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 Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 6:56 pm
The party regrouped rather easily. Whether it was because they were all now distraught or simply because they were very efficient as a group was not much of a factor, but he knew that each of them only had one real thing on their mind. They were upon the last noted location of Diana and Mani within minutes, staring down at two bewildered individuals. Each, filing out in order, began their descend and landed at a distance as they noticed a woman with lovely green hair screaming and writhing in agony before them.
Luke made a move forward he noticed, but just as he did a wave of energy tore into the raw earth and threatened to strike out at anyone who dared approach the woman who seemed to be experiencing steadily more pain. Vali had no interest in her anyway and the others had their eyes set on Diana already, who wore a look of concern and compassion for the spellcaster. So that's what had kept her so long. Her infatuations were apparently dangerous; they were never anything to be worried about during field tests.
Mani seemed to smell them before anything else, and made a beeline for the group immediately, not even sparing a second glance at Epithany. He had done what he was told and that was that. Smiling, the boy did not exactly look pleased, but was at least content with not biting anyone. As though loyal only to Vali though, Mani spun around on his left heel and followed the older wolf man as he made his way toward Diana, apparently wanting to do something for her challenger but hesitant to touch her.
"We're going."
He placed his right arm firmly on her left shoulder, pulling her toward him. She staggered, but resisted his influence. With a firmer tug and perhaps a stronger grip, he seemed to easily shake her out of whatever stupor she was in. Her eyes feel upon his, looking a bit like a child seeking guidance from an older brother. Whatever she felt for Epithany faded as she remembered Jagan and suddenly grief struck her heart.
Nodding obediently to something no one said, she let Vali lead her back to the group of six, formerly seven. Immediately she fell into dismay, almost breaking down on the spot were Mani not tugging encouragingly at her right arm to guide her. No one moved at first, but merely waited for Vali. He wasted no time giving his next order, and immediately each one took off to retrieve what they hoped would be a body.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:36 pm
She had long gone hoarse before the discharge of energy had even come close to subsiding. How she hated mana burn, most of her colleagues rarely had to deal with more than a painful backlash between spells, she always received some sort of paralyzingly high level of mana release and backup.
The world flickered above as she struggled to remain conscious. Much of the displaced debris that had been kicked up by the shock waves that had lashed out from her body had once again fallen to reclaim their old positions. She now found herself half buried in what looked like a shallow grave.
At least now she was too numb to recognize the residual pain within her body. Light arch's of energy kicked up every now and then, but by now she had more than likely stabilized. Her gaze flickered again, becoming darkness for a brief moment.
"Are you pleased with yourself now?"
From where the voice had come she was too stiffened from thrashing about moments before to turn to it. Regardless she knew not where to turn.
"Fool are you now so feeble? Can you not even recognize your own innermost thoughts? We should be sickened by such weakness."
The world darkened entirely as her body plunged completely into unconsciousness. Sadly the voice did not follow.
"A human form cannot hope to contain our power, though I must say that this woman proves to be increasingly more interesting. Living as her has brought about sensations we have been hard pressed to understand as of late."
Wanting to speak out against the solitaire monologue that seemed to be permeating every section of her mind she was forced to remain silent.
"This form is but another waystation, in our story. It too shall fall away. Clinging to humanity will only destroy those that surround us. Such a day will be amusing in itself."
Falling away the reigns that withheld the mage's voice subsided, yet she still felt herself unable to speak. Before her, the lumbering form a great shadowed beast gazed down at her in earnest amusement. Fading back to whence it came it once more became dark.
And then there was silence.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 8:43 am
For one so accustomed to seeing people die, she was not quite prepared for this. The lifeless corpse before her belonged to one she never quite expected to see dead. He was beyond unmoving, beyond breathlessness, and apparently beyond beaten. Jagan had taken a lot of abuse from someone before he died, and she could not help but think things might have been different had one of them, any of them, arrived to his aid. It was too late for such thoughts to be of any use, and it offered her little solace. She would not cry though. She could not actually. It was not in her nature to cry, even when one of her own was lying before her dead.
