Chapter 29
The small hut Vazkor has selected on the banks of the Giza river has been left alone and ignored since Vazkor moved in. The shack from the outside looks like any other shack you'd find leaning against the rocky bank of the river. The interior is the same as well, except for the trap-door that leads down to the cavern that Vazkor had excavated for the storage of the Moogle-Wrought Safe. The block of steel has a sleek blue colour to it and it can only be opened by Vazkor and Silmeria combined or someone with more magic then sense who fancies blowing it up. The shack has some rather interesting magical wards inside that can be triggered by Vazkor in the event of an emergency and outside several wards are erected discreetly to trigger alarm should fiends come close.
Vazkor has gotten used to being mostly alone, and constantly on guard, these past weeks. The man never far from his weapons, and having gotten into the habit of sleeping very lightly. While only his books, a small memory sphere, and Silmeria's sporadic visits manage to provide any distractions... Well, and his cooking as well. The swashbuckler having been trying his hand at some of his mother's recipes, and currently standing at the hut's small stove, hovering over a pot of spaghetti, trying to get the sauce just right, idly humming to himself as he does. "Vazkor?" Silmeria calls from a few paces outside the shack, "It's just me... Sorry it's been a few days, but it turns out there was a... hmm... a bit of trouble in Old Rabanastre, I suppose you'd say? ANyhow, it's dealt with for now. How're you getting on, then?" Walking inside, she leans against the doorway, tilting her head and smiling gently. "I'm sorry it's been so long, Vazkor."
Vazkor's hand is already at the Katana at his side, thumb pressing up the hilt to expose the first inch of glimmering, blue blade, as he hears the beginnings of a voice... Only to relax again as he recognizes said voice right after. Smiling then instead of going for the attack, he turns around just in time to look over at Silmeria standing in the hut's doorway, the man looking somewhat silly in his leather armor, swords at side... And the apron tied around his waist. And he waves a hand then, dismissively, as he speaks up, "Oh hey. Come in, dinner's almost ready. And no worries, ghostbusting is important business." The man grinning, and his speech less flowery and theatrical around the girl these days, considering her friend enough to show some of his true nature. Adding soon after, "And I'm doing alright... Nothing dramatic happened yet." And he shrugs.
"Well let's be glad for that, at least," Silmeria says, her smile widening faintly at the sight of Vazkor in an apron. SHaking her head a bit, she takes a seat at the small dining table, slipping her backpack off and leaning it against the leg, oriented such that Iluren's handle is pointed up and ready to draw. Unlatching the safety strap, she tilts her head at the dark Rozarrian. "Tomato sauce, is it?"
A soft pulsing sound, a shimmer of noise filters into the cabin, quiet and almost low enough to be missed. But it is one of the alarms that Vazkor has set up. Not one tuned to fiends but one tuned to detect larges sources of explosive matter.... something with a lot of guns is outside...
Vazkor watches her sit down and then nods, glancing back at the stove behind him before he answers, "Aye, tomato sauce. With everything I remember my mother adding to it... It actually tastes pretty close to hers." And he smiles again, before he reaches down to untie his apron and set it aside. Walking over to join her at the table then, shifting his swords a bit so they're not in the way, and looking at the Esper, "Just been trying to pass the time while we wait for shit to happen." The man putting it bluntly, "I know they'll come for Them eventually." The swashbuckler nodding at the hidden hatch in the floor then, and about to smile at her again... But before his dark lips can curl fully, it fades again just as quickly. A brow arching as he looks over at the door behind her, fuzzy wolf ears perking at the sound of the alarm... And with that, he mimics his early action, hand at sword, thumbing up the hilt to expose part of the blade, as he remarks in a suddenly serious voice, "... It seems my timing is impeccable."
Silmeria's gaze snaps to the door outside as the alarm pulses, sighing and rising to her feet. "It *did* take them long enough, didn't it?" Drawing Iluren from its holder, she brings the Gunblade up to rest on her shoulder. "As long as it's not Ultimecia Herself, I think I'll be satisfied. You don't mind if we give them a chance to walk away with their lives intact, I hope?"
As the two turn toward the door a soft whining noise is heard by the pair of them at the same time as a bolt of blue light shines through a hole in the door and illuminates the room. Vazkor has the sense of mind to hurl himself through a window. Being a rather poor looking shack it doesn't have any glass so he is easily able to roll through it to safety as a shell the size of a large child detonates against the front wall of the shack and the whole thing collapses in a brilliant explosion of dust and roaring sound and Silmeria's body goes sailing through the back wall! The girl is alive albeit rather bruised, the table she was sat at protected her from most of the blast but it was picked up and hurled int the wall along with the girl so she winds up underneath it as the dust and smoke starts to clear...
