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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 14:52:17 GMT -5
Ayla shrugged. "I couldn't care less about the resistance. I learnt enough about them when I was one of them." She said coldly, Demyx looked totally gobsmacked at the last part. She flicked her long dark hair back over her shoulder before leaning against a wall as Arxbi appeared. She smirked slighty, though Demyx looked surprised. He noticed the look on Ayla's face and sighed. "You knew he was there, didn't you?" "Might have done." She smiled sarcastically. "I wish I could share those feelings Arxbi, but Axel has made it very clear who's on whose side." Demyx turned his attention from Ayla to Arxbi. But as he said the last part his eyes flickered back to her, before moving back to Arxbi. Ayla merely remained silent. She wiped the blood from around her mouth before drawing her dager and tossing it up and down in the air. A number of times she ccaught it between her fingers, other she grabbed it, it sliced her hand a number of times, but as quickly as the cut was made, it healed back up again. She eventually got bored and placed the dagger back under her skirt, she lifted her eyes and focused them on the moon.
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 14:59:13 GMT -5
Arxbi nodded. "I guess so," he said. "Though I will admit I was sent here, the fact that Axel is your enemy doesn't make me one." He slipped a hand into his pocket, briefly looking for something before drawing his hand out again. He held nothing in his hand. "I'm not here for a fight or anything. Just wanted to know things. So you seem alright. Sort of." His sight shifted between Ayla and Kara, falling on Demyx for a few moments. Kara eyed Ayla briefly. Stubborn as always. Skarlia knew that Lyrin wouldn't keep up his somewhat kind mood for long. He'd be the leader of the Resistance again soon. However, Skarlia actually couldn't blame him for it. She knew all about the founder of the Resistance, Lyrin's father, and what had happened to him that had changed Lyrin forever. There was nowhere else she could go. She had something resembling a purpose here. There was food and she could help others. She wished there was more to her life
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:02:46 GMT -5
"Demyx." Ayla said suddenly, her movements were too fast for normal people and some nobodies to see, but when she stopped Demyx moved. He spun around and slashed through a dusk. As Ayla djusted her stance it was easy to see her dagger was gone. It was in Demyx's hand. He tossed it over his shoulder and Ayla caught it. Her eyes had been closed the entire time. She had not opened them when she tossed or caught the dagger. Demyx smirked at her as he turned around. "You ever gonna explain to me how you do that?" He asked her sarcastically, as if he already knew the answer. "No. Besides it's not exactly something you learn in five minutes." "Three years?" "No. Longer time than that." Her eyes were locked shut as she put the dagger back in the strap. "What were you looking for in your pocket Arxbi?" She said after a long pause. "Huh?" Demyx turned back to Arxbi, narrowing his eyes at Ayla. Even though she doesn't open her eyes, she notices thing I don't notice. Sometimes, even things Masina doesn't notice. He glanced at Kara again before looking back to Arxbi. He passed over Ayla's comment. "Have you done all you needed to do?" This comment was obviously not only directed at Arxbi. He glanced at Ayla out of the corner of his eye as he finished. She smirked. He didn't trust Ayla anymore. She had changed and wasn't like how she used to be to him. Three years ago by the end of everything, she was actually nicer to him. Now she seemed colder and more distant than she had ever been. Even toward Masina.
