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year 5, quarter 3
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In the WEST end of town was a homely little shop. Although it had only recently become so homely. It was, and still is, a blacksmith's shop, but was also now home to the engineer, or Machinist, Rayne. She came to this world hungry and alone, wandering the streets as naught but a filthy beggar, and yet, when the blacksmith known as Birkin had happened on her, he saw something inside of her. He saw eyes that studied unlike any others before, that looked upon items and belongings, and saw within their worth and their machinations. He saw talent. And so, he had given her a home, and she in turn worked for him.
Rayne's brilliant mind was always active, always shifting about ideas for advancements, new projects, and ways to further enhance the low level of technology this world had available. Hell, it didn't even really have technology. But then, neither did Ivalice, and yet with the advancements of Goug, guns were brought into the world once again, new ways of delivering medicine to the sick created, and so on. Rayne's job as both an engineer and a blacksmith was a busy one, as she alone held within her mind the technical expertise and skill to bring technology into this world, too.
On one particularly busy day, or rather, a slow business day, Rayne spent hours inside of her workshop, located in the back-right half of the sizable shop behind an almost always closed wooden door. She sat at her desk, her blue coat hung on the chair she rested on, dirt white blacksmith apron lay on the floor beside her while she wore her customary white t-shirt and black, knee-padded combat trousers, eyes burning upon the sheet of perfectly laid out, flat white paper before her, and a pencil scribbling various notes in the bottom right corner with her right hand. In the middle of the paper was a design, of course, for an enhanced type of forge, utilizing myriad pulling mechanisms to control heat in a much more efficient way, as well as a system on the side that would even allow for water to be stored and utilized far more easily in the process, while completely separated from the heat.
Some commotion had been going on outside for a while, but Rayne hadn't brought her eyes away long enough to look out the window and notice. A knock at the door to her workshop later, and Rayne still didn't hear a thing. Her mind was afloat with notes, ideas, constant possibilities. Not only of the design she was working on, but of so many other things that she had lost herself in the work, as she so often had. "Rayne." Called a voice from the other side of the door, but still Rayne didn't notice. Her eyes blinked true enough, but only when the sting of dryness started to creep up on them.
"Rayne!" The voice called again, this time more urgently. Rayne's hand didn't cease its movement, and neither did her mind. Then, the doorknob twisted, the door was flung open, clunking against the wall at its back. A steady thump, as well as a soft footstep, crept up behind the blonde woman lost in thought. "Rayne!" Finally, she had been pulled from her thoughts and her notes, and spun her head around her to see the distraction. "Birkin?" Rayne curiously echoed, her emerald eyes scanning the elder man's form up and down. He wore the same type of dirty white blacksmith's apron that Rayne left on the floor beside her, but underneath it was a dusty grey tunic, and below those were his black breeches--As with all of his clothing, the right leg had been cut off from the pants so as not to hinder the movement of his steel stump, which took over the form of his right leg directly above where his knee would have been.
"Blast it, girl! I've been calling for you for 10 minutes!" Birkin spoke brashly to Rayne, though he was hardly angry at her. Rayne's eyes drew up to his face, glancing at the black, grey-frosted mustache that covered his top lip, grown down into the short beard that lined his jaw. The black hair on his head had started to thin, and much like his mustache and beard, was now lightly frosted with grey. "Sorry," Rayne muttered, blinking as she set her pencil down and wiped the weariness from her eyes, "What did you need?" Birkin sighed, shaking his head. "I need you to go into town and see what's going on..." He tapped the end of his steel-cased leg on the floor, "...I wouldn't make good time."
"Um," Rayne thought for a moment, turning her head forward for only an instant, glancing at the paper laid out over her desk only long enough to hesitate at the thought of leaving it, "S-Sure... I'll be back once I know the situation." Though truth be told, she had no idea anything was even happening at all! She wouldn't even know what to look for... Birkin nodded wordlessly as he turned and left her workshop, leaving the door open as he did. Rayne finally pushed herself up and out of her wooden, but feather-cushioned chair, grabbing the blue coat off the back while she was at it. Then, she brought her emerald gaze out to the city, only to see the sky turned black, yet knew that not that much time had passed. And then, even more shocking than that was a flash of red and orange, barely even seeable from this distance, rushed out from the sky and landed somewhere more East in town.
A monster attack? Rayne's hand shot instinctively to the pouch on her heavy black belt set to her most right, just being the holster where her Blue Queen always rested. She feared the worst, and though she had little desire to use the contents of that pouch, she feared she might have to if worst came to worst. With a resolved dip of her head, Rayne rushed out of her workshop, slamming the door closed behind her and belted out of the front door and into the streets. As she left, Birkin noted the odd urgency with which she left, but chalked it up to her desire to return fast and get back to work.
As Rayne rushed toward where she saw the flash, she could hear some kind of explosion, and then the sounds of battle howled out upon the streets, followed quickly by screams of terror as people rushed away from an attack. It is a monster! Her fears had been realized, but before Rayne could round one last corner and see the battle that was surely taking place, she heard a cry pierce her ears and the screams of the other panicked citizens that Rayne rushed between. A child cried out, as some type of explosion must have caused damage... Well, Rayne could only assume so, anyway. She instead chose to march through an alley, ducking out of the stream of frightened people, toward where she heard the scream. Then another large explosion hit, leveling the building between Rayne and the fight as well as the screaming child.
Rayne gave only a brief glance at the monster and the strange people engaging in battle. Instead, she moved to where the child's body had been flung. She wasn't in time... The boy was breathing his last breaths, pained and shallow, blood trickling from his mouth and eyes. "No, no... You're going to be okay..." Rayne's words came out a murmur, trying to comfort the lad, though tears welled in her eyes. Her hand reached for the pouch beside her Blue Queen, and snapped the heavy button open on it, then pulled the zipper underneath it open, and finally, pulled the false pocket out, revealing a beautiful stone, indigo colored and shaped like a crab's claw.
It was now or never.
She gripped the stone within her hand and called upon the Light within. "Please, save this boy... Please!" As tears slipped free from Rayne's eyes, a warm light began to flow from the stone... And though no voice followed, the wounds the young boy suffered closed, and his eyes had seen life once more. He breathed again in a heavy, sudden burst! Rayne didn't have time to celebrate the moment. She picked him up and set him on his feet, his blood lightly trickling upon her blue coat, and pushed at his back to force his first steps. "Run!" Rayne exclaimed! "Find somewhere to hide!" The boy looked back to nod, then rushed off in fear of the scene behind Rayne.
She turned then, to spot the strange warriors and monster battling once again, but decided again that it was neither her time nor her place to join the battle. People--innocents at that!--needed to be saved! She turned her gaze downward, to the bodies that lay strewn across the broken ground. Some still lived, though Rayne worried the number would be far too few. The first step was saving them, and so, she sprinted into action, careful to evade the sight of the monster and warriors as she scoured about the bodies, using the Stone of Cancer to heal their wounds, though each time she did, she could feel a slight ringing in her head, and with each act of mercy, the ringing got louder and louder...
Didn't quite make it into the big plot thread, but still want to feel like you're involved in that epic situation? Well step right up, because I have a(n) solution! Introducing: The background scene! Sure, we're not IN the fight, but saving lives offscreen is important too, ya know!
