Shattered Planes Archives (Seasons 4 & 5)
Uncharted Space => Other => Topic started by: Admiral Regis Hermitage on October 02, 2012, 03:58:49 AM
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Hikaru found herself in the middle of a vast forest of purple trees with pink leaves. The ground had green dirt, and grew odd looking plants. The sky was reminiscent of New Dementia. Darkness surrounded her, as it was constantly night on her side of the planet. When she arrived, upon being rejected from the realm, she was chosen to go the the Dementia-esque side of the planet.
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Whatever Hikaru had been expecting to find, this was far from it. When she had appeared, one glance around the area and she knew something, though she did not know what, had messed up. "How bizarre... " Hikaru stood looking up at one of the trees, confusion written within her expression. "The spell must have messed up, I see no sign of my soul, or that man..."
"Obviously. But how I wonder..."
"Perhaps he knew what I would try and put a trap on the connection somehow. Either way, at least I am out of that room. Wherever 'here' is, it is outside. Which means we have a better chance of escaping now." She paused, for a moment and then mentally slapped herself, quickly correcting, "I mean I! I have a better chance of escaping now!"
"If you had let me take control, we would not even need to escape. We would have had our soul long ago."
Hikaru laughed aloud, "Correction. If I had let YOU take control, I would have lost far more than my magic. Because of you that deal was made in the first place, and because of you Hell is now gone which just seemed to piss him off and cause this."
"But we are the same. So we have only ourselves to blame."
"Grr.. WHATEVER! The sooner we find a way out of here, the sooner we can find out why the spell did not work, and find our soul! I MEAN ME! MY SOUL! The sooner I find a way out the sooner I can find out why the spell did not work and find MY soul. As soon As I gain my magic back 'you' will be nothing more than just a bad memory as I seal you away!" With that, Hikaru wandered forward.
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The trees began to rearrange themselves as bushes came up from the ground, entrapping her inside of a labyrinth. She would now see 4 pathways leading away from the squared off area she was now in.
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"What the..." Hikaru spun herself in ever direction watching as the area changed. "Great.. now someone is fucking with me... " She glanced to the four paths, and studied them, hoping to find some difference in each of them. "I should be able to just use Spirit Energy and locate the right path..."
"Unless it is cloaked."
"True.. And even if I did, that teleportation used up more than I thought it would, with that and the earlier attack I used on that demon, I have little left to spare before it becomes dangerous to use it. In the case that something more demanding calls for it, I had better save up what I have. No.. for this, I will just have to play whoever is behind this, game..."
"So one... two.. three.. or four... I say four."
"In that case I say two. And because I am in control, and the both of us cannot agree, three it is."
"What about one?"
"One is ALWAYS the most dangerous in these kinds of things. Three!" After saying that, Hikaru headed down the third path.
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Going down the path, she could see twists and turns in the path, but no real direct order to them. Several of them were dead ends, and several times when she turned around to go back, the path would be block. After several minutes, she would sense someone near her....
"Hikaru..." A voice said lovingly. It was soft and sweet, and she would immediately know it. Behind her stood an illusion of Koty. The Demented were masters of illusion magic, since Insana was one of its first users. It would be near impossible to recognize the difference.
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Hikaru stopped dead in her tracks as she spun around to face the voice that had called her. "Koty... how is he... I thought that Jay brat said he was dead." She stepped back, her face one filled of confusion once again. "
"Does it really matter?"
"No.. but... Here of all places?"
"Maybe he is the one that is fucking with us.. "
"Maybe... but I doubt it..." Looking to 'Koty,' Hikaru spoke up more loudly so he could hear her, a glare in her eyes. "Why have you returned? You made true your intentions when you saw me as nothing more than a tool to remove the seal on your Embodiment form. If you think I will forgive that easily and take you back, then you are sadly mistaken..."
"Not that you should ever have weakened yourself so much as to have feelings for him in the first place..."
"..Shut up."
