Forum Wars - Civil War

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Onamakritos watched as Carissa was injured, he was uh, doing something important probably.

"Assumed: Large cut on her left side, middle of her stomach area. 6-7/10. Injuries unknown. Guess. Demi-God, not a dent on him. Just in case."


Onamakritos ran to her. He tried to help her up. "What do you want me to do, Captain?"

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Spoiler

The Remnant just smiled. She found the child's wit amusing, and his amusement even more amusing. "My desire for mankind's demise fills me with that strength to survive you speak of, Jaden." Her eyes seemed to glint as she spoke. She had a small, knowing smile on her face. "It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. That the ability to derive strength from killer instinct, and the hope that comes with living with undoubtedly the greatest attribute of mankind. Which is why I will focus all of my power to snuff it out."

"I wonder how it must feel, knowing that all of your time and effort has been for nothing? That your warriors have failed you? That everything you've built, Jaden, will be torn down before your very eyes? Your faith in mankind was not misplaced. When banded together, unified by a common enemy, they are a noticeable threat. But, Demi-Gods and Humans are on Jayce's side. Now you've divided the humans, placed doubt into their minds, and any semblance of power they once had will wash one." The Remnant twirled her hand, and water flowed in between her finger tips, before it disappeared. "Of course, Aidan didn't realize this at first. Like you, the people before you and even now cling to their fleeting hope, their aspirations, their primal instincts to win this war. But this is merely his first move. And in turn, my own."

"So send our your warriors against him. Send your Carissa against me. And when they fail and you turn to your Carissa, know that you send her into the same pitiful demise that I sent many more humans of your kind. This is the beginning of the end, Jaden. And I can't wait to watch you, or Jayce burn." With that finality, she closed her eyes for a moment. There was a noticeable silence. Then she wore a fake frown on her face, and started to speak in a dramatic sadness.

"It looks like Carissa is bleeding out on the battle field. Her injuries are about a 6 or 7 out of 10... I thought she knew how to kill a Demi-God, but there isn't a scratch on her enemy. What a shame. Truly." She wiped a mock tear from her face.

 

Corruption Rating: 38%

Soon after he had descended from the transport, the lancer from the Tower followed him across with an insane and impractical leaping attack. Vasher stepped sideways and sliced diagonally upwards, then anticipated an attack and dodged back. He struck Reitan with Duskfall, then willed three Shadow Lances into existence behind the lancer and shot the trio down towards him, covering the three directions that he could move backwards, the ancient spirit making use of Kalak's body as fuel for the magic, also shaped by the Demi-God. He felt its influence growing within Kalak significantly. Soon, the Demi-God would start to lose his own influence over the magic, and Vasher's would intensify. Kalak's soul felt part of him fade away again, and he could do nothing to stop it.


The Huntress leaned against the side of the transport, taking a couple of opportune shots at Order soldiers as the firefight raged on around them. Something buzzed in on the communication device that she was using.
"Captain, transport is under attack!" She gritted her teeth. She was going to have trouble getting there in this state. She needed to sort out her wound and then move, but she couldn't get there in time to intervene if the situation took a truly dire turn.
"Hold out! Support is coming!" With great reluctance, she called the only person that she could think of right now that was able to intervene quickly. She called Aster. "Aster, the transport carrying your sister is under attack. You don't want her getting away do you?" She toned it as if she were challenging him, and she was quite confident that he was going to take it up. That, and maybe he would decide to make himself useful. If the squad called, then there was definitely a problem. Onamakritos finally showed up and she growled in frustration.
"Stop writing in that f*cking book in the middle of a battle you dumb b*stard That would be a start!" She glared darkly at him. "And then, give me some damned medical attention!"

"Damn you!" Eight exclaimed as the woman stepped into the transport and swiped at her with the butt of his rifle.
"Get down!" The squad leader barked as they opened fire. Eight managed to dive back, catching a bullet in his chest and yelped, but drew his weapon up to open fire as well. The Squad Leader, One, was more conservative, allowing other members of the squad to run out and reload their magazines while still providing fire on the target. At this close range, he didn't fancy her odds, Demi-God or not. He'd rather die than let her get away.



