Pandemonium

[tntoverlords]

Characters: Mikoto, Warrior of Light, Firion, Refia, Edward, Locke, Genesis, Blank, Vivi, Rikku, Mjrn, Serah
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: The group finally confronts Garland.
Location: Pandemonium
Date: August 15, 1804
Warnings: Violence
Notes: Additional information on this week's segment can be found here. To see the entry walk into Pandemonium,

Comments

ahaha I kinda fail.

[morehatthanmage]

Since the encounter with Lufene, Vivi had started to become less and less overtly afraid and more and more overtly irritable. He hadn't been able to find the courage to challenge Lufene but after spending the last few evenings thinking of numerous ways he could have said 'no, shut up' and stopped her from saying things he was more than ready to pick a fight with her 'father

[smallmage]

"She's not going anywhere with you." As if to punctuate her statement, Refia immediately began casting - protective spells, specifically, starting with a literal round of Protects for everyone, but also mixing in a few Mights directed at the full-force members of their party - Warrior of Light, Firion, Genesis, and Mjrn. One arm wriggled out of her pack, followed by the other, and she handed the back to Serah without even looking to see if the other girl took it. "All my items are in there - use them if you need them." She'd seen how the other girl didn't seem to have combat experience, and so probably needed protecting more than anyone else in the group, including her. Anything that could be done, would.

"You're trying to destroy the world - all the worlds. We're here to stop you, whether you want to be or not."

[xredthespianx]

Refia really was a cute little bundle of tough. She really stood up for herself and the people she cared about. It somewhat reminded Blank of Ruby and Eiko. It seemed everyone was on the same page - all striving to the same goal - beating Garland. It was a funny thng how a group of strangers could bond and work as a team.

Seeing Garland first-hand was also strange. Blank had listened to all the stories of his friends' adventures, yet he never expected to be reliving it himself.

[nomerevessel]

Mikoto acknowledged Rikku's encouragement with a tiny nod before focusing on Garland again.

"I'm here to fulfil my purpose," she said clearly. "But not the one you gave me. I led them here to stop you, Garland. That is my purpose now."

She drew her dagger, though she did not suppose that it would be much effective against Garland. Still, it was a gesture of defiance. Mikoto was prepared to fight.

[dewdrop_pebbles]

While the others were speaking, Mjrn did her part. She was a Dragoon, but she was a Red Mage as well. As Refia showered them with Protect, she contributed to the buffing by adding a Haste spell. If there was time, she would add Regen, but the Viera wasn't especially hopeful that she would be able to cast it upon everyone before the battle was engaged.

[cycleofchaos]

"Regrettable. What a waste." The rabble before him was of no consequence to him and nothing to be feared. He had his hands full enough reining in Kuja and Lufene to waste energy on this collection of souls. Zidane too posed his own set of problems for Garland, which left him no choice but to remove Mikoto from his list of issues, before she could truly become one. And thus, he stripped her of her soul.

The body becomes a vessel, which greets a new soul...

Without waiting to see what came of her, he turned to ascend the stairs once more. "Should you choose to persist in this foolishness, I will end your lives." To make his point known, he conjured a ball of light before his hand, then flung it out at the whole group in a devastating Wave.

[nomerevessel]

The knife fell clattering from Mikoto's hand. She swayed a little, then stood still, her eyes gazing vacantly into the middle distance.

Even though she was standing in the middle of what would become a battlefield, Mikoto no longer had the presence of mind to do anything about it. She had been rendered helpless in an instant: a soulless vessel.

[thisdesertrose]

Firion saw the knife clatter before witnessing the magic being thrown at them. Quickly, he grabbed Mikoto's body and pushed her out of the way. Soulless vessel or not, he didn't want her to be harmed. When the magic struck, he felt himself fly back and his the ground hard, a few of his weapons clattering to the ground around him. He groaned and called them back to himself, rising to stand though he gasped when he saw one his comrades fly towards Garland.

"Don't Genesis!" He cried in vain. Despite being told what Garland was capable of, they couldn't afford to be reckless like this.

