towerofanimus | Angels Fall [Closed/Open]

Entry tags:

Angels Fall [Closed/Open]

Characters: Sephiroth (

neverbeamemory ), Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (

oathshackledbird ), Cu Chulainn (

puppy_lancer ), Waver Velvet (

fionnuisce ), Suzaku Kururugi (

swordofzero ), Patrick Dawn (

bashfulshifter ), Veronica Madaraki (

stitchedupbodyguard ), Ryoji Mochizuki (

notsogrimreaper ), Naoya Toudou (

imperialsun ), AU Sephiroth (

pinnaculum ), Asagi (

irreverence ) and anyone who wants to visited a locked up Sephiroth in the second prompt.
Setting: Floor 62 (Fight)-Closed and Floor 43 (Incarceration)-Open
Format: Beginning in prose. Pick your poison after that.
Summary: Months ago, Sephiroth took control of Ryoji and made him fight Diarmuid and Yukiko. That fight culminated with Sephiroth forcing Ryoji to kill himself in front of them. Diarmuid swore there would be consequences for these actions, but held back because of a shaky truce made between Waver and Sephiroth in the interests of moving the collar fluid research along as fast and smoothly as possible. That truce has been broken, and Diarmuid has learned some very disturbing information about Sephiroth's past. For better or for worse, the time for waiting is at an end.
Warnings: Sephiroth is a warning to himself as he will not be holding back. There will also be language, likely mentions of forced suicide, mind control, violence, blood, injury, and death. This will be updated if needed as the fight progresses.

Floor 62 (Fight)-Closed, Friday 11/15:

This had all started months ago when Sephiroth had discovered that he could manipulate and control Ryoji's mind after the boy made the mistake of insulting him. At first he had only played with Ryoji, shifting his emotions and causing him to act in ways he never would toward those he cared about. However, that hadn't been enough and soon things escalated, culminating when he first forced Ryoji to fight his adoptive father, Diarmuid and his good friend, Yukiko, and then made him kill himself in front of them. The actions were not only a violation of Ryoji's very self, but of his rights as a human being, something Diarmuid swore there would be consequences for. In the Tower, though, things are rarely that easy and after 'speaking' with Sephiroth at the Midsummer's party that Cu Chulainn had thrown, Diarmuid realized that just killing Sephiroth in retaliation would have no effect on the man. In fact, he would probably be pleased. As a result of this realization, Diarmuid put off his revenge, searching for a way to make it matter. His revenge would be further put off when Waver and Sephiroth declared a shaky truce so that everyone's energies could be focused on what was more important--the collar fluid.

To say that Diarmuid didn't like Sephiroth working with something so important to the whole Tower would be an understatement, but he was well aware of how much more important the research was to them all than any individual hatreds they had. That was why he let things lie and did his best to avoid causing problems.

Then, Sephiroth broke the truce. Not only did he break the truce, Diarmuid realized as he was nursing his wounds and fixing the minor damages to the printing press afterward, Sephiroth was up to something. Sephiroth could have all too easily killed him, Diarmuid had learned from Reno. He could have as easily as breathing destroyed the whole section of library they were fighting in. Instead, not only had Sephiroth left Diarmuid alive after knocking him out, he had only fought using Diarmuid's own stolen sword.

Why? The obvious conclusion in Diarmuid's mind was that he was hiding something. Something big. Something that left him not wanting to draw attention to himself. Something that probably meant bad things for everyone in the Tower. And that was why this confrontation couldn't wait any longer. It was no longer just about revenge for what Sephiroth had done to Ryoji.

It was about protecting them all and making sure what happened on Reno's world, didn't happen here.

That was why, after talking to those closest to him and securing their help and the help of a few of their friends, Diarmuid had sent Sephiroth a letter asking him to meet him. The letter itself was simple, only enough to get the man to actually come as opposed to ignoring him. It held no lies, but it held no details either, leaving plenty of space for wrong assumptions. Wrong assumptions that Diarmuid was counting on.

Was it dishonorable? Well, Diarmuid had said Sephiroth brought out the worst in him and this was just another example of how true that was. But, it had to be done. In Diarmuid's mind, there was no other choice. If he must sacrifice his honor to protect his family and everyone else in the Tower, he would do it.

