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Post by Vapovile on Jul 29, 2018 0:07:51 GMT
Warden's attacks rocketed toward Haruko, who was standing several meters away in the air, so skating out of the way was easier to dodge. A few of the harpoons rocketed past her body, slashing at her skin but not poisoning her, thankfully. "Hah...hah...not done with me yet, Warden!" The seamstress yells at the monster below. Huntsman and Arthur appear to be almost done with their ritual, and the strange man was helping to protect them both. Perhaps it was time to get one last shot in with her remaining mana.
Pulling her hand back, Haruko made the pink disc fly back into the area above her right palm and poured more mana into it. The object doubled in size...then tripled. An audible whirring sound could be heard as the blades rotated through the air. "This is all I got left, make it count!" She calls down to the others, before throwing the massive disc at Warden's lower half. She aimed to remove as much mass from him as possible so he can't use it against Arthur and Huntsman. With her mana nearly spent, Haruko began to slowly descend back toward the ground below.
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Post by HungryHunter on Aug 6, 2018 5:02:42 GMT
The vampire was once again carved into pieces by Loveline’s flurry of slashes, cutting him at the seams where he was sliced before. This time, he did not regenerate. The sun was singing him and his blood supplies were finally beginning to dwindle. He could only recover so much more. Chunks of meat tumbled away. Alex watched them go and a tear came to his eye. What a fascinating creature. He would never have the chance to steep his hands in its blood, to see how an ogre’s joints were changed by vampirism. Still, just watching it move as slabs of meat was enough to draw a gasp of delight from his lungs.
He turned away as his wires began to move. Despite his pain, he had a task. He cast his wires, whipping them at Warden’s side. They wrapped around his soft limbs and dug deep, but even wires as sharp as his could not destroy them. For the first time in his life, Alex’s wires broke. His bulging eyes bulged further as he stared at the snapped ends. He was trying to do the calculations on what sort of force he was dealing with, but his mind was lost to those numbers. Chole’s sound waves did little better. Warden’s legs buckled, but just as quickly another replaced it while the injured one healed.
He only picked up in speed as he charged, and the angel’s barrier wasn’t going to be enough. He was upon her when a barrier of emerald appeared. All the force Warden carried into the barrier sprang back as a shockwave, tearing up tile and crumbling pillars that stood around him. “Leora! Let me in! If she dies within your barrier, you have only guaranteed your own death!” Warden loomed up, glaring through the barrier with dozens of eyes like barnacles encrusted on his skin. Leora just looked away, looked to his other body.
Haruko's disk burned like a pink sun, a fiery disk to light the night. Engorged with magic, it burned through Warden’s body. Tentacles fell by the dozen, sacks of acid erupted internally and melted away at him. The entire body seemed to deflate into an acid-rotted sack. Atop it, Huntsman kept working. Ariana watched in confusion and fear as he raised more blades of bone. “What… everything hurts… and I’m really co-ARGH!” She screamed and writhed when Huntsman plunged them into her torso and legs. Her entire body warped. Her head became a gnashing thing of teeth, wiry purple hair splaying in a great mane from her head and back. Her skin became rubbery and purple.
“These spells weren’t made for humans.” Huntsman explained as he grabbed all her hands in his. “Now let us do our work.” Huntsman’s head changed to be like Ariana and he began to howl in a tongue alien to all ears on earth. Intrinsically, Arthur understood. “The time of use is at an end. Let us cast out the Demon God. Let us remove her from our presence. Return to yourself, and do not step over the threshold of reality until you are called once more!” The runes he had marked on Ariana began to glow and she screamed as white light began to pour from her skin.
The Bringer of Winter began to peel free, popping out like a horrifying glitch in a video game. Her screams were joining Ariana’s, a noise that was every howling wind in a blizzard that ever chilled the earth. The wail quieted second by second as more pieces of her popped out of reality, bit by bit vanishing until nothing was left. Huntsman collapsed as Ariana turned back into a sobbing human. “Well cast… I’ll work on your body now.” Huntsman had never had mana to drain. It was a truly unpleasant experience. Warden stared through the shield, just watching the Bringer fade away.
