DeathKnight

[color=purple]Kaida continued to examine her malfunctioning teleporter and murmured technical jargon to herself as she approached the massive doors. A sigh of resignation escaped her lips and she slid it back into her pocket. "Lost cause, boss?" Arachnid asked. "Yes, unfortunately. It needs a rest for now." She raised her eyes to the doors and nodded to them. "Arachnid, Tetros. Open the door." The two of them swung the heavy doors open with ease and the team slowly made their way into the chamber beyond. A door stood across the way from them. The walls were lined with mosaics of the past. Most of them depicted sacrifices to a lone, shadowy figure and above the figure there was always a large, opened eye. Above them, the ceiling domed upwards to an impressive height. All along the ceiling there was a cryptic script that was marred by splotches of long-dried blood. Within the center of the dome stood a lone drawing of a the same fully opened eye that stared down upon a pedestal on the ground. Five mirrors circled the pedestal, all of them focusing inwardly to it. Upon the pedestal there stood a rather unassuming goblet. It called to Kaida.. asked her to approach, to come forward. She walked forward partially in a daze, her team following her, unaware of her mental condition. "Whoa.." Pandora's words echoed inside the room as she followed Kaida forward into the room. "This is a bit creepier than the last room." Arachnid commented, looking at all the macabre mosaics. Kaida was silent and continued to approach the goblet. She stopped right next to the pedestal and stared down into the goblet. Down, down into it.. into the fresh blood that rested within it. She knew it had been collected from all that had died on that day thus far. How did she know that..? What did she.. the darkness completely consumed her once more. "Kaida?" Tetros said with some suspicion. "Are you alright?" Tetros and Liquid exchanged a concerned glance before looking back to Kaida. "My senses are really blaring now. Some thing is up with this room." Arachnid said, without noticing the odd behavior of Kaida. "****, this place [b]is[/b] creepy." Kaida took the goblet and walked to one of the mirrors around the pedestal. She dipped her fingers into the goblet and wrote a single runic character upon the mirror. She proceeded to move to the next mirror and write a different character upon it, muttering about [b]his[/b] will. "She's been possessed again." Tetros said with a shake of his head. "Sheba's blood has weakened her mental resistance." "Damn it." Liquid cursed and looked over to Tetros. "What do you think we should do?" "Isn't it obvious? We have to get her out of here!" Arachnid yelled. Kaida flipped around and raised her hand, the blood within the goblet glowing brilliantly as she did. Both of the doors within the room slammed shut, a loud locking noise reverberating throughout the chamber. She quietly returned to writing upon the mirrors, having only one more to go. ".. So much for that idea." Pandora said in a quiet tone of voice. "Should we.. kill her?" Liquid asked hesitantly. "The Rite is completed!" Kaida declared triumphantly, cutting off any reply to Liquid's question. The final character was drawn and Kaida stepped back. She fell to her knees as she regained control of herself and dropped the goblet, splattering the floor with blood. She held her head and let out a low "Ugh.." from the pain that roared throughout her head. Large cracks appeared on the faces of the mirrors and each of them shattered. The pieces flew onto the walls around them and the temple shook with fury as a bright light appeared from the painted eye above them, bathing the room in it's intensity. It lingered on for several seconds before disappearing. The eye above them was now shut and the doors had reopened. "The Rite has been completed by the Priestess. Now the nightmares shall run freely..." "Kaida." Liquid said, ignoring [b]his[/b] voice and shaking her. "Kaida. Get a hold of yourself." "I'm fine, I'm fine." She shakily stood up and looked to the far door. "Keep pushing forward. We must be almost to [b]him[/b]."[/color]

[color=crimson]Kira let out a low whistle as Sage disappeared with Trianna into the void, "And there they go.." "We should get moving as well." Sakura said as she watched the darkness dissipate completely. "There is much ground to cover and we don't have the benefit of that power." "Yeah, I guess." Kira glanced to Sakura. "Let's get moving, partner." Sakura ascended up into the air fluidly and rested her glaive upon her shoulder. Kira looked up to her with an arched eyebrow and scratched her chin. "Flying, hm." She tilted her head to the side, "Haven't seen that in awhile." "Want a lift?" Sakura asked as she looked down at Kira. Kira shook her head a bit and Sakura shook her head, "Are you sure?" "Might as well just run it." Kira shrugged and gestured north-east, "That's the right direction, yeah?" Sakura nodded, "Good, good. Sable." She looked him and did a casual salute, "We will get this done no problem, chief." Sable nodded a reply to her. "Yes, you can count on us." Sakura added and got another nod from him. She sailed away through the air towards the northeast at a high speed that caused Kira to click her tongue in surprise. "She's a quick one, mm." Kira said, turned and did a series up quick leaps up to the building tops. She jumped across them as quickly as possible, following Sakura behind as they made their way towards their destination. Through the sky the two of them went, searching for their objective. As they sailed along, there was evidence of rogue souls scattered around them but none of the rogue souls themselves. Finally, they reached a strangely-quiet area of the city that seemed infested by roving bands of the rogue souls. "Split up?" Sakura offered as Kira looked down on some of them. "Sure." Kira stood on the edge of the rooftop and frowned a bit, "But this is going to be a bit annoying." "It could prove to be amusing." Sakura said before she flew towards a nearby group of souls. "One can only hope." Kira muttered as she stepped off the edge and fell towards her first targets.[/color]

[quote name='sakurasuka][SIZE=1']I might actually graduate this year *Shock* I'm homeschooled, so I just work through the summer and stuff. I'm over two years ahead of all my peers... It's really wierd =/ But I haven't even taken the SATs yet, so I might have to wait 'till next year to graduate. Yeah, 15's a bit young to be going to college.[/SIZE][/quote] [color=crimson]I'd suggest you wait. I'm in a similar boat to you [graduated early via homeschooling] and I'm waiting until I have a concept of what I want my future to be before I leap into college. SATs are a breeze so don't fret about them. Uh, 2k6. Job. Yeah, I'm going to get a job somewhere tolerable. Aside from that it's kind of an off year for interesting events, lol. Take things as they come. Otherwise, I think existing will take up most of my time unless God decides to smite all of us for being loud and smelly. Good times for everyone.[/color]

[quote name='Gavin][SIZE=1']No offence man, but what's wrong with you ?[/SIZE][/quote] [color=crimson]I'm seventy to eighty percent sure you took what he said wrong although he didn't particularly word his feelings properly. Anyway, life is pain and pleasure. It's pretty much your choice what you focus your eyes on- the parts that really blow or the parts that really rule. That's kind of simplistic but I'm not really keen on longwinded outpourings of empathy. Anyway, I don't really understand where you are coming from as everyone has their own independent version of hell but I will say that hard times fall on everyone. Just have to trudge through them.[/color]

[quote name='DeadSeraphim][size=1][color=indigo][font=arial]I've got to work now, someone else can wrap up this farce.[/font][/color'][/size][/quote] [color=crimson]Done. I wrapped up the 'farce' with a farce. Yatta. [strike]Anyway- all applicable parties fall into pandemonium if you desire your character to. Or, just let Kaida be zonked for awhile. Choose your poison.[/strike] Edit: Baron, nice post. Two thumbs up for you. Uh, carry on.[/color]

