glared at it, shaking the nausea off with just a slight shudder. It was as easy as peeling off a layer of dirty cloth. He was ready to break some more necks.

“All we want is Mother…” Loz grunted. Mother was waiting, and the eldest brother wasn’t about to let some gross looking skin and bone…thing stop him and his brothers from their reunion. “So get out of my WAY!”

And so he charged towards the creature that had he had just attempted to kill.

[High's .Valentine.]

[Cause Cid's epic-ness in KH is a bit washed down. I'm just giving his zest back. =D]

Passing the fountain located in the residential area, Cid stopped to dip his grimy engineer handkerchief—don’t ask me where he pulled that out from—into the water of the fountain, washing out the grime before using the cloth to rinse the dried blood from his still very broken nose. The pain had numbed to a dull thud, which was easily ignored by the pilot in his self occupying daze. Behind him, the clamor of evacuating citizens was getting dimmer and dimmer. Overpowering their confused hubbub, the engines of gummi ships roared, indicating occupied ships leaving the Garden.

Cid’s main concern at the moment—aside from the fact that his friend was out there, probably about to be caught in some kind of apocalyptic happening—was that some of the citizens had managed to dodge his shrill barks and were probably about to be caught in the apocalyptic happening along with Leon. Groaning, Cid glanced at the bloodied cloth and tossed it aside, approaching another set of doors in order to pound and shout. Just then, someone approached him.

“Cloud!” Cid turned, glaring at him. Really, was Cid the only one having a coronary here? Leon sounded damn calm on the communicator. Ignoring the man’s question—if he was going to be casual about it, he did not deserve Cid’s attention—the man pounded on the door. No one answered. Shouting for anyone in the house to come out and leave immediately, Cid moved on to the next block of houses.

“Use yer eyes, Cloudy,” finally answering the man after telling the occupants of the next house to run for their lives, Cid pointed in the direction of the castle, where multiple yellow beams shot down from the giant ship that hid behind Radiant Garden’s clouds. “Tha enemies’re on our doorstep.” And about to break and enter.

When questioned about Leon, Cid stopped for a moment, glancing in the direction of the castle. “He’s bein’ a fool…and a hero.”

Turning, Cid glanced around the duo. “Did ye see any of those nasty buggers?” Leon had been right about them leaving Cid alone once he started helping the people, but now that Cloud had arrived, would they meet more resistance?

“I need to get these damn people outta here…and by these damn people, I mean all of us.” It probably wasn’t going to be possible, but Cid’s got to try. Nevertheless, Cid can’t go assisting anyone’s ass until he was sure that the whole Radiant Garden was empty of civilians. Also, Yuffie, Merlin, Aerith, and Tifa were nowhere to be seen. Caught between two duties, Cid stared at Cloud. “If yer gonna head fer the castle, yer gonna need that. And if you see Merlin an’ the crew, tell em to start headin’ for my gummi hanger. There’s enough of those babies sittin’ around ta get us all out of here.” Those bright blue eyes darted to Cloud’s oversized sword. Hopefully, they work better than his Venus Gospel.

[Kadaj]

Kadaj's foot hit the creature and did nothing. Just like his Matra Magic had earlier. What were these things? Although he had intended to skewer the thing's face with his Souba it seemed pointless now. It was just looking at him, not even bothering to strike back. Was he not worth its time anymore?

Gunfire form above. Feeling no immediate intentions of violence from the gun bike's new passenger Kadaj risked looking up. The one above was being pummeled with bullets to no effect. So then why had they even bothered to dodge them before? Just to make a show of it and lure these three into combat? The youngest brother's genius mind was assessing every variable it came across and his teenage anger was rising at every bit of it.

That same noise from before. "Loz!" he yelled, looking clean away from the enemy toward his brother. If Loz had been blasted into the beam he could have been destroyed. Luckily that seemed not the case.

Was this all they were worth? Were they so cut off from Mother that her matchless power could not reach them anymore? That these... interlopers could so easily play with them!? If they lost here would they lose Mother forever? The very thought made Kadaj's blood run cold.

And his heart ignite with flame.

Since his leg hadn't moved the enemy Kadaj re-angled his other one and pushed off hard, using the masked thing like a spring board as he kicked off with the previous attacking leg to launch himself up into the air. It was actually an attack itself to push the creature off the bike but it hadn't exactly been very movable so far, so who knew what the odds of that working out were.

Kadaj would be satisfied if he managed to get up toward the one that Yazoo had been shooting at unsuccessfully and slice its head off with the Souba. He wouldn't stop there though if he could reach the thing, the twin blades would be carving up the air to turn the thing into as many bits as possible, this time with its wielder knowledgeable about at least two of their powers.

