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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2011 15:30:20 GMT -5
Eyes focused on the church and whom might lie inside. Red was ready to just go in and make some deals. However Jean's words stopped him. Now that she mentioned it, he hadn't given him his name. Whoops!
"Sorry. Kinda forgot all about that. My name is Red. And no that's not an alias its my real legit name." He said with a laugh. There was no reason to go beyond that. His last name really didn't mean much. He was an orphan, and even though he grew up in a place that was not an orphanage he only recently discovered his real name.
Now that he had introduced himself, he saw no reason not to go right on in. Not waiting for Jean, Red walked right over to the church doors. Getting a close up look at it, he could tell it really was an older building. Probably built right when the slums first formed.
Walking inside he was surprised to see flowers. Normally sunlight never reached all the way down here. So how in the world could their be flowers.... Bending down he gazed at them more closely.
"Their lilies. Its miraculous how they grow is it not?" Surprised by the voice, Red spun around to see a balding monk dressed in brown robes and all. The side of his head were lined with brown hair. He was an elder man, perhaps in his late fifties, and he walked with a limp. "Are you here about the hunt?"
Red nodded. "Ahhh. A bit young to be hunting.... Then again who am I to judge." The monk said with a laugh. "The name is Brother Martin. As the hunt says I'll pay a 1000 Gill to anyone who can get rid of a nuisance in two districts from here. Its a nasty of a heartless and its preventing my parishioners from coming to weekly mass. If you could defeat it I'd be much appreciated."
Red turned to see if Jean would protest.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 7, 2011 22:47:51 GMT -5
Jean watched as the teenager stopped in his tracks hearing her question. Well, it was an honest one. She got to know him a little so it would be appropriate that she at least know what to call him. Just to prevent him from getting annoyed with her referring to him as kid or kiddo. Hearing him speak, she discovered his name was Red.
It was an interesting name since she didn't think someone would call someone Red unless they were obviously a ginger head. "Red, huh? Interesting name to give someone. I like it!" she said with a smile.
Now she knew what the heck to call him. Seeing him head right in, Jena followed his lead. Her guard up in case it was a wanted ad to bait hunters to other hunters. Can't be too careful in the slums like these. Looking around, she noticed that somehow flowers were growing within the broken down church. Light had shown down through the roof onto the flowers.
'How is this possible?' she wondered. It wasn't long before their informer made his appearance. Calmly turning to look at the man, she discovered it was a monk. His voice was rather friendly and calm.
Apparently, the flowers were lilies. Then, the monk went on to ask if she and Red were the hunters. Jean, even though she didn't normally do hunts and did other mercenary work, nodded her head to confirm that she and Red were hunters. Quietly, she listened as the monk filled them in on what was going on.
As usual, a Heartless was causing problems two districts away. It was preventing Brother Martin's fellow parishioners from coming to the church for mass. A 1000 gil award would be given to those who could kill it for him. Since it was a light briefing but she could understand why he wouldn't tell them right off what their mark would be. She didn't protest at all, allowing Red to speak his mind. Knowing fully well that he was looking over at her for her say, she merely nodded.
"Go ahead."
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2011 0:51:31 GMT -5
Confirming that Jean was all right with the hunt, Red waited for the monk to continue. "Well then... I suppose I should tell you more about what you'll be facing huh?" The old monk let out a jolly laugh, finding what he just said hilarious. Red didn't find it that funny.
"Well please continue then." Was all Red said.
Smiling at the two of them the monk continued. "Well the heartless I speak of is a nasty thing. Looks just like a flower. In fact like one of those lilies. However taller then you me and her combined." He said waving his arms to emphasize.
"Make sure you two watch out for its roots. They pop right out of the ground and whip right atcha. But the deadliest is its venom. The leaves are tainted with a poison that will paralyze ya if left untended for too long."
Red nodded. Seemed like a worthy opponent indeed. The anticipation of the upcoming battle sent Red's adrenaline pumping through his veins. It would be worth the money, Red told himself.
"Well I think that's everything." Not really looking to see if Jean had any questions for the monk, Red walked right out. It wasn't as if he didn't wait on purpose, it just never crossed his mind if she might have any. It was part of his innocence.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 8, 2011 20:05:18 GMT -5
Jean patiently waited as the monk took the initiative to suggest maybe he should tell them more about this Heartless. Red requesting he carry on, Jean gave the monk a friendly smile. Where she and Red were used to harsher lives, the monk's religion made him a more easygoing individual. It made him find things funnier than they were. Still, she showed slight amusement.
She didn't utter a single word as she allowed the monk time to talk. Their target was apparently a flower shaped Heartless. Judging by what the monk was saying, it was much taller than the three of them combined.
