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<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">Ein Kebia[/u]]<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#dcdcdc">[Cornelia Plains - Midland Gate Approach]</span><br/>
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Rikku nodded approvingly, and winked, though whether that was an answer to Ein's question or simply an appreciation of his more armored and better-armed state was entirely up to debate.  Unfortunately, no clarification was to be forthcoming, as a moment later she vanished between one blink and the next.  Surprisingly stealthy for a girl who wears such bright colors...<br/>
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Tifa on the other hand was focused on the manikin, and as Ein engaged it's partner she charged, fists blazing briefly as she hurled herself at the floating crystalline creature with a yell.  Then Ein was in the midst of his own dance of death and was barely able to pay attention to the fight happening next to him as the manikin seemed to sprout a pair of extra limbs out of nowhere that lashed out at him, crude pincer-like appendages on their ends snapping eagerly as their owner floated serenely towards him.  <br/>
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Now that he was up close, 'She' was in much better shape than the manikin he'd fought previously, and it showed, as her attacks were quicker, pushing his heightened reflexes and instilled training to the limit already just to get him out of their way in time!</div>
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<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">Thrice X[/u]]<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#696969">[Mirage Sandsea - Southern Pass]</span><br/>
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For the minimal damage the fall did, Thrice had actually made a surprisingly good tradeoff as his long tumble down the mountainside had gotten him away from the trio of manikins again, who were now forced to come back down the mountain to get him.  Of course, there were still two manikins down in the valley to deal with, and if the man who'd been controlling them was hiding anywhere nearby it would be down here, but both manikins seemed firmly engaged with their original target, especially as she switched her gun into a wicked-looking blade of some sort and lunged at one of them, driving the shifted weapon straight through the creature's crystalline chest with a battlecry before pivoting and slamming the still-impaled manikin into it's partner who'd been trying to sneak up on her, leaving both of them quite a bit worse for wear though neither had fallen yet...<br/>
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She wasn't doing all well though, as Thrice could see her flagging slightly now, and she was clearly favoring her right leg now that he could see her more closely.  She might be more than a match for any one of these things, but her injuries seemed to be catching up with her, and five-on-one wasn't the best odds to say the least...</div>
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<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">Michael Fertar[/u]]<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#6b8e23">[Melmond Fens - Western Shore]</span><br/>
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"Time?!"  The woman gave a barking laugh.  "I know time better than any besides perhaps that puppet of Chaos'."  She narrowed her eyes at Mike.  "And good and evil is such a black and white view of the world after all...  Why should I lead you down either of two so frustratingly disparate paths, it would be a disservice if you ask me...  Especially when you stand so uniquely positioned to do something else, to walk the middle if you so choose..."<br/>
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She sighed, and her expression became momentarily thoughtful, only to harden again as she looked back to the man standing before her.  "I will not answer your question that you call a truth, even if I refuse to do so only out of a misguided attempt to do a service for such a foolish creature as stands before me."</div>
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<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">Gauthiant Nadeau[/u]]<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a9a9a9">[Elven Snowfields - Southern Shore]</span><br/>
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The fighting lulled as Gauthiant approached, then started again with renewed vigor, only to lull again as he drew closer still.  At first, he might wonder if the fight was reacting to him, but as he drew close enough to see the battle itself, he realized it was the nature of the combatants that was creating this stop-start struggle.<br/>
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One was easily visible, a pale woman in green who Gauthiant was sure would have been shivering from the cold given how little her outfit covered were it not for the glow of magic surrounding her.  Had he not heard two voices he might have thought her on a destructive rampage of some sort as she hurled fire at the trees and her shield sputtered and flickered occasionally as though she lacked a certain amount of control over it.  However, a careful watcher would see black arrows falling to the snow before the mage moments after every flicker of her shield, and Gauthiant realized that the girl's opponent was stalking through the trees around her, firing arrows towards her or calling taunts at various opportunities.<br/>
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A moment later, he also realized that this mysterious woman was going to run across him sooner or later as she danced the edges of the mage's fire.  Or if the mage spotted him she might toast him by accident thinking him her opponent...  Now that he had seen the fight, he would need to either get involved on one side or the other or back off.</div>
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