At least, it was his choice this time to take these dishonorable actions instead of being forced to do them by another's hand.

As Diarmuid enters the floor, his eyes immediately scan it, and he is pleased to see that aside from the one who is supposed to be there, no others are on it. That will soon change when his friends join him, but for now he has asked them to wait before entering. He wants to make sure he isn't walking them into a trap, especially after what the younger Sephiroth had told him about the elder's suspicious not long ago.

Sephiroth has his stolen sword, which Diarmuid is glad for since part of him had not expected the man to bring it. The same part that had wondered if he would actually come at all.

"So you are less of a coward than I thought..." Diarmuid's voice is cold and detached, much like his expression, and he plans on keeping himself that way. There will not be a repeat of his loss of control in the Library.

Floor 43 (Incarceration)-Open, 11/16 to 11/20:

Floor 43 is often called the prison floor by those in the Tower because it is filled with cells. Cells that strip a person of their powers and can only be unlocked from the outside. They are a great tool for keeping those who cause problems from causing them as long as a person can get the troublemaker into one to begin with. That task is a little easier when the person who needs to be locked up just died in a fight and has almost two hours of sleep paralysis and numbness to wait through. Since there is really no other way a person can get someone as strong as Sephiroth into one of those cells, it shouldn't be too surprising that someone from the fight yesterday has taken advantage of Sephiroth's death and moved him into one of the cells. It is there he stays, watched over by a loose guard of people. Every so often, though, there is a break in the guard which allows people the chance to ~~taunt~~ talk to Sephiroth for a short time.

(OOC: Please do not attempt to free Sephiroth in this prompt as he will be getting let out in a separate log. Thanks!)

Section Links:
Fight-Floor 62
Incarceration-Floor 43

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Rick is, for a moment, triumphant in having successfully grabbed hold of Sephiroth's leg, growling through the flesh of his ankle and giving him a good shake. And then he looks up and sees those vengeful eyes staring down at him--]

[--he really hasn't thought this through, has he?]

[His vision flickers black as a boot comes smashing down on top of his head, knocking him staggering sideways as he blinks the stars out of his eyes. This is probably a good thing, because this keeps Masamune from taking off his head--though it still leaves its mark. The sword stabs deep into Rick's shoulder, cleaving a clean line through his scapula and back out the crook of his front leg, nearly severing it in the process.]

[The sword draws back and leaves behind it a trail of blood and burning agony. He's incredibly fortunate that his lung wasn't punctured in that shot, but honestly Rick isn't feeling so lucky right now. He howls, makes a bounding leap to duck around Sephiroth's side--promptly collapses when his leg crumples underneath him. He desperately rights himself, only to have another slash go along his side, followed by another, and another...]

[Somehow, through adrenaline or sheer terror, the tiger manages to find a break in the strikes and leaps away, fleeing unevenly several steps before his leg gives out again. He tries to recover again, shuddering in pain and exhaustion on his working limbs, but they, too, fail him, and he falls into a heap on the bloodstained sand.]

[At this point Mittens realizes that there's nothing more to be done, so he leaves his post. The now human Rick is too focused on slowly dragging himself away to try and call him back.]

[Probably the only thing that will save Rick at this point is if someone distracts Sephiroth long enough for him to escape. It's a gamble that he's not likely to win.]

[Honestly, it's a little pathetic how worked up this guy gets when someone injures him.

Worse is that he's getting all worked up over a shape-shifter, and not someone who'd actually done some serious damage, like Lancer. But she supposes that's probably for the best- she might actually have had to get angry if he tried to go for the currently-recovering heroic spirit. The opportunity isn't one she's going to miss out on though- while the injured would usually be left to die, she figures she can kill two birds with one stone. Or in this case, save one and further injure the other.

At least Sephiroth is a little predictable by now, and the wave that had knocked her back had been used to land her a little ways away from the blast radius of Lancer's attack- she'd thank him later for never using that against her in a spar- and she's just regaining her footing when her eyes hone in on the tiger situation. She's close enough to act, so it's with a displacement of sand and air that she moves forward, pushing the cloneblades to pick up speed and blocking the over-long sword with one of the blades on her forearms.]

