Insurrection or Infection?

[altima]

A world that was far different than something she had imagined possible. Trees that glimmered a luminescence that had once only been a gift within the Exodus's gardens, and the sheer presence of life within the planet was staggering. Each living being was very foreign looking to her, or a variety of sorts to perhaps a more primitive form back in Ivalice. The level of technology was indeed superior to even the golden age of Dalmascus's warships and a marvel to behold. Altima found it hard to deny that she was mildly impressed in the condition of Pulse; yet she could do little to hold back the laughter within about the whole irony of this world.

"A planet as vibrant as the stained windows of Mullonde and ready to take the leap of faith into its next phase is not a common sight in any point upon the chariot's wheel. How ironic the state of affairs, are they not fellow brethren?" Altima mused to herself, taking a moment to gaze upon the color of the earthen walls that the Yaschas Massif held. She did not do this often, but the opportunity to explore also usually did not present itself as often. Her pale fingers trailed along the wall, as she continued to steadily walk into what her servants discovered to be the Paddra Ruins.

The voices never ceased within her mind, and had nearly driven her towards insanity moments after being dealt death by both Germonique and his successor. This time though, as she casually continued to roam each turn and ascension within the historical ground, it was as if the spirits of the planet had begun to sing to Altima a hymn of its past. An unsuspecting wanderer would be spooked at the sudden flashes of battles and events playing through their mind's eye, yet this fallen angel was not of that job. She had guided souls to their final residence many a times and mental imagery was nothing new to the process. It was simply a side-effect, much like the ability to understand the essence of any vessel.

She had decided to combine her hooded mantle and radiant wings into a cloak that made her appear almost like royalty. The hood remained off, and the moonlight made her platinum hair glimmer brilliant under its light. As she adjusted the positioning of her wings upon the mantle, the sight of fresh footprints came to her attention. 'A hume...' she thought to herself, and thought more about what else she'd run into this evening. Her body was not back to its former glory, but the angel was confident that there was hardly anything that could pose a threat despite the weakened state

Altima stopped little ways before a layout of powered down machinery. Her crimson eyes narrowed in disgust at the sight of man's presence in the area. The bitter taste of being defiled and slaughtered by their selfishness was far too fresh still, and it only added to the cries that the planet's 'Fal'Cie' spoke onto her mind. How troubling it was indeed, to have to not only continue to listen to the whims of mindless abbots...but even divinity of other worlds? Her irritation would have blind sided her health had the level of distrust the angel held internally not passed the bounds of human conceptualization long ago.

With her eyes still gazing upon the ancient writing that had decoded itself the longer she stared, Altima's slender arms outstretched to her immediate left and grabbed a distorted figure of a corpse perhaps? She held the head (what was known on that planet as a Ghast), with little effort and finished her reading before giving it the blessing of a canted eye. The Cie'th howled in rage, its pitches saying to the angel its despair upon failing what was called a 'focus' of sorts. It was the over-arching goal of these L'Cie figures after all, to achieve their focus or something like that. Altima would regret the moments later where she would have to process such concepts into her mind.

The ghast attempted a side-hook that ended up halted due to the angel lifting its entire body up and disorienting its center of gravity. In a moment, she crushed the head of the Cie'th and gave it the peace only death can guarantee to the living. Right before its cranium was crushed under Altima's monstrous strength, the Cie'th's eyes met the angel's and almost looked...grateful for the gruesome end it was fated to receive? Her face's static look was contemplative as to why a fiend would feel such a way upon knowing its death?

"Death doth not mark necessarily the end of one's journey. It may in fact be the turning point upon which the hierophant continues his lesson...." Altima spoke to herself, gazing upon the hand and crumbling corpse of the slain Ghast.

She could then hear the coming of at least eight new Ghasts, all bearing the same intent and malice. The angel needn't face them to realize how they suffered, but perhaps there still remained a shard of mercy within her black heart. Her gaze fell upon the group, and not even a blink later did she vaporize every Cie'th target into ashes. These ruins were not going to be solved in one sitting, but the knowledge it held was going to prove itself useful. Detours such as these did her much to keep the mind clear and focused upon the tasks. Altima already held one auracite within her own, so it was only a matter of time till the others joined it.

