Re: Final Fantasy XIII: Slaves of Fate

Angel stepped back when Ryou suddenly pulled out his pistol on her and sighed when he put it away, nodding at what he said. She smiled and looked around, then looked at Ryou, she told him, moving her mouth this time, 'I can understand if you don't like my disability, but this is how I was born. I do wish I was born with a voice, but if I was born that way, I never would have met you and the others.'

 

"I prefer fighting fate head-on rather than be controlled by it."

Ryou was quite surprised that Angel spoke... well more like ab-lipped, she never ever did, perhaps this was to be a secret? If so, she did one good job at it before sighing. "Never say never Angel." He said to her and checked his surrondings before decided on a course of action, they'll head over to the next town after this one, he never went far from Oerba anyway, no-one did...well Jaden was proabaly the only exception as Oerba native along with Vanille and Fang.

"We better get going, we aren't gonna find the others by talking all day." He said and turned on his heel, his brown cloak billowing behind him and remember what Lightning said once.

"I'll take point, you watch my back." He said, waiting for a response from the young woman.

 

With a smile, Angel nodded and said, 'I will protect you from behind and we can restock in the next town. I hope we can find the others on the way.' She smiled at Ryou's surprise at her actually moving her mouth instead of using sign language, she could speak by simply moving her mouth to form words, before her abandonment, she had learned sign language and wanted to use what she knew, but at times, she preferred to 'speak' with her mouth.

 

"Shin, now's not the time to go sightseeing. There are things I have to do and the last thing I need is for you to trap yourself in The Empyreal Paradox," Omega called out before entering the citadel. The front hall and the rest of the castle were much different on the inside. It was exactly like The Narthex at Orphan's Cradle, being brightly lit with large windows and pale blue and white lights everywhere on the walls. He dropped the dragon parts onto a lift that transported them to the basement storeroom before going to the armory on the second floor. With the Masamune rendered useless from age and the Blood Sword's lack of high damage capability, he was going to need use something new if was going to continue off on his own.

When Shinryu entered the citadel, it greatly differed from what Omega saw. The interior was similar to the Edenhall Reliquary at Orphan's Cradle (where the fal'Cie Eden once resided), with its stained glass windows, tall archways, and overall darker and redder lighting. Everything, from the mirror-like waxed floors to the high ceiling, had some sort of intricate details on them whether it was natural or crafted on. Weird. It's like I just walked into a different building. Just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he stepped outside for a bit. Yeah, it's definitely crystal outside. So then how come it's so different inside? Shouldn't I be able to see how it is from out here? Still slightly puzzled, he returned inside to look around the front hall.

 

Jaden was free falling... trying to recollect his thoughts of what was happening, and hey! That isn't easy when you're plummetting off a high cliff (uh... steep incline?)
That's right... they had been surrounded. Everyone was about to flee. Jaden had been about to protest... BOOM.
Explosion.
Flying Jaden.
Twilight trying to come after him... Yep... this wasn't looking good...
He had to think fast. He didn't have much air time left, and even though he was a l'cie. Going splat wasn't the best option.
Still in his Ravager role. He aimed down, creating shot of fire that hit the ground and churned up fresh soft Earth. He hit hard...
It was enough to break his fall, but it still hurt like hell... he wasn't sure if he balcked out for a few moments or what. But when he came to, Twilight was nowhere to be seen, and... he was surrounded by Cavalry Soldiers.

After firing a few Ruinja's and ultimately ignoring the cavalry's assault on her and Cid. Linegia noticed Twilight jumping off after a l'cie that had been separated from the pack... and this gave her an idea.
They needed their tools to become a lot stronger. In these odds... that lone l'cie would have no choice but to adapt or die. It was the perfect way to achieve their goal... but... having a l'cie help him, and one with an Eidolon at that would just be counter productive. She flew forth fast, dodging the cavalry's attacks and clutched hold of Twilight's leg, flying up fast. "You are so pathetic, girl. You keep losing yourself to your despair of losing Snow. The others all intend to do something though, they aren't emotional wrecks like yourself, you need to grow up!" and then... she threw Twilight, hard and fast. The girl went flying through the air, and smashed into Odin.











