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Fuzzhead
Elevated Player
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 1:27 am

Post by Fuzzhead » Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:39 pm

As Silk reclined easily against the bookshelf that supported his ludicrously lazy behavior, a loud group of footsteps rang out amongst the ancient volumes, alerting the Fist Fighter to the returning presence of his allies. They appeared fine, although by their haggard expressions, the mental toll of fighting someone or something tough was intent on beating them down into the ground.

Of course, Silk knew no such pain, as he had been sitting in the library reading books the whole time. What a clown. Honestly, the kid had done absolutely nothing the whole fight with the narrator and his menacing shadow creatures, and for that reason, he remained mostly silent as he blended back into the Freedom Fighters, following them to who knew where.

Certainly, Silk had no idea what had gone down in the various rooms, but for he realized instinctively to keep his mouth shut instead of querying about the various violent occurrences that had taken place within. No doubt someone would lash out bitterly at his non-participating stance regarding the whole incident, and rampant strife amongst this rag tag group of warriors was the last thing they needed here in the bowels of the enemy’s dungeon.

So, without so much incident, the depressed, weary, and furious individuals trooped ahead, entering a room that had a single occupant: Angel’s pet. Attached to the ceiling by a golden hook not unlike the impenetrable shield that had caused so many headaches, the pet looked fairly ridiculous, but that was soon to be overcome by the ridiculousness of what next occurred.

In a sudden transformation, the pet became a civil, intelligent creature that wanted only to explain to the Freedom Fighters that they had received a bonus of sorts. They were to be granted free passage to the next room, and for that Silk was grateful, although perhaps not as grateful as the more battle-worn champions of justice. So without further ado, the group proceeded up a flight of stairs, each of them receiving a strange golden vial from Nighthand.

The utility of the vials was revealed in a flashmail from their grand leader, and Silk wasted no time in pouring the stuff over his weapons of choice: his entire body. Fists, feet, knees, elbows, head… all of these parts would be used in the final destruction of the Angel, and from the readings of Bruce Lee’s masterpiece, Silk’s combative ability would most likely have increased three billion fold.

That’s a dramatization of course, but you get my meaning.

In the next room was Angel, but it seemed like she was the lesser of two attractions, if that was possible. Whoever arranged this room had a candle fetish, it seemed, for lining the walls were untold hundreds or perhaps even thousands of candles, each and every one of them lit. Furthermore, hundred more were placed at random around the room, but all of it was topped by the massive, triple-ringed candle chandelier that hung from the ceiling. This monstrous centerpiece looked dangerous indeed, and Silk made sure to catalogue its exact position so that he might utilize it in the fight to come.

Back to the real threat at hand, though – Angel. Her golden shield glowed fiercely now, as did her beautiful yet furious face. With her turbine blade spinning so quickly it literally hummed with energy, it appeared that this was a no-nonsense version of the woman they had fought earlier, one that was prepared to rip them apart with absolutely no remorse. Realizing this, Silk made sure to apply the typical host of speed and strength buffs at his disposal.

“Ap Do, Ap Corv, Ap Torv, Ap Torma, Ap Vorv,” he muttered. Like a well-oiled machine, the others were preparing themselves for battle, and the scene developing before his very eyes couldn’t have been more dramatic if it had been directed by Quentin Tarantino himself.

For a moment, Silk’s attention was drawn to Zan and Nulus as they became the freakishly powerful Merged that the Fist Fighter had only seen once before. It was good to see that the werewolf was entering no-nonsense mode himself, providing a bit of reassurance. They could take this bitch, he felt.

“Let’s get right into the proceedings this evening,” muttered Silk, as his fists began to glow with the burning energy of his most powerful attack. The force pulsed through his body, setting him afire with a crackling power that felt downright heavenly.

By now, the rest of the Freedom Fighters were similarly engaged, and it now came to the stare-down part of this encounter. For a solid thirty seconds, the two sides did nothing but gaze in differing levels of fear, anger, and defiance. Then, the measuring period was over, and Silk sprang into action.

“Let’s go!” he shouted, rushing forward at top speed with his fists ablaze with all the fiery power at his disposal. “Be unpredictable,” Bruce Lee said in his book, and Silk intended to do just that. “Double Mortal Scorcher!” he shouted, and at the call of its name, the attack seemed to rise to the occasion, and an extra burst of flames exploded in his hands.

With the intent of being unpredictable, Silk unleashed the first punch of his attack a split second early. A massive trail of flames followed his fist as it arced across his body, forming a blinding wall of fire directly in front of Angel’s face. It served as an excellent cover for the second punch of his mighty delivery, ensuring that Angel would be hard pressed to deflect an attack that she couldn’t see.

The second blow was aimed at her kidney, an unusual position to attack, for sure, but with the flames hopefully blinding his opponent, the Fist Fighter thought he was in good shape. Forcing her to dodge was just fine with him, too. Silk felt he could count on his allies to capitalize on any desperate maneuvers performed by Angel, but it was doubtful that she would try to evade. After all, she expected her golden shield to deflect all damage.

In that respect, the first punch in his combo would also serve to protect him from any of her reciprocations. No doubt she would be shocked to receive any damage from his attack, but Silk doubted that it would completely incapacitate her. Therefore, he was attacking low at the kidney and then promptly springing aside with the flames covering his retreat.

If these were the Freedom Fighters he had come to know and love, they would be swarming her even as he moved aside.
Level 25 Fist Fighter
Boxing Gloves | Nny Scales | Dice Gloves | Iron Anklet | Time Headband

Skills: Ap Corv, Ap Torv, GiVak Don, Ap Torma, Ap Do, Repth, Kiwami, Double Mortal Scorcher

Wishlist:
1.) Rare Foot Armor
2.) FF Belief
3.) Any stat-altering items

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:56 am

Phoenix felt disappointed that Raquar was the one who beat the narrator in the drinking game but oh well. He slowly got back up from the floor but still feeling the effects of the wine, he could barely stand. Staying rather close to the wall, the blademaster walked back to the library as Nulus was carrying Zan just behind him. Kazuma-sama, are you ok?

I think so. My mind is mostly intact and slowly regaining my balance. It feels like that I drank so much before in the past but can’t remember when. I guess alcohol tolerances and effects are different to person to person.

The remark was directed to Zan and Raquar as Zan was about ready to come around while Raquar was making an ass out of himself towards Sekai. Phoenix leaned to a bookcase as his balance was almost all the way back. When Nighthand got the final piece of the key to the final door of the second floor, the blademaster was able to walk without being supported by a wall or person. He walked with the rest of the Freedom Fighters with Suzaku flying right next to him. Phoenix inserted the Sun shaped shard into the door and once the rest of the key was inserted, the door opened.

The final room contained Angel’s pet without its trainer nearby. The pet would receive an upgrade but before it could use the upgrade against the Freedom Fighters, it was quickly killed by Marionette’s personal guardian. Phoenix did not care why Marionette decided to allow them to advance to Angel herself but only to fight her. That is why they were here and the quicker to the goal, the better. Before Phoenix went up the stairs, he received a message from Nighthand about getting through Angel’s shield. The blademaster walked towards Nighthand and asks for two vials as he wants a vial for Suzaku as well.

Once receiving the two vials, Phoenix poured one vial on the Bloody Pain and poured the other one on Suzaku’s beak. Your attacks should go through the shield as well but I’m not sure if they get absorbed by her gauntlet or not. Let’s hope that your fire breath is more of a weapon attack than a pure magic attack, Suzaku.

After climbing the stairs, Phoenix and the guardian found themselves in a room that was similar to the one where the Magus boss fight took place in Chrono Trigger. Suzaku cast Ap Corv on Phoenix while he used a Speed Charm on himself for Ap Do. They walked to the end of the room to see Angel ready to fight with a vengeance as she was betrayed by her dear master.