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"I know, and Im truely sorry. I came here because i wanted to make amends. Follow me... I know the way out." He said.
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At his words, Hikaru's expression immediately changed to one of suspicion. "Way out of where? Just where is 'here' and how would you someone who everyone thought was dead, be here of all places, when it is somewhere even I do not know of... Unless... " Hikaru looked at him even more untrusting, "You either planned this, and you are behind it... But that would not make sense, because how would you know I would teleport here? Unless you are with that demon and caused me to teleport here... OR someone is trying to mess with me.. Whatever the answer, it does not matter. It still makes you my enemy."
Hikaru turned around and walked the opposite direction from him, "I am sorry 'Koty', but I cannot forgive you at this time, I will be finding my own way out."
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"You are in New Dementia... I had heard that General Stradivari was holding your soul, but when i came for him, Insana would not allow him to relinquish it to me. I was able to get your location from the Embodiment, so I came here... You have to believe me. I want to make up for what i've done to you." "Koty" pleaded.
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Hikaru stopped and turned around once more, a smirk upon her face, "And that is where you have messed up! IF you were Koty, this Insana whoever he is, would have to give it to you, as you have declared before, Destruction rules the other embodiments. And even if he still refused, the Koty I knew would have taken it by force and then found me. Nice try.. but I conclude that you are not Koty."
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"Insana does not obey the ancient hierarchy, especially in a realm where he rules supreme as a god." "Koty" said. "He is not a sole subordinate, as i only control a portion of his domain." he explained.
"But what do you care? Why is it that you failed to save me? Hm?" he asked.
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"Because you are not Koty..." Hikaru replied in a stubborn manner, " Even if this Insana did not obey, again, the Koty I knew would have taken it by force, he would not have just fled like a damn dog. He would have destroyed this embodiment if need be. So if you are not Koty, WHO ARE YOU?!" Hikaru chose to ignore the last question.
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"A God Hikaru... Do you not understand the concept of supreme control? Anything he says or does goes in his domain... regardless of power or force." he tried explaining again.
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Hikaru only shook her head, "Gods can be defeated. Especially false gods such as embodiments. Time was. My brothers K2323, and Kai both used their powers to seal Time and lock it from being used from even Time herself. If mere thirteen year old sages can do something like that with barely tapped powers. Just what are you saying? That Koty, an Embodiment himself would fall to another embodiment and not even try? I THINK NOT!"
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Instead of trying to explain again, he simply burst out in maniacal laughter. He melted into the floor in a black goo, and reformed himself into a beast. (Picture below)
(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/12/123915/2596704-alduin_could_have_been_cooler.jpg)
It towered 50 feet above her, and let out a loud roar. Whatever she had done, she had only aggravated the situation. Immediately, it struck at her with its massive claws.
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Quickly jumping back, Hikaru stayed out of the range of its claws, a look of surprise upon her face, "Dammit, was it the statement about calling them false gods?" With a glance up to the beast, she bit back her pride and shouted, "I do not know who you are! NOR DO I CARE! BUT I SURRENDER! ...I have no possible way to win this battle without magic or weapon..."
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!
"Making sure we do not die before we even find my soul. I would rather surrender this battle and have a chance than die powerless..."
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The Dragon calmed down a little bit... No one sane would have surrendered to such a vicious beast. The forces unknown watching thought that exact same thing. She had potential. The dragon stepped back and flew away, as a new path opened to her left.
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"Hah! See there? Whoever is fucking with us wanted just that. I mean me! Fucking with me!"
"Do not do that again! I have already lost my magic, must we lose our pride too?"
"I knew exactly what I was doing..." Hikaru growled before following the newer path.
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The path would lead her out of the Labyrinth, but only to be in the presence of a building. So, she had 2 options; go back to the maze, or proceed to the building.
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Hikaru wasted no time in deciding to enter the building. If there was a building, that meant there was bound to be people, whether friend or foe. And the sooner she found someone, the sooner she could find a way off this planet. Of course she did not believe what 'Koty' had said, and still wished to find just exactly where she was.
