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Post by Albatross Trevelyan on May 15, 2009 23:48:39 GMT -5
Dracon, in his petite form, didn't look very threatening at all, especially when compared to his opponent's magnitude of intimidation. Dracon's form began to spiral as he entered his human form, looking at the creation in front of him, "Well, sir," Dracon paused, "I don't need the help of a talisman to transform!"
Dracon hopped backwards, his chemistry completely changing. First scales began to form over his skin, black in color, shining nicely in the sun's rays. Next his eyes became reptilian, the pupils retracting, and then dilating fully, turning a yellowish color before finally settling into a nicely colored amber. Spikes erupted from his spine and shoulder, looking like long jutting tusks. His arms grew, and his body structure changed to that of a four-legged creature. Flexing his claws he dug into the flooring underneath him, easily shredding it. Small wings formed, and then erupted into huge elegant wings made of bones and skin.
"Now," Dracon said, slamming his teeth together causing sparks, "you will know what fighting an ever-changing opponent will be like!" Dracon flapped his wings building up a gust, and slammed his teeth together, causing a whirlwind of fire as an opening attack.
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Post by Beelzebibble on May 18, 2009 11:48:12 GMT -5
The ratio of Lovecraftian horrors to normal things had gotten higher and higher out there. Terrian was growing ever more concerned that one of the duplicate Brogues would be sliced in two at any minute. And although of course they weren't buckling under the punishment they were receiving for Terrian's decision, he'd been allocated quite enough of their pain already.
So he nodded to Sly. "I'll take that one back, then."
Sly lowered the duplicate to the floor, where he immediately turned again toward the door. "You're not withdrawing the troops, are you? Come on, one more! You all saw me, listen, I was this close to flooring that barbed guy—"
But the first duplicate Brogue, the one who'd been observing the whole evening, stopped him at the door. "It's over."
The original Terrian stood up, still leaning against the wall for support. "Sorry, man. To me."
The pugnacious duplicate had only enough time to give Terrian a withering look before he flickered back to him.
Terrian nodded to the first duplicate, understanding that he still wanted to remain outside. But he approached the door, looked out to the combatants, and murmured again, "To me."
At once, all fifteen or so of the duplicates on the deck – some injured, some prone, and some still in fighting form – blinked out of sight. Terrian braced himself for the expected mental rush as all the thoughts and memories of those duplicates flooded his brain. And... some index cards materialized in his pocket. He glanced at them. Recipes. Also standing by the door, Emily grinned at him.
Terrian looked over the battlefield again, now bereft of his avatars. He supposed he should be most worried about Valon, who was facing down not one but two unnatural aberrations. But Valon seemed the strongest of them all, not an easy force to bring down. Meanwhile, Natalie had one of the spiky ones... oh, no, strike that... one of the spiky and on fire ones... but she didn't look worried. Good thing, too. If she died just then, Terrian imagined she'd haunt him for at least a week.
The dragon one – Dracon, that was it – was up against an enormous man who'd changed into some kind of half-crustacean. Terrian tensed; he didn't like crabs. He looked away quickly. Who else? Sly, Emily and Garth were all here. Where was Ender? Terrian searched the deck for the familiar face, but Ender was nowhere to be seen. On the roof, maybe. Or else he'd simply taken off. Why would he have—?
Terrian felt a sickened swoop; he'd forgotten someone. Prime. He was lying on the deck in a pool of blood, his chest area torn asunder. His head was turned aside. He wasn't moving.
Terrian saw his duplicate follow his gaze to the body. The same sudden look of hollow shock passed over Brogue which, Terrian imagined, had settled on his own face as well.
Prime – Well, Terrian hadn't really thought tremendously of Prime, hadn't appreciated the man's arrogant bravado during the negotiations earlier – but there, see, his mind was already distancing itself from what had occurred. The fact was that Prime was an innocent who'd had no more stake in this than a damaged motorbike. And since Terrian had led them to this place, if Prime was dead... it was his fault.
He rounded on Auguste and Nopcsa, ready to speak. But they were both gazing back at him quite placidly... They looked, in fact, bored. Terrian realized that he had nothing to say to them: nothing on the subject of the Parmigianino Institue, or casual Fridays, or the death of Prime, or anything else, really.
A welcome voice sounded in his head. His own. So... what do we do now?
Terrian didn't look back toward his duplicate or gesture out the door, but rather included the mental images of Natalie, Valon and Dracon along with his next thought: Give them a minute.
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Post by Tout-Perd on May 18, 2009 22:44:36 GMT -5
"Good." Uca threw back his arms, his mouthparts spreading wide. There was a retching noise, and a foamy ooze exploded from his jaws. It expanded almost instantly, engulfing him in a fortress of colossal bubbles as the cyclone of flame descended upon him. There was a sizzling as the foam disintegrated under Dracon's assault, a cloud of steam rising into the air.
"But not good enough!" A clawed hand burst from the steam, slashing across Dracon's snout and leaving four lines of blood. The transformed warrior threw himself out of the cover of the roiling vapors, attempting to impale Dracon's throat with his other hand.
"It doesn't matter how versatile you are..." Uca threw his face forward, spiny visage hurtling toward Dracon with a meteoric impact. He leapt back, regarding whatever the results of his savagery had been. Small antennae on his jaws worked back and forth, almost like a living beard.
"Raw power is the ultimate decider!" --------- "One healing potion, that was all it took to patch up what you did to me, buddy. You talked so tough that you didn't even consider what I could do to you..." The man with barbed hands wound up and delivered a solid kick to Prime's corpse. He glanced around, and then gave it another nudge with his foot.
