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Post by Ninmast on May 4, 2009 22:34:22 GMT -5
And finally, after a long wait that I really have no excuse for, I bring you ... LUCIFER'S ANGEL! Your opening post should be what you're doing when you receive the mental message and whatever you intend to do after.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/i] - Genesis 6: 1-4 KJV[/ul] The pounding of footsteps, the rushing of air past their faces, it all blurred together. Their prey was ahead of them, a mere mile that their superhuman speed would be able to cover in seconds, faster if it weren't for the dense forest they were rushing through. The constant trees made it necessary to dodge and swerve at less than full speed, but even so, all the untrained human eye would see would be a blur of kicked-up dust, dirt and leaves, stirred up as much by their footfalls as by the backdraft from their passing. Even so, however, their quarry remained steadfastly ahead of them. It seemed impossible to close the distance any more than it let them. It almost felt like chasing a mirage, as even though their own movement whipped the forest into a small twister behind them, their target left no such sign of its passing. The only indication of its position or even presence was the scarring sensation of its power left on their psyches. They knew such power could not be permitted to remain unchecked, not after what it had done to the military force that had already tried. Though they had been in the area when the attack occurred, still they could not get there in time to stop it. The area was devastated, though that was only the impression one got from all the flaming wreckage of military vehicles twisted into impossible shapes or rent apart entirely. The actual section of the city, now so far behind them as to be measured in relation to the size of the entire continent, was left entirely untouched. There wasn't even a storefront window broken, despite the rapid and total destruction that had taken place in the street between them. They had immediately pursued, a task that initially seemed easy. The source of the destruction had stopped a mile out of town as if waiting. But it had maintained that distance the entire time. This only quickened the impression of a mirage, as no matter how fast or far they went, it kept the distance almost precisely the same. Then suddenly, it stopped. The mile between them evaporated almost immediately as they caught up. A delicate hand with alabaster skin and long, manicured fingers lifted up before them, and immediately, the earth below them became their enemy, lurching up and heaving as spires of razor-sharp rock jutted up from beneath. Those among them that possessed the power of flight immediately took to the air in an attempt to avoid the sudden attack while those without it did their best to avoid getting impaled. One didn't make it. Of the two that remained on the ground, one rushed the foe, but before it could even get within swinging distance, the alabaster hand moved again and an invisible force swept him up off of his feet, sending him flying backward and into a tree with enough force to snap his spine. The other brought out a large cannon and fired off rounds at speeds impossible for a normal weapon, but even so, they crumpled like paper cups before they could close the last foot to their target and fell to the ground as their kinetic force exhausted itself. One that was airborne ripped a tree straight out of the ground and attempted to use it as a bludgeon against the foe, but the delicate hand moved and the wooden club immediately erupted into flames so intense that they engulfed the warrior a fraction of an instant later. The scream split the air, but only for a couple moments before the dead husk fell to the ground, the intense flames quickly spreading to the surrounding foliage. The other two that were airborne came in low and fast, trying to charge from behind, but they couldn't hide from that beautiful hand. One froze in midair as the other collided into it from behind as it made a catching motion. Then the hand slowly began to close and both of them let out a scream as it seemed like their bodies were being squeezed together in a vice. Then in one decisive movement, the hand closed completely and the screaming stopped. It had all happened in the span of a handful of seconds, and now, they were all dead, save for the gunman. Toward his now quivering form the figure stood, himself paralyzed by fear at the incredible power that they had so sorely underestimated. The beautiful alabaster hand was placed against his cheek tenderly, brushed it, then placed its index and middle finger against his forehead, slick from sweat both from fear and the increasing heat of the burning forest. "You will tell what happened to your compatriots," the voice behind the hand instructed him, and it was beautiful. The most beautiful sound that his ears had ever heard. While it spoke, the fire seemed to lose its heat and the fear that gripped his heart faded. "And then you will join them." Without any further explanation, the figure walked away, the flames moving aside to permit its floating passage. A seal of binding was branded upon the man's forehead as the fingertips left it, but for several long moments that seemed to stretch indefinitely, he felt nothing. Then his scream split the air above even the din of the flames that consumed the forest like a hungry boar. Inside his skull, his mind went through an unnatural transformation, turning into a telepathic broadcaster that sent what had happened all around the world, and every superhumanly gifted individual heard it. And the man collapsed to the ground alongside his allies, fulfilling the figure's promise as the liquefied remains of his overtaxed brain dribbled out of his ears.
