Post by GW2 on Oct 16, 2008 17:43:26 GMT -5
Vyt
"C-c-cat Assassi-i-in? I-i-i need y-y-you..."
Cat Assassin slowly broke out of the crowd, leaving the quite happy PFA behind. His attention was diverted by the telepathic voice that called his name and the source of it sounded quite like Bluisa. Her trembling voice however told him that something was wrong.
Immediately, the cat regrouped with Bluisa.
"... Celestial," was all the mage could utter as she pointed at a particular something drifting afloat. Cat Assassin could see what looked like a tattered part of a large scale, but its peculiar color gave him a thought.
Celestial was dead. The only girl who knocked him out of his biased senses was dead.
Her heart not believing it, Bluisa went on crying while Cat Assassin tried comforting her. However, the feline began shivering out of emotional sympathy a moment later.
"CELESTIAAAAAAAAAAL!" Bluisa screamed helplessly.
Celestial
The mage woke up on the ice, dazed and stunned. Somewhere she heard her name being called out but it was hazy. She didn't know what happened. The last memory was the ice worm diving and she was trapped beneath it. There was rushing water but she was pulled down by the worm...breathing in the icy water as it quenched the flame...no! Celestial would have gasped if she could have but there was no breath in her. The icy wind tore at her entire form, going right through her spirit. Somewhere in those icy waters lay the body of a dragon but her spirit was...here.
Once again, her name was cried out but this time louder and clearer. Why was she still here, in the land of the living? She should have become a dragon when she died, her human side should have died away along with the magic, leaving only an animal behind!
"No, you are still a magician until you fulfil your task" something spoke and Celestial turned her head. Sitting right next to her was a purple Celestial dragon, its wings outstretched as if flying. Like her, it was also half-transparent. The Dragon mage was looking at her other half, the dragon half.
"What task?"Celestial asked the dragon. It- or rather, she snorted and streched its neck until both ghosts were looking each other in the eye.
"You promised Bluisa you would revive Vyt. That promise binds you and me to this earth. Niether can rest until you have fulfilled that pledge" the dragon spoke. Celestial looked down onto the ice and smiled a little. She was still alive as long as this promise was unfulfilled. Perhaps she could also bargain for her own life in the land of the dead.
The dragon walked over to her and leaned down to human hight. Celestial looked at it for a second in confusion but that was soon gone. Of course, she couldn't transform with her soul in two different parts now. Grinning, the girl climbed onto the dragon. Its muscles moved beneath the etheral skin as if they were still there as the dragon took off into the sky towards Bluisa.
The dragoness didn't make a dent in the snow as they landed despite her size. However the crunch was unmistakable. They had arrived to where Cat Assasin and Bluisa were. Celestial could rest in peace after this. Whether she wanted to do so was a question but there was still time. She walked over to Bluisa and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.
"Bluisa?"
Cyborg
" Well you were knocked out, you have some burns on your face, but some sort of healing gel was put on it. Cyborg and Ielle are at the peace talk, Esme's ribs are healed, we're the Pirate's prisoners of war now, and Midknight says he needs to tell us something important when this is all over." Rose stated.
Vyt
The icy breeze around Bluisa and Cat Assassin began blowing haphazardly for awhile, as if trying to ruin the emotional moment of the two. Soon, however, it quickly died out, like a candle burning out against a greater force. Somehow, that moment told them otherwise about Celestial.
"Bluisa?"
A tap on her shoulder prompted the crying Bluisa to turn around, albeit delayed for a moment. The mage could not see anything, but somehow she was forced to look more carefully. It was then that her eyes turned white once more and revealed more of her surroundings.
As the place around her vanished, the hazy image of Celestial appeared. But this time, she was looking at a more humane Celestial. In fact, she could see her dragon self behind her.
"Celestial!" Bluisa exclaimed. Well, she did not exclaim at all, at least not in the real world. It was her own soul that was talking from now until then.
"I know you won't leave us!" she added. A long pause then followed, telling her otherwise.
Bluisa began to doubt.
Celestial
"I could not leave you, not after what I promised. In fact it is this promise that binds me to the land of the living" Celestial put her hand on Bluisa's shoulder, noting how much easier it was without wings. That was something she had to get used to.
"Now listen carefully. The resurrection will be a hard process and me being dead will make it even harder because I have no body to contain the spirits of the dragons who will be neccessary in crossing the gap between life and death. I can't go there myself because of the pledge I have given you. For this, I'm afraid I will need your body.
The dragons themselves I can keep under control and you will not grow any draconic features so it will not hurt at all. However I'm afraid your soul will feel very crowded and full. However that is not the worst part. Once we get to the land of the dead I will have to talk to Death himself and, this is the worst part for you, exchange your soul for Vyt's. He will come back as himself while you will remain there. It is the only way to do so without interrupting the balance of life.
Are you sure you still want to do this? There will be no way out once you make your final decision." Celestial asked, shivering a little. Her dragon soul sensed this, tapping her back with its nose to prop her up. It was strange not to have the iron support of the dragon within her. Celestial waited for Bluisa's final answer and ultimate decision.
((12,000th psot. :3))
Vyt
Bluisa's eyes widened. Celestial was telling her everything about reviving Vyt back, but what made her more surprised was the condition for the whole ritual to happen. Her soul? For Vyt's soul? It was not anything near resurrection at all, she thought. She felt like she needed to resist.