[color=purple]Kaida pulled out the spherical piece of machinery she had pocketed earlier and turned to Unhate, "Do you want the honors or shall I?" He looked to Sheba's body and pondered for a moment before shrugging, "Have at it. I've wasted enough ammo on that damn thing." "Alright." Kaida replied and focused her magic into the sphere. A light red hue began to emanate from it that gave the room an eerie tone. "Take cover, Team." She ordered without looking to them. A few seconds passed before she tossed the sphere at the carcass. It plopped into one of the gaping wounds she had sustained and Kaida began to count down in a low voice. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1.. 0." The light radiating from it flickered a few times before it unleashed a rather sizable explosion that ripped the body into pieces. A large fragment of her body landed on Unhate's face, splattering blood and.. [i]stuff[/i].. across it. His face locked into an intense gaze of irritation that worried Kaida. She blinked and peered up at him, "Uhm, Unhate? Are you.. alright?" Before he could answer, Tetros came over and took the bloody piece of off Unhate's face. He looked it over for several seconds, deeply examining it. A low 'hmm' escaped his lips before he looked up to Kaida and Unhate, "She is dead." He stated in a serious tone. Unhate arched an eyebrow at Tetros and shook his head without saying a word. He wiped the blood, guts and otherwise off of his person without much fuss. "Go on." He said calmly. "And this is real," Tetros tossed the piece to the side and continued, "No illusions are at work here." "Damn, I hope so." Arachnid stated and kicked another piece across the room. "She was really pissing me off, you know?" A single spot of blood remained on Unhate's face. Kaida began to point it out but, before she could, it simply.. floated off. Hanging in the air, it moved slowly to where the majority of the pieces were and stalled. All of their eyes fixated on the single, hovering glob. ".. Her presence lingers on." Melinoe finally said. "Damn this mystical ****.." Arachnid muttered to himself as he took point. More droplets of blood rose up, congregating where only the one had been before. They conglomerated into a rather heftily sized sphere, larger and larger it grew until finally.. it stopped. All of Sheba's blood was within it now and it stood still, taking no action. A hush fell over the room that was only broken by a low hum emanating from the sphere itself. Sharp bolts of electricity ripped out from it without aim, tracing along the floors, walls and ceiling erratically. The blue bolts came close to striking the team but their lack of aim prevented any of them from being struck. "Ready yourselves." Kaida said. She raised her pistol as the light show continued. A single bolt connected with the ruined altar and it began to slowly reconstruct itself. As the altar finished returning to it's former glory the bolts ceased and the orb pulsated repeatedly. An eye formed on it's surface and opened, staring directly at the team. "Thank you, my [b]lord[/b]. Your powers surpass even death.." Sheba's voice emanated out from the orb. Kaida turned to the altar and fired a shot at it which was deflected by an invisible force, "The bloody temple is reviving her." She hissed and fired again, even if was hopeless. Taking offense to this, a tendril struck out from the orb and wrapped around Kaida's neck, taking her by surprise. It receded, bringing her back to the orb. The eye narrowed as it looked at Kaida, it's squeeze growing tighter. "D-.." She struggled to get any words out of her mouth. "You pitiful fools. Now do you realize the futility of your efforts?! Mere mortals killing me.. what folly!" Sheba's voice was tinged with arrogance. [b]Bang.[/b] Unhate provided the proper response to her egotistical comments. His shot hit the tendril nerve-wrackingly close to Kaida and severed it, saving her from certain death. It turned to ash as Kaida staggered to her feet and was greeted by another tendril sailing at her. Unhate skillfully fired again, intercepting it before it could strike. Multiple tendrils snaked out of the orb, going after several members of the team at once. Kaida rolled forward and began to carefully fire, surgically removing the tendrils as Unhate was. "Somebody take care of Pandora and Liquid!" Kaida yelled out as she attempted to dodge an oncoming tendril. "Roger~!" Vernacular replied and rushed toward Pandora. She slapped her on the cheek lightly several times, "Come on, hun. Awaken, arise, get up! This is no time for a nap!" The tendril wrapped around Kaida's leg and angrily tossed her, sending her flying through the air. She adjusted herself in mid-air and let off a few haphazard shots. "I've got ya, boss!" Arachnid jogged backwards, his eyes on the flying body of Kaida. He easily caught her and set her down. "Whew. There you go." She dusted herself off and nodded to him, "Thank you very much. Now.. Melinoe!" She pointed to the 'renovated' altar, "Do you think if we-" "Yes!" Melinoe interrupted with an answer. "It's the last thing that binds Sheba to this plane. Destroy it if you like living!" Melinoe yelled with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice at the end. Getting no response from Pandora, Vernacular dragged her back from the battle to a relatively-safe location. "I might not be the best fighter but, hey, I'll protect, defend ya'." She said to her unconscious comrade. "No worries. Now for.." "I'm alright." Liquid uneasily plopped down next to her. "I just need to recuperate a bit." "Alright.. take care of yourself." Vernacular said with a look of concern. Whipping, writhing and otherwise the tendrils were formidable. Kaida, though skilled in combat, was challenged to dodge and destroy the ones that focused themselves on her. She had the support of Melinoe who seemed to be having beginner's luck with the gun she had acquired. "Somebody, take a look at that altar." Kaida gave the order as she fought. "The altar, eh? I think I can destroy that little thing." Arachnid rushed it, smashing into it with considerable force. The shield softened the blow enough that there was no visible damage to the altar in the least. ".. Damn." He stepped back and gave it a strong punch. No damage. "Oh, come on!" He yelled in frustration and kicked it. Still, nothing. "..." Arachnid began to brood and pondered how he could dismantle the altar. Vernacular looked up to Arachnid and noticed the writing on the restored face of the altar. She gently laid Pandora down and approached it, tilting her head curiously. "This is... hmm, I can read this! These inscriptions are very arrogant in tone, hmph." She shook her head and continued reading them, "The sacrificial ritual involved some kind of item, artifact, relic. I'm pretty sure that's what we want to destroy! But where could it be?.. Hmmm." Those who could spare a moment in the fight took a glance at the altar. Melinoe rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yes, you figured it out, nice work. Congratulations and whatever, just destroy it!" Kaida fired off a large ball of fire that burned several of the tendrils to ashes before smashing into the orb itself and exploding. It ripped the orb into differing pieces that awkwardly hovered in place, refusing to come back together quickly. Sheba had been stunned and, with that, the shield around the altar disappeared. Seeing the battle swing in their favor, Tetros sprinted over and glanced over to Arachnid. "Strike it with all the power you can muster." He said. "You got it." Arachnid replied. They combined their formidable strength together, hitting in relatively the same area at the same time. The structure of the altar could not withstand it and crumbled, revealing an inner compartment housing a crystalline item the same crimson color as Sheba's orb form. A terrible shriek came from the crystal and it began to glow ominously, preparing to defend itself. "I'd suggest you hurry.." Kaida said as the orb finally put itself back together. Immediately it started it's assault and focused on saving the crystal. Numerous tendrils flew towards the people gathered near it. She fired off another large shot that consumed the mass of tendrils and fragmented the orb once more. Sheba was barely stunned the second time around and the orb quickly began to come back together. "A window of opportunity.. move it you two!" Unhate sternly yelled. Arachnid and Tetros complied, leaping backwards from the altar. His line of sight free of the two men, he aimed his shot and fired. It was a classic display of overkill as the his shot slammed into the crystal shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces across the ruins of the altar. Immediately Sheba's last, desperate form fell apart and splattered to the floor. The blood oozed in several directions at once as the eyeball slowly turned to ash. "It took you long enough." Melinoe said with obvious irritation. "Hah! The nasty little bugger is dead! Victory is [i]sweet[/i] today!" Arachnid exclaimed. "That still leaves us without a destination." Liquid stated, having recovered her strength. The temple went through one of it's routine rumblings as they deliberated what to do next. Pandora awoke at this point and slowly got up, holding her forehead. "Ugh.." Was all she could manage to say. Vernacular walked over to check on her as Tetros glanced around them. "I think the internal structure of this temple is shifting." Tetros said as the rumbling stopped. "Is it opening or closing off potential paths?" Kaida asked. "No way to tell from here. Call it a hunch but it feels like we're being herded somewhere." He responded. With that thought silence fell over them as Sheba's blood flowed underneath them, following the depressions in the altar. As it flowed past her, something seized Kaida and she fell down, down into it, losing herself in an illusionary hell.. and it consumed her without any sense of mercy or remorse. "Feel the weight of your sins."[/color]

[quote name='DeadSeraphim][color=indigo][size=1][font=arial]I'm more likely to post when presented with something that isn't a string of failed attacks, with no resolution, however.[/font][/size'][/color][/quote] [color=crimson]Again, that's fine but you doing that doesn't help in the least. I understand if you don't feel like posting every day as some of these.. energetic people are doing but you are doing nothing to remedy the 'problem' and merely complaining about it.[/color] [quote name='Raiyuu][color=DarkGreen][font=Trebuchet MS]I can feel the love in the Underground. Mmm, chilly.[/font'][/color][/quote] [color=crimson]Clearly this is a time for action. We could: A.) Have a group hug. B.) Check our egos at the door before interacting with each other. C.) Destroy each other. D.) Summon forth a giant spider-woman. E.) All of the above. Choose carefully.[/color]

[quote name='DeadSeraphim][color=indigo][size=1][font=arial]I don't agree with the concept of making a huge thing out of this boring, stereotypical, and worst of all, ripped-off monster. That's my final word on it. I'll post again when things are, what's the word cool kids are using? Oh, right, [i]interesting[/i].[/font][/size'][/color][/quote] [color=crimson]I don't agree or disagree with you but I don't really see how not posting improves the thread's originality/creativity/whatever. This is ignoring the fact your character has a rather important role and only you can best portray that important character. All that aside.. thankfully Kaida has a +2 to hit bonus vs. demonic creatures. Lucky~ *stoned to death for DnD humor*[/color]

