Parade Square :: Winterheart One of the most beautiful areas of Winterheart is the Kekhaial Parade Square. Nearly a mile both in length and breadth, the ground is completely made up of ice frost blue granite, accented with decorative walls of Wukelan red granite. Statues to Roc are sporadically placed throughout the area, interspersed with evergreen trees and guard posts. Citizens mull about here, utilizing the grounds as the only park in the city. This place is also where the administrative building for the arena is set up. It stands in an out-of-the-way southern corner of the Parade Square. This is the place where those who wish to see a fight purchase their tickets, as well as the place where the less-unpleasant spectator's entrance to the complex resides. Contents: Lobo Elena Loz Rufus Obvious exits: Arena Complex Market Arcology Governmental Bloc Mortuarium Industrial Sector Military Base ShinRa Enterprises Satin Seductions From the Skies: The sky is clear and blue and has been that way pretty much all day. Despite the rain and the snow in various places on the board, it has cleared out and left the sky bright and blue, allowing the sun to shine down unobstructed throughout the entire world. Even in the coldest of places, it has been a fairly nice day, nice enough for work to go on as normal, cleanup for the various disasters that have happened the world over, and even a few people risking ventures into the wilds to find food or attempt to travel to discover news of the world. And the news seems to be oddly quiet. The Chaos attacks have ceased, despite Thunderbird's resent manifestations, the last reported ones having been yesterday evening. There used to be so many outside that not an hour went by without at least a sighting, but today? ...Nothing. And then, the world over, a wind comes from above, pushing down against the game board in equal amounts no matter where the piece is placed on the surface. As long as they are outside, it buffets down against them. The wind is not natural. Not only does it go downwards instead of to the side, it isn't even made of air. It is a wind of emotion and feeling, a challenging hatred that seems to call out for battle... And then something comes between the sun and the world below. A shadow races over the board, touching the entirety of it at least for a moment before it stops and allows the light to illuminate the source. Only an unlucky place in the Wilds is trapped under the shadow. The figure is huge. Yellow and green with feathers slicked back with water, as if it was just rolling around in the ocean before it came here, one eye black, one eye yellow. And if he was huge when he stepped on those buildings, he looks even more large now, but... so far away. No matter where a piece is, he can be seen in perfect detail, but looks so very, very far away. Bigger than the sun, but feeling just as distant as that. Thunderbird's wings flap, no ruckass reaching the land below, only panicked people running for cover in each city, or setting up defenses seem to be the physical effects. So high up he can't touch the world... But the world can hear him. He lets out a roar, as if to answer something. Then something black and bigger than the Chaos God himself but still seeming so far distant at the same time... comes barreling out of the south so fast he's a streak of pure black and slams right into the grotesque God, sending them both spinning through the air. Rufus was in his tower when things were going on. The first attack from Thunderbird had been a terrifying thing, no doubt about it. But he'd not gone anywhere. Mostly because he hadn't been _allowed_ to. This time, the rest of the Turks are occupied with other things, leaving him some freedom to do what he'd like. And what he'd like to do? Is get a closer look at just what's going on out there. "Dark Nation." he says as he stands from his seat, heading for the elevator. But at the last moment, he decides to at least let the folks know. Even if they were maybe too far off to stop him: ~I'm going out into the street. To see what's going on out there.~ And with that, he heads for the elevator, and through to the front doors of the main ShinRa building. Elena was, fortunately, in her office. It was supposed to be a day off so likely she was expected to be elsewhere. In fact, if she had been checked on, she would have said she was lounging around in her place. For her, that just means locking the office door and relaxing. When Rufus sent his little 'message' she was up and grabbing her coat. No way the boss is going out alone. As he rides the elevator, she races down the stairs so that as the doors open to let him out, she steps from the stairwell and flanks him to the door silently, one hand reaching to brush her bangs back on place with a casual flick. The confined space of the lousy apartment they've rented is intolerable under the best of conditions; lately, it has been far from the best of conditions. Especially after that moment a few days ago, of being exposed to not just one, but two powerful gods more than capable of overloading Setsuri's sensitivity. She's taken to roaming the streets restlessly, without a particular purpose or point in mind, just walking for the sake of walking... A habit that brings her to an interesting--sight, as it were. Normally, her senses would be far too weak to 'see' anything that far away, but the sheer Presence rolling off the two winged figures is strong enough to reach even her--the initial wind of hate and pride is enough to attest to that. Setsuri stiffens as the first wave washes over her, hands curling into fists at her side; almost unconsciously, her head tilts up toward the sky, where the two titans clash in a mingled roar of fury and darkness and bile. It doesn't take her long to conclude what's going on; the aura rolling off these two is unmistakable. But she can do nothing now but watch, shielding herself from the unnatural wind as best as she can. Loz had been, well. Windowshopping. If by shopping you mean picking up whatever you want and declining to pay for it. He'd so far managed to find himself a nice warm hat (cold was a novelty and not one he liked) and a fluttery green and blue striped scarf. When strange winds happen and some big freaking bird pops up in the sky, he's curious but not really worried, mostly because the concept of mortality has yet to actually settle in. So, as gods erupt into fury in the sky and various people flee or hide, Loz shields his eyes with one hand and watches, directly in the middle of the street. Something's going on. He's never seen birds that big before. Lobo is finally leaving one of the local bars after his hundreth drink. He's pushed back by the wind but it doesn't bother him much as he looks around the streets. Finally he catches the sight above saying, "Holy fragamolie! Something big is about to happen." He instinctively pulls out a gun but holsters it when he finally realizes how far the god birds are saying, "Waste of good ammo." Once Rufus has stepped