However, surges of flashbacks began to haunt her. Thoughts of PFA longing for the return of her father. Images of Cat Assassin waiting patiently for his childhood friend's return. The destiny of the Ninja Guild without one of their most-experienced ninja. All of them tried to tell her otherwise, but sacrificing her soul just was not a price deserving enough to pay.
But then, there was Celestial.
Bluisa's mind wandered around her. The dragoness was telling her that she could not venture across the material world without fulfilling her promise of bringing Vyt back, and the mage feared that she might exist as a lost soul forever if she could not comply. Celestial looked like she was giving Bluisa a favor, but she knew she was actually begging for her freedom.
Bluisa's eyes began to water once more. "Celestial, you went through so much trouble just to help us during our journey, and I felt that you reviving Vyt would be a favor even I wouldn't consider..."
Bluisa tried to stand up straight and keep her emotions. "But I know this isn't only Vyt we're helping here... I accept," she breathed out.
The mage closed her eyes the instance she let out her last word and braced for the worse.
Celestial
Celestial sighed, noting the heaviness that fell upon Bluisa. She did not want to die but so much depended on her doing so. Even the dragon let out a small cry of sympathy for Bluisa, reaching over and tapping the poor mage in encouragement. Celestial herself closed her eyes in shame as Bluisa accepted. Clearly it was not going to be easy.
"Bluisa, I keep my promises even if I am not bound to them like now" she managed to smile a little "But thank you, for deciding to do this. I promise that you...won't feel a thing" Celestial whispered and the hand on Bluisa's shoulder sank into her, followed shortly by Celestial's soul. The dragon looked around in confusion but once it's eyes settled on Bluisa it calmed down. The ritual had begun.
From all over the frozen north the souls of Dragons swarmed toward's Bluisa, feeling only Celestial. To anybody watching it would simply look like sparks of all colours being absorbed into her. Within, Celestial was gathering the dragons together and turning their power into one, readying them to make the jump to the land of the dead without Bluisa feeling anything. The Dragon Mage already felt about taking over her body and serving as an agent of Death. But there was no time as the dragons came together at last.
Celestial in Bluisa's body turned to Cat Assasin. The eyes were no longer Bluisa's but instead a strange whirl of colour that were the souls of the dragons. But they all carried a small tint of electric blue.
"We will return with Vyt but not with her. Sorry" she spoke and disappeared. The spell of teleportation was instant and struck without warning.
As soon as they arrived, Celestial released the dragon spirits until there was only her and Bluisa's soul on the plateau. Around them the dead wondered to and fro. Celestial put a caring hand on Bluisa's shoulder, giving her some healing from the limited reserve of magic available to the dead.
"We are here. Now I need you to find Vyt. Then we can arrange the exchange...with Death" Celestial spoke quietly and swallowed at the mention of Death. She once again hated being the one to bring Bluisa here, only to leave her to die.
Vyt
Cat Assassin's eyes were harshly pierced by the sudden glow around Bluisa. Earlier, the mage was crying, but right then it was as if she had a foresight of what would happen. Small dashes of colorful lights began to swirl around the mage as well.
"We will return with Vyt but not with her," mouthed a different-voiced Bluisa. "Sorry."
Not even the speedy Cat Assassin could react fast enough before a transportation spell brought Bluisa away from him. The mage instantly vanished.
In fact, he was stunned. Was Vyt really coming back in the expense of Bluisa?
-------------------------
Bluisa could see nothing all along, but when she regained her sense of sight, she was in a different dimension. Moans and groans of wandering spirits could be heard from afar, and there was some sort of a boundary to expel all souls who did not deserve to have their eternal rest.
"We are here," Celestial uttered to Bluisa. "Now I need you to find Vyt. Then we can arrange the exchange...with Death."
Bluisa looked around. "But how can I find him here? He's bound to be anywhere in this forsaken place!" she exclaimed.
Of course, not even Celestial could not answer that question, she thought. She would have to rely on her new powers one last time. The fate of Vyt lies in her hands now.
"The forces of Light and Darkness combined,
its mixture a total protection from all things undesired.
Take me to the one I wish to find!"
Bluisa closed her eyes, and darkness developed in her sight. Only a spot of light hiding from one of the corners could be seen from her perspective, however. That was the one she was looking for.
When Bluisa opened her eyes, the gray skies broke out and revealed rays of light around her. The nearby spirits could only moan in fear.
-------------------------
From another dimension, Vyt grasped his chest in intense pain. He could feel himself being summoned, being pulled by a force whereas his surrounding was preventing him to do so. Moments later, however, the force stopping him slowly succumbed to the power of whoever was forcing him to go.
Closing his eyes, Vyt also succumbed to the force summoning him.
And thus the dimension was void of any inhabitant.
-------------------------
"Vyt!"
Even before opening her eyes, Bluisa knew Vyt was already coming. Extending her arms as if trying to catch something invisible, the mage had a foresight of Vyt's appearance. A second later, she felt a heavy object pulling her arms down.
"Celestial, he's here."
Slowly, a blurry image of Vyt appeared on Bluisa's arms, unconscious.
Rider
Rider started her abuse of the Fourth Wall by wondering aloud why everyone was talking about a wedding when the two had JUST UNITED. it seemed unfair. They had at least fifteen years of thier time to catch up with. A thousand years of real time. Blast it all.
"And even so, I never really stopped hoping."
These were the words that Kienne was waiting for. It was as though a weight that had been crushing her since she was a teenager.