[color=crimson]Kira stood idly with a slight grin upon her face, the Epitaph resting on her shoulder as usual. What an interesting day it had turned out to be. She stood in a meeting of sorts with her new comrades- the 'turncoat' reapers, some humans and her friend. She knew the turncoat Reapers from chance meetings if nothing else- maybe a little conversation here or there, nothing really major. Really, though- she was pleased to be there with them all. It had taken a bit of time to find him but, in the end, he found her instead of her finding him. She shook her head slightly thinking about it as Sakura and Sage went through their introductions. She didn't really expect to have to do an introduction of her own due to knowing 'the rogue', but once the two were done he looked straight at her. Kira arched an eyebrow and mouthed 'eh?' at him. He nodded once at her, indicating she had to go through one of her own. She shrugged lightly and went into an introduction of herself. She stepped forward and began it with a loud proclamation, "[i]I am the renowned Kira Selene, Goddess of the Flame![/i]" She smiled widely and continued, "I've come here to support you with my blade, k-" She stopped herself from saying 'kid' in the formal situation and furrowed her brow briefly before continuing on, "I'll do anything necessary to aid you- renouncing my former life and anything else you require! I have no fear. Not of damnation, not of the Council or of any of the reapers that might come. You can put your full trust in my skills to burn into oblivion anything that threatens you. And, with these guys," She gestured to Sakura and Sage specifically, "We'll easily shred all the poor, puny bastards they throw at us. I look forward to fighting with you all!" She finished and stepped back. Done with her little intro, she focused her attention on the humans involved in their little meeting. She always liked dealing humans- especially the ones that could see her with their sight ability. Their usefulness as allies, though, seemed rather limited to her.. at least from what she knew of human power. All this aside, she was especially curious about the human her friend had fallen in love with. Kira eyed her specifically as the meeting continued on.[/color]

[quote name='Takuya']That's the worst idea I've heard in a long time. I'm glad you decided not to go with it.[/quote] [color=crimson]Your honesty amuses me! A gold star for you. Congrats. And yet, a pain in my heart.. for you have trampled upon it so much, Takuya. :([/color] [quote]Anyways, I've been thinking about [spoiler]this whole 'worst nightmare' thing, and I'm thinking that Liquid would perhaps have an advantage over the rest of the team. Remember, she's already been through some pretty nasty stuff in her life. Kajo's rape attempt, for example. She's already had to face her nightmares. I'm not saying that she should be immune from this whole manifestation thing; I'm just saying that perhaps she'd be a bit more resistant to it that some of the others.[/spoiler][/QUOTE] [color=crimson]Kaida, having been through rather turbulent times herself, is strong. The force we are dealing with is obviously no small matter and would probably have a slight edge over most of us no matter what they had gone through prior. I'm not really sure how resistant one could be to something that we have described as having such significant power and intent to kill. So, that's a long winded "I don't fully endorse this action but it isn't my character" I suppose.[/color]

[color=crimson]The entity is now completely self-aware ['awake'] and knows of the mobile HQ of the Legionnaires and the people within it. It has quietly infiltrated the systems of the HQ.. but I'm not really sure if it can do anything to anyone there aside from lecture them or threaten them, lol. Do what you want to with that or leave it alone. Man, originally I was going to have the temple take to the air and chase after the HQ to rid itself of the rest of the Legionnaires [I sense a crisis!]. Added drama beyond "PEOPLE ARE DYING HERE MAN" which is kind of repetitive. However, I stopped tripping for now. Although, you know, if there is some kind of support for that we could amp it up to that. Anyway, any problems with what has been posted, you know. Tell me. I'm pretty sure I'm doing most of this semi-correctly, lol. Sidenote: [spoiler]Kaida's deepest nightmare involves the methods created on her home planet to better slaughter each other. Reminders of the death or carnage in the form of hallucinations would probably happen. The continued physical manifestations of the 'weapons' will continue as well. Make her trip out in a more mature way, please. She isn't a little girl. =P[/spoiler][/color]

[color=purple]The creatures assault was complimented by another series of violent tremblings from the temple itself. The heat emanating from the walls increased substantially and a faint pulse could be felt beneath the golden surface. "For many centuries [b]I[/b] had slept.." The voice began and stopped. "Ignore it." Kaida said with faint irritation. Two members dead already- the youngest of their organization, to boot. That wasn't even addressing the question of where Melinoe had ended up. Ignoring her concern over the missing team member, she pointed to the two creatures, "Keep them busy at all costs. " She slipped out a small, futuristic communicator and flipped through the menu. "Come on, come on you damned human technology. Get me through to HQ." She murmured and tapped her foot impatiently. "Awakened by a spilling of blood several moons ago.. who are you, trespassers? Within [b]Me[/b], [b]I[/b] sense your invasion.." The voice was a cacophony, a mixture of varying voices all into one. It felt invasive, seeping into her brain. Vernacular stood next to Kaida and spoke out of irritation at the voice, "Be quiet you vermin, swine, dog! That's bloody annoying!" She began to curse at the voice in a language Kaida didn't recognize. Kaida nodded in agreement with the foreign cussing as she was irritated as well. She tinkered with her uncooperative communicator and furrowed her brow at the error message on the communicator. She couldn't get through for some reason. She flipped it off and placed it back into her pocket. "So much for reinforcements." She muttered and took out her pistol. "You are all.." The voice paused and a pain went through Kaida's head, stopping her from firing. ".. comrades? You have presented yourself as [b]My[/b] enemy, Legionnaires. Violating [b]My[/b] sacred body. Crawling through it without hesitation, you have transgressed blatantly." The creatures had been dismantled properly by the remainder of the team and a calm fell over the corridor. Kaida held her forehead as the dull pain continued. "[b]I[/b] must rectify this situation. [i]All[/i] of you must pay for your sins. [b]I[/b] will have nothing less.." The voice finally fell completely silent. The pain gone, Kaida righted herself and walked over to Unhate. "I've grown to dislike this mission, Unhate." She whispered in a low enough voice for only him to hear. "I half wonder if it would be possible to retreat." She stated, subtly pressing him for advice. Really, he was the only person she would turn to for advice out of this group. "Do you honestly think it would just let us waltz out of here?" He responded gruffly. "All we can do is press on." She chuckled, "Even in this situation you remain very much yourself." She looked to her team, "We must carry on and dismantle whatever this irritating persona is. Unhate." She looked to him. "Lead." "It is only a short distance further. We were there prior to our little.. retreat. All of you, follow me." With that said, they continued their march through the now eerily peaceful corridors. The peace wasn't meant to last. The entire structure rumbled more furiously than the prior two times, sending the team slamming into the walls and each other. It lasted for half a minute or more before ceasing, leaving the team mostly on the floor aside from the ever-rocklike Unhate. Kaida slowly stood up and shook her head. "That was different. Stronger, more powerful, you know?" Vernacular stated as she got up and dusted herself off. "Not much fun, not much fun." "That was indeed significantly stronger than the last tremors, ma'am." Tetros stated stoically. "It's up to something." Kaida said with a glance to the walls. "Executing plans.. thinking." "What's it up to now, eh?" Arachnid rapped the wall with his knuckles. "Irritating little prick, isn't it. Wait.." He froze and peered down the hall. "Somethings caught my senses.. just down there." A whirring noise at the end of the hallway caught their collective attention. From the relative darkness came a hulking monstrosity of metal, futuristic to a fault. It was almost as tall as the corridor itself and walked upright. A pair of guns replaced it's hands, the make and model unfamiliar to everyone but one. Kaida froze immediately at the sight of the machine, her eyes widening as she stared. "What the hell is that?" Arachnid said and moved to confront the mechanical oddity. "Doesn't matter, does it? Destroy the bastard. It's in our way." Unhate ordered the team. They shifted into their now-typical formation that had Unhate and Arachnid at the front. Kaida continued to simply stare at it, not moving an inch. "Uh, Kaida?" Pandora asked as she peered at her. "Are you.. okay?" "That's.." Kaida's face turned serious and she shook her head. "You can't destroy it with your bare hands, it's programmed to avoid melee combat in all circumstances. Pandora, shred it." Kaida glanced to her as she gave the order. "You got it." Pandora replied with a nod. A green glow surrounded it and it was promptly shredded apart, leaving nothing but a heap upon the floor. "Well, that was easier than those immortal guys!" Arachnid said, pleased with the ease of the kill. "A little anticlimactic if you ask me." Liquid dismissed his enthusiasm and shrugged. "I never thought I'd see those things again." Kaida commented and walked forward to the heap. She knelt down and prodded around in it, taking out a small spherical piece of machinery. She looked it over and let out a 'hmmm'. "Friends of yours?" Unhate said from behind her. "Old, old friends." Kaida stood up and shook her head. "From world wars you wouldn't know of, I'm afraid. These machines slaughtered thousands. Just one of the [i]nightmarish[/i] things I managed to create in the service of my country." Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "I have no idea why it is here, though. I haven't built anything like this since I ended up here. That was a.. unwelcome sight." She fell to silence. Unhate seemed to dislike what he heard and fell into thought about events thusfar. Kaida shook her head. The enigmatic power of this temple was at work, affecting more and more of the team- even herself. ~-~ A message went into the Legionnaires' mobile HQ from the pilots involved in Mission #111. The somewhat flustered pilots detailed the strange earthquake and the total loss of contact with the team. Unprepared for this situation, they asked just "what in hell" they should do. The communications officer shook his head at the pilots lack of calm and started to berate them. Before he could, the transmission was hijacked by an unknown entity. Within the communications area, a voice spoke: "Do not interfere with this. [b]I[/b] will deal with you soon enough.."[/color]

[quote name='Gavin][SIZE=1']Such is life I'm afraid Naruto890[/SIZE][/quote] [color=crimson]Hahaha. Oh man, that was choice. You get a gold star for making me laugh. Anyway, it's not a real biggy. While they may not be recovered, it doesn't really affect me or anyone else here so.. I'd have to be lazy and shrug. Still, that's a pretty hefty profit right there. Probably toss them onto E-Bay and make a pretty penny. "Such is life" indeed.[/color]

