Status: In Over His Head. Location: On His New Besty! Spells:
Fire (x3), Blizzard (x3), Aero (x3), Cure
____________________________________________________ Draak rolled his shoulder after Kaijuu once again spoke to him, watching the stupid duo split apart as the chocobo's cowardice hit as it ran away just so soon after reprimanding Draak for trying to save it's owner. "Shoulda clocked him harder." He told the Guardian Force, seemingly callous as he watched Kalen become the victim of unlimited power. Spinning his spear, he looked at Kaijuu for a moment.
"Brody was right on one thing. Someone's gotta stall this wave, and I'm the only SeeD in sight, brah. Let's crisscross." He never, once, considered the Guardian Force may not understand his particular vernacular. Anyways, taking his spear a javelin toss pose, the SeeD took a deep breath. This fight was way out of his league. He knew it. They probably knew it. And throwing his weapon probably wouldn't do a damn thing to Koyuki, but Ixion?
That was more up his wheelhouse. He could fight the worst gribblies, or at least keep it at bay and hopefully Kaijuu could tarpit Koyuki long enough that someone on the proper paygrade could show up. With a slight jump, Draak activated his jump boots to flip himself forward with unnatural momentum, and in practiced perfection he used the extra speed to fire his spear from his hand at the beast that was once the Guardian Force, Ixion. "Let's bang it!" ____________________________________________________
Raeka Everett-Maris
Status: Pumped Up. Location: On The Streets. Spells:
Poison, Dark (x2), Slow, Haste, Regen (x1), Confuse, Sleep
____________________________________________________ The stimulant helped hit the spot. With everything else rushing in Raeka's system, he felt alive again. Focused, alert, and angry, he spurred Cerberus on with sheer will power alone. The beast leapt through the air, landing on lower rooftops and other such landings the architecture allowed. Raeka laughed, recklessly firing rounds from Mai's revolver into the air, striking a beast here and there but obviously with none of the accuracy he usually so characteristically displayed.
"Dark!" A pitch black spear emerged from his hand, lancing a low level monster as he fired out his spell indiscriminately. Raeka grinned at Mai, a drug-magic high making the pain unnoticeable and the joy up front. "Haha! I still can't feel my legs!" He fired off another around as Cerberus evaded something, the boy wasn't really paying all that much attention anymore. "I can't even hear the pain over all this chaos!"
He giggled, swatting away at a bite bug that made a passing snap at him, before firing another round towards the monsters. ____________________________________________________
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 5:38 pm
☠☠╰▷╮Amidst the eternal waves of time, from a ripple of change shall the storm rise. Xaris ☠ Zeigmus "The demon soars through dark skies Fear and death trail its shadow beneath Until men united wield a hallowed sabre In final reckoning, the beast is slain."
The bloodbath on Unita continued to wage on, and during the hellscape that was forming, Xaris had made her way straight towards Mai and Raeka's location, tracking Mai through her locator. This was bad, and quite frankly, she had no idea if she had been played for a fool by shooting Raeka. To be given a task that was dangerously risky, and delicate of the highest nature, how did BIE expect Salem to react? She had not anticipated that Nyale of all people would have caught on to her, but that was besides the point. She had no idea what laid dormant in Raeka, just that Raeka was possessed by something. This was troubling. In some ways, it felt like the BIE had once again lead her on to believe in something when she was only getting half truths. She had no idea that Koyuki would turn into a monster. She had seen Koyuki inject the drug, but she had never done so herself. Now she was wondering if that was the cause of it.
Yet, her hands were tied in many ways, and she wasn't as brash or stupid as she used to be. Maybe in her youth she would have came charging right towards HQ, scythe in hand, ready to take on every GF buster they had. But that was not her way of thinking anymore. She was an adult that had to make responsible choices, and she had many years to grow from such childish ways of thinking. But, that didn't mean she couldn't entrust the future to someone else.
"What are you thinking Xaris?" Asked Diablos, who had been carrying her across the city. It was almost comedic with how relaxed their postures were as they flew together. Xaris idly shot down several flying creatures, Diablos casting Gravity every so often and swinging his claw other times. "I'm thinking, I don't appreciate being played for a fool. We got some wrongs to right tonight." She replied. The GF interest was peaked by that. "Oh? What do you intend to do?" She directed and pointed towards Mai's location, catching sight of her and the two with her on top of Cerberus fighting in the streets. "Take him. It's about time I retire." Surprised by this, Diablos tilted his head towards her, but said nothing else, merely nodding as he flew right at Raeka.
It was sudden, and not even Mai could have anticipated it due to Xaris and Diablos's speed, Raeka all but getting snatched off of the back of Cerberus and taken up into the sky. "R-RAEKA!?" Mai shouted, having lost him. In her panic, her concentration to her summoning had ceased and she fired off a few shots on some monsters that got close to her and Etamara, who was hovering in the air beside Cerberus, performing still while slashing through some monsters, causing each reverberation around her to stagger enemies. Through the fighting though, Mai got a message from her mother to not panic, she would heal Raeka.
Xaris, though, would take Raeka to an abandoned building, Diablos crashing through one of the windows and settling Raeka down on the ground while Xaris hopped off of Diablos's back, standing next to Raeka now. From here, Xaris crushed all of her communication with BIE. "I am here to help you." She said softly to him, reaching into her pouch to hand him an X-potion. She looked upon him, staring down at the boy she shot. She needed to know why. Why was it important that he lost his magic. "Raeka. Do you know about your possession?" She asked him.