Vazkor has just enough time to exclaim loudly and rudely in his native tongue before he hurls himself out the window like that... The man landing in a shoulder roll in the grass outside, and then pressing himself flat to the ground as the shack explodes right near him... The shockwave passing over him, while debrees rains down on him... And with his ears ringing, but still alive, the man scrambles to his feet then, hands dipping down to draw both his swords with the crackling of electrical energy, smoke from the explosion trailing past him as he yells, "Silmeria?!" Even as his eyes try to make out the position of the threat. The man starting to move again right after, not wanting to give them a stationary target.
"Here!" the Esper calls, coughing as the dust and smoke thread their way into her lungs. "....I think maybe the next time we do this, we use stronger walls? Or thinner. I'm not sure which would be less unpleasant...." Crawling out from under the wreckage of the table, and what else remains of the kitchen's furnishings, she weaves her way toward the other side of the house, shaking her head to clear it.
As the dust settles the pair can see their adversary. It is a very large machine, standing on two legs that support a broad body that has one very large blue eye that is scanning over the pair of them and it just bristles with weapons of all sorts! It is starting to track both their locations and guns are spinning up in preparation of firing.
Vazkor isn't at ALL happy to see that thing... His eyes moving up to go across the machine's full height, and the swashbuckler suddenly feeling rather insignificant, in just leather armor, with two puny swords. The scowl on his face making all that fact entirely clear. Peripherally aware of Silmeria's presence though, he calls out to her, "... Run or fight, what say you?" Even as he keeps an eye on all those weapons, ready to at least try and avoid being shot to hell.
Silmeria stops dead as the WarMech looms out over the dust cloud, eyes widening and shoulders drooping a bit. "...Daddy," she squeaks, before shaking her head. "...We need to find better ground. Get the Coins, I'll keep it busy. Then. We *run.*" As the barrels begin to spin, Silmeria dashes forward and to the side, Iluren's wide blade held before her to protect her head and upper body. Her free hand reaches back, plucking the ebony-handled scythe from the nothing behind her, as she circles around to close on the machine.
The War-Mech's weapons go off, not the giant shell launcher from before but machine weaponry that hums and spins and scatters bullets in fast moving lines across the dusty ground of the river bank toward the pair of valiant defenders! Vazkor is like the wind, whirling and spinning and dancing out of the bullets way! HE has no trouble reaching the trapdoor and kicking it open to drop within the chamber below! Silmeria is luckier in a way, she is running toward the War Mech and once she is close enough it cannot easily shoot her with machine guns! However it i big and metallic and as she draws closer she can feel the static electricity coming off the metal hull as she ducks beneath the ponderously moving feet! The hull is charged....
Vazkor moves as fast as he can to the trapdoor, not liking the feeling of bullets whizzing past him one bit, yelling back at the charging Esper meanwhile, "Don't you die on me!" Before he jumps down towards the safe. His swords already re-sheathed, and the man ducking down to pick up that safe, and push it up so he can climb after it and make a run for it. Briefly glancing back to see how Silmeria is doing as he does so.
A charged metal hull presents many a danger, but fortunately wood is a terrible conductor of electricity. As she passes one of the WarMech's huge feet, she turns, throwing as much of her strength as she can manage behind a sweeping, one-handed slash of the scythe, hoping that the ages-old artifact retains a keen enough edge to bite into something beneath the armor, that might slow the machine down as they make their escape.
Silmeria's scythe slides along the under side of the warmech and slips through a seam! The deadly blade slips inside and catches for a moment on something and then rips back out! Sparks go flying and Vazkor from his postion by the trapdoor can see the mech's machine guns stop working... The device clanks and starts to turn around on ponderous feet and aims its large glowing blue eye directly at Silmeria!
Vazkor takes a very brief moment to mentally cheer for Silmeria's seemingly succesful attack, seeing those big guns stop in their tracks, before he hoists that safe up to his chest- of course making sure to lift from his legs, not his back- and then just starts running with it... Hoping to disappear into the surrounding countryside and the quickly approaching darkness, and find a better place to either make a stand, or to hide the safe until danger passes. Silmeria scoots to a halt, turning to bask in her handiwork... but her breath catches in her throat as the glowing eye turns upon her. "Um.... *right,*" she says, ducking to run back underneath the titanic monster, scythe rising in the hopes of slashing the tear open wider on her next pass.
