tampered | Log; COMPLETE

Log; COMPLETE

When; EDIT: September 20, afternoon.
Rating; PG-13? [there'll be fighting]
Characters; Sakura Mizrahi [

mizrahigirl] , Elena [

lady_turk], Albedo [

theinfinite_667], & Ingram Prisken [

timediver_mk1]
Summary; Elena comes to escort Sakura back to the Durandal. Albedo and Ingram have other ideas. Their ideas involve more fighting and less 'making it back to the Durandal'.
Log;

All it took was a visit to someone who had less than she did to make Sakura thankful for everything she had. And Nill ...was special. Her voice, the lack of it, gaining it, and then losing it again, was something the brunette could empathize with entirely too well, and struck a poignant chord in the girl. She put her hands up to her throat, marveling all over again at the ability to speak this place had afforded her. She could talk to people, make friends, try to sing, even.

Elena was there to make sure she made it back to the Durandal okay. Rubedo had walked her over. They were always so careful with her and around her. Sakura looked up at the blonde woman. "Thank you for walking me back, Elena." She knew it was an extra effort, knew that the older woman must have found her new duty slightly ...well, not necessarily cumbersome, but certainly not what she was used to doing.

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If Sakura thought that Elena was at all bothered by being asked to escort her back to the Durandal, Elena might have been able to some of that type of thought to rest by giving the girl an easy smile and a relaxed tone of voice. "I don't mind. You're pleasant company and it's nice to get out as well." Truth be told, doing something like this reminded Elena a little of what she used to do as a Turk and escorting Rufus everywhere. And really, Sakura was a nice girl that Elena didn't nearly spend enough time with, just the two of them, compared to how she spent the rest of her time.

Besides, walking Sakura back was an easy enough task. It wasn't like the girl had any major enemies and who would want to attack them?

"Mm." The brunette was really less focused than she should have been on their conversation- talking to Nill had left her slightly disconnected, and Sakura was looking forward to making it back onboard and playing piano for a while until she got her feet back under her. It really was therapeutic for her.

The compliment registered belatedly. "Ah- thank you." It had been months ago that Rubedo had told her not to worry about being a burden. And she had stopped bringing it up, but it was still nice to know that she wasn't inconveniencing anyone. Sakura smiled. Elena was a nice person. And Rubedo trusted her.

In the darkness of a crumbling third-story alcove, a pair of amethyst eyes glittered. Tracking over the women's silhouettes, then tracing strands of hair winding across the curves of their faces. Sakura would look so delightful a little paler. Perhaps he could talk her into a better look -- fear had a smell, that wonderful mixture of sweat, breath, tears, and pure adrenaline. And for Elena, a few red lines across that sharp face. A bead of blood over the long nose...

A sharp tongue flicked over pale lips. He could see the look on Rubedo's face. Feel his tension, his anger, his abject fear...the rush was there already.

Stark white hair fluttered in the wind. Across the City's stone-paved street, a barely-visible yellow spark. Ingram. Now we see if you can fight.

Stepping up behind Albedo, Ingram peered towards the two ladies. He had no idea what Albedo's goal for this operation was but he did owe Albedo a favor so he didn't complain.

The Time Diver lightly snapped his fingers to get Albedo's attention. If Albedo wanted to teleport down to the girl's location, he was going to need a forewarning. Was it time to commence or were they going to wait a little?

Just because Elena had assumed that the little walk back wouldn't be any kind of trouble didn't mean that she had gone out unarmed. It was a rare day that Elena went anywhere without at the very least, a gun on her person. Normally, she carried more on her simply because it was always better to be safe than sorry and, over time, it was stranger for her not to carry a weapon than to have one. It was a little paranoid, but that paranoia had saved her a few times in the past.

Which was why, though it was very, very faint, almost to the point of dismissal, that Elena tensed when she thought she felt someone watching her. It might have been simply a passerby glancing over at them when they walked past, but Elena didn't quite think that was what the feeling she was getting was.

Though she showed no outward signs of it, continuing on with the conversation with Sakura in the same manner as before and without missing a beat, Elena started to pay a bit more attention to their surroundings as she casually and quickly undid the clasp on the wrist sheath that held one of her throwing knives.

"You're welcome. I'm glad I got to know you a bit Sakura."

The precautions of the blonde beside her went unnoticed by Sakura, who placed one purple shoe in front of the other, watching alternately the ground beneath her feet and the plants along the pathway.