The Kite was collecting opinions among the Knights. A majority of the Guild was wholly in favor of an alliance via marriage, mostly because they thought this meant they'd stop getting pirate raids on their coast, but partly because they were romantic, idealistic knights. The pirates approved because this was, after all, their capitano, and maybe now the Knights would remove the massive rods up thier backs that kept them standing so straight and proper.
"Celestial!" Rider's cry diverted attention from the lovebirds long enough for them to sneak to the cabin.
The dragon lay in the sea, as dead as dragons come.
A small crowd gathered around the port side of the ship, mostly NTWFers who had known Cele.
Rider honestly didn't know what to say. She had to say something besides "lookie, a dead dragon!" but she was lost for words.
Meanwhile, Kienne had that exact same feeling in the pit of her stomach. "They want us to marry. Your people and my people. It's the joy and peace we need after this terrible war. But... that's not important. Randorph, what do you want?"
Kat
"Seriously. I'm a legal minister," Damson repeated, picking up his staff. The faintest of grins passed his face. "And, it would benefit mage-pirate-knight relations if I facilitated the ceremony. With a little magic, I can turn this ship into a most befitting venue."
Kat shot him a smirk. "You're a mage after my own interests, ya know that?"
"I met Meridian once," he answered - sort of. "We had quite the long talk. He's an interesting fellow..."
"Celestial!"
Kat had to cut this already short conversation short. She ran over to Rider and looked over the edge. Her staff quivered in her hand.
"Cele," Kat whispered. Her shoulders shook once, but she did her best to keep the tears from falling.
Unfortunately, her best efforts remained futile, and she dropped her staff to bury her face in her hands as she sobbed.
* * *
"I know where you two are going," said Damson, without even turning to look at Rane and Kienne. "Save it for after the ceremony, but that's just me. I'll be out here when it actually starts."
He sighed, shaking his head.
The peace talks were rapidly turning into a wedding.
PFA
((Universal Box))
"What...?" was Jernath's response to Rose. That was a lot to swallow at once. Peace talks? Esme had broken ribs? Prisoners of war? And... something important? Truly, his response was the most suitable one.
As the words began to click in his brain, Jernath started checking to see if his weapons had been confiscated. Apparently,
Peace talks... there were peace talks going on, right? That was a good thing. Maybe this thing would be over soon.
He attempted to stand up, but decided against it when got a sudden jolt of pain from the various wounds he had gained over time. He grimaced. It would take a while to fully recover, it seemed.
---
((Golden Mast))
"Celestial!"
The shout caught PFA off-guard. Celestial? What had happened to Celestial? She admittedly hadn't seen her for a while...
PFA ran over to see what everyone was looking at. She froze. Celestial's body, floating lifelessly in the water. She was dead.
Well, it would explain why she hadn't seen her for a while.
The ninja turned away from the sight, and fell to her knees from shock. This was going to take a while to fully register in her brain.
Cyborg
Rose looked down at Jernath, the archer was in great pain, she leaned over and sbegan healing some of the wounds, as best as she could. Esme was talking to Midknight attempting to get him to tell her what was important, with no success. Rose looked at the archer again, and finally worked up the courage to do what she wanted to since she met him, she leaned over and kissed him. ( I know I'm gonna get shot for this, but I had to.
PFA
((Universal Box))
Jernath smiled when Rose started healing his wounds. "Thanks, Rose."
With the pain beginning to numb, and Jernath busy pondering over what this strange room was that they were in, the archer was caught off-guard when Rose suddenly leaned over... and kissed him. ((Is it on the lips?!
))Jernath was completely and utterly shocked. He had a million frantic thoughts going through his head all at once. What the...?! Where did that come from? Why is she kissing me? What about...
While a part of him wanted to shove her away and complain, another part of him couldn't stand to be so mean to Rose. She was always so kind, so caring... she was too nice to be angry at.
Besides that, there was a small part in the back of his mind that was actually enjoying this.
But if you asked him about it, he would deny it.
---
Huntress
Hunty leaned on the railing with a sigh. She didn't have particularly warm feelings for mages - apart from those were part of her crew - but losing an ally and, by the broadest definition, a friend, was still always depressing.
"Should we haul her out or something?" she asked rather quietly. "Or leave here here for her last rest? I know this wouldn't be my graveyard of choice, so far away from any civilized regions."
***
The captain's quarters were, as they usually are, in the schooner's stern right under the bridge. Even though the noise from the bridge was still to be heard as a muffled murmur emerging from the ceiling, it was blissfully quiet in the cabin. The sun had almost set; the last rays were still shining through the numerous windows in the back of the cabin, and even though the cabin itself was messy and black-tinted, most of the windows were broken, and there was a shark skeleton lying across the room - nobody had really had the time to clean up ever since the ships re-emerged from the bottom of the sea - it still looked homely to Rane. This was his sanctuary, his quiet place of escape, and the way it shone orange in the light of the sunset was oddly relaxing.
Rane left the door half-open, knowing that otherwise there'd be eavesdropping galore as soon as the distraction was sorted out above their heads, and made his way towards the windows, taking care not to step on the mess on the floor, especially the skeleton. It'd been hanging off his ceiling for years, he'd grown to like it.
