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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 6:05:31 GMT -5
Aurora dodged left and right before rolling under an attack Prime had sent his way. His two daggers twirled upwards in his hands as he blocked the next sword swing, locking Prime’s sword between his daggers. Aurora shifted his weight towards Prime and pushed him backward, giving Aurora time to move away from his sparring partner.
Again Aurora shifted, this time toward Prime. He slid as he reached him, slashing his daggers towards the elf’s legs. Prime jumped neatly and counterattacked, resting his sword against Aurora’s neck.
“Ah great, dead again,” Aurora sighed. His adept blood had given him the edge, the speed, against most opponents. But now that Aurora was human he didn’t have that. He had been training for months now, but it was a lot harder as a mortal.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be back to normal soon,” Prime chuckled as he sheathed his sword, signalling a break. Before long Aurora was back on his feet. They were in a field somewhere near a small village in France; Aurora couldn’t pronounce its name. They had set up a tent, in which they stayed and slept whenever the two friends weren’t training. Here they ate a small but fulfilling meal. Aurora lifted his glass to his lips to take a drink, when a ripping sound pierced the air. Aurora dropped the cup.
“That’s a por-” Aurora didn’t finish, but shot from his chair, knocking it through the flaps of the tent. Before him stood the deep purple portal from the Adept world. He lifted his daggers; whoever stood through this portal wasn’t going to be friendly. But he was wrong: a single body had been thrown through, female if Aurora wasn’t mistaken. She crashed to the ground before the portal closed.
“Prime,” he shouted. He ran across the field and slid to his knees next to the body, and put two fingers to her neck to check for a pulse. He found one. She was alive, and conscious it seemed, for he looked at her face to find her staring back at him. She muttered one word before falling to the unconscious world.
“Aurora…”
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 6:12:44 GMT -5
Prime poked his head out of the tent. "Shit!" he cried, running toward Aurora and the woman. He looked the woman up and down. She'd been badly worked over, but it wasn't a professional job. It seemed to Prime that she'd pissed off a bunch of angry amateurs. Some of the wounds were deep, and crackling ice slowly seeped out of the wounds onto the ground. Prime was no judge, but he'd hazard a guess that this woman was an ice/lightning adept.
Quickly, he pulled off her shirt (though he left the bra on, and her modesty intact) and held out his hands. The divine energy from within his being slowly flowed out and covered her body, filling the wounds and easing the bruises. Shortly most of her injuries were gone, save some particularly stubborn burn marks which, Prime assumed, originated from a fire adept. "She should live," Prime said, "but she'll be tired when she wakes up, and she'll have one hell of a migraine with it."
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 6:58:52 GMT -5
“Good,” Aurora commented. He lifted her from the ground and carried her back to the tent. He put her down on his own bed, placed some clean clothes beside her, and shut the curtain around the bed. He walked back out to see Prime.
“An adept,” he said slowly. “Someone who has now been exiled. You don’t get thrown through a portal normally; you get killed,” he explained.
“She’s like me, or how I was,” Aurora said sadly as he turned and looked across to where the portal had been.
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 7:16:49 GMT -5
"She'll live," Prime said, looking back towards the portal as well. "Don't look so sad. I think, working together, we may be able to reopen that portal. Though I don't think you should step through it, in your current state," Prime said warily. "Of course there's every chance that the place could reawaken some of your lost power; it was born there, after all." He turned to face Aurora, and searched his eyes, trying to find Prime's friend's soul. "It's your decision."
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 7:35:58 GMT -5
“Open it, and don’t follow me in,” Aurora said. “And take care of the girl,” he added, looking back at the tent as he strapped his daggers to his sides and donned the robe that lay on the ground. “I’ll be back, don’t forget about me.”
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 7:50:51 GMT -5
"Tch," Prime said, spitting on the ground. "Like I could ever forget about you my friend." He stepped forward and hugged Aurora. "Give 'em hell from me!"
He stepped back toward the portal, and transformed into his Dragoon Form. His six wings beat on the air, like 3 great heartbeats emanating from the unknown core of the universe. And he went a step further.
