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Post by Angeal Hewley on Jan 22, 2011 19:22:53 GMT -5
He walked through the rocks and soil, stained with the blood of young warriors and older ones as well. Years of conflict had plagued this area. The yells of those killed permeated the jagged cliffs and Angeal could name each one if he wanted to. Battles came here in an abundance, his first battle was here, though he barely made it back to HQ alive it was a good memory. He got his first victory here as well, he killed many and took few prisoners from this place. Friends had been made here through the sword, and friends had been lost through it as well. Heroes such as himself had been made here from smucks just by the thrust or stroke of a sword, and heroes died here as well. None Angeal ever had the pleasure of knowing because by the time he had come here enough times he was the only hero to do battle, along with Sephiroth and Genesis.
He had met Sephiroth here, Angeal himself had always found himself struggling to find strength and skill. But his first time seeing Sephiroth fight was like poetry in motion, like a ballet of pure violence and anger. Genesis was much of the same, except Genesis was envious of what Sephiroth had gotten, almost instant fame. The only fame that came with the blade however was hate, resent, and infamy around the world. Whenever the three of them walked into any town that knew of ShinRa, then the people cowered in fear of what their appearance meant. They pulled their children in doors, the men gave them glares of needles and nails. But they functioned as they were meant to do, as killers.
Monsters more like it, as that is what they all had become, even Zack to an extent had become a monster. They all killed remorselessly, and never questioned why until those fateful events that lead to Angeal and Zack's demise. He knelt down beside one of the rocks and felt it with the tips of his gloved fingers. The sun beamed harshly on his black heavy armor, the wind tugged at his flak. These were the feelings he had longed for Feelings of knowing what was around the corner even though he truly did not. Monsters that he was familiar with trying to kill him, instead of new ones, as if it made a difference to him who he killed, which it did not. This was Cosmo Canyon....
The only thing that could make this day more reminiscent would be either Sephiroth or Genesis showing up....
((EPIC FORESHADOWING)) |
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Post by Sephiroth on Jan 22, 2011 20:00:16 GMT -5
.:Angel of Darkness:. [/color][/u] Shall I give you Despair? The Lifestream... It ran deep within the planet, silent, unkown by many. Bright strings of color, focused mostly on greens and blues, glowed in the surrounding darkness; flowing in every direction. Life came from here, and always returned when its time on the planet was up. It was peaceful, and no sound could be heard. Transparent and unseen spirits wandered the silent trails of light.
One figure, taller than most, was much more solid. He walked quickly and with purpose, soon leaving the main area of the Lifestream. He headed along an almost deserted path. The lights beneath his feet began moving much more rapidly; alomost agitated, every few feet; as if it were headed towards a waterfall.
The lights reflected an image of the 6.2 ft tall man. Clad entirly in black, he was hard to see. He wore black pants with knee-high boots. Two black strips of leather crossed his bare chest. An ankle-length black overcoat fluttered lightly with his pace. A long, thick strand of light spiraled around his head, reflecting a handsome, yet serious and cruel, face with unaturally blue eyes; eyes infused with Mako Energy. The light strand was broken when a single, large, black, feathered wing swept through it; a right wing.
The man continued walking, and the lights beneath his feet moved still more quickly. Suddenly, he stopped, a looked up at a pillar of light which had just emerged from the darkness. He was alone, as this area in the Lifestream was well hidden; therefore, deserted. His long, silver hair which fell past his waist, fluttered in a nonexistant breeze. A female voice echoed through the darkness, "So, you have found a way, Sephiroth?" The voice had a slight hiss to it, and it seemed to radiate evil, a lust for revenge.
The man, Sephiroth, replied in a low voice, "Yes, I have, Mother. This is one of the few places where the Lifestream rises to the planet's surface. I can go up from here."
"Very good. I want you to finish what I started. Try not to fail, again." The voice, whom Sephiroth called 'Mother', replied.
Sephiroth nodded, and the voice of his mother faded. His eyes rose to the pillar of light. It was made up of thousands of strings of Lifestream. He started forward, and soon, he stood before it. Spreading his wing, the monster rose into the air. He looked at the pillar a moment longer, then plunged into it.
Sephiroth was surrounded by green and blue lights, and felt himself rising quickly, carried by the upward current. Suddenly, he found himself at the bottom of a large pond of Lifestream. He flapped his wing, and rose to the surface. He reached the top, and broke through, barely making a splash or a sound. He felt the sun's warmth, and looked around at the small town of Mideel. The sunlight glinted coldly off the three plates of armor he wore on each shoulder. A ten foot long sword, a Masamune, was held in his left hand.
