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Post by Tokrochiru on Apr 29, 2011 23:15:29 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:49 PM
The woman laughed heartily and smiled at Alen.
"I don't blame you for not knowing who I am. Considering how much time you've spent in the forest and the fields, it's only natural for you to be a bit disconnected. I need to thank you, Alen. You provided Geoergia with a peaceful death; an opportunity to free himself from bearing the responsibility of his own corrupt politics. He and I both knew that his role as the rich, deceptive money-launderer was no longer useful to our cause."
She looked to the dead half-body of Georgia sleeping indefinitely on the ground. Her smile turned into a frown as she examined his face. Was it sympathy? Perhaps even grief?
"I can't think of any other way he would have preferred to die. I don't think he could have either."
Walther was obviously tired of simply waiting around, as he scolded Emily to tell him what was going on.
"Cut to the chase! Why do you want to keep us here!? And why are YOU here personally!?"
"To be perfectly frank, I-....WE want to test something out."
The woman stopped staring at Georgia's corpse and began to pace around the remains of one of the crashed helicopters. It appeared that she felt she had no time to mourn now.
"Zemna should be on his way here now, along with Rean and his companions. The test can begin once they get here."
"What test? How do you even know if they're headed this way?"
"You'll know what I mean soon enough, Walther. As for how I know where they're headed, it's simple. Mosharu must have told them to find Lethe, correct? That he's the only one who could know where I am, AND could be coerced into telling? He was right in that assumption. By now, Lethe will have told them that I am here, or at least on my way here. Zemna wouldn't dare leave you to deal with me on your lonesome, and Rean wouldn't dare miss an opportunity to confront me."
Emily stopped pacing and cocked her head to the side as she finished her explanation.
"It all makes sense, doesn't it?"
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Abandoned House ~ Outside - 12:46 PM
"First you're with them, and now, you're against them."
Zemna looked to the armored woman with one scaly eyebrow (if you can call it that) raised.
"I don't know, Miya. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were up to no good."
Now wasn't the time to discuss such things though. Time, as Walther would say, was of the essence. The clock was ticking, and every beating sound it made signified another precious moment lost.
"Tell you what, miss AFHS, you can come. But you're not going with them. You're going with me. Hey, Oz!"
"Yeah?"
"Get these rascals where they need to go."
"On it."
And with that, the motorcycles took off. Lili was being taken out of the city, Darrel and his friend were being taken to his mother's house, and the rest were headed toward Tadara Boulevard, where they would encounter Emily Stone. Zemna stayed behind, and leaped on to the building where Krizno and Vastion were fighting.
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Abandoned House - Rooftop - 12:46 PM
His quarry's tactics were as bright as the sunrise in the Alethia fields, as clear the eastern ocean. Yet, he knew it wasn't something he could avoid. In order to hurt him, he would have to get close. And so he did. Vastion rushed toward the thunder demon and....
.....Stopped.
Zemna placed himself in-between Krizno and Vastion. The lizards blade clashed with both of Vastion's own. Why? Why was the lizard-creature now his enemy too?
Why did everybody hate him?
"I have no reason to combat yo-"
"You don't have a reason to be fighting right now, period. And neither do you."
Vastion, leaned a bit to his left. The sight cleared up everything. Zemna had one of his hands wrapped tightly around Krizno's wrist, preventing him from attacking. All the while, Zemna was continually suffering electrical burns from the Claymore's deadly aura.
"You both need to stop this right now. I don't want to sound like some grumpy old joykill, but this....This isn't right. Do either of you know what will happen if you keep this up?"
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JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
"I'm sorry, but as is, there's no way you can get yourself involved right now. If you just jump in on the whole thing and Byakutora has you on his mind, I doubt he'll be able to stay focused enough to keep himself alive. You would just make things worse."
It seemed that confronting Emily Stone wasn't an option. Regardless of how large of a bone she had to pick
"Besides, it's not like he's going in alone. Walther is going with him, along with the archer that helped me escape."
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Apr 30, 2011 19:51:58 GMT -5
"You've failed my assessment if you think that changes my opinion of her, Aku. You get an 100% for your stupidity, at least."