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Post by Celes Chere on Dec 21, 2015 9:56:35 GMT -6
[attr="class","oneword1"]
[attr="class","fromyou1"]@nobody
Messing with templates. xD
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
[attr="class","itsover"] The skies were dark over Torensten -- a sudden, stormy kind of black that swirled above the city and blotted out the sky. Celes could only stop and stare at the anomaly above her as she made her way through the outskirts of the city. In that moment, something clicked in her mind -- a freezing something that rose from her stomach to her prickling neck. The air buzzed with latent magical energy. It swarmed above the city in a great, foreboding cloud.
'The Light of Judgement.' The words came to her as naturally as breathing, but they were impossible. Not in this world of forests and cities which feared nothing. In this world, there was no Kefka. There were no gods, and they did not pass down mad and irrevocable judgment from on high. Yet, as Celes stared up at the swirling mass of darkness above her, she knew deep down that something terrible was about to happen.
She had seen this before.
The clouds slowed over the ruined settlement of Tzen. There was a stillness in the air, and then a kind of vibrant buzzing. The people looked up in frozen horror. Magic dried the air with a prickling heat and then...
Red lightning flashed through the sky in great crackles of power. Celes' breath stopped. It was here. It was happening again.
Then, suddenly, she was running.
Her boots hit the asphalt in heated clicks. The edges of her bracers rubbed hard against pumping arms and sharp wrist bones. There were people yelling now. Men and women scrambled past her in terrified swarms. This was just like before. Just like...
Light came in screaming bolts of heat and magic. It scorched through the air, through the clouds, until her vision was scorched with it. She put up a hand over her mouth -- coughing from the taste of ash and burnt flesh. There was a crash like fire and she stumbled back against its force. Helpless. They were all helpless as she steadied herself against a wall and waited for the end or death.
Celes had separated from Terra on their journey to Torensten. She had said that they would meet here, and yet, Celes had lagged behind. It hadn't been by much (surely no more than a day or so), yet that time could have separated them completely. Was Terra already evacuating the people here? Was she here at all? Why had they ever thought to separate?
'Terra...It's just been too much. I need time'
'I'm glad to see you. Really. I just...'
'Stay safe. I'll meet with you soon.'
Celes had turned her away. After all of this time. Just because she hadn't been able to handle her stories. Just because Terra had suggested what Celes had feared since the moment she'd woken in this place. That maybe none of it was real. That maybe Kefka had done something and now...
"Help me! Oh god, help me! My son, he's-!"
The crowd was denser now than before. They were too big a target to miss, and all of them pushed against each other like cattle. All around, there was screaming, running, and pained cries. Celes tried to push past them, but their strength was too much. She found her way to the side and pressed herself against a wall. "Go! Hurry!" she urged them, but most didn't need telling twice. As she edged her way forwards, she heard that cry again. "Help! Please, somebody!" Her eyes caught another who had dragged themselves form the chaos. It was an older woman, hunched over on the sidewalk. Her gray-streak hair caught in wiry tangles around the rim of her glasses. Her hands were stained with blood. Beneath her was a teenage boy, shaking and pale on the concrete. Dark blood oozed from a slash across his chest.
The woman looked up at Celes. Her eyes were a wide, cloudy green lined in crow's feet. "Help me," she said again, softer this time. Celes bit back her panic and stepped forward.
"Hold him still," she said. The woman stared at her without comprehension, but Celes just knelt beside them and put a hand on the boy for herself. He shook in rigorous convulsions until she pressed him hard against the ground.
Magic rose within her -- freezing, frigid power which flooded her blood like ice. She let it well there for a moment as she muttered her incantations and spells. It released with the calming lull of a single word: "Curaga." Her magic washed over the boy in healing waves of green and white. It seeped into open wounds and rejuvenated lost life. In less than half a minute, the boy had stopped shaking. In another half minute more, the wound had closed.
The woman stared at her son as though he had risen from the dead. When she looked at Celes again, her mouth was slightly agape. "What did you...?"
"I healed him. He should live, so long as both of you leave."
"I...How...?" The woman stuttered and then looked back at her son. She touched his face with shaking fingers. "That monster, it fell from the sky. It's-It's coming."
"Monster?" It was Celes' turn to stare. "What are you talking about?"
"It was huge. Flying. It looked like a demon. It came down and then..." The woman shuddered. "It's coming."
Celes frowned. A monster. It was only a monster. And yet, it had already caused this much destruction and panic. She stood. "Hurry. You'll want to evacuate," she said and then pushed on. If it was a monster, then she knew should rush ahead to stop it. And yet, for every step she took, she heard another cry for help. There were more bleeding innocents, more weeping children, and all of them too much for her to ignore. She kept her healing spells on the ready.
Ahead, she heard roars and the clashing of swords. The monster -- whatever it was -- seemed occupied, and yet, its victims funneled through the streets in floods of the injured and shaken. Their evacuation took top priority now when there was so much potential for devastation. Should the monster give chase, these people would need someone to defend them. Even as Celes let loose wave upon wave of magic, she never lost sight of the sky.
And she always kept one hand clenched tightly on her sword.
SORRY this post kinda died off at the end because im so tired i'm sorryyy
Living once and living twice, dirty dishes were still the worst.
Zack thumbed over the dirty water, finally selecting a plate to rise and scrub. He was meticulous with them, keeping each and every one spotless, rinsing them clean and setting them up to dry. He sighed, glancing out the window, praying that his process might go a bit faster. It was stuffy in the kitchen of the Inn, and while he’d never openly complain about any task that he was given, he couldn’t help but long for the fresh air that was so close, and yet seemed so far away.
Glowing, blue eyes torn themselves away from the lovely scenery of the outdoors. Instead, he focused back on the dirty water, grabbing another plate and beginning to scrub away. There was a particularly disgusting, stale .. something, stuck to the dish, and Zack scrubbed with more might, squinting at it, finally deeming it clean enough and dunked it into the rinse water. He shook his head and exhaled, longingly looking back out to the dark skies and --
Wait.
When the hell had it gotten dark out?
A loud crack of rumbling thunder shook the Inn, and the Soldier quickly grabbed and towel and jogged out to the front, opening the door and peeking out onto the street. Other people were following suit, filling the road, pointing towards the strange, red colored sky, hurriedly running back inside as strange lightning began to fall. He stood there alongside them for a moment, mouth agape, truly confused as to what could be happening.
And what was that in the distance? Some sort of monster in the sky?
Immediately, his body lurched forward, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. His blood was boiling hot in an instant, ready to throw himself into the fray, to play the hero and cut down the monster. Something his mind and body begged of him daily.
However, another loud crack of thunder and flash of red lightning changed everything. Behind him, he heard the sound of splintering wood and screaming. Zack turned his head, cursing as he saw that a powerful lightning strike had hit the top floor of the Inn -- strong enough to blast a hole into the roof and wall, to start a fire. Without another thought, he turned on heel and headed back into the Inn, yelling and banging on doors for people to run and get out.
The Soldier leapt over people coming down the stairs, practically throwing himself up to the top level. People were running, yelling in terror, dragging their things, dragging their children out of the Inn as quickly as they could. The air was beginning to fill with smoke as the fire spread across the old, dry wood, and Zack brought an arm up to meagerly block the smoke and ash that was quickly thickening. A few more steps and he’d arrived at the room where the lightning strike occurred, and his eyes scoured the burning floor for the man he knew had been staying there. Spotting him unconscious by the table, Zack moved in fast, grabbing the man’s limp form, throwing him over his shoulder, and making a bee-line back the way he came. As he did so he banged on doors, checked rooms if he could, all the while yelling to make sure that no one was left behind.