"I'd advise you to stop that now," a voice came from above, full of authority and menace. The man glanced up, and instantly stepped back. Abatis hovered above him, the mighty beating of metal wings keeping him aloft. Now with room to land, he let his batlike pinions flap one last time, rifling the wind through his blue-black hair. He dropped from the skies, landing on his knee by the side of the fallen warrior.
"So, this is where it's all taken you, hmmm? All the troubles and pain you've gone through, and this is how it ends?" Abatis stood, flakes of platinum drifting away from the wings as the began to crumble away. He glanced up, his red eye glowing as he looked out towards the horizon.
"Not really fair, is it? You lived each day assuming that there'd be something more, at least that you'd have time for one more breath. But you stumble into this, and-" A stray gout of flames from one of the battles shot past Abatis's face, the mage cringing from the heat. "You get slaughtered for simply wanting what belongs to you. Truly, there is no justice in this world..." Abatis took hold of the skeletal hand, and lifted it before his face.
"There is something that can be done, though... Before you dissolve into the aether, or are ferried to your final resting place... If we work quickly, you can get another chance. I do not know what state you'll be in after this, but..." A glimmer of cerulean passed across the wires on the hand, cast by a light in the sky. "You could have life again. Another chance to live, to experience. To be with those you care about, to do that which you will. Freedom is to be had, the right to influence things is to be had." He drew his hand back against his breast, clutching it tightly.
"This... would be a gift. All that I ask from you, in exchange for fixing this horrible mistake of fate, is that you do not use it to harm me or that which I care dearly about. I'm sure that you understand. I let you have all that you treasured, and you leave me to my own treasures."
Abatis silently extended the ghastly remains, holding them out as if awaiting for some invisible party to take hold of them. The blue light, glaring down with unusual intensity, seemed to move closer...
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Post by hermes on May 19, 2009 2:05:51 GMT -5
Something shot across the horizon, and Prime's eyes opened. The hand in Abatis' hand suddenly blazed with violent azure energy. It reached down and shocked Prime's body, leaving him gasping for air. A star was suddenly hovering over his body, the hand wrenched from Abatis and hovering over Prime's chest. A blaze of white light descended from the star, through the hand, and into Prime. An expanding shockwave shocked everyone present, and the floorboards shuttered.
Covered with azure light, Prime's body rose into the air, his arms spread out. His head hung limply back, looking up at the heavens with blank eyes. The star sank into his forehead, like a smoky memory. His cybernetic arm blazed into nothingness, as the skeletal hand moved into place, and regenerated his whole arm in a blaze of azure light. Another Prime stepped out of nowhere, this one dressed in black robes, standing before his counterpart. As they were watched, they seemed to step into each other, and another flash of bright light temporarily blinded them.
Prime felt himself descending into a darkness, through a long place he'd travelled often before, but never consciously. He found himself standing in a forest, but it wasn't normal in any regard. The land was black, pulsing with a red screen over the surface at regular intervals, like waves. The trees were white, glowing with an inner light, and had glowing azure leaves on their branches. They fell slowly from the trees, creating colorful swirls that were taken away by the red waves. He was standing on the crest of a mountain, looking at other mountains in the distance. They were covered with the same white trees, pulsing black and red underneath, like waves.
"What do you want?" a soft voice asked kindly.
Prime turned around, somehow unthreatened by this presence. "I'm not sure, what am I supposed to want?" Prime said, as he turned.
He was facing a naked women, with long white hair. She had vibrant green eyes and soft, angular features. She smiled at him, warmly. "Perhaps just to live - you are dead, you know."
Prime nodded slowly, and looked back over the landscape. "Yes, I want to live." he said slowly, "But where's the point in just living?"
The woman walked up beside him, a smirk curving her lips. "Where indeed? So what do you want?" she asked again, she seemed amused.
Prime's brows furrowed, he was thinking. "I want to fight, I've always wanted to fight." She nodded, just listening. "There's always been this part of myself questioning whether that's right, whether I'm somehow broken and inhuman because of it. But more than that, there's a part of me that accepts it without reserve." He shrugged, turning his head to look at the woman. "Who are you?" he asked, but she shook her head.
"I can't answer that yet. Look," she said, pointing upwards.
Prime looked, there was a black moon in the sky. It seemed ominous but familiar. He had the feeling he should fear it, but he did not. The woman nodded again. "I thought you might react that way. What do you remember?" she asked, and Prime turned toward her, about to ask her why she'd ask such an odd question, when memory suddenly hit him. He remembered hours, endless hours, practicing the blade. With a man, his father, and his mother watching from the balcony. She was beautiful when she smiled, he'd forgotten how beautiful his mother was when she smiled like that. Prime found himself smiling as well.
The woman in front of him smiled as well, and reached into thin air. At length, she pulled out a very long katana, slowly curving and pure white, with azure sigils on the blade. She handed it to Prime, and he took it gratefully. "An old friend for a long journey," she said, then leaned forward and kissed him on the brow. "Fight and grow stronger, it's who you are, who we are. What you fight for determines what kind of man you are." She started to move away, then stopped, turning toward him again. She smirked, and gave him a little wave, and suddenly he was standing in the middle of a battle again.
The light around Prime faded, and those nearest could see something new in him. Those who were closer to the spirit world could see a sword in his hand, a very long sword. The air and wood and stone around Prime suddenly warped and condensed, forming a long vessel that the whole world could see, a long nine-foot blade with sigils carved into it. The spirit sword came to inhabit it, and suddenly it was bright white with azure sigils all down the thick blade.