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zandyne
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This is NOT Zetsu. DX
Posts: 1,037
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Post by zandyne on May 5, 2009 1:03:22 GMT -5
Ivan was idly twirling a set of keys by its ring on one finger as he jovially walked back home. In his other hand were a collection of groceries and behind him were two silent floating eyes that practically no one else could see. The keys were clearly meant for cars and probably a house or three, and by no means his. He'd pilfered them from the mouthy woman at the register at the grocery store. He'd wasted ten minutes of his life that he'd never get back listening to her rage-filled sermon about how much a box of of crackers cost or something, he honestly didn't care.
He'd stolen the keys from her purse while they had been walking through the parking lot. She was so unobservant. Her panic was absolutely delicious as he'd nonchalantly left her fumbling around in her purse turning it inside out for something she needed so badly yet would never find.
As he passed a nearby mailbox he tossed it in, she'd have fun walking home, his mind idly purred. But that was where his normal routine would end. As the set of keys made a satisfying clank into the stomach of the mailbox something just rang in his head, something piercing and loud enough to make even the Watchers that normally followed him to express surprise.
The message played out with clarity and intrigue. Ivan smirked to himself. Whatever that invitation was, it was infinitely more interesting than returning home at the moment.
The magician considered his options for how he could follow the chaos. A idea formed not long after his pondering and he rounded a corner into a suitably dark alley. He set down his goods and beckoned for the Watchers to be before him, the black one in particular, Agari as he'd named it. Agari floated obediently and silently in wait of his orders.
Ivan waved a hand at it, "Look for that interesting place in the other world and plan a route for me to get there. I wouldn't want to miss any of the fun." The black eye drifted down to the overcast, gravel littered floor and disappeared in a faint echo of shimmering ripples. He stretched and idly gazed back at his groceries, considering doing tricks with one of the red apples to pass the time. Hopefully this mysterious playing field wouldn't be too hard or far to find.
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Post by Ninmast on May 5, 2009 9:11:58 GMT -5
(It's great, Zandyne. Feel free to post what he does next while we wait for the others.)
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Psi
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Post by Psi on May 7, 2009 14:40:13 GMT -5
(I hope it this is right. Does all the message show is what happened?)
The sun blazed along its predetermined trail and the clouds crept along. Today was no different than the one before for Sam. He lay about in a lush hotel upon a plush bed set in the warm light of day.
He whipped his body around and turned lethargically about, finding a more comfortable spot. He began to yawn, and then it happened; the message came through. It wasn’t even slowed a millisecond as it passed through a defensive barrier set up by Qualon to protect all of their children and another by Zulon.
No novice to mental transmissions, Sam knew instantly what it was but not what of. It played through clearly and persistently, despite Zulon’s attempt to disengage it. And it ended as soon as it had begun.
“What was that?” Sam asked as he wiped the grogginess from his eyes as he sat up slowly.
How am I to know if it slipped past me?
“Well whatever it was, it was strong.” His mind was starting to work know, trying to remember all that had been shown to him and Zulon.
“An invitation maybe?” he asked after a few seconds.
An . . . invitation . . .? Really now? said Zulon sarcastically.
Sam was already moving to fully open the window and pull the curtains aside, one hand working off his sleeping garments.
“Okay what then?”
A vision? A warning? Maybe a dream… or maybe… Hell, I don’t have a clue.
“Well then,” Having already changed, he was already pulling his cloak over his head and fastening a leather bag, of various alchemic vials he had picked up on his way, on his shoulder,” we’re going with my invitation idea.”
That sparked a grumbling remark from Zulon that Sam didn’t care to catch.
