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Post by jeska on Feb 9, 2005 22:12:42 GMT -5
Ah, that was wonderful! ...Done with the next bit yet? ...How about now? ...Now? ...Come on- I'm going crazy! *whips out sketchbook* I so need to draw this. Yes you do. *Pokes*
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Post by Spot on Feb 9, 2005 22:16:25 GMT -5
Ahhh... X__x *dies from being poked* I have it half drawn, and now I need to write an essay for tomorrow and get to bed early so that I don't end up really sick even though I want to finish the picture but I want it redlined by somebody first just because I tend to be bad with human anatomy ... *breathes* ... so yeah. Eventually.
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 9, 2005 23:25:07 GMT -5
Angelis Luci - part 6
At a loss on what to do JH eventually decided to go the explorer route. After all, the hallway vanished into darkness, whose to say there wasn’t something at the very end, some kind of proof he could take back to the NTWF with him? Perhaps there was even a convenient way to find this place again, rather than simply stumbling on it by random chance. “We’ve been walking for hours,” Un-eairkagh complained from behind him, “And I’m hungry again.” “You ate all the food we brought with us,” JH retorted. “But it wasn’t very filling. And those rice cracker things are weird.” “Rice crackers?” “I snitched them from Kiddo’s pantry. Weird ninja food.” JH just shook his head and peered further down the hallway. There was a bowl of light around them that illuminated everything within a five-foot radius. He’d yet to figure out where that light came from as there were no other features beside doors and wooden walls in this place. Maybe this was a mistake to try and find the end of the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks as a horrible thought entered his mind. What if this hallway had no end? What if he kept going and going and then found himself too far in to get out? Surely he could just will himself out of this place like the rest of the gray lands… unless this place operated by rules of its own. It certainly seemed to have a mind of its own as JH found he lacked the ability to change things like he could in most of the other gray land areas. “Un-eairkagh,” he said, “Break something.” “Huh?” “You heard me.”
A smile broke across the eyrie’s face. “Yippy skippy fire doom!”
With a flourish, the eyrie whipped his portable kiln around, taking out not only the door he was aiming for but the wall behind him as well. JH cringed and shielded his face from the shower of debris radiating out from the impact. A good chunk of the hallway had been forcefully removed to reveal an empty void behind it. No gray mist to be seen. Then, smooth as silk, the wall reformed so that not even splinters were left.
“Way cool,” Un-eairkagh whispered.
“Maybe not,” JH replied, “I don’t think we’re in the gray lands anymore. I don’t know where we are.”
A pause.
“Can I do that again?” Un-eairkagh asked.
******
The demons were at the base of the mountain path leading up to the fortress. They were dividing into a line, sorting themselves out to make an assault. Patjade could see ladders being brought up and once again she was thankful for the strange location of this refuge. Siege towers were too big to be brought up the winding pathway.
“Lady Jade Phoenix,” a rather familiar voice said from behind her right shoulder, “the airship is destroyed, just as you requested.”
Shocked, the elf spun around and regarded the two ninjas. Both had their head scarves on over their mouths so only the eyes were showing and those held no emotion whatsoever. “You’re alive,” she whispered, “Then…” Two ninjas. Crystal and Kiddo. “Wanderer stayed behind.” “Hai.” She tried to find words to say but there was something that told her, no matter what she said, the two would not hear it. They had shoved emotion aside for now, grieving would be left until after the war was won and the world was safe. “We also discovered why they invaded,” Crystal said, “It’s the mist. Their world has none because they lost the ability to dream, so they seek to steal ours. Like parasites, leeching the life from one world before moving to the next.” “Then we’d best not allow this to happen. Kiddo, your ninjas have been stationed at the far left of the battlements. Pirates are holding the right wall and NTWFers are holding everything in-between.” “Hai, Patjade-sama.” The two turned to walk away but before Kiddo could get far she was stopped by a slurred cry. “Oi there Kiddo hold up!” She stopped and Crystal kept on walking, letting the fox-phoenix