Prime turned to an astonished Knuckles, whose face was white with shock. There was a flash, a white line was drawn through the center of Knuckles' body. The stronger people present had only barely caught Prime's movement, the sword bisecting the poor soul. Prime flourished his sword professionally, a look of focused anger on his face. Knuckles fell into two halves, the sword in his body broken. Prime watched the soul rise out of his body, and watched Knuckles turn several interesting shades as he realized Prime could see him. "Goodbye," Prime said, a slight smile on his face, and this time he stuck as if at nothing to everyone else.
There, in the midst of all of them, something arose that perhaps only Prime could see. A hellgate rose from the ground, and opened. A great hand emerged, clutching Knuckles' soul until he screamed horribly, and dragged him down into the depths of hell. The gate closed, and its image shattered. Prime shook off his blade, and sheathed it, and slowly observed the chaos around him. "Right, who wants a hand?" he yelled, looking for someone to test himself against.
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Post by AngelicTragedy on May 22, 2009 15:56:25 GMT -5
Valon turned slightly to the side just as Basilisk's claws were about to tear open his throat. The razor points sang as they darted past Valon at a near-supersonic speed; the wind from Basilisk's index finger caused a shallow gash to appear on Valon's face. With a quick movement just as fast as Basilisk, Valon drove his fist into the side of the monsters head with a sickening crunch. The set of blazing orange eyes locked on Valon as a grin formed on his face. A well-placed kick sent Basilisk sailing forward as Valon put his hand out and summoned the Aruafon.
“Challenge accepted, demon. As you can tell I've gotten a lot stronger since the last time that we met. So, if you think that you can take me on by yourself then I invite you to try,” Valon taunted as he pulled his glowing blade up in front of his face.
Basilisk's maw pulled into what appeared to be a smile as his mighty wings stopped his movement. Before anything else could be said or done Basilisk appeared before Valon and bit deep into his sword, shattering the blade and causing a rain of green light to fall toward the forest floor. Shock washed over Valon's normally calm face and Basilisk took advantage of this momentary distraction. His mighty claws locked around Valon's throat and he pushed his face up toward his opponent's. The stench of rotting breath and blood was overpowering. Black sparks surged from Valon's chest and crackled around the contact between Basilisk and himself.
“Ha, you talk big for someone who can't even stop me from breaking their sword. I'm going to gut you and send you to hell so you can be with your bastard brother, scum of a father, and your whore of a mother!” Basilisk laughed as he launched Valon toward the building above like a missile made of flesh.
Valon smashed into the side of the building with a loud crack and a shower of splinters. Valon's prone form rolled to a stop at Terrian's feet; blood seeped from Valon's cheek onto Terrian's shoe. Another loud sound brought Valon back up to a knee with a look of sheer murderous rage. Basilisk stood in the gaping hole with a clawed hand extended. The next few moments went by in a blur, but once everything became quiet again Valon was on his feet holding Basilisk back. Three of Basilisk's five clawed fingers had completely passed through him and were just inches from Terrian's face. Valon turned his head to the side so that Terrian looked toward his ageless green eyes.
“There's something important that you have to know. There are gray areas but when it comes down to it we are the good guys. It's time to pick a side Terrian,” Valon said as a trickle of blood fell from the side of his mouth.
Basilisk smiled and began trying to turn his claw inside of Valon's chest but was met with only a burst of strength and was tossed through the ceiling above. Valon threw a hand upward and smiled as his aura flared around his body. The room burst to life with the scent of freshly fallen rain. Crackling energy pooled in Valon's hand and a grim smile formed on his face.
“GRANDEUR WAVE!!”
The upper portions of the building vanished as the massive wave of energy ripped through the structure, turning the wood and steel into nothingness. The beam lasted for a few seconds and then faded away from view. Basilisk was nowhere to be seen but Valon knew that even a point-blank Grandeur Wave wasn't enough to take the monster out. Valon took a quick knee and let his aura flare for another moment. He pulled at his jacket until it was nothing but shreds and looked at his chest. Three thick holes ran through his form, dark red blood spilled from them and black sparks danced around their openings. Valon grabbed at his neck and found what he was looking for. A blue half-moon pendent rested on his skin, and at Valon's touch it shone a silvery light. The odd silver light washed over Valon's body and seemed to close his wounds, but they were not totally healed. The lunar silver color melded with Valon's own aura and filled the room with a purple and silver light show. The scent of rain was joined by that of night-blooming flowers. A wave of the newly appearing silver energy shot from two spots on Valon's back and reformed into a pair of large white wings covered in feathers that bore a silver sheen. Valon rose back to his feet and launched himself into the sky.
“I know you're hiding Basilisk. Show yourself if you're not afraid of the light of the Lunar Dragon!”
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Post by hermes on May 23, 2009 1:09:18 GMT -5
Prime watched Valon's energy attack shoot into the sky, fast, but not quite fast enough to catch his prey. The thing called Basilisk used the attack for cover, and was currently engaged in a high-speed maneuver designed to flank Valon. Prime could sense power an order of magnitude above his own from the monstrosity, but based on what he'd observed so far, he thought he could be of some help. To those around him, he seemed to take a step, and then he wasn't standing there anymore.
Prime flashed into existence a little behind and above Basilisk, his sword a white-and-blue lance of motion toward the thing's neck. It sensed him right before the sword impacted, and shifted, deflecting it away with little more than a scratch in its armor. It kicked out towards Prime, and he raised his elbow marginally to intercept the blow, and was knocked back several feet when it impacted. He skidded to a halt in midair, shaking feeling back into his arm; it was almost entirely numb. Basilisk sneered at Prime, who grinned back.
"I know, I'm a wiseass. You're fatally slow, maybe you huge powers don't feel the need to go so fast when you can throw stars at each other, but beware those who've not discarded speed," Prime said, and took another step, flashing into existence behind Basilisk. He took a wide swipe at Basilisk, but cutting him was never his intention, and his sword skittered uselessly across Basilisk's hide. He purpose, however, was reflecting the sun's light off his blade, and directly at Valon. His hope was to get the heavy-hitter's attention, while the demonic monstrosity was otherwise distracted.