The evacuation had been quick, thankfully. By the time Zack made it outside there was already a large crowd of Inn-goers and his friend, the owner Ms. Harper. Her expression was grave, but seemed to lift as the Soldier jogged his way to them, handing the unconscious man from his shoulder to another. Thankfully, the Inn was situated closer to the edges of the city, where hordes of people were already running to.
“Everyone get out of town, find somewhere to hunker down!” he yelled over the building sounds of Chaos in the background, the wind, the claps of thunder the screams. They were quick to listen, following the droves of others with the same idea. Ms. Harper tugged Zack close for a moment, eyeing him over her glasses. She was oddly calm, for a woman watching everything she owned burn in the chaotic fire.
“I expect you’ll be running off into the city to help out.”
“Gee, you really know my type, huh?”
“Please Zack, be careful. Come find us when you’re done.”
Zack nodded, giving her a reassuring smile and a quick thumbs up, “Already planning on it.”
As Ms. Harper made her way away with the others, the Soldier sprinted off in a familiar path towards the more populated centers of town. He struggled through the crowds, of those fortunate enough to live far enough from the battle to escape quickly. His glowing eyes looked back to the sky, spotting the monster, ever closer but still in the distance, and saw warriors attacking it, hearing the beast’s roars and the clash of steel. Well, at least something was being done about the monster. And as much as Zack’s spirit cried for him to rush in and help them, something more was keeping his feet moving towards the sounds of pain and hysteria among the screams.
The scene he happened upon was brutal. Bodies strewn about, blood. White eyes corpses, mouths agape in silent screams. It was sickening, and his mind threatened to pull him back to a similar time -- the jungle, enemy troops splayed out, opened up by blades, blood dripping from their masks -- but he shook it away. Slowly, Zack made his way through the rubble and ruined street, checking pulses, moving pieces of concrete, until finally, he heard a sign of life close by.
A collapsed building. Muffled cries were barely making their way out of the rubble, trapped in what was once the basement. Zack quickly ran over and began chucking stone and wood aside, “Hang on, hang on!”
After some quick digging, he’d found their way out. He forced his hands and fingers under a long, heavy post that was once, easily, a support column. The Soldier squatted down, readied his arms, and began to lift with his legs. It was incredibly heavy, still attached to wall, covered in debris from the rest of the building. But, the super-human strength began to kick in, and Zack was able to lift the beam up and up, several feet, so that people could climb out. As the last person crawled out from the darkness, his trembling muscles gave in, and the support beam fell back to the earth with force. Zack took a moment to catch his breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead, waving his new batch of rescued civilians away, “Go.. You gotta run! Get out of here!”
Though his legs were a bit stressed from his heroics, Zack quickly pushed on. He moved a materia to its slot, a cure materia that hadn’t been used since he’d gotten there. He wasn’t even sure it would work, but as he came upon more injured, more dead, he knew he’d have to try.
As if there was any doubt that he would.
The Soldier kept a cautious eye on the sky as he moved forward, but the further along he moved, the less injured he noticed. Instead, there was only the haunting dead, those running to escape, and ahead .. a young woman? He saw the eerie glow of magic, followed by people getting up and running as she passed them by. Whoever she was, she was healing these people. It was then that he spotted her sword. Huh, another hero in the city, choosing to help the thousands of residents evacuate and get away before even more of them met a brutal, undeserved end.
Whatever the hell that monster was, it was no joke.
Zack quickly made his way up to the blonde haired young woman, barely having time to note her odd dress before he moved to focus his own curing spells to her other side.
“Hey!” he shouted over to her, serious, yet with enough of a good attitude in his voice to show that he was no threat. After all, saying that tensions were high would be an understatement, “Have you checked the buildings along here yet? There’s probably people still inside!”
He was just looking for a simple yes or no, so he knew to check them as he went along. Zack knew, people were likely to be hunkered down in their homes, attempting to wait it out. And then, they would be trapped, and die a much worse death than those whose bodies were strewn about.
And things were only gonna get worse by the minute.
I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.
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Death and destruction was all Rayne could see. All she could hear. All she could smell. At least, beyond the ringing, the burning, and the soul crushing pain she felt in her head and her chest as she abused the power of the Cancer Stone over and over. Her human form was not fit to wield the legendary power, but changing into Zeromus now would likely put the city further at risk, not save lives! And so, she had no choice but to channel the power of the 'God Stone' into her human body, using it as a catalyst to help--save--those her needed her so urgently now.
Even those whose life had recently expired were returned to fleeing condition at the light of Rayne's precious, powerful Zodiac Stone. Its ghostly light saved many lives as Rayne shifted through the rubble of the battle even as it raged on around her. But eventually, as blood trickled out of the corner of her eyes, droplets fell from her nose and her ears, she realized she'd begun pushing herself too hard... At this rate, she'd end up dying herself, without being able to help any more people. As Rayne stumbled upon a wounded child, she held her stone out once again, letting the indigo light shine once again, healing his broken leg. The boy cried out, clinging to Rayne. "Please don't leave me alone...!" The boy gripped to Rayne's arm tightly, wrapping both of his smaller limbs around her, tears rolling down his cheeks like a shower of rainwater.
The blonde Machinist nodded resolutely, barely managing to hear his cries over the unbearable ringing in her ears. She pulled the boy to his feet with as much strength as she could muster, clearly exhausted and in pain herself. With steps as quick as her throbbing limbs would allow, Rayne moved out of the dangerous area as quickly as she could, and spotted a few others trying to help the cause. Her emerald eyes lit up at the sight of them, curiosity flashing within the sharp oceans of color that surrounded her pupils.
She pushed the boy forth, spurring his small feet into quick motion, "Go now! You'll be safe!" The strain of pushing at his back caused Rayne to fall to her knees, gritting her teeth through the gentle flow of blood that flowed out from her mouth. But her seems still held, so there was yet more for her to do. She turned to face the two elders, eyes barely able to recognize their faces or features beyond tall swirls of black with spiky hair for one and subtle whirls of green and blonde for the other.
She could see the green blur using some sort of healing spell to help the injured, and as the Machinist forced herself back up to her feet, she addressed the both of them. "You- You use magic? Healing?" Her words came almost lost within the pain she felt, but she forced her mind to focus, squinting through the trickling tears of blood that came from those eyes which normally shined with almost peerless beauty.
"I-I can save the recently...dead, or critically injured..." Rayne sputtered her words, coughing faintly. She shot a hand to her side to brace for the pain that followed. "C-Can I redirect those with...less severe wounds to...you?" Rayne pushed her forearm into her eyes, wiping the blood from her eyes on the blue sleeve of her coat, and with a single, forceful push, cleared her throat of the blood that pooled up within it, only to spit it all out at once onto the cracked stone at her feet.
Poor Rayne, all alone! Boohoohoo! Anyway, I'll mark a part of this post with a linebreak. The stuff after that linebreak can take place after Celes gets her initial reactions with Zack out of the way, so as not to bog up that part with an abrupt threeway introduction.
Sorry for the late reply! Christmas things are busy.