As for his gun-totting brother, Kadaj wouldn't have to worry about accidentally getting shot. A trade of opponents was in order, if it were possible.

[yami]

Destiny is quite a hard catch

Cid sure wasn't thrilled to see the blonde haired wonder. Despite the soldier's best efforts to remain calm and understand the situation; it just wasn't good enough for the engineer. Then again, this was the old man we're talking about. More than likely, Cloud's calm was the reason he decided to shrug off his presence. That and...he did have a job to do. After getting a good look at Cid briefly, it was clear the man was fresh out of combat with the enemy. His blue eyes briefly scanned the vacinity as more people began to evacuate. That was when the order to use his eyes was heard. Connecting to Cid's hand which pointed to the heavens, the castle came into sight. Yellow beams were fired down admist radiant garden. At that moment, Cloud's expression dropped the calm facade; entering a serious yet stoic shot. As far as Cloud was concerned, he had received all the information he needed. Except for one minor piece, one which was about to be filled in.

"No surprise." Cloud mused to himself at the mention of Leon, whom Cloud had concluded went on ahead to the castle just as he saw it. Still, he needed the confirmation as the last thing he wanted was for Leon to be helping out Aerith and Tifa by himself. Being fresh on arrival, Cloud had to shake his head when questioned about seeing the enemy.
"I'm sure I'll see them on the way." he admitted; First Tsurugi emerging onto this plane within his right hand. Looks like he was given some quick tasks, one of which probably wasn't condone by the engineer. He was going to give Leon some back-up and if he saw the others, make sure they headed for the gummi hanger. Straight forward mission, nothing he couldn't handle.

"Roger, I'm off..."

Channeling his inner power, a faint blue hue would enshroud the soldier's form. Sparks of electricity strayed as he concentrated on amasing he power he needed. If this enemy thought they could destroy their home then they'd be in for quite the slash. An Omnislash at that; No sooner did Cloud take off into a dash, hoping off the side of walls in the residential district as he got to higher ground. Once he was upon the rooftops with a much better view of the castle, he litterally bolted through the air. His speed moving much faster than many could run on land. In his wake was a blue streak of jolting energy. Considering that he probably didn't have any resistance, getting his start wouldn't be too difficult. That didn't mean he wasn't expecting company to arrive. In the event he was approached by the masked canon fodder; they'd simply be torn down without nigh a hinderance to Cloud.

It wad time to take the High Road, to do something right...with his friends included.

[Squall Leonhart]

"Erk!"

Leon's solid face suddenly clenched as if in pain mid-charge. The warrior stumbled, very unlike himself, and fell to his knees. Squall slid forward form the momentum, eventually stopping when the top of his own head hit the dirt. He was buckled over and holding his sides as if in agony. His revolver had lost it slight and fallen off to the side during his fall.

Though unseen Leon's face was a display of pure torture, though he did not release any scream form his tightened jaw.

'No... not now...' he thought with despair, as if trying to free himself from whatever this malady was by sheer force of will.

Slowly Squall would force his head back up to be able to see the three masked ones. Were they the ones causing this? He was vulnerable now, though he somehow doubted they would use the opportunity to attack. Especially if they could cripple him so easily.

[Shinn]

The masked creature that Loz had been squeezing its neck was staring at the elder brother with its head still facing the opposite direction. It had no feelings for Loz and his childish desires. They were not important, at least not to them. It grabbed its head and spun it back into the correct position with one loud snap. Loz immediately rushed towards the masked creature who was still adjusting its neck. As soon as Loz got close enough, the creature would take action.

Kadaj made one more attempt to make a dent to the seemingly indestructible opponent. He managed to use it as a spring board to launch itself into the air, but just like a spring board it stayed in the same place only moving back and forth from the jump. Kadaj soared up into the air to slice up the masked creature that Yazoo was fighting against, but there was a problem. The creature was already on the ground rushing towards Yazoo. Kadaj was now in the air pretty much open for attack. The creature that was on his bike took control and drove it straight in Yazoos direction at full speed.

Leon was now in alot of pain apparently. The creatures stood there looking at the warrior in pain. Now was the perfect time to attack Leon while he was down, but they didn't. They just stood there not moving an inch.

Cloud finally sprang into action, leaping from rooftop to rooftop heading towards the castle. He would soon have four of the masked creatures, (several without masks) coming out of four white portals and blocking his path to the castle.

[Six turns left]