Listening further, the roots were to be watched out for because they sprouted out of the ground from just about nowhere. 'Yeah, plenty of footwork to be done!' she thought sarcastically. To top it all off, the flower Heartless had poisonous leaves. Oh joy, so not just the roots but the poisoned leaves to boot. This was going to be fun.
Where Red was pumped up, Jean wasn't. She couldn't get excited about that sort of thing. Whenever it came to Heartless, she grew more serious. It had been because she saw people lose a lot of lives to those things. Heartless were a serious problem. Hopefully, this Heartless wouldn't be too much of a problem. It would be a death she wouldn't want to have.
"When the job's done...if it's done, do you wish for us to meet you back here? Do you need some sort of proof that it was killed?" she inquired. Red had left before her after stating that he guessed it had been everything. Jean just needed to make sure about those other details for if or when their ordeal was over before she would set out. Better to get the full picture than to leave without knowing them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2011 20:19:43 GMT -5
As Red waited outside the eyes of the monk went from friendly to sudden pure white. "Leave. Let that boy. For so long as you continue by his side, disaster shall fall both you and he. He is destined for the grave, your future is still unclear." Suddenly the white in the monk's eyes disappeared and all seriousness that had been on his face before was gone.
"Oh proof!" he said, "Yes I had tried to cast back the heartless with a gem I had acquired. Defeat it and you shall find it in its wake. And yes please come back here. Indeed if you wish to take one of those lilies go right ahead. They have healing powers, or so I am told." With a smile the monk bowed, and walked away. It was almost as if what he had said before had not occurred. And indeed to the monk, there was no recollection of any such sentences in his mind.
Waiting outside Red's right arm ran up and down the skeleton of his left hand. This made him an outcast. It was because of this arm the heartless came after him. Indeed even though he could not sense any in this district, he knew that they were there somewhere. If they got close enough their thoughts would intrude into his head. He could never shut them out.
Deciding it was better to think about other things, Red tried to focus on the matter at hand. The heartless didn't sound all to much of a problem. He would be able to read the energies of the attack before it happened because of the fact that they would be covered in a dark aura. Then again if the heartless was surrounded in a pool of darkness then that complicated things a bit. It would mean more heartless.
Well there was only one way to find out.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 9, 2011 13:04:34 GMT -5
Jean was very surprised by the sudden change in the monk when Red left the church. His friendly face suddenly turned serious and his eyes became white and pupil-less. His voice sounded strange as he told her to leave and to let Red go. That he was destined for the grave where her future was uncertain. Blinking, Jean looked perplexed.
"Wh-What?!" she exclaimed. It had been so sudden but she had caught every word of it. She just didn't know how else to react to it. The monk's eyes returned to normal again and he was responding to her question about the proof. Taken aback, Jean listened to what he was saying. A gem would be enough to suffice as proof. Well, that was better than trying to get a piece of the thing. Heartless tended to completely disperse when killed.
Wondering why the monk acted as if he hadn't said what he did earlier, Jean considered asking him if he remembered it. Then again, he probably didn't and already, he had started walking off not giving her time to react. Having extended a hand to ask him to wait, she sighed as he went out of sight. "Well, that was...interesting to say the least."
Looking over at the lilies, Jean figured that she might as well grab a couple. It was good to be prepared but also good to not be too greedy with what was growing in here. The flowers were harmless even though they had healing properties. She knew the monk wouldn't appreciate it if she took most of them with her so she only took a couple. Once she was set, Jean left the church.
There, she found Red waiting for her patiently. "Sorry for the wait, had to grab some last bit of info. Can't go rushing in without knowing what else there is that has to be done!" she apologized. Once again, her attention was brought to Red's arm. She didn't know why but it looked really strange. He hadn't revealed it to her but the thin look seemed very odd to her. Just what was under it and how was he still able to move it?
Not staring or questioning about it, Jean started walking ahead. "So, two districts away, huh? Looks like we've got a bit of a trip." Obviously carrying some of the flowers, she hadn't told him why she grabbed some. It slipped her mind since her thoughts went back to that sudden warning. Red was destined for the grave?! Why? Was someone going to try and kill him again? Well, she didn't doubt it but she was here. Leaving him after hearing that, it was ridiculous.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2011 19:24:14 GMT -5
Red agreed. He understood her need for more information. Perhaps he should have asked more questions after all... Not that it mattered all to much. It was just a heartless after all. Glancing her way, Red's eyes went up when she said it was quite a trip. "Shouldn't take us that long..." He said and took the first step towards their destination.
