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.

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[declaregamuza]

Nel had felt the reiatsu before she'd seen the origins. She'd never met these people before, but they felt like people she wouldn't normally cross out of choice. She hadn't drawn her shikai, or her sword, and would have happily gone around the approaching group.

"Put that away, Grimmjow," she warned. Her tone brooked no argument, although, unfortunately, that didn't stop the more headstrong of their group.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel didn't like the impending clash at all. He was generally gung-ho for a good fight, the dirtier the better, but there was something about those figures that he didn't like. He sat up straight in his saddle, on edge and alert. Aerith's tone and Saix's explanation didn't do much to reassure him.

He liked a good battle, but he liked one where there was a strong chance of him winning better. He wasn't too into heavily one-sided fights. He'd have a good go in a tight spot, but he had no interest in throwing his life away.

Again.

"Any chance we can avoid this?" He asked quietly. He directed the question at Saix.

He was thinking of Aerith and her safety. That much was obvious. He hadn't gone to hell and back to drag her out of a doomed city only to have her killed by affiliates of the most prolific Assassination Clan on mainland Spira.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow had not only felt the reiatsu before he'd seen it, but he had recognised it too. At least, he had recognised one of the ... three? Yeah, three. He hadn't bothered to conceal the dangerous delight that split his face into a vicious grin.

That was only the first part of the transformation that the feeling brought on.

His gait changed from a lazy saunter to an almost stalking stride. He became visibly alert and, instead of relying on the group leader to decide everything, his contrary and bullheaded instincts took over. When they got close though to see them, he drew his sword and released himself to shikai and the jaw-shaped mask on his face manifested itself.

He was all prepped for a fight. The wind-down from the mission they had just completed had been entirely replaced with thoughts of bloody-minded revenge.

"Like hell," he said.

[trepadora]

Luppi, the smallest of the group, seemed unworried by the small assortment of people he could feel just over the horizon. They seemed to suggest a scale of power, with one projecting their power shamelessly and the others being a little more reserved. It made it difficult to ascertain the combined proficiency of the group, but given the noticeably altered ambience in the general vicinity, he came to the conclusion that there was some concealment in play.

Interesting ... that meant they had something to hide. Or just a lot to hide. He still wasn't concerned. The Mist released with the fall of Midgar and his exposure to the arguably noxious fumes of the Lifestream had imbued him with a feeling of heightened confidence. Or, perhaps, arrogance.

Poison Elementals did have a habit of drawing power from the most unpleasant of sources.

He didn't miss the change in Grimmjow's demeanour. He looked curiously at Nel's instruction and sighed without surprise at Grimmjow's typical response.

[innatelunacy]

Saix could feel the pulse of energy from Grimmjow. He remained quiet for a moment, thinking; Grimmjow was fast, and would probably be unwilling to let them simply run off in the other direction. Aerith was a novice, and too much at risk riding to escape.

"If you take the girl on your chocobo and run as fast as it can, you might get away," Saix answered, "while I have his interest." He frowned, unwilling just yet to climb down. The woman that was with them, he remembered mention from an encounter the others had with her. She was level headed, powerful, and had fought one of their own number when he'd gone out of control. "Otherwise, our best hope is to appeal for safe passage, and hope the other three aren't as psychotically violent."

Saix had to bite down hard on his pride to suggest that one.

[tozasemurcielago]

Ulquiorra was walking along with his hands in his pockets. When Grimmjow offered his refusal to comply to Nel, he barely reacted, except to very subtly roll his eyes. Nel could handle Grimmjow; Ulquiora didn't need to interject.

He'd done his own assessment of the three strangers as they'd approached. The blue haired one reminded him of Grimmjow, but the redhead, and the girl, were better controlled.

The girl reminded him a little of Nel. It was difficult to properly assess her power, which was significantly higher than she seemed to want to let on. It was curious.

[declaregamuza]

Nel looked severe. The recent mission had annoyed her, the events that had occurred had annoyed her, the fallout had annoyed her. A lot of perfectly normal people had died, and it bothered her, and she wasn't in a position to discuss that with anyone, which bothered her more.

She didn't have the patience for Grimmjow's blood feuds right now.

"Don't forget the state you came back in last time," she warned, "and what you were told. We are not here for your petty revenge."

If he started a fight and got hurt, she was going to leave him to suffer.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith didn't even glance at Axel. "I'm not running away and leaving you," she told Saix, firmly.

[gotitmemorised]

"Yeah," Axel said, hiding the mild affront he felt at being told to run from a fight behind Aerith's strong words. "If we run, we all run. We aren't leaving you to have all the fun."

Fun wasn't likely to enter into it.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes and slid them in Nel's direction. He raised one side of his lip in an almost-snarl at her admonishment and lowered his sword to a slightly less threatening position.

He did not, however, sheath it.

"It's four to three and you expect us to run?" He snapped.

Tch. Forget that. This should be a cake walk. He flipped his sword in his hand so that the lowered blade faced edge-outwards.

[declaregamuza]

"Three to three," Nel corrected, "and that's assuming Ulquiorra and Luppi join in on your side. We're not here to fight for the sake of your ego, but if you want to go and get your backside whooped by an angry berserker again, I'm not going to stop you."

