Infinite Powers

[Wolfsong]

/Stephen/Ashimatya/
He studied her a long moment, thinking. Did he really want to tell her? He wanted to go after Pierce, without anyone in the way. Did he really want to tell her, and get her involved in what he was now claiming as his fight?
No. It wasn't just his fight, much as he'd like it to be. If Pierce was still after the same thing, then he didn't dare leave everyone out, or they would all pay for it. He would not make a world pay for his mistake.
"He's going under Arachni," he said, smiling faintly. "First Python, then Arachni. He's got a thing for animals, apparently." He glanced around, then said, "Well, I suppose you won't be hanging around much longer. Neither am I, since I intend to find him as well. But out of curiosity, who is your friend in the IFF? If Pierce is in there, are you absolutely sure you could trust anyone from there? Indeed, he may have tricked them, but what if...what if IFF was all his own making, when it all comes down to it?" He wondered this aloud.

[Oddood198]

Saify finished typing up her PM and sent it quickly to her friend, then closed her menus before answering. "Yes, I am sure I can trust her. I've known her a long time, and she's never been too into this whole conflict anyway. If the IFF was all his making..." She paused, thinking, then shrugged. "If he's behind it all, then he's clearly planned for this longer than I had expected, and it'll be that much harder to get to him. Doesn't change my motives for doing this, and it won't stop me."




Lydia was in the middle of climbing up a rock wall to -finally- get to the rocky lookout that Kera had found for her, whe n she got another sound indicating a new message. Of all times...! She thought, tentatively letting go and tapping the icon to open the message.

"Hey, it's me again. Sorry, but I need your help, it's important.
The person I mentioned before, the one I'm looking for, I found some information about him. I think he's a leading figure in the IFF, the name he was using is Arachni. Do you know anything about him?
Thanks, I appreciate it.

~SC"

Lydia huffed. First Saify cancelled on her, then she's asking her to investigate for her? While she's hanging off a cliff?! Fine, Saify said it was important, so it must be important.
But... Arachni... I don't remember that name. She thought. After a second, on a sudden thought, she opened her PM box and pulled up the one from earlier, that announced they were joining the war. She skimmed it until she found what she was looking for, Arachni's name. Well, there he is.

[Wolfsong]

/Stephen/Ashimatya/
"Really? And what are your motives, that they would push you to hunt him for four years after the Cataclyst, after you already killed him once?" Ash asked, a slightly mocking undertone in his voice.

[Oddood198]

The tall player's mocking tone did not go unnoticed by Saify, and she simply smirked in response to it. "Well, I've still got some unfinished business with him. Something I didn't have the chance to do last time I saw him. Now that an oppertunity has come up, I want to try and take care of it now." She said. "But, you said you're looking for him, too? Surely you also have some motivation for wanting to find him, care to enlighten me?"

[Wolfsong]

/Stephen/Ashimatya/
"Unfinished business? Would you care to enlighten me?" he smiled slightly. "My business with him is my own. I have no reason to share it with you." He blinked, then cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me," he said, sounding as contrite as he could. "My reasons for hunting him I would prefer to keep to myself for now. May I ask what your business is, or should I not ask?"

[Oddood198]

Saify looked at the tall player, slightly amused by his apology. "Hmm, well, since you're not telling me your motives, I think I'll keep mine to myself, as well. It's only fair, yes?" She said, "Although, it still seems I'm at a disadvantage; I've already told you my name, but you two have yet to introduce yourselves. Surely, you can at least tell me that much?"
She heard a ping and noticed the icon for a new PM, but it would be rude to check it now, so she held herself back for the moment.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- Odd, BL says she may not be on for a bit. I'm coming up with something to do with Valerian and the others in the group, but...I don't know. It seems you have other plans for Lydia now?

/Stephen/Ashimatya/
he nodded, grinning back. "Only fair," he agreed. When she asked for his name, he mentally cringed. While not many knew him by his actual name, there were enough who knew Ashimatya was the Dark Angel, the betrayer. He wondered if it was truly a good idea.
He glanced at Zare, who seemed intent on remaining silent. However, their eyes met, and he could have sworn there was a touch of worry there. After a moment, he nodded slightly, almost unnoticably, and turned back to Saify.
"I suppose we can," he said, emotionless. "This is Zare, a friend of mine. I am Ashimatya." he bowed slightly, an ironic smile on his face.

[FreddyCast]

Saint Reave and Sage Blaze and Priestess Elian

(As Hawke appeared and gave thanks to the trio for saving Kiari’s life, Sage looked dumbfounded that another IFF member appeared.)
Sage whispers to Saint: Just who the heck is this bird-brain.
Saint whispers back: That’s Hawke, Kiari’s friend.
Sage: You mean the one you shot down with that lightning attack.
Saint: Yes brother, that’s him. She must have called for him when she was still trapped back in that monster infested place.
Sage: Hawke, i‘ll take you up on that offer. I’d like to....(He’s interrupted by some news that Kiari receives) Great they’re ignoring us again. (The trio overhear the news about Maximius and the IFF)
Saint: Brother it’s our uncle.
Sage: I know, he’s finally made his move.
Saint: Should we help them.
Sage: They’re IFF. We can’t help those already under his banner. Whether they like it or not, they’re all Maximius’s pawns. You know this, Reave. We can’t trust them, even if they’re our friends.
Saint: Wait, you count Elian and Kiari as friends?
Sage: Of course not, they’re acquaintances, nothing more.
Saint: One of these days, you’ve got to be honest with yourself, brother.
Sage: And one of these days you’ve got to stop being so trusting. It’ll get you killed.
Saint: So then what do we do?
Sage: Have you forgotten, we need to find that “thing” I was originally looking for since we started this ridiculous adventure.
Saint: But we have no leads.
Sage: Without that “thing”, we can’t bring false gods to their knees.
(Elian overhears Sage and Saint’s conversation. “An item that can defeat gods? Should I help them? No, there’s nothing for me here anymore. I should just leave.”, Elian ponders as she turns to leave the brothers without being noticed, but before she could Sage calls on her name)
Sage: Elian! (She gets startled by Sage’s voice)
Elian: Yes, Sage.
Sage: I need your help.
Saint: Wait a minute, you said we can’t trust the IFF. So then why are you asking for her help?
Sage: She might be a pawn, but she’s useful to us.
Saint: That’s a lame excuse. Then why not ask for Kiari’s help?
Sage: No! She’s too close to Maximius. Elian is a treasurehunter, one who works outside of IFF territories. (he turns to address Elian) So will you help us?
Elian: Why me? I don’t know what it is you’re looking for.
Sage: You know your ways outside of the known faction territories and you’re good at finding rare items.
Saint: How do you know that?
Sage: It’s her job to be, otherwise they wouldn’t entrust her to find the dragon gems.
Saint: You assume too much. And I bet that’s not the only reason you have for wanting her help. (Saint’s gaze is drilling into Sage’s eyes, to which Sage turns his face away from him)
Sage: It’s your imagination, Reave. I have no other reason.
(Elian can’t think straight and blurst out the first thing out of her mouth)
Elian: I...I ‘ll help. (Saint’ eyes widen as he hears her nervous words.)
Saint: You will!
Elian: Of course!
Sage: Excellent! (Suddenly, Hawke comes over and gives Elian a teleportation item)
Hawke: Just in case!
Kiari: Hawke, let’s go! (Kiari and Hawke leave using a teleportation item)
Saint: Kiari, WAIT!
Sage: Reave, forget her. We got our own mission to accomplish if we want to take down Maximius.
Saint: But...
Sage: Jeez! Fine go after her. Elian and I will....
Saint: NO....I’m coming with you.
Sage: Then stop pouting and let’s go.

Maximius

(A cloaked elf spy appears before Maximius and kneels down in front of him)
Maximius: How’s my distraction doing? (The elf spy stands up and speaks)
Spy: He’s burying the dead in the Megiddus Valley. And another familiar figure is there.
Maximius: Saify! I’m not surprised. She’s been after him for quite a while now.
Spy: What should we do with your apprentice?
Maximius: Leave him be! I bet he’s sulking over what happened between him and Valdus. (“Probably trying to find a new purpose in life, the fool.” Maximius ponders) Go now and keep an eye on the “heroes” of the Catalyst.
(The spy leaves stealthily and Maximius walks over to his vampire Colonel.)
Maximius: Ganthron, set free the IFF Council. I want them to see the fruits of their labor. It’s time to move in on the capitol of Tiera. Call in my armies. We march at dawn.

[Oddood198]

OOC: Uh, not really. The only plans for her immediate future are to finish climbing this thing and do a victory dance upon arrival. After that, I got nothing.


Saify smiled, "Ashimatya and Zare, A and Z. Good names." She said, Though, I swear I've heard of Ashimataya before... Oh well, not important right now. "Now, please excuse me for a second, I have to take this." She said, tapping the icon to open her new message.

"Hey, that guy you wanted, Arachni, turns out, he's knew to the IFF. I'd never heard of him before today. He apparently just rose to power despite being completely new. Lots of politics or something, I guess. Anyway, he's part -a good part- of the reason that the IFF decided to join the war, from the sounds of things. I don't know much myself, just something from a mass message to all members, hope it's helpful.

Oh, and by the way, I quit the IFF an hour ago."

That last sentence took Saify slightly by surprise, but she got over it almost instantaneously. Well, Lydia was never really that invested in the guild to start with. And she did always say she'd quit as soon as they got involved in the war, so I guess it's only natural. She thought.
Turning her attention back to Ashimatiya and Zare, she placed her hands back on her hips again. "Well, it was nice meeting the two of you, but I'd better run. Crazed hacker with a god-complex to stop, and all that." She said, turning to leave, when a thought hit her, "Or, since we both seem to be hunting the same prey, we could team up and look for him together. Just an idea." She added.

[Wolfsong]

OOC- lol Odd. Okay then, I'll post for them soon. Just give me a bit. I had a long night trying to plan out Kiari. and here we go....

/Stephen/Ashimatya/
He was startled when she suggested that. But then, considering she hadn't seemed horrified when she learned his name, she must not know. He took comfort in that. "One moment," he said, turning to Zare. "What do you think? We might do better with someone helping us..." He blinked again, then literally slapped his forehead. "I'm sorry. What do you want to do> Its not exactly a good friendship if I'm acting like god of the world." He paused, suddenly thinking about his choice of words there. He grimaced. Crud. He was gonna see Pierce everywhere until this was finally settled. "So what do you want to do?"