The Lieutenant listened intently to the barrage of orders that he was being given. He managed to recall vaguely from officer training class what the hell Schwerpunkt meant, which was good. He wouldn't look so much of an idiot. He didn't find any reason to disagree with Lord Zahariel's orders, not that he would have listened even if he did have anything. At least, that's what Corenna assumed. He didn't really know what sort of man- Well, he wasn't technically a man - He was.
"Very well sir. I will have the men execute these orders." He gave a quick salute and turned smartly on his heel, before unceremoniously rushing off to execute orders with his coat flapping around him. The Shards' encampment became a hive of activity - Officers returned to their dormitories and shed their coats and adopted standard uniform. The machine gun teams got in position and the AA gun and both Artillery guns were armed. Troops lined the wall, spotters with binoculars surveying the hills. As all of it was starting to come together, the Lieutenant approached Zahariel again. "My lord, we are almost prepared. How long shall we maintain watch? There is no guarantee that the attack will come today. And furthermore, what would you have me do?"

"And how long is it before those humans that side with them realise that they're dying for nothing? How long is it before the Order of the Hammer collapses in on itself because of the pressure of a losing war? Their days are numbered, and we shall hasten their demise. We Shards stand united." He spoke with conviction and confidence, and he had utter faith in his Shards of Hope. After all, he had moulded them to be that way. He made them who they were today. He rescued them from the clutches of his father who had nearly cast them into the void. He was the true Inheritor, something that none who came before could claim. No words of this jumped up woman could convince him otherwise. "Your existence is meaningless. Those that destroy are destined to be destroyed. You are a destroyer, for all you seek is destruction. You have no pride, no grander desire than to watch everything burn. And for that reason, you are unworthy to even speak to me." She tried to bait him with Carissa, but he would not fall for such a thing. Even if it were true, he had faith that something could be done. Demi-Gods were dangerous opponents indeed, and she knew that. He sneered at her.
"So desperate for ammunition against me that you resort to using my sister being injured in a battle? Please, you think that she hasn't been injured before?" He shook his head, seemingly amused. "Demi-Gods are fierce opponents. They are powerful, and essentially immortal. They are truly impressive beings. You cannot expect someone who fights them to come out of it uninjured. And perhaps she will not kill him this time. But she will kill him another time, or someone else will. It doesn't matter. They'll die all the same, and she is a Samarost, so she will live. I am not concerned, though I am amused at your desperation."
"I don't fear you, nor whatever you may profess to be able to do or to want. It makes no difference to me. At the end of the day, you're just another chapter in my history book."

There was a knock on Jaden's door and a voice buzzed through on his desk. It was the captain of his guard.
"Sir, it's one of the R&D team. It's urgent." Jaden raised an eyebrow and spoke.
"Tell them to come in." The door opened and the guard walked in, accompanied by a man with curly hair dressed in a white lab coat with the insignia of the shards rendered in blue upon the pocket.
"Inheritor. This is something that you'll want to see." He spoke, evidently trying to keep his voice calm. Jaden gestured for him to continue speaking. "A trans-dimensional communication crystal to Xanatos Reaver. We believe we have jammed methods of it being observed. Would you like us to activate it?" A grin spread across the Inheritor's face.
"Of course. Lead the way." He spoke, and began to follow the man out of the room. He turned around almost as an afterthought. "Coming? Wouldn't it be nice to have a reunion?" He left for the lab and the Captain stepped inside Jaden's office, making sure that it was left clear. ​

 

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Teliana caught the butt of the rifle in the bullet wound on her side and gasped, dropping to her knees. This move luckily saved her from the first round of fire, only giving her a few more graze wounds as she threw up her shield, covering her head with her hands and silently screaming on the inside. "Do you guys have to BE such BASTARDS!?" She screamed into the floor, as the guns clicked empty, only to have the remaining fourth, (yes she miscounted earlier) open fire to keep her down while they reloaded. "I am SICK of your CHEAP SHIT!"