Prime ducked under a wide backhanded swipe, losing some hair in the process. He stepped back, and flashed into existence around ten feet away, his sword pointed at Basilisk's neck. Prime could hear a menacing hissing coming from the creature, and he nearly grinned. It was really quite fun, being impudent.
OOC: Forgive, I don't know much about Basilisks attack patterns, personality, or general abilities. Though fare warning to Lee (it is your character right?) if you start getting serious on Prime with Basilisk, I will die or shikai.
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Post by Albatross Trevelyan on Jun 11, 2009 0:52:35 GMT -5
Dracon beat his massive wings, sending gusts of wind throughout the area. "Brute power?" Dracon said frustratedly, angry by his opponent's non-sensible mouth parts, writhing and clicking. "That's right," the humanoid-arthropod responded with glee. It could be heard in his screechy, slithering speech, even if it seemed that no emotion could come from his still-exoskeletal face. "I'll make sure to teach you what it is like to get a good thrashing!" The creature, thing, what have you, crept closer to Dracon, its hard shell making a cracking noise, the joints in between visibly bending with each step. Dracon stood his ground, lowering his head, and positioning his dragon body ready to charge, and tackle. If he wants to fight with brute force... I'll do that. Dracon's wings melted away, and his body shifted again, scales changing to a gold color, and a large plate extending off of his Dragonoid head, spikes jutting outward along the edges. His eyes flared a red color, and a spike extended outward from his snout. Flaring nostrils, and what seemed to be evolution's version of a continuous angry look, peering at the foe. Dracon let out a loud roar, flame shooting from his nostrils, charging forth. The pathetic excuse for a sea creature charged forward, slamming its huge claw down into the ground, sending a ripple of destruction toward the charging dragon. Mr. Krabby jumped backward, landing hard on the ground behind him. Dracon skillfully jumped the ripple and his toe caught the very crest of the wave, and he slammed with all of his force into the ground, leaving a gaping hole into the flooring. The crab man let out a shrill shriek of joy - well, whatever kind of noise a crab could make with the mouth parts that he possessed. It was more or less a high-pitched rubbing sound being made by the minuscule claws attached to its inner mouth. Huge wings billowed outwards, as Dracon took a second attempt at creating a powerful Dragon. The dragon was black again, but its jaws were much larger and more powerful, as well as its legs and arms, designed for ripping apart enemies.
"Well, well," Uca said laughing, the claws near his mouth moving about excitedly.
Dracon didn't even bother trying to explain what he was about to do, but it would finish the crab off for good. "I hope you like lobster," Dracon said, energy swirling around him. The massive wings folded over resembling giant organic cannons. Whipping around, they locked onto Uca. Dracon opened his mighty maw, and purplish energy began to build up.
Uca ran forward bringing up his giant claw, trying to come in for a swift attack on Dracon.
Right before impact, the three beams fired at Uca, the insides of the zodiac monster boiling, air escaping from inside its shell creating what appeared to be a shrill cry. What was once a white shell, now was a brilliant red, the eyes still and gray. The beast fell over, a crack in the shell which fluffed out white flesh, resembling that of a lobster.
The zodiac's effect began to wear off, leaving only a charred pile of human remains. Dracon shifted back to his human form, looking for his companions, shortened of breath and energy.
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jun 12, 2009 19:09:35 GMT -5
OOC: If DL can combo off of Prime's attack, I can bring us home with my next post. Well, finish the topic, at least.
Very nice, high quality writing on all parts here, showcasing every author's strong points (Prime's tactical thinking and battle savvy, DL's penchant for the dramatic, Kevin's boundless creativity.)
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Post by vagabond on Jun 17, 2009 14:31:02 GMT -5
The ground rumbled and shook and rumbled as things began to fall off shelves and split as they hit the ground. A large crater exploded from the floor as several raptors made the way clawing there way up to top of the crater pit. They hollered and screached like whooping birds as they fangs tore through the peoples flesh.
"I am KING RAPTOR! Of the UNDERGROUND DINOSAUR ALLANICE COALITION!"
He tore through some random solduirs throat with his fangs. "Unless you all want to die you will obey me!"
EDIT: Down, raptor. Stay. Bad raptor.
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Post by AngelicTragedy on Aug 7, 2009 13:46:53 GMT -5
The faint glint of the sun from Prime's sword struck Valon in the eye and drew his gaze to the beast he had been looking for. In a brief flash of purple light Valon vanished and reappeared behind Basilisk, already in mid-punch. The King of Dragon's fist smashed into Basilisk's skull and sent the monster rocketing downward, but it was recovering quickly.
“Thanks kid, I owe you one,” Valon said quickly and sent himself plummeting after his demonic target, gauntlets of purple flame engulfed his hands as the crisp scents of rain and flowers washed over the area.
Basilisk and Valon met each other in midair with a fist to the face. The two seemed to be of almost equal physical strength, but they both knew that there were things beyond brawn that would determine the winner of this battle. The two combatants began to move at amazing speed, striking each other with every ounce of strength that they could muster and when that seemed to go nowhere they began to resort to more amazing means of battle. Basilisk called upon his demonic power and made his claws far sharper than they had once been, while Valon hardened his aura into a set of physical gauntlets tipped in a pair of razor sharp katar-style blades. The two seemed to be dancing in the sky; lights flashed, bodies moved, and weapons clashed making an almost musical noise. It would have been beautiful if the two weren't trying to kill each other. After a few minutes of this high-speed dance of death, Valon and Basilisk broke off the attack from one another and hovered about twenty feet apart.