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
[attr="class","itsover"] Celes was no stranger to death. She had seen it often -- both before the Catastrophe and especially after it. The Empire would have liked her to watch steely-eyed as innocents were slaughtered and think to herself, 'There's nothing I could have done.' It was Celes' heart that had gotten her into trouble. While she had never been troubled by sieges or battles or war, there was something about the death of civilians which had never settled right with her. She had risked everything so that she would not have to step in line with such tactics, and had unknowingly released something far, far worse.
What she knew now was something like this. The sounds were similar, as was the smell -- but the colors were different. Here was the screaming, those choked deathly cries, and the whimpering of shell-shocked survivors. There was the fire, the smothering smell of ash mixed with the rising tones of copper. But this place was dark, gray, and crowded with high-topped buildings and glass. The world she knew was more red than gray. It had settled into tones of rusty brown with yellowed grasses and earth scorched from on high. This was not her world, and yet...
"Help...Oh god..."
In that moment, it could have been identical.
"Stay still, I'm here to help." Celes clasped her hands together, brought another healing wave from the depths of her dormant magic, and cast them forward. "Curaga." It was not the first time she had used these spells, and she knew she could continue for quite some time. Still, the spell's power left her with an odd feeling of emptiness. Even her magic had its limits, and while she had not yet met them, she could already feel a heaviness in her arms and head. Celes had come closer to the source of destruction. She heard the roars of that beast louder than the cries of the dying. Not that there were many left who could make a sound.
"I'm...What are you?"
"It's magic. Just take it and be grateful."
The wounded man said nothing more. He was older -- maybe in his fifties -- with a hard-lined forehead and rough hands. This one wasn't bleeding, but had been burnt badly from his left foot up to his hip. Fire had burnt away his pant leg, and Celes watched as her magic worked its way past oozing red blisters. The skin mended, the damage repaired itself, and the man slowly rose to his feet. "I was -- there was a fire," he stuttered.
"I'd gathered that much," Celes said. The smell of smoke had intensified. Its heat rose in waves. "Get out of here while you still can. Hurry."
"That girl. That purple thing. It started throwing fire," the man said. Celes took a deep breath laden in debris and ash. Then she gave the man the kind of stern look she'd once reserved for disobedient soldiers.
"Just go," she said. The man winced, but left her without hesitation. Perhaps he feared that she would start spewing fire as well -- but no. Her stomach had filled with ice.
Purple girl? Did he mean Terra?
"Hey!"
Celes blinked in surprise and turned to see someone approaching her. It was a tall someone with jet black hair and muscles bulging from a kind of sleeveless turtleneck. He had an air of professionalism about him as he barreled past corpses and ruined buildings, eyes only for her as he kept one hand on his sword. Celes peered past his shoulder at that sword -- now firmly attached to his back by some kind of strapping mechanism. It must have been at least five feet long and looked to weigh about two hundred pounds. She found her eyes widening despite herself.
He didn't seem bothered by her staring, however. In fact, his voice was almost friendly as approached her. His hand glowed with a green power and then shot off a stream of light towards a fallen woman who was not yet dead. “Have you checked the buildings along here yet? There’s probably people still inside!”
Celes stared at him. "Was that magic?" she said, but then stopped herself. The man had asked her a question, and an important one at that. She shook her head. "They're unstable. With the damage they've taken, they could fall at any minute, and a fire's coming." Celes paused. That had been a fine excuse while the injured still lined the streets, but when she said it like that... "Someone needs to get them out of the way before that happens." Celes looked at the odd man and saw something she'd gone a long time without. His strange eyes glowed with determination and a kind of heroism that had been nearly extinguished with the Catastrophe. Standing here with a well-muscled man, about to go running into a burning building? She'd done this before.
Did the man remind her of Sabin? Perhaps a little on first glance, but she had the feeling that this man was smarter if nothing else. He moved with the same, stubborn good will.
"I'll go," Celes said. "If you want to come with me, then fine. It'll be safer together. But if the fire spreads then we'll need to leave. The smoke will kill us before the heat."
It was then, as Celes was about to throw herself into danger again, that she was stopped by a voice. "You- You use magic? Healing?"
Celes turned her head to see a woman -- blonde with a blue jacket and long pants. She was covered in dust, debris, and ash. Celes tried to get a better look at her face, and then froze. Blood trickled from the woman's mouth and her streaming eyes were only half open. She staggered as though she might fall.
"I-I can save the recently...dead, or critically injured..." the woman gasped, "C-Can I redirect those with...less severe wounds to...you?"
Celes' eyes widened. "If you push yourself any farther, you'll likely die!" she said. She excused the part about "saving the recently dead" as the ramblings of the injured or perhaps a misnomer. Celes herself knew spells of revival, after all. But nothing could save the dead. "You need help. Wait..." Celes clasped her hands together and again brought forward the power within her. "Curaga!" Celes cast the magic towards the woman. Once again, she felt that wave of fatigue to add to all the others. Celes grit her teeth and kept herself steady. There was still work to do, and she had handled far worse than this.
"You should get out of here. If that monster attacks, then you'll be defenseless like this. I don't know what you can do, but it won't help anyone if you kill yourself." Celes looked back to the black-haired man. "Are you ready?" she said. Celes' heart pounded ice, and she placed a hand on her sword to steady herself. "We don't have much time before those buildings collapse."
GUYS PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANYTHING NEEDS TO BE CHANGED!! Neither of you were online so I just. Wrote xD BUT PLEASE LET ME KNOW OKAY
Zack hardly noticed the young woman’s stare. Perhaps, in another time, in another place, he would have been all about it. However, this was a deadly serious situation they were all stuck in together, and such thoughts were nonexistent in his mind.
All there was, was a professional Soldier, doing his civic duty to help others.
"They're unstable. With the damage they've taken, they could fall at any minute, and a fire's coming." "Someone needs to get them out of the way before that happens."
The Soldier nodded, having ignored her first comment about magic. She was using magic too, wasn’t she? But, whatever methods they were using weren’t important. What was important was saving as many people as they could. After all, they were much too late for some others. His glowing eyes peered around for a moment, assuring that everyone who was still alive in their immediate area had been healed and gone. It appeared to be as such, as he only caught sight of stiff bodies, bloodied beyond recognition. Without an entire army to respond to such a disastrous situation, Zack wasn’t entirely sure how much they could accomplish.
But, a little bit was better than none.
Zack took a mere moment to swap his materia around, making sure that he had ice magic to use on the incoming fire, if need be. It wouldn’t help much, but if it could choke out enough flames to let him reach anyone who needed help, that would be enough. He nodded to Celes, having locked the glowing, green materia in place, “We’ll go together. We can cover more ground and help each other out, if anything happens.”
As the Soldier turned on heel to begin running towards the line of collapsing buildings, his progress was immediately halted as another young woman approached them. She looked way worse for the wear, covered in blood and soot, blood dripping from her mouth, blinking down from her eyes. For a moment he was stunned, wondering how she was even speaking. He knew well the feeling of blood in your lungs, your very life dripping out of your open wounds. What was strange was that she didn’t seem to have many visible wounds aside from what you’d normally expect from someone fleeing a town. Had she been hit with something? He wasn’t sure, but Zack was glad that the other young woman had reacted before he could.