"Alliances," he grumbled, turning away from Kienne - largely because his face was still covered with a deep blush. "Beneficial to the land, and the relations, and the people, and all that jazz. Politics." That last word sounded like verbalized cyanide. "That's what they all think of. Leaders and their lives never belong to themselves only." He stepped heavily on something small and wooden that cracked under his boot. "Does it actually matter what I want?"
He had a reason to be sulky - despite the fact that the two had only been reunited for some ten minutes after a thousand years, he had, in fact, instantly considered if not a marriage, then at least permission to be Kienne's humble servant from that day forth.* After all this time of never having stopped hoping, he wasn't going to lose that woman again. But how the heck is a guy supposed to pop the question when surrounded by a crowd that's cheering him on?
Rane reached the windows and leaned his face against one of the glassless squares to gaze at the sunset, attempting to gather his thoughts.
"Come, look," he said to the queen, his voice now soft, quiet, and somewhat absent-sounding. "I remember watching those sunsets from this cabin before the war started, back when life was peaceful... it always reminded me of that day back then, remember that day? When I sent you home right before sundown, when the sky was orange just like that, and you'd been picking berries for the store, and gave me a handful of them." He paused. "Right before we parted that day, I wanted to ask you a question... but couldn't. Didn't have the guts."
He turned to look at the sun again. After a thousand years, it still looked exactly the same.
"And now that I'm the pirate lord and the captain of a fleet," he said bitterly, "I don't even know what I want. I don't know how much of all this is my own feelings and how much is the pressure put on me by politics and how much is plain common sense telling me what's right for the peace and the people. And I don't want to be selfish and listen to my old memories or political reasoning. Because I don't want to hurt you."
* Which is the same thing in essence, except involves less legal duties and more sneaking in through backdoors after sunset. The Medieval Romance wasn't a prosperous form of literature for nothing.
The Horsemen
Death was, quite frankly, beginning to feel somewhat stressed at that point. As everyone with a hard and demanding job, he preferred his realm clear and straightforward. Those last two days had faced a bit too much phoenix-resurrection, time-space warps, and necromancy. Not that he really minded, emotions weren't his forte. He was just beginning to get the Horseman equivalent of looking forward to finishing the workday and hitting a pub.
THIS IS VERY UNCOMMON, he said a tad reproachfully, standing behind Celestial. He hadn't appeared there. He just was there.
"Is it like, against the rules?" Famine whispered to the other two Horsemen. They'd followed Death to the scene, figuring that there was nothing else interesting enough going on in the rest of the area.
"No, all fair," Pestilence said quietly. "Equivalent exchange. As long as there's no excess of the action left hanging anywhere, it's allowed. He just dislikes all the hassle it brings along... rewriting reality, adapting the new soul into the world, you know, all that. But you know how our jobs are."
Death knew that too, so he just fumbled in the depths of his robe, looking for something. Hourglasses that have stopped counting lives are, understandably, much harder to find than hourglasses of the living. But they're still archived exactly because of the reversability of death, and the reaper was a very organized worker. He produced two hourglasses from the space between somewhere and nowhere, and left them floating in the air in front of him. One of them Bluisa's, the other Vyt's.
I HOPE YOU REALIZE, he warned, raising his scythe, THAT THIS IS IRREVERSIBLE. TWO SOULS THAT HAVE BEEN EXCHANGED CANNOT BE EXCHANGED AGAIN.
Him saying that probably wouldn't have changed anything anyway, as he brought the scythe down and aside that same moment. The bright blue side connected with an hourglass with a weirdly clear and fragile sound, and the hourglass slid at the one floating next to it... into it... through and past it.
Something disconnected in the universe, and got plugged in again.
Death took the empty hourglass that wasn't the same empty hourglass it had been a short while ago, peered into it, nodded curtly, and stuck it in the depths of his robe.
Celestial
Celestial knew better than to interfere with the spell that Bluisa was casting in order to find Vyt. She stood to the side and let her fellow mage do the work but unlike some of the spirits around them, Celestial embraced the light rays. Her dragon soul did the same, basking in them like a serpent on a rock. They both wanted to live, they were not ready to die yet and forsake the dragons.
There was no time for thoughts of life as the task was ahead of her. Vyt's soul appeared in Bluisa's arms, unconcious. Celestial let out a mild curse. While him being unconcious would certainly make the process more complicated than it was already, there was no time to waste. The dragon put its muzzle under Vyt to make it easier for Bluisa to hold him. Celestial simply turned to face Death and the other Horsemen.
There was something about them that told you to pay them respect and plenty of it.
"I know and so does Bluisa. But this what has to happen" she spoke calmly in their presense. The dragon raised it's wings a little but did not speak as the scythe came down upon the hourglasses of both Bluisa and Vyt. For a split-second all memory was erased from both of ther halves as the connection was broken and remade. Aside from the hourglasses being completely different, something felt different about the entire world.
"It is just you, my dear girl. You have always been like this" the dragon spoke to Celestial but it's voice was a lot more muffled. It was obviously carrying a much greater weight now.
Celestial herself bowed her head respectfully to the Horsemen
"Thank you" she spoke and turned to Vyt and Bluisa. She immediately saw the changes as Vyt was more solid and real now than ever while Bluisa...she was dead, there was no other word to describe it. Taking some of the weight off her arms, the dragon picked Vyt up in its claws and placed him on its back, making sure that he did not end up within the dragon. Ghosts were not easy to ride. But they had to deliver Vyt back to where he belonged: with the living. Besides, she had no wish to stay here any longer lest her will to live was extinguished. But Bluisa still had to be addressed. The mage turned to her and smiled.
