Bevelle

Why do you seem so familiar?

"I don't know...maybe it was the feeling of knowing I'm not alone is what comforted me." Azrael said with a smile, then petting the head of Lucas dragon,"What's its name?" Azrael asked Lucas without any hesitation, though as Liam approached, Azrael could already tell that Liam meant business. Azrael moved his hand from the dragons head slowly placing his hands in his lap. Watching as Laim approached him, there was something about Liam that Azrael couldn't put his finger on, he was like a stranger that he once knew, something that lingered in his dreams, watching? Willing? Warning, as every second passed by. Azraels heart beated as Liam came closer. For every step that Liam took, there was a swift kicking of the legs almost as though his legs were made just to swing gently.

"I fear we may be watched. And no, I don't mean that in a good way." Liam had spoken looking around, Azrael only watched him. The sun beamed off of Liam short black hair, though shadowed his long scar, that didn't frighten Azrael at all, though Azrael was interested in knowing what lyed behind this life long mark that held its secrets. Azrael watched as his green eyes moved through the distance into the crowd of people. His build was curious to Azrael, almost as if it was in slow motion, Liam looked back at Azrael, snapping him out of a trance like state,"I don't know exactly who, or why, but I recognized the traditional assassin garb on at least one of our so-called well wishers. Trust me, I would know. We may not have to worry if this Machina gets us up sometime soon, but just in case, be ready. Just try not to show any sign of realizing it. I don't want to provoke anything. Azreal, what do you make of this? You obviously noticed them first."

So he watched me?

"Well, um," Azrael started, fiddling with his fingers. His mind was elsewhere, though he regathered his thoughts the best he could,"I did see a few of them, 7 to be exact. I felt them, they do not mean us well, though I do not know if its us they are after, they could just be thieves looking for a quick steal." Azrael shrugged it off,"I don't want to make pessimistic assumptions without analyzing the situation better." Azrael smiled at Liam staring deep into his eyes.

Those eyes seem so familiar, or is it just the way that I look into them that captures me?

Lucas looked down at the boy. "His name is Keiji.." He said softly and then when Liam showed up he looked at him. "We'll be fine..Seven of them..six of us..If no one else can hack it I'll take the other one.." He said calmly, he felt no worry from and plain assassin's he'd fought them before. Nothing special about them. "They probably have some business deal with some less then patriotic citizen of Bevelle.." He said calmly, Assassins, he liked the idea of getting some training in early in this little tour. "If your really that worried Liam let's keep up guard...We'll make it through this, we're not ordinary and we're far from under trained." He said as he looked towards both Liam and Azrael, he laughed softly at Keiji. "Keiji says that we're in for a bumpy ride.." He said as he patted the Dragon on the head.

He didn't know wither to believe it or not, but right now they could all use some issue of calm. "Liam, you think they could have got on board with us..I didn't see anything and Keiji here couldn't feel any harmful will towards us nearby.." He said softly. He then looked down at his helm and twirled it alittle bit. His eyes returned to Liam. "If they are tailing us, how much time would we have before they caught up to us..and what would be the best plan to counter act them..?" He asked mostly to himself then to anyone else. He then thought about it harder, his head swam with ideas of what it could be. He knew they'd be fine though, they had someone with knowledge of the Assassin's but they also had those that ride the winds..The Dragoons. He smiled at that thought. "Liam What do you know of The assassin's other then their Garb..could they be wanting one of us.. or all..?" He asked turning to the male, without his helm Zell was right he looked almost identical to it, his eyes unblinking and his face solid steel with no emotion visible.