The sound of remorse filled the air around her as not even the air moved in this place. Creatures that may have once lived here were still far too frightened to return. Apparently the only ones daring enough to approach this scene were the members of the Unit. Diana was still crying, personally afflicted more than Raion would have imagined; more than any of the others were putting on. Maybe she was more sensitive and nothing more, but her lament was more than enough to silence the others, all looking
solemnly into a set of eyes that seemed to be void of something that even a normal corpse possessed.
Jagan's death was unnatural.
Of the six of them, only Ravana held an expression of pride. It must have something to do with the Saiya-jin way of life. She could just tell that were he to say anything, and god forbid it, it would be something closer to a compliment for his valiant death. There was little about this she considered praiseworthy, but to someone like Ravana, this was probably the best way to die. She saw no honor in this; blood, charred flesh, a large chest wound, and what smelled like severed muscle tissue did not indicate any sort of honor she wanted. To her it was a massacre and nothing more.
Little Mani stood to her left, wrapped around her arm, staring at the kodiak as though it were the first time in his life they had ever crossed paths. The boy understood death yes, but perhaps he had grown up believing that 97 was somehow a band of immortals. He did not seem to believe at the moment that Jagan was really dead and, as such, kept his gaze fixed on everyone but the deceased. The men said nothing and Diana was crying, which likely meant he was seeking comfort from her, but she had none to give without lying. Mani would have to deal with this on his own; just like the rest of them.
She pushed the boy away and approached the six foot giant with a steady, calming, approach. Kneeling beside Jagan's head, she gazed intently upon his fixed, vacant stare into nothingness. Whatever happened to him would not be covered by any autopsy..she just knew it. His wounds were not severe enough, save the hole in his chest, but even that she could not be sure of. Undoubtedly he could not resist due to the various other afflictions on his body - the blade wound was the last - but would it really have killed him like this?
Her eyes closed as she shut his lids, a silent prayer or something of the like as she made him appear more dignified. Being limp as he was, it would do no good to arrange his body until they returned him to the Doctor. She just hoped that they would leave his body be. Jagan deserved a proper sending. She tried to pick him up, and even so he seemed many times heavier than ever before. With great effort and faltering resolve, she lifted him into her arms, right tucked under his knees and left under the shoulders.
There was no order to fly, so her retreat was premature. Of course the others followed her, but she did not really care. For a single moment, none of them really cared about each other, which produced in them a paradox of concern for one another. Vengeance sounded good, but it would only be a distraction. What they needed was time to grieve, but orders were orders. As such thoughts and others raced through her mind, she flew south and the others caught up to her. Still fighting against herself, she kept herself calm with only a single thought: everyone had their time. Jagan had met his.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:55 pm
::In the moments succeeding Unit 97's departure, the tall Knight had moved about the ravaged battlefield with his unconscious son over his shoulders, moving steadily toward each nearby downed warrior and retrieving them. Not exactly a willing participant as a warrior, the ancient demon is more than qualified for the role of medic. The first he encountered was Kirra, left in the small tatters of her shirt and undergarments. Healing her of any injuries she had sustained, he cradled her in one arm before moving on to the next: Keno.
Strangely, the tiger had vanished - perhaps he had taken his first oppurtunity to flee the scene and elude his would-be murderers. After a brief search, Aaron moved on to the next nearest fighter. Unconscious along with everyone else, the young Saiya-jin Prince likely didn't notice Sir Aaron's brief stop - he healed User and lifted him a short distance to one side via psychokinesis. The next stop was yet another Saiya-jin: the Briefs child. It looked like a bomb went off in his suit, his small form ravaged and left for dead. Again using his ability to heal Unks of his wounds, the Knight carried him along in the same manner in which he carried User.
Rushing through the woods with his son and adoptive daughter on him and two of their friends hovering around him, the tall Knight finally happened across the magician of Orion, Epithany. While not injured to any major extent, she was still not in ideal shape. Speeding her recovery as he did with the others, the giant used his psychic ability to position her behind him before moving on. Though not sure what his elder son's intentions behind killing Jagan were as of yet, Sir Aaron was thankful that the Orinian tyrant diverted the attack by the Unit 97 fighters - intentionally or not.
With his family and friends safe, the eldest Wesley strode back toward home. Not having access to their individual rooms, he'd most likely leave them in the lounge or a similarly comfortable area. They'd all need the rest. As would he - the Knight's body definitely wasn't made for running.::
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