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Post by Skylos on Jan 8, 2010 22:53:49 GMT -5
Omni and Skylos sighed, then followed.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 9:52:37 GMT -5
As they passed into line of sight about the entrance, a predictably brutal scene was unfolding. There was a gang of about a dozen pale-skinned individuals, mostly men but with the odd woman, all looking in roughly their early- to mid-20s or thereabouts. They were clustered about a much younger boy, around the same age as the one who had just dashed out the alleyway. Two of the burlier men had him by the arms, although by now they were holding him up far more than restraining him. Several of the others were taking it in terms to beat him up, slamming fists, feet and anything else they could find into his torso, making him cough up flecks of blood. The entire scene was quite disgusting really.
"Stop," one of them then said quietly all of a sudden. Judging from the immediate following of his order, as well as his arrogant demeanour as he strolled forward towards the boy, he must have been the leader. "I think we need to teach this little punk another lesson," he continued, grabbing the boy's chin, still speaking in a soft but dangerous tone. "Karin. You like young boys, don't you?"
An outburst of sniggering accompanied a defensive look from the girl in question. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.
"Turn him." The others all fell silent. The leader looked up and around at them, daring any to challenge his decision. "Just beating him up isn't good enough. This little shit and his friend tried to steal from vampires. He deserves to have his fucking life destroyed!" Even at the end, his tone didn't rise by very much, but the venom was obvious. His eyes had by now flicked back to the boy, who was just panting softly, head down. Silence reigned other than this noise. "Do it," the leader suddenly hissed, releasing the boy's chin and taking a step back. No one else moved. He looked back up at the woman, Karin, who shrank back a little. "I said do it," he ordered her in a slightly louder voice.
Karin hesitated just a second longer, then walked slowly forward towards the boy, still supported in the arms of the two other vampires. She bent down, so that her head was level with his, and seemed to whisper something in his ear. He looked up at her abruptly, and she started back.
"Hurry up," the leader growled testily. Karin glanced back at him, swallowed, then leaned in towards the boy's neck, opened her mouth, and bit in.
"Here comes the magic the moment," Thascalos suddenly murmured to the other four. Incredibly, though they were in plain sight, none of the gang had looked up at them this entire time. Very lucky indeed.
Yamiken and Naga were both silent. The former had his arms folded and was watching with an expression of distaste; the other just looked faintly sick. However, he hadn't tried to move to intervene at all.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 11:10:57 GMT -5
Skylos looked away entirely when he saw the blood. To be honest, to know that there were actual vampires in this time instead of the somewhat nicer Blood Human just sent chills through him. Pity as well. The poor boy they could not rescue...
Omni watched, however, with a frown. Unfortunately, this was how history played out...and... there was always the fact that history did turn out all right... Well. If one ignored Morodin...
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 12:12:58 GMT -5
As he was bitten, the boy's eyes shot wide open, and his mouth began to hang slightly agape. Slowly, he skin paled as he was drained as blood, and his lips began to look rather dehydrated. However, before he could lapse into unconsciousness, the vampire, Karin, removed her mouth from his neck, leaving a pair of bite marks which had healed rather quickly. Swiftly, she then raised her right wrist and drew a long, sharp nail along it, opening the vein. She proceeded to move it to the boy's mouth; delirious, he began instinctively to drink from it. A strange expression passed over the vampire's face, something between pain and joy, ecstasy even. Eventually, her expression cleared, and she gently but forcefully removed her wrist from the boy's mouth. He jerked with the motion... then his body began to convulse.
"Drop him," the leader ordered the two thugs holding him. They promptly did so. The boy continued to writhe upon the ground. The lead vampire sneered at him. "Trash," he snorted contemptuously. He observed for a few moments longer, then abruptly turned away and looked towards his group. "Come on," he told them. "We'll leave him here. Let's see how long he can survive on his own." Giving a cruel laugh, joined in sycophantically by some of his underlings, he began walking off down the alley, in the opposite direction to the end Thascalos and the others were standing in. The rest followed; the only one who hesitated a moment was Karin, staring down at now-subsiding trembles of the boy. But within a few moments she too was walking away, her compassion not enough to make her disobey her chief's orders.