Her eyes glowed, not yet fully releasing the extent of their power as she struggled to think of alternatives. Even if she did use them, it would only work on one, and she would be paralyzed, fully ready to be the easiest target practice these soldiers ever had. She was going to have to get creative. And maybe die. But hopefully not. She'd like to at least sleep with one more attractive man before she went.

Just one more, sweet baby Jesus. She prayed as she slowly crawled towards the nearest soldier, the one whose brain was now decorating the floor. Grabbing his gun, she rolled, crying out as several other bullets struck her body, before lying flat on her stomach, and firing at the the remaining soldiers. With any luck, she would hit some of them, or all. When the clip was empty, all fifteen bullets spent, she threw the shield back up, then drew her arm back and punched. Instead of shattering like glass, the blood shot forward like tiny, liquid bullets. She wasn't sure if it would actually hurt them, but it had torn through sheets when she had practiced in the past.

And sheets were like skin, right? The loss of energy was immediate, cold sweats covering her body as her vision swayed. "I could use an adult." She whispered, trying to tether her grasp on her consciousness.

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Kala snarled as the disk cut her arm, grasping the wound with her clawed hands. Her form flickered as her dropped to one knee, a hiss filling the air around her as the injury steamed. Shoving her hands into the ground, she screamed at Kalak in a rage fueled panic before leaping up towards him, eyes glowing with a brilliant blue light as her blackened hands reached for the demi god. Small wings sprang from her back, though they were too insignificant to do anything...yet.

You will be MINE. The voice in her head whispered as she bared her teeth. The light around Kalak had grown to a brilliant size, causing her desire to follow suit.

 

"Very well, Lieutenant." The Ancient God, when he saluted though, he called him back "Corenna! From now on, combat protocol, meaning no saluting anymore. Let it be known." Zahariel went about the camp inspecting equipment and meeting the men he fought with, not like a pleasant commander but rather seeing what they were made off after all soldiers were like clay in the hands of the potter, it was the Commander's duty to inspect and mould them into the clay pot that would harden in the fire. Soon the Lieutenant came back to him with a report. "Good, very good. We shall maintain watch for as long as it is required. Have teams sleep if it becomes necessary, but on their posts, one watch per three teams. Teams of four, working together to achieve as much continuous fire as possible." The Ancient God explained. "Say that anti-aircraft gun, how fast can it be redeployed?" The God inquired, he had a little devious idea with it then explaining his intent with it. "As for what to do with you, I will undoubtably be engaged personally this means I will not be able to effectively command, therefor you will have command when I am unavailable." He didn't need to add the part about not disappointing him, the already crushing demands of command wouldn't have to be made worse by his looming judgement, not that he wouldn't judge the performance but that would happen after this operation.​

 

David's pov:



The Shuttle took off and it was time to go. The shuttle landed and they were met with Lieutenant Corenna. The man was asking for orders. He let out a sigh this man was not smart enough to figure out things on his own. He listened to what Lieutenant Corenna had to say. This was going to be interesting place to defend. 'David, go make yourself bloody useful' This man clearly had no clue who he was dealing with. If the Shards had only two present of the usefulness he had they would have won this war long ago. Really it was to bad that this sort of thing happened. He looked at the many weapons in the shuttle to took several bombs with him and set off to take a look at the camp. He took a walk around the camp taking his time looking at where the hammer would come from. He placed a bomb and put magic on top of it to mask it. It would be almost imposable for any of the hammer to find these and if they did it would be to late. He continued to walk around the camp placing bombs around it as he walked and used his magic to hide them. He returned to the camp after setting up the bombs. This was going to be interesting. Time for a battle. "I place bombs around the camp and hid them so if the hammer get to close boom." He looked at the camp. "If there is nothing else I will be going to find a place to use as a battle placement."

