Lips spread wide across his features. A wide, coy smile graced his features. Ciaran could not keep his amusement and joy contained. The poison dragon slayer, Selma, and her Exceed, Xerxes, had played right into the palms of his hands. She cursed at him, of course. Railed about how she would get out of her restraints and make them all pay for their intrusion into her and the feline’s lives. He could not be less concerned. For, in all her ranting, in all her rage, she dared not strike out at him. Why? Because of the one thing she cared about most in her years on this earth. The very thing that became her weakness. Selma would not do anything to jeopardize her dearest friend. Xerxes was both an asset and a liability to her. In this instant, he was a large liability. Something to be used to persuade the girl to Ciaran’s stance on matters. Which is precisely what transpired a short time ago when he visited their cell. He took extra measures to ensure the purple-haired girl knew he would not bluff. The Exceed suffered a mere five seconds before she yelled for him to stop his demonstration. A mere five seconds for her to realize her error should she not heed their commands. Glorious. Ciaran glimpsed the cage weighting down his left hand. The stack of DVDs previously there now secured in a pack draped over his back. The laptop bag slung over his shoulder. In any other time or place he might give the impression of a college student, save for the excessive outfit he preferred.
Through the hallways, past the various labs and scientists, to the farthest corner he walked. The door the underground holding cells greeted him in a few moments time. Using his free hand, he shouldered the hefty door open, stepping over the threshold before letting it snap back with a resounding thud. Ciaran wanted them to know of his return. Allow them a moment to make ready for his arrival. What fun he was to have. He slowly descended the staircase. His boots made heavy footfalls on the stone steps. Only when he reached the bottom did he increase his pace ever so slightly, reaching the entry to the hallway in a few strides. The dark mage hovered in the shadows for a moment. He listened to the sounds emanating from the two cells. His ears attuned to distress. None to be heard. A smirk danced across his features as he set the cage against the wall, obscuring it from their view, then stepped into the lit area. “I hope you two are well rested. I know I am,” he quipped, slipping the laptop bag from his person and resting it on the floor between the cells. “And look I’ve even brought presents with me. I do hope you like them.” Ciaran spared a glance in Raine’s direction before focusing on Kaya. He unlocked the cell and moved inside. “How’s our enigma doing? Our medical team seemed impressed by the amount of damage you were able to withstand. They were particularly intrigued by your level of awareness after something like this,” he came to a stop by her bedside, tapping lightly at the side marked by their symbol. “And you, Blood Raine,” the man called across to the redhead. “They said it was marvelous how well you managed to injure yourself. All in an errant bid to help little Kaya here.” Ciaran grinned down at the teenager, awaiting their responses. This was simply the prelude.
TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND - ☂ - TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND - ☂ - TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND
↗took an oath that
xi❜m a stick it out till the END xxxxxxxx
☂Kimura had spent the remainder of her time upstairs learning the location of all her members who were out on missions, and had yet to return. The question where they were did not need to be questioned long, in fact she merely figured they were captured by the mages they were attempting to capture. They had better not spill any information to there interrogators, or there own blood would be spilling in return! It was of no important for her to rescue any of them, in this guild everyone was on there own and took care of themselves. In any case, rescuing them risked losing the whole plan to there enemies, and was far too risky. It wasn't worth it in the end. However..if she somehow found out this information was spoken of..whomever would choose to say, they better pray for death beyond that point. She knew interrogators had a way of getting the culprits to talk, and if they ever did, they better PRAY she doesn't find out because in this guild that is highly unacceptable. Everyone knew this rule, and they promised to follow it no matter what, no excuses.
Ignoring this sentiment, Kimura was walking down the stairs leading to the laboratory, daring red eyes beaming across the distance between the walls of the imprisonment of captures. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, it was going without not even one hitch. No one could stop them now, world domination would be theres to take and the weak would be executed in this new much more beautiful world she intended on grasping by the horns! Entering beneath the stairs, her piercing red eyes glanced towards Ciaran, before reaching the other two prisoners. They had gotten some pretty interesting information from the both of them, and her only real intent was to break and destroy the one known as Kaya. She could care less what happened to Raine here, he could drop dead for all she cared. He was of no use to her. However, as long as Ciaran was having fun toying with him and Kaya, that's all that really mattered to her. Dr.Shaw had yet to arrive, she only hoped she wouldn't miss the chance to miss out on any fun. "Ciaran, have you learned anything new?" She questioned her darling, eyes moving between both 'guests'. It seemed Kaya had calmed a bit..since there last meet up where she basically broke down in tears with the remembrance of her past. She desired more to break her with, more until her mentality was completely destroyed. She wanted her to suffer for all those years she had herself suffer from, the pain she caused was going to double up and pierce through her own in return! Such as the term, an eye for an eye. In this case, was the same as. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
◆ Thoughts: "Scratch the morphine, I want my whiskey back." ◆
spacI became insane...
◆ ◇ ◈ ◊ ♦ ♢ ♦ ◊ ◈ ◇ ◆
Staring at the floor, Raine felt slight shame hearing Kaya confirm that leaving the other children behind wasn't ok, but he'd known that from the start. However, no matter how much he tried, there was no other feeling. There was only one who he would have saved and it had been a few years too late for that."Think of me what you want, but a part of me is glad I don't carry that guilt. I have... moments. They're like nightmares but I'm awake. The way I reacted to that hallucination is quite similar to how they naturally occur. And I think I might have shut down completely if that guilt was added on top,"he said sadly. He hated admitting so much weakness but if they were going to be spending a long time here, they may as well get to know each other. He'd seen her entire life only hours ago. Raine scoffed at the dragon slayer's protective reaction to her guild master,"Unless he is a liar or overreacts to everything, the caged animal comment was straight from his mouth to Master Celeste right in my earshot. Not saying I ever helped my case. Ever remember Clement coming home with a split lip after a guild masters meeting?he smirked,"I didn't use many words back then but that's probably also why Aly is fearful of me. I got a punch in on the strongest man she knew and I think I was only fifteen or sixteen at the time. Kinda proud of it even though Celeste sent me through a wall and wouldn't let me into any of the meetings for the rest of the week,"he sighed. Those were the days where he never left Celeste's side, was punished constantly for starting fights and for the things he said and had slowly started to feel human again.
The sound of Ciaran's voice grated on him. Made him feel like his anger was already starting to rear its ugly heard. Watching the dark ecriture wizard saunter around Kaya's cell only made him more angry. Everything that man did was infuriating. Every step he took made the blood mage want to tear him apart. But he couldn't. He was stuck, chained to this bed with a broken arm and his normal semi-broken mind. He hated being called by his other name. Raine. His name was Raine. Not Blood Raine. Just. Raine. And he wanted to roar it at the dark wizard but it would only encourage him to continue. Instead, he ignored it."Nice, clean break, apparently. Won't take long to heal. Does that mean you'll be gentle with me? I'd rather you stroked my hair than pulled it this time,"he said with a fake sultry look in his golden eyes, seductively biting his lip before laughing,"Ah, who am I kidding? You're just gunna ******** me over again. What geometry are you going to scorch into my skin this evening? Or it is morning? Afternoon? Hard to tell down here. So dark. Can I request a room with a view if I'm a good boy?"Raine knew he was asking for it but what more harm could Ciaran and Kimura possibly cause than what they were already planning? Likely none. He was sure it was only a matter of time before that wretched scientist arrived with her draining lacrima. This the idea of having that done to him again made him feel a bit sick.
OOC: I figure that since technically about two weeks will pass with the others trying to find the main lab, they will eventually be able to roam their cells a little bit to prevent muscle degeneration and have mechanisms on their ankle and wrist chains that can pull them against the wall? I mean... they'll need the loo at some point.
MAGIC LIST:
BASIC SPELLS:
[These spells do not have any special requirements] ● Paralysis: Gives the user the ability to paralyze their desired target by simply pointing their hand in their direction ● Self-Clotting: Clots the blood under the user's skin, hardening it into something more durable than steel in a concentrated area
[All of these spells require the user to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Blood Dome: The user creates a dome of blood around themselves and others that offers protection from incoming attacks ● Blood Shield: The user displays a large wall made of their own blood in front of them, swallowing any attack ● Blood Trap: The user creates a large sphere of blood out of their own blood that traps the enemy inside ● Blood Sword: The user morphs their forearm into a sword ● Blood Claws: The user morphs their hands into claws ● Blood Slice: By swiping their arm, the user sends scythe-like blades of their own blood at their intended target which are powerful enough to cleanly slice through solid rock ● Blood Bullets: The user sends hardened droplets of their own blood at a target ● Blood Wings: The user creates wings out of their own blood. ● Blood Clone: The user creates liquid clones of themselves (amount of blood used varies based on amount of clones created) ● Capillary Net: The user creates a net with thin strands of blood
[All of these spells require the enemy to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Blood Clot: The user clots the enemies blood in a certain limb, rendering it unusable ● Blood Spike: The user makes the blood at the open wound explode into spikes; enlarging the wound and causing pain
ADVANCED SPELLS:
[All of these spells require the user to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Banshee: The user transforms part of their body into a swirling mass of blood that can slice their opponents like a saw ● Blood Nebula: Two waves of the user's blood rotate around each other and form a double-helix that blasts the opponent into the air with tremendous force ● Blood Cyclone: The user forms a circular torrent of blood and sends it hurtling towards their target ● Blood Sphere: The user releases a sphere of their own blood in a pinpoint location that swallows anything it touches
[All of these spells require the enemy to have a LARGE open wound that is bleeding] ● Blood Burst: The user is able to compress the victim's blood in the location of the wound and make it burst
ULTIMATE SPELLS:
[These spells do not have any special requirements] ● Blood Rain: The user makes the blood of killed enemies rain down from the sky, restoring their own useable blood source
[All of these spells require the user to have a LARGE open wound that is leaking blood] ● Rain Blood: The user makes their own blood rain down from the sky, disintegrating everything it touches
[All of these spells require the enemy to have an open wound of any kind that is bleeding] ● Anti-Flow: The user comes into contact with enemy blood and reverses the flow of their blood, causing the blood vessels and internal organs to explode from the pressure
[All of these spells require the enemy to have a LIFE THREATENING open wound that is bleeding] ● Heart Staunch: The user stops the blood flowing to the heart, ultimately killing the enemy
She mulled over his words. Guilt could be difficult to live with. It was a gray emotion, as Watatsumi once said. An emotion that could drive people to do amazing acts of kindness or terrible acts of darkness. Because it would eat away at the person internally until they acted on it, whether for the better or worse. “Carrying guilt is a part of being human,” she finally said after a time. “I’m not saying you’re a bad person. But I am saying that it’s natural to carry guilt for things you’ve done that might not have been the best. It means you’re capable of feeling. It means you’re alive and that you’re a human being. Even if you still don’t feel guilty or ashamed of what happened in the past, it doesn’t mean you can’t let yourself experience that in the future. You gotta learn to let your emotions flow better.” Those were the words of encouragement Watatsumi had spoken to her when he first taught her Water Dragon Slaying magic. Water is the element of change and emotion. To properly control it, you must learn to let your emotions flow freely, without hindrance… His voice rang clear in her mind even now. Hearing Raine scoff pulled her back to the present. His explanation of that meeting only made her snicker in kind. “I didn’t say he wouldn’t have said it. I meant that he wouldn’t have gone through with it. That does explain the busted lip he came back with though. We asked Aly about it, but she wouldn’t say what happened. Said it was a matter between guild masters. She was pissed.” For his part, Clement brushed it off as unimportant before redirecting their attention to jobs or other tasks. Now that she knew the truth…it made a lot more sense as to why Alyssa had taken more precautions for the following meetings.