"And there you have it," Thascalos remarked mildly once they'd all left. "The making of history's greatest villain. Strange how the little injustices can fester like that, isn't it?"
Yamiken just grunted dispassionately, still watching the boy as his shudders continued to fade away. Naga on the other hand was looking away like Skylos by now, having been unable to keep watching.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 18:43:32 GMT -5
Omni frowned. "I think we're done here." He noted, completely ignoring Thascalos. In fact, he was actually annoyed by that carefree attitude...Or maybe he was just that way since he knew that everything had turned all right for the most part... Though, watching and not acting was something that annoyed Omni anyways.
Skylos just sat down and stared at the ground.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 19:48:20 GMT -5
Thascalos gave Omni an amused glance for a few seconds, then gave a somewhat more serious nod. "Yup, nothing more to see here," he agreed. "Young Marcus gets found by a rather more kind vampire soon... they weren't all villains like that lot, I should stress. Has a happy few years... but then history catches up with him. Well, I'll spare you the long exposition." He smirked a little, then continued, "In which case, I'd better get you back. Like you said earlier, you can't be gotten back yourselves; that power doesn't exist yet. So then..." He took a few steps away from them and then turned back. He raised his hand as if on the point of uttering some great incantation or performing some great gesture. And then he waved. "Ta-ra," he smiled, and the four were engulfed in psychedelic, rainbow-coloured light as the scene faded...
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 20:12:27 GMT -5
Annnnnd they were prompty in the Series Nexus. Zephyr sat on the altar and nodded to each in turn. "Well. The end of the world hasn't happened, so I suppose you all passed the first stage."
Omni blinked. "First stage?"
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 20:35:15 GMT -5
"I thought that trial was a sparse for a full exam," Yamiken noted dryly. "Very well then. What must we do next?"
Naga sighed softly. Yet more testing... is this really worth my time? ... I suppose if only to make sure Yamiken doesn't get his hands on the Water Dimension Stone... or Omni, for that matter, if it can be helped...
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 20:50:36 GMT -5
"Oh right. You have to activate the Stone to become a Guardian." Omni suddenly said. "I decided against activating the ones I have...I didn't find it appropriate."
Zephyr shrugged. "I suppose you don't have to activate the Stone if you don't want to, but it won't be as strong as it could be."
Omni frowned. Strength didn't matter to him... Safety did.
Skylos frowned. "How do you activate a stone?"
Zephyr looked at each one in turn. "You have to defeat me, the previous guardian."
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 20:58:01 GMT -5
"We're not doing it," Naga cut in suddenly. He was rather pointedly not looking at a certain other someone in the group... "There's no need for power. Just security. Activating the stone... would just create problems. So, with that in mind, what-"
"I disagree," Yamiken interrupted softly. He had his arms folded. "The only efficient way to protect the stone is to be its guardian and have its full power behind you. I say it should be activated." He looked at Zephyr. "I will fight you, even if these others won't. I'm quite ready when you are."
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 21:00:35 GMT -5
Zephyr looked at Skylos. Skylos shook his head. "I'm unqualified; I have no affiliation to the stone, after all." Nor could I possibly win.
Zephyr turned to Yamiken. "Then we will fight." He paused just for a moment. Last call, it seemed.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 21:17:27 GMT -5
"Stop this!" Naga was glaring at Yamiken angrily. "You dare try and hide your ambition behind such a transparent façade of virtue?" he demanded angrily of him. "At least don't insult our intelligence like that! You don't care for the stone's security; you just want to use it for yourself!" He turned desperately to Omni and Skylos. "Help me here! You can't possibly just... let him get away with this!"
Yamiken regarded him coolly. "Are you quite done?" he mocked. "May I begin now?"