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The building had a wall. Etched into the wall was a simple riddle. "What make the bones quiver, and the minds shake. The trees whither, and the ground quake. What makes a rich man beg, a good man sin, a tough man cry? A lose win, and an honest man lie? The monument to all your sins lies before, but what stands in your way?"
The room was lit only by a purple hue resonating from the walls.
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"A riddle? Seriously? Who the hell do they think they are messing with?"
"Obviously it is someone who does not care..." Hikaru looked closer at the words, studying them. "Something tells me I will have to answer this before I can proceed.. Whoever it is, seems to have a rather annoying since of humor... So any ideas? Do we take it in parts, or try to come up with an answer to all of the above?"
"I would say parts..."
"No.. it has to be more than that.. Parts to add it up, maybe. But I do not think it is answered in parts.. Let us see..." She read over it once again. "Obviously, the rich man, good man, and tough man are linked. They are all opposites of what they would do.. What would drive one to do so, that should be the answer... But it would have to be an answer that would fit in with the others..." Hikaru stayed silent for a moment before focusing on the last statement... "Fear. The answer is fear."
" It could just be tricking us..."
Hikaru shook her head, "No, I am sure of it. Fear will make both bones quiver and the mind shaken to its very core. It will cause one to go completely opposite of their actions, hence the analogies of the rich man, good man, tough man, and honest man. For the trees withering and ground quaking, they are both analogies for what fear causes. And what even brought us here? Fear." Glancing to the ceiling, Hikaru shouted, "THE ANSWER IS FEAR!"
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The word disappeared, and were replaced with more writing. "And what is your greatest fear?"
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"..." Hikaru glanced around her, looking right, then left, before finally sighing. Hopefully no one she knew was there. HOPEFULLY. this was not something she wanted getting out. "Death... True death. Death I cannot return from, the state of being dead and not knowing I am dead. To have my existence entirely shattered. The fear of all 'immortals."
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The words once again disappeared and were replaced. "You are but a child in his great eyes, but make no mistake, these hall may be your demise. Should you perish, there will be no gravestones... but why believe me, why dont you ask the bones?"
The room was lit even more revealing skeletons of those who were drove mad, and died there. The wall came down, revealing a hallway of mirrors.
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"Hmph," Hikaru merely rolled her eyes. "Thanks to my counterpart here and the words Time spoke to me, I know nothing I face here can bring about that permanent death I fear. So whoever you are, you are wasting your time."
"Such is the blessing of being ingrounded."
"Indeed..." Hikaru ignored the new scenery and walked into the hallway, carefully avoiding looking at the mirrors. Mirrors in magic were gateways, illusions, and mediums for all kinds of spells. It was thing to avoid entirely.
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This did not help her though. Simply being inside the building would cause the effect on the mirrors. The first few she passed were simply memories of her childhood. They progressed to her moments of pain and sadness. Every single horrible moment that she had ever experienced was being played before her eyes. upon hitting its climax, a scene of Koty's death, and Antonio's face laughing at her shook the building.
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The first few memories were nothing, Hikaru simply ignored them as she had been through them countless times now. As she reached her later memories after first destroying the village she grew up in, and the countless massacres afterwards through manipulation of Zere, she started to slow her pace, the memories very easily getting to her.
She had already suffered the guilt of these several times now. Back when she had been first captured by the Aralangs, the seal around her mind had conscience had broken and she had felt the guilt of them all. Added to that was when the Aralang leader had threatened her into unsealing the rest of the memories, and she had ended up in a coma through the guilt, only able to get through it when she had accepted it and the memories subsided, repressing themselves.
Now however? Yet another dose? Hikaru started to become unnerved. She had no magic this time, not even internal. Whatever guilt her memories brought up would be entirely a psychological battle she knew she could not win. Not with how many she had killed as just a child. A grown adult would not even be able to handle things like this. But Hikaru? She had committed these acts from the age of five-years-old and up. It was not until she had chased her brothers to the mortal dimension did the acts top being so tragic.