outside, he finds himself battered and buffeted in a great wind. A strange and unnatural wind, at that. He doesn't go far beyond the edge of ShinRa just yet, pressing his back to the wall, hand cupping over his eyes so he can look upwards in the sky to watch the bird-... no, the clash of birds as they rip into one another up above. Slowly, he smiles, as if something was just striking him now. Thunderbird and-... yes. This couldn't be better. "Go, Thunderbird." he practically purrs under his voice, a murmur that the wind would carry away from most of the city, except for those with sharp senses. Or those who are particularly close by. Where Rufus stops, Dark Nation takes a couple of steps forward and to the side, tentacle lashing, angling as though ready for an attack or defense. He is prepared for whatever may come this way. Or at least, so he seems to think. Elena moves right with Rufus. Sort of. When he just walks out and braces against the wind, she grabs the door frame and pulls herself through as if she can barely keep to her feet. She stays against the wall the whole way, using it for a brace while her legs tremor with the effort to stay up. Still, pure stubbornness drives her to follow Rufus. When he murmurs that, her head turns and she gives him a quizzical look. "Excuse me sir?" she says before looking back up. "Did you says something? I wasn't really able to hear you if you did." And really didn't want to hear that. Had to be misunderstood. Right? Lobo continues to stare upword before pulling out a cigar. Cupping his hands over his mouth he does his best to light it before taking a few puffs. As he does this he braces himself against the wind saying to himself, "I guess this has to be among the best seats to watch." Looking around he notices a few others nearby but only shrugs as he turns his full attention on the action above. From the Skies: The tumbling continues for quite some time, almost as if it is slowed down or exagerated. The larger of the two birds, huge and black with a scar over one of his eyes, stops the tumble, finally, compensating with his wings. The size seems so over exagerated, but then, this place is a dream. How else would one of the Gods look to the pieces they brought in. Black hooked beak, like a giant bird of prey, catches a hold of the slicked scaley bird's neck, ripping. Yellow puss sprays, falling down in large droplets, showering various places across the world in the grotesquely smelling goo that must be the bird's blood. The wound isn't deep enough, though. Thunderbird thrashes out, bending to pull his claws up and latching talons onto the dominating bird of ultimate evil's leg and tossing him away. Roc corrects himself and just jumps back in, a little blood shining on his wound and a few drops falling to the world below. All the cities get at least some of each, the first physical evidence besides the killing intent in the air a moment before. Evidence that this really is happening and not some kind of optical illusion in the sky. Screams rip through the air as they fly at each other again, Roc's sheer size overpowering the smaller bird, but Thunderbird unleashes his feathers, just before they slammed into each other. The black bird with a heart of ice takes the feathers on his face and chest, burying in and causing him to bleed more. The feathers that missed begin to crash to the world below, slamming into places in the wilds; none falling onto the cities by luck alone. It wasn't as if the bird was trying to miss them, after all. When they met this time, even though injured, Roc's talons dig into the scales of the yellow-green bird, ripping away at his chest again, bringing forth more blood and rotted skin and scales float down as well. ... Scales that look as if they must be large enough to flatten a house, but by the time they breach the barrier between distance and optical size, they are only ten feet wide at the most. ...and a few of them do slide into the cities, cutting through buildings or half buring in streets, though no more than one or two in any one place. "No, Elena," Rufus reassures her. "The wind's catching just wrong. All I said was 'Thunderbird'." Really. That's all he said. And if Rufus says it, you've got to believe him, right? The young man sets his hand against his coat, fingers patting against the shotgun there reassuringly. As if that's going to be a help if the birds start coming down on them? "I can hardly see from here," he complains somewhat softly. "Do you see somewhere that might be out of the wind, where there'd be a better view?" Maybe he noticed Elena's difficulty. ... or maybe he's just having it as well and refusing to admit it. From the way his knees are occasionally half-folding, it's likely the second. When scales start falling to earth, Rufus' eyes narrow a little bit. That's not good. And the feathers... well, those he remembers. "Have to get a team ready to gather some of those," he murmurs, more to himself than anything. But right now... he's busy watching the fight. And looking more displeased by the moment as Roc seems to be doing a better job than expected. Elena looks around at his words. "Yes sir. I had a feeling that was it sir." she says as she does. Oh yes. She believes him. Really. "I'm not sure where would be better sir. Not many places with a skylight in this town. Does your office have one? We might have a better view from inside. I'm almost sure of it, in fact. The extra elevation will give a much better angle." And she continues to extol the virtues of watching from inside as she tries to make sure none of those falling things are coming toward them. or more accurately, toward *him*. Got to protect the boss. Today, it is easier to hold off, now that the bird-gods are no longer directly in the city; it is slightly easier to withstand the buffets of concentrated... well, what they embody, respectively. Which doesn't mean it's actually being completely resisted, just that Setsuri isn't howling for blood and running off to attack random passersby. Her knuckles, hidden beneath sleeve and glove both, turn white with the pressure of her clenched fists; one hand reaches out blindly, seeking for some kind of support, offered by a building wall or a piece of stone or /something./ She finds only air, though, and resorts to drawing the greatsword and planting it point-down in the ground, leaning heavily upon it and breathing in quick, shallow pants. Some part of her can't help but be mesmerized by the destructive dance up above; the rest of her is trying not to be sick with the continued aura of Thunderbird. Lobo frowns as he notices a scale come slamming down not too far away detecting a familiar scent saying, "Definately that giant corpsebird from not too long ago. Definately two of those god-birds I've heard about duking it out." Quickly finding cover from the falling blood he looks back up into the sky saying, "As I've been saying to myself now and again, nothings going to surprise me in this place." He seems relaxed despite what else is going on nearby