Tokki spent some of her time sitting over by the faint feline, Wavemistress Vera. Even though she practiced being adamant and emotionally stable in the eyes of battle, the longarm had to make sure that Vera would be alright.
Nighthand was alone in a corner where the least amount of light shone. His barrier was shadow. He felt the calm of nothing. But he was far from peace. The Heavy Blade's eye twitched constantly. He had almost grasped the ultimate dark power, the one that Asgard held in battle. The evil blade's picture was branded on his mind; branded on his SOUL. He knew that if he truly wanted to be a force of nigh unimaginable power, he had to get that sword...
Kodel, sprawled out on one of the beds, tried to think of anything but the pain that he had caused himself and the harm inflicted on him by Vera in an attempt to quell her rage. He was regenerating little by little with Dun Loireag's built in regen system, but the claws of the Wavemistress gored him badly. He would need at least the night to get back to an average standing...
Xeromessia and Armina had enough of a day. Retreating to a bed for each of them, they lay silent, thinking of current events and the strange occurences that has happened to them and their allies. All was not well, but there was no sign of recovery. Only a lapse in the system...
Hijinx, Kain and Shugotenshi continued their games. It was fun until someone loses an eye though. Tirath looked on from the wall, sitting on one of the spare beds. It was a good idea to get a bed before everyone started getting tired.
The rest of the Vanguards, however, talked amongst themselves. In only took a few hours or so to unite the clan and begin conversing about the current events that unfolded in their laps. They heard a million and one rumors about the ones who are trapped in the game, but only thought of what they were labeled: only rumors. False truths. Tall tales. Straight out lies. Now they were dead center with the rest of the team in the matter. As of now, their bodies in the real world would be limp now. No sign of life. Only a heartbeat to prove their existence. They had to find a way to get out of the new hell put before them...
All the while, Gingitsune, the matriarchal figure of the group, sat down in one of the chairs. The wise Wavemistress was thinking so many things at once, that an average person's head would implode. It had been what seemed a lifetime since they lost Nall and they still haven't found any clues of how to stop Twilight, the impending force that kept them all locked away from their real world bodies and doomed to play its sinister game. As she pondered, Cybele, her newest and incredibly powerful acquisition, began to shine a deep blue: sadness. She knew that everyone felt it when it came to Nall, but Cybele made it seem even heavier than before.
Even if Nall's sacrifice wasn't bad enough, Asgard had finally come back from what had seemed to be thin air. The last she saw him, the ex-Heavyblade was trying to rest after what had happened to Nall. Now the topic of concern was how powerful he became in the time that Gingitsune and the group had used in completing Theta Lucid Arbor Illyiad. He now was truly hacked, like others in the group, but something was much different in him than Tokki or Vera. Cybele interrupted, vibrating in her hands. The tip of the wand began to emanate a white and black aura. It felt as if the wand was fearful of the weapons he now fashioned: Ultima, the lightblade, and Awaikage, the soul edge. Gingitsune trailed off into another thought, making the mysterious wand slow and still to a halt....
It was night now on Theta server, as the battle for Vera's mind was well past noon and the only thing that the group could do was wait until everyone was ready for tomorrow, or wait for Asgard to show up. Either or, no one could fathom on what tomorrow would bring them.
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That was an inexcusable act. If you hadn't made the change in speed, you would have been torn asunder by the Wavemistress' flames...
"I wasn't going to be harmed. You and Wryneck have nothing to worry about."
The sun broke over the horizon, off towards the mountain range in the east. Dun Loireag was once again bathed in the light of the virtual, but realistic, solar star that stood at the core of the galaxy. The players of "The World" milled out from every nook and cranny of the small, highland town, amassing teams for dungeon runs, bartering with each other for trading and challenging each other to duels. It was a carbon copy day, much like every day before it and every day after.
Out of sight from anyone, Asgard sat upon the rooftop of the grunty stable. He could see his new friend, Kjata the Grunty, frolick around the stable, much like the stereotypical baby grunties of the past. Yet, the word of the day was not Grunty. It was, in fact, Dualist.
Cross-legged and staring out into the vast beyond, Asgard sat. One of his swords, Ultima, was impaled into a rockface that was merely feet away. The other, Awaikage, was still gone.
"We are still very cross with you. We had made a deal after all. You help us gain back our family and we will help you vanquish Twilight. Was that too much of a task for you to handle? Can you humans not even complete the simplest of tasks?
Emotionless, Asgard looked outward to the rising sun. He longed for the freedom that defeating Twilight would give him, but what would it cost him? He knew firsthand that to gain something, sacrifices must be made. Those sacrifices were plainly obvious to him: Innocence, blood and lives.