------------------------

- Flare ”Flames of hell, gather and reduce all to ashes!”: The epitome of black magic. Altima’s version of the dangerous spell has her singling out an area within her range of sight first. Her power as the Arch-Seraph then hyper-heats the selected spot, as the oxygen within the area ignites and converges into a fiery explosion (roughly 5m in diameter.) Unlike her lucavi, Altima’s Flare is weaker in power in exchange for being able to be cast more times in a shorter period of time.

[Invocation]- Fast
[Cooldown]- 2 post.

[jihl]

There had been reports of l'Cie hiding in the Paddra Ruins and Jihl decided to personally carry out an investigation of these reports. The PSICOM officer arrived at the ruins with several squads of soldiers and they touched down just on the outskirts of the ruins. Once she and her soldiers disembarked from the drop ship they had taken to the surface from the larger Palemecia 2 that remained hovering high above the ruins. Jihl immediately dispatched the squads to comb the ruins looking for the l'Cie vermin that were hiding like cowards inside the ruins. She would even search the Academy camp in case the l'Cie were hiding among the scientists there but that would come later. For now she would search the surrounding areas before going into the ruins proper.

She sent one squad north, one went east, and the last was told to head west. This left Jihl herself to take the south. These l'Cie sickened her. Such threats to the safety of Cocoon had to be dealt with. With deadly force if necessary and to Jihl it was definitely necessary. What other way to insure that those terrorists don't carry out their plans then to kill them? Of course not even that was one hundred percent effective. After all, Jihl came back from the dead. Who's to say that these l'Cie couldn't do the same?

Regardless of whether the could or not, this line of thought would have to wait for another time. For now Jihl's full attention was required to be focused on the search ahead of her. Her eyes scoured the canyons as she walked through them looking for any crack or crevice that the l'Cie could be hiding in. She looked around every corner, searching every inch of the winding paths but her search was turning up empty. That is until she turned a corner and saw something a woman fighting a group of Cie'th.

The swiftness that this woman dispatched the Cie'th was quick and ruthless. They were killed far too quickly for this woman to be any normal person. [yellow]"Well well, looks like the reports were accurate. I found one of you l'Cie filth after all."[/yellow] Jihl said quietly to herself as she tapped some buttons on her wrist communicator telling her squads to converge on her position. Once they go there they quickly surrounded the woman and revealed themselves, pointing their guns at Altima and releasing the safeties as they did so.

It was at this point that Jihl revealed herself to the woman she thought was a l'Cie. [yellow]"You should have known that you couldn't hide from PSICOM forever l'Cie. Now it is time for your filth to never again stain this world."[/yellow] As Jihl finished speaking the soldiers began moving in to arrest Altima. Cautiously moving in as one soldier removed a pair of handcuffs fro his belts and moved to attach them to Altima's wrists. [yellow]'Today didn't turn out to be a waste of time after all.'[/yellow] Jihl thought with a smirk. However she wasn't stupid. She remained high on her guard in case this rat tried something.

[Deleted]

(Disclaimer: As per-arranged in the C-box, I am here to roleplay the fal'Cie Dahaka to help things move along. Dahaka is Gran Pulse's fal'Cie and a NPC.)

Gran Pulse was once feared by those that lived in the shell world of Cocoon. Never would anyone have guessed that outside of Cocoon, in the place that was called a living hell, was a place full of wonder and natural beauty where creatures of all types lived in harmony with one another. There use to be people on Gran Pulse, but over time they had vanished leaving the natural world to flourish in their absence. Still if one were to look around, the traces of humans and past deeds could be seen. The crystal pillar that had saved Cocoon from its end, the abandoned towns and facilities falling apart under times weight. Nothing living stirred there except the occasional machine on its last leg, shuddering as the dying power source sought to maintain it.

Yes, this little paradise was hardly disturbed. Everything remaining in balance; however, on an occasion a dark shadow would glide over the land, taking in everything in the large area with its ancient eyes. A shadow that searched for things out of the ordinary and humans that had decided to trespass on its lands. This shadow was known well by those that used to lived on Gran Pulse and even by the few that had challenged it in the past. Outside of that, maybe some had heard about it in whispers and gossip, but knowledge of this shadow was hard to find indeed. It was a shadow of a large serpent like creature wearing a mask as it zoomed along the canyons and plains of Gran Pulse. A shadow that should’ve been gone long ago.