[color=crimson]Rozen Maiden is pretty friggin' awesome if I do say so myself. My favorite doll is Suisei Seki. Her personality is really cute and amusing to me, even if she is the devil incarnate at times.. especially to Hina Ichigo. The story in the first season started off kind of slow and ended superbly.. and Traumend is building upon that nicely. I'm wondering if we'll see some more neato scenes within the dream world. That was really entertaining for some reason. Am I a bad person for not particularly liking Kanaria thusfar? :animeswea[/color]

[color=crimson]My name is [b]Kenneth Andrew Howell[/b]. Most people call me Ken or Kenneth but you can call me whatever you want to. I've had numerous strange nicknames so, you know, have at it. My more widely used nicknames are: Nek, Fluffy and Rizzo. I can't really stop you from using any of those but I would prefer it if the Fluffy monicker died out. I live in San Antonio, Texas. I'm half-way through the age of seventeen and I'm pretty sure I'm a guy. My childhood was erratic. It ranges good, bad, ugly and awe inspiringly beautiful moments. All in all I believe that I would not change a moment of the past as all the moments thusfar, positive and negative, are necessary for me to be fully who I am today and I feel contentment in regards to myself. I'm sure if I wanted to I could go write an angsty poem or two about it but, you know, I think there is more than enough crap like that these days. I was touched deeply as a kid by the majesty of nature. I consider my favorite color to be a deep forest green from this. Unfortunately I am not a staunch environmentalist and neither would I ever want to be as I find them to be annoying. If you are a staunch environmentalist, uh, [i]my bad[/i]. Right now I'm mostly interested in things that cure boredom. I'm out of highschool, in no rush to commit myself to college and have no job. I'm seeking employment from a place that I can nominally tolerate- which, surprisingly, is harder than it sounds. My main interests are history and literature. My main addictions are games, anime and music. Music wise I think anyone who hasn't heard music from [i]The Delgados[/i] has an incomplete musical experience. Rock is rock, alt, hard or otherwise. Metal is only metal when it has a solo. Songs about how depressed the singer feels is, funnily enough, depressing merely from how horrid it is. I like whatever sounds good to myself. I'm somewhat negative in regards to life, religion and most everything humans touch. It's nothing personal, of course. In fact, I hold much love in my heart for my fellow man. Indeed, it could be said that I have far too much love and it overflows randomly out of my heart. Sarcasm is only amusing to the sarcastic and I have to say [i]that was somewhat amusing[/i]. Otherwise, I should probably stop the rant there lest I overtake Sara's [:p]. Talking to people is kind of fun. Hit me up to chat if you want. [/color]

[quote name='Shy][size=1]Read the PM you have been sent, and you'll have an idea that these characters' [spoiler]worst nightmares are starting to manifest.[/spoiler'][/size][/quote] [color=crimson]Will this effect eventually spread to all of the team due to them being there or will it be limited to the people who were involved in mission #108?[/color]

[color=purple]"If that is all, Boss." Kaida gave the Arbiter a sharp nod before continuing, "I'll be off." "I am counting on you, Kaida." The Arbiter responded. "It is imperative that you get to the bottom of this." She gave a formal military salute and left the room. She shook her head as she walked speedily through the halls. The bad vibe she was getting from this mission could not possibly get any worse. She mulled things over in her head as she went. The necessary team was assembled- it was a boiling pot of mixed personalities but the numbers were vital to the team. She flipped on a small personal computer and clicked through things- each of them had all of their equipment taken care of. Liquid was already en route, having been called up just a few minutes ago. Their transportation was rearing and ready. The only thing amiss was the entire mission itself. No big deal. A smile crept over her lips. This was going to be a strange day. She arrived at the airplane as Liquid did, her face as calm and collected as ever. "Hello, Kaida. Had to drag me along on this one, hm?" She said with a slight grin. "May as well. You seem the easily-bored type." Kaida flipped her computer off and slid it back into her pocket. "Prepared to leave?" "Of course." She said with a shrug and raised her personal gun. "Armed and dangerous." "Good woman." Kaida replied and rubbed her chin, "I suppose that's all of it then. Onto the plane, we're in something of a rush." "This mission that important?" Liquid asked with an arched eyebrow. "Possibly." Kaida said with a smile and climbed up into the aircraft. "Hey Chief, Hey Liquid." Arachnid gave them an enthusiastic hello. "How's it going?" "Peachy." Kaida flatly replied and walked past, heading to the cockpit. She stepped inside and nodded to the pilot. "We are ready for departure." "Yes ma'am. In this baby the trip will take no time." The pilot said, but Kaida had already walked out and back into the cabin. She took a long look at her assembled team and nodded. A good mix. As she looked, her eyes locked with Unhate's. They stared at each other for a short time and within that stare a conversation seemed to take place between two of the greatest leaders within the Legionnaires. Kaida smiled brightly and gave a slight wave[/color] [color=magenta]"Hello~"[/color] [color=purple]she gave a greeting in the sweetest voice possible. Several other people around him were greatly amused by this but Unhate wasn't one of them. He just shook his head slowly. "Can't get me that easily, Kaida." He stated. "That was a pretty bad try, too." "I thought it was a good one." She replied with a shrug. She arched an eyebrow- at least he was still somewhat normal. Still, he was a bit quieter than usual. She greeted the rest of the team in unison, "Greetings, my friends and comrades. You have been assembled here today for a most important mission." As she spoke, the plane shuttered slightly as it accelerated to take off. Kaida braced herself and continued on, "To put it simply, we are going back to the scene of Mission #108 and investigate it further due to new information provided to us by the abilities of Augur. I will need you all to have heightened senses, heightened awareness- don't let your guard down. There is the possibility that we will face resistance in varied and unexpected forms. Destroy it without mercy. Our investigation will lead us down into the blackest depths of this temple and only once we've turned over every stone within it will we leave. Any questions?" A hand shot up. Well, it was a sleeve actually. Kaida arched an eyebrow, having not dealt with him before. "Yes? Go ahead, Face." "Y-yeah, what kind of.. resistance are we uh, expecting?" He stammered out his question. "Unknown. Gold cleared the area out but we are not aware of what could be lurking within the depths of the temple. Prepare for the worst." Kaida replied. Another hand shot up. "Go ahead, Vern." "Could ya' maybe, possibly define.. 'worst'?" Vernacular asked in her distinctive accent. "Last time they fought a horde of Djinns. Something worse than that is possible. Use your imaginations. Any more questions?" She scanned the small cabin of the aircraft and no hands shot up. "Good. Well, enjoy the ride. We should be there shortly. Socialize as you will." Her briefing finished she walked to the rear of the cabin. "Nice speech." Melinoe wryly stated as Kaida passed by. "Call it a talent." Kaida replied as she continued on; sat down and closed her eyes, leaning back against the seat. "So we're going to a temple of some sort?" Arachnid plopped down nearby and got comfortable. "Yes." Kaida shrugged. "There might be something in it's belly worth mucking around with." "That's kind of exciting." He rubbed his chin a few times and nodded. "Yeah, this could be really fun." A sigh came from just in front of them, one distinctly Liquid's. "Why'd you bring him, anyway?" "Just to irritate you, rest assured." Kaida grinned and stretched a bit. "S-still, it sounds kind of.. risky. Like we're going in there without much.. information, ya know?" Face said and seemed to shake his head [it was hard to tell]. "No risk, no reward." Liquid said and rubbed her neck. "Why'd you bring these inexperienced guys anyway?" "We needed numbers, they need experience. Speedy and Face have a bright future ahead of them in our organization. They just need to learn the ropes a bit more." Kaida scratched her cheek a bit and shrugged, "They are capable of handling themselves. I am sure they will be fine." "Whatever you say." Was the only response Liquid gave. Really though, Kaida knew that the Grim Reaper was closely clinging to this entire mission. "It'll be a long day." She mused to herself quietly as the plane carried on. ~-~ The conversations on the plane were varied- the quietest people were from Gold Team. Their troubles were not known to everyone present, so this didn't seem like too big a deal. Kaida rubbed her forehead- they had some real chatterboxes on board. On the other hand, everyone seemed to be getting along alright so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. The plane shuddered a bit and it began to descend into a rather rough landing. Kaida stood up and stretched before walking out, the team following her out. They acquired their various pieces of equipment as needed and stood in front of her, some more eager than others. The newer Legionnaires seemed more nervous than eager. In any event, with everything straightened out, the group marched for the temple. One refreshing hill-climb later they stood at one of the entrances to the temple. The scenery around them was devoid of life- still and quiet to the point of eeriness. "This is welcoming." Someone within the team muttered loudly. Not bothering to see who it was, Kaida gestured inside. "You're the guide. I need you to take us to the furthest point you can recall going." Kaida spoke with respect to Unhate. All she got was a curt nod in reply. As they entered, Kaida was struck with awe. The sheer scope and magnificence of it all. As she gaped, the ground beneath them shuddered violently almost sending her face first into what she was admiring. Kaida managed to brace herself against a nearby wall until the shaking passed. Her narrow eyes searched around them for some clue as to what had happened. "[b]I[/b] have awakened.." The walls reverberated with a booming voice coming from deep within the temple. Kaida slowly turned and looked around her curiously- "Pray tell [i]what[/i] did we awake?" There was no answer. Kaida shook her head and rubbed her chin letting out a low 'hmmm'. "Standing around here doesn't solve much." Melinoe said with a shake of her head. "A valid point." Kaida suspiciously gazed at the walls and shrugged. "We have a mission to do. Let's go." -~- OOC: Any and all continuity or plot errors can be PMed to me. I tried to match the scenery and temple described by the Gold Team as best I could. If I butchered your character, [i]sorry[/i] but I did my best. Take it away, whomever. Clearly, [b]It[/b] has awakened. Don't make [b]It[/b] wait, that would be rude.[/color]

