A Whale of a Time

[raive]

Bartz cautiously walked forward, his steps squishing into the inner flesh of... some living thing, it seemed. "How the heck did I get here? I remember being sucked out from my world, into this... I don't even know what to call it."

Bartz took a sniff at the fetid air. "Smells a lot like rotting fish. Definitely not the sort of adventure I was hoping for..."

Bartz took note of some wooden structures that looked like they were hastily constructed. And the remains of a small ship. Bartz looked behind him; all he saw was giant teeth, each the size of his head. Bartz drew Zidane's twin swords out of the air, stepped up to the teeth, and slashed downward, into the soft flesh. But the blades just bounced off!

"Interesting. I'll have to find another way out - that smell is getting to me really fast."

Bartz vaulted onto the wooden structures, leaping from precarious position to precarious position, taking care not to fall into the liquid below him. He'd need a bath, at the very least, to get the smell of rotting fish off him.

Bartz landed on the shipwreck, immediately checking the ship for any signs of someone being there; though this looked unlikely. There was a bed, but he didn't want to sleep in this place. He rested against the bed frame instead. "Now this indeed is a whale of a situation..."

He has no idea that he couldn't be closer to the truth!

[Sephiroth]

A swirl of darkness appeared on the top of a wooden platform, and it admitted the One Winged Angel into this world, his sharp gaze taking in every little detail. Sweeping his gaze, he looked around at the world, noticing the organic-like looks of the world and the other haphazardly built structures. But other then that, nothing very interesting. With a sigh, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, mentally hitting his forehead for coming to this waste of a world.

Wait--what was that sound?[/color]

His eyes snapped open, and he looked at the source of the sound. There...a boy was here, for what reason Sephiroth did not know. All he knew was that he was bored, and a challenge had rpesented itself. He looked around, noticing that the structures would prevent him from using his katana. Instead, he waited for an oppertunity to present itself.

He would not be bested.

Yet something about the boy did strike him as familiar...his memory wavered with the fuzzy image. It was that boy, the one he fought as a warrior of Chaos...

This one was a nuisance. I'll have to be wary.

[raive]

Unfortunately, dark portals made very little sound when being opened, so Bartz did not notice the entrance of a man he had fought before.

Though Bartz did immediately get a feeling of unease as Sephiroth appeared, and although Bartz didn't know his exact location, nor exactly who he was, he had the taint of one of Chaos's warriors. Bartz didn't even know if this person was male or female; for all he knew, it could be Ultimecia or Cloud of Darkness. So Bartz slowly stood up, pretending to examine the bed for any clues, and, with a bright flash of light, a curved sword appeared in each of his hands. Bartz looked around, deliberately thinking aloud so that wherever the Chaos warrior was, they could hear him.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here... so I guess I should go about trying to leave."

Bartz jumped off the platform, and made to go inside an opening in the pinkish substance that appeared to be flesh. Bartz's confusion grew and grew as he walked towards it.

This must be another world, this much I know. But from the rotten, fish smell, it must be inside a fish-eater. And it would have to be pretty big... a whale? That would be impossible...

[Sephiroth]

Sephiroth considered letting the boy go, but his memory flashed back to his defeat at the hands of this one. His anger began to build, and his wing emerged, as he readied the One Winged Angel. His feet now hovered a couple inches above the surface he was standing on, and he held a hand out towards the boy, who had jumped onto a wooden structure. With the motion of a finger, his lesser form of Meteor charged and fired, shooting a single fireball at the boy's structure. Immediately after, he floated higher, finally speaking out loud.

"I fancy it's chance we meet here!" he yelled as he prepared a Heartless Angel spell to use. If it hit, the young man's health would be sapped until he broke free. Sephiroth found it appropriate to drain the boy of every last bit of power he had for his own use.

In his mind, it was justified. And who argues with an angel?

RECHARGE TIMES:
Meteor~ 5 posts

[raive]

Bartz sensed the Meteor approaching and jumped to avoid it, the Meteor crashing into the platform he had previously occupied. He landed on another platform as he whirled around to see the source - Sephiroth! Cloud's worst enemy. Bartz's mind flashed back to the time when he was a warrior of Cosmos - as far as Sephiroth was concerned, he and Bartz were enemies.

Though that shouldn't be the case anymore. They had all returned to their worlds, once order had been restored and chaos had been banished. Was this another Cycle of battle? The endless Cycle that was destined to repeat itself for eons?

Bartz landed on a platform near Sephiroth, though out of the reach of his long katana. Bartz grinned, looking up at him. "Looks like the winds of favor are blowing my way! You sure gave me a run for my gil last time. But this time, I won't be running so far..."

The smile quickly dropped off his face, though, as Sephiroth began his Heartless Angel attack. Bartz cringed inwardly. That attack was devastating - if it hit, it would put Bartz out of commission, to say the least.

Bartz made a gesture in the air and twisted as glowing orbs of light shot out at Sephiroth, homing in on him - if Sephiroth didn't block them, they would certainly interrupt his attack. And even if Sephiroth took the time to block or dodge them, he would have to stop the ability. Though the orbs were more of a deterrent than a true offensive strike - they would only cause superficial damage if they hit. But they would also knock the target back.

Also, Bartz was a master Mimic; he could try and use the same move on Sephiroth. But could his Heart of Light stoop down to that level of Darkness?

