A shriek from one of the girls tore her attention away from Jamie and Poppy, the voice belonging to one of the girls that she had spoken with before, Aria. It made her turn to look towards the girls that were fighting, the sight she was faced with one she soon wished she hadn't seen. Girls falling, blackening and shattering like glass that had been heated over flames, scorched before exploding. "W-we-we're still here!" She called out, or at least tried to. Her voice came out sounding so small, so weak, so horrified at what she was witnessing.
"We--we..." More were falling, their bodies breaking into a thousand million shards before disappearing entirely.
A hand on her shoulder, and she glanced up towards the girl that placed it there. Rhoysn was speaking, but she barely heard her over the sudden loud ringing in her ears, over the rising panic. All that really registered is that the girl was giving her wry grin, and gesturing towards the battlefield.
"I--I---"She swallowed past the lump in her throat, the tears still trickling down her cheeks, hot and wet, before she reached up to swipe them furiously away, letting a sense of anger burn through her instead. Anger at the beast that was killing and hurting the other girls, anger at Poppy for thinking about following the woman, anger at herself for not being strong enough to stop the tears from flowing. Instead of trying to speak anymore for that moment, she gave a small and silent nod. She was ready. She could do thi---
Jamie, the girl with the two toned hair that she had helped, that she had given her crystal to, took off into the fray, and something inside of her chest clenched up tight at the thought. That feeling began to ease, however, when she saw just how well the other girl was doing in her efforts to attack the shadowy figure. Zelda was yelling at them all, demanding that they stay, for all that her words might be worth. She had also said something about staying with Macy, but again she just couldn't listen, not with her gaze and attention locked on Jamie, mentally urging her on, and to return back to the group safely.
And then something was blocking her vision, obscuring her view just as she had seen something large swiping out towards Jamie, and a gasp escaped from Macy's mouth, her heart hammering in her chest. "N-no.." She struggled away from the hand, to be able to see. She pulled away from Zelda, shaking her head. "N-n-no! Le--let--let me..." She managed to shake her head free, only just in time to see Jamie fall, to see her break apart.
To see her disappear.
"..........." There was nothing she could say, even if she had wanted to try and say it. The girl she had helped to save earlier, all of her efforts had been in vain. The girl who had wanted a family, who had thought that it might have been her wish, now gone. Just gone.
A choked sob, and she turned towards Zelda. "No. I--I--I...I c-can't go. I-I n-n-need t-to s-st-stay. Don--don--don't a-as-ask m-me..."Her stuttering was so much worse when she couldn't stop shaking, when the tears that had only just stopped began to flow freely once more.
"I-I ha-have a pa-part too,"
And then Poppy, yelling at them all, and that anger she had felt before returned full force. "J-JUST G-GO TH-THEN!" She screamed at her, knowing that arguing with her anymore was pointless. She was going to leave them there, to die, not even willing to help them...well then fine, she could just go!
The others had stayed, at least. Zelda, Aria, Tara, Rhosyn, they were staying.
Jamie had stayed. She had stayed for Macy. She had died.......
Melony said something about it not ending well. Macy turned bright green eyes towards her, a note of determination in her voice.
"Y-You must h-have fa-faith. H-Hope."
She was ready.
OOC
Name: Macy Age: 12 Appearance: Here Gem: Orange- Hopeful Race: Reaper-Mage (fire) Weapon: A small bow that appears to be made of wood, but oddly feels more like metal Damage taken: 25%
She turned towards the new foe, the new enemy that was not the woman, for the woman had vanished with those who wished to leave, the ones who had turned from the path. She swallowed hard, willing her legs to move, though they did not, not at first.
"M-Move.." She commanded herself in a hushed tone, meant only for her own ears to hear.
"M-M-MOVE!" She shouted it next when at first nothing had happened, her commands turning to pleas as tears continued to trail down her cheeks.
And miraculously, her legs obeyed. She took one step, another, then another. Faster now, she was running. She was crying out something wordlessly, she was being so brave!