Out of the abyss peer the eyes of a demon. Behold the Razgriz, its wings of black sheath.╭ ◁╯☠☠ "As the demon sleeps, man turns on man His own blood and madness soon cover the earth From the depths of despair awaken the Razgriz Its raven wings ablaze in majestic light."
Status: Losing his cool. Location: Abandoned Building. Spells:
Poison, Dark (x3), Slow, Haste, Regen (x1), Confuse, Sleep
____________________________________________________ Raeka being effortlessly plucked from the back of Cerberus was not good for his confidence. The hope he could still be something ripped away as quickly as he was removed from his Guardian Force. "MAI!" He screamed, refocusing his attention on the thing that had him, and deciding quickly it would pay. Darkra! He thought, willing his magic to come back to the fore and strike at this monster.
It did not come. Raeka struggled in Diablos' grip, attempting to telekinetically sling something into the monster. Nothing happened. He stared down at his legs, helplessly dangling there and he realized that he had been playing himself for a fool. Of course he had. Those were all the lowest of class monsters, and his new upper limit was what, town guard at best? So much for that. He would definitely qualify for one hundred percent disability now, if they didn't demote him first.
Once Diablos had crashed through a building and set him down, the dejection had set in. He looked at Xaris, and as she softly offered words of comfort he almost seemed disappointed. Perhaps she could have put him out of his misery, but was that what he wanted? Looked like it, at least for a moment.
Silently, Raeka accepted the x-potion from his likely to be future mother-in-law, downing it without asking a question. When next she spoke, the line on his forehead split open again, revealing the third eye that focused on Diablos. Raeka's normal peepers instead drilled in on Xaris. He shook his head. "No... He said quietly, reluctantly. "Cerberus jokes about what I am from time to time, n'ver called it a possession though. Never could fly like the other sorceresses, maybe the cripple wings were just a sick foreshadowing, huh?"
Staring down at the now drained x-potion bottle, he let it roll out of his hand and onto the floor. "If that's what you want, you're going in the opposite direction. It rises to the surface the more hurt I am, or when I can breach limit break."
Meanwhile, Cerberus howled when his owner was dragged away by Diablos, and it hopped back and forth with excitement. It's keen eyes focusing on the winged demon. "Is it time?" The hound asked, before dashing in pursuit after Diablos, bounding through ranks of smaller monsters with ease. ____________________________________________________
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2024 6:36 pm
☠☠╰▷╮Amidst the eternal waves of time, from a ripple of change shall the storm rise. Xaris ☠ Zeigmus "The demon soars through dark skies Fear and death trail its shadow beneath Until men united wield a hallowed sabre In final reckoning, the beast is slain."
Mai had been shaken off of Cerberus at some point, watching as the GF went after Raeka. What was her mother doing? How was she going to help him? She didn't have time to think about it! She had to summon Yojimbo. "Can you bloody hurry up! I am running out of breath here!" Shouted Etamara who was fighting off creatures, shifting back and forth in a dance as she swung her blade and cut down a few Geezards. Mai ignored her, trying to focus.
Xaris, meanwhile looked at the two demonic guardian forces, who both seemed to be communicating some form of excitement over Raeka. "It is." He replied to his fellow demon, guarding the window while Xaris continued to interact with Raeka. Her eyes went towards the third one on his head, looking directly into it while speaking, her hands both gently caressing the boy's face and pulling him up close to her, face to face. "I believe you were shot because of that. I believe that someone is afraid of what is inside of you. Perhaps I should be as well, however. Raeka, I believe you are stronger than that. You are young still, so perhaps you don't have the confidence you need yet, but let me tell you something." She stopped looking at the eye at the center of his head, and instead at Raeka's. "You hold my daughter's heart in your hands. You were there when she was having an existential crisis, and you helped her through some of the hardest adjustments she has ever faced in a lifetime. A man like that is a good man at heart. We all carry demons. Some stronger than others, in your case. I believe in that man, I believe in the goodness that you have inside." In this moment of crisis, where she had to make the most important decisions, this was perhaps a decision that she shouldn't have done. She could see that this was something dangerous, she could see it in Raeka.
But she could also see the man that her daughter loved dearly. The man that always stood at her daughter's side. "You better be good to her, for the rest of your life Raeka." She said happily to him, giving him a smile and gently stroking her hand through his hair. Perhaps she was just too comfortable with him, but she did like him. He was good for Mai. "Place your hand on my back, and say this phrase. "In eternal darkness, I sing."."
Out of the abyss peer the eyes of a demon. Behold the Razgriz, its wings of black sheath.╭ ◁╯☠☠ "As the demon sleeps, man turns on man His own blood and madness soon cover the earth From the depths of despair awaken the Razgriz Its raven wings ablaze in majestic light."
Stock: Fire (x2), Protect (x1), Shell (x1), Esuna (x2)
Status: Protect, Shell
Rem sank. She sank into the darkness of the river. The world above her blurred and faded. She reached for it and only sank further down.
Light faded. Sound faded. Thought faded. Misery. Anxiety. Terror. All of them faded, crushed under the growing weight of the dark waters around her.
Was this death?
—
Rem fell to her knees gasping! She- She was drowning! But…no. No, she was right there. In the middle of the street, with the distant sounds of roaring and explosions tearing through her city. Right where she was supposed to be.
But the dragon wasn’t.
Kreature.
Return home.
She’d…done it, hadn’t she? The beast was gone. Had she blacked out? Memory was a distant, colorless thing; like she’d watched it happen through a veil. But she’d done it! She could still feel the soothing ache of it- the feeling of brilliant, wonderful magic coursing through her! Like the first time she cast a spell all over again, but…better! A flood!