[color=crimson]Pardon any errors or missteps on my part. The first person to sign up always fucks up somewhere, lol. [b]Name[/b]: Kira Selene. Self-proclaimed title is 'Goddess of the Flame'. [b]Age[/b]: She has, in her own words, "lingered on" for some time now. [b]Gender[/b]: Female. [b]Race[/b]: Reaper. [b]Side[/b]: Human. [b]Weapon[/b]: The Epitaph, a sizable and ominous looking scythe that she can wield with surprising ease. She has several smaller throwing knives that she uses for when she is disarmed of her scythe. They are not nearly as powerful as the scythe but have been handy in several situations. [b]Powers[/b]: A pyromaniac at heart, she has, unfortunately, been forbidden from using her main and most powerful skill: creating fire. Not just a little bit of fire but.. well, you'd have to see it to understand the sheer scale of what she enjoys creating. Fireballs, firestorms.. fire anything. Aside from the more extravagant displays of fire she usually combines her fire attacks with her melee skills, a potent combination that takes down most anyone in her way. Her control over the element is absolutely stunning and it had been her most potent weapon. However, it was decided that she was a little too flame-happy and she had been officially barred from using anything resembling fire for years now. Having defected from their ranks, she is gleefully back to using it- and the results are rather effective, if not overly destructive. "Whatever works, works." is all she'll say about it. It works a little too well but, you know, at least she's having fun, right? Aside from that she has considerable physical prowess with her heftily-sized weapon. Wielding it with grace and speed, most consider this to be a skill from years of training. [b]Appearance[/b]: Is as attached. [b]Personality[/b]: Kira is elegant and graceful.. when she wants to be. Otherwise she is a rather brash, aggressive and intellectual person. She's smart, there's no doubt about it- but her smarts don't temper her risk taking or loudness of her mouth. She has some idealism and romance somewhere in her heart that comes out at times- mainly in regards to the "cute couple" whose side she is on. She spends most of her free time reading or just mucking around, trying to find something interesting to do with her seemingly endless amounts of free time. She's likable enough. Friendly once she knows you. Well, if you get past that first wall of fire. If you [i]can[/i] get past it, that is. [b]Character Snippet[/b]: [i]Several weeks prior to the present.[/i] Kira stared boredly up into the sky watching the serene clouds drift listlessly across it. She sighed and stood to stretch. She was still searching for him- a pretty good friend of hers that had.. well, the fool fell in love. She clicked her tongue as she stretched, arching an eyebrow at that thought. Him, of all people. Well, maybe it wasn't such a surprise after all.. she had known him for a good while and it fit parts of his character. Of course, she had been around alot longer- even compared to him- but she'd never tell anyone her real age. That was one big no-no. All that aside, she was still pissed at herself for losing track of him. They were on the run but he was hiding a little [i]too[/i] well. "Come on, kid. Where have you skittered off to?" She peered around herself as she pondered, trying to figure out where he had disappeared to. Instead of an answer, she got a soft breeze.. which, while refreshing, wasn't much help at all. She muttered something and sat back down, returning to gazing at the sky. Some time passed before she got up and cracked her neck from side to side, a discontent look on her face. "Sitting here isn't going to do a damn thing." She said with a shake of her head. "Time to get back to the hunt." The hunt was more her searching for a needle in a haystack. Another sigh and she finally departed, seeking out her wayward friend. "Don't falter, kid." [b]Other[/b]: She knows the male main character pretty well and that is her main reason for switching sides to help him. Her power is due to her age.. and her age is, as mentioned, pretty much a mystery to most people. They have alot of fun trying to guess it, though, which irritates her to no end.[/color]

[quote name='Lore][color=#333333][font=trebuchet ms]I would make an [i]adorable[/i] [url=http://www.darylandjoel.com/Canada99/Photos/GoldenMantleGroundSquirrel2LG.jpg]ground squirrel[/url].[/font'][/color][/quote] [color=crimson]Aww. How kawaii. :animesmil ANYWAY, I'd be a giant owl. Like, biggest owl you ever saw. Intially.. you'd be a little freaked out but I would say something cool like "Come closer, my son" or "Do not be afraid, little human" or "Wazzzzup" and we'd chat it up. I'd impart all my owl wisdom upon you.. the meaning of life, how to make good chili, the truth behind various conspiracies and otherwise. I'd be Owl-Sensei or Owl-Sama or just The Great Owl. I'd live a long and fulfilled life of teaching and enlightenment before I left my forest home to go on a great journey. Drawbacks to that: .. None. I'd be a giant wise owl. Come on, that's pretty sweet.[/color]

[color=crimson]Nothing with my current self. Although I might be interested if I could be born in a different time. The present is a little bland and boring, you know? Who could pass up on being able to go back to pirate times? Or maybe shimmy a bit further into the future? Or just whenever you felt like it. It might not be as comfortable/full of 'normalcy'/whatever else but at least it wouldn't be boring as hell. Oh well.[/color]

