Mooglenet Archives

So this is Oerba?

[Hope trails after Vanille, looking around curiously. It's sad, to see Fang's and Vanille's home in ruins like this, but he's grateful for the opportunity to see it at all. Like Vanille, though, he has that uneasy feeling he always does when something bad is about to happen.]

We'd better be careful, guys.

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[Serah's been watching Vanille for quite a while, as Oerba got closer. She's... been through enough with her that she can sort of see that the smile is possibly a show. But, she doesn't call on it. Instead, she just smiles in response: though she does take hold of Vanille's hand just after they enter. For support.

She looks around Oerba as she walks, taking it in, in person, having only ever seen it through what Snow had showed her, through her crystal. The contrast was... always startling, to what she'd seen of Vanille's home when it was the way it should be. And sad. So very sad.

But there was... something else hanging in the air.] ... there's something off, isn't there? [Frown frown.] Was it like this the last time you came here, Vanille?

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[The moment they arrive, Snow's hero senses start tingling. He frowns, lifting his chin to try and get a better look at the place. Nothing to be seen, so far, but still... he reaches to lay a hand against Serah's shoulder, shaking his head.]

Yeah. I feel it, too, guys. There's something here. We're definitely not alone.

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[ Vanille frowns and shakes her head at Serah's question, taking a couple of steps forward. ]

I don't like this.

[ Running ahead, all the way down the lane, she glares around. ]

Whoever you are, leave Oerba alone! It's not yours!

[ That's when she glances to the right, towards the center of town... and up, her eyes going wide as Bhakti's wheels. She turns to run - it's not really clear which way (she might be aiming to protect the tree and her village) - but the Long Gui spots her. ]

Guys! It's a species of Adamantoise!

[ And that's all she gets before the thing casts Ultima. If the rest of them are in the area at the time of casting, they'll feel it, too. She hopes they're far enough away not to get hit. It hurts her enough. ]

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Vanille, wait up!

[Hope tries to chase after her, but she's too far ahead. He's thankfully out of range when Ultima hits, but he doesn't stop running to help her, casting Curaga on Vanille as soon as he's in range.]

What kind of Adamantoise is that?! [Hope's never seen one cast a spell like that before. He quickly layers Shell and then Protect on the party.]

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[Even though she's out of range, the sudden force the Adamantoise unleashes catches her off guard, and Serah stumbles backwards in surprise, flinching.

Nothing hits her, though, but it certainly did Vanille, so she follows Hope's example, running along a little ways behind him, throwing out a Cura once she's close enough, running to Vanille's side.] Vanille! Are you okay?

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Whoa.

[Not having been to Gran Pulse yet, Snow has yet to see any kind of Adamantoise, so this one has him a bit awestruck. That is, until it casts Ultima, the force of which causes him to stagger for a moment until he regains his balance. At least they didn't get the full brunt of it -- unlike poor Vanille. Grimacing, he breaks into a run to catch up, tightening his gloves as he goes.]

Alright. Any idea where I should start punching this clown?

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[ Vanille staggers with the weight of the spell, falling straight to her knees as she cries out in pain. Picking herself up again, she pulls out her weapon, flashing Hope and Serah a grateful smile as she turns and hurries down to meet the thing in the middle of town. How it got there without squishing everything flat is beyond her, but she's grateful.

Once she makes it close enough, she stands a little back and turns to address the questions, shaking her head at Hope. ]

I don't know. It seems tougher...

[ And then to Snow: ]

His front legs! Take those down first and then you can reach his head!

[ Meanwhile, she'll start in on a Slow Dance to hopefully keep the thing from doing too much too quickly. If ever there was a time she's missed the paradigms of being a l'Cie... it's now. ]

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We've taken Adamantoises down before! We can do this!

[Without any of his offensive magic, Hope hangs at the back of the party. He begins casting Haste on each of them, but it takes more time than his previous spells. He first casts it on himself, then Vanille -- the faster she can hinder the moster's attacks, the better.]

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[When she said she wanted to learn to fight, she meant something simple.... not huge Adamantoises. Now's no time for doubt, though, and Serah stands a little ways back from Vanille, but in front of Hope.]