/Zara/Kiari/
At the last second, she heard Saint calling out to her. She glanced back just in time to see his face before it all faded away. "Saint," she thought, feeling a twinge of regret.
"Kiari? You okay?"
She turned to see Hawke watching her, looking worried. She smiled. "I'm okay. Just wondering if Mithos is still on my trail."
Hawke snorted. "If he's working with the Thieves' Guild, then I'll bet yes. me, I'm just worried about what will happen to you if they catch up with you in reality. Those guys are unforgiving."
Kiari sighed. "Yeah, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Where are we?"
"Outside of Aumavete. You know, the mountain in the north continent? I figured if we were hunting for the mods we should try someplace out of the way. And almost no one's here, so..."
Kiari looked around, amazed the life around her. "Its so...alive," she breathed. And indeed it was. The grass was as green as it got, stirring gently in the breeze. Strong oaks, towering pines, and slender willows stood tall and proud. Various creatures, monsters or otherwise, could be seen wandering around. "I wish..." She blinked, then bit her tongue. "When was this added to the teleportation?"
"Just this morning, along with a bunch of quests for the area. Seems to me we beat the crowds here."
She nodded. "Right." She began walking forward, looking around. "So where do we-AH!" She screamed as the ground beneath her suddenly disappeared and she fell into gaping darkness.
"Kiari!" Hawke ran over, just as the ground closed up again. He pounded on it, shouting, "KIARI! Darn it, why does this always happen?"
- - - - - - -
"Why does this always happen?" Kiari protested. She lay flat on her back in some dark cave. Whatever it was she lay on, it was rather slimy. Painfully she pulled a healing drought from her bag and drank the whole thing.
She sat up, looking around curiously. There was nothing really to see, only the rock formations made visible by the luminous light of the glowstone. She sighed, shaking her head.
"And about this time Sage would have made a nasty comment about how stupid and clumsy I am," she said with a small smile. "Elian would be calmly accessing the situation and Saint....would be his stupidly caring self." She smiled softly, face gentle.
Suddenly, the chamber echoed with a deep, raspy hissing. She stiffened as something in the shadows moved. She shifted into a crouch, tense, waiting. Something shot out of the darkness toward her. She leapt up, shouting. "Child of Sylph, led wings to my feet! Ferrice, arise!"
As her feet touched the ground, she rushed forward with an inhuman burst of speed. Ferrice hovered in the air beside her, flying with her. Glancing back, kiari could see a vast dark shape following her with equal speed, venom green, mantis like, glowing eyes filled with an ancient hunger. "Light have mercy," she breathed. She quickly equipped her flying chakram and kept running. "I need a better position," she murmured. "Spirit of blood and tears, harbinger of sorrow, come to me! Michaelis!"
He manifested beside her, though he was soon behind her. She smiled to herself when she heard his startled help and instructed Ferrice to help him. Seconds later, he was running up alongside her, glaring at her. "So your explanation for that is?" he inquired.
She grinned apologetically. "Fell into a hole and am being chased by a monstrous something. Any ideas?"
He rolled his eyes. "I dunno. Maybe stop running deeper into the dark and fight it?"
"Oh you are so helpful. Fine, smartalec, I'll talk to someone else." She raised her hand, shouting. "Spirit of Death, son of Apollyan and herald of pure darkness. Rival, rise!"
"You've used up your allotted summoning for this week," the figure said in a low, sibilant hiss as he appeared flying above them. "Why do you persist in having me do your dirty work all of a sudden. And by the way, next time you wanna save your bloody boyfriend, you're on your own."
Kiari flushed. Michaelis stared at Rival with something akin to awe. "You subjected the Spirit of Death?" He said. "Maybe there's more to you than I thought."
"Correction, son of sorrow, she cheated."
"Hey!"
"That makes more sense," Michaelis agreed. "In my position, I'd just gotten thumped by a madman, and it was the only way to get some immediate first-aid without dying. Annoying, but hey, its the best way until the chaos is over."
"And I assumed you had brains. Couldn't you have just killed a couple more trees or something? Brain-dead."
"Now look here!"
"If you boys are quite finished," Kiari snapped. "We have a situation."
Just then, she felt a great energy burst, and the ground beneath them vanished again. Michaelis reached out and grabbed her shoulder and Rival's scarf, yanking him down after them. "Its getting darker," he said. "We'd do better to hang together."
Kiari looked up to see the monster enter the hole, her eyes widening as she watched the absurd length of the snake-like body slide in after them. "That's...just not right."
Rival, somewhere above them, was cursing violently at Michaelis, the monster, and the cave in general. Kiari shook her head, thinking about how much she hated it when he was in a talking mood. Rival eventually stopped, asking, "Alright, I know I"m comfortable in the shadow, but I know you're not. Don't you have a light spirit or spell or something?"
Kiari did a mental facepalm. "Right, right. I just didn't want to summon her unless necessary."
"So you had me jerked out of my comfort zone? Thanks."
She sighed, trying to see which hand had the ring. She eventually lifted them both. "Daughter of Sol, come clear my path with your abundant light. Astral!"
The gaping hole was suddenly ablaze with light as a woman clothed in red and gold and crowned with fire appeared with them. Kiari looked back and finally saw the monster chasing them. Indeed, it had the long, scaly body of a serpent, but its head was the shape of a human skull with those inhuman eyes, sporting two horns like a deer. A little further up its body were a pair of arms with claws the size of a child. The tip of the tail was a sort of scorpion stinger.
"Funny, that makes me think of the Greek myths," she remarked.
Michaelis glanced back and nodded. "Yeah, that does look like one of the creatures they dreamed up. So what's the plan, summoner?"
"My guess is that this thing made those holes," Kiari murmured. "An interesting attribute. I wonder if..."
"Kiari, really."
"Sorry. Astral, focus the full glare of your light in its eyes. I want it blinded if possible. Rival, bring me down safely. Ferrice, you carry Michaelis. Evade that thing!"
Astral put her palms together, then thrusted her arms toward the creature, opening them. A beam of light shot from them into the creature's eyes. It roared in anger and rage, thrashing its body about wildly. Rival grabbed Kiari and, as the pit began to widen out into a room, carried her out of the path of the serpent. The creature landed hard, sending up large clouds of dust, dirt and rock. Its head suddenly rose up from the piled coils of its body. Its horrific eyes began to glow with the gleam of intelligence.
"Welcome to my housssssssss," it hissed. "Welcome to the home of Ssslarissssss."
"Its an intelligent lifeform?" Kiari gasped. "But I thought..."
"Don't you know anything?" Michaelis scoffed. "Slaris. Spirit of Sickness and Possession. She must have been in this room and possessed the body of the monster when it came in here."
"Have patience, Spirit of Blood," Astral chided gently, her hands resting on Kiari's shoulders. "After all, we are not exactly perfect ourselves."
"We lost to the kid, after all," Rival said with a smirk. "Though at least some of us fought."
"Whose side are you on?" Michaelis demanded.
"Mine of course. Who else?"'
"I will not be ignored!" Slaris howled, the body of the snake writing. Its tail flicked toward Kiari, who dove aside to avoid it.
"Cut it out boys!" Kiari said, scrambling to her feet. "She's a spirit, that's all I need to know. Slaris!" she faced the massive serpent, fists clenched. "Spirit of Sickness and Possession, I desire a pact between us!"
Those eyes from a nightmare sparkled maliciously. "I have not been chained into submission for years, child. None may master me again."
"Then I demand a duel to be had! I shall fight thee and force thee to submit!"
Slaris reared back, eyes flashing. "Very well, daughter of Eve. Prepare to die!" and she shot forward, mouth agape in a mindnumbing scream.
"Rival!" Kiari leapt away. Rival shot down, blade in hand. He cut through the body, but only succeeded in slowing its rush. Still, it was all Kiari needed to escape. She whirled around, holding up her chakram. "Whirlwind Rush!" she shouted, throwing them. They split into multiple rings, swirling around Slaris' head and biting like mad hornets. Slaris suddenly swung up an arm, knocking them out of the sky. The chakram fell in a broken pile at Kiari's feet. Before she could react, Slaris swing around again and slapped Kiari full-on. The girl flew across the room, hitting the wall. She shook her head, shaking off the haze, and stood again. She was about to summon another spirit when a message popped up, telling her she'd summoned the maximum number of spirits. Sighing, she rushed from the corner as Slaris struck again, crashing headfirst into the rocks. Kiari watched as she recoiled, hardly fazed.
"This is nuts," she exclaimed as she ran.
"Kiari!' Michaelis dropped down beside her. "Use your head! She's only as strong as the body she possesses. That means she also has its weakness. You have to-" Whatever he was about to say was choked off as he coughed up blood. Kiari stared in horror at the point of the stinger that protruded from his stomach. It slowly withdrew, and he fell to the ground, eyes wide in lifeless horror.
"Michaelis!" she shouted. The tail whipped around again, and she attempted to dodge it. She avoided the stinger, but the scaly tail caught her, whipping her and sending her flying again. She rolled for several feet, then lay still, her head spinning painfully. She slowly raised her head to see Slaris overhead, hissing in pleasure. Quickly, she dove into her equipment, grabbing the first thing that came to her hand.
"Oh crud," she said as she foudn she held the sword Mani Katti in her hands. She was miserable with swords. However, as Slaris came shrieking down, Kiari rolled onto her side, slashing upwards with the blade. Much to her surprise, it released a beam of light which shot straight into Slaris' eyes. She recoiled, howling. Kiari watched as a glowing being like an angel formed beside her. "Who are you?" she gasped.
"I am Mana, spirit of the Mani Katti," he replied, his voice deep and musical. "The weapon that constructs according to the wielder's destiny. I will strengthen your power, and help you on your way."
Kiari nodded. "Right, but...I can't weild a sword."
"You don't have to. Force your will upon it, and craft it into the weapon of your desire."
Kiari nodded and focused her will on the weapon. It soon became a pair of chakram like the pair she'd lost, only matching the coloration and style of the sword. She raised her head, eyes widening as she watched Slaris recover. "Wait, I get it now! Ferrice, return to the spirit realm! Daughter born of the eternal spring, attend me! Imila!"
Imila appeared beside her, eyes lowered and hands folded demurely. "Tend to Michaelis," Kiari commanded. "Rival, rise and make your stand! Astral, fires of eternal fury!"
Rival attacked Slaris with alarming ferocity. Astral emitted flames from her body, consuming Slaris' borrowed form. Kiari raised Mani Katti. "Mana, strengthen my blow and give me power! Spirit Wake!"
Shining like a thousand suns, Kiari flung her chakram forward, severing the monster's neck and body. it collapsed in its dying agony, and a dark substance emitted from its body, pooling in the air above it. Kiari shouted for Astral to surround Slaris with a binding light. She now held the mistress of illness in her power.
"I have brought you low. I have won, Spirit of Possession," Kiari said.
"Very well," Slaris hissed in her insubstantial form. "I submit to the summoner. Thou may claim my Jade."
Kiari cheered as the ring formed on her finger. "I got her! I got her!"
"Congratulations."
She turned, then grinned. "Michaelis? You made it!"
"Barely." The Spirit of the Bloodstone was being supported by Imila, but he had managed a smile. "But I request to be returned to the spirit realm. I need to recover."
Kiari nodded. "Michaelis, Imila, you've done well. Return to the spirit realm."
As they disappeared, a violet light began to spread over the chamber. Kiari turned to spot the source, and saw one of the rocks opening up. Within it rested a big amethyst. Kiari gasped.
"It can't be..the Dragon Amethyst?!" Laughing eagerly, she snatched up the gem, clutching it to her chest as she danced around. "I've got three of the Dragon Gems! Three of them!"
"Great, kid," Rival said in a bored tone. "So can we get outta here now?"

/Pierce/Arachni/
"I wonder just how closely connected Valdus and Maximius are," Arachni said, obviously thinking aloud. Nebris shrugged.
"Who knows? I thought we were here for your new horse, sir."
Arachni have his companion a dark look which the Cherb returned with a smile. "So what did you get?" he finally asked.
"Well, we considered a lot of things, but couldn't find anything that really stood out, if you know what I mean. It finally ended up with Issa creating something."
"Issa made my mount?" Arachni asked. He smiled. "So we added something else to the game? The mods, or whoever's left, are going to be hopping mad again."
"Well, unless she mates, which I doubt, we shouldn't be in too much trouble."
"She?"
Nebris grinned. He put his hands against the face of the rock and pushed. It suddenly split open, revealing a portal of whirling violet, black and white. Arachni smiled and stepped into it. Moments later, they stood in an area completely different from the snow-covered country of Siccillian. To most, it would appear a dead world, wrapped in eternal night. However, as owner of this realm, Arachni knew the life hiding within. "it seems Serrisol still stands," he said.
"Yep. Mods never found it. Come meet your faithful mount." Nebris walked further in, then whistled. Minutes later, Arachni heard a resonating howl answer it, and a creature came into view. Its body was lean and lithe, like a mountain ion. It had the head of a wolf, with a similar sort of tail. It had wings, beautifully made sporting a raven's dark plumage. The creature was a dark brown, with a small white mark on its head and silver streaks in its fur.
"So what is it?" Arachni asked.
Nebris studied the empty face, trying to see if he was pleased or not. "Issa calls it an Andrake, but he wants you to officially name her."
The andrake walked directly before Arachni and sat, watching him through her dark eyes. He studied her, then suddenly smiled. "I will name her Luna. The mark on her head looks like a full moon, and see her coloring..."
Nebris smiled condescendingly. "Right. Issa's last instructions are that you need to ride her to bond with her. Once you've ridden her, she will serve you and only you for the rest of her life."
Arachni nodded, climbing onto the place between head and shoulders. "Nebris, while I'm bonding with Luna, I want you to contact Maximius in my name. Ask him if he's still interested in working with me or if he's tossed me aside like a pair of old socks."
"Interesting comparison," Nebris said, pulling up his menues. "How's this sound: 'Greetings new god of Infinite. My curiousity has finally overwhelmed my manners, and I must ask you if you still intend to work with me, or if we are at odds. As that is not my wish, I sincerely hope you will answer as the former.' How's that?"
"Don't let your sense of humor run away with you," Arachni warned, grinning. "Be good, Nebris." and the andrake suddenly took off. He bent his head down, resting his forehead on the back of her head. "Now let us bond," he said quietly. "I'm going to need a faithful friend in the days to come."

OOC- by the way, if anyone wants to know what a Cherb is, read The Ring of Five.

[FreddyCast]

Maximius

(Maximius and his armies march toward, Phosphoron, the capitol city of Tiera, using the main road of Hikari. Maximius rides on a golden-armored horse. One of the former IFF council members approaches him riding a white-armored horse.)
Maximius: So you decided to join me. I must admit, out of all the IFF councilors, you would be the one most against me. And yet....(He turns to look at the former councilor)....here you are riding along side me.
Nathanial: I take no joy in following you. But...it seems to me that you are trying to bring order to Infinite. Though your methods are appalling, I know you seek to bring an end to all of this.
Maximius: Do you really know what I seek?
Nathanial: Don’t toy with me Maximius, else you’ll be constantly looking behind your back. (Maximius smiles slightly at Nathanial’s threat)
Maximius: I suggest you find a good stabbing knife, else it’ll bend back at you.
Nathanial: Even in this situation, you still treat everything as trivial. Even though you strive to reach you goal at all costs. Tell me, Maximius, what is it that you plan to accomplish at the City of Light? Your armies march in the wide open. The Tierans already know you are coming. Their armies are probably already prepared to confront us. Most likely coming to meet us before we even get near the City of Light.
(Maximius looks up at the sky, gazing far into the horizon)
Maximus:Before I answer your question, I wonder, now that this farce of a war has been exposed, how is every person in Infiinite coping with this?
Nathanial: Is this a question to me or are you musing?
Maximius: ....I suppose everyone is coping with this differently. Where once people were rivals, friendships are now being forged. Old loyalties have been broken and new ones have been made. Some are seeking more than ever to escape the coming conflict, while others have found new purpose in fighting in this coming conflict. Deep hatreds have been forgiven and bonds are being restored. New heroes are rising and old heroes are coming out of their slumber. New armors are being worn, new weapons are being equipped, new spells and potions are being prepared, new mounts are being ridden, And yet, among all this change, everything has stayed the same. Hatred remains, and it has only changed hands. Nothing has changed, and yet people think that now that they know the truth that their paths are clear now. But do they know the truth? And is their new path the correct one? Or have they unintentionally chosen a new lie to replace the old lie. (Nathanial looks at Maximius in a confused manner)
Nathanial: What are you saying Maximius? (Maximius turns to face Nathanial)
Maximius: I’m saying, you are counted among those people. I’m saying all of infinite has not learned a thing and is still caught in an illusion. And the only one that sees through all that illusion is me.
Nathanial: Your ego is beyond compare. It sickens me.
Maximus: I tell you the truth, Nathanial. I may be egotistical, but I’m not lying to you.
Nathanial: Your truthfulness didn’t help Pierce, did it?
Maximius:....Pierce may believe whatever he thinks of me. But I never lied to him either. What has happened has happened because I commanded it to happen. As for your query earlier, we will find no resistance in Phosphoron and we are going to meet the President of Tiera, we are going to meet me.
Nathanial: What? We’re going to meet you? There can’t be two of you.
Maximus: I assure you, he is everything that I am.
Nathanial: just what are you planning?
Maximus: Like I said before, a civil war. (Maximius receives a pm coming from Pierce)
(Greetings new god of Infinite. My curiousity has finally overwhelmed my manners, and I must ask you if you still intend to work with me, or if we are at odds. As that is not my wish, I sincerely hope you will answer as the former.)
Nathanial: Who is it?
Maximius: An ant who thought himself to by my equal. (Maximus pm’s back saying “I never worked with you. You worked for me. And I am not “new”, I have always been the god of Infinite, since its very conception. As you can tell, we are at odds, for I do not share my glory with any other. Do as you please, but if we meet again, I can’t promise you a pleasant reunion.”)
(Maximius sends the pm and then ponders to himself, “You are more than just a pawn Pierce. I will make you see that no man can be a god, not even me. Learn by my example as you witness a so-called god fall gloriously”)
Colonel Ganthron: General Maximius, we are nearing the City of Light.
Maximius: Magnificent, isn’t it Nathanial.
Nathanial: Phosphoron! (He stares in amazement at the glowing city.)