Craning her neck, Kaya witnessed Ciaran’s return to the cells. She noticed him set something aside before stepping fully into the light. The unrecognizable scent trailed away towards that spot. It tickled her nose with its familiarity yet also lack thereof. Who is that? The Dragon Slayer didn’t have time to think on it before the white-haired mage sauntered into her cell. Her body flinched involuntarily at the touch on her tender side. Kaya hated it. Hated herself reacting in any way that might give him pleasure. “Unchain me and I’ll show you how aware I can be,” she sneered. Her ice blue orbs glinted in the artificial light of the cell. She had no qualms with dishing out some payback should he give her the opportunity. Unfortunately, Ciaran didn’t seem the type to be stupid enough to do that. The precautions taken at every interval made it clear they’d put a lot of effort and forethought into their plans. Still…never hurt to try. The worse he could do was torture them some more, which he was going to do anyway. Raine sounded as if he might be thinking along the same lines. The blood mage’s quips brought a faint smile to her lips. A smile that faded into a snarl soon after with the arrival of Kimura. Great, Tweedle-Dee AND Tweedle-Dumb… This day, night, evening-whatever time it was- was already headed downhill.
✸ OOC ✸ Yeah, I would agree. Not to mention needing to be able to get food and all. Plus, if they're taken anywhere for experiments then they'll need to be able to move.
Ciaran chuckled heartily. Their reactions were exactly as expected. Defiant to the very core. Oh yes, he was delighted they had responded in this manner. It meant he would be able to extend his fun with them. “Ah,” the Dark Écriture mage held up one finger, though he kept his gaze locked on Kaya. “But it is far more enthralling to pull your hair, my dear Blood Raine. To see one who is so normally composed screaming and shouting…why…” He turned away from Kaya so that he might meet the golden gaze of the redhead. His features held a coyness of their own. “It’s utterly titillating.” Those shrieks of agony were a pure chorus of rapture for him. During his spare moments, before his return to the cells, he had made beautiful art from sheer remembrance of his and the girl’s shouts and wails. A performance he hoped to repeat in this session. As his luck would dictate, his love would deign to grace them with her presence once more. The fire in her red orbs set his soul aflame at every sight. “I’m afraid we have yet to begin,” he stated with a flourished bow. “We were just exchanging pleasantries before the fun was to start. Which makes your arrival most opportune, Acushla. Now you won’t have missed anything.” There was glee in his voice as he bounced eagerly on the balls of his feet.
Stepping out of the cell, Ciaran retrieved the pack he had set on the ground. “Let’s see, where to start.” He unclasped the top and began rifling through the contents. “So many options. So much time. What do you think, Acushla? Shall we start small and work our way to the grand finale?” It was a rhetorical question, of course. One meant to amuse Kimura and trouble the tiger and fairy. “I don’t want to ruin any surprises though. Hmmm…Ahhh yes…” His eye caught sight of three titles amidst the plethora of DVDs. “These will do nicely.” Ciaran pulled them from the bag, setting it down once more, before sidling over to the wall. With a press of a button a hidden panel appeared. Another push of a button here, an insertion of the discs there, and a few more clicks brought the area to life with whir of motion. Televisions secreted in the ceilings lowered so that the occupants might view them. Static emanated from them currently, though that would not be long in changing. Meanwhile, Ciaran activated another control on the panel. This one operated the beds upon which Kaya and Raine lay. They would raise up until both captives were in a seated position. Secured and unable to shift away from the monitors.
“Tell me, what is it you two fear the most? Is it the loss of control, like how you now find yourselves? Or is it being unable to protect those you love? Hmmm?” He waited for one or the other to respond. With no forthcoming answer, he waved his arms to encourage a response. “Come now. Don’t be shy! Why do you hesitate, eh? Is it because…we all know the answer is both?” His eyes narrowed in a wolfish smirk. “Stuck as you two are, you’ve lost control of your destinies. Everything that has happened or will happen to you from the moment you set foot in this place is no longer yours to decide. You cannot help yourselves, let alone others. It was much the same for your friends. Blood Raine!” Ciaran pivoted to point at him. “Did you know that Celeste weeped? That she begged for your dear sweet Valor to be spared? Kaya!” He spun around to her. “Did you know Clement screamed for wondrous death? And oh how promptly Renae killed herself when she saw her dearest Master slain before her very eyes? They were helpless. Much as you are now. Don’t take my word for it, however. There is undeniable proof of it. Here…let me show you.” He clicked on “play.” The static faded from the television screens, replaced by an eerily similar setup. A lone figure lay crumpled in the center of the room. Still alive, if barely. The mighty Clement brought to his knees by their ranks. How laughable it all was. And in the cell next to his, crying for him to be left alone, was the reportedly feared S-rank Renae. Let us see how you handle seeing the demise of your precious guildmates.
✸ OOC ✸ Ciaran is gonna show all 3 DVDs at once. He'll work his way through them as reactions dictate.
Serial Tea Drinker
WhoGivesAFox
Katelyn
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 6:53 pm
The heels of Shaw's shoes tapped against the floor as she approached the stairway. Showing her ID card to the guards, they let her through. As she made her way down the stairs she could hear the clattering of DVD cases. Good. She was getting there just in time."Miss Tenma, Ciaran, sorry for being late to the party. I brought extra gifts though," she said cheerfully, placing two new DVDs next to the laptop bag. She peered at the screens in the cells which had been switched on,"Ah, what a great choice to start with," she smirked.
Clement Amor lay crumpled on the floor. His wrists and ankles were in heavy chains. His white hair was dirty and tangled and his flawless pale skin was cut up and bruised. He looked weak and thin, like he hadn't eaten properly for weeks. Were it not for the audio in the video making it so his laboured breaths could be heard, one might have thought him already dead. An amused voice spoke out of shot. The familiar Irish twang ringing out in the cell speaking to Master Clement, mocking him for his lack of strength and how his trusting guild members would be ashamed to see him how he was; weak and pathetic. Another voice joined it. Shaw was there. She walked into frame, wearing her trademark lab coat and carrying a crystal. It was one of the draining lacrima. She stood over the Fairy Tail guild master. "You really are starting to grind my last nerve, you know," she said to him, "If you just did as we said then you wouldn't be in such a state," she huffed before turning to Ciaran, "I don't know what you want to do. He hasn't got a lot left in him. If he does it again then I feel he may not make it," she said, staring at the dark ecriture mage who sauntered on screen, over to the smaller figure chained to the wall. It was Renae. The dark ecriture mage from Fairy Tail that Ciaran considered to be a cheap imitation of his magic. Her face was streaked with tears and her body shook. She was covered in bruises and runes were burned into her skin, signs of a lengthy amount of torture. He placed his fingers under her chin and made her look up at him, saying to Clement how much of a shame it would be if something were to happen to his favourite guild member. Evenjust the threat of something happening to the child he basically raised caused the white-haired man to look up and reach his hands out, "Don't," Clement uttered in response, "Please, no more. Don't hurt her any more. I'll do it. I'll give you my magic," he said. It was the plea of a desperate man who was suffering a lot. Ciaran released Renae's chin and bowed to Shaw. There he was - a guild master ripe for the picking. The dark wizard walked over and whispered something into Shaw's ear. "Are you sure?" the doctor asked. Ciaran nodded. A devilish smirk crossed the woman's face as she knelt down beside Clement and pushed the lacrima to the back of his neck. His yells of pain filled the room.
"Oh, just so you know," Shaw said over the DVD, "We were only half the reason he looked that bad. Your ridiculous guild master refused to give us his magic even when we used the lacrima. Do you know how he avoided it, Kaya? He forced his magic into it to the point it exploded." she explained, "We had several incidents of eye injury to our colleagues and the only reason I was able to go in there as I was is because we dragged that brat, Renae, down to his cell. She was a feisty one but she lost that nasty streak pretty damn quick after she got the telling off that was long overdue. Seemed to settle him down too."
As Clement continued to cry out, it could be seen that Shaw was reaching into her pocket and clasping another crystal. Another draining lacrima. Before even a second had passed after she took the first off, it was replaced with the second. The yells of pain that erupted from him were joined by those of Renae who screamed for it to stop. But it didn't. Reaching back into her pocket, another lacrima was swapped out and by the time a dull glow had begun filling it, the Fairy Tail guild master was almost face down on the floor and the racket he'd been making slowly quietened into nothing. He could be seen looking up to Renae. He said something but it couldn't be heard, only his lips could be seen moving. The lacrima stopped filling. "No!" Renae shrieked, "NO!" Tears flowed down her cheeks and she sobbed and stretched out far enough to touch his hand with her fingertips, "I don't want to live without you," she whimpered. Shaw collected the lacrimas and stared at Clement's lifeless body on the floor before leaving without a word. Renae continued to cry before sitting up and looking sideways. She was staring at something that the video couldn't quite make out. At least, not until she grabbed it - a sharp piece of rock, most likely chipped off when the chains were put on the walls, and slashed it across her own throat in a swift movement. Sounds of her choking on her own blood lasted only a few moments and she bled out, laying down with her hand barely an inch away from her beloved guild master. She was gone.
Shaw sighed loudly, Luckily we got plenty of her magic before she offed herself so to be honest, we weren't too bothered." She walked to the disk drive and swapped the DVDs. It was Raine's turn to feel the hurt.
The video feed on this DVDs was split. Half the screen showed Celeste and the other showed Valor. Both feeds showed the same date and time and it appeared that the cells were opposite each other because the Sabertooth guild master and her S-class wizard could be heard communicating, telling each other stories, reliving fond memories to make them feel better about their battered and bruised bodies. Celeste, though covered in injuries, still held a smile on her face. Forever staying strong for her family. And Valor, Raine's best and who he considered to be his only real friend, handsome as ever. He could even work the black and blue that decorated him. "You know, in all the time I've known you, I don't think we ever had an argument," the water god slayer said thoughtfully. "Not true," the green wizard replied, "I remember a very fierce shouting match we had over you taking Raine to another guild master meeting after what happened the first time," he reminded her, "I won't that argument too." They both laughed. Not a real laugh, though. More of a breathy, sad one that was the kind someone did when they were thinking of something that actually upset them as much as it amused them.
Shaw hummed a laugh along with them, "We read in the manuscripts from the annual guild master meetings what did happen that first year you attended. Punching the Fairy Tail guild master in the face. Very impressive. I'm sure watching his demise gave you a lot of joy, Raine. Prepare for that joy to be stripped from you, though."
Footsteps could be heard and the squeak of a door as Valor's cell was entered by none other than Ciaran and Kimura. The last people anyone would want in their cell. They spent some time mocking him, even burning off some of his blonde locks that were normally so perfectly styled. The dark ecriture mage spoke to the S-class of his magic and how useless it was, holding up the draining lacrima with a gloved hand to be sure it didn't affect him. The entire crystal was covered in leaves, looking like a piece of modern art fit for a display case. However, it wasn't useable for experiments. Therefore as a subject, he was about as valuable as a blunt knife in a butcher's shop.
