Behemoth Hunting....(Atlantace/PM to join)

[sumdood]

Max looked around at the crystals in the fissure he was walking through. The name they'd given this place was certainly fitting, cliched or not. He didnt' really care, though. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

He was going out to the Great Maw to meet Atlantace. He'd met the man just a few days prior, and they had found some common ground. Most specifically, their desire to protect innocents from the Heartless. Max had told him about the group he was forming from Mikael, and it had all gone from there.

So they decided to meet up here, today, and discuss the matter further as Max helped Atlantace hunt down a Behemoth Heartless. Max had fought these massive Heartless before on his homeworld. They were extremely difficult to bring down. The only point on their body that was really vulnerable was the horn on their head, and it was incredibly difficult to get to.

Despite this, however, Max had brought down a full three of them during the Heartless Wars on his homeworld, and he was confident he could bring another one down, especially with some help.

The soldier looked around as he came up out of the fissure into a wide canyon. So, this was the Great Maw, where he was supposed to meet Atlantace. It sure did look large and imposing, like he said it would. Well, there was nothing for it. He'd just wait right here, in the opening of the fissure, and wait for him...l.

[xepte]

((sorry, it's freaking huge...i got kinda carried away (blaming the homemade snicker's bars))

The crystal fissure was indeed a beautiful place, especially when one is looking for some artistic inspiration of some sort. The crystals, which the place was named for, sparkled and shone in every angle from the sun, and from a distance, it looked almost like there were many rivers, which would turn out to be deep canyons when actually near them.

It was a spectacular sight indeed; but one individual who was flying over the elusive canyon fields mostly ignored these sights. He was seated at the base of the neck of a huge Dragon. The dragon was so big, that it could be on all fours and still look into the window of a fifth story building without straining.

Bloodbane, as the dragon was named, usually stayed either in space, or in a docking bay, to avoid unnecessary attention. However, today was different. The pair, Bloodbane and his bonded human partner Atlantace, were hunting. However, they also had someone to meet, someone who would be waiting at the entrance of the great maw.

Atlantace held the slip of paper in his hand, and marked off something written on it. Putting the paper and writing utensil back into his pack, he sighed, patting Bloodbane's massive neck, which made up his current perch

"Alright, Four down and one to-" His statement was interrupted by a tremendous roar, coming from a small distance around the cliff in front of him. Immediately, he jumped to standing on Bloodbane’s head, Ranseur at the ready. His armor shone in the mid day sun, and there were a couple of big scratches, noticeable from a distance. Atlantace was a tall man, but his body was dwarfed by his companion, Bloodbane. The dragon was so massive, that Atlantace could stretch out and still not be able to reach across his muzzle.

The prey that they had been chasing for the past couple days was equally large, and just as dangerous. It was a special species of heartless, appropriately named Behemoths. Atlantace had received a bounty from a scientist, saying that he wanted five Behemoth horns, paying a small amount up front and then promised a price per horn, depending on the quality of said horns. Atlantace discovered quickly that the heartless would dissipate if not defeated in a certain way- horn included.

The only way to properly take the horn of one of these massive heartless was to bring them to the point when they are using desperation attacks, and then simultaneously burn and freeze the horn area right after the creature uses a powerful limit break. Then, as the creature is still recovering from the freeze-burn and the limit break, a powerful slice will remove the horn, destroying the creature.

As Atlantace scanned the area, Bloodbane flew in closer to the great maw, where the noise had come from. Soon enough, their quarry became evident. A large Behemoth was wandering within the Great Maw, and decided to let out a couple of roars. Atlantace smiled, adjusting the grip upon his Ranseur, and Bloodbane roared in a returning challenge, equally loud and shaking loose bits of rocks and crystal from the walls of the maw.

As they flew to the Maw, Atlantace noticed that a human male was standing at the entrance, heavily armored and holding a spear. Atlantace’s smile only grew wider as he realized that it was the young man from the day before, Maxwell. Bloodbane, we should make this quick, ok?

Of course, brother. Just remember: don’t rush it, or we have to wait another cycle of the sun before another appears.

Atlantace laughed, and crouched as the pair flew toward the maw, springing into a jump, twirling his Ranseur, and then plunging downward, ripping a jagged line into the foreleg of the Behemoth. As he did so, Bloodbane flew back around, landing in the great maw, and shooting a burst of Dragon Fire at the opposing creature. This distraction was enough for Atlantace to spring backward, but he had to leave his Ranseur within the creature, as half of the weapon was also buried into the ground beneath the behemoth’s foot. I will hold him off while you retrieve your weapon, little brother!

Atlantace thanked him and attempted to remove the Ranseur again, to no avail, and was smacked across the maw for the effort. He saw stars and tasted blood, but with Bloodbane fully engaged with the Behemoth, Atlantace was able to recover enough to stand up and retreat to the entrance of the maw to assess the situation. This is no normal Behemoth, big brother… Bloodbane didn’t reply, as he was locked in combat with this larger, stronger than normal Behemoth.

Exiting the maw, Atlantace shook his head as approached Max, but smiled. “Afternoon, Friend! I hope you brought your fighting skills today!”

