Re: Grey.

by **Winnie** on Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:45 am

Winnie walked in half a minute late. Half a minute.

Of course.

She had to walk in at the 4:00 mark instead of 30 seconds before when someone needed her.

Really!

Vamp was laying in a pool of blood, his eyes turning a pure white. Everyone was dazed. Winnie seemed to be the only normal one of the lot.

"Vamp?" Winnie asked, looking down at him. She kicked his leg. Blood ran down his lip and across his face.

".....w...h..a..t...?" he stuttered.

"Are you alive?" She asked him, kicking his leg lightly again.

"It hardly feels like it.." He said, sitting up.

"Do you have the feeling your life has no meaning and your only road is to walk into a never ending tunnel of darkness, doom, and despair, where you're always second best and merely to prejudice from the devil do you make it that way and that you always want to turn around because of your never ending strife but the luminescent light before you transfixes you into caring suddenly so you continue to walk like a gray zombie until the end of time?" Winnie asked, looking down at him.

"No?"

"Oh, well that's kinda how I feel right now..."

"I just feel kind of... Different..."

"So like your tota--"

"No, whatever your going to say isn't how I feel. It's totally indescribable."

"You feel... Wicked?"

by **Ryzaa** on Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:31 am

Ryzaa, now freed from the Anima state, burst into what could only be described as a pool of doomfire. He felt dazed and confused, and that something was not right.
"What happened...?" he asked no one in perticular.
He surveyed the battlefield, TR members were also in his confused state, he noticed. Rage was attending to them, though he looked as confused as the rest of them.
Flaw was lying on the ground, unconcious. He was holding his cactus.

Vamp was in the center of the field with Winnie standing over him.
Ryzaa cleaned the sickly green orc blood off of his Frostreaver -the sword he had chosen to use for this battle- and headed towards them.

"What happened, Win?" he dared to ask.

by **Juliana** on Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:02 pm

Winnie was distracted by Ryzaa's question. "I'm not sure," she admitted. She glanced back down at Vamp. "I think he does..."

Before Vamp could contribute anything, a large patch of air between the trees began to shimmer blue; Winnie thought she heard someone behind her mutter, "Can today get any weirder?"

Apparently it could.

The shimmering blue thickened and coalesced into two battered human figures that crumpled to the ground. One was clearly a girl in her mid-teens, with a long, brown ponytail and white skin covered in cuts and bruises. She was dressed in bloody, torn robes that appeared to have once been pink. The other was another girl, a few years younger than the first, her long black hair strewn about her head and her tan skin every bit as damaged as her companion's. Her dress, which had probably been purple at some point, was in no better shape.

Both girls' eyes were closed. They lay completely still.

Winnie bit her lip in a moment's thought, then raced towards them. Everyone else attempted to follow, but she held her hand up to signal that they should stay back. Almost everyone complied, though Rage and Ryzaa followed a little ways behind Winnie. She ignored them, and knelt on the ground by the side of the girl in pink.

The girl blinked startlingly green eyes open and focused on Winnie. "Oh--hello!" cried Juliana Sundry, seeing her lifelong friend. Behind her, apparently roused by Juliana's voice, the other girl began to stir as well.

"Juli!" Winnie's voice was welcoming and a little reproachful. "You missed everything--what were you doing?!"

Juli sat up and gestured to the girl who had come with her. "Risa made a mistake again last night. Got us totally lost. This time, we wound up somewhere nastier than last time--the people there decided to lynch us. Getting away was... hard. Very hard. What were you doing while we were off gallivanting?"

"Umm..." Winnie hesitated. "I missed almost everything, too... apparently there was some kind of big fight here." She turned around, her eyes pleading for help. "What happened?"

by 5secondchaos on Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:04 pm

[center] At this the violent sound of flapping of wings chorupted the air. Five was back again on his Platinum dragon and within moments had clambered off her and was in and among the other TR members helping them keep thier balance. Ryzaa and Flawsie had thought this a little odd that Five happens to disappear right before battle and return again afterwards. As they approched him Flawsie shouted over "Where did you go", Five muttered something to Ragegamer who'm he was talking to and ran over to meet the duo.