The fight began with Zan and Nulus getting off the first attack with the appearance of the Merged once again. The blademaster remembered the first appearance of the Merged and felt overwhelmed by it but now, not much so. It quickly advanced on Angel which Phoenix barely saw the Merged’s actual advance towards her. Did it just teleported next to her? No, it didn’t. It was so fast that it appeared to you as instantaneous movement but I saw what really happened barely. Come on, let’s defeat Angel now. Suzaku, surround her in a fire ring and I’ll do the rest.

The bird gave a nod to Phoenix before flying towards Angel. She fired off her fire breath to create a ring that surrounded Angel shortly after Silk made his attack on Angel. The blademaster began to sprint towards Angel and jumped high into the air. He slashed his sword towards Angel for three Wind Blades. The attacks were designed to keep Angel contained long enough for Phoenix to do some direct physical damage with a couple of quick slashes. After the quick attack, he plans to kick Angel into the fire ring so he could escape before she could retaliate against the blademaster. It was something for now but he was not sure what the gauntlet could do or her other three forms for that matter. Phoenix cannot predict what will happen but only can affect the now.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

Lord Canti
Exalted Player
Posts: 300
Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.

Post by Lord Canti » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:09 am

(This army of shadows was a real pain in the ass. He'd already downed a bunch of them and had not found any useful way to determine which one was the 'real' Narrator, other than the process of elimination. And that method...was far from safe. It was like playing Russian Roulette with a fully-loaded gun. You were almost certain to be killed unless the gun somehow managed to jam or miss or backfire. We'll call Canti's run-in with the phantasmal narrator a near-miss, clipping his ear. All of his stats had dropped by 5. Well, he HAD asked for it. The only real consolation he got from it, though, was that the Narrator wasn't bullshitting him about this. It was soon after that Nighthand came in, as well as a few others, and gave them the required man-power to take out the Narrator. Canti's stats and HP maximum returned to normal soon after, leaving him in good shape. He swooped down at the room fixed itself.)

Canti: Great. That would've been the hardest-hitting book in history, worse than even...Moby Dick.

(Ewww... That book was evil. In any case, that left them with only one room...which had been locked until the solving of the four books had been complete. Canti stepped into the room with the rest of the group to find Angel's weird pet standing there. No, that wasn't suspicious and ominous at the same time! Not at all! The Twin Blade gritted his teeth, readying himself for battle, but he would find that this one was in the bag...'cause of a little intervention. It was funny. This shadowy bulge came out of nowhere and the Guardian they'd met before suddenly emerged and destroyed the pet with a single touch of his cane.)

”The Master has deemed you worthy of the final test, rather than waste time with Angel’s play. You shall pass through this room unimpeded.”

Canti: Ah, good work, Butler-man.

(It was about damn time that Marionette saw some real worth in them. Small measure, to be sure, but Canti would take any merit he could get. In which case, a message soon came in that would definitely get Canti's attention.)

Flashmail!
To: Freedom Fighters (present)
From: Nighthand
Subject: A tool.

Since I don’t want Angel watching me, and I think the staircases are slightly outside of her sight, I’ll enter first. As each of you pass me, take what I give you.

They’re small gold slivers; the protective shield that Angel uses likely won’t be taken down so easily this time, so I contacted Raine and had her prepare this. Crack one of these vials open over your weapon as you go up the stairs and you should be able to penetrate her shield. She won’t be expecting it, and we can try to overwhelm her as soon as we’re able.


(Well, that sounded pretty damn useful. Only...one thing kinda' stuck out, making him realize something... Canti began to enter with everyone else, and then stopped where Nighthand was as he took the sliver from him and cracked it over his weapons. He looked over at him then...)

Canti: Hey...Nighthand? We're running a bit short, I see. What happened to Senna?

"Huh. I don't know. She wandered off or something, I guess."

(This made him arch an eyebrow at the leader-man.)

Canti: Wandered off? She's not a stray puppy. Didn't she say anything, or tell anyone?

"Not to me, anyways. You'll get used to it though, it happens all the time. I can't tell you the number of people who just disappear in the middle of a dungeon, never to be heard from again."

(Canti looked at him more defensively now, visibly irked by that statement. You're not suppose to get use to the sudden departure of your teammates, the people who watch your back.)

Canti: That doesn't sound very encouraging. So, for all you know, the people you lose track of could be dead.

"Dead, sure. Traitors occasionally. Some even go off thinking they can find their own ways to escape. If they do, they never bother to tell us about it."

(The Twin Blade shook his head, definitely not accepting that.)

Canti: There's no way that Senna would ever turn against us, but just leaving... I didn't wanna say this, but she tried that before. I don't think she knows what she's doing, man.

"Well, nothing I can do about it. Frankly, I've got bigger things to worry about than one more lost member."

Canti: I thought the members of this team were the reason you have things to worry about. That's the point, isn't it? We're fighting together against the Elites because they'll otherwise kill us, right? What good is a team that keeps losing members?!

(He had to realize that recruits weren't gonna come out of the fucking sky all the time. If half of what he heard about the Elites was true - and Canti was sure that SOME of it was - then they would need every person they could get!)

"Look, if I went chasing after every member that left, we'd never have a chance to see an Elite. Sometimes, people like Senna just don't care enough to stay around. You can go chase her if you want, but I'm going to get our mission done with."

Canti: I think the one that doesn't care enough is the one in charge. We need numbers, man. Or haven't you noticed the part where we get our butts kicked by these guys?

"Like I said, go chase her if you want. Unlike Nall, however, I'm not about to start throwing unrelated people into comas just to have allies."

(He wasn't about to get into an argument about Nall. He'd already heard the shit-list on him and didn't want to bother there. Nall hadn't gotten HIM into a coma. Nall had come in the nick of time to get him the hell out of Suraisu's reach. If anything, the one who needed to prove himself more was Nighthand, who didn't seem to give a damn about anyone! Senna was someone he could trust, without fail. If she left...the only reason was that she still felt that she was a burden...even if Canti didn't agree. The Twin Blade sighed.)

Canti: What's the point? She's probably long-gone and you won't give a damn otherwise. I just thought she'd stick around longer after I talked some sense in...

"Exactly. If everything we have to say still doesn't keep someone around, it's not worth the effort of chasing them down. Besides; she knows enough of us now to be able to contact us if she changes her mind."

(He glares at him fiercely, almost demonically.)

Canti: I didn't say you were right. Just...nevermind... Forget I even asked.

(Canti turned and went up the stairs. If Nighthand said anything further to him, which he didn't, he wouldn't respond. He began to withdraw into himself as he walked those stairs, feeling a sudden and terrible weight, so to speak.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You know the cure for alone, right?"

Canti: No...

"Knowing when and who to ask for help when you need it, I think."

Canti: I'm bad at that...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canti: I'm really bad at that, Senna. I never know who to count on, who to ask help from, or why I even bother. I thought you were someone I could ask for help when I needed it. You made me feel less alone. But I guess...I've always been alone. Everyone in this team is that way, and they've all got the same problem trying to ACT like one. And if that's the case, then there's really no one to depend on...and no point in this game at all. The World is a sham...and the Elites had to make it worse. I've had enough of this...

(The interior of the room was filled with candles, their combined light making this room a tad warmer. It made Canti feel more...at home. Of course, it could more or less be that it was his element reacting, along with his attitude. The Twin Blade was smoking, a number of dark fumes coming off of his body like he'd just been burned to death recently. Angel appeared rather pissed off right now. Well, that made two of them, so they were even. He knew what the plan was. Angel was exceptionally skilled, so they were going to coordinate their assaults a bit. Alright...fine. But first...)

TO: Angel
FROM: Canti
SUBJECT: You

You have no reason to live.


(As soon as everybody else got moving, so did Canti. Activating a Speed Charm, he flew around the room quickly to get in from above so he could stab his blades at Angel's neck. He didn't know if a gusher would do any more damage than the rest, but he had just about had it with this game. These puppets had no reason to live... They were just toys for some guy's amusement! So, he was going for the jugular...)
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.

Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.