“You've gotten better, worm,” Basilisk's rumble rang out through the area as if he were speaking from all directions.
“So have you demon. If we had met at a different time, I could have thought of joining with you. Too bad for you, that time is past,” Valon answered with a smirk. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was truly enjoying this battle with every fiber of his being. “Let's finish this.”
“Gladly.”
The two warriors shot toward each other and in a blinding flash, they met with great force. As the light faded away, an amazing sight stood there. The two winged figures were standing within a foot of each other, Basilisk with his claws inches from Valon's throat and Valon with his right hand deep in the mouth of the creature. A wide smile formed on his face and his aura flashed to glowing life.
“Sorry Basilisk, but I'm tired of you. Grandeur Wave.”
OOC- Lee, you are free to auto as needed in your post sir.
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Clicker
Joyeuse Insurgency
Trunk Monkey Thief Retriever
They're more fun airborne.
Posts: 236
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Post by Clicker on Oct 27, 2009 0:39:14 GMT -5
OOC: Lee and Clicker collaboration power is GO! BIC:
Basilisk's eyes narrowed for a moment, and his threatening arm darted forward. It grew, as if a construct without bone or any kind of constraint. It touched the very edge of Valon's throat, beneath his kingly chin, and then ceased again.
The abomination was trembling, the light in its eyes blazing more violently than ever. It furrowed its brow, the air around it screaming. Two gouts of blood and skin erupted from Valon's shoulder and chest, shallow but gruesome wounds. The light started to grow again, the eyes taking on the aspect of the sun, and then suddenly went dark. The back of the creature's head was ballooning out, at first cartoonishly, and then grotesquely. There was a tearing noise, lasting only the barest of a moment, and then everything turned white.
From below, it was impossible to perceive the full magnitude of the blast. It looked almost like a wall of azure, stretching out from the palm of the Lord of Dragons, and passing directly through the Fascere Order headquarters and even the mountain behind it. Though it had been constrained by Valon's willpower, keeping the attack from immolating the innocents below, they could still feel the heat radiating from it. Directly beneath the blast was almost like singeing oneself on a flame.
The heat and noise began to fade, the light dimming. Valon glared disdainfully at what was left of Basilisk, a charred corpse and a set of ivory jaws, still clamped around his arms. The last dwindling bits of the attack drew back around his arm, engulfing the remains of his foes. The azure flames shimmered slightly, black motes dancing through them, before finally being reduced to nothingness. He flicked the flames away, leaving his hand outstretched.
"And now, it is over." ------- In the hallway below, Auguste was leaning against the wall, face toward it. His breathing was somewhat irregular, a few drops of sweat visible on the back of his neck.
"Boss?" The redhead queried, putting a hand on the man's heaving shoulders.
"I'm fine, Aythya. I'm fine. None of us are dead from that blast. Possibly a few employees that failed to heed the warnings about the coming battle, but I'm sure we lost nobody important. After all, the seers and such had us move most of the valuable merchandise out of the middle, there." Auguste turned to face the group. He was slightly pale, though in places his face was red. Most likely slight burns from being near the doorway when Valon had let loose.
"Personally, when they said that whole spiel about flames sweeping through and walls being knocked flat, I thought that it was going to be Nachoset and somebody. Or somebody dropping a cigar at the postgame party, butcha know. A gigantic bluey-white-energy-whatsit is fine, too." Nopcsa smirked at Terrian, who seemed to be the only one present who was doing worse than Auguste.
"So that's what a Power can really do..." Garth said quietly, from behind Sly. He had stepped as far back into the hallway as he could manage without leaving the group, avoiding the sounds of battle and the smell of blood.
"Some of 'em. But most aren't really that bad. For example, I'm a Power, and I'm probably less dangerous than the usual guy with gun. Well, unless you give me a gun. Then I'd be a bit better off. But then again, you give a guy with a gun shoes like mine, and he'd be-" Aythya was cut off by Auguste's raised hand.
"Wouldn't he have to take his shoes off first, though?" Emily asked. A loud crash caught her attention.
Oblivious even to the apocalyptic destruction unleashed above them, Natalie and Nachoset were still at each other's throats. Natalie had flung Auguste's chair at Nachoset, only to have him shred through it, and continue on a direct course towards her. Bits of fluff lingered in the air for long seconds, and were almost immediately immolated as the armored one burst into flames again.
"I know you, Helogale." Nachoset sidestepped a stab, flickering as the attack was turned into a slash. It passed through him harmlessly. He raised an arm, catching the returning blade on his spiked forearm. Sparks and chips of bone flew.
"Big whoop! So does the waitress at the Golden Griddle, but you don't see her kickin' my ***!" Natalie twisted, snapping off the end of the blade, and lunged forward. Her weapon struck home, lancing into Nachoset's side. A bit of its broken tip jutted out of his back, blood pouring freely from the wound.
"I know you, Natalie. You stole this power from us, and still, are crude enough to make the assumption that we wouldn't know every..." Nachoset stumbled in agony, falling forward. One of his blades skimmed Natalie's arm, cutting her slightly.
"Little..." Nachoset's arm lashed out, grabbing the warrior by her feet and pulling. She fell onto her back, hard. Even with how furious she was, Natalie couldn't conceal her shocked expression.
"Thing." He dropped to his knee, placing its vermillion spine against the girl's throat. He extended his left hand, the broken remains of a charm bracelet dangling from it. With a snap of his wrist, he flung the trinket aside.
"You BASTARD!" Natalie roared, straining against the spine. Nachoset placed the palm of his right hand against her forehead, slamming her back into the deck.