Shaw piped up again "Yes, every time we attempted to put him magic into someone, the whole room would become covered in plants. It was impossible to transfer it so it was a waste of time and funds to keep the narcissistic b*****d alive."
The panic could be seen in Celeste's eyes. She could hear them speaking of how Valor was a pointless captive and that they would never let him go because he was a loose end. He'd just have to be cut. "Wait, what are you..." she began, watching runes snake up Valor's bare torso, "Don't do it," she said before shouting, "Don't do it! Please, stop!" She pulled against the chains as the runes wrapped around the green wizard's neck, pulling tightly. Tears streaming down her face "Stop it! Please, don't kill him!" Celeste's voice was a high-pitched song of desperation but all she received in response was Ciaran turning to put a finger on lips. "No! Valor!" But her cries were in vain. The runes around her guild members neck put so much pressure that the sickening snap could be heard on the audio and Celeste screamed. The sorrow of a mother losing her child filled her cell until her voice was hoarse. Ciaran and Kimura stood at her cell door asking her how it felt failing as a guild master. Being unable to protect the people she swore to keep safe. In her facial expression, anger was building. It wasn't often Celeste ever gave in to her anger, that much had been documented, but when she did, even chained up she was a force to be reckoned with. "How dare you take him from me!" she yelled "I'll ******** kill you!" She yanked at the chains, putting all her strength into it and surprisingly, they broke. Snapped clean off the wall as she launched forward. But this would prove to be the biggest mistake of her lifetime. Whilst her pain of loss drive her to success in partial freedom, her magic had obviously been drained shortly before and as Kimura blasted her with a fire so hot that the video feed faltered, glitching and blurring at the edges, Celeste paid the price for her passion. Her body rolled across the floor of her cell. She was entirely covered in burns. Her peach skin looked like she'd been put in the oven for too long; dark and smoking. Some patches were just pure red, bleeding and exposed. Her lilac hair all but singed completely off. With the small amount of life that was left in her, she uttered a few words "I'm so sorry, Valor. I'll see you on the other side." With that, she was gone. Two more bodies added to the list of many.
The video stopped and Shaw stood beside the two dragons, smiling and watching the reactions of the two light wizards. They must be horrified but it wasn't over yet.
TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND - ☂ - TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND - ☂ - TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND
↗took an oath that
xi❜m a stick it out till the END xxxxxxxx
☂Kimura grinned as Ciaran bowed, she had arrived to the party just in time in fact, the fun had yet to begin. The impact it'd leave on the light wizards minds, oh she couldn't wait to see it all. This was exactly the sort of thing she had been waiting to see for so long, she wouldn't of let a chance in hell force her to miss it. To watch the two light mages burn after watching the destructed pact that faulted between there own guidies. Her grin was proof enough of her pleasured impact on hearing that the fun was just beginning. "Neither will matter, soon these two little mages will soon learn there place here, and will come to realize there is no escape." Kimura grinned like the Cheshire kitty in turn, though she truly loved her little plumpels enthusiasm to these tiny mages own downfalls. Soon enough, Shaw had in turn made her way down to the bottom pits with everyone else, she too had just made it in the nick of time. "Dr. Shaw, it's certainly good to see you." She answered, watching the two dragon bane members holding out there DVD's and ready to see the devastation upon these weak light mages faces, once the truth comes to prevail itself. Though they were told before, neither parties seemed to believe there words. Now with proof in hand, they would soon learn that there guild was not a force to be reckoned with.
The DVD's played out, Kimura leaning against a wall watching with the grin still plastered, and the look of utter amusement portrayed to all. Starting out with Clement, that man was a wreck. He certainly didn't last long here, judging by his battered appearance. Dragon's Bane wasn't some laughing stock dark guild, they meant absolute business and did not waver in jokes. As a guild that only accepts the truly strong, this all came to be quite easily. Dealing with guild masters of those pathetic light guilds, was the true fun. Watching that man crumble against his will, and Renae sobbing uncontrollably before taking her own life. How sweet! All the while, Kimura would glance to see the priceless looks on both Raine's and Kaya's faced during this all. That was going to be as entertaining as this enjoyable movie time itself. Than there was Celeste, more of the feisties for sure. But the moment Valor was killed after he became a waste of time after trying to steal away his magic; Celeste in turn attempted revenge, somehow managing to freely remove herself from the chains. Most likely from hate, anger, and the loss of a dear friend, she had become motivated with such strength to complete such a feat. However, it wasn't enough to win the war. Taking her very life than and there, was very entertaining and her glances kept returning back to see the look on the light mages faces upon reacting. Oh the fun was just beginning with these little scenes playing in there tortured minds forever! "Moral of the story, those fairy and tigers had no hope from the start. That is the same truth for you, Raine and Kaya. Now, you've seen the proof. How did you like it!??!!! Kimura smirked completely devilishly, her voice adjusting into a high pitched excitement. She just couldn't contain the excitement inside, to see the price looks looks of terror on there face!! [OOC: Kept getting writer block but hope this works. xD]
xxxxxxxxYOU CAN STAND UNDER MY UMBRELLAxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Serial Tea Drinker
Kaya Wolf Moon
WhoGivesAFox
Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 2:03 am
◆ Location: A prison cell ◆
◆ Company: Kaya, two dragons & a scientist◆
◆ Thoughts: "Scratch the morphine, I want my whiskey back." ◆
spacI became insane...
◆ ◇ ◈ ◊ ♦ ♢ ♦ ◊ ◈ ◇ ◆
Raine listened to Kaya's words. Part of being human? He wasn't human anymore when that break-out happened."I will remember that stunning piece of advice when I crack from guilt one day,"he said sarcastically. He never meant to down nasty but he was sure she knew by now that it was just how he dealt with things. The blood mage smirked,"I was never allowed to another meeting after that until last year. That's when Celeste finally trusted me to come with again. I behaved myself. Mostly because I spent the entire time drinking with the guild master of that mercenary guild instead of being in the actual meeting room,he said.
Raine huffed,"Who am I to argue if you like it rough? Will you at least let me be on top at some point? We can play on one of my kinks that I feel would only be specific to you. I reckon you'll like it; asphyxiation,"he said, chuckling. Another familiar voice joined them. Oh good. The brat. The blood mage dramatically rolled his eyes,"Oh good, we're babysitting too,"he sighed. Keeping an eye on Ciaran's movements, he could see him studying labels on several disks."We get film privileges? Nice. I hope it's not Disney though. I can't stand those cheesy musical numbers, they really do my head in."He watched the dark ecriture wizard slide a disk into the player. TV screens booted up in the wall. There must have been one in Kaya's cell too because he could see a light appearing from inside of it. He went silent, staring at the screen. That was Clement. He looked awful. How long had he been in that cell when this video was recorded? Must have been weeks. Shaw's voice rung out in the video with clear annoyance. What could she possibly be frustrated about? The man was in tatters and it was surely their doing. His line of vision flicked to Ciaran appearing in the corner of the screen as he walked with purpose over to the small figure of a child that Raine hadn't noticed until now. She was chained to the wall and looked in just as much of a state as her guild master. He couldn't imagine how she must have felt, seeing her guild master in that way. It would have upset him to see Celeste brought to her knees like that and he was cold as ice ninety-nine percent of the time. Listening to Shaw, he learned that the child's name was Renae. That's who it was. He did know her. She was the little girl that was attached to Clements side at the meeting. The one that called him all manner of childish names after he punched the Fairy Tail guild master. These monstrous dark wizards had beaten her - a child, defenceless without her magic. The blood mage flinched at the yelling that filled the room, echoing from the speakers and reverberating in his ears. Clement's cries of pain were haunting and it was even worse to watch but Raine couldn't take his eyes away from the screen. He knew that pain. The pain of having your magic drained. It made him shudder to remember it. It gripped his stomach when the yells heightened in intensity and he stared in horror as another lacrima was placed on him immediately after the first. What were they doing? Another one was swapped out."What the ********> he uttered. What the hell were they doing? Renae's crying had joined his like a duet of pain and sorrow. It wasn't nice to watch. It wasn't his guild master and it wasn't his guild mate but Raine still found it upsetting. Perhaps it was empathy for how Kaya must be feeling at moment. He couldn't hear her in the other cell over the speakers but he was sure she'd be horrified. As Clement's body slumped to the floor, the blood mage knew what that meant. As did the young girl who quietened. He heard her say something but he didn't quite catch it. Whatever it was, it would be her last words before she sliced open her own throat. A perfectly horizontal line across the oesophagus. Though he loved the sight and smell of blood, even the Sabertooth Ace was saddened by the sight of Renae bleeding out on the floor. Raine grit his teeth when Shaw mentioned the scientists not being bothered by her death,"You let a child kill herself and you think that's something to shrug your shoulders at? You really are a piece of work,"he snarled. Before he could further retaliate, the picture on the screen changed and two familiar voices filed the audio. His golden eyes stared at the face of his guild master. Even covered in cuts and bruises Celeste still looked beautiful. It made him sad to see her like that, the water god slayer that brought him to Sabertooth and put enough fear into his feral fourteen-year old self to cooperate with her. She was the one who shaped him from a savage child into the semi-stable man he was now. She'd saved him. And now he was watching her in the knowledge that something awful was going to happen and there was no way he could save her in return. Valor's voice, though carrying the ring of amusement, was breathy. He'd been tortured, that was obvious, and Raine found himself becoming angry. The green wizard was peaceful and often refused to fight. There was no need for him to ever be abused but of course, there was never a need when it came to these dark wizards. It was just a case of wanting to do it. Shaw's snarky comment earned her a deep look of disgust,"You clearly don't know anything about me regardless of all your little notes. I deal in the pain of those who deserve it. Just because we exchanged less than pleasant words with one another doesn't mean I wanted Clement dead. There's only one guild master on this world I would wish death on and I'm looking right at her,"the blood mage's eyes moved to glare at Kimura. She was the one that needed to die. Even on the video he could hear the smugness in her voice as she mocked Valor. It was the exact same way she'd spoken to him and Kaya. And as always, Ciaran was by her side. Her loyal dog that bit on command. Raine shook with fury as he listened them make fun of his best friend,"You have it wrong. Just because he didn't like fighting didn't make him weak,"he uttered, not taking his eyes away as he watched Ciaran hold up the lacrima. Valor always did protest against using his powers for violence and it seemed it reverberated in the reactions his magic had to being drained. His stomach churned as he saw runes move across Valor's bruised skin. It might have only been a video but he felt like he was there. He could even feel the ecriture magic crawling over him in the same way even though none of it was happening to him. Celeste's voice caused Raine's own feelings of panic to arise,"No,"he whispered before yelling,"You bastards!"Seeing the strain of the runes against Valor's neck, and his clear struggle to breathe coupled with his guild master's pleading cries was almost unbearable."Valor..."he said, his voice shaking,"No..."he could see the whites of Valor's eyes slowly changing colour as the blood vessels became more prominent. Raine could almost feel the pressure against his own throat and as the audible snap resounded through the speakers, the blood mage's breath caught and he grit his teeth."NO!"he roared, surging forward. Tears free-flowed down his face,"I'll kill you! I'll ******** kill you!"he bellowed just before his guild master shouted the exact same thing on the video. Hearing her echo him drew his attention back up. He watched Celeste pull at her chains, wrenching them clean off the wall and rushing towards the door of her cell."Master, don't do it,"Raine whimpered, as if his beloved leader could hear him. He shut his eyes tightly as fire blasted across the screen. He didn't want to look. He didn't want to see her, but his eyes were forced open by Ciaran's magic and he was made to face a sight that he couldn't have dreamt of in his worst nightmares. What he saw wasn't his guild master anymore. She been disfigured by the foul magic of a little girl who thought she could play God with the lives of the people he treasured most in the world. For a moment, Raine couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He couldn't do anything but stare at the screen whilst tears cascaded down his cheeks.he breathed. He hated them. They'd taken her away,he yelled. He could feel his heart ripping apart inside his chest as if someone were dragging a jagged blade through the middle. Sobbing, he hung his head,"Celeste, I'm so sorry,"he uttered. He was broken. More broken than he ever thought possible.