Really?

[Hollow and unimpressed, she raises her eyebrows just the slightest bit at Sephiroth over their crossed blades and, bracing her weight on one leg, brings the other up to kick at his midsection as hard as she can to drive him back, extending the blade of her heels a little to add a little more injury to insult and then following after him to get him away from the rest for a few moments.]

[Veronica's moving with the quickest of reflexes, jabbing and swiping at Sephiroth, only to be deflected at each turn. The guy was fast, she had to give him that. He could quite easily overcome her, but her smaller frame lent a hand though, and she was easily matching each of his blows and looking for her own spots to counter. With the others quickly joining in, and Rick coming in as well, she was positive that this wouldn't take long.

And then Rick gets stabbed. She can only watch as the sword is impaled in the tiger's shoulder and blood begins to pour out. The tiger is then slashed in horrific fashion before it finally manages to leap away and then collapse, slowly reverting to its normal, human form.

She stands there for a moment, in an odd daze of sorts, watching as her friend goes off wounded. It lasts so long that the only thing that knocks her out of this daze is pain. Sephiroth had swung his blade again with freakish speed, managing to slice through her left ear and shoulder. As she stepped back from the sword wielder, Veronica could feel the warm artificial blood dripping down her face. She was still prepared to fight though, but when Asagi came in, she took her chance and darted towards her fallen comrade.

She kneeled beside him, looking over the wounds. God there was so much blood...]

Uh, uh....uh! D-don't worry, Rick! W-well g-get h-help. Y-you'll b-be fine...

[Dazed from blood-loss and pain, Rick hardly even registers that Sephiroth has been pulled away from him--hardly registers that the blob of color blocking his vision is Veronica, come to kneel by his side as he still pushes himself away, feet and shivering arm kneading uselessly against sand soaked in his own blood. It's not a sustainable activity, and it ends soon enough as a wave of agony forces an anguished scream, drowning out his companion's reassurances before he collapses for good.]

[Some moments pass as the pain numbs and he tries to regain his bearings. Sephiroth's sword may have missed its mark the first time, but his expert hand has carved open enough arteries that his wounds bleed freely and profusely. They are surely fatal.]

[Rick comes to this realization with an odd calmness. It won't be the first time this has happened to him--in so many weeks, even--but at least this time he won't be dying alone. It is strangely comforting to let his eyes drift open and to see Veronica hovering next to him. Her words are lost on him, but they sound anxious. His hand spasms open, trying to grab hold of her own so he can get her attention.]

...I-I'll...b-b-be o-okay... [He flashes a weak smile through gritted teeth, not realizing that he's echoed Veronica but in a much different tone.] ...I'm n--not...g-going a-a-anywhere...

[The feeling suddenly leaves his limbs as his blood pressure plummets, rendering his hand limp and thoughts unpleasantly fuzzy. He is going to pass out, Rick realizes. The slightest hint of alarm crosses his unfocused gaze.]

--Be--B-Be c-c-careful...p-please... [His eyelids droop and exhaustion takes over his fear, preparing him for a more tranquil slumber.] ...I'll...I-I'll s-see you...t-t-tomorrow...

[Rick loses consciousness rather suddenly, and even after the bleeding stops, he doesn't wake up.]

Edited 2013-11-20 01:36 (UTC)

[Barely feeling Rick's hand blindly find her own, Veronica took it in a soft grip, trying not to hurt him any more than he was already. She wasn't aware that he couldn't hear her, but it didn't really matter anyways.]

Y-yeah... i-it'll b-b-be okay. We'll g-get that one k-kid.... get y-you healed up... we'll... we'll.....

[But she knew it was already too late. She knew it was the moment the sword sunk deep into his shoulder. The injuries were way too many in quantity to heal from naturally, and the internal damage was probably even worse. She should know, she'd given injuries like this thousands of times like this before. There was no way they could stem the blood fast enough, but she hoped against hope....

And it was all for naught. She felt his hand go limp in hers and his body slow until it was entirely still. Veronica could only sit there, suddenly a fifteen year old girl who just had her dear friend die in front of her. Blood dripped down from her head onto his body.