[ClaecElric4God]

/Karissa/Kenji/
Kenji smirked, shrugging off the pain in his...well, everywhere. He listened to Noriko and Regal's exchange.
"Sounds like a worthy challenge for our joint powers, don't you say? They won't know what hit them."
Kenji was back and forth over whether to stick with daggers, but he was in the mood for some practice, so he equipped his katana. He didn't bother to unsheathe it, but kept a firm grip on the hilt.

/Eric/Zare/
Zare rolled his eyes at Ash good-naturedly.
"Wow, you aren't used to this friendship thing, are you? It's not acting like a god if you make a judgment call."
Then as an after thought, he added, "But thanks for asking for my input. I agree, it probably wouldn't hurt to strengthen our force..."
Then Zare turned to Saify, the happy light in his eyes dulling to a cautious, though not unkind look. "...As long as we have a common goal, and no hidden agendas," Zare finished, subtly directing the last part toward Saify rather than Ash.
As much as Zare wanted to accept her, he knew nothing about her, she'd appeared out of nowhere, with a weapon in hand, asking a lot of strange questions as if she was somehow a part of this; and he wasn't about to blindly leave himself exposed to a potential enemy. He wanted to get his point across in a nuetral manner, but he also wanted to make sure Saify understood that he wasn't about to do her any favors; and that he was ready for any treachery on her part.
Despite his caution, however, his mindset was one of "An enemy of Pierce's is a friend of mine".

[Wolfsong]

/Stephen/Ashmatya/
"You think so? It sounded selfish to me." Ash smiled softly, lowering his head. "I spent four years using or avoiding people...you rather forget things...I have a lot to get used to again."
He looked off into the distance, staring at the stars that filled the night sky, a vast expense looming over them. Was it malignent or friendly? He closed his eyes, filled with a strange sense of peace. His could feel the erratic hatred of the Dark Angel within, but found he could ignore it right now. Zare, his friend. His first friend in four years. "How's Cyrano doing?" he asked suddenly. "Do you know?"

/Zara/Kiari/
"So that's the Dragon Amethyst?"
"Yep!" Kiari smiled, staring at the dragon within, the one preparing to fight. "Only three to go," she said. "Slipping it into her inventory, she said, "Sow here do you want to look for the mods?"
"Someone some underground creature isn't making holes to catch its dinner," he replied.
Kiari laughed. "You worry too much. besides...the sun has fallen."
Hawke was quiet, then he said, "My parents are out for the night. I could stay on..."
Kiari shook her head, staring at the dark sky. "I dunno that I can. Hawke, have you ever had someone you loved and trusted suddenly turn away from you? With all their promises a lie?"
"No...Kiari, is everything okay?"
She shook her head. "No. Everything's not okay." Her control broke, and it suddenly poured out. "My family's in shambles and my head's so mesed up that I'm actually finding that I'm missing Sage, Saint and Elian, but Saint especially for some blinking reason! I'm such a mess anymore, and I just...I just..." Crying openly now, she suddenly flung herself into Hawke's arms, burying her face in his shoulder and wailing. "I hate this! But my dad won;t come back and I left Saint heaven-knows-where and I'm never going to see him again!"
Hawke had a face like a man hearing his own death sentence. Slowly, he put his arms around her, holding her gently as she finally released all the pent-up emotion she'd been holding in. "Its okay," he whispered, hating her dad, Sage, and especially Saint. He'd never seen Kiari so low before. "I swear it'll be alright. Your dad will come back, I'm sure of it. As for Saint...well, I'm sure it'll work out somehow. I'm certain Kiari."
"I'm sorry," Kiari said. "I...wow. Really lost it there, didn't I?" She pulled back quickly, wiping all traces of tears away. Hawke slowly lowered his arms, watching her with an expressionless face.
"Its no bother. What are friends for? Having a shoulder to offer is part of the job." He grinned ruefully at the wet stains on his tunic. She giggled.
"Thanks Hawke. I'm glad you're my friend. Come on, lets see what we can do before either of us has to log out."

/Carter/Valerian/
"Is that her?" Valerian asked, pointing to the girl climbing the cliff. Shade nodded. "okay then, She's almost to the top, so I'd rather not startle her...anyone want an easy ride up?" He flexed his wings, feeling a surge of adrenaline.

/Pierce/Arachni/
Arachni had a huge smile on his face as, with one hand on Luna's shoulder, he walked toward Issa. Issa was adjusting the cloth covering his head while he watched Arachni come to him. "Satisfactory?"
"Like a dream," Arachni replied. "I believe she will serve better than Fafnir."
Issa smiled at him, reaching to LUna and stroking the mark on her head. "So where are you going from here?"
"Not sure yet," he replied. "Depends on so much. Though maybe I'll turn phase five into two. At least we know Saify's still around. Which reminds me, how are you doing with the mapping?"
"We've located Cyrano on the outskirts of Nescala. Believe it or not, there's been a major slavers' camp hiding in Wispy Hollows. He's about to toal it. Silk is with him. Nancy is somewhere in denail." At Pierce's odd look, he clarified. "She's been extemely anti-faction to the point she's assisting a guild that was made specifically to try and bring the factions down. She hasn't joined, persay, but she helps out a lot."
Arachni rolled his eyes. "That's Nancy for you. I guess then by your answer you haven't located her yet?"
"Why else would I have given such a bad joke?"
Arachni leaned forward, placing his hand on Issa's forhead, and pushed. Issa stumbled and fell. "I would suggest you improve your delivery, Mr. Comedian," Arachni replied.
Issa rubbed his thigh, grinning slightly. "My brother used to do that," he reflected. "He was a great guy...until he tried to take an axe to me anyway. I wasn't even aware we had that old thing in the garage..." He chuckled, but it sounded sad.
Arachni bent down, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," he said quietly. "You will see your family again, if I have to make it happen."
"Jeez. That's nice, Arachni, but its not that important."
"Don't lie to me. I have a brother too. Heck, I had a whole family until the house burned down. I heard there were no survivers, so all that's left is my brother...and I know I'm dying to see him again. I know you miss yours, because I feel exactly the same. We're each other's makeshift family for now, but I promise we will return to our own someday. I'm certain of it."
Issa smiled softly. "Thanks Pierce." He took the hand Arachni offered and stod, brushing his robe off. "So backt o topic, where are you going from here?"
"I need to contact some old friends," Arachni said with a grim smile. "While I'm sure at least one is aware of the mess, I feel its time I filled him in on some of the finer details."
"Right. I suppose I should find the broker then?"
"Not just any broker. Find Ingo. We've worked with him before, and he's always the first to have any news. Find him, he should know you. Find out what we need, then make sure he won't talk."
Issa nodded. "Force or bribery?"
"Both tend to work. Go get what we need while I await the reply of the bloody egotistical maniac."
Issa laughed. "I don't envy you. Be careful Pierce." and he teleported.
Arachni sighed, then opened his menu and began constructing a message. He had almost completed it when he found he'd just recieved one. He finished his, sent it, then opened the one sent by Maximius.
“I never worked with you. You worked for me. And I am not “new”, I have always been the god of Infinite, since its very conception. As you can tell, we are at odds, for I do not share my glory with any other. Do as you please, but if we meet again, I can’t promise you a pleasant reunion.”
Arachni was quiet, studying the pm and thinking before replying. "Then the game begins in earnest, I see. Enjoy then the glory of a god, for I am "retiring" until further notice. Be forewarned by one wiser: gods made by man will eventually fall. So answer me this question: what does it mean to be a god?"
"And now I can set to work with a clear conscience," he said with a bitter smile. "Alone, as always. But such is the path of the betrayer. Such is the road of the forsaken."
"Now that's just stupid Pierce."
"But its the truth." he turned, facing the grim avatar of Cherry, a gothic angel. "Tell me, you know I've led you through the attacks of Infinite's craziest, but what does it mean, truly? You all are of use to me. Could I have just been protecting you for my own interests?"
"You're a mess," she replied matter-of-fact. She walked over to him, black boots leaving deep impressions in the ground where she trod. "You;ve let the events of the years and the past few hours affect your thinking, and you're crumbling under it. That's not you, Arachni."
"I did betray Cyrano and Ashimatya, and I was forsaken by most everybody. Ke'tala, what does it mean to be a god?"
She looked at him oddly. "To be all-powerful, I suppose," she replied.
"No. That's not the answer. I was poweful in the Cataclyst, but I still lost. No, there's more to being a god than power." He shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "By the seven circles of Hades...I'm so tired..."
"So that's what's bothering you?" she asked, brushing a strand of her black hair from her face. "Self-reflection, that's good. The child is becoming a man."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded suspiciously.
"Children don't need to consider what they are, what they'll be. Their world is already laid out for them, black and white. The teen years are when we begin to think of what we could be, no matter how stupid it is. A man can determine the dream from reality, the truth from the lie. What's sad is so many teenagers never grow up, mentally speaking. The wish of your teen years was to be all powerful, to have control over life and the world around you, so you chose to be a god. Now you begin to wonder what it is that makes a god a god. You're beginning to understand yourself as you seek your answers."
Arachni shook his head, smiling ruefully. "Yes Sensei." Then the smile gentled as he continued, "I believe I understand what you're saying, but I can't help but feel it doesn't answer the problem. Besides, even if I give up the god-bit forever, what's to keep everyone from believing that I'm still what I was? No one looks beneath the skin. To them the outside matches the inside. Are they right, I wonder?"
Ke'tala stared at him a while, then commanded, "Sir down." as she reached into her pack. He did so, watching her curiously. She kent down, pulling out a long slender brush and a tiny jar of ink. "Hold out your hands," she said.
"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" he asked suspiciously.
She snorted and grabbed his left hand, forcefully pulling it to her. She took the brush, dipped it gently in the ink, then began drawing on his hand. "Here are the titles of your first fruits," she said, making a careful stroke. "Here are what people see." A spider was now on his left hand. She took his right while he stared at the drawing. "Sure this is what people see when they see you because its what you originally made. Its what they expect to see." A python was on his right. She took both hands and held them up so he could see them plainly. "But watch when you go beneath the skin." She pulled a small canteen out of her pack and poured the water over the marks, washing them away.
"Clean hands?" he gave her a small smirk.
"They're still your hands. This," she tapped the right hand. "I recall is the hand that took the bullet that would have killed Nathanial otherwise. And this," she tapped the left. "Pulled Cherry out of the path of the guy trying to run her over. And this," she tapped him on the forehead. "Is the mind that decided it would save General Kent and his company, even though they were "useless" to you."
"Okay, I get it," Arachni said, smiling at her. "Thanks Ke'tala." he stood, brushing the dirt off his robe. Ke'tala stood quickly, grabbing his shoulder.
"Pierce, also, since you're finally becoming a man, I have something to show you." Before he could react, she rose up on tiptoe and quickly pecked his cheek. Then she was gone, either by flying, running, or logging out. Arachni had no clue. He just stood there with a face like a poleaxed cow, one hand touching his face where she kissed him. He jumped when someone behind him whistled.
"Even with all our years together, I never forsaw that," Nebris said, stepping out from the ground. Literally out of the ground. "Pierce and Cherry. I'll be."
"I dunno. She's nice, only just a little odd," he said shrewdly, eying Nebris out of the corner of his eye. Nebris snorted.
"A little?! Where've you been? She's is gothic, raves over mythical creatures, and talks funny. Of course, Meradith is almost the exact opposite, such a bossy boots. So hard to live with."
"And checkmate." He reached out and grabbed Nebris by the hair, yanking him almost off his feet. "If you tell anyone about what you saw here, I'll tell the girls what you said about them."
"Aw, Pierce - ouch! - don't you think you're overreacting just a tad?" Arachni's grip tightened and lifted him up a little more. "OW! OW! Alright, alright! I won't!" He released his hold. Nebris collapsed in a heap, clutching his head. "Ouch...oversensitive, man.."
"Just be sure you keep your mouth shut."
"On a similar subject, do you suppose Nancy would still be interested if you were to - OW!"

/Rowan/Caesar/
"You guys are crazy," Noriko murmured.
Caesar walked up slowly towards the single openeing in the hedges, bushes that towered over a man's head. "Ready?" he asked with a small grin. "Th-" He inhaled sharply as there was a sudden sharp pain across his left cheek. A knife imbedded itself in the branch by his head. Noriko shrieked, running toward him, as knives appeared as if from thin air, flying toward them with killer intent.
"Ready or not," he murmured. He grabbed Noriko and dove into the hedges,. Next thing he knew, they were surrounded by monstrous plant life. Caesar found himself staring a particularly large venus flytrap in the face. He facepalmed. "I don't suppose you have anything else of interest in here?" he demanded.
"Um..."
"That's a yes." Caesar quickly cut it down and began running, narrowly dodging the knife coming at his head. "Head for the wall, whatever happens!" he shouted.