User avatar
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:15 pm

The battle commenced without much ado, neither side really wanting to talk. Angel simply wanted the deaths of everyone present, so she could force her way into her master’s hidden sanctum and discover why he had betrayed her to these… rodents. The freedom fighters on the other hand, needed her out of the way so that they could destroy the hub, proceed to the same location Angel desired to enter, and continue with their quest.

The initial attack, the trio of Wryneck summons from Nulus, proved to be ineffective. They circled and pounced as one, a feat only generally possible with summon spells, to have multiples strike at once. Even so, Angel was ready, and her spell-absorbing wrist was still mostly empty. Her blade struck the first black cat across the flank. Space warped and the cat was gone, reduced to a swirl of purple in a bracelet. The second was dispatched just as easily with a leap that landed her right in front of the third, which impacted her golden shield and washed away.

The realization that the shield breaking vial had only been used on Zan was enough to start a transformation that even Angel would watch with a slight tremble. The Garou was dangerous enough, but the Merged made it all the more vicious looking, and she could tell there were no holds barred in this battle any longer. The Black Garou was the pinnacle of power that particular player could achieve, and it was not one to be trifled with.

Zan’s great beast, a blackened satire of the noble viciousness that the Garou usually produced, attacked without mercy. Even expecting her golden shield to save her, she still didn’t want to give them all any more opening that she had to, and was immediately in dodge mode. The Garou’s first slashing punch she dodged with an agile leap, which brought her down next to Lighteria as he attacked. His blade was parried with hers, but he had the advantage of a knife in each hand. His second attack she twisted out of the way of, releasing his blade from her hold. He lunged with a third attack, blades swiping outwards, and managed to knick her back just above the waist.

The change was immediate. Her golden shield and the weapons that touched it both flared with a split second of crimson, a hatchwork of lines and letters. Lighteria’s blades withdrew, and her shield flared red, seemed to solidify, and shatter into motes of dust. Angel stood still in her shock, an opening that was more than enough for Silk to take advantage of. His wall of blinding flame rose to her eyes too quickly to react, and his punch drove into her gut and sent her reeling backwards.

Backwards took her directly into the wall of fire that Suzaku was creating, her flesh and her clothing beginning to sizzle in the heat. Crying out in unaccustomed pain, she leaped as high as she could, bounding off the ceiling and in a diagonal out of the way. Phoenix targeted her with wind blades while he advanced, his plan falling apart while keeping together as well. He wouldn’t be able to drive her into the wall of flame, but his wind blades would pin her in a corner for his own physical assault.

The first blade cut off her retreat to the right, and the second to her left, while the third prevented her from leaping to safety once again. By the time the third struck the wall above her, Phoenix was upon her, his blade clashing into her own. As this happened, Canti descended from above, his blades dragging through the air and seeking out her flesh. Her blade was occupied with the pressure of Phoenix’s, and unable to dodge, she had no alternative but to take the damage. Twin lines of blood appeared across her back as the Twinblade tore into her and bounded away, avoiding retribution.

Meanwhile across the room, Nighthand was completing a chant he had only used a pair of times before. ”The hand of darkness spilling over into the world of the nine, these words and my soul bridge the gap in the abyss to drag forth the blade of the lord demon himself. Come to me, soul of Wryneck!” His hand shot up and a scroll, a Dark Traitor, burst into black fire. It was consumed, but the fire still burned, a flare in the fabric of space itself. The hole widened into a portal from which a black tendril reached, wrapping around his hand. Taking a grip, the heavyblade yanked, and the whip trailed through, the blade resisting only a moment before it was physically and totally in the room.

The whip retracted and the blade was in his hands, and Nighthand raced for the still-defending Angel. Phoenix leaped off while the Merged arrived, batting Angel aside like a rag doll. Nighthand shifted his speed as fast as he could, to blur across the room and meet the flying boss with his own swing. There he shifted to strength somewhat above normal and drove his blade with all the force he could muster into her flying form.

Her momentum jarred his frame with the impact, but there was little she could do about it. She collapsed on the floor, her life draining from vicious wounds in her back and stomach, burn marks and cuts having their own painful effects when she landed.

She struggled to rise, and it became suddenly clear. Despite all her skill, without her shield, she had no defense. No longer, anyways. She was emotionally raped, her devotion to her master tossed aside and broken as if it meant nothing. She had before defended herself so much better, with so much more skill and power, but now… Now she was simply devoid of the will.

The Merged, merciless as it was, suddenly was upon her. A fist reared back, slamming down to pound her through her floor, but something was wrong. The impact that should have happened did not come. Angel’s blade was up and, rather than deflect the attack or dodge out of the way, Angel had simply put it in the way. It was as though her own punch had met his, but hers had a several-foot-long blade attacked. A blade that was now driven between the knuckles of the beast, through his forearm and out his elbow. The flesh was already healing around it, but she twisted, keeping the pain and the blood flowing.

Her eyes were feral, her demeanor completely changed. Her pain was ignored, and her power was returned. Her fury was evident, and she still had a few tricks left open to her. One of the black beads spinning around on her wrist rose up and slammed into her blade, the steel pulsing blacker than the blood of the Merged, blacker than the Nightblade, blacker than the Wryneck summon it had come from. All the power exploded into her blade and outwards from it, tearing through the flesh and bone of the Merged and obliterating it. She spun and slashed, a gash opening in the abdomen of the werewolf, before she dashed away. It was left to the werewolf to decide how to deal with having nothing more than shreds of flesh and specks of bone left below the elbow of one arm.

The attack set everyone aback, even Nighthand, who had been prepared to assault her in concert with the Merged. They shared one idea, that of destroying this guardian, but it seemed she still had some life, and some very dangerous power, left inside her. Still, she was weakened, and since the group knew not to use spells, she only had limited ability to use such a devastating attack on them. Her body still bled, and she was not healing it, which could mean she had no power to heal at all, something hard to consider from a boss, but entirely possible.

Who would it be that would make the next move?

------------ooc:
Sorry for the delay, of course. The time I thought I had over the weekend to post turned out to be not actually there. Wisconsin was cold, too.

Angel is at about 50% of her health and she’s weakened, but she’s not fighting to preserve herself anymore, but instead just to kill. That makes her quite a bit more dangerous.

This past round was good, so let’s keep it up.

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Zan » Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:55 am

Zan should have known. Lessons learned in his previous encounter with the Guardian of the Hub had been fumbled in the intermission since. Exactly why he thought it was a good idea to again toss out three Wrynecks at Angel was beyond him. Watching as she hacked up each and every one of them, absorbing their power into her weapon, he felt Nulus's agreement on their mutual stupidity. The Heavy Blade wasn't sure what was worse: the fact that Angel had probably gotten a slap and a tickle out of that or his certainty that the Freedom Fighters were probably shaking their head in his general direction. It was such a fucking amateur move. Zan had fought far more trying battles in the past, several in fact, and shouldn't have slipped up like he did. The self-flagellation would have gone on longer, but the Shade reminded him that now wasn't the time to be distracted. Since they had screwed up, there was no time like the present to start making up for it. The level of violence he suddenly wanted to unleash upon the boss was probably unhealthy, but he had long ago learned to deal with the mental fluxuations of the Beast. It always, always wanted blood and gore in some form or another and the presence of general embarrassment and outright humiliation had those cravings shooting through the frigging roof.

That was when, of course, the two fighters became the unsettling thing that was the Black Garou. The moment he had arrived in front of Angel, doing so in a frightening blur of motion, his massive, meaty fist was arched back and geared to crash into the tiny little head on her shoulders. Sadly, it appeared tiny also meant maneuverable, the woman weaving gracefully through the air to avoid any damage he might have otherwise inflicted. In that moment, the Merged came to a pause, disregarding the actions of its comrades to take in a deep, analytical breath. Immediately, it was hit with a platter of scents that even the normal Garou wouldn't have been able to pick out. Combining bestial senses with human understanding, it could smell the Guardian's inner conflict. Heartbeats spoke of anger and confusion and her body was practically vomitting adrenaline through her blood. The cocktail of emotion and chemicals spiced and sweetened the meat in her body, making the Merged's gut rumble with unsatisfied hunger. God, the hunger. Only the combined iron will of Nulus and Zan kept it from going insane with it, kept it from turning to the weaker members in the group and devouring them inch by tender, juicy inch. How their bones would crack...how smooth the marrow would slide down his throat and caress his appetite like silk. For a second, the Black Garou was facing Raquar, a massive pink tongue slathering along its gums in expectant hunger, a practical pool of tar dribbling to the floor.