[for_cosmos]

His shield was out as soon as Garland’s hand rose, but it was not enough to block the force of the attack, and the Warrior of Light was sent skidding backwards as well, going into a crouch for a moment to avoid falling. This man wasn’t Garland, not the Garland he knew, and it had thrown him off. He had expected his enemy, the man he had faced time and time again. Instead, they were faced with a stranger.

Still, this man was an enemy, one that needed to be dealt with. The Warrior rose to his feet as he saw Genesis fly toward Garland, and heard Firion’s shout. “There is no other way but to fight! Come!” He shouted to the others, advancing upon Garland himself with his blade raised.

[dewdrop_pebbles]

"Mikoto!" Mjrn saw the knife fall from Mikoto's hand and started forward, just in time to see Firion shove her out of the way. Good. Then there was no more time, as the Wave reached her. She cried out, bracing herself.

When it had passed, she straightened and immediately cast a Cura spell for all around her, then grabbed her spear and Jumped. Refia could continue the healing, but Mjrn was a Dragoon first and formost. She needed to be in the air and she would...to descend upon Garland.

[morehatthanmage]

"Mikoto!"

When Firion pushed Mikoto away, Vivi rushed toward her. The Wave caught him and he rolled backward across the ground but then steadied himself and dashed to her side, waving a hand in front of her eyes uselessly.

It was as if she'd stopped.

And then Vivi turned to look at Garland.

The false bravado had vanished in an instant but something replaced it just as quickly. All that fear and useless anger and all the horror of seeing this world this dead and all the dread of knowing that even the best outcome of this mission was that he was going to wind down and stop again and even what happiness he'd found in being given another chance and being able to say goodbye properly and meeting the sky people he'd met and seeing that his mages had survived. All of it found itself concentrated into a pale blue light.

Vivi had entered Trance.

"...I-" His voice trembled at first as he raised a single hand toward Garland. The bright blue glow made it almost painful to look at him. "-I hate you! I want you to die!! Flare! Flare!Two

[smallmage]

"No!" Refia's cry was loud and sharp as the light left Mikoto's eyes; fortunately Firion dove to protect her, or Refia might well have done it herself. That was it - Garland had lost all his chances. "Get back here you coward!"

And then the Wave hit her.

Being at the back of the group blunted some of the effect of it, but it still swept the small white mage off her feet and into the wall with a sharp thud. Once she could breathe properly again, the first thing she did was start lobbing Regens, one at everyone, including Mikoto. The next thing she did was run to Vivi. She didn't quite know what was going on with him but he wasn't going to go through it alone.

[knowshermachina]

Being near the front of the group, Rikku barely even had time to react to watching Mikoto just...stop like that...before the wave of fire hit her and sent her tumbling to the ground with a squeal of pain. She lay there for a few seconds, waiting for her nerves to stop telling her maybe she should take a nap, before she sat up with a groan, reaching into her pouch to tug out two bottles.

She muttered something that might have been a thank you when she felt Refia's regen hit her, and then yanked the cork out of one of the bottles and downed the potion with a shiver, feeling it start to ease the pain as she hauled herself to her feet.

"That was...not fun..." She muttered, her eyes a little wide as she watched the tiny mage start to glow and hurl flares like they were candy. Wow. Well...she was going to do her part. She pressed the cork down harder into the second glass vial so that it wouldn't splash, and then hurled the flimsy container at Garland as hard as she could.

[cycleofchaos]

As chaos erupted all around him, Garland retaliated with punishment of his own. The magical attacks being thrown at him stung, but by no means did enough significant damage to slow him. Cognizant of the abilities they each possessed, just from their reactions alone, he chose to take down those of the greatest threat to himself first: the warriors.

Using Psychokinesis, he raised his arm and levitated the weapons master into the air. He flipped his hand over and motioned towards the ground, which turned the unfortunate Firion upside down and sent him crashing to the ground.

That accomplished, he charged up a round of Flare, the cruel explosions blasting around every person, including the empty Mikoto.

[thisdesertrose]

Firion didn't have time to charge when Light called out to, he felt himself lifted high into the air. "Wha-?!" And then he was falling, head first. He just barely managed to put his arm out first, just barely breaking his fall. His head still slamming into the ground, his arm snapping in two. He fell into a roll on his shoulder, crying out before darkness swiftly took hold of him.