[FreddyCast]

Sage Blaze, Saint Reave, and Priestess Elian

(Elian presents to the brothers the teleportation item given to her by Hawke)
Elian: Kiari’s friend gave me this. We can use it to go where we desire.
Saint: So then where do we go, brother?
Sage: I know of one place we should go to. We’ve been there before, Reave.
Saint: We have?
Sage: Yes, and it’s a place I wish we didn’t have to go, but we must.
Saint: Well, then, what will we be looking for there?
Sage: It’s called the “Fury of the Forsaken”.
Elian: But, that’s not a real item in Infinite.
Sage: Yes, it is. It’s an item that appears only when we defeat something or someone that has been forsaken. And what better place to look for than the Void Realm, where things that are forsaken and forgotten are left there. With this item and a few others, we can merge it to conjure up a powerful weapon beyond measure that no high level player can resist it. Not even Maximius.
Saint: The Void Realm, that place gives me the chills. So then, what else do we need to create this weapon?
Elian: The “Judgment of the Judged”, “Rage of the Ruined”, “Vengeance of the Vanquished”, and “Wrath of the Wronged”
Sage: That’s right! I was correct in expecting a treasure hunter like you, Priestess, to at least know that much.
Sage: Amazing! What are we standing around for, let’s get this item.
Elian: To the Void Realm it is then. (Elian uses the teleportation item and they travel to the Void Realm.)

link
Saint: What is this place? This doesn’t look like the Void Realm.
Elian: This is the Void Realm.
Sage: We must be at a very different location within this Realm.
Elian: It’s said that the Void Realm is probably as big, if not, bigger than the world of Infinite.
Saint: Really? It’s sad this place is all dark and depressing.
Sage: No doubt, let's check what’s in that building ahead of us. (The trio enter the mountain-like building and discover and onyx gem at the far end of the room. Saint goes over to pick it up.)
Sage: WAIT, DON’T PICK IT UP. (Saint picks it up and Sage facepalms his face)
Saint: What is this?
Sage: I told you not to pick it up. What if some trap was set off. It could be that the trap is in effect right now.
Elian: I don’t sense any weird energy within this room. (Elian takes closer look at the gem and her eyes widen) That’s a dragon onyx gem.
Sage: Well that was convenient! We come looking for something else an instead we find a dragon gem. Come on, let’s leave this room, there’s nothing else in here.
(Saint gives Elian the gem, to which she she puts it in her inventory, but Elian picks up a strange presence and warns the brothers)
Elian: Sage, Saint! There’s definitely something in here.
Sage: What, where?
Elian: I....I don’t know!
Saint: Get behind us, Elian! We can’t let our healer get in harm’s way. (He gently grabs her by the hand and guides her behind him, which startles Elian and blushes)
Elian: Su..sure.(Sage lights his arms on fire ready to strike at anything that moves and Saint materializes his sword Durendal as he takes his combat stance)
Sage: SHOW YOURSELF! (The room begins to darken)
Saint: What’s going on? It’s getting hard to see.
Sage: Let’s move, we’re at a disadvantage in the dark. (Suddenly at the corner of Sage’s eyes he sees a dark figure appear behind Elian and acts quickly) Phoenix Blaze!
(He gets to Elian in time to move her out of the way, but is instead stabbed through the stomach by a pitch black blade)
Sage: Tch! *coughs blood* (He’s then forcefully kicked from the blade. Both Saint and Elian look in horror as Sage crashes into the wall)
Saint: BROTHER! (He turns quickly to face the dark figure and addresses Elian) Elian, go help my brother now.
Elian: I will! (She runs quickly to Sage’s aid)
Saint: WHO ARE YOU, COWARD? (A demonic laugh is heard)
Unknown entity: HAHAHAHAHA!
Saint: That laugh...it’s...familiar.
Unknown Entity: I didn’t think we’d meet again so soon, Saint.
Saint: You know my name? Who are you?
Unknown entity: I’m hurt. I’m truly hurt, Saint, that you can’t remember who I am? Allow me to help you with that. (A spell is cast and Saint begins to feel dizzy as his eye sight begins to blur and twist)
Saint: What....I can’t...what’s happening? (Saint falls to his knees as he tries to hold himself up with his sword. The dark figure finally appears through Saint’s blurred sight)
Unknown entity: Do you remember me now?
link

Saint:.....Legion!

[Wolfsong]

OOC- bets this is gonna sound stupid, as I was completely lacking in inspiration today, but...here goes nothing.

/Pierce/Arachni/
Arachni closed the portal to Serrisol, hiding it once more in the rock. Time to scope out a little. He mounted Luna and soon was on his way to Central. He did his best to not think the entire ride over, but certain things just squirmed right in. What does it mean to be a good? What are the responsibilities of a god? What is it that truly separates a god from man, that no creature could ever compare?
The shadows had grown when he finally arrived. no trace left of the sun, only the moon. Night covered the world once again. He had Luna land in the field outside and left her to wait for him. He entered through the west gate and went straight to the back alleys to the Black Market. After some intense haggling, he purchased a sword he had not seen in four years.
"Rumors say," the trader told him in a confidential whisper. "That Python used the sword during the Cataclyst."
"That he did," Arachni said with a smile. The trader gave him an odd look, but Arachni ignored it and turned away, walking back out of the alleys. "I didn't expect to see you again," he murmured, checking its edge. "And if I did, it would be on some collector's wall, blunt as a club." He smiled. "Eris. A sword made for the hand of a god."
Luna was agitated, he saw that instantly. But by what, he couldn't tell, for the field was still empty of life.
"What's bothering you?" he asked as he came closer. Then he felt it, the living presence of someone directly behind him. Instantly he dove into the shadows, narrowly avoiding being skewered. He came up a couple paces away, slashing forward with Eris, but encountered nothing. he saw a slightly movement to his left and stepped aside, swinging his sword. But once again he encountered no resistance. He went still, thinking. Luna shook her head, teeth bared in a fierce snarl. he started cautiously toward her, alert for any movement around him. He saw a slight shift in the shadows to his left, and waited. He saw a sudden flash of metal and whirled back, but not quite fast enough as the sharp point of a blade clipped his cheek. He brought his sword up, meeting the blade of his opponent and minimizing received damage. He saw the flicker of a face before it disappeared again.
"Either you're invisible, using illusions, or there's a new trick to shadows that I don't know." He waited, but there was no reply. "So you're not the bragging sort. Well, at least you're not an amateur." He thought he saw something there, but he wasn't sure. he reached out to touch Luna's flank, feeling her trembling under his hand. He bent down, resting his head on hers. "Well, whatever you're going to do, go for it."
An idea came into his head. Like long strings he laid out his shadows, using them to try and sense out his attacker's movements. Then he found them, coming toward him quickly. Luna suddenly snarled and bounded over his head, tackling his invisible attacker and taking a blow to her side.
Arachni whirled around quickly, deciding a weapon was a bad idea here. He brought the strings together till he had a net beneath the wrestling pair. "Luna, fly!" Arachni commanded, pulling up the net. Luna got free at the last second, shaking her attacker off her hind leg, and landed beside Arachni, eyes never leaving the net. He walked toward it slowly, watching the figure struggle a moment, then go still. He stared a moment, then his eyes widened. "Andonov?!" he gasped. "What the heck are you doing here? Last I heard the council had been imprisoned."
"I told you," Andonov said in a low, dark voice. "If anyone disappeared...and Michaelis is gone. You are, as well, Pierce. What more reason to I need?"
"Michaelis isn't gone. He was a little weak last I saw him, but he still lives." There was silence from the man in the net. Arachni continued, "I had the impression Maximius was using me, so I pretended to play along in killing the council members. Michaelis was left alive, if barely, and re retired to bind himself to Kiari, thus getting a complete healing and an upgrade to his powers. If you don't believe me, check and see if he's logged in still." He crossed his fingers.
Andonov was silent, then nodded. "I see. But you are still Pierce. Why should I not kill you?"
"Because I want to stop Maximius, and am going to try." He saw Andonov's face. "I'm serious."
"Again, why should I believe you? You are a liar and a killer."
"I am also not a kid anymore! Yes, I would like to be a god. But right now, the Infinite I love is being threatened, and I intend to protect it, no matter what comes."
"But will you protect it from yourself?"
Arachni considered that a moment. "I cannot answer for tomorrow. All I can swear to is today. Today I intend to stop Maximius, the faction war, and recover whoever remains of the moderators. I will return Infinite to order. What I will do after, I cannot swear to."
Andonov stared at him long and hard. He nodded once, sharply. "Very well." he suddenly severed the net holding him, landing on his feet. Arachni's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I will go with you."
Now Arachni's eyes widened. "And why, pray tell, will you do that?" he enquired.
Andonov's smile did not reach his rock-hard eyes. "Your eyes hold truth, but a clever liar can make a false light. Thus, if I travel with you and you prove to be a liar, I can kill you without having to hunt you down."
Arachni stared at him awhile, then nodded. "Thanks," he said dryly, mounting Luna. "Then come, Andonov, and join one of the old gods taking on an egotistic madman who believes he is a god."
"However great his ego he cannot outshine the god of pride."
Arachni gave him a dark look as Andonov mounted behind him. Soon, he was flying again with a potentially dangerous ally/warden at his back.

/Zara/Kiari/
Zara blinked slowly, eyes adjusting to the electrical light in her bedroom. Their search had been fruitless, and they had agreed to meet up again tomorrow at their secret spot.
She felt depressed. How could she have said what she said? She missed Saint. She'd told that to Hawke. She'd told someone! how, how could she have been so stupid? At most she had been wiling to tell about her dad, but the part about Saint just flowed right out.
How could she even care so much anyway? She didn't know him all that well. Technically their first meeting had been a year or so ago, as she recalled, but he'd stared at her like a creep. They hadn't met much after, just passing glances of words, no more, but he'd never struck her as someone she'd want to know. The adventure of the last couple of days was the closest contact she'd had with them, the first time she'd ever actually gotten to know them. She still hated Sage, nothing had changed that, but Saint...sure he could be stupid and rather naive, but he was kind, thoughtful and nice, even though she really was a stranger to them. So many people were hard and unwilling to put themselves out for others, particularly strangers. Sage was that kind of person, but Saint...
She moaned and cluthced her head. She'd told Hawke. What a fine kettle of fish.
"Should I tell Saint?" she wondered. "He seemed to like me...but he apparently acts that way all the time. he did seem to like Elian...what should I do? I have no clue what to do!"
"Is something wrong Zara?" her mom walked in. "You're shouting..."
Oh no. Face burning, she buried it in her arms. She heard her mom walk over and sit down next to her. Her arm wrapped gently around Zara's shoulders, hugging her. "What's going on, dear?" her mom asked gently.
Zara slowly raised her head. "Mom...suppose you liked someone. Suppose you liked them a whole lot. Suppose you didn't realize it until you'd gone away from them. Suppose you would never see them again, but you were dying to tell them how you felt. What would you do?"
Her mom smiled gently. "I take it you met a certain someone?"
"I don't know. Thing is, I...I think I messed up. I left him like I said, and I don't know if I can find him again. but I'm afraid to pm him and admit that I..."
"Sometimes the best thing you can do is be honest with yourself and with him. Its scary at first, but really its for the best."
"But...but what if I'm off doing a really important quest?" Zara stammered. "The fate of the world could be resting on my shoulders. Can I really afford to...to..."
"Zara." Her mom gently took her daughter's face in her hands, lifting it so she could see Zara's face. "Even a hero needs someone to save them every now and then. You can't just rely on your own strength all the time. If you have good, firm friends at your side, and a man who loves you with all he is, you could stand before anything."
"But mom, he may like another girl...I don't know what to do."
"Oh Zara." Her mom hugged her gently.
"Mom...I miss dad."
"I do too dear."
"Do you suppose he'll remember his promise to you?"
"We can only hope." Unshed tears glistened in her mother's eyes, as she held her daughter close.

[Oddood198]

Saify watched the two through their exchange of words and small lesson on friendship. She couldn't help but smile inwardly, thinking of her conversations as a shy, antisocial shut-in.
She wiped the smirk away when Zare turned to her and gave his answer, and she smirked again when he mentioned hidden agendas. "Well, I don't even know what the point would be of saying I don't have a hidden agenda, since I could easily be lying and actually have one. Nevertheless, for what it's worth, I will say I don't have one. I just want to hunt down Pierce and find him again."
Then Ashimitaya blurted out his question of Cyrano. Saify shrugged, "I dunno. Last I heard, he was going after the Slaver's Guild pretty hard. I've been helping him some lately, but not for the past couple months."

[Wolfsong]

OOC - guys, I'm gonna push reality a little here and say heck with the clock. I'm bringing up daytime. If you guys want to pretend you accidently stayed up all night playing or just ignore the fact, go right ahead. I'm going to.

/Pierce/Arachni/
"So why are you out and about? I'd heard you guys were imprisoned."
"Maximius released us," Andonov answered. "We spoke together one last time, discussing what we should do. There was much controversy. Nathaniel surprised us all by favoring siding with Maximius. Mira and Rastagan remained lost in their own thoughts, so I do not know what paths they took. They were, however, the first to leave us. Ryfia continued to argue with Nathaniel. I believed it was best we hunt you down and take you down before you made our mess worse than it was."
"Thanks," Arachni murmured.
"Anima was against siding with the factions, or Maximius. She claimed that the IFF and all it stood for was still strong, and we needed to form anew. Ryfia showed some surprising clarity the, saying that it was impossible, for as IFF was broken, so were we, in a sense. She said that 'If what Maximius said was true, then all we stood for was a lie. There was no neutrality. We stood for lies and deceit, war and corruption. We stand for the things we claimed to be against". Anima turned and left, Nathaniel following shortly after. Afterwards, I spoke with Ryfia. She said she intended to find Kiari, and do her best to set this world right. That's when I went looking for you."
Arachni nodded. "I am sorry for what happened, Andon."
"Arachni?"
"Nebris? What is it?"
"We mapped Maximius. You won't believe it, but he's marching toward Tiera as we speak. Should we attempt to engage?"
"Heck no, but get Garrison out of there. Though it could be fun....how's Fafnir?"
"Glitching horribly. And we daren't go near him either. He's so bad everything within twenty paces of him starts glitching too. Ke'tala tried to get close, and her wings just gave out. Its really bad."
Slowly, a grin began to spread over Arachni's face. "Is he now...can he be teleported, do you suppose, to, say, Tiera, in time for a certain party?"
He heard Nebris start laughing. "You gotta mean sense of humor, boss. Will it be final or should I pull him out after a bit?"
"Fafnir was a noble dragon and served us well. Let him go out fighting, that was what he was made for after all."
"Aw, that's sweet of you Arachni. Will there be a memorial, do you suppose?"
"Stow it, Nebris. Just get him ready to go."
"What are you doing?" Andonov asked.
"Communicating with a friend. I'll try and introduce you to the crew. If you're going to be with us, you'll need to know your way around."
Andonov was silent, processing that. Arachni glanced back, smiling. "Never pictured yourself joining a hackers' group, did you?"
"I never pictured the world coming to this," was his almost silent reply. "Perhaps that's why I'm going with you, simply because I'm blindly hoping you were telling me the truth, that you will attempt to bring order to our chaos. Perhaps I am a fool."
"If so, you're no more than I am for even attempting this in the first place," was Arachni's reply.

/Stephen/Ashimata/
He nodded. "Alright. Thank you." He was quiet, then crossed hsi arms behind his head, asking, "So, you got anywhere in particular you plan to search next, or have you no clue where you're going from here?"