As he walked he took notice to the lilies Jean was carrying. Shaking his head, he deemed it was probably not any of his business. She must have liked the flowers and wanted one. "Girls like those things." He said to himself. Growing up in the Enchanted Domain, the house he was raised in was filled and ran by woman. In fact one could say that men were their clients. Not that it mattered much to Red. He had seen countless men come up to the women with flowers as if it made a difference. They never stayed after.
Sighing, aloud Red's eyes crossed to Jean. "Sorry about the sudden chase. I um... I didn't want you to have to pay for my stay at the inn." Feeling better the moment the words left his mouth a small smile crossed his lips, he picked up the pace. Sure enough they crossed over into another district.
They would be at their destination soon. However little did they know, someone watched them in the shadows. He moved with such a light touch that not even the most experienced of warrior would have heard him. Artemis could only smile as he watched from the darkness. He would attack while they were busy with that heartless.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 9, 2011 21:47:27 GMT -5
Jean wasn't unfit but she knew that if they were going through two sectors of the slums, it would be quite a walk. A dangerous one too since only the strong survived down here. A rule she had learned fast from her father when they came here when she was little. It was all thanks to her old man that she was able to stand on her own two feet. Looking over at Red as he raised his eyes to the plates above, as if in exasperation, Jean dismissed it. He was younger and wouldn't see it as much of a problem. He didn't understand that most people were cut throat down here. "Sure, if we don't get waylaid, that is."
She had no idea Red believed the fact that she picked the flowers had been because she fancied them. Where she didn't hate flowers, she wasn't the delicate sort. Besides, why would she bother picking the flowers now rather than later?
Walking along with Red, her mind mulled over the warning she had been given. What was she to believe hearing it? She couldn't just walk off on Red, not now. It was dishonorable and she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing to someone younger than she. Someone who could probably use her help more than they'd like to admit. For the most part, the walk had been silent. It wasn't until Red broke the silence did she come out of her thoughts. Hearing him sigh, she looked over at him with her bright green eyes and listened to what he was telling her.
He was sorry for the whole chase thing and that he didn't want for her to have to pay for him. Well, that explained a lot. "It's fine, I'm not mad about it." She meant it too. Jean hadn't at all been upset even though she had been mildly surprised that she got dragged into this. Red wasn't a bad kid. Sure, he did things like steal from others and have a knack for getting into tight spots but she knew a good kid when she saw one.
"We'll take out this Heartless together and you can use it for your stay at the inn. My business here is something else, not like anyone's expecting me for a set deadline anyway nor aware that I am coming." If he didn't understand her, she would explain just fine. No use hiding the fact that she was a sell sword. It was what she made a living off of. Ever since the organization she had been a part of had diminished, Jean had returned to the usual routine bit of work. Honestly, it got boring after a while. Red was making her day a lot more enjoyable because it was something different.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 0:38:11 GMT -5
Red really had no idea what the hell she was talking about, but he just went with it anyway. Nodding as if he understood exactly what she meant. Smiling, he wondered just how he was going to pay her back if she left. That would make things hard... Red couldn't just let her go away without repaying her for what she did first. Well he would just have to convince her to tag along with him a bit longer.
As they walked through the district, Red began to feel as if people were watching them. Jean was right to be cautious in this place. He could practically feel the eyes in the shadows. It was as if they were saying, "Are they weak enough to easily defeat?" Thinking of this question Red took a look back at Jean. It seemed her strange outfit, well strange to the slums anyway, was keeping the owners of said eyes away. For this he was glad to have her as a companion at the moment.
Still Red kept his guard up just in case. His left hand was ready if anyone chose to try and attack them. He was not powerless. Thanks to this weapon he would never be powerless again. However it did come with a nasty price. As he thought this, Red's eyes flashed to his left arm. Indeed even his right arm jerked as if he wanted to grab it, but he stopped himself from doing that. No need to give more attention to what was wrong with him. The scar and yellow eyes of his were bad enough.
Seeing the end of the district in sight, Red felt that adrenaline pumping in his veins. "Come on, I can just feel that 1000 Gill!" He proclaimed sprinting into the next district. As he stepped foot into the new district the atmosphere changed. There was tension in the air, that much was clear. Eyes drifting, Red took in the new surroundings. They were in a playground. "What an odd place for a heartless."
It was at that moment the heartless made its appearance. Sprouting from the ground a large red bud appeared from the ground, tearing apart swing sets and slides in its wake. It towered fifteen feet tall and had to be at least double in width. The bud of the heartless opened like a mouth with thorns as big as a shark's teeth surrounding its edge.
