OOC: This could be fun... BIC: "Knock mine down to three years, and use the other seventeen years of income to restore the light and dark worlds," Xardius said. "I'll chip in a bit if you'll agree to that...I have enough money as it is..."
OOC: That's weird because Enigma didn't use a portal...but I'll let it slide...XD Anyway, I'm out for the night, I'll see you tomorrow Nulix. BIC: "I'll read everything first," Xardius said dryly, taking the contract from Nulix. "Hmm, when does this contract expire?"
"It's fine, Lexx," Xardius said. "I wasn't really serious..." *** Enigma slowly withdrew the Harbinger, and picked up Vecked. "That's what I thought...see you around." And he disappeared, jumping into space. *** Enigma put Vecked down on the grassy slope. "Sorry, I gotta go," Enigma said. "But no one will find you here...and if they do, you're on your own." He jumped again, leaving the unconscious Vecked alone.
"I can help you..." Xardius muttered under his breath. "Straight off a cliff." Out loud, he said, "I'm doing great, Nulix. So, Lexx, let me guess, you reward us for doing your dirty work, right? How much money?" *** Enigma's eyes narrowed. "I'm only going to ask one more question...Are you, by chance, related to Rentu Skinnar?"
Within an instant, it was over. The UPA lay all unconscious on the ground, and the Harbinger bared against Skinnar's neck. "Where are you taking him?" Enigma asked softly, his eyes glowing. *** Xardius popped out of the portal, and literally ran into Lexx. In fact, Lexx fell over, and Xardius nearly walked on him, but managed not to. "Er, sorry," Xardius said. "Didn't realize I'd come so close...Hey, Nulix, Xane..."
Rain fell from the broken sky. Enigma stood in silence. Xardius stood facing him, the rain steaming around him. The woman smiled. "Thank you," Xardius said to the woman. "Though I'm not sure why I'm thanking myself." "Power does not define who you are," the woman said. "I am your power...You use me, but that does not make me you, or you me. I'll come by again someday..." Smiling, she faded away. Xardius turned back to Enigma. "So, where were we?" he asked, raising Chomper. Enigma smiled. "I was about to tell you everything, Darius Lionheart..." And so he did, while Vecked listened on in growing horror... When it was done, Xardius bowed to Enigma without a word, opened a portal to Space Paranoids, and stepped through to once again reunite with his friends. Enigma looked up at the sky, where the rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to break through. "Vecked, I hope you realize now..." Enigma said softly. "Just how much we've all been used..." OOC: No, I don't expect Vecked to do anything drastic from what he's just "learned".
OOC: True that... BIC: Enigma shook his head. "You are perhaps the most stubborn person I have ever met. Everyone else by now has just accepted their fate." "Yeah, well," Xardius coughed. "Comes with the territory." "Do you understand now?" the woman said. Xardius stared at her. "What?" Enigma shook his head. "I didn't say anything..." "Control, my dear friend," the woman said. "Control is the key. You have power, yes, you have the most power I've ever felt in anyone. But he defeated you with absolute control." "I'm not done yet," Xardius said, slowly standing. "I'll win this fight..." "You will?" the woman asked. "You will, will you?" Enigma said, raising his sword. "And how will you do that?" "I'll do it," Xardius said. "Just watch me." The woman shook her head as Enigma did. "You'll only die, Xardius. Die." Xardius leaned against the wall. "I...can't...die...yet..." "Everyone dies," Enigma said. "No you can't," the woman said. "That's why I appeared now. You know who I am...Let me help you." Xardius stared at her, and Enigma blinked. "You're not talking to me," he said slowly... "What should I do?" Xardius asked. The woman placed a hand on his chest, though it was a bit of a reach for her hand to cover his wound. Within an instant, it closed and power surged through him once more. "This is your power," she said. "The power of the Phoenix. Use it. Don't let it use you. Control it. All at once. Defeat him!" And there it was...all at once, the power crashing down on him, like so long ago, before he'd sealed it from the unbearable pressure. He saw his folly now; he'd put it aside instead of controlling it. He wasn't a true Phoenix at all; he was a fake that sometimes used its power. And it was crushing him now. "No..." Xardius growled, holding his head. "I hold you, not the other way around. Obey me....OBEY ME!" The woman smiled as the air around them turned blistering hot, the castle that had once held Scourge blasted itself apart, and the area for miles turned into desert, blistering hot desert. Red wings erupted from Xardius' back, wings of fire. His eyes burned, and flames spat from his mouth, and skin. "OBEY ME!" Xardius roared, and in the apocalypse of power, the Lionheart truly became what he'd claimed all these years: a Phoenix. EDIT OOC: See you Pirate.
