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 Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:15 pm
 ...Injured with pain and sadness, the you that cannot be healed
Shoulder the burden of the past that cannot be erased; don't throw away your will to live...[ X ][ O ]Blossom[ O ][ X ] →Blossom was very certain that this was Hell.
There were so many attacks flying all at once, Rei attacking the green-haired kid and Ephraim attacking the purple-haired one, with multiple people targeting the huge dragon, and she and Vika and Charice attacking Neros, and then Soren was attacking back, and then Vezra's attack didn't land and then Neros was starting to fall and Vika was hurt, really badly hurt. Blossom could only watch in horror was she was slashed and cut into, wounded enough to make Blossom's burned, raw shoulders sting in pain as her body shook, and she couldn't watch as her broken, still body hit the ground.
Then Neros' entire arm had been ripped away, and then Aphrodite's wing crashed into the ground, torn away from her body. Oh Goddess, Blossom thought, immediately feeling the nausea shoving its way up towards her throat. Blossom was desperately sick on the floor for a few moments, and when she looked up, all she could register was the sheer insanity that had unfolded around her.
There were so many voices as Soren opened his mouth. Blossom could only dimly watch his weapon dig into the floor, her grip shaky at best on Vezra's hilt.
It was too much. Goddess, it was too much. The leaves were swirling everywhere now, and it was too hot, much too hot, and the leaves were like flames, flashing in front of her eyes and away from her, and Soren looming over them all, somehow, at least in Blossom's eyes. It was too hot, and suddenly Blossom could see actual flames, and then the chains were emerging. Vezra hit the floor with a loud clatter, yet it was drowned out by the voices echoing all around her.
"Goodbye."
It was too ******** much.
Blossom collapsed to her knees, screaming in fear. Vika was dead, and now they were all doomed, all doomed, and then a chain was winding its way around her ankle and her screams hit a new pitch of sheer terror. She pressed her hands against her face, but the screams kept coming. She couldn't move, her entire body shaking in heavy spasms. All she could see now were flames and that looming figure and then the chains inching for her, like the clothes smothering her, pulling her back more deeply into the hallway closet, flames surrounding her and suffocating her while her parents burned, burned, burned.
Blossom fell forward until her forehead hit the marble, her face shielded by her hands hiding her face. Tears began to course down her face, but she didn't even notice.
Still quaking, she continued to scream.
And Abel was there.←  You'd better forget everything. Remember. . . your different Life?XXX
You'd better forget everything. Remember. . . though, we cannot returnXXXLike in times of warped memories, we can understand somedayXXX
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:01 pm
From an unyielding optimism of a new life...
To the scattered remnants of a psyche. From the pieces of a shattered soul...
To the dawn of a new persona. ≾≿[ŘȨΪ]≾≿ Things just kept getting worse! And worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and worse, and worse! Fail on top of sad emoticon on top of OTL on top of headdesk! It was a veritable pileup of negative emotions and all-around negativity!
But, increasing giggle factor aside! There is, like, semi-literary work to be done! And that therefore means! Postmaking time.
Complete and utter chaos, all around him. Blossom, the resolute little girl with the huge sword, was on the ground screaming like a girl. Charice the Pegasus Knight was falling, falling, falling to the ground on her one-winged pegasus. It would have been a one-winged angel, but it's kinda a winged horse, guys. Ninian (where did she come from, anyway?) was collapsed on the ground, the corpse of an especially bloody dragon near her. And Vika... where did Vika even go? Gone in a blaze of glory and dragon's fire, it seemed.
Slowly, everything around the Druid began to get warm. And not, like, summer breeze warm, like, "You're on the summer sun during a one of those days when the sun went to the Mushroom Kingdom and tried to kill Mario" breezes. Yeah, it was pretty scathing.
The Druid gave a good punch in the face to the scampering Lyon. Well, not so much a punch as it was him sticking his arm out while the guy ran into it. Crazed loony mage guy was more than loopy enough to get knocked out by a run into the Druid's arm. He'd seen weirder, he supposed. Maybe barely kinda.
As the heat washed over him once more, and the multitude of voices echoed in his head, the postwriter tried to don a srsface and get something done.
He ignored it all, just like he had when he killed the doppelganger. Everyone was falling around him, he wouldn't let their actions go in vain. Once more, he switched his tomes, taking out Apocalypse again. Rei took a deep breath, his legs threatening to buckle from exhaustion. His arms trembled, and he barely managed to cast Apocalypse once more. No time for frilly incantations, only time for getting the spell done.
Rei pointed his finger towards Neros, or at least where he was. Then, the vortex opened itself, threatening to swallow both Soren and Neros into its hellish maw. With his last attack done, the Druid fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. He'd done all he could, now he just had to leave it up to fate to dictate what would happen next.
And Abel was there.
And Ephraim was there, too. ≾≿[șҫӈȯʟɑʀʟӌ Spellslinger]≾≿ The power to ʀɑɩη destruction upon the world...
In the hands of a mere boy. He's a nice kid, though...
Just don't make him mad.