She was drawn from her confusion by the girls’ voices. Yukiko and Nyale- blessedly alive- closed the gap to her. They found her there on her hands and knees, fighting for breath, her blue eyes wide with distress.
”I…I don’t know,” she managed. ”I ca…can’t…” Thought was muddled and jabbed from all sides by spears of anxiety. What was she doing? She…Her gaze focused on Nyale.
”I-I’m so sorry, Ny!” she poured the words out miserably, her eyes limned with tears for what felt like the thousandth time in the week. ”I-I was trying to distract it- I didn’t know- I thought it’d go after me and…” Her voice faltered, but she was coming back to her senses. The other girls could see her notice the sirens and pops of distant gunfire all over again.
They were alive, and the threat here seemed…resolved. Should they hold this ground? Move inward toward base? Find another source of conflict? So hard to think…
Bzzzzz
The rumble against her chest startled her, before she remembered her phone tucked into a pocket. She fumbled the thing out on shaking hands- was it mom?! Where was she?? Did she have orders?? A flurry of messages spilled onto the screen.
GET TO A BUNKER
HOLD THE LINE
CONTACT ME
But the message sitting on top wasn’t hers. It was accompanied by a goofy, grinning face framed by honey blonde hair.
I love you. Sorry in advance.
Drowning again.
”Kalen,” she breathed, staring at a phone she clenched in both hands. She scrambled for a program which the girls saw brought up a map. A map with a single yellow dot.
oh no
But, at last, she had clarity. Rem staggered to her feet.
”Kalen is doing something stupid,” she hissed. All that mattered was that they were in agreement- there must be more they could do. And if anything could bring all three girls together, it was her brother. ”He’s in the East District. The one they had all heard Zeigmus announce was a death zone.
She- they needed a vehicle! Rem turned about, searching. The truck they’d brought was a smoking heap. The other cars littering the street were trashed or overturned by the Hexadragon’s assault. They’d never make it in time to help anyone on foot even if they didn’t get overrun en route! She had to think…!
”KWEEEEEH!”
It couldn’t be.
Rem turned her gaze up to the nearby rooftops. Standing there against the light of the descending sun was a brilliant golden bird.
”Beaker!”
The girl’s face lit up at the sight! The chocobo likewise wark’d and flapped happily before leaping off the building, fluttering his way down to the ground. Rem met him with a hug to the chest.
”Where’s Kalen, boy? Did he send you?”
”Quark-wa-wark!!”
Rem nodded and grabbed the bird’s dangling reins, before hauling herself up onto his saddle. She rubbed the beast’s neck with an old familiarity. ”Nyale,” she addressed the young Sorceress. ”How fast can you fly?”
In a few moments, Yukiko was riding behind Rem and Nyale ready to take wing again. Even this might not be enough, however. Rem turned Beaker, but didn’t yet spur him on. Her heart thundered in her chest as she shut her eyes.
”The fear will crush you. Sooner or later, you have to stop thinking about it. Push it aside and act.”
Inhale…
Exhale.
Rem stopped thinking and let herself feel. Feel more than the fear. Beyond its trembling borders, the river ran. Wider than before. Stronger. The words couldn’t be un-said. But if it might save her home- her family- even just her brother…
She reached into the river. Violet streamers of power flowed up and around her, surrounding her, and Yukiko, and Nyale, and even Beaker in an aura of shimmering red-purple flame!
”Haste.”
Then she squeezed Beaker’s flanks with her knees and he bolted forward! The chocobo thundered through the nearest alleyway and out onto a street, before leaping up on top of a stall and then to a rooftop! Bounding over the buildings of Unita, Rem and her friends fled the setting sun, racing the encroaching darkness.
____________________________________________________ Raeka felt uncomfortable as Xaris caressed his face, pulling him close. He didn't look at her at first, not wanting to think of the romantic connotations such actions usually had with him. But as she spoke, he finally looked back at her. Confusion swimming in his eyes as the last thing he expected to hear here was a... pep talk? What was this? It was like she was saying goodbye instead, and wanted to get out how she felt.
He stared at her for a moment. In hesitation. She wanted to heal him, so she said, but was speaking like this was their last moments together. "You'd better live. If you die because of this, I'd be the worst b.f.." Raeka uncomfortably put his hand on Xaris' back. He wished no one walked in on this, or there was still operational security system recording, or anything to let this moment out. He felt it look bad, and after Xaris' warning a few days ago, he didn't understand what was going through her head.
"In eternal darkness.... ISING." ____________________________________________________
He who was Raeka Everett-Maris received the gift of Diablos. The scythe, Falce Intermantis Tenebris, emerged from Xaris. This scythe of pure darkness carried upon it a lantern, the hope of Diablos, and to key to his junctioning. Thick strands of darkness were holding onto the weapon as it emerged from the woman. They resisted the transfer of power, or at least they seemed to before in the struggle Raeka touched one of the strands.
They burst from Xaris, snapping onto Raeka and seeping into his skin. The lantern seemed to jingle as Diablos eagerly allowed his ownership to be taken by Raeka, before both he and Cerberus bowed. The boy's head shot back as he began to gurgle. Bubbles could be heard as he tried to breath, but his convulsions splattered a dark black-purple ichor out of him. The darkness began to overflow from his mouth, covering his head, then flowed down and seemed to almost immediately crystallize around his form.
The chrysalis had formed. ____________________________________________________
????? ?????????????