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 21:21:46 GMT -5
Skylos frowned. "I...can't. He's too strong, Naga. He'd floor me." He gave a pained smile.
Omni scratched the back of his head. "I'd rather it be in the hands of someone I know..." Someone I know I can beat. Omni added to himself. It's not like he couldn't snatch it back...
"Step into the light." Zephyr intoned, before vanishing. A soft blue glow appeared on the altar. Particles of bluish light seemed to be floating upward at different speeds. A portal.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 10, 2010 21:30:11 GMT -5
Naga gaze hardened as he was denied support from either Skylos or Omni. He looked back at Yamiken. "Very well," he spoke in a resolute, solemn tone. "I'll fight you myself, then. I'll stop you killing Zephyr, where you or Zephyr likes it or not." And with that he turned and walked into the portal.
Yamiken gave a bothersome sigh. "Oh, very well, you preachy fool," he replied to thin air in an annoyed tone as he walked through the portal himself. Privately though he was concerned... how strong would Naga be? From the sound of things, he was very old... and that could only be bad...
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Post by Skylos on Jan 10, 2010 21:44:06 GMT -5
The other two decided to follow in any case. There was so sense in not, actually.
Instantly, they found themselves in another place. The ground was covered in lush grass, and the sky was a beautiful sapphire. However, the area seemed to be in a tint of blue. The air was somewhat chilly, but someone in short sleeves would still find it manageable. Zephyr stood solid here. He was wearing all blue. The clothes seemed old fashioned as though they came from a past age. On his back was a black cape, and on his arms were black bracers. A circular dark navy badge was on his chest on his left side near his heat. His belt was dark navy as well, but it had a silver buckle. In his hands were a blue lance. The end was worked with some blue metal...Something long forgotten, presumably. His eyes were blue and his black hair medium length.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 12, 2010 17:08:41 GMT -5
Naga took a second to appreciate the beauty of the place he'd just stepped into, but then walked forward towards Zephyr. "I'm going to be fighting to stop him killing you," he informed the guardian in a somewhat wooden tone. "Do you object?"
Yamiken arrived without a word. Silently, he prepped his Dark aura. Hmm... if only I still had those shards of Orochi's crystal from when I was expecting to fight Noah... well. I'll just have to do my best.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 12, 2010 17:16:58 GMT -5
Zephyr cocked his head slightly. "You would be taking attacks from both fronts if you were to do that." He noted.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 12, 2010 18:31:19 GMT -5
Naga frowned, but in truth he'd been half-expecting it. "Very well then," he replied stoically. "If that is what it takes to stop Yamiken having sole right to a Dimension Stone, then so be it." He held out his right hand to his side. "Come forth, Dragonscout." The air around his hand suddenly became wind and twisted into the shape of a lance, which then became corporeal. Unlike Zephyr's, Naga's was pure white from tip to end - again, probably a lost material. White, feathery wings also unfolded from his back - someone would have to ask Naga how he did that some time and hopefully I'll have an answer for them by the time they do. He raised the lance slightly, then directed it emphatically at Yamiken. "You go no further," he stated firmly.
Yamiken laid a hand casually upon the hilt of his katana and slowly took a ready stance. "Says you," he sneered at Naga, then in a flash he was no longer there. He was behind Zephyr - and drawing his katana in a slash at the Dimension Guardian's back imbued with Darkness power. First strike of the match.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 13, 2010 6:59:55 GMT -5
A pulse emanated from Zephyr just as Yamiken left his sight. As Yamiken was about to slash him, he'd suddenly find it very hard to, as the water vapor in the air had suddenly frozen around Yamiken and his weapon. Zephyr then spun to face him, windmilling his lance as he did so and then thrusted it at Yamiken's left shoulder.