as he keeps watching wondering which of the two he might of bid on if this was a blood sport going on instead of a god battle. Oh come on, Elena! Where's your sense of _adventure_?! ... no, Rufus doesn't actually say it. But he does glance back at her for a moment, hand coming up to shield his hair away from his eyes. "I don't think there is somewhere inside that I could get a good look. The tower's not got a skylight. Just... hmmm. The roof access..." And he actually looks thoughtful at that, tilting his head up, glancing toward the building they'd just come out of. Loz had the bright idea, briefly, of getting out of the wind. When that didn't work he'd given up, hunched his shoulders, and endured it best he could. At least until the bird gods tear eachother to ribbons, anyway, and nastyass stuff getting thrown all over the place. He retreats anyway in the vague hope of getting out of the way of things he's pretty sure could squish him like he squished most people. Someone muttering about surprises catches his attention for a moment. "What, things get /wierder/ than this? Those birds-" Loz points, as if Lobo probably isn't completely aware of who he's talking about. "Who's are they?" ... No, Loz, they're not summoned monsters. Elena was actually shut up by that for three solid beats. The... roof... access... Right. "Actually, sir, that might not be a good idea. There's at least a good wall to brace on here and there's nothing up there. Without some sort of shelter, this is probably much better than the roof." From the Skies: The yells increase, Thunderbird obviously not feeling too well after that last lash across the chest, but his wings wrap around Roc, the claws at the ends latching onto him to keep him into the air and he digs his own beak into the bird of evil. More blood sprays about, all red this time, landing in small and large droplets throughout. A shadow casts over the sun as they tumble across it in the air, losing altitude and seeming to get bigger as they do... the wind picking up as the sounds of their fight get closer to the world below. The ground starts to shake, buildings give off life tremors for those who fled inside, but so light for now. The birds break apart in their tumble, both flapping their wings, bringing up the winds as they rise away again. The darker bird's feathers are slick with blood, tears in his flesh plainly visible, but he doesn't stop. He tucks his wings close and dives towards Thunderbird, beak catching one of the bird's wings. There's a sickening crackle and thunderous scream as the wing breaks away, bones fracturing into tiny pieces and skin tearing away like old rotted leather. The wing itself crashes down towards the ground, landing in the vacinity of Middleton, a little outside the city, closer to the Knifewind Sands, but luckily in an uninhabited area, but when it lands there's a heavy shake of the ground around that area, the quaking of the earth moving out in waves and eventually touching the whole board, though heaviest around the already wrecked Middleton, and lighest in the further areas of Winterheart and Golden Hall. And Thunderbird doesn't fall, claws reaching up and talons latching onto Roc's side, digging deep and causing the brutal God of evil to cry out in pain. But this keeps Thunderbird in the air... or threatens to pull them both down to the earth below. Oh dear. That's not a good thing, is it? "Well it would have been a bett-..." The comment to Elena, whatever it was about to be, gets jolted from Rufus' lips with the feeling of that wing hitting the ground. Even if it doesn't shake things to pieces, it certainly does a good job of setting him on edge. He glances up at the tower. "Maybe the roof isn't such a good idea," he says. "And maybe we should move out of the way. Just in case..." Just in case the tower should come crashing down around their ears? Yes. That. Elena isn't as lucky as Rufus. The combination of wingbeats sending fresh wind down and the impact of that wing drops her to the ground with a grunt. "Good thinking, sir." she says as she struggles back to her feet under the pressure of the gusts from Roc's wings. This blows. Bigtime. Lobo looks towards Loz as he asks the question raising an eyebrow as he says, "Haven't you figured it out by now? I mean those beasts are fraggin' enormous, I don't think anyone can control them." Looking back up to the fight he idly taps the end of his cigar saying, "They don't belong to anyone if my guess is right. Lately I was asking a few questions about that scum-oozin' zombie bird that smashed that place in the Government Bloc. Apparently what I was looking at was the god of chaos, Thunderbird. As for the other, not sure, probably the one whose followers live in this city or one of the others." Doing his best to focus on the action as he braces himself from the shock he says, "They are really tearing eachother apart. Wonder who will win, but that ain't really important to me." Sure, they're enormous! But so was Bahamut, and Kadaj controlled him just fine! Loz looks doubtfully skywards when Lobo says they belong to nobody. If nobody Summoned them, where the hell did they come from? "...Huh. I didn't get to see that but I heard it was nasty." The tremor from a falling wing - that looked terribly painful, and Loz decides he wants the non-pus-leaking bird to win simply because it looked better. Which bird did this city follow most? These statues around here.. "...Roc, then." Funny, he'd somehow expected a /white/ bird for that. "Probably the black one, the other one's got a wing gone now." Maybe they'll BOTH die. Wonder if their carcasses would be valuable. Wonder what Kadaj would have them do. Or Yazoo. Yes. Best to get away from the Tower at the moment. Ducking his head against the wind and splashing blood, Rufus starts to make a move toward the other edge of the city, toward where Lobo and Loz happen to be. There's no familiarity in his eyes for the silver-haired one. Could be because he's distracted, though. He's letting Elena keep up her point, as well as Dark Nation who's jogging along beside. "Roc," he says, arriving in time to hear a little of what Lobo said. "The bird's name is Roc. And he's the lord of this city." For the moment, anyway. But if he wins this fight? Hmm hmmm. Go, Devilbird. The vibration as Thunderbird's wing falls to the ground sways Setsuri, sending her lurching drunkenly toward a few of the other watchers clumped in the street. At hte last moment, she catches herself before running into anyone, digging the point of the sword into the cracks of the street and using it to help herself stand upright, instead of half-bent as before. Her sway, however, has brought her into hearing distsance of the quiet conversation the two are having, and her head turns toward them. "You fools. That is Roc and Thunderbird battling--and whoever wins, or doesn't, or if it draws to a tie--it is going to change the face of the Game." She speaks not from any foreknowledge, but from simple logic--gods physically manifesting to