Status: Ascendant Location: ???? Spells: ???? ____________________________________________________ The crystal cracked. Each break was accompanied with a horrific straining scream. Two wings, each the size of a man emerged from the back of the chrysalis. Somehow, what was on the inside of the crystal was larger than the outside. Two more appendages, arms, burst from the crystal, and again oversized for what the host was. They pressed against the ground, lifting itself from the crown of crystal around it that was beginning to melt down into a black-violet liquid again.
As the legs emerged, the arms raised and clenched it's fists once. The casing on the head and halos shattered. And emerged... something. Diablos and Cerberus recognized it. The return of the master of their dominion, the Dark Prince. A song was sung, the words not understood by most, but those Guardian Forces and monsters of dark descent understood. The entity rose, it's wings giving it flight without moving, perhaps more in tune with gravity than even Diablos.
Diablos and Cerberus followed, and the Ascendant stopped shortly above the city. It raised a hand, and Diablos gave it the Dark Messenger. When the other rose, Cerberus gave it's triple rockets. The Entity brought the two together as it's halo shone in a brilliant inverse of light. Dark text began to line the streets for blocks around. The same language that wrapped into dark messenger, before the monsters in the affected area bounced into the sky, and then each creature off the ground exploded as their gravity inversed, streaking city blocks with gore.
He, it, then seemed to scan the streets. Looking for something, and while it did it slowly descended to land back on it's feet and began pacing forwards. ____________________________________________________
"H̸̜́a̵͖̍h̶̩͐a̴̰̖̽h̴̖̉ạ̴̫̑h̵̲̮̽ȁ̴͚̬̌ḧ̷͍́͜a̸̰̥̓̐ḫ̸͑ḁ̴̭̏̏h̵̙̠͆̒ạ̷̣̊!!" The monster cackled as it was shocking Kalen to death, relishing in his screams of agony. This was nothing like his mother, or maybe, this was truly the dark emotions that she held inside that had run wild in a raw explosive uncontrolled force. The demon inside that had finally been released. A monster. Kalen all but sentenced himself to death at the hands of his monstrous mother.
Or, at least it would have been if not for one massive beast.
Ixion was struck fiercely with a spear, causing the GF to stagger slightly, if only to look in the direction of the fool who would challenge it. Shifting its attention to Draak, the horse unleashed a fierce neigh and launched a thundaga at Draak.
Kaijuu swung down upon Koyuki, his massive claw smashing down into her and the pavement beneath her, indenting the earth. Kalen had barely survived being completely burnt and singed by the electricity, but was put into critical condition.
Yukiko, riding behind Rem with one hand holding onto the LMG, she took a readied position, prepared to defend them as they made their way across the city. It had been a long time since she last road a chocobo, and while the speed was exhilerating, she had little emotional availability to appreciate it. Rushing through the district, all three girls would come across the rubble wasteland that was East district. There was nothing left but ruins, nothing recognizeable, bolts of thunder striking across the landscape as remnants of Thundaja remained. All of them could see Kaijuu struggling to hold back something, unaware of the fact of what was hiding underneath its claw. Yukiko only saw her smoldering brother and gasped. "KALEN!!" She shouted as she pointed towards his body.
Mai clutched her katana tightly, focusing as hard as she ever could. "I know you are there! Come on out already! I have a deal to make with you!" She demanded from him, and finally, after channeling enough, she hurled her katana up into the air and called forth her guardian force. Cherry blossom trees formed from the ground, monsters getting flung left and right as each branch tore through the construction area. From the chery blossom tree base, out tore through the ancient samurai, Yojimbo, and his trusty pet dog, Enkidu. With a simple wave of his hand, Enkidu rushed out, charging into the streets to devour and tear through geezards, creeps, bats, and other low level creatures with ease. The samurai approached Mai with a slow stride, looking down upon her with an expecting gaze. Mai glared up at the fickle GF, huffing as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a credit card. "Alright here! It's got a 12 million gil limit! Does that work!?" She yelled, and surprisingly, he accepted, pocketing the card and unsheathing his katana in the process, sprinting forward at high speed unlike any other, cleaving through monsters like they were confetti. Etamara sighed, taking a break from singing. "Wooh.... man singing for that long is killing me. I need to fight monsters more." She huffed, trying to at least have a calm and casual conversation in the midst of this battle. Mai was more so baffled by how calm she was and how little she seemed to care for the loss of life around them. She would have said something, but her attention shifted as well as her GF, and Etamara as they stared up into the sky, watching as Raeka had torn through the air, unleashing his devastating attack upon the monsters. Both Etamara and Mai were awstruck and dumbfounded by the power. What the hell was going on?
Xaris had collapsed to the ground, the tattoo on her back that was her curse mark, had disappeared entirely, along with her power. With her celestial weapon taken, along with Diablos, her connection to her element had been severed, and she felt that darkness in her be ripped out. She grunted, coughing against the floor, staring up at the sky as she watched Raeka take off. She hadn't even gotten a chance to really witness the transformation in its raw intensity, her vision hazy from the fatigue. All she could mutter as he took off was. "Please. If there was one good thing I did in this world, it was to choose to believe in you" And with that, Xaris's eyes closed, falling unconscious. Her body exhausted.
Status: Death by Zap Location: Mouth of Hell Company: Draak, Beaker, a ******** monster Thoughts: Pain by Tupac Weapons: Hrunting ll Thunder Rose Magic:Crystal Stock: Earth (x10)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Kiss me good-bye, love's memory Follow your heart and find your destiny Won't shed a tear, for love's mortality For you put the dream in my reality
The pain felt eternal, his body twitching against his will, his mind stuck in a state of sporadic thought and what felt like an eternal analysis of the torment that was assailing him. His eyes were bloodshot, bleeding as the will to struggle exited his near charred body. The blood vessels in his eyes had seemingly ruptured, the foam around his mouth partially laying on the ground as his hands seemed to seize, legs twitching. .... Kalen's mind could conjure nothing now. There was no quips, no snarky banter, and even the thoughts of his family had evaporated into the aether of the mind. Only as Kaijuu's claw came crashing down on the standing form of Koyuki, did his body finally seem to relax, his eyes in a daze staring at the ground. His heartbeat was slowed, his breathing shallow.