 

The soldiers continued to fire into her shield, trying to break through it with brute force. Alas, it was not enough. When the blood shards came at them, it was a storm of inevitable death. All of them resigned themselves to their fates. The squad leader was the only one to survive, barely, on the edge of life. It was fortunate too, because if he had fallen then Rose behind him would have been struck by the deadly barrage. He dropped his weapon and fell against the wall, then sliding down it leaving a bloody trail as he looked down at the incredible wounds he had suffered. He saw that disturbingly, the chains that held the prisoner to the wall had been damaged. He cursed and drew his combat knife, and slowly tried to crawl his way towards her. He had to stop her.

"Yes sir!" Corenna called back, his arm moving up into a salute but stopping halfway. He continued about his business and he soon returned. "Of course sir. I'll have a meeting with the offices and have them distribute your orders to the teams." This commander was one of those distant types, he had decided. Zahariel did not seem to be a sympathetic commander. Although Jaden was a distant figure, when they did meet he made an effort. It was a shame that this man did not take after the Inheritor. Nevertheless, he would see this done. He wanted to win, and he wanted his men to survive this day.
"It will take some time to move it. We've had it in the same place for a while, so we've placed things around it. But... I suppose we can do it. But why?" He answered. He reconsidered a little of his opinion of Zahariel when he mentioned that he was going to fight. That left Corenna to deal with the wider command of the situation. He felt a little nervous about that, considering their present company. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but Zahariel had made him feel a little insecure about his skills. "Very well sir. I will do my best to maintain control of the situation. If there's anything... Just tell me. I know the men better, so I can probably get the orders through much easier." ​

 

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Timothy was about to follow Kala into battle, metal fists raised to attack, when suddenly he caught something out of the corner of his eyes. Woman. Injured. On the battlefield. Friend or foe? It mattered not, for she had certainly not harmed Ms Kala, nor could she if she intended to. He slowed down, his momentum difficult to stop, and ran away from Kala and the battle towards the injured woman on the battlefield "Worry not Ms Kala! I shall return!" He yelled backwards politely. Come to think of it, there were a lot of injured, but alive, people on the battlefield. They would all need assisstance. Timothy strode over to the woman on the ground "Good afternoon" He greeted pleasantly. He gently picked her up and took her away from the main battlefield. Behind a small dune, he set her down "Be more careful next time, young lady" he warned, before placing a cup of tea next to the strange woman, and disappearing as abruptly as he'd appeared.

 

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Teliana pushed herself up to her elbows, then sat up, leaning heavily against the wall, her forehead covered in a sheen of sweat. "Rose." She croaked, her body shaking as she tried to resist the shock that her injuries was pressing upon her. "Rose, get him." She was interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls, and turned, her eyes gleaming with her as of yet unused power as she looked up into the face of a.....robot. Teliana blinked, opening her mouth to...swear? question? She didn't know. It greeted her kindly, and she wondered if she was slipping into hallucinations. Had she lost that much blood?

Then the robot picked her up, and she found it was no illusion made by her mind. "Rose!" She screamed hoarsely as it carried her away. She wasn't sure what direction he headed in, or where he was taking her, but she was powerless to stop him....it? That alone was terrifying in and of itself. She didn't know how to refer to the robot. It set her down, placing a cup of tea with her while reminding her to be careful.

"So you're literally going to leave me here to bleed out and die?" She asked the empty air as the robot turned and ran the way he had come. She could see the battle in the distance, but it might kill her to crawl that far. Instead, she focused on trying to treat her injuries, to keep herself from dying right here. Using the little remains of her shirt, she began to tear strips and bind the open wounds. The ones that had the bullets remaining under her skin, she left open to the air. Each breath hurt, and what little energy she had was slipping away as she tried to keep the remaining blood inside of her. At least Rose is free.

Now Ana had to figure out how to help herself get back to Kalak, and the girl she had just freed. Shouting was tempting, but not the best idea. Hopefully he was up high enough that he could see her, and as much as she hated to admit it, help her.