The young woman with the sword used powerful magic to heal the young lady that had stumbled up to them. It was odd, though, didn’t see any materia on her … Well, something he’d ask about if they both managed to get out of this alive. He let the magic woman say her piece, while watching the young lady in the blue coat in the meantime. His blue eyes studied her, surely coming off more serious than he initially intended. It’s what he saw there, that captivated him for a moment. A young lady, doing whatever she could to help people … She’d clearly been hurt. She had the right intentions, but it seemed she’d been going about it the wrong way, possibly.
Too much energy, not thinking things through. Sounded familiar enough.
"Are you ready? We don't have much time before those buildings collapse."
“Yeah, give me two seconds,” Zack moved forward quickly, bending down and putting his gloved hands on the young lady’s shoulders, trying to get her to focus on him for just a moment.
He gave her a small, warm smile, “Hey, whatever you’ve been doing here, you’ve been working hard. But if you want to help people, you have to keep yourself at 100% first. You won’t do them any good getting yourself killed. Take cover, heal up for a minute, and think of a way you can help these people escape that doesn’t come at your own expense. As soon as we get back, we’ll all three do what we can, alright?”
Zack put a gloved hand on top of the girl’s blonde head and gave her a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder, before standing back up and turning his attention back to the sword woman. He sincerely hoped that the young lady listened to his advice -- the last thing he wanted to do was pick her up off of the street as another victim. However, those eyes of hers, they shone with some sort of determination and power. A fighting spirit. He’d have to trust her for now, until he was able to help anyone trapped inside of the buildings quickly catching flame.
He nodded to Celes and started off, “If anything happens, either of you, my name is Zack. Call out, I’ll hear you.” The Soldier tapped on his ear, trying to imply that he would hear them over most anything. Superhuman hearing was just one advantage to having become a super soldier for, what turned out to be, one hell of an evil company. With that out of the way, he turned the gear to full speed, taking off quickly down the line of houses, to the first one that was still possible to enter.
As Zack approached the house, he held his hands out, activating the powerful materia equipped to his pauldron. As it gently glew, large chunks of ice appeared about the wild, spreading flame, falling and melting quickly. He repeated the process twice more, ignoring the sweat beads of exhaustion that dripped from his forehead. Powerful materia required a lot of energy, he couldn’t keep using it, but the spreading fire died down enough to buy them enough time, and to buy the nearby houses some more time as well. However, he and the sword woman would still be heading into an inferno -- there was simply no avoiding it.
People’s lives were on the line.
Zack reached the first house, and pulled the collar of his shirt up over his nose, just under his eyes. He knocked the door open with his shoulder, knowing full well the metal handle would have been much too hot. As the door easily gave way, he was greeted with a steady, black stream of smoke.
“Check the downstairs, I’ll hit the upper level!”
The Soldier set off quickly. The heat was whipping against his face like an unrelenting force, drying his eyes out almost instantly, licking at the sweat that coated his skin. The hot air made things appear to move strangely, and fire was beginning to flare on the wooden floors, eat into the wooden beams, coat doorways. The stairs were already well on their way to collapsing, and Zack wasted no time leaping up them, skipping huge swaths of steps at a time, feeling them crack under his weight. The black and grey smoke billowed, fighting its way into his lungs, even as he kept low to avoid it. He brought an arm up to shield his eyes as he moved quickly along the hall to the room at the end.
Zack kicked the door open, scanning the room. He jumped down to check under the small bed, a child’s bed, and as he saw nothing, he quickly pushed himself back up and started off to the next room.
If anyone was still left in this house, there was a good chance they were unconscious.
He moved to the next door on the upper level, knocking it open and scanning the smoke filled room. Over by the window was two small children, about five years old. Judging by all the finger smudges on the window, they’d been desperately trying to escape before the carbon monoxide choked them. Zack flew, like a hawk to the rabbit, grabbing the kids off of the burning hot floor and safely into his arms. Finally the smoke caught in his lungs, sending him into a coughing fit as he made his way back out to the burning hall. Cinders flew past his view as he clutched the two small bodies close to his own. Somewhere in the house, he heard the noise of something crunching and collapsing.
With smoke curdled in his lungs and arms full of small packages, Zack began to make his way out of this first trip. He stood at the top of the stairs a moment, judging the stability of the floor below. He started forward, leaping off of the top of the stairs and landing near the open door. Relief washed over him for the couple of seconds he stood there, that the floor held for him, and he ran out into the open air. The Soldier ran down the way a few paces, placing the children on the ground, under the cover of buildings that were, thankfully, still standing and not aflame. He took a quick moment to check their chest, moving only after he saw that they were both rising and falling.
His cure materia still locked in place, he quickly cast the spell on the two, before turning away and running back towards the burning building. Zack took as many gulps of fresh air as he could, coughing out the smog and smoke, before bringing his collar back over his nose and leaping back into the house. However, in the short time he’d been gone, the stairs had managed to collapse, making access to the upper level nearly impossible, without a jump materia at least.
The Soldier cursed. There were three rooms up there he hadn’t gotten to check yet.
Without a second thought he ran forward and jumped as high as he could, leaping over the molten rubble of what was once hollow stairs. His hands reached up, up grabbing the hot, unstable wood. He hissed in pain as the hot wood sizzled against his gloves, but pulled himself up easily. He shook his hands off, running to the first doorway he missed. Kicking it down, the Soldier immediately realized it was a no go. The entire room was ablaze.
The other two came up empty. He wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse.
Zack leapt back to the ground floor and then out the door once more, coughing and hacking as he did so, running a bare arm over his forehead. Now that he was out of the inferno, sweat began to leak down his forehead, his back, everywhere. Soot and ash were brushed over his form like an artist had intentionally put it there, but his gloved hands were definitely red and burned underneath.
But there was still work to be done, before he could address all that. Again, he pointed toward the worst of the front of the blaze, summoning the large shards of ice to cover it. But with each cast, energy was sapped away. “Damn,” he breathed, eyeing the next house, “We don’t have enough hands.”
What hands they had would just have to be good enough.
His glowing eyes scanned for a moment, trying to locate the sword woman who’d come along to help him out. Zack didn’t immediately see her, but he hadn’t heard her yell for help … For now, he’d have to assume she was holding her own. She seemed more than built for the part, that much was for sure.
The Soldier ran to the next house, breaking the door down and rushing inside. Again, the heat immediately attacked him and the smoke threatened to strangle him. But he continued to ignore it, as he made his way around, looking for others, for anyone.
And listening, for anything over the roar and crack of furious flames.
I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.
I figured that Celes was already dragged along so it didn't matter if I replied early. xD Also, I'm beginning to suspect that Celes couldn't comfort someone if her life depended no it.
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The man was kinder than she'd been -- at least in his tone. Even with everything collapsing around them, he still took the time to put a hand on this injured woman's shoulder and reassure her that she'd done well. He told her that she needed to take care of herself first. He said that she should take a break and that he'd come back for her later. He spoke it all with such conviction and such warmth that Celes had no doubts that the woman would do as he'd suggested. Despite the panic and the destruction, this man seemed to care about her in a way that Celes had rarely seen. He put a hand on the woman's head and gave her a small smile. Celes could only stare.
“If anything happens, either of you, my name is Zack. Call out, I’ll hear you.” The man gave them a weak grin and tapped at his own ear.