Under the bud were four giant green leaves and connected to those leaves were large roots. Eye's glancing toward the ground, Red watched as a root traveled through the earth, lifting up the dirt as it came speeding his way. "Watch out he called, diving to the right." Not a moment after his dodge a large brown root with small thorns sprouted from the earth.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 10, 2011 1:32:17 GMT -5
Jean, because she was so used to what like of work she did, didn't realize not everyone knew what it was. She hadn't noticed the bizarre look Red had given her, hearing her say those things only to end up nodding to pretend he did understand. Oh well, he'll probably find out eventually. Right now, they had to take down that Heartless. That was the main issue right now.
In the corner of her eye, Jean could see some people looking out at them. Some lingered where others immediately looked away. Jean's appearance, though her clothing be casual, managed to help stem would be robbers. It wasn't just her though, even Red looked intimidating for a teenager. With them partnered up, no one would bother trying to pickpocket them or mug them.
Jean walked with an air that said she wasn't just confident in her abilities but calm. People that tended to attack others often looked for people that showed signs of weakness. Jean showed none and walked on confidently despite her thoughts. Maybe it was a spirit meant to threaten her? Then again, how could it get inside a church and speak through the monk? She wasn't getting anywhere with thoughts on the subject. She didn't plan on leaving Red behind though, that was too cruel. It was funny how that spirit could tell her Red's but couldn't tell her about her own.
Eventually, they managed to reach the end of the first sector and the next one was just ahead. Looking over at Red as he spoke, she cracked a smile. "Aren't you the optimistic one!" she mused. It didn't take long for Red to hurry over into the next sector, Jean following him closely in case the Heartless immediately sprang into action.
Looking around, she discovered they were in some sort of playground. It was rather still and no signs of children's laughter hung in the air. Hearing what Red said, she glanced over at him. True, it was a strange place for a Heartless but the vermin went anywhere they pleased. It didn't matter to them where they attacked someone, just as long as they could snatch people's hearts. They were violent things, things she could do without.
"Hop scotch must be one of its favorite pass times!" she joked in return. No sooner had they said those things when the Heartless made its appearance. Without warning, a bud shot up from the ground and threw aside swings and whatever else that had gotten in its way. Looking at it, Jean could see what the monk meant by how huge it was. This would not be an easy target, that was for sure.
She watched as it attempted to send a root out to get Red, who managed to dodge it forewarning her of the root. Jean leapt aside in time too as she unsheathed her black twin swords. The issue with this thing would be getting in close enough to hack and slash its main body. Two roots crawled speedily through the ground in her direction. Waiting at the last possible minute, Jean back flipped as the roots sprouted out finally to try and spring their attack only to entangle one another in confusion.
Taking that as an opening, Jean took her swords and sliced the roots, cutting them down to smaller size.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2011 12:49:47 GMT -5
Left hand shooting to the handle of his weapon, he drew it with ease. From the moment the blade was drawn, darkness oozed from it. Yellow eyes shooting back and forth, he took a couple of steps back to further assess the situation. Jean had the right way of thinking. The way to defeat this enemy was of course by attacking its center. But as Red noticed there could be hundreds of roots in the ground underneath.
Indeed as his eyes locked on the bud he noticed several roots just waiting for an enemy to get closer so it could strike. Red had no doubt that he and Jean could slash down those roots, it was the fact that just one strike from those roots would poison them. They had to make sure they were careful.
Making a snap decision, Red charged towards the enemy. With sword held by his side, ready to strike at the moment a root might come his way, Red did this for the soul purpose of seeing how the enemy would react to such a frontal attack. As he came within distance of the roots, two shot through the ground his way. As they launched into the air, coming at him like a spear, his left hand moved with speed. Sword slashing, the assault was met with his weapon, slashing the root before it came too close.
Bypassing the first root, another shot his way as well. He decapitated it with as much ease as the last one. As he neared the enemy is suspicion of the roots around the bud were true. They sprouted out of the ground all at once circling the heartless. As he neared they all shot towards him. There was no hope of going forward, so he jumped back to dodge the roots from getting him. However he was not about to let go of his charge without doing any damage. Slashing his weapon while in the air, fire traveled down the beginning of the blade to its edge.
The fire took to the air as individual flames took humanoid figures and charged towards the fire. Once they neared roots once again tried to stop them, but they could do nothing against fire. The fire hit the bud and as it did it screamed in agony. As Red landed a smile crossed his face. "It doesn't like fire." He shouted to Jean.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 10, 2011 22:10:14 GMT -5
Where Jean successfully cut down two roots, she didn't think it would make much of a difference anyway. Plants were known to have quite a number of roots underground to sustain itself. This Heartless plant would be no different from that. The issue was to get up close. Jean was very fast but she didn't think a hack and slash would do too much damage before being forced to evade retaliation. Oh well, she'll have to try.
