Sharp Exit

[innatelunacy]

They'd managed to avoid the worst of the trouble on their exit from Midgar's ruins, much to Saix's quiet disappointment. They ran into a couple of relatively weak Hollows, new and of low concern, which were quickly dispatched. Saix had hoped for a bigger challenge, but it was probably for the best when they were followed by a shellshocked flock of refugees.

The Turks left for Edge once they'd cleared the rubble, a silent, mutual understanding having been reached with them that it would help no one, now, to continue whatever unfinished business was on the cards. Some of the refugees went too, claiming family, or friends who could help them, but the largest number stayed with the party until they reached Palumpolum. This was, it was reasoned, as far as they could safely take them. Word would be spreading around Edge by now that there had been survivors, and that increased the risks. Rumour travelled faster than feet, and neither Axel nor Saix wanted to run headlong into a welcoming committee that might recognise them for Ryoka.

Aerith, fortunately, agreed. She'd been nervous when they first came out of the shadow of what had once been Midgar, but once they'd travelled further out, to where the wilds of nature shaped the land, instead of the technology of men, she'd seemed to relax and take it in stride.

"Do you want to bring her back to Rabanastre, or do you have somewhere else in mind?" Saix asked of Axel, once the city of Palumpolum was part of the horizon again, instead of breathing down their necks. He was, grudgingly, impressed; Aerith was a city girl, but she hadn't made a single grumble when they'd travelled, which was more than could be said for the refugees that had stayed with them.

Comments

[gotitmemorised]

Axel liked the look of Palumpolum, but knew better than to stick around for any longer than absolutely necessary. Even though the crawling sense of worry and dread had abated since the destruction of Midgar -- small comfort in the wake of the biggest disaster of Spira's modern age -- it would take a while for the worry of being recaptured by Midgar's forces to be completely gone.

"It's up to her," Axel said, shrugging. "She's earned the right to make a decision."

[innatelunacy]

"Mm," Saix grunted, the closest he came to verbal acknowledgement of the idea.

He looked over towards Aerith, who seemed temporarily distracted by the scenery, but who looked directly at him when she felt his eyes on her.

[hearstheplanet]

She smiled at Saix. "I'm coming with you, silly," she told Axel, turning her attention to him for a moment. "You've both helped me, and those people, when you didn't have to, and I'm grateful, but I'm not about to let you dump me and run." She flashed a quick grin, putting one hand on her hip, "Besides, after all your hard work, I should repay you," she looked directly at Axel, "I might even let you take me on a date," she teased, with a bright smile.

Then she looked much more seriously at Saix and told him, "And you shouldn't risk walking around without a healer when people might be looking for you, so wherever you're going, so am I."

[gotitmemorised]

Axel couldn't help but laugh at Aerith's date comment, albeit with a tinge of awkward embarrassment. He scratched the back of his neck and grinned all the same.

"We could use a healer." He couldn't deny that at all. "It's a long way to Rabanastre, though. You up for a long trek?"

Chocobos would attract less attention than going by airship. Not that they were anywhere near any major airship ports anyway.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith smiled, sweetly. "I think I can manage," she replied. In truth, she'd never been outside Midgar in all the time she could remember, and after the initial bout of nerves and uncomfortable openness, she'd come to like it. The world felt alive around her, and it was terrifying and wonderful at the same time.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith was coping with the long ride okay. It had become uncomfortable after an hour, and then painful, and now her legs ached and she was pretty sure her bum had dropped off and been left behind somewhere. She sure hoped it had, anyway, because it was going to hurt come morning if not. But, all that aside, she'd kept up, and her chocobo had been extremely well behaved, which was a relief.

Now she could feel her stomach rumbling, and she was really looking forward to getting off the chocobo and getting some rest. The scenery was beautiful, lush and green, and the sky felt like it was swallowing her, but she also felt... connected. The way she always had at the church.

[innatelunacy]

Saix was suffering too, and he was starting to turn his mind to making camp and eating. They still had a couple of hours before darkness, but his body was already giving him a checklist. When he got home, the first thing he was going to do was stand in the shower for an hour.

He'd kept an eye for predators along the journey so far, and between himself and Axel, they'd steered clear of anything too dangerous looking. Most animals didn't attack chocobos, or their riders, but it wasn't worth the unnecessary risk with a novice in the midst.