deal with the pirate on her own. “What’s this?” Rider demanded, “After all that talk about you not coming back?” Kiddo just looked off into the sky and the pink line on the horizon, marking the rising sun. Morning was breaking and so was the final battle. “Things changed,” was all she said. Rider regarded her for a moment. She wanted to hit the ninja, make her cry or show some grief or any kind of emotion, not this flat lake she could not read. But the kunai she carried beside her cutlass – Kiddo’s kunai – seemed to sum up all the feelings that Kiddo was unwilling to show. So instead Rider quietly pulled the flask off her belt, doffed the cap, and held it out to the ninja. “Here,” she said, “You look like you need a swig.” “Aye.” Rider smiled as Kiddo pulled her scarf down and took a gulp. She’d said aye, not hai, but aye. A pirate term. Then Kiddo capped the flask and handed it back to a rather disappointed pirate. “You didn’t choke on it,” she said. “No, it’s good grog, but you forget – I’m a college student. Just cause I drink sake doesn’t mean I can’t drink.” She pulled her scarf back up over her mouth and bowed to the pirate. “Stay alive.” And she turned and walked over to her assigned portion of the wall. Rider just watched her go, slowly replacing the flask to her belt. “Yeah,” she whispered, “You too.” As soon as the demons were in range of the NTWF longbows Patjade gave the order to fire. The ninjas released in ordered volleys, called out by Stal-sama. The pirates tried for some organization but it wound up that about half fired when Rider yelled the order and the other half fired whenever they felt like it. The rest of the NTWF just fired whenever they had a opening. “Kiddo!” Patjade called over the hiss of arrows, “Do you see their battering ram?” The fox-phoenix weaved through the archers to stand next to the elf. She squinted and surveyed the demon lines, struggling under the hail of arrows that rained down upon them. There, about halfway up, a solid piece of wood being carried on the shoulders of some particularly massive demons. There would be enough room for them to use it against the gate and potentially, with enough effort, they could bring it down. “Take it out?” Kiddo guessed. “Take it out.” She nodded and hopped onto the wall, putting her longbow aside and pulling a leather pouch off her belt. It jangled as it moved. “I’ll be back shortly,” Kiddo said cheerily and leapt off the battlements. The wind caught her wings and she rose into the air, circling above the demon army. A few arrows followed her path but they all fell short. She drifted almost lazily across the army until the battering ram was directly below her. That was when she folded her wings and fell. It was a twisting arrow of red and black, her tail and wings keeping her flight steady. The bag she held in her hands opened and she threw the contents out – dozens and dozens of shurikens. Then, a handful of yards above the surprised invaders, she popped her wings out and raised one hand to the sky. “WHIRLWIND!” And the air around her exploded into motion. It howled with power, whipping around in a tight circle, catching up all the shurikens she’d dropped until the maelstrom was dotted with silver blades. The whirlwind fell directly onto the battering ram and those carrying it. It seemed every eye was glued on the scene taking place below the fox-phoenix’s shadow. Even the NTWFers grew silent in horrified fascination. At that moment, suspended in mid-air by her magic, directing the whirling blades, Kiddo seemed the least human of all of them. Over in the corner of the battlements, Crystal’s lips seemed to be moving, as if in prayer. Kiddo dropped her hand, gesturing out in an arc and the whirlwind dissolved, spitting the shurikens out in all directions, topping an entire front row of invaders. All that remained of the battering ram below her feet was a mess of blood and splinters. It had been torn to shreds along with anything else caught up in the maelstrom. The ninja snapped her wings out and rose into the air again, quickly gaining altitude to reach the walls once more in safety. The NTWF army regained its senses and started firing arrows again. The interlude was over and the demons were recovering their wits from this sudden attack. No one saw the demon archer drawing three arrows and nocking them to his bow. He drew, unhindered, and sighted along the barbed points, adjusted his aim, and fired. Mere feet from the walls, Kiddo convulsed in mid-air, her wings faltered, and she started to fall as a thin ribbon of blood traced out from her back, gleaming in the morning sunlight.