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:26 pm
ˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣˣ
ં
ં
ં
fear has been lost to faith
the darkened night has come before the end
of which we must prevail
amidst the pitch of steel we shall arise
i will destroy all those who oppose me!
heroes! always! pay in! their
BLOOD! Every last attempt...
...futile.
The looming, barbed heads of thorny chains thrust themselves into the last-ditch attacks, intercepting them, ruining them. One wrapped around Charice's neck as she was falling, lifted her up with the barbs, tightening like an anaconda. Poison pumped in, seizing her system.
Each chain did the same, snaking through, shooting through the air in the red-hot chamber, the images so distorted that they made no sense, no coherence. Wrapping around some, stabbing through others, pumping some sort of venom.
Soren simply sat there with his head bowed and the scythe in the ground. Fueling it. The blackness creeping out of the wall, veins turning to fire.
Fire, fire, fire...
The leaves themselves were no longer leaves but rushing flames, brightening, intensifying, the whole room become too bright to bear.
Fire, fire, fire. The very depths from which it was said Razevi had come. The beginning and end of all things.
One by one they were lifted into the air, strangled or impaled, skin blackened by the poison. The remains of the dragon seeped into the chain that stabbed it, its essence seeping into the rest of that which imprisoned them.
Nightmares, regrets. Happiness and sorrow. Blessing and sin, all would replay through their heads and tell them what they were losing. Their fault, all their fault.
In the choking heat Neros hung, black tears streaking his face as he tried to make out his friend's form from the marble floor below, but he was blinded every time the black tears came. Far away a young girl screamed — Amara, perhaps? Or his imagination? A little girl. The epitome of Innocence, trapped in this place. Made to suffer, made to perish.
Soren rose up before him on that platform, the scythe in both hands. He reached forward to repair Neros's wounds again.
"I hate you so much," Neros hissed, glaring at his reflection through the searing heat. And his self-loathing, in those final desperate moments, flooded that which kept him there. The chains turned upon himself, themselves. They froze, shivering, clattering, trying to figure out whose will to obey: the bridge which gave them life, or the brother produced beside them.
Hated himself so, so much, just glaring at himself, the spearheaded limbs quivering —
Back when he was still Soren, he would look into the dark waters of any pool he came across, and when he saw that brand on his forehead he would claw his reflection across the face in pure, undeniable hatred.
Tearing Soren apart, not giving him a chance to fix Neros, tearing Neros apart, hair and flesh and limb and bone falling to the ground not too far away from Vika's body. Killing, killing, killing. And even to the end Neros was reaching out to the others suspended on the ends of their chains, establishing a connection until his body was totally gone.
When Neros was all gone, he was irreparable. Soren fixed himself and laughed. Laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and collapsed on that platform, convinced that there was still hope for our salvation, for our redemption. So what if there was no bridge? He called to his brothers, their spirits, the emotions they were born from: Regret, Self-Damnation, Longing, Lust, Hate, Lamentation, Envy... They could still do this! They could --
He flickered, the whole, burning room flickered. Everything melded into pure, utter chaos.
WE WILL NOT BE REDUCED TO MERE EMOTIONS ANY MORE --
SORCERESS, CALL UPON US IN YOUR TIME OF NEED --
WE WILL AID YOU, OUR COMRADE --
Out of the confusion leapt little puppy Orthrus, carrying an obsidian key in his little maw. Where would he end up? Who knew?
And still, even if he wasn't there, Soren just laughed and a thousand voices laughed themselves to tears, and the whole realm collapsed into itself, the fire became everything, fire became creation, fire became destruction, fire became --
Nothing.
"Everyone... I must tell you one last thing."
In Vika's vision a winged figure hovered high overhead, circling with wicked, draconic wings, circling like a vulture. It is said that some vultures are the gatekeepers of Hell. Ah, but vultures can fly very, very high. Was this one perhaps a gatekeeper to Heaven?
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:34 pm
The chains seized her to inject her with venom and end her life... relatively painfully. In reality, they needn't have bothered--they seized her midfall without paying heed to the laws of physics. Upon catching her so forcefully, her neck shot backward and-- SNAP.
Aphrodite, for her part, did a magnificent job of splattering the floor with smashed pegasus. Poor Soren... he'd be cleaning that one up for DAYS...
--------
I... died, right? I know I died. I had to have died, and failed. So... where am I?
Charice looked around her new surroundings. Above her with a beautiful, bright blue sky, with nice white fluffy clouds passing by. It was a warm, sunny spring day, with grass and trees all around her, far as the eye could see. Somehow, it didn't seem all that far, like the world she was in was simply a landscape painting, done with all the pleasant shades of green and blue and...
"Well? Are you going to gawk, or come have a seat with me?"
Charice whipped her head around.
"K-Katherine! It's you! It's really you!!"
She rushed forward and gave her long-lost friend a hug, the first in many a year, holding her tightly, making sure this wasn't just a dream this time. No, nobody could feel as real as that without being... well, real. She didn't understand what the blazes was going on, but she certainly was happy to see her!
