Hunt for an Aeon (Axel and friends, closed)

[Deleted]

Previous visits to Olympus had been...different for Artemis. The people were very hospitable, but their beliefs were...well, revolting. They had something similar to the Farplane, but lost souls suffered there! How could they do that to the dead! Yet, one thing had drawn Artemis to this world. It was more than a feeling, it was a distress call...from one of his Aeons. As he was walking through the world, observing the people, a sharp pain and the sound of Hermes' cry rang through him. He collapsed for a minute or so, attracting a crowd, yet he walked off fine. He searched and searched, but couldn't find the Aeon.

And that was just his first visit. As he awoke one day, the memory rushed back to him, and he knew that Hermes needed him. So he rushed to find the only man that could help him-Arthas. He spent most of his time on Radiant Garden, and often entered the Frosted Flame. It was this day that Artemis found him there, as usual.

"Arthas! I need you to open me a portal to Olympus again!" he said, quickly explaining to Arhas the situation. Arthas listened silently, taking in all this information. Afteh a while, he stood up and raised a hand towards his right, a portal emerging from nowhere.
"You will have 2 days to fing Hermes. By then the return portal will open." Artemis thanked the man and went through.

That was that morning. Artemis now walked throught the streets of Olympus, focusing on Hermes' call and avoiding every merchant he could. It took a few hours (and a dozen very bad merchants trying to persuade him to buy), but he finally heard the call. It seemed to come from down an alley to Artemis' right. He walked into that alley, Spark in hand and his Aeons on the ready.

What would await him?

(Alright, so Axel will post next, along with any other Organization that are in this with him.)

[Era]

He had planned to mind his own business today. He had planned to stay out of trouble, and focus his energies on any and every thing but work. Everyone needed a day in the week to retract themselves from the everyday pressures of life. Today was his day.

The Organization's less-than-trusty Number Eight had been peacefully weaving his way through the everyday commotion of the market. The everyday chatter of gossiping locals filled this place with its normal buzz. It was a breath of fresh air to finally just be, without turning a curious eye.

He had peacefully rounded a corner, watching a few kids skirt past him in a game of chase, laughter in their wake. A large shadow perched itself along the stalls he'd just past, and he noticed, followed immediately by gasps of surprise.

That mound of ginger hair swayed a little as he jerked his head around to see what the commotion was about... And was himself amazed.

The last thing he had expected to encounter along the these market streets was a ten-ton avian monster. Its body was primarily beige, its mane and abdomen tinged a ferocious red, and its feet and tail were tipped purple; this was by no means a normal monster... But then again, Axel didn't get the disgusted wrench in his gut that usually signified the presence of Heartless.

So then, what, exactly, was this thing?

It was difficult to read the thoughts in this thing's head, as its golden eyes were the only thing to peer back at him from under that white face-plate. It had probably wandered here because it was hungry... It was hungry, and it was looking at him.

Not good.

The witty Nobody came up with a very quick escape plan. It was natural for this guy to have to think on his toes; his brain made up for what he lacked in muscle. Black-lined jade eyes scoured each kiosk, one after another, then they stuck on one particular merchant. Bingo!

His hand slipped into his pocket, feeling the few coins that still lingered at his hip. Score. Ignoring the shouts and chaos streaming the streets, he slid rapidly toward the singled-out kiosk... fear for one's life was often a good motivator.

A few moments of haggling with the frightened, but stern fish vendor, and he had himself a pair of limp, slimy fish carcasses. He did his best to muster a firm grip around the sliding bait, waiving them to harness the creature's attention.
"Hey big guy!" He began to circle around toward an opening away from the market. The plan was to lure this thing away from the general public.

Just what was he planning to do after that? Well... He had a plan, even if he had yet to figure out how to execute it.

[Deleted]

Artemis was expecting a horde of Heartless to be surrounding the area where he first saw Hermes. Or at least some Nobodies. But what he wasn't expecting was a guy swinging a fish at the Aeon. Artemis took a look around him, at the crowded street, and decided not to cause a scene. He rose his staff, pointing it at the Aeon, and used the mental link between him and Hermes to tell him, "Relax, friend. 'Tis I, Artemis. Fly to the outskirts of the city and wait for me there." Hermes cocked his head, gave a mental nod and took off, heading to the grasslands outside Olympus.

He then walked into the street, heading towards the man with the fish. He was easy to spot, due to the red hair and the black cape. He was obviously one who was easy to spot in a crowd. He tapped Spark on the ground once, morphing it into his trusty bow and held it at the ready. Nocking an arrow, he aimed above the man and fired an incindeary arrow, as a warning shot. He ducked into an alley and hid, waiting to see the stranger's reaction.