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 10, 2005 0:14:05 GMT -5
Some random Angelis doodles as a break from writing. Yay. Ya know, forshortening and perspective is difficult. *wince*
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 10, 2005 0:47:19 GMT -5
Angelis Luci - part 7
To those that saw the arrows hit, time slowed and almost stopped. All that they could see was the twisted body of the fox-phoenix, the faltering wings, and finally the gentle curve of a deadly descent. Crystal was the first to react, leaping over the heads of her fellow ninjas to land at the very edge of the wall, stretching her hand out to the falling woman. Their hands met, she locked her grip about Kiddo’s wrist, and braced herself as the full force of her weight slammed against the side of the fortress wall. “Help me!” Crystal cried and Echo was by her side, hauling their fallen leader up onto the battlement. Two of the arrows had hit, one in the shoulderblade, the other in the wing joint itself. Kiddo was breathing hard, knuckles white as she tried to keep still and not cry out. “Poison!” The cry echoed across the walls. Spot. “Their arrows are poisoned! Get them out!” “Hang on Kiddo,” Crystal said grimly, kneeling and putting one knee in the small of her back, “This is gonna hurt.” And she wrapped one hand around the first arrow and pulled. Kiddo retaliated with a string of curses, all describing what she was going to do to the demon responsible. Crystal just nodded and got a good grip on the second one and pulled. The fox-phoenix went limp at that. “Kiddo?” Crystal whispered, “Answer me?” “Passed out,” Echo replied, tearing off some strips of cloth to bind the wounds with, “But at least the arrows are free and whatever poison that managed to get in should be bled out by now.” Crystal nodded and quickly bound the wound. The other ninjas, upon seeing that their leader would be all right, returned to firing at the demons with renewed vigor. They were getting close and even now they were preparing the ladders. “C’mon Kiddo, we need you to wake up,” Echo said, carefully sprinkling a couple drops of water on the ninja’s face. She groaned in response and her eyes fluttered open. With a grimace, Kiddo pushed herself to her knees, stayed there for a moment to orient herself and let the dizziness subside. Then, with some help from Crystal, she stood and stared at the two arrows on the ground. Both were barbed, intended to cause even more damage when removed. Her right wing hung at an awkward angle and would be utterly useless from here on out. “Hand me those,” she said, “and give me my bow.” Quietly, she twisted and grasped one of the flight feathers of her right wing. With a sharp twist it came free, droplets of blood dotting the end of the quill. She dipped the feather in the mess created by the arrows and then accepted both bow and demon arrow from Crystal. “Let’s repay what was given,” Kiddo whispered and pulling a string from her uniform, tied the feather to the arrow. With extreme care she nocked the arrow and raised the bow. “Fire mages!” she cried out to the NTWFers, “Focus your powers on this feather!” And a strange glint in her eye, she fired the arrow directly into the midst of the demon horde. For a moment there was nothing, then an explosion rocked the ground as a great dome of fire consumed the area around the arrow, triggered by the feather and reinforced by the combined effort of the NTWF mages. It seemed like a hundred feral beasts were roaring in unison and the fire was like a living serpent snapping up everything that fell within its boundary. Then as quickly as it had come, it subsided and left only scorched earth behind. “Ready weapons!” Patjade cried, “Mages, to the front!” The ladders were being raised. The whisper of metal ran through the NTWFers manning the walls as swords were drawn and readied. On the right wall, Rider drew her cutlass and took one last swig of grog. “Right all you scurvy rats,” she snarled, “Let’s see what you got!” As the first ladder dropped against the walls she stabbed her sword up into the chest of the demon riding it. Then, a careful aimed kick sent the ladder tumbling back onto the horde below. “Arrrrr!” she cried, “That the best you can do?” Further along the walls a knot of mages were launching every spell they knew at the nearest targets. “Like shooting fish in a bucket,” Kat commented. “Watch this,” Linny smirked, “Wingardium Leviosa!” At her direction a ladder started to float, the demons holding onto it either letting go in panic or clinging in desperation to keep it on the ground. “You can learn so much from Harry Potter,” she said dreamily. “Going to let it drop?” “Not yet. I want to see if demons bounce or just go splat.” At the far left Kiddo was standing with her back to the wall of the mountain where the fighting was significantly lighter. Eri stood just to her right, keeping the brunt of the demons off their wounded leader. Occasionally Kiddo would flick her wrist and a kunai would go flying. In her left hand was her spear but the blade was clean as she had not had to use it yet. “Eri,” she said, “I think I can get back into the fighting.” “No need,” the ninja replied, kicking a ladder off the walls, “They aren’t getting past our defenses.” “We’re losing people,” Kiddo replied softly, unwilling to look down at the courtyard where those who had been wounded and even kill lay, being cared for by the non-combatants. “And they’re about to lose their entire first wave. Don’t worry.” Kiddo nodded but then frowned a second later, squinted at the other end of the walls. “What the HECK are those pirates doing…?” The pirate in question happened to be Fae Shaddy. In a bout of over-excitement she had leaped onto the wall to stab and then kick a ladder off after the falling demon. However, something had gone wrong. “EYAAAH!” she