[These spells do not have any special requirements] ● Paralysis: Gives the user the ability to paralyze their desired target by simply pointing their hand in their direction ● Self-Clotting: Clots the blood under the user's skin, hardening it into something more durable than steel in a concentrated area
[All of these spells require the user to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Blood Dome: The user creates a dome of blood around themselves and others that offers protection from incoming attacks ● Blood Shield: The user displays a large wall made of their own blood in front of them, swallowing any attack ● Blood Trap: The user creates a large sphere of blood out of their own blood that traps the enemy inside ● Blood Sword: The user morphs their forearm into a sword ● Blood Claws: The user morphs their hands into claws ● Blood Slice: By swiping their arm, the user sends scythe-like blades of their own blood at their intended target which are powerful enough to cleanly slice through solid rock ● Blood Bullets: The user sends hardened droplets of their own blood at a target ● Blood Wings: The user creates wings out of their own blood. ● Blood Clone: The user creates liquid clones of themselves (amount of blood used varies based on amount of clones created) ● Capillary Net: The user creates a net with thin strands of blood
[All of these spells require the enemy to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Blood Clot: The user clots the enemies blood in a certain limb, rendering it unusable ● Blood Spike: The user makes the blood at the open wound explode into spikes; enlarging the wound and causing pain
ADVANCED SPELLS:
[All of these spells require the user to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Banshee: The user transforms part of their body into a swirling mass of blood that can slice their opponents like a saw ● Blood Nebula: Two waves of the user's blood rotate around each other and form a double-helix that blasts the opponent into the air with tremendous force ● Blood Cyclone: The user forms a circular torrent of blood and sends it hurtling towards their target ● Blood Sphere: The user releases a sphere of their own blood in a pinpoint location that swallows anything it touches
[All of these spells require the enemy to have a LARGE open wound that is bleeding] ● Blood Burst: The user is able to compress the victim's blood in the location of the wound and make it burst
ULTIMATE SPELLS:
[These spells do not have any special requirements] ● Blood Rain: The user makes the blood of killed enemies rain down from the sky, restoring their own useable blood source
[All of these spells require the user to have a LARGE open wound that is leaking blood] ● Rain Blood: The user makes their own blood rain down from the sky, disintegrating everything it touches
[All of these spells require the enemy to have an open wound of any kind that is bleeding] ● Anti-Flow: The user comes into contact with enemy blood and reverses the flow of their blood, causing the blood vessels and internal organs to explode from the pressure
[All of these spells require the enemy to have a LIFE THREATENING open wound that is bleeding] ● Heart Staunch: The user stops the blood flowing to the heart, ultimately killing the enemy
“Smartass,” Kaya shot back at his sarcastic retort. By this point, she started to recognize the way in which he coped. She knew now that he wasn’t being mean or intentionally rude when he made quips like those but was rather responding in the only way he knew how. “I saw why,” she smiled gently. “That makes an odd sort of sense. But, uh, shouldn’t he have been in the meeting too?” She’d never heard of a guild master skipping a guild master meeting to go drinking instead. It made her wonder what sort of man the mercenary guild master was if he spent his time skipping out on important meetings. To hear Skála tell it, he was the greatest man on the planet. But he also thought his guild was the best there ever was, so she never put too much stock into his words. Thinking of her rival gave her pause. Had they gone after him too? Had they managed to get any of the others? The teenager truly hoped not. As annoying as some of them could be, she hoped they were all safe somewhere far away from this hell hole and its dark wizards.
Her musings were cut short by the appearance of the three stooges. One after the other they made their appearance. The same smug grins and haughty demeanor present in each of their movements. She sneered at them. Her ice blue orbs watched their every move. Her keen gaze and hearing tuned to each little sound or motion. Though Raine’s banter did bring a smirk to her lips. He was probably asking for trouble but at least it was amusing right now. Things quieted down considerably once the televisions appeared. Kaya glanced from one side of the bed to the other when she felt it start to rise, placing her in a sitting position, perfectly square with the large screen. Curiosity began to take hold. What did these idiots want them to see? She got her answer soon enough once the screens came to life. Her eyes bulged at the sight that met her gaze. Master Clement, bruised and battered, lay in a heap on the floor. Renae stood chained against the wall nearby. Neither of them looked like they’d been treated well. Signs of definite torture marred their bodies. “What—” The remainder of Kaya’s question died on her lips. Ciaran’s voice radiated from the speakers. His Irish brogue, sickeningly sweet, was followed closely by Shaw’s exasperated tone. Her eyes danced around the screen, taking everything in. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. She’d caught a glimpse of the draining lacrima in the woman’s hand. The Dragon Slayer’s heart plummeted. They were going to steal his magic. What’s worse, they were using Renae to keep him subdued. Kaya’s heart ached seeing her master reduced to pleading for her guild mate’s safety. Master Clement… Her eyelids slid shut once Shaw placed the lacrima to his neck. His screams filled her ears. Renae’s joined in to create a chorus of pained shrieks and sorrowful wails. Try as she might, however, Kaya couldn’t keep her gaze averted. Ciaran’s magic pried her eyelids back open, forcing her to watch whatever would come next.
Shaw’s voice cut over the screams on the DVD. “Tch,” she sneered upon hearing of her master’s handiwork. “You’re lucky that’s all they got.” It eased her mind a little to know he had fought back in the one way he could. Maybe she could try the same next time. Pick up where Clement left off… His agonized screams spoke to the pain wracking his body. Shrieks which increased in intensity once the second lacrima was placed to his neck. Wait…second lacrima? Kaya tensed. The realization of their plan dawned on her. Horror spread across her face. “No!” The Water Dragon Slayer lurched in her bed, pulling at her chains frantically as if she could stop what was going to happen. Her actions became more fervent and wilder when she spotted the third lacrima being brought out. “NO! Don’t do it!” She cried out despite this having already transpired. “Stop it!” But her pleas were far too little and far too late. Clement Amor collapsed lifeless to the ground. The sudden stillness a deafening silence. It was enough to knock the wind from her lungs. She’d known he died here. Ciaran made it clear when she first arrived. Yet to see her master- the person everyone in the guild looked up to- perish at the hands of the dark mages…it was too much. Then it got worse. Unable to bear the loss of Clement, Renae had taken a sharp rock and slit her own throat. Tears slid down Kaya’s cheeks. Renae sprawled on the floor as she choked on her own blood. Her hands reaching for Clement even in her final moments. The raven-haired teenager bit back a sob. A fierce mixture of emotions swirled inside. She grew still and then, “How could you?!” Kaya surged forward. Twisting and turning, yanking and pulling, she fought to break free. “He cooperated with you! He wouldn’t have done anything! You won! Why?! Why would you kill him like that?!” It didn’t make sense. Clement agreed to give them his magic. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to keep him alive at that point? Or had he become too much of a burden? Whatever the case, Kaya would see that he and Renae were avenged.
Arching her back, Kaya slammed her body back down against the bed before pulling her arms and legs towards her center. She could hear more coming from the accursed television. Different voices than her guildmates. Ones that had to belong to Raine’s. Celeste and Valor. Through her struggling, Kaya overheard the uncanny snap of a neck followed by an enraged bellow. That very same bellow was swiftly drowned out by the roar of fire. The slayer didn’t need to look at the monitor to know what had happened. She could picture it well enough. The Sabertooth Guild Master and her S-rank were dead. Murdered at the hands of Ciaran and Kimura. Raine’s outburst and subsequent heart-wrenching sobbing added fuel to her desire to break free. How could they play God with people’s lives like this?! It was unforgiveable! “You’re. Gonna. Pay. For. That!” Each word was punctuated by the grinding of metal.
✸ OOC ✸ Just as a note: Ciaran would've only used his magic to pry their eyes open and to lightly restrain Raine. But he wouldn't be using his binding spell on Kaya at this point. He figured the chains would keep her in check for this. Plus, he wanted to conserve the magic.
They had yet to begin though he sensed his anticipation rising. What sorts of euphoric shrieks and screams would he receive today? He hoped they would surpass those of their previous session. The urge to make his artistic creations had grown stronger since then. Surely, between himself, Shaw, and Kimura, there would be plenty of inspiration to be had. “Thank you,” he inclined his head to the doctor. Her praise of his choices broadened the initial smile which had settled upon his features. “I’m anxious to see how our ‘guests’ feel about it.” They would, of course, not find it quite as amusing as himself and his comrades. That is was he wished to bear witness to in the end. The level of emotional distress brought round by seeing one’s friends and guildmates meet their end was too enticing of an idea to ignore. Ciaran was not disappointed in the slightest. First were the deaths of Clement and Renae. His pale-yellow orbs stared intently at their new pet. Her discomfort apparent for all to see. Why, she even attempted to close her eyes against the sight. “Now now,” the man flicked his finger, activating a spell that would keep her eyelids pried open. The Dark Écriture mage did not need to view or hear what transpired on the monitor. He had been there. He had watched Clement weaken with each lacrima Shaw placed upon him. His life stolen right alongside his magic. He must admit the man was stubborn and held a strong will. Alas, it was not enough to stand against them. Then the child, Renae, added to the delightful moment by committing suicide. Ciaran was pleased to see the end of such a brat. “Tsk tsk tsk, unable to stand the world for even a moment without her beloved guild master. What a shame,” he cooed as he tucked his palm under his chin.
Kaya had yet to react. Her body grew still and quiet. He would have believed her unconscious if not for the sudden surge of rage. The dragon slayer nearly rose entirely from her bed. Her fettered form coiling and writhing in a bid to escape her binds. The girl’s denouncement of their actions served to do nothing more than amuse Ciaran. My, she is a feisty one. Unperturbed, he shifted his gaze to the tiger. Shaw had switched the DVDs so that Celeste’s and Valor’s predicament dominated the television screens. Ah yes, it is almost to the best part. He closed his eyes, savoring the sharp snap of the green wizard’s neck. “I regret that I couldn’t have drawn his agony out more,” Ciaran quipped to the redhead. His feral grin widened at the distress cloying at the restrained mage. “Snapping his neck was far too simple. If I could return to that moment, I would have chosen a different method. Maybe we can explore those options with yourself and Kaya later.” Shifting his eyes to the screen, he managed to catch a glimpse of Celeste’s downfall. How he relished his beloved’s handiwork. “I could watch that moment a thousand-fold and never grow tired of it. Your fire is always so beautiful, Master Kimura.” His tone held a note of reverence and rapture. It was not to last, however. Whereas Raine fell into a somber silence, his weeping demonstrating how broken he had become, Kaya remained active in her pursuit of freedom. Ciaran noted she managed to yank the IV from her hand. If she were to continue in this manner, then she might very well succeed in harming herself, if not others.
