[Invading Alexandria, OPEN]

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Characters: Rinoa, Garnet, OPEN
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Rinoa attacks Alexandria. Garnet cops it. SeeDs and others save the day. Check here for more details. OPEN to anyone who wants to come help defend the city.
Location: Alexandria
Date: 30th-31st August, 1804
Warnings: Violence and death.

The Alexandrians were more resourceful than Rinoa had anticipated. It was such a backwards country that she thought it would be easy: a fun distraction while Ultimecia laid waste to bigger threats elsewhere. But a squadron of airships had found them en route from the ruins of Midgar and proceeded to harry them all the way to the city.

The good thing was that it became easier to convince some of the students that Alexandria ought to be invaded. The rest were bewildered and scared; the entire Garden was in disarray. Rinoa didn't really care at this point. Garden was merely a vehicle.

A small squadron of students had been instructed to attack the city. But that wasn't Rinoa's destination. Under cover of darkness, she flew into the city, moving from rooftop to rooftop and casting fire spells as she went. Very soon, smoke and flames filled the air, along with the screams of panicked citizens. As the city burned and confusion took over, the SeeD students moved in to begin the battle. Rinoa didn't stop to watch them.

She moved on, staying too low for the airships to safely reach her, until the castle walls loomed before her. Here she abandoned stealth and flew straight up, her wings flashing white in the darkness. Shouts of startled guards followed her, but they couldn't chase her into the sky. The first Flare smashed into a turret, killing two soldiers and reducing half the turret to rubble. Rinoa was exhilarated. This was everything Ultimecia had promised her, and more.

There would be more deaths to come.

Comments

[flameserpents.livejournal.com]

Gadalar had been itching for something like this to happen for what seemed like an age. Sleepy peace had never been his thing - and personally, he was starting to think something was in Rughadjeen's comments that he was getting fat. The Elvaan paladin still hadn't returned from his trip to see the Immortal which had found himself upon Gaia - that was the only thing that concerned him slightly about this whole situation.

This was what he lived for. He'd defended Al Zahbi from countless seiges just like this in the past, against organic weapons, savages, and trolls. Creatures of far more worth than a few pathetic, spot-ridden and awkward teenage mercenaries. So he was in his element. The liberator danced with salamander flame as it destroyed all in it's wake without anything remotely resembling mercy - cutting and burning all into nothing.

They were just children. Poor, pathetic, brainwashed children -- but the second they'd stood against him, he couldn't care less. They were merely dead. Gadalar had accrued quite a pile of half-burned, half-unrecognizable bodies, yet that did not stop him. In fact, he was laughing as he cut, and burned them down.

"Hahaha! Burn! Burn, slimy maggots! Burn!"

[rughadjeen.livejournal.com]

Rughadjeen had been away for quite some time but found that he couldn't stay in Lindblum for much longer after the Immortal had gone. His first course of action had been to get back to Alexandria, remembering the words Rishfee had told him. So much news and not a word could be told to Gadalar, he would respect those wishes, no more panic had to be caused. Though as he had arrived back in the city, a whole new kind of panic had been brought to the people of Alexandria. Buildings and bodies on fire, most of which had been simple bystanders.

The Elvaan took to the streets, running as fast as he could. How many of these people had had their lives snatched from them that didn't deserve it? How many had been innocent children? Rughadjeen could feel his own anger building up inside of him until he heard a voice. It was distant, but over the yelling, the screaming and the roar of fire, Rughadjeen could hear it and his heart froze despite the heat. Gadalar. What in Walahra's name was the Hume doing?

It was only with some difficulty that he managed to find the correct direction the General was in. The sight made him stop once again, all he could do was stare. This wasn't Al Zhabi, this was not a siege on their city, these people were not trolls, undead, lamia or Mamool Ja...what the hell was he doing?

"Gadalar!"

[flameserpents.livejournal.com]

Ducking one greasy-haired whelp of a little bastard which had managed to get close enough to swing a sword his way, the Flameserpent General proved that despite being remarkably weaker in this world, his agility wasn't penalised. He ducked under the blade and under the arms of the brat - hooking the curved blade of the Liberator to the side of the youth's neck as he moved deftly, and upon straightening himself, using a foot placed in the small of the lad's back to push him forward - against the blade. Head came off accordingly and rolled to the ground, body creasing and crumpling straight after - a torrent of blood coming from it. Kicking the head down the street - Gadalar turned to regard the other, eyes widening.

"Move!"

A well aimed fireball creased toward a teenager at the back of Rughadjeen, set to strike with a greatsword type weapon held high above his head. (The tip of the weapon was about level with the top of Rughadjeen's helmet, in fact.) The youth screamed - ignited, and promptly ran, still aflame.