duke it out? Against all the rules? /Something/ is going to have to change, whether it be a smackdown of the winner or the rules being broken entirely. Her answer seems unnecessary, though, against the one given by the corporate magnate, so she closes her mouth and nods coolly in agreement with his words. Elena staggers to her feet at last and goes out with Rufus, taking a wide stance and getting ready for more shocks and shivers. Why couldn't this be something she could just blow up? Lobo nods to Rufus as he answers before looking to Setsuri, "Yeah thats what I was thinking. But personally I only look out for number one, me. If there is a change I'll just find a way to survive like always." Looking to the others that gathers he says, "Besides not like you or me can do anything about it, anyway. I'm not crazy enough to go after a god, even if there was enough creds offered." "No one's going 'after' the god," Rufus informs Lobo. "It would be suicide. Thunderbird is too powerful. And so is Roc. It will come down to mutual destruction, at this rate." And he doesn't sound all that disappointed in it. Just sort of... cool. Like it's nothing special that there's possibly going to be two gods dying if it is, indeed, mutual destruction. He retreats some, to be able to brace himself against the wall of a nearby building. "Elena," he informs the girl. "You can get into shelter if you want. This is getting dangerous." What, him? Get under cover? He wouldn't be able to see Roc's death, then! Elena shakes her head. "I'm a Turk sir." she says in answer to his suggestion as she glances around and then moves a few steps forward to claim a new position that she things will give her a moment more reaction time if something falls toward Rufus. Was Loz a fool? ..Yeah. He doesn't understand much about gods and the like, and doesn't understand the /danger/ Thunderbird and Roc both pose. Cluelessness creates courage of the type that gets people killed. "I thought the lord of the city was a person." Guess not. Explains the statues everywhere. "Flying won't happen anyway. I have my bike, but that's ground only." Those birds are huge. Loz debates whether or not a tactical retreat would be a good idea, especially if one smashes into a building. Good thing that wing didn't hit anything important. What would the city be like then, smushed under a giant limb? He pauses, then actually /looks/ at Rufus, as blood rains down. "What happened to your sheet?" And hey, it's that Turk lady Yazoo had tortured for a while. Small world! A beat. "Do you know where Mother is?" Lobo's eyes narrow as he looks to Rufus saying, "Yeah and thats what I just said, Clyde. Just saying nothing would send me that way, no matter what." Looking to Loz he says, "I suggest listening to them, they sound like they've been longer then me. Even if some just like stating a fact another way." Taking a long drag from his cigar he blows out the smoke not caring if its dissipated into the air or hits anyone in the face. Looking around he says, "So right now all thats left to do is try to watch the fight until it ends or find cover. Personally I'm watching." "I know," Rufus tells Lobo just as cooly. "I was talking to the other one." The other one, who apparently... knows him? Rufus stays pressed back against the wall to keep some buffer between himself and falling uglies, looking at Loz in a rather puzzled manner. "Sheet?" he asks him, sounding confused. "Mother?" He hasn't heard that in-... Rufus narrows his eyes and gets a better look at Loz. Well, there's some similarity to the Rota guard, but that's certainly not Sephiroth. So obviously he must be talking about someone else. "Who is 'mother'? And... I may not be the person you know. Knew." Tseng sort of explained that things like this might happen. From the Skies: As they start to fall towards the earth below, a black streak appears in the sky. Much smaller than the two involved in the fight, a still quite large black raven, indentifiable by the black beak she bears, pushes against them, trying to force them back up. She caws, trying to tell them something, but neither of them listen. Thunderbird's remaining wing lashes out, the claw at the end of it catching Raven across the neck, ripping out flesh and skin and feathers and sending her tumbling down towards Promethea in a spiral of black wings. Her head hangs in an odd angle, as if it was nearly ripped off by the blow. There is a second blur that appears, grabbing onto the falling bird before she impacts and pulling her to safety. A large crow, the same size as his sister. Their impact is never heard, but they land close to Promethea, Crow leaning over the body of his fallen sister. Visible only to those in Promethea, he leans over her and slowly starts to disappear... and the wound begins to close and heal, as he sacrifices his God-Power to restore the life of his sister. A second bird appears, this time over Winterheart. Devilbird, shining and pale with black and gray wings, much smaller than his father fighting up in the sky above, sits perching on top of the Shinra building. He doesn't damage it, just watching the fight above, not planning to interfer in any way. Above Bluefinger Port, a long necked bird joins him from the ocean, flying in with wide wingspan that rivals that of the sea-man God. Why Anhinga has chosen to appear is probably of much debate. Maybe she just wants to watch the destruction that will change the world... In the center of the sky, still visible to all, Roc and Thunderbird continue to tumble, as if some force is keeping them from falling to the earth. Some unseen force is holding them aloft as Roc's wing-strokes leseen. The hold Thunderbird has on him should be pulling them both down, but something, or someone (or someone/s/) are holding them up, wrapped in this brutal tangle of a God fight. Even then, they still slip down closer and closer. Whatever is holding them up won't hold them up much longer. "Ah, I'll listen." Loz isn't entirely stupid, just mostly so. "Watching's probably a good idea right now anyway. If one of those things-" Gods? He expected something with hands. "-hits the city we're in trouble." And thoroughly squished. Whatever life may hold, being flattened by a falling bird was not something he wanted to do. So he squints skyward again, wishing it wasn't quite so daylight out. Rufus earns a blank look, that slowly changes to irritated confusion. "I know who you are, you're Rufus ShinRa, and Mother is ... Mother." Anything ELSE he might say about this is put on hold in favor of noting that there are more than two birds in the sky and one is perched overhead not too far away. "..Er." Company! Elena tips her head slightly at seeming to be recognized and more at the comments to Rufus. Sheet? What the... She looks away from the battle fully at last for just a moment to see if there's a sign that Rufus knows what Loz is talking about and there's a moment of memory. Disjointed but there. A wheelchair and rain and Rufus and... then it's gone and she looks to