She drew back the string of her bow, she fired an arrow that burned bright and hot. The arrow hit it's mark, but only barely, a graze. But that didn't matter to her, because as soon as that flame of her passion struck against the monstrous shadowy form before her, something struck her in return. Something that felt warm, that chased away the remnants of her fear and doubt. A memory that flashed in front of her, only to flee again just as quickly. Words. "We love you, just the way you are. You never need to change, darkling. Never. Never believe that you should be the one that needs to change."
The tears that coursed down her cheeks were different now, as she smiled, her eyes lighting up with a certain sense of joy. a small laugh was even able to escape from her lips, before she drew back her string again, shooting three more arrows of fire at the intended target, each one striking against it, hitting it more fully then the last time.
And again she was struck in return, but it was not with that warm glow as it had been before, but something dark. Words that taunted, that hurt, that made her smile flicker and fade off of her face completely, her eyes widening in horror.
"N-no. D-d-don't. St-sta-stop p-please." She backed away from the figure, believing it was the one speaking to her in her head. The words that mocked her, that hurt her straight to her core.
She raised her bow again. "R-R-Rei..." She tried to speak the words, but they caught in her throat. She backed away more, but the shadows still lashed out towards her, the creature turning it's attentions towards. her.
"Re-Reign of f-f-f-f..."She tried again, and her bow lit up for just an instant brighter then it had before, the arrow lengthening.
"F--Fire.." She whispered, and let it go. It barely hit, fizzling out with a quiet hiss almost as pathetic as her own whispered voice.
You wished for something. It was important! You need to remember what it was...
She thought she could maybe remember now. She shouldn't have been the one that needed to change. They had needed to change.....
She had wanted---
OOC
Name: Macy Age: 12 Appearance: Here Gem: Orange- Hopeful Race: Reaper-Mage (fire) Weapon: A small bow that appears to be made of wood, but oddly feels more like metal Damage taken: 25%
Her last attempt to attack the creature had been so weak, but her memories had completely undone her. She had clutched so desperately so some shred of hope, but that had been snatched away from her now. There was no hope, it was all a lie.
It was all a lie..
That was all she could think before the claws swiped out towards her, as she stood there and did nothing to even attempt to stop it.
Claws scraped across her torso, leaving behind a trail of darkness, fissures forming off of that trail to spread across her pale body. Cracks that jagged their way over her arms, her hands, her legs. Her eyes still so impossibly wide, so clear and green and bright, began to dim, to fade, to change to a different color, one associated with misery and hopelessness.
Grey.
Her mouth opened to speak, but not a sound came out. Not even a stuttered sound.
What was the promise...what was my wish...I was so close to figuring it ou---
Shattered.
OOC
Name: Macy Age: 12 Appearance: Here Gem: Orange- Hopeful Race: Reaper-Mage (fire) Weapon: A small bow that appears to be made of wood, but oddly feels more like metal Damage taken: 25%
Her choice had been made, she was staying to help her nameless friend and the countless humans who were waiting to be saved. She was ready for her axe, but it seemed like fate was not with her this time. She hesitated for a second, realizing how many of her fellow ladies were dying, cracked and broken beyond repair. It made her angry and the dark haired girl surged forward. But her anger made her weak because it led to the dark side for the moment that the only girl she had really been friendly with was struck down. She died. That cute, little stuttering thing was dead. There was no going back and no changing it.
Her first strike was weak, something that shook her to her core, and barely did anything to the creature they were fighting. Thoughts flooded her mind and she could suddenly remember something. Somewhere warm, with a slight wind. Her feet were bare and she could feel the grass between her toes. Rhosyn turned, smile on her lips as she started to say something to someone... but she couldn't see their face. She couldn't remember anything more.
Her second strike hit, no stronger than the first, and pain wracked her body that had nothing to do with a physical aliment. Emotional, everything about this was emotional and hurtful. Another memory floated through her, something so cold that it pierced her heart... she felt... alone. Utterly alone. No one around, silence, nothing but stillness and darkness. And it hurt.