Energy cracked and discharged on the air. Prime called up his most primal, unknown instincts, his deepest hunter's rage and warrior's valor. His armor contracted, and the silvery platinum metal condensed around him until it became a loose silk martial outfit. The band around his head dissolved, allowing his left eye to stare out at the world. The unhoused Dragoon Spirit, burning in Prime's eye, stared out at the world.
The six great wings on his back twisted. First the three on the left merged together, then the three on the right. Two gigantic wings, far larger than the originals, beat on the air. Prime set his feet upon the ground, and folded his wings around the portal's remains. He held his hands out, and tightened his wing membranes. Energy crackled at the center of the formation, while lightning and static shot back and forth from the portal and Prime's wings.
"HAAA!" Prime yelled, and the portal opened slightly. He struggled to maintain it, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow. "HYAAAA!" He screamed, and the portal opened wider, almost enough for Aurora to step through. Prime held his left arm straight forward, and what used to be a massive organic gun formed. It was now a very compact and deadly-looking hand gun, connected to Prime's arm by a few tendons.
He pulled the trigger, and a massive energy burst of blue and white light blossomed into the portal. The whole thing exploded into the gate, and the strain on Prime suddenly grew unbearable. "Go Aurora! GO!" he screamed, blood dripping from his mouth as he clenched his teeth, gums bleeding and jaw bone cracking from the strength of it. Aurora nodded once at Prime, then ran forwards and jumped through the portal. Prime immediately closed it, and fell to his knees. The Dragoon form evaporated from around him, and he was just himself again.
He wiped his mouth, and looked up at the slowly darkening sky.
Safe journey my friend.
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 8:00:40 GMT -5
“You’ve let him through,” a voice whispered from behind Prime. Kami sat in her knees in a black hoody, tight black jeans and converse shoes, staring into the space the portal had just been. She snapped out of it seconds later, and swivelled her head around to look at Prime.
“He’s going to die!” she screamed. “They’re experimenting with adepts, we’re more powerful than ever.” She finally broke down into tears and held her head in her hands. “He’s going to die…” she murmured again.
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 8:09:00 GMT -5
Prime frowned. "Aurora isn't going to die. He's laughed in the face of death far too many times to die now. Men like him don't die in places like that. And there's every possibility that being back home will bring him closer to the power that he's lost. The adept gene was only the direction, the power itself belongs only to him, he has only to learn to use it."
Prime looked around sharply as a blue-haired man stepped into the clearing. "Who are you!" Prime snapped. He drew his blade and set it almost against the stranger's throat.
"Whoa whoa!" Aaron said, stepping back. "I come in peace, I mean no harm! I sensed a portal, and I'm on patrol you could say. I came to check it out and see if anything's unholy ass needed kicking, or if anyone was in need of my help, that's all."
Aaron glanced at the woman. She looked somewhat beaten down, and half delirious, "She should rest. She won't be thinking straight for a while."
Prime scowled at him, and he shut up. Aaron could almost see the leylines of the planet being drawn to the man, feeding him unknowable strength that Aaron really didn't want directed at him, on the grounds that he'd just finally gotten all the old stains out of his pants, and he wanted it to stay that way.
"Um," he ventured tentatively. "Would anyone mind explaining what's going on?"
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 8:22:04 GMT -5
“Explain what?” Kami laughed. “What is there to explain? I’m an adept, he’s a dragon, and Aurora, our only hope, has gone to his death.” She got to her feet and walked back into the tent, laughing hysterically.
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 8:32:41 GMT -5
Prime sighed and handed the girl a cup of tea. (Into which he'd slipped enough tranquilizer to take down a bull elephant.) She oh-so-slowly slumped off her chair, and drifted into sleep. Prime gestured for Aaron to sit down, and the man did so.
"The first thing you should know is that my name is Prime. And I am not a dragon; I only possess a dragon's heart, and a dragon's spirit. My soul is quite definitely that of an elf, though it may have a strong human influence. As for the happenings here, I just sent Aurora back home, to his adept world, where he came from. And the girl is right -- he shouldn't be ready to go back home, as he is. But I have naught but faith in him."
Aaron scowled, leaning back. "Adepts? I recognize the name, vaguely. But why is she so hysterical?"
Prime shrugged. "We'll just have to wait for her to wake up and ask her." He settled in for a long wait, and Aaron uncomfortably did so as well.