"It was for the best. You did a brave thing and it will not go unrewarded. You do not have to stay here, the living world is always open to you. Come back if you wish" she spoke softly to the fellow mage and left her to make her own decisions. Death was not as different from life as many would think.
Climbing onto the dragon, she willed them all back. The realms of the dead could not stand the living and this time, they needed no magic. Before long, they were flying high above the frozen sea but it was different from how she remembered it. The feeling of doom was gone and even from this distance, there were signs of 'shippyness.
"And I had to die at this time and ruin the party" Celestial thought cynically. Dead bodies did not belong where there were 'shippery feelings. By the looks of it too, they had fished up her body and in it's human form too. She did not want to think of how it transformed back. Now they had to get the unconcious Vyt back to Cat Assasin and PFA. The dragon turned to where they set off from, hoping Cat Assasin had not moved.
They landed heavily this time with Vyt being too solid for the dragon to fly comfortably with. It hoped that Cat Assasin heard the crunch and saw Vyt in the ice.
"Let's never do that again as long as we are dead. Ghosts were not meant to transport those who are alive"
Vyt
Bluisa helplessly watched as the entire process grew upon her and Vyt. She was starting to feel nothing, but that only worsened the fact that she was being turned into a lifeless soul. As Death himself cast his judgment on her own hourglass, the only object preserving her entire life, her body started to change drastically, becoming more translucent than anything living. To that, she smiled without fear. The sight of Vyt turning back into a living person was the only thing occupying her mind right now.
Celestial turned around and mentioned Bluisa still being able to go back to the living world as a lingering ghost due to the nature of the spell. It was then that Bluisa stared at the hopelessness of the lost souls around her. "Thank you for reminding me that, but I don't think I'm returning there for a long while," she insisted. "After seeing Death himself, I've decided to turn for the best. These lost souls need direction even after their own lives, and I've just considered wandering around to show them the path towards eternal rest..."
"... I want to become the pastor of the dead."
Bluisa's black robe then shone brightly, changing its dark color to a whitish glow. Her eyes also shone a bright white and yellow, and sooner her body began to follow. "Vyt and Subila... So your mixture of powers still reach up to afterlife? Ironic that I say this as a dead person, but I thank you very much for giving me a purpose to 'live'," she mentally gave her sincere last message.
With that, Bluisa turned away from the living world. She had billions of lost souls to tend to.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cat Assassin was already on his way to check on Celestial when something invisible drove him otherwise to stop himself on his tracks. It was nothing magical, nor was it surreal. It was more of a simple pull that was inhibiting him to move from that same spot. Mindlessly, he looked around as if expecting something.
THUD. CRACK.
Cat Assassin's head began to turn around faster, as if desperately trying to find something. His eyes were starting to water with tears, and his breathing began to run against its normal interval. Still, he continued to look around.
It was when he turned around at a certain direction that his mind started to fill with extreme joy. Jumping overboard and trying to land at a certain small sheet of ice, Cat Assassin drove himself back to streneous physical activity to get something that was lying above the cracking ice. Immediately, he went back to the White Weewoo carrying the heavy thing and called for PFA tearfully.
The thing turned out to be Vyt.
"PFA, he's back!" Cat Assassin kept repeating that statement like a young child happily enjoying something, and why would he not enjoy something like the return of his childhood friend? He brought the unconscious half-feline near his daughter.
The feline kept mum about the fate of Bluisa, however. Quietly, he wanted to thank her so much for bringing out a sacrifice just to fulfill the return of Vyt. Letting the others know about her 'death' would not justify the half-feline's revival, so he just kept it all to himself. Everyone was exhausted enough to receive another untimely death, he thought.
Omni
((Golden Mast))
"Well, I've… never been to a wedding, that I can remember," Ethan said.
Siber rolled his eyes at the vulture's attempt at speaking 'dog'. Part of the reason he barked at it and the gryphon was to see if they could understand him. The answer appeared to be 'no'. He turned around and lay down near Ethan's feet.
----------
Omni couldn't help but notice the auras' presence when the dragon's began to gather into Bluisa's body. She also felt them vanish suddenly as Bluisa did. She also found it odd when Vyt appeared in the middle of the ice. Didn't he die quite awhile ago?
…
Well, it wouldn't be the first odd thing that's happened here.
((Bleh. This is what happens when I feel like I should post, but I don't have much to say.
))PFA
((Golden Mast))
Three words. That was all it took to make PFA feel better. Three short words. Alone, the words meant nothing. Together, they meant everything.
"PFA, he's back!"
PFA got to her feet, looking incredulously in the direction the voice had come from. She noticed her Uncle coming toward her, carrying... could it really be?
"Father?" PFA examined the unconscious figure more closely. "Father! FATHER!"
The ninja could see that Vyt's face was full of color, unlike the pale shade of death. PFA started laughing happily, placing a hand on her Father's shoulder in hope that he would wake up soon. She wanted so badly to see his smiling face again, and for him to wrap his arms around her in a fatherly hug. It could actually happen now.
Now that he was back.
PFA paused briefly, getting a sudden prompting to look back in the direction of Celestial's dead body. The dragon was still dead, but PFA couldn't shake the feeling that she was still there somehow. And that she had done something very good this day.
"Thank you," PFA said in a soft, almost inaudible whisper. "Thank you, for everything."