But it was refused.

Along with the two warriors' wills, the Merged was filled with their compounded loyalty to the group. Though it didn't care if it accidentally smashed into them in hunt of its prey, it would not actively seek out their damage. For any other mind, the conflict of stimuli and sensory input would have driven them mad. The Black Garou, however, could interpret everything as easily as it could move about. Every heartbeat it could match to an emotion, every footstep or breath or shuffle painted it a vivid picture of the battleground in its head. It could smell the heat of battle itself; the blood and the torn tissue and the dust of grinding bones. Its eyes, great orbs of sickly green smog, could see even the most subtle movements of muscle and, through that, the Merged was able to predict likely motions and assaults. The conglomeration of sweat and crimson life wasn't disgusting to it, but a bouquet of exquisite aperitifs. All of that, every last bit, occurred at the exact same time over and over and over, mingling and bleeding in with the fight raging around it. That, combined with the physical suite of amplified speed, agility and strength made it more than confident in its ability to destroy Angel in the end. It cared little for the downfall of ego, or the fact that, should the bitch use the magic she had stored, the Black Garou would find itself in crippling peril. No, its devastating weakness to the Waves meant next to nothing when it dwelled on the bodily powered it contained.

This power, with Phoenix moving out of the way, saw an opening to be used and the Merged did not deny itself. Appearing before her almost as soon as the beast had summoned the thought, its colossal hand swatted her aside like she was nothing and, indeed, to him she was absolutely non-existent. She was a rabbit to be teased and tormented with terror and pain until the only thing left to do was rip out its throat. Watching her fling helplessly through the air drew a prematurely victorious roar of claimed superiority that continued on even as Nighthand was upon her, wielding a blade that the Black Garou's connection to Wryneck respected. The leader of the Freedom Fighters contained formidable speed and strength within him, showing it then, and that too earned the respect of the Merged. Few garnered such a thing from the recklessly cocky, hulking monster. Still, that said, it would never follow an order from even him unless it suited its purposes. Respect didn't mean servitude in the eyes of the slouched entity as it seemed to amongst so many in the Freedom Fighters. Zan or Nulus would have a trick of logic to counter that point, but the Merged was not crippled with all of their beliefs. Stalking Angel as it was, the moment the boss had settled seemingly helpless on the floor, it knew again that Fate was calling it to flatten her body into the ground and snuff out the last of what allowed her to breathe.

Noisily thudding its way over to her, each of its footsteps causing the shelves to bounce and a few nearby candles to spill out onto the ground, the Black Garou coiled back its cracking knuckles and rocketed the fist forward. Instead of hearing the satisfying squishcracklepop of a humanoid being pressed under incredible force, what the Merged received was a lance of pain that shot up to its elbow. Blinking its large irises, a curious turn of its head looked at the blade that had slid like butter between its knuckles. Apparently Angel still had some fight left in her afterward. Almost as soon as the weapon had entered his flesh, the Merged was healing around it. The pain it had inflicted was minor, really, but its pain threshold was accounted for on a scale outside the norm. Utterly unmoved by the show of retaliation from the Guardian of the Hub, it brought back its other fist, intent on continuing with its plans and fairly certain she didn't have a second weapon to jam there as well. Before it could initiate the second strike, however, a surge of magical Ani power detonated from the sword and sprayed the room with thick, almost-coagulated looking black-red blood and inky, fur-ridden meat. A terrible howl of agony bellowed out from the towering beast's throat as, on par with his vulnerability, the energy of the reused Wryneck continued to work its way through him. Though the explosion had only removed the limb from the arm down, crackles of purple lightning snaked around the Black Garou's barb-like fur and melted flesh, coupling with the sudden strike to its stomach.

A streak on its ribcage showed the white of bone and a portion of the left side of its face had completely fallen away to reveal the odd skull beneath. The pain was...indescribable, for the most part. Outside of having someone rip off your arm and fill the hole with liquid magma, the Merged had little to make sense of the stumbling sensation with. A cautious, hateful snarl mingled with a low-pitched, rumbling whimper as it backed off from its target. The melted or cut flesh and lost fur had begun to stitch together, but the Black Garou's arm had already given up on repair, stopping at some freakish nub of dangling, sealed flesh and the beginnings of bone. It was simply too much damage to fix. Sure, its hit points would still eventually reach their maximum, but the loss of an arm wouldn't right itself until the Merged split again into Zan and Nulus. A hunter at heart, it only allowed its fear of the Guardian to rule it for a few seconds longer before its desire to ruin was renewed in full.

Intent on using its magnified vision and freakishly acute hearing to more aptly study her movements and potential retaliations, the Merged again moved upon her with vengeance and awareness in its oversized heart. When it was half-way to her, within the same second, it leapt through the air in a great bound, the long, thick claws of its feet seeking to catch in her shoulders and bring her down to the ground once more. Even if it didn't work, the moment the Black Garou landed it raked the great claws on its remaining hand towards her upper body, hoping to rend flesh from both her head and chest in the same motion. Not wasting momentum, its hand was immediately brought back in the biggest fist it could make with the hindrance of its two-foot claws. The monster, its blood boiling with the craving to destroy, didn't need any of its previous strikes to actually land, though it would have been the metaphorical cherry on top. Rather, it hoped to use them to either down her or drive her back against the nearest wall for, as the fist was swung, its body was suddenly charging forward in a blitz. Keeping its senses pouring in information about her blade and where it could land, the Merged began to gnash its unnatural maw, one riddled with six inch knife-like fangs, on whatever part of her it could hope to find the moment the blitz had come to a stop. It wanted to rip her into oblivion.

It wanted to paint the walls with the scraps of her carcass.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

Raquar
Ikkitousen
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:28 pm
Location: Hiding in the shadows

Post by Raquar » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:33 am

He probably would have felt better had his face been blasted into oblivion. He hadn’t even opened his eyes yet and already the needles were in the process of obliterating his eyes and sending daggers of pain randomly spasming throughout his brain. He attempted to shift, to perchance block out some of the godawful light, but he failed. Apparently he was about 100 pounds heavier, which made struggling around a lot harder. And apparently his hands were occupied as well. What the hell? He sniffed, more trying to clear his sinuses that seemed to be throbbing from the after effects of the alcohol more then anything else when he caught the faint scent of something resembling a woodland creature that proceeded to set his entire nasal passage aflame. What exactly had passed? Seeing as how his sense of touch was the least likely to set off his minefield of hangoverness, it was deemed the best option to figuring out exactly what was happening. His fingers shifted gradually, as he poked around. That felt like a leg. And not his. That was . . . an arm? A neck? A . . . ? Oh. Apparently there was something relatively small, and something decidedly female draped over his body. It was at this point, he decided on something terribly stupid. He probably could’ve guessed, but you know, visual confirmation is sometimes useful. And at times, it was incredibly stupid.

The pain he had felt earlier was nothing, nothing compared to this. The incessantly dazzling walls sent explosions rocking through his head. The blinding pain forced his eyes shut, attempting to squint away some of the pain. They gradually began to inch open, accustoming themselves to the varying levels of light, and therefore pain, that they would be subjected to. With each inch, light and subject matter was differentiable from straight pain, and he started to become seemingly aware of his surroundings. The grey stone walls, the gloominess that clouded those hallways, and the tiny archer peaceably resting at the moment in a position half curled up along his body like a mouse trying to protect its mastiff friend. Feeling somewhat guilty, he attempted to prop the sleeping figure against the wall, while he attempted to rise himself. He did manage to get to his feet granted, but it was quite the experience. His body swayed as if he was at see, and his stomach swam accordingly. The constant thudding that had taken up residence right behind his forehead had been accorded to and adjusted to, as well as the periodic spears that impaled his eyes. With all the grace of a half-drunk monkey he managed to half throw himself to the location of which, if his eyes weren’t completely betraying him, somebody had just wandered through.