yelled, realizing too late that the demon she’d just killed had grabbed her ankle. Over she went, desperately flailing for something to grab hold of. There was nothing but open air. She twisted, seconds away from a very nasty death, when something struck her from the side, jerking her upwards and halting her momentum. With a gasp she tried to see what her rescue was, the wind knocked out of her and making it hard to breath. Rider was there, feet planted on the wall, one arm around Fae Shaddy’s waist, the other grasping a rope. “Aye matey,” she said, “be more careful before we think you’re a bleedin’ landlubber.” “NINJAS!” Kiddo cried, “fire to the right! Cover Rider and Fae Shaddy!” The archers obeyed the orders and a hail of arrows showered past as the pirates hoisted on the rope and pulled their comrades back onto the wall. “Thank you,” Fae Shaddy said breathlessly, “It’s a good thing you’re so quick with that grappling hook there.” Rider just nodded briefly and reached for her flask of rum. She hesitated and returned her hand to her sword instead. “We all get to be a hero at some point,” she replied, “Now don’t die on me.” And she turned her attention back to the demons. It was quickly obvious that there weren’t many left to fight though. The first wave was nearly annihilated and the archers were doing a fast job of finishing them off. The rest of the force was hanging back at the base of the mountain. “I think we’ve won this round,” Tracy said quietly, coming up from the courtyard to stand beside Patjade, “Casualties are minimal. Five dead and twenty-six wounded. Considering the size of the first wave… well, it could have been a lot worse.” “Still far too many,” the elf replied softly, “Far too many.” “What now?” Pat glanced left and right across the walls. “Tend to your wounds, rest if you can,” she called out, “Keep sentries on the walls and keep your weapons with you.” She then turned back to Tracy. “We wait. See if and when they launch a second wave and go from there.” And she returned her attention to the battlefield below them, pondering how best to save their world.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2005 0:58:43 GMT -5
........... I just realized.... My fiance is dead.... and I didn't even get to say goodbye. *whimper* *mourns* (Kiddo, feel free to totally ignore what I'm writing here or to tell me to shut up and stop messing with your story ^^; ) Shortly after the Ninjas had been assigned their tasks, Crystal went to Ken and took him aside. "Ken," she said and the boy could see that her eyes were slowly filling with tears. He lay his finger on her lips to silence her. "Every word you say is gonna sound like goodbye. So let's instead promise that we will win this war. For the NTWF, for our friends, for us. We will fight for we are ninja." Crystal just slightly nodded, a single tear running down her cheek. Ken lay his hand on her chin, catching the tear with his thumb and then gave Crystal a long kiss. They looked into each others eyes, bowed and Ken turned and went off to the already waiting Mindela and Kittygirl. He knew that he would come back to her, he just had to. Crystal's eyes followed her fiance towards the girls, their mission. "Goodbye," she whispered. Ooohhh! New part while I was writing this little thing! GO NTWF! EDIT: Meh... Corrected several little errors...
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Post by Crystal on Feb 10, 2005 1:21:30 GMT -5
(Kiddo, feel free to totally ignore what I'm writing here or to tell me to shut up and stop messing with your story ^^ Shortly after the Ninjas had been assigned their tasks, Crystal went to Ken and took him aside. "Ken," she said she said and the boy could see that her eyes were slowly filling with tears. He lay his finger on her lips to silence her. "Every word you say is gonna sound like goodbye. So let's instead promise that we will win this war. For the NTWF, for our friends, for us. We will fight for we are ninja." Crystal just slightly nodded, a single tear running down her cheek. Ken lay his hand on her chin, catching the tear with his thumb and then gave Crystal a long kiss. Then they looked into each others eyes bowed and Ken turned and went off to the already waiting Mindela and Kittygirl. He knew that he would come back to her, he just had to. Crystals eyes followed her fiance towards the girls, their mission. "Goodbye," she whispered. Ooohhh! New part while I was writing this little thing! GO NTWF! Awww! ^-^ XP
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 10, 2005 1:59:08 GMT -5
(Kiddo, feel free to totally ignore what I'm writing here or to tell me to shut up and stop messing with your story ^^; ) Shortly after the Ninjas had been assigned their tasks, Crystal went to Ken and took him aside. "Ken," she said and the boy could see that her eyes were slowly filling with tears. He lay his finger on her lips to silence her. "Every word you say is gonna sound like goodbye. So let's instead promise that we will win this war. For the NTWF, for our friends, for us. We will fight for we are ninja." Crystal just slightly nodded, a single tear running down her cheek. Ken lay his hand on her chin, catching the tear with his thumb and then gave Crystal a long kiss. They looked into each others eyes, bowed and Ken turned and went off to the already waiting Mindela and Kittygirl. He knew that he would come back to her, he just had to. Crystal's eyes followed her fiance towards the girls, their mission. "Goodbye," she whispered. Ooohhh! New part while I was writing this little thing! GO NTWF! EDIT: Meh... Corrected several little errors... *tears up* That's so sad.... good writing Ken. I likes. I tried to avoid any sentimental lovey stuff myself, mainly cause I don't put much stock in tabloid relationships. Kiddo/Wanderer is about as lovey as this will get.