"I'm Celes," Celes said with a nod, but Zack was already leaving. She spared the wounded woman another glance before following him. They were running now, the both of them, full-speed down the street. The first few doorways had collapsed already (had something been thrown into them?), but Zack quickly found another. There was fire all around them now. Its light cast the gray clouds in orange flickers. The heat of it stun at the back of Celes neck, and she felt sweat drip down the back of her leotard. "It's coming too fast!" she tried to say, "We should go for the ones it hasn't reached yet!" But Zack had already brought forward a glowing hand. As it gathered power, Celes felt the air suddenly chill. The sensation was all too familiar, and she knew what was happening before she saw it. Heat drained from the fiery door. The air hardened and then turned to ice.
"Blizzaga..." Celes muttered. The man could use magic, though she hadn't the slightest idea how. She looked at him and frowned. "Let me. I have experience with magic," she said, but the man had already cooled the door sufficiently and burst through it with a single kick.
Smoke flooded out like water. It engulfed her in a sea of black, burning heat. Celes coughed heavily and brought the edge of her cape over her mouth. Her eyes were watering. “Check the downstairs, I’ll hit the upper level!”
"The upper-? That's the most dangerous! Smoke rises!" Celes gasped, but Zack was gone before her vision could clear. Celes coughed again, filled her lungs with as much clean air as she could, and then followed.
The house had been on fire for some time. The air buzzed with heat and smoke. Celes held her breath as she ducked low beneath the worst of it. Dark clouds swirled about her head, fogging her vision. She scurried along in the haze, trying to avoid the places where light came too strongly. "Hello?" she called, and then coughed again as hot ash filled her lungs. She needed to breathe. She needed to breathe and she needed out. Her head spun with vertigo. 'No! ...No. You'd promised you'd stay here with me!'
'Everyone's gone. Even Locke...'
Wood crashed to her right. Footsteps. Her ears were ringing.
'The world's slowly ebbing away...'
Ahead of her, there was something alive. It whined as her boots stumbled across hardwood tiles. A kitchen. Celes knelt lower to avoid the smoke. She blinked hard as the heat dried her eyes and saw it ahead of her -- something furry. She started towards it, but was halted by a growl. One of the cabinet doors was open. Inside, curled a ball of blonde fur. Celes bent down to her knees and tried to breathe the air there. Black eyes watched her cautiously.
"It's okay," she whispered. From here, she saw a long snout, floppy ears, and the apprehensive beat of a tail. A dog. "It's okay...I'm here to help." Celes crawled towards it, and it growled again, baring its teeth in warning. Celes stopped. If she got any closer, the dog would attack her.
Perhaps Terra could have comforted with it. Perhaps Gau could have convinced it to come along. But Celes had never been good with animals, and her head pulsed with carbon monoxide. Without any better ideas, Celes brought her hands together, quietly muttered a spell, and tossed her magic at it. "Sleep," she commanded, and it went still. Its head lowered to its paws, it gave one last growl, and then its eyes closed.
Above her, footsteps pounded. There was a heavy crash. Something had collapsed.
Celes grabbed the dog before she could think better of it. It was a full-sized golden retriever -- heavy and even worse as dead-weight. She dragged it out of the cabinet by its paws and then lifted it carefully. She couldn't see the kitchen anymore, just the dog and a blazing archway of fire. "Damn it..." Celes whispered and stood among the haze. She grit her teeth together, did her best not to breathe, and muttered a spell. With a raise of her hand, the heat dissipated, ice hardened around fire, and the doorway was clear. Celes bit her lip and ran. She couldn't breathe. If she breathed now, she'd die, but if she didn't soon...
Celes burst through the busted front door and collapsed onto her knees, dog still cradled in her arms. She gulped the air in desperate, shallow gasps. Air. Clean air. She let it flood through her body as she slowly lowered the dog to the ground.
Beside her were two children -- blackened and unconscious. Their chests rose in an uneasy rhythm. Still alive, but singed and desperately needing aid. Celes stared at them, and then back at the burning house.
And then realized that she'd gone through all of that for some stupid dog. She wanted to curse. "Zack? Zack!" Celes coughed again from the effort of her calls, and then tried to breathe. He was nowhere in sight, and that meant he must have gone back in. Whether he was inside the last building or a different one altogether, Celes couldn't tell. But she knew that they needed to get out of here -- and quickly. These houses were a lot cause. There were others that needed saving.
Celes crawled over to the children and placed a finger on their necks. Their pulses were regular -- they were only unconscious. Celes brought her hands together and muttered her curative spells. "Life," she cast, and her magic washed over them like a current. Blackened arms twitched. Hazy eyes opened. Celes looked at them and saw the sudden terror there. She must have looked like a witch with her tangled hair, ash-laden clothing, and hands streaming with magic. She didn't know what to tell them as they laid there, half-conscious and suffering from oxygen deprivation. For some reason, the first thing that she could think of was, "I saved your dog."
The children's eyes widened. They sat up and looked past her to see gray-smeared fur sprawled out, motionless, on the ground. One's eyes widened. The other let out a weak cry. "Toby, no!" The boy tried to get up, but was too weak and fell back to the ground, shaking. Celes looked between the boy and the dog, eyes slowly widening in horror.
"No, no! It's alive! I just...Damn it, wait." Celes slowly raised herself to her feet. Her legs were unsteady and her head pulsed with pain, but she managed to keep her balance. "It's...just sleeping. Really." Celes grit her teeth and stirred her magic again. "Esuna," she coughed and Toby the Dog stirred with a whine. "See?" Celes said, but the children had no more interest in her. They scrambled on their hands and knees towards the dog, wrapping their arms around it, grasping at its fur, crying. Celes stared at them for a moment before turning to eye the buildings. "Zack? Zack!" She called again. The fire was growing hotter, and it would be unsafe to stay any longer.
"Zack, get out here!" Celes glanced back at the children and tried to bite back cold panic at the idea of dealing with them herself. "Zack, we need to go!"
THIS POST IS TERRIBLE. i am so so so sorry. I tried to set it up best I could x__x I'll fix it tomorrow if you guys want
The heat was getting more suffocating by the second.
Zack moved along in the burning home, again with his collar pulled up, his dry eyes squinting through the smoke and ash. His skin felt aflame, both dry and soaking at the same time. The sounds of splintering wood and crackling fire filled his ears, drowning out the sounds of screams, of fighting, of everything going on outside. If anyone was left in this residence, they were surely unconscious by now. Still he ran, kicking doors open, checking closets, leaping to the smoldering floor to look under beds.
However, as he leapt back to his feet from checking the last of the bedrooms, the Soldier felt his head spin. He gasped for a breath, choking on the thick, black smoke that surrounded him. He wasn’t sure how or why he didn’t notice it, but it had gotten darker, much more difficult to see. His vision beginning to swim, Zack began to make his way back out of the home. He was crouching, feeling along the wall, unable to see clearly through the thick, black smoke.
He entered the building with the intention of saving lives, and now his own life was in jeopardy.
Just barely over the blaze of hell’s flames could Zack make out a woman’s voice, calling his name. He coughed again, his body shaking with the effort to take in oxygen. She was screaming for him, he had to get out--
Outside, there was the sound of a roar.