Though the statement was directed toward Celestial, PFA felt a sudden gratitude toward Bluisa, as well. Though PFA wasn't consciously aware why, a small part of her subconscious knew that it was thanks to the catgirl that Vyt was here now.
And then, she looked back toward her Uncle and Father, waiting for the latter to wake up. In the meantime, she smiled at her Uncle, silently noting how overjoyed she was at that moment. The war was ending, two long-lost lovers were reunited, and now her Father was back. This was a good day, indeed.
Vyt
Cat Assassin looked at the gleam on the face of PFA as she strode quickly to meet him and Vyt. Her eyes were teary, initially because of Celestial's death, but now she was crying out of overfilled joy. She could even barely contain her excitement that she placed her hand on Vyt's shoulders to wake him up. Cat Assassin could only smile in agreement; everything he was planning to do was already being done by PFA.
"Ugh... Don't go away, lovely fish sticks... Papa Vyt loves you all so much..."
Cat Assassin let out a hearty laugh: the first in many years. "He's back, alright," he added. Indeed, Vyt was starting to wake up, and his eyes met the sight of PFA and Cat Assassin.
"Guys!" Vyt stood up and proceeded to lock them both in a hug. "I felt like I've slept for a very long time now. So what happened to the shadow warriors?"
Cat Assassin looked at Vyt in confusion. "Shadow warriors? They've been vanquished months ago, after the first war."
The feline quickly knew what was going on. Vyt's memories of the recently-concluded war was erased for some reason, and the half-feline thought he was still on the first war. "Err, forget about that. PFA has been... looking all over for you!"
"Oh, PFA!" Vyt started to cry when he whispered PFA's name. He had been longing for her warmth for so long. "I've always thought you'd grow up to be strong... And now here you are standing like a true ninja! No, as my daughter!" he exclaimed. The catboy wanted to add more, but he was too excited to mouth out any more words.
"I promise that I'll never leave you again, PFA..." Vyt stared at her with passion in his feline eyes before he gave PFA a very long hug.
Rider
Kienne leaned against the wall. She knew what the question was now, in retrospect. it was one that she had heard a hundred thousand times since the death of that loveless king. Always, the words sounded the same, devoid of passion, very stiff and formal. All those old knights and nobles had looked at her the way a man would look at a buisness partner. Politics was buisness. If Rane asked her that way, she would calmly walk into the sea, because that would mean there were no true men in the world.
If Rane had asked what Kienne wanted, she would have told him, to go back in time. To be Sally again and kiss him on that evening that she remembered as clearly as glass and make him ask her. Then they would run away and she would be Sally forever and they would never have to get involved in this foolish war.
"And I don't want to be selfish and listen to my old memories or political reasoning. Because I don't want to hurt you."
There was still something genuine in him after all. She felt herself drawn to him like a puppet is drawn on strings. "I don't care if I get hurt. I'm not some flower-petal princess. I'm a widow in a world where leaders can't have thier own lives."
She took his hand. "But I have had a hundred thousand suitors who listened only to political reasoning. Look, we don't have to figure this out immediately. It's going to be a long night, and our officers and nobles will be very busy with politics. I should be up there for Moral Support, but I doubt I'll seriously be missed.
"So, we have the whole night, the whole day, the whole year in front of us. As much time as we need to figure this out."
But what she meant when she said this was, I could wait an additional thousand years for you.
--------------
We now interrupt this 'shippergasm for a request for an inactive phoenix.
Sev woke from his nap, muttering about only taking orders because it was that or get restrained and plucked, and Ikkin would want it anyway, and there would be heck to pay in the morning.
The frozen body of Celestial was lain on the deck. It burst into a pillar of swirling flame. The flames died away, leaving the deck and celestial completely unscathed.
Cele's chest rose and fell in the steady rhythm of her breathing. She was alive again.
Cyborg
Cyborg walked up to Huntress, he knew he was going to regret it, but heknew he needed to, " Hunty I need to talk to you."
Rose ended the kiss, and stood up.
" Okay I'm going to help you all escape, first we need to destroy the tank.
Next that Fraze guy will come nd open up the hatch I will sneak aboard the Mast as a shadow, then Shado will teleport you out to me. The squirrels will stay there, with Cyborg, then Shado will turn into a shadow and get to the nearest land, and I will teleport you there."
" Okay sounds good." Rose said.
" Ya, so what's the announcement?" Esme asked.
" The announcement is, Cyborg and I have talked, and we have decided, ..... we are both taking a break from the mercenaries, I don't know how long." Midknight said.
"What!?!?" Rose and Esme yelled.
" Cyborg and his squirrels ae going to try to rejoin Hunty and her crew, ad make amends with them. Shado and I will be going to Dunburrow, and will be joining the Knights of Dunburrow." Midknight declared.
" Will you atleast come back to the mercenaries at some point?" Rose asked with sorrow.
" Yes we will we have discussed that. We'll be back in about one and a half to three years though." Midknight replied.
Fraze
((The Golden Mast))
Fraze observed the proceedings quietly. Thus far, the treaty negotiations had not gotten around to Spacefleet's part in the whole mess. It seemed that "peace" had been a universal request--though everyone seemed to mean "an end to this conflict" rather than actual peace between the guilds. Such a thing would never come true in its entirety.
Then two of the gem leaders seemed to know each other and ran away. Fraze had never been much of a 'shipper, and was, for the most part, quite oblivious to such things, so he wasn't sure quite what was going on.