The brunette smiled again. "It's nice...to be able to talk to people here." How many times had she thought that, said it, been thankful for it? The mere ability to speak was a blessing beyond all blessings.

"I'm glad I could meet you too." Glad didn't even begin to cover it- she was thankful, in a mood like this, for every word that passed her lips. For every time she spoke and someone could hear her, and for having people decide that she was nice to talk to, making friends more than the three boys who'd tumbled onto her floor one day. And Elena was special for Rubedo. Sakura didn't really spend much time thinking about that, but knowing that Rubedo was happy with her was enough for the girl.

Albedo nodded. Yes. It was time. Now or never, because interference could walk up at any given moment. His pale lips formed two faint words: Get Sakura. His head angled slightly down toward the small girl, and his eyes narrowed as he continued, I have Elena.

Three pale fingers extended beside his hip. Three seconds.

Adrenaline surged through him, pushing him forward, but he restrained himself and bent lower, coiling his legs, tensing his wings. One finger crooked back. Two.

A faint pale glow gathered at his hands, turning his palms hot inside his fists. It all begged to be unleashed, break the chain, unbind the fury--

One.

And then none.

Go!

Ingram nodded back, acknowledging Albedo's order. His mind went into full speed, mentally ordering the Astranagun to spin up it's drive and prepare to open a dimensional gate.

As Albedo's three fingers began to tick off, Ingram drew pistol he had brought for this occasion. Loaded with knockout drugs, it would make transport of his sample easier.

When the last finger dropped, Ingram ordered the Astranagun to warp them over. Bright white light bathed the two villains and sucked them up like a vacuum. Taking into account Albedo's abilities, Ingram transported him right in front of Elena and Sakura to catch them off guard and stand in their way. Ingram dropped himself to the back and left of Sakura, hopefully putting himself in a position to take her when distracted.

Of course, first, he was going to enjoy seeing the surprise their entrance had caused.

The instant that Albedo appeared in front of her, Elena quickly reached over and pulled Sakura to her, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders and pressing her as close as she could. She didn't even register who it was that had appeared in front of them, only reacting to the change in the situation. She'd apologize for the man-handling later, so long as there was a later to during.

The other hand that had loosened the knife, now flicked out said knife and held it up in a defensive position. It was now that Elena's brain registered who it was that had appeared in front of them. Narrowing her eyes, the blonde's hand tensed momentarily on the hilt of the knife, but she didn't move a step.

Albedo was going to make getting Sakura back to the Durandal a lot harder than she had previously thought.

Sakura was startled out of her reverie by Elena's arm pulling her to herself, almost knocking her off balance. Eyes snapped wide open, and a flash of white hair visible before she'd been pulled closer to Elena registered in the girl's mind- Albedo.

But why? Sakura turned her head to look at him, confusion and- no, she couldn't deny it, fear, written on her face, glad for the solidity of Elena's presence, even as the arm around her shoulders restricted both their movements.

A vague voice in the back of her mind told her that this was what Rubedo'd been fearing- this was why he'd walked her everywhere or sent Elena with her when she wanted to go out.

The teleportation felt as if someone had planted a vortex inside him, a gut-twisting sensation, the warping process spiraling him in until he dizzily vanished and reappeared elsewhere. The world blinked out into white, then blinked in again, and there they were, the little girl cowering in fear, clinging to her protector, Elena glaring with a knife in her hand.

"How cute, a bodyguard. Where's your boyfriend, Elena? I wonder why I never see him anymore..." White teeth flashed in a cruel grin just before he lunged from his crouch, both hands flaring brilliant white-blue and crackling towards Elena in two brilliant arcs of energy.

What luck. By holding themselves together, they made this job delicately simple. But a frown still plastered Ingram's face. Albedo was obviously out for a little blood. Ingram usually tried to avoid such trifle things.

He took two steps forward and slightly motioned for Albedo to back off. Ingram didn't try too hard to warn off Albedo, seeing as he never really seemed to get hurt. He held out his arm and clenched his fist once, making as if he was going to grab both of the females in one go.

Ingram waited, banking on the girls focusing on Albedo while he would make his move momentarily.

While it was true that Elena could fight a lot better when she had full access to use both her arms, like hell would she leave Sakura anywhere out of her reach. One, this was Albedo and who could really tell what he wanted. And two, Elena was pretty certain that Sakura wasn't hiding a shotgun underneath her dress like Rufus did with his white trench-coat.

"..." A taunting war was not what she needed to get involved in right now, though the temptation was sorely tugging at her.