Dahaka, the powerful fal’Cie of Gran Pulse that was said to be destroyed some time ago by a group of l’Cie that had traveled its way, was once more spotted in the otherwise peaceful world of Gran Pulse. It flew about its territory as it always did, enjoying the beauty it protected and loved. Like all days, it did not expect to see trouble and Cie’th were the least of its concerns. In the creature's eyes, those that had failed their focus were weak and not worthy of the power granted to them and so in turn was punished in a fitting way. Let them rot into dust, their failure always hanging on them as a cruel reminder of what they had done by disobeying or failing to do what the fal’Cie had asked of them. The fal’Cie didn’t ask much, only that those chosen find their focus and fulfill their duty. Once the task was done, they would be turned to crystal. Beautiful trophies that lasted for 500 years for all to see. Beautiful representations of what true heroes were in the fal’Cie’s eyes. On top of this, after their time was up the crystal form would melt and the brand given would burn off. The person was able to restart their life with no hassle of friends left behind and what not. They would be reborn in a new world full of possibilities. They were given immortality and what was wrong with that?

Was that not a wonderful gift to be given for such a trivial task as finding and following a simple order? One would think the gift was great, but humans….humans were tricky, hardheaded, and only saw the small picture in the grand scheme of things. They cursed the blessings that were l’Cie, making the chosen ones doubt themselves and in turn make silly mistakes like trying to run from their destiny or rebelling against their rulers that only sought to protect them from the others that roamed the world.

In the end, the amount of Cie’th out weighed those of successful l’Cie making the job of the fal’Cie a bit tedious at times and while some like Lightning had indeed escaped their fate, it would seem that the higher maker was not pleased with this and in turn brought back those that should not have been revived. The fal’Cie. Dahaka.

It was unfortunate for the humans that the gods had chosen to revive Dahaka. Being the most territorial of the bunch, Dahaka was wild and prone to using its powers as a fal’Cie just to get its way. Sure, it made l’Cie out of people at times, but for the most part it wanted nothing more than to see humans fail at their task and suffer as a Cie’th. Revenge for destroying nature with their technology or perhaps simply for not behaving, no one could tell. The point was Dahaka was into teaching lessons to humans in the most cruel of fashions and if they rebelled..hehehe…well justice always got those types in the end.

In any case, as the large serpent flew about the area enjoying nature, a slight disturbance in the balance caused the creature to pause and tilt its head from side to side as it sniffed the air and spread out its senses. Outsiders were here and seemed to be causing quite the ruckus too. The fal’Cie heard the sounds of an airship and looked up noticing a smaller ship come from the larger ship that remained above. Tch! The creature had half the mind to go up there and destroy said ship; however, it did not. Instead, the fal'Cie focused on the smaller ship, carrying humans no doubt. While it was not sure what the humans were doing, the creature knew they were trouble and if they thought for one second they could come into his home and make a mess they had another thing coming.

Growling, the creature took off in the direction of the small ship, passing over it until it found the largest gathering of the humans inside Yaschas Massif. From its high view point, it could see that some soldiers were trying to capture a woman hidden under a cloak. The creature could hear what had to be the leader of said soldiers speaking to the other. Oh-ho! What was this talk of l’Cie staining the world? Was this another human that needed to learn her place in the world? Or perhaps arrogance had caused the slip up?

Besides, the hooded woman was no l’Cie. The usual auras that radiated from enemies chosen by others fal'Cie were missing and Dahaka had certainly not chosen this one as a warrior for itself. In fact, Dahaka wouldn’t have chosen the woman as a l’Cie anyway. She was much too powerful as it was and in turn would’ve been the creature’s main target if it had not been for the soldier woman’s insult.

So it was with great elegance and anger that Dahaka entered the area, flying around the hooded woman in a powerful arc that would knock anyone within range away from the lady with a heavy body slam and even worse tail whack. After the powerful move had been done the fal’Cie came to a floating rest by the strange woman’s side as the mask unfolded, revealing the large serpent’s face (this form). The creature was large in comparison to those before it. The fal'Cie was unafraid as it gazed at the humans before it with aggression and death radiating off of it.