In fact, the crowd had seemed to develop a sort of communal ADD. Many people were staring at the two gem leaders, someone had started throwing poop around, and several people seemed to have revived a friend.
Trying to renew the talks, Fraze searched for something to say. He had mentioned trade relations, but what and with whom?
...Yes, that would do well.
Clearing his throat, he spoke up. "Spacefleet is interested in forming trade relations with farming communities planetside--erm, on the NTWF, exchanging more advanced farming equipment for food." Because Spacefleet food is awful, he thought. "In addition, we are interested in an intellectual exchange with the Mages. I believe that such an exchange would benefit both of our guilds. And since the mages seem to be so widespread in other guilds, it would indirectly benefit all of the NTWF's guilds."
PFA
((Golden Mast))
PFA laughed joyously as her Father woke up, giving her and Uncle a hug. She didn't even care that he had forgotten everything that had happened while he was dead. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was here.
"I've always thought you'd grow up to be strong..." Father started saying, "And now here you are standing like a true ninja! No, as my daughter!" He stared at her warmly, before giving her a big hug. "I promise that I'll never leave you again, PFA..."
No matter how hard PFA tried to hold back the tears, there was no stopping them from pouring down her cheeks at that point. There was nothing she could say to her Father to tell her how much that meant to her.
"Thank you..." was all she could mutter. "Thank you so much."
That short moment felt like an eternity to PFA.
---
((Universal Box))
Jernath was too distracted with all the thoughts he had going through his mind to really let Cyborg and Midknight's words sink in. He understood them, yes, but the seriousness didn't register to him.
He was too busy thinking about Rose. Well, not just Rose, he realized. He was thinking about Rose, Esme, Leste...
...And Meria.
All it took was that one name, and suddenly the whole subject of love became so much more complicated. That face he could never again see, that voice he could never again hear... that warmth he could never again feel.
Could anyone else ever match up to that?
Wait, came a sudden thought to Jernath. Did Cyborg and Midknight just say something about leaving the mercs?
"What?" His reaction may have been half a minute late, but it was there nonetheless.
Cyborg
(( The BOX))
" Like I said Cyborg and I will be leaving the mercenaries, to take a break and seek different paths. He wants to return to the sea, while I wish to become a knight. We have decided to return to the mercenaries, in anywhere from a year and a half to three, four years tops." Midknight stated.
PFA
((Universal Box))
"Oh," was Jernath's awkward reply. He stood up, glad that Rose had healed him. "Well, um, good luck on your other endeavors, and... we'll wait for you when you come back."
Jernath was no good at dramatic farewells. He realized this with a sigh.
"Hey," he added in a less serious tone, "you know when you come back, we're gonna expect you to be stronger. Don't go and get wimpy on us." He grinned teasingly.
Celestial
Celestial smiled in joy as the joyful reunion unfolded in front of her. Even though they were ded and so different from each other, both souls felt such joy at the happiness of others. However they did not have long as the tug to live pulled at them both. Both of them looked each other in the eye.
"Are you willing to put up with a pragmatic, calculating and sometimes cruel human for the rest of her life?" Celestial's human side asked the dragon. She knew how annoying she could be to anybody, even herself.
"Of course, niether of us can do without the other" the dragoness grinned and the girl smiled. The spirital plane of the land of the living was full of purple, silver, blue and gold light as the two souls merged into one for ressurection. Their time had began again.
Celestial's eyes snapped open as she breathed in the cold air, letting it flow over her lungs. She was alive again but it was strange to be one person again. The souls, which for such a brief time were comrades, were once again fighting within her to keep a balance. It felt strange to be alive for sure.
"In addition, we are interested in an intellectual exchange with the Mages. I believe that such an exchange would benefit both of our guilds. And since the mages seem to be so widespread in other guilds, it would indirectly benefit all of the NTWF's guilds." she heard a voice speaking. An intellectual exchange? That sounded promising but who on earth would be offering that? The guilds had free access to the knowledge of the mages...except the Spacefleet whose HQ she had briefly "visited". A grin spread across Celestial's face at the memory. She got up to her feet, slightly unsteady as the wings on her back made themselves felt. Streching them out whenever she felt her feet about to give way, Celestial stood up.
"I do not speak for the entire mages, being only a minor member of their guild but I'm sure that the exchange will be very much desired" she said to which ever Fleeter had spoken, shaking her head to clear the fuzziness of death out of it. Needless to say, that
Leste blinked after
There was Esme, Midnight, Rose, squirrels and...Jernath. Leste smiled at the sight of the mercenary and even blushed a little. She flew in closer, eager to hear what they were talking about.
"You know when you come back, we're gonna expect you to be stronger. Don't go and get wimpy on us." Jernath said. Leste let out a ghostly, whispering laugh.
"I don't think that is possible" she spoke without a hint of irony after recovering from the laughter.
Huntress
The evening was drawing near. Now that the sun had set, it was getting too dark to see anything inside the iceberg, so Rane's officers brought a number of torches on long poles and set them all around the bridge. This somehow served to soften the mood - more so than the happy reunions already had - and so the crowd aboard the Mast loosened up a little. It was oddly like a party after a very formal reception.
Nevertheless, peace talks were still going on. Hunty, who didn't have much to do at that point - pirates didn't need to negotiate with anyone - leaned back and watched from the sidelines, a black-clad figure keeping to the shadow between two flickering torchlights. She craned her neck curiously as two of Rane's higher officers climbed to the bridge, carrying a big steaming kettle between them.
