A Warm Welcome [Jamaila/Ashibo/Shichiro]

[Ayako Hikumi]

x x

-----

It had taken her a while to get used to her surroundings.

Upon waking up, Ayako had immediately realized that this was not home. When that thought had crossed her mind, she had searched for her pistols, which rested safely on her form. She had yet to encounter another being, human or otherwise, but it was always best to be prepared.

She had - poorly - set up a camp, somewhere that she could rest, seeing as she was alone right now, in a place unfamiliar to her. But where was she? That was the main question that was going through her head at the moment. Chocolate eyes absorbed the sight of the landscape; it was filled with cliffs, and grass grew on the ground, hinting that this place prospered with wildlife. Of course, places like these were also filled with fiends, which was why she was a little wary.

But, nothing had attacked her since her brief stay here, which was always a good sign.

Suddenly, though, she heard a squelching sound. Hands automatically on her twin pistols, Ayako turned around warily ... and regarded the four Flans already making their way towards her. Hastily, she shot the nearest Flan, which didn't appear to be completely affected by the fact that it had just been Attacked. Obviously, it was a foe weak against Magic. She waited for the ... things to make their move(s) as she contemplated what to do next.

-----

Ayako Hikumi

HealtH ~ PerfecT

AbilitieS ~ AttacK

DamagE ~ ModeratE

Flan #1

HealtH ~ NeaR PerfecT

Flan #2

HealtH ~ PerfecT

Flan #3

HealtH ~ PerfecT

Flan #4

HealtH ~ PerfecT

[Jamaila Collyns]

x x

-----

Where ... was she?

Nowhere in Cocoon, that was for sure. She was pretty sure that she'd recognize this place if she was in Cocoon. Turquoise eyes swept the place before she extracted her phone from her coat pocket and slid the screen, revealing the numerical keypad underneath, and also switching on the device at the same time. She then frowned. Figures - there was no reception.

Although, truth be told, she had no idea just who she wanted to call, anyway. Her parents were too busy worrying about themselves that Jamaila had to live with looking after herself. She mentally shrugged at the thought, though; she wasn't a kid, so fending for herself wasn't all that difficult, anyway.

Her ears then perked up at the sound of a fight. She heard gunfire and a sort of squelching sound. Eyebrows creased together, she ran forward and was then met with a woman against a group of ugly-looking fiends.

Only one conclusion then made its way into her mind:

'Nope, this is definitely not Cocoon.'

[/i] It could be Pulse, though, but ... Jamaila didn't want to think of it. To be standing on enemy territory ...

With her -Commando- Paradigm active, Jamaila then shouted out a "Hey there! You look like you could use some help!" before rushing towards the Flan nearest to her - the furthest away from the blonde now in combat alongside her - and unleashing an -Attack- followed by a -Blitz- at it.

That'd teach the freaky-looking jelly things to stop ganging up on women. [/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

-----

Jamaila Collyns

HP ;; p e r f e c t

DAMAGE ;; m o d e r a t e + m o d e r a t e = h e a v y

PARADIGM ;; c o m m a n d o

[Ashibo Zain]

x x

-----

After searching aimlessly, Ashibo was under the impression that he'd just teleported to another world.

Well, okay, he hadn't exactly teleported - there'd been a portal involved. Regardless, he was ... somewhere. Somewhere far away from home, definitely. Wherever he was now, he would have to find a way back to Cocoon. He didn't want to miss anything - what if his fellow PSICOM officers needed his help?

He hadn't been expecting to find a source of company here, so the noises - and voice - he heard surprised him. It didn't sound like anyone he knew, but - hey - at least there was someone - or some people - here.

Rushing to the scene, he noticed two women in battle with a couple of Flans. The one wearing a shirt, he didn't know. But, the one with the trenchcoat ...

Why did she seem so familiar?

Paying that thought no mind, he pulled out his dagger from its resting spot and ran towards the Flan that the somewhat-familiar brunette had attacked. He still couldn't put a name to that person, though, so he didn't call her. When he was near enough, he attacked first with a {BLINDSIDE} and then channeled a ball of magic into his hand before thrusting it at the opponent {RUIN}.