With a put-upon sigh, Ciaran waved two fingers in her direction. The familiar glowing red runes snaked their way through the air and into her cell. They began at her nearest leg, coiling around until reaching her neck. Another gesture would find them constricting to the point of restricting her airway while preventing her from further movement. “I recommend you calm down,” he walked to her bedside. Looming over the teenager, his orbs flashed threateningly, “Or else you might force our hand, and that is something you truly don’t wish to do.” Ciaran pivoted to peer into the tiger’s cell. “What do you say, Blood Raine? Did you not love the way Celeste pleaded for Valor? She met an end befitting of her rank, wouldn’t you agree?” Whimpers and curses were all the response the dark mage expected to receive from the other. Whether more or not, he would press on with his diatribe. “I hope you two are prepared. We’ve got quite a bit more to view. I’m sure you’ll be just as enthralled by our next DVD as I am. But…before we get to that…” He narrowed his eyes wolfishly. “Raine, do you remember what it was like during your time with the Russians? All those moments spent being punished for doing something incorrectly. I’m certain you feel as if no one else in the world could relate. To be fair, there are not many whom could. Yet there is one such person with us in this very moment.” Ciaran patted the top of the slayer’s head. “Our little Kaya knows. Don’t you?” He spared a brief glimpse at her before returning his full focus to Raine. “Would you like to see?” The Dark Écriture acted as if he knew the answer to be “yes.” With the hand nestled on the girl’s head, he once again called upon his Dark Écriture: Memory spell. The contact of his hand to her head would reduce the amount of magic needed by a small sum, though it would be enough of a difference to keep him from growing fatigued so soon.
“There we are,” he muttered as the memory came to the surface. The walls came to life with the chosen moment in time. Kaya’s screams drowned out by the voices reaching across time and space. Ciaran had taken notice of this particular moment when it had flashed by during his primary foray into her surfacing memories. He knew in an instant he could utilize it. All around the scene played for all to witness from Kaya’s point of view. She stood in the center of a room. Two hands clenched firmly to either of her shoulders. The familiar twang of Kimura’s father resounded from directly behind her. Across from them, a man whom had the same mixture of purplish-blue hair stared back. Fear evident upon his and his cellmates’ features. Doctor Tenma was berating them, chiding them for their foolish attempt at escape. It had been a failed attempt to overpower their guards during meal time. Now they would pay the price for it. Or rather, Ciaran smirked, Kaya will. No sooner had he assumed it to be so were his suspicions confirmed. Young Kaya attempted to escape Tenma’s grasp and run. Her father pleading for the scientist to forgive him and leave the child be. His begging fell on deaf ears. Tenma picked the small girl up and forced her onto a slab with her stomach facing downward. Four guards stepped forward to secure her flailing limbs. Her small frame was no match for their burly forms. They had no issue quelling her as Tenma disappeared from her view only to return a short time later. His orders to keep her arms and legs stretched taught were accented by a devilish sneer. Yet it was what he clutched in his hands which drew the loudest protests.
A set of shackles burned red hot. The hooked rod he used kept them away from his own exposed skin. Ciaran waited with bated breath. He hoped Shaw and Kimura were enjoying the memory as much as he. As for Raine, he would inquire of his thoughts once all was said and done. Cries of alarm and pleas for mercy arose from the caged men and women. The loudest of which were those of Kaya’s father. She looked over at him, panic written in the widening of her eyes and renewed struggling. Their begging and pleading, her writhing and flailing were all for naught in the end. Tenma approached with purpose. He decried their wails, stating they had brought this on the child. Then, with a feverish gleam in his dark eyes, he grabbed one shackle with a gloved hand and clamped it around Kaya’s left wrist. He let it remain long enough to leave a lasting mark before removing it to repeat the process with her right wrist. The second shackle was used to perform the same procedure with her ankles. Her consciousness began to fade due to the immense pain, sending them out of the memory. Kaya’s current shrieks of pain once more took precedent. They subsided the second he released his spell from her. “Well, that was quite entertaining,” Ciaran drew in an invigorating breath. He was pleased by the fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. “So, you see, Blood Raine? There are those who understand you very well. Though, I do wonder if you haven’t forgotten what those days were like. You have been with Sabertooth for far longer, after all. What say we refresh your memory, eh? Just in case. Besides, it’s only fair that Kaya get to witness parts of your childhood.” With a nod to Doctor Shaw, Ciaran waited for her to cue the next choice of DVD. One which held certain moments from Raine’s time in the Russian laboratories.
Shaw shrugged again, "From what I hear, Renae wasn't simply a child. She was a spoilt annoyance who was too powerful for her own good. Surveillance on the Fairy Tail guild hall gave us more than a little idea of how many of the others felt about her. Especially that lightning wizard; Misaka. The frequency in which she started fights with Renae was surprising for a guild that boasts how close they all are to each other. When she first got here, she stomped her feet and yelled like a toddler. I would have expected better from the guild master's favourite even if she was only fourteen. It was quite something to see her break." Shaw wasn't phased by Raine's insults to her research. Soon he would see just how extensive it was. The doctor watched and listened to the reactions to the videos with a slight smile on her face the whole time as she scribbled notes down in a little book. Looking up at Kaya, Shaw's expression stayed steady. "Why?" she repeated, "We didn't really need him after we drained all of his magic and to keep someone so powerful here was draining our resources. We used a lot of sedatives for him. More so than we're using for Raine. Do you know how expensive that stuff is? Very. More than his life was worth to us at that point. So that's why." Shaw watched Kaya's memories with great interest. Though she quickly turned on her camera to record the reactions before the real fun started. She admired the ruthlessness of Miss Tenma's father. She leaned in to speak to the young guild master, "Your father truly was an artist," she said quietly.
When Ciaran finally released Kaya from his spell, the doctor knew it was her time to shine. Shaw was particularly happy with her findings when it came to the videos from Raine's time at the lab. There had been many test subjects so it was more than a small task to find his files among the many, especially since he'd changed his name. "Yes, it's only right that Kaya see what happened to little Raine when he was younger since he's seen so much of her childhood already." With those words, she slipped a DVD into the player...
The words 'ROMAN VALE' flashed up on a black screen before a video started. A young red-haired boy was seated in a tiled room. He was no older than three or four. His gold eyes were filled with excitement as he swung his feet in the air from up on the plastic chair he sat upon. A woman in a white coat approached him from behind the camera and crouched down to his level. "Ok, Roman, now that you're a big boy, you can start at the school. Are you excited?" she asked. Her voice held a thick Russian accent but she spoke extremely good English, no doubt to make it easier for future scientists to translate. The young boy nodded vigorously, "Good. That's the enthusiasm we like to see," she said, smiling before continuing, "Now remember, you have to behave in school. The teachers won't like it if you don't do what they say. Do you promise you'll be good?" she questioned, acting like a mother speaking with her own child. But it was clear that wasn't the real relationship going on here. The boy nodded again before answering, "Yes." The woman beamed at him. It was a seemingly genuine smile, full of fondness but likely just for his well-behaved demeanour. "Wonderful," she said, stroking his hair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The screen changed and once again the young boy was sitting in the tiled room, this time in a uniform consisting of a white button-up shirt and black trousers. "You did very well in your first year, Roman, did you have fun?" The same woman as before was questioning him. The boy smiled, "Yes," he said. "Good, I'm glad. You behaved just like you promised too. I'm very proud of you. As a reward we're going to move you to a bigger room. You'll have a roommate too," she said. The boy couldn't have looked happier in that moment. "What's his name?" he asked. "His name is Cornelius.". Again the video feed cut.
"Aww, wasn't he so sweet before he was a murdering psychopath?" Shaw chuckled.
The screen changed again to a big white room. This one was also covered in tiles but this time it was different. The redhead boy wasn't sitting on a plastic chair, he was standing, and there were large windows all the way around with many people in white coats standing on the other side. A voice spoke through speakers, "Ok, Roman, we're going to do a little test right now," the voice said, "One of the other students has been working on the special classes that Cornelius has been doing and because you've done very good in your training, we decided you can have an opportunity to be helpful to us." The voice paused for a moment. The boy looked afraid, looking around at all the people staring at him. "Don't be scared, Roman. You're being a big help and we're very proud of you for being so brave," the voice continued, "Now, all you have to do is make sure to be nice to the other boy, OK?" Tears were welling in the boy's golden eyes as two large doors previously not in focus, opened. Another boy, clearly a few years older, dwarfing the five-year old by at least a foot, stepped into the room with a devilish smirk on his face. The doors shut behind him and he looked to the windows. One of the scientists nodded and the older boy raised his hand. Sparks of electricity covered his arm before slamming his fist onto the floor. Waves of energy travelled over the tiles and took a hold of the redhead's whole body. He shrieked in pain, dropping to the floor and curling up. The older boy laughed, unrelenting in his release of magic, seeming to relish in the child's screams. For a whole minute, the scientists allowed the attack until finally, one spoke. "That's enough." The charge dissipated and the young boy was left crying on the floor.
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There was something different about the next video. It didn't seem to be recorded on a set camera like the others. This one jostled about as if someone was running with it, like a bodycam that police often wear. As the person carrying it moved around a corner, a group of guards came into view. They were surrounding a doorway and yells were coming from inside. As the camera-holder made their way to the front, two young boys could be seen being dragged from a bedroom. One was the red-haired boy who was crying and pulling away from the strong hand that gripped him and the other was an older dark-skinned boy who was screaming and creating what looked like moving shadows which lashed out. Blood splattered the floor as the shadows struck the guards. Shouts into radios were responded to with hard-to-hear orders. It was chaos. But it was soon to cease as one of the guards grasped the older boys hair and yanked his head back before slashing his neck. "CORNELIUS!!!" the red-haired boy cried, reaching out for his friend's body and struggling to get away from the guard that was holding him to no avail. All he could do was watch as the older boy bled out on the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next scene looked to be a year or so on. The red-haired boy looked slightly older and was sporting a split lip and a black eye. "Roman, you're back in isolation again. Can you tell us why?" The woman from the very start of the videos spoke in a much less friendly tone. The boy frowned. "Roman," she said firmly, "Answer me. Now." The boy's golden eyes looked up from the floor. They held anger within them and nothing of the sweet innocence that was there before. "He made fun of me," he replied. The scientist sighed, "You tore his hair out, Roman. You'll have to be punished for that. From now on you'll be wearing this." She stepped forward, clasping what looked like a metal collar around the boy's neck. "What is it?" he asked. There was no verbal response but the click of a button could be heard. The boy grasped the collar and cried out, falling from the chair and clawing at his neck. Another click and it stopped. The boy was breathing shakily. "It's a shock collar. Every time you misbehave, lie, or get into fights, this will be how you are punished. I don't like it any more than you do, Roman, but simply telling you off doesn't seem to work anymore. Perhaps you will learn your lesson more permanently."