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 15:04:23 GMT -5
Arxbi shrugged. "Just seeing if I still had something the Superior gave me," he said truthfully. The instinct to say 'Superior' was something automatic now and though it probably would've been wiser just to call him Axel while he wasn't there, Arxbi was never sure if Axel was there or not anymore. He pulled a round object from his pocket, about half the size of his palm, with engravings on it. It was black, but as it caught the moonlight little spirals of wispy red smoke began to appear from within it. "If you must know," he said, "I was looking for this." He pocketed the object again. Kara recognised what the small, pebble-shaped object was almost immediately. She looked a little surprised that Arxbi was in possession of it, but then a realisation appeared on her face. "You... have one of them?" She said quietly. "Collecting? Or do you only need one?" "We have a few," Arxbi replied. "I have just one with me. We stumble across them every so often. We don't make an effort to harvest them though." The choice of word used for collecting the rare objects sent a shiver down Kara's spine. "Why would Axel trust you with even one? Or doesn't he know?" "Of course he knows," Arxbi said. "I can't hide anything from him. There's something about him..." He changed subject. "A few of the higher-ranked members have one." "I'm surprised you've told me all that." "I'm surprised you were interested." Skarlia left the Resistance earlier than anyone else. She walked casually through the streets, almost hoping to encounter a Dusk of some kind, perhaps a stronger Nobody. But of course she didn't want to encounter Axel. Anything else was fine. Anything to entertain her, distract her from her current situation. Cloud walked through the streets, the large lioness form of Khali by his side. She survived in hot climates far better in this form and seemed more comfortable like that for now. She didn't reveal her human face often to others. "It's quite well-built," Cloud said softly. Khali's great feline head nodded and her eyes glimmered as they caught the moon. Everything was a little cooler at night, but the heat still lingered in the air. Suddenly a shape, a single person left outside other than them, appeared from round a corner, their long coat swaying at their heels. "Cloud!" Rildax cried and ran towards them, his eyes gleaming with delight. The two had become good friends before this had all started. The two men embraced and let go after a moment. "It's good to see you." "You too," Cloud said, smiling. "You have some good healers here." "I made sure they were trained well," Rildax said. Cloud widened his eyes briefly. "You run this place?" "Yeah, I took every in here. And I led the builders to rebuild the place." He grinned. "That's how I earned to title 'Desert Mirage.'" Cloud smiled. "I can't say I was expecting anything like this from you." Rildax's sight switched to Khali. "Ah, Khali. Being the hero, right?" Khali morphed into her human form and grinned at Rildax. "Naturally," she replied. From behind Rildax, another figure appeared. She had changed her outfit dramatically since Cloud had last seen her, now wearing a urple t-shirt, one sleeve short and the other reaching to her wrist, one side lying on her hand and the other, which would've been on her palm if it was equal, was slightly above her wrist. She wore a long skirt that reached to her ankles, fading from black at the top and down to white at the bottom. She was not wearing high-heels, which was a large difference for her. She was instead wearing black sandals, simple but perfect for this type of terrain. Texaelle looked a little sheepish as she saw Cloud. Cloud was amazed that Rildax and Texaelle were so close and weren't ripping each other to shreds. "She's changed, don't worry," Rildax said. Texaelle stood beside Rildax. "I can't ever hope to apologise enough," she said. "But I made a pledge to help your side now." "And I took her in as a means of trying to apologise to her," Rildax finished. "So it's all happy families, I guess."
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:06:02 GMT -5
"If you don't trust me Demyx you might as well just say it. But better to her than to me. I couldn't care less whether you trust me or not." She told him quietly. He sucked in a breath and stepped back. "What do you mean?" He stuttered. He was not part of Kara and Arxbi's conversation. But he seemed to notice a meaning behind the words te 24 year old spoke. "You are not my concern, but I made a promise. To Evalaine. I swore that I would not let harm come to you or her." Ayla's voice was lifeless and cold. "I am to keep my promise, but that does not mean earning your trust." Her eyes snapped open and she glanced directly at Demyx out of the corner of her eye. He walked over quickly and punched her. Ayla gasped and staggered slightly. That was the first time in three years anyone had hit her. Or even been able to touch her. Her trapped her wrists in water, they twisted like ropes around her wrists, stopping her getting her weapons. "What the hell happened to you, Ayla?! You had my trust! I don't recognise you anymore! No one does!" He cried at her. Her eyes turned blue as she looked at the ground. It was impossible to see her face but Demyx saw a drop of blood fall from her face. It was a tear. "I'm sorry." She whispered quietly, her voice thick with sadness, before her voice turned harsh again. "But the truth is I changed when I lost everything." With those as he last words, Ayla dissapeared into black flames. Demyx sighed heavily. "That's not it is it?" He mumbled.