Alen reacted of few words to the entire ordeal. Unconcerned with the CEO's status, he didn't hesitate to see her as any less of a crony. That being said, all the random names he heard Emily shout were just as insignificant. Keeping his cool and his grip on his bow, he took a right step with his foot forward, and vainly spoke: "Let's cut to the chase. You're the enemy, you do a terrible job of disguising it, and your attempts at being interesting by shouting out all these names are pretentious. I don't care if you're a CEO or a secretary, I'm just here to kick your ass."
It was clear that Alen was a man of business, far more than Georgia probably ever was. Before he caught himself spewing more rhetorical nonsense, he cut his word short and didn't give Aku a second glance. "As for me, I've passed my tests a long time ago. I'm not interested in any more extra credit. So cut the academic chitchat and let's get down to business."
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Post by Advix on May 2, 2011 2:44:40 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:49 PM
"Heh, and you've got another thing coming if you think I give a shit about the opinion of a hypocrite who's dumb enough to make the same mistake as the broad he's insulting," retorted Byakutora at Alen. He had very little interest in what Emily was trying to test or whatever, but at the same time, she didn't really seem confrontational, which was really throwing his mood off. "Hey, Emily Stone. Are you going to fight us, or just flap your gums? If you're just gonna stand there talking it up with Walt, then get rid off this chaff shit so I can head home. I have better things to do than listening to your crap."
JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
Veronica calmed down a little as Xerxes told her this. "...The guy who helped you, huh?" It was somewhat reassuring. Someone good enough to aid Xerxes was bound to be helpful against the likes of Xipe Totec's higher command. She had no idea how her pupil had grown, but if he was good enough for Walt to recognize, then that had to count for something. Then again, she wouldn't put it past him if he was factoring their history in for some cryptic motive or gambit. "... *sigh* I swear though, that bitch better live through all this. I could never bring myself to kill her, at least, not with out hearing her out. But if she dies before I chew her out... I'll beat the shit out of her grandson for wasting nine years of my life!"
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Post by Tokrochiru on May 4, 2011 21:58:54 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:49 PM
"Oh, we can't start just yet. Everyone else has to get here first. If you're really impatient, I suppose we could, but..."
Emily took the sword hilt strapped to her pants in her hand and eyeballed lovingly. She held it delicately as if it were a trophy.
"...I doubt that you would stand a ghost of a chance. Though, who knows? You may surprise me."
The woman then looked to Alen and Byakutora, pointing the bladeless hilt at them challengingly.
"So, what will it be? Will you confront me now, or wait until your backup arrives?"
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JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
"There's no way to be certain, Veronica. Whatever will happen, will happen. As much as I want to challenge her one last time, I'd prefer it if she was just put to rest. She's done enough damage, regardless of whatever motivations she may have. I want to see her schemes come to an end just as much as I want her to be free of her tormented memories."
Xerxes' argument was, for the most part, sound. She needed to die as soon as possible, for the world's sake, as well as her own.
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Post by Shin RyuKen on May 5, 2011 0:56:11 GMT -5
Alen didn't give Aku much of a glance, as if negating his quip altogether; his detachment was more of a recognition than a missed eye contact. Alen simply replied, given that the swordsman was prone to brusque responses, "For someone who doesn't care about my opinion, you're sure silly enough to read too much into it. You're welcome for saving your life."
Alen, surprisingly enough, wasn't that bent to anger all of a sudden. He was simply demanding, and to the point. As much as he could scoff and condescend upon the people around him, it was clear that he had no incentive other than his own boredom. And this time, he was somewhat uplifted. Pointing his bow outward only make him look more gung-ho, as he always was. "Backup? You're really funny, you know that? It's kind of hard to take you seriously for someone with so much power in Xipe Totec."
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Post by Advix on May 5, 2011 4:11:20 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:49 PM
Something didn't feel right about the way she held that bladeless hilt. "...Heh, what's that, your favorite toy or something? Hey, if you're in the mood, don't mind me, pretend I'm not even here. Unless you want some help with that. Hey, I'm not really all that open, but I can be flexible. I'm sure Walt won't mind burning a few copies for us, right Walt?" It was a base joke, but it didn't hide his nervousness. There was no way that was a regular hilt. Byakutora turned, placing his right shoulder forward. It was more of a precaution than it seemed, he was getting ready to block with his bracer. That hilt was so off putting, she wasn't holding it like a sword. The way she was pointing it, it was as if it was a gun. "Hey hey, don't worry about him. Don't think you owe Alen for Georgia. I mean, look at the guy. You think he cares about that? He wouldn't know what to do with a woman if she came with a manual."
JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
Veronica stood there, trying to calm herself. "...So now what? Are we just going to sit around with our thumbs up our asses while our kids do all the work?"
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Post by Tokrochiru on May 7, 2011 21:38:20 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:49 PM
"As wonderful as this sword is, it lacks the personality of an adequate lover...As for you, I think you're a bit too young to be pursuing old chestnuts like me. But this is all beside the point. Do you wish to challenge me now, or wait? I can't guarantee that you'll survive very long without additional help, but it's your choice."
"We wait," said Walther. It couldn't have been more obvious that he had no intention of engaging the woman in combat with only Alen and Aku at his side. Perhaps the woman intimidated him; something that in itself seemed quite remarkable. Or perhaps she truly was stronger than the three of them combined, and they truly did stand no chance. Perhaps he was just being cautious.
Unfortunately, the decision was not up to him. Not entirely. The other two seemed to be eager to challenge her immediately. If Alen and Aku refused to wait, Walther would have to have SHARD assault her anyway.
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JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
"No. We look for Carl. Finding him is infinitely more important than taking down Emily. If he's gone long enough, or if, God forbid, he dies, his entire city will explode with anarchy. The people here depend on him for protection. The officials may not admit it, but without Carl, there's no way they could ever call this city safe."
Xerxes turned away from Raiga and marched forward, determined to find his friend.
"Come on. We've wasted enough time talking. Time could be of the essence."
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Post by Advix on May 8, 2011 2:51:01 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:50 PM
"Or we could get this party started. Women age like wine, right? A classy broad like you has to be of some vintage. I wouldn't mind getting a taste of that. The stronger the better. Besides, I love sour flavors." He added that last line to provoke her. He was hoping she would show him what that sword could do. He was confident. As far as he knew, his bracer was impervious to everything, magic or otherwise. If he could get her to react out of anger, he could get some sort of idea as to what it could do.
JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
"Wait," Raiga called. "Xerxes... I can't tell you how much I want to help you find Carl. To find you after so long..." Raiga looked at him for a while, as if stuck on a word. She then shook her head before continuing. "But, I promised to help this kid reach Jardin del Vicio. I'll keep away from Aku, but I can't let Chingo go there alone."
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Post by Shin RyuKen on May 8, 2011 11:59:29 GMT -5
Alen's patience was running out quickly. This situation was getting ridiculous to the point where Alen was convinced that Aku was trying to make a fool of himself. Instead of pointing one of the bladed ends of his bow at his supposed opponent, he decided to outright nock an arrow and aim it at full force towards the CEO. He wasn't scared of anything this secretary might do, really; moreso, he was disturbed at Aku's inconveniently wanton behavior.
"So, while he's sexually frustrated and trying to hit on you, I'll give you another few moments of silence before I shoot. Go on, we can stand here all day. But one of us is striking the first blow."
Reaction expected? Nope. But she had to act if it meant an arrow pointed at her throat.
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Post by SlvrNight on May 9, 2011 21:25:59 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio Abandoned House ~ Outside - 12:476 PM
Miya shrugged at Zemna's statement. "You know I'm always fighting for the greater good. Things have changed at the last minute anyways." She then watched him leap onto the rooftop of the abandoned building, where Krizno and Vastion had been fighting. She silently flew up to the rooftop and watched.
Abandoned House - Rooftop - 12:47 PM
Krizno was filled with shock at Zemna's sudden interference. He quickly ceased giving off electricity and drained his claymore of it as well. The idiot lizard's actions managed to get himself injured, even if it was a rather minor injury. The lightning demon then decided to answer Zemna's question.
"Yes, I know. The idiot in front of you will be nothing more than a fried corpse if we continue this. I'm assuming that is something you want to prevent?"
Miya had a rather large temptation to backhand the demon at this time, but resisted. She did not like him at all already.