"Quite the rebel even at that age, it seems. Except these days you don't rip their hair out, you rip their heads off," Shaw said bluntly.
Locked into a body cage that restricted his movement, the young redhead was trapped. Scientists surrounded him with a few guards positioned by the walls holding what looked like cattle prods. The woman from the first video was holding a beaker of red liquid - blood - telling the boy to focus. And focusing he was. His gold eyes concentrated on nothing but the glass container. Much to the clear delight of the scientists, the blood began to move and swirl within in. But suddenly the glass cracked and broke in the woman's hand, sending shards into her fingers. "Stupid child!" another scientist growled, pressing a remote and shocking the boy who suffered more due to the electric current flowing through the metal mesh of the body cage. "Enough for today. Back to isolation," the woman said, walking away.
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Another scene - the redhead was back in the tiled, windowed room where he'd previously been attacked by the older boy. But this time he wasn't scared. He didn't look around in fear, there were no tears in his eyes, he purely focused on the double doors. His stance wasn't that of a cowering child, it was ready for a fight. "Roman," the familiar woman's voice spoke through the speakers, "Remember the rules. Do you hear me?" She received no response. "ROMAN!" The boy glared at her with his fierce golden eyes. "Stick to the rules," she said firmly, clearly frustrated with the attitude she was getting. A vague nod could be made out from the boy before the doors slowly opened. "Back for more?" a voice said. The boy from the previous video, the one that had electrocuted the redhead, stepped into the room. The doors slammed shut behind him and he smiled. Clenching his fists, sparks appeared. However, no attack followed as, almost quicker than the eye, a crimson crescent moon-shaped blade flew at the older boy, taking his hand clean off at the wrist. He screamed, dropping to the floor as his severed forearm spurted blood onto the white tiles. Yells from the other side of the windows could be hurt and the red-haired boy whose arm was dripping its own blood where he'd obviously sliced himself, was shocked by his collar. Guards and scientists rushed in to restraint him and remove the other boy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next video was much like the one that showed the boys being pulled out of their rooms - recorded on a bodycam. Once again the guard was standing within a crowd of his own men and more yells were occurring but this time it wasn't a crying boy being dragged across the floor, it was an angry child bellowing venomous words as they attempted to restrain him. He was now almost unrecognisable from the boy that had been shown from the very start. He was an image of pure rage. He could be seen biting down on the hand of one of the guards, drawing blood which instead of dripping onto the floor, seemed to move of its own accord, a flowing blade that sliced through the neck of the closest one to him. "Out of the way!" a woman's voice yelled in the background. A scientist appeared, pressing a remote that immediately shocked the boy, flooring him. "What the ******** are you doing?!" she roared at the men, "How did this happen?" The men were silent and no one answered before the video changed again.
"What happened was one of the guards had a small cut he failed to mention. He thought it was nothing. Surely under his gloves, a nine-year old wouldn't be able to tell, right?" Shaw asked rhetorically, "Wrong. Raine could smell it, couldn't you? Caused the poor man's hand to explode by spiking the blood. Destroyed the remote in his hand in the process."
A metal slide was slowly pushed open and the camera looked into a dark room. There was a light but the bulb was on its way out, dimmed and flickering. A figure of a small human sat on the floor, hunched over with its knees pulled up to its chest. A voice could be heard whispering. It was hard to hear but a few words could be made out. "We can kill them. Just wait. Just wait? But it hurts so much." Strangely, the voice seemed to change back and forth, just like it did when Blood Raine took over.
"Who were you talking to, Raine?" Shaw asked with a knowing smile, "Kaya, dear, just so you know, none of this was just mindless torture," she said, ejecting the current disk and replacing it with another, "The ultimate goal was meant to be something quite spectacular. And it was. Just not in the way it was intended." She pointed to the screen as an indication for the slayer to pay close attention. She wanted her to see Raine for the true monster he was.
A scientist stood in front of a crowd of military men and women outside in a courtyard surrounded by the research buildings. The redhead stood silently beside him. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to your new weapon." The soldiers looked at each other with confusion and some with slight amusement before one of them spoke up. "Apologies for any offence but this is just a kid. How is that a weapon?" The scientist smiled, "Roman," he said, indicating to a six foot decorative rock nearby. The redhead, who was now covered in wounds from what could be seen, both scars and new cuts, slashed his arm and sent a tornado of blood towards the rock, smashing it into pieces. The soldiers gasped and chattered among each other. "That is how he is a weapon. Your government has gifted this... talented boy to you. You will win any war you play a part of and..." The scientist's speech was interrupted by what looked like spears rushing past him, each of them embedding themselves in the heads of several soldiers. He spun on his heels, "ROMAN, NO!" he shouted. The video feed cut just as the boy was being tackled to the ground and zapped with electric rods
"Such a shame," Shaw sighed, "But you haven't lost that ruthlessness and disregard for life, have you?" She chuckled lowly as she changed the DVD, "I'm sure sweet little Octavia would agree with me."
The video showed a small bathroom, decorated with a rubber ducky print shower curtain and matching rug, dull teal walls and a smashed mosaic-adorned mirror on the wall. Shards of glass and blood were in the sink below it and a small brunette was leaning her back against the basin. The much larger body of Raine stood in front of her, clearly using his body weight to trap her. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, emerald eyes watching his face as he leaned down to speak to her with a smooth voice, "You know only seven million people in the world have blood like this. I never would have guessed one of those seven million was right here, so close to me." He held the celestial wizard's hand and brought it to his mouth, licking the blood off of it. He looked like he'd just eaten the most succulent fruit in the world. Octavia could be heard begging the blood mage in a weak, terrified voice, "Raine, please, don't." It was clear it wasn't really Raine she was talking to. He smiled, "You want me to stop, dove?" he asked, his sugar-coated voice filled with amusement and condescension, obviously enjoying her fear. His face was so close to hers, it looked like he was stealing the very breath from her lungs as he twirled a tear-soaked lock of her hair between his fingers before moving them across her jawline and down until they came to rest against her pulse. The sheer pleasure on his face from feeling how fast her heart was beating was unmistakeable and the celestial wizard was trembling under his touch as his fingers spread over her skin until they were wrapped around her neck. "Raine, this isn't you, I know it isn't." Her hand could be seen moving to hold onto his wrist as the slightest bit of pressure could be seen pressing against her.
"Poor thing" Shaw said before looking into Kaya's cell, "She only wanted company. A friend to spent time with and take her mind off of her recent heart break. And what happens? She puts her faith..." the scientist looked over to the screen "...in that."
Something had distracted Raine away from his goal of snapping Octavia's neck. He'd turned to look at his phone for a moment before looking back at the celestial wizard. His hand pulled away from her neck quicker than lightning.
"Enough of that," Shaw said, switching the screen off, "We don't need to see the heartfelt moment between them. I can't stomach it again, watching that silly, weak little girl claim she forgives you and then running away, still fearing for her life I don't think he'll ever get a date with her even if he wasn't stuck here for what's left of his miserable existence."
TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND - ☂ - TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND - ☂ - TOLD YOU I❜LL BE HERE FOREVER x // x SAID I❜LL ALWAYS BE YOUR FRIEND
↗took an oath that
xi❜m a stick it out till the END xxxxxxxx
☂Was there truly anything more enjoyable than watching two pathetic light mages crumbling into the dark while suffering? Like two moths drawn to a light, there fate was sealed un-escapable from the moment they were taken here. Even if someone managed to find there hide out, they were always prepared for whatever step they had to take. The two of them seemed to be in such a terrible position, unable to take much more, that sweet salty air of despair lingering. To watch both light mages trembling against there sufferings, was beyond entertaining. The videos gave a clear projection of how perfectly they were handling prisoners. To say in the least, this should put them in there place and realize there wasn't a shred of hope left for them. To soon be finding themselves in the same positions, different days. The pain they were left feeling after watching all of there little friends perish, as sweet at candy. Kimura's eyes locked on Raine, as he spoke of wanting only one guild master dead, and looking her dead in the eyes. She merely laughed at his statement, taking it as a joke. "You can wish all you want little boy, but it's never going to become reality. For the reality here, is that you're just a weak pathetic light mage. You could never overcome me. I have been around a lot longer than you, and have mastered my magic to perfection. But don't worry. When you become the useless knat that you are, you can meet up with your guild master in the next life. Along with your little friend over there." Her eyes darted towards Kaya, pointing out that she was his little friend. "And let's not forget the other one, your sweet Octavia. In the new world we are building, she will ultimately meet the same fate." A grin spread across her lips, loving the very thought of it.
Kimura turned to face Ciaran as the tape played of her rushing to finish the blow on the annoying girl who sought for revenge, but found herself too weak to put up much of a fight. "Thank you, dear Ciaran. Your magic is truly a gem in the same reguards." She complimented back her sweet love, that slight smiling smirk had never left her facials. Raine and Kaya both seemed to disapprove of the slaughters, though it was by far amusing to watch unfold. Raine cursing and shouting, though his words would go to deathe ears, while Kaya held her own disagreements with them killing one who gave in and subjected to listening. These fools are just far too idiotic. They weren't going to keep anyone as long as they were rendered useless to there work. It was made apparent Kaya was causing a bit of a ruckus, riling herself up and annoying Ciaran. Kimura walked over, swinging around her red scythe weapon. "Kaya my dear, like Ciaran has told you already, I suggest you to calm yourself. We wouldn't want something terrible to happen to Raine, would we? Orr, what about your little Yuki? You fail to listen once, and I will permanently remove that pathetic excuse of a cat out of this existence." She smirked wickedly, loving the thought of destroying someone she loved right in front of her, being unable to save him. That would be pure amusement.
Once Ciaran played a tape showing the meeting between the water brat and Kimura, she leaned against a wall, watching while continuously smirking. That was exactly what the brat deserved, all of that endless torture that she could barely handle, yes she loved it all! She found herself smiling wickedly, as her own father saw to Kaya's immense pain. And poor Kaya's father couldn't lift not one finger to save her, he was better left dead. Not too long after that tape, it was Raine's turn to go back down memory lane as Shaw played this one. This was new to her, so she watched it much more closely, not wanting to miss a single aspect. Raine was such a sweet young boy it seemed at first, she wanted to barf. As it went on, he began to realize the scientists were not there to help, and found himself being forced to fight. However, as she suspected, he lost horribly. That must of been where he began to find his power, and draw it out. Which is exactly what they wanted. After that, everything seemed to get quite dark, which was much more appealing to her. Raine didn't grow up like every other kid, he suffered miserable. It was quite amusing to watch, as he began to use his power to attack all around him. Even that bumbling fool carrying a wound around someone like him. And than there was that pathetic excuse of a mage, Octavia. She pondered to herself a bit, if she could get her here in a cell next to him, that would the most amusing of all! [OOC: Sorry if missed anything, so much things to remember, I'm getting lost. xD] ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
◆ Thoughts: "Scratch the morphine, I want my whiskey back." ◆
spacI became insane...