/Zara/Kiari/
Zara glanced down the hallway. Her mom's light was out, that meant she was sleeping. Zara was quiet, glanced at the clock, then carefully closed the door to her room. She just couldn't sleep. She grabbed the console, thought a minute, then slipped it over her head and entered Infinite.
--- ---
Kiari opened her eyes to see dawn's glorious light. The sun was rising. She sat up, stretching. "Now what," she said softly.
She glanced around, then stood, brushing off her jacket. "Well," she continued, talking to herself. "You could do some solo searching, or maybe actually try to find Saint. Or perhaps..."
She suddenly realized she had a new message. She pulled it up, brow furrowing darkly.
'Kiari, we are willing to negotiate with you about your concerns over the guild. Please come meet with us this morning. We swear this is the last time we will ask you. ~Lief.'
"or perhaps I could go kick some idiots across the mountain," she muttered sourly. She stared at it a while, then sighed. "They'd better mean it." She grabbed a teleport item from her pack, thinking. "Dravin Heights," she chose, and disappeared.

[Koneko-chan]

OOC: Ahhhhhh, so many pages late, qwq sorry. Anyways, I must've skipped some lines accidently again, I can't grasp what's happening, I know Valerian, Meeka, and Sage were in the inn, but how did they get outside so fast? And easy way up? Oi, I'm awful. XD;

[Oddood198]

OOC: Oh, yeah, Lydia too.


Lydia's hand came up over the final jutting rock of the overhanging lookout, and she grasped onto the edge tightly. Kera, her Skyslicer, took the edge of her sleeve in its talons and flapped frantically, trying desperately, and in vain, to help her up.
Finally, trembling with the exertion, Lydia used her one arm to pull her small frame up and to to the top of the rocky lookout she had been searching for this whole time. She finally came over the top, and flipped over onto her back, panting with exhaustion. I... I made it... She thought, wishing she had the energy to grin. A game this may be, but the fatigue effects were quite realistic.
She looked around, and realized she was the only player here. D...darnnit... Late...

[ClaecElric4God]

/Karissa/Kenji/
Kenji danced lightly on his feet, narrowly dodging a handful of knives. He had his hands behind his head and a wide grin on his face.
"Wow, this is way more fun than I-" Kenji was cut off by a vine wrapping itself around his neck. He grabbed at the vines, struggling to breathe. Another set of vines wrapped themselves around his waist, and he was hoisted off the ground. Kenji struggled to break free, but the plant's deathgrip had him solidly restrained.
Kenji watched as Regal and Noriko ran toward the wall. Grabbing the vines around his neck, Kenji pulled them free just long enough to take in a gulp of air.
"Hey, Regal," he choked, half grinning and half grimacing. "Um...a little help here...would be nice. But I understand if you're too busy and all."

[Wolfsong]

OOC- XD sorry Koneko. I kept meaning to pm you about it, but It kept slipping my mind. BL pmd me earlier to let me know she might not be continuing with us. I'm going to do my best to keep her instory, in case she comes back. I went ahead and skipped over agreeing to party up with her in order to catch up to Lydia. When he offered an easy way up, he was offering to carry them up on his back while he flew up there.

/Zara/Kiari/
Dravin Heights was a huge mountain that appeared to have been split down the middle. A deep gorge was hidden there, full of horrid traps for the unwary traveler. The Thieves' Guild had made this home in this inhospitable place, their fortress a series of caves underneath the place. As not many people came to the Heights, it was the perfect hiding place.
Kiari skidded down one of the slopes, shivering as mist from the nearby Void drifted over her. While not so close, Dravin and the Void were close enough to occasionally share weather and monsters. Which was part of the reason Kiari had left, for the Void freaked her out no end.
She paused on a narrow ledge, estimating how much further down. It also got steeper, so she'd have to time it just right.
"Here goes nothing." Grinning, he pushed off the ledge. Balanced precariously on her feet, she slid downward, gaining momentum as she went. She saw the edge ahead and braced herself. The second her feet touched the edge, she jumped, sailing over the chasm and landing on the opposite ledge. She heard someone clapping and turned to see a familiar figure coming toward her.
"Lief, where'd you get that scar?" she asked. "Its totally ruined your face."
He scowled at her. "Very funny. Welcome back Kiari."
"I'm not "back", Lief. I'm just here to hear your negotiations. And get you out of my hair permanently'," she added mentally. "Take me to Cylodine. lets get this over with."
"Of course. I'm sure you're very busy," he said sarcastically, walking towards an opening in the rocks.
"I paused a quest, lief, and it is rather important." She followed him into the cave.
"Then we should hurry, right?"
She glared at his back, Smartalec. If she could ever find an opportunity...
They walked for a long time through the labyrinth before arriving in a room deep within the heart of the mountain. Torches lined the wall, the only light in this dark world. Two men stood in the back, waiting, one was an imposing man of seven feet, dressed entirely in black and masked. The other was hardly five feet, and while he was also dressed in black his tunic and cape had a red lining. His face was rather boyish in appearance with shaggy black hair and eyes. Kiari knew what hid behind that face. She paused about twenty feet from them, taking a wide stance and crossing her arms.
"Cylodine. Loki-san," she greeted shortly. "Lief tells me you're willing to make negotiations."
"Of a sort," Loki crossed his arms behind his head, smiling. "You see, we missed your clever fingers, Kiari. We knew you were gifted when you snatched the Dragon Onyx from that anthro in Central and managed to get away safely."
"I'm not here for your reminiscing," Kiari said. "Straight to the point, Loki."
He smirked. "Alright. When you gave us your incredibly rude resignation and left us, we set to work. We know there isn't much in Infinite we could use to pin you, particularly since you stole the Onyx from us. Whatever happened to it, anyway?"
"Lief never told you?" Kiari glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, then sighed and shrugged. "Fine. I knew you guys would need a strong bit of bait to distract you when I made my getaway, so I climbed to the top of the Heights and, in full view of Lief, hurled the Onyx in the direction of the Void."
Loki stared at her, then broke down laughing. "So that's what happened. lief must have been stunned stiff. I'm surprised you actually convinced yourself to do that."
"That and convince myself to leap into Doomsgate Falls," she muttered. "Please continue your point."
"Of course. So we went into the real world to find things about you." Kiari felt a chill travel up her spine. "We know who you are, Zara Keyes. We know where you live. You could say we have you...in the palm of our hand. Unless you want things to get unpleasant back in reality..."
"So you brought me here to threaten me," she said softly. "Cylodine, I believed you at least had more sense that this. Have you so lost it that you let this brat make the decisions for you, even speak for you? Where's your pride?"
There was no response from the hulking figure. Loki began to giggle. Suddenly suspicious, Kiari flung her chakram at Cylo. Though it horrified her, she wasn't that surprised when they flew right through him. "I see. Explains why the guild when downhill, I suppose. Where is the real Cylo, Loki?"
"Longfield Cemetery," he replied, grinning widely. "I wasn't kidding, Kiari, when I said things could get unpleasant. You'll serve again, little thief, or suffer."
"I never did like you all that much," she muttered. She caught her chakram, swung around, and threw it directly at Lokie before stabbing Lief with the other and escaping into the tunnels. "Here we go again," she thought, grimacing, catching her chakram before running into the tunnels. She could hear Loki's shout for the others cut off by a pained cry. However, her joy was short-lived as several others leapt from the shadows, pinning her without too much effort. She struggled as she watched Loki come by, a huge bleeding hole in his forehead.
"We have special ways of dealing with resistant players," he said with a grim smile. A stream of blood separated at his nose, one going to his chin across his cheek and the other directly going over his mouth. "Some are old-fashioned, but...they do make quite an impression."

/Carter/Valerian/
Oh look, she made it," he said, pointing. He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "HOY! You up there! Give us just a sec, we'll be there momentarily!" He turned to Shade. "So you want a ride up?"
"No thank you." Shade started up the cliff.
Valerian shrugged and turned to Mika. "Well, would you like a ride?"

/Rowan/Caesar/
Caesar looked back when he heard Kenji and groaned quietly. "Stay here," he said, running back toward Kenji. Noriko shrieked and collapsed on the ground, covering her head and trembling. "maybe that'll make her less of a target," he mused, amused, as he leapt at the vines with his rapier. They parted nicely, but managed to hide the knife flying at him.
He stumbled back, muttering a startled curse as it went right through his arm. He had enough presence of mind to catch Kenji with the wind as he fell, but it took a bit longer to shake off the searing pain.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" he said, grinning at Kenji. He sighed, shaking his head. "Lets collect our baggage and get out of here," he said, moving back towards Noriko.

[Koneko-chan]

Meeka glanced up "Oh.. Uhm.. Sure." she agreed politely, she didn't want to be a burden but it looked like it was ways away up.

[FreddyCast]

Dean Solis, Trent Solis, Hadrian Solis, and Eilis Ellison
3 years ago

(At Hadrian’s office, Hadrian is sitting behind his desk reading some paperwork in a thoughtful manner as he glances at his open laptop. Suddenly a loud knocking is at his door)
Hadrian: Come in, the door is open. (A young woman comes in) Ah, Layna. I’ve been expecting you for a while now. (She walks reluctantly towards Hadrian’s desk, stopping a few feet away from his desk)
Layna: What is that you want, Hadrian? I’m getting tired of seeing your face.
Hadrian: Now, now. You shouldn’t speak so badly of your father.
Layna: You are not my father. I was merely adopted to replace the hole left in your cold heart by those two boys of yours.
Hadrian: My sons? Yes, my sons. (He closes his laptop and puts his elbows on the table, locking his hands together) I did not adopt you to replace them. I saw you. Innocent and beautiful. Exactly how I envisioned my own daughter to look like. (Layna folds her arms, feeling almost insulted by Hadrian’s compliment)
Layna: Please, enough of your empty compliments. You might have fooled yourself into believing that, but you can’t deceive me. You treated me no differently than them. I can see why they would want to get away from you. You’re a sad, lonely man who has it all, and yet, you can never find anyone to love you. I pity you. (Feeling the sting of Layna’s words, Hadrian suddenly gets up from his chair, moving in a quick and angry fashion and stands up in an imposing manner, which frightens Layna as she takes few steps back)
Hadrian: There’s no need to be afraid of me, my daughter. I would never dream of hurting you.
Layna: Tch! I’m not your daughter. I never will be. What do you from me? (Hadrian smiles slighty)
Hadrian: My son, Trent, has been enamoured by a young lady. I want you to do what you do best and make him....see the errors of his ways.
Layna: And why would I want to do that.
Hadrian: Because the young lady he’s enamoured with is Eilis Ellison....Remember...That girl that always bests you in everything. And it seems she’s beaten you to the one person you ever had feelings for.
(The name of Eilis enfuriates her, but she’s even more enfuriated by Hadrian knowing her personal feelings.)
Layna whispers: You....
Hadrian: What is it, sweetie?
Layna: You’re a demon, Hadrian. Prying into my life like that.
Hadrian: It’s my job to know. You are my daughter, after all.
Layna: SHUT UP!......(Hadrian’s phone beeps and his Secretary’s voice is heared, “Sir, your meeting with Rastus and Antonius is almost about to begin”. Hadrian responds, “I’ll be there shortly”)
Hadrian: Time is fleeting. Will you do it?
Layna: So what, you want to make your “sons” suffer the same pain you felt, just because their father married the woman you liked? Is that it?
Hadrian: Will you let your rival take everything from you, even the one you love? (Hadrian walks around his desk, and as he walks past Layna he says to her...) Do you really want to end up a sad, lonely woman who has it all, and yet, has no one to love her?
(Hadrian’s words eat at her heart. So she caves in to Hadrian’s request)
Layna: I....I’ll do it. (Hadrian stops at the door and grins)
Hadrian: That’s good to hear. I knew I could count on you. Please inform me of your success, will you sweetie. (He closes the door behind him, leaving Layna alone in his office. She stands there grinding her teeth in anger and clenching her hands as she lets a tear fall down her cheek.)
Layna: Why....why do you always do this...manipulating people to do your dirty work....You’re a horrible monster.

(At Dean and Trent’s house, Trent gets a message on his cellphone from Eilis. He reads it, “Hey Trent, wanna meet me at the theater nearby, I’ll be there waiting for you”. Trent responds back, “Sure Eilis, I’ll be there”. He yells at DEAN who is upstairs in his room reading his textbook)
Trent: HEY DEAN, I’M GOING TO THE THEATER TO MEET EILIS. (Dean hears Trent downstairs mention Eilis, which makes him twitch his eyes in displeasure)
DEAN: YEAH, WHATEVER. JUST COME BACK SAFE. (Trent leaves the house, but before he heads for the theater, he gets another message on his phone from Eilis, “Trent, meet me at the festival near the park”)
Trent: That’s weird. I guess I’ll head towards the festival then. (He arrives at the festival and sees someone that looks like Eilis)
Trent: There she is. I better tell Dean where I am first. (He text messages Dean and then puts his phone away) HEY EILIS, OVER HERE. (The girl sees Trent and walks over to meet him)
Layna: So you made it. I’m glad you came. Come on let’s go inside the festival. (She grabs Trent by his wrist and takes him inside the festival)
Trent: What’s the hurry, Eilis. I thought you wanted to meet me at the theater.
Layna: The theater? No I didn’t.
Trent: but you texted me....
Layna: Forget about that. Let’s play this game. (They enter a shooting gallery.) I like that white bear over there, can you win it for me.
Trent: Sure Eilis, anything for you.
Layna: Please call me Layna.
Trent: Layna?
Layna: It's uh...a nickname the kids used to call me when I was a little child.
Trent: Really? You never told me about that.
Layna: Yeah, now win me that cute bear. (Trent begins shooting his targets, but while he does that Layna pickpockets him and takes his phone from him without him noticing. She then secretly throws away his phone without being seen as Trent finishes shooting all his targets)
Trent: I did it!
Host: AND WE HAVE A WINNER.
Layna: YAY! (The host gives the bear to Layna)
Host: Here you go, milady. (Layna is filled with excitement and joy)
Layna: Oh, it’s so soft and cute. Thank you, Trent.
Trent: You really like cute things, don’t you?
Layna: Oh, um...
Trent: It’s alright, as long as your happy. That’s all that matters to me.
Layna: You’re so sweet, Trent. (Trent is mesmerized by her beautiful smile)
Trent: Eilis...
Layna: It’s Layna!
Trent: Layna...I umm...I really...like you. (Layna is shocked and blushes a little that Trent would confess to her so soon, yet she knows the confession is not really for her, which saddens her)
Layna: D..Don’t be so emotional right now. There’s a time and place for that. (Again she grabs Trent by his wrist and drags him to the next game) Come on, silly!
Trent: Wait...(Trent knows it’s futile to resist and allows her to take him wherever she wants)