The worst part was that she knew, for all the speech, that she wouldn't be able to stand by and watch Grimmjow get hurt. One way or another, she'd have to explain the situation to Aizen, and if she let Grimmjow get nigh crippled by that one guy from the Thirteenth Order that he just can't leave alone, there'd be questions.

But she also wasn't going to put them all in a situation where she'd have to tell Aizen that she neglected to try and lead in favour of letting an idiot like Grimmjow pick a fight with strange Ryoka.

She wished Stark was here.

[innatelunacy]

Saix didn't reply because he couldn't think of anything to say. A 'thank you' got stuck in his throat. Instead, he dismounted his chocobo and walked a little ahead before summoning his claymore.

He felt somewhat better with that in his hand, and he hefted the weight into a relaxed but noticeably ready stance.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel watched Saix dismount. He narrowed his eyes at the blast of increased spiritual pressure as Saix called his claymore into existence. He then followed suit in his dismount.

His own weapons hung at his sides -- he had not yet been taught how to forge a weapon from spirit particles. Instead, he pulled them free and held them low, opting not to ignite them just yet.

He did, however, let the concealment of his chakra drop.

[jawmask]

Grimmjow inclined his head away from Nel, his teeth bared and his eyes half closed in a display of near-petulance. Without backup, the Berserker's allies could cause serious problems for him. He was convinced that in a head-to-head with him and him alone they were relatively evenly matched, but with him flanked by two other unknown quantities? Not even he was stupid enough to go for that.

He had almost resigned himself to a non-confrontational meeting when the air got heavy with the feeling of chakra.

He looked up. The other group were more than just blurs on the horizon now and he could make out detail and form accurately. Two had drawn their weapons. He smirked again.

[trepadora]

"I won't fight for the sake of Grimmjow's ego," Luppi said in his lilting drawl. "But if you think I won't fight back..." He finished the sentence with nothing more than a derisive little laugh.

Luppi touched the lurid pink scabbard of his own diminutive sword and released to shikai. His jawbone hair ornament stood out starkly against his black hair.

[declaregamuza]

"I don't expect anyone to stand by and be attacked," Nel answered. The change as one of the others stopped holding back his reiatsu was palpable, and the increase in intensity as the berserker called on his weapon only added to it.

Grimmjow starting a fight as different to them all walking into one.

While she put her hand on the pommel of her sword, she didn't draw it, or release to shikai. She didn't want to push it that far unless it really was necessary.

[tozasemurcielago]

Quietly, Ulquiorra used his own shikai release, but didn't hold anything resembling a battle ready stance. He might not have verbally agreed, but the action was enough to show he held at least the same sentiment as Luppi, and Nel.

[hearstheplanet]

Aerith could feel the change in the air, and she climbed down off her chocobo slowly, hanging back a little. She wasn't the combat veteran that Axel and Saix were, although she did okay at hitting things with a big stick, and casting magic. She was nervous, and worried.

With a frown she gathered herself and concentrated, preparing to cast a protect spell on the both of them. They were probably going to need it.

[innatelunacy]

Saix readied his claymore, noting that Axel had joined him, and that the others, across from him, were also readying to fight.

"Are you so set on a rematch?" He asked, once Grimmjow was in earshot. "You remember what happened last time."

[jawmask]

"Strong words for someone outnumbered," he retorted.

He was deliberately keeping his visible threat level to a minimum. He was ready to attack or to defend, but he didn't want to put his enemy on too strong a guard. He knew Saix better than that.

[gotitmemorised]

Axel sized Grimmjow up briefly, but ultimately directed his attention at the other three. From their reiatsu, he could tell that none of them were worth taking lightly, no matter how small and understated the two males were.

He gripped his chakrams a little more tightly.

[trepadora]

Luppi rolled his eyes at all the posturing. He tilted his head to one side, looking at the would-be enemy. He lacked Szayel's ability to analyse their potential abilities at a glance, but he had already figured out the chakra types of them all.

[innatelunacy]

"We both know you couldn't win on your own," Saix replied, with a nasty smirk. He was goading Grimmjow deliberately; an angry opponent was a stupid one, but there was also the small possibility, hope, perhaps, that Grimmjow would focus his attention on him and not Axel, or Aerith.

[hearstheplanet]

Just after Saix's attempt to wind Grimmjow up, Aerith finished casting protect, and it wrapped around first Saix, and then Axel. Then she focused herself again to back them both up with regen, too.

Then she knew she'd have to protect herself. She wouldn't put it past these people to employ a similar tactic to the nasties from Midgar; attacking the healer to get rid of them first.

[declaregamuza]

Nel frowned, sizing Aerith up. Their information was that the Order's only healer was a girl called Crystal who was still a relative novice, but there also hadn't been any information about a fire elemental wielding chakrams.

It would have to be brought up. What worried her more was that these two, backed up by a good healer, could still deal some considerable damage if they didn't keep their guard, and the berserker seemed to know this.

"Don't let him rile you," she said, levelly. It was a reminder, more than instruction.

"If you sheathe your weapons, you may still walk away," she said, eyeing Axel. Grimmjow and Saix... were another matter.