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 15:12:08 GMT -5
Kara eyed Arxbi warily. "You shouldn't be in possession of- DEMYX!!!" She cut off as she saw Demyx punch Ayla. She watched, speechless, as Ayla disappeared. "Did she really deserve that?" She said, looking somewhat sharply at Demyx. Even if she herself had nearly done the same to Ayla when she'd spoken about Skarlia. Arxbi watched with an oddly uncomfortable smile. "Awk-ward..." he said quietly. Rildax led Cloud, Texaelle and Khali through the small city slowly, the night air turning somewhat pleasant as they neared the oasis. "So other than those that came here with the cancer, no one has every got the Cobalt Cancer?" Cloud asked. "Never," Rildax admitted. "The only thing I can think of is the heat, but fire has never killed it off, as Axel has proved." "I thought perhaps there was a certain chemical or element in the air here," Texaelle said. "But so far no tests have confirmed that." Cloud smiled at how much saner Texaelle seemed when she was on their side. "Well, let's see if we can help come up with something," Khali said as she glanced admiringly at the buildings. Finally they came to the oasis. Cloud had never expected something so big. It was more of a lake with huge palm trees towering over it. The water was so clean it was unreal. "...Wow." Was all Cloud could say. "You definitely found the jewel of the desert when you found this." "I'm surprised there wasn't already people here," Rildax said. Though... since this old city was here, I suspect something did happen here..." He drifted off, then he suddenly laughed at the grim expressions on everyone's faces. "I'm joking!" Skarlia heard someone behind her and she spun round, BloodFang in her hand and aimed it at the man's throat. The man was of the Organisation. Karxitarr. "Woah, Skarlia," Karxitarr said, his hands up. He had a sort of innocence around him, probably because of his age. "I was just passing through." "Whatever," Skarlia replied coldly. "Fine, if it's a fight you want..." Karxitarr held up his left hand and a long weapon, one that Skarlia only recognised because she'd seen it before. It was a medieval weapon known as a Halberd, but this one was black and had a silver blade on both sides and the edge of the side-blade. It had a crecent moon on the hilt. "Then it's a fight you'll get." Skarlia knew this weapon was destructive. She'd faced it before and only just got out alive. It was such an unpredictable weapon. Skarlia trusted BloodFang though and raised it, ready to take on Karxitarr in a rematch. "Alright, fine," she said and the two clashed blades...
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:14:19 GMT -5
"Kara." Demyx's voice was cold. He looked nearly as harsh as Ayla had. "You don't know her anymore. I doubt even Rildax does." His voice turned back to normal as he turned to Kara. He looked away, only with his eyes he would not turn. "Still, the old Ayla is in there. Just like Axel, I believe that he is still there as well, but with Ayla it's different." He sighed. "When I hit her, something happened. I think I saw the old her. Maybe she is ot as untouchable as I thought." He glanced at Ayla's blood on the floor. Where had that come from? His punch wasn't that hard. It looked more like a tear than just bleeding. "Your late, I summoned you five minutes ago." Fexier stood in the middle of the sandstorm. He smirked as black flames appeared in front of him. Ayla stpped out from them, her skirt flapped in the harsh winds of the sandstorm. "I'm not in the mood." She said coldly, her hand hovered over her dagger. "What do you want?" "Relax Ave." He held his hands up. "I wanted the details. On you." Her dissapeared and reappeared behind Ayla. She closed her eyes. "Huh?" He froze, watching Ayla close her eyes. He went to grab her and his hands went straight through her. Then the Ayla in front of him faded. "How pathetic. How naive do you think I am?" Her voice came from behind him. He spun around as Ayla kicked him in the jaw. He was sent flying across the sand. "Hmpmh, pathetic."