Saix slowed his chocobo, eyes on a group some way ahead, familiar reiatsu tickling the edge of some barely trained sense that Saix knew better than to ignore. "We have company," he commented, to Axel.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel, by that point, was also entirely sick of chocobo riding. He felt a bit of the ache associated, but tended towards that method of travel over public transport where possible - for the obvious reason - but he hadn't quite descended into the saddle-hating madness that Aerith and Saix were no doubt teetering on the edge of -- he was just sick of riding.

He was more worried about getting saddle sore than feeling epic butt-ache.

Axel felt the reiatsu, but didn't recognise it in whole or in the individual parts that made up the mass. He, of course, wouldn't. Even so, he didn't like the feeling of it even without the spark of recognition that Saix felt. There was something unpleasant about the ... tone.

It felt to him like a group of extremely unpleasant Fiends rather than people, but that didn't match up to what he was seeing ...

"Why do I get the feeling that it's not the good kind of company..?"

[innatelunacy]

"You have good instincts," Saix replied, drily. He scowled, casting his attention briefly towards Aerith. Fleeing might go badly; she was inexperienced, it would be too easy for her to come off the bird, or lose control of it. And if Saix recognised them, then they almost certainly recognised him, and one of them at least might not be prepared to let him simply walk away. "The Order have run into them before," he grumbled, and then added, more emphatically, "I have run into them before."

He turned slightly to look at Axel. "Last time we met, one of them nearly killed me and Vexen. Xigbar thinks they're an offshoot of Khamja; either way, they are not to be taken lightly." He eyed the approaching group again, who had almost certainly noticed them by now, and had probably noticed them before they even became visible on the horizon.

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra moved fast, too fast for most to see, and deflected the incoming blow with one hand. The deprotect hit, but Ulquiorra barely flinched. Aggravatingly, he kept one hand in his pocket.

Another quick movement fired a bala blast at Axel. He was as inexpressive as Saix at his most linefaced, but he'd still noticed that Axel was quite clearly experienced. As experienced, perhaps, as the berserker he accompanied, and even a little more resourceful and forward thinking.

But he still couldn't win this fight. "Yes," he answered.

[innatelunacy]

Saix used his claymore to shield himself from the bala blast, and staggered when Grimmjow's follow up hit connected successfully. He grunted as the blow struck, and then roared as he swung his claymore hard and smacked it to the ground to create a shockwave.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith was part way through gathering herself to cast regen when she saw Luppi. She felt the change in energy before she saw it, and when she saw it a shiver of horror ran through her.

What were these people? They shouldn't be able to do something like that.

With a sharp burst, she channelled her chakra into a powerful blast of the Holy spell, centred directly on the little one.

[gotitmemorised]

Damn, this pale strip of wind he'd got saddled with fighting was fast. Axel heard the bala before he saw it. He felt it soon afterwards, but managed to bring his rapidly spinning chakram up in front of himself as a shield to prevent it doing too much damage.

He took a breath after the bala was over with and caught his other chakram when it returned to him.

"All right," he said, his voice rising in pitch slightly. "Let's see what you've got!"

He threw one of his chakrams skyward and let it touch down with a fiery blast. "Burn, baby!" He yelled, viciousness creeping into his voice, and retrieved the chakram as fire spread outwards from the weapon's landing site. It was definitely flashy, but also very effective ... if you didn't happen to be immune to Fire.

Axel didn't wait before rushing at Ulquiorra both chakrams in hand. He was fast and fluid - they didn't call him the Flurry of Dancing Flames for nothing - and he swung them in rapid yet graceful arcs.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow, knowing his shockwave game, attempted to defend himself. He got himself some distance away using his sonido, but he knew how fast Saix could be.

[trepadora]

Luppi's eyes widened as he saw the Holy spell come at him too fast for him to avoid. He stopped charging the cero and crossed his arms at the wrists in front of him to take some of the blast.

It hit him with enough power to send him off his feet, where he stayed for a moment in a considerable amount of pain.

[innatelunacy]

Given the moment he needed, Saix turned his attack into a barrage, screaming wordlessly with aggression as he raced forward, swinging his claymore with force and speed as he pelted after Grimmjow, shockwaves ranging wide around him.

After a few strikes he jumped, and launched his claymore at Grimmjow with a roar, the strike creating another large shockwave. When Saix landed, it took him only another moment to recall his weapon.

His blood was up, now.

[tozasemurcielago]

Unfortunately for Axel, Ulquiorra was immune to fire, and regarded the pyrotechnic display with cool disdain. It was a show of power, but one that was, ultimately, "Useless."

Still, his speed was impressive, even to Ulquiorra. He'd managed to act fast enough defend against a bala blast, and was equally quick as he headed for Ulquiorra, now.