OOC: Where's Xardius' ship, hmm? BIC: Enigma was fast, Xardius admitted. Incredibly fast. He dodged around every one of his blows. But he wasn't attacking. He was too busy defending. In fact, the muscles in his jaw were bunched and sweat streaked his forehead. He'd made a mistake. No one could beat him at 100%. No one. And he was operating at full power. The ground cracked apart around him as he powered up, moving faster and faster. Enigma disengaged, breathing heavier than normal, though not as much as Xardius had thought, and spun the dark crystal. "You are very skilled, I'll admit," Enigma said. "I haven't had to pull out this in a long time." The dark crystal lengthened, then a flash of light as a black katana jetted into his hands. "It makes no difference," Xardius said, charging in. But this time it was the Lionheart who had made a mistake. Enigma moved even faster than before, attacking relentlessly, forcing Xardius to defend faster than he was capable. Small cuts quickly spread across his body, and Xardius skidded back, breathing heavily. "I...can't...get past him..." he wheezed to himself, as Enigma began advancing on him. "He's nowhere near as powerful as me..." How am I losing? "Perhaps you're right," the woman said. "But you still haven't figured it out." Xardius gritted his teeth. "You again? I'll prove all of you wrong...I will win this battle." Slamming Chomper into the ground, Xardius pulled out the long crystal from his belt. Enigma paused. "Ah, the infamous Masamune. Already pulling out your last resort?" The Masamune, the most powerful sword in existence, flashed into Xardius' hadns. "This is the end," he said, and flashed by. He turned back towards Enigma, spinning the Masamune. Enigma turned to face him, the Harbinger steaming in his hands. "Is that all?" he asked. "I expected more." Xardius blinked. Only one person had ever survived that. And they hadn't been able to block it completely. Xardius began having a sinking feeling that he was going to lose this battle... Then Enigma was on him, and the Masamune was alive with fire, blocking the black katana back. Black against silver. Steel vs steel. Then the death blow. Enigma spun the Masamune out of Xardius' hands, and stabbed deep into his sternum. Pulling out as Xardius gasped, he kicked him into the wall nearest them. Xardius fell forward. "No..." Slowly, he began pulling himself up. "I don't lose...I can't lose..." "Stubborn," Enigma said. "It won't help you any." Swinging the Harbinger, blade beams erupted from it, crashing into Xardius and driving him into the wall, again and again and again... Finally, Xardius slumped forward onto his knees, still refusing to give up even though the world was going dark...
OOC: ......... BIC: "What?" Xardius muttered as Enigma disappeared into the portal. "You...can't just...get away with that!" Reaching out, Xardius caught the tendrils of Enigma's portal and dove through his own. Enigma turned as Xardius rolled through the portal. Enigma shook his head. "You're lucky Scourge isn't here...He'd have had you killed...I will be more lenient. Leave. Now." "Not until you tell me what's going on!" Xardius said, aiming Chomper at Enigma. "First, you help us, then you disappear, and reappear on the other side, then reappear on our side, then...Agh, I give up! Whose side are you on?" "I do things for my own reasons," Enigma said. "It just so happens that they coincide with your side at times, and the Brotherhood's during the others. Do you have a problem with that?" "You'd better make your issues coincide with my side right now," Xardius growled. "Tell me what I want to know." "And what will you do to make me talk?" Enigma asked, his expression unreadable. "Will you fight me?" Xardius readied Chomper. "If that's what it takes..." "Then dance," Enigma said, and in an instant, he was next to Xardius, the dark crystal spinning in his hand...