Her third blow was weaker than the first two, as sobs continued to leave her lips. Rhosyn didn't stop in her attack, but she certainly wasn't doing much help for those who were dying or even herself. She had made a promise though. The dark haired girl could remember that. She had made a promise to protect. Who or what, was slightly fussy, but it certainly helped keep her on her path instead of breaking down into sobs. She had made a promise, and she would see it through, no matter what it took.
Ceres hadn't expected the creature to respond to her attack so quickly. In fact, as the claws came toward her, Ceres felt like she could barely move. Her body suddenly felt slow and an aching pain seemed to come from every part of her at once. Still, she was nothing if not stubborn, and somehow Ceres managed to get her body to move at the last second. "Can't fail...not this time..." She gasped out as she held her crossbow in front of her like a shield and stumbled backward. It wasn't a graceful escape by any means and neither was it fully successful. Ceres felt the claws rake her midsection as pain bloomed through her body. An almost disconnected part of her mind noticed how strange the claws looked, distorted and just not right. As the attack had connected, Ceres felt her feet leave the ground as she flew backward. A strange feeling overtook her shocked mind and Ceres just couldn't analyze it.
The air was knocked from her lungs as she impacted the ground and rolled to a stop. Long white hair fell about her unmoving body like a shroud. Slowly her body shifted slightly as she drew in a shuddering breath. Ceres felt the tears still on her face as her mind echoed over and over with the fragments of memory that had awakened in her earlier. Happiness, someone holding her close, a feeling of being loved. Sorrow, all consuming, knowing it was all her fault, the words that tore her heart to pieces. Then again that promise... Why had she made it? Slowly Ceres pressed her hands into the ground and she forced herself into a sitting position. She felt so incredibly tired, it was almost too much effort to move. Still, the white haired girl picked up her crossbow, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the thick black cracks marring her hands. Her blue eyes traveled over her body in disbelief, the cracks had spread obscenely across her whole form, most concentrated at her hands and feet.
"Astiria." She thought to herself. The pretty girl who had been beside her only moments, or maybe it was minutes, ago. Was she in the same shape as Ceres was now? Slowly, Ceres forced herself back to her feet, nearly falling as she stood. Her body felt so weak, like a porcelain doll about to shatter and her own sense of self was hardly better. Ceres felt broken, like whoever she was now was a worthless imitation of her real self. Still, she wouldn't quit and she wouldn't leave Astiria here alone. Slowly, the battered girl made her way to the red head, clutching her crossbow resolutely to her chest.
When she reached Astiria, Ceres gave her a weak smile. "I guess this isn't going so well, eh?" Her voice was slightly rough as Ceres studied Astiria. The red haired girl looked to be in worse shape than Ceres and instinctively Ceres wanted to help her. The words of the little creature who had been guiding her returned to Ceres and she reached into the concealed pocket of her skirt to touch the crystal hidden there. "What should we do, you think?" Ceres asked as she raised her free hand, badly cracked though it was, to push the hair from her eyes. "I really don't want to die here but I think you need this more than me." With that Ceres pulled her hand from her skirt and held out the crystal she had received earlier. "I don't want to fail anyone else again. And one of us has to beat this thing, I am willing to take my chances." She said simply. Her body was breaking but Ceres wasn't going to give up.
Quote:
Name: Ceres Age: Fifteen Jewel/Color: Red - Brave Class: Mage - Wind Weapon:Golden Crossbow Appearance Damage Dealt: First Round = 20, This Round 6+9+10=25 Damage Taken: Fist Round = 10%, This Round 47 Crystals: 1 unused (offered to Astiria)
Rhosyn stepped back and there were still tears streaming down her eyes. The dark haired girl had struck at the creature, but it had been rather weak despite all of her willfulness. She took a single breath and forgot to put up any defense what so ever. Looking around, she felt so tired. The weight of this, everything that she needed to do, it was weighing on her soul. So many others were dead. There were suddenly claws striking against her flesh. When she sat up from the attack, she could see the cracks in her own limbs, the blackness that threatened to over take it all. A breath, two, and Rhosyn made her way back to her feet.