"Good to see you." he mentioned passingly, as if it were a simple discussion on weather. Really.. he'd missed Rughadjeen. But at least with the Elvaan here now, they could certainly hold the wave of enemies from coming into the city.

[rughadjeen.livejournal.com]

Rughadjeen didn't know what he should be more alarmed at, the fact Gadalar had just decapitated a teenagers head, or that the Elvaan himself didn't feel nauseas. He didn't hesitate in jumping to the side, pressing back against the wall of a building, feeling the blaze of heat as he moved the right way. Hearing the scream, he looked over his shoulder to see the boy run and after a short distance crumple to the ground.

His attention was brought back to the Flameserpent as he drew out the algol. The greatsword felt good in his hands, but unlike Gadalar, Rughadjeen would take the role of defence, knocking back any foe that came to close. He wasn't ready to fight to the death until he found out just what exactly was going on.

With his brow creased slightly and starting to show the heat was getting to him, he glance around for anyone charging their way.

"What the hell happened? I come back to the city in an inferno. Please tell me you didn't get so bored as to start all of this?"

[flameserpents.livejournal.com]

He couldn't expect anything less of Rughadjeen than to dodge. He knew him, and him in battle moreso than any Imperial soldier, enemy of the Empire, Immortal guard or Serpent General did -- so it was simply a matter of sense assuring him that the Elvaan wouldn't be foolish enough to play shield. Not when it came to his magic, anyway.

"No idea. All that I know is they're..."
A slice to the achilles of some other would-be assailant and a scream. Then Gadalar kicking the rolling mass of body to the side. He'd bleed to death eventually, Gadalar had little concern over him. The damage had been done. He wouldn't survive. He moved so he was back to back with Rughadjeen, speaking softly even through the volleys of enemy fire - cutting, and slicing.

"..Attacking, and I'm having fun. I didn't start this. Though.. it'd likely be fun to learn who did. And where they got such inexperienced mercenary scum from. Even Salaheem's lot have more about them than this! "

[rughadjeen.livejournal.com]

Rughadjeen actually couldn't help but laugh at that. It was true, of the few people that had been dealt with it had appeared as though weapons had just been flung at then. Just expecting the children to actually know how to use them. Sadly, even if they did, they were running into the den of two vastly experienced fighters. So these people were the ones attacking and had started all this mayhem? Defence was down and the algol was gripped even harder as he took up an offensive pose.

"She certainly could teach these runts a thing or two."

A youth ran towards him but before he managed to get in too close his feet were swept out from under him, the blade of the greatsword just kissing the ground ever so slightly. Rughadjeen stepped closer to the teen, enough so that he could kick him back a few feet.

A heavy sigh left him and he glanced back at his shoulder.

"I can't leave you alone for two minutes." But it was easy to tell Rughadjeen was more amused by this than anything.

If these people had just attacked Alexandria for no reason, even though his allegiance wasn't towards this kingdom, he would help fight the invasion.

[flameserpents.livejournal.com]

Experience overrode everything. Also the fact that both of them were well used and actually at an advantage in urban combat. Gadalar, personally, wasn't too thrilled about fighting anywhere but the streets. He'd seen the Garden fly overhead, and he'd seen the explosions about the tower. Yet he did not care for nobility. That was the accursed knight's job, wasn't it? This was primarily about fun. Secondarily, about working off the extra pounds he'd put on in Gaia as a result of their peace.

"They wouldn't even manage to make it to a staging point, let alone an assault objective.." Gadalar responded, smirking as he swiped the liberator's blade at pole's length across the throat of another child in a military uniform. She made a surprised noise, practically squeaked -- the offrice gurgling as she fell to her knees. He'd likely get into trouble for this later, yet he couldn't care less. As mentioned, he was having fun.

" Remember when we used to do this with puks in Wajoam Woodlands?" he asked, burying the wicked point of the liberator's blade into an unfortunate SeeD's skull. " There's enough around us now. We can make it a contest."

Tower Battle I

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

[ooc: This is the part where Rinoa kills Garnet! This is for characters already in the castle only - nobody else should have reached them yet.]

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet had heard Steiner's cry, both from the battlements and over the network. Despite the warnings of friends and loved ones, she was determined not to let everyone else do all the work; gown and finery had been cast aside for her old traveling clothes, the only adornment that of the Falcons Claw hanging around her neck. The heels of her old red boots clicked sharply against the stone as she made her way up the stairs, Whale Whisker clutched in gloved hands. Tucked away inside her blouse (perhaps not the most modest of storage places) was the piece of nethicite Vayne had gifted to her some time ago. The eidolons would help to protect the city from assault, but ultimately, Garnet needed to get close to Rinoa. If the nethicite would absorb magical attacks, and render magic-users defenseless, it stood to reason that she should be able to use the stone to subdue the sorceress.