Liam looked down at the ground, slightly ashamed. "Well...it cold be any of us, or all of us, really. Most of the Guild will take a job for anybody, just for a bit of Gil. Or...and this is what I fear...one of the more honorable members of the Guild has sent them after me. You see, I once belonged to the Guild. It's where I learned my craft, especially my combat and subterfuge skills. But I left the Guild when I discovered what I was, and traveled here to Bevelle. Some of the higher ups probably weren't too pleased with me after that. If we discover that to be the case, I volunteer to allow you all to travel without me. I don't want to put Spira in danger because of my ego. I'll find a way to make sure they don't decide that you're worth their time, so you can all defeat Sin." Looking up, he got a glint in his eye. "Don't mistake me though. If it isn't me specifically that they're after, I'll not entertain delusions of grandeur, as in that case, me leaving would only make it harder.

Zell leaned against the railing of the ship as the parade continued slowly. He listened intently as the group was discussing the issue of the seven assassins. "Well...it cold be any of us, or all of us, really. Most of the Guild will take a job for anybody, just for a bit of Gil. Or...and this is what I fear...one of the more honorable members of the Guild has sent them after me." Liam explained. He continued his story and then said, "If we discover that to be the case, I volunteer to allow you all to travel without me. I don't want to put Spira in danger because of my ego. I'll find a way to make sure they don't decide that you're worth their time, so you can all defeat Sin."

"Oh, cut it out." Zell interjected. "Even if they were after you, it's not like we'd just let you go." He looked off into the crowd, with a bored look on his face. "Besides, who'd like to wager the odds of them being after me?" Zell said as he playfully tossed up and down his new metal toy. "There are a lot of guys here ticked off at me for cleaning them out when I got here. But who knows? Maybe they could even be after Lucas, the sole survivor of a warrior family. How about the grand-son of the great Wakka, Riley? Or maybe even Carina, there are those traditionalists who despise half humans. There could even be those after you, mister Azrael." He said, looking at him. "By the way, you'd be surprised what you could find out in this cities underground information network." He said with a smile. "The alleyways are full of rats full of information. Hope you don't mind, I was out a bit last night, and I got curious about my new 'friends'." He turned around and faced the crowd again. "Point is, we are all possible targets. Not just by Sin and the monsters of this world. Isn't that why lady luck brought us together?"

"Indeed!" boomed Lani. "Without you all, everyone's lives would drown in despair. You must stick together friends!" Zell was annoyed by this person slightly, but said nothing. "Now prepare yourselves, the parade is almost over, then we can proceed with the next step!" He then faced back towards the front.

Carina nodded as Azrael smiled at her,"Yeah, just slightly amazed," He had replied.
"I guess we all are." She assumed as she looked down at the children cheering shrilly,she thought she caught a glimpse and a swirl of a black cloak out of the corner of her eye.When she did a double-take,there was no sign to prove she had seen anything at all.Blinking a couple of times,she turned her attention to the guado who spoke in a loud voice that resonated with an air of such authority,it was hard for her to ignore what was being said.Not that she was trying to or anything,it was strange how she felt compelled to listen.As soon as an Al Bhed operated platform descended from the sky and floated above the ground,the rogue stepped after the other Aeon Wielders lightly,getting a few loud whistles from the men.She pulled out her cloak,draped it tightly around her and pulled the hood over her head, and snarling in disgust.She wasn't some piece of candy that strangers can drool over and being the only female made her feel worse.Carina waved at the crowd lightly,masking her true feelings as she stood in the centre of the platform.

Directing her attention to the many airships above,she pointed out that she liked the small blue one in particular,admiring the way it cut through the air like a hot blade through butter.Carina didn't really speak but just stared out at the colourful balloons in thought. I wonder if I'll able be ever to enjoy another sight like this.It's better than seeing a sea of sand back at Home. She sighed and turned back to the group,standing with her arms folded. Lucas looked to be more occupied with his dragon than the speech and not so long ago,a moogle flew up to Zell with something like a gift.Riley seemed to be examining the others just as she was.They are the strangers that I must be travelling with.. Carina contemplated with half the interest. By this point,she had completely zoned out into a world of her own thoughts of the parade as she saw Liam speak but didn't pick up on a lot,only the words, 'Watched,traditional, and garb.' Returning her gaze back to the stalls,Carina cringed as the loud shouting continued.It really was a big event but why wasn't she feeling as festive as they? Chuckling lightly as she saw a young girl by the age of seven wave at her,Carina pulled her cloak back and smiled.