She pulled the younger mage out of the hug, and looked down, a bit to her right. A simple round wooden table sat there, with one wooden chain at each end. A tea set sat on the table, two mugs full of piping hot water and a teabag each.
"Ah... yes, that sounds nice," she said, smiling at Katherine, taking a seat. Katherine took the other... but as she sat down to face her friend, Charice didn't miss the look on her face.
"So, umm..."
She came to realize just how awkward this moment was. Oh, no... I died, didn't I? I really did it. I couldn't last against something like THAT...
Her smile vanished without a trace.
"You just now realized what my being here means?" Katherine asked, a hint of disgust in her voice. "It took you long enough." She sighed, then took a sip of tea, as though mulling over her words. "Yes, Charice, you died. ...Well, maybe not," she added. "It's hard to tell. I mean, yes, you died, but you died in the strange man's dream world, so it's almost like you died in a dream. I'm honestly not sure what happens now."
"What does it matter? We couldn't save his dream world. You know this all started when we were trying to save a little girl? Yeah, I'm sure SHE'LL grow up a carefree, innocent life now, even if we somehow DO come back to life," Charice said bitterly. "So many lives thrown away, and in the end for what? Huh? NOTHING."
SMACK.
"What about me? I was sixteen when I died, Charice! Think of that!" She shouted furiously, her left hand still staying in that aftersmack position after slapping her across the face. "A whole damned year, I've sat in this tiny corner of nowhere! Why? Because we WERE 'innocent'. We were young and inexperienced and in the end, look where it got us--you can't forget about me, and I'm stuck... here. In this dump."
She glared, folding her arms across her chest. "Oh yes, Charice, the afterlife is a dump. Want to know why? Look around you. Paradise, right? That's what people WANT to think. Some people go to 'Heaven' when they die, and have whatever they want for as long as they want. Others go to 'Hell' because they feel they've done wrong and need to suffer for it. The truth is... watch. I'm going to make it cold around here. Right now."
A moment later, she could tell Charice was cold. Snow lay all around, and a cold wind whipped around them. At least she was fine, bundled up in heavy clothing and a scarf. Charice was still in her Sentria clothes, shivering.
"Hey... wh-what did I do? K-K-Katherine, I-I don't understand!"
"You don't get it? That's fine. I just wanted to show before telling."
Another moment, and the idyllic spring scene returned.
"Simply put, Charice, in the world of death, there is one rule: The world ends with you. You can do what you want... whatever you want... for as long as you want. You can leave any time you wish, really--just not as the same life you once lived. For some people, this is fine. They have a loving family back here, or a really strong grasp of what they want. But me? Nobody's here for me, Charice. No one. Sure, I could in theory start a family of my own here, but why? It's my own fairy tale world, exactly as my fairy tale storytelling wants it. What fun is that? Answer me!"
"...Before, I might've said you were crazy for hating this place," Charice began. "A world where you don't have to fight for your life day in and day out? I'd have said, 'Sign me up'. But that man we were fighting--Neros, Soren, whoever he was--we fought him because he intended to purge us of... our ambitions, our desires. At least, that's what it sounded like. So I'd guess there isn't any fun for you here because... any ambition you have, and it's granted instantly. So in the end, you have no desires. You're stripped of your humanity that way. ...Oh, Katherine. I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."
For the first time in a while, Katherine smiled. "...Astute of you. That's exactly it. And you know what makes it worse? You can end this afterlife at any time. Once you do so, you reincarnate, and your life begins anew. Most people, of course, don't take this option, but it's there. But on the other hand, you leave all your memories behind. ALL. EVERY. LAST. ONE. And it's like your past life never existed. And... that, I think, is scary too. What if someday Javert, or Mother, or Father, or my big sister Stephanie were to die, and I was no longer here?"
She took a long sigh, sipping her tea again as though it had always been there. "I'm sorry I got upset at you earlier. When you're here for a year with nothing to do, you'll understand. And don't just ask me if I can't make challenges for myself, because since I'm the one who made them, I already know how to resolve them."
"...Katherine... you DO realize your family would want you to be happy, right? If you're not happy here, they wouldn't force you to stay. Move on, experience life again, if you want to so badly. Someone might die to keep you company, but then again, they might not."
"...Maybe..." Katherine closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands. "It's just hard. I saved Ghis' life that day, remember? To some people, it might be second nature, but it was the only time I had ever saved a life. It just makes me feel important whenever I think about it."
She grinned. "Ehh... but you know, that's going to get old. You know, Charice? I might move on someday. I might. Who knows? Maybe you and I will meet again someday, when you're really old and I'm just figuring out how to wield a sword or something... Hm? Hang on, there's something in my pocket--" her hand fished around for a second in her robes before drawing out a small folded piece of paper and looking it over, "...It's for you, I think. Something about that weird fellow having one last thing to tell you all?"
At that moment, the sky slowly faded to gray. Katherine started to disappear.
"One last thing to tell me...? Wait! Katherine, what's going on?"