[color=crimson]"Hey, Arch!" From next to him came a familiar voice saying his nickname. Lucian looked up to the speaker and gave a slight smile to her. He was at his favorite restaurant in town, relaxing with a nice book. All of the [admittedly cute] waitressing staff knew him and he was even beginning to be good friends with the owner. He set his book down on the table and gave her a slight wave, "Yo, Kyoko." The teenage girl nodded to him, "How are things, Arch?" "Can't complain.. and yourself?" He leaned back in his seat lazily and looked to her. She shifted slightly and placed a hand on her chin, "Oh, I [i]guess[/i] things are alright. This job is really killing me though!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" She exclaimed and gestured to the people around them, "This is just a small crowd compared to earlier!" Lucian glanced at the people around them and noticed the small crowd. He let out a low whistle, "That must be hell." "No kidding!" She held up a finger and smiled brightly, "But! The tips are great." "Everything evens out in the end, huh?" "For once, I think it did." She gave a thumbs up before taking out a small notepad and a pen, "Anyway, what do you want today, Arch?" He arched his eyebrow and gave it some thought. A quick glance to his watch revealed that he would have to get going in half an hour to meet everyone at the shrine. He shrugged and looked back up at Kyoko, "Just the usual hot tea." "Really? Is that all you want?" She tilted her head a bit. "Yeah, sorry. I have to bolt pretty quickly to meet up with some friends." He explained. "Oh! That's pretty cool. Alright then, I'll get that out for you." She hurried off and left Lucian alone. Glancing around him, he rubbed his chin and picked his book back up. The paper book was an antique classic from a couple of centuries earlier detailing an epic fantasy adventure- swords, drama, romance and action. It was a great read that was well worth the trouble he had finding a paper version of it. As much as he loved electronics there was just something different feeling when you read a book on paper. As he flipped to the next page, Kyoko came back with his tea. "Here you go, Arch." She said and sat it down before him. She eyed the book curiously. "Thanks." He took a sip of it and let out a quiet sigh. "Ahh. Yeah, that is some good stuff." "What are you reading?" She asked, trying to make out the title on the worn title. "...o...C..l..rate.... if..?" "[i]To Celebrate Life.[/i]" He filled in the blanks, glancing at the worn cover himself. "It's a great story from a few centuries back. Swords, magic and the like. Well worth your while. It's a real classic." She let out a low 'hmm' and smiled, "I'll look it up sometime on at home! I love those kinds of books, you kno-" "Hey, Kyoko!" Lucian glanced back to see the Manager with a mean look on his face directed right at Kyoko. "Stop flirting and get back to work!" Kyoko looked like she was about to die of embarrassment and Lucian laughed at this. She flustered a reply to her boss, "Y-yes! Right away!" And, with that, she rushed back to work. Lucian chuckled to himself and returned to his book, passing the time with it. He went through several cups of tea before his watch began to go off- only ten minutes before their scheduled meet up. Lucian rubbed his forehead, stood up and stretched a bit. He walked up to the cashier and paid, giving Kyoko a wave as he left. She waved back and smiled sweetly before rushing back to work. Book in hand, he left and headed for the shrine. The city was alive with.. life. Lucian shook his head as that had not been one of his better poetic moments. Still, he admired the spirit he felt from the city. His admiration soured as the 'life' of the city quickly impeded his movements- too much pedestrian traffic. He glanced at his watch and clicked his tongue- he was going to be a bit late at this rate. His rushing increased in scope to avoid being late but it wasn't enough. Huffing and puffing he slid into the shrine where most everyone was assembled. He set the book down and slid to the floor. "Yo." He said to the assembled friends with a wave, still huffing a bit. "Hey, Arch- hate to say it but you are officially one of the latest of the late. I believe congratulations are in order." Kyoske said with a wry smile. "Yeah, yeah." Lucian shrugged him off and pointed outside. "I ran into a ton of-" "Traffic." Kyoske finished for him and shook his head, "You say that each time, man." Lucian chuckled a bit- his tardiness was rather commonplace and expected, as was his usual excuse. "You've got me there." "I'd suggest you get some new excuses, Lucian." Kiva stated in a rather Kiva-esque way, arching an eyebrow at him. "I suppose you're right." He replied in resignation and stretched his legs out, yawning a bit. He didn't get much time to rest as Sakura arrived with Sutiiven and they rushed off to the VR Centre. Much to his annoyance most of the traffic had seemingly disappeared- did he have bad luck or what? In any event, they arrived and promptly went to the large room to get into the game as soon as possible. Lucian got into his pod and slid his ID Card through the reader. ~[i]I.D. Number: 76343216[/i]~ It said followed by other information about his character. Crevan, the Pirate. Lucian smiled and nodded- he really loved that class. Disorientation hit him and he fell into it, quickly awakening within the world of Third Edge.[/color] [color=green]Crevan rubbed his chin and glanced around the game. Even if it wasn't his first time, he always paused to take in the wondrous environments around him within the game. With a smile he looked back down and jogged into town, looking to catch up with the group. He located them speaking with good ol' Rothy, the vendor of adventure as Crevan called him. From his coat Astaroth took out a small user-created parchment- a map. A map to somewhere interesting and, knowing Astaroth, swarming with danger. A little too much danger, but it was sure worth it once you got past all the.. chaos. "Today I have some good information for you all. I know you guys enjoy cleaning out new places.. and this one will get you alot of glory around these parts. Might be a bit tough for you though." He said while tossing the parchment in the air and catching it. "Come on, Astaroth. You know that we can't pass up a good challenge." Sakura said. "Well, alright. You see there's a.." He paused for a moment and thought. "It's difficult to discribe without seeing it. Well, the Admins added kind of a mini-event out in the Badlands." Someone from within the group muttered 'Tch, not the badlands again' but it went mostly unnoticed. Crevan rubbed his chin remembering their last time in the Badlands as well- an experience to remember, to say the least. They had come out unscatched. Mostly unscathed, rather. "There's an NPC cult about the size of an army. They are there worshiping some kind of a flaming effigy- they consider it an Avatar of their God. Theory is you kill the cult, you'll win a prize- plus a ton of fame for being the first to do it." "That can't be that difficult." Crevan said with a glance to the partially-assembled group. "I think we could handle something like that." "Hey, hey." Astaroth shook his head. "Let me finish. It shouldn't be that hard, you're right- there are more expierenced people than you out there running amok, decimating whatever 'new' areas there are. However, on this one, there's a small surprise that most of them don't expect." "... Go on." Sakura said with interest. "Well, I went out there to see for myself what was stopping someone from claiming the big prize. I watched this group mercilessly slaughter the cultists.. no contest whatsoever. Well, apparently, the death of all it's worshipers doesn't go over well with the effigy. Not much left of the group aside from pieces within half a minute." He smiled. "That's all I'm going to say. You'd have to find out the rest for yourselves, I'm afraid. You interested or not? If not, I think I have one or two more locations of interest.. but conquering this one would boost your prestige around this game pretty significantly. I guess missions would be less intense, huh?" He shook his head, "This stuff is pretty.. difficult. Oh well, your guys call." ~-~ OOC: Pass on it if you are so inclined. It could be used in the future or forgotten completely. Only thing I could think of, lol.[/color]

[color=crimson]All of you seem a little too eager for death. *wary look* Anyway, a public congrats to my team. I think you all did very well. Also, a congrats to the other teams on their efforts. We all did fine work if I say so myself. Oh, and a congrats to Josh/Shy since he is the [i]SUPREME OVERLORD[/i] [*trumpets play*]. Wouldn't want to offend. :p [/color]

[color=crimson][b]Name[/b]: Original name unknown. Has gone by the name Lucian for some time now. [b]Nickname[/b]: (The) Scourge (Of Byzantine)[archaic]; Avatar of the Moon [current]. [b]Age[/b]: 1400 at the least. [b]Gender[/b]: Male. [b]Species[/b]: Vampire. [b]Clan[/b]: Nyroma but he has a very loose loyalty, if any at all, to them. [b]Appearance[/b]: Is as attached. [b]Weapons[/b]: None, aside from himself.. [b]Powers[/b]: Lucian is an [b]illusionist[/b] who destroys minds, hearts and souls. He uses illusionary magic to various degrees to induce nightmarish hallucinations upon a person or persons- the nightmares they fall into are real enough that physical harm comes about from them. Death can come quickly to his victims. Those that survive are left with, at the least, psychological scars- at the most, they are left completely void of sanity. The number of people he can affect at once with this is massive and depends solely upon how much he wants to tire himself. Aside from this, Lucian is an accomplished [b]photokinetic[/b]. He can manipulate light in a myriad of ways, although he primarily uses this to remove light and create covers of darkness. [b]Personality[/b]: Lucian is a taciturn person. When he does talk, the things that come out of mouth can be one of several things- cynicism, sarcasm, wisdom or eccentric comments. He's devoid of anger and rarely seems depressed or happy- contentment has an iron grip around his heart [which isn't too bad of a thing]. He's mainly calm- quiet, aloof. He can be brutally honest sometimes- his scathing opinions land him in hot water, but it's a bad habit that he seems to enjoy having. A good strategist, his taciturn nature delegates him to the role of adviser since he lacks the charisma to lead groups of men effectively. In a fight he just gets to the point, using his illusionary magic skillfully. He lacks mercy- severely lacks it, really. He views those that get in his way as being very, very expendable and does not hesitate to destroy them. One quirky thing about him is that he loves kids. Around kids he is a much different, more normal and likable person. [b]Bio[/b]: Scourge. How he became a vampire is unknown, but his arrival was of great aid to the Byzantine Empire. Their holdings in the Balkans had come under serious threat from raiding Slavic and Avar people- which was just one of the many threats the Empire faced at the time. It's not known if he was a member of a clan at the time but there is evidence that he was a member of the Nyorma. He meddled in the affairs of men and, on his own, set about rebuffing the invaders as best he could. The slaughter he invoked on them earned him the affectionate nickname "Scourge". He was a demon to the raiders, something not mentioned but known by all. A few decades of this slaughter to pass- Scourge refined his sorcery as he killed, beginning the long path he would take to becoming a sage of it. Killing and killing and killing- it was boring, after awhile. Repetitive, really. Finally, though, the Empire was secure and Scourge's services were mostly unneeded. He considered this a blessing. He had grown tired of being involved in human squabbles and lost any loyalty he had for human nations. His loyalty rested with himself, mainly- his clanship was more mandatory than something he chose to do. For many centuries Scourge spent his time studying or traveling, disinterested in the dealings of vampires and humans. This period of vagrancy and relative inactivity caused him to fade from the minds of most, and the name 'Scourge' was forgotten. He continued this lifestyle until the emergence of the Krilat Zmaj. This event woke him out of his wandering life and he returned to his clan as 'Lucian'. His nickname having faded into antiquity, he gave himself one- Avatar of the Moon. A quirky and cumbersome nickname, most people prefer to call him Lucian. Having returned to the world of vampires, he is intrigued by the ideas the Krilat Zmaj have. He has been debating for some time now whether or not he should defect to their clan. Lucian doesn't feel the need to rush the decision and has remained relatively lazy in his life. Lacking any drive or motivation to do anything he seems to be in dire need of some excitement in his life- something to revive what he was when he was called 'Scourge'. [b]Writing Sample[/b]: Lucian knelt beside the dying soldier. His breathing was shallow and he could tell that there was little time left in his life. "Silver." The soldier sputtered out, blood pouring down his chin. "Silver hair." His dying words would be cryptic to some but Lucian was already aware of the person he spoke of. He stood and coldly examined the battlefield around him. The bodies were everywhere. The efficiency of the Silver-Haired Demon in battle was obvious. Still, Lucian wasn't here for any of this. He walked away from the dying soldier, past the bodies and out of the area. The night was warm, the darkness around him felt like a cloak. The picturesque scenery was marred but still further signs of the ongoing war. He had bad timing for sure- coming to the United States a month prior to the first shot being fired. What brutality these men impose on themselves. Yet, with that thought, he stopped and peered up to the sky, the stars peering back. Was this much different from the ever fragmented world of the vampires? A mental shrug. It didn't concern him. There were still more lands to travel to, more places to quietly take in. This was all unimportant. He carried on through the evening, moving through the terrain with deftness. His traveling cloak billowed as he raced away. He had no destination in mind but he sought a calmer area than this. Hours later, he arrived a town. It was lifeless at night save for the local bar- it seemed as good a place as any to waste some time at. He moved inside without attracting any attention. Most of them seemed to be more concerned with a possible brawl than anything else. The loud yelling was somewhat amusing to him and he casually went past the squabbling humans, sitting down at the bar. The man next to him turned to him. He reeked of alcohol and swayed drunkenly in his seat. "Shayy.. a new face! Whare you from?" He slurred out with some difficulty. Lucian slowly turned to the drunken man and stared at him coldly. The drunken man leaned forward and stared back, still swaying. Lucian smiled and shook his head, "I am but a wanderer." [b]Other[/b]: I'm going on a brief vacation for 10 or so days.. but I should be able to inject myself into whatever you have up rather easily. I wasn't in the other WotBs so I don't know if you want new blood or not. Sorry for any trouble.[/color]

