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 Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:05 pm
Stryphe slithered away from his perch atop love shack and stood, out of site from the public below. Now that Al was out of harms way, there was no need to watch over Degs and the cranky guy he'd pulled his scythe on. The D could take care of himself, and wasn't fit for filling Stryphe in on what was going on- Al, or at least Al's "companion", was, most likely. Halberd in hand, Stryphe blinked slowly. "Mmkay, that should be it then," He said, focusing on a certain point in the building, the point where he could sense Al's troubled energies. Jumping off the roof and entering the building through the front door would be too much of a hassle... ...so, after approaching the rear edge of the building, he dove off, head first, making sure his feet had some momentum. As he fell through the air, straight as an arrow, he becamed increasingly perpendicular to the side of the building until- WHOOSH-CHUNK! He thrust the massive horn-like portion of the blade of his weapon into the side of the building, just above the target window.
K-PSHHH!
Feet first, Stryphe crashed through the window and sailed over the bed, behind Al. Glass showered the head of the bed, completely avoiding Stryphe's wounded comrade. And as he had when making contact with the roof of the casino not long ago, Stryphe rolled once hitting the floor. Unfortunately, the room was a lot smaller than the roof of that casino, and Stryphe'd barely managed to get his hands out in front of him before rolling face-first into the wall of the bedroom just to the right of the door. He stopped himself with a loud "thud". "Whew," He breathed. ((Let's just go ahead and say Deamon found his spot on the roof after Stryphe had jumped off to avoid any bullshit.))
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:07 pm
"That is between you and Owle..." Flare said. "I trust neither of you will fight each other, so I expect something will work out. We should be.."
And then Stryphe came crashing into the room. Flare scowled at him...there were less flashy ways of doing things.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:09 pm
((Dae would have perched away from him anyway.))
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:10 pm
Kanashimi Kurai ((Dae would have perched away from him anyway.)) ((Us and our perching. rolleyes ))
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:12 pm
((Stryphe and his sexeh beastness. He's got the whole hawt gargoyle thing going on. XP heart ))
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:17 pm
Tabi Kat ((Stryphe and his sexeh beastness. He's got the whole hawt gargoyle thing going on. XP heart )) ((Sounds like an 'ol BC chat reference to me. XD))
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:19 pm
Stryphe was lucky that Allen was a little slow at the moment. In any normal circumstance that would have been seen as an assault, and been met with a blade before even seeing who it was. As it is, he only tensed for a moment as if preparing to fight, and then relaxed again as he saw it was Stryphe.
"...good, it's only you. For a second I'd thought that psycho with the flaming sword had come after me."
With this period of rest, and the fact that he wasn't moving his wings anymore, the bleeding was beginning to slow. Soon, it would probably stop completely.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:33 pm
He stood, turned, and met the glare of Al's winged lady friend. She didn't seem Al's type at all- too assertive looking. He'd get to the bottom of this. Either way, he took her scowl as a sign of her being pissed at him for interupting the events that were about to unfold in the cozy, toy-chest of a room.
Then again, Al was bleeding, and suppose to be carrying out some sort of task. Maybe this was a rest stop?
"Sorry for interupting, Lady," He said to Flare in a false apology as he stepped toward the leaking Al. "Al," He said, serious, "Before anything else, what's going on? I'm completely clueless, here, and I'm guessing you and the lady aren't just on some escapade."
He didn't want to get caught up in talk of flaming psychos or why Al was here with this oddly familiar woman before finding out exactly where this all started.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:41 pm
"You weren't," Flare said to Stryphe, her voice a careful monotone. She didn't want anyone thinking...well, no, she did want any casual observers to think they were nothing but an ordinary couple. But she didn't want anyone she regularly associated with, or even would be near for any long period of time, to think that she and Allen were...well. Here for something more than the shelter it offered.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:02 pm
The presense of Stryphe, and the basic things it represented, helped bring Allen's mind more into focus. He had a friend here now, rather than just an ally. With Stryphe around, even with his injuries, there might be a chance of actually finding a petal. And so, he gathered his thoughts, carefully forming everything together so it wouldn't be disjointed.
"I was travelling with some mercenaries. And Flare. With you and Degs working for A~E, I'd ended up hiring them to help me find petals. The cause of all the chaos around here. Not the best choice in hindsight, but they'd been there, and riding with them was betetr than walking."
He took a breath, pausing. He looked carefully at the memories. Maybe he'd missed something that would give a clue about the coin piece still in his hand? Who knew.
"In the Gambino Marketplace, one of the mercenaries pulled a childish stunt, deciding to moon people as we passed. It apparently pissed one of the people on the street off, as he ended up attacking the jeep. At about that time Degs showed up, and I went to talk with him some letting the mercenaries. And then a statue rose from the ground, one of a merchant, with this."
He help up the quarter of a coin. Meager winnings, considering the blood he'd lost, without even fighting. But then again, that had been his mistake, and he knew it.