"I guess it's not your time to die, after all," the mage responded, smiling and giving a wave. "And just when my first close friend-relative-whatever conversation was cheering me up! Well, goodbye. Tell Javert I said 'hi'! Oh, and one last thing..."
"WHAT?" Katherine appeared very faded now, nearly invisible.
"I may move on, but even if I do... if you don't think you can get the job done, then don't believe in yourself.
Believe in me...
who believed in you, and still does!"
Katherine faded into the grayness. Charice found herself once more surrounded by her now-familiar traveling companions.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"She-she still believes in me..."
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:43 pm
(( A WILD NILS APPEARED.
NILS USED POST HIJACK!
thankyouNini <3 ))
So many times, Alihi had seemed to evaded death; she lost track of how many times she was on the borderline and she managed to stay alive. But somehow, she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to escape this time. The chains were tight, wrapping around her, and she could barely remember to let go of Amara before the same chains killed her daughter, too. "Run...!" She whispered to Amara, pain twisting her features. "Live..."
Her eyes began to shut, blocking out all sight. Time was running out. Oh, the irony...! The tactician thought bitterly. It was too late to stop it; by this time, the burning sensation was too overwhelming to even resist anymore. That I... am to die like this...
Brave to the end, Alihi forced a smile on her face as her body finally shut down...
When everything settled again, she was back home in Bern. It was an overwhelming sight, and she couldn't help but stumble forward blindly, resting her hand against the walls. Everything was just as she remembered it; all the rooms were exactly the same as she remembered them to be.
And, in one of the rooms, a red-haired man sat on a chair, smiling brightly at her. "I've been waiting for you." The person stated gently, holding his hand out for Alihi to take. "It's been so long... How many years has it been?"
"Too many..." She whispered in return, resting her hand in the palm of his. A bright smile was on her face; after so long, she was finally reunited with him. "Way, way too many..."
Amara let out a terrified scream. "MOMMY!!" She shook her head furiously; this couldn't be happening, she told herself. None of this could be real! It was just too, too sad. This had to be all some terrible, terrible dream! Mommy couldn't be--
The rest of her thought was cut off as a chain stabbed easily through her chest, going straight through the heart. She let out another scream, struggling to get free. Every movement she made only made things worse; it did nothing but bring her closer to death. The little girl wailed through the pain, not wanting to die. She was so young, so innocent...!
It was several, agonizing moments before her voice dropped and her body finally went limp, her tears silently rolling down her cheeks...
Everything was quiet. There were no sounds, no voices... Her surroundings were completely empty. All she could see were her possessions. Her stuffed bear, Berry... her stuffed horse, Straw... her stuffed bunny, Cherry... She curled up tightly, crying to herself; for the first time in her life, she was truly alone.
There was no warmth here. There was only loneliness and isolation.
"Mommy..." Amara whimpered, pulling her knees even closer to her chest, making herself as small as possible; maybe if she was small enough, everything would just pass by her without affecting her. "Mommy... daddy... uncle Aki... Abel... b-big brother Ephie..." Her voice began to crack, her voice growing softer. "Nini... Blossom... e-everyone..." The tears flowed down her face, refusing to stop. "A-aah..."
Akihi couldn't believe this. He didn't want to, either. One by one, his only family was dying before his eyes. Sorrow filled his heart and he couldn't bring himself to look at their bodies; the thought of seeing them made him sick to his stomach. I should have never come here! He told himself angrily, his eyes flickering around the room. His eyes were on the chains, sharp and deadly, striking all that were around. I should have just stayed at home...!
A chain shot forward, constricting his torso. The mage let out a single startled cry before falling silent. He realized within a matter of moments that resistance was useless; no matter what he did, the chain's barbs would still pierce his flesh, the poisons would still flow through his veins, and the chain itself would squeeze him as long as it pleased. Elfire slipped from his grip, hitting the ground audibly with a thunk. It, too, was useless now. I won't need it in the afterlife, anyways.
Akihi let his eyes close gently, allowing death to overcome him...
There were books, surrounding his entire body. The selection seemed endless; there was no visible limit to these immense towers of books. It all seemed so familiar, but Akihi could not make the connection. It doesn't matter, anyways... He told himself, shaking his head slowly. It's kind of meaningless now. The mage plucked the first book he saw off of the tower and began to read.
It was titled The Other Twin; it was a picture book of his life.
Tears filled his eyes as she shakily flipped through the book. Every moment was documented to perfection; every detail was there and clear. Everything was correct, and it freaked him out greatly. A shiver ran down his spine, but he forced himself to keep reading. "That's so... weird..."
Suddenly, a voice, one that was completely different, spoke clearly to them.
"Everyone... I must tell you one last thing."
"What is it?" All three Kauas seemed to ask at the same time without realization. Before they could receive their answer, their scenes began to change...