the sky again. "Sir? We can discuss his mother later. There might be trouble at the tower." See? Another of those god things. "Yes. Yes, I am. But-.... never mind. It can wait." Rufus' attention has been drawn by Elena's touch, and he tilts his head back to look up at the tower. At first, there's a look of fear. But from fear to something more... reverent, almost. An appreciative smile. "I don't think it's there to cause damage," he informs her. "I think that it's just... watching." And using his tower to do so. Rufus feels deeply honored, somehow. "Makes me wish I'd gone to the roof after all," he remarks to Elena, though, if a little bit ironically. There's still time, right? ... no, he's not stupid enough to _do_ it. Lobo raises an eyebrow as he looks towards the Shinra Tower focusing on Devilbird saying, "Now this shouldn't be a surprise that even the other gods come out to watch this. While I don't need to guess who that is, Devilbird." He doesn't take his eyes off Roc's son for a few minutes before looking back up to the battle in the sky. Elena nods to Rufus. "Yes sir." she says at the comment about not causing damage there. "If you say so..." and once again the chatterbox falls silent for a moment. "Ah... sir? If we'd gone up there, there's a good chance he'd be - standing- on one of us. It's much better to be here to see him in his full glory on your building, isn't it sir?" Setsuri doesn't have much to contribute to the conversation flying between the Shinra corporates and the clones; nor, really, much attention save for what is happening in the sky. The flare of extra energy--weaker, to her senses, though still not precisely /weak/ by any measure--brings her attention sharply back, rapidly split as yet another presence flares to life in the city. Very close, in fact; near enough that the cold jealousy and ambition fills her for a second, stiffening her pride and making her ease her obvious grip on the hilt of the sword. She remains silent, head tilted up toward the sky and single visible silver eye not quite directed straight at the two battling it out. Their auras are strong enough to dwarf their physical bodies, which are, at any rate, too far away to sense by themselves. "Yes." Rufus says to Lobo. "Precisely. That is Devilbird." And Rufus certainly doesn't seem uncomfortable with the idea. Of course, he has a shrine up in his office, so there's a good reason for that. "Oh, I don't know, Elena," he asides to the woman. "I'm sure there'd be room up there still. And I'm sure that the gods are willing to protect their own, don't you think?" So. Considering. This. Mmmmm. The possibility of getting on Devilbird's good side. All that power... lights practically dance in Rufus' eyes. At least, until some of the sticky, yellow blood splashes down far too near him, making Rufus instinctively jump aside, jerking his coat back as though that might help something. Oh, EW! "Of course, depending on what's falling from the sky..." He doesn't finish the thought. Elena jerks up as that drop nears, putting herself totally between Rufus and the falling drop. Ew. Bad. Stay away. "I'm sure they are sir, but I'm not one of his, I don't think. I haven't really had the time to study about these gods and try to locate the one that most likely brought me here, but I think there'd be some sign if I saw my god, right? And I certainly don't feel any sign of anything from any of there so far." She keeps her eyes out for any more falling goo without even a hesitation in her words. "Really sir, it's much better to be out here. We're far enough from buildings that we can run if it looks like one is being broken, but close enough to use a wall for shelter if something happens. It's the best of both worlds here, sir. Why would we want to move anywhere else?" Lobo quickly moves to dodge the blood saying, "Don't know mine either and not sure if mine is around. I'd study the gods but I believe the one that brought me here will show themselves to me sooner or later. But I have heard plenty of those that are frequent in this city such as Roc and Devilbird, so I'm impressed with their legacy." Looking to the sky he says, "But other then that this is looking like my kind of fight, except in epic proportions." Sigh. As nice as it would be to be up there with his god, Elena's right. And Rufus might have done some daring things for power in his life, but... right now? That would be a bad, bad thing if he got killed by another god. Probably would lose him some points. So for now, he nods. "You're right," he informs Elena. "For now, we'll stay down here. Unless things change." Although he sounds firm on that. If this fight gets cooler? He's _so_ up there. Elena nods and smiles at that. "Yes sir. I'll be right here with you, sir." she says with a smile as he focus stays on the sky. "If it starts to look bad, we're not far from the tower so we should have easy cover there." Cover and a god on the roof to maybe shield them a little extra besides. Let it not be said, that Winterheart was a sleepy city. It had all of the vices of his old 'home' bundled into it, and now apparently what one could consider if struggling for further connections-- titans of supernatural beings struggling viciously for domincation overhead...not unlike a pair of summons attacking each other. Ofcourse, these weren't summons, nor did they really care about the lives that ran about below them-- and they were considered...Gods. So maybe not too alike, but for a split-second the vision overhead drew those memories to the forefront, before they were as quickly dismissed. That Roc was fighting with his errant brother didn't concern him, what - was- his concern on the other hand was that were chaos reigned over head, stability remained a constant presence on the ground. "Orders sir?" A woman perhaps only a couple years or so younger than him requested crisply. She did a fine job of ignoring the spectacular view overhead, some of her units...not so much so. They stole up furrative glances when they thought he wasn't paying attention. "Assign half of your men to help bolster and secure the Market area to the units already in place there, we don't want anyone getting any ideas this may be their chance to furnish their homes nor wallet. The other half see that the communications line remains intact between the two adjacent sectors, check in with the residing officers there once they're in place." He did a mental count, "I'll be back to assess any developments in another twenty minutes." He wanted to be sure the other teams were handling things accordingly, personally. The woman nodded briskly, and started to call out the new orders as sections peeled off. A beautiful day for a walk. Only after he'd left did his gaze wander up to the tower who Devilbird had decided to make its perch. The corner of his mouth curled slightly, before he replaced his stoic mask. How fitting indeed. From the Skies: The slow motion thumbling continues, as if the Gods are falling through air thickened with power, but Roc isn't going