To anyone that observed him from any distance, Kalen Vicaria looked dead. His skin was ragged, his eyes bloodshot and staring directly into the ground. The skin around his fingernails was burnt, his lips charred, and obvious signs of electrical damage showed in burns all around his frame. The blonde hair of the Prince floated in the gentle breeze that accompanied the nightmare of the day, the only thing that could be described as gentle about what seemed to be left of Kalen. As others began to arrive, there was no reaction, only stillness, as Draak and Kaijuu began their retaliation on the corrupted Koyuki and Ixion. The lone smoke grenade lay on the ground a few feet from where Kaijuu's claw had smashed down onto the enemy and a few feet from where Kalen lay, his revolver sat alone.
THUMP THUMP
Kalen felt as if he were floating, curled in a ball as the pain from his mother's attack finally halted, the waterfall of misery evaporating. There was no looking around, Kalen feeling like a spirit, lost in some limbo that he could not ascertain any kind of location. Looking around, he realized he lay in a long reaching field of grass, surrounded by rolling hills and many windmills and lightning towers adorning the various hilltops that cascaded around the scenery. The sky was dark and he realized that above, a storm was rolling in.
He shivered as rain began to power, the pulse and concussive sound of lightning striking the towers as a torrent of rain poured over him, expecting to be soaked as it occured. There was no dampness. There was nothing, but a sudden wave of emotion struck him as the storm arrived in full, almost verbatim. Where am I?! BOOM. A flash of lightning accompanied by another rolling beat of thunder answered in reply. Kalen recalled the confrontation with the hellbeasts. He remembered the electricity. That was easy. So he was dead? No...no... The storm grew heavier and he felt heavier, the rain picking up in intensity. What was he hiding from? There was noone here. His birth mother had assaulted him again, this time to kill. She had struck him earlier. She abandoned him again, and again, and again. She left her sister at ma and pa's doorstep. All of the issues that occurred over the last few days seemed to come from HER. A tightness in his chest developed, near uncomfort at the suddeness. The distrust, disappointment, anger, all in that one woman seemed to elevate into one feeling. Her betrayal and uncaring, no matter what she might have said, it blossomed into something pure that he hated feeling. That he hid deep within. He gasped, falling onto his hands and knees in whatever location he was in...
"How could you...how dare you..."
It wasn't enough. Was he afraid to say it? To verbalize something that he felt was taboo to say to his family? She put them last before everyone else. He and Yukiko...
Kalen's body did not move, still laying there akin to a corpse. Only on touch would one know that he was still alive, at least for just that one final moment. Moments after Yukiko screamed out towards him, the body twitched. Aether, magical resonance, began to visualize and flow, rapidly picking up speed as from all around golden flecks of energy seemed to rush into his remains. The thumping of his heart became audible, the color of his hair seeming to drain into a pale snow color similar to Yukiko and their mother's, his eyes closing as power rushed through his prone state. Zombie-esque, the white haired young man was lifted to his feet with his arms spread and legs shoulder with the part. The heartbeat picked up speed, his breathing returning to a temporary normalcy as a golden sheen lined his sillhoutte. For the first time in his life, Kalen was showing power, was showing what would happen when pushed to the limit.
Closed eyes opened, the cold blues replaced with the Rieko crimson.
Electricity arched as his body tensed, veins pulsing as he let loose a scream...a howl.
A blinding light exploded out from Kalen's body, holy lightning crashing like a powerful spell that tried its best to blind. The howl endured as it faded, and what stood there replacing him was a hulking behemoth of golden fur. A monster who's mere presence caused others' hair to stand on end, static and sparking resonating from the mane. Muscle covered its frame, the size of a large Guardian Force, a growl echoing from its chest. There was no hiding what its body language represented. The Wolf was angered, pissed, and it was looking for the first thing to break in its grasp that it found as an enemy.
The first thing in its line of sight was Ixion.
A second howl erupted from the depths of its vocal chords, launching forward to accompany that battle cry as it tackled the horse to grasp it by its neck, allowing Draak to dodge and plan a second assault. Wolf Kalen roared as it shifted behind the back of the horse, not letting loose its grasp, its muscles straining before trying to german suplex the horse through the air into remnants of buildings and cars behind them. Each grasp that Kalen had on the horse, it would feel the holy element attempt to eat away at its flesh like a corrosive substance, trying to consume the dark that covered Dark Ixion's body.
Status: Thunder-Struck Location: In the streets. Spells:
Fire (x3), Blizzard (x3), Aero (x3), Cure
____________________________________________________ Though Kalen had pounced upon the unicorn, Draak had not yet prepared to evade a actual thundaga. The man was already tired, and shortly after he had landed again after his spear had landed, the creatures relation struck. "Gr-aa-ka-rraaagh! Nothing charming to be said, but the Trabia had been trained to endure the worst. A thundaga was bad, yes, and he wouldn't be able to take another one, but he was still standing by the time the... uh, was that a wolf-man? The wolf-man assaulted the horse.