He then briefly glanced towards the two females. "Hope you don't mind me jumping in." So far, it seemed that the two had things under control, but it had been a while since Ashibo had been able to fight like this.

He'd rather missed it.

-----

Ashibo Zain

CONDITION = {PERFECT}

ACTIVE PARADIGM = {COMMANDO}

ABILITIES USED:

Blindside + Ruin

DAMAGE DEALT = {MODERATE} + {MODERATE} = {HEAVY}

[Shichiro Date]

x x

-----

This place wasn't familiar.

He hadn't expected to fall into a portal that had transported him to Hyne-knows-where. No - all he'd wanted to do was meet up with his lackeys. Or his subordinates. Whatever.

His fingers twitched towards his blade. He wanted to stab something. This feeling of unease unsettled him. He hated being lost, literally and figuratively.

Sounds could be heard in the distance and Shichiro jogged towards them. He stopped when he noticed where the commotion was coming from. It seemed that some people had gotten embroiled in combat with a couple of ... things.

His grin increased in size. Well, those orange whatcha-ma-call-its could do with a bit of stabbing. It was time for him to get in there.

His eyes took in the forms of the three fighting individuals. Guy with golden armor? Unfamiliar. Girl with green trenchcoat? Unfamiliar. Girl with two guns? Unfam-

His eye - the other being covered by the eye-patch, of course - widened in realization. Ayako was here!

Although they weren't extremely close close, like she was with Masaru (although there was definitely some form of attraction there), Shichiro had worked with Ayako. And had been thoroughly impressed.

With not much thought of how his voice could attract the fiends, he shouted. "Hey, Ayako! It's been a while, huh?!" He couldn't help but feel a little relieved - at least he wasn't the only one in an unfamiliar land.

With his blade now out from its resting place, Shichiro lunged towards one of the monsters - the one that looked the weakest, anyway - before slashing it once on its midsection. It wasn't a grunt, but - hey - at least he was able to wield his blade again.

-----

Shichiro Date

CONDITION = {PERFECT}

ABILITY USED:

ATTACK

DAMAGE DEALT = {MODERATE}

[Ayako Hikumi]

x x

-----

Fortunately for Ayako, she wasn't the only one lost. She also wasn't the only one planning to fend off these Flans, and - for that - she was grateful.

As the female - who looked younger than her - entered the battle, Ayako smiled before shooting at the Flan that had already been subject to her bullets. Predictably, it didn't do as much damage as she had wanted it to. "Thanks."

The second person to intervene was a man, who looked around Ayako's age. His words caused Ayako's lips to resume pointing upwards. "Not at all." She then closed her eyes and willed herself to conjure up a bolt of electricity, which she then fired at the Flan she had been in combat with.

She mentally cringed as the thing screeched. Well, that was one way to make an impression. What was going to happen next?

A voice then called out to her. Dark eyebrows were pushed together - could that be-?

After she turned to regard the figure, her eyebrows then rose slightly. It is. Happiness risen slightly, she pulled her lips up into a half-smile. "Yeah, it has. It's too bad we had to reunite here." After this battle was over, there was some serious reminiscing to do.

-----

HP ~ Perfect



HP ~ Perfect



HP ~ Perfect



HP ~ Perfect


Flan #1

Health ~ Wounded
Ability ~ Attack
Target ~ Jamaila

Flan #2

Health ~ Perfect
Ability ~ Attack
Target ~ Ayako

Flan #3

Health ~ Perfect
Ability ~ Attack
Target ~ Shichiro

Flan #4

Health ~ Critical
Ability ~ Attack
Target ~ Ayako

[Jamaila Collyns]

x x

-----

Jamaila noticed the Flan slowly making its way towards her and - thank Eden for her fast feet - she spun away from its hands, the bottom of her trenchcoat twirling. She sent a ball of -Ruin- towards it. The stupid thing ought to know its place. It wasn't as if these guys had exactly been looking for a fight.

They were looking for a way out of here.

Another man joined the battle; apparently, he knew the other female and had called out for her. Which was a pretty stupid thing, in her opinion; the smart-looking woman was more interested in vanquishing these annoying fiends. And, besides, the aqua-eyed brunette didn't want to fend off some more fiends. After all, this place looked packed with wildlife; untamed and possibly dangerous wildlife, but, still ...