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:52 pm
...Injured with pain and sadness, the you that cannot be healed
Shoulder the burden of the past that cannot be erased; don't throw away your will to live...[ X ][ O ]Blossom[ O ][ X ] →There was so much pain, and yet Blossom continued to scream. Her entire body seized up with the pain of the poison coursing through her system, as yet more joined it, searing through her blood and setting fire to her body. Tears were coursing out still, cutting rivers across her dirty, bloodied face. She was tired, she was so very tired, but her entire body was in great pain, enough to strangle and choke at her screams of blended terror and agony.
She could see the flames, all surrounding her and searing at her, and all Blossom could do was close her blue-grey eyes, which did nothing to stop the flow of her crying, and slowly, painfully, fall unconscious.
When Blossom awoke, the pain was gone. She felt numb, without her senses. There was no sense of touch, hearing, smell. She opened her mouth and could not speak. She could not even be certain if she could see, for she was surrounded by a deep, inky black.
There was nothing, absolutely nothing, and immediately Blossom began to fear.
There was suddenly a brightness, and Blossom realized she could see. Then she heard a voice, and she recognized that she could hear.
"My child... you finally came, didn't you?"
"Little flower, you certainly kept us waiting..."
Blossom's eyes widened, and tears coursed again. "M-Mom? Da...Dad?" As her voice cracked, she discovered she could speak. The light was growing now, and she could almost see them, smiling gently, and through her own tears, she could see them crying, too.
Home.
Blossom could feel the light growing, but as she approached, the figures before her began to melt away, and the panic immediately began to grow deep in her stomach. "Come back...! Come back!" Blossom ran for them, arms outstretched. The light shifted, the entire area seemed to turn into itself, and something just... changed. Blossom was still reeling from it all when she realized that she was not alone now.
The Hero put a hand over her eyes, and after a few moments, the light had dulled enough for her to make out the figure before her. A young woman, and as Blossom wondered who it was, the person's great black wings stretched out behind her back, as if poised for flight.
"Vi...Vika!"
The raven turned around to meet a familiar voice. "B-blossom?" she asked, bewildered.
"Vika, I thought..." Blossom trailed off, then shook her head. Changing gears, she started again: "Why are you here? Where are the others...?" She rushed towards the raven, boots slipping against the unseen ground, though it seemed each step took her no closer.
Vika turned again, looking for the unseen voice that had invited her home. She saw nothing, no one but Blossom. "I...I thought I was dead. But that doesn't...why are you here?"
Blossom halted, looking down at her feet. There was grass below her, and when she looked up, she could see the grass extending every which way around her. Vika was still standing there, and Blossom paused before clearing her throat. "I... guess I am, too."
The raven solemnly nodded. "Then...Soren must have won. I'm sorry, Blossom...I'm sorry it ended like this..." She paused, looking around. "If...if you're dead, and he killed everyone, then...then where are the others?"
Blossom blinked once. She looked to her left, her right, then back at Vika. "I don't... I don't know. I thought I saw my parents, and... then they were gone and I found you, and... you're the only person I've seen so far."
Blossom folded her arms tightly across her front, hair falling over her face as she seemed to draw herself in smaller. "What... what's going to happen to everyone outside? Are they going to be all right?"
"Your parents? I...I didn't see anyone. At all. I'm all alone, in life, and in death..." She looked down upon the ground. "I don't know...I don't know what's going to happen to everyone. I wish I could say they'd be all right, but...I just don't know..."
Blossom took another step forward, yet as before, she didn't get any closer to the raven. "B-But you're not alone! I'm right here, aren't I?" Blossom called. She clutched nervously at one of the dangling ends of her scarf, watching the black-haired girl in concern. "And they have to be all right! They have to...!"
Vika nodded once, averting her gaze from Blossom. "You're here, but...but...I just hope this isn't another cruel illusion... I don't know what's real or not anymore. I'm dead now. You're dead now! Is any of this even real?"
"Illusion? Wh-What do you mean, illusion? i'm right here!" Blossom gripped her scarf tighter, not taking her eyes away from the forlorn raven. "A-And dwelling on whether it's real doesn't accomplish anything, either! You're right there, and I'm right here, and... and... and that's all I know, but dammit that counts for something!"
"I..." Vika now found herself at a loss for words. She hesitated, looked back around her for a sign of someone, anyone else, and found no one. No one but herself and Blossom. She wondered why, of all people to appear to her here, it would be Blossom. And, seeming to break free of whatever hold kept them from moving here, she took a step towards Blossom. She took another. And she made her way over to the girl, pausing in front of her for a moment, smiling a very shy, awkward smile. And then she reached out, put her arms around Blossom, and gave the girl a tight hug.
Blossom's relief was practically falling onto her shoulders as she hugged back. Her own arms went around the raven and squeezed back. Her shoulders were quaking now as she had her forehead pressed to Vika's shoulder, as she wasn't exactly as tall as the other woman, but she said nothing.
Vika froze, holding the girl for a long moment before finally pulling away. When she had finally mustered the courage to, she gazed at the girl again, smiling softly. "Thank you, Blossom..." she murmured. She looked around once more. "The presence that was here...it told me that it was time to go home. I think...I think it's time for us to go."