OOC: Lucky guess, Pirate... BIC: Xardius walked into a battlefield. The UPA's second army facility was now completely in ruins. Xardius shook his head at the slagged buildings. "Too bad for you," a voice said behind him, and Xardius turned to see Zaxor and Trent staring at him. Zaxor continued. "You got here just as we finished...bad luck." Xardius pulled out Chomper. "You punks feeling lucky today?" Zaxor smiled. "I'd love to kill you, Lionheart...Shall we, Trent?" "You guys are really cocky, y'know that?" Xardius growled. "Last time didn't go so hot did it?" "Azull's fault, really," Zaxor said dryly. "His illusions were biased upon how he viewed me and Trent here. Since he dislikes us, we were severely underpowered. In fact, I could say that our power is now over 10 times what it was before." "And...?" Xardius asked, cocking an eyebrow. A vein pulsed in Zaxor's temple. "Who's cocky?" "If you hadn't noticed, I rather have a reason for it," Xardius smiled. "Zaxor! Trent!" Enigma said, stepping through a portal. "Back to work!" "Too bad..." Trent said, opening a portal. "Next stop..." As the two disappeared, Enigma turned to Xardius. "Enigma," Xardius began. "I need to talk to..." Enigma raised a hand, and the pavement below Xardius' feet exploded in white hot fire, sending him flying back... Picking himself out of the dirt, he watched Enigma turn and open a portal. "Don't bother getting up," Enigma said, and stepped through.
OOC: Get Xardius something red and fast...he'll modify everything else so it won't matter... BIC: Xardius landed heavily on the grass floor. He heard chuckling behind him, and he twisted to his feet. There stood Azull the Illusionist, still very much alive. "Before you ask, aren't you supposed to be dead," Azull said, wiping his mouth. "Let's skip the irony and just move on: I'm not." "You're supposed to be dead?" Xardius asked, and Azull rolled his eyes. "Yes, I killed myself killing Novice," he said, turning back to the castle rubble. "Let me guess, Xane?" Xardius asked, walking closer. Azull nodded absent-mindedly. "And your Guardian friends...They provided the means to escape...Ah, here it is." "Means to escape? I don't get it," Xardius said, standing behind Azull and peering over at him as he dug on his hands and knees in the rubble, finally retrieving a beat-up bag. Azull reached inside and pulled out a picture. Xardius looked at it and saw a beautiful woman with a small child. "My wife and son," Azull said. "I've been trying to leave the Brotherhood for months now...ever since he was born. It's why I created the massive illusion I did, so in case this didn't work, I could revert." "Massive illusion?" Xardius asked, feeling stupid. Azull nodded, putting the picture back in the bag. "When I arrived on Asgard...That's when I cast it. I tried to tell Vecked, but I did it wrong, and Enigma messed it up." "Why?" Xardius asked. "Why did I tell Vecked or why did Enigma stop me?" Azull asked back. "I wanted to warn him in case I had to revert, and as for Enigma...he does things for his own reasons." Standing up, he shouldered the pack. "Have a nice life, Lionheart." "Sounds like you don't plan on me visiting," Xardius said, folding his arms. Azull smiled slightly. "Maybe after the war. Just do me a favor." "What?" Xardius asked. "Scourge is..." Azull began, then stopped. "Stop Scourge. Atone for his sin." "Huh?" Xardius grunted. "You'll know soon enough I'm afraid," Azull said, turning and walking off. "See you around." And with that, he disappeared. Xardius shook his head, and thought about where to go next. "Enigma...might know what Azull was talking about..." "Try Radiant Garden," the woman said. Xardius grunted. "You still here?" "Always," the woman said as Xardius opened a portal. "Stop following me," Xardius growled, stepping through. "Trust me, it's not voluntary," the woman sighed as the portal closed...
OOC: I'm here! And let's see...where were we...? BIC: Tera Roth, Tyre, and Highwind sat in the small gummi, heading for Dark Port Royal... "Why?" Tera Roth asked, and Highwind shrugged. "I had a feeling that's all," he said. "The last time you had a feeling..." Tera Roth began. Their conversation was lost upon the expanse of space. *** Xardius was confused; Mekorian's death hadn't fazed Tephobian at all, despite the fact that his companion was quickly overcome. It must not be really them was what came to mind, and this heartened him. He didn't really like killing former friends. One swing from Chomper halved the quarterstaff, then he rolled as the feather blasted flames at him. Coming up from the roll, he sliced deep into Tephobian's side. Tephobian stumbled, and Xardius beheaded him. "Interesting," Wraith said. "That was all too easy for you, wasn't it? I'll have to do better next time..." The twilight swirled up, obscuring everything. Light and dark twisted the mix, making it impossible to clear, though Xardius was sure Wing was trying. "Cowards always stab the back," Xardius muttered, and sprinted towards Wing's position, skidding to a stop and thrusting just as Wraith appeared from the twilight, a sword ready to skewer Wing. Instead, he got a gutful of Chomper. Wraith howled and disappeared, the twilight disintegrating... "He got away!" Xardius fumed, then Wraith appeared again, holding its stomach and trembling. "How dare you!" it spat, and Xardius found himself flying away through a portal as Wraith disappeared once more, screaming as it did so, "I'll be back!"