Approaching the now open doors, he half noted the medallions that they had worked so damn hard to procure slotted into their appropriate recessions that most likely served as the locking mechanism. He walked through just in time to see something explode into shatters of lights and such. Unfortunately, the explosions were echoed up and across his brain reverberating off the various sections of his cranium. He swore softly as he watched through half-shaded eyes as the group proceeded into the dank hallway at the end of the room. Thankfully, there would be no light there, so mayhaps his eyes wouldn’t explode in agony as the way there. The boy had just started to make his way over to the hallway when something set off vibrations in his ears akin to one of those bedamned tuning forks hooked up to the biggest amp somebody had to offer. Hands clutching at his ears that he was sure was bleeding he stumbled into the room and only half managed to clasp his hand around the vial that somebody offered him. Once the vibrations had descended to only a painful throb he proceeded to mimic the rest of the group and empty the contents of the vial over his weapon, temporarily unslung for the process. That completed, he followed the menagerie into the proceeding room.

Where the Long Arm proceeded to swear loudly and vehemently numerous times. There were candles fucking everywhere. Not only did they glow with a glare that could’ve assaulted the gates of Mount Olympus themselves, their flicker illumination set off his light sensitivity and sent chariots racing off through his skull again. And it only got worse. The action had started as he cradled his fragile head, and in the process, he caught the sight of something exploding into slivers of light in his peripheral. Hell be cursed, did everything have to explode into fancy showers of light and fucking sparks? This one proceeded to thump his brain into a sense of oblivion, and only an iron grip of his stomach kept him from emptying the contents of it all along Angel’s little sanctuary room. When he recovered enough to look up again, it was right into the face of a rather ugly black wolf. Thankfully, the blackness of it all combined with the ugliness did not set of his senses, something for which he was finally grateful for. His senses seemed to be in the process of settling back down to normal, but they kept flaring up because of the damn candles. So he did something about it. Shifting his hands around to a few different positions, he faired sets of Rue Kruz’s at the walls, proceeding to extinguish approximately a third of the candles in the room. Ahhh. Much better. Unsheathing his weapon again, he rushed in. It as time for action.

His first sweep went low, aiming for the legs. Shifting mid attack, quite sure it had been dodged, he slammed it upward, hoping that if she had leaped over the attack, he might be able to catch her in midair. Immediately following that, a quick revolution of his body served to bring his spear about in a slash that cut through the air in front of him. It was funny really. He didn’t fight too terribly with a hangover.
Level 28 Long Arm
Archspear, Newt Necklace, Smith's Gloves, Wyrm Scale, Kuja's Thong Dress
EXP: [700/1000]

WISHLIST
Levels
Weapons: - All
Armor: Head - Scarab Earring
Body - Nothing until Mid 30's. Ninja Garb Hand - Nothing until Mid 30's. Leg - Nothing until Mid 30's.
Items: Cooked Biles, Darkness Scrolls (Any and All)

User avatar
Lighteria
Well-Oiled Machine
Posts: 176
Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 12:59 am
Location: :noitacoL

Post by Lighteria » Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:20 pm

When you think about it, it looks a little unfair when five plus people jump a single target. Granted, it's hardly a dog pile situation with Angel's crazy dodging. Zan's initial attack was probably a perfect opener for the fight, given his imposing figure. With Angel focused avoiding claws, the timid twin blade is able to run up with a relatively open shot. His heart starts pounding when he lunges with his right blade out, knowing he can't waste this chance. His arm thrusts... The blade catches onto her sword, metal ringing in his ears and his right arm pushed backwards.

No-!

Refusing failure, the twin blade pushes forward and strikes with his left hand blade. This time he gets only air, having her make a quick twist to dodge his blade. In a panic, he lunges forward with a forward attack, blades swiping outwards and wildly, trying to match her speed. It's a crude attack but with Angel not done with her twist he manages to make just a tiny bit of contact.

Apparently, it's enough.

The shield flares and shatters, the twin blade withdrawing backwards in shock from the reaction of the blades. The slight retreat though, provides an almost comical effect when Silk charges up and sends Angel flying out of his view. Lighteria blinks a few times to grasp what happened before he looks towards Phoenix and Canti's attacks, only managing to reel backwards again into the bookcase Kit is sleeping on.

"Mew mew meow mew meow. (You guys make it impossible to nap.)" Kit mutters, her face buried in the fur of her stomach. Lighteria whips his head around and blinks at her. There's a moment where he takes in the sight fully. His eye twitches.

"Kit, what are you doing?!" Lighteria snaps, in a surprisingly angry voice for him. "Stop napping and help!" Kit's ears bob once and she lifts her head in surprise.

"Mew mew mew? Meow. Meow mew mew meow mew mew. (Help kill her? No thanks. That blade looks too sharp to screw with.)" She replies, burying her face back into her fur. Lighteria blinks again.

"K-kill...? No, we'll just defeat her-..." He stammers, Angel in the meantime getting soundly pummeled by Nighthand. Kit looks up again, in disbelief.

"Meow-? ...Meow, mew mew mew meow mew. Meow meow mew mew meow mew mew. (You think-? ...Oh yeah, you weren't really here last time. Last one begged for his life and still got killed.)" She replies calmly, whiskers twitching from having been pressed down.

"That's-... That's not-" He can't finish the sentence though as a sudden dark explosion rings in his ears. He gasps and turns around, seeing Zan's arm caught in a horrid dark explosion. The twin blade pales at the sight, both in shock and concern. His hand tightens on his blade and his brow furrows, his heart beating faster. "Kit. Get healing. Now." He says in a slightly darker voice than what you'd expect... though still slightly high pitched.

Kit looks at him for a few seconds, both amused and surprised by the voice. Still, teasing him about his high tenor voice can be put off when he's acting like this. With a graceful leap, she drops off the shelf and sprints across the floor towards Zan. A quick swipe with her paw and a tiny magic glyph appears as she casts healing. In the mean time, Lighteria is again charging for Angel.

She's too good at dodging for a normal attack... But I've got enough speed to catch her at the end of a dodge and maybe catch her in a landing. If I can stun her for a second-...
And then kill her?
I won't let that happen.
Then what will you do?
Something. Anything. I won't let anyone die today.
...Also I'm gonna stop arguing with my conscience.


"Twin dragons." The twin blade mutters, clasping his blades together momentarily and flicking them to the sides, sparks flying from the edges of the blades as flames burst from the hilts. With his blades burning, the twin blade rushes forward again, moving to time his flurry of strikes for a landing.
Lv. 37 Twin Blade (180 SP)
Weapon: Rashou (Thunder Coil- 30, Suvi Lei- 20, Mumyn Lei- 30) (Life Drain)
Armor: Holy Tree Mail (Juk Kruz- 20) - Scarab Earring (La Repth- 20, Rip Maen- 40) - Time Sandals (Ap Do- 15) - Forest Gloves (Juk Kruz- 20)
GP: 14384

Wish list (In order of priority): Angel halo accessory, chibi angel wings, Bone Armor, Professional

Lighteria: "Obsessively updating my profile since Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:10 pm"

User avatar
Sekai
Ikkitousen
Posts: 123
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:04 pm
Class: Archer
Location: Liminality

Post by Sekai » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:33 am

In all of her sixteen years of living, Namino Sekai couldn't even begin to fathom a time where she'd been half as humiliated, insulted and angry as she was right then. Not only had she been insulted, a gnome of all things to be called due to her small stature, laughed at and her words not being taken seriously; but the fact that she'd been lying here unable to move for the last the Gods only knew how long didn't help matters in the slightest.