Red seemed to be in the same mindset. Avoiding root attacks, he managed to bypass them and get in closer. She had a bad feeling about that idea as all roots sprouted up about the Heartless flower suddenly. Seeing them shoot in Red's direction, she felt her heart skip a beat with worry.
He wasn't inexperienced enough to not evade though, which was a relief. Seeing him back off, she watched as he unleashed some sort of fire attack at the Heartless once he was at a safe distance. Seeing the roots try to block the fire, she heard it scream as the fire reached the bud. It wasn't a real surprise to her to see that kind of reaction. Where it was a Heartless, it sustained the flower or plant qualities. Plants usually couldn't withstand fire so it was no wonder.
Hearing what Red called out to her, she nodded with a smile. Jean was more fighting based than anything though. Where Red could use fire attacks at his disposal, she only relied on a elemental attack when she was in dire need. Instead of summoning fire, she figured she would at least distract a good number of the roots. Standing back a distance, Jean conjured up five floating swords resembling her's. Rotating around her for a moment, they shot out at the Heartless which caused it to bring up roots to counter each separate sword.
Five roots were out in the open as Jean charged forth and cut them down too.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 2:16:25 GMT -5
Watching Jean, Red couldn't help but smile. He didn't know if she had any elemental techniques up her sleeve or not, but he hoped that she would use the information to her advantage like he planned on doing. Staying at the side his eyes watched as she went in to charge. It was the perfect distraction.
Red's dancing flame technique, the one he had used earlier, was indeed effective against the opponent. Though he had another technique up his sleeve that was fire based and even more powerful then dancing flames. Not being able to hide the smile that formed on his lips, Red took a deep breath. He would have to get closer to the enemy for this to be effective.
I need you to keep the enemy roots off of me." He yelled to Jean. He would have to rely on her protection. Trusting in Jean's abilities, Red charged closer towards the heartless. Deeming that he was close enough, Red turned his blade towards the ground and stabbed it into the ground.
As it touched the ground red lines snaked down the blade and over the ground in all directions. Stretching at least ten feet past the heartless, at the end of each line the line curved forming a circle three feet in diameter. A red glow formed from each circle as twelve foot pillars of fire sprouted from each circle.
Now that Red's Hell Fire was in motion his mind was set on the pillars of fire. His hand never left the hilt of his weapon. Moving the pillars of fire in a circle they began to surround them and the enemy almost as if they were stalking them. However as long as Red had his hand on the hilt of his blade he controlled the pillars of fire.
Red began to ready to sent the pillars of fire all in one direction, at the flower. However several things were happening at once. For one the heartless seemed to sense the fire and was sending roots his way to attempt to stop him. He could do nothing to stop them, he couldn't even focus on them. It would be up to Jean to stop the six that were sent his way.
In addition a figure moved from a shadow. Artemis was out of the way of the battle, and had been waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came when Red's blade hit the earth. He could see the concentration in his target's face. He would have no knowledge of his approach. Sprinting at top speed, Artemis moved, his dagger held in hand.
Eyes set on the opponent, he drew his blade back as he suddenly appeared behind the boy, his dagger ready to stab right into the back of his target's head.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 11, 2011 18:08:45 GMT -5
No sooner had she taken down the five roots she got rid of, she looked over at Red to see how he was doing. That little sword trick of her's would take a bit before she could use it again. Using energy like that, like crazy would only wear herself down. Now, she just simply relied on her own sword skills. Hearing what Red said, she merely nodded. She would distract the roots for him.
As Red performed a new fire trick, it was up to Jean to make sure he wouldn't get harmed in the process. Already, the Heartless sensed who was causing the fire pillars and was attempting to stop him. Jean intercepted five of the roots, hacking them with ease since they had been preoccupied with Red. The sixth one, as she were about to slice it, something else happened. It happened so fast that if she blinked, she would have missed it. Red didn't see it and it looked like he couldn't move at the time.
Seeing that opportunity, the unknown figure from before had arrived on the scene. Bright green eyes widening, Jean dropped her focus on the sixth root. A bad mistake as she threw one of her blades toward the would-be-assassin. "Damn it!" she grunted as the root hit her. The thorns on it cut her arm good as it attempted to wrap around her.
Where she had lost focus on the root, she had still managed to prevent it from getting at Red. Although at the cost of getting injured in the process and probably poisoned. Using her other arm, her good arm, she slashed the root apart and held her arm in pain. "That was a stupid move!" she said calmly.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2011 1:56:14 GMT -5
As the blade flew Artemis's way, he was forced into action. His opponent was so near he could practically hear his heart beat, yet once again his blade was being faced to stray away from the enemy he sought. Once again he was forced to bring his dagger up. As it did it slid along the edge of the weapon thrown at him. The accomplishment of such an act was redirecting the opponent's weapon away from him and harmlessly into the ground behind him.