"Sorry for leaving in the eye of battle, I thought it was necasary that I leave and go and find Vamp, but as that so happens he traveled here in due time I was venturing to Swordcove". "Convenient, so what did you do then? Just travel to Swordcove realise Vamp was'nt there and come back?" said Ryzaa, the tone of anger in his voice was high. "No I got Vamp a present while I was there, I found a fish I thought would suit Vamp pretty well actually" As Five mentioned this he started to back away, "anyway I have things to do" on this note he was gone, literally.

by **Hunter Reckoning** on Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:49 pm

[switch scene to Hunters house] Hunter was pacing in his basement waiting and waiting. "I just don't get it!" Hunter said. "Why wasn't I invited to the party?" His unhatched egg started mumbling. "You're right Yolky, maybe they don't like the smell of eggs and seawater all the time, maybe they were afraid I'd eat the food, maybe they were afraid I'd tell an incredibly long story, I don't know, i even delivered a barrel of smoothie mix to them. Or maybe they didn't want me to go on, and on about..." Hunter soon realized Yolky had fallen asleep. "Thats it! they were afraid by me talking id make them all fall aslee..." Hunter soon fell asleep himself.

by Atriax on Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:07 pm

Atriax, once unfrozen, whipped around, alerted the others to the still-living orcs.
Several TR members were wounded, but they still might be able to defend.
Atriax jumped into the air, leaving behind a dark mist, and appeared 20 meters in front, while slicing through an orcs head. After a few minutes of mutilating orcs, and now standing on several dismembered body parts, he came face to face with one of the Sea Dracomancers. The strange creature roared, but Atriax was already on it's back, injecting deadly poison. Atriax rode it down, back to the horde of orcs.

After a few hours, the orcs realized they weren't going to win, and several started to run away. But their masters, the sea Dracomancers were still fighting strong. Then, Atriax saw something that sent a shiver down his spine. DC was talking with one of the lead Dracomancers. Atriax sprinted over the heads of orcs, leaving severe headaches in his path. He jumped, spun round, and sliced DCs head off. Well, the well-aimed strike would have, but a second before connection, a dracomancer had thrown an orc to stop the blow. Atriax, reversing his momentum, whipped his sword out of the orcs brain, and landed next to DC. "You betrayed us?" DC didn't answer. Not with words anyway. His eyes were white, the pupils gone. Atriax knew what he had to do. He withdraw his dagger to down an incoming orc, then he put his hands on to DC's head, and allowed the blade to end his life.

Atriax leapt into the shadows, leaving the dracomancers confused. Atriax came back into the battle a few minutes later, when he saw Vamp wounded, surrounded by several human girls. He recognized Winnie and Juliana, but the other was foreign to him. Winnie immediately asked "What happened?". Atriax, having still not completely mastered common, kept it simple. "I saw lots of orcs, I told vamp, Vamp sensed Sea Dracomancers, so we fought them. A magician showed up, then the next thing I remember is Vamp lying half-dead on the ground. Then... I had to kill DC. He was possessed. And that's all I know." Winnie was about to ask who the magician was, but Atriax had started to carry Vamp back to the TR Stronghold.

by **Hunter Reckoning** on Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:59 am

[Switch to Hunter]
After Hunter Reckoning woke up he got on a very small boat and started making his way to the TR stronghold On his way he heard something under the boat and decided to look. As his eyes grew wide he began to say some thing. "Holy sh-" He was interupted because he had to leap in the air while the entire boat was swallowed underneath him. "YOLKY NO!!!!" Hunter said suddenly filling with rage. When he saw the hydra come up out of the water Hunter landed right on its head. "You like eggs do you? Then eat this!" He said as he shoved the now glowing egg right into the hydras head. The hydras head suddenly exploded, and then 2 more heads grew. Hunter being the egg obsessed sorcerer he is, decided that the hydra was pregnant with syamese twin hydra babies, so he continued to kill them with his glowing egg. Juliana, who had walked all the way back to the TR fortress, was now sitting at a window in the TR fortress overlooking hydra lake when he saw hundreds of swirling snake like figures and a small glowing egg shooting out beams of light. "Reckless, you stupid idiot." She said to herself.

by Atriax on Thu Dec 31, 2009 3:51 pm

OOC, lol Hunter, you killed the story *facepalm*

The fallen leaders body still on his slender shoulders, Atriax kept putting him down and casting healing spells, until he could bring Vamp back to the fortress.
Vamp coughed, showing that he was still alive, if only just.

by **Juliana** on Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:01 pm

((He didn't, Atriax--it just takes a little creativity to put it all back together.))

There was no time to waste. Juli threw a ball of golden light across the lake to distract the hydra and leaped out the window after it. She would not be sure until some time later how she did it, but she somehow found herself next to Hunter. "STOP THAT, YOU PINHEAD!!!" she screamed in his ear, straining even with her loud voice to be heard above the sound of his battle with the monster. "THAT'S NOT THE WAY!"

He froze. "WHAT?" he screamed, giving Juli just enough time to cast a spell that paralyzed a few hydra heads.