"My name is Aaron, just so you know," he said to Prime, who nodded and set himself into a bit of a doze. Aaron had trouble keeping his eyes off the warrior: even asleep, the man's presence was almost unbearable, and he seemed too lithe to be real. Aaron squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore it all.
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 8:48:06 GMT -5
Kami stirred, and electricity crackled across her body before it exploded, waking her up. Her eyes darted around the room, checking for enemies or threats. It was clear, and the dragon-man and the other human sat in chairs beside her.
“What the hell happened?” she shouted. “Who put me to sleep?”
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 8:53:49 GMT -5
Prime raised his hand. "Guilty as charged. Kindly don't do anything distressing; you needed the rest. And don't presume to judge my friend again. I'm starting to get a little short-tempered with you.
"You don't know the man. I know the man, and he knows himself. I know what he has in him, and if you were any kind of judge of character, you would've known that the first time you laid eyes on him as well." Prime glared at her. "Now tell us what the hell is going on. Why were you thrown from the adept world?"
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 20:43:13 GMT -5
Kami glared at Prime. He was forceful and mean. She did not greatly appreciate either of these things. She stood from her chair abruptly.
“Because they’re experimenting with all the adepts!” Kami screamed. “They're pumping this blue blood into people. Everyone has died except me. God knows where they got it -- the only adepts that have blue blood are those with powers over ice, and there hasn’t been one in centuries. Well, not on the adept world there hasn’t, anyway.” Kami's voice calmed a little and she huffed as she finished, sitting back down.
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 21:05:22 GMT -5
"Blue blood?" Prime said, shocked. Then he faded away into a thoughtful silence. "So I see, the king had another use for Aurora's ice adept blood, besides just destroying half of my soul."
Aaron looked stunned: to think someone like Prime could be so powerful when half of his soul had been obliterated. Prime grinned at the expression on Aaron's face. "No, no, nothing like that. I was charged by a being beyond your understanding to guard the fabric of the universe. Breaking half of my soul makes me merely human. Or, in this case, merely elf."
He stretched. "Still, I wonder why he feels the need to pump Aurora's blood into other adepts. If it doesn't destroy them, it will certainly add to their power, but most adepts are powerful enough as it is. In my current state I'd still have one hell of a time defeating a powerful adept, and an average adept wouldn't be easy either." He sighed. "We can only wait for Aurora to get back, I guess."
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 21:50:17 GMT -5
Kami looked up, shocked. “That was Aurora’s blood? I’m the only one who has survived. The royal bastards wanted to use me for their little game, so I ran. They tried to blow up the ground beneath me and keep me from getting through the portal.
“Sucks for them they managed to knock me through it,” Kami laughed. She reached into the pocket of her robe, pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Prime. On the parchment were plans of the attacks the adepts were going to put into motion in the next several days.
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 22:04:41 GMT -5
Prime's eyes slowly widened as he looked over the sheets. "Holy fucking shit!" He looked at Kami, horrified. "No wonder you're hysterical! We've got to do something about this."
Aaron tapped Prime on the shoulder. "About what exactly?" he asked. Prime silently passed him the plans.
"Oh shit!" Aaron said. Then he pulled a thoughtful expression. "I'll talk to my superiors, they may be able to help." He whipped away like moonlight across the shadowy valley, surfing the waves of reality.
Prime arched an eyebrow pensively. "Why didn't I think of that?" he muttered, then turned back to Kami. "Do you know any other details?" He wanted to be sure he'd covered all the bases.
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Post by jenova on Jan 3, 2007 22:58:03 GMT -5
“I have no more information,” Kami sighed. “Except that the portal will open again. When you ripped it open it left a strong residue; when they open it, the gate will be pulled here. I suggest you ready yourself.” She smiled and walked from the tent, a very long black sword appearing in her hand.
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Post by prime on Jan 3, 2007 23:12:18 GMT -5
Prime arched his eyebrow again, then cursed and turned back to the portal. "Things are not always as peaceful as they seem, it would appear." He drew his sword. The platinum blade glowed with divine energy as it began to overflow with Prime's power. Shortly, the sword seemed to be composed entirely of light. "How long do we have?"