Seemed like a bro to him. Leaping off of Kaijuu, he gave the beast a thumbs up and a grin as he hit the ground in a run to keep up with the monsters fighting each other. He slowed for a moment as he saw the girls. A dumb grin coming across his face as he wasn't expecting a trio of cuties to come along. "Eets Koiyahki!" Draak tried to warn them. "Geeht thee fwirst classh! Thoo esh classh mohshtah!" He held up two fingers for a count, before returning to Ixion. He'd get a number later.
Draak shot out his grapnel hook, aiming for his spear on Ixion. He was hoping to pull a binding maneuver. Using his jumpboots to propel him around the horse and use the grapnel to tie it's legs. Hopefully the wolf-man wouldn't get caught in this as well. ____________________________________________________
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 4:06 am
??????????????????
Status: BaLiT Location: ???? Spells: ???? ____________________________________________________ The blood upon the street bubbled and poured out of the path of contact with It. The Prince remained flanked with Diablos on it's right, and Cerberus on it's left, having caught sight of it's goal, it marched ahead. Here it was finally quiet, all the nearby monsters had been brutally gibbed and remained as smears across the walls and streets of the area.
"You should refund your host, Yojimbo. Your job is done, and my master will not be pleased by you taking payment for work you did not do." Diablos spoke, being as kind to the samurai as his better willed. Either way, a moment was made by The Prince to pat Cerberus on the head, before a flick of the hand gave the triple-headed dog leeway to go eat meat; which for now was the remains of some of the larger monsters.
The towering man looked down at Etamara and Mai. "A ror i dobix, ors taking vors. Ah capimao g osf od g're zonac de a balit"It began, It's voice being too loud and too powerful. "Ol'm a uls od a acroodzi. A gono ar virun a ge gono. Ah givi nalon de uls a cnila."How did it get louder?
"Gohol ol dooain."
It was here, finally, where the supplicants translated whatever the Entity was saying. In unison Cerberus and Diablos spoke. "Say my name." Those who spoke the right words would feel exultation. But what was the answer? ____________________________________________________
Chaos Isaac Captain
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Kissuuuu
Friendly Loiterer
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Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 10:13 am
Lost in skies of powdered gold xxxxxxxCaught in clouds of silver ropes xxxxxxxxxxxxShowered by the empty hopes xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAs I tumble down,falling fast to the ground
I know I'll wither, so peel away the bark xxxxxxxxx'cause nothing grows when it is dark xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxIn spite of all my fears, I can see it all so clear
xxxxN y a l exxxxL a y t o s
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬⊰ ✮ ⊱▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Ny shook her head at Rem's tearful apology, offering a gentle and reassuring smile. "Not your fault, my love. It's okay. I'm okay" She said softly, reaching out to give the girl's hand a squeeze before letting go. Her expression turned to one of concern at Rem's statements about Kalen. Ny gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed her temples. "Of course, why would he do something reasonable like go to the damn shelter? That boy!" She muttered, her tone sarcastic, masking her rapidly increasing worry for her friend.
"Beaker! Baby!" Pleased to see the friendly bird alive and well, Ny joined Rem in giving him some affectionate fuss. "Did you come to find us so we can help that fool? You are a good boy. Treats later, I promise"
She stepped back and finally nodded to Rem. "Fast enough" Ny replied, splaying out her wings. She would be slower than normal, as she was still aching all over, but she'd have to deal with it. The Haste spell Rem cast would help, for which she flashed an appreciative smile. Her GF jumped up onto her shoulder and there was a strong gust of air as she took off.
The Sorceress headed east without delay. A feeling of dismay began to dampen her spirit as she flew, seeing the state of the city, with much of it in smoking ruins below. Strangely, something else suddenly caught her attention far in the distance: a huge, mysterious figure in black, with a heavily dark aura, hovering above the city. It was both familiar...and weird. What is that?? Who is that? Ny thought, the dark magic contrasting with her own nature and making her shiver with discomfort. Nevermind for now, Kalen needs help! Came the voice of her GF.
Ny continued on, keeping an eye on the Chcocobo running below until they reached their destination. It wasn't hard to miss with Kaijuu there. Her descent was rapid and her wings folded with a snapas she landed near the action.
At Yuki's yell she followed her gaze to the sight of her oldest best friend laying critically injured on the ground, and her breath caught in her chest. Time seemed to stop.
No...!
His body looked like he had been badly burned by lightning...and was unmoving and totally lifeless.
Is he....?
She didn't want to finish that awful thought. He couldn't be dead!
Ny's face was white as a ghost, and she felt suddenly very nauseous, like she'd been pitched off the ground and thrown into a raging sea. "K-Kal..."
Next thing she knew his body was levitating, and there was a blinding light that forced her to look away, shielding her eyes with her forearm. When she looked back...a huge golden werewolf was in his place. It lunged for Ixion. Ny backed away, alarmed. "Is that...Kalen??" The girl said out loud, looking at Rem and Yuki in bafflement. He was alive? And in some kind of beast form she'd never seen before?? Never even heard him speak about? Ny was stunned, frozen in place and unsure what to do.
She turned her gaze to the other participants, trying to understand some semblance of what was going on. There was a man she'd never met before, saying something barely comprehensible. Judging by the rough state of him, he'd also been hit by lightning. "Cure" Nyale waved hand towards him. "Sir, I don't...what are you trying to say? ...Koyuki?" She replied, confused at first before understanding dawned and she looked in horror over at Kaijuu, and the thing he was holding back.
"Protera!" Instinctively she raised a hand and cast defensive spell out towards Yuki, Rem, Kalen, and the strange man. Suddenly the Hexadragon didn't seem so bad...