By the time Hikaru had made it through even half her childhood memories, she had already clenched her eyes shut, walking forward guided by sound only. When she made it a little over half way, she slowly dropped to her knees holding her head, willing it to go away. The guilt of her past deeds was so strong it kept her frozen in shock.
But even then.. she had to keep going. Right? If she let this get to her now, she would never get out of here and in the end, never get her soul back. She had to find some way. "Gr... t-t-take over...now" The words were barely muttered before she collapsed.
Seconds later, she stood up, ignoring the memories completely. "It is about time. Lucky for you, I did not experience changing my ways. So these are not going to affect me as harshly." It was the 'other' Hikaru. In her desperate attempt to not fail here, Hikaru had switched places with the other personality, the one of the former Ingrounded!Hikaru in order to pass through. Her counterpart was right. She hadn't gone through the years the current Hikaru had had to change. She hadn't gained friends, and love, she hadn't had reason to feel guilt over all the wrongs committed. That is where their experiences caused them to fight each other mentally. Where Hikaru had changed and cared about people finally, her counterpart was still living in the 'past' so to speak.
Looking rather bored, the other Hikaru walked through the hallway easily as the current Hikaru retreated to the depths of her subconscious, allowing her counterpart to lead for now.
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Save for those who developed Multiple Personality Disorder, this had never happened. The building began to shake furiously as the planet recognized the IG Hikaru as a new entity... A cheat to the system. This only upset the planet even more, as the walls and ceiling began to collapse around her. A loud roar could be heard as the dragon from before had returned. The game was resetting itself for its new contender.
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At hearing the dragon, the other Hikaru growled, "Damn! I guess this is not going to work. Not unless we want to end up fighting." She quickly skidded to a stop and then retreated back to her subconscious to bring the current Hikaru out of it. "This is not going to work! Just get out there and run for it. If we run fast enough, the memories should not bother you.
"Grr.. r-r-right..." The current Hikaru took back control and managed to remain standing, though hardly. "I just have to remember all of it has already passed.. You work on fighting the guilt then!" Hikaru
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The shaking stopped, and the building reformed itself. The dragon had stopped briefly to confirm what the system was doing, and retreated.
A wall came before her, and words were engraved upon it. "You wish to cheat, and will not play In this place is where you stay. Till you face, what you will fear. What a shame. The end was near."
The wall slid back beneath the surface and the mirrors continued.
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"Grrr.. IT WAS NOT A CHEAT!" Hikaru's eyes narrowed as she shouted. Her former fear gone, replaced with her usual pissed off mood. She had had enough of these 'games' and was no longer in the mood to play along. "We are ALMOST the same person. The same spirit anyways!" With a glare towards the rest of the mirrors, Hikaru clenched her fists, and snapped, "We are going."
At that, she stroke passed the mirrors without looking at even one of them, her complete focus on her anger at this place and its games, which fought back the guilt.
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She now entered a large arena. There before her stood none other than General Antonio Stradivari and her soul or what seemed like it. "Ah, you made it." he said. "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to arrive." he said to her in his usual mocking tone.
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Without a word, Hikaru willed the Elite Energy to reblock the connection to her soul that she had unblocked to even teleport here. "There he is..." she muttered. "Now I just have to beat that damn fool. Get my magic back, and then just because I am already pissed off. I am blowing this entire place up. But first... I need to focus on beating him..Without magic or weapon, this will prove difficult.. perhaps I can fool him... " More loudly, Hikaru spoke up, "First chance. Return my soul or die... Your choice. If you return it, I may let you live."
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"How cute... you are ordering me around. You silly little bitch, do you forget who i am?" he said. "I have single-handedly been able to fuck with you this entire time, and you havent even realized it. You arent the smartest of the sage three, are you." he mocked her. Instea of taking a defensive stance, he simply sat down in a chair next to him.