Sephiroth looked down at the town. People were starting to gather around the Lifestream pool, staring up at the strange, winged man hovering there. Then the screaming started as the citizens of Mideel began to recognize him. He heard people yelling "The Nightmare returning", as well as "The One-Winged Angel". He remembered those terms that reffered to him from his past time on the planet.
As the uproar grew, Sephiroth decided what to do. At the moment, he wanted to hunt down and destroy Cloud and his friends, but it was too soon. Plus, he didn't even know where they were. Then he remembered. Cosmo Canyon. Perhaps he would be able to catch up with what had happened while he was gone.
Sephiroth beat his wing, leaving a few black feathers behind, and left the terrified town. In a short while, he arrived at the ancient place. Alighting at the very top of the canyon, he hid himself in the shadows. Then he looked down into the canyon, beginning to seek his information. He didn't notice another one of his feathers had fallen,and was now on the canyon floor, next to the roaring fire.
But what the Nightmare did notice, was a familiar figure shifting down below. The denizens of Cosmo Canyon seemed to have retreated, leaving only one man. The man had a large, white feathered wing protruding from his left shoulder, not unlike the Nightmare's own. The sight left a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He remembered being the first to brand Angeal as a traitor, when the real traitor had been Genesis. While he couldn't care less about it now; he still had a slight, very unwelcome feeling of guilt boiling in his veins. So... The honor that Angeal had beaten into him all those years ago had never truly faded...
He straightened up, gazing down at Angeal with his own wing slightly unfurled. Right now, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with his old friend. The last thing he needed, was a feeling as pathetic as friendship, to cloud his judgment. But one thing kept him rooted to the spot high up on the cliff. Why was Angeal here? Obviously, he wasn't welcome, according to the ugly glares sent his way from the windows of homes. And Angeal appeared to be looking for something....
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Post by Angeal Hewley on Jan 22, 2011 20:51:30 GMT -5
There it was again, the feeling of the glares digging into his being, as if the people were trying to find something within him that was not truly there. Angeal could tell his wing was the thing that was drawing the attention, yet he bore it with extreme pride, just as his doctrine had remained throughout his life. He looked around at them smirking sending chills down all of their spines. However the children seemed to be enamored with the feathers and how large of a man he was, one even had a figure that seemed to be modeled after Angeal in his hand. He smiled then something hit him.....A F**KING ROCK?!?! He looked to the source of what threw it, a nasty looking monster with spikes growing out of every orifice. He was surrounded by a gang of creatures all that looked very much of the same.
They began to speak and Angeal kept a straight face as he realized that the people were looking at the monsters instead of him. ''Hey you, why'd ya got that sword if ya ain't usin it, Give it ta us kukukukuku'', the one that spoke chuckled obviously not knowing what he was getting himself into. He and his gang of idiots burst into laughter as one pulled a small dagger and the rest of them began taking position around Angeal. He looked at them all, his first fight on his home planet and he was not even going to use his sword.
One of them let out a loud cry before rushing Angeal from behind, big mistake, he should have at least kept himself a secret, then he had a greater chance of the following not happening:
Angeal thrust his elbow backward nailing the young monster right in the face causing him to double over in pain and the others lost their whimsical smiles and started to get a look of fear on their faces. This ironically put a look on Angeal's face. The rest of them rushed him at once and Angeal broke out into a violent burst of combinations sending their bodies all flying every which way. Once he was finished he could tell his only audience was not just the citizens that were present. But he did not want to try to place a finger on it should he upset the calm that came with his defeating the monsters.
He walked over to one and knelt beside it and smirked at the sight of his face all bloodied up. Then he turned his head to the boss and said ''You talk too much, just let the enemy come to you and then you will have the chance to protect your honor. But what sense of honor do you get from terrorizing these people and their children? The honor of my blade seems to be about right.'' With that Angeal pulled the Buster Sword and sent a powerful waved of energy which destroyed all of them.
Then he turned away nonchalantly as the plague seemed to be washed away by his blade. Then the feeling hit him again, a pair of eyes....eyes full of hatred, the eyes that he had felt peer into him a million times before. He looked around until he saw what looked like a black figure with something sprouting from his back in the same fashion to which his wing came out of his. Angeal took flight towards whatever it was...
This was not going to end well for someone... |
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Post by Sephiroth on Jan 23, 2011 12:52:38 GMT -5
.:Angel of Darkness:. [/color][/u] Shall I give you Despair? His attention remained focused of the man, still quite unsure of what to do. Memories of how they had met in this very place... He could remember that battle, though it was unclear now. But he could dig up an image of standing back to back with the Honor Man, attacking almost since as enemies approached. Deep down, he could feel something breaking, though he refused to admit it; even to himself. The slight longing for those days to return, buried by his insanity. Last thing he wanted was for these memories to distract from the now. He would never go back, he didn't want to go back. There was absolutely no forgiveness for the backstabbing Shin-ra...