As the discussion continued,Carina frowned at what Zell had said, "Well excuse me for being Al Bhed." She whined,pouting childishly before becoming serious, "Since we have the aeons on our side, wouldn't that make things a little more than fair for us?" The rogue then shook her head,feeling a little more disturbed than she let on. No,why would there be people trying to stop our progress? Don't they want to keep Spira safe like everyone else? "Leaving someone behind won't make a difference: they'll still chase after us. I know I am a rogue and all but I'll put that aside and say that as long as there's a reward involved...You get the point." I honestly hope it's not me...Now this is what I call depressing....

Once all the Aeon wielders were on the platform it moved slowly through the crowd through the streets of Bevelle, children waving, mothers crying. Though there was still no sign of the black hooded figures. Azrael watched with a smile on his youthful face with a small smile, trying to wave at everyone. Eventually they will be at the mouth of Bevelle where they would begin their travel alone, together in Spira. From time to time Azrael would look over at Liam, that would turn his smile into a childish, curious grin, then back to the crowd he would wave.

It seemed out of no where when the earth started to shake from under them, even though the platform that the Aeon Wielders were on where inches off the ground, it shook to. Azrael grabbed the rail quickly, for support. He looked out at the crowd of people, people begun to fall, glass from some of the building begun to fall. He gasped, he looked at who was under it. His eyes were fixated on a child, no older then 7 years old. He did not hesitate.

Azrael leaped from the rail, onto the shaking ground, keeping his balance as he ran to the crying child. He could hear his heart beat, racing, beating, pounding. He could feel or see nothing around him. The child looked up, though as she did, Azrael put his arm around her, bending over a little to get at her level. He stretched out his arm above him, and looked at the glass, blue sparks came from his hands, a long lightning chain emitted from his hand at the glass that was now only a yard away. It all blew up into tiny jewel pieces immediately. Azrael covered the child with his body, until all the glass fell. He looked at her,"Find shelter." He said softly, she just nodded and they both went their separate ways.

The earthquake was over, though a new threat seemed to have struck. everyone was running away from the mouth of Bevelle. Azrael frowned as he moved through the passing people. The the corner of his eyes he could see people with robes watching him, though when he turned to look. No one was there. He came to the end of the large crowd. He covered his gasping mouth with one of his hands at what he saw.

Sin Spawns...

As the ground shook around the Aeon Wielders, Liam allowed instinct to kick in, taking over his actions. He leapt over the railing of their slightly floating platform, and by the time he landed on the ground again, he had already grabbed and strung his bow. He looked around quickly, looking for a threat. As buildings fell, he he saw Azrael rescue a small child. Nodding in satisfaction that the civilians were safe from that at least, he looked in the direction from which everybody was running. He rushed forward, eyes widening, to stand beside Azrael. Looking down on the boy, worry in his eys, he shouted for the civilians to hear him. "Everybody get back to the conclave of the New Yevon! Let us handle this!" He looked at Azrael once more, a strange feeling stirring in his gut. For some reason, he felt like he had to protect him. He didn't quite understand it. But he knew it to be true. Lowering his voice, he said so that only Azrael would hear him. "Don't get hurt, okay kid? Hang back, let the pros handle this. Lucas! Zell! Feel up to a fight?" He drew an arrow, notching it easily, as he ran up the nearest pile of rubble, attempting to get a good vantage point. Shouting down to the others, he looked across the arrow, looking for some kind of weak point. "Anybody here have any ideas how to beat these things?"

Luke's ear's perked up at the thought of a fight. "Oh finally something that I can do without hurting anyone!" He called as he put a foot to the railing and using his natural jump skill pushed off flying towards both Liam and Azrael. He stopped calmly and landed smiling as he pulled the sword from his back. "I do..let's charge this thing and find out where it's weakest.." he placed a hand on Azrael's shoulder and smiled. "Give it some of that magic of yours kid.." He said as he jumped up next to Liam. "I do have an Idea it's risky but well.." he shrugged and looked over. "would be the best kind of attack I can think of.."