Quickly following it, was the sound of something crashing above him, as loud as an explosion. Zack cried out from unexpected pain, as burning, searing pieces of wood and metal collapsed around him. He fell to the ground as the weight of the structure began to fall in on him, trying to bury him, the heat and the smoke trying to suffocate him. The Soldier opened his mouth to call for help, but only welcomed in more ash and dust, sending him into another coughing fit. He squirmed and fought his way out of the burning pile of wood and metal, scrambling to try and make his way back to where the front door had once been.
Instead, Zack was faced with a caved in structure. Glass and splinters littered the area, what little he could see through the intense, black smoke, and the roof seemed to have collapsed. Around him the fire spread, like a demon, like a living creature. Fair backed up, tripping over his own feet and crashing to the floor as his vision spun and his body began to feel strangely cold.
No, no he knew what this was. He was losing consciousness.
Panic and dread filled Zack as he struggled to rise from the burning floor. Flame and cinder licked at his body, and even though the pain was intense, he could barely convince his heavy limbs to move.
“Dammit,” he gasped, lying on the floor, knowing full well that the house was doomed to collapse at any moment. Smoke filled his lungs, fire ate at his body, his vision swam with colors of brown, orange, yellow and white. Knowing that death was imminent, but that his body refused to move.
How familiar.
Zack could only hope that the girls, the kids, that everyone else had made it away without getting hurt.
I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.
Cure spells fell flat, pep talks and warnings unheeded. Body aching. Head throbbing. Vision red, blurry. Lungs of blood and burning.
Not long after electing to completely ignore the as-of-then-useless to Rayne rescuers, Rayne managed to make a step away after both the blurry figures rushed off, before her body simply gave in. She collapsed on the street, and for a brief time, her mind felt at ease. A warm though unfamiliar voice soothed her into her dreams, echoing within her mind like the bell of an angel. It whispered of peace and serenity, soothed her woes and worries that she had yet to do enough, promising that she had saved many lives already, and that it was good enough.
Despite the warm embrace of the unknown voice, something cold seemed to grasp at the lady Riser's mind. It was like her usual sleep, only it felt...harsher. Darker. Then the warm voice explained, death was beginning to set in for Rayne. She'd used so much of the godly power through her human form that it had decidedly begun to succumb. The energies were too strong, and much of the damage to her body would likely shorten her natural lifespan, and if she pushed herself much further, she would die a far more painful death than the peaceful one that came to her now.
"Zack? Zack!"
A strained voice pierced Rayne's sleeping mind through her ears, ever conscious of the waking world. She stirred, remembering the devastation that the city of Torensten was suffering through. Her body yet ached, and as he mind began to rise again, she could feel every bit of the pain. It was like the fires of the sun itself were lit beneath every inch of her skin, and even so much as breathing felt like it might cause her to pass out once again. But in that state, between sleeping and waking, she could still hear that warm voice, begging her to accept the mercy offered to her.
"Zack, we need to go!"
Once again, that same voice broke through the warm voice that tried so hard to soothe Rayne. Emerald eyes shot open to the world again, and a quick, drawn out breath flooded into Rayne's lungs, filled with dirt and ash. "Death is...not a choice I'll willingly take." Her blonde locks had fallen out of her ponytail at some point, strewn about the ground around her. Thankfully, her body seemed to recover somewhat while she was out. Her vision was almost clear again, and though every inch of her still ached, flesh searing with white hot pain, blood ceased flowing from her mouth, no longer forced up from her chest, and she felt her strength renewed. Well, to some extent, anyway.
I'll get all the rest I could ever need...when my time truly comes. Until then, there is much I must do.
Bringing her tired arms inward, Rayne meekly pushed herself up from the stone. Her arms shook from the strain, but they held up, even if through sheer willpower alone. Her legs felt heavy, but they shifted to their knees as she commanded, and slipped to their feet as she willed them to. With one final push, the Machinist had managed to return to her feet, though every part of her body begged her not to. She shakily glanced to where she thought she heard the screams while she was out, and saw buildings aflame. They hadn't been when Rayne was last awake, which meant she was out for quite some time, like as not.
Slipping her blood-stained blue coat off of her shoulders, Rayne quickly wrapped it around her right forearm- Working in a blacksmith's shop, she learned a few important lessons rather early. One of which was, of course, fire and heat resistant clothing. Her coat was no exception. But before she wrapped her hand in the fine material of her coat, she slipped her Stone of Cancer into the palm of it, and then moved on. Once it was fully situated, Rayne heavily stepped forward.
With her uncoated, free hand, she reached within one of the many pouches on her belt as she finally approached the door, which had been caved in at some point, covered now in debris and rubble. She plucked out a small silver-metal object from her belt, with only a single blue gem-like decoration on it. Using her teeth, she pulled a small slide open on one side, revealing a myriad of different colored wires on the inside, and once again using her teeth, she gripped tightly onto one particular green one, and ripped it out.
She reduced her Blizzard Bomb into a glorified snowball in doing so.
Using the hand covered in her heat resistant blue coat, Rayne punched at the point least likely to cause the entire section to give way, over and over and over again. Her strikes were weak, of course, as she held no great physical strength in her bones, nor any enhancements through magic or abnormal natural gifts. She was human. But like any human, Rayne could do great things if she put her mind to it--and certainly she did--as she eventually pierced the rubble with a hole large enough to throw the bomb through.
Giving the blue gem a deliberate tap, pressing her thumb to it hard enough that it pushed down, then clicked, she armed it, and then threw it into the burning house where the screams had come from. With a clink, it bounced upon the floor inside, and Rayne could hear it do so once more, before it erupted with its newly intended purpose. A cloud of snow erupted, not terribly forceful, but with great enough quantity that much of the fire inside would likely be extinguished, at least for long enough that the two other rescuers could get out...
Rayne wasn't done yet though. Even without flames, the debris was still hot, and so, she quickly started knocking it in at the top, breaking away what she could to try and free those trapped inside. As she managed to clear enough space for herself to get in, she saw something inside that caused her to instantly worry- The man who had spoken to her before, who had offered her rather...wise advice, now that she had collapsed and realized it was worth listening to, had fallen back and was on the brink of death, near as she could see.
Hidden by the coat wrapped around her arm, Rayne called upon the tiniest fraction of power from the Zodiac Stone carried within her right palm. The light shined, though it couldn't be seen through the fire-proof cover she had manufactured over it. She stepped back now, allowing the energy to channel into her hand, filling it with the Gravity-controlling power of Zeromus, the Condemner, and readying her body to withstand the rush of energy that would flood through her once released. I only need a little... Just enough to save him! A phrase Rayne had said often enough through this crisis. With one swift step forward again, toward the blocked door, Rayne launched one mighty punch with her right hand, striking the center of the rubble blocking the door, and with a release of the great power within her hand, sent it all flying about within- Though she hadn't simply knocked it away. In truth, she controlled the path of every piece, ensuring they flew away harmlessly, and didn't cause any damage to the already crumbling house, but tried to make it look as natural as possible to avoid suspicion.
Rayne rushed in, her knees sliding across the burnt, yet wet floor, hands shooting out to the sides of Zack's face. Her words came in a frenzied panic, hands trembling as she they held onto the older man's head, "Hey, don't die on me now, okay! I haven't gotten to thank you... But I can't carry you out!" At least, not without potentially killing herself with the power of the stone. She released his head, determined to her best to help him, and grabbed one of his hands to try and pull him to his feet. But, unfortunately, the damned sword hooked to his back was far too heavy for Rayne to even begin moving him and the weapon.