What are you doing?! Can’t you use a door like the rest of your uncivilized race?” Zulon exclaimed as Sam approached the open window and readied himself to jump, checking to see if his booster shoes were securely fastened first.
“Aww come now Zulon, what would be the fun of being civilized, besides I don’t have time to waste.”
He gave and excited yell that sounded akin to “Wahoo!” but with a little more “Yah than Wah” and leapt off of the window sill that was situated a little more than seven stories up.
His shoes ignited and took off after falling for one story and slowing for two. And then he was gone.
He needed to find a guide to wherever it was he needed to get to and for all he knew, it could be on another world.
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Post by Ninmast on May 7, 2009 15:21:13 GMT -5
(A fine entry post, AoD. And yes, the entirety of the events were portrayed through the vision.)
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Post by Kagetsuki on May 7, 2009 19:38:58 GMT -5
And they rose up in the night, they of the palace, the city, and all the kingdom; and there was a great cry in all the hells, for there was not one who had not received the message.
--
She'd been having nightmares again.
Nightmares about her mother, nightmares about her father, nightmares about the man she'd loved and nightmares about herself. Twice in the last month already she'd awoken to blood and her own screaming, and Meikin begging her to please, please calm down so she could take care of the wounds. Her back was bandaged where the dream-whip had cut into her skin; her mother's choker had burned an impression of the former royal sigil into her neck. There was an echo of cruel laughter in her ears whenever she wasn't sleeping and a faint, faint voice whispering to her, You were too late. Always too late.
Of the many things the High Queen Noroi Kagetsuki could curse about her family bloodline, one of the most prominent was the constant presence of the mental sickness masayume. As it were, even suffering from it in a far less severe form than her unfortunate cousin the threat of a dream wound becoming real was always something to be careful of.
She'd taken something strong tonight, though, a draught Moujuu had assured her would keep her asleep. The strange vision of the humans and, more importantly, the Prince of Hell had been unexpected...and had had consequences. Her head was pounding with a pain that nearly drowned out the ghost laughter and whispers, and though Moujuu had mixed something up to help it had done no good. Her body, too, was shivering and wouldn't listen to her commands to stop; it was as though she'd been struck with a biting cold from the inside that her blood couldn't warm.
And oh, oh did it anger her. What a pathetic sight she must have been, lying there on the bed trying to get her thoughts straight. Imagine! If the Prince of Hell showed up in the room at that very moment she would make a sorry sight to behold, hardly fitting the image of a queen, one descended from greatness, no less. She could not sort out what the vision had been, though she knew her entire Entourage had seen it and probably the whole city as well by the sounds outside. It was hardly something she considered an invitation, unless to partake in the same slaughter he had himself; but what was she? Though she'd interacted with the man once or twice the fact still remained that he was the son of the great one, and she just the descendant of one who'd rebelled.
At any rate, she was in no shape to go off searching for him at the moment. First there was the matter of letting the splitting headache fade and getting her body under control. Until then, she'd simply wait.
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Post by Ninmast on May 8, 2009 12:47:53 GMT -5
(You all need to actually take action before I can do much to interact with you further.)
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Psi
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Post by Psi on May 8, 2009 14:31:38 GMT -5
(Are we all on your Earth since the start?)
Sam soared above cloud level, keeping from sight to those below. To the average onlooker, who would chance to see him fly at near-ground-level, the sound that should be made by Sam’s rockets seemed deafening; however that was not the case. The sound was lessened if not nullified completely, Sam didn’t know nor care. Though the incessant sound of Zulon’s voice was almost making him wish it wasn’t.
You humans are reckless creatures, always throwing yourself into danger. And head-on at that! You aren’t even reassessing the situation! I know I had picked the wrong one to bear me the instant I let you wear me. There was also that stupid decision to leave the others behind and travel alone, the nerve. Why-
“I seem to remember ME choosing You, not the other way around.” Sam interrupted, his voice a reprieve from that of Zulon’s raspy, toneless one.
He often chose to use this voice whenever he needed, or rather wanted, to terrify a victim or a host or two whenever the need arose. He had used it so long that it had now become his current voice. It was better for Sam though, his true voice being nothing that Sam’s ears would be able to handle.