"Once I'd grabbed this, the guy turned his attentions to me. He made an explosion and then charged me through the smoke. Without thinking, I jumped into the air to dodge, like I would have if my wings weren't still injured. And then he sent a burst of flame at me, keeping me up on my injured wings. And so I ran, flying off and landing a safe distance away."
Then he looked over at Flare, smiling almost gratefully. In fact, it probably was gratefully. Allen wasn't the kind of person to hold that stuff back. Even when he wasn't completely sure if he trusted the person.
"Flare came after me to help, but by that point I'd already reopened the wounds in my wings, from Carter City. With me bleeding, she helped me here, where I could rest and hide until I was recovered."
And that was it. At least the big things. Stryphe had wanted to know the situation, and there it was for him, nice and clear.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:21 pm
All that explained exactly what was going on here quite nicely, he decided. However- there was something deeper going on here. Barton usually didn't see much action unless there was a plot thickening or some sort of crisis at hand. His friend was tired, though, and Stryphe would get the big picture from his other friend outside. The point was that Stryphe now had a grasp on the situation at hand- that was what was important for now.
"So you're on the run," He said with nonchalance, stepping back and shifting his weight to one side, caring little for the trinket Al had shown him. Al himself didn't think much of it, and Stryphe had no reason to think otherwise. Stryphe was wearing a slightly loose-fitting black hooded sweatshirt, sneakers, and jeans. He was looking a lot more casual than usual- but he was not without his usual habits and, habitually, he stuck he stuck his right hand into his right back pocket, reaching for his pack of cigarettes- that he left at home.
Looking slightly annoyed he said, "Flare, huh?" as he looked the winged girl over, noticing that she was a swordsman as well as... something definately not human. It took a moment, but then his crappy memory actually managed to pull through and identify the woman. He crossed his arms and gave her a wry smile.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:32 pm
"I'm going to--"
"Calm down."
"..."
Degs was allowed to leave, Lazenca stopped manipulating the temperature, and he walked off. Direction? Mansion. Why? Well... the wierd thing was a ghost that had greeted him when he first entered the scene. Laz was a bit... stupid, not looking inside much, out of some "respect". After seeing the shampoo and conditioner fight [Vo5 was the secret bonus stage contender and upset Suave to steal the championship], he realized that... things were crazy. He had to follow in on a lead he at least knew may exist... besides, there wasn't anyone else there when he was, which wasn't too long ago. Hopefully, nobody would be there to annoy the hell out of him this time.
Exit, stage east.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:34 pm
Allen held the coin up to inspect it, looking carefully at the markings. Trying to figure out if it was really a clue to a petal. Not that it could be told just by inspecting it like that. Leading Allen to sigh, and lower the coin again.
"This coin is probably a clue of some sort for finding one of those petals. There are other pieces. Flare's friend Owle seems to have one, and I'd guess there are two more."
By this point, the bleeding was almost stopped. Another few minutes, and Allen wouldn't be bleeding anymore. Though even then, it'd probably be safer to wait a little longer to make sure.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:47 pm
"Elaborate on these 'petals', buddy," Stryphe insisted, identifying another dark area in the picture of what was going down in Barton town, all while trying to shake of the feeling of needing a cigarette. Conversations were one of the things that made him crave the most- some people tapped, some people paced- but Stryphe's little absentminded habit was puffing on a coffin-nail when he was concentrating.
He began to maneuver over the bed and to the window to yank his weapon out from the side of the building, not being able to just stand there and listen to what Al was about to say.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 6:57 pm
Instead of explaining this himself, Allen took the easy way out. This was why he had that camera rigged into his glasses, after all. It was so he could record things for reference later. And this was a time it came in handy. So, reaching into his bag, Allen pulled out his laptop. And quickly booted it up, so he could access the files that had been streaming into it. Video files, of course. And, after some digging, he managed to find the part where Rafe had been talking, at the beginning. And then, aiming the screen at Stryphe, he pressed play. The Male Avatar "Greetings, players. We are here today to play a game. Your reasons for playing are your own. Perhaps it's the money that the corporation IS is supplying, or perhaps it just love of anything interesting." Though robed in the clothing of yore, he looked every inch the leader of men and armies. "The point of the game is simple." Rafe smiled again and waved his arm about as if to encompass all that they saw before them. "There are 14 petals of Chaos missing. At least 7 of them must be found in order to open the Gates to the Temple of Destiny." He motioned to the gates behind him. "Those who have the petals will be allowed entrance. What lies behind those doors, no mortal knows. Only that one will emerge victorious, with great reknown, wealth and power." The Gates seemed to glow with power, reflecting the odd sunrise like colors of the sky in the pitch blackness of their own depths. "We know not what form they will take. Only that they will allow themselves to be found by those that play the game. Be prepared. Many curiousities will follow you down the rabbit hole. Many will guide you from your path." He smiled like a great beast. "The world has become Chaos and you must master it in order to win." And there was that explanation.
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