It wasn't until Albedo lunged that Elena moved at all, but instead of backing-up, she pivoted and turned so that she was holding Sakura up against her chest, knife only being sheath at the last moment since Elena had no delusions about trying to fight off Albedo with only a knife. Whatever that glowing energy was that Albedo had, at least it would only hit her back and she could brace herself to handle most of that pain. It would probably hurt, but she'd still be better off than getting struck anywhere else.

Elena didn't even realize that Albedo wasn't alone until she looked upwards to mumble, 'Wall,' under her breath, casting the defense spell over Sakura first. When she did finally notice the other person, just out of the corner of her eyes, Elena amended her assessments of the situation from 'difficult' to 'screwed.' She didn't even know why or who he was, but if he had been there from the start and hadn't done anything yet or run away, it probably wasn't a good sign for her.

Sakura could only react, could only try not to trip up Elena as she twisted away from Albedo's lunge, could only stand there as Elena cast something on her, could only, could only.

Albedo's words were aimed at Elena, not her, but it still stung. Sakura stared at Albedo, the boy she'd known so long ago, who'd changed as Rubedo had not, momentarily incapable of motion and wishing she could do something- anything- to help Elena, to make this easier on her, to have her hurt less because the blonde was guarding her.

The arcs cracked through the air in an X alignment, burning into Elena's back and leaving a trail of smoke that reeked of seared flesh and ozone. The pale glow in the air faded in a white haze; through the cloudy tracks, Ingram was frowning and twitching his hand in a way that said, Back off.

What? This was Albedo's mission, and he could do what he wanted with them. Sakura wasn't worth damaging right now, but Elena, the powerful protector and equal to Rubedo, would benefit from a little subjugation.

But if Ingram had some idea of how to finish this quickly, let him try his hand. Elena already knew about Albedo and his nature and abilities -- surely Rubedo had told her, in his pitiful despair-hatred over it all -- and she would consider him much more of a threat.

Fine. He would play a little into Ingram's idea. Rising from his animal-like half-crouch into a tall, straight stance, he leaned over Elena and curled one arm around her neck, pulling it up and back, attempting to lift her somewhat off Sakura and, at the same time, put a little more natural adrenaline into the already palpable tension.

Ingram still wasn't satisfied but anything that happened now wasn't to be blamed on him. He had given Albedo fair warning.

The mission was to capture the two and he was going to do just that. So he would leave it to his machine. Made out of Zyfluid crystal, it was large enough to be a sentient machine. All he had to do was give the order and it would follow. So, Ingram told it to come.

The air, twenty meters off the ground,, emitted a large white light. The light became to twist and flow, forming itself into a purple circle, etched with different symbols all through it. Out of the center, the large jet black hand of Astranagun shot out, the insect-like head followed shortly after along with one wing. The overly large palm reached towards the three who were all together, seemingly in a melee. The claws on the end of the large palm curled around, the intent obvious. Ingram was going to scoop them up and finish what they came for.

She didn't cry out, nor did she scream, when her back was burnt, though it hurt more than she had been expecting it to. Hissing through clenched teeth, Elena kept her voice low to hide the inflection of pain that her tone would carry if she were to speak louder, but loud enough so that Sakura could hear it. "Whatever happens next, ignore it and just run." It wasn't something Elena wanted to say, but she knew that, while she couldn't defeat Albedo, she could certainly be enough of a distraction and cause enough interference that Sakura could get away.

Pressing into the girl's palm a small communications device, Elena gave her another direction as she began pulling another spell while reaching for one of the guns she had brought well. "Don't stop, but if you can, get help. Not for me, but for yourself. Above all else. Get. Out. Of. Here."

And then Elena was jerked back and practically off her feet. One hand went to the arm around her neck, and the other managed to briefly shove Sakura forward, indicating that the girl should do as Elena had instructed. Elena would have liked to been able to say something to the girl, but she didn't have the time if she wanted to do something about the other man as well as try to get out of Albedo's grip.

Twisting the arm that was holding the gun backwards, the blonde Turk began firing a number of shots at Albedo, knowing that she couldn't kill him, but at least hoping hitting him with bullets would make him let her go.

Thankfully, Elena did not have to see a target to launch a spell at them. Not if she was using an area-wide Ice 3 spell, centered around the spot where she'd seen the other man... Now only if her luck let her actually do something to distract him from Sakura.