◆ ◇ ◈ ◊ ♦ ♢ ♦ ◊ ◈ ◇ ◆
Raine smiled,”Yes, he should have been in the meeting but he had it covered. His ace went there in his place,"he said, remembering the fun he’d had with Silas, drinking and picking up women to take back to their hotel rooms. He wondered if that would ever happen again or if he really would be stuck here forever. * Hearing Kaya yell out at the screen was almost painful to listen to. The blood mage out his fingers in his ears, trying to shut out her heartbroken cries but it didn’t do much to ease the pounding of his own heart. The sedative and high-running emotions were doing no good for his blood pressure, that was for sure. He was never going to get those images out of his head; he would forever see the charred body of his guild master and he would always hear that sickening snap. It made him feel sick to his stomach. Even as he opened his mouth to respond to Ciaran, he thought he might throw up."I wonder if your guild master will plead for you when I rip you to shreds,”he snarled. His watery, tear-filled eyes almost flowed with fury,"There will be no mercy from me." It didn’t please Raine in the slightest to know that Kaya had an idea of how things had been for him in the lab. The torture. The pain. And he certainly didn’t want to see it. But there it was; drawn out by Ciaran’s spell once again for all to see. The blood mage wanted to shut his eyes but he knew if he did then they would only be forced open again. So he watched both the Kaya of reality and the young Kaya of her memories suffering. It was clear to see where Kimura had gotten her nasty streak from. Her father was just as cruel as her, if not more so. Both of them liked to threaten and cause pain, hurting adults and children alike as if they were nothing more than a lesser creature. All of them - Shaw, Ciaran and Kimura - they themselves were like cruel children. Ones that toyed with human lives as callously as plucking the wings off of butterflies. He felt himself flinch just at the sight of the shackles being put against the young Kaya’s skin. It was awful. He couldn’t imagine how much it hurt, or how desperate her father would have felt."You think I like the fact someone can empathise with me that much? You’re sorely mistaken,"he replied to the dark ecriture mage. Raine’s stomach tightened."What do you mean ‘refresh my memory’?"he asked, feeling he knew the answer. They’d got hold of the recordings from his time in the lab. He thought they would have been destroyed in the fire but as the recordings started, it was clear that not all were lost because there, right at the beginning, was his true name. A name he hoped would never surface again due to all the memories it brought with it. As he watched, he noted how different he looked. Obviously he’d grown up but that look, pure innocence and knowing nothing how how horrible his life would be. He remembered the woman’s voice. She was the one who’d raised him in place of a mother and for all intents and purposes, she did a good job doing it without getting attached to him. Raine gave Shaw a side glance and an eye roll at her psychopath comment. She had some work to do before her taunts would truly get to him. At the moment she seemed to just be trying to mimic Ciaran and it was growing tiresome. Turning back to the screen, a familiar room came into view. It was the room that all the children dreaded being taken to. You didn’t know if you were going to be forced to hurt someone or be beaten yourself. More often than not, due to his young age, he was on the receiving end of people’s powers. He huffed a laugh at the scientists calling him ‘brave’. Hardly. He would have done anything not to be in there and would have fled the room as soon as the opportunity had arisen. The next video confused him. The jostling made it hard to work out exactly what was going on until the person in control of the camera stopped near a crowd and pushed to the front did he see what this footage was showing,"That magic... that’s..."he trailed off. He knew those shadows. He had no idea the guards were wearing cameras that whole time and now here it was, the event that caused Raine’s mental state to fall in an out of control downward spiral. He felt an ache in his chest as he watched for the second time his first ever friend bleeding out on the floor. And it was all his fault. He’d begged Cornelius to show him his magic. He’d kept asking again and again. Just one spell. Just one shadow. And he’d caved and showed him the ‘coolest’ one, the one that let him melt into shadows. Any other spell and maybe it would have just been a telling off. But the guards had thought they were trying to escape and all chaos had descended. He could never understand why Cornelius fought them until much later on. He must have seen it as a chance to get away and knowing his powers could deal out so much destruction had clearly urged him to let loose on the guards. But it had all been for nothing. He continued to watch with fresh tears welling but not yet falling. He had played a large part is in own undoing. A frown across his features. He saw himself again. He remembered this; first time he was given the shock collar. He’d been the only one out of all the children that had one and from that point he’d been used as an example. Every time he was shocked, the scientists would address the others: ”This is what happens when you misbehave.” Raine sneered at Shaw,"What I do now compared to then is very different, "he stated. It was the truth. He no longer hurt people who laughed at him, people could laugh all they wanted at him, it was the ones that laughed at the awful things they did that he hurt now. The drug dealers that forced children to cart their products around under the threat of being shot, the rapists that offend again and again each time they’re let out of prison. Those are the ones he hurt. Though, as he watched his younger self cut off the hand of a fellow test subject, he thought perhaps maybe he did have an odd sense of justice even at that time. He’d known that boy to have tortured numerous other children with his electricity and enjoyed it far too much. He scoffed at Shaws comment about his younger self’s treatment of the guards. Probably not the reaction she was after. It was likely she hoped to trigger some guilt in him,"You say that like it’s something to be ashamed of. Those guards beat children and found it funny,"he said,"Even after they told me he had a family I smiled and I still don’t care,"he added. This would possibly make him seem like the monster the dark wizards were trying to portray him as but in that moment he couldn’t lie - beheading that guard had felt amazing. Though, he was severely beaten afterwards. It was odd seeing himself at that stage of his so-called ‘madness’. He’d mostly forgotten the times when he would actually conspire with his worse half instead of telling him to shut up and leave him alone. Though guilt had evaded him when presented with the beheaded guard, a flicker of regret cast across his face when viewing his younger self sending javelins of blood into the heads of the soldiers. They weren’t the one who bought him. They had no part of him being created. Their government had done that and they were simply bystanders. Yes, they fought in wars but they were doing what they felt was right and protecting their country. He felt perhaps the beating he got for that was deserved. However, that guilt quickly turned to dread at the mention of a certain guild member. He turned to Kaya with pleading eyes,"Kaya, please, don’t watch this,"he said, desperate for the slayer not to see what he’d almost done. Though he knew there was no change Ciaran would let either of them look away. He watched himself press Octavia against the sink. She looked so scared. Blood Raine had enjoyed that fear all too much as he leaned down to speak to the celestial wizard. His own words made him feel sick. No. They weren’t his words. They were just coming from his mouth, but he wasn’t the one in control."Turn it off,"he said, not taking his eyes away from the video as terrified voice rang out from the speakers."Turn it off!”he yelled,"That wasn’t me!"He looked at Kaya,"I swear, it wasn’t me, it was him. I had no control over what I was doing."He felt sick watching hand own hand press against Octavia’s delicate neck. The tears that had threatened to fall earlier finally overflowed. He felt awful. And to top it off, the last time he’d seen her, he told her never to get in his way again. He was a horrible person. How she had forgiven him so quickly was beyond comprehension. She’d even promised him she’d never tell anyone what happened in that bathroom. How could such a pure being exist and what a disgusting monster Blood Raine was to try and snuff that life out. He hated himself."It wasn’t me,"he repeated quietly under his breath.
[These spells do not have any special requirements] ● Paralysis: Gives the user the ability to paralyze their desired target by simply pointing their hand in their direction ● Self-Clotting: Clots the blood under the user's skin, hardening it into something more durable than steel in a concentrated area
[All of these spells require the user to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Blood Dome: The user creates a dome of blood around themselves and others that offers protection from incoming attacks ● Blood Shield: The user displays a large wall made of their own blood in front of them, swallowing any attack ● Blood Trap: The user creates a large sphere of blood out of their own blood that traps the enemy inside ● Blood Sword: The user morphs their forearm into a sword ● Blood Claws: The user morphs their hands into claws ● Blood Slice: By swiping their arm, the user sends scythe-like blades of their own blood at their intended target which are powerful enough to cleanly slice through solid rock ● Blood Bullets: The user sends hardened droplets of their own blood at a target ● Blood Wings: The user creates wings out of their own blood. ● Blood Clone: The user creates liquid clones of themselves (amount of blood used varies based on amount of clones created) ● Capillary Net: The user creates a net with thin strands of blood
[All of these spells require the enemy to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Blood Clot: The user clots the enemies blood in a certain limb, rendering it unusable ● Blood Spike: The user makes the blood at the open wound explode into spikes; enlarging the wound and causing pain
ADVANCED SPELLS:
[All of these spells require the user to have an open wound that is leaking blood] ● Banshee: The user transforms part of their body into a swirling mass of blood that can slice their opponents like a saw ● Blood Nebula: Two waves of the user's blood rotate around each other and form a double-helix that blasts the opponent into the air with tremendous force ● Blood Cyclone: The user forms a circular torrent of blood and sends it hurtling towards their target ● Blood Sphere: The user releases a sphere of their own blood in a pinpoint location that swallows anything it touches
[All of these spells require the enemy to have a LARGE open wound that is bleeding] ● Blood Burst: The user is able to compress the victim's blood in the location of the wound and make it burst
ULTIMATE SPELLS:
[These spells do not have any special requirements] ● Blood Rain: The user makes the blood of killed enemies rain down from the sky, restoring their own useable blood source
[All of these spells require the user to have a LARGE open wound that is leaking blood] ● Rain Blood: The user makes their own blood rain down from the sky, disintegrating everything it touches
[All of these spells require the enemy to have an open wound of any kind that is bleeding] ● Anti-Flow: The user comes into contact with enemy blood and reverses the flow of their blood, causing the blood vessels and internal organs to explode from the pressure
[All of these spells require the enemy to have a LIFE THREATENING open wound that is bleeding] ● Heart Staunch: The user stops the blood flowing to the heart, ultimately killing the enemy
Metal creaked and moaned under the strain being placed on it. Kaya’s thrashing and flailing tested the limits of the shackles and bed. Her hand bled freely from where she already managed to yank the IV out of it. The faintest of give could be felt in the lashings of the bed as she repeatedly wrenched and slammed her body against it. All pain from her injuries forgotten in her heartbroken rage. The Slayer might have eventually succeeded in breaking free if Ciaran hadn’t interfered. Goosebumps spread over her skin at the familiar sensation of runes snaking their way up her leg. They weaved around her stomach and up to her chest before coming to rest about her throat. Kaya grit her teeth, unwilling to stop her struggle so easily. But he didn’t give her much choice. His runes constricted at his command. They squeezed her limbs until she couldn’t move and tightened harshly around her airway. She gasped for air. The fight began to ebb from her until she had settled, albeit unwillingly, back into her mattress. Ice blue eyes glared at the Dark Écriture mage. “I won’t forgive you for that…ever…,” she choked out past the runes, tears welling in her eyes. “You’re nothing but a monster,” her gaze flicked to Shaw. The woman’s response as callous as ever. “Renae may…have been spoiled, but she was still better than…you any day. She at least…didn’t pretend to be…God!” If possible, her gaze hardened even more when Kimura approached to throw her two cents in. “You’ll never touch Yuki,” Kaya snarled. “I’ll fight you…every chance I get…” Yuki was far away from them. He had been taking care of an injured Katiki when the fight ended. He would be safe with Alyssa. She trusted the Requip mage to keep him that way too.