Silmeria ducks underneath but not quite quickly enough a the eye flashes and sears her back! She is thankfully not in the full blast but it damn hurts! Thankfully the scythe is sharp and the hole quite big and the esper manages to rip that hole open a bit more though thanks to the searing agony down her back she misses anything vital inside! Vazkor meanwhile tops the river-bank and starts to sprint away from the mech when he spots something very large and red... with long spindly red arms that have huge claws that sink into the ground rising over the Giza plain. It looks hazy, half formed even.. but as he sees it it continues to solidify and back toward the cabin he can hear the wailing of the Magical Alarms going off.... the war mech was a distraction....
Even as his legs keep working as he runs away, he's still given a moment's pause by the appearance of the big, red clawed thing... The man actually going wide-eyed as he looks upon it, and his mind flushing with fear. So the first thing he can think of is to stop running in its direction, instead suddenly veering off in another direction, and trying to run even faster. Muttering repeatedly as he goes in the Rozarrian equivalent of, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..."
Silmeria screams as the light grazes her back, but upon seeing Vazkor's dwindling form, she abandons the fight to take off after him. "Papa," she breathes, "Ultimecia's pawns have come for the coins... We've still got them in our keeping, but this is *swiftly* becoming worrying..." Angling her path to catch up with Vazkor, she abandons speech for the moment, putting all her energy into catching up with her fellow guardian.
Silmeria swings out wildly with the scythe as she runs for it and something snags and snaps and the War Mech hizsses and falls sideways with a thump. Victory! And then Silmeria top the rise of the bank after Vazkor and sees the Rozzarian dancing, swirling, backflipping and leaping out of the way of six huge tendrils that have sprouted out of the ground and are herding him back toward Silmeria and the large storeys tall monstrosity towering out of the giza plains above them! He still has the safe but theose tendrils weave through the ground like it was melting butter as the huge creature lets out a huge ROAR!
Vazkor somehow manages to pull off some impressive dodging even as he carries the safe, the man yelling loudly in his native language as those tendrils try to get at him, and his expression clearly one of rather intense fear... Completely justified by the size of the creature before him. But then, as Silmeria shows up, he tosses that safe back to land between them, shouting at her, "Keep the damn thing away from it!" Even as he draws both his swords right after, and swipes wildly at one of those tentacles, hoping to sever it and maybe create an opening.
Vazkor slashes at one, then two then a third of the tentacles and the whole lot withdraw into the ground with a rumble and a thump. Silmeria leaps up onto a large flat rock about 10 feet wide and sets the safe down just in time to duck as the giagantic whatever it is lances the air were she had just been standing with a massive beam of red light that reduces a small hill behind them to dust and flash boils the river! The creature then stomps forward, it i now within melee range of the two staring down at their puny forms from above....
Vazkor can't help but wince a bit as the hill behind them is turned to nothing... And then looks up at the big creature looming over them. The man scowling deeply, and then muttering, "Yeah well, fuck you too..." Before he just charges in at full speed, swords out, ready to slash at whatever part of the creature he manages to get near to, knowing he really has no other choice but to fight this big bastard now.
Silmeria's head rises, blinking owlishly at the disintegrated hill behind her. "You cannot be serious," she breathes, looking down at the safe, then back up to the monster. Placing one foot atop the steel box, she raises her hand, orange-red sigils fading into view in front of her palm as she orients her novice's magic on the great eye in the thing's chest. One would be a fool to assume she could kill it, but peppering the monster with Fire at range has to count for *something.*
Magical Swords vs Evil WEAPON creature from outside of time! SCRRRRRRCHHHHHHHHHSSSS Sparks go flying! Vazkor may have made a dent... that's something at least! The creature shifts its weight slightly and aims its eyes at Silmeria as she launches fire at it! It roars as the fire peppers its huge eye like gem, it didn't like that it seems and Silmeria just seems to freeze like a lambykins in headlights as FLAMING RED EYE BEAMS engulf the esper and leave her unharmed. The safe is molten slag however and four figures holding hands and woven from starlit with glittering coins bound to diadems on their brows stand around the Esper girl in a circle. "One of you must wield us... channel us... so we can send it back from whence it came... ere it destroys all... this thing... thjis beast belongs not here"
Vazkor is a bit too busy to fully notice those figures showing up to surround the recently lazored Silmeria... The swashbuckler continuing his attack, springing forward to slash at the Weapon once more, hoping to at least make another dent, and maybe shift its attention from the Esper to him, to buy her some time. At least peripherally aware of what's going on after a few moments.
