Miami Shark [Zidane/Open]

[Hydeja Ymeah]

Luca. A place of joy and wonder, and most of all, of muscular, sweaty men playing with balls in a giant glass dome filled with water.

Strange sport, that Blitzball.

Even stranger was the site at the edge of Luca. The harbour, usually a bustling site of activity, was almost deserted. Apparently there were signs of strange quakes and a fiend under the water. The local protection was searching the seas for it, in order to subdue it for the safety of everyone. Yet even though it was official, with Non Serviam flags set up at the shore to denote a barrier, no one really believed that there was fiend under the water worth any real trouble. Most stayed back out of learned caution, but there were the few that walked around, worked, or even dangled their feet over the edge of the harbor.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a massive burst of water, like a grenade went about 50 yards off.

BOOM.

Another explosion of water. The sprays were reaching heights of 30 feet.

BOOM.

The sprays were getting bigger.

BOOM.

They were starting to close in. Wait, was that yelling!?

BOOM!

Yelling! It was definitely yelling! Someone was yelling from beneath the water!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The freakish thing screeched as it flew through the air. It looked like some mix between a ram head and the foulest sea creatures you could imagine put together. It was a strange creature known as the Geosgaeno, not something your average mook could take down.

Then again, with his fist sticking out of the water just 20 feet away from the harbor Hyde was not that much of a mook. As the giant monster landed with a large THWOOM on the harbor, just behind those on the edge of the pier. Dripping a combination of water and blood, the fiend gave it's last cries of unlife before finally shuddering fully and going still. It's hardened shell seemed completely broken in certain places, and it looked like it had been murdered with nothing but pure force. Once it's death was confirmed, Non Serviam officers began to cordon off the cadaver with their own bodies, trying to salvage whatever the thing could be carrying. After all, things that lived deep in the tended to have very good treasure on them, usually lifted from the divers they ate.

Of course, one person would have no chance to pry into this treasure. For within a few moments, they would find a very strong grip on their legs. Once they looked down, they would find Hyde's two hands wrapped around their shins and his head poking up just barely out of the water. Looking like some kind of monster, with his hair a mess and a blood covered smile adorning his face, Hyde only said one thing.

"Oh hey there Cousin, what're you doing here? Help me up?"

[Zidane Tribal]

When the harbor was blocked off and there was no Blitzball to watch, the people of Luca were hard-pressed to find something to do, so most of them were at the bare limits of the Non-Serviam barricade, watching the events taking place in the harbor. They watched as noises resonated and explosions carried pillars of water high into the air, unsure how to react to each one. The news that there was a fiend in the harbor was common, so it was obvious there was somebody there to take care of the fiend, but whether or not they were winning was unclear to most of the spectators.

Except those with a good view.

Zidane’s tail wagged as he watched from the top of a particularly high spire overlooking the harbor. From his altitude he could see all the movement in the water, including the man who was battling against the fiend. He didn’t carry any analytical motives, he was not watching the man as a potential opponent or anything of the sort. No, Zidane, from his high perch sitting with his legs dangling and tail wagging, was there for the free show. And what a show it was indeed.

Then, as quickly as it had all started, it was over. He watched as the beast was blown clear out of the water and onto the pier, his high perch still able to catch the glitter of treasure. He grinned widely to himself as he saw the men pilfering the treasure immediately. Non-Serviam keeping the harbors off limits for the publics safety? Yeah, they just wanted the creatures’ treasure to themselves. Zidane smiled as he stood up and stretched, raising his arms high into the air, his tail stretching with him.

”Looks like I’ll be eating well tonight!” he said to himself, walking over to the edge of the spire. Without breaking stride he stepped right off, his tail lashing out and wrapping around a pier that jutted out over the edge of the roof. His extra appendage caught all his weight and swung him down and in, through a window in the spire and a way down. The young thief quickly descended the stairs of the tower, emerging into the crowded streets where he began to make his way to the waterfront. He needed to keep an eye out for any of the Non-Serviams who ventured away with their treasure alone, making tem the ideal target to simply swipe a few small pieces, enough to get the rogue a warm bed and warmer dinner that night before he moved on to the next settlement.