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 10, 2005 3:06:18 GMT -5
Angelis Luci - part 8
Although it spoke against reason JH decided to continue down the hallway in hope of finding an end. He carefully explained to Un-eairkagh his plan – it took three tries – and the eyrie glibly agreed to follow. So the two set off again, walking for what seemed to be hours. By then the llama was growing hungry as well and wondered if Un-eairkagh had really eaten all their food and if rice crackers were as weird as they sounded. “Is that…” JH whispered, staring in disbelief at the abrupt end of the hallway, “Yes! An end!” “Looks like another closet to me,” Un-eairkagh commented. The door was like all the others, dingy and nondescript. The only thing that made it special was that it was at the end of the hallway. JH took a deep breath and his hand closed around the doorknob. The NTWF was in ruins. The gray lands were being transformed into a barren wasteland, devoid of the mist that made them so special. And everywhere lay his dead and dying friends, tossed heedlessly aside by monstrosities straight out of a nightmare. With a cry JH pulled his hand back, gasping for breath. “What is it?” Un-eairkagh asked. “Something… horrible is happening…” Slowly, trembling, he placed his hand back on the doorknob. Huddled in a fortress was the last remnants of a desperate army. Off in a corner slumped the ninjas, among them the fox-phoenix who had already resigned herself to death. In another corner, the pirates, passing around the last of the grog and bandaging their wounds. And below them, at the base of the mountain, waited a great evil that they were not aware of, an evil that would destroy this world and all within it. “They’re all going to die,” he whispered, “All of them. And… and…” “What? Wait? Whose going to die?” The jelly llama slumped to the floor. “The NTWF. Your owner. Everyone.” “NO!” The floor shook as the eyrie slammed the butt of his kiln into the wood. “No. I refuse. I’m not going to let that happen.” JH put his back against the wall, staring at his hands and at the floor. The patterns in the wood seemed like a maze with no openings and no endings. “What can we do? There’s just two of us. You have your kiln but that’s it. I have nothing. We can’t save them…” “Open the door,” Un-eairkagh said, “Open it. See what’s beyond, if it showed you what’s happening outside this place then maybe it’ll show you how to save our world.” His words made sense. JH pushed himself to his feet and faced the door once more. A deep breath. “You better hold something wonderful,” he said, “because only a miracle will save them now.” And he twisted the doorknob and pulled. A whisper filled the corridor as wind streamed out, twisting Un-eairkagh’s fur into a torrent of motion. There were words on the wind, words and light. JH raised his hand to shield his eyes from the growing rays of brilliance and his heart fluttered at the brush of sheer power. Staggering, he stretched out his hand and felt something solid take form within his grasp. The wind grew louder and the words grew clear. Angelis Luci, it said, over and over again until it became a crescendo echoing through every inch of his being. Angelis Luci.