OOC: Yeah... in case people didn't get this the first time. Jaden is meant to be separated from the group.
On another note...
The moment Twilight hit Odin... I can just imagine Lightning going: "SHUT UP WOMAN, GET ON MY HORSE!"

Also... this is clearly the birth of the concept of XIII-2's monster, Twilight Odin. XD

 

Twilight hit Odin and gasped for air. She sighed and knew Linegia was right, she spent too time clinging to the pain of losing Snow, Twilight looked at the bandanna on her arm. Maybe she shouldn't of have grabbed his bandanna, looking up to the sky, she smiled, whispering softly, "Thank you, Snow Villiers, for letting me see the light of a future worth fighting for. I will keep our promise in my heart. Sorry, but let me keep your bandanna safe for a little while longer, but from now on, I will move forward." With what strength she gathered, Twilight stood up and got on Odin, sitting behind Lighting.

 

OOC:*gasp* I've put the banner in the center? Why?! ...I wanted to highlight this post as being special. XD
Arch has also given me permission for this specific post to have more than the usual amount of role shifts allowed in a single post.
This isn't allowed normally, so just cause I've done it here doesn't mean everyone should start going role shift crazy.
The only reason this has been allowed is I decided to do one big post instead of lots of short ones. This just makes things easier on the plot and faster(and just as epic XD).

​

Jaden groggily pulled himself to his feet, pain coursing through his body, but he didn't let that stop him.
"Hands in the air, and surrender l'cie scum! You're coming with us." A cavalry soldier called out to him, all guns around him trained on Jaden. Jaden forced himself forwards slowly l'cie scum? That isn't very nice..., shifting into Medic and casting a couple of cures on himself (to lesson his pain mostly, it wasn't enough to even remotely heal him), the cavalry soldiers flinching at his use of magic. He was considered a big bad l'cie after all. In fear, a soldier fired a single shot that missed. Jaden didn't even flinch as the shot roared past his head.
"Hold your fire! Our orders are to capture him alive!"
"Is that so?" Jaden smirked as his words caused them to flinch again, not that he was trying to inspire fear in them. "Well... what if I don't feel like co-operating?" he asked, bending over to retrieve his two swords that had fallen with him, and he shifted back into Ravager.
"Then..." the soldier cocked his gun ready. "We'll use all the necessary force to bring you down."
...Tch.. even I'm not dumb enough to know these odds aren't good... but I can't let myself be taken here.
The others... I can't just let myself be taken off while they have all the fun.
...Don't worry guys. Lightning, Snow... Leo, Grey, Akira, Mya, Mi-... Twilight, Uh... Ren was it? And... never mind... just don't worry... I'll catch up soon. he resigned himself to his decision.
"Who says... it'll be that easy?" he took a deep breath, as he smirked... Come on Jaden... nothing is impossible. his thoughts drifted back into memories of when his parents were still alive.