[color=crimson][i]Real World Statistics[/i] [b]Name[/b]: Lucian Archer. [b]Gender[/b]: Male. [b]Age[/b]: 18. [b]Personality[/b]: Lucian is a pretty carefree dude- not apathetic, just not prone to worry. He's likable and likes people back- not too social, but social enough. He is a pretty sharp guy but doesn't enjoy boasting about his intellect. He loves to just sit back and watch a group work- participation is optional, not mandatory. Not too keen on being a leader, he prefers letting the louder more overconfident people lead. They might mess up but, hey, he'll get a pretty good laugh out of it. To him, life is pretty funny- both the bad, the good and the ugly. You just have to take it all in stride. [b]Physical Description[/b]: Lucian is tall- too tall, if you ask for his opinion. Topping in at 6'4 or so, his height is something he quips about pretty often. He has striking red hair that is pretty long, for a guy. He usually keeps it in a pony tail so it doesn't bother him too much. His eyes are a nice, dark shade of green and he is in fine shape. He doesn't work out that much, so he isn't full of muscles- pretty normal looking fellow. There's a small scar on his forehead from when he was messing around as a kid and playing a little [i]too[/i] rough. [b]Background[/b]: Lucian was born to an upper-middle class family. His parents were very loving and caring to their child- they made sure that he grew up not too spoiled and not too deprived. Even in his youth, Lucian was born to game and he adored doing so. Still, within this virtual adoration, he took time to read many books- both online and offline. He loved books on paper- they were out-of-style in the digitized world he lived in, but he didn't really care. Through this normal childhood he went into school and excelled at most of his courses [ignoring the utterly detestable subject of math]. While in school, Lucian developed his easy going "whatever happens, happens" attitude. Other people seemed to stress about many things that seemed rather trivial to him- why waste all that time worrying? He got along well with most everyone, though some people tried to make fun of him for his rich background or his intellect. He just ignored them and kept on going. The normalcy actually grew boring at times- he wanted adventure, excitement or real drama. Something to break up the monotony of life. Instead of getting any of that, he got more normalcy- but, hey, that was fine with him too. One day, while praying at a shrine, he met a group of kids his age. Lucian became fast friends with them and, hey, the rest is history. He hangs out with them regularly and he considers them to be his "core" of friends- the best of the best. With all the excitement about the game, Lucian offered to pay for all their accounts so that they could hang out together in it. He couldn't be more content with things, even it is normal. But, normal for how long? [i]In Game Statistics[/i] [b]User Name[/b]: Crevan. [b]Gender[/b]: Male. [b]Armour[/b]: A light suit of leather armor. Gives him a nice edge in mobility. [b]Weapon[/b]: A cutlass with a mean, razor sharp edge. [b]Second Weapon[/b]: A set of somewhat inaccurate [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Flintlock_pistols.jpg]flintlock pistols[/url]. When they do hit it always seems they hit somewhere [i]very[/i] critical- quirky, to say the least. [b]Class[/b]: Rogue. [b]Upgrade[/b]: Pirate. [b]Physical Description[/b]: See attachment.[/color]