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Hikaru simply glared, "You are only able to do that because I do not have my magic. If I had it, you would be running about now. So where does your 'power' come from? Simply by taunting someone who is currently mortal. You do not have the guts to face me with magic, so you resort to this. Make all the insults you want!" She walked forward towards him, her eyes on his, "I WILL be taking my soul back! And as for that move you did last time? It will not work now. Go ahead and try."
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"IF you had it... which you dont." he said. As Hikaru converged upon him, she would find that he would get further away, and her position unchanged. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention that you are in an infinity band. The more and more you want to get to me, the further you get." he said as he yawned and sat back in relaxation.
"If you truly want it back, then you will have to try harder than this... i mean come on. I though you would have been more fun, but you are truly starting to bore me."
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"And you call me the stupid one?" Hikaru gave a short laugh, "You know nothing of sages. The moment you revealed the soul out in the open, you lost this little battle. Why do you think you were able to affect me with it and not so much now?" Hikaru smirked as she answered her own question. "Because a sages soul is spiritually linked to them, that is why it can be used as a medium. I blocked that connection temporarily.. However, if I were to unblock it, it works both ways, I can either teleport to it, which was how I got here in the first place, or use that connection which is contagion in nature, to channel spells remotely."
Hikaru then unblocked the connection and attempted to focus on the connection to her soul, willingly Spirit Energy to cause it to burn searing hot like that of Holy Fire.
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The connection would not be made to her "Soul" however. "I have my own cards to play in this game..." the illusion said. "I own you, Ms. Tyris."
With that, the illusion disappeared, and she was set free from the infinity band. She now found herself in an empty arena. A small podium rose from the floor, and was illuminated by a single light from above. It seemed to have a very shinny object resting on it.
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At the word 'own', Hikaru blasted a thin beam of Spirit Fire at him before the illusion disappeared, her eyes narrowed further into an even darker glare. It didn't matter to her that it made her weaker and consumed more of her spirit energy, at this point she was far more than just pissed off. "I have had about enough of this.." she snapped before focusing her attention on the object as she walked forward. May as well get whatever was going to happen next over with.
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Appearing at the start of the massive maze, Vincent Hearts, Satya (who was passed out on Vincent's shoulder), and Keith would appear. Vincent looked around, confused. "I don't understand," he said, "This should have brought us straight to that guy. Where is he?"
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"A trick created by one too scared to fight his battles. Can you sense in which direction we should proceed, which direction he would be found?" Keith? said, looking around himself. He could feel it...Madness, insanity, byproducts of the Chaos he was born from and growing to control himself. It didn't affect him at all(for how could it? He was not alive, nor dead, nor somewhere in between; sanity and madness held very little meaning to one such as he whose mind may itself be a figment of imagination), but he could still sense its presence. There was something...Strange about this place. Not exactly wrong...Just peculiar.
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"I can't sense him," Vincent replied, "This place does [i[reek[/i] of one particular embodiment, though. I can feel the very force of Insanity in the air here. It makes sense. This is something he would do. I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him once, actually. Radical and he quite often associated with one another."
He glared around the planet, dully. "Whatever you are right now, neither of us are strong enough to penetrate an embodiment's domain forcefully. Even if we were, I'm not quite sure where his domain is. What he has to do with this Antonio guy, I'm not sure, but he can probably give us answers. Why else would we be brought here instead of straight to the guy?"
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On the podium was a small mirror along with a note attached. "Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who am i after all? A question right, a question wrong, but no less needs resolve. Look upon its silver face, and take your time. Do not make haste."
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Meanwhile, at the labyrinth, Kieth and Vincent would notice the scenery start to melt, as they now stood at the foot of a large staircase leading up to a large monastery. The powers that be had judged them worthy. Or had it. In front of them stood a single pillar with writing etched into it.
"What is the key to the lock that is your mind?" was the only visible thing written.