An age seemed to pass as he just stood there, the wind howling through the gap in the Earth they were in. Jaden's resolve was set. "Thanks... Mum and Dad... Don't beg for things! Just do it yourself, or else you won't get anything! And just as importantly! Never... ever! accept the impossible!" he yelled as he charged forwards towards the onslaught of soldiers. They opened fire.
Jaden stayed low as he moved forwards, smashing the one who had been issuing orders in the face with his hilt before whipping around and using Aero to send two of the soldiers that had closed in behind him flying. He felt a heavy object smash him hard in the back, the hilt of a gun, but he used his momentum to spin around and unleashed a dual firestrike against his opponent.
Gun shots echoed through the chasm, and Jaden felt pain enter his abdomen as he was struck hard. He dropped to one knee, but shifted himself into Commando and charged forth again despite his pain and already injured body. Not caring that his weakened self was fighting alone against an entire squadron of some of the most highly trained military personnel that Cocoon and Gran Pulse had seen in ages. He stopped in mid run, right in the midst of a number of troops, spread his arms wide and his swords wider and spun, using Blitz. "Yah! I won't let you guys stop me!" he shouted, his voice straining.
"This guy's a monster!"
"Hold tight men! There's only one of him!"
More shots fired, slamming into Jaden. Trails of blood leaking out from his wounds. But still he charged forwards. Don't worry guys... I'm not gonna let myself be taken down here. I know you'll never forgive me if that happens. he shifted back into Medic however... the relentless shots and attacks didn't give him enough time to heal in between...
Bad move. It meant he just got shot up even worse... how could he win if he couldn't even heal himself? No. That didn't matter. He'd just have to press on and heal after. He wouldn't give in yet, even though his body was close to giving out.
He shifted straight back into Commando and fired a torrent of Ruin spells at his enemies, while slashing through his opponents as best as he could.
"Gwah! I'm not gonna let myself fall to him just for the sake of capturing him!"
More shots were fired still. Grenades were thrown... explosions battered Jaden, flinging his body around like a corpse. If it wasn't for his improved durability from now being a l'cie, and the fact he was amazingly stubborn, and awesomely determined. He'd have been dead already. A timeless age passed, of conflict and fighting, soldiers dropping left and right... but...
He finally dropped... face in the dirt... panting heavily, his wounds too much to bear, his blood staining the earth beneath him.
He painfully lifted his head... he'd managed to take down a good number of them... but there were still too many left.
Dammit... is this as far as I could go? ...What about my promise? ...I... can't let it end here can I? I can't doubt myself now... not after coming so far... but... what else can I do?
...Guys...
Is this really the end? I don't want it to be... I've got so much more I can give! ...Is this all I could do?! "IS IT?!" he yelled out the last words... and that's when it happened. Pain erupted in Jaden's arm... Pain like he'd never felt before, so intense, it even drowned out the dull ache his body was feeling from it's many injuries...
His brand started to glow brightly, and a searing heat pierced the air as flames of Hellfire crept forth.

 

Naivete and innocence. Such is the mind of youth.

"JAAADDDENN!!" Leo's heart-wrenching yell for his friend was accompanied by an eruption from his chest. His crystallized Eidolith, in the form of a cross, flew out of his chest before erupting into a large sphere of flame. "You idiot soldiers!!" The sphere took expanded, releasing Belias as Leo shifted into Commando. "I'll kill you all!" He ran forward past Belias, who jumped into the air, swinging his staff, and slashed at the first soldier he reached. Jenny and the Crystal l'Cie, Argent and the Calvary, the two armies meant nothing to Leo anymore. "We're supposed to be heroes!!" His eyes were filled with tears as he used Flamestrike on the two nearest soldiers. Belias landed next to him and slammed his staff, causing the ground to shake. "We're supposed to be good guys!!" He was referring to both the l'Cie and the Calvary as he lost his faint hope that they could have worked together to defeat Jenny. "Why? WHY?!" It was like something inside of him had snapped and erupted into pure anger. At this point, he was even ignoring the pain of the shots fired at him...but his body was feeling it. "We're...good guys..." he felt his body start to give, but his Eidolon jumped in front of him, protecting him from the Calvary.
​

-------------------

"As long as I have a want. I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death."
​

​

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Laughed Cid manically as he flew threw the air, dodging shots. "Dog on dog, pure unadulterated, violence!" He slammed his body into one of the Calvary ships then pushed himself through it, releasing dark energy as he did. As he emerged from the other side, the ship exploded. "Ha!" He felt lasers bounce off of him, but normal lasers didn't even phase him in his Crystalline form. Sure, they may lose a l'Cie or two, but that would just be social Darwinism...only the strong survive...and that did not mean the Calvary to him. "Linegia! Take the grunts on the ground! Unleash chaos on them!!" He left the ships in the air to himself. "I don't need no Eidolon or monsters for you," he said in a fake accent as he started to charge an orb of magic in his large claw.
​

 