And then his hand happened to find a particular part of her anatomy on the one side that wasn't fully covered by the leather armor; and squeezed. It took every ounce of restraint in her being not to start screaming and generally, as Kira probably would have phrased it, 'flip her shit nine ways'.

He was as quick to scramble away and stagger off like the hungover fool he was most likely feeling like, and justifiably so. Hope the experience had been worth it, she grumbled to herself, and there sure were a lot of candles around this part of the mansion... kind of pretty now that she thought about it. She blinked at the candles and shrugged, maybe Angel-san really liked her rooms softly lit for good reading?

Angel-san.

The battle.

Amber eyes widened in horror as she scrambled to her feet and looked around frantically for any sign of where the rest of her party had gone... and the sounds of battle were thundering from the stairwell somewhere to her right. Heart pounding in her chest, the small girl scrambled up to find the battle already taking place and Angel-san, furious beyond comprehension, defending herself against a multitude of assaults made on her person. Something inside her froze at the sight of something enormous, black and currently bleeding with a shards of bone jutting out from what had been a whole arm... claw? whatever it had been. Ani energy, and lots of it had filled the room and the lingering effects, the chill it produced maybe only to her skin and mind was overwhelming. The snarl from the injured... entity was enough to have her clamping her hands over her ears to block out the sounds... and her eyes shutting to avoid the blood and the damage wrought by the counter attack.

Danger, they were all in such terrible danger of losing everything they were, of stooping to their enemies' level of just using people to further their own gains. To destroy those within sight if they so much as put up a resistance against what they sought. This... this had originally been meant to be just a game. A game where there was a solid line between good and evil, with a few gray areas and individuals in between that could go either direction.

There was no black and white.

“Please stop! There's another way-”

She pleaded with whoever was within range and watched them renew their assault without so much as a flicker of acknowledgment in their determined expression. Unable to handle the sight of the others tearing into someone who was bleeding and hurt for a reason she didn't know. Sitting outside with her back slumped against the wall leading into the room. There was nothing she could do, she'd tried everything and refused, adamantly refusing to join in the fighting... she couldn't fight, not when it was another human being that would die as a result.

So, you're just going to sit there and do nothing?

Her head snapped up, heart leaping into her throat as she reached for where she thought she'd heard the voice. Nothing. But... she'd sworn that Kira had just spoken to her as she usually did. Looking down at her hands, someone so small was so insignificant in the grand scheme of things... especially when she didn't even know the rules or the goals of either side. But... even if it hadn't actually been the AI demanding she stop being so wishy washy... she did have one small option, one low percentile chance that the person would be able to help, would be willing to help her. With her back to the proverbial corner, Sekai did the only thing she could think of to do.

She tried to contact Marionette.
To: Marionette
From: Sekai
Subject: Assistance Request
Message:

Is there another way to end this battle, to achieve what needs to be done without Angel-san's demise? Please, I don't want to see another person die that doesn't have to, if there is something I must give up for this... I will do so. This... this may be selfish on my part but, I... part of me understands why she is wishing to stay in this world and it isn't fair that she has to die in it just because she protects an information center.

Please, please help me keep her alive and safe... and the same with the members who are fighting to stay alive!

Sekai
To: Sekai
From: Marionette
Subject: RE: Assistance Request

whaT yoU requesT iS noT undeR mY controL anY longeR. angeL haS madE heR choicE tO fighT anD woulD noT listeN tO mE iF I spokE. alL thaT yoU caN dO iS speaK tO heR, shoulD shE listeN.

thosE yoU shoulD havE spokeN tO werE thosE whO starteD thiS fighT.
Drat. No, she wouldn't give up yet.
To: Marionette
From: Sekai
Subject: RE: RE: Assistance Request

I have attempted to speak with them at least twice, they... they don't want to look for another way. They already killed Devil-san after he asked to be pardoned... I... I doubt that they will spare her. I don't know how to appeal to her and I doubt money will speak any longer.
Maybe this time?
To: Sekai
From: Marionette
Subject: RE: RE: RE: Assistance Request

speaK tO heR oF thE minD, iF yoU caN decidE whaT thaT meanS.
Well that was something. But... cryptic all at the same time. Mind... speaking to her about the mind? She frowned and tried to puzzle it out for a few moments. Mind... could that mean reason? Speak to her of the reason? Dammit. Sekai cursed to herself in frustration and wanted to... to do something that would burn it off. She needed to do something, maybe... talk to her?

A particularly painful sounding thud coupled with the sound of a yell made her think twice about verbally trying to communicate... at least at the moment.

That left the option of a Flashmail.
To: Angel
From: Sekai
Subject: Life
Message:

I have no wish for your life to be taken, you told me that the world outside of this one holds no meaning for you but that the world you're in right now... that you have a reason to be here and alive. Please choose to live and, forgive my presumption, continue to be able to see that person you cannot see outside of this world.

We may not understand each other's reasons for what we do and why... but I still believe that it's your choice to live in whichever world you choose and that it isn't our right to be the one to decide whether you live or die.

So, please; tell me what I can do to help keep you alive and end this without death on either side!

Sekai
Not even a hint that she'd listened. Drat and bother. As much as she hated to do this and despite how this was going to make her look before all the others... she valued a life more than what they might think of her loyalties and where they lie. Swallowing hard and tightening her hands into fists, Sekai bolted out into the fray and used whatever power she had in her lungs to try and get everyone attention... or at least Angel's.

“That's enough!”

Her eyes sought the lone figure defending herself as she caught her breath and tried again, making it shorter than she had in her flashmail. Somehow, she needed this to work on the first or second go.

“Angel-san, during our first encounter, you said you had a reason for being alive in this world, that you have a reason for being here and not wanting to leave.”

She tried not to look around her, to look at the Freedom Fighters behind and around her ready to fight.

“Please, instead of killing everyone here and with the threat of dying here yourself... choose to live for as long as you can within this world if this is the only place that holds any place for you!”

"Forsaken!" She growled, batting awayPhoenix. "Because of you, I'm forsaken!"

“I don't understand, how have you been forsaken!”

She responded immediately, trying desperately to understand the comment.

"Did you not see? He has thrown me to you as a target to be killed!"

Her eyes flashed angrily. If that was the case, then why.... A test.

“If that were true, I would not have asked his advice as to how to make sure you stay alive and wish to make sure you survive this battle!”

"Then leave! All of you leave!"

“We need to get past this space and get to that communication place, that's the only reason we're still here! Let us get to there and we'll leave you alone!”

"You're IN MY HOME!"

“And I'm trying to make sure you'll still be alive to stay in your home! There has got to be a middle ground in this somewhere, we just need to think of it!”

"GEEEET OOUUUTT!" And she moved as quickly as she was able, sword outhrust, pinning the archer to the far wall. The fury on her face was evident. She ripped her blade to the side and turned to the rest of the party as the archer fell to the ground. "WHO ELSE?! WHO ELSE WANTS TO TALK?!"

Blood splattered against the floor as pain swept through her form. Despite all of that, despite her efforts, things weren't going to change because people were too stubborn. Well, she could be stubborn too. Her eyes flashed angrily as she glared up at the enraged woman and grabbed for her shoulder.

“Do I have to pay you to choose to go to another place in this home of yours so that you can see whoever it is stuck in this world too?!”

She was tired of being completely ignored, of being brushed off and she was especially tired of this all-or-nothing bullshit mentality they had when it came to getting the means to an end.

“I don't know what he meant by 'speak to her of the mind' but, I know at least I give enough of a damn to want to see you kept alive, and I'm sure the reason you stay within this world would care enough to as well!”

She panted, trying to catch her breath after her tirade and glared in defiance.