Let your colours bleed and blendwith mine...xxxxxxxxxx
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 4:07 pm
President Breowitz
Status: Surprised. Location: Eden Presidential Manor ____________________________________________________ "What do you mean it disappeared?" "Accordin' to reports boss, she flicked her hand and it went bye bye. Seems she can operate like the machine." The President was unhappy with this news, it changed the playing field, and the circumstances of the events playing out. Though he doubted the girl knew what she had inadvertently blundered into, he took a moment to glance over towards the Lady President. He doubted she knew, but emotional blackmail on another political party.
He brushed his hand over his mustache, taking a deep breath as he thought for a moment. In honesty it did not change things that much, but what was a controlled environment had suddenly changed, much to his chagrin. Which only got worse as he received word of entire city blocks being cleared of monsters within moments. While not necessarily a negative, it was again a surprise that caused concerns.
What was going on? "Hey, hey boss man. Xaris went off grid." "Where?" "Some building, near the uh... big black thing with the two GFs following it." "...leave her. Can you identify what that is?" "No sir, but it's giving me some off the chart readings." That was more concerning. "Send Carver to it's point of origin. Maybe he can retrieve a sample. There are too many irregularities happening, Director. Gather the data so we can fix this." _____________________________________________________
Stock: Fire (x2), Protect (x1->x0), Shell (x1->x0), Esuna (x2)
Status: Protect, Shell, Haste
Rem kept her eyes forward. She had to. If she dared look around her, she’d see even more of her ruined home. Beaker raced through the blasted remains of the East District, which had been emptied of even monsters. Everywhere, there were smoking stains of black and red. She couldn’t even tell if some of them had been monsters or people. She’d break if she stopped and faced what had happened to her home. Or to her.
Straight ahead.
Beaker carried her and Yukiko through the ruin, leaping over rubble and obstacles. On toward the towering monster- Kaijuu. Brave bird. At last, he made a soaring leap that carried them across a narrow street to the roof of a shattered building, where they drew up in front of the epicenter of it all. Kaijuu’s titanic shadow fell over the figures below. A horrendous figure in spiked black armor accompanied by a sinister steed could only be Koyuki Rieko and Ixion. But she was contending with…Kaijuu? What in the world was going on?!
All of that fled to the back of her mind when Yukiko pointed to the smoking heap lying on the ground.
No!
They couldn’t be too late! Not- Not him! Beaker squawked in distress to echo her own, and the bird leapt from the rooftop to the ground! But just as he started forward, Kalen began to shine. Beaker charged. Kalen rose. And he let loose a sound that wasn’t right. Even the loyal chocobo balked, skidding to a stop and warking in worry. Calling out to his master, perhaps- but he went unheard. Lightning lanced from the sky, forcing Rem to flinch and shy back. And in the wake of the thunder, Kalen was no more.
The thing standing in front of them wasn’t Kalen. Rem’s categorically refused! Didn’t matter that it had the same honey-blonde fur as her brother’s famous mane. Ddin’t matter that it had the furious red eyes of the Rieko family. It was enormous! A monster to rival the Hexadragon! It was not her brother!
Just like you’re not a Sorceress?
The world didn’t stop to make itself sensible to Rem. The beast charged, limned in crackling light, to battle its mother’s steed!
The rest didn’t matter.
”Limit Break,” she answered Nyale. Judging by her face, this was news to Rem as well. But she was also set with a determined stare. Nyale cast her spell, and the Princess nodded in appreciation to her.
And in the midst of it all…some guy! Rem blinked down at Draak, but his gear pointed to him being SeeD, while the rest of his attire reeked of Trabia. Had he…Had he jumped off of Kaijuu?! Was the titan on their side?
Better than being against us.
Even more confusing was his speech. Rem’s face scrunched up in confusion trying to decipher his words. Ko…yuki? Okay, got that. First…monster? S! S-class monsters! The redhead nodded down to him.
”Now, while she’s occupied!” Rem urged, with no idea how long Koyuki would be delayed. If she and Ixion joined forces, whatever slim hope the lot of them had would be snuffed out. ”Yuki, we need NullShock ASAP! Then, unload anything you can without hitting him! Water, if you’ve got it! Nyale, keep at a distance and keep Ka- Kalen-” she fumbled calling the beast her brother. ”Keep him alive. No more Hexadragon moments,” she said, her voice tinged with regret. But Nyale had forgiven her, and they had more to do.
Her gaze turned back to Draak.
”I’ll call in reinforcements. Can you hold keep Rieko off our backs?” He already looked worn-out, but there was no one else.
”And Beaker-”
”Waark?”
”Run like the wind, boy.”
”Kweh!”
Rem spurred the bird once more! At the moment, Beaker was the fastest chocobo in the world! Rem kept him parallel to the fight, circling the conflict to remain a mobile target. Rem hunched low over his neck, trusting him to find a suitable path while she raised a hand, once more drawing out swirling streamers of brilliant light to coalesce just past her fingers! She flung the spells forward in rapid succession! Straight at the wolf-beast.
Warmth encircled Kalen. Ribbons of magic swirled ‘round him, arranging into convex fields of gentle power.
”Shell.”
”Haste.”
—
Nona Nipal watched her dreams burn to the ground around her. Her home, her work, her children- all might already be lost. She did what she always did when the world tore out her heart: she told it to sit down, shut up, and got to work fixing it.
She’d been shouting orders non-stop. In the heart of admin, she was surrounded by a hundred surveillance screens. The sheer flood of information was overwhelming- to anyone but Nona Nipal. She had stood here many times before, on the podium, conducting the orchestra of Unita. She called down to a small army of logistics and administrative personnel, coordinating troop movements, evacuation paths, and requests for aid to every Garden she could reach.