"WHO'S STILL ALIVE? ANYONE THERE?" She called out, hoping someone else was still alive.
Aria strained her ears to pan out the endless screaming and crying of others in an attempt to hear one voice, just one voice, respond to her her call. Each second seemed to tick by at a grueling pace, weighing more and more upon her heart and mind. A sickening wham caught her attention. Aria looked up to see Vanessa, hand outstretched and mouth gaping in shock. Aria willed herself to reach her hand out, but Vanessa's body shattered before her arm could even begin to move. Aria clenched her eyes shut, trying to hold back tears that refused to yield.
Finally, a small voice called out to Aria, making her want to weep in relief that someone could still hear her. Moving her head slightly, she saw the form of Elsapeth, her fellow fan user, laying on the ground staring forward with watery eyes. Gritting her teeth, Aria forced her legs to move as she slowly made her way to the girl's side. Kneeling down carefully, Aria looked the girl over. She had started developing cracks along her form, but to a lesser extent than her own body. "You're alive. This... is this really happening?" she gasped, turning to watch other girls fight and die. They were lucky, in a sense. They were battered, but not completely broken. Aria was suddenly very glad she'd decided to swallow her pride and ask for a crystal, feeling that if she hadn't she'd be, like Vanessa, among the dying.
She froze in horror as Jamie, the girl who'd accepted the crystal from Macy and stayed to fight, rushed forward to attack and was stuck down. A strange noise seemed to rush through her head as she watched the girl fall backwards before shattering. She vaguely heard Zelda tell them to rest easy as she went forward to attack as Poppy gave up the fight turned to join the shadow. Aria wanted to stop them, but any words she had became caught in her throat. Macy screamed something at Poppy, but Aria's mind refused to listen.
Aria's body shuddered as another girl, Anua, bent down to inspect her, the fear plain on her face. As the girl stood up, Aria cursed herself for not being able to say anything as the girl ran forward. Withing minutes, another thud sounded. Aria didn't want to look up, but forced herself to anyways. There lie Anua, another of the fallen. Before the shadow dealt the final blow, the sorceress placed something on the ground. As the shadow's claws raked through the girl, the item got blown towards Aria. It landed onto her knee and clinked to the ground just in front of her, a tiny crystal. Picking it up, she stared at it for a long moment before holding it to her chest and letting out a guttural scream filled with rage and laced with despair.
She barely had time to recover before Macy, so shy and caring, became the next victim. Aria laid her head on the ground from where she'd been sitting next to Elsapeth, still clutching the discarded crystal in her hands as she screamed out her agony into the earth. "It wasn't suppose to go like this! We were supposed to all survive together!", she screeched, her tears creating small pools below her face.
OOC
Name:Aria Age: 13 Gem: Violet - Dedicated Race: Reaper - Mage (wind) Weapon: Metal Fan Damage Done: 20 Damage Taken: 37 - Still alive Loot: 1 Crystal(s) Gained from the fallen Anua
Zelda once had a response, something tart most likely in a situation that did not need a biting tongue to add, a biting remark about someone's intelligence, someone else's battle capability, and a growing feeling that they didn't matter in the end after all.
None of that mattered after little Macy died.
Zelda didn't look back as she summoned her weapon and charged the beast. It didn't matter that her first strikes were weak. Inept, angry flailing was expected, she noted with an inward sort of detachment, like the little girl screaming and stinging raw with new wounds she hadn't calculated for wasn't her at all: just a chick who had decided to go apeshit on the mutant thing.
She didn't know what she was fighting for anymore. Only that each strike brought something new.
The weighted ball her weapon had melded into struck its feet.