(OOC: Since you're doing the whole recharge time thing, I'll do it, too.)

RECHARGE TIMES:
[Orb Rain] - 2 posts

[Sephiroth]

As Sephiroth blocked the attack from the boy with his arms, he slid back off his platforn. This wasn't a major problem, but it knocked his focus off enough to lose Heartless Angel. "Damn." he said, turning to the boy. As he looked at him, his hand rose, and three pillars of fire suddenly appeared, circling him. He rose into the air high enough to draw his katana, then lunged at Bartz, going for a simple slash.

"Sadly, you won't be around long enough to see what has happened to the rest of you!" he yelled as he swung.

RECHARGE TIMES:
Meteor: 4 posts
Heartless Angel: 6 posts

((OOC: Yeah, it's short. And I use the recharges so I can keep track of them easily. :3))

[raive]

Bartz couldn't help but smile as Sephiroth shouted.

"Sadly, you won't be around long enough to see what has happened to the rest of you!"

"I think I'll be around a while longer. Though..." Bartz held up his hands, smiling as a machine gun appeared in them. "You don't seem to be as calm as I remember! What happened to that icy demeanor? It's been replaced by a fiery one, as I can see!"

This remark was directed at the pillars of fire, which Bartz barely managed to dodge around, slipping into the small space between them, and managed to block Sephiroth's sword slash with the gun and jumping back, taking aim with the machine gun and firing a steady stream of bullets.

The bullets weren't very powerful, but they needed to keep Spehiroth off-balance and away from Bartz, for Bartz knew that Sephiroth was deadly in close combat.

Though Bartz, as he dodged back through the pillars, got singed and his tunic caught on fire. Bartz cursed as he fired, casting a quick Blizzard spell to douse the flames in the meantime.

Besides, he wasn't going to die inside this giant whale. And a thought struck him as he fired. Yelling to keep himself heard above the din of the bullets, he called out, "And why are you fighting me? I thought we went back to our worlds after the Cycle of battle came to an end! Is this another one?"

Bartz didn't expect an answer, although he was curious.

RECHARGE TIMES:
Orb Rain: 1 post
Blizzard: 2 posts

[Sephiroth]

A simpleton. That's all this boy was. Instead of attacking, he hovered in place and began laughing. "You are a bigger fool then I first assumed. I fight you because you are the enemy, for no other reason. And does it matter if this is a cycle? No, I only eliminate those who keep me from my real goal." Looking around, he realized he had been cutting it close with his katana, and didn't have much mobility--espescially since the boy was running. His sword disppeared, and he crossed his arms, the pillars disappearing. Looking at the boy's gun, he said, "I'll give you credit for using a long-range weapon. But, if it's a game of hiding you want, it's one you'll get."

And with that, he disappeared, reappearing behind a wooden structure a good distance away.

RECHARGE TIMES:
Meteor: 3 posts
Heartless Angel: 5 posts

[raive]

Bartz bristled at the comment that he was a fool, but he let it slide. He had to focus on the fight at hand. Looking at Sephiroth, he shook his head, letting the gun disappear, but his next weapon... it might shake the silver-haired warrior up.

Though he didn't summon it right away; perhaps he could negotiate with Sephiroth. It was a long shot, but it might work. The winds of favor might be blowing his way.

So far, he hadn't suffered any real damage; his tunic was burned, showing bare patches of skin, but the burns themselves didn't really hurt, and they would not hinder his fighting ability.

"I thought the Cosmos-Chaos relationship was at an end when we, the warriors of Cosmos, broke the 'final' cycle. To what end do you fight me? Simply because you can? Is it because I defeated you? You might recall that we had several battles; you won some, I won some. I don't see any reason to continue fighting, unless you insist. I don't fight needlessly; I fight when it's needed. I don't remember your name, but I was summoned to those broken worlds against my will; I remembered nothing of my original world. I still don't, save for the name. I would give anything to be back there. Because it sure as hell beats fighting all the time."

Bartz crossed his arms across his chest. "All right? Give me a good reason why I should fight you." For good measure, he summoned the Buster Sword. Bartz, with a mental smirk, thought of Cloud and how this was his signature weapon. If he used that weapon, it might discourage Sephiroth from fighting him due to his many losses against that blade. Not the one in Bartz's hands; that one was a mere copy. But the psychological effect would be the same.

Unless Sephiroth knew no fear.

RECHARGE TIMES:
Orb Rain: Recharged
Blizzard: 1 post

[Sephiroth]

Sephiroth couldn't believe this. The boy was actually negotiating with the Chosen One? "It's my nature, boy. Have you heard the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend?' Well, that also means the friend of my enemy is my enemy." Yet Sephiroth watched as the boy summoned a familiar blade, and laughed again, rising into the air. He still had to stall the boy, and what better way then his next action?

"I remember speaking to thewarlock about the world he was from...it seems he's from the same one as you? The stories he told me were quite interesting. But the ones of these so-called Dawn Warriors were quite the bedtime story. I seem to remember one of their names...I am fairly sure it started with a G." With a mental smile, he named off the name in his head.

Galuf. The warlock called him Galuf. Maybe if I lead him on, I'll distract him enough to finish this...

RECHARGE TIMES:
Meteor: 2 posts
Heartless Angel: 4 posts