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Having had enough of what she perceived as games and getting rather annoyed of it all, Hikaru in her rage simply picked up the mirror and threw it at the nearest wall, which added to the strength boost she got from the Elite Energy, was pretty damn hard. "I do not think so!" She shouted aloud at the entire room. "I am playing no more of these damn games, demon! Either come out and fight me fair and square, or you will eventually wish you had!"
"About time!
"SHUT UP!"
Meanwhile, Satya began to stir. As she opened her eyes which were now a strange blue color and not the white from before, she gasped in surprise at the surroundings, and then in realization that she was being carried, started to act fearful. "W-w-where am I? Who are you?" She questioned to Keith and Vincent.
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The mirror simply reappeared on the podium with the note.
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When it had reappeared, Hikaru simply picked it up and threw it AGAIN. And if it reappeared? She threw it again, and again, and would continue that cycle over and over till she eventually regained composure if she did... as by now through her anger and annoyance, she had completely lost it.
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Immediately, thousand upon thousands of them appeared around her. A pile of the notes were dropped upon her as well.
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"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" About now Hikaru had had it. Picking one up after the other, she started to throw every single one she could get her hands on. And when that still got her nowhere, it just served to piss her off more. "I WANT THIS ENDED DAMMIT! YOU HEAR ME?!! END IT AND FIGHT ME!!
With a scream of rage, Hikaru blasted the ceiling with a beam of Spirit Energy, passed the mark of caring whether she was getting dangerously close too using too much or not. Eventually when she had used more than she should have, she fell to her knees, weak with barely enough left to live.
"Stop being stupid!
"SHUT UP!" Hikaru snapped in repeat as she struggled to catch her breath, too weak to stand at the moment. "I HAVE HAD IT WITH THIS!"
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In the hole created by her beam, scrolls of notes began to rain down on her head. Oddly enough, a cloud slipped in and simply hovered over Hikaru, pouring down rain.
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"I don't like riddles," Vincent grumbled, glancing over at Satya as she began to stir. He gently laid her down on the ground, starting to reply to her, "Look, I s- Wait. What was that. Did you guys feel that? I... I think someone else is on this planet. I think I just felt something."
He glared at the pillar before him as a plasma started to bubble out of the ground and coat the building. It would not hurt Satya, Keith, or Vincent, but to everything else, it would be normal, insanely hot plasma.
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"...Are you finished yet?"
With a pant, Hikaru sighed as she slowly nodded but remained on the floor. "Everything is over... In the end we were beat..." She started to shake her head, "Even if I catch up to him now... that was the last of my Spirit Energy, all I have left is enough to exist with... I have nothing left to fight with... NOTHING! No magic, no weapons, no Spirit Energy! Without my soul, it cannot replenish as it has no magic to feed off of. I do not want to admit it... but we are simply beat... " With another sigh, she simply let herself drop to the floor and rolled over onto her back, where she could simply stare up at the raincloud with a glare. "Face it. he has won..."
By now Satya (now Gwyn if it was not obvious) was standing as she looked quizzically at the scenery. If these men had kidnapped her,why did even they seem so ... lost? "Excuse me..."
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As she laid down, footsteps could be heard resonating off of the arena walls. 2 men, one wearing a blue robe, and the other wearing a red robe, stood over her, and looked down, staring at her through their hoods. "Is she one of mine?" one asked.
"Resulka, look at the sky, and tell me what you think. Do you really think she's one of yours?" the other replied.
"Well there is a rainbow..." he said. "Well in any case, i'd say Psychotic."
"No, no.. there is something odd about her. I sense royal blood within her veins." the other replied. "Sociopath for sure."
"You cant be serious... why would royalty be here? Usually he would bring them directly if he deemed them worthy." He said.
The one in the blue robe shook his head at the red one. They once again continued to stare at her.
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The plasma wouldn't even touch the Monastery. It was protected by a barrier, which was why the pillar was in place. "Thats not very respectful you know..." a voice came from behind them. There stood a hooded man wearing a green robe with gold trim.
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"Well they are obviously stupid... whoever they are."