All at once there was a change in Veronica. The feeling in her left arm was slowly starting to disappear, clearly an artery had been cut, but she was resistant, she was built to last and she was really, really angry now.

Her blades were in her hands once again, gripped tightly enough that her nails dug into the skin. All at once, she stood up and turned, facing her enemy with a new expression of hatred than before. He might kill her, but she was going to try to kill him first.

With little more than a flick of the wrist, the silent assassin sprung forward towards sephiroth, moving a little slower than before, but nevertheless determined and severely pissed off. At first she apparently runs right past him but bounces back at the last second, spinning into his near-blind spot and swinging both of her blades at him, ignoring the blood spraying from her sliced ear.]

[When a shape-shifter is mauling at your foot and you need to get back on your feet urgently, it begs for something to be done about it. If nothing else the onslaught that followed would make sure that the tiger --or rather the pathetic human form he returns to-- wouldn't be doing that again in a hurry. Sephiroth was half a step towards Rick and finishing it before Asagi comes in to take over from Veronica, not before nicking at her own ear and shoulder though.

He raises eyebrows also at Asagi and her taunt, across crossed blades, the expression pulling at the dents in his cheek still very much marring the perfection of his face. As she braced her weight back minutely he turned Masamune onto it's flat-edge, ready to slice right the way up Asagi's own blade if she so moved that way. Though as it turns out she's not moving away - instead aiming her boot into his already damaged midsection.

Umph is followed by the familiar sound of sharp metal stabbing into meat, something of a gritted gasp from Sephiroth as well as he forces himself to retreat back off her blade again - bleeding all anew. He needs to be more careful of these hidden blades of hers, and true to his power already being stretched to heal, the new wound continues to bleed this time - as they continue to dance backwards in combat away from the others.

Sephiroth continues to fight with Asagi, the blood eventually stemming from his new stab wound but not without a significant trail of blood left in the sand in his wake. He's having to put more and more concentration into continuing to fight now as the less-than comfortable blood loss begins to creep into the corners of his focus. But still, he does so - he's certainly still sharp enough to get inside of Asagi's guard if she leaves anything open.

He notices movement to his side but by the time Veronica's presence is registered again in this fight it's split seconds too late. Sephiroth tries to turn away from her attack but is too caught up with Asagi still to be able to maneuver away - both blades find his arm. One is scraped along the edge of a silver pauldron, the other slices a deep gash from back to front of his upper left arm. Sephiroth makes a break away from both of them then, needing to get the distance quickly as he could feel loss of sensation creeping down his arm. Dropping his sword now would mean defeat for sure.

His broken black wing arches at up an odd angle, feathers begin to drop more frequently out of it and -as Sephiroth wills the could-be crippling gash to his arm closed- the ethereal monstrosity vanishes in drooping plumes of smoking black feathers. Vanishing into the air not long after they hit the ground. Sephiroth's face is sprayed a little with Veronica's fake blood in the meantime and it's now Veronica he turns his full attention to for the next series of chained attacks.

They are executed with his usual flair, though the tell-tale signs of his powers being stretched to their maximum on account of all the healing is starting to show through.]

Edited 2013-11-20 13:12 (UTC)

[And there goes one of them.

Asagi's lips thin in displeasure- but really, she supposes someone had to go sooner or later. It stands to reason it would be the one whose abilities probably didn't lend to much in the defense department. She's surprised that it seems to set off the girl in the coat- but she easily slips aside to let the other girl take her anger out on Sephiroth- she doesn't need to get in the way. She can't stay back for long though- it's not in her nature, and the cloneblade only reinforces that, pushing her to get back into the fray.

So back in she goes when Sephiroth turns his full attention to Veronica, knocking aside a few of his sword strokes while remaining on the lookout for an opening. She doesn't help Veronica guard or parry- she's sure the girl can handle it, and if she can't, then it's her own fault, really.

But when the chance comes to slip in past Sephiroth's guard she takes it, stepping forward and under a swing of his sword and bringing up the blades along her knuckles in order to try and get a few more hits to his face in with them. And if all else fails, she's close enough that she can grow one of her blades into him in an inconvenient location if necessary.]