Lin nodded her head in consent, listening to Cid's order, and she drifted down to the ground where she was immieidiatly surrounded by cavalry soldiers who were already firing upon her.
"Begone. Human scum." she spoke, and a wave of many pure back crystallised tendrils emerged from her dress impaling or wrapping around all of the soldiers around her.
She raised her hand into the air and an orb of black magic formed. "Darkness." the orb exploded in a wide circumference enveloping the soldiers. Lin barely felt a drain on her own health from using the attack. Part of her immunity to magic. The tendrils released their holds, and all of the soldiers dropped to the ground dead.
She turned around to face the next group of soldiers nearby. Oh how she hated humans... These denizens from Cocoon... Oh how they would all die painfully by her hand. "You're next." and thus, she stepped forwards, still not showing a single speck of emotion upon her doll-like face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


​

The pain was unbearable as flames started to seep out from his brand, and a glowing crest of black, orange and red took form on the floor beneath Jaden's body. It rose up, passing through Jaden and rotated so it was facing the soldiers and blocking Jaden from their path. Flames shot out and seemed to physically morph as a titanic beast of fire and rage took form and landed on the Earth in a flawless motion, roaring a terrifying burst of rage. Ifrit...
Its claws dug into the ground as it reared back and formed a ball of pure flame in front of it, before the beast punched forth and smashed the physical ball of fire towards a group of soldiers. It's -Meteor Strike- making contact and emitting a huge explosion that caused the soldiers to burst into flame and be killed instantly. They all opened fire on the mighty Eidolon, but it was futile as Ifrit charged forwards.

Jaden was in awe from where he lay on the ground... that such a beast had been summoned by him?
Everyone knew the tales of the Eidolons... It was only a matter of time... Ifrit would turn on him and kill him, as if to put him out of his misery... but no... that wasn't it was it?
...An Eidolon came forth when the l'cie in question was in true despair and turmoil... There was something deep down going on with Jaden... but what was it?

Ifrit tore through it's foes with it's claws and incinerated them with blasts of Firaja, now none-stood alive. There was only one thing left... Ifrit turned to Jaden.

Jaden looked up as the beast stalked towards him, and with a big claw, scooped Jaden up and smashed him against the nearby wall, pinning him to it, trapping the young l'cie between Earth, claw and palm. Ifrit roared to the sky and then stared intently at Jaden, his harsh breaths letting flames snort from his nostrils and mouth in short bursts.
Jaden simply stared back... so was this it?
Jaden had never given up during a fight in all of his life. It wasn't his style... if he did... then it would mean-------

His mind flashed to an old memory. Why now of all times?

Indeed... why? Jaden had never been able to answer the question...
Why did he fight so hard and never give up? Because he'd lose? No... Well, losing meant something yeah... and it could have big repercussions, but that wasn't the extent of it... There was something else. Something that he hadn't realised in all these years and yet it was still as much a part of him that it drove him forwards.

-He saw faces-

Is this as far as I could go? he had asked before Ifrit had appeared...

-His parents-

Is this all I could do? he had questioned...

-His friends-

Dammit... heh... I'm such a dumbass aren't I? he realised. With a coarse voice, he spoke. "You didn't come to me because of my turmoil on whether I was giving up here or not... you're here... to make me realise the answer to that question aren't you?"
Why I fight...

The answer was there... It had always been there, but it just hadn't been noticed.
His friends. The people he had always cared about and still cared about.
Jaden was always getting into fights, it was part of his mindset that he would fight for what is right, and that he wouldn't give up... but the real reason that he never quit... the real reason which had been so obvious to him when he had started this fight against this entire squadron of Cavalry Soldiers that had surrounded him, was that... he wanted to see his friends again.
It may sound cliché... but that was the truth of it. Had he not promised before he had started fighting that he would survive and see them again? That he would help them, laugh with them, live with them, and protect them just like they did him...
Yes.
Losing would mean that he wouldn't be able to see them again.
Losing would mean that he couldn't protect them.
Losing and by extension giving up, whether; here and now, in the past or in the future... would mean giving up on them.
He would never do that.

"I've got my answer..."

"About why I fight..."

"Why I'll continue to do so..."

"That's because..."

"The reason... I fight is... that..."

His parent's faces flew into his mind again...
His friend's faces, and him laughing with them. Those images burned through to Jaden's soul so clearly.