Blossom gave Vika a little smile, nodding once. "Uh-huh." She used one hand to shakily push her bangs off of her face, and as Vika surveyed their surroundings, Blossom instinctively did the same. She paused. "Go? Go where?"
Vika shook her head. "I don't know..." Grasping Blossom's hand tightly, she smiled one more time. "I guess we'll find out when we get there."
Blossom nodded and gripped Vika's hand back. "I guess so."
As the bright light consumed her, she heard another voice, and the comfort and gentle warmth of the light was not enough to distract her from it.
"Everyone... I must tell you one last thing."
"Tell us what? What?" Blossom found herself shouting, and then light intensified to pure white, and... everything changed.← You'd better forget everything. Remember. . . your different Life?XXX
You'd better forget everything. Remember. . . though, we cannot returnXXXLike in times of warped memories, we can understand somedayXXX
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:05 am
→ → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → →
 And Abel was there.
[possible reservation/place holder]
← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ← ←
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:14 am
Now I'm stuck here
But I don't belong here
~Ninian~The end.
Ninian felt the barbed chains snake around her neck, her arms, her legs. Through the fire, she could feel something being pumped into her system, turning everything into flame.
It was said that the world was born of fire, but what of those who were born of ice? Ninian felt the searing flames engulf her, taking over everything. She tried to fight it, tried to shove off the chains, to no avail. There was nothing she could do. The fire was killing her, and she could do nothing but sit and let it happen.
So she did.
And the pain vanished. The physical pain, anyway.
She stood in the middle of a snowy landscape. Something about it said home. She took a careful step forward, and the snow crunched beneath her feet. A woman appeared before her, her back turned to the dancer.
"Who are you?" Ninian asked, her voice carried away on the wind.
The woman did not reply, simply turning around. Ninian could not see her face.
She had no face.
What?! Ninian thought, taking an involuntary step backwards.
The woman vanished. Voices began to float through the air, both human and dragon.
The fire dragons who had teased her. . . .
You're nothing but a stupid halfling! Yeah, halfling! You're not a proper dragon at all!
The voices she could not remember the owners of. . . .
Ninian, my darling, where are you?
Ninian, you're a smart girl. I'll be back for you.
The friends she had made in Elibe, the people she had known there . . . And the people she had loved.
We can count on each other as friends from now on, right?
Ninian, I promise I will protect you.
Ninian! Sister!
The people she had loved above all others. . . .
Mommy? Mommy, where are you? Daddy said you're gone, but I just saw you! We danced last night, 'member? 'Member, Mommy? Mommy? Mommy, where are you?
The voice changed, sounding older. Mother? I don't remember my mother. I'm not even sure I had a mother. Maybe she left when I was born. Is that why Father is always so sad when he thinks of her? As far as I'm concerned, if she makes Father sad, then she doesn't deserve him. She's not my mother. I don't have a mother.
Ninian heard herself gasp, heard the first sob, felt the first of the tears sliding down her cheeks. And then the last voice, the voice she had been waiting for the moment the voices began.
Ninian, why did you leave us? Why? I thought you were happy here. I promised Nils that I would make you happy . . . Did I fail? What happened? What happened to us, Ninian? Why did you leave?
Look at our son. Look at what he has become. Do you think he would be better with you? Do you? Then why did you leave? It's your fault he turned out like this. It's your fault he's just like me, making my mistakes, not seeing the things I still struggle to see. It's your fault. You dragon. Everything is all your fault!!
No! This wasn't right, how was she supposed to stop herself from going through that door, how was it her fault? She was changing, she was learning to be strong, learning to be a mother again, so how was anything her fault? This was wrong, this was wrong, what was happening, where was she, where was Roy, where was Sue, where was Nils, where was Hikaru, where was Alihi, Amara, Rei, anyone, everyone, where was Eliwood--
"Everyone... I must tell you one last thing."
"Yes?" she said automatically. "I'm listening."
And then the light changed. The faces she could not see vanished, everything vanished, even the white snow faded away, the light engulfing all, everything changing.
But was it an ending? Or a beginning? I wanna be where you are
Maybe I'm not so far from home [[edited]]
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 12:15 am
From an unyielding optimism of a new life...
To the scattered remnants of a psyche. From the pieces of a shattered soul...
To the dawn of a new persona. ≾≿[ŘȨΪ]≾≿ The voices howled, the laughter echoed in his ears. The young Druid did not even notice as the thorns began to surround him, not flinching a bit as they began to constrict his every muscle. The pains, though they should be sharp, were dull, hardly even detectable.
He didn't even notice as everything went black around him in the face of the ever worsening surroundings.
Pure gray, all around him. As far as the eye could see, no walls or ceilings. Alone, Rei was crouched, in the middle of it all. On his hands and knees, just like before, but this time, in a much less hazardous environment. He feebly tried to grip at something, anything, on the ground. And nothing, nothing would bend, would warp, it was almost as if he was in a small glass dome, and the glass was iced over.