 

The Ancient God nodded as Corenna said he'd meet with the other officers "Good." He intoned. He was maintaining his distance for this wasn't his own unit, then again even when commanding his own unit he still maintained his distance, he wasn't one of them and no matter how many times his officers assured him he would be accepted, he wouldn't be and that was perfectly fine by him. Furthermore it was only following the tradition of the Custodial Legions where the commanders stood more distant from their brethren, both litterally and figuratively. "I am confident in your ability to lead this company and will relay orders through you, unless I immediatly need something done and the people will be close by." Zahariel explained, he might need some fire support given his reliance on melee combat, but there was no way he was going to give up the glory of melee combat. As it was the way of the Custodians, there were the Arguons mainly tasked with support and defense using the bow and arrow, but Zahariel wasn't an Arguon. It was then that David returned saying he had planted bombs around the perimeter of the camp, the man better hope there wouldn't be Shard casualties because of his actions or Zahariel himself would make sure he got eternal latrine duty.​

 

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"I didn't know you had a sense of humor Rose. All this time, and you never told me." Teliana grinned weakly, bracing her back against the sand dune. "Because I am literally covered in my own hemoglobin. And maybe other people's." She grimaced. "Did you kill the guy? You should have. He was a di-" She hissed, gripping her shoulder. "I think I might be screwed on the breathing part." She whispered, watching her hemoglobin stain the sand.

"Hey, you know what would be funny? If I made it through getting gangbanged by the bullets of half the army here, seduced the Lancer, fed Kalak to Bullseye over there, freed you, only to bleed to death because I can't walk back to the ship. That would be funny as fu-" once more she doubled over, her hand going to the bullets lodged in her side this time. "So yeah. If I die here, just make sure people know I did all that, okay? It's kind of impressive, and I don't want Jayce thinking I died because I was too busy thinking about my date.....which I am never going to make. But being dead is a good excuse, right?" Despite her talkative manner, Teliana was scared; scared she might not make it out of this one. That'll teach you to open strange shuttle doors, looking for your bound assassin friend.

 

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While Kalak was able to clash with his attack, the fact that he was aimed downward with his attack meant that he was still going through with his attack unless Reitan was somehow knocked out of the air. That wasn't the case for after his initial attack, the demi god had dodged out of the way which meant that Reitan's lance was stabbed into the ground. Normally getting it out of the ground would not take all that long to do so, but before he could do so Kalak had proceeded to attack him. He let go of his lance and stepped back as quickly as he could, barely avoiding the blade. Once his feet were planted on the ground, he reached out and grabbed his lance. Quickly removing it from the ground, he swung it towards Kalak.

 

A few minutes earlier...

"Sir, we're coming up on the battlefield," the pilot yelled to the Demi God other the whir of the engines, "about a quarter-mile left to go."

"Very good. Set me down here."

"But sir..."

Jayce said nothing, instead rising from his seat and checking his gun over for the hundredth time. Examining the sight, counting the clip size, polishing the few scars which bore upon the metal. His hand drifted towards his back, feeling for his scythe hilt. Assuring himself it was there, he nodded to the eight or so soldiers he'd brought along with him.

"Alright chaps, here's what's about to happen. As soon as the shuttle touches down, open fire on any high-priority targets. Basically make them think I've decided to come and beat them to a pulp. As soon as you've landed, the shuttle will provide a bit of air support, before heading to a new location where we can extract Rose and our surviving forces. Speaking of which..."

Jayce brought his communicator up once more, "Kalak, have you managed to retrieve Rose?"

No answer. The Demi God could only hope his nephew was merely distracted, hopefully with the slaughter of Shard forces.

"Alright, you know the plan, now get moving!"

Jayce hit the button to open the ramp, hopping down to the battlefield below. Throwing his hood up and wrapping his lean frame in his cloak, he began quick march to the gunfire coming from the east...

Meanwhile, in the present...

Observing the battlefield, crouched behind what looked to be the rusted frame of a tank, Jayce's hopes weren't exactly high. True he was here to provide a bit of help, but the situation itself was dire. His nephew appeared to be engaging three of the Shards' best troops. He thought he could spy Carissa's crossbow, and the lance of a familiar warrior, but where in the hell had they acquired a giant freaking robot!? At least the metal hulk seemed distracted, carrying what looked like a body... a body of a woman who was more than likely to have a date... oh ****.

Teliana.