(At the theater, Eilis is standing outside waiting for Trent to show up, but some time has passed and she begins to worry. So she calls Trent’s phone, but her call won’t go through.)
Eilis: What is taking you so long Trent. Why won’t you answer your phone? (She then calls Dean’s phone instead) (Back at Dean’s house, Dean is still studying in his room, and to his surprise his cellphone rings. He looks at his phone is his eyes widen as he sees that it’s Eilis calling him)
Dean: Eilis! Why is she calling me?...What should I do? Should I talk to her? (he struggles to choose, yet his fingers almost automatically move on their own and accept the call) What am I doing?
Eilis: Dean!...Dean, are you there?....Hello?
Dean: Y...yeah, it’s me.
Eilis: Thank goodness! Dean, is Trent there with you?
Dean: Huh, no he should be with you at the festival.
Eilis: At the festival? No, he’s supposed to meet me here at the theater.
Dean: That’s what he told me when he left, but then he texted me saying that he was at the festival with you.
Eilis: With me? But, I’m still waiting for him at theater. What’s going on?
Dean: I don’t know.
Eilis: Thanks Dean, I got to go? (She ends the call)
Dean: Eilis, wait...she hung up....What are you doing, Trent? (He ponders what just happened, yet decides not to leave the house)

(Back at the Festival, both Trent and Layna are at the docks of the festival looking at the fireworks. Layna leans on Trent and holds on to his arm)
Layna: Thanks, Trent! I enjoyed our day at the festival.
Trent: Me too! (Layna sees Eilis a far distance away looking around in a worried fashion. She says to herself, “So she finally showed up, took her long enough”. She tugs on Trent’s arm to get his attention)
Layna: Trent!
Trent: Yes, Eilis? (She frowns when Trent says that name)
Layna: Layna!
Trent: Sorry...Layna, what is it?
Layna: You know, this the perfect time and place to say what you said to me earlier today.
Trent: What I said earlier today? (He suddenly remembers and begins to feel a bit nervous) Oh, umm....Eilis.
Layna: LAYNA!
Trent: Layna...I really like you....No, it’s more than that....I....I love you.
Layna: You...you do! (She blushes) No one’s ever said that to me before.
Trent: I was hoping, we could be more than....um...what we are now.
(Layna glances behind her to see if Eilis is getting nearer. Eilis stops near the dock to look around her and sees what a guy she believes looks like Trent)
Eilis: Trent, I finally found you, but who’s that person your with. (She runs towards Trent’s direction, but Layna sees her coming.)
Layna says to herself: I got to make this quick.
Layna: Trent, come here. (She grabs him tightly and twists him around so Eilis can clearly see them both together)
Trent: Eilis, what are you...(Layna puts her arms around his neck and quickly kisses him, catching him off guard. Trent doesn’t resist, but instead let’s the moment overtake him as heputs her arms around her back. Eilis stands frozen only a few feet away as she sees Trent kissing another girl.)
Eilis: Trent! (Her soft voice catches Trent’s ears and opens his eyes shocked to see Eilis standing there and not in his arms. He immediately pulls Layna away)
Trent: Eilis! (Tears start flowing from Eilis’s eyes)
Eilis: How could...(she puts her shaking hand on her mouth, unable to speak another word. Thoughts go through her mind, “Why Trent? I thought you...”. Not wanting to stay another second she runs away and Layna smiles at her departure.)
Trent: Eilis, NO WAIT... (He tries to follow her, but is hindered by Layna as she gets infront of him) Let me go, imposter. (Layna grabs his wrist and twists it, locking his arm behind his back) arghh, what are you doing? Who are you?
Layna: Like I told you, my name is Layna.
Trent: Why, Layna? Why pretend to be Eilis? Why do this to us?
Layna: Why, you say. Hmph! Why not? Why does my blood sibling have to have everything I can never have. A good family, lots of friends, practically a genius and an idol at school. I wouldn’t have mind her gloating all these things in my face, but to take the one person I love most. NO! If I can’t have him, then no one will.
Trent: What are you saying? I don’t understand. You hate Eilis?
Layna: You were always that dum, gullible, and trusting guy, but you always wanted to help others. Always caring for others no matter who they were or where they came from. Such a likable quality of yours. It’s a shame you chose the wrong girl to fall in love with.
Trent: Please, just let me go. Eilis....
Layna: ENOUGH, I’M GETTING TIRED OF HEARING THAT NAME....*sigh*....Forgive me, I don’t like shouting.
Trent: Just let me go.
Layna: Don’t worry....(She moves Trent toward the edge of the docks)...I will.
Trent: Wait, wait, don’t do this.
Layna: You know, I really did enjoy our time together. A pity it has to end like this. Please don’t drown, will you. I wouldn’t want to break your uncle’s ruthless heart.
Trent: My uncle? He put you up to this?
Layna: Bye Bye, loverboy. (She pushes him over the edge and he falls into the cold water.)

(Back at Dean’s House, he’s laying on his bed tired from studying as text books and papers are scattered throughout the floor. Then the door bell rings and Dean reluctantly opens his eyes)
Dean: Ugh! Come on Trent. Did you lose the keys to the house again? (DING DONG) Fine, I’m coming. (He walks downstairs to open the front)
Dean: Trent, I told you not to....(Dean is surprised to see Eilis in front of him full of tears on her eyes and cheeks.) Eilis, my god, what happened? Are you ok? Where’s Trent?
Eilis: Can I...please come in?
Dean: Sure , come right on in. (He guides her inside the living room, but fails to close the front door completely) Here, take a seat on the couch. I know it’s a bit worn out, but it’s still comfortable.
Eilis: Ok! (Her voice is so quiet she can barely be heard, but she sits down on the couch)
Dean: You must be exhausted! Let me, get you something to drink! (He goes to the kitchen, pours water on a clean glass, and returns to the living room)
Dean: Here, drink this! (He hands the glass of water to Eilis, to which she takes it and drinks it, but barely, and lays it down on the small table in front of her. Then Dean sits next to her, yet keeping his distance)
Dean: So, what happened Eilis? Why are you crying?...(She keeps silent as she keeps her head down)...Did you find my brother? Is Trent alright?
Eilis: Trent...he...
Dean: Did he do this?
Eilis: he...
Dean: He what? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.
Eilis: I saw him...kiss...another girl.
Dean: What? You’re mistaken. He wouldn’t do that. Sure my brother’s not the brightest guy, but he wouldn’t do that to you.
Eilis: But...he did...I saw him. (She puts her hands on her face to hide her tears) What did I do wrong? I thought he liked me.
Dean: He does. I know he does. It’s just....(He ponders, “What were you thinking, Trent?”. Eilis soft cries pound on Dean’s ears making him feel angry towards his brother)
Eilis: Does Trent hate me? I don’t...(Dean cuts her off)
Dean: Listen to me, Eilis. I’m not sure what’s going on with my brother. Something’s about this situation seems very suspicious. But I know Trent likes you. No, I know he loves you. He said t to me like a million times. I mean who wouldn’t fall head over heels for you. I’d fall for you...(He ponders, “wait, that was the wrong thing to say”)
Eilis: You mean that, Dean?
Dean: I, uh...yeah, I mean it....b...but Trent...(Eilis slides closer to Dean and puts her hand Dean’s hand)
Eilis: Dean!
Dean: Y..Yeah, Eilis? (She looks at him with sad eyes and is mesmerized by her sorrowful beauty)
Eilis: Comfort me. (She moves closer to him until there’s no longer any distance between their bodies. Dean attempts to move away, but there’s no more room to scoot away)
Dean: Eilis, this isn’t right?
Eilis: Please, just this once.
Dean: Wait, Eilis...(He puts up no resistance, as her face gets closer to his, but soon a figure appears behind Eilis and to Dean’s shock and dismay it’s Trent, drenched from head to toe)
Trent: You two? (Eilis turns around and her eyes widen as she sees Trent look at her in disbelief)
Dean: Trent, wait this isn’t what you think?
Trent: No, this is exactly what I think.
Dean: Brother, why are you wet? Did you fall in the river or something? (Trent looks at himself aware that he came in completely drenched)
Trent: And why are you all over Eilis?
Dean: I told you, it’s a misunderstanding?
Trent: Really? Well I hope you have fun in your little “misunderstanding”. (Trent turns around and walks towards the front door intending to leave.)
Dean: Brother, wait where are you going? ( Dean gets up from the couch and runs to catch up to Trent, and as he gets close enough Trent suddenly turns around and punches Dean in the face. Dean falls on his back from the punch and Trent proceeds to get on top of him to keep punching him, but is stopped)
Eilis: TRENT! (Trent’s fist stops inches from Dean’s face) Please, don’t hurt him. (Trent looks up to see Eilis’ grieving face)
Trent angrily says: It wasn’t my fault. I was....(Unable to finish his sentence, he gets up and turns to leave)
Trent: It doesn’t matter! Not anymore! (Dean is in a daze, yet raises his head enough to question his brother)
Dean: Trent, where are you going?
Trent: To pay a visit to someone.
Dean: Who? (Trent doesn’t respond and takes a step outside the front door)
Eilis: I’m sorry! (Trent doesn’t turn to look back because he probably might not want to leave, instead he says to himself, “I’m sorry too”. He leaves but takes a glance back to see Eilis on her knees raising Dean’s head on to her lap.)
Trent: Tch! (He starts running as fast as he can toward his destination) I’m coming for you uncle.

to be continued.....

OOC- I'll be doing the Maximius post and the trio post soon. But, I'm posting this just to show that I'm workin on it. SO DON'T PUSH ME

[Wolfsong]

OOC- I won't push unless you insist. Or if you don't have it out in the next month...

/Pierce/Arachni/
He had dropped both himself and Andonov at Siccilian, in Ke'tala's hands. It had felt weird, bringing an outsider and probably backstabber into their secret place, but something told him to trust this shady illusionist. Andonov seemed intent on keeping Arachni in sight, so Ke'Tala stood off to one side to apparently keep on eye on both of them. Issa, who'd popped up earlier to say hello, had asked Arachni if he wanted a separate mount for his new warden, or if he minded sharing. Arachni ignored him, at least for now; He had something to do.
Things were somewhat different in the upgraded Infinite. His body felt much more real, more substantial. Even Eris, a light blade, felt more so. If he was to once more be a swordmaster, he needed to adjust to his new limitations, make them his strengths.
His hand rested lightly on the slim hilt of his sword, fingering the silver designs engraved on it. Then his grip tightened and he drew it, holding it, single-hand, before his face. His eyes trailed from the sharp tip of the blade down the slim silver surface to the sapphire flower gem encrusted in the hilt. A lot of people had said it was a sword more suited for girls and had laughed. He smiled when he remembered what Ash had said to comfort an embarrasses boy.
"Sure, its a girl sword. Its got all the hidden potential and ferocity women reveal in battle. Besides, she fits your hand like no other sword I've seen you carry. She was made for you, I'll bet anything on it. Go on, show the world what you can do."
He shut his eyes, then stepped forward and began the basic steps of a training swordsman. Slash, cut, upward downward stroke, parry, turn, and stab. Again. He felt her weight shift, his hand adjusting from a deep, muscle memory to compensate. Slowly, he continued to more complex maneuvers and steps, footwaork and blade, single and double-hand grip. Something with the beauty of art unfolded, a lone sword wielded by an old but knowledgeable, almost loving hand. A complex dance revealed, sword striking with smooth, fluid motion and steps firm but almost graceful.
The ability to adjust to any terrain or physical weakness is the sign of a master swordsman. They can fight on any terrain, smooth, rocky, shale, or wet. Single or double-hand, heavier or lighter blade, it doesn't matter. They become one with the blade, connected to the world around them in a sense. This is a special mindset, an ability only those dedicated to the sword can ever accomplish. This is the sign of a true swordsmaster.
Slowly, then more and more quickly, Arachni adjusted to the changes in him. The built-in instincts and muscle-memories of Python returned as well, fulfilling his new form
A blade appeared on the edge of his vision. He turned to meet it, blocking it easily. Andonov's eyes met his, cold and unrevealing. He stepped back a pace, sword lowered slightly, a question in his eyes. Arachni nodded and raised his sword. They watched each other a moment, then attacked.
Nebris, rubbing his skull, joined Ke'Tala on the hill to watch. his brown and blue eyes regarded the pair below thoughtfully. "He seems better," he remarked, thinking aloud. "Haven't seen him go at something like that since the Cataclyst. He seemed to just lose his edge after that."
"Not his edge," Ke'Tala corrected. Nebris jumped.
"Ye gods! Warn me next time you do that!"
"If anything, his edge grew sharper. He led us through the attacks of the enthusiasts, protecting us as blood family. Meradith says he hardly sleeps, and he wakes at every sound. Haven't you noticed he spends so much time outside, watching, waiting? No, its not his edge he's lost."
"Then what would you call it?"
"I would say he lost himself. As we are in Infinite, I will speak in these terms. Python...died during the Cataclyst. before he could rebirth, Pierce was distracted by having to protect himself and us. He changed over that time, we all did. He has a new body now, Arachni. but what he is, who he is, he does not yet know. This is his journey to finding himself, to finding...life."
Nebris shrugged. "I'll be frank, I didn't understand a word of the mumbo-jumbo you just - whoa!"
Arachni unleashed a series of strikes. Andonov stepped back, then moved to the right to strike at his back. Arachni moved quickly, and next thing they knew, one hand held Andonov's hand locked with the blade stuck in the ground, and Eris at Andonov's throat. Slowly, they stepped away from each other.
"You fight well, swordmaster," Andonov said finally, tipping his blade and inclining his head, a sign of respect between swordsmen. Arachni quietly repeated the gesture, then sheathed his sword.
"Come," he said. "We have some business to attend to."