"Gather round," one of them called in a voice that was trying to sound official but was really pretty jovial. Hunty took a step forward and looked at the blackish liquid that smelled strangely like...
"Coffee?" she asked in surprise.
The two pirates gave her an equally surprised, somewhat wary glance.
"If you call it that," one of them said. "It's a drink made of a rare plant. It helps to keep you awake, and after a battle we're all going to need this if we're to carry out those peace negotiations. Besides, it's cold in here."
That was true, and Hunty hadn't eaten much these last few days, so the mugful of the bitter, strong liquid that only partly resembled normal coffee and was a little salty, made her feel quite a bit better. She retreated to the sidelines again, watching the Spacefleet-Mages discussions.
"Mark my word, they'll mess this one up," she said to nobody in particular, but Bloody Mary was still present and listening. "Their Commander didn't look like he'd let anyone forge pacts on his behalf."
"None of our business," the meepit said in the voice of someone who's very glad for that, and turned slightly on her shoulder to look aside. Hunty turned as well. It was Cyborg.
"Hunty I need to talk to you."
"Your timing has improved," the captain said rather matter-of-factly, leaning against the railing again. "I'm listening?"
Cyborg
(( Box)) " If anything, I'll be a lot stronger, lugging that heavy armor around, plus I'll come back with a few new tricks." Midknight replied with a smirk.
---
" I know we have had big differences, bigger fights and arguements, but I want to make amends and rejoin your crew." Cyborg stated.
Amneiger
((The Golden Mast))
Amneiger had, for the most part, remained quiet. He'd put down his weapons with the rest of them, but had stayed in the back and refrained from saying anything. For the moment he was thinking about the technology exchange Fraze was offering. Let's see...what non-critical, not-too-closely-related-to-our-military tech can we trade? Metalworking, engineering, cheap digital cameras...can we offer digital audio players?
((The Universal Box))
The minitank twitched a little as it watched the people it was supposed to be guarding. They'd done nothing but talk and stand a little, and so it had done nothing but calculate strafing maneuvers and targeting solutions.
Huntress
" I know we have had big differences, bigger fights and arguements, but I want to make amends and rejoin your crew."
Hunty looked at Cyborg. As it was, she really couldn't do much else. Not until she'd gotten past the initial surprise.
Bloody Mary, being the faster thinker, shuffled around on her shoulder. His eyes flashed in the dimness.
"You mean you've had differences and fights and arguments," he said. "There hasn't been anything to argue as far as the Pirate laws are concerned. According to those you should be dead by now. You should know that."
"Is that my ship?" Hunty asked, cutting off the tirade. She was nodding at the scorched mastpole and the Jolly Roger flying in it - everything they could see of the Weewoo, since the rest of it disappeared completely behind the schooner's high board. But it was still there, and most definitely the Weewoo, as proved by the mist that was swirling around the flag.
"I should think it is," said the captain, giving Cyborg a stern glance. "I should also think that it's the same ship you attacked and fired at no more than an hour ago. You tracked us down here, all the way to the north of the NTWF, pursuing some kind of weird revenge. You fought until you were forced to surrender. And now you want to join my crew again? After all that?"
She got up and went off across the deck, towards Celestial. She didn't have warm feelings for mages, but the dragoness had still fought on her side and she figured that a plain 'glad to see you're okay' was the least she could do in her position.
"My answer? I don't trust you," she said as she passed the kougra. "And there's no place in my crew for people I can't trust. As such, I don't think we have anything else to talk about."
Cyborg
" I understand you can't tust me, but is there anyway I can earn your trust, I will do it." Cyborg stated.
---
" We need to destroy the tank, before it tries to destroys us," Midknight declared, " any ideas?"
Kat
Kat ran over to Celestial and gave her a big hug. "You're all right!" She broke away in time to hear Fraze saying something.
"In addition, we are interested in an intellectual exchange with the Mages. I believe that such an exchange would benefit both of our guilds. And since the mages seem to be so widespread in other guilds, it would indirectly benefit all of the NTWF's guilds."
"I'm listening," said Damson and Kat together, and they stared at each other.
"Well, we are," they said simultaneously.
"Whatever, can we just get this over with?" asked Kat, her hands in her pockets. "What have you got?"
Fraze
With all the other commotion, Fraze was almost surprised that his suggestion was met with any approval. In stereo, no less.
"What have you got?" Kat asked simply.
Fraze took a breath to formulate his thoughts. He knew it would be best to stay away from weaponry--but that was fine, Spacefleet had a multitude of civilian technologies, and was developing more every day. "Farming tools," he began. "Farmers could harvest their crops five times as quickly. Medical supplies, as well--I realize that many of the Mages have healing abilities, but there will not always be a Mage available for those who don't have access to magic. In addition, we have a number of more recreational technologies that may interest you. We have interactive holographic simulations that can be programmed for anything from intensive battle simulations to a romantic night on the beach without a beach, and with only an optional real companion.
"In exchange, we would both like to learn some of your magic, and study how magic works. The farming equipment I mentioned would fall more under my previous request for trade routes, and as such we would be interested in trading for a portion of your farmers' crops."
This was the first true negotiating Fraze had ever done without someone telling him what to say. He hoped that he had presented himself well. If not--well, he had a very big trump card, one that he thought most Mages would find irresistible.
Zari's ship?))
)