Figures like black teeth crowded before her, warmth beneath her bare feet. "Promising," one said. "A pity she is so unassuming in appearance . . . But the humans are soft, even a stray minipet would frighten them -"
Promising. A chance to prove -
A screech belted from Zelda as fury tore through the melancholy, the heavy ball splitting into multiple chains that writhed like snakes, metallic hissing and glinting with white hot anger as they slammed and bit like animals.
"- a waste. Too distracted by one target to make her virus correctly." "Not an alche-. . . The makings of - but a mindless one..." "Promise marred by an oily black soul. She does not dance but stomp, no rhythm, no melody, just a clattering of noise -"
Her flurry of attacks began to slow, but the rage did not. Zelda was all instinct and all unpredictable flailing limbs at once, squeezing the life out of whatever she could, resorting to her own fists and feet to drive this thing away, to kill it, to make it scream too.
<< I can give you what you wish. > >
A pause, uncertainty, an ache that wasn't just bitter but white hot and wriggling and bursting and encased and never, ever pinned down.
<< You do not wish for it to end, do you? >>
"Never."
[ Zelda. 15. Mage: Steel Element. Weighted chains weapon with a small curved sickle. 25% corruption. ]
There had been something blind about her approach, she noted belatedly, with the calmness of one realizing they had made the wrong tea. To be dedicated to one's role was admirable surely, but what if that role had never been more than a shadowy promise of glory? What if the promise had been for naught?
Pain overcame the numbness. Unearthly appendages struck, snapped, pierced until her body couldn't feel a thing anymore. She coughed up blood and fell to her feet, her weapon within reach but useless to a broken arm.
And yet . . . it felt right somehow. It felt okay even. She didn't know what she was fighting for anymore, not after watching others drop like flies or abandon them for some supposed journey of "truth". Maybe there was no truth here: only lies and lies and more lies to entangle them until they became as distorted as the thing they fought. Maybe that was their end.
If so, to die was a blessing. Macy wouldn't be alone, and if something happened to Poppy . . . Well, she'd have someone to go back to. They all did. She had her group, she had . . . friends maybe even. She'd wait for them for that simple reason.
Zelda had never said she was a good friend, but she had been a dedicated one. As in this short life she had sought to stir and aid others to action, so too would she do so in the afterlife. So what if they had fallen here? Something told her . . . something about that promise . . . comforted her. Told her it was okay to lose one battle. To lay down. To rest her eyes, that she might not see herself crumble into thin air.
She had to believe that something better lay on the horizon, or else die in despair. And who wanted something so melodramatic?
[ Zelda. 15. Mage: Steel Element. Weighted chains weapon with a small curved sickle. 25% corruption. Dead. ]
Yara waved farewell to her comrade-in-arms and looked at her own "weapon", then at the two sides involved, and at the thing. Something was off. Way off. "I'm not going to go with you. I just can't. I have to stay and fight. It just wouldn't feel right to leave the others to fight on alone." She said, gripping her parasol tightly. It thrummed in response, as if resonating with her own thoughts and agreeing with her for once.
The first blow she struck sent her mind wandering into a flashback. A fragmented memory, one that was deeply cherished. Friends? Family? She couldn't remember their faces, but the warmth... oh the warmth...
The second attack made her blink back tears as she had another flashback, one of sadness. Something about the hazy memory was sorrowful... could it be a pet of hers died..? Or a friend she couldn't remember moved away?
The final strike brought some missing memory fragments, of the promise made to the strange kitty. Each time she tried to grasp the memory, it slipped out of her mind, only offering fleeting glimpses of the past. This is annoying! Yara thought.
Abe no Mizuki rolled 1 100-sided dice:
68Total: 68 (1-100)
Abe no Mizuki
Lonely Dragon
Offline
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 12:11 pm
Still reeling from the sudden onslaught of the mental barrage, trying to sort through the memories and emotions, Yara's distraction proved to be her undoing. A savage swipe of the thing's contorted claws made her knees buckle and she wobbled, trying to regain her balance. And then... That's it! Wait... that's the promise I made..? How strange... And my wish... oh. But... Why would I wish for that?