[Hydeja Ymeah]

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The poor man screamed, pulling his legs away and running for his life. Unfortunately the Geosgaeno's blood and ooze has made his hands rather slippery and Hyde was unable to keep his grip on his 'cousin's' legs causing Hyde to slip back into the water before he could even yell out. Thrashing around for just a bit he eventually got his bearings and swam his way to a pillar of the harbor. Using his fiendish strength he ignored the moss and smooth surface, choosing instead to simply claw his way up onto the deck using his bare hands.

"The places I go... next time, don't fall asleep on the only part of the boat without rails..." he muttered, shaking the water off himself like a dog. He looked rather funny with his hair all poofy and his dress now fluttering in the breeze a bit, almost like a lion cub wearing a sleeping robe. Hands going to his fanny-pack he pulled out that same blank book he always had, breathing a sigh of relief that it hadn't gotten wet. He knew it was a good idea to spend that extra Gil making it air-tight.

"Let's see, near the sea, lots of people, big doooome... ah, Luca!" He cried, flipping through the pages. He read the invisible script of his memory, adjusting his glasses just slightly to shake the specks of water off, calling on whatever he remembered of Luca. Hyde's memory was still good here, so he could get around at least. Walking with no care for directions, he poured himself into his book and read on about Blitzball, Luca's best pubs (he was unsure why he knew them) and other things, completely ignoring that he had walked right past the guards and was nearing the Geosgaeno he had just killed.

"Sir, please stay ba-Sir, SIR!!!?" A guard called as Hyde ignored and walked right past him. One went to grab his arm and pull him away, but found himself instead being pulled by Hyde. It was almost comedic how Hyde kept walking and pulled along this valiant mook, trying as hard as possible to get him to stop. Only when Hyde ended up bumping into the Geosgaeno did he, and only for a moment. Sticking his tongue out and quickly making a face of disgust, he walked around the thing until he saw it's head. Embedded was an odd jewel, deep blue like the sea that seemed to have water rolling around in itself. Eventually the guard gave up and Hyde raised an eyebrow before reaching out and plucking the jewel from the fiend's head and walking off. Jewel in his left, book in his right, he continued to walk and lost himself in the crowd, flipping through his pages one-handed while scanning his memory for the identity of the jewel.

"Oop! Oh, sorry!" He said suddenly, having lost himself again. In the crowd he had bumped into a young boy. Ignoring the tail and fur he had, Hyde pushed the jewel into his hand and said "Here, hold this for me would you?" without a look to the small boy he began to flip through the book more furiously, scratching his head and trying to figure out what the jewel was.

Sometimes you wondered how on earth Hyde survived in this world.

[Zidane Tribal]

Zidane moved along through the people, making his way to the waterfront. It was easy to know which way the events were, the crowd grew thicker and thicker as he approached the harbor. Everyone was up for a good show. The young thief darted in through some alleys and carefully made his way through the city looking for the best place to get past the barricades. He wasn’t expecting them to have cleaned up the mess in the short time it took for him to get to the barricades. He also kept an eye out for any of the Non-Serviam men who decided to take their loot and move on before anyone could decide it should go into some sort of group coffers.

It was on one of these glances to the harbor front that Zidane was stopped abruptly by a fierce, dripping man with a book, who shoved a large and pretty jewel into Zidane’s hands. It was random, so random that it actually caught Zidane off guard. ”Here, hold this for me would you?” the man said, flipping idly through his book. Zidane didn’t know how to react. He’d gone to the waterfront looking for treasure, and this one had been handed so casually to him. But if he ran off with it the man would no doubt chase, but could the young thief outrun this man? There was something not right about him.

”Erm, alright,” Zidane responded, looking down to the waterfront. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long, else he miss all the treasure. But then he wasn’t about to run off on this man for treasure. He needed somebody to hold the jewel, and frankly Zidane had been there to help. Help, that’s what he did best. After all, you don’t need a reason to help somebody. Still, the cerulean jewel was very tempting. Zidane fought against the urge to take off running. He was quick, but this man looked strong, or fast, one or the other. Either way he was not the type of man you ticked off by running off with his jewel while he leafed through his… empty book.