[color=green]Kaida fired off a blast from her pistol and grazed the cheek of the man. He fell into a fit of deranged laughter and ignored the blood going down his cheek. The orb carried on past him, [i]through[/i] the wall and beyond. The room shook as it evidently hit something, exploding somewhere within the complex. An eerie calm followed as the sound of machinery being destroyed leaked weakly into the room. The floating island shuddered forcefully and an alarm blared out of an electric console next to the man. Kaida braced herself against the wall until the violent shaking stopped and looked up at the room with narrowed eyes- what was that? The creatures paid no mind to the shuddering, the alarms or otherwise and continued on attacking the Team. The deranged creator of the creatures was in a different mood, however- his hands danced feverishly across the console. Various menus and windows flashed across the screen too quickly for Kaida to read. "You bloody harlot!" The man yelled out and turned to Kaida. He pointed at her accusingly, "Don't fire that insane device so freely! You'll destroy more critical machinery!" Kaida arched her eyebrow and wondered what critical component she had destroyed. There was no answer- the island lurched downwards as the man returned to his console, muttering about destabilization, the fools he is dealing with and how they had damaged his precious keep. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! It's drifting towards the ocean!" He leaned back into his chair in resignation and began to nervously chuckle, falling firmly into his own madness. His chuckling was unnerving to Kaida but she was preoccupied with the task of [i]not dying[/i]- a task that was rather important. The lurching motions of the island made fighting awkward- only Sakura and Arachnid were having an alright time with it, due to their physical finesse. Within a minute the army of creatures had been more or less slaughtered, and the Team once again surrounded the man. His eyes were tinted with insanity and he was blissfully unaware of anything around him. He was fixated on the monitor in front of him and Kaida followed his gaze to it. She began to read the information on the screen with interest. "What's up with this guy?" Arachnid said and waved his hand in front of the unresponsive man. "Is this really the leader? The Rogue? What a nut." "I think he's finally cracked. He never did seem too.. complete in the head." Sakura said, having finished turning back into herself. "Who would make someone like him a leader, anyway? Not a great choice if you ask me." "He had his moments." Era replied and dusted herself off. "He did have some rather good traps." Arachnid flicked the man in the forehead and peered into his eyes. "Hello? Paging insane boss, anyone home? Knock knock?" Still no response. "Tch. I suppose that means we win. Way too easy, if you ask me." Kaida had been quiet through all of this, staring at the readout before them. She moved in front of the console and began to type, running through various menus of information. She shook her head, "Our ordeal isn't over." She leaned closer to the monitor, "This entire complex is floating off course and losing altitude at a steady rate. Come on, we need to-" She stopped and typed a few things. "Huh. Someones sealed most of the doors. That's weird." ".. Hey, isn't that a bad thing? Don't we need to, you know.. get out of here?" Arachnid said, a hint of concern in his voice. "I could unseal them but time is not on our side at the moment." Kaida shrugged and sighed, "We'll just have to follow the path." "What about this guy?" Arachnid cocked his head towards the out-of-commission scientist. The scientist nervously laughed, 'waking up' right on cue. "It's far too late. My boss, my boss... my boss will get you. He's already left here, teleported away that Wizard did. Took your friend with him, too. Left my dying fortress, my [i]creation[/i]. Liquid will die, fighting alone like that. Doesn't understand teamwork, does she? A team, indeed. A dying breed of comrades. Just a dying breed." He shrugged, took a gun out of his pocket and smiled. "Our mission has already been accomplished. You've already lost. You just don't [i]realize it yet[/i]. With that said, my role is done I suppose. Farewell, sweet friends and thank you for playing the game. You played well! Enjoy the taste of victory." He put the gun into his mouth, smiled weirdly and fired it. None of them had tried to stop him and Kaida felt some sense of contentment with his death- he'll pay for his sins in the afterlife. "Well, I suppose that answers my question. Cowardly bastard." Arachnid shook his head and cracked his knuckles still eager for some action. "So Liquid is dealing with the deranged guy's boss? I guess that's our Wizard?" "We'll think about it later." Kaida said and ran towards the doorway. An explosion rocked the island and alarms blared out from all around them. 'WARNING, WARNING- MULTIPLE SYSTEM FAILURES' a computerized voice yelled out. "Yes, I believe it's time to go. Come on, Team." She stated plainly and sprinted out of the room, her team following her. They wound through the open doors as more explosions rocked the island, jolting it wildly as it lurched downward again. The door in front of them slammed shut and Kaida barely avoided running right into it. The erroneous closure of the door left the team at a dead end but another series of explosions opened the door next to them. Without even looking they ran inside and the door closed behind them, leaving them seemingly trapped. Kaida glanced around them and noted that instead of being trapped, they had arrived in an abandoned elevator. Sensing passengers, it automatically began to raise up at a quick clip soaring higher and higher. It was a rough ride as the island continued to plow onward to it's grave at sea with no way to stop it. They arrived at the top floor and the door slid open, letting out a soft chime. Kaida cautiously stepped inside with her pistol raised. The only light came from a large cylindrical chamber at the opposite side of the room. Suspended within it in liquid was a young girl. She was clothed in a simple dress and had long brown hair that floated listlessly within the chamber. She couldn't have been older than nine or ten, but human ages were not Kaida's forte. She arched an eyebrow at the sight and wondered aloud, "What is she doing here?" "Another experiment?" Sakura offered, looking around the room herself. She looked at some paintings on the wall and shook her head, disliking them. "These are really crappy." "Hmm. Strange." Kaida said. Another violent shudder almost sent her face-first into the floor, but managed to catch herself in time. She righted herself and shook her head, "Blasted island is coming apart at the seams." Arachnid approached the chamber and rapped lightly on the glass. "This kind of neat." He said to himself, examining the chamber. "Wakey, wakey kid. The heroes are here to save the day." "Alright, well, if we there isn't a door out of here we're going to have to make one." Kaida fired a shot at the wall and blasted it wide open. Their old friend, the storm, greeted them with a loud clap of thunder. The rain was relentless, pouring down as hard as it had been when they first arrived. Arachnid rapped on the glass of the chamber again. "Knock, knock, knock." The eyes of the girl snapped open and she stared blankly at him. Arachnid leapt back in surprise, "Whoa! Don't scare me like that, kid." Arachnid leaned forward, studying the awakened child. "Good morning, sleepyhead. You're just in time to get rescued by the Defenders of Time." The rest of the team hadn't noticed Arachnid's antics and continued talking to each other. "So, Kaida, how are we going to get out of here?" Sakura asked, peering out of the hole. "Are we going to jump or something?" "You got it. You can fly, Arachnid should be able to carry us down there pretty easily. We get to the ground floor, get off this deathtrap and help Liquid with the wizard." Kaida nodded to herself, confident in her plan. "Then we go home." "Home, eh?" Sakura smiled a bit at that thought. "That's sounding pretty good at the moment, I have to say." "Hey, chief?" Arachnid said as he looked at the little girl. "I think I woke up the sleeping princess." "What?" Kaida said and glanced at him. "What are you talking about? She looks comatose to me." Arachnid turned around and the child's eyes were shut again, but the machine had begun to let off a soft hum. "Uhh.. Well, just a second ago she was awake." He rapped on the cylinder again and rubbed his chin. "Huh, I wonder if I'm just seeing things. Mmm, I wish I could get this thing open." He sighed and kicked the cylinder's base lightly. On cue the cylinder broke open and the child spilled out onto the floor, covered in the suspension fluid. He knelt down and shook her a bit, "Hey- hey? Are you alright, kid?" The girl seemed remained unconscious and Arachnid picked her up. "Don't worry, I've got ya. We'll take you to a safe time. Good home, good people. No wizards. Well, except for Kaida and I'm [i]pretty sure[/i] she's an alright kind of wizard." ".. You plan on taking her back to our time?" Kaida said with an amused expression on her face. She rubbed her chin, "I am fairly sure that is something we shouldn't be doing. Rather, I'm [b]definitely[/b] sure that is something we shouldn't be doing." "Well, everyone else on this island is dead, aren't they? Who knows when people will immigrate here again. She'll die! Think about it!" He responded defiantly. Kaida sighed at his humanitarianism and shook her head, "We're having enough trouble getting out of here without taking along unconscious girls." As they spoke, Era felt something within her mind flick on from the girl's presence. It triggered her powers and suddenly she was submerged in a sea of memories- the little girl's, the castle's and most importantly the two bosses'. Her power was out of control for some reason; in her already drained state the force and intensity of it caused her to slip into unconsciousness. She fought the darkness for a moment before crumpling down to the floor, entering a feverish dream. "Era? Era!" Sakura ran to her side and shook her. There was no response. She looked up to Kaida and shook her head. "She's.." Kaida raised her hand and shook her head. "Don't say it, don't say it. I know. She's unconscious." She sighed in irritation and reached into a pocket on her uniform, taking out a small pyramid. "I suppose this will have to do." "What's that?" Arachnid took an interest in the strange object and reached for it out of curiousity. "It's a teleporter." She responded and pulled it back from Arachnid approaching hand. "It is a rather.. unstable device." Kaida nervously smiled and continued, "But it should get us to that island in one piece." "Should?" Sakura asked and shook her head. "Wait, wait. Where else could we end up?" "Well, ironically, we could land in the middle of the ocean.. but there is only a 10% chance of it. That's not too significant.. I suppose." Kaida gave Sakura a confident nod, "Trust me, it'll be fine. It just spits you out at the wrong place sometimes, is all." There was some silence between the three and Kaida shrugged, "No other choice, is there? You should have some confidence in my devices!" She put a hand on her hip and scolded them, "The time and effort I put into making these things is significant! I am the best inventor I know of and my devices are as safe as can be." "Fine, fine." Sakura said and scratched the back of her head. "If you say so." "Good. Get ready.. this might be a little shocking." Kaida had a wry smile on her face as she said this and that didn't ease her comrades nerves. Energy flowed into the device from Kaida and it rose to life, letting off a soft hum as it came online. A read out on the side of it showed that it was fully operational and had no serious defects in it's operating system or mechanics. Kaida nodded and her finger hovered over the button. She looked up to Arachnid and Sakura, "You two prepared?" They nodded. "Alright. Here we go." The island slammed into the ocean, grinding to a sudden halt. Kaida stumbled and inadvertently pushed the button, a flash overtaking them all. They were spit out just outside the castle, on the edge of the island itself. It was a rough landing but Kaida stood up and smiled, "Well, you guys really are lucky- we are not where I had directed us to but we are are not in the ocean. I consider this a success." "Whoa.. that was a weirder trip than the time traveling thing." Arachnid said rubbing his forehead. "Alot of new experiences today. Maybe too many.." "Yes, the first time can be strange. That feeling should wear off soon.. again, theoretically." Kaida walked over to the edge of the island and shook her head, "How anticlimactic. The island lost altitude too fast and it's stuck in shallow water." She chuckled, "So much for it being a deathtrap." The island was lodged awkwardly just off the coast of Easter Island, leaning at a slight angle. Part of it stuck firmly into the ground while the other part still maintained some of it's levitation. From her perch Kaida could see the entire island and she nodded to herself. "Alright, we need to get down there and confirm the Liquid's status. She's much stronger in this horrid weather so she might be punishing that Rogue rather easily. Still, it wouldn't hurt to know." A low growl came from behind them and the three heroes turned around slowly to see the last remnants of the creature army. It was a mixture of new and old foes- mostly old. Arachnid stepped forward and shook his head, "How many of these things are there?" He laughed and shrugged, "Not that I'm complaining or anything." "No." Kaida said and raised her pistol. "Take the two of them and get out of here. Get them into a safe location and help Liquid out as needed. I'll kill this swarm and make sure no more come after you all." "You sure, chief?" Arachnid asked. "Very. The Rogue is the key to the mission. The puppet master. Without him, the puppets don't move. Kill him and we won't have to mess with any more of these blasted abominations." Kaida looked at the two of them and smiled, "Get going. I'm trusting you to help make this mission a success." "If those are your orders, then.. we're off." Arachnid picked up the two girls, putting one on each of his shoulders. He took a running leap off of the island, sailing through the air and onto the coastline a short distance away. "Good luck, Kaida." Sakura said and nodded to her, "We'll make sure things go alright down below." With that, she shape shifted into a raven and fluttered after Arachnid, leaving Kaida by herself. She turned to the creatures and didn't waste any time, squeezing the trigger rapidly. The orbs of fire ripped through various creatures and they charged her, advancing with terrible speed. Desperation overtook her shots, but they seemed to be endless- had there really been this many natives on the island? It seemed impossible, even as their bodies began to pile up in front of her. Did they bring civilians from their own time? That thought dawned on her and her thoughts turned pitch black- those fools. All these innocent people.. and for what? Losing her emotions, she poured as much energy into her gun as she could and let off a gargantuan sphere of fire that plunged through the ranks of the creatures, incinerating them in a hellish fire. It carried on through the castle's outer wall, decimating it's interior as it went until it exploded. The force of the explosion annihilated most of the castle's interior, sending shrapnel in all directions. Several pieces of it slashed her, cutting open her right cheek and several places along her arms. The burned bodies of the creatures piled up before her, each of them dying if not very dead. 'Overkill much, Kaida?' she thought to herself negatively. That had been a waste of her energy.. but overtly effective, if nothing else. Ignoring her light wounds, she turned to face Easter Island and squinted. She searched the island for some sign of her team. A wall of water rose up from a section of the forest, clearing out a swath of trees with ease. "There's my first clue." She muttered to herself as she watched the water recede back down. "Not too hard to find with that excessive use of power." She glanced back to the ruins of the castle. "Not one to talk, am I? Hm." Within the newly created clearing she saw a figure she presumed to be the Rogue fighting Liquid. Kaida knelt down and shielded her eyes from the rain, watching them closely.[/color]