OOC: I gotta go. Family thing. i'd rather be gagged by about two rubber spoons at once than play the game we're going to play, but...y'know. Anyway, I'll see you guys tomorrow or something. It was fun tonight guys!
"Run away, Vecked," Xardius said. "This is our fight." "Wing," Xardius said. "These guys...I remember them...Do not underestimate them, or you'll end up full of holes like I was." Mekorian saluted Xardius. "I'll take your friend, eh, Darius?" "You don't exist anymore," Xardius growled, as Tephobian launched himself at him, Chomper colliding with the quarterstaff, ringing from the blow. Meanwhile, Mekorian strode up to Wing. "Good evening, sir," Mekorian said. "Earth has been sorely overlooked in this drama. Let me show you the mistake that was..." His sword launched itself towards Wing as Mekorian suddenly moved fast towards Wing...
Wraith peered at Vecked, then said, "Kill him." Mekorian nodded, and pulled out his sword. Tephobian's quarter-staff spun in a circle, a red feather dancing in his other hand. As one, they advanced on Vecked. Xardius pushed the gunblade away from him. "You always did overestimate your own value to other people, Vecked," Xardius muttered. "And if you hadn't noticed, the reason you were able to exploit the Brotherhood like you did was because the members were doing whatever they wanted...what's going to stop this Wraith here from taking you out...?" He shrugged. "Scourge isn't here to tell him no...and there's no way to tell how you died in the twilight..." Wraith cocked his head. "The big one actually thought about this..."
Xardius looked around, pocketing the crystal he'd been about to pull out. Good, I won't have to use it. "Oh, this is no fun," a voice said as the twilight molded into a humanoid shape, clothed in dark, light, and twilight, masked and genderless. "It would have been fun to watch the end of that battle..." "Who...?" Xardius began. "Am I? Wraith, of the Brotherhood, charged with destroying the Twilight Goddess and her powers," Wraith said. Xardius glared. "So you were after Wing." "He's important to you, and Scourge hates the things important to you most of all," Wraith said, cocking its head. "I'm not going to stop. What will you do?" "Kill you," Xardius said, stepping forward. Immediately, two beings stepped from the twilight. Names flitted into Xardius' memory: Tephobian the Celestial Mage of Fire, and Mekorian the Celestial Mage of Earth. "That's right," Wraith crooned, and Xardius blinked, unaware he'd said the words aloud. "Have fun with my pets." "Vecked, there's no leaving this place until we kill Wraith," Xardius said. "You going to sit back and watch, or kick him to oblivion with me? You too Wing. You in?"
OOC: Meh, just do it Pirate. And I'll keep that in mind Nulix. BIC: "Hmph," Xardius said. "If you can dodge those, then how about these?" Xardius' sword turned into a blinding flash of silver as he spun as fast as possible (at least with Chomper); he honestly thought it was the fastest he'd ever gone...and watched in horror as Vecked slid around all the blows. This is going to take time, speed, and power, Xardius thought, and so he made a decision...The time had come for the Masamune.
Meh, it's all right. I probably could have thought of that...maybe...
OOC: Just Xane betting the ship even when Nulix said not to bet anything...
OOC: Pirate, you're almost evil... BIC: "I would say the same thing, except it's not," Xardius said. "16 hours of being devil's food can do that to a guy...I'd just really like to get this over with..." Summoning fire, Xardius glared at Vecked. "One of us takes home the glory, Vecked. We both control flame...Let's just see who's better." Xardius threw the flame at Vecked, the flame exploding into hundreds of other flames, zeroing in on Vecked... EDIT OOC: Xardius isn't really in the mood to talk...He wants to eat people alive...