"...dead?" he said, realization slinking in. "I can't be dead!" Rei punched at the ground, trying desperately to escape from where ever he was. Tears began to flow from his eyes, falling graciously to the floor beneath. But, defiantly, he rose to his feet.
"...No." he simply stated, taking a tome from his cloak. "If I'm dead, I'll break out of here. I don't care, I'll make him pay!" Furiously, Rei's hands began to wave in the air, carving runed symbols into the space in front of him.
"One..." he said, as orbs of Flux appeared around him, shooting out in all directions. Each one impacted like a blood splatter, leaving dark streaks across what appeared to be a domed surface.
"Two..." he continued, the rune beginning to glow. This time, whirling masses of energy appeared, converging on the same points that the Flux barrage did. Luna, it seemed was about as effective as the first spell, even with the defense piercing.
"Three..." he murmured, dark flames encircling his body. Fenrir was potent, he would trust this spell with many a destructive task. Even as each flame began to split into its own smaller bunch, which then grew into its own spell, and split again, nothing changed. The crackling hellfires simply all converged on the same points as the past two spells, and still, nothing changed.
"Four..." he whimpered, desperation setting in. Erebus, his own personal tome, would come next. Barbed, sharp tendrils shot from the edges of the dome, and each began savagely slashing at the the various edges, continuing the layers of spells. But, as each began to waver and fade, still nothing changed. The walls remained as gray as before, devoid of any sort of damage or scarring.
"Five...!" he shouted, tears flowing from his eyes as easily as one would breathe the air. Now, his last resort: Apocalypse. A horde of portals appeared, each just at the edge of the dome, trying their hardest to shatter the confines of this prison. Rei stood, panting like an old dog, about to fall over once more from exhaustion.
But as before, nothing changed. Nothing changed at all. He'd used some of the most powerful spells in existence, and nothing happened. Rei used every extent of his power, and it was useless.
"Come now, Ashera! You come when we're to face a god, but when your allies, your saviors are in peril..." Rei stood, laughing. "When we face the depths of Hell itself, you offer us no aid!" He shouted towards the silent heavens, as if he would get an answer from the Goddess who so eagerly helped them when they faced Loki.
...I must tell you one last thing...
A voice. And from the heavens, no less! Had the deities that so easily ignored him decided to show their benevolent sides?
"What? What is it?!?" Rei shouted, throwing his hands to the sky. The voice chose ever so graciously not to respond. But, the walls of the dome began to crack, to splinter. As the pieces began to fall away, a faint, dull hum began to echo into the now deteriorating dome. Rei didn't notice. He was far more concerned with discovering that voice's secret.
"Come on, what is it?!?" he shouted with growing intensity. "TELL ME!"
No reply, only silence, as the cracking of the dome became even more apparent, and light began to shine upon the Druid's trembling body... ≾≿[șҫӈȯʟɑʀʟӌ Spellslinger]≾≿ The power to ʀɑɩη destruction upon the world...
In the hands of a mere boy. He's a nice kid, though...
Just don't make him mad.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:28 pm
The lily blossom is so very fleeting and the pain shall never fade -Ephraim- -------------------- ((With Soren's and other people's permission I was allowed to make one last post)) Darkness? Was he finally dead? The last thing he remembered was getting hit by Lyon and due to his weariness, knocked out in a mere matter of seconds. He hadn't a clue where he was and when he opened his eyes..he saw nothing. "..." was all that came from the lancer. He was tired...He felt weak..He wanted it to end..just like that..he wanted it all to end. Ephraim was tired of it all..slowly, he closed his eyes once more, allowing the darkness to consume him as he lied there aimlessly. "...Ephraim!" a voice called, the lancer glanced around the room for a moment. Who? He whispered, not even the least curious as to what that was. "Leave me be..""What are you doing..? Get up! You can't be dead!" "But...I am...aren't I?" "Come now, Ephraim. Would I ever lie to you about something?" Then it hit him. That voice, that comment..that..tone! Ephraim flung up, now standing in the darkness and looked around. "..Lyon?" he turned, circling the dark room before a familier figure appeared before him. "...This..this isn't another hallucination is it..?"The figure stood silent, looking at the ground a few moments before raising his head with a soft smile on his lips. "You decide that..whether I am really here or not..its up to you" Ephraim thought long and hard whether this Lyon right now was real or not. It seemed real..then again..so did his hallucination..but he was actually responding.. "What troubles you, my friend? My death?" "I don't know.." What was the real reason? Why had it only been Lyon and not his father? Was it the guilt? Lyon was perfectly fine not being saved..was it..him? "..For everything..that I have done to cause you trouble..to be of a nuisance to you..to bring you to a horrible end..all of it.." he paused, taking a deep breath and looked straight into his friend's eyes "..All of it...I'm sorry.." Another long pause occured between them before Lyon started laughing. "Was that it? Ephraim..I could never hate you..remember what I said? I loved you but at the same time I hate you? I still mean that.." Lyon took a step forward and nodded. "You'll be all right now..I am not forever gone" with those words, he stepped back. Ephraim tilted his head in confusion. His legs moved, and suddenly ran after Lyon. "You can't be serious..." he screamed in the back of his mind. A voice that was neither his or Lyon's shattered the ground in which Ephraim had no idea was there in the first place. He fell through, screaming. "Everyone... I must tell you one last thing.""..What more is there... he muttered, tired of it all. Right now for sure he knew it..he just wanted it..to end..somehow..someway.. but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon now was it.. "I'm listening.."-------------------- but within a dream can this love remain...