"Indeed..." Hikaru merely nodded before immediately jumping up, and glaring at the both of them. "That is Hikaru Tyris to you bastards! Eldest of the Sage Three, the three most powerful magic users in existence and descended heirs to both the Genesis Dragon and Phoenix kingdoms; Royalty of the Sages. We conquered and tamed the entire Dimensional plane for many years!" Her tone turned sharply before growling, "Now who the fuck are you, and what do you have to do with that damn demon?!"
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Neither answered her.They looked at each other, and back at her. They both brought down their hoods revealing themselves. The one in the red robe, was Father Resulka, a Priest from Mania, and the other was Father Polonius, a priest from Dementia. "Alright, i'll give you that one Polonius." Resulka said as they both stared at her.
"Well, last i had heard the Sage three werent exactly royalty anymore." Polonius said.
"Still had the bloodline though." Resulka replied.
"Im not sure if it still counts... It'd be different if she had subjects." Polonisu retorted. "But i suppose we can let the High priest decide."
Resulka nodded in agreement. "Child... do you wish to accept the blessing of which you have worked so hard to gain?" Resulka asked.
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"Blessing?" Hikaru blinked for a second, caught by surprise before returning to her glare, "Just what the hell are you going on about?!" Though it served to piss her off, and her facial expression showed it, Hikaru for the most part used what little self control she had to ignore the conversation about her royalty. She would deal with educating them at a later time. Like when she had her magic back. She also chose to ignore the fact they called her a 'child' which she was far from being, "LOOK! I do not know who you are, nor do I honestly give a damn at this point.
"But if you are with that demon, then you should very well know why the hell I am here! I am here to retrieve my soul and kick his ass! My teleport led me here when I traced the link to my soul, therefore I know for a fact, and the experience of already meeting up with him that HE IS HERE! NOW TAKE ME TO HIM!"
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When Gwyn started asking questions, Vincent just sighed as he quietly said, "Quiet down, I'm working. I'm not sure what's going on. It's like there's some kind of barrier in place. It allows us to move freely all throughout, but if we try to attack, it doesn't work."
At the sound of the hooded man behind the group, Vincent turned to face the guy, who appeared to be some sort of priest. As his plasma, obviously ineffective due to the barrier, began to come back towards Vincent, retracting itself and turning back into the base magic it was created from, Vincent's eyes were locked on the man before him, almost as if they were studying him.
"Are you with Insanity?" Vincent questioned.
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"We know not of the demon you seek but there is one that you wish you to speak. Should you accept, we'll take you away." the blue robed man said.
"But should you deny, its here you will stay." Resulka finished the thought.
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"Indeed i am with the great Lord Primoris." The priest answered. "I am Nocturne... the High Priest of the Demented." he introduced himself.
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Rhyming an indirect answers, two things that just served to increase Hikaru's already high temper. Riddles she could take, they were something to dwell on and figure out and somewhat a challenge. But rhyming on the other hand was just stupid and pointless. Especialyl when it answered nothing for her! "Just what the hell are you talking about?! Accept what? What blessing? For what?!"
"Dancing around the subject.. whatever this 'blessing' is that they want us to accept it cannot be good or they would not avoid a straight answer on the subject. ...Perhaps a curse?"
"Or some kind of bogus ritual.. and judging by these idiots I would go with the latter. Whatever it is, it will probably be difficult to get out of.. but if the other prospect is staying in this god forsaken place, I think I would rather face whatever this unknown danger is." She sighed. "Fine. I accept. THERE! Happy?"
When ignored and told to quiet town, Gwyn just shook her head in slight confusion, taken aback. "Excuse me!" She repeated more forcefully, glancing in awe at the robed man. Another kidnapper?
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"Excuse ME," Vincent replied to Gwen, "I'm working here. Stop being rude."
He turned back to Nocturne, bowing slightly before him. "We apologize for disturbing you, your... Priest...ness... We have come here to find an associate of ours who we believe is on this planet. A mister... Antonio? Perhaps you know him?"
-