The tension around her throat and limbs eased some. Ciaran’s words to Raine drew her focus from the guild master. Eyes widened in terror at the thought of undergoing that memory spell again. She tried to struggle but her energy had been zapped. Kaya tensed as his hand touched her head. Sudden, blinding pain erupted in her skull. The memory he wanted came rushing to the fore. Hoarse screams tore from her throat, though they couldn’t be heard past the shouts and screams of the memory. It was one of two moments she wished could have remained forgotten. One of two punishments that left a lasting mark. She remembered the demonic gleam in Doctor Tenma’s beady black eyes. Recalled all too well his gleeful chuckle as the hot iron shackles seared her tender flesh. Even her father’s screams hadn’t been able to drown that cold laugh out. The pain had been immense. Much the same as the brand she recently suffered from Ciaran. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the dark mage was satisfied and dismissed his spell. Kaya collapsed back onto the bed. Her body trembled from exertion and distress. Unshed tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Wrists and ankles alike throbbed in remembrance of the trauma she suffered at that young age. “My memories…aren’t…for your amusement,” she panted, flexing then clenching her hands with each word. She was not a toy for them to play with, nor were her memories some twisted form of entertainment. They were part of her past. No one except her had the right to recall them.
Yet here these three were playing around with them like they had nothing better to do. They were too blasé about the horrible stuff they’d done. A low growl sounded in the base of Kaya’s throat. “I don’t want to see his childhood,” she spat at Shaw. By the way she relished the idea, there was nothing on those DVDs the teenager would enjoy. Her suspicions were confirmed the moment the screen came to life. A small, redheaded child sat in the middle of a room. The honey-coated voice of a Russian scientist talked to him, speaking about some school. That naive boy wouldn’t last. With every subsequent scene played out, his world became darker and filled with suffering. He was the test subject for other children to practice their abilities on to begin with. The one boy on the tape seemed to like bullying him with his magic too. Kaya couldn’t imagine what that must’ve been like. Forced to withstand something so cruel as pitting children against one another. However, it was the next scene which caused her to balk at the television. Another boy lay motionless on the ground while Raine screamed out his name, reaching out for him. Cornelius.... Now I get it. Cornelius had been Raine’s friend in that place. And he had been killed by the scientists for whatever reason. A moment that apparently sent the younger Raine into a downward spiral. Gone was the innocent child, replaced with an angry soul who disregarded those around him. Her heart ached. She understood why he built the walls he had. To grow up in a place like the Russian lab…nobody could come out of that without issues.
Kaya watched and listened raptly. A morbid sort of fascination took hold. She winced in sympathy when the shock collar was strapped to him, flinched upon witnessing the ruthlessness he exhibited with the other boy, frowned in concern at the conversation Raine seemed to be having with himself, and stared wide-eyed as he assaulted the soldiers unprovoked. Despite it all, however, she couldn’t bring herself to hate or despise the Blood mage. Those scientists, just like Shaw and her cohorts, were the true monsters to blame for everything held within the discs. “Humans aren’t weapons.” She tore her eyes away from the video to look at Shaw. “If you think I care about how things ended up, then you’re wrong. What those scientists tried to do was steal away their humanity. There’s nothing in the world that makes that right. To me, Raine isn’t the psychopath.” Even while she spoke, the doctor was switching out the DVD for another. Kaya glimpsed the television come back to life. This time a quaint looking bathroom filled the viewscreen. Two people stood huddled close together. A short brunette, Octavia she assumed, was pressed against the wash basin by the tall redhead. Fear clearly present in her face. Raine’s pleas for her not to watch tore at her. She turned her head to find desperate, pleading eyes staring back. The teenager wanted to listen to him. Kaya didn’t want to see what she feared was coming. Ciaran had taunted Raine about this moment during the last session. Raine himself showed obvious remorse and anguish over it. But her gaze couldn’t stay averted. Slowly, reluctantly, her head was pushed back towards the scene unfolding in the small bathroom.
The silky-smooth voice of Blood Raine filtered over the speakers. Kaya fidgeted in her restraints, uncomfortable with what she was being forced to witness. Raine yelled for them to shut if off but to no avail. His film version leaned ever closer to Octavia. The terror in her eyes showing brighter than before. He licked the blood, her blood, from his hand and fell into ecstasy. Kaya’s stomach lurched. Her features contorted in a grimace. This version of Raine disgusted her to the core. His bloodlust was unquenchable. That’s not the real Raine though, came the quiet voice of her conviction. How could she hold the man she’d come to know responsible for the actions of a separate entity? She honestly couldn’t. Blood Raine’s actions could be attributed to nobody but himself. Fortunately, the true Raine came to his senses in time to prevent anything more horrible from happening. Relief flooded the Water Dragon Slayer the second the video was cut off. “I know,” Kaya said simply. With her head free to move, she looked back to him. “I know it wasn’t you,” she repeated once she would catch his gaze and lock eyes. “I can hear it. The differences between you guys. You’re not the same.” She offered a small smile to show her sincerity. It was a small gesture of support, letting him know she didn’t hold him responsible for the sins of Blood Raine.
Ciaran savored the memory he summoned as he would a fine wine. Slowly, purposefully, he observed every second of it with a keen, penetrating eye. The girl’s screams both in the memory and in the present kindled his creative spirit. He almost hated to see the moment come to an end. But to an end it must come for there were other points of discussion to be had. “Such a brilliant man…Doctor Tenma…,” he praised Kimura’s father with a brilliant smile upon his features. He was an inspiration to those who studied the art of torture. “Truly impressive,” he cooed. Yet his delight was promptly overshadowed for a brief instant by the ever-defiant Slayer. Lips curving down in a frown, Ciaran pivoted to face her fully. “Are you so certain of that?” He arched a single brow. “I for one have found them most entertaining. I’m certain my colleagues here have also been thoroughly amused. And how can we not be? Such intriguing memories you hold my little Kaya. You should want to share them with those of us curious enough to inquire of them. After all,” the dark mage stroked his hand through her hair, grasping a handful from behind, “There is so much yet to learn.” Releasing his hold, he shifted his attention to the Blood mage opposite them. “Aww now don’t be that way, Raine. Aren’t you tired of feeling as if no one understands the pain you went through? Of having someone like Andrea berate you because she could never know the horrors of your past? You should be grateful to us for this. Both of you should.” Ciaran paused, staring at him thoughtfully. “Perhaps a reminder of those days might be beneficial indeed.” A tilt of his head indicated the two prisoners should turn their attention to their respective televisions.
The Russians were certainly well versed in the craft of deception and training. Ciaran had to give them their due. The sheer amount of effort and finances required to support the program from which Raine surfaced had to be vast. Of course, the Soviets knew how to gather the children for their experiments without needing to waste resources. Children like Raine were essentially free for the taking if given the correct circumstances. “So innocent and willing to please,” the young man smirked. “My how time does change us.” And change the redhead it did. The sweet, plucky child whom so wanted to do well in “school” held no inkling of what lay in store for him. That innocent light would be snuffed out in due course. Ciaran found himself more enthralled with each changing of the disc. Raine’s evolution from naïve boy to deranged teenager held him captive. So enraptured by the events taking place on the screen, he uttered not a word in retort to the snide remarks and taunts sailing between the redhead and Shaw. It was not until Blood Raine emerged for the first time that he at last spoke. “They were so close to perfection,” he sighed, shaking his head idly. “If only they could have understood what they truly had in you.” His Russian counterparts had nearly achieved their goal of creating the perfect human weapon. Blood Raine could have been everything they desired and more. But they were foolish in the end. They failed to acknowledge and properly assess his abilities. Spurred on by his affinity for his magic, the Russians made a critical misstep by demonstrating his skills before he was entirely under their command. “They made the most troublesome of mistakes it seems. They overlooked the warning signs, believing their capabilities more than enough to handle your talents. You soon after showed them the error of their ways…am I correct?” The knowing gleam in his gaze indicated he knew very well what transpired not long after the failed demonstration.
His chest heaved with laughter. Was Kaya truly so gullible to believe such things? “My dear Kaya, you are living in a fairy tale…no pun intended, of course. Humans are innately prone to violence. It is that drive to be the most powerful that makes us the perfect weapons. We merely need to overcome the humanity to which you refer in order to reach full potential. It is as plain as that. Your friend over there is a prime example of this. He gives us a glimpse at what humans can become. If only he were void of those pesky emotions he seems to hold on to.” Ciaran waved a hand at the video just starting to play. “What say you, eh Raine? For all the airs you put on, for all the walls you’ve built, she was able to slip past your defenses. She was able to make you feel something you thought you had long since overcome. Am I right? Don’t try to deny it. You fear what you almost did to her. You fear yourself, and that is maddening to you. Poor, sweet, mild-mannered Octavia has an effect on you and you both loathe and relish it. It’s all right there.” He made another emphatic gesture at the screen. “If you didn’t have your humanity, then you wouldn’t be made to feel that way. Does Blood Raine agree? It’s obvious he enjoyed himself with her. He could enjoy that and so much more without the shackles of humanity hindering him…and you.” Ciaran fell silent, allowing his words to settle over the light mages. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Kaya turning her head away from scene. No doubt in response to her fellow’s plea not to bare witness to his shortcomings. That will not do I’m afraid. He used his runes to position her head accordingly. She must come to recognize the depths of the Blood mage’s psychopathy. What a glorious moment it was too. If only I could have been there to witness it firsthand, he bemoaned his luck. The terror upon the brunette’s face was utterly delightful. All too soon the fun had ended, however. Blood Raine dissipated, allowing Raine to regain himself. “I wonder what level of destruction he would’ve reaped on her if you hadn’t taken control again?” It was a question posed for no other purpose than to add insult to the situation; although, if he were to have his way, it could very well be one to receive an answer.
For now, there were other avenues to explore for the Dark Écriture mage. Raine’s supplication to Kaya being one such occurrence. Let us see what our little dragon has to say to that. He would be lying if he were to state he was not shocked by her reaction. Ciaran expected nothing less than disgust for the redhead. Instead, she compartmentalized their existences, attributing the actions of Blood Raine to him and him alone while seeing Raine as an innocent bystander. “Well, well, you are certainly full of surprises…I must hand it to you, Kaya. Even when presented with the darker side of another, you seek out the light in them.” His grin faded into a faint scowl. “It’s a habit we’ll have to break you of.” Twisting at the hip, he faced Kimura. The smile returned to his lips. “Master Kimura, I believe you’ve been updated on the whereabouts of our teams, correct? One of them was particularly successful in bringing us an interesting opportunity.” He removed himself from the cell, walking leisurely over to junction at the end of the hallway. “You mentioned earlier about her Exceed. While he is currently out of our grasp, I think I may have an alternative.” Bending over, Ciaran picked up the object discarded earlier. It would be hard for those in the cells to see what he carried until he drew even with them. He hefted it high in that moment to reveal a gray Exceed housed in a cage. “Now, I’m sure Kaya has no inkling of who this one might belong to but Raine…,” he jiggled the cage lightly to draw the tiger’s attention. “You know all too well. The Poison Dragon Slayer of Sabertooth, Selma Alexia.” His lips widened into a feral sneer at the recognition which might dawn in Raine’s yellow orbs. “Oh yes, we have her. She’s here…in the cells above. Would you like to see? I’m afraid she’s a little worse for wear. The scientists have been a little overzealous after an incident with Kai. Speaking of whom, I’m sure Kaya would like to know how her friend fared.” He refused to elaborate further than necessary. Inclining his head to Shaw, Ciaran made the silent request for her to switch over to feeds of Kai and Selma. The former’s would be from the footage archives two days prior while the latter would be a live feed.
