Welcome to Gaia! ::

Amara said nothing in response, merely moving forward to her left to indicate her compliance, as silent as possible so as not to alert the nearest Malboro while off guard. Her saffron eyes took in the writhing, green body slick with slime only kilometers away, narrowing with extreme disgust at the near overwhelming stench of the creatures even a considerable distance away from their nest. The mist swirled from the Malboro's body in thick, tendril-like coils as she positioned herself before a large slope of earth, almost large enough to be called a "hill" save for the fact it was only big enough to conceal her frame rather than provide any space for climbing over.

She contemplated jumping forward immediately to battle the nearest monster, but Diablos's sharp hiss through her mind acted as a hook pulling itself through her insides, nearly physically impeding her from plunging stupidly forward.

And you wonder why I have been connected to you as long as you can remember

Don't you dare say that you've always been the logical one out of the both of us.

The Galbadian's thoughts were a sneer towards her smug Guardian Force; oftentimes she wished she could shut off his thoughts with some subconscious tool rather than sit and endure his taunts towards her reckless behavior. Of course James had been predisposed to think that Diablos was the dark, violent one; and who could blame him?

You're not nearly as violent as I am--after all, you claim it was a mistake, what you did.

It was...but I'm only human.

Even now, her palms began to sweat against the shaft of her glaive, her lips curled into an anxious snarl as she readied herself for combat with the Malboro so near her hidden figure. Amara savored fighting, merely because it seemed to be a natural part of her; she couldn't imagine an existence without the adrenaline-pumping fervor of violence merely because she had never experienced one.

"I'd better be able to take this thing," She muttered beneath her breath, cursing her own physical frailty as compared to her expertise in magics.

Amara was quick, and very skilled in manipulating drawn magic to the point of a prodigy; after all, that was the only reason she thought she had ever risen ranks as a SeeD, as well as...the pulling of a few strings, on the part of the Galbadian headmaster. She was physically adept, yes, but not so much as her fellow soldiers, and definitely not as much as her current comrades; when hit, she would be bruised, and bruised badly; when attacking, her glaive could do nothing compared to a heavy-hitting thundaga spell. The raven-haired girl knew her weakness, and so hoped that this Malboro was not a quick one, nor a particularly strong one; she wasn't sure how much she trusted her quick-thinking when part of her mind was so distracted by the constant, threatening presence of Rainer nearby.

Rainer was already heading right when Isaac directed her right. She barely even heard his words. The need to kill, the need for bloodshed, was pounding through her. At first, the feeling slightly unsettled Rainer. Then a malicious grin formed itself upon her face and Rainer welcomed the blood lust. Siren was growing frantic, increasing the volume of her calming song until it was so loud, Rainer feared others would be able to hear it. However, the blood lust would not be so easily abated.

The green mass of Malboro grew larger in the distance. A deep, horrible odor hit Rainer so hard she thought she would pass out. Her chest silently wracked with bouts of coughing. She paused for a moment to recover. The smell would be hard to get used to, but the power within her was already moving to please her, shutting off the smell for her. Rainer took a deep breath, not smelling anything, and continued on her way. She hefted the blade from hand to hand, deciding on how to attack the festering nest. Without paying attention to what she was doing, Rainer sheathed the blade, buckling it into place. Her instincts told her to put it away; it would provide little defense against the incorrigible creatures up ahead.

Suddenly, a huge shape appeared out of the mist. The green mist about Rainer's head hindered her sight, but from the size and general shape of the thing, Rainer knew it was a Malboro. Rainer immediately twisted around and ducked into a tight ball, rolling away to minimize the target. Splatters of green acid came after her, several hitting her arms. Rainer gasped in pain, coming out of her ball and rolling to a stop nearby.

Cure. She frantically thought. White sparks obligingly ran down her arms, soothing the pain and healing it somewhat. Rainer stood and faced the monster. Its tentacles whipped about its overlarge head, and its baleful eyes glared down at her. Rainer hit it with a Blind. Didn't work. So she threw a bolt of power at the behemoth. That worked. But only to enrage it further. The monster roared in pain as the sphere of green energy punched through it. Rainer must have missed any vital organs. Cursing, Rainer could only watch as its mouth opened wide and green mist worked its way out.