"Why do you even have a sword that big?! It's unwieldy!" Rayne screeched in oddly humored frustration.
Not as considerate as I normally would prefer, but here we are. Had to do something to size it up a bit. Auron - Celes Chere
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Bye-bye Buster Sword. I'm assuming he found it later in the wreckage. xD
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The fire grew stronger, the heat was unending, and still Zack was nowhere to be seen.
Celes stood in the middle of two rows of flame. Her lungs were already blackened and dry with heat, and the new atmosphere did her no favors. Smoke rose heavily through the air and swirled on hot eddies of molten ash. Celes coughed again, so dry that she was almost heaving. If she didn't leave now then she'd have a hard time of leaving at all. And yet, Zack had not answered.
Celes wondered if he was already dead.
The children were coughing now too. Celes glanced at them with their singed clothes, wiry hair, and ash-laden faces. They looked back with eyes like moons. Waking up surrounded in heat, smoke, and fire, it must have seemed like the pits of hell, yet they looked more shaken than afraid. Perhaps it was their oxygen-deprived delirium or just the shock of it all. They wound their fingers in the dog's fur. Maybe saving the damned thing hadn't been such a mistake after all.
"Can you walk?" Celes asked them. The two children stared at her uncomprehendingly. "Well, can you?" They jolted at the sharp look she gave them, and one slowly rose to his feet. He gave her a startled nod, and the other followed suit. "Good. I need you to get out of here. I don't care where you go, but you need to leave before-!"
There was a roar like the bellows of the earth from those flames. Celes grasped her sword and looked up in horror at that roar ('Not now -- anytime but now!'), but it wasn't a monster that greeted her. Celes' eyes widened. "Look out!"
The wreckage hit with the force of a meteor. Celes staggered against the sudden explosion of sound and debris. She raised a hand over her eyes as she was showered in pebbles, splinters, and ash. The flames gave a groan of approval and licked hungrily at fallen timber and wooden beams. "Hurry!" Celes grabbed a child blindly by the wrist and pulled it behind her. "You have to-!"
Celes was about to turn with the child, but something moved in the smoke. Celes eyed it briefly and then cursed beneath her breath. She saw straggled blonde hair and a short blue jacket. It was that woman -- the one from before. She was staggering into the flames.
Celes grabbed the other child and pushed them together, further away from the inferno. The dog growled and snapped at her, but she paid it no mind, and it only followed the children at their heels. "You need to go. Run away, as fast as you can from here. Hurry!" Celes looked deep into their wavering eyes and saw something click there. The taller one (a boy of maybe six) took the shorter one's hand. He nodded, and then coughed. Celes thought he said something, but couldn't hear over the groan of another fallen building.
"Go!" she said, and with another stern look, they were gone -- stumbling as fast as they could away from the fire with their dog close at hand. Celes wanted to watch them and make sure they made it out alright, but she had bigger problems to care for.
Most importantly, there was the matter of a certain woman with a death-wish. "What are you doing?" Celes tried to call out over the crackling of the flames, but ended up coughing. "Are you...Are you crazy?"
The woman almost certainly hadn't heard. She continued into the fire, jacket wrapped tightly around her, and some odd device held in her hand. As she approached the flames, she tinkered with that device, and then threw it heavily through a busted and fiery front door.
A few seconds passed and then the fallen house exploded in a field of snow.
"What the-?" Celes muttered, but whatever the woman had done seemed to have worked. For that brief length from wall to wall, the fire was extinguished in a burst of cold. Was that blizzaga? Had the woman just used magitechnology? But all questions would have to wait. Clearly the woman had seen something inside that Celes herself had missed. As the woman beat and pulled at the wreckage, Celes placed her cape around her mouth and stumbled into the smoke after her. Her vision was cloudy and her steps trembled a little with every step, but Celes came as quickly as she could -- eyes watering, throat scorching, and head swimming with heat.
At first, Celes didn't see what the woman had uncovered. He was so blackened with ash and smoke that Celes' eyes skipped over him from burnt wreckage to burnt wreckage without noticing what lied between. It was only when she noticed that the strange relic in the woman's hand was glowing did she follow that light away from her and into the fiery blackness that Celes noticed had a face. It also had a leather harness, an ash-smeared turtleneck, and cinder-streaked hair.
"Zack!" Celes gasped too sharply and was coughing again. The woman knelt by his side and touched gently at his face.
"Hey, don't die on me now, okay! I haven't gotten to thank you... But I can't carry you out!" The woman grabbed his hand and pulled desperately, but failed to so much as budge the fallen man. "Why do you even have a sword that big?! It's unwieldy!"
Celes came up behind her and took the man's over hand. "Let me help! You've done enough!" she said and then grounded her heels into the wreckage and heaved with everything she had. Zack shifted in the debris, but stopped as that sword caught a fallen beam. Celes glanced from beam to sword and then to Zack. She grit her teeth. "Hold him steady! I need to get him off that thing!"
She made certain the other woman had a grip on the man before ducking down to eye the point where Zack and the sword connected. There was something on his back strapped to the leather harness -- a magnet? Celes tried to force her hand between the sword and the harness, but it wouldn't budge. Whatever she had to do to release him, she couldn't manage it while her hands were trembling and her head swam with smoke. All around them, she heard the roaring of the flames. They were creeping in now, melting the snow, and inching towards them across glowing embers. "Ugh! We don't have time for this!" Celes grabbed for the harness itself and unbuckled the front. Two leather straps slid off his shoulders, taking pauldrons and sword with it. Celes pulled on his arms again, and managed to heave him into a sitting position before he slouched there and would move no more. Another two straps connected the sword to his waist. Celes gave a hiss through gritted teeth and unbuckled these as well. Without the support, Zack slumped forward, face-first into hot ash.
When Celes stood again, she found herself in a cloud of carbon monoxide. The world spun around her, and she tried to steady it. "Help me!" she said and then placed her hands beneath Zack's arms. She hoisted him the best that she could onto her shoulder and then began the slow, stumbling crawl out of burning wreckage laden with a man whose muscle mass might have rivaled Sabin. She managed with the woman's help until they'd dragged him away from the fire and down the street, just enough that Celes could gasp clean air.
Then her knees weakened and Celes was falling. She barely felt herself hit the pavement. There was a dull scrape of her hands, a weak throb against her back, and then her face was flat against asphalt. Celes hissed beneath her breath and tried to lift herself, but her vision was muddled, her muscles were weak, and there was a great weight over her, pressing her down. Celes felt skin against her neck and touched a hand at her side.
Zack had fallen on top of her. She gave a groan of frustration. "Get him off me! The fire! It's-!" Her throat gave a sharp crack and she was coughing again.
The fire was creeping closer. Whatever had caused it wasn't stopping, and it leaped from building to building quicker than she could follow. If they didn't move soon, then they'd die. Celes grit her teeth against the tremors of her lungs and forced her hands together. Magic came with a sudden chill inside of her. Her stomach churned in protest.
"Life!" She sputtered the spell, directing her magic towards the unconscious man. "Cure!" She was coughing again now. The use of magic wasn't helping her strength, and her vision muddled to darkness. "Cure! Cure! Cure!" The ground was spinning. Celes let her head drop against the street. "Please get up..." she muttered. Between the smoke and the fire and the magic, it was all too much. Her ears rang with a muffled fog.