After an eternity, his dimension-jumping orb popped from his chest and buttons were pressed by soft fingers. Before he could finish typing in his coordinates, Alex’s wires came again. The device was slashed into scraps. Alex frowned behind him. He had sought to steal the device, not destroy it. It was far more fragile than it appeared. Warden let loose a choked roar, disbelief and pain combined. “No! No! You have no idea what you’ve done!” A thousand voices cried, his body twisting and bubbling. Trapped! He was trapped in this universe now! Surrounded by his sins with no way out! His eyes were all filled with a crazed horror as he looked at those around him.
Wings sprouted, massive wings, their flapping a hurricane. He took off, spiraling away through the ceiling. Huntsman and Eve watched him go. Huntsman spat after him. Eve covered her face with her hat. The abomination turned away and unzipped like a mascot costume. Out spilled Arthur, wet, raw, and naked. “What a miserable experience.” Huntsman rubbed his face, trying to sort his thoughts. God, some of Arthur’s were still in there!
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Post by TimePuppy on Aug 6, 2018 19:33:08 GMT
Arthur helplessly watched Ariana contort and scream in pain. If it wasn't the only way to save everyone, he really wouldn't be condoning something like this. Luckily, the chant wasn't too long, even if Arthur would've shortened it further by removing that last bit. In the end, Arthur was exhausted. Or was that Huntsman's exhaustion he was feeling?
Defeated and with his magic orb destroyed, Warden fled. Apparently no one thought he was important enough to chase after, what with Ariana being here. Arthur wanted to, but when Huntsman spat him out, he realized it wasn't just Huntsman's exhaustion. What's more, he was stark naked, still seeing some of Huntsman's memories, and not in any shape to bring Warden to justice. All he could do was encase himself in white ice while sitting down. He didn't have enough mana for much more. "Ruko, mind giving me a new outfit? I'll pay you when I get my wallet. Good thing I didn't bring it on this mission, eh? Love-"
"Already here." Loveline said, crouching next to Ariana in her regular form. "Hey, Riri. I came up with a nickname for you, as you can see. It took a while and it's not that good, but I have one." She felt Ariana's forehead. She was cold. Her tears were probably like a river in a fresh winter's morning. Loveline wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tight. "Haruko, we need a blanket here! Maybe two, just in case!"
She turned into Garnet Rainbow briefly, shot out the roof to let in the sunlight like with the vampire, and transformed back. Being in the sun should help a little. "Don't worry, Riri. We'll warm you up before you can say "crumpet"!"
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Post by RedLenai on Aug 8, 2018 0:01:04 GMT
Chloe felt better as everything ended, the last thing she did before ending the chanting was to tell the other angels to follow Warden, even to exterminate him if they could. That thing was monstrous, powerfull and completely lost in his own toughts of the world. She could even hear the call of Heaven, yes, she was being called to be punished for the big mistake of letting a creature that magnitude to still being alive, not to mention she used a non authorized body to be her vessel...
She inmediatly separated from Thomas, as she gently let the boy in the ground. Her long and straight hair falling in her back, a black jacket, skirt and hells among a white shirt were her attire, as purple eyes observed the priest that was sleeping tiredly in the cold floor of the destroyed room. A purple pentagram appeared again, this time near Thomas's heart. That would help him heal faster, maybe she got 3 or 5 minutes before the boy awakens and she had to leave him for a period of time.
I requested other angels to search for Warden, they will annihilate him in the very second they made contact - She informed the others and then, her sight pointed directly at Eve. Approaching the woman, Chloe's heels echoed in the basement - Iron Maiden, I'm finally able to meet you - She made a small reverence, before continuing - I'm still gratefull for your services at Arata Island, but now I might request you one more thing before I leave - She said, looking at Thomas - I need you to send him back to the Vatican City, I'll pay you after my release
With that said, another trumpet was heard. The Angel opened her wings as a bright light could be seen from the sky, in mere seconds she, the light and the trumpet were gone.
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Post by Vapovile on Aug 11, 2018 4:43:46 GMT
Haruko watched as Warden’s lower half was cut to pieces by her purple disc of destruction. “Hah hah…” She tiredly laughed, a brief flash of light enveloping her as her body shrank back into its normal state. The seamstress leans against a piece of ceiling rubble as the final scene with Ariana and Huntsman commenced. The scene was harrowing to watch...but Haruko trusted that Huntsman knew what he was doing...he did, right?