to accept defeat so easily. He is the strongest of the Gods and he will prove it. Right here. Right now. His talons grip into Thunderbird, pulling him closer, as close as he can, causing the Chaos God's claws to dig deeper into his own flesh. Gritting against the pain, the mighty beak of the coldest God in the Pantheon lowers, finding the head of Thunderbird and clasing it. He's just enough bigger than the other god to grab his head in his beak. The curved upper bill digs throat, while the lower bursts Thunderbird's black eye, spilling liquid and forcing the God to emit a roar so loud it really does shake the earth with like nearby thunder, everywhere. The claws buried in Roc's stomach pull out, legs flinging around trying to free the head that has been grabbed, but black talons lash out, grabbing hold once again of the smaller, yellow-green bird... And he rears back. The sickening rip of the wing being pulled out is made a dwarf by the tearing of rotted flesh and muscle that comes with the head of the Chaos God being pulled off. The leader of the Evil Gods throws the head aside carelessly, and it goes crashing somewhere into the Dark Forest, knocking down trees and sending the monsters who have long inhabited that forest to their deaths. And then... Roc vanishes. Fading out into nothing in the sky above. And the ravaged and torn body of Thunderbird begins the long fall to the earth below, and no thickening of the air does not seem to be enough to stop him... Devilbird takes off from the Shinra building and flaps up into the air above Winterheart. Anhinga glides over Bluefinger Port, and circles around to cry out as a brightly colored bird appears, perched atop the Temple of Parrot. A bright red bird appears above Promethea, flapping his wings in a display of his red-colored beauty and he is joined by a bluer version of himself. Cardinal and Bluejay have never been pals, but they appear to be willing to work together this time. They are joined by a myriad of small birds, many sizes and colors. Promethea was once the 'home' of the 'Little Birds' and once again they seem to want to protect it as their own. Above Middleton, a single bird appears. As big as Roc was, wings spreading so wide they cover the entirety of her city, protecting it. She's multi-colored, shimmering blues and greens and other soft colors. Her neck is long and magestic, with a long crest visible as she extends her protection. The sense of outside assistance can be felt, as if someone invisible and hidden is giving her power. After all. Great Horned Owl might be Simurgh's campanion, but he always tended to keep himself rather elusive in his guardianship. Golden Hall hears a roar of fire, as a bird wrapped in the burning feathers bursts out of the ground where the Temple that she called home used to stand. She rises up above the city, spreading her flaming wings out in an attempt to shield it. Beside her, a tall white bird appears, princely and strong, long neck stretched as if to offer her the little power that he can. Other birds, birds of prey and hunting, Falcon, Hawk, Eagle and Saker, fly beside their leader God, offering her their strength, and showing their concern for the pieces below. Well now. That's a familiar enough voice to Rufus that it even pulls his attention down from the fighting gods and from Devilbird's grim perch to look over at Sephiroth. A nod... a very _cautious_ one, at that... is delivered to the man. "Good to see you," he says. "I see you're here to watch the specticle as well?" And he then turns his eyes back up toward the sky, staying back against the solid edge of a building, ready to run if it's about to crumble around his ears. That would certainly be a bad, bad thing. Elena's reaction is a little less placid than Rufus'. Old habits die hard and Sephiroth being there has Elena going for her gun and bracing in a two handed shooting stance in a flash. Then Rufus' words register and the gun is never aimed. "Sir?" Have you ever had one of those days? When this is over, Reno BETTER have a spare bottle somewhere she can get to. Lobo doesn't look away from the sight as Roc finishes with Thunderbird saying, "Now that was a finishing move." He spits the stub of hsi cigar onto the ground idly crushing it with his boot as he smirks. His eyes finally leave the sight as he looks towards whats happening nearby and just shrugs since its not his fight. Right now he's looking for a better place to brace himself for when Thunderbird's body finally hits the ground. The arrival of Sephiroth does get noticed by Loz, but while he'd normally say something (a brother he'd never actually /met/, after all!), there are ... disturbing things in the sky. The rotting bird had just been beheaded, the other one - Roc? - dissapeared, and there is a very large corpse falling towards the ground. He remembers what the impact of one wing did, shaking even Winterheart so far away. "...Ah, hell." Devilbird takes flight, and across the gameboard dozens of gods manifest themselves, and Loz glances around before heading for the most open space he can /find/ at a quick trot. When that thing hits the ground, it's going to shake /everything/. Loz does not plan on getting squashed by the falling buildings the quake will surely bring about. Which right now, seems to be the center of the square. If everyone else is stupid enough to stand /near/ buildings, then let them get flattened! The end, it comes... As Thunderbird's life aura flickers overhead, Setsuri gasps--the faintest of indrawn breaths, caught in her throat. Not so much a gesture of astonishment, as an instinctive reaction to the spasming presence of the Chaos lord. And Roc disappears. The lifting of his heavy, cold presence straightens her shoulders a touch, though her fists do not uncurl; they've long since gone numb with clenching. The flowering of spirits all around her brings her half-turning about, though to what end she couldn't say; and if asked, really, she could do nothing. Simply keep watching. In the next second, she's jarred from her rubbernecking by a vaguely familiar presence approaching, and when that voice speaks, her head turns toward him. Ah. It's the Militsii officer she'd met--Sephiroth, wasn't it? She doesn't extend a greeting toward him, though, although her brief glance--as it were-- toward him indicates that she has noticed his presence. The blond haired President was a man...Sephiroth didn't care to banter with at the moment. The duplicity wasn't something he felt like fencing and parring verbally, though truely his only other option was to naturally use force. Something apparently another blond in the group expected, and Elena would earn an even dispassionate stare. Oh, please -do- give him a reason. She wasn't particularly required for the company's fufillment of its quota to the city, and so...if antagonised, would quite happily deal with her as he had delt with her beloved 'Boss'. Sephiroth gave a low non-commital grunt instead at Rufus' positive greeting. He couldn't say the same. "Not merely