“The ‘Others’ are all dead, or close to it, or do you not remember that?” Sam finished angrily. He hated to be reminded of the remains from him and Kopa’s once grand band of allies. They weren’t even worth mentioning.
Either way, they would still be helpful and helping me reason with you.
“You want them just so you can have some others to talk to, don’t you?”
Well I can’t say that you are the best at conversations. You usually just tune me out and don’t think that I don’t notice it either! Besides that… Hey, where are we going?
“Oh, now you notice that I’ve been flying for about half an hour! You know, if you would stop being so whiney you would know a little more.” At this there was a sound that, unless otherwise possessed, Sam would have not known for a snort.
You little pig! You dare tell me that I don’t know anything?! That I am below you?!
“That’s not what I said.” Sam said defensively but once he was started, Zulon would not be stopped. And so there ensured another twenty minute rants about how inferior Sam was to Zulon and how much more Zulon knew from his hundreds of years of being alive.”
Thankfully his target was only twenty minutes away and by that time Zulon had already lost most of his hot air, though Sam scarcely noticed.
---
Sam landed so deftly that it only burned a small portion of the grass that was so thickly populated on a small hillside. He had covered many miles in the small time he spent airborne that the entire terrain and its properties had changed dramatically.
No longer was the ground hard and rocky under his feet, nor the air warm. He stood upon a hillside that rose near a valley, set between two man-made mountains. On the other side sat the salty ocean that surrounded the world. The wind blew strongly there and between the mountains, so strong that he could taste the salt in the gentle breeze that now wafted past.
The sky had also changed. That same lazy sun that bathed his body in warm, sleepy rays now lay hidden behind cloud of dark grey, making their suicidal journey to the sea. Every now and then the heavy clouds would float along to the sea to return their bounty, but the sheer height of the stone and earth mountains stopped them in their tracks, forcing them to relinquish their wares to climb higher and over, but by that time they were so thin that the vicious winds on the other side tore their small frames apart.
And so the target’s house lay out of the wrath of the winds, on the more bountiful side of the westernmost mountain and the roof could be seen from the dense forest that surrounded it. Here there lied an abundant source of raw materials, everything one needed to live off the land and to shape it. The recipient of the was actually the creator of the two spires of rock and earth and so too was her husband.
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zandyne
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This is NOT Zetsu. DX
Posts: 1,037
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Post by zandyne on May 8, 2009 15:44:30 GMT -5
Agari's journey was filled with flitting about from shadow to shadow. The shadows cast by the mountains were far too vague for its search. The same applied for the rapidly dwindling forest because of the fire. It tried the craters for a while and seemed to conclude that there were too many of that as well. It stripped down its list and possibilities to the shadows not cast by anything natural. It finally pinpointed this area and with a delighted skree from within the vast ocean of darkness began its return to its master.
Ivan had been mindlessly juggling an apple from the bag by tossing it up from the back of its hand or palm respectively once it landed there. The black eye returning caused for him to snatch it out of the air mid-toss, a pleased smile on his face. He stowed it away and retook up his bag. With a simple motion he caused for Agari to morph into a toothed vessel; it'd be faster this way.
He was swallowed up without much resistance but the dive into the darkness was the same as always. The atmosphere was thicker and terrifyingly frigid. Movement was much more taxing in this plane, and even though he wasn't troubled by navigating it blindly, the jarring labor of even doing mundane things in that world troubled him. Then again it always did.
The magician tried to keep his mind off of it, the weaving inverse colors of the real world darting above his head like a bizarre ocean were a pleasing distraction. Eventually he was taken to where this previous arena had been. He failed to suppress a laugh as he was drawn up from under the shadow of man that had been slaughtered in the vision he was given.
Ivan emerged from the ground, the blood hitting the sides of the shadow-pod he was using instead of him. As he arrived back in the real world the body was slid off like a giant doll. The shadows were dispersed and he gave his surroundings a better look. The smell of destruction was in the air and it was mesmerizing.