Finally, it appeared as if Winter had been ripped out of Ariana’s body and disappeared into thin air. “Hah...you did it…! Woohoo!” Haruko weakly cheered, slumping down and staring straight up at the ceiling with both her arms in the air. Once Arthur addressed her, Haruko sat up again. “What...just because I am a seamstress, you think you can just ask me for clothing?” She asked, giving a weak smile before opening up a small portal and reaching into her Kaspa, pulling out a black shirt, jeans, and other items along with a few sewing supplies. She quickly makes a few slight alterations and tosses them at Arthur with both hands.
“Here ya go, Frosty! Oh right...blankets.” She reached into her Kaspa again and pulled out a light red blanket covered in small rose patterns. “Here’s the blankets…!” Haruko called over, tossing them over as well and leaning against the piece of rubble once more. “Hah...out of mana...great.” Haruko looked toward the sky, the image of Warden now long gone. Just how were they going to catch him...he was a shapeshifter who could turn into anything he wanted!
“Need anything else…?” Haruko called over to the others.
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Post by waybig1010101 on Aug 20, 2018 3:53:51 GMT
Leora collapses onto the ground and all her emerald shields vanish. Her gem form slowly disappears as well. However she didn't notice a thing as her entire attention is completely focus on the image of Warden flying through the ceiling. She lifts her hand in the direction of Warden as if she could somehow reach up and grab him. Preventing him from escaping by some miracle. However she could do nothing but weep softly as he escapes. "Coward," she muttered underneath her breath as tears begin to reach her lips. As her appearance returns to its previous form, the vessel of compassion begins to crawl towards the Ariana. Praying to Compassion for the child's safety and well being.
Alex on the other hand walks over to the broken pieces of the device with the same look of disappointment he had when he accidentally destroyed the device. Still, he may as well salvage what he can. And so the gruesome hunter begin to pick up the pieces of the destroyed device. "Maybe I can find some other use for this thing later," he told himself as he places the last piece in his inner coat pocket, though he makes sure to wrap each piece carefully with his wires. He didn't want to accidentally lose them, or destroy them again. But the true reason he desire the broken pieces is so that it will serve as a reminder of today. "How long has it been since I failed to kill my target," he asked himself as he glances over to Ariana as the strange women in a now torn up white army uniform with a strange peace sign on the back of her outfit reaches her.
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Post by HungryHunter on Aug 20, 2018 6:04:16 GMT
Ariana didn't react to Love's touch. Her pulse was sluggish even as she was wrapped in blankets. Huntsman ignored this to look out across the room. His eyes glazed over the devastation and gore until they finally locked onto Becky. He bridged the space between them in a single bound and took her up in many arms, making out with her without a hint of shame. She greedily reciprocated and the two fell to the tile. "I know a place," Huntsman gasped between smooches. "Where we can get your hair grown back to normal." Becky just mutely nodded and shut him up with her tongue.
Eve stayed still, blind to the world. Her hat hid all, let her be a statue. Her coat felt like the sky on her shoulders. Warden had made it in her infancy, before she could convincingly imitate clothing. What was she to do with it? This symbol of love that might not have ever existed? A reminder of something she didn't want to remember? A gasp broke her thoughts like a cannonball through glass. "Dad! Dad, where did you go!?" Ariana squirmed in Loveline's arms, and Eve could no longer be a statue.
She came to her sister's side, and her coat was wrapped round her, another layer of warmth. "E-eve! You're here... but Warden said... dad said..." Ariana looked up, seeing the sun through the destroyed ceiling. "That I hated you? Ariana, how could I ever hate you?" Eve's voice was broken, like an engine missing a piston. She could only creak out her words. "But you tried... you tried... to kill me." Tears began to leave Ariana's eyes. "...yes Ariana. I did. Back at the lake, and... and today. And I know you can't possibly trust me after that, but I just want you to know that it's the most painful thing I've ever done." Eve felt like her heart was in a trash compactor. It was where it belonged.
"...you're right, I don't trust you." Ariana's heartbeat was rising, Eve could feel that even through the layers, but how could that be when Eve heard her heart breaking? "Where's Warden? What did you do, Eve!? What did you do to him!" Ariana glared, pushing out of the blanket to stand, looking the kneeling Eve in the eye. Eve looked back and her words caught in her throat. Her lips moved, but they could only form an ugly sneer, a soundless expression.