Bad Breath. She whimpered. The mist clung to her, dulling her senses and making her lose control. She fell over, poisoned, confused, and blinded. Rainer felt a tentacle wrap around her arm, but the fact didn't register.

"You're late, Bossman," Rainer mumbled deliriously. The tentacle pulled her nearer. "Why so rough? Just ask for the damned cheese and get this over with." The tentacle tightened. "Ow, b*****d. What are you doing? You have your t-shirt, now go away. No, you can't have my string. Earl belongs to me." A high pitched cackle emerged from Rainer's smiling mouth. Teeth bit down on her arm. Rainer shrieked, finally coming to her senses. She could barely see, but she jerked away anyways, pulling her arm from the teeth of the Malboro. The teeth drew along her arms, creating several deep gashes. Rainer cried out, the pain becoming intense. Cure, she screamed at herself. The gashes scabbed over, but that was the extent. CURE. The scabs fell away to reveal several long scars. Rainer groaned and stood well away from the creature. The poison gnawed at her from the inside. She could barely stand. Esuna. Immediately, the pain dropped away and so did the veil across her eyes.

"Okay," Rainer panted. "You're dead."

Ignoring the presence of the raven-haired SeeD somewhere off to the side, Rainer glared at the Malboro. It hissed in reply. Rainer's white-gold eyes narrowed more. The thing was just watching her, waiting for her next move. Sighing, Rainer decided to oblige it. She ignored the instinctual feeling to leave her blade sheathed and pulled it out into a defensive posture. The Malboro stirred and hissed, seeming to recognize the threat of a blade.

Rainer slowly approached it. The Malboro hissed and let out another Bad Breath. Crap. Rainer was engulfed by the horrible green mist. She coughed violently. Poison seeped through her, draining her energy. Her voice wouldn't come to her. Rainer was gripped by the iron fist of rage and fury. In her fury, she dimly realized she was in berserk mode. Rainer had no control of her actions. Her vision was a red haze, and she threw herself at the Malboro, slicing, pulling the trigger, stabbing and burning the damned thing. A tentacle whipped across her face, very nearly breaking her jaw. The taste of blood only spurred on her violent rage. Rainer hacked at the various tentacles. She mostly missed due to her rage and dizziness. Rainer could feel her strength seeping out of her; the poison was taking its toll. Rainer plowed on, regardless. Her blade caught in the Malboro's maw, slicing its tongue and mouth. It shrieked in anger and pain, expelling a copious amount of acid on Rainer. The acid burned at Rainer, causing her to jerk back away from the monster. Her blade fell to the ground. She crumpled into a heap. The poison, added to the pain of the acid, was crippling her. Sighing, Rainer felt the rage slip away. Now maybe she could heal herself. Opening her mouth, Rainer realized she was still silenced.

The power surged throughout Rainer's body, urging the poison out of Rainer. Just as the Malboro moved to crush Rainer's head, she rolled over, vomiting out the poison. She choked and could taste the bile. Groaning, Rainer sat up. She was still weak, she was panting, but the poison was gone. Now, if she could only speak. Siren sang a war song, giving Rainer strength. Siren would be Rainer's voice. Rainer's mouth opened up, but her voice did not come out. Rather, it was Siren's battle song. The Malboro flinched back, holding up several tentacles. Without thinking, Rainer lashed out with her arm, sending huge bolts of lightning at the Malboro. The Thundaga spell hit the Malboro dead on, cutting it to ribbons. Rainer coughed out blood and bile, staring at the remains of the Malboro. Not a pretty sight.

She stood slowly, wobbling on her legs. Gasping and panting for breath, Rainer called her blade to her, sheathing it. Her voice still didn't work, but someone could help her with that. The Sorceress power subsided, leaving her to her own devices.

(We don't know when Maker is coming back.)