You met some strange people throughout Spira, but then again Zidane had a tail, not exactly a common occurrence in humans, so he couldn’t say much against. Thus he simply waited with the man’s jewel in hand, waiting for some sort of analysis or whatnot? He shrugged.

[Paine]

The events grabbed her attention, as those crimson eyes looked out at the harbor. Her strides easily reached it, as the guardians began to surround. Her eyes glanced over the body, searching it with her warrior's view. Her rather large blade hung on her back, there as a warning mostly, as she looked over. Seeing the male come by and take the gem out of the forehead of the creature, she raised an eyebrow. Something was definately off, and now was the time to find out exactly what. Her body moved almost like a panther, as she followed him. Watching him speak to a tailed human, the woman gave a raise of eybrows, walking closer. Perhaps now was the best time to intervene in this situation, waving a hand at the Non-Serviam officers. She was going to take care of this, that wave said. Her steps echoed on the pavement, as she approached the male. Perhaps diplomacy would work better right now.. she could hurt him later.

''Excuse me. Were you the one that killed it.'' she asked, sounding more like a statement then anything else. Her voice was not dead, more like apathetic, and quiet, as if she doesn't speak much. Putting a hand on the shoulder of the male with the book, to gain his attention, she waited for an answer, as those red eyes narrowed softly, gazing at him. This might turn out quite interesting if she said so herself.

[ooc - Hope no one minds. XD]

[Hydeja Ymeah]

[ooc: Not at all, it's got Open in the title o3o]

Hyde was having trouble remembering exactly what the jewel was, made apparent by his strange computer talk. "Total results are equal to zero, reinstate search with different parameters, total results are equal to zero, reinstate search with different parameters, total results are equal to zero, reinstate search with different parameters, total results are equal to zero, this is really weird, I usually don't have this much trouble searching..." he muttered, scratching his chin and looking bemused as he flipped through the blank pages. If you took a moment to stare at those strange golden eyes of his, you could swear that the non-existent text he read was reflected in them. He looked to the jewel Zidane held and tapped it twice, seeing if anything would happen. Amazingly enough, something did! The water inside seemed to swirl, and you could definitely hear the sound of waves crashing in the ocean.

That's when Hyde decided to be 'smart' and go further.

Unbeknown to Hyde, the gem was rather fragile. Raising both eyebrows when he heard the sound he tapped the gem just a bit harder this time. Of course his version of a bit harder was about equal to shooting the thing with a rubber bullet since Hyde never really bothered to watch that freakish strength of his. The gem cracked a bit, and suddenly water began to gush and squirt out of the thing with the force of a fire hydrant!

"GAH! TOTALLY NOT MY FAULT" He cried, shielding his book and jumping back from Zidane. The gem began to become violent, and the water gushed even harder over time. Hyde instantly knew that it was a Water Gem, a very potent jewel that acted like an elemental grenade. Inside it held an entire Waterga spell, and when the jewel shattered completely there would be an explosion of water that would no doubt send both him and Zidane flying, and leave them with broken bones and the like. The sound of the waves and of rushing water continued to get bigger, as the jewel began to spew more and more liquid with Hyde looking left and right at what to do.

"Excuse me. Were you the one that killed it.[/color]" A voice from behind Hyde asked. He looked behind him, following the slender hand on his shoulder all the way up to the equally attractive face. He knew this person. Or maybe it was more accurate to say he 'knew' this person.

"Cousin Lyla, how great to see you!" He cried, his entire face brightening at Paine's appearance. Unfortunately for Paine, she had now been inducted into Hyde's made up family and had now been shoved into the role of his imaginary cousin. He had already mentally made up an entire history for her even, though that would be a story for later. Poking his head to the side and looking at the Geosgaeno she was talking about he smiled again and replied "Oh yeah, that, yeah it happens all the time. If I had a Gil for every time I kill one of those I'd be a Gillionaire." waving his hand and looking humble about it.

The freaky thing was, he was being humble about it.

"Oh, but we might wanna talk a little later, sort of a problem here." He then added, finally putting his book away and pointing with both hands to the Water Gem Zidane had that was still squirting water and now quaking as if about to detonate. It was a quick but very articulate move, as while Hyde explained "Just hold on, this'll be over in a second!" He made to grab for Zidane's collar with his right hand, with his left trying to wrap around Paine's waist. If they ended up in his grasp, they would find his grip strangely vice-like, almost like a machina as Hyde pushed off with his legs and began to run at the freakish speed of his away from the crowd and the Gem, towards safety in the center of the town.