"Eve didn't do anything." Huntsman had peeled himself away from Becky. "Huntsman, don't you fucking-" "She has to hear it from somebody, and nobody else has the balls for it. Warden used you. You were going to die, and he'd use your death to kill everybody else. He fled when we stopped him. And you can thank Arthur for being alive. If it was up to me, you'd be in pieces right now. And Eve? Even if she had known I could cast that, I'm still not sure she would have risked-" "You're lying! He would never do that!" Ariana screamed and threw one of the bony blades that had impaled her just minutes earlier at him. Huntsman let it impact, sinking easily into his chest.
"Sorry kid. It's all true. That miserable piece of shit abandoned all of us. He dumped me in an alley before I even had a name. He cast Eve away when she called him out on his cowardice. And now that you're useless to him, you've been discarded too. Welcome to the refuse heap." Huntsman walked right by Ariana, Becky hesitating a moment before following him into the darkness of the pillared room. "He was lying! He was lying! H-he... he was..." Ariana's protests broke down into sobs and she fell into her father's remains, letting Eve and Leora embrace her. "Call the HWIC. We're leaving." Were Eve's only words. She wouldn't leave her sister. Never again.
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Post by RedLenai on Aug 23, 2018 2:31:15 GMT
Asleep in the deepest of dreams, an echo that seemed like voices sarted to be heard. He tried to listen but he couldn't, the voices were far away from him. He was curious, he needed to know... Where he was in the first place? Or what did happen that now he was in such a dark place? The voices were closer this time, footsteps, not like walking... someone was running, and now he felt a bit unconfortable... like if he was being held by that person. Opening his eyes he sees a woman whose expression was one of fear, he tries to talk but he can't, words are now replaced by babbling. Was he... a baby? He couldn't tell. The woman as she ran, tried to calm down the squirming and whines, she couldn't and another footsteps were getting closer as well. The woman tried to run faster but she couldn't and then she speaks to someone else. " Take him, I'll hold them back" What? No! is what the boy thinks. But it's too late, his body was passed to the man she was talking to. Tan face, dark brown hair and blue eyes... He never met this men before... yet he felt he knew the man that now was running with him in his arms. " Don't worry... we'll---" And then both of them heard a gunshot.
Thomas woke up, almost standing inmediatly, that was a weird dream...
Everything came back to him, fighting Warden, the vampire, the dryads... The girl! He observed as the others started arguing. Poor think, being out of the bubble she was living it's surely a shock. He noticed the girl couldn't believe what the others were saying.
He noticed as well that Chloe wasn't by his side, he remembered, asking her for help... She used his body, he could tell by the small bruises that were already healing, probably Chloe's doing as well.
He walked towards the group, his steps being slow and heavy. He was tired, he could tell as well part of his mind was still focused on that dream...
P-Please... This is too soon for her - He tried to calm both Huntsman and Eve, his eyes gazed at the girl, so she was Ariana. They saved her! All thanks to the hard work everyone put into it, he knew even if he barely knew them that both Huntsman and Eve loved their younger sister. It was tearing him apart that things weren't going that well after their lucky outcome.
A-Ariana, I'm Father Thomas, from the Vatican... - The boy kneel down so he could be at the same height as her - I know things are being hard on you now, but please allow me to tell you... that your siblings... they saved you, you almost... t-they... they almost lost you... - He tried to finish, all kind of emotions were overflowing in his body and heart, he did his best to don't cry. But he tried to make the girl understand at least a little what happened, to don't hate her silings. Of course he couldn't expect much, she didn't even knew him, still, he hoped her to believe. Not in his words but the actions that were scattered all around the place, her own body, the friends that were there to help, the whole aftermath...
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Post by HungryHunter on Aug 28, 2018 3:16:58 GMT
One Week LaterThe mansion must have been glorious in its heyday. The white walls still shone in places under black soot, and the size was still incredible. The destruction was put down to an accidental fire in the Mexican news, the mansion not home to anybody important enough to warrant closer investigation. The invaders had cleared their tracks in ways that the traveler was glad she didn’t know. The front door was already halfway open, lock smashed, and she just slipped through without touching it. She kept well clear of the walls as she explored the meandering hallways until she finally found it, two floors up. The floor and ceiling alike were smashed to pieces, what she was looking for leaning right on the edge.