"I know what you are thinking, fleshbag. There will be cost for your freedom. Do not expect the adversaries that are tainted by the virus will take you lightly.
"I don't. I don't expect anyone to take me lightly. This game was made to test the resilience and the will of the people who play it. My will is nigh indestructible and you know it. You can feel it. That's why you and the cloaked one chose me."
"But you still have to learn that there are no such thing as absolutes."
As Asgard spoke, Awaikage mysteriously appeared in the same rockface, inches away from Ultima.
"I know what I was saying, Wryneck. That's why I said 'nigh'. There is nothing absolute about this. I am just reinforcing the fact that I am much more powerful than I ever was when I was Thor."
"Then why don't you prove it to me???"
Asgard's focus faltered. He rolled to the side and clasped the hilts of his swords and pulled them out of the rock face. Without any warning, he screamed "Ani Blast!. From the tip of the living dark blade, a wide beam of black energy erupted. Yet, it continued onward into the sky, as his opponent sidestepped far in advance.
It was Tritoch...
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"Alright everyone. Listen up." Gingitsune and the others were outside, as the sun cleared the final mountain to the east and was shining down upon them at a thirty degree angle. The wavemistress went on. "Seeing as we have no leads at all on where to go next, we might as well make most of this day doing something else so that we won't get rusty." Gingitsune heard a few chuckles, one notably coming from Tokki. "So lets go to the gate and get us a field of choice. It won't be long before people are going to log-"
She was interrupted by a voice. "Ani Blast!" It almost seemed familiar to the group. Just as sudden as the voice rang out from a place unknown, a concentrated beam of darkness flew overhead, sending a wave of mountain rock, dust and sand into the air.
Another beam shot out and detonated on the ground with great ferocity, sending two players off their feet and off the mountain, down into the cloudy abyss below.
"What was that?" Nighthand questioned, drawing his Heavyblade. He looked around for cause, but found nothing.
"Everyone! Weapons ready!" Wren ordered fiercefully. The Vanguards wasted no time in arming themselves for a possible battle. The other fighters wasted no time in unveiling their weapons as they waited for a sign. The group was overall strange to the others in Dun Loireag, as they retreated from the blast site, near the Grunty farm, to the Chaos rings, near the hidden hideout.
But still, the group saw nothing. Yet, they could hear something. Now that the panicking was gone, they could hear the clash between weapons. It intensified, up to the point that the microscopic gravel beneath their feet began to shake.
A sudden *CLANG* erupted from the Grunty Farm, as Tritoch, the Wavemaster Three, skidded across the ground, stopping centimeters from the Elf's haven. He was breathing heavily; something that players thought could never happen.
An admin was being bested. But who could do that?
"Rai Cyclone!" From the rooftop of the farm, Asgard pushed forward, towards Tritoch. Halfway through the jump, Asgard sent himself spinning like a top, much like a Heavy Axeman's Tornado ability. Only that the blade's lightning was amplifying the spin to make it blindingly fast. Tritoch held up his Stormlord Rod at a parallel in front of him, effectively blocking Asgard's skill. The Dualist retreated a few feet away, trying to catch his breath.
"Asgard!" Xeromessia called out. Asgard looked over to his side, his eyes dilated and aflame with a white light.
"Watch out, Oniichan!" Tokki screamed. Asgard looked at the LongArm and realized. Tritoch struck his wand down at Asgard, but effectively blocking it with his two sword in an X pattern. He struggled for a moment, trying to stand his ground, then pushed Tritoch away.
He looked back to the group for a second. Eyes widening, he belted, "Watch out!" He couldn't finish another sentence as Tritoch began his offensive maneuver again.
The group turned around, prying their sight of the battle away and to their rear, where the Chaos Gate lay. Streaming out from the portal were players of which the group had ever seen. They were adorned in ornate red armor and seemed to breathe fear itself out from their noses. As they armed themselves, one of the players, a Fist Fighter, pointed to the group and yelled...
"LEAVE NONE STANDING! GLORY TO THE ADMINS!"
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OOC: There you go. One big new plotline to sink your teeth into. There is exactly one of the Red Guard going for each player. YOU can decide what class they are (Twin Blade, HeavyBlade, Blademaster, Heavy Axeman, Fist Fighter, Wavemaster and Long Arm). Don't bother going after Tritoch after you defeat yours, help the others. You have been warned
![Mad :x](./images/smilies/icon_mad.gif)
EDIT: The Red Guard's level is 20