Roars drew him out of his memories, malignant eyes narrowed as he stared at the monsters who had appeared. Why would beasts like that be attacking now anyway? There was nothing worth a beast's attention in Cosmo Canyon; as far as he knew. Yet here they were, and the battle began. The Nightmare malevolently watched the entire battle, finding that Angeal's attacks still had not changed from all those years ago... He was so predictable; but then again... Wasn't he himself predictable? It wasn't rocket science for one to figure out that he was almost always on the offensive, taking advantage of speed, strength, and the Masamune's extensive length.
It wasn't long before the last of the monsters fell. Of course, Angeal had to bring up the topic of honor in is last lecture for the enemy, before finishing them off. The ex-Hero's enhanced hearing allowed him to make out every word that was spoken. The alert cat-like eyes suddenly narrowed as Angeal took to the sky again, and flew straight at himself. A grimace distorted his smooth facial features, and a sudden glow erupted from his left hand. Seemingly from nothing, a glowing blade materialized; hilt held expertly in his left hand. His wings half unfurled as he leapt backward, raising the sword into a ready position. The tip followed Angeal's movement with deadly accuracy. The moment the man came too close, the sword would quickly block and counterattack as he planned his moves ahead. He hadn't come here to fight his old friend; but if that was what Angeal wanted, then that was what he would do.
He stood stock still, waiting for Angeal to get closer. He still had time to pull up out of his rapid approach. If he did so, then the One-Winged-Angel would also lower his own blade. But for now, he would assume that a duel was approaching. The slightly glowing blade of his narrow sword erupted with an unearthly purple glow, its embedded magic. Octaslash would soon be in motion; just as soon as the Winged Honor Man came within range... The greenish eyes narrowed in concentration...
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Post by Angeal Hewley on Jan 25, 2011 21:03:54 GMT -5
As the figure came into focus Angeal saw a long blade extended from the hand of who ever it was, immediately Angeal knew who it was. Nobody could brandish a blade that long and ominous but the man he had fought beside so many times before. Now came the slowing of his flight, nothing could prepare him for this moment in time. He came to a halt, and floated there as the air flew in between the two of them. Dry air seemed to be the only thing moving and Angeal looked on in anticipation of what the two would do now, they had not been on great terms the last time they met, and who was to say anything was reconciled between them. The howl of the wind was doing the only speaking for them at the moment, until Angeal decided it was time to break the silence.
''Long time no see, last time I saw you we were on the wrong side of the life stream'', he said floating over Sephiroth's head and landing so that their backs faced each other. As he waited for Sephiroth to respond he wondered just how much things had changed between them if at all. Angeal knew this could be his last day alive depending on Sephiroth's disposition, but regardless, nothing would forestall Angeal's return to Fang, if he could help it.
His eyes narrowed as all SOLDIER did and he tried to see Sephiroth through his peripheral vision, all he saw was a glare projected off the blade of masamune. ''Never pictured meeting you again in this life my friend'', he said smirking to himself, he knew revealing his focus to Sephiroth at this moment would end in someone's blood spilling. Neither wanted that at this point in time. |
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Post by Sephiroth on Jan 27, 2011 16:10:02 GMT -5
.:Angel of Darkness:. [/color][/u] Shall I give you Despair?
His surge of battle preparation was gone as quickly as it had come. Angeal had landed behind him, and didn't seem to be in an offensive mood. He hadn't swung his Buster Sword yet, so neither would the Nightmare. He didn't turn around to speak to his old friend face to face, though. The no longer glowing Masamune shifted slightly, and vanished; back into its state of nothingness when not in use. "Same here, Angeal. When exactly did you come back from the Lifestream?" He may have put away his own weapon, but it would take only a split second to call it back if necessary. The ex-Hero was holding himself stiffly, prepared to spin around and meet Angeal's sword with the Masamune; but he still didn't feel like battling the man.
He settled for merely staring out over the canyon, feeling a chilly wind pick up. Of course, he didn't feel the cold; but he could feel the air shifting around him. He felt.. Only so much these days... Since his most recent defeat at Cloud's hands, he had noticed that he felt less things. And he still didn't know why. Was he becoming like, some feeling-less beast? true, he ignored his mental feelings, but physical feeling; the sense of touch, seemed to be slowly fading. And he welcomed it. If empty cold was all that enveloped his heart in the near future, then he would be quite pleased. He wouldn't feel swords passing along his flesh, or bullets meeting his not-so-human body. But right now, those thoughts were reserved for the future. He needed to focus on the now...