As long as we stick together, we'll be okay!

[So maybe that's slight reassurance to herself. She'd be lying to say she wasn't scared, because she was; but she was pushing that down, gritting her teeth, getting on with the task at hand. It's times like this that being a quick study and her diligence at trying to learn the magic availiable to her, and, though it's weak, starts to cast Fire and Blizzard at the legs, switching to Cura's when necessary. Perhaps a little too frequently at this moment in time, but- with that thing towering over them? Being overprepared isn't a bad thing.]

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Okay! I'm taking point!

[At Vanille's suggestion, Snow rushes to the front of the group and starts to assault the beast's front-right leg, making an effort not think about how ridiculous he must look in the process. He knew what he was good at, and that was hitting things and taking damage so others didn't have to. Pretty straightforward. He knew his strengths and he planned to play to them.]

Keep it coming, guys!

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We will! We'll be fine!

[ Vanille still wishes she had something else to help, but all she's got are the Dances. ]

Can anybody cast Slow on it?

[ If so, she'll work on a Jitterbug Dance to cast Haste on everyone. ]

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I thought you knew Slow, Vanille?!

[Gdit Gaia, messing up all their abilities. Hope can't cast Slow, so he tries to keep up with the healing, using Cura and Curaga for every devastating stomp of the Long Gui's feet.]

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I can!

[Swell that it's the new girl to fighting that can? Serah sounds unsure when she says it. Theoretically, yes, she should be able to cast Slow from the reading she's been doing, but she's not actually tried it to any great extent yet...]

Slow!

[Nothing.

And, more urgantly this time:] Slow!!

[And... seemingly nothing. Until it lifts a foot - but, in slow motion now, unbearably taking its time.]

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[At least the fact that it's moving in slow-motion gives Snow plenty of time to move out from beneath the shadow of its foot, avoiding getting stepped on with a pretty comfortable buffer zone. He goes back to assaulting its front leg immediately.]

Thanks, Serah!

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I can! That's what I was doing!

[ She's just had a bigger plan. ]

But if Serah can Slow it, I can do this!

[ Her next Dance takes hold and suddenly it's Haste for everyone as long as she's dancing. No one has to worry about spells wearing off. ]

Is everyone okay?

[ Because even if they aren't getting stepped on, the front legs still do damage with every stomp. It's like trying to stand on an earthquake and every so often the thing interrupts Vanille's dance. ]

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Yeah, but I can't keep this up forever--!

[Even with the Haste and Slow and protective spells in effect, Hope has to heal everyone with each stomp. Serah's support helps him, but he knows they're not doing enough damage with only Snow on the offensive.]

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[Serah smiles broadly over at Snow. Really, she'd much prefer her fianceé intact, so Slow is definitely a helper in that regard.

Haste takes her momentarily by surprise, but she quickly adapts. It's more so Hope's remark that hits home. They can heal, they can buff, they can debuff, but... there's only so long they can do that. And the Long Gui isn't going down anytime soon.]

-- if worst comes to worse, then... we'd have to find a way to retreat.

[Not until then, though. She said she'd help protect Oerba.. this certainly counts.

Still, she switches back to throwing out Blizzard and Fire again.]

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twistedjudge.livejournal.com

[Retreat is never an option - mostly because on Gran Pulse, retreat usually still means death. The strong survive and the weak perish, no one really concerned about fair play.]

[There's a growl coming from the clouds above them now, high up enough that the sound is small and the creature making it isn't immediately visible - but that changes very rapidly as something dives through the cloud cover, arrowing straight for the battle with a devastating roar that grows louder by the second. The speck separates into two parts, one much smaller than the other, and suddenly a fiery energy laser is stabbing down from the sky directly at the Long Gui's head. Bahamut sustains the attack as long as he can before swooping off to the side, and that's when Fang follows it up with a vicious landing after a very high jump, straight on the thing's neck.]

When we get out of this you all are all dead!!

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fulminous.livejournal.com

[ As if to puncuate Fang's arrival, the Zantetsuken appears out of nowhere, spinning like a razored boomerang at the giant turtle's front legs, landing a nice blow on them both before returning to their master who easily catches them with one hand, the other resting on the neck of the horse she's riding.