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Post by Toriji on Jun 3, 2009 13:45:40 GMT -5
[Good news! The ninja master is back. P.S.~ I'm playing this as a Post- War on the Throne Toriji. Minus the powers of course.]
Toriji sat upon a rock meditating in some unexplored mountain range in some unexplored part of the world. He let his memory fall back onto his youth and fond memories of the people he met and came to love.
Then, a crystal clear message shot through his mind. While it caused him a good bit of pain as it shot through his unprotected mind, he kept still as he considered facing Kali again. The last fight he had with him cost him his father, but that was of his own consequence so revenge would not be an adequate motive. He continued to sit in silence, an ivory statue of indesiscion.
Finally, and after much thought, he hopped down from the boulder and landed with a thud in his human form. "He's gonna be a problem for me sooner or later. I might as well try to deal with it now." He strapped his sword to his back and all of his other tools: shuriken, kunai, smoke bombs, etc. to his belt. He stretched his sore joints and muscles as he prepared to teleport into battle.
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Post by Ninmast on Jun 4, 2009 9:59:20 GMT -5
*Former Battleground*
No sooner had the shadowmancer appeared than the bone demon teleported in, as well, but for neither was combat waiting. It was a dead field, no activity, no movement. The fire that had engulfed the forest spread out from this epicenter, having already burnt away its fuel and the smell of smoke and ash overrode any other aroma. Trees remained as charcoaled husks as far as the eye could see, but in this glade, nothing was burned. The bodies were intact, the grass unblemished except where the one who had actually been attacked with the fire had left a scorched footprint with his remains.
There was nothing here. Even the man who had been used to send the message laid doubled over, collapsed on the ground, no injury to be seen but the puddle of what could almost pass as vomit that pooled around his hollow head.
*Kagetsuki*
"Well?" an annoying, familiar voice piped up, one she hadn't heard since the Man-Demon sent for her in his grand scheme to test the next generation of would-be evildoers. It was the gnome, of course, standing right behind her, a position given away, if not by his words, then by the firm slap on her buttocks that followed immediately after. "You goin', toots, or are you just gonna sit there and hold yer pretty head all day?"
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zandyne
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This is NOT Zetsu. DX
Posts: 1,037
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Post by zandyne on Jun 4, 2009 23:04:22 GMT -5
He paid no mind to the newcomer, instead he examined the body with a thoughtless nudge with his shoe. "The books never mentioned this," he explained to no one in particular. The smell of the burning destruction was good evidence of advanced pyromancy or some other type of fire casting. For the parts that had stolen the most life anyway, it had the scent of something not caused by the touch of technology.
Ivan craned his head around to get a better look of the shelled melon husk of a skull of the dead man, there were traces of the broken lock here. His smile grew wider at the prospect.
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Post by Toriji on Jun 8, 2009 14:53:36 GMT -5
"If you're looking for clues to tell you where he went, you might as well give up now." He sounded off without even looking at the man. "Kali is much to thorough to leave any such thing. He'll come to us when he is ready." He unsheathed his sword and stuck it in the ground at his feet. "Or that is my guess at least."
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zandyne
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This is NOT Zetsu. DX
Posts: 1,037
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Post by zandyne on Jun 8, 2009 16:49:29 GMT -5
"Kali you say?" Ivan's mind flicked back to the scriptures of the Lady of Change and the Demon of the Creator, both magnificent figures of violence, but just that, only figures.
He laughed heartily as his foot left the corpse and it sloshed back to it's close embrace with the ground. "What an arrogant name!" He swung his attention to the stranger as he did his grocery bag over his shoulder, like a school boy chatting with another in the play yard. The sword caught his attention immediately thereafter.
"So what brings a weapon user here?" He licked his lips, empty black eyes betraying a flicker of interest but nothing more. He had the perfume of other-travel on him but he wasn't sure who was the caster.
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Post by Toriji on Jun 9, 2009 12:03:59 GMT -5
"I assure you this is no ordinary weapon." He plucked it from the ground and it flared white hot with a tempest of raw power, but it went back to normal just as quickly and he returned it to the ground. "I am also more than just a weapon user, but you will have to find out more about that on your own I suppose."
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