*****
On the inside of the courtyard, huddled in the shadows near the gateway were two pirates. Between them sat a single flask of rum, half-empty. “You think the second wave will be any harder?” Zylaa asked, eyeing the flask and wondering if it’d be prudent to drink any more. “No idea,” NSQ replied, “But if it is, we’ll manage. We beat off that first wave fairly easily. Sabreur sure was a genius in the castle design.” The other pirate nodded her agreement. He’d done well in envisioning and gving shape to this stronghold. Only one wall was presented to the enemy, the rest were natural mountain. The gate was pure metal. That wasn’t the extent of his defenses though. There were actually two gates, an outer and an inner. The small passageway between the two was littered with traps. Snugged next to the inner gate, on the inside wall, was a series of levers. Zylaa had overheard Kiddo explaining to Tracy that those levers controlled the traps on the passageway. “Not sure what they all do,” she had said, “but this one should be the most destructive.” And she had touched the red lever with one finger. “So did you see that stunt Rider pulled?” NSQ asked. “Saving Fae? Of course. Did you see Kiddo firing that arrow that they shot her with right back at them?” “How could you not miss it! The whole dang place blew up.” The two pirates chuckled. “Speaking of Kiddo, how is she doing?” “Collapsed in a corner, last I saw. Rumor has it she’ll be sitting the second wave out, mostly because Patjade is afraid she’ll die from blood loss if she exerts herself anymore.” “And Rider?” “Not a scratch.” “Yeup. Us pirates are the best.” There was a pop and the cork on the rum fell off onto the ground. With a yelp both pirates dove for the bottle to keep it from spilling out into the dirt and only collided with each other instead. They fell back, holding their heads, and staring morosely at the ruined rum. “Not the grog…!” Zylaa wailed. NSQ merely remained quiet. Something was wrong. That cork hadn’t come out on its own… no. It’d been vibrated out. Even now NSQ could feel the ground trembling beneath her palms and small pebbles wobbled as if they were dancing. She slowly rose, her hand falling to her sword hilt. “What’s wrong?” “I’m not sure.” It was at that moment that a hideous sound filled the air, the screech of twisting metal and a mechanical roar of some monstrous device. “BURROWER!” someone from on top the wall screamed, “They’ve got a tunneling machine!” “WHAT?!” Patjade was running across the wall now, trying to get to the gatehouse to see what was going on. NSQ and Zylaa stared at each other in shock. “TO THE GATE!” Lady Jade Phoenix hollered, “They’ve breached the first gate! Get ready to fight!” “Burrower,” Zylaa exclaimed, “They went under the gate. How can we stop that?!” NSQ didn’t reply. She was an island of calm amidst the tumult of NTWFers running to form up before the last gate. Her eyes traveled across the walls to rest on the panel of levers. Beyond the reinforced metal of the final gate came the sound of whirring gears and motors. The device was preparing to dive again. “Sabreur’s traps.” That was all she needed to say. Both her and Zylaa broke into a sprint, reaching the red lever at the same time. With a loud and ominous clack they wrenched it down. For a moment, everything was silent and the two wondered if anything had actually happened. “Um,” Zylaa said. The ground shuddered beneath them and NSQ fell onto her rear. All the NTFWers cried out in shock and clapped their hands over their ears as explosions roared through the fortress. It sounded like the world was ending or the sun had fallen into their midst. “What did we DO!?” Zylaa screamed at the top of her lungs, barely audible over the noise. “This is Sabreur,” NSQ yelled back, “Of COURSE he’d use explosives in mass quantities!” “Good man.” The roar died down and through the ringing in their ears came the creak and clatter of metal. Hardly no one breathed. On top the wall, a red head poked up and peered into the passageway. “Um,” Patjade said, her voice tinged with awe, “I think that worked. There’s… a lot of scorch marks, a lot of dirt, and a lot of burnt metal.” A cheer broke out among the courtyard. NSQ and Zylaa gave each other high-fives and broke into the pirate victory dance which would have involved swilling some rum, if they’d had any left. “Pat!” The elf turned at the cry. One of the sentries was pointing at the base of the mountain, his face pale and drawn with utter fear. Slowly, Patjade looked and her heart fluttered at the sight. There was something coming up the slope, something large and moving very fast. “Archers,” she ordered, “up here, now! Fire at will.” Everyone scrambled for position. Kiddo even managed to shove herself off the ground and stagger up to the battlements beside Patjade. The two stared down at the approaching evil. It was like a cloud of roiling darkness, inky like oil and amorphous like gel. Anything it touched withered and behind it streamed the brunt of the demon horde. “The lord of the demons,” Kiddo whispered. “How do you know?” “I feel it in my heart. This will be the doom of us.” Patjade couldn’t reply, not even to refute Kiddo’s prediction, for the same feeling was in her heart. That sinking sensation, the last second where the water closes over your head and the light is finally lost to the depths. Quietly, Patjade drew her sword. The last wave was coming and nothing would stop it. Silently, the two filed off into the courtyard to stand before the gate, awaiting the horde and the end to everything. A handful of others streamed to join them - Crystal, Rider, Spot - feeling deep within their hearts that not even the gate would hold back this creature. “We did good,” Crystal whispered, “but it seems we’ve run out of heroes. Come then, hell-spawn, and let’s make an end of this. May God save us.”
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Post by The Wanderer on Feb 10, 2005 12:46:03 GMT -5
...
I missed all this?!
So I came, I saw, I got blown up.
At least I did not die in a particularly gruesome fashion.
Noble deaths rock!