Jae, Mae, and Sou-hi were accounted for, defending shelters across the city. But Kalen and Rem…
Bzzzzzz
Only a few numbers could reach her right now. She snatched the phone from the pocket inside her jacket. There, like a gift from the heavens, was one word:
Rem
”Rem!” she blurted into the phone. ”Where are you?!”
”East District, block B-4,” answered her daughter. Rem’s voice shook, but she was trying not to let it through. That’s her girl.
”B-4-?! Get the Hell out of there, now!”
”Mom! It’s Kalen!”
The rest of the call was known only to them. No one could hear it over the din of headquarters or the clash going on in the East District.
”Help is on the way, baby. I love you.”
She ended the call, turning away from her wall of screens and her army of agents. Her coat fanned behind her as she made for the stairs.
"Amsel, you're on deck," she directed her general to take her place. "Find any available First-Class SeeD and send them to B-4 East. And keep an eye on our friends."
Mai and Etamara were left completely at a loss of Raeka's power, more so Mai than Etamara, the latter of whom was feeling a shift and change in the air. Her body felt it, the rhythm of discordance. A brand new tune had been discovered, and her body felt that urge to play it. Yojimbo, for his part, having seen the entity take out all of the monsters in the relative vicinity, agreed that he could not accept payment if there was no monsters to slay. So, reaching into his sleeve, he threw the card back to Mai, who snapped out of her stupor, seeing the card drop to the ground after Yojimbo tossed it to her and disappeared. Although, Enkidu decided to remain, resting by Mai's side panting and expecting to be petted. Mai sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eye as she did so while looking at Etamara, who was being afflicted by the rhythm and music she heard.
Darkness surrounded Etamara, black tendrils wrapped around her limbs, melding into her skin like an ooze. As it took control of her arms, her eyes began to darken, blackening as she began to perform the song along with the other singing dark descendants. Mai stepped back from Etamara, able to feel dark energy surging out of her just from the aura alone. She was still feeling the positive effects from Etamara, her body feeling invigorated as usual, but now, she also saw a dark purple outline around her body, glowing. "You better be okay, Raeka." She thought quietly to herself. Her attention shifted towards the building that Raeka had burst out from, and her scans detected a living person within the structure. Assuming that to be her mother since Diablos was not with her anymore, she made her way over to her, leaping into the building window to find her unconscious on the ground. A worried look came across her face, wondering what motivated her into giving Diablos over to Raeka. What did she do to turn him into that? There was so much she had yet to figure out, and Salem had been too busy to explain anything to her yet. It was frustrating trying to figure out what was going on with Raeka, but she hoped she would get some answers after this. All she could hear was that booming voice from Raeka, and the demons, unable to understand anything they were saying, and her AI could not translate any known language from them. ==============
Yukiko was mortified to see her brother in that state, nearly springing herself off of Beaker and making her way towards him; but before she could even get remotely close to him, the lightning explosion had gone off and he had taken on a beastly transformation. Her eyes widened, caught off guard by her brother's monstrous transformation. What was worse was what Draak had said. She had been so far gone at first to hear Draak flirting with her, a bold move considering the mother who was currently present, even without her senses. Yukiko stumbled back, falling on her rear against the ground as she watched her brother fling himself at the demonic form of Ixion. It was there that she finally understood what Draak had said to her, about Koyuki and the S class monsters.
"No..."
Her eyes stared at the massive claw of Kaijuu, his arm trembling as he tried to hold back Koyuki. Despite his massive weight and force, however, the nigh godly strength of Koyuki's monstrous form was enough to shove off the massive GF's claw with a gunshot ringing out, blasting his claw off of her. Stumbling back, Kaijuu roared in pain, clutching the wrist of his hand as it felt the painful shock of Koyuki.
"No!"
She said aloud, Rem's command not even registering in her mind as her eyes looked upon the hideous form of her mother, tears welling up as her expression held nothing but despair in it. Her hands shook, panicking, her very being rocked to the core.
"Mom!"
She cried out to her, and her mother heard her, turning her head in Yukiko's direction. The monstrous Koyuki smiled at the girls who were in her line of sight now, gunblade and lance in both hands. The girls could only hear the sound of cackling, only to be struck by a sudden violent burst of Water. "WATERGA!" Shouted Kaijuu's bellowing voice. The blast knocked Koyuki back from the girls, giving them the chance to snap Yukiko out of her state of dismay and despair. She was shaking to her core, unable to find the strength to fight her mother.
But, the fight between Ixion, Kalen, and Draak waged on.
The wolf form of Kalen had managed to startle the guardian force, being assaulted left in right while Draak had managed to not only grapple his spear and swing around Ixion's legs, but he even tied the beast's ankles while it was stumbling about, trying to deal with the massive wolf man on it. The only issue was the finishing grapple. When Draak managed to wrap his grapple around the legs of Ixion and attempted to pull on it to lock the beast's legs together, he found his strength did not meet the necessary requirement, and though Kalen was stronger in his beastly form, his lightning and holy claws did nothing more than minorly scratch the guardian force, and what damage he was doing, was being healed by the guardian force who was absorbing the lightning damage, making any amount of damage being done, minimal at best. Ixion though, had enough of this. With a loud demonic neigh, Ixion smashed the side of its head against the wolf form of Kalen, the force of it was more than enough to send Kalen reeling back, skidding on his feet while Ixion leaped up into the air, intending to either drag Draak along with it, or to tear the spear in its side, off.