OOC- if by reading this you can't tell that I have played too many video games, read too many books, and watched too many movies, then you are blind

/Zara/Kiari/
She'd been knocked out again, for the third time this week. She really hoped this wasn't going to be a reoccurring habit. At least this one wasn't quite as embarrassing as the last two. Taking on an entire guild, you expect to collect a few bruises. What you shouldn't expect is to survive.
She moaned quietly, her vision blurry, her head hurting like a thousand-pound anvil had fallen on it. Her body slumped forward, held up only be the stake she was tied to.
"Well, look who's finally up."
She lifted her eyes. Loki-san stood on a platform about level with her, a bandage tied around his head. He smirked, but it came out more of a grimace. "We happened to be out of healing droughts," he said. "So I'm afraid we couldn't...fix you up for your funeral."
"If that means you'll have a hole in your head a little longer, I'm fine with that," she replied, smiling. She glanced down and saw she was standing on a woodpile, glistening from the oil poured on it. She raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Were you aware," he continued. "That the Roman Emperor Nero sometimes lit up his evening parties with the funeral pyres of the early Christians?"
"You would be amused by that," Kiari said.
"I wouldn't bother going for your satchel," he said, noting her moving hands. He held up a small pouch, smiling. "I've got your precious baubles right here. You're stuck."
"Hah. You couldn't hold me before. I'll bet anything you can't hold me now."
He smiled. "We'll see." He stepped back, gesturing. "Light 'er up, boys!"
Kiari was quiet, then shook her head slightly Great. Her mind was racing quickly, trying to figure out something out. She could work this out, but there was no way she was getting out of this unscathed, that was a given. A mage came forward, hand extended as he chanted the fire spell. The wood instantly caught, the fire consuming it quickly.
Natural instinct was to shied away from the leaping flames, so she was fighting everything inside her as she worked herself into a low crouch, leaning back as far as she could, offering her bound hands to the flames. She bit back a cry as the flames eagerly licked at her hands, yanking hard on her bonds and praying they gave quickly. Still the flames shot higher.
Loki was watching her with interest, trying to make out what she was doing. She couldn't undo the bonds, he'd had a n old sailor's hand do those. When she slumped forward, he guessed whatever she was doing didn't work. Suddenly, a flaming branch flew out of the pile, landing on the head of one of the men. Several others soon followed.
Kiari finally managed to throw one high enough to hit some of the foliage lining the cliff face. Dry and green, it caught fast.
She grabbed two more logs and leapt from the fire. She tossed them up, dropped and rolled to extinguish her burning clothes, and got up in time to catch them.S he stood, stumbling slightly since her legs had taken a lot of burn damage, but moved steadily toward Loki-san. The fire was spreading, distracting the others, but the only thing she or Loki saw was the other.
"Impressive," he said. He noticed her hands, an ugly black and red up to the wrists. "You can take pain better than I'd have believed."
"I'll have my stuff back," she said, holding a branch threateningly as she mounted the platform he stood on. "Or this can be your funeral pyre."
"You want these?" he said, holding up the pouch. "Then by all means, go get them!" He whirled around and flung it into a chasm.
Kiari instantly broke into a run, smashing one branch on the platform to start it burning. She held it to the wood, running as she raised a wall of fire between herself and Loki. She saw him begin to make a move and threw the second branch at him. At the end of the platform, she dropped the other and leapt off, angling her body to dive. She grabbed the pouch, quickly fumbling through it to find what she needed. "Rival," she gasped. "Arise from your slumber and catch me before I join you in the land of the dead!"
Seconds later, the shadowed figure caught her and began to fly out of the chasm. She knew, however, that she could not use him to conquer the weairns or wyverns under the guild's control. That in mind, she equipped the few rings she knew she would need. "Rival, head for Doom's Rapids," she commanded. "East of here, if I recall right."
"You intend to combat the Gate again?" he asked quietly.
"Its the only way I'll escape them completely, here," she answered.
He nodded, dodging a collapsing tree. Minutes later, they were surrounded by wyverns, their riders armed and ready. Rival dropped slightly, avoiding a wyvern's raking claws. Kiari clung tighter to him, mentally gearing herself up. When Rival told her he was over the water, she still didn't feel ready. But at least she remember last time's trip...some of it.
"Rival, return," she said. Seconds later, she entered the water. It was extremely cold, but she tried to stay centered. It got much warmer if you went deeper, but then you'd have to worry about the needle-sharp rocks lining the bottom and sides of the riverbed. Then there were the jagged spires, and the rapid current that attempted to throw you against them at every moment,. If you relaxed or froze for a second, you were a goner.
"Undine, guide me," Kiari said, releasing some of her precious air. Another force now battled the raging waters as Kiari swam around the obstacles in her path.
"Daughter of Sylph, I need air. Ferrice!" Kiari choked out. The combined forces of Undine and Ferrice allowed Kiari to get the air she required from the water.
"We can help you no further," she heard Undine say. "Once you leave the water, I cannot show you the way, and Ferrice would not know where to land you."
"I know," Kiari replied quietly. "How much further?"
"A good five yards."
Kiari took a deep breath. "Return." Seconds later, she shot out into the air.
One of the biggest traps of Doomsgate Falls was the trip down. The water shot out in a single stream onto the sharp, jagged rocks below. Hidden directly beneath the falls is a single pit deep enough, which leads to a series of tunnels. The pit is rather small too, so if you miss dead center you will die.
Kiari carefully angled herself, trying to aim for where she believed the hole to be, murmuering a quiet prayer. Minutes later, she vanished into the thick fog around the foot of the Falls, and was gone.

/Carter/Valerian/
He grinned, helping Meeka onto his back, then leapt up, reaching the top. He glanced down, noting Sage's position. "She'll be up here soon," he said, dropping Meeka on the ground. He grinned at Lydia. "Greetings. My name's Valerian."

[Oddood198]

Saify sighed, shaking her head, "Well, to be honest, I was hoping to get my next clue from you two, but it doesn't seem that'll work out." She turned around and looked at the battlefield, which was still a mess even after the bodies had been buried. "Don't suppose you have any idea where he'd go next?" She asked the other two.


Lydia looked up as some guy jumped up onto the lookout, while carrying someone on his back. Show off... She thought, but was too tired from her climb to voice it. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lyd--" She stopped abruptly as she got a look at the player's face. Weariness forgotten, she immediately jumped to her feet, "Hey! You're that guy that sold Kiari the thingy about the Dragon Gems!" She exclaimed. As she remembered that encounter, it also occurred to her that she had bought some climbing gear back then and still had it sitting in her inventory, but she put that thought away for now.

[Wolfsong]

/Stephen/Ashimatya/
He considered Saify's question, head tilted back, searching his memories. Where would Pierce likely go? He doubted he would return to Central, all his bases there were compromised. There wasn't anywhere else he'd ever really frequented, prefering to explore and find new areas, monsters, and the hidden shops world over. That was how they'd found that one sword Pierce had become fond of, Eris. Pierce had always enjoyed finding a better blade. He had been one of the few to reach swordmaster...
Swordplay...
"Siccilan," he said suddenly. "He might have gone there. Some days he would spend hours there, practicing his swordplay. He said that the white snow and the peaceful quiet helped him to focus. He truly loved being there..."
He stopped, thinking that perhaps his answer was too open. If she paid any attention, the obvious question was: how did he know? He met Saify's gaze with his own cold eyes, daring her to ask.

/Carter/Valerian/
He stared at her. "I'm sorry, you...Oh! Its you!"
He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck vigorously. This was...not good. He couldn't tell if she was mad or not. "Um, er..." His wings subtly flexed, readying for a quick take-off. "I...I'm sorry. I was rather short with you. But...but I did have a boat to catch, and you...you two weren't the only ones I'd messaged. I was hoping to escape before anyone else showed...Have you ever tried to reason with a bunch of angry people?" He gave her a weak smile. "I'm sorry."

OOC- Funny, I'd forgotten Lydia and Valerian had technically met already. I was laughing when I read her post. I think I'm going to read over the rpg again and see if there's anything else I've forgotten.

[Oddood198]

Lydia listened to Valerian's hast explanation and apology, as she crossed her arms and scowled at him. When he had finished, she remained quiet for a moment, considering how she should respond to this. Finally, she closed her eyes, sighing, and turned her head away, "Well, I suppose I'll forgive you this time. But only because I'm bored and in the mood for being in a party. Otherwise, I'd throw you over the edge." She said.

[ClaecElric4God]

/Karissa/Kenji/
Kenji laughed.
"Oh, you know how it is," he said. "I can't resist a nice strangulation every once in a while. It's good for the throat muscles. And it gives your lungs a break from all that troublesome breathing. But you handled that so nicely! Except for the part where you decided to get stabbed. That wasn't very wise, you know. You could get seriously hurt that way."
Kenji ran alongside Regal to where Noriko was, this time being a bit more careful about his surroundings.

[FreddyCast]

Sage Blaze, Saint Reave, and Priestess Elian

Saint: Legion!...But how? I killed you. Cut you down right in front of me.
Legion: You defeated a clone of mine. Be glad you did not face the real me. (Saint shakes his head trying to fight off dizzy spell on him)
Saint: What...are you doing here?
Legion: Your uncle exiled me here, but with a purpose. To guard the gem you’ve taken. Hahaha, Maximius is smarter than I thought. Always thinking two moves ahead of everyone else. It’s as if he knew you were coming to this place. (Saint slowly gets up on his feet as he struggles to point his sword at Legion)
Saint: I won’t let you hurt my friends.
Legion: Look behind you Saint. Does that remind you of something? (Saint looks back and sees Elian on the ground lifting Sage’s head on to her lap as she tries to heal his wound, which reminds him of what happened in the past after he knocked Dean to the ground and Eilis came to his aid. The memory saddens and enrages him)
Legion: It hurts knowing that the one you once loved still harbors feelings for your brother. (Saint turns back to face Legion feeling a bit angry that the past still affects.)
Saint: Tck! What would you know about it?
Legio: I know a lot more about you and your brother than you realize.
Saint: I don’t care what you know about us, I will defeat you, and this time you won’t come back. (Legion moves quickly while Saint is still in a daze from the spell cast on him and breaks Saint’s sword, Durendal, with ease as the black-glowing blade slices clean through it)
Legion: No, you won’t. (Legion pulls his sword out, grabs Saint by the face, and throws him to the wall, where Saint breaks through it and lands outside the mountainous building. Elian sees what happens and yells out to Saint)
Elian: SAINT!
Legion: I would worry more about his brother right now, if I were you, sister.
Elian: What did you say? (Legion leaves without responding back and walks out to face a bruised and bleeding Saint)
Legion: There’s a reason why this realm was forbidden and forgotten. In this realm one race reigns over the rest, the demon spawn. Our powers are doubled and the magical powers of other races are severely limited, except that of the supernatural races.
Saint: What do you mean? (Saint gets back up on his feet) That I can only use my skills as a swordsman.
Legion: You catch on fast, Saint. You’re not as dumb as I remember.
Saint: What do you mean by that? Did we ever meet before?
Legion: Hahaha, how about you show me your skills, Saint. Let’s see if you can best me in a fair fight. (Legion splits himself into three clones and two of them confront Saint each hold a black-glowing blade)
Saint: You call this a fair fight? Two against one? (Legion grins) Well, let’s make this even then. (Saint summons a double-bladed white-glowing sword) FATE’S EDGE, cut twice through my enemies’ demise with your ferocity (Saint wastes no time and attacks them head on, blocking their every strike and pushing them back. The two clones then retreat to bring some distance between Saint and themselves)
Ferocius Fight

OOC- You could say I was just too lazy to write out the fight, which I wasn’t....maybe...ok maybe I was a little...but I digress. This youtube vid is better than anything I could ever write. Enjoy. Ok now back to the story.

(After defeating the two clones, Saint faces off against Legion)
Legion: Impressive! But futile.
Saint: Enough of your games. Stop hiding behind clones and face me, Legion.
Legion: Come then, meet your end. (Saint charges at Legion, but is stopped in his tracks as Legion uses his telepathic powers to choke him and lift him up his feet)
Saint: Let...go...of me. (He reluctantly let’s go of his double-bladed sword)
Legion: But I’m not done playing with you. (Saint’s body is repeatedly slammed to the ground and tossed around like a rag doll.)
Legion: In this realm I am much more powerful than I ever was in the world of Infinite. (Saint falls in front Legion barely conscious and breathing heavily from the brutal beating he received)
Sage: HEY! (Sage yells at Legion as he appears behind Legion completely healed from his wound. Legion turns around to confront Sage)
Legion: So, my sibling finally finished healing you. Perfect! Now I can lay waste to you like I did your brother.
Saint: Brother, don’t! He’s too strong.
Sage: Elian told me everything. So only supernatural beings can use their powers to their full extent, huh?
Legion: Your race is human. You are useless against me.
Sage: Maybe, but can you say the same about Nuriel.
Legion: Nuriel?
Sage: “Nuriel, come to my aid and consume my enemies with Divine Fire” (Suddenly, a fiery angel appears in front of Sage)

link

Nuriel: As my master commands. (Nuriel attacks Legion by summoning fire with a wave of her hand. Legion evades the attacks, but Nuriel keeps pursuing him)
Legion: You gained an npc ally. I did not expect that from you, Sage. Though it would make sense, seeing as fire is your forte. But, it’s useless nonetheless. Demon spawns rule the void realm. Your angel friend is no match against me. (Legion closes the distance between him and Nuriel as he dodges Nuriel’s fiery attacks and manages to wound Nuriel on the shoulder with his black-glowing blade)
Legion: She barely dodged my attack, but how long can your pet angel evade me before I cut her wings off like a fly.
Sage: Nuriel is not your only opponent, Legion.
Legion: And what can you, a mere human, do to me?
Sage: Not me! (He points to Elian who appears above Legion) Her!
Legion: What the...(Elian fires bright beam of light straight down on Legion’s head, which Legion cannot evade in time and is engulfed by the attack)
Legion: Ugh! You...how can you use your powers in a place like this. (Legion finally sees wings appear on Elian’s back as her appearance is completely different now)

link

Legion: You’re an angel? But no player has ever achieved the angel class.
Elian: Correction, I’m half-angel, half-human. I was blessed with this rare class by the Divine Demiurge himself.
Legion: Tch! It doesn’t matter. One angel or two, I cannot be defeated. (Suddenly, Saint comes from behind and swings his double-bladed sword, Fate’s Edge. Legion dodges every swing while Saint twirls it each and every way to try to land at least one blow. Sage takes out his fire gem saying, “This will more than compensate for the loss of my powers in this realm”. The boost the gem gives to Sage transforms his appearance and allows him to conjure enough fire to blast fireballs at Legion.)

