(Untitled)

[dark0messenger]

Characters: Captain Adelbert Steiner, Kuja, and Alexandrian folk/those nearby; will update!
Progress: In-Progress
Summary: Garland's gift comes bright and early
Location: Alexandria and surrounding area
Date: May 1st
Warnings: Eventual violence?

Comments

[captain_rusty]

For Steiner, the sight was a nasty shock. Always up before dawn, he saw the dragons approaching before they reached Alexandria, but still, that did not give him a great deal of time to prepare. He acted as any good knight would: as the Alexandrian army mobilised, he ordered his knights to find and guard the Queen. Garnet must not be allowed to set foot outside the castle. She had to be protected at all costs.

Alexandria's battleships took off to meet the dragons, led by the Red Rose, and the soldiers on the battlements prepared to fire their cannons.

Meanwhile, Steiner headed for the city itself. It was his job to fight on the ground, to lead by example.

"All knights, to me!"

[dark0messenger]

In the air, meeting them en route was none other than the Red Rose with a fleet of ships behind the trail, ready to oppose their attack. More importantly, with the airships present it would prevent him from pulling the strings from afar. Cursing them, but expecting this retaliation, silently he commands a decent sized flock to bombard their defenses while he swoops in low with another group, ready to infiltrate the interior of the city.

Canons blasting ammo as if the conductors behind the instruments had an unlimited supply, it takes quite a bit of weaving in and out of harms path to make it past. Bypassing the great wall that protects the inside of Alexandria from threats on the ground, the monsters land on foot, raiding the city as if looking for something whilst destroying anything in their path. Kuja remains in air, using his magic to give them an advantage when needed, the group as a whole slowly working closer to the most heavily guarded base - the castle.

[captain_rusty]

If Steiner had his way, they would never reach the castle. Never. The first group of dragons swarmed in for that attack.

"Chaaaaaarge!"

Running full tilt in his heavy armour, Steiner practically smashed into the first dragon. He had fought a Silver Dragon before, but never in this number. They were powerful enemies, and it was imperative that they were slain quickly before they could do too much damage.

Ignoring the blows that fell upon him, Steiner fought his way through the dragons, relying on his armour to protect him. Strike after strike met its mark, but the dragons were relentless, and each one took many well-timed hits to defeat. His whole body was running on adrenaline, but he couldn't keep this up forever...

[dark0messenger]

As the army charged in defense, the dragons rampaged forward for the attack, a clash of sword and claw and fire tearing apart the streets and buildings. The sight was a nasty one to see, for most, but for Kuja here it was splendid, just what he had been aching for! Row after row of Knights, soldiers, and dragons are demolished, as if they were nothing to anyone, practically expendable. This probably wasn’t the case, but the rate of death made it seem so

[captain_rusty]

For that moment, Steiner stood transfixed, the whole world around him seeming to stand still. Kuja, here in Alexandria! So he was up to his old tricks again. Last time, it had been the Mistodens. This time an even more dangerous enemy threatened to overwhelm them. Steiner could not let that happen.

"KUJA!" he shouted, enraged. He glanced around for support, but there wasn't any; all the soldiers had either fallen or were embroiled in battles too far away. The hopelessness of the situation didn't deter Steiner. If Kuja was the source of this attack, perhaps defeating him would also stop the dragons.

It was the work of a moment to use his last X-Potion, then Steiner charged once more, fighting his way wildly through the dragons which defended Kuja. He felled one, two, three before his strikes began to waver. Battered and bruised, Steiner was slowing down, but he wasn't done yet.

"Kuja!" he yelled again. "Come and fight, you miserable coward!"

[dark0messenger]

Hearing that voice call out to him amidst the fighting, Kuja can’t help but reiterate with similar banter. “Come then, take your steel and test it against my magic, if you dare!” More than happy to oblige the Captain clad in armor, once there was a clear path between him and the knight there was nothing to stop him from commanding a barrage of offensive magical energy to bombard and destroy. Hovering above the ground as if gravity had no effect on him, with a twirl of his hands the spells aim for and shoot towards Steiner, giving no rest to the weary fighter.

[captain_rusty]

Never one to back down from a challenge, Steiner charged at Kuja, right into the path of the spells. Even these didn't stop him; he fought his way through despite the battering his body was taking.

Steiner was close to passing out now, and had only one coherent thought left in his mind: attack Kuja. He struck blindly, wildly, with the last of his strength.

[dark0messenger]

The erratic, desperate attempts to swing his blade at the sorcerer suggested that the knight was on his last limbs. Betting on this assumption, Kuja drew back with each ranged thrust of the sword, waiting for the opportune moment when his opponent was completely drained of energy before attacking. “As impressive as your persistence is, I’m afraid your part in this act will have to be cut short. Farewell, Captain!” With crazed, maniacal intentions twisting his features, Kuja summoned a great deal of black magic to his command and used all of it to finish off what he could of the offender, a rain of attacks tearing through the sky as they hit the very ground that the armor clad warrior stood on.

[captain_rusty]

To Steiner, it seemed as if the world had exploded around him. Adrenaline had kept him impervious to pain, but not this time; it was too much. There was a moment when light flashed and it felt as though fire or lightning was searing him inside out - and then nothing.

Unseeing eyes stared up at the dragon-filled sky from beneath his battered helmet. Steiner's body lay still, defeated at last.