However the sound of the blade hitting against the opponent's weapon as it passed, revealed Artemis's location. His target took his Cursed Blade out of the ground and whirled about to face Artemis. By doing this, he lost all control of the pillars of fire and they moved with their own will. Some struck the heartless behind the party, but Artemis did not pay it much attention.
The scream that came from the heartless when some of the pillars rolled past it was screeching loud. Adapting to the current situation, Artemis relied on his opponent's cringe at the sound to attack. Dagger still in hand, Artemis ran up to Red and slashed. He had underestimated the young teen's strength though, and his dagger was parried by Red's blade.
All the while the heartless grew enraged by the moment as its roots struck randomly in all directions as the pillars of fire continued to twirl and move. "Finish the heartless while there's an opening! Leave this bastard to me." His target called out to his female companion.
Needless words. Slashing diagonally, parried, horizontally, parried, and vertically, his opponent parried each offensive attack. Still his attack was at such a pace that it was quite clear that Red had no chance of going on the offense. In fact from the strain in his target's face, Artemis judged that his target knew that unless he did something, his situation was futile.
Seeing the opportunity Artemis increased his slashes, letting the dagger roll in his hand using it as if it were a knife. Artemis couldn't help but let a smile cross his face. So close... So close.... Dagger striking vertically, his opponent brought up the blade to parry, just as Artemis thought he would. It was then that Artemis changed the direction of the attack. Such a doing was not something an average warrior could do. It took years to accomplish such a technique.
Red had no idea that such a thing was even possible, and Artemis's dagger traveled down the blade and cutting the hand of his opponent's wrist. The scream that escape his lips as his weapon dropped to the ground was like paradise to Artemis. Eyes going wide in delight, Artemis kicked his opponent's feet out from under him and driving him to the floor. Nothing would stop him know.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 12, 2011 18:30:51 GMT -5
Jean grimaced at the wound she received. If she had just been poisoned, she realized right now that she hadn't exactly asked the monk what to do in order to use these flowers for the antidote. She didn't think you could simply eat them. That alone wasn't an option since most flower pollen was toxic. Did it have to be brewed or something? She didn't really have time to think on the matter. Jean had to stay focused on the battle.
She saw that her distraction had worked at the least. Where her sword wouldn't have achieved doing much damage to the enemy, it had managed to accomplish the one thing she wanted it to do and that was distracting the enemy. It gave Red time to discover that he was under attack. As he reacted to the enemy, the pillars of flame went wild. He had lost control of the flames and now the Heartless was screaming in either rage or pain.
Hearing Red's words, she simply nodded. Taking her hand off her wounded arm, she gave her blades a twirl. The Heartless was wildly shooting its roots out in all directions. It were as if it had no idea where to attack first in its rage. During all of its flailing, she took note of how it didn't guard itself from the aerial point. "Bingo!" she stated.
While Red was fighting it out with the assassin again, Jean was rushing toward the Heartless once more. Getting a good run, she made short leaps onto a metallic structure just five feet taller than the Heartless nearby. Pushing off it with all her might as she reached the edge of the structure, which she figured must've been a swing set, she leapt ten feet into the air. Since the structure she had leapt from had just been a little over five feet taller than the Heartless, it took her well over the creature's height. The kind of attack she was hoping for.
Immediately, light surrounded her figure as she looked down upon her foe. The Heartless was still preoccupied with trying to figure out where to attack and for the most part, it was unprotected from on high. Twirling her sword before stabbing down, she set her feet on the hilt as she hung on to the handle. Coming down rapidly, she glimpsed how the battle was going on Red's end. He seemed alright at first but then it became clear he wasn't doing well.
The moment her sword plunged into the earth, she knew the Heartless was screwed either way. It had sensed her last minute and dodged but cracks erupted in the earth about her in five different directions, three cracks reached the Heartless because of how big it was. Just as it made to counter her attack, it got engulfed in three eruptions of light erupting from the ground from the cracks. It was incinerated in an instance.
"Alright, one down and-!" she turned to find Red had lost and was about to get finished off. Sighing in exasperation, because of how annoying the assassin was getting, she knew she had to react now or never. Red would die if she didn't seeing as his hand had just been cut and he had lost his sword.