"You're useless now. No more powers." Nachoset grabbed the hilt of the sceard blade, and slowly drew it out of his side. He hissed slightly as the jagged tip reemerged from the wound. "No more weapons." He tossed it over the railing, into the forest.
"You're just a defenseless little girl, with nothing left to protect you. The only thing between you, and your well deserved death is the fact that I'm supporting my weight on my other knee." Nachoset smiled, a bit of bloody drool rolling down his chin. "The one thing keeping you alive at this moment, Helogale, is the mercy of the Yalda Bahut."
"You think I'm scared? Do you honestly think I am?" Natalie glared at him, defiantly raising her head. She started to raise her arm, only to have it slammed back against the wooden floor.
"I know you aren't scared. Anybody with any measure of fear in their hearts would not have the gall to interfere in my work..." Nachoset's grin grew wider. "But I do know that you absolutely and truly loathe this. Powerless before your enemy, barely able to even raise your voice against them without risking death. You can suffer here, living out the worst of your nightmares, before I kill you."
Nachoset slowly began to lean forward, the spine pressing into Natalie's skin. The girl shouted something like a strangled curse.
And then, Nachoset tumbled aside, bone chips flying from his armor. He rolled to his feet, catlike, and faced the new threat. The spike on his knee was clearly shattered, a deeper circle revealing where it had been hit. A large lump was forming on the side of his head, crimson running over his ears.
"You say that she had nothing, there. Nothing to protect her against your hatred, your blind rage over something she did that was totally right." Emily was tossing a hairbrush up and down with one hand, her other still rummaging in her purse.
"And you were totally, totally wrong. She might not have had anything of her own to rely on, but she had something better than that. She had her friends." She stood expectantly, the hairbrush taking a twirl to it on its next bounce.
"Is that so? I'll need to take that away from her, too!" Nachoset flickered, immediately transitioning into a full on charge at the girl.
"Emily, get out of here! You're not-" Natalie shouted, her voice ragged.
"Not what?" Emily stood her ground until Nachoset was mere feet away, and then threw the brush to the ground. The armored man lowered into a slash at Emily, and found himself falling short- and then falling flat on his chin as his footing rolled out from under him. Emily twirled away, flicking a fistful of recipe cards at him. Each one hit home, drawing more red lines across the man's bare scalp.
He flickered to his feet with a roar, throwing himself into a lunging punch. Emily stepped aside, and her purse shot out, deflecting his swing. As he turned to face her once more, she tumbled past him, grabbing a chunk of brick that Valon's attack had blown free. She landed on her feet, and jumped backwards, clearing the stone desk and the unconscious member of the Fascere Order in one go.
Her opponent was swiftly after her, leaping over the obstruction, and slashing at Emily. His blades found their mark this time, but only skimmed her lightly. A brick to his shoulder had yanked him back at the last second, reducing the lethality of the strike. Another flurry of recipe cards struck him in the face, blinding him as Emily slid under the desk.
"Enough foolishness!" Nachoset snarled, and slammed his fist into the floor. A wave of fire exploded outward from it. Nowhere near the magnitude of Valon's attack, but enough to blow Emily into the clear, and leave her clothes singed and a few wisps of hair glowing. She tried to jump to her feet, but her opponent was immediately upon her. He threw aside, the girl slamming into the wall of the headquarters. He followed immediately, catching her as she bounced back from the impact. He spun about with her in his grasp, bringing his armblades up to her throat.
"And that will be all. I know that none of you- AGH!" Nachoset cried out in pain. Emily had pulled a container of hand sanitizer from her purse, and crushed it into the side of his head. The goop was mingling with the blood of his myriad wounds.
He took a few breaths, stabilizing himself, and then tightened his grip on her.
"This time, I've got her. If any of you even try to help her, I'll rip her throat clean out. Do you all get that? This girl is going to die, one way or another."
Emily, more notably than at any point since arrival, looked downcast.
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Post by hermes on Oct 27, 2009 15:52:47 GMT -5
A long, azure blade tapped lightly on Nachoset's shoulder. Prime smirked slightly as the man looked over his shoulder at him.
"If she'd going to die, no matter what, that doesn't give me much reason to freeze does it?" Prime said. "It just means you want us to die meaninglessly for her, and whether we do or don't, you'll still kill her anyways." Prime shook his head sorrowfully. "So instead of freezing in fear, I personally, am more than glad to hold on to a little hope, and move courageously."
Prime held up a small charm in his off hand, the chain was snapped but seemed otherwise intact.
"Piece of advice," Prime said, as he threw the charm back to Natalie. "Never forget about the unknown factor in a battlefield. When I came here, I was a human variable. As soon as that changed, you should have changed the situation."
Prime started projecting his voice, so everyone could hear him clearly. "This pointless fight is over, put aside your weapons and go about your own ways. Valon and I are freed from combat. I won't speak arrogantly on my own behalf, but with the two of us helping out our remaining comrades, you really don't hold much of a chance."
Prime gazed piercingly into Nachoset's eyes. "Let go of Emily, allow me to supervise the removal of that thing from Garth, and this can all end peacefully. I'm well aware that business knows neither good nor evil. So long as you aren't planning world domination, I see no reason why we can't leave you alone."
"You have anything to add, Natalie?" Prime asked. "Besides a feral desire to kill this man, of course?"
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Post by Beelzebibble on Nov 2, 2009 10:45:11 GMT -5
Terrian slid up to his feet and made it to the doorframe to assess the scene. There was Prime. Prime was alive. A couple of other figures out on the deck looked much less so. Maybe the battle had... Ah, no, wait. Emily. Terrian fished around in the briefcase to see how stealthily he could aim the Mage Masher at the snout of the one who was holding on to her. But before he could do so, he heard Prime speak.