[Thanatos' anger only increases at Rick's death. He had known it was a foolish wish, but he hoped that there would be no deaths today, that they could have stopped Sephiroth without losing anyone on their team. Naive as it was, he also imagined that maybe they could stop Sephiroth without killing him...

But now that one of their group is gone... one who is a friend to Ryoji too, who's still too new to this Tower and its senseless dying... Ryoji can't really think straight. He rushes back in when Sephiroth's attention is on Asagi with a Tempest Slash, swinging his sword wildly, yet brutally. He doesn't care if he gets knocked back again, as long as he can stop Sephiroth from hurting anyone else here.]

[Suzaku was kicked backwards hard, his Geass didn't protect him from things that weren't actually life threatening.

They flashed red though and he moved away from the explosion, coming back to himself quite a way down the beach. He starts back, everything hurting from impact and by the time he is back Rick is dead. He took in the scene quickly, Veronica charging, Asagi fighting and Ryoji running towards Sephiroth again.

Sephiroth moved and Suzaku rushed towards Ryoji, sword out ready to protect him from Sephiroth. Or at least distract Sephiroth while Ryoji did some damage.

Sephiroth began his attack and Suzaku positioned himself between him and Ryoji, but the attack wasn't by sword, it was magic again and Suzaku moved away just before impact, his eyes flashing red.]

Edited 2013-11-21 07:50 (UTC)

[Veronica was fighting with a ferocity not normally seen in her. She could still keep up with Sephiroth's attacks, but she was starting to falter. Every so often he'd get a strike in. A cut to the chest, to the leg, she was beginning to feel her injuries. To top it off, the feeling in her arm was quickly disappearing. Black spots danced at the edge of her vision, but Veronica kept fighting.

She pulled back just in time to watch as Sepiroth's sword slashed at the air in front of her, managing to catch the bridge of her nose though and leave a bloody cut across her stitched face. Briefly disoriented, she jumped back a ways, just in time for Asagi to run in, diverting a bit of attention from her.

The option to run was flashing in her mind. This guy was obviously an even match for her, more than that even. And her wounds were starting to send out sparks of pain throughout her body. They weren't that serious, though the blood loss would eventually be a problem if she kept going on like this. But... she couldn't just leave, she had to stay and help. Rick had given his life to help, and Veronica couldn't just run after that.

Taking a moment to wipe the blood from her face, the warrior grit her teeth and charged back into the fight. As she got close, Veronica leapt into the air, swinging both her blades down at the silver-haired man.]

[There is no greater boost than at that moment when after a seemingly endless bout of strike after parry, after counter, after dodge, slowly but surely your opponents defense starts to be picked apart. Inch by inch, and multiplying quickly, more and more of Sephiroth's perfectly executed attacks break through and nick at skin - each time more certain, a downward spiral for Veronica indeed. Never mind that he still had to block at Asagi every so often as she tried to monopolize on the small openings starting to crack in his own attack pattern.

He had perhaps been too bold too soon, in making a slash for Veronica's head but there is no time to follow it up; as one darts away to re-orient herself, another is immediately picking up the slack. Asagi crouched under that very same blade swipe and came up from underneath - it took a great amount of self-control to force back against his momentum and avoid a overly keen punch to the face, and too-much so he stumbled back a step to avoid that knee that would certainly impale him with a blade again. Sephiroth isn't the only one starting to become predictable.

At least the turn away from Asagi's extending blade faced him directly towards Thanatos' as Ryoji barreled in ruthlessly, swinging his sword like a true impersonation of the monster he has become. Sephiroth has fought Thanatos' before though - there is a wild glint of green again at the hilt of his weapon, this time encasing Sephiroth's whole grip around Masamune just before he swung the sword in Thanatos' direction.

An intense wave of fire encased the whole length of the blade momentarily and soon the entire sweeping motion sang through the air telekinetically flinging a vertical beam of fire directly at Ryoji - which Suzaku was in the way of before he promptly moved.

The next few seconds slowed down dramatically for Sephiroth. That last magic he had cast had cost well over what he was really capable of, with some wounds still seeping and a deep ache starting to settle in his core. He needs to finish this, and that need is now beyond urgent. Veronica jumps, and Sephiroth thrusts his blade forwards, up, and the fine point slips into her body as she comes down. But it's not for more than a moment, before she is then flung in Ryoji's direction, intending to collide them, yet another fireball follows in her wake. Sephiroth still has Asagi to dodge around and so cannot afford to split his attention for too long.