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 15:22:10 GMT -5
Kara looked at Demyx in surprise with how cold he had suddenly gone, then looked away quickly. Her eyes glanced to where Arxbi was to find he'd disappeared. She glanced at the moon before she straightened herself up fully. "Why can't it just be like old times..." she sighed softly. Rildax sat down beside the water, his legs crossed. He watched the others as Khali took a drink from the oasis in her lion form and Cloud lay back, his hands behind his head. Texaelle had left to meet the council. "The oasis looks stunning in the moonlight," Cloud said. "It looks stunning after rainfall," Rildax said. "It rains once a year here. After the rain the sun comes out and the reflection comes off the trees too." He motioned to the huge palm trees. "That is a sight to see." Skarlia clashed her blade again and BloodFang was caught under the axe blade of the Halberd and Karxitarr managed to spin the blade of BloodFang downwards, stand on it and slice Skarlia across the chest with the sword blade of the weapon. Skarlia was knocked off her feet as fresh blood poured out of her. Karxitarr pushed BloodFang with his foot towards her. "Come on." Karxitarr urged. Skarlia leapt to her feet, grabbing the hilt of BloodFang and charged at Karxitarr. Surprised by the stupid frontal attack, Karxitarr prepared to make the same movement again. But as he swung the Halberd round to catch BloodFang, Skarlia disappeared at the last second. Karxitarr's weapon fell through nothingness as his arm swirved. The force of the swing knocked him off-balance for a split second. Skarlia reappeared behind him and sliced BloodFang across his back. Karxitarr was on the floor, Skarlia aiming BloodFang at his throat again. "Well done," he said. "You've been training, huh? Cool." Skarlia let him stand and his Halberd vanished. "I'm gonna go now. Wait... do you have to let me go first or something?" Skarlia smiled. Karxitarr was quite a few years younger than her. "Next time it will be best out of three," she said. "Then we'll see who the winner is." Karxitarr nodded. "Thanks," he said before disappearing in flames.
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:23:21 GMT -5
"I thought this might be entertaining, how mistaken was I?" Ayla smirked as Fexier came at her again, with yet another punch. She leapt into the air and dodged easily. Fexier scowled, but the a smirk flashed on his face. "Huh?" Ayla froze, confused by his smirk. "What is it you always say?" Fexier smirked before dissapearing. "Never let your guard down, or," he pressed his hand to the back of her neck, where her tattoo still was. "Let the enemy know your weakness!" He laughed cruelly as Ayla bit back a scream, her legs wobbled as he pressed down harder on the tattoo. "How?" She scowled at him as she locked her teeth together. "Did Axel-" "No." Fexier smirked as Ayla dropped to one knee. "You really think that Xyrina was merely curious, how do you think I knew everyhting you told her, or that she found out herself?" He laughed cruelly as he grabbed Ayla's neck, it was his turn to throw her in the sandstorm. He launched her into the sand. Making her cry out in pain. "You see we know that not only does a nobody touching that tattoo on the back of your neck send pain shooting through you. But we also know that it does exactly what you can. It accesses your mind and gives you the illusion pain is killing you. It makes it hurt so badly soon you'll be unconious." He smirked as Ayla sruggled to stand up.He dissapeared then reappeared behind her again. He drew the knifes he held under his coat, he dissapeared again and Ayla squirmed when he appeared in front of her, Ayla was covered in cuts. She knew these would take a while to heal, considering her condition right now. "Now who's pathetic?" He grabbed the back of her neck again, sending the pain shooting through her body once again. But this time with the bonus of what he had spoken of. Ayla collapsed onto the floor. Then as he was about to walk away, he was thrown across the sand. He looked up to see a figure at Ayla's side. "Watch what you do, Fexier." A male voice said. "Herutsu." He mumbled harshly as the man dissapeared taking Ayla with him. Herutsu reappeared in a dark room. The curtains were closed so the room was not really visible. HErutsu held the unconcious Ayla in his arms. "You'll never learn will you Ayla?" He sighed. He laid Ayla down on the large bed and walked toward the door. "I'll go find Elle." He muttered, leaving and closing the door behind him.