"Ohh..."
He approached Auguste Tylor. "Oh, listen, this is an opportunity right here. My pal Prime out there wants to end this peacefully. Prime. He's not even complaining about his motorbike. This is the best chance you're going to get."
He coughed briefly and raised an assuring hand to the lone duplicate Brogue. "So, I'm pretty sure – let me run this by you – here's the part where, in an ideal world, you step in and tell the big guy to let Emily off the hook. Right? After that, you gentlemen get what you want: Garth's Zodiac amulet... and my employment."
Terrian paused for a moment, but Brogue's nod encouraged him. He went ahead with it.
"Because I really would like to see what I can do for your organization. But I also don't want you to tell me to hurt anyone out there."
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Post by AngelicTragedy on Nov 5, 2009 10:31:54 GMT -5
Valon hovered silently as he judged the damage done. Two wounds on his upper torso and a ring of bleeding teeth marks around his arm; not too bad, for he had received worse from weaker foes. Black energy danced across the openings on his chest, but the strangest feeling came over Valon that they had nothing to do with the psychotic demon he had just battled, but were oddly familiar. Calling on the power of his pendant once again to cleanse the disease that was surely in his wounds, Valon dove quickly to join the standoff below. He landed on shaky feet and willed a long spool of bandages into his left hand.
"If he tries anything, I've got the girl taken care of. It's nothing a little silver magic can't handle." Valon nearly whispered but was clearly audible though his regal tone.
Slowly Valon began wrapping the bandages around his arm and then his chest. Black-red blood stained the cloth even as quickly as he could cover it up. It had been a long time since Valon had faced something nearly as powerful as himself and, thought he would never admit it, he was physically and mentally drained. He could always rely on his instincts but that generally got people around himself hurt and that was something Valon couldn't live with. Once all the dressings were in place and he had a moment to properly compose himself, Valon glared at the man holding Emily with a fire that seemed to sear from the pit of his stomach.
"Don't fool yourself boy. If you try to do something stupid, you will die. It may not be me that kills you, but you'll die nonetheless. Actually, hope that it's not me that gets to kill you - you wouldn't deserve a quick death," Valon spouted with a bile that hadn't been heard in a long time.
Valon honestly meant what he had said, he really hoped he didn't have to kill this man because he wasn't even sure he would be able to aim properly to do it.
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Post by Tout-Perd on May 4, 2010 23:49:53 GMT -5
"So, that's that. It's over, Nachoset." Natalie smirked confidently, and waved her allies away. "Thank you, guys. I can take it from here." She flicked her wrist, and a small coil of silver was tossed into the air. It jingled as she caught it. “The O-Sceard. The most powerful shapeshifting device ever encountered by the order of the Mamba, and indeed superior to even Andalite technology in some aspects...” She let it slip through her grasp, grabbing it between two fingers. She spun it, the jingling cadence matching her steps. “Helogale!” Nachoset snarled, his grip tightening on Emily. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Gimme my own little pet name since I gutted a whole bunch of your buddies and ripped your boss to tatters. Act like I'm some monster because I destroyed the same warmongers that tried to kill my best friend's family. What the f*cking ever.” Natalie threw the chain skywards, and waited a moment. It plummeted back into her palm with a click. “You step outside your bounds, girl! The right of the Order of the Mamba is an absolute! We own all of Africa! We're well on our way to owning the entire Old World!” “Uh huh. Bunch of f*cking pussies. Y'all are just hiding behind each other, afraid that somebody with some real f*cking guts is going to step up and show you just how tiny and weak you all are. And the real reason you guys hate me? Because I'm that person.” Nat stopped smiling, and met Nachoset's gaze. The flames of the Fascere Order headquarters were reflected in the green of her eyes. “I had you! You were dead! You WERE mine!” “Pfff. Tell ya what, you milquetoast excuse for a warrior...” She flung her hand out to the side, the bracelet jangling in her palm. “I can settle this. I'll give you this. You can have the best Sceard, the most powerful armor. Take 'em, and get out of my sight. And in a while, not that I'm going to tell you when, I'll head out to good ol' Africa... “And I'll kill every single one of you. That's my promise.” Natalie raised a hand, and lobbed the bracelet into the air. “Here you go, you sorry son of a b*tch.” Nachoset grasped for the trinket as it fell, the chain tumbling over the railing. He released his grasp on the girl, and threw himself over the edge. “Whoops!” Emily kicked a jagged shard of wood from amidst the wreckage into her hand, and then flung it over the edge. There was a roar of pain, and then a thunk. “I didn't think he wanted to land on his head. So I pinned him to that tree down there.” “Yeah. He... He can go and get that bracelet later. Let's get out of here.” -------- “I guess you're the loser here, Mr. Tylor,” Garth declared, wiping some dust from his cheek. “By what measure? Sure, the first handful of my men were defeated. But the Fascere Order is not some insignificant band. I've got dozens more operatives on hand, waiting for such an event to occur.” Auguste stood up straight, an indignant note rising. “Boss, do we really have to?” Aythya hovered slightly behind the leader of the Order, concern spreading across his face. “Look at them. Covered in wounds, barely standing... They couldn't handle more than a couple of our men before they succumbed.” Auguste glanced outside, to where Natalie, Emily, Prime, and Valon had gathered. “Send the order, Nopcsa. Terrian, if you wish to abstain from the assault, feel free. They will not live to tell of a victory tonight.” “Nopcsa's not sending any orders,” a voice, familiar and confident, spoke from the shadows. A figure, clad in a heavy trenchcoat, had his arm around the mindreader's throat. A sinister force crackled around his hand. “And who would you be?” “Those people out there, my friends? They call me Ender. But you can just call me the guy that shut down your entire backup corps. They're all taking naps right now-” The psion changed his grasp on Nopcsa, who seemed to be regarding the deadly hand with a mild annoyance. “Some more painfully than others.” “You couldn't!” Auguste's facade of cool control had broken. His eyes were wild, like those of a beast in a trap. “There's a difference between a straight fight and implanting memories that convinced most of them to go to bed early. But they've been neutralized. So, if I were you, I'd be getting out my checkbook and giving the people that want pay some green to line their pockets.” Auguste sagged against the wall again. He seemed much smaller than when the night had begun. ------- “So, Terrian's staying with 'em?” Natalie daubed at a cut on her face with a swab soaked in alcohol, wincing slightly. <Yes. It seems that he's found somewhere that he needs to be.