After all, he had a very possible battle opponent directly behind him. A moment of silence passed as the wind increased, and the silver hair flashed in the sunlight as it blew about. "So what brings you to Cosmo Canyon?" he asked in a soft voice.
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Post by Angeal Hewley on Jan 29, 2011 1:23:01 GMT -5
No thoughts of the past filled his head anymore, the tempest of mixed feelings had calmed itself and now seemed to leave Angeal's mind in a state of tranquility. Nobody wanted blood, and trust, if one of them wanted blood, it would be spilled one way or another, of this Angeal was certain. No telling who's it would be though. Angeal knew he would probably not be able to match Sephiroth on skill alone, but nobody had seen the two battle, seeing as the only time they did Genesis went off onto a tangent of wanting to be Sephiroth and they were cut short. Now that he thought about it Genesis was really immature for his stature in the eyes of the younger members. Always seemed to have grievances about something, in fact the way Angeal remembered him was as a bit of a rebellious 1st class. And who mind you would complain about being at the top of the latter? Genesis Rhapados...
The sand being displaced over the rocks caused a bit of grain to swirl about before shooting off over the side of Cosmo Canyon. ''Why here? Simple. Let a dog roam and he'll find his way home, or to the place he remembers fondest. And as you know, this is where we became the legends that we are, or maybe I should say monsters'', he said smirking and looking down at the sand, nobody knew the psychology behind SOLDIER, none of them had any sense of where home was besides the battle field.
''And as for when I came back from the lifestream, I don't know really. I just woke up on a different planet, on which I have no idea about the date system'', he said recollecting about Cocoon and almost dying there.
Then he snapped back here to his current situation with the both of them trying to grasp the situation. Angeal's wing stood out between them, the feathers dancing with the wing. They showed little signs of receding into his back as if they were participating in the conversation.
What now? The reunion of angels had begun, hopefully nobody would die here today. |
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Post by Sephiroth on Jan 29, 2011 14:36:35 GMT -5
.:Angel of Darkness:. [/color][/u] Shall I give you Despair?
What the hell... What was he doing? He was just standing here, practically back to back with his old friend, Angeal. But no... Not friends... Not anymore... He was far above and beyond such pitiful weaknesses as friends. But was it really a weakness? It was because of friends that Cloud had destroyed him; multiple times. But he, Sephiroth, was far too powerful. he didn't need friends, nor did he want them. Right now, he needed to move along with his business... But he had already forgotten what his business here was... Oh yeah...
"I came here for information. I sort of just came back to life, and I've got to catch up on what has happened in my absence. Do you have any information you can give me?" He finally turned to fully face Angeal, raising a gloved hand to push the man's white wing out of the way; now he could see Angeal face to face. "There is one piece of information you may find interesting, that I only just discovered as I flew over Midgar... Shin-ra is being rebuilt, 5 of the Mako Reactors are obviously functional again. The building itself is slowly returning to its former 'granduer'..." He spat that last word in disgust. He didn't know, nor did he care, if Angeal was fond of that company or not.
"So what are your plans now?" He asked simply, crossing his arms and leaning up against a large boulder.
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Post by Angeal Hewley on Jan 29, 2011 16:28:56 GMT -5
''No information to speak of on my part. I am just getting back to this plain myself. But I can tell you that there are these portal type things, that allow movement through dimensions. It could be ShinRa related'', he said then rested his hand on his neck craning it as if there was a crick in it. Angeal's eyes grew a bit when Sephiroth told him about the 'new' ShinRa, and with the destruction the first one caused with the private experimentation (Such as these two), AND the damage done to the earth he knew there would be problems.
Regardless this information was useful to Angeal, perhaps he would try to take them down, from the inside this time. He imagined that Sephiroth probably had the same bad taste in his mouth that Angeal did, perhaps his plans were similar. ''Eh, my plans have been all changed with this new information. ShinRa can not be allowed to do to the same to this world that they did the first time. And they're probably doing SOLDIER experiments, no doubt to replace the three of us. I'm going to try to stop them'', he said turning around on his heels and walking to the cliff where the reconstruction could be seen. It was ominous even in it's incomplete state. Sure enough it was being brought back to it's original state.
Suppose they did do experiments on the new SOLDIER recruits as they had done before, would they be more powerful than the original three were? Either way he had gotten the chance to show ShinRa what true honor was, this time around would be a lot different. |
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Post by Sephiroth on Jan 29, 2011 17:08:16 GMT -5
.:Angel of Darkness:. [/color][/u] Shall I give you Despair?