She felt the damage to the castle just as much as she heard it, the walls and stairs trembling from the impact, and the young queen staggered to the side, against the wall. How could they be so close already!? she thought in alarm, hesitating only a moment before she quickened her pace up the staircase.

And as she pushed open the double doors onto the balcony, the sight before her was breathtaking; like an Angel, bright and beautiful, flawless white wings like some majestic bird, but raining destruction and death. It took her a few seconds to realize that the terrible vision before her, was Rinoa.

[tantalus-born.livejournal.com]

"You! Stop. Have you seen Dag...have you seen the queen?" Zidane had spoken with Garnet earlier, but he'd lost her in the chaos. He knew she could take care of herself but...well, he couldn't help but worry. She shouldn't have to fight something without him there.

"I believe she headed towards the tower, m'lord," the guard responded before hurrying on his way, and Zidane sighed. Of course she went upstairs. And so he ran upstairs, two steps at a time. He had such a bad feeling about this.

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

Rinoa was enjoying herself immensely. Alexandria looked so beautiful burning beneath her. There was also the simple pleasure that came with tearing something down, of wreaking havoc. She was a force of nature and she struck without mercy. If there was anything left of the real Rinoa, any subconscious impulse, it was hidden behind the power of her magical fury.

A movement below caught her attention. Well, if it wasn't the Queen herself on the balcony.

"Your Majesty!" Rinoa called mockingly. "Have you come out to play?"

The Queen was the heart of Alexandria. Strike her down, and she would strike the city down. Without waiting for an answer, Rinoa rose higher into the air and cast Meteor. It was the most devastating of her spells, but also the most random; although its focus was on the balcony where Garnet stood, it rained down destruction across a wide area of the castle.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

By the time she'd come to her senses, the attack had already started. Such an attack was hard to avoid, but that didn't stop Dagger from trying; she rolled to one side, more out of panic than necessity, for as the next chunk hurdled straight toward her, it seemed to shrink, shrink, until it was a single point of concentrated energy, sucked directly into her chest. She staggered back in surprise. No, not her chest, exactly, but the chunk of nethecite she'd brought with her.

Gripping the whale-whisker even more tightly, Dagger struggled to regain a solid footing. The balcony was already cracking under her feet, the walls behind her not spared the force of the meteors blows. Still, any that came within range of her, the same occured -- compressed into almost nothing, vanishing inside the void of a stone kept in her corset.

This was her chance. Much as she wanted to call out to the other woman, she knew it was hopeless. The only choice was to take her down.

Closing her eyes, holding the racket in front of her, Dagger prayed. Suddenly, from nowhere at all, there was snow in the middle of summer! a patch of ice formed on the broken floor, and from it burst a woman all in blue. Spinning in the air, waving her arms about, Shiva cast Diamond Dust, the flurry of ice headed straight for the wayward sorceress.

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

"Shiva...?" The name came out as a soft, surprised whisper. It had been so long since she had seen her GFs... It rankled Rinoa to see one used against her. Shiva was supposed to be on her side.

Alighting on a battlement, Rinoa drew her wings forward to shield her body, so that they took the brunt of Shiva's attack. She brushed the ice aside as she folded her wings, with no apparent damage done - but although her wings showed no mark, Rinoa felt the cold sting and she didn't feel up to flying again right at that moment.

Instead, she called out to Garnet. "No fair! Shiva should be mine. Come here and let me draw her out of you."

This was a bluff, and probably an obvious one. At any rate, Rinoa followed it straight up with a Flare. Not aimed directly at Garnet, but rather at the balcony itself. Let the Queen try to leap from a collapsing balcony.

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Bluff or not, the very words 'draw her out of you' struck a chord. It wouldn't have been the first time that someone had pulled the Eidolons right out of her. But Dagger was stronger now -- much stronger than she had been when, at the age of sixteen, she'd started down the unmapped road of regaining what had been stolen from her.

But Dagger narrowed her eyes at Rinoa, clutching her weapon tightly. She could almost feel the whisper of something in her ear, like snow falling on pavement. Shiva. If only she could have known what the Eidolon was saying.

"Shiva belongs to no one -- it is her choice to answer a summoners call!" Was Rinoa a summoner too?

She had no time to react further though; the floor was cracking, separating. There was light coursing through the crystal sword protruding from the center of the castle. The eye of the invincible boring down over the center of Alexandria, and she was falling-- NO. Not again, not again.

Scrambling backward, Dagger latched into a side wall as the front of the balcony crumbled, the stone crashing to the courtyard in a cloud of dust and destruction, and her throne along with it. The remaining ground was unstable at best. She needed to go higher. Something was touching the back of her mind, coaxing her, whisper like the sound of a fire crackling in the hearth. Determined, she scrambled inside, turned, and headed up the nearest tower.