[ooc: If I'm stepping on any toes, please let me know? >_>;;;]

Elena had just taken the blow for her, and the realization that this was real, that this fight was meant to hurt them, was sinking in to the brunette's mind, and she'd almost dropped the device Elena had given her, almost missed the instructions the woman had given her; hand clasping the communicator with shaking fingers. Leave Elena? "But-"

But there was no time, and there was nothing she could do otherwise, and she was shoved forward into a stumbling run away from the fight, away from the woman that'd been jerked off her feet, away from the gunshots, and away.

Her shoes weren't meant for running, and neither was the dress she wore.

A bullet tore into Albedo's shoulder, a bloody swath dripping into his clothes and spattering them red. He hissed as his arm fell limp, leaving him with only the other to hang onto Elena. Stretching his wings, he thrust himself into the air, barely rising with enough speed to get Elena off the ground as well. His telekinesis supported most of him -- the wings were simply decorative, for the most part -- but nevertheless he didn't carry full-sized bodies in the air very often. The enormous mechanical hand was heading toward him; he lunged down at the fingers and dropped Elena, relying on Ingram's beast to catch her; with a sharp swerve in the air, he swept away to follow Sakura.

While the hand was reaching to catch the falling Elena, Ingram's mind warned him of a numbing cold. Being a fragile being, unlike Albedo, it was time to leave the battlefield for a more protective space. Someplace such as the cockpit of the Astranagun.

The air around him almost instantly dropped to temperatures below zero. Wasting no time, Ingram teleported himself to the cockpit. He went to reach for the controls but felt nothing as he saw his hands wrap around them. His unprotected extremities had frozen. He would have to stick with controlling the Astranagun with his mind.

Elena's mind blanked for a moment as she was lifted off the ground and into the air. Shock and surprise making her cease her firing long enough for Albedo to drop her into the awaiting hand. The sudden fall and the landing into said hand was enough to make Elena wince and give a small cry of pain, which she cut short, bitting her bottom lip. She didn't think she broke anything, sprained maybe, but her back was sorely protesting such rough treatment.

However, there was still plenty of fight left in Elena for her to mentally reach for the Ice materia on her band, and yank out another Ice 3 spell, concentrating it on Albedo. If this guy was only here to aid in capture, then the white-haired man was of higher concern. Unfortunately, Elena was starting to get a touch dizzy from the rapid spell casting. Not even giving herself the short time she needed to properly ready herself for the drain, the spells were casts as fast and as powerful as she needed, but she certainly couldn't keep it up for very long.

It took every bit of will for Sakura to not stop and turn and try and help the woman, because she knew she couldn't help against Albedo, and every bit of will to hold on to the device Elena had given her, although her fingers trembled with the sounds of the fight behind her and threatened to give out.

But it wasn't her fingers that gave out, it was her knees, and she misstepped, tripped, fell on one knee, and scrambled to get back up again, with Elena's words ringing in her ears Don't Stop don't stop don't stop pounding through her head.

Sakura threw a frantic glance backwards- had they seen her fall? was Elena still being attacked? did she have time to make it to a building? but she knew she didn't have time for more than the glance before she was moving again, clumsily running towards- towards anything that wasn't what was behind her.

His flight suit was designed for cold, but not this cold, and his wings--

Beastly woman. She had frozen them solid, the feathers locked together like scales.

He was hovering telekinetically now, his wings frozen solid and sticking out from his back like a cheap costume. Smart girl, freezing him like this...his hands were so stiff he couldn't move them, and his legs were almost in the same condition. Except this wasn't actual damage, so his regeneration wouldn't compensate for it -- he was just, well, frozen. The water had flash-frozen so quickly that it didn't even damage him on a micro-level.

Too smart.

He dropped himself out of the air and landed hard on both arms, breaking them both at once. They were so cold he couldn't feel the pain, only the warm glow of both of them healing.

And there was Sakura, still running for her life.

He raised the stump of one arm and swung it in the air, flinging blood and a spew of energy off toward where she was running; the energy, like buckshot, shattered a brick wall next to her and sent debris flying in front of her to slow her.

He lifted himself into the air again, heading for the fleeing child as his arms reformed, bone extending and sprouting veins and muscles and finally skin. Diving toward Sakura, he descended over her.

The blond haired woman's resistance was getting annoying. He would have to force her to sit still. Of course, there were other ways to solve this other than using brute force. He might get the other girl to stop running too.

The hand Elena was sitting in crackled with a high amount of energy. Above Elena's head, a black ball the size of the mech's hand formed. It floated over the hand, it's surface nearly bubbling with power. Activating the outside speakers, Ingram spoke.