“I want both parties to get what they want; you want to be left alone in this place you've made into a home and those here to get to that communication hub. I'm the only one willing to try and make sure both parties get what they want so, please work with me here and I'll get everyone out of your home!.”
Image

Name: Sekai
Level: 54
EXP: 0000/1000
Class: Archer
Clan: Army of Darkness
HP: 835
SP: 347

Currently Equipped:

Einherjar: Kira, December, Zorya

Head: Bat Earrings (Ola Repth 40, Rip Maen 40)
Body: Saint Cross (Rue Zot 10, RaJuk Zot 30)
Arm: Protect Ring (Ap Vorma 15, MeJuk Kruz 20)
Leg: Ninja Anklet (BiVak Rom 20, GiGan Zot 30)
Add-Ons: Forestlore, Wood Magic (permanently raised Wood Offense/Defense by +3 total)

Wishlist: Levels, Summon: Wood, Archer Weapons, Light Armor

Lord Canti
Exalted Player
Posts: 300
Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.

Post by Lord Canti » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:10 pm

(The coordinated assault had worked, as well as the slivers given to them from Nighthand on the way up here. After slashing down Angel's back, Canti had backed away in time to avoid reprisal, keeping some distance now. He waited for his next opportunity, and found it when Lighteria was attacking. Maybe the other Twin Blade had qualms about going through with this, but not him. Not anymore. When Canti had learned about how the Guardians were actually human, he had been stunned by it, and it gave him second thoughts about killing them. But how he currently felt about The World made him not care anymore. Someone as wasted as Angel should die. His Flash Mail had said as much. At the moment, he was just taking advantage of good timing as he streaked across the floor, attempting to fly right past Angel from behind, slashing his blades across her back again. No mercy tonight. The strings were getting cut. However, there was something that Canti hadn't considered that the Guardian acted upon. High speed can lower maneuverability, and the Twin Blade hadn't quite mastered the art of flying, so all it took was a little step forward to avoid the strike.)

Canti: Damn!

(Screeching to a halt, Canti realized that she was onto him. Alright then... Fine! He gritted his teeth, dark fangs forming as an inner-fire because to make his eyes smoke ominously...)

Canti: So, the puppet wants to dance, does she...?

(PFFT!...PFFT! Spurts of black blood shot from his forehead as a pair of black horns jutted out, one after the other. It seemed that Canti's dark mood was having a little reaction there, what with him smoldering and all... The Twin Blade slammed his foot down to glide-leap towards Angel, ignoring anyone else around, and attacked directly!)

Canti: Then DARK DANCE!!!

(In reaction, her sword lanced out to deflect the attacks, its side-effect drawing the darkness into her wrist; at least most of it, discounting the small bit drained by the Nightblade. Canti backed away a few steps, looking mad. Angel remained skillful, even IF Marionette had put her in a compromising position. Defeating her was not going to be easy for anyone in this room, let alone Canti. But he wanted it badly enough... If their mystery host wanted him to kill - which seemed to be the point of his games - then he'd kill. There wasn't anything left but to find the way out of this mess. That meant going through hell, over the carcass of a fallen Angel. Fine then... Still Speed Charm'd up, he attempted to attack very low, as in the legs. The plan was to get Angel airborne. Once up there, he would ram his knives into her while she's unable to dodge. He flies. She doesn't. Or at least, that was the idea... However, knowing her limitations, and the number of people who could fly present in the room, Angel knew that leaving the ground would be a bad idea. So, rather than attempt to dodge or parry his attack, she did just what she didn't want to; a slight hop enough to gain the height necessary to bring her blade down on him, stabbing him into the floor.)

Canti: Hgnnnh!!

(Imagine traveling at a high speed and then suddenly stopping from a stab to the shoulder, pinning you there. Yeah, exactly. That's how much that hurt Canti. He hit the floor, black blood welling up from the wound. Rising from where he'd stopped would mean traveling up Angel's sword. Something was definitely abnormal right now... His shadow appeared to be flailing on the ground as though it had a life of its own. Canti was just remembering how it felt to be able to move limbs at this time...but then he spoke up...in a decidedly unhinged overlapping non-human voice.)

Canti: Your master has ordered you to die. That's why you're IN this mess. Just accept it...and get out of my WAY!!

POW!!

(Something black and fiery exploded from Canti's palms, forcing him off the ground and making him twist around - painfully - to try and slash Angel in the face! An action that, while surprising, wasn't movement-stopping given the unique abilities everyone seemed to have. Fencing was all about reactions and, as she had proven again and again, she was more than good at that. While his blades managed to scratch at her flesh, she whipped her blade around, flinging him across the room. The damage of tearing upwards with explosive force, along a blade, would deal more damage than he had delivered to her by far. It was clear, though, that Canti was not paying attention to this. He was becoming gradually more unstable by the minute. What he felt was a torrent of pain and then...FREEDOM!! The ragged hole in his shoulder didn't seem to mean all that much to him right now, not with the transformation taking place. Canti was propelled over to a wall, and landed on it with legs. In a second, he would be off again, but in that one instant, it would be visible to all that it wasn't their Canti anymore. In his place, a somewhat taller and meaner demon had slipped in. It was evil... No, more than that, it was monstrous. It had to be an effect of the virus. After a long time stewing, Canti had snapped and his current state was the result. A second passed and he sprung off again with wing-assistance. From there, he forcefully attacked and landed nearby Angel, letting off a growl as he did. His slashes were quick and...giving off strange gouts of black flame. Canti didn't seem to have any real control over it, or even notice that they were there! He was becoming a major hazard here, although the pyre appeared to be darkness, not fire-elemental, in nature. Still, he was persistant. Very persistant, in fact...but also wild and uncontrolled. The fire and the haphazard ways of slashing broke through Angel's defense occasionally, but not enough for any significant damage to either party, until...she took a strike and lunged to stab the Twin Blade in the face.)

Canti: NO!!

(In utter defiance to what was happening, Canti's vision went red and...he simply reacted instinctively, ducking as far back and away from the sword as he could from the position he was in. The blade had been aiming for the middle of his head, a blow that would have instantly killed. What it struck instead was his neck on the side, a deep wound that sprayed dark blood as the cut was made. Technically, she had missed, because he was still alive. However...that REALLY fucking hurt!! Flowing with the dodge he had made, Canti tumbled back and out of Angel's range, clutching the side of his neck, as the pain involved there was not nearly as easy to shrug off as the previous wound. The sounds issuing from his throat were not human. A series of snarls at best. Ah, he was upright again now, and there seemed to be something he wanted to share. A pyre growing around his entire body, Canti just seemed to explode with rage and black fire. And although much of it was aimed in Angel's general direction, it was not incredibly focused, so anybody standing near him was equally a target of this life-consuming flame. The key point to note was that this was linked with his SP gauge. So, as Angel moved back and away to avoid the huge brunt of the flame, Canti's energy soon depleted. Once this occurred, Canti did not have very much in him otherwise, and that made him easy-pickens when Angel suddenly came in and slashed his body up good. The Twin Blade collapsed from player-death, his ghost remaining out-cold after the fact, succumbing to the pain and weakness on top of this death.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

(The sun hung over the barren and rocky land, its light ineffectual on the dark horizons. This was not a place of warmth or of life...yet one still walked its pathways. This was probably a volcanic region, but all he could feel was the overwhelming power of darkness. It wasn't normal to him. It felt foreign, inhuman, monstrous... He walked along the landscape, leaving footprints of the blackest blood in his wake. It was like molten tar, a black goop-like substance. Not blood. Black Essence, the blood of a demon. Why was HE leaving a trail like that? He was still himself, still a human... Except...the blood was starting to follow him, gathering into one spot. It became a shallow obsidian pool, and very soon a hand of claws broke the surface. It looked like his glove, but it had REAL claws, followed by an arm and a torso and everything else. Standing there was a creature that wore his face, but it just wasn't him. It wanted to BE him. A snarling beast with a semi-spiked and winged body, a little taller and a little tougher-looking than him. It was totally corrupt, with dark fangs, black forehead-horns, and smoking eyes. He was looking at himself...and yet, not himself. And as he watched it, it only continued to get worse. The wings grew talons, a tail formed with a barb as the end, and it began to circle him on all-fours. It circled, so he circled, because it wanted to consume him. And he wondered...just how long could he keep this up?)