Veronica's blades slashed at his forearms as they came down - the price he had to pay for that two-handed fling, drawing two new, scalding lines through leather and flesh. He grunted audibly as now feeling was starting to go from his arms. He wields Masamune two-handed now, to get as much support for the great sword as possible.

As soon as Asagi fights him back close enough to Ryoji and Veronica, he will make decidedly to finish them both - as quickly as possible. His strength starting to wane dangerously, but still able to keep up the speed for now.

He still needs to ensure Diarmuid pays for this game, after all.]

[Ryoji jumped back after his barrage of attacks, noticing the glint of green on the sword and trying to move to avoid it. Unfortunately, Suzaku's considered sacrifice makes him pause, first because he's upset his friend is about to take the hit for him... and then confused when he rushes out of the way. He doesn't have time to think about what that means before the fire hits him, and he screeches at the pain, even as more seems to hit him.

He doesn't even have time to notice who's hit him before he's hit with another fireball, and they're both sent to the ground. His form flickers just slightly, but the adrenaline of the situation is keeping him going. He checks on Veronica, gently moving her to a comfortable position off of him and onto the ground, and then calls out in his distorted voice.]

Someone heal her!

[He can't do anything else for her now, because he's back up and rushing into the fray. Hopefully the pain will be enough of a distraction to Sephiroth so that Thanatos can get a few swings in.]

[The last few seconds had slowed down considerably in Veronica's eyes. First Sephiroth had pierced her with his sword, then he had slung her at another person and then hit them both with a fireball. At least someone had been kind enough to put her in a mildly comfortable position. Now, from her new spot on the ground, Veronica assessed herself.

The sword impalement was as painful as it was embarrassing. She should have seen it coming really, how could she had been so stupid? Luckily, the sword had somehow managed to avoid her heart, but it did cut through quite a few muscles and arteries in the process. She couldn't go into specifics like her sister could, but she could say that it really fucking hurt.

Trying to make herself sit up, the effort caused a ripple of pain to shoot through her entire body, more blood pouring out of the wound on her chest. With a cry of pain, Veronica fell back onto the sand. Looking over, she spotted her guillotine blade a few feet or so away, within reach. Her broadsword had been sent flying to another part of the beach though. She was starting to lose quite a bit of blood; the dark splotches dancing around Veronica's vision growing worse. If she didn't get help...]

....Son of a bitch..! [Veronica cursed loudly, coughing up blood in the process. Ignoring the pain for the most part, and putting her aching muscles to work, she grabbed her weapon and started trying to drag herself away from the fight scene. She refused to give up just yet.]

[Sephiroth didn't approve of their disorganized attacks, but he didn't approve of the other Sephiroth's retaliation, either. It was not as if he was cornered. If he wanted to escape, he likely could--Sephiroth knows he could, if trapped in a battle he didn't want to fight.

There was no purpose to any of this, and it frustrated him, yet he continued to follow the battle, as he continued to stay out of it while staying in it, in his way. If he could mitigate the damage, then he would.

That's why he was ready at once when Veronica fell. Her wounds were severe. He wished she had heeded his advice to stay back and out of danger, but he would not judge her if she felt she needed to assist her comrades (however much he disapproved of their methods). He considered her the least culpable. She had clearly had no part in the planning.

He alighted at her side, green light flaring in his hands, then bathing her body with a healing spell. So, she was both wounded and healed by Sephiroth.]

[The somewhat narrowed duel between Asagi and Sephiroth continues unabated as Thanatos charges back in to turn it into a trio once more. The scorching lines down his forearms from Veronica's blades are more than a mild inconvenience, Sephiroth has to change his attack style slightly on account of the two-handed wield and also to be more on the defensive side while his body creeps along to catch up with the wounds he's taken so far.

It's impossible to not notice Thanatos when it's on the approach though, and it's with a disgruntled noise that he slashes in a final uppercut towards Asagi - following with a single pulse of his will psychically to propel her a distance away, necessary for him to turn and deal with the monster just as it makes it's first swing at him.