In the blink of an eye, it were as if Jean had disappeared or teleported from sight. In reality, she had just picked up her pace to make haste to where the other two were. If there was anything redeeming about Jean's skills it was her speed and her sword skills. Anyone though with full out brute strength might be able to counter her. One moment she was where she had been last and the next, she was on the right of Artemis taking a swing at him with her only sword. Whether or not she hit him then, Jean seemed to disappear again. This time, she appeared on the left side of him, if anyone knew her signature moves this was her 4 Way slash technique. It often overwhelmed her opponents, usually killing them or making them retreat because her speed was so alarming.
Still, it wasn't impossible to block her attacks. People with swift enough reflexes shouldn't have too much trouble. This technique and Sneak Attack were the only ones where she moved very rapidly. Other than that, her speed wasn't too overwhelming outside of them. Once she slashed once again at Artemis from his left, whether he blocked it or not, she disappeared a third time. This time, she appeared directly in front of him and did another slash in his direction before disappearing one final time. Once again, all these moves could've been countered or blocked as long as the other reacted in time to each attempted strike.
On the last one, she appeared right behind him and made another slash attempt unless he already got out of range and tried to counter or escape long before. On the forth attempt, Jean had completed the 4 Way Slash and wouldn't be able to do it again for a short time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2011 19:56:47 GMT -5
Drive it all to damnation! How many more times was someone going to get in his way! As the female fighter suddenly appeared at his side, Artemis did not have time to think. He simply reacted letting his years of study through. As a strike slashed at his right, Artemis's dagger moved, parrying the attack. As the opponent vanished and then moved to the left of him, Artemis was forced to turn the moment she disappeared. It was thanks to this maneuver that he was able to parry the second attack.
When Jean moved again though, it should have left him open. Indeed this strike should have hit home. However she did not anticipate one thing. Artemis's sword rang out just in time to parry the third strike. It was thanks to this strike that Artemis was able to make his move. He had no idea that Jean would attempt a fourth strike. Still Artemis moved rolling on the ground in front of him dodging the fourth strike and getting closer to his real target, Red.
However at this moment, Red had been able to draw his blade, and as Artemis had went in for the attack, Red's blade blocked him. Red swung his blade again, and to Red's surprise, the assassin leaped back away from the two. He was out of distance of their weapons, and as he seemed to look at Red and then Jean it appeared he was reassessing his situation.
"Are you ok?" He asked Jean. Red stood beside her, never taking his eyes off off the hooded figure. "Who are you?!" Red called out to the figure. He was tired of this already!
To his surprise the hooded figure spoke. It was a male's voice and from the sound of it, not much older then Red. Perhaps an eighteen year old. "Death." And not to Red's surprise, the figure turned and ran. Again.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 13, 2011 0:23:38 GMT -5
Jean had just barely made it to Red's aid. As she was doing her best to distract the attacker, she was a bit surprised to see him block not just one attack but three of them before dodging her fourth. It was all up to Red next to make the next move. She just hoped the distraction she provided gave Red enough time to get back up. All she had left was the sneak attack in terms of speed attacks if she had to rely on any. Depending on how her arm's condition was, she didn't want to have to keep doing this.
It was a relief to see Red finally able to block the enemy's attack. She didn't think she'd be able to hold up much longer if she were poisoned. Moving around a lot when poisoned was a dangerous move. She just hoped that they had time to get the antidote.
She watched as the assassin finally leapt away from battle with them. With the two of them after him, he clearly saw he wasn't going anywhere at this rate. That was a good sign, Jean didn't want to keep going like this. She wanted to tend to the task at hand and speedily get her arm checked out. It would be a rather crappy death to die from poisoning because she waited too long to get it treated.
"They're flesh wounds. I'll be fine." She didn't want to openly admit she was possibly poisoned. She could've sworn though that the monk said the barbs on the bud were the ones that held the actual poison though. She would have to recheck that fact later though. She stood next to Red as she looked up at the cloaked enemy when Red asked who they were.
Unexpectedly, the foe answered Red for the first time. He only said one word, death. Honestly, she didn't think his name was really death. The tone of his voice, she could tell he wasn't someone closer to her age range. It sounded like a teenager's possibly. Watching him run off, she held her arm again after sheathing her sword once she was sure he was gone. "That guy just doesn't give up." Walking toward her other sword, after making sure no one were about to jump her, she picked it up and sheathed it too.
Turning back to Red, she indicated the Heartless. "After what I did, it should be dead. No way it could survive light in that amount!" she stated. Clutching her wound, she looked over at where she had left it. She had been certain that it had been incinerated.