Sending another ball of -Ruin- at the Flan that had attacked her, Jamaila did her best to stay out of harm's way. She didn't want those icky hands of theirs anywhere near her coat.

Or anywhere near her entire form, for that matter.

-----

HP ;; p e r f e c t

DAMAGE ;; m o d e r a t e + m o d e r a t e = h e a v y

PARADIGM ;; c o m m a n d o

[Ashibo Zain]

x x

-----

The battle was still going on and Ashibo felt mildly irritated as the Flans continued to force themselves to fight. One of them looked far too worn out to be sticking around much longer.

And it was this Flan that he ran towards before unleashing an {ATTACK}.

The arrival of the other man, who knew the unfamiliar female from somewhere (from their home - world? - possibly), was an advantage. The more, the merrier, after all. Of course, he didn't admit this out loud - he wasn't the best at expressing his emotions. His facial expression was usually impassive.

And this was the same expression he wore as he turned to the trenchcoat-wearing, somewhat familiar-looking female. "Pardon me for asking, but... I assume you're acquainted with PSICOM?" A strange question to ask, when you were in the middle of the battle, but he felt that if he knew where she was from, he'd be able to place a name on that face. For now, the other two were not his primary concern - after the Flans, of course, he was planning to talk more with the brunette.

With two of the Flans sliding towards the other female, he felt his chivalrous side kick in and ran towards the one that was advancing nearer to her and hit it with another {ATTACK}; the other Flan seemed to be greatly weakened, so it would be no problem for her to finish it off quicker. Then again, she wasn't all that bad, considering ...

-----

CONDITION = {PERFECT}

ACTIVE PARADIGM = {COMMANDO}

ABILITIES USED:

Attack + Attack

DAMAGE DEALT = {MODERATE} + {MODERATE} = {HEAVY}

[Shichiro Date]

x x

-----

Shichiro chuckled cynically. "Hehe, yeah, too bad, huh?" Well, at least he'd be able to exterminate something today. He was a firm believer of how 'actions spoke louder than words', after all. Might as well show off some of those moves, particularly if there were strangers - who were pretty helpful, though - here.

Following the other man - who looked pretty tough, by the way - Shichiro applied a downward slash towards the Flan that was on its way to attack Ayako {ATTACK}. Hyne, he knew the girl could look after herself, but maybe it was just his habit of interfering. Or something. Then again, she was naive and had been known to get stabbed in the back (not literally, though.) Which was why he was a little protective of her. He justified his actions, though - Masaru wasn't the only hero.

He watched the Flan slowly slide(?) towards him and, with a grin, neatly dodged the fiend's Attack. With his feet sliding effortlessly on the ground, he quickly moved towards the Flan that had been victim to his previous slash attack and lunged his blade at its abdomen {ATTACK}. Although it didn't look like it had done much damage, he could sense the Flan's pain.

He didn't sympathize with it, though.

-----

CONDITION = {PERFECT}

ABILITIES USED:

ATTACK + ATTACK

DAMAGE DEALT = {MODERATE} + {MODERATE} = {HEAVY}

[Ayako Hikumi]

x x

-----

Thanks to the man whose name she had yet to find out - although she doubted she would be the one to ask for it - the opposing team were one comrade - or rather, Flan - short. Which made handling the rest of them that little bit more easier. Luckily, the people she was fighting alongside were pretty good; however, she wasn't surprised at Shichiro, as she had seen him in combat one too many times.

Particularly against Masaru (although that counted more as a friendly brawl as opposed to anything else.)

One of the Flans had been planning to Attack her and she hastily rolled away from its sticky hands. Although, there had been no need to do so; the two men in her party had apparently been caught under the assumption that she had needed help. She almost smiled. Men...

[/color]

Although, she was sure that Shichiro had done that unintentionally. The other man, who had something to do with PSICOM - whatever that was - might have been acting on his gentlemanly nature. Which was sweet. Something that Masaru was prone to doing every now and then.