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 15:24:16 GMT -5
"Are you ok?" Kara asked. "You don't seem yourself. Well, not that I'd really know what 'you' is. It has been a few years. You changed too, I guess." She glanced at Demyx. She seemed to have something else to say, but didn't say it. Lyrin sat at the head of a large table, as many others sat down. His sight glanced lazily at each person in turn. "We need to act quicker," a man called from Lyrin's left. "Your tactics are slower now." "Hush!" A woman on Lyrin's right called at the man. "That is stupid! We need to think before we do anything else drastic." Lyrin raised a hand and everyone fell into silence. "For now we take out the Organisation one by one," he said. "We don't need to save Axel 'til last; if we get chance we'll strike him down soon. However, don't make Axel your prime objective." There was a slight murmur before Lyrin spoke again. "Of course, I will assign a member to make your objective to each of you," he told them, his fingers weaved together and his chin resting on them. "They are all strong, we know that, but some are stronger than others. Since I know your strengths and weaknesses, I'll assign you to a member according to that." Lyrin watched as the people sat at the table watched him expectantly. "You may leave," he sighed as everyone stood up and left the hall, leaving him to think things through.
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:25:42 GMT -5
"Sorry." Demyx smiled like he used to and rubbed the back of his head. "No, I'm pretty much the same, jjust thinking about somthing your sister said to me a while back. Yeah sorry, she's known I was alive since you thought I died." He shrugged. But what Ayla told me, "nothing can ever be like it was, Demyx. We have lost to much for things to be normal again." What if she was right? What if, nothing changes now? Herutsu pulled Elle into the room Ayla was in. "Look are you sure she won't mind me being in her room?" Elle asked him cautiously. "Don't worry I'm sure you'll live." "It's only your word I have." She said sarcastically. She gasped slightly when she saw Ayla. She knelt by her side and pulled the wet cloth from her pocket. "I'll take care of her, Herutsu, you should get going." Elle told him, wiping the cuts all over Ayla.
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 15:28:33 GMT -5
Kara smiled slightly. "Figures," she said. "Ayla is all-knowing." She grinned suddenly at the idea. And then some other random junk passed through her mind in a moment of insanity. From first meeting Demyx to her last assassination. "Do you think this will change?" She asked. "Do you think he will change?" "Skarlia," Lyrin greeted as Skarlia walked into the hall. "You're earlier than I expected." "I had nothing else to do," Skarlia replied as she stood looking at Lyrin. "What is it you need, sir?" "I need to talk to you about something important," he stated, which he knew was obvious. "We know that there will be a chance to ambush Organisation XIII." Skarlia looked up from the floor. "And you want me to go?" "Precisely. But I will warn you..." Lyrin placed his chin on his knuckles again. "Axel will be there." Skarlia hesitated, before nodding. She hadn't actually seen Axel in person in two years. "I'll go," she said. "Is my mother back yet?" "No," Lyrin said. "But don't worry about her. From what evidence we have, she's alive, and that's the main thing." Skarlia changed the subject back. "Where am I going this time?" "You'll be taking a Gummi Ship to Hollow Bastion," Lyrin explained. "From there you'll continue North and you'll find Axel and a few others there. Try to wait until you have one on their own, or if the information they discuss is important, report back immediately." "Understood," Skarlia said. "Skarlia..." Lyrin stood up suddenly and approached Skarlia. She looked up into his eyes and suddenly a flashback rang out in her mind. These eyes were those of another for a few seconds as her childhood friend's voice echoed from Lyrin's lips. "I'll always be watching you," Enzeru said. Skarlia was awestruck as Lyrin seemed to become himself again. He glanced about briefly. "Good luck, Skarlia," he said. Skarlia finally managed to move from the spot and left the hall.