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:31 pm
ં
ં
ં
The time gets longer every day,
But he sits there smiling in his cave.
Salt in your skin
That leaves a small scar...
It sits there murdering time,
A red shiny star.
«They come to hurt him every day...» Very gradually, they all found themselves in a misty area with no physical form of walls or floor anywhere. No ceiling, no sense of distance. There was an odd sort of closeness about them, yet they all seemed so very far away.
They would, perhaps, see a form. He descended from above, flanked by a pair of wicked wings, tattered robes and cape hanging off of his body, unkempt onyx hair drifting in the lack of gravity.
For a moment Neros's slitted eyes glowed that nocturnal green. And then he wrapped his wings around himself.
Out melded Soren's form. Normal, unaltered, although he did look rather tired. He stepped toward them. Each person would have a sense that they were all surrounding him, yet somehow he stepped toward all them at once and spoke to all of them at the same time. The words he spoke were perhaps not truly words but just concepts that simply materialized. Simple, blunt understanding.
Still, for the sake of any viewer, we must translate these concepts into words.
He curled a fist at his forehead where the brand showed visibly against the pale skin. Slowly, Soren pulled his arm out, extending it toward all those he faced at once. A shining little object drifted from the palm of his hand to whomever stood opposite of him. And that was to say, everyone. A small, shining red star...
"When you return," he said quietly, his voice both vanishing and echoing off of nothing all at once, "please do not be alarmed when you find my other self. He is not the same entity who meant to destroy you a mere few minutes ago." The shining red star stopped in front of each one. "I do not know what awaits me, ripped from my body in a Goddess's mistaken actions. You, however. I know what lies in store for you."
A faint pulse rippled throughout the empty space.
"No gods look upon us here," Neros murmured. "They could not in that damned place." He hesitated and the red stars in front of their respective persons brightened. Clearly it was him, although how this was discernible was not visible to the eye. He appeared to have taken the form of his former self, after all. "But you're right, you're all human," he went on almost sadly, not quite listening to whatever the others had to say. "It's only right that I, something made inhuman, should give myself for what has been wrought. Only more suffering and pain await you in life. I know. Far too well. But so do your loved ones, your beloved hobbies, right? Obligations and desires alike, life is conceived for a reason."
It became clearer what that pulse thrumming through the realm was. It was a heartbeat. Whose? Perhaps everyone's at once.
Soren's — Neros's? — form began to unravel thread by thread. His colors were stripped away and fed the space all around them. More and more threads of his existence fed the space, the shining red stars, and soon all that remained was the astral body that he left behind. It was a dark, murky color, hardly distinguishable in shape. But the murk was seeping away. Purifying. In due time a shining, green aura lingered there, a perfect image of who Neros was far down. No, he could not be Soren, not after what had been done to him. But he was there.
Then the aura itself unraveled. The red stars shifted to brilliant, shining emerald lights and threads exploded from their tiny forms, working into the astral bodies of those who were there.
I hope you find what you have lost.
May open wounds be sealed.
The voice was weak and fading, the form gone. As Neros was undone, each memory of his bitterest experiences faded into the oblivion. All the things he regretted the past year, all the pain, the sorrows, the crime. And he just went backward in time. Every deed, every moment of contentment, of relief, of anguish.
It seemed to him that every part of his existence was being dedicated to healing these others. To return to them form and stability in their spirits.
Vika... Vika.
My...friend.
Remember when we both worked for Madriana, fought under her name? Back when I was still one whole person and not two, and my name wasn't reversed? Back when our comrades were still alive.
We were very similar. Alone. Afraid. Madriana was like that too.
I once loved someone. Around the same time you loved Synra. It was the same kind of love: forbidden, despised.
Synra wanted you to live...
...I think this is from her.
Everything was replaced by Fefga's basement.
Yes, the very one where The Door sat in mute silence, the braziers lit to illuminate the dark downstairs.
In Vika's hand rested a crimson rose, beaded with tears.
Beside Charice was Aphrodite, unharmed. In Charice's hand and Amara's hand...
...was a piece of candy each.
And Jasper — well. Why the hell not? Neros didn't know who he was, but hey, he was there.
No.
There was a particular emptiness that had settled in now, like a presence had been completely removed from their lives. Someone almost none of them knew about. Except for the raven who clutched a red rose.
They'd all been given one more chance. To do what, exactly?
Who was there to tell them? «And stomp him back into a crouch.»
Shadows sweet in your bones
Brings a war to your face.
Fall asleep and dream now.
Your heart
is ready
to
• • • ×die× • • •
ં
ં
ં
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