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Post by Zylaa on Feb 10, 2005 19:39:52 GMT -5
"Do not press the red button. Whatever you do, don't press the red button." *presses* *everything explodes* So we would have saved the day, if it wasn't for this ultimate evil thing bearing down on us all. Shame, that.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2005 20:12:05 GMT -5
Gak, cliffhanger! This is so awesome. Yay rum!
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Post by jeska on Feb 11, 2005 12:53:18 GMT -5
Evil, EVIL cliffhanger.
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 12, 2005 23:02:37 GMT -5
Angelis Luci - part 9
The NTWFers tried everything they could to stop the monster from reaching the walls. Every spell, every arrow, and every explosive was hurled at the thing to no avail. It came. And it slammed against the gateway like it was kindling, shattering the door and sending hunks of twisted metal and rock showering down across the courtyard. Kiddo threw one hand in the air and a shimmering barrier fell across those nearest to her, protecting them from the explosion. Zylaa was stricken immobile by the sheer ferocity of the blow and could only watch in horrified fascination as time seemed to slow and the darkness poured through. There was pieces of debris caught up in it and one was heading directly towards her like a steel arrow. Then something pulled on her arm and hurled her to the ground, a body landing on top of her and shielding her from the blast. “You… idiot…” NSQ whispered from her prone position on top of the pirate, “…almost died….” Zylaa tried to sit up and NSQ fell into her lap. The piece of metal blown from the door was laying nearby, slick with blood and at the very end of a long stream of it sprayed across the ground. Copper hung heavy in the air and a thin ribbon was trailing from NSQ’s mouth. “You saved me,” Zylaa said. NSQ tried to speak but was overcome by coughing. Instead, she just smiled and closed her eyes. “No,” Zylaa whispered, setting NSQ on the ground and standing, “No.” And she turned, fire burning in her eyes, and drew her sword and charged into the fray. The demons had poured in after their master and were now sweeping through the courtyard, overwhelming the NTWFers one by one. They avoided the middle though, for those that stood there were reserved for the demon lord alone. He formed into a solid mass, a towering beast with thin limbs and black skin, spines at each joint and along the back. A sword was in his hand and his features were indistinguishable except for two black eyes. “Insubstantial,” Kiddo said, “A nice trick. Can’t be harmed by anything but magic weapons. Well, that’s what this spear is for!” She leapt into the air, her spear gripped tightly in both hands. Behind her, Rider, Crystal, Spot, and Patjade charged as well. The demon lord didn’t move, just stood there and let the weapons slice through the slick and featureless body, then reformed a second later as if nothing had happened. But when Kiddo sliced across his arm with the spear, he reacted. The creature was nearly three times the fox-phoenix’s size. She dropped altitude as soon as he made a high swing at her, getting under his guard and going for the stomach. For a moment it seemed like she would score a major wound but the creature dissolved entirely into black mist, slipped under her, and reformed all before the ninja had a chance to react. Horrified, her friends could only watch as the sword came down, bring Kiddo to the ground in a blur of red. No one breathed. On the ground lay the fox-phoenix, on her back, her wings spread out to either side, and the sword inches from her face, held back by the pole of her spear. Blood leaked across her chin and her mouth was a picture of feral rage, her muscles trembling in an effort to keep the sword off of her. “KIDDO!” With a cry, Crystal leaped, landing on top the demon lord’s shoulders and stabbing a kunai into his neck. “Wretch!” The cry of the demon lord sounded like a hundred chalk-filled voices rasping in semi-unison. He twisted, his sword coming up and freeing Kiddo, who rolled to the side and to her feet. With one hand he snatched Crystal off his back and threw, directly into Kiddo, who was bleeding freely again from the arrow wounds and lacked the strength to dodge. The two flew and then rolled across the courtyard to rest in separate heaps. The demon lord stalked towards them as Crystal tried to pick herself up. Spot and Rider uneasily put themselves back to back, watching the battle around them. The demons were inside the fortress itself. Only a handful had stayed to watch the confrontation between their master and the few NTWFers left. Rider saw quite a few familiar faces laying still around the courtyard but not as many as she had feared. Hopefully they had escaped to the inside of the fortress. “We can’t win,” Spot whispered and Rider saw that her eyes were roaming from face to face. Linny. Zylaa. NSQ. Del. “No,” she replied, “But we can at least die fighting.” “Stay here,” Patjade ordered sharply, “they’re holding back to let the demon lord deal with us. There might be a chance. Wait for my orders, he might have a weakness…” On the other side of the courtyard the demon lord formed up, towering over the two ninjas. He reached down with one claw-like hand and curled the spindly fingers around Kiddo. She stirred and the spear fell from her weakened grasp as he lifted her. Then she came to her senses and twisted, vainly trying to reach a weapon as the demon lord’s hand tightened about her. “You have defied me for too long,” he said, “You shall die last of all of these, helpless to watch as I kill them one by one, starting with that one.” And he raised his sword, turning towards Crystal. Kiddo replied with a string of expletives and the demon lord only laughed. “He’s going to kill her!” Spot gasped and stepped forwards a pace. Patjade’s hand landed on her shoulder. “Not yet.” Then she started walking towards the demon lord, sword in hand. “She’s not the one you want!” the Lady Jade Phoenix cried, “Everything she has done has been by my orders. I’m their leader. I’m the one you want to suffer.”