"Lets get moving, Red. I'm not sure if those roots were what had been poisonous or not, so we need to get the gem back to the monk and tell him the Heartless is dead. I need to know how to get the antidote working if I've just been poisoned."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2011 16:43:35 GMT -5
Turning about Red confirmed her words with his own eyes. Yes the heartless was dead. The only proof of its existence was the destruction it had caused before dying. He understood what Jean was saying. If she was poisoned they needed to get out of here and back to the monk so that he might heal her. Before he turned to leave though a glimmer caught his eye.
"Be right back." He told her. Sprinting over to where the heartless's main body had been he found a pendant. He had not been there to hear the monk's explanation that this was the proof he needed to see the heartless was dead. So Red took it just because it was a prize left for defeating the enemy. Clutching it in his right hand, he ran back over to Jean.
"Let's get out of here then." Taking the lead, the walk back to the church wasn't nearly as long as before. In fact as they came to the most dangerous part of the district, Red was surprised to see that there were no eyes on him at all. The air was completely silent. Too silent for Red's liking.
When the church came back into sight, Red couldn't help but smile. "Nearly there. Just hang in there a bit." He was trying to be confident. He didn't know how good or bad things really were for Jean, but the faster they got rid of any poison the better. Walking up the steps and through the doorway, the first thing that hit Red upon entering was a strong smell.
The smell made him freeze and wince at the same time. "That smells like... blood!" He exclaimed rushing into the church. What he saw next made him fall to his knees and throw up any food that was in his body. The blood Red had smelled was real. There was a pool of it flowing from a body. The body was against the wall and two feet above the ground. The body itself was held up by three inch long, and two inch wide steel nails. They held each of his arms out in front of him and legs as well. Not only that but nails were impaled all over his body. There had to be about twelve of them and blood poured from each one.
Raising his head, Red recognized the person's hair and realized that it was the monk! His eyes were still open, and because of this Red forced himself off the ground and ran over to the monk. He looked in his eyes and tried to assess what he could do. It was hopeless. Red could tell that if he took out any of the nails he would die. In fact it was a surprise he was alive at all still!
"Who... did the assassin do this?" He asked barley containing the rage in his voice.
The monk opened his lips to speak but instead coughed out blood onto the floor. "No... be... hind...." The words were never finished as a nail traveled through the air and impaled itself in the monk's throat, killing him. Red spun about and he watched a man dressed in a suit with black hair and odd yellow eyes. To anyone besides Red one could see a clear resemblance between this man and himself. They had the same colored eyes and even some of their features were similar.
"Can't have him spoiling too much." The main giggled.
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Post by Sprow on Mar 13, 2011 20:11:51 GMT -5
Jean was relieved that Red hadn't panicked when she told him the news. She didn't think he was the type but the least she needed was for someone to freak out. It wouldn't get them anywhere if someone panicked over the situation. She felt like rushing over to the church right now but she had to refrain. Getting her blood pumping fast would only cause the poison to move through her system faster. That was definitely something that she didn't want to happen if she planned on living.
When they started off, she only paused a moment when Red seemed to spot something. She hoped it wouldn't take him very long as he went over to whatever it was. Seeing him pick up some sort of pendant, they started off once more. As they walked, she calmed her breathing and did her best to keep her heart beat normal. If she let her heart beat fast,she would only cause the poison to run faster through her veins.
The walk back to the church felt like hours as it slowly came into view. Hearing Red's words of comfort, she just merely smiled over at him as if to reassure him that she would be fine. Right now, she wasn't even sure if she had been poisoned. She felt fine right now but there were some poisons where you didn't even feel it. Her vision was fine and she wasn't feeling much fatigue. Maybe she was fine and just needed her arm tended to?
Once they reached the church, Red was the first to approach the doors. Opening them up, even Jean could smell the strong scent that met them from the inside. "Holy=!" she cut herself short in case the monk were still around and out of respect for the church. Cautiously, she entered after Red mentioned the smell had to be blood. How he would know that, she didn't know but she would take his word for it. Red wasn't a bad person from the time she had spent with the kid.
Looking around, she soon found the source of the smell. Her eyes followed the trail of blood that dribbled down the wall to where it began. There, nailed to the wall, was the monk from earlier. Jean's eyes widened at the sight. Oddly enough, the guy's eyes were still open and he was somehow still alive after all of that.
The wounds were pretty nasty though. Jean could tell it was a loss cause to try and save him. Pulling the nails out would just kill him. 'Great! The chance of curing myself from the damn poison just went out the window!' she thought as Red asked the monk who did it. When the monk made to answer though, another nail came flying and finished the monk off. Turning toward the direction where she had seen the nail come from, a man giggled after speaking.
Her eyebrows furrowed a bit as she took in the man's appearance. There were features that resembled Red's. "Who are you?!" she demanded. Not only was she surprised, she was angry.
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