Tower Battle II

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

[ooc: This is later on, after Garnet's death, when the cavalry come in, so to speak. She's still high up, so characters from outside Alexandria will have to climb through the castle to get to her.]

MID-BOSS BATTLE

[bastard.livejournal.com]

[ ooc; Seifer's going to be inside the castle, waiting to confront anyone that's trying to make their way up to Rinoa. He will have to get pwned, obviously, but I don't want to deal with a character death so just don't murder him too hard. ]

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

As soon as Terra found Celes, she had boarded an airship bound for Alexandria. Now that she knew where the Garden was headed, the young woman wasted no time in getting there. She was as prepared as she would ever be, traveling light but making sure to bring essentials.

Upon reaching the castle, Terra paused to glance around, hoping to find Cloud and other familiar faces. Even if she found none, protective spells would be cast before heading onward; Protect, Shell, Haste. Then and only then would she proceed, hand on her sword hilt. Ultimecia needed to be found and stopped, hopefully without further loss of life....

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes was right next to Terra, having boarded the same airship and bribed the crew to fly as quickly as possible for the kingdom. She had a stash of potions with her, and nodded her thanks to Terra before taking the lead and heading towards the castle.

"Can you watch our backs? I'll get the front."

Sword out, she hurried onward.

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

Terra responded with a nod, fine with playing rear guard since Celes seemed to know where she was going. Unfamiliar with the castle herself, Terra instead focused her attention on potential ambushes from behind, or possibly allies arriving to join them. Scanning the area as they continued, she waited for an opportunity to aid them further, with magic or sword.

[magitekrune.livejournal.com]

Celes' first goal was to get inside the castle. Second goal was to find whoever was in charge of the assault. If she met people on the way, they'd better be allies or they'd be in a world of hurt. She activated her trademark Runic ability as she hurried forward, checking to be sure things were clear enough before hurrying into the castle. Or at least she would try to make it as far into the castle as she could, keeping an eye out in front and on all sides, leaving rearguard to Terra.

FINAL BOSS BATTLE

[livelyangel.livejournal.com]

[ooc: To speed things up a little, let's have the final confrontation with Rinoa here! No tagging order, just tag whenever.]

The night was at its blackest when the Sky People arrived. Most of them were people she knew, people she had considered friends. But to Ultimecia's puppet, they were simply in her way.

Rinoa perched on the highest remaining turret, her dark hair flying this way and that as she looked around. Many of the Alexandrian soldiers were dead or wounded, but reinforcements had arrived.

She huffed when she saw the SeeDs. "What, you guys can't stay in a prison cell for just a couple of days? Seriously."

[heavenslament.livejournal.com]

By the time they were able to reach Rinoa, the protective and enhancing magics had faded, so Terra set about to renewing them. She wanted to rush over and heal those wounded, but something told her that it wasn't a good idea to take her attention away from the dark-haired woman, even for a moment. So, Terra lingered near Celes, hoping that Squall would be able to get through to her, but ready to act if he couldn't.

[knighted-lion.livejournal.com]

At this point, Squall's thoughts were less on getting through to Rinoa and more on dealing with the problem at hand. Rinoa was under there but... he didn't think she'd listen. Not any more. Not after everything that she'd done.

But her question deserved at least a passing answer, and so he raised his gunblade (not Lionheart, if she were to look closely, but Hyperion) in her direction, his face all but set in stone. It was horrible that circumstance had brought them to this, but so be it. He'd come to far now to turn back.

"A couple of days was long enough. How long have you been planning this?"

[boomchucka.livejournal.com]

Selphie sidled up right beside the Commander, all hints of her sunny personality gone. Only the warrior that she'd been bred to be was left staring up at someone she once thought was a friend but was thoroughly questioning this now. It wasn't right as the perky brunette flicked her rapier through the air and looked at Rinoa with a determined look on her face. The darked haired girl would not be allowed to get away with this and if they had to take her out then so be it.

"If you think we'd just sit by and let you destroy everything that a lot of people -- us included -- hold dear, you're dead wrong!"

[waterblade.livejournal.com]

"Rinoa!" And another joined the fray, shield up and ready to guard but just as determined to get his friend back as anything else - this wasn't Rinoa, wasn't the girl he had a lot of fun with and could laugh about just about anything over. This was someone else entirely, and it was dead wrong to see this person using Rinoa's face and form. "This isn't you! Come on, give up! You can't take us all!"

Foolhardy and optimistic the words might've been, but Tidus wasn't acting like a complete moron - even as he spoke, he was invoking Cover, fully planning on taking the hits for his allies. After the past day, none of them was in perfect shape, and Squall was probably going to be the best for a physical assault at this point, so at least he could act like a protective bulwark.