He said it calmly and looked at the spawn, he didn't really know how to describe any of this right now, he could feel his heart thudding against his chest. The hunger to do battle, he shook his head trying to stop his mind from going blank and feral, he needed to keep his head about him, if he went nuts in a fight he'd up hurting someone.

The earthquake made Zell fall over to his knees. Quickly picking himself up, he scanned his surroundings trying to figure out what had happened. People, were screaming, running in one general direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several flashes of black rush through the crowds. He quickly turned and tried to look for it again, but nothing. Before he could even wonder what he just saw, he heard a loud crack of thunder coming from the other side of the street. Zell jerked his head back and saw that Azrael was rescuing a little girl. "Ruho--!,"he swore. "The game sure changed quick."

"Lucas! Zell! Feel up to a fight?" Zell looked back up as Liam called him over.

Zell sighed. "I guess the match play begins now?" He got up and jumped over the railing, rushing over to the others. As he did so, he drew a card from each of his wrist holders and, with a small flash, caused both cards to grow exponentially larger, almost looking like he's holding two swords. The group was already discussing strategies as he approached.

"Let's charge this thing and find out where it's weakest.." Lucas said as he looked over at Azrael. "Give it some of that magic of yours kid.." He said as he jumped up next to Liam. "I do have an Idea it's risky but well.." he shrugged and looked over. "would be the best kind of attack I can think of.."

"Heh, hey! Risky sounds great!" Zell piped up. "Can't get a big payout if you don't gamble big." With a wave of his arm, he summons three ghostly slots in midair, each holding a different symbol. "As for me, I have a few tricks up my own sleeves." He paused, then looked back at the others. "Well, if I had sleeves."

Liam nodded. "Got it. I suppose I'll just start shooting then." He relesed his first arrow, then quickly fired three more in succession, heading for various body parts of the beast, then turned towards some of the smaller minions, and loosed several arrows at each of them. Grinning at the effect it had, as the pyreflies rose, he turned towards the others. "Well, the good news is, the small ones aren't much of a threat." His smile dropped instantly, however, as he looked at the large beast again. His arrows had done pretty much nothing. Cursing, he unstrung the bow, and held it in the middle by his right hand, weilding it as the double sided blade it was. He hopped down from the pile of rubble, and ran back towards his friends. "Well that obviously didn't work. I suppose I'll just rush it with the rest of you. Except Azrael. You should hang back and do what you can with magic. And stay out of the way, okay Kid?" He pointed at the beast with his hands clasped, two fingers on each extending, shouting. "Wood Veil!" Instantly, vines sprang up from the ground, attempting to grab it. As soon as one got a hold, soon did the rest as well. "There! That should slow it down at least! Let's go!" He began running forward with all of his considerable speed. "Let's get this over with!"

Zell stood in front of Azrael. "Don't worry, I don't particularly care to get my hands dirty, so why don't we do this?" As he said that, many of the insect like sin spawn started charging them. "Let's see what lady luck has in store for us." With another wave of his arm, the symbols on the ghostly slots began to spin, and slowly came to a stop on at a time. The first slot...thunder cloud. The second slot...thunder cloud. The third slot is...embers. "Ruho! I've been on a cold streak lately..." The bugs charging came closer. "Gah, no time to cry!" He charged the enemies with his giant cards. Swinging them like blades, he was easily able to cut them down and defeat them. Then, a larger swarm came at them. "Tch, looks like I need to up the ante...!" He dropped the cards and quickly waved his hands, summoning a large water geyser to erupt from the ground, killing some of the sin spawn and scattering the rest of them. "It's okay kid," he said turning to Azrael. "I can handle the tyro." He said, now holding dice in his hand. He turned his attention back to the sin spawn bugs. "C'mon you pests, I bet you've never played against 'an arm' before have you?"