“Foolish mortal who knows not the difference between a l’Cie and stranger, begone from this place or perish in the fires of my wrath," the creature spoke to solider woman. The voice distinctly male annd ever word dripping with finality that easily said this beast had zero tolerance for humans or disobedience. Yes, he’d deal with this mortal first and only destroy the hooded woman if she prove to be threatening.

[altima]

The sudden surge of divinity within an area is not a mark one could easily miss, even in the spiritually rich lands of Gran Pulse. She could turn to face such a splendor the being that was approaching the field, but that meant acknowledging its worth in comparison to her own. That was something she could never bring herself to do unless coerced through ample displays of force. Her pride was beyond man's reasoning, yet parts of her desired to see this demon of a god that now joined the fray. This vessel she had been reincarnated into was with many flaws, upon the most pertinent to the situation being her spiritual awareness.

She would normally not require to face a target in order to gain minimal awareness of their ability, nor be restricted from all forms of information that every individual had locked within their spirit. At the very best now, she could discern details of the weak-heart and gain fragments of knowledge from energy rich areas. 'How the mighty have fallen...' was surely amongst the thoughts the High-Seraph of Ivalice had at this moment. That did not stop her from letting a smile rise onto her pale features; all because it was a sense of relief that the gods of this world also dealt the hand of judgment upon knaves such as these mortals.

Speaking of knaves, one had thought he would be mighty enough to restrain her with such weak equipment. Their ignorance did not stop there, for their weapons were aimed and their courtesy towards her was no better than that of a beast. A vein of irritation was clearly rising up, as the angel detested the idea of being upon the same plain of existence as these impertinent brats. She would show them their place, and remind them that there were more than beasts to fear in the vast expanse of reality!

It happened in a moment. The PSICOM soldier was moments away from grabbing at the angel's arm before seeing a flash of glimmering white feathers through his helmet. Each feather twirled beautifully, leaving the grunt in a daze and failing to notice that the cloaked figure had dropped to a lower profile. Altima had moved her wings to separate from the mantle and expose the nature of what sort of being she was. A single, powerful flap of her wing made her spiral in place, mid-air, and deliver a deathblow that simple grunts would never comprehend. His allies simply saw the shambling existence of a PSICOM soldier cleaved in two, turning into a feeble Shadow Heartless upon touching the ground.

Playing the scene back, the angel had used the moment of rotation in mid-air conjoined with the wing buffet, to disorient her enemies in order to grab the twin blades that were strapped to her heels. The execution was calculated, and precise. Her wings flapped quickly once more during the rotation in order to gain more speed to apply towards the torque of the weapon strike. Altima's blade then sliced cleanly through armor and into his flesh with a mighty rising cut. There was no need to apply any sorts of sorcery, as the lucavi's inhuman base strength would be more than enough. Just before he perished, she loose several words in but the sweetest of voices for only him to hear,

'Alongside time exists fate, equal in cruelty and fair upon its judgment. You may rest now child of man, knowing that your greatest achievement in this life was raising a hand against her adjucator.'[/color]

The angel let her wings flutter a bit to gently land upon the ground. She may not have had the sheer ferocity of power such as her other brethren, nor the top velocity of another, but Altima was heralded as the most balanced of all scions at the time. Her current state was nothing but a mere shadow of what was to come, but the angel was pleased she could still perform certain feats that others could not. Each rifle was re-aimed to kill upon her body, yet the soldiers were distracted once more upon the arrival of the divine one she sensed earlier.

It was brief, but the distraction was appreciated. The moment had allowed for her to complete a series of incantations for the Haste spell, signaled to the area as green numbers from a foreign land spiral like a twister upon Altima's figure. Haste's effects were instantaneous. Her body felt lighter and the world seemed to move at a far slower speed. Altima had to spend a moment to realize that when a being passes a certain level of speed, everything else that surrounds it appears to move slower. Not like such a fact would remain significant for much longer...

...unless you were the enemy!

A shower of death and choruses of agony erupted in the area. Every PSICOM had collapsed to the ground, some unfortunate enough to not have perished on impact. As such, their screams of seeing them dismembered while falling to the ground in shambles of their disappearing existence was a sound Altima could revel in. She made short work of the enemies with her swordsmanship, exploiting the heightened speed and the weakness of her enemy's weapon's cumbersome nature in close quarter combat. Several soldiers could realize the fact she was far too close for comfort, but a wise martial artist had once said that a mind that can see events take place is useless if the body cannot do anything to act upon it.