The only thing to note to Naga would be that his discharge of freezing vapor may have hit him too...But it was possible that he was too far away since I don't actually know how close everyone is to one another.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 13, 2010 19:25:27 GMT -5
Being a Darkness-user, Yamiken was afforded some control over Water, and after a few seconds he was able to melt Zephyr's ice once more and free himself, thus allowing him to duck the blow. Unfortunately, it still grazed his shoulder, causing him to grimace. The fastest I've been wounded in battle in a long time... However, it was still just a scratch. For his next trick, Yamiken drew sharply on the power of the Orocrystal, bending the dimensions around him. To Zephyr, this would seem like Yamiken's sword was several inches away one moment, then right next to him the next, effectively cutting his dodge time down quite dramatically.
However, at the same moment, Naga darted in a flash through the air above Yamiken, then angled his lance down and attempted to impale his opponent's right arm...
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Post by Skylos on Jan 13, 2010 19:37:20 GMT -5
The sword would slice at Zephyr's blue trenchcoat (something I forgot to specify before... *cough*), and tear through. But instead of blood coming from the wound that followed, it would be as though Yamiken had just slashed a piece of granite...or something like that consistency, in any case... The silver amulet with the blue stone in the middle that was around Zephyr's neck then glowed, yet the stone itself still seemed dull. The dimension that Yamiken had just used would suddenly become unstable to the point of colapsing (the Orocrystal was the only thing keeping it up). He was trying to break Yamiken's blade by destroying his effect.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 13, 2010 19:44:04 GMT -5
Yamiken didn't really have any idea how to defend against this sort of attack... so his katana shattered, just as Zephyr had intended. Cursing, he shifted to a short distance behind Zephyr - avoiding Naga's attack in doing so, if barely - and unleashed a rain of Dark Lightning upon his opponent.
Naga meanwhile immediately took a two-handed grip on his lance and flicked it upwards, sending a powerful fissure of wind out which curved around Zephyr then headed directly towards Yamiken.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 13, 2010 19:55:45 GMT -5
The air around Zephyr began to shimmer as ice crystals formed in the air. The shapes of the crystals made it so that the many lightnings were deflected at odd angles, including to some places where Yamiken might try to dodge to. Unfortunately, that meant Naga had to dodge this redirect also. Hey...he did say that he might get caught in the crossfire...
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 24, 2010 22:32:32 GMT -5
Well, Yamiken was quite easily able to just reabsorb his own attack; he then redirected the reabsorbed energy against Naga's wind fissure. Said fissure broke apart, but Yamiken was still hit by a fairly strong gust of wind... not enough to affect him, but enough to give him pause for thought. This is bad, he thought to himself. These two are too strong for me to take on at the same time, even if they're not working together. He ran a hand along what was left of the blade of his katana; Darkness energy projected up from it to reform the blade, effectively at least. I need a better strategy... An idea came to him. He reversed his katana and drove it into the ground. A shockwave of indigo energy rushed through the ground; as it reached Zephyr and Naga, it would flare beneath them for a second, then spit up a pillar of similar coloured energy to attack them.
Naga, meanwhile, had spun his lance in a circle in front of him to create enough wind currents to alter the course of the lightning away from him. Then, seeing Yamiken's new attack, he dodged backwards quickly, launching himself up into flight, avoiding the pillar of energy.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 24, 2010 22:42:33 GMT -5
Zephyr flipped backwards to dodge, then struck his lance into the ground (not the blade side). Ice began to run over the ground, freezing it entirely. Manouvering on it might be a problem now, as Zephyr made sure it came out a good foot deep. In fact, the others might be stuck in it if they were on the ground.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 24, 2010 22:51:34 GMT -5
Well, Naga was in the air at the time, so he was fine. Yamiken meanwhile had the sense to dodge; he shifted when he saw the ice coming to a point in the air above a point even further away from Zephyr and Naga, then came down onto the ice, driving his katana down through it to anchor him. While he was doing this, though, Naga used the time to dart around Zephyr and charge Yamiken through the air, driving his lance towards the samurai warlord's heart a top speed - which happened to be a few times the speed of sound. Seeing this coming, Yamiken hurriedly erected a wall of energy in front of him. This in the event only delayed Naga for a few moments before it shattered under the force of his lance; but this was long enough for Yamiken to manage to move away, landing on another spot roughly opposite the spot he'd been in a couple of turns ago. Once again he drove his katana into the ground, apparently to stop himself slipping.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 24, 2010 23:06:35 GMT -5
Zephyr then floated in the air for a second. A sense of the Power of Dimension being used would prickle in either minds, as suddenly, friction seemed to null out of existance on the battlefield. Oh dear. Zephyr then had ice spikes come up around the battlefield, closing it off so that the three were on an island of ice, surrounded by this death trap. And it wasn't something they could merely jump over...The spikes went on for quite the distance...However much distance was even in this realm to begin with...