> Sly didn't seem to be much worse for wear. His morphing technology had ensured that. If one glanced closely, they'd note a concerned squint to his gaze, but it was almost completely obscured by the dawn's shady illumination. “Ehhh, let him stay,” Natalie spat on the wood of the deck, and glanced over her shoulder. The dashing young man, substantially less dashing than when they had first met, was distantly regarding the forest from the edge of the balcony. A handful of his copies were bustling about, sweeping up shards of glass and mending broken timbers. <I wouldn't interfere even if I thought it would help. His dealing, for better or worse, are his own.> Sly let his shoulders droop slightly. Though he had assumed his human form, he still seemed to be using his thoughtspeak. Most likely a matter of confidentiality, or mayhaps just sparing Terrian the awkwardness of being the subject of discussion. “What about the others?” <Prime seems to have gotten a very sizable check. I'm not sure what happened to him afterwards, but he's no longer around here. The last I heard from him, he mentioned something about “upgrading”. Probably looking into some repairs for his motorcycle, which I certainly could understand.>“And the wimp?” “I negotiated a deal with Auguste.” Garth's voice was surprisingly strong. Natalie jerked about, turning to face the young man. “What's the deal?” “I'm going to work for them, part time. They'll be putting my wages towards finding some way to fix my condition without me losing these powers. And the rest of the time? I'll get to live life as normal. Not as bad of a deal as I was expecting.” <Indeed. I'm guessing that our ace in the hole had something to do with that.>“I just made it so Auguste couldn't threaten Garth. The rest was him.” Ender pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose. With the rising sun, they certainly were more helpful than they had been throughout the long evening. “It seems our young friend has taken a few steps forward, just in the time that we've known him.” Valon's grandiose tones echoed off of the damaged building and the mountain behind it. Garth blushed deeply as the King of Dragons patted him on the back. “It's not like he didn't have any help, though,” Dracon rumbled from a corner. He had been hunched over a sketchbook since the moment he had returned to human form. “That is true... Thanks, guys.” “Sorry to interrupt this heartwarming moment, but I've got some news for you all.” The man known as Nopcsa had stepped into the midst of the group. He had a bandage around his left shoulder, apparently having been wounded by Ender's rough treatment of him earlier. “No, it's not that anybody particularly important died or anything. At least, not right now. But on the bright side, you all can get out of our hair, and go back to screwing things up in Whelkshore City.” Nopcsa sidestepped a punch from Natalie. “C'mon, no hard feelings. There's no way we can afford to have any right now.” Nopcsa shrugged slightly. “We can,” Natalie growled in response. “True, true. But if you do anything terrible to me, I wouldn't be able to tell you guys that Auguste cleared our teleporter room for you guys to go home in. And it's a pretty long walk home from the islands here.” “Don't worry about me. I think I'll be staying around here for a while.” Dracon didn't move from his spot. “Not going back to the Archipelago?” Garth's voice had quickly lapsed back to wavering. “Not right now. Something about Hawaii really... just speaks to me. I think I've got some exploring to do, after a bit of a nap.” Dracon smiled distantly, and then stood up. “I'll let you guys know if I'm around.” “Cool, cool.” Natalie was already heading back toward the building. She spun on her heel for just a moment, facing back over the balcony, and shouted. “Hey, you! Mopey! Don't think that, just because you've got these buddies now, that I won't skin ya alive if you screw up again!” She didn't say anything else, though the last few words of her threat came back in a faint echo. A moment later, she'd stepped into the darkness of the building. “Don't let that deter you... If you find a chance to stop by Whelkshore, you're always welcome,” Sly spoke, using his human voice at long last. There was a warmth to his voice, and the morning sun gleamed off his eyes, “Even if it didn't work out quite right, you tried to do the right thing.” “That's the only thing that matters, in the end,” Emily spoke from behind Terrian, her sudden speech jarring him out of his reverie. He turned quickly, and almost fell to his knees when the pain from his leg hit him. “Sorry!” Emily grabbed him by his upper arm, supporting him the best she could. She slipped a small wax paper bundle into his palm. “It's a bit of cake I whipped up before I got here... I guess it's kinda saying sorry for the whole Natalie stabbing you thing.” Emily shrugged as she ushered Terrian back to the railing. “Cake usually makes me feel better when people stab me, after all. Maybe it'll do the same for you.” Terrian simply nodded quietly as the brightly garbed girl walked away. “Thank you,” he faintly said, after she had already left. With more crinkling than should have been possible from such a small parcel, he unrolled it along the railing. As it opened up, he found himself looking at a slice of halfway smashed cake, resting on its side. The frosting was the same shade of orange as the sky. The End Wrapped this up when I had a spare moment. It's been a heckuva ride, guys, and a pleasure to work with you all. Here's to many more great RPs in the future. Also, I can't post in Ishkasix right now, so I needed a substitute.
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Post by AngelicTragedy on May 5, 2010 0:07:22 GMT -5
OOC- This pleases me greatly.
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