[Era]

((I am -so- sorry it has taken me this long to reply! I'll try and speed this thing up next time, you have my word.))

Shcfff. Ting!

The arrowhead reverberated as it punctured a wooden peg of the merchant stall to Axel's right. Axel ducked, eyes shifting form the incendiary ammo that promptly consumed the wood it had bitten into, and toward the armed rival that had sent the message his way. In a microsecond the Flurry spun around a nearby corner, the wheels in his head turning in hyperspeed to not only analyze the situation, but how he could work it to his advantage.

The situation was that, upon replay of the immediate events, it was obvious that the offender at hand held some sort of mind-powers over that beast. Gosh darnit, that meant that he'd have to go through someone to get what he wanted... which meant that taking that fiend wasn't going to be quite as easy as he'd hoped.

And that's where the 'to his advantage' part came into play. There were a few different options here: the first was to go back out there and expose himself to someone with a weapon; not so bright a move on the spontaneous strategist's part.

Option two was to turn around, and follow the flying beastie to wherever it had landed, and try again to lure it into the Organization's clutches; which by default meant that the antsy-pants arrow-shooter would probably not be far behind him. But, it also meant that there was a better chance to talk things over.

There was little thought required - option two it was. He took off down the alley, taking the back route through the city in the direction that flying creature had taken off. Eventually, he had to catch sight of this thing, but the longer he looked, the hastier he got, until making it to a full-blown run.

Buildings...

Keep looking.

Traffic -

Keep looking.

Building intersection -

Keep looking.

Abandoned area -

Keep looking...

More buildings buildings -

Keep looking...


...Beastie - bingo.

Axel clenched the slippery, scaly fish tightly, hurrying into the creature's line of sight. Remain calm. You've still got this under control. He reminded himself. His voice carried into the air in a calm tone, and he waived the briny bait again, signaling for the monster's attention. "Hey, you? Why'd you leave last time? Aren't you hungry?" The emphasis on the last word was stressed in hopes that the beast just might listen... As though it had the understanding to do so, right?

((That last sentence is tongue-in-cheek. He feels like the Aeon can definitely understand, or he wouldn't be wasting his breath. It was just meant to emphasize the fact that everyone knows that normal creatures do not understand human languages. Hope that clarification makes sense. Oh, the irony! xD))

[Deleted]

(XD Nice one.)

Artemis frowned to himself, puzzled. The man obviously knew he was there, but had gone off to chase Hermes. Why hadn't he attacked back? He crossed his arm, thinking. But he wasn't able to for long because he picked up something that one of the merchants had said.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who fired the arrow?"

And it didn't help that he was holding a bow.

Artemis turned on his heel and ran down the alley, trying to find a way onto the rooftops.

And---bingo. A stack of crates were neatly stacked against a wall. He used them as a staircase and got on the roof, looking around for the man.

Merchant...

Merchant...

Merchant...

Red-Haired guy.

Artemis smiled and said, "Gotcha." Spark replaced Divinity, and he started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, catching up to the man as he exited the city gate. Artemis made one final jump and invoked Divinity, aiming at the man and firing off Blizzard arrows as he was focused on Hermes.

[Era]

A motion blur caught Axel's eye, and he turned his head just in time to see a whirlwind of icy arrows plummeting toward him.

The Organization was supposed to lay low in foreign worlds, and normally Axel kept himself under control. However, for this particular fiasco, such a standard would have to be broken. His hand opened, stiffening as he concentrated his energy, and a burst of flame consumed his palm. The Nobody swung his forearm in a wide arc toward the impending arrows.

A growl emitted from Axel's throat, and his protective fire collided with the trigger-happy foe, yielding the icy ammo useless as it hissed, splashing to the ground in splatters of harmless liquid.

"You just don't GET IT, do you?!" the flame-keeper snarled, anger consuming those livid green eyes. He was among the highest ranks among the highest caliber of Nobodies. He could've turned this guy into toast in a matter of seconds. Axel wasn't after a fight. And yet, the stranger still had the nerve to attack him, not only once, but twice?

Axel would have to lure him to the outskirts of the city in order to reduce the level of witnesses, but just how could he do that -and- ensure that he stole the large, scary beastie? Well, he'd just have to think of something, wouldn't he?

[Deleted]

(Prepare for a trademark epic fail here.)

Artemis snarled at the guy. So, he controlled fire? Well, Artemis wasn't a pushover, and he knew just what to do. Two houses seperated the black robed man and Artemis. He abcked up, took a breath and ran, jumping to the next building. "One more." he said, preparing. He ran foreward and jumped, but what he didn't notice was the crumbling tiles right at the edge of the building. As a result, his foot slipped and he fell off of the roof.