That is, if Zidane had let go of the gem.

[Zidane Tribal]

"Total results are equal to zero, reinstate search with different parameters, total results are equal to zero, reinstate search with different parameters, total results are equal to zero, reinstate search with different parameters, total results are equal to zero, this is really weird, I usually don't have this much trouble searching..." What was he talking about? He was looking through a blank book, how was he searching for something? Of course he’d come up with nothing searching, there was nothing written.

And what was a parameter?

Zidane held the stone as the man examined it. It’s not like he could run off with it. But then the man threw the scientific approach to the wind and rapped hardly on the gem. Nothing happened. Then he rapped harder. Zidane could hardly hold on against the knock, and the pressure continued as water started to spurt out of the gem, causing the man who had hit it to jump back wildly. Zidane didn’t know how to react. ”Uh, is it supposed to do-“ he started to ask when he was cut off by a woman asking the man if he had killed the beast. Killed what beast? Of course, this guy must’ve been the one Zidane had been watching from the top of the spire. He was a strange individual.

Apparently the woman was related to him? Didn’t matter to Zidane. At the moment he had a portable ocean spraying out from a gem and drenching them. He tried to aim it away, but the buildings were so packed away that it was unavoidable to soak the lot of them with a mist. Then, suddenly, Zidane was being carried off. He had no idea what to do! The man was strong, taking the two others under his arm and jumping away. Was there something after them? Another fiend? Zidane couldn’t reach his daggers with this gem in hands!

They were flying through the air as the man carried them away from whatever it was that was chasing them. Zidane held the gem so that it wasn’t pointing at them, spraying the people they ran past accidently. Then Zidane realized what was happening. The gem’s stream was getting bigger as it cracked further. His eyes opened wide and as best as he could from under the man’s arm he gave it a hurl, except it was too late. It was only a few feet from Zidane’s hand when it shattered, creating a huge burst of water that would send the three of them careening high into the air and toward the harbor.

”Oh crap!” Zidane cried.

[Paine]

She was watching the both of them. Obviously, science was not working, as the practical approach was taken. If Paine had a mesure of this man, it was broken, as she saw the cracked gem. Her question had been asked, and she knew what was going to happen. But nothing could have prepared the strange looking woman for what was next. She saw his face brighten, and his voice chimed out. Cousin Lyla? This startled Paine, not that it showed on her face. God be damned if it showed. She saw him poke his head around her, and said something about.. how he'd be rich if he earned a gill for each time he killed one. But the girl, very smart, could not feel as he was lying, but had had to be.. that was impossible. This sent off the alarm instincts in the girl, as she saw it quake. Already her hands were on her sword, just as the strange male was grabbing her by the waist. And that grip was tight, machina like, cutting off what was she was going to do and dragged off at insane speeds. What the hell was this person? The girl was still starring at the other, the tailed one. And she saw it. He was still holding the gem! Paine couldn't cry out, as the wind was hitting her back, cutting off almost all her air, leaving her with only a tiny bit to breathe. Damn, this would not end good... the monkey boy finally realised just what was happening and threw it. Too late, Paine knew this.. and it exploded.

The wave hit like a stone wall, knocking the three into the air, and bursting like a tidal wave. She slipped out of the male's grip, falling in the air. Her gaze had caught that they would land on the harbor, if something wasn't done. Paine was still close enough to the two.. could she save them? She wasn't an evil person, but not necessarily a self-sacrificing one either.. but too little time. Her foot move, as she lashed out, kicking the monkey boy, hard. Idiot had kept on holding to the gem, and she never said her rescue was gentle. He was sent careening in the air, to land safely in the water, as she did the same to the machina man, as she'd call him. But it was like hitting a brick wall, twice, so she decided something else. Using the momentum, she grabbed him and pitched him to the side. Now she was the only one slipping towards the dock.. this would hurt. Changing her course, she gritted her teeth and took a breath.

Splat. Sploooosh.