Her reverie was interrupted when she saw spiderweb cracks, thick and black, racing across her whole body. Even her parasol fell prey to the mysterious blight. Frozen with fear, Yara's terrified gaze swept the remaining girls around her, looking for help, pleading... With a shriek, she felt herself shatter, vanishing into nothingness, the blackness that consumed her body encasing her mind.
Kasumi looked back and forth between the two beings as they argued. Rightfully theirs? Collapse the balance? And then the newest being said she was deceived?! The blond wasn't sure what to do. Go with this new being or stay with the old. At least until the new one started to call her a fake. The reaper straightened up and scowled at the new being.
"I am not fake! And I will prove it to you!" She said then pulled back her arm and threw her weapon at the being.
Quote:
Name: Kasumi (Kas) Age: 15 Gem: Red Reaper: Mage Weapon: Large throwing star Appearance
Kasumi looked back and forth between the two beings as they argued. Rightfully theirs? Collapse the balance? And then the newest being said she was deceived?! The blond wasn't sure what to do. Go with this new being or stay with the old. At least until the new one started to call her a fake. The reaper straightened up and scowled at the new being.
"I am not fake! And I will prove it to you!" She said then pulled back her arm and threw her weapon at the being.
Quote:
Name: Kasumi (Kas) Age: 15 Gem: Red Reaper: Mage Weapon: Large throwing star Appearance
(Might help if I remembered to roll XD)
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 1:19 pm
Girls were dying left and right, or at least she assumed that's what was happening. They were cracking and falling apart, leaving nothing behind, and judging by how painful it was to be hit by the creature and not break, she couldn't imagine they were just 'somewhere else'. As she surveyed the battlefield, wincing each time another girl fell for good, she noticed one girl that looked much worse for wear. She was still alive, but something seemed...broken in her. Like she'd lost something unimaginably precious and just couldn't get past it. Tucking her crystal back into her blouse she rushed across the field to the poor girl, trying desperately to avoid the monster's claws. She very much doubted she'd survive another hit from those terrible claws. As she got closer she could hear the girl speaking to someone. She'd lost her friend to the creature. Alysabette was a little grateful that she didn't know, or at least didn't remember, anyone here. It would have made this fight that much harder.
"You probably shouldn't stay here, sweetie!" She knelt down next to the girl, trying her best to offer a supportive smile. "Your friend wouldn't have wanted you to just give up. I know it sucks, but we can't let that overgrown boogeyman win!"
Raja
Name: Alysabette Age: 15 Race: Reaper // Mage (Water) Color: Blue Weapon: Old blue and white china pattern teapot, cracked. Appearance: 5'0" with blue eyes and copper red hair. She's doing the best she can to seem competent in her abilities, but obviously bumbling a lot. Curvy hourglass body shape. Her Appearance Damage Dealt: Fear Core Damage: 25% + Cracked appearance Items: 1x Crystal
When her throwing star hit, a memory flashed before her mind. The sound of laughter, sent of grass, the brush of wind, two people that were laughing and saying something that made her heart soar.
When she recovered from being slightly thrown off from the memory during battle, Kasumi slashed out with her returned weapon instead of throwing it. This time she felt depressed as another memory fragment played. Someone with no face walking away from her, never looking back.
What was going on? She didn't have time to pause and really think though if she wanted to prove she wasn't a fake. She then moved to put a bit of distance between her and the being then shot fire stars at her opponent. "Flaming Stardust!" She called just before they hit sending her into another memory. '...I promise.... fight for the ....... I will protect..... because I....' She lost her grasp on the memory fragment before she could remember anything useful.
She stood there staring defiantly at the being even as it attacked in return.
Quote:
Name: Kasumi (Kas) Age: 15 Gem: Red Reaper: Mage Weapon: Large throwing star Appearance