watch, this isn't an arena battle to critique, while fascinating...I have other more immeadiate concerns." Measuring the progress was key to further updates, and it seems Roc would come out the victor...assuring Sephiroth that he still had a job. As to the looser Thunderbird...was that a feeling of disappointment stirring briefly in his breast? Perhaps. He recognised a rebel, a wild spirit that sought its own means to an end...and whilst Thunderbirds winning would be against his interests, well. It was only briefly. "No. Elena." Rufus rather casually raises his hand to the young Turk, glancing over at her. "It's not what you think. Well..." a quiet correction, "it is. In a way. But it would be hard to explain." His voice falls away, though his mind doesn't. ~He's from a time before the calamity,~ it explains to her. Not sure whether she'll get it or not, but he can hope. Because damn, he'd rather not see explosions happening here. And Elena's just the one who could make them. And then his eyes are turning up as well to watch the tearing of the other bird, and the plummeting form. ... and the rise of Devilbird from the tower. He frowns slightly, obviously concerned. Because, uh, you know... that doesn't look like a good thing. The city could be in some trouble here. Hopefully his god has things well in hand. Er, talon? "It seems things are over. But you'd better brace for impact. If the wing shook the ground that much, imagine what that entire body will do." He's concerned, yes. But what else can he do but sound calm? He freaks out, and he ends up looking... not so fresh. Elena lowers her gun. "But sir..." she begins before answering in kind to his explanation. ~Even before the calamity, we were supposed to capture him. And he...~ and then her though explanation dissolves into rather crude and very Reno-esque expletives about that whole brace for impact thing. The gun is put away as fast as it was drawn and she drops to kneel and brace her hands wide against impact. From the Skies: The sky above Winterheart is oddly... empty in comparison to the other places, but Devilbird gives a loud cry, and order, and suddenly a few more birds appear. Both share Devilbird's pale body, dark winged features, but they are more predatory in shape. Goshawk and Osprey. Another bird, with black tipped wings and a gray body, flies out to offer his assistance... Harrier. They extend their power, picking a small area to protect and a black shield appears above Winterheart, encompassing about sixty percent of the city. As soon as the shield lowers... all the tremors within it stop, as if it is pulled out of the realm of danger. Above Promethea, the Gods focus all their energy into a silver shield, reminicent of the moon, which wraps over the land, covering it the old city as well as the new, and the mountain which made the land special. Above Bluefinger Port, Anhinga and Parrot conserve their power, choosing only to protect the tiny port itself and the docks, their shield as brightly colored as the bird who claims the port as his home, with a swirling aspect of Chaos that seems to touch to Anhinga's tint. The blue and green wings of Simurgh lower down, embracing her city and the immediate surrounding area entirely, while a gray barrier forms above and around her. Golden Hall's is bright gold and dazzling red, formed out of Phoenix's burning feathers, reaching out to embrace the wilds around it as well, fueled by the added power of her lover, Swan, and the birds of prey who lead her court. Or at least, most of her court. Hawk lets out a sudden yell and breaks off, flying towards the direction of Winterheart, joined oddly enough by a small yellow Canary, where they join the Evil Gods in protecting Winterheart, or particularly the outskirts, creating a small bubble of purple and yellow that touches the black bubble. ...Even then, Thunderbird's impact can still be heard. His body hits the ground between Bluefinger Port and Middleton, throwing up the mountains and the earth. The ground not protected by the Gods... shatters in many places. As if the gameboard was flat and hollow, rock is thrown up all over, splintering the earth. Pieces of the gameworld crash into the shields erected by the various Gods, bouncing off. The seas of the Wild Tide expand, crashing up against the shield of Bluefinger Port, coursing into the game board and into the cracks created by Thunderbird's fall, creating an ocean the world over, with the protected areas becoming the new islands. The main cities are intact, except for Winterheart. The unprotected portions of the city, mostly the slums and outter regions like the Bog and the Gulags... crash into the rising waters, breaking off, leaving the people there to fend for themselves, though the added protection of the two Good Gods who decided to throw their lot up with Winterheart help protect small portions of the Wilds connecting to the city itself. Thank you, Devilbird. Your help's appreciated. And the others, as well. Although even Rufus has to raise his eyebrows at the approach of the other gods flying in to show their aid. Hey. Those don't belong here. ... but, uh... that's sort of not important any more. Because the city is suddenly becoming awash in water. Or at least, much closer to it. So. The city is now... an island. What. In. The. Hell? Elena's waffling was something to be ignored, not dismissed outright-- he still kept her and any of Rufus' attaches in mind...an unexpected bullet hurt asmuch as any other. That would include Setsuri broadly, he had nothing to say to the woman presently. There was enough going on such that he may not have immeadiately noticed, rather sensed Loz' presence...but this time his eyes are up against the sky, captured for a moment by the grace of Devilbird's sail and commanding call. This, this is what mattered, the rest of the gameboard could be rendered to dust, but Thunderbird's downfall wouldn't go unheeded by Winterhearts deity denizens. A pity it wasn't complete. This wasn't something that could have been anticipated, and perhaps it is due to the fact that the Slums were lowest on the list to protect other than maintain bare order the damage would be minimized-- he would still lose the lives of several Militsii soldiers that had been assigned there today regardless. An acceptable though regrettable loss incomparison. Sephiroth remains calm, atleast outwardly. There was much going on within his mind, as the world around him changed yet again. Elena holds her brace for a long moment then... the heck? No shaking. She rises and dusts her uniform off quickly, then gives her jacket a tug and pulls her compact to check her hair. Ahem. Meant to that. The lack of groundshattering impact that can be /felt/ is disorienting. It can be heard, but buildings don't topple - for the most part, and where they are now is safe. Watching the water come in is not a nice thing though, or watch it sweep away what parts of the city aren't protected by Evil and two unexpected bright spots of color in all the darkness. Loz