"This attack is capable of forming black holes which destroy anything they come in contact with. If both of you do not cease to resist, I will fire this weapon at the battleship which you call home. It may not destroy the whole thing but a sizable portion will be taken out. This is my only warning."

If it had been anyone else, that threat would have most likely instantly cowed them into submission. However, Elena was unlike most people. Elena was a Turk and she didn't take very well to threats, regardless of who or what was being threatened. So the only response that Elena had to the threat of the Durandal's destruction was a narrowing of her eyes and a low growl, from deep in her throat.

Closing her eyes briefly, Elena began channeling her emotions into the various materia she had equipped with her. Not thinking about Sakura, though there was part of her that was still listening for any cries from the girl if the Wall spell should falter, and not concerned with her own health; the materia glowed with all the energy and focus Elena was putting into it. When she opened her eyes and spoke, it was not in a beaten or submissive tone of voice.

"Try it and we'll see just how big of an explosion I can make and how much damage it can do to whatever this hand is attached to." If there was anything that any Turk could do well, it was to make a very large explosion.

Sakura had lost sense of where she was running to, she was just running-

And something flung by her, and an explosion shattered the wall next to her, making her gasp in surprise and throw her hands up to shield her face from the bits of brick flung everywhere- but that meant Albedo was close, and she was not going to be able to get away, but she had to get away, Elena had told her to run, so she had to run.

But there was rubble in the way, and she tried to pick her way over it, but she couldn't run, and then someone else- he'd destroy the Durandal? But Rubedo was there! They couldn't- no, and she froze halfway over the pile of rubble, not even cogent of the fact that that had been the demand. They couldn't hurt Rubedo- shouldn't couldn't can't all melded together in her mind, and she cried out "No-!"

No, don't hurt anyone anymore, no, not Rubedo, no, stop, no, don't hurt yourself, no, not for her, not for Sakura, no...

The arms swooped down and, with their eerie red rings where he had broken them off, wrapped around Sakura's waist.

"What, you don't want to stay with your uncle Albedo?" He laughed once, a harsh and grating sound, and pressed his cheek against hers as they both lifted away. The sound of rushing breath roared in her ear. "You smell sweet...so innocent..." A single claw-nail traced across her neck, down one side, up the other, around the soft curl of her jaw. "Oh, the things you've missed over these years."

He turned back toward the Astranagun, where Elena was still struggling.

"Explosion...?"

A small laugh escaped Ingram's lips. The foolishness of humans this day and age.

"I would like you to understand something. This machine has features just like your friend Albedo. If you blow up Albedo, why, he just regrows nearly instantly. This machine functions the exact same way. Difference is, I won't be appreciative afterwards. First, I will destroy the battleship. Second, most likely through anger, I will commit atrocities upon the newly captured girl. Of course, it will be all your fault."

The black mech's claws began to close shut, the ball of energy still floating overhead.

"If you give up, I assure you, no harm will befall any of you. I will give you until the count of two. Refuse and I destroy the ship. One."

An overwhelming sense of anger and frustration washed over Elena and she very nearly bite through her bottom lip in an effort to control her emotions, though she was fairly shaking with anger. Anger at herself. Anger at the situation. Anger at Albedo and his alley. But she wasn't so angry that she couldn't still think clearly.

Her own health didn't matter, and the Durandal would be fine, but Sakura... She was still a child and a very innocent one at that. While Elena was no stranger to blame for the things she'd done, her own sense of guilt would do far more damage than guilt from anyone else.

Pride and guilt and frustration fought for a moment, until Elena finally reached a decision. There wasn't any other choice, was there? She'd give in, but give up... Posture stiff and voice with barely leashed fury, Elena pulled back on the spells, but the focus was still there.

"I will never give up, but if you or Albedo do anything to harm her, I will make sure you both pay for it."

[ooc: Nearing the end or at the end, you think?]

Sakura lay limp like a rag doll for the first moments of Albedo's flight, she hadn't been watching for him, and going up had taken her by surprise. Not that it should have.

And then she recoiled, because he was close, too close and saying things, it was all she could hear, and she pulled away, except that she was held too fast, and she could only pull away in her own mind, pull away get away, mind in some place that was not connected to the neck Albedo was caressing because she couldn't face the situation, couldn't accept what it meant that she was being flown by Rubedo's estranged brother, held tightly by one arm around her slim waist, couldn't face the fact that she had failed Elena in not getting away, failed Rubedo in not staying safe, failed-

People told her she was strong. Sakura knew this was false, knew that she was weak.

She fainted.

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Log; COMPLETE

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