Great. Another one of their fighters down. One of their more proficient ones as well. Jayce couldn't tell if she was dead or alive from his current position, but he did catch sight of an all-too familiar assassin. Excellent. So Teliana had managed to rescue Rose. The roar of an engine from overhead swiftly formed an idea in his head, and he sprung to action.

"Pilot, touch down by that little dune over there," Jayce signaled a nearby area where Rose and Teliana could safely extract, "wait a minute or two for my return and any surviving soldiers. If I don't make it back by then, take off.

Satisfied that Rose and Teliana would now be safe from danger, Jayce still had to save his cousin from the immediate danger. Four on one was not spectacular odds, even for a Demi God. However, if Jayce could take one of them out, he was confident even all of the remaining Shard forces would fail to beat them. A smile spread across his face as he eyed his target. The same metal robot from earlier.

Time to reduce the electricity bill.

Xanatos would probably have slapped him if he'd heard such a joke spouting from his son's lips.

Jayce drew his scythe, running his hand across it and whispering Demi God Technique - Lightning Splitter. Jolts of electricity sprang from his fingertips, bathing his weapon in a beautiful blue arc. The moment his weapon was ready, he leaped from his hiding place and dived into the fray of battle once more. The robot was currently racing towards Kalak, turned away from Jayce. He couldn't ask for a better opportunity. With his enhanced speed, he quickly gained ground on the mechanical creation, before leaping up into the air and swinging his scythe down, aiming to stab the robot in one swift blow.​

 

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Onamakritos pondered about what he could do. He wasn't a medical profession by any stretch of the imagination. Neither was The Remnant, though he did see in her writings she gave Xanatos a successful blood transfusion. He decided he would burn the wound shut. He lit a small fire on his finger tips, and used his other hand to grab onto her shoulder. He put his hand to her chest, his face slightly redden. "Damn, fire is hot..." He murmured to himself.

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Spoiler

She didn't respond, but merely had a endearing smile on her face. Jaden was just a child. Her expression changed, though, at the message of Xanatos. Whatever the Remnant had became, a dangerous tyrant, with great knowledge of the world and a taste for the destruction of humanity. A wise, crazed lunatic, yet an icy hearted killer. A sociopath of sorts. But somewhere inside of Calxiyn, through her years of pain, was the girl she originally was before. And at Xanatos' name, her expression changed drastically.

"Xanatos?" Her voice quivered, as if she may cry. Years and years, she had forgotten, missed her team. She was all alone, and in her loneliness there was no relief. She saw the teams in the village, friendships formed to defend the worlds. She missed that. She yearned for that. She wanted that more then anything. And Xanatos had been so important to her, and essential part of her happiness. "Take me to him! I want to see him, more then anything." She cupped her hands together, putting her fists above her chest.

 

He saw her facial expression change as soon as he mentioned the opportunity to see Xanatos. Apparently she was very, very attached to the past. He understood now, why she wanted to try to put Aidan into him. She framed it as a bid for power but really, he thought that she just wanted her Aidan Samarost back. Well it wasn't going to happen. He was not going to live out his life as the vessel to a man who died before he could finish what he had started. That duty fell to Jaden. However, the present situation created some opportunities.
"Of course, I understand. Who am I to keep you from reuniting with an old friend?" He spoke, his question quite obviously rhetorical. "But you owe me for this Calxiyn. Your debt will be a great one. As great as the trouble that we went through to get this opportunity. You could of course, pay some of it off by cancelling that foolish challenge of yours. It's a waste of time. We wouldn't be able to ask as much of you then. I certainly wouldn't consider demanding your entire army join mine as part of the price if you were to do so." He naturally did not mention the fact that they had bought this priceless item for probably much less than it was actually worth in Sarnic Royals. It looked like he was going to get some excellent value from that deal. Political leverage and a tool to perhaps uncover a route to the man himself, and some answers about the true events of the time. This was getting to be far, far more interesting.