Sephiroth blocks two-handed, holds Masamune steady and then arches to parry before going even more on the evasive in his battle with Thanatos. He recalls from before, that it is easier to dodge around and pick at this form with small, piercing thrusts of the very tip of Masamune, rather than engaging him in a fight which relied more on strength - which was hemorrhaging almost like some of his deeper gashes at this point. And so this fight starts to lean more into a stab-and-retreat until Sephiroth sees an opening he can go for.]

[Ryoji continues to slash at Sephiroth, alternating between brute strength and some of his skills, but when Sephiroth backs off to try to chip away at him, he howls angrily, ready to change tactics to avoid losing more blood.

Unfortunately, the thing that seemed to do the most damage to Sephiroth is also the one that leaves Ryoji the most exposed. He has to charge that Megidola to use it again, and for those few seconds when he's casting that spell, he's open. Hopefully the explosion will catch Sephiroth before he catches Ryoji.]

[Sephiroth has been using his strike-and-retreat attack pattern to buy his regeneration some time. Already, the majority of his wounds have stopped bleeding and those sustained early on are closing up rapidly - the slashes in leather the only sign that they were even there.

But he'd have been a fool to miss the way that Ryoji leaves himself open while he's charging that Megidola. That blast had caused sufficient damage to stun him off of the back of Gae Bolg that it had given Rick the window to come and chew at his booted foot. In short, couldn't be allowed. Sephiroth takes a sharp breath inwards and then moves throwing all of his prowess into speed this time.

The slash is low, but quickly makes itself known for it's brutality. It sweeps a curved line across the bottom of Ryoji's abdomen, deep enough to threaten gutting him in one swift motion. Masamune then comes free and is swung around and up to paint a similar - vertical line up towards his chest. The maneuver is followed by both a telekinetic pulse backwards and a quick fireball.

Sephiroth takes a beat longer to observe, to make sure that the beast simply doesn't just get back up - before promptly turning and resetting his stance towards the triad of Waver, with Diarmuid at his feet and Lancer somewhere nearby as well. Asagi would surely be dashing back to to engage him if he lingered where he was and so Sephiroth fought still-healing slashes, pulsing bruises to straighten himself up into somewhat of a salute with his weapon before charging directly at them.

He holds stubbornly onto that speed he'd conjured to deal the lethal attack to Ryoji and dashes with boots hardly touching the sand back into range. Sephiroth slashes again and again at the Volumen Hydragyrum specifically, leaving no break in his attack and sparing no iota of his speed. Sephiroth wouldn't stop, if the great mercurial shield was passed he'd cleave into whomever was unfortunately the other side of it.]

[Ryoji knew Sephiroth was going to take advantage of that opening, but he had no idea how quickly he would. One moment, Sephiroth is standing still, the next he's right in front of Ryoji, and there's a sharp pain in his gut. Before he can finish casting his spell, he reverts back to a human form, gasping in pain. He staggers backward a few steps, but he can't get back far enough to avoid the next slash.

He's knocked down by the telekinetic pulse, so he avoids the fireball, but that only ensures that he'll die from bleeding out instead of burns. He turns his head to the rest of the group, watching them even as his vision starts to blur. He probably won't be loud enough to be heard, but...]

Everyone... k-keep fighting. You can still s-stop him... sorry I couldn't...

[He trails off to silence, his breathing ragged. Everything feels numb now, so it's only a matter of time before his breathing stops completely, and his body eventually shuts down... but until that moment, he's hoping for their safety, and hoping no one else will be harmed before the battle is over. He can always ask them tomorrow, can't he?

He coughs up a bit of the blood in his lungs, smiles weakly, and passes out.]

[When Rick goes down, Diarmuid almost is sick. He knew he shouldn't have let the man come. He knew, but he allowed Rick to come anyway convinced he would be okay as long as he stuck to supporting them and stayed out of the fight proper. Diarmuid had forgotten one important thing about the blond...how foolishly brave he is.

Then the girl falls and everything slows down. Even though time slows down, as injured as Diarmuid is, he hasn't got the strength to move to save her. He doesn't EVEN KNOW HER NAME, and now she's laying in the sand bleeding to death because he isn't strong enough to protect anyone. Not anyone.