"LIKE THIS!!!" she called. Hunter caught on quickly, and the two of them began working to freeze, paralyze, or otherwise immobilize the heads.

They had barely begun when they hit the first snag. Three heads lunged for them at once; the adventurers used one another for leverage to leap out of the way in opposite directions. They landed on other heads and kept going.

They didn't get all the heads, but it was clearly getting risky to stay out any longer. There were perhaps half left, and that half was starting to zero in on them. "Let's go!" Juli called, and leaped into the water. Hunter quickly followed.

Moments later, they found themselves lying on the shore, soaking wet. Juliana raised her head, glanced at their thoroughly sodden clothes and quickly cast a drying spell. Hunter didn't even seem to notice; he was busy crying into the earth beneath him. Juli stared at him for a few moments, confused. "Why are you crying?" she murmured.

"Yolky..." he moaned. "The hydra ate him."

"So that's why you were trying to beat it up," she mused. Right then, there was a strange gagging noise from the middle of the lake, and a small white shape flew at them at high speeds. It landed right on Hunter, who froze in shock for a moment, then carefully turned to look at Juliana. "Is that what I think it is?"

Juliana looked at the white, ovoid shape on his back. "Um... depends, are you thinking it's an egg? Because it sure looks like one to me..." She sat up and moved it into a place where he could see it.

Hunter's eyes lit up. "Yolky! You're okay!"

Juli watched the ecstatic reunion, amused but also warmed. "You should probably get into the fortress. Everyone else's there."

Hunter glanced up at her. "What about you?" he inquired.

She looked off into the distance. "I have a task remaining still..." she whispered, fingering the Dragon Amulet sealed to her chest. Her fingers began to glow blue, and traces of the same shade began to shimmer across the red jewel in her amulet. "Risa," she breathed, barely audible. "Have you done it?"

Another girl's voice echoed distantly, through the jewel, also very quiet. "Yes."

"Good," whispered Juli. "I'm on my way."

Hunter gave his friend one last odd look, then hurried into the Regulars' stronghold. Juliana watched him go. When the door swung shut behind him, she began to shimmer blue, and dissolved mistily into the night.

Juli reappeared on earlier's battlefield the same way she had done earlier, but more gracefully this time; she stepped forward from the misty blue rather than fall. Risa was already there, kneeling on the dark field. She looked up and greeted her friend and aunt with a simple, "Juli."

"Risa," Juli acknowledged her niece. "So it's done?"

"It's done, and ready for you... but why?" Risa's voice was light, polite, neutral, but puzzled.

"You should know that, Risa." If anyone should know that, it's Risa, Juli added mentally.

"But you didn't even like Deathclaws," Risa pointed out fairly. "I would have expected you to ignore his... death..." She choked on the last word.

Juli knelt beside Risa, at the edge of the shallow grave she had asked her apprentice to dig. "I didn't like him," she admitted, "but... I never hated him. Of course I couldn't just leave him to rot out here..."

"He betrayed us," Risa murmured quietly.

"So did you," Juli reminded her. "Forgiving traitors is my job, remember?" When Risa did not protest any further, she stared into the grave, at Deathclaws' still body. "If we ever meet again, I hope we can be better friends," she breathed.

The moon was the only witness to the strange grief, except for a young, dark girl watching an act of kindness she could barely comprehend.

by **Hunter Reckoning** on Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:22 pm

When Hunter walked in the doors and saw Vamparagon's body lying on the bed, and countless other TR members injured, he knew he had missed something. Hunter walked over to Vamp to see if he was awake when someone stopped him. "Who are you?!" yelled Atriax.
Hunter looked around, confused. "Who are you?" he mocked.
"I am Atriax, but you aren't supposed to be here."
"Yes I am, I'm in the clan."
"I want proof."
Hunter walked over to Vamp, and pulled something out of his sleeve: a sickly-green, rotting egg. He held it over Vamp's nose, and waited a second. When nothing happened, he dropped it on his nose, and Vamp sprang awake because of the awful smell. "WHAT WAS THAT!!!" Vamp said.
Hunter got up and replied, "An egg I've had in my pocket for a few months, that I knew would wake you up."
Vamp went cross-eyed and looked at the green pile of goo on his face. "I think I'm gonna throw up" said Vamp, who was now turning green.
"I was prepared for that too, which is why always carry a small bucket with me." Vamp took the bucket and stuck his head in it.

by Atriax on Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:26 pm

Atriax just stared in shock. He'd seen countless healing techniques, and had mastered several. But he'd never seen this particular trick. He'd smelt Hunter from several meters away, but hadn't recognized the smell. But now, he decided, that bucket might be big enough for two.

by **Ryzaa** on Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:17 pm

Ryzaa stood in the corner, watching, waiting. He'd knew now what had happened -Charon had explained everything to him when they had all returned to the Stronghold, before he went to lie down- but he was still didn't quite understand it.
Flaw, holding the ever-present Pae, along with Rage, Atriax, Winnie and Shadow were standing over Vamp, who was sleeping.