Ulquiorra, however, responded with the same impassive nonchalance, blocking one blow with one hand, and then disappearing with sonido and a low, static-y note before the next could connect. He stepped into a good position to kick Axel from a blind spot in the same move.

[declaregamuza]

Nel saw the Holy spell hit Luppi, and answered with her own dose of curaga to the injured Arrancar. Holy spells were high level work, and she took note of the girl's obvious ability.

"You should know better than to tangle with a white mage of that calibre," she told Luppi, but there wasn't much scolding in it.

She gathered her chakra again to land a useful shell on him, as if to prove her point.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow, about to release, had this process cut short as, despite himself, he stared at Saix's attack on Luppi. He knew Saix was damned powerful when he was limit broken, but with what he did to Luppi... he couldn't help but watch in near-horror at the ease in which he smashed him around.

And then he failed to react when Saix hurled the now-unconscious Luppi at him. The weight of the smaller Arrancar thrown at such speed knocked him off his feet and he only barely managed to avoid accidentally cutting his own ally with his ready blade. He lay there, momentarily winded.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel watched in mild horror at the way Saix dealt with the smallest of their enemies as Ulquiorra backed off him. That was brutal, even for Saix and ... the form. He only had chance now to really see what he'd become and ...

He stopped thinking about it. He couldn't get distracted. He needed to get his mind back on his fight.

He caught both chakrams as Ulquiorra's fingersnap attack hit him. He grimaced as he took the damage dealt and wilted very slightly as he felt the buffs lift. Haste left his system like adrenaline in the wake of a rush and he felt momentarily empty and open while he processed the new lack of strength and defense boosting aids that Aerith had bestowed him with.

With one enemy out of the fight, it was three on three and the green haired ... goat? ... girl had already joined the fray since the little one had been taken out of commission. Aerith would have no time to reapply what Ulquiorra had removed, so Axel decided to switch tactics.

He grasped both chakrams in one hand and raised the other skyward.

"SAIX!" He called out, hoping that his ally had all of his faculties in that form and the ability to tear himself away from an opponent. When he - thankfully - turned, Axel held up his chakrams and indicated Aerith. "Cover her! NOW!"

The sky darkened to a stormy black as he concentrated his chakra. Moments later a salvo of Dark Elemental magic not unlike rain cascaded onto the battlefield and all of those on it.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow had just managed to regain control of his breathing as Axel initiated Black Sky. He gritted his teeth as the powerful Dark Elemental attack caused the damage intended and took a deep breath as he pushed Luppi off him while the rain fell.

He dragged himself to his feet, not bothering to check if his ally was even alive, and gripped his sword tightly in hand, getting ready for a second attempt at release.

"Grind," he snarled, dragging his fingernails down the length of his blade to initiate his bankai.

[innatelunacy]

Saix turned when his name was called, Axel's voice penetrating his focus. He turned to look at Aerith when Axel pointed to her, and somewhere between the command, and the sense of Axel's chakra massing, Saix responded.

He raced over to Aerith, picking her up in one hand like she weighed nothing, and holding her securely against him while he braced himself over her, sheltering her. He wouldn't have been able to do anything like it if he was smaller.

He weathered the dark attack with a growl and gritted teeth, making sure Aerith wasn't touched by any of it. He only put her down again once it was over.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith had heard the shout, but she'd yelped with a small shriek as Saix bounded over and picked her up. The claws on his paws were huge, and sharp, but Saix had enough presence of mind to be holding her gently. She relaxed a little, letting him shield her. Being towered over by a big, blue, furry canine-looking beast was strange, but Saix felt warm, and the fur was surprisingly soft.

She felt the dark magic all around as Axel did... whatever he was doing. Saix wasn't holding her in a position where she could see. Once it was over, he placed her feet back on the ground.

"Thank you," she said, quietly, and then cast a dose of curaga his way, as well as Axel's.

[declaregamuza]

Nel wasn't so lucky, and when the dark rain fell, it hurt, hard. She was holy elemental, and took massive damage from such an attack.

She gritted her teeth, doing her best to weather it, and cured herself the moment it was over, but she still felt weak and off balance.

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra endured the attack with his head bowed, like someone waiting for a shower to pass. It hurt more than he was letting on, but he was, at least, in a better position than Nel.

He could also see that Grimmjow was taking the opportunity to release in the aftermath. Ulquiorra didn't see the need to join in; two fully released Arrancar against them would be overkill.

Instead he took the opportunity to fire off a quick couple of bala rounds at Axel.