That exact phrase was played out here, and the result was several new Shadow Heartless roaming about the lands of Gran Pulse. They may have once been men of worthy status in their society, but now they scurry the grounds to prey upon the people they once protected. Altima loved the irony of their fate.

She stood before the woman who had subjected her soldiers to a suicide mission. Oh the look on her discriminatory face was simply beautiful! This woman had a stronger life force, so the eyes of the fallen one could not gather anything more than what played out in reality. Such a pity. She seemed like a pawn that...

...could still be used for entertainment! Altima did not fully understand this L'Cie business, but the woman was clearly prejudiced against them. How ironic would it be to somehow turn her into the very being she despised? The thought was hilarious, and mayhaps this new divine one could do such a thing. She would not ask for it to do so, but there was more than one way to play out a scene to the director's liking.

Altima took a moment to place her weapons away before facing the former squad leader. The angel crossed her arms underneath her bust, and looked condescendingly upon her prey.

"Let me remind you daughter of man's seed the place your kind resides in the hierarchy of the the wheel. You speak of prejudice towards a subject you've not sullied your hands in." Altima slyly said to the woman. "It is a treasure to gain understanding upon the forces that drive one into action; mayhaps you too shall be subject into the path others walk that earn your ire."

The angel's arms open out, almost invitingly towards a fate that would befall upon the woman.

"The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom, and you've yet to eat the fruit of knowledge daughter of the seed! Celebrate your life's grandeur and lay witness to the future that awaits you!"

---------------------------
Abilities Used:

Haste "Layer upon layer make your mark now!": Grants the target an increase in physical movement speed and reduces the cooldown of target abilities by one post for the three turns. If Altima uses it on herself, it also grants one level raise in invocation speed. The reduction does not apply to abilities in active cooldown.

[Invocation]- Normal
[Cooldown]: 6 posts (After Haste has expired)

Status Buff/Debuff Duration:
Haste: Just activated.

Active Cooldown:
Flare: [1/2]

[jihl]

Jihl had been foolish. She had underestimated the woman and now all of her soldiers lay dead before her strewn all across the ground. And to only make matters worse there was now a Fal'Cie here as well. Jihl was a cunning tactician and she could easily defeat many of the opponents she came across but there were exception and this woman along with the Fal'Cie that seemed to be her ally were to examples of it. She feverishly thought of what to do next and retreat seemed to be the most prudent, if not the most favorable course of action. However given the display of power the woman had just put on Jihl doubted that escape could be managed at this point. Not to say that she was a coward but she knew her limits.

Just then the Fal'Cie spoke to her. So it was giving her a chance to leave. But her pride wouldn't let her do so. [red]"I do not answer to the will of the creatures of Pulse. What purpose to you have in coming here? This is between the hooded woman and myself.[/red] She knew it wasn't the smartest thing to mouth off to a Fal'Cie but ever since she was betrayed by Dysley, who turned out to be a Fal'Cie himself, she hated them as much, if not more than the l'Cie terrorists who nearly destoryed Cocoon.

The woman then began to speak. She definitely didn't talk normally and Jihl didn't really understand what was being said but she knew that the woman was referring to her hatred of the l'Cie. "Sullied her hands in"? What did that mean? Whatever it was, the words that the woman spoke only meant bad news for Jihl. But no matter the odds she would not back down. Her Pride wouldn't let her. Besides she still had a mission to accomplish in these ruins and she wouldn't let a Fal'Cie and some strange woman stop her from completing it. [red]"I don't have time to waste on the two of you. Let me pass and I'll be on my way.[/red]

[Deleted]

The hooded woman proved to be entertaining and had been worth letting live just to see her work. As Dahaka swooped in and knocked away the foolish soldiers that had tried to close in on the woman, already the creature could smell death in the area from the one that had tried to restrain the woman. When he came to a pause at the woman's side, she had finish casting a spell that increased her speed and without hesitation she went into motion destroying each one of the soldiers in a lovely display of swordsmanship. The soldiers’ minds were too slow to comprehend what was happening, so one by one they fell to their deaths. Their screams rose and filled the air with a beautiful music that only those like Dahaka could enjoy. The music rose and then fell until silence came back into the area and the bodies began to melt away and turn into shadows of darkness.