He stiffened as Angeal mentioned the portals. Well, he had certainly not know of any portals until now... If they were related to Shin-ra, then he would do something about it. But then Angeal showed interest in the rebuilt Shin-ra news... That brought an idea into his head. Wait, so Angeal was going to try to get in Shin-ra's way? That was interesting. But he himself had been planning to attack Shin-ra at some point, why not do with with an ally at his side?
He turned and followed Angeal to the edge of the cliff. "If you're going to stop it, then I'm coming as well. I was actually waiting for an opportunity to make things complicated for Shin-ra. If they really are experimenting on SOLDIER, then I can't allow that to happen." He stood next to Angeal, gazing at the distant mass of metal that was Midgar. His wings spread slightly, catching the light breeze. "Shall we go?"
This would be interesting... He was about to work with his old friend for the first in, he couldn't recall how long. Perhaps something would happen in this situation that would help him decide what to do next.
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Post by Angeal Hewley on Feb 4, 2011 1:31:45 GMT -5
Wait....what? Sephiroth wanted to work with Angeal, but then again his disdain for SOLDIER probably outweighed his disapproval of Angeal by a some large margin. Though skeptical at first, he was fine with working with an old friend, the extra fire power would be of great use. ''I would be honored to fight at your side once more, especially against these guys'', he said spreading his wings and stepping closer to the edge, preparing for flight. Angeal once again set his sights to the ominous building in the horizon, it was odious, disenchanting, and angering, all of these characteristics made Angeal want to destroy the place all the more. He was sure Sephiroth wanted the place to go down in flames as well, as the hate his heart was capable of had Angeal's trumped in spades.
Angeal set flight his eyes narrowed on the building he cut through the air like a knife through butter, however cliche that may be. It was almost poetic how somber his mood changed to be in such a short time, ''And so the two men you created will be your downfall'', he said. ''Sort of ironic don't you think?'', he asked nobody in particular, talking to himself really. He could finally have his on brand of revenge on ShinRa, his own angealic justice (get in, play on words HAH).
Divine-Inglorious intervention, two monsters, bringing justice of their own variety. Nobody would suffer the way they had and Angeal was sure of it, he would burn the place to the ground and scatter the ashes to the winds. Unfortunately he would have to kill a few SOLDIER who got in the way, the young souls who were in the same situations they had been in once. Brainwashed, cultivated minds.
But hey, gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet. |
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Post by Sephiroth on Feb 4, 2011 19:15:30 GMT -5
.:Angel of Darkness:. [/color][/u] Shall I give you Despair?
Honored? Of course Angeal would say that. But... Honored to fight by the Nightmare's side, instead of against him? That was new. He watched wordlessly as Angeal took flight, shortly following. The large black wing beat the air almost soundlessly, lifting his into the air as it caught an updraft. He was quickly gliding at Angeal's side, effortlessly gliding along. The wind on his face was sort of... Refreshing...
"Ironic? I guess so... Shin-ra was going to pay anyway eventually for everything the did to you and me; and yes... To Genesis..." He fell silent, lost in thought. Revenge had just been briefly thrown from his mind. He had a sudden feeling that a great destiny awaiting the three friends... But how long would it be before the destiny became clear?
He hurriedly shoved the thought away. He would think about it more later. Right now, he had a mission to carry out with Angeal; just like old times... The rift which had appeared between him and his old friends during that one duel in the training room... He suddenly harbored a longing for those relaxed, stress-less days to return... But Past could not be repeated. What was done, was done... Nothing more. So here he was, about to raid Shin-ra; again... this would be interesting...
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Post by Angeal Hewley on Feb 18, 2011 22:11:02 GMT -5
His mind was clear, he knew his mission, and he would complete it with extreme precision. Then Genesis came up, and Angeal's head was immediately flooded with thoughts of what he would do if he came across Genesis as he had come across Sephiroth. The out come would definitely be different, after all Genesis and Sephiroth both had different affects on Angeal as it were, and they both inspired different feelings. Sephiroth gave Angeal an air of uneasiness prior to the two joining each other to take down ShinRa. However Genesis inspired a feeling of dramatic irony, like he was predictable. All he would do is read Loveless and rant about how he wanted what Sephiroth had.
The time for worrying about that was not now though, Angeal shook the thoughts from his head and focused on the building they were approaching rapidly. His expression fell to nothingness, and he prepared for battle. He knew Sephiroth was ready, for he lived to fight, and so did Angeal.
Angeal landed in front of the towering building and immediately took his sword from his back before letting it hit the ground releasing sparks from the pavement. |
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