link

(Then Elian unshiethes her sword from her staff and joins Saint on the offensive, while Nuriel materializes a pair of long fiery crescent blades and slashes away at Legion. However, Legion skillfully blocks all of their attacks with black-glowing blade sword. Legion cuts Saint’s double-bladed sword in half and pushes him away with his telepathic powers. He then catches Elian’s sword and strikes her on the face with the hilt of his sword causing to retreat back up to the air. Legion then deflects Sage’s incoming fireball attacks with her sword and sends them at Nuriel’s direction, which catches her by surprise as Nuriel cannot evade in time and is engulfed in Sage’s fireballs.
Legion: Did you four really think you could defeat me by ganging up on me like that? Fools! I am a demon spawn. In this place I am unstoppable.
Sage: Hahaha!
Legion: What’s so funny?
Sage: We’re no strangers to demon spawn. My brother and I excel at killing demon spawn. Ifrit, Samael, and Lilith, all of them defeated by us. You may be overpowered in the Void, but we’re servants of the Divine Demiurge, killing demons is our forte.
Legion: Then come and prove it. (Sage grins confidently with intent to kill) I’m going to wipe that smug look off your face and make your friend suffer slowly as you watch.
(Sage slams his hands to the ground and yells, “FLAMES OF IMPRISONMENT”. Bars of flames burst out of the ground around Legion in a circle and converge over his head, trapping Legion within. Elian draws a six-pointed star rune in front of her and chants, “Divine light of binding, immobilize the evil spirit”. Then, a six-pointed star symbol appears beneath Legion and begins to glow brightly.)
Legion: What? I can’t move my legs. (The flaming bars begin to contract toward Legion) You will not hold me! (Legion raises his sword up intending to slash the flaming bars and destroy the glowing six-pointed star symbol underneath his feet, but is soon stopped by Elian, who yells, “Straps of Divine Constraint”. Straps then appear out of thin air and wrap around Legion’s body and tie themselves around him)
Legion: YOU WILL NOT CONSTRAIN MY FURY. I WILL DESTROY YOU AND I WILL UNLEASH MY ANGER ON MAXIMIUS FOR FORSAKING ME.
Saint: No! This is your end here. (Saint raises Fate’s Edge, ready to stab a constrained Legion)
Sage: STOP, REAVE. Legion is the “Fury of the Forsaken”. You kill him and we lose our chance to obtain it.
Saint: But, we’re supposed to defeat her, right?
Sage: Right! Nuriel, cleanse Legion with your “Flames of Purity”. We will cleanse him and bind him to our will.
Legion: NO! RAAAAAHHHHH! (Legion starts to rip the straps one by one.)

link

Elian: He’s getting free. I can’t hold him for long.
Sage: NURIEL NOW!
Nuriel: Command Accepted! (Nuriel summons fire within Legion’s entrapment and is engulfed by the fire, but not before he frees his right arm and throws his sword strait at Sage. To everyone’s shock Sage is stabbed on the chest, who could not block because he was trying to maintain his “Flame of Imprisonment”, and falls to the ground motionless as his spell dissipates)
Elian and Saint: SAGE! (Legion then pulls Saint to himself with his telepathic powers and traps him within the fire)
Legion: If I die then you die with me. (Legion and Saint are purified by the fire and both drop to the ground, but the fire doesn’t affect Saint. However, to everyone’s surprise Legion is no longer seen and instead a woman is in his place. Elian runs to Sage and attempts to heal him, but the black-glowing blade of Legion doesn’t allow her.)
Saint: Who are you? (The woman begins to laugh as she gets up to her feet)
Layna: Like I told you, loverboy. (Saint recognizes the voice)
Saint: Layna!? What did you do to Legion?
Layna: I am Legion. It’s emberrasing to expose my true self, but what can I do. As much as I want to tear you apart (“and keep you to myself”, she whispers), I’m no longer allowed by the spell cast on me by Nuriel.
Elian: Saint, I can’t heal your brother. I can’t save him. (Elian tries to hold her tears, but Sage, who is barely conscious, sees it and weakly says)
Sage: Why are you crying? It’s just my character dying, I’ll just respawn to the nearest town.
Elian: No....you won’t.
Sage: Huh?
(Legion addresses Saint)
Legion: My sister is keeping something from you two, hmhmhm.
Saint: Your sister? What do you mean she’s keeping something from us? (Legion ignores his questions and changes topic)
Legion: It’s funny that your brother always ends up in Elian’s arms. You got to wonder why, but I guess you already know. (Saint tries not to let Layna get to him and instead begs for Layna to help his brother)
Saint: Layna, please do something about this. Save my brother. (Layna blushes at Saint’s begging)
Layna: You’re so cute when you beg. What can I get in return?
Saint: In return? Uh....You get to help take down Maximius. Please, Layna, my brother doesn’t have much time.
Layna: Well...as long as it’s you who’s asking. (She goes to Sage and takes out her sword, which then allows Elian to heal Sage)
Saint: Thank you so much, Layna. (Layna blushes again, but then hides it by getting mad)
Layna: hmph! You just better hold your part of the agreement.
Saint: Of course, Layna. You can count on that. (Sage gets up and thanks Layna for her help)
Sage: I don’t say this very much to others, but thanks. Now that this fight is over, your spirit must enter combine with mine in order that I can have the power of the “Fury of the Forsaken”.
Layna: Eww! Heck no, If there’s anyone I should be together with, it’s Saint.
Sage: huh?
Layna: I...I mean, he’s the least I hate out of all three of you.
Saint: I don’t mind! Besides, if we’re gonna take down Maximius, it’s gonna take all of us together to do it. Each of us should get stronger.
Sage: I agree! Alright, Legion...or is it Layna....anyways go ahead and enter Saint’s being and be a part of him.
Layna: Don’t order me around, you disgust me. Hmph! (Layna’s spirit enters Saint’s being and becomes part of him. Saint then feels a surge of power flow through him)
Saint: Wow, this is amazing! I can already feel stronger.
Sage: Good! And Elian....
Elian: Yes? (Sage smiles at Elian)
Sage: I should have said this earlier, but thank you. (Elian turns her face in order to hide her blushing)
Elian: It’s alright. It’s what team members do for each other. (Saint starts to feel uneasy at Sage’s and Elian’s exchange, and to his surprise hears Layna’s voice within his head, “Well, well, they’re getting along very well”)
Saint whispers: Layna, is that you?
Layna: Yes, it’s me. You and I have fused together and now all of my strength is yours. You’d better not die. *whispers* Although I wouldn’t mind if we did die to together.
Saint: What was that?
Layna: N...nothing. (She digs into Saint’s memories) Interesting, you have someone else you like. What’s her name? So I can kill her myself.
Saint: N...no I don’t. And you’re not killing anybody. Can you please not get in my head?
Layna: Don’t worry, I won’t. Most of your memories is of that stupid creature that you call your brother anyways. (Saint sighs in frustration)
Sage: What’s wrong, Reave?
Saint: It’s nothing. Where should we go now?
Sage: I was thinking of looking for the “Vengeance of the Vanquished”. And I think I have an idea of where it might be.
Elian: And where is that?
Sage: It’s time we pay a visit to Maximius.
Saint: What???

To be continued.....

[Wolfsong]

OOC- I'm beginning to sense a theme here, FreddyCast

/Pierce/Arachni/
"What are the current readings?"
"Um, Siccilian or Serrisol?" Issa asked, opening the door.
"The iceland. I would know right away if Serrisol changed."
Issa nodded and entered the room, which strongly resembled the lab back home in reality. Nebris came in after him, followed by Arachni, who was shadowed by Ke'Tala and Andonov. Their IFF recruit studied the place with a set, grim expression, so you couldn't tell if he was at all surprised by this revelation of a hidden world plane and hacker's lab.
Issa went straight to one of the computers - tech stolen from the mods - and began to boot it up. Nebris grabbed the second, active one, and pulled up Galaga. Arachni gave hima very expressive look, which Nebris cheerfully ignored. Issa fiddled with the keyboard till he'd pulled up a graph. He did a few more things, then announced, "Siccilian. Temperature ranging from -35* F to -125*F. Weather conditions: winds at 10mph, but growing stronger as the day progresses. Currently clear skies, with 100% chance of snowfall in approximately 2hr."
"In other words, another regular day," Nebris remarked cheekily.
Arachni was quiet, studying the screen. "Wasn't it colder about two weeks ago?" he asked.
Issa nodded slowly. "Ye-es. Yes it was."
"So what?" Nebris said, shrugging. "The weather changes, like it should. So what?"
"We're going into winter, Nebris. This would only make sense if we were going into summer."
"Your point?"
Arachni ignored him, staring at the ceiling. "Issa, Oracle's one of the surviving mods, correct?"
"yes sir."
Arachni considered this. "Perhaps its time we pulled her into the game. But can she be trusted...she wasn't one of the mods involved in that messaging system, was she?"
"No sir," Issa replied.
"Arachni, you're putting way too much stock in this. It was a bloody maintenance job, for pity's sake."
"Issa, pull up that last report from a month ago, please."
Issa quietly obeyed. Arachni leaned over his shoulder, reading the chart. "Mobius. Temperatures ranging from 112*F to 258*F. Weather conditions: winds at 25mph, cloudy skies. 30% chance of rain." he looked at Nebris.
He shrugged. "Yeah, and?"
"Nebris," Arachni said patiently. "Mobius is a volcanic region." he turned to Ke'Tala, leaving Nebris to scratch his head. "Is Fafnir ready?"
"We have all the equipment set up," she replied. "Whenever you're ready."
He nodded. "Open communications with Garrison. Have him plant a bug so we can listen in on Maximius, then tell him to get out of there. I don't want him near Maximius, particularly since we're about to drop a glitching dragon on his head. Issa, was Ingo willing?"
"Yes." Issa chuckled. "He was quite willing."
Arachni nodded. "Alright then. Lets get rolling." and he walked out, followed by Andonov and Ke'Tala.

/Zara/Kiari/
She almost blacked out again. The pressure was incredible. The force of the water forced her down, and she struggled for one of the tunnel openings. She saw the one she went through last time, recognizing its distinctive cross-like shape, but she was sucked downward before she could reach it. Frantically, she grabbed at another one, shaped disturbingly like a skull, and swam within. She swam quickly, her air almost out. The tunnel turned upwards, and she swan hopefully up.
She broke to the surface, inhaling deeply. She tred water, blinking and trying to see through the water in her eyes. There was a ledge nearby, though it was a little high...she swam over and started climbing the uneven, rocky surface. As she had hoped, the ledge proved to lead to a cave, though it veered sharply left a little further in. As it was, she collapsed, clinging to the ground gratefully and breathing.
Finally, she stood, opening the pouch to remove a couple of rings. "Daughter of Sol, arise Astral, and light my way. Herald of sorrow...Michaelis, get your butt out of the spirit realm and get over here."
"Why so rude?" Michaelis sighed, appearing beside her. Astral appeared a little further in, lighting up the tunnel.
"Sorry. I just had a really rough day."
He nodded, looking around. "So what happened?"
Kiari started down the tunnel as she began to explain. It began to widen out and change. Soon, Kiari stared open-mouthed at what the place had transformed into. The cavern walls were not made of earth and stone, but of some unearthly material that glowed, multiple colors playing across its surface, reflected by the light coming from some scattered stones.
"Glowstone," Kiari said. "What is this place?"
"Me thinks you chose the door that led to a dungeon," Michaelis said. "Great job."
"As far as I know, they all lead to dungeons. Astral, what is ahead?"
Astral shook her head. "More tunnels, I'm afraid."
Kiari sighed. "Great. I don't have time to march down a dozen tunnels. I need to get out of here. If Loki was serious, I could be..."
MIchaelis nodded. "You sub-log out. We'll try and carry you out, and keep you safe."
"Concern, Michaelis?" Kiari asked wryly. "How unlike you."
"Don't let it get to your head," he replied sourly. "Hurry up."
Kiari nodded and leaned against the wall. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." and she logged out.

/Rowan/Caesar/
"Oh thank you, I would never have picked up on that," Caesar retorted. he grabbed Noriko by the shoulders and forcefully lifted her up to her feet, shaking her. "Wake up Noriko! I can't pull your weight for you!"
In response she leapt into his arms, clinging to him like a leech. "I'm a fairy, okay?" she whimpered. "I have no super-power attacks. I'm helpless here."
He shook his head. "Fine, then stay behind me." He forced her off and to his back, facing the surrounding monsters.
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed across the garden. All the plants were still, then suddenly instantly closed up and tried to get as low as they could, some vanishing directly into the ground. Caesar turned very slowly to Noriko. "What," he said slowly. "DO you have that could scare those things?"
"Its like an earth dragon, except it looks like the spawn of a Gila monster and a Tasmanian devil. I'm not sure what its called. But I was assured it made a great guard..."
"Too blinking good," he snapped. Just fine. He tilted his head, dodging a knife. "Lets run!" and he started for the wall. The earth below began to rumble, and he felt his heart sink.

Elsewhere....(this is to get Arystar going again Koneko )
"So do we attack now?" the boy was asking.
Cyrano smiled at him. "Patience Braedn." He was quiet, tilting his head back. "Silk? You copy?"
"Yes, I'm here."
"What's the time?"
"Time for dinner?"
Cyrano rolled his eyes. "Haha. Be serious Silk."
"Just wait for it..."
Suddenly, the vegetation all over the swamp suddenly opened up into a new world. Beautiful flowers opened, releasing a luminous light and lights like fireflies. The moss glowed and emerald green. The entire swamp transformed like a fairy tale, becoming something beautiful. Cyrano shook his head slowly. "I've seen it many times, and it still takes my breath away."
"Time to attack?" Braedn asked.
Cyrano smiled faintly. "Right. lets get going."
-- -- --
"Initiating shadow mode," Silk said with a smile. He began tapping random keys on his laptop. His computer had originally been an illegal item some years ago, when he was with the hackers. Now it was the only non-mod-operated laptop in Infinite, a gift from the mods because he had joined up with Cyrano as a symbol of their joined support behind him. As he was a whiz with computers, he had soon worked out many things which would have otherwise been impossible.
He was about to click enter when he heard Cyrano saying, "Silk, transport us out of here."
"Why? What happened?"
"I'll tell you when I get back."
Silk shook his head, turning to the person next to him, Arystar, and said, "Well don't that beat all? He's calling off the attack. Why do you suppose that is?"