She jumps off the horse, landing next to Fang and hands the blade back to Sleipnir, who takes it and transforms back into Odin. Stancing, Lightning doesn't look at him, but her words are directed right towards him. ] Snow, I swear I will kill you myself if this thing doesn't get us first.

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[Snow looks alarmed at the threats, and his face shows it -- though he doesn't let up on his assault of the Long Gui. Can't afford to get distracted.]

Hey, why is this suddenly my fault?! [Of course he's going to be blamed. According to Lightning, it's always his fault.]

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[ The sudden appearance of Light and Fang brings a lift to Vanille's falling spirits. She'd been getting just as worried as the others. She restarts the Dance, letting Haste affect the newcomers, too. She'll worry about how mad they're gonna be later. ]

It's not his fault! Don't blame him!

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Light!

[Hope is both surprised and relieved to see both her and Fang. He layers on Protect on the two of them before they can be devastated by the Long Gui's attacks.]

Vanille's right -- it's not Snow's fault! We all wanted to go.

[But he doesn't have time for more talk, and focuses on casting Shell on them both next.]

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fulminous.livejournal.com

[ Lightning is greatful for the buffs, and she uses them to her fullest extent, charging in and slicing at the Long Gui, Odin on her heels. ] We'll discuss this later! [ She grunted with the effort of rolling out of the way of the looming shadow of the Long Gui's foot, coming to stand a couple of feet away. ]

Right now saving your asses is the important thing!

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Fang! Sis!

[The appearence of Fang and her sister brings too things - relief for the boost in strength and numbers, and guilt. Getting into trouble, for one thing, them having to come help them out of it... that was precisely what Serah had been trying to avoid.

Also, Snow getting the brunt of the blame. She visibly winces, before casting Slow on the Long Gui again, as it attempts to speed up once more, but is once again delayed.]

From:

twistedjudge.livejournal.com

That's why I said you're all dead! [Unlike Light, Fang isn't concentrating solely on Snow - she knows Vanille way too well to think she didn't have a massive hand in the planning, and Hope and Serah desperately want to prove they can take care of themselves. If anything, Snow is just along for the thrill of the ride.]

[But that can wait. Bahamut roars and swoops around, stirring up a cyclone with the beating of his wings and performing a swooping dive on the Long Gui. Fang, meanwhile, charges up a Dragon's Crest attack and sets it loose right below the monster's feet, watching the explosions as it's caught between multiple attacks at once.]

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[If nothing else, Snow does appreciate Fang's being equal-opportunity. But Lightning was right. Now really wasn't the time to be pointing fingers, they had to worry about getting past this guardian. Moving a few paces back to put some space between himself and the beast, he charged up a Demi Shock attack.]

In any case, we appreciate the help!

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[ Vanille didn't answer any other words, just concentrating on Dancing. Bahamut and Odin's attacks, though, reminded her of something else: She could summon, too. Why hadn't she thought of that before? She pondered calling up Hecatonchier, but shook off that thought. No, she needed something more impressive. She needed Anima.

Activating the gemstone, Vanille called on the more powerful Eidolon, the one she had never actually seen in person before. With a roar, Anima came to life next to her, massive in stature, even compared to the Long Gui before them. Reeling her head back, Anima blasted the creature with Pain, while Vanille charges up her specialty: Death. The ability didn't actually take the creature out of the running completely, but combined with everything else, it was enough to make the thing's legs buckle. It hit the ground with a surprising jolt. ]

Now, guys! Hit its head with everything you've got!

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Vanille, what is what thing?!

[Hope can't help but gawp at the sight of Anima, nothing like her usual Eidolon. He hadn't even figured out how to summon Alexander in this world yet -- not counting Alexandria's winged guardian. Distraction aside, though, this was their chance to take down the Long Gui before it got back to its feet.

Tearing his eyes away from Anima, Hope cast Last Resort, his strongest spell. Balls of light lifted up and slammed into the monster, one after the other and creating small explosions where they struck.]

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