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Post by Tokrochiru on May 10, 2011 3:09:02 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:51 PM
"Darn it! Don't either of you know how to follow ord-"
"Very well. Try your best."
Emily Stone Witness to Magenta[/color][/b][/size]
Attributes: Might - 30 Swiftness - 30 Will - 18 Endurance - 12
Without hesitation and without warning, everything seemed to fall apart. Pink flashes followed by the sounds of cutting and crumbling structures overloaded the senses of men and women within a fifty mile radius. What appeared to be glowing pink ribbons charged forth toward Aku, Alen and SHARD at thrice the speed of a cheetah. Or was it twice? Or once? Was 'ribbon' even a proper word to describe what was headed their way? It was simply moving too fast to tell. The only sure thing was that something that emitted intense heat was headed their way. They would have to either instinctually dodge the incoming ribbons with all the effort their subconscious minds could muster up, or suffer the consequences. A millisecond of delay could mean instant death.
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JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
"...I see. Well, you shouldn't go back on your obligations. If you already have a given task, you should complete it."
Xerxes placed his hand behind his ear and proceeded to whisper to himself quietly.
"Walther, lock on to my locations and get these two to Jardin del Vicio. Western side."
After a few seconds of Xerxes standing still, as if taking a moment to listen to the ambiance of the city, he said one more last thing to the pair.
"Go find a back alley. Somewhere where no one will see you."
Xerxes then continued to walk away, continuing his search for his rival and friend. He disappeared into the crowd, no longer visible to the untrained eye amongst the mobs of multi-racial, multi-species beings.
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Abandoned House - Rooftop - 12:47 PM
"Look, I hate to bring you down like this Krizno, but if this continued, you might have been the one who'd have lost. You may not want to admit it, but right now, Vastion's a bit more fit than you are. From what I've seen from both of you so far, Vastion's not only stronger, but faster. Your body's tougher, sure, but Vastion's got more stamina. Despite your training, right now, Vastion is a step above you in terms of physical fitness and skill. He's on the level of a master....You....Well, your skill is about on the same level as Rean's. Sorry, kid. You gotta learn humility at some point. Besides, you were doing this for selfish reasons anyway. Vastion got on your nerves, and you attacked him for it. I would've understood if you were only concerned with bringing Lehte justice, but you made this about you and your petty hatred of Vastion. Knowing Carl, he would've smacked you upside the head for that."
Zemna called it as he saw it. Vastion was simply more advanced of a warrior. Given the tiniest bit more training, Krizno could match him. Heck, he could even be stronger than him. But as he was right now, he was an adept taking on a master. Keeping up the fight as long as he did was nothing but reckless.
After lecturing Krizno, Zemna turned to Vastion. It was time for him to get a piece of what's what.
"As for you, Vastion, what the hell, man? Lethe's long gone! There's no point in dragging out the fight as long as you did. You could've gotten yourself killed! You may be a step above Krizno in skill, but I'll tell you right now, he's got an arsenal that makes those swords of yours look like toothpicks. Why in the world did you keep this up for so long? Not only was it pointless, but you managed to put yourself in some really, really unnecessary danger. It's just dumb. I expected a lot better from Xerxes' apprentice. Not cool, kid. Not cool at all."
"Krizno, you need to learn how to not be so selfish. Vastion, you need to know when to stop fighting. And you both need to learn to not waste your energy when we have bigger things to deal with."
"So? What do you two have to say for yourselves?"
Zemna tapped his foot, awaiting their responses.
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Post by Shin RyuKen on May 11, 2011 0:30:55 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:52 PM
"You're delusional if you think you can order me around with words, doctor."
Good grief, another uber final boss like in those fantasy games? Now certainly wasn't the time to articulate. There was little time to move the bow, even; Alen's instinct took over in the instant that he felt the discord within the crackling grounds. Not even bothering to pull a tendon in his arm, he immediately darted to the side in a wide roll; as a result, he might've stretched one of his ribs in going such a distance. No matter, the discomfort would be momentary and he cared little for it at the moment; at the current predicament, the archer awaited the opening he was aiming for at the CEO.
