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 Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:30 pm
Taking the nearest seat with a view to their stolen taxi, Paul began drinking slowly. "Thaumaturge, largely elementalist but with some practice in shadow. For example," Paul said with a slight grin. The sun was behind him, and his shadow was in front of him, lying on the table. Inconspiciously, Paul gathered a tiny bit of it between his fingers, much like pinching fabric, and pulled it a couple inches away from the table. "If I remember what I did right, if I bring the whole thing over me, it serves as a sort of makeshift shield. What's your favorite element to work with?" Paul inquired.
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:23 pm
((Nah, see, Joe, you let us know when you were buzzing out, and gave a return date. She's... disappeared for no reason I can see. Trying to figure out where hm103/Kayla went, too. I followed her profile to her dA account and sent a note over that. No reply there.))
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:56 pm
((ahh. ok then, i gotcha.))
Joe whistled. "Ohhh. That was sweet." He brushed the shadow on the table, but nothing happened for him.
He thought for a moment. "Well, at this point I only know fire and wind. Wind is a lot harder to work with than fire, so for combat purposes I guess I'd have to say fire. I'm really looking forward to trying out earth and water though." Joe's eyes lit up as he spoke about his magic.
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:02 pm
((Do I gets a learny RPing section/reply/thingy, Venom-sama?))
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:13 pm
"Huh," Paul responded thoughtfully. "I do find so far that fire is the one I rely most heavily on. I really haven't delved into any of the other elements. I hope to change that soon enough though," he added, peering at his iPod and closing his eyes for a split second. He opened them as first Joe's, then his orders were called. "Hold on a minute, I'll get those," he said, going up to the front then coming back. "So another question. What happened with the fight between Legion and Helmsborough? I wasn't around to see it; I heard it was pretty interesting."
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:27 pm
((Well, since you asked so nicely.... xd ))
The Sage took Samuel into what appeared not to be exactly an abandoned lot so much as a condemned building with a bunch of hobos around it.
"You're going to learn to channel the shield through the words of a power phrase," the Sage explained. "Every culture we've researched has a had a number of combinations of words which, imparted with magic by someone familiar with it, results in spectacular annihilation of stuff. We've found ways to combine those. The main trick, ironically, is in pronouncing and emphasizing the words right. Take a look in here."
He flipped his book open to a random page. It appeared to be the Romanized words from dozens of languages combined with squiggle marks all around them.
"Every one of those marks indicates a particular accenting or pronouncing - for instance, if an "R" is rolled or not, or if the tone is rising or falling and by how many Hertz. The first thing to do is to learn these. That's why, at the beginning of our spellbooks we typically have four or five pages to explain those when we're still learning. For now, you only need to learn those necessary for the current spell."
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:12 pm
Joe scoffed. "Legion and Helmsborough? You're misinformed, my friend. It was more like Siber and myself against Helmsborough. And it was ******** intense." Joe shivered in excitement at the memory.
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:50 am
((HAHAhahaha! That's awesome, Joe. I like the way you're playing this - and ironically, that's right where I am in my re-read of everything that's occurred up to this point.))
Paul raised both eyebrows. He was surprised, and either very doubtful or very impressed. "How'd you manage that?" he asked, takin ga sip from his drink and a bite from his cheeseburger. "Seems like it would be an awfully difficult fight."
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:55 am
((haha sweet coincidence, eh?))
Joe waved a hand. "Oh, you know how it goes. Helmsborough was letting loose on us, so I went a weeeeeee bit crazy, kinda got like an Avatar myself, see? And Siber did his thing, summoned a massive demon. We kinda held Helmsborough off for a while, but then he went all crazy and stuff. So Siber and I had to haul a**, quick." Joe took a deep breath after his rant. "Actually, Sam, the Warlock, came back to help us. He distracted Helmsborough long enough for us all to escape."
Joe cocked his head at Paul. "What were you doing that whole time?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 11:46 am
Paul shrugged. "I was with Alex. We were going for the anchors, and I'd nailed one or two, but then... well, then Takeshi started sniping. Alex went down to a shot to the head, and I made a run for it. Takeshi had me, but then Legion apparently called him off so we could re-group and work together against Abaddon. It was a close call," Paul added grimly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:41 pm
Joe stopped drinking in mid-pull. "What? Alex died?" He leaned back in his chair. "No way..." He ran a hand through his hair. "Well, at least you guys got us out of Crossover. We would have died if we had stayed much longer."
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:19 pm
"I honestly don't think we accomplished the task," Paul replied, slightly sadly. "I got stopped before we came out of crossover. And yes, Alex died," Paul added, the vision of the clean little hole through Alex's temple flashing by his mind's eye for a moment. "At least it was quick."
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:57 pm
Joe sat silently for a moment in acknowledgment of the loss. "Yeah. At least he had that much. And I'm sure you were vital in getting us out of there. It hardly matters." He leaned back. "We got out, and that's all that matters."
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:31 pm
Paul shrugged. "I suppose so. Whatever it was, it was good enough." He took another big bite from his cheeseburger, lapsing into thoughtful silence. He simply stared at the food for a good solid half-minute.
---
On the outskirts of LA, a white panel was cruising down the streets at inordinate speed. It passed a vehicle on the shoulder of the highway, cruising quickly towards the heart of the city.
In the back a fair number of men and creatures sat. More than an average van could, in fact, hold, since at least twenty were sitting, all very comfortably with legs outstretched. In a corner, however, five particular ones were huddled together. They all looked like normal people, but they were all covered very thoroughly. The one who looked like he was in charge was wearing black robes, of a sort, and not an inch of skin showed, as it was all covered with bandages. The other four were wearing more modern clothes, and each had his face covered by a gas mask. Utility vests were also on all of them; each carried some sort of carbine assault rifle. One held a G36C; another cradled an AK74SU, while the third was holding an FN SCAR CQC. The final one carried a P90. None of them was saying anything; they were all just huddled in a little group around each other.
The one in the robes glanced out the tinted back window. "We're coming into the city," he commented quietly.
"Lovely," SCAR-man replied, loudly cocking the rifle and settling in for the last leg of the ride. Soon, soon, they'd have their chance at Legion.
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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:51 pm
"I hope none of you ******** up like the last task force with our job," one of those in the back said with a groan. He was a pale, angry-looking man in red, who had his feet propped up on the shoulders of a kneeling humanoid figure. "They went in like bulls and ended up as beef. If I hadn't ghosted, I'd be dead as them right now. And I know you've heard it enough and you're sick of it and you think you should be leading, but I'm a Ghoster with a knife, and you answer to me if you disobey my orders. Any objections."
It was not a question. A demon, human save for his antlers, standing easily eight feet tall with them, grunted. "If you ran away last time, why are you in charge? I think you're a coward."
"Do you," the Ghoster replied. He then called to the driver, "Keep it steady!" His form rippled and became grayish, transparent smoke in the form of his body. He floated lazily towards the demon who had spoken. The demon grunted again and collected hellfire around its hand. It punched at the Ghoster as he came close.
The hand passed through harmlessly. His shock barely had time to register as the Ghoster's necromantic knife of the Silence sliced open every major blood vessel in the demon's neck as it passed through unimpeded. The demon let out a weak gasp as his life flowed out in a steady stream.
A demon does not fear death. Death means little more than another life in which they may not be a demon.
The exception is the Ghoster's knives of the Silence. That meant the total eradication of the soul... forever.
The demon's body and blood glowed a deep purple and liquefied, floated around the knife, then disappeared, absorbed.
The smoke rippled as he became corporeal again. "Any other objectors." It was no more a question than before.
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