And landed on his back.

Not only was it enough to knock the wind out of him, it also stunned him. And ,conveniently, the red-haired guy happened to be right down the alley. And, to add insult to injury, Divinity lay 10 feet to his right--the direction towards the enemy. Now this battle would be one of willpower, and Artemis would need all of it he coudl get to continue fighting.

((I used a 20-sided dice for this post. You can guess what I rolled. >.<))

[Era]

Axel promptly took this opportunity to kick the staff further away, stepping closer to the downed, and quite feral opponent. "You just don't get it, do you?" He placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head at the rambunctious youngster that had rained on his parade. "I'm not here to fight you," his jade green eyes were sincere, but still guarded.

It was a dangerous thing to attempt to disarm the threat of a feral animal by moving closer to it; and in the same way it was equally dangerous to approach an opponent in such a manner. Yet, that's exactly what he did. The Nobody leaned in close, appearing more like an upset babysitter than a foe. "Just what is your deal, anyway?" It was rather picturesque, really, that as the Nobody leaned toward the attacker, (whom he was stupidly unafraid of), the Aeon he was after could've been seen over that bony shoulder, waiting for its master in the distance.

How artistically ironic.

[Deleted]

Wether it was by some force of will or just getting his strength back, Artemis shot up his arm and pushed the Nobody up. And he placed so much strength in that thrust that Axel actually got air. He struggled up and gestured at Hermes. "Hermes, help." was all he could say before collapsing from exhaustion.

The Aeon spread its wings and flew over Artemis, who was now unconcious. It roared its challenge to the redhead, standing protectively over Artemis' motionless form. His wings rotated in the socket, facing towards Axel. He pushed his wings foreward and caused a giant shockwave to burst forth at a high speed towards the Nobody. He then proceeded to use Shield. He sensed Axel's power, and was intellegent enough to be cautious.

But the next move wouldn't be his. And he could feel his own strength dimming due to Artemis' state. He didn't have long.

[Era]

The Nobody used the first air current to his advantage, pushing off a nearby wall at the earliest convenience, executing a flip, and landing on his feet. The pebbles beneath his boots scuffed along the ground as he landed, scraping at his heels.

Those careful eyes watched the beast like a hawk, and as soon as it let loose an attack, he took to the shelter of a nearby corner. He threw his hood up and looked down the alley just in time to miss the majority of the assault. His makeshift shelter allowed the gust to blow right past him, leaving him with little more than a few scratches from the pebbles and sand that got caught up in the current. But he wasn't able to stay in his current location for long, as the burst of air had uprooted a handful of bricks overhead.

He managed to dodge those too (scarcely), and stared carefully back at the large prize of a creature. All he could see was its potential. Of course he didn't plan to harm it, but once he handed the creature off to Vexen, he wasn't sure what would happen.

The redhead crossed his arms as he strolled closer to the creature. Fortunately enough, the beast appeared to be weakening... And very attached to his now-unconscious master. If he could get to the kid, he could probably lure the beast right into his hands.

"I'm not gonna battle you, beastie," the Nobody nodded once to his foe, offering a small, acknowledging gesture gesture with his hand. The only problem that faced him now was how he would accomplish his impending goal.

[Deleted]

Hermes just shot the man a look as he said that he wouldn't fight him. He had tried to attack his master, and Hermes intended to make him pay. But in this state he was vulnerable, so he stood over Artemis and used a Shield on himself, his wings covered in lightning as he did. But he realized, as he cast it, that it was too much. He started to see blurrily and then crashed to the ground, unconcious.

[Era]

Bullseye.

Axel stood prepared to dodge another attack from the rebellious beast when it finally staggered, and toppled over. The Nobody unleashed a twisted smirk. Like a faithful puppy, it seems that the Flurry's luck had returned to him. His gaze shot toward the curious bystanders as those cloaked arms crossed. Eventually the pedestrians got the picture and moved along, minding their own business. And, when the coast was clear, Number Eight brought his fingers together, snapping a signal to his minions.

Gray Assassin Nobodies slunk out of silver pools on the ground and off of nearby walls, gathering over the Aeon like ants over a dead carcass.

An inky black portal swirled into existence near them, and they drug the enormous, limp creature into darkness.

This plan of Axel's? It was working far too well. Now, let's just hope that negotiations with Vexen would run as smoothly.

[Exit: Axel. I will PM you with the location of this thread's continuation.]

[Deleted]

[Roger that. Artemis out]