"I fight for those I have lost, and for those I don't want to lose."
​

That was his answer.
Ifrit huffed, as an Aero erupted between him and Jaden causing the Eidolon to release him and jump back a few paces.
Jaden stood, groggily but with a new found strength despite being so close to death's door, and he shifted into Medic and cast cure on himself a few times...
He had this healing role that perfectly suited him as if for this purpose, and in fact by extension, for this very moment. All so he could heal himself and fight even more.
And so the stage was set...


Jaden picked up his blades, and he held them loosely, and... normally.
Jaden was known to fight with an inverted style, but no one knew why. The truth was; Jaden fought in that style because it was a handicap. It made fights more interesting if he wasn't able to fight to his fullest potential. But now... this wasn't the time, and so he held his blades normally; the blades that had belonged to his parents.
He shifted into Commando.
He was going to give it all he had.

 

"Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys."

Lightning reached down and grabbed Leo by the scruff of his neck. She hopped off Odin's back and flung him up onto it. "Odin! For Hope...and for Jaden, we survive to fight again. Now you either move on your own or stand aside." Her soldier training taking hold, Light cast Thundaga to distract the large group of Cavalry soldiers and provide a decent amount of cover as she darted forwards. Switching back to her Commando role, Lightning tore through the lightning shocked soldiers. "Odin, quickly!" Odin reared back, removing Twilight and Leo from his back and shifted. Weilding it's blades, Odin assisted Lightning in buying her students time to escape.

"Fear is somthing that consumes you. I must try to overcome my own fears."​

Akira shivered in her boots. Terror had set in after relief. Jaden had fallen...the last time one of them fell they left the group for good. She felt warm tears roll down her cheeks and swiftly wiped them away. Seeing bullets fly towards her, Akira subconsciously shifted into her Sentinal role and Steelguard-ed herself from their impact. "This isn't happening...it's a dream...it's all a dream!" she shrieked and shut her eyes as she tripped backwards over a rock and landed on her rear.

 

"Get ahold of yourself!" Ren yelled suddenly to Akira, who had fallen. With his back to the enemy, though still in his Sentinel role, he extended a hand out to her, offering to help her up.
"He'll be alright, you hear me? And so will we. We just have to run."

 

"I prefer fighting fate head-on rather than be controlled by it."

Ryou parried a Bloondfang Bass's attack comign for him with his word and fired a shot into it with his pistol, while being in Commando and he had to give a sigh, this feral creature was relatively weak but it had a small group of itself, strength in numbers was a good idea but for him and ANgel, it shouldn't be too hare, well eh did fell a Behemoth with the others but that didn't exactly count as a personal win.

 

Twilight changed into her Sentinel role and used Steelguard, using her spear to protect herself from the Calvary's attacks. She had wished she could have followed Jaden to help him for the attacks down at the bottom, but whatever kind of trouble, Jaden could handle it himself. She slashed at a Calvary soldier, putting her strength into her swing. She jumped to Leo, she told him, "Leo, snap out of it! There's no way in Gran Pulse or Cocoon we will be able to convince these guys we're the good guys! Right now, we have to fight them and escape! If Jaden made it okay after that fall, we can regroup with him later!"



Angel swung her Heavenly Axis at a Bloondfang Bass, its hooks hitting the fiend's skin and scarring it as the hooks retreated. One attacked her and she used on a Hi-Potion on herself. Wiping the sweat, Angel smiled and held her weapon in her hands, she had mixed feelings of her companions being l'Cie but she had no regrets to it either. They had superhuman strength and could use magic based on their Eidolon's element, as well as switch between what kind of role they were using, but once they completed the Focus given to them, they turn to Crystal. The thought of that, Angel sighed and focused on the fight.

 

Mya ran towards Leo and pulled him back. Alive or not, we have to pull back Leo! We can't hold them all! We'll all die! Do you want Jade to see that? All of us dead?! She swapped to her Commando role and provided fire on the soldiers. Don't let his valor go in vain!

 

Sheathing her spear onto her back, Twilight touched the back of her neck, where her l'Cie brand was hidden by her hair, and coming out of the brand was a lime green star shaped crystal that was glowing brightly. As the crystal floated between her hands, Twilight crushed the crystal as she smashed her hands together. A titan armored creature appeared, Twilight shouted at the others, "Go!! I'll use Alexander to distract the Calvary!!! Now hurry!!!!" Despite her Eidolon was slow to move, Twilight smiled and grabbed her spear.