Silmeria cringes as the firey beam of death lances out to engulf her... and seems rather puzzled, when it turns out that she's still alive. Absently patting herself down to check for signs of horrible, terrifying burns, she stops as the voices of the coins surround her, finally looking around at the Stellazzio shades. Nodding once, she extrnds her hands to the spirit in front of her, as though to accept a gift of coin or four, fills her lungs, and looses a shout at the top of her lungs. "VAZKOR! COME, QUICKLY!!"
It works Vazkor takes a great big chunk out of the WEAPONs leg and it turns its attention upon him! Ruby Weapon turns its attention of Vazkor and SQUISHES HIM with one foot... A big BOOMING Foot smashing down to squish down atop the Vazkor! At least that is what would happen if he was not AS THE WIND! And able to move out of the way and roll through the dust! It does however put him on the far side of the weapon's foot to Silmeria in sight of its claws curling down into the ground were they leap up out of the ground behind the Esper and the coins! Ares and Cancer reach out to take Silmeria's hands, welcoming her into their circle. The girl's feet lift up off the ground and she hangs there and is subsumed by their glow as Ruby lashes out with another ray of light that sears over the coins shield! It is weakening... they cannot take many of these...
Vazkor, after rolling back to his feet, briefly assesses his options, before trying to get to Silmeria, responding to her call. Attempting to find a way to reach her and bypass the weapon... Though keeping his weapons ready to take another swipe at it if he has to run past or under it, or it decides to try and attack him, "I'm coming!" He yells, watching the coin spirits team up with Silmeria.
Silmeria's face twists with worry, as Vazkor ends up on the far side of the Weapon, chewing on her lower lip. While in most instances, the Esper would do absolutely everything possible to avoid getting involved too directly... this is perhaps one of those times where the rule must be bent, if not broken outright. Closing her eyes for a moment, she draws in a deep breath. "Very well," she says softly, looking up to gaze into the hellish eye, "let us cast this creature back where it belongs."
Vazkor has to play dodge the whip like vines again! This time he is not as swift and a couple of them spank him around, opening cuts on his arms as they slash at him and he has to roll and hump up! He slashes out though and hits the same dent he made before! It cuts deeply and slices within and Ruby screams loudly! And its attention is pulled away as Silmeria and the four coins start to lift up off the ground, Silmeria can feel their power flowing into them... oozing throughout her body and making them rise higher..... ) [Spoofed By: Silvante] Vazkor grits his teeth as he's slapped around, feeling his skin break, and then swiftly tries to retaliate, slashing at some of those tentacles as he pulls his weapons back from his previous attack. Still trying to get to Silmeria, but at the same time attempting to keep the Weapon busy as the Esper rises up in the air, apparently preparing for some kind of attack...
Silmeria draws in another deep breath as the power of the Stellazzio fills her spirit, head tilting back and voice resounding in a triumphant peal toward the heavens. "VAZKOR IL VAZKOR, GREATEST SWORDSMAN OF ALL EMBERSTRAND! STRIKE TRUE, AND KNOW THAT NO MONSTER CAN WITHSTAND YOUR PERFECT SKILL!" [Inspire, boosted]
As Silmeria speaks Vazkor can feels her energy flowing into him! Her words fire him up and the man is filled with the energy to leap up. He grabs one of the tentacles and uses it to flip himself up into the air and lands on a ridge of the weapon right by its giant central eye and slams both of his magical blames into it! The crystal cracks as both swords plunge into it and then EXPLODES and with a SCREEEEECH the Weapon shatters into pieces that dissolve as they fall to the ground. Down on the ground Silmeria is back on the ground, the power of the Stellazio draining out of her, the coin falling to the floor.....
Vazkor falls to the ground with the shattered pieces of the vanquised Weapon, the man landing back in the dirt in a crouch, dust rising up around him even as the creature's debris land around him... And he sits like that for a few long moments, catching his breath, before he ever so slowly sheaths his weapons, and then pushes himself up. The dust covered man turning towards Silmeria, and approaching her, his expression slightly blank after having exerted himself like that, and speaking up in a low voice, "... Why do I think that was just the start?"
Silmeria stoops, gathering the coins and hugging them to her chest. "I worry that it was," she says softly, clearing her throat. "But for now... we need another strongbox, I'm afraid... it sort of melted that nice steel one. But... perhaps something a bit more portable?"
Maybe it is the start.. but for now things are quiet... the night is in full swing, the moon is up now and the air is cool as the days heat bleeds away into the sky over-head. The coin are safe... for now....
Vazkor nods some at the Esper, glancing over at what's left of the safe, before he responds, "... I'll commission the Moogles to make something we can carry more easily... I have a feeling it might be better to stay on the move from now on. Never keep them in one place too long." And he sighs, as he beats some dust off his armor, and blood slowly seeps from some of his cuts.
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