OOC: Actions by Angel brought to you by Nighthand Ltd., and viewers like you.
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.

Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:44 am

Phoenix could not have predicted that Angel would be able to damage the Merged in that way. The Merged is certainly powerful and can be injured but an entire arm skewed off was quite unexpected. The purpose of the gauntlet became quite clear as it can transfer spell energy from the group’s attacks to her rapier attacks. The blademaster was not worry about Zan’s condition as his rapid healing will take care of it but instead the next attack on Angel. So Suzaku, I want you to stay back and use your fire breath on Angel when she gets too close to the others. I doubt she would fall for the same tactic twice. Don’t worry about Zan or Nighthand. Everyone else is free game.

Suzaku understood her master’s orders and flew higher up in the room scouting for a chance to attack. Phoenix was looking for his own chance when he heard Sekai’s pleas to stop the fight. He felt sorry for her since it was fruitless to try as Angel was betrayed by the only person she cared about and lived for. Now Angel wants vengeance and it is something that cannot be easily goes away in a person. Sekai is certainly trying her best but her best will not be enough in this case.

As Sekai’s pleas were mostly unanswered, Canti began his own attack on Angel with mixed results. He was able to injure her but ended being skewered by her rapier. At this time, Phoenix switched his sword from the Bloody Pain to the Singing Blade. He was not going to allow Angel to absorb his powerful elemental attacks only to be use against him.

The blademaster charged through Canti’s ghost in order to catch Angel off-guard. He began to thrust his sword towards Angel. He realized that she would be able to dodge them easily but that was part of the plan. Phoenix wants Angel to leap into the air so he can use a Crack Beat on her while she’s in the air. He hoped that she would not be easily to defend against the Crack Beat or much less a non-elemental one. Then after the Crack Beat, the blademaster would use his remaining SP on Wind Blades to keep her pinned while he escaped to regroup.

Phoenix thought about resurrecting Canti but it looks that he will not be waking up anytime soon. If the blademaster survives Angel’s counterattack, he will use a Mage’s Soul and wait for his next attack if necessary. He might have to talk to Sekai about the reality of her situation after this battle. Who knows what she would do when the Freedom Fighters meet Marionette?
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

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Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:21 pm

After the destruction of the Merged’s arm, the disembowelment of Sekai, and the slaughter of Canti, it seemed that both sides were beginning to take casualties. Angel herself was breathing heavily now, cuts and scratches covering her from head to toe. She was finding it harder and harder to dodge the attacks of the strongest players, and was finding it even harder to keep track of everyone who was in the room. Though, for now, it seemed that Sekai would be out of the fight, as was Canti, whose ghost didn’t appear to care about being resurrected.

Still, the strongest of the attackers were still there and still fighting. The Merged, Phoenix, and Nighthand were pressing ever inwards, one of them in front of her each time she turned. The “lesser” members of the group were there and attacking as well, though she paid less attention to them. That was why she was covered in scratches; she paid less attention to dodging the weaker attacks. Unfortunately for her, many dozens of smaller strikes added up quickly.

She leapt back out of the way of a strike from the Merged, the great beast’s fist impacting the floor and leaving a furrow where claws unfolded through the structure. She was struck then with the pain of Lighteria’s blades, and in her recoil, barely managed to duck under a swing from the Nightblade. Nighthand’s speed-shifted form immediately appeared at another angle, a great heave bringing the blade crashing down right where she was. She slid out of the way just in time to take a full strike to the back form Phoenix, assisted by a tripping sweep kick from Silk.

The blademaster followed through on the strike with a second one, batting Angel right into the waiting arm of the Merged. The beast’s eyes filled with glee as its claws closed around her waist, lifting her into the air in preparation for ripping teeth through her throat, if not simply eating her entire head. Her shoulders slumped, and defeat filled her form. This was the end… A fact confirmed by the blossoming of a faceted dark blade, driven through her side, upwards, and out through her ribcage. Nighthand withdrew his blade and let the Merged have his way.

Angel, the moment before she died, chose not to resist. Almost like she had some other plan… something to save her at the last minute. But no… there was no final special attack, there was no last ditch escape. The Merged mauled her lifeless corpse and threw it into the wall, where it sank to the floor and stayed.

Almost immediately the room began to change. The candles burned down, fading into nothingness. The lights in the room grew dim, until only a thin line of light illuminated the room, light that came from the edges of the doorway that would be their exit.

The various sounds of resurrection and of sheathed powers filled the room for a moment, among them Nighthand banishing the Nightblade from whence it came. Approaching the door, he found it easy to open, and inside was their hub. It looked identical to the ones from before, and, it was dispatched in exactly the same way. The crystal “bomb” Nighthand had carried with him the whole time was deployed, the hub froze over and shattered, and without much more thought, the group was surrounded by their rings and returned to the hideout.

The hub was destroyed, but so were many of the bonds the group held.

Still… It wasn’t over quite yet…

*ding!*

Flashmail!
To: Sekai
From: Angel
RE: Spirit


I’ve lost, but I’m not as dead as I could be… I leave it in your hands. The rest think me dead; I have nothing to live for, either. Condemn me to life if you will, all it takes is a resurrect once the rest of the party is gone. I’ll live on, and be no threat to you. Make your choice, for I have none.

-Angel

Flashmail!
To: Zan
From: Marionette
RE: youR tasK.


givE theM theiR finaL worD. thE threE arE thE keyS tO mY homE. twO yoU knoW. thE thirD iS chancE.


------------------ooc:

Grades to follow shortly.

Good job people, for the most part. The quest started off excellently, and though a number of factors sort of killed it, I hope we can make the next one successful as well.

Sekai: Your decision whether or not to raise Angel should take place in a post in the new thread. The rest of the group won’t find out about it unless you tell them, which is up to you. I know you’ll be going off to the EC for the next quest, but consider the “in town” section at the start of the new thread as a “IC notification of why I’m leaving” and tie-up loose ends thing. One post, maybe two, all you need.

Zan: Same goes for you, basically; post your giving of information to the group, however you choose to do it, and however much info you choose to give. Do your recaps and tie-ups and whatnot, and then you and Sekai are free to poof.

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Nighthand
Master of Games
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Post by Nighthand » Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:22 pm

Rayo -> + Golden Royal Bow, + 1000 GP
Silk -> + 2 Levels, + 2 The Moon, + 2 The Hanged Man, + 2 Beast's Bane
Zhao Xun -> + 3 Levels, Yosetu & Fuyou, + 1500 GP
Hacorie -> +1 Level, + Rock'n Roll, + 500 GP
Sekai -> + 1 Level, + Sapphire Sea Bow, + 1000 GP
Canti -> + 2 Levels, + Scarab Earring, + 2 Dark Traitor, + 3 Fireball Storm
Raquar -> +4 Levels, + 4 Cooked Bile, + 4 Dark Traitor
--------> Your Golden Orb Glows Slightly Red
Lighteria -> +5 Levels, + Holy Tree Mail, + Forest Gloves, + 3 Holy Sap
Zan -> +5 Levels, + Corona Blade, + 5 Bloods of your choice, + 3 Nightbane, + 3 Treebane, +2 Cooked Bile, + 2 Holy Sap
----> Nulus -> + 1 Ex Level
----> Your Golden Orb Glows Reasonably White
Phoenix -> + 5 Levels, + Tenkafuubu, + Oberon, + 4 Level 2 Scrolls of your choice, + 3 Banes of your choice
---------> + [lv.2]Overdrive Ex Sphere (PM/IM me to discuss the attack it'll have)
Nighthand -> + 2 of each Bane, +2 of each Blood, + Dispeller, + Midnight Helm, + 2 Summon Night

All -> + 3 Resurrect, + 5 Health Drinks, + 3 Speed Charm, + 2000 GP

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