Atlantace glanced back toward the two colossal creatures fighting within the Maw. “I think this is some superior species of Behemoth, as it is nearly bigger than Bloodbane. Usually, he’s a bit taller than they are.” Atlantace wiped the sweat off his brow, and nodded to Max. I’ll properly introduce you to Bloodbane after the battle.”

He motioned Max to the maw and pointed towards the huge creature, which would have been hidden from view by the immense cliff walls. There was a small crater in the ground, with Atlantace’s weapon on the ground nearby. The Behemoth had a gash down the length of its right foreleg, and several burns and claw marks from Bloodbane. Atlantace, seeing that he weapon was free from its prison, charged forward as he said; “Here we go! Time to relieve Bloodbane!”

[sumdood]

Max was still standing there waiting when all of a sudden he heard the roar. His head snapped up towards the source of the sound, which was so loud it knocked small rocks off of the canyon walls. As he watched, the most massive Behemoth he had ever seen came into sight, each foostep making the ground shake and quake beneath his feet.

It was as he stared at the massive heartless that he heard another roar, this one much louder and much closer. In fact, it was right overhead, causing Max to duck back further inside the Crystal Fissure for cover as he felt the vibrations of the roar in his chest, and large rocks fell from the sides of the canyon and even small pieces of crystal fell inside the fissure. As Max looked out of the opening of the fissure, the most massive dragon he had ever seen flew overhead, straight towards the Behemoth. The roar, it seemed, had been a challenge.

The massive dragon cut through the air like an arrow straight towards the Behemoth, and as it reached the Heartless, Max saw something go flying from its head and cut a massive gash in the Behemoth's leg that could even be seen from the distance he was at. As whatever it was landed on the ground, Max recognized what, or more accurate who, it was. It Atlantace, the man he was supposed to be meeting here. It didn't take long for the other man to turn and start running towards Max.

“Afternoon, Friend! I hope you brought your fighting skills today!" Atlantace said as he ran up to Max, "I think this is some superior species of Behemoth, as it is nearly bigger than Bloodbane. Usually, he’s a bit taller than they are. I’ll properly introduce you to Bloodbane after the battle."

"It sounds like fun," Max said, hefting his spear and stepping up next to Atlantace,"Now, what're we waiting for? Let's go help your friend over there!"

“Here we go! Time to relieve Bloodbane!” Atlantace said as they began running back into the fray.

As they ran, Max gathered water and formed it into a floating disc in the air in front of him and, mid-stride, leapt up on top of it and lifted himself into the air and straight towards the behemoth at a breakneck speed. Once he got close, he turned the disc into a burst of water to propel him even faster towards the beast.

He slammed into it hard, almost hard enough to make him lose his grip on his spear as it embedded itself in the Heartless' flank. Max stayed there as the dragon and the Behemoth stayed locked in combat, hanging on the side of the Heartless by nothing but his spear as he drew it sword. He jabbed it a little further up on the beast's body and pulled hard on his spear, yanking it from the black creature's body. He then continued the whole thing, slowly walking himself up the side of its body until he was on its back, where he used water to hold his feet to its back and wait for Atlantace.....

[xepte]

Atlantace ran forward, tucking into a roll and grabbing his Ranseur as he passed it, avoiding a stomp from the immense creature as he did so.

Bloodbane unleashed a jet of flame at the underside of the behemoth, which roared in pain as the embodied darkness burned and seared. The creature responded with a jolt of lightning, which stunned the dragon for a brief moment.

The behemoth was about to unleash another attack when a blue-ish projectile slammed into its side- Atlantace whistled in amazement. He had heard that Max was good, but... Damn! Control over water. They weren't kidding- it must lead to some fun abilities.

Watching as the other knight used his weapons to climb up the leg of the behemoth, Atlantace ran to the back of the creature, and jumped up on its back leg, using the knee joint as a landing pad to jump to the flat of the creature's back. Focusing for a moment, Atlantace's Ranseur glowed with a pale blue light, and the Dragon Knight ran toward the head of the beast, getting there at about the same time as Maxwell.

"By the way- try not to destroy the horn! One of my clients would like it. If it can't be helped, then oh well."

Atlantace gestured towards the main horn of the behemoth, which was just about as tall as he was. He focused on what would be the behemoth's weak point, right between the three horns, the crown of it's massive head. Lifting his Ranseur, Atlantace Jumped into the air, crashing down and burying the weapon into the dark tissue, producing a loud roar from the behemoth.

As the behemoth roared, it shook itself, very similarly to the way a wet dog will shake itself in an effort to dry faster. Needless to say, the shaking motion sent Atlantace flying, off the creature and down to the ground. The Dragon Knight was able to right himself mid air, but the falling distance was still quite a large drop, and the impact him stagger to a kneeling position. The Ornate Dragon-lord Armor was magically enchanted so that such a fall wouldn't kill him, but it didn't protect against all of the damage, and Atlantace was seeing stars.

By now, however, Bloodbane was back into the fight, so the behemoth had no time to take advantage of the stunned warrior. Bloodbane unleashed another torrent of flame, being careful not to roast the human warrior on the behemoth's back, and resumed his clawing and bashing.