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:28:48 GMT -5
"Huh?" Masina looked up from the floor of the alley. "Ayla." She whispered, her blue eyes glowed in the night lit alleyway. "No idea. The people that I stay with, they believe the Axel we knew, is still there. Though she may not look like it. Ayla is one of those people." He sighed. "But I doubt this will ever end. We've lost too much for anything to ever be normal again." Demyx closed his eyes and then slowly opened them again. "Huh?" "Hello there, Kara." Masina smiled at Kara as she appeared behind Demyx. "Hey there." She tapped Demyx's shoulder. He jumped. "What the hell do you think your doing, Masina?! No one is supposed to know your alive." He hissed. "I think we can trust Kara, right? Besides, I already made sure no one else was around." She smirked and Demyx froze. Ayla began to cough and splutter in her sleep. Elle gasped. She reached into her medicene bag as Ayla's breath began to waver. Blood began to come out with the coughs. Elle pulled her hand from her bag and in it was a seringe. She injected the needle into Ayla. "What are you doing?" Herutsu asked quietly from the door. "Anesthetic." Elle said softly. "Ayla's in a lot of pain. Pass me that mask would you?" Herutsu picked up the mask from beside the door. "I put it down on the way in. It's conected to that oxygen supply." She explained. "She's having trouble breathing. That should help." Elle took the mask off him and placed it over Ayla's face. It covered her nose and mouth. "She won't wake up for a while. But in the condition she's in. That's probably a good thing." Elle sighed, placing the needle back in her bag. "Thank you." "She's my boss and my friend. Though we are not the closest people, unlike you two, I do care about her. Were'nt you told to look after her anyway?" Elle snapped. "Ayla is impossible for anyone to keep track of, you know that." "Well, you don't need to thank me. This is not for anyone really. This is my job. And she is my friend." Elle glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He nodded once and walked back through the door. He closed it and leant beside the doors, his face directed at the floor his eyes closed. "Please, don't you leave me as well, Ayla." He whispered.
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Post by Skarlia Kara Strife on Sept 27, 2009 15:31:06 GMT -5
"...Masina?!" Kara said after a pause. She hesitated before letting out her breath and holding a hand over one side of her face. "Not so many dead as I thought..." she smiled at Masina as her hand dropped. "It's good to see you again." Skarlia walked through the ash with BloodFang upon her back. Her purple eyes glanced about before fixing on her destination again. There were large mountains of debris in the far distance and as the sky approached them it began to become filled with clouds. She felt like there was some sort of presence here. A dark aura that was not sensed by any of Skarlia's five senses, but it was just there. Skarlia shivered and quickened her pace.
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Post by Masina on Sept 27, 2009 15:31:23 GMT -5
"Likewise." Masina nodded to Kara. "You, made sure?" Demyx stuttered, turning to face Masina, his face showed a lot of fear. "Relax, Ayla is the one who kills everyone, and she's not in the current state to. I didn't kill anyone." "This time." Demyx mumbled. Then he registered part of what Masina had said. "What? Ayla is fine, she was just here." "Now she's with Herutsu, but that was after Fexier found out the control her tattoo has over her." Masina explained. "That girl, Elle, is taking care of her, from what I can tell, Ayla was coughing again, in her sleep, she's unconcious, coughing up blood. Then her breath stared to break up, so she wasn't breathing properly. Her pulse went awol. Elle had to put her under anesthetic. And use an oxygen mask to help her breath." MAsina explained, her eyes closed. "That is the closest Ayla has come to dying since Sephiroth died....again." "How did he find out?" "Xyrina, she has been tracking Ayla." Masina shrugged. "Anyway, just thought I'd let you know. Besides I wanted to meet Kara again. Ask her how Skarlia is. Is she okay? How are you both?" Masina smiled at Kara kindly. Just the way she used to. This was the same old Masina, she made it seem like nothing had happened, just that they hadn't seen each other in a while.
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