"Very well my lord. If you'll excuse me, I'll make the final preparations." The Lieutenant set off and ensured that all the directives that Zahariel had seen to were given. The officers were given a final reminder of their duties and their forces had been arranged. Now it was a matter of waiting. Corenna waited in the command centre of the camp amongst the radio operators and other staff that remained inside with an anxious look. Their new CO had set him on edge, and he wasn't quite used to the entirely different style of command that they were taking up now.




Corruption Rating: 38%

She saw Onamakrtios go red as soon as he put his hand on her. She rolled her eyes and groaned irritably. She had to put up with enough of this sh*t with Aster.
"It's only my goddamned stomach you teenaged idiot!" She punched the shuttle and looked around. She saw Timothy sprinting off with... Someone she didn't actually know. She was injured, and she definitely wasn't one of theirs. As she watched, she saw an all too familiar figure in pursuit. "Hurry up! You're coming with me! Our prisoner is escaping! Damn it, I thought Jaden had prepared better than this!" Once her wound was finished being sealed, a tear of pain rolled down her cheek as she attempted to make no audible or facial signs of distress. She picked up her crossbow and ran after them.
"Come on! Those two will not get away now!" She loaded her crossbow and raced after them. She soon spotted them, following the robot's footprints in the nearby sand dune. One was definitely injured, and Rose might not be doing so well. That would make their job a hell of a lot easier. She saw Rose trying to treat Teliana's injuries. "Don't move you two! Nice try Rose. I need to say thanks to Timothy for leading us here. I see you're both injured. Don't put up a fight. We won't hurt you if you just surrender." She sneered.
"Much. Don't worry, we'll look after you. Wouldn't want our prisoners to die on us, would we?"


The Demi God's body neatly dodged the attack, just as predicted.
"Too slow." He uttered. He didn't have much time to tackle Reitan alone however, as the bizarre demon woman flew at him in a rage. Already moving backwards, it was easy to keep the momentum going and dance aside with a swing of Duskfall as he stepped neatly aside. She was the more formidable of the two. In a long engagement, the lancer would fall as his human body gave up and the body of this Demi-God kept him going. Compared to the Ancient powers that Vasher invested into Kalak's superhuman frame, very little would stand against him when initiating a full on assault. He assumed a defensive stance again, ready to parry any attack from Reitan and dodge the demonic figure that the Shards had now employed against them. He waited for them to come. He relished the opportunity for the kill. Once the opening was made, it would be over. ​

 

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Spoiler

She crossed her arms. "The great Jaden Samarost is turning down a fight, one that he agreed to no less? For shame." She teased him. "Where is your pride, your honour? You say that Carissa can handle herself, and if she likes the taste of blood so much, it won't be a waste to her, now would it?" She smiled at him cockily. "But if you're that scared, I suppose I may consider it." She smiled again. "Priceless indeed." She snorted. "You know, we have something very similar to that device, one in every household in the Kingdom, in fact. When you are traveling different worlds and dimensions, it's only natural to have such a device."

"I am not one to back out of a fight, but maybe seeing my old friend will change my mind, hmm?" She grinned, content with herself.

 

​

Ana pressed her hand against the oozing wounds in her stomach, narrowing her eyes at Carissa. Would it be too much to ask to die before she got taken captive? "You know, you do the world a favor..." She slowly got to her feet, her breathing rough. "And you would think, there might be, oh I don't know, some good karma coming your way." The sword slid out from her hand, glistening and sharp. "But no. Nope, that would be too easy." She could feel the warmth of the red liquid seeping through the bandages. Another drop ship had flown in, presumably with reinforcements. Reinforcements that would not be coming their way, but were drawn to the battle instead. Men. Always going for the obvious. She stumbled to one knee as Black Rose proceeded to engage Carissa. "Please, just a little more."