She had landed in the dead monster's carcass. Crawling out, the girl had a rather strange expression on her face, as she stumbled off, still a little dizzy, towards the two. Wading into the water, and grabbing the monkey boy, she threw him onto the bank, he was much lighter then any of them. And Paine was pissed, giving her strength that she wouldn't normally have, as she dragged the second guy from under the water, glaring at him with spark red eyes, swirling almost as in enraged. ''What. The. Hell.'' was all she said, before throwing him too onto the bank. She expected an answer, as she had shouted those words loud enough for the monkey kid to hear them too.

Somebody was going to get hurt.

[Hydeja Ymeah]

"... ... ... Ow." Hyde chirped out as Paine held him and gave him a stare that was going to make him spontaneously combust any moment now. He took a moment to take his glasses off and dry them with his wet clothing before putting them back on and focusing on Paine again. "What do you mean what the hell? Are you okay Lyla? I tried to take the brunt of the blast, did I leave you out?" Hyde asked, looking concerned for Paine. He even took a moment to help clean her, flicking a bit of gunk hanging from her hair. From several meters away. Of course it probably seemed like he had a blade on him as he did it at such a high speed you barely saw his hand move and only felt a tiny bit of focused air fly by.

When the gem had exploded, Hyde felt the force behind him and knew it was too close. Paine and Zidane were probably too focused on the explosion to notice, but Hyde's face went from naively calm to annoyed in an instant. There was also the thing about his eyes flashing red. Definitely creepy. He gritted his teeth as his muscles tightened to steel, the training from Sentinel kicking in. Immediately he let go of Zidane and pushed off him, ending up in front of Paine and the monkey whilst his muscles tightened further from the Cover ability. Guard up, Hyde took the entire explosion head on and prevented the gem from murdering the trio. The force he took didn't show, as his defenses had become freakishly high in this state, and the force was reduced from ripping them to shreds, down to just throwing them.

Of course, when Paine kicked Hyde in the gut right after, it sort of annoyed him. Said annoyance was prominent as Hyde's eyes had turned red once again, and were still red in front of Paine. Fortunately, the color was slowing draining back to blue and hopefully Paine would write off the red eyes as a hallucination. Within a moment of flicking the gunk off Paine, Hyde's mouth dropped open and he shouted "Wait, what about the monkey kid!?" Looking around wildly before spotting Zidane on the ground nearby. Immediately Hyde ran over to Zidane and went on his knees and palms, head near Zidane's ears and mouth roaring.

"OI! OI KID! YOU ALIVE!? WAKE UP!!!""

[Zidane Tribal]

"OI! OI KID! YOU ALIVE!? WAKE UP!!!"

Not exactly the sort of thing someone wanted to wake up to. Zidane came about consciousness after the rather painful landing and started to flail, quickly scrambling away from the shouting man who had given him such a destructive device and activated it. That wasn’t very smart of him, now was it? Zidane also started coughing, realizing he had inhaled some water and didn’t want to drown. He coughed and coughed, practically hacking up a lung, or vomiting one up considering the vile taste of the salty water that coated his lips, mouth and throat.

When the coughing fit had passed Zidane waited to make sure there weren’t any straggling coughs waiting to come out when the thief least expected them. Once it was sure that he was done, he looked up and looked around, whistling. That explosion, whatever it had been, had carried them far. Considering the size of the buildings it must’ve also carried them high. What had it been to send them so high and far? Why had this man who now shouted into his ear and making him deaf momentarily given him the stone so haphazardly and then activated it, only to grab the two of them and run.

This entire thing was strange and Zidane’s brain hurt thinking about it. That, or he had a headache from the landing. He was wet, so thankfully they had hit the water instead of solid ground, but the fall still took its toll on the young thief’s body, having smacked into the water and then dragged across solid ground. And now he was dripping wet and getting a little cold. There was no reason for him not to have a headache. And a backache. And an armache. And a chestache. And, well basically his entire body was hurting at that point.

”What hit us?” Zidane asked, looking about some more for an answer. Maybe it hadn’t been the gem but some fiend? But then, how long had Zidane been out anyway, that these two people, the man and the woman, weren’t ready for battle nor looked like they had just battled something. Zidane sighed to himself: how did he get himself caught up in this sort of thing, anyway?

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