“I told you they had some.” Jun said as she reached down. “They’re beautiful. Such artistry in this blade, like stained glass in the form of steel.” The demon in her head praised the sword as she gripped its hilt. She pulled and it barely lifted off the ground. It was an oversized wedge of metal in this form, unbelievably heavy. “Perhaps now is a good time to test it?” The Shattered One suggested. She nodded and put her thumb to the edge of the blade. A moment’s hesitation and she slid it, cutting open her skin to leak her own blood onto the metal. The sword shook and its patterns shifted as its width turned into length, just as beautiful with patterns up and down its length.
She lifted it high and took a few test swings. She was new to this sword, but that would change. “I heard you would devour me if not fed well.” She said softly to the blade. “But I am no stranger to cursed blades. I will carry that burden, and shining blade, we will rise up. Welcome to glory, my beautiful weapon.” Jun rested the blade on her shoulder and left. Whatever happened here did not matter. It was just another step up.
Three Weeks LaterThe girl sat hunched in her seat. The hallways on this floor felt quiet and dark, even with its bright lights and employees and visitors alike walking up and down. She couldn’t see them. Her eyes just couldn’t make the effort to fix on their faces, her ears numb to their voices. “Ariana.” Eve opened the door next to her. “Everything worked out. We’re officially a family now.” She reached down to take the girl’s hand. Numb fingers just hung limply in hers. She let herself be silently herded to the teleportation room and zapped away to the Wild Hunt Offices.
“I made up a room for you. Do you want to see it? You should rest up, it’s been a long day.” Eve asked and the girl only shrugged. Malcolm looked pained. Huntsman made no change in expression, leaning on the wall in the stairwell. Eve lead her past him, giving her brother a warning glare. He just pressed himself into the wall, letting them pass. At the top were the rooms. More doors than the second floor should have been able to hold, all obvious as to whose they were. The mark of the Silver Circle, a coalition of white mages, hung from Malcolm’s door. Becky’s had been coated in stickers of animals, real and unreal. Pokémon sat alongside otters and crocodiles and anglerfish and monsters from video games she had never seen. Huntsman’s door was unmarked, but by process of elimination, it had to be his. Eve’s door was of steel, marred by dents and scratches. Right next to it, hers. White with a blue anchor painted on.
Eve handed her a key and let her in. The room was sparse. Bed. Dresser. The sheets were deep blue, pillowcases marked with a simple wood print. “Do you want to take a nap? We’re going out for dinner to celebrate, okay?” Eve asked. The girl shrugged and went over to the bed. Eve sighed and closed the door. The child lay on the bed. It felt like she was sinking, deeper and deeper into an ocean of sheets. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it tight, trying to keep afloat. But she sank anyway, and dark waters swallowed up the light. Salt filled her eyes and a child was drowned in tears.
One Year LaterBooks lay around her feet. Magic and Me. Unlocking Your Inner Magic. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Magic for Beginners. “Alakazam! Ajji Majji la Tarajj! Shem HaMephorash!” A roughly-carved wand flicked out, over and over. She had read every word in those books twice over. Half were just parlor tricks. Most of the rest were metaphorically magic, useless self-help books. The actual occultism hadn’t worked so far. And so her wand kept waving, even as sweat dripped down her forehead. The target set up on the other end of the clearing remained untouched. She looked to the west and couldn’t see the sun through the trees. It may be night already. Hours and hours of effort and not a spark. Who was that magical woman? How did she do that?
“Leora…” She whispered, holding her head. Tears tickled her eyes. Everything she had tried was a failure. Was there truly no magic in the world? Had she just hallucinated? Her grip tightened until the wand snapped in her hand. She dropped the stick and wept. The weight of mundanity came crashing down on her. The world was colorless, dull, an eternity of dust-dry life ahead of her. “With the power of defense I wield, I cast away the battlefield, In the end, all evil yields, Stand behind me, Emerald Shield.” She murmured to herself, looking up at the first stars.
There was Polaris, and the big dipper’s stars coming in after it. More appeared while she watched, but she didn’t recognize them until they fell in her eyes. “Ow! Fuck! What the hell!?” She sat up, seeing twinkles around her everywhere. They weren’t stars. They were… ice? She grabbed her wand again and waved it. There was a rush inside when ice formed flashed onto the end of the broken stick, completing it. Marie’s laughter filled the night as she kept casting, the promise of adventure brimming over. The future was bright and full of magic.
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