 

"Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys."

Lightning kicked a soldier back before she could really hear Akira's cries. "Akira? Everyone, GET OUT OF HERE!" Lightning was seriously pissed now. She wanted them to leave not try and help out. It was her job to keep them safe. Skittering out of the way of a well aimed shot, Odin tore apart a group of soldiers with his Flourish of Steel.

"Fear is somthing that consumes you. I must try to overcome my own fears."​

Akira felt a pulse of pain from her wrist and lashed out at Ren, "Don't...don't tell me to get ahold of myself! This has to be a dream! I can't do this anymore! You're lying to me... Grey and Leo fell...and Grey left us! Lightning left us shortly after for no reason! I'm sick and tired of everyone leaving!" From her wrist a crystal in the shape of crystallized purple fire erupted from her brand in a glow of purple light.



Breaking apart, the clouds above gathered and darkened. Swirling into a funnel. Akira glanced upwards, holding her brand desperately, "You have to all be lying to me...all figments of my imagination. I won't accept this as my future! I QUIT!" Her crystal exploded and out from the clouds, Bahamut, a mighty purple dragon soared down and decimated the Cavalry soldiers on the ground until they were gone completely. Bahamut roared, gathering blue energy in his mouth - the Mega-Flare - charging and released it towards one of the Cavalry airships.

Turning his glowing red eyes down to Akira, who was caught staring at Bahamut, he lifted himself up, flapping his wings hard, creating gusts of wind along the ground. Covering her eyes, Akira cringed. This is the end...this is how my dream will end... I'm going to die...but...in this dream I've met friends...I gained the strength to protect them for once. Is this...the reward for all my efforts?

"Akira!"

That voice... Lightning? Was she real too...or just apart of her dream? Opening her eyes, time seemed to slow down as Akira watched Bahamut's large claw descend upon her. This is no dream. I'm going to die! On instinct, she grabbed up her blade and vainly tried to block the claw. Changing his motion into a swipe, Bahamut slashed Akira's gunblade out of her hands, scoring a claw along her cheekbone. Bahamut flew higher in the sky and fired off a round of Homing Lasers. "I don't..."

A flash of pink and Lightning cut through the Homing Lasers, sending them skittering off to the sides. "Akira...if you think this is a dream, then believe at least that you can be brave here. This is no dream!"

 

Ren continued to hold his hand out to Akira, his expresion not changing despite everything that was going on. He had only narrowly avoided being struck by Bahamut's claw himself, and then only because he wasn't the intended target.
"Whether this is a dream, a nightmare, or anything else; we still have things we need to fight for." he told her, before pointing up at the new Eidolon that flew above them, still momentarily pausing between shooting at them, it seemed. "That's exactly what this guy is trying to tell you. If you've heard the legends of the original l'Cie, then you know exactly whose Eidolon that used to be, and what she did. It's time to make this your dream, just like Fang did before you."
Akira's gunblade was thrown to him, Byron apparently having picked it up. Catching it clumsily by the blade (it was a miracle he didn't lose his hand), he offered it back to it's rightful wielder.

~~~

"I had to get to Gran Pulse somehow." the catured girl said, the soud of frustration at being caught obvious in her tone. "My sister went missing and you and your cavalry haven't done a damn thing about it. That and the Cocoon elevator has so many regulations, it'd have been weeks or more before I could get down here."
She was starting to calm down a little now, though the fact was she was mostly forcing herself to. Cyan wasn't normally an angry person; usually quite the opposite, but this was an extreme circumstance to her.
Even so, she really didn't want to get the commander angrier than need be...

 

"I prefer fighting fate head-on rather than be controlled by it."

Ryou shot down the last Bloodfang bass and he sighed, twirling hsi gun in his palm and placing it in it's respective holster and his sword too, it was fairly easy, despite Angel not being a l'Cie but he could of handled them alone if needed be and continued on, his brown cloak brushing against the ground.