A new creature to the fal’Cie, these shadows were, but they would not last long if they caused trouble, but for the moment the creature let the little beasts roam about, only smacking one into oblivion when it had decided to try to attack him. A quick tail whack turned it into smoke that faded away. The scene was pleasing to the fal’Cie that now turned its bright eyes onto the female officer that was left. What would she do now that she had no army? Would she continue to stay here or would she heed his words and flee while she could. The angel beside him had done impressive work, so it would be interesting to see her destroy this one last annoyance should the woman get out of hand; however, the angel decided to be merciful as she put away her weapons and spoke to the woman.

She spoke elegant words that would be wise to listen to if one could understand her meaning. It was pleasing to hear another remind the woman of her place in the world. She was beneath them and could not hope to win; however, humans who were full of pride were often deaf and could not understand or interpret the words that came out of the mouths of those wiser than them. Instead, they became big headed and only heard what they wanted and did not think about what they said.

The fal’Cie had wondered if the woman without an army was of the wiser kind or of the prideful kind and was awarded with a prompt answer when the woman opened her mouth. Speaking out against the fal’Cie, trying to telling him where his place rested in the world and then had the nerve to ask to leave! There was a silence following her words. Then a low deep rumble pierced the silence that could at first be mistaken for the earth shifting, but the sound began to change into a deep chuckle that belonged to the fal’Cie alone.

“Prideful woman. How easily your words get you into to so much trouble. I should crush you for your insolence; however, I prefer the angel’s suggestion much better,” he told her his voice dripping with amusement and malice. Then before the woman could comprehend what he was speaking of, the fal’Cie had charged up a powerful ball of light that suddenly burst into many ropes that shot out at the woman who dared to speak back to him.

The ropes wrapped around the woman’s arms, legs, and waist as they lifted her into the air and held her in place as a fifth rope shot straight for the right side of her neck injecting her with some of the fal'Cie's power as a strange symbol appeared in the spot where it had touched her, marking her and binding her to the very thing she despised. When the process was completed, the ropes vanished, letting the woman drop back to the ground with gravity. Chuckling to itself, Dahaka’s mask closed as it took to the air once more. It circled the angel as if to say thank you for the entertainment and suggest before he casually floated over to the woman that now belonged to him.

He paused over her, his eyes gleaming with malice.

“Let’s see how well you do my precious l’Cie. Will you be given the gift I have waiting for you at your success or will you become a Cie’th like the rest and join my collection?” he asked her amused at the turn of events and then becoming bored with the area, the large fal’Cie left the area leaving the woman and the angel to continue their conversation if they wished.

The fal'Cie Dahaka has left the thread.[/u]

[altima]

[atrb=border,0,btable][atrb=width,350,btable][atrb=cellspacing,0,btable][atrb=cellpadding,0,btable][atrb=style,border-bottom: 10px solid FFEAF2;,btable][style=border: 10px solid FFEAF2; border-bottom: 0px fff solid; background-color: 382F32; background-image: url(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/Lunar_photos/JapanesePattern.jpg); height: 20px;][/style]

[atrb=bgcolor,680000 ][style=color: FFEAF2; font-family: century gothic; font-size: 17px; text-align: center;]YOUR SOUL ITSELF SHALL NOT ESCAPE MY WRATH![/style]

[style=border-left: 10px solid FFEAF2; border-right: 10px solid FFEAF2; background-color: 382F32; background-image: url(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/Lunar_photos/JapanesePattern2.jpg); height: 20px;][/style]