blinks in surprise and glances around, thoroughly confused. Not dying = good! Not understanding why = bad. He shudders once violently, like a dog shaking off water, and straightens up with all traces of his earlier caution simply gone. That was neat. Lobo is ready for the impace before raising an eyebrow as he looks as there is no shockwave but looks around to see the damage. Remaining silent he grumbles for a bit but says nothing as he just stands there looking around. Finally his eyes snap wide for a few seconds as he remembers something. Ignoring anything else nearby he lets out a sharp whistle. Anyone that looks to him would only notice his eyes quickly from one direction till the other before the czarnian turns towards something. That something is made clear from the sound of a large engine quickly moving closer before what some call death on a pair of rocket- engines comes flying above the square. The space bikes engines slowdown before it lands near Lobo who just checks to make sure it recieved no damage from any of the objects falling earlier. Finally he knocks on a small hatch on the frount before it opens and the head of a chalk-white pitbull pokes out. Dawg just growls as if his sleep is disturbed as his owner says, "Only you would sleep through the whole thing." As Thunderbird's wingless, headless corpse plummets, Setsuri shifts her stance slightly, forming a base of stability between her feet and her greatsword against a shattering impact... that doesn't come. As the dark gods stream up slowly and reluctantly to protect the city that is theirs, the body falls... and the world around them shatters, and dies. But the protected island of the inner part of Winterheart remains stable, the black shield deflecting the pieces thrown at it--but still, the sound is colossal, overwhelming Setsuri's ears. Wincing slightly, she attempts to cover her ears, then blinks faintly at her hands still in fists. It's a painful effort to force them open once again, especially as the blood begins to flow freely once again, sending harsh tingling throughout her hands. But it at least distracts her from the noise of a world gone mad--inasmuch as anything /can/ distract from such a thing. At least there was no tremor, as she had expected. She never thought she'd be grateful to one of the gods of Evil. "Gods." Rufus says. And it's something like a cross between a quiet curse and a musing explitive. He glances over at Elena and her making-up. "I think," he says, "that we'd best be ready to start creating watercraft. I have a feeling that the market for them is going to go up soon." And since aircraft still aren't an option, gotta make do with boats. His head tilts back again, watching the skies as though to see the phantom form of the gods who were once there. Elena nods. "Yes sir." she says as she puts away the compact. She looks around again to see that it's as safe as it's going to be, with a stare toward Sephiroth. "I'll go in and get a team out here to... assist with the cleanup of the things that did fall in the city, sir." she says as she turns back toward Shinra Towers. "And I'll advice the development teams to be working on some designs." As she takes her first steps a clear thought joins the rest ~And file for overtime.~ she thinks with a touch of playful amusement in her mental tone. From the Skies: The crashing sounds of the earth outside and the rushing of water take time to fade out, but when they do the various shields disappear. Canary and Hawk are the first to disappear, before the Evil Gods can focus their attention elsewhere. The Gods over Winterheart go next, not willing to feel guilt over the shattered parts of the city they could not protect. After all, they should get credit for protecting it at all. Roc certainly didn't, even if he ended the Chaos madness in revenge for his Priest and the Hall of Justice that stood to show his power for thousands of years. The protection above Promethea and Bluefinger disappears, the various small gods fading into the sky as they are weakened by their attempt to protect. Parrot lets out a loud cry before he does, "Arr! The oceans a callin' me matties!" ...Yeah, go figure. Golden Hall and Middleton are protected the longest, as they guarded the largest areas and are afraid of the edges breaking off if they release it too quickly. The other Gods helping Phoenix vanish first, drained of power, and then the flaming wings fade out, and a sheen of ash falls down on the city below, as the God burns herself out to be reborn again later. Simurgh rises up, wings giving a light tap, and one of her brilliant feathers falls of, landing on the place where the All God's Temple used to be, and sticking there without causing extra damage. A piece of her to stay behind, as she disappears to rest. A few small chunks of the newly made islands do break off, and others begin to create beaches in places and cliff-faces in others. Various islands appear in the wilds, high areas protected from the falls, or freak dream twistings created by a Lucidi or a Font, long protected by during creation process even from the destruction of today... But Thunderbird may have indeed got what he wanted. The Game is broken and he is free now. Free forever, a part of the surging wild ocean that threatens to one day fully swallow the world that he was denied. Well, at least Elena earned a chuckle from Rufus for that. ~You'll have earned it.~ he agrees. See? The boss isn't _entirely_ cheap. "I suppose we should offer our assistance in cleanup again," he muses out loud as he looks at the mess. "At least, as much as we _can_ help." Which, uh, might not be much in some cases. Lobo looks around at the damage but doesn't seem to care much as he opens up a compartment in his bike and grabs a beer. Dawg just looks around at the water before grumbling as he pulls his head back in closing the hatch on the bike. The czarnian just chuckles as he pops open the bottle and takes a long drink deciding to see if anything interesting happens as he thinks of what to do next. Atleast he doesn't have to make anymore payments on the place he was crashing in. But the only problem now is finding a new place or just going on the road once more. Elena glances back to Rufus as she heads for the Shinra building. "They'll be here as soon as I can get them out of the building sir. Don't worry." And then she's going to Reno's office. Oh yes. Rufus being nice to Sephiroth. Gods fighting. Sephiroth. Stuff falling from the sky. Sephiroth. Half the city turning into an island. And all on her day off. She needs a drink. ... well. ... there's really nothing to say, except, well. Oh my. Shaking her head slightly as it finally clears of the miasma of gods crowding on her personal psychic space--so to speak--Setsuri resheathes the sword without a word, its services no longer needed as either a gripping-post or support. Without a word to anyone else, she totters off, mind still reeling from what just happened.... and more importantly... what happens now? Much to think about.