Isaac shot out of the mouth of a third Malboro, his vest wrapped around his head and his shirt torn up the middle. "My best shirt..." Isaac thought as the Malboro exploded, the box in Isaac's hands with a flap open. He bounced off the ground with one hand and landed on his feet. Someone was bound to notice he was taller, knives strapped to his feet to help injure the Malboro and keep himself out of the pooled saliva of the beast.

Looking around, made difficult by the heavy mist and odor, he saw Rainer was finished with her task, Amara was almost done but she looked tired. Sprinting from behind it he leapt to grab an eyestalk, slipping on the slime but staying on because of the eye. He twisted so his feet plowed the beast in the head, the knives impaling it somewhat. The Malboro shrieked as Isaac stabbed the eyes with spare knives.

"Keep it going," he thought jumping off, his hand aglow. "Thundaga." His hand dropped and so did the energy. A lightning bolt falling from the sky to shoot through the Malboro and rip it apart.

((Ah, there he is. Well, lucky I wasn't too impatient.))

Erec had a Firaga spell ready to go to hold off one of the Wendigo. However, strangely enough, the rear one broke off and headed away from him towards a hill. Erec took a moment to look in that direction and noticed a red-haired man slowly making his way down the hill.

'Doomtrain...' Cerberus said suddenly.

"What? Doomtrain, here?"

'Yes...that man quelled Doomtrain.' Erec had thought about it for a moment. There was one man he had heard of that had Doomtrain as a Guardian...he couldn't remember the name. He didn't have the time to think of it either as the Wendigo swung its meaty arm at his head. He quickly ducked it and jumped back to put some distance between him and the creature.

Firaga. A high concentration of fire flew from Erec's hand and blasted the creature head on. The Wendigo reeled back in pain, but amazingly stood its ground and howled noisily. "Hm...think it's pissed," Erec said to himself as he charged his opponent. With the Haste spells he had junctioned to his speed, it took less than a second for him to get within striking distance.

Before the Wendigo could react, Erec had already double-punched it in its stomach and sidestepped it. The Wendigo swung at air as Erec elbowed it in the side. It swung a fist at him a third time, but this one connected with Erec's side. With a loud grunt, Erec flew off, rotating in mid-air as he did, and hit the ground side-first. The very same side the Wendigo just pummeled him in, he noticed with a grimace.

'Be fortunate you junctioned those Protect spells,' Cerberus commented. The White SeeD mentally agreed with the Guardian, imagining how that impact with the ground and the hit might have shattered a rib instead of the slight bruising he had now.

"Yeah...still hurt like all hell though." Erec rose to his feet slowly, preparing another two spells for use. Looking at the Wendigo, he noticed that its normal yellow and black now had a slight tinge of red to it. "Berserk. Damn..." The now enraged Wendigo charged Erec, faster than it was before. Before it reached him, Erec focused on the magic it carried and managed to draw a few Berserk spells for later use. Then he had to quickly duck low and to the left to avoid the double-axe strike aimed at him.

Erec suddenly threw a snap kick at the Wendigo's knee, shifting it off-balance and sending it crashing to the ground. Zombie. With the utterance of the word, the Wendigo suddenly turned a green-purplish color which, along with the red, made the creature look like a child's finger paint drawing.

"That's his name! James Gunnar!" Erec suddenly blurted out, remembering the name of the man he saw on the hill.

'To coin your earlier phrase...are you serious?' To that, the SeeD mentally shrugged while preparing his second spell. Cura. Healing magic came from his hands and struck the Wendigo, which screeched in horror as the holy magic ended up burning its skin. Erec followed his spell off with a right hook, which connected to the side of the Wendigo's head. To his shock, his fist sunk straight into its head, effectively ending its life. As it crumpled to the ground, Erec immediately gagged at the sight of monster ichor on his fist and instantly wiped his hand on the grass.

"That...is...disgusting. Very disgusting," he muttered to himself as he tried to clean it off as best as he can.

'Stop being a baby.'