Was he ever strong enough?

The world stops when Ryoji falls, a cry forcing its way from Diarmuid's bloodied lips. He actually starts to his feet, but again his strength fails, and he falls back into a crouch, white hot pain lancing through his body and clouding his eyes so that he doesn't see Veronica crawl away from the fight or the younger Sephiroth go to help her.

What he does see, after cutting down his son, is Sephiroth heading straight for the one he loves the most in the Tower. What he does see is that Volumen Hydragyrum is still cutting a path through the sands and, as a result, is not at full strength and no longer a guaranteed defense for them both, let alone Waver himself.

To be honest, the decision is an easy one for Diarmuid to make. Even if he is more than willing to sacrifice himself for Waver, there is more to it than that. He can no longer fight. Waver can.

As long as he is still alive to do it.

The world bursts into motion again as Diarmuid forces himself to his feet moving between Waver and Sephiroth just in time to take Masamune though the chest. He has no idea if he has stopped the blade from striking Waver considering how long it is. He can only hope he has.

More blood spills from his lips followed by...a bitter laugh.]

Always the heart. Always the heart.

[Diarmuid's head suddenly flies up. At the same time, he uses the last of his strength to will Gae Dearg back into existence and puts it straight through Sephiroth's shoulder. The spear doesn't remain manifest for long--Diarmuid doesn't have the strength--but it is long enough and a bloody hole is left as it vanishes again.

Perhaps, though, even more startling than the sudden attack is the change that comes over Diarmuid. His eyes slit, golden and white becoming stained with blood. Most frighteningly is the dark, edged tone that fills his voice as he continues speaking. It is a tone that Cu Chulainn will remember from April and a tone Waver will remember from memories once witnessed in a nightmare.]

What is the darkness going to do when I finally excise that weakness? What will you do then?

[Diarmuid draws a shaky breath, the sound weak and wet. For a moment it seems he will try to say more, but a tremor runs through him and he falls back against Waver. His eyes flutter before finally falling shut. As the world fades away, lost in a swirl of red and black rage, Diarmuid forces one last thing through his bond to Waver. That message is free of rage and free of pain. It is simply...

I'm sorry.]

[They were dropping like fucking flies, Waver thought with a small scowl before discarding the matter. Surely all of them knew what they were getting into.. Waver himself had fully expected to die today; he'd accepted that easier than the idea of killing someone. The concept still left a terrible taste in his mouth, even when it came to Sephiroth.]

[But he could worry about morality later and check up on the casualties tomorrow. If he wanted to at least disable Sephiroth, he had to concentrate on finishing the magic circle. The magus didn't even flinch at Sephiroth's attacks being met strike for strike by what little of his shield wasn't engraving lines in the sand. But as Sephiroth moved, Waver realized there was a problem. For a moment it seemed his Mystic Code was slowing down, but that wasn't the case--Sephiroth was moving faster than it could keep up. Waver hadn't even known that was possible.]

[The next thing he saw was blood-- a lot of it, and not entirely his own. Sephiroth's sword had struck through Diarmuid's chest into the arm Waver had raised in a useless reflex, but any possibility of a mortal injury had been halted.]

You... [Whatever Waver was going to try to say trailed off shakily at Diarmuid's own words, spoken in a voice that very frankly terrified the magus beyond comprehension. For a few seconds Waver was aware of a strange sense of detachment that came over him; for a moment he moved automatically, lowering Diarmuid to the ground with an expression of wordless shock. But the pain in his arm began to set in, and with it came an unfamiliar sentiment; genuine rage and hatred not unlike that which Diarmuid was often so conflicted over. Green eyes burned with something hateful and murderous...and perhaps something not fully stable at the moment.]

Scalp--!

[With a snarled activation word the shield turned to a mass of bladed tendrils, spinning and slashing and lashing out at any part of Sephiroth they could reach to drive him back. If he could just buy enough time to finish the damned circle, this would all be over.]

[Hangups about murder? Morality? Fuck it. Fuck all of it. Waver's clothes and hands were stained with the blood of the only friend he'd ever known, and therefore Sephiroth was going to die, by his hand, right now.]

Edited 2013-11-23 22:30 (UTC)

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