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Post by Kiddo on Feb 12, 2005 23:03:00 GMT -5
part 9 - cont
The demon lord slowly turned and regarded the elf before him. In his hand, Kiddo had given up struggling and was limp, possibly unconscious, possibly dying. Behind him, Crystal struggled to her knees, tucking one hand in close to her body and using the other to draw a kunai. “Yes. I’m their leader. Lady Jade Phoenix and I will not allow you to kill them without a fight!” She braced herself and raised her sword up before her. The demon lord threw his hand out to one side, releasing the imprisoned fox-phoenix in a throw that slammed her against the side of the mountain. Before, Kiddo had attempted to right herself using her wings, as broken and destroyed as they were. This time she just fell, landing on her shoulders and back, and did not move again. Crystal crawled over to her fried, placed two fingers on the pulse, and then brought her hands together in front of her. “Go with God,” she whispered, “We’ll see each other soon.” Then she rose and turned to face where Patjade was facing off with the demon lord. The demon attacked first, leading with a high swing towards Pat’s head. The elf ducked to the side and countered with a slice to the leg. For a moment a tear appeared in his calf but in a moment it filled up and was gone. This did not stop the elf. She continued to fight, almost dancing between and around his attacks, seeming to float on air with her sword a blur of movement. So graceful, so elegant, and something no one had ever seen from the Lady Jade Phoenix. She could not be stopped. He swung at her, a low swipe that she appeared to be about to leap over. But in the middle of the swing, he reversed it, and horrified, Rider realized that he was aiming directly at him and Spot. “DOWN!” she cried and shoved the spotted leopard to the ground. But there was nothing she could do to save herself. The world spun out of control. She was rolling on the ground, her sword knocked from her hands and the roar of shattering steel filled her eyes. Astounded, Rider raised her head and looked around. The demon lord was standing over all of them, triumphant and with shards of metal at his feet. Scant feet away lay a redheaded elf, on her stomach and with a thin line of blood across her forehead. The hilt of a broken sword was under her hand. “Pat…” Rider whispered, “You should not have saved me…” But Pat was not listening, her entire focus intent on the demon before her. “You know,” she said, gritting her teeth and standing, “I was a RETIRED elven warrior until you came along and ruined it.” At that, Rider could not help but laugh. This was so absurd! The ninja clan had been utterly decimated, the fox-phoenix was dead, the NTWF’s world was broken, and the demons had won by shattering Pat’s last weapon. And here she was, still standing, and still making wise-cracks at the demon. NTWF. Insane to the last. But this was it. There wasn’t anything left for them but to be killed, indeed, even now the demons that had been watching were closing in from all sides. Well, might as well die fighting. Rider stood and drew her sword, turning to face the nearest adversary. As Crystal had said, they’d see each other soon. Maybe the NTWF would be rebuilt in heaven. “NOT YET!” The voice came from the sky, falling down like rain. Stunned, Rider turned to stare up at the sun from whence it came. The demons followed suit. “WE ARE NOT BEATEN YET!” A familiar voice. Rider shaded her eyes for it seemed like the sun was growing closer… falling upon them. There was a shape in the middle of that light, a strange creature with wings and a torso and four legs. No. She’d seen that shape before. It was an eyrie carrying a rider. “Look here! Here, here! I am left alive and I am the one to fight you! Here!” “Then come!” the demon lord roared, “and I will break your body across the stone as well!” Rider staggered back, hiding her head from the growing light. What was this? Who was this warrior that had come to save them? “Counted lowly among the warriors and yet it is I who will destroy you!” the person yelled, “I! For I have found the Angelis Luci and against it you cannot stand.” Then the eyrie landed and Rider finally realized who their salvation was. “No. way.” But there was no denying it. “It’s JH and Un-eairkagh.”
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