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Post by Advix on May 12, 2011 19:05:55 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:52 PM
'Here we go.' Byakutora watched as Alen dove under a pink thing. Not being as nimble as Alen, Aku attempted to block it with his bracer. 'Alright direct con-' Though Byakutora's bracer took the blow as he expected, the force of the hit knocked him off of his feet. But it was enough to partially determine the nature of the blade. It was invisible, and it could extend. Glorious. If there was one plus side, it was that the leverage required to push Byakutora so far from such a distance greatly slowed Emily's swing. It offered but a faint window to attack her. "Alen, Walt, go for it!"
JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
"Xerxes wait!" Raiga tried to call out to him, but he had left, continuing his search for Carl. "You jackass! Don't you dare do anything stupid! If go and get trapped for another 15 years, I'll... I'll... I'LL TELL VASTION HOW MUCH OF AN ASS YOU ARE!" And with that, Raiga and Chingo vanished as Walther teleported them to Jardin del Vicio.
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Post by Tokrochiru on May 15, 2011 3:08:24 GMT -5
Jardin del Vicio ~ Tadara Blvd - 12:52 PM
Byakutora's move was smart. It was perhaps the best move one could make in his situation. However, sometimes, you can do everything right, and still lose.
SHARD opened fire on Emily, only for Walther to realize, that for some reason, it was only capable of firing one bullet from his right wrist-cannon. Any other man would have had to take a moment just to figure out what was going on. But Walther knew right away what happened.
"My limbs...."
SHARD's arms, and everything below its torso, had been sliced to ribbons. Sparks and streams of electric current ejected out of the openings in the robot's arms brightly, rapidly draining it of energy.
As shocking as it might have been had Aku and Alen noticed, it was only one of two things the pair could have been given time to notice. Emily was no longer where she once was. She was gone. No trace of her presence was left, save for a brush of wind that blew against Alen's face.
A homey, comfortable warmth could be felt agains the upper middle center of Alen's back, should he have been paying attention.
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JX City ~ Southern Market - 11:39 AM
As soon as the pair moved into a discrete back alley, as Xerxes suggested they do, a bright, blinding flash pierced the eyes of Raiga and Chingo. The quick flash of light was followed by about three seconds of complete, literal nothingness. There was not even darkness. Simply nothingness. For Chingo, it should have a been a nauseating experience. To look at true nothingness was something a normal human brain would find difficult to comprehend. Raiga, however, should have been used to it. After all, she had much experience with Walther's method of transportation in the past.
Something that she could not have expected, however, was the sharp pain in her ear that appeared and disappeared in less than a quarter of a second. After the pain dissipated, there was another bright flash.
The pair were now standing next to a dumpster, which itself was standing next to a door leading into a building with shiny, metallic walls. Steam flooded out the door, the smell of cooked vegetables not far behind. The smell combated the dumpster for dominance over the title of most dominant scent.
The sound of gas-guzzling cars came from Raiga and Chingo's left. Beyond the cars were several brightly lit buildings; some bars, some clubs, some casinos, and some strip clubs.
The pair were now no undoubtedly in Jardin del Vicio.
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Post by Shin RyuKen on May 17, 2011 21:58:44 GMT -5
Suddenly Alen was suspecting the intense flash of a blade at any moment. The sun was scintillating with a brilliant fiery gaze at what was about to be an extremely intense battle. Based on who Alen fought before, the archer held onto his unnecessarily buffed final boss notion and braced for anything, with honest eyes.
The sharp sides of his bow, cold with the cleanliness of its steel, was begging for a victim. Unfortunately, as soon as Emily executed her disappearing act, and witnessed that split second of SHARD being reduced to ribbons, he knew how to act. Before the warm sensation could overtake his senses, Alen immediately bolted up into the air. Taking advantage of the bow he clutched, his bow quickly rotated out as a slash once his arm snapped back out in his rise. Further countering, he rose briefly into the air and shot the arrow he already nocked out in front of him. To reduce error, his reflexes took over by throwing his whole body forward via his shoulder, and nocking a slightly less honed arrow on the opposite end. By the time he got back to the ground, he braced to see if Emily would fool him into falling for the same tricks.
(You think that'll scare me? You think I'm going to grovel if you try to slide pain down my throat? You think the pain will hurt me? You're going to live unsatisfied. Very unsatisfied.)
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