With both guns raised at the enemy - the enemy that had been planning to hit her, to be precise - she unleashed fire. The Flan screeched in pain before hitting the ground and Ayako cringed mentally. What a way to leave a (metaphorical) mark. [/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

-----

HP ~ Perfect



HP ~ Perfect



HP ~ Perfect



HP ~ Perfect


Flan #1


Health ~ Critical
Ability ~ Attack
Target ~ Ayako

Flan #2

Health ~ KO

Flan #3

Health ~ Perfect
Ability ~ Attack
Target ~ Ayako

Flan #4

Health ~ KO

[Jamaila Collyns]

x x

-----

2 Flans down and the battle felt as if it was almost over. In a way, it was; Jamaila doubted that the remaining fiends would be able to avenge their comrades' deaths.

With her attention on the weakened Flan, Jamaila ran up to it and stabbed both her daggers through it {ATTACK}. She then pulled the daggers back and jumped away from its field of range. Fortunately, her agility was one of her strong points.

The jade green-eyed man's words surprised her; she turned to look at him. An idiotic thing to do, but the remaining Flans weren't interested in attacking her, thankfully. Before answering, she leaped upwards and twirled her entire body once, with her blades slashing downwards, the pressure on the other Flan's head {ATTACK}. Leaping back to stand beside the man that had asked her the question, she quickly nodded. "PSICOM? Um, yeah, I am, sorta." She then turned to look at him again - an annoying habit of hers. "Do you work for them?" If he did, then she felt a little bad: she should at least recognize him. Then again, the Guardian Corps and PSICOM weren't exactly the best of friends right now.

Technically, she wasn't exactly an official member of the Guardian Corps yet, but, still...

-----

HP ;; p e r f e c t

DAMAGE ;; m o d e r a t e + m o d e r a t e = h e a v y

PARADIGM ;; c o m m a n d o

[Ashibo Zain]

x x

-----

There was only one Flan remaining, which was a source of comfort. This battle, then, would be finishing very, very soon.

The remaining Flan was endured to suffer a lot of pain and Ashibo was the first one to give it to him. The first {ATTACK} was unleashed, with the blade almost bouncing off his opponent. With the brunette next to him, he felt her gaze on him. He didn't look back at her, though; just in case he ended up being caught off-guard, unaware. "Yeah, I'm actually a member of the PSICOM division stationed in Eden." He still had no idea of where he was, but it seemed far away from his hometown. Which unnerved him slightly. How was he supposed to go back home? The portal that had transported him here had seemingly disappeared.

But there was no point in thinking of that now. The last Flan was still there and Ashibo charged towards it before unleashing another {ATTACK}. Once this battle was over, then he'll consider his next course of action. And he'd do that with these guys if need be.

-----

CONDITION = {PERFECT}

ACTIVE PARADIGM = {COMMANDO}

ABILITIES USED:

Attack + Attack

DAMAGE DEALT = {MODERATE} + {MODERATE} = {HEAVY}

[Shichiro Date]

It was time for him to end this. He preferred to be the one to unleash the last move. And, besides, the other two seemed more engrossed in their conversation.

Not that Ayako would mind, either.

So, with the kill in mind, he first lunged at the last remaining Flan {ATTACK} before casting a {THUNDARA} to finish the fiend off. He grinned as the Flan collapsed.

He turned back, eyes on the others. "Well, that was fun." He was still grinning.

[Ayako Hikumi]

"Fun for you, I'm sure." She didn't bother questioning his idea of fun and, instead, half-smiled at him.

She then introduced herself to the two others. "Thanks for the help. I'm Ayako. And you are...?"

[Jamaila Collyns]

"Aah..." She nodded in confirmation. "That's cool. My dad works there, too."

She then raised her eyebrows at the other man. Well, that was one way to look at it...

She then turned to the female. "Oh, right - I'm Jamaila. It's nice to meet you."

[Ashibo Zain]

"I see. And your father is...?" Again with the vague sense of familiarity. Well, at least he'd remember her. Possibly. Although, why he was so curious, he didn't know.

The other man's comment wasn't acknowledged. At least, not outwardly. Instead, he turned to Ayako. "I'm Ashibo. It's a pleasure."

He then inspected the currently fiend-free area. "I don't suppose any of you know where we are...?"