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 24, 2010 23:17:14 GMT -5
Without friction, Naga and Yamiken naturally were suddenly unable to grip their weapons. In Naga's case, this simply meant his lance went clattering down to the ground, where it rolled without slowing. In Yamiken's case, however, his katana remained stuck in the ground whilst he slipped forwards onto his front. He gritted his teeth. How undignified! Still, maybe all wasn't lost... using his own Dimension power, he shifted himself so that he was next to his sword once more, then enclosed his left hand, the one with the Orocrystal around it. He then drew on as much Dimension power as he could to reverse Zephyr's frictionless effect in the local area around his katana's hilt. He succeeded, and was able to withdraw the katana with ease... but now he found he didn't even have enough Dimension capacity left to teleport with that power! He gritted his teeth. This was bad. Very bad. His opinion of the situation didn't exactly improve when Naga, relatively unfazed by the loss of his weapon, conjured up a compressed Wind orb in his hands whilst Yamiken was righting himself and then unleashed it at the Dark Human around the time he was just getting his bearings once more. Yamiken teleported; but this time it was using his Darkness powers and thus slower, only just getting him out of the way in time; it was also more draining. The orb smashed into the ice where he'd been before, creating a storm of winds which probably would've ripped him apart had he still been there. Nonetheless, he stabbed his katana into the ground yet again in his new location, which was roughly equidistant from his two foes. In an effort to stop them attacking again too soon, he then let out a wide-ranging mind shock against them, which would as usual cause a sharp spike of pain in their heads, disrupting their concentration, if it worked.
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Post by Skylos on Jan 24, 2010 23:26:13 GMT -5
Zephyr landed and walked unfazed by the ice's slippery nature, up until the mind shock hit him. Clutching his head in pain for a few seconds, he soon recovered and stabbed his lance forward, creating a shockwave of ice to run along the surface. After it ran over the ice, a delayed reaction would occur, causing tall spires of ice to break out of the ground. Seeing as this shockwave went everywhere, the two would find themselves without much to stand on, unless they wanted to brave the spires and fight within the clusters that arose.
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Post by Mumiyoshi on Jan 24, 2010 23:40:19 GMT -5
Yamiken saw the shockwave pass through the ground pass through the ground beneath him without apparent effect at first... but he wasn't stupid enough to stick around to see what happened. He shot up into the air; seconds later, the appearance of the numerous ice spires vindicated his caution.
And he probably would have met his end at Naga's hands there if it hadn't been for his mind attack of a few moments before. However, thanks to that, Naga was still recovering when Zephyr's ice spires hit, and so he had to dodge a little higher into the sky at the same time as Yamiken, preventing him from attacking his opponent whilst the latter was focused on something else. However, having reached a safe altitude, he wasted not time; he extended his right hand towards Yamiken and laid his left upon that forearm to focus his power. A horizontal cyclone quickly sprung up as a result of this, with the intention to trap and then eviscerate Yamiken; he, though, was just able to dodge in time, flying low over the spires, the tops of some of which the cyclone began to rip apart, owing to the difference in altitude between Yamiken and Naga. Mid-flight, however, Yamiken let off another mind shock, hoping to gain a few moments to himself.
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