[style=background-image: url(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/Lunar_photos/background.jpg); border-left: 10px solid FFEAF2; border-right: 10px solid FFEAF2; background-color: 680000 ; font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana; color: 382F32; text-align: justify; padding: 15 20;][style=border: 6px solid 941019; float: left; margin-right: 8px;][/style] This whole scene played out into such a grandeur element, that the angel was almost brought to tears. Tears from the sheer laughter of ridiculing the woman who had turned into the very being she lived to destroy. The divine presence had left and his damage dealt across all tables. Altima really had only one regret through this woman's transcendence into a L'Cie...and that was being denied the chance to gaze upon her face as it took place! " Oh how it must have been such a delectable morsel to devour! First the pupils that shrink in sheer terror upon reality restraining any form of resistance from the meager! That sinking sense of helplessness that man's face emotionally shows is simply tantalizing in ways that I am simply ashamed to admit as both a woman and an angel! Fufu~ Then comes the screams, the thoughts of denial, her raging torrent of emotions could only be matched by a prideful woman stripped and ravaged by the desires of alpha males. The cherry upon the cake is that soulless gaze afterwards. Seeing those with pride falter under the weight of karma's blade and lay into the soiled lands like the sow she is...it is for these moments that second guess my decision to send all to oblivion!' " The woman was in a fit of laughter. Laughter that belonged to a madman. Laughter that reveled in Jihl's disposition. Laughter that she maintained as the woman made her way to the fallen Jihl and clinched the defeated opponent's beautiful locks of hair with her slender, gloved fingers. The angel made sure the woman could clearly gaze deeply into the crimson eyes of destroyer of civilizations. Even to the point where the branded woman could see the reflection of herself. Altima laughing did not cease, as she sneered in Jihl's face before forcefully slamming the woman's face into the dirt. She rested her knee disrespectfully on top of Jihl's head, giving a few final words before letting lose the spell rising in her mind. " "A mongrel rescued from death's grasp only to be enslaved to be a concubine to the god's desires? You have indeed granted me the greatest laugh to grace my presence in centuries wench. Sensually enjoy your new ecstasy concubine." " Altima's form and weight disappeared gradually into light particles, rising up into the heavens as shards of stardust. Yet she could not be seen anymore, the angel's merciless laughter echoed for a tick longer in the den where Jihl lost her humanity. --- Altima has left Pulse/topic via Master Teleportation.--- [/style]

[style=background-image: url(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i231/Lunar_photos/Black-Wallpaper-black-26900921-1440-900-1.jpg); background-color: 382F32; color: FFEAF2; font-size: 8px; font-family: verdana; padding: 10 20; text-align: justify;] [/style]

[style=background-color: 680000 ; color: FFEAF2; text-align: center; font-size: 12px; font-family: century gothic;]ENGRAVING VANISHING MEMORIES INTO THE SWORD[/style]

[style=font-size:8px]made by Emblem of KHCMV4[/style]

[jihl]

It happened before she could even blink. First the Fal'Cie spoke, lecturing her on how Jihl spoke to the two before her and how she should be punished for it but it also said that he would follow the woman suggestion. That's when it happened. Everything became dark and tendrils of light shot out from the Fal'Cie and wrapped themselves around Jihl. The PSICOM officer stared up at the Fal'Cie as a final tendril snakes its way down and hit Jhil's neck in a bright flash. Then, all of the tendrils vanished and Jihl was sent falling to the ground where she landed with a solid thud.

She was still awake but the energy sapped her of her strength for the time being. She didn't need to be told to know what happened. She had become the very thing she was working so hard to destroy. Jihl Nabaat, Lieutenant Colonel of PSICOM, was now a l'Cie. During the process she was given a vision. It was too blurry and unfocused to make out but during the vision she became overwhelmed with a feeling of dread. However that feeling was washed away when the vision became brighter and Jihl began to feel like she needed to help others, not hunt or hurt them.

Could this mean that her focus is to help l'Cie or did it simply mean that she was supposed to just help people in general? She couldn't be sure but she saw images of what could've been Hope Estheim and his precious Academy. But her early attempts to decipher her vision were interrupted when the hooded woman kneeling down next to Jihl, grabbed her hair, and forced the newly branded l'Cie to look into her eyes. Then without warning the woman sneered and slammed Jihl's head hard into the ground face first, laughing as she did it. the blonde's pain was increased when the woman knelt on her head. Jihl was in great agony and pain at this point but she couldn't make any attempts at freeing herself from underneath the woman's knee.

She spoke to Jihl in her odd way of talking but she could understand the basics of what she said. That even though Jihl had returned from the dead it had seemed to be only that she could be made to join the ranks of those she hunted. What really got to Jihl though was that the woman apparently found this to be hilarious. Afterwards the woman just seemed to disappear but her annoying laughter remained for a moment longer before Jihl eventually passed out.

-END THREAD-