Teliana didn't know who she was praying to, but honestly, if the Grim Reaper himself would have answered her request, she would have taken it. She didn't want to die here, but if it was the only alternative to being little better then a slave, used for the Shard's own entertainment, then she wouldn't pass it over.
Getting back to her feet, she wavered, then opened her mouth and screamed, "KALAK! WHEN I DIE I'M GOING TO PERSONALLY HAUNT YOU FOR YOUR SHIT ABILITY TO-" she used the blood sword to hold herself up, gasping at the pain. "JUST KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMEHOW YOUR FAULT, YOU STUPID DEMI GOD." And I won't even get to see you in hell. It didn't matter if he could hear her. It didn't matter if he couldn't. The anger and frustration helped revitalize her for one more go at Carissa as she lifted the sword from the ground, changing it to a shield that covered only half of her body. She couldn't spare any more blood to make it bigger.

Then, she waited for her opportunity.

​

Kala hissed as Kalak dodged her attack. She prowled, using all fours instead of just her two legs. She found it was much quicker to move this way, as her spine seemed to change in length. The tiny flaps on her back beat against her skin uselessly, which was slowly becoming blacker, harder. More like armour. Her bright blue eyes scanned the area, looking for potential items that she could use to get her hands on that bright light that resided inside of the Demi God. A sound interrupted her thoughts, the sound of storms. She turned, and screamed as she saw Jayce attacking Timothy from behind.

Abandoning the bright light, she turned and sped towards the attacker, her heart racing as she reached for his wrist; she didn't even care at this point if she hurt him or not, but she couldn't let him hurt Timothy.

Because when it came down to the wire, that robot was the only person in this world who cared if she lived or died. And no life force was worth losing that.

 

He smirked and shrugged.
"It was merely a suggestion, you can pay off the debt differently if you so wish. Just because such items are common to you, here these things are not so much. And I doubt your people can reach Xanatos Reaver himself, which this can. You'll pay our price for it, or you'll receive nothing at all." He led her through the base to a bunker on the other side. Two metal doors slid aside as they walked towards it, the people manning the door recognising the face of the Inheritor. The deeper inside they went, the more soldiers followed as their retinue and after descending a flight of metal stairs, they arrived in a large room sunk into the ground. Myriad machinery occupied the immense space and it was divided in places by large metal walls that allowed sections to function as individual rooms for testing purposes. "As you can see, there's still some work to be done, but this is our frontline research and development facility. The one in Sarn is much, much more impressive." Bare rock was showing through some of the walls and the place was alive with the sound of grinding machinery and work crews creating proper walls towards that side. They were met by the same scientist from earlier who led them eagerly through the bustling chamber into a divided off section. He noticed jamming towers in operation, presumably to stop any unwanted signals escaping. The men that had followed them, now numbering ten lined the walls. In the centre of the room, on a metal pedestal stood the crystal. A wire leading from it ran to the desk that sat near the entrance, at which the man who had greeted them had taken place with his finger over the button.
"On your orders, Inheritor." He spoke. Jaden held up a hand and looked to the Princess.
"We'll organise your payment later. Start thinking about how you expect to do it. For now, we have a legend to see." Jaden assumed central position, allowing his commanding presence to fill the room and nodded to the man to start.





Rose rushed her, impatient to draw blood. She knew that Onamakritos was going to be right there to give support. Even as Rose approached, she retreated. Rose had also made her trajectory predictable. Foolishly, she made a rolling move towards her. That meant that she knew exactly where she was going to be. She fired a bolt from her crossbow as Rose got up from her manoeuvre. The Huntress had put distance between the two, making Rose's attack ineffective, merely slashing at the air. Is this how the infamous Black Rose fights? Such an amateur. The other woman's shouts did not put her off. She was calling to the Demi-God. Well he was too far away to hear, and he was a little preoccupied.




Corruption Rating: 40%

Kalak heard Jayce coming, and his mouth curled into a wolfish grin. The tables were turned. The beast was now distracted, racing for Jayce to try and stop him hurting the machine. He formed a pair of Shadow Lances and fired them off at her. She was a being of dark magic, that much Vasher could see, but even dark magic did not make her immune to the metal that he forged with his power. He was positive that his uncle could handle those two, leaving him to deal with Reitan alone.
"Give up Lancer. You'll be treated fairly as a prisoner." He made the offer. If he could secure one surrender, then it meant that he could help his Uncle and not worry about the annoying spearman. ​