Ry saw Hunter enter the Stronghold, run directly towards the bed Vamp was laid upon and was approached by Atriax. Ry could not make out was they were saying. He was about to walk over to ask Atriax what was happening when Hunter pushed past him.
Atriax obscured Ry's view of what was happening, but suddenly Vamp sat bolt upright. He heard the shouting.
Ry was amazed.
Ry was thankful he couldn't smell the rotten egg, and decided to leave before he could.

The Stronghold doors closed behind him.
He whistled. A short high-pitched whistle.
Fredrick dashed around the corner, almost knocking Ry over, if it wasn't for his lightning fast reflexes Fredrick probably would have.
"Steady on Fred..." he said.
Sorry said Fredrick -Ryzaa had tought him sign language ^_^-
"It's okay buddy, we're going out into the forest."
The forest? asked Fredrick.
"Yes, the forest." Ry said, with a slightly bemused tone.
Why? Fredrick stared at him.
"You'll have to wait and find out..."

by Atriax on Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:31 pm

Ryzaa turned around, a saw a dark feathered bird, riding on Fredrick. That could only mean one thing. Atriax was walking along behind him. "I take it we're going to the forest?" said the Dark Elf. "Good guess" replied Ryzaa. They walked for several minutes. "Mind me asking why?" Asked atriax, while stroking Fredricks head.

by **Charon** on Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:41 pm

Charon unlocked the ashwood door to his chamber and went inside. All of his doors were made of ash, since it was the only type of wood that protected against magic. He crossed to the window and looked outside. The view of the vast lake was marred by the half-paralyzed Hydra jutting out of it's surface. He sighed softly. "Why now?" he whispered to himself. "After the Grand Balancing*, I thought Grey would be nothing more than my past, but his power grew so quickly! And now he's a threat to TR... and it's my fault."

He slammed his fist on the windowsill. The sound woke Alvara, the baby black chocobo** sleeping in a padded nest in the far corner of the room. The startled bird's feathers stuck out in all directions as it's defence mechanisms were triggered. Charon sighed again. "Sorry, Al, just a little tense lately." Charon cooed softly, enticing the bird to walk towards him. When it reached his leg, he bent down to scoop her up, being careful not to put too much pressure on her right wing, which was wrapped in a light brown gauze. He had found her injured and wandering alone in the woods a few weeks prior. Charon set her down on the sill and asked her, "What am I going to do?" The tiny fowl just stared up at the Scion with her big amber eyes and cocked her head. Charon smiled warmly, and began to hum Alvara's lullaby.

Meanwhile, at the Palace of Silence, Grey was looking into a pool f water that was completely still. The surface held an image of the exterior of the TR fortress at Charon's window. He watched the Scion pet the bird, and then spat into the water, sending tiny ripples running through it. "Do they really think that they can beat me that easily? Fools. I will strike again, and the Scion of Shadow will be mine." He turned and strode from the room. He passed two statues of what looked like guards, both with expressions of sheer terror upon their faces***.

*The Grand Balancing is the event where the Eight Elemental Scions swore a binding oath that forbid them from betraying or becoming more powerful than any of the others for the good of the universe.
**Chocobos are bird creatures from the world of final fantasy.
***The Palace of Silence used to be the Royal Palace of Tsuti. Grey built up enough power to stop time for the entire palace and the surrounding town. He then cast everything in stone with the use of K'tala Xia**** to ensure that it would never awaken.
****K'tala Xia is the type of Xia magic that involves earth-based spells.

by **Cial** on Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:18 pm

Meanwhile, Cial was recovering from the battle.

He sat on his bed, he held his head in one arm as Winnie had removed the gauze from his electrified arm. It stung, and Winnie kept calming him down with her left hand. When she got to his forearm, he yelped, and released his fist. A lightning bolt shot out of his arm, and made the glass of water on his nightstand explode.

"Woah!" Winnie yelled. "Do it again" she pleaded.

"AGAIN?" Cial said, "I'm not even sure how I did it THAT time!"

"Just, open your hand and think of pain, or anger." Winnie said.

Cial did, and shot a lightning bolt through the wall. It made a clear hole the size of a baseball into Charon's room. Winnie peered through at Charon. "This will be our little secret, right?"