After Erec finally cleaned off his hand as best as he could, he stood up to greet the incoming SeeD, who seemingly dispatched his Wendigo much faster. As he began to speak, he was removing the junctioned magic and storing it for re-use.

"Zombie/Life combination, eh?" he asked as he noticed the complete lack of any remains, zombified or otherwise. "Flashy."

'You wish you had thought of it.'

'Not really, Cerberus. I have Life spells, but I like to save them from emergencies. Besides...I don't want to get lazy.' Aloud, he said, "Yessir, Mr. James Gunnar, my name is Erec. I can assume you know mostly everything there is to know about me, so I won't go into the whole song-and-dance with you. I'm here to help the SeeD team headed to Esthar. Why they're here, I'm not sure, but all I know is that I should offer any assistance." He pulled a Hi-Potion from an inside pocket of his vest and chugged it. It took a few moments, but the bruising on his side began to heal.

"So, now I ask you this: Why are you here?"

((YAYYYYY MAKER IS BACK!! heart Welcome baccckkkkk, Makerrr!!! heart ))

I have to end this now, before I let this b*****d injure me any further.

Amara frantically cast a Cura spell to regain her full strength, narrowing her eyes at the leering Malboro before her. A pair of bloodied eyes regarded her mockingly despite the gash along its head. She smirked in response, pulling her glaive before her and darting straight for its venomous body before it could act. A burst of acid flew towards her as she thrust the point of her glaive straight through the Malboro's already opened gash; the acid burnt at the fabric of her duster, its jaws snapping wildly in an effort to bite at her arms as she sank the curved blade through its head and pulled downwards with all her strength.

A sickly scream emanated from the Malboro's orifice as blood burst in a red deluge from its breaking skin, traces of brain splattering from its body as she sank it deeper in a downward arc. She was injuring it, and fatally so, but it was too slow; the girl gasped as the Malboro's remaining tentacles pounded forward to forcefully strike her gut, the rapid blow sending her backwards into the ground, her glaive still embedded into the Malboro's bloodied face.

The fallen SeeD was regaining her composure, pulling herself to her feet, yet the slithering hiss of the remaining tentacles as they bore down upon her like whips through the air caused her to panic. Pushing her body to the side, she managed to dodge two flailing blows yet a stray Malboro limb made contact with her stomach again, blowing the air forcefully from her lungs. Amara's eyes were streaked with tears of pain as the mist began to resurface from the Malboro's mouth.

"Flare!" She gasped, her eyes wide with urgency; a red burst of light struck the Malboro's body through as if it were pierced by a blade of fire, its body bursting into a miniature inferno.

The searing heat brought stray droplets of sweat to Amara's forehead; she gasped in deep gulps of air, holding her hand out towards the screaming Malboro as it grew black and shriveled by the flare spell. Her lips pursed together with concern before her glaive spun through the air and landed near her kneeling figure.

"Have to thank the doctor for that one..." She mumbled beneath her breath, wiping her brow and pulling herself shakily to her feet.

Any moment longer and I would have attacked.

I'm not letting you summon yourself again--not like before.

It's a technicality, isn't it? You had me in mind...

Amara scowled at the invasion of her thoughts, clinging to her glaive--which had gone mostly unmarred by the effects of the spell--as if it were a part of her. The battle had turned out unfavorably as she had wasted one of her only flare spells on a mere Malboro, something which she blamed on her lack of complete attention around Rainer's presence as well as rushing into battle after thinking the girl was defenseless.

Underestimation, as well as instinct, on your part.

It's not my fault the girl's a damned sorceress...or James, for that matter.

"Rank twenty-two at only eighteen? Impressive," Erec said with a whistle of approval. "I'll have to meet this Isaac character." He walked back to the Wendigo he killed and noticed a steel pipe lying nearby.

Always amazes me how they carry these things with no pockets, he thought as he picked it up and placed it in his pack. Dusting himself off, he walked back over to James. "Well, now...shall we head off to Esthar? If they're your students, they should have made it to Esthar by now or are on the way."