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Post by jenova on Jan 4, 2007 0:09:03 GMT -5
“Any second now,” she growled, and she was right: The portal exploded outward again. Once it was wide enough, a wave of adepts jumped through. The first four or five met Kami’s sword, but then she had to move back or be overwhelmed. Thirty or forty adepts streamed from the portal, powers blazing, swords in hand.
One met Kami head-on and slashed at her. She blocked his attack with her own sword and flung her fist into the attack adept’s stomach, frying the man on contact. Her aura burst into view, yellow with hints of blue. Adepts circled around the two warriors, each waiting their turn to fight. Stupid adept pride and honour. Kami slew a few, then crouched low, yelled out and jumped forward. A beam of pure electricity shot out, making a tunnel for Prime and Kami to escape.
“Kill as many as you can,” she shouted, fearing they might have to retreat -- she hadn’t expected this many.
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Post by prime on Jan 4, 2007 0:15:48 GMT -5
"Tch," Prime said. "Lightweights."
He transformed, taking his dragoon aspect upon him. The power of the adepts fell on him, but it could not penetrate his armor, nor could their weapons. His divine sword lashed out around him, sundering helms, smashing armor, cutting flesh and bone. The adepts quickly fell back, and started a serious discussion on what to do about the Dragoon Warrior.
Prime grinned while his massive organic gun materialized on his arm. A shoulder plate opened, revealing 50 or so openings. The plate began to charge, and all of a sudden a firestorm of red energy balls buzzed toward the agitated adept warriors. Several of them raised their powers together, and the strongest of them blocked the attacks. The rest quickly fell, smoking, disembowled, and occasionally missing really important bits of themselves.
"Who's next!" Prime yelled with a grin. Never happier was Prime than when he was soaked in blood and guts and offal, carving his enemies asunder and living as he had been born to: as a wolf and a warrior among an endless crowd of sheep.
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Post by jenova on Jan 4, 2007 22:55:00 GMT -5
A lone figure stepped through the still-open portal. A brown monk's robe was draped across the person's body, and a strand of red hair dangled out from under the hood, covering all of his or her face.
“I am next, Prime,” called the man -- surely a man from the voice. It was harsh and low, evil in an a way but also subdued. He dragged a black cleaver behind him; it left a mark on the ground, creating a never-ceasing line behind him. “Please don’t tell me you're pleased about killing these minions. Pathetic fools they were, hardly powerful.”
“Who are you?” Kami screamed, in annoyance and in defense for her kin... even if they had tried to kill her.
“You know who I am,” the man laughed, and in seconds he was across the field. He smashed his elbow into Kami’s gut, sending her flying into the tent, which promptly collapsed onto her and knocked her out.
“Your turn, Prime.” The man’s aura exploded outward, burning everything in its path. He ran at Prime. His cleaver was now drawn up, ready for battle, and glowing with energy. He slashed a few time, then jumped back away from the counterattack.
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Post by prime on Jan 4, 2007 23:21:24 GMT -5
Prime scowled, but he didn't have time to check Kami. The butcher-like blade came at him, but he blocked every blow. He wore a fierce scowl, lips drawn back in a feral display. His counterattack whipped through the air the second the man jumped back. The powerful cross slash left divine energy behind as it was pulled from the blade. "Come back here!" Prime said. His wings propelled him forward powerfully in a lunge at the man's stomach. He kicked off the ground and floated around behind the man, launching a powerful web of platinum blades.
He propelled himself far into the air before the man had a chance to counter, and pointed his cannon at the ground. "DIVINE DRAGON CANNON!" he screamed. Blue white energy smashed into the earth like God's own thunderbolt. An expanding dome of energy washed outward, charring the ground and incinerating the grass. Prime landed on the ground, absorbing the impact, then leaned on his sword and panted a bit. He wanted to see if the man would come out.
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Post by jenova on Jan 4, 2007 23:45:48 GMT -5
The dark man swept to the right, almost gracefully dodging the lunge. Then he rolled forward. Mere milliseconds later, the blade sliced through thin air. “Predictable as always,” the man laughed. He turned to see the beam of energy heading for him.
“Permissum mihi fade.” The cloaked figure's body faded slightly, giving himself a ghostly look, as the beam passed through him. He was injured slightly, but it was nothing major.
“Prime, Prime, Prime, you have not figured who I am yet? My fighting style makes it obvious: I am one you once knew, save a few changes. You saw me not long ago -- but then again, time in the adept world passes much more quickly than on Earth. I’ve been away for nearly a century, but to you… it’s only been a few hours.”
The man laughed again, then brought his hands to his hood and pulled it down. Aurora stood there. He looked as young as always, but his hair was dark red. And his eyes were black as a pitch black night, but there was fire there, a fire not seen before. “Remember me now, old friend?”
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Post by prime on Jan 5, 2007 0:05:10 GMT -5
Prime scowled, examining Aurora. "I can't tell whether it is you, or it isn't, Aurora," he finally said. "For all I know, your blood transformed a fire adept into something larger than he was." He sighed. "Either way, you're a danger to the earth now, and if you've truly lost yourself, there is only one way to honor your memory."
"HYA!" Prime yelled, exploding with energy. His wings merged into two massive dragon wings, while his armor tightened and became a silk martial arts tunic. Both were silvery gold. His sword glowed far brighter, like the setting sun. He leveled his sword at Aurora -- a fake, a friend, an enemy.
"By saving everything that you once held dear," he said. His human eye burned, and the exposed dragoon soul that was his left eye seethed.
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Post by jenova on Jan 5, 2007 0:29:53 GMT -5
“Believe me,” Aurora chuckled. Then he leapt into action. A black energy trail followed behind him as Aurora shot forward. He slashed again with his cleaver and cut into Prime’s leg. While Prime dropped to his knees, Aurora jumped and smashed his foot into Prime’s face, knocking him out.
Aurora landed and turned to the tent. He neither needed nor wanted to kill Prime: all he wanted was to get his blood back. His eyes shone with dark power for a second as he approached. The tent was thrown up into the air and away, landing somewhere. Kami's body lay where it had been. Aurora’s eyes shone again, and cut a gash along a main artery. Aurora concentrated, and in seconds blue liquid was released -- his blood, not hers. Aurora slit his own artery, and all his blood that had survived back in his own body poured in. He sealed up their wounds, hovered, and then flew off toward the horizon. The two others were still unconscious and surrounded by dead bodies.
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Post by prime on Jan 5, 2007 0:57:29 GMT -5
Prime stood up, and cracked his neck. The wound on his leg shimmered, then slowly closed. He looked up, sensing Aurora just on the edge of his perception.
"Don't make me wrong," he whispered.
Then he went to check on Kami. She seemed to be all right, but for the blood loss. Well, she'd have a headache in the morning. Second time in a row. He felt sorry for her. A powerful presence approached, and Prime turned around.
Aaron appeared, looked around with a horrified expression. "What the hell?!" he said, confused. Four more people appeared beside him, scrutinizing the area.
Prime looked over them for a moment. His heart skipped when he laid eyes on the woman, but he kept himself under control. "You're late," he said coolly.
"Sorry," Aaron said, not meeting his eye. "It took a while to convince the Elder Council that the adepts had returned. Apparently they're an old enemy from ancient history." He turned and gestured toward the woman. "This is Amalia," he said. He pointed at each of the other commanders in turn. "Yoko, Menos, and Toll."
Each of them bowed fractionally to Prime, then Toll spoke. "We're the elite squadron. We take care of problems other Inazumians wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Those most definitely include you. Aaron's memories of you scared the crap out of the council."
Toll stepped forward menacingly, and added: "If you so much as step over the line in my sight, I've been ordered to kill you."
Aaron smiled meekly, "Sorry, he's very single-minded, and extremely blunt. Don't break him please."
"No problem." Prime responded. He reached out for Toll, and picked him up by the throat. The man's eyes bulged as he gasped for breath. "I've had a very bad day," Prime said, and looked him square in the eyes. "You do NOT want to fuck with me!" He spat, then threw Toll to the ground, creating a small earthquake and a crater.
"Anyone else?" Prime asked in a threatening tone. The two other commanders looked apalled, but the woman, Amalia, just grinned at him. "All right then. You're on Earth now. This is my planet. You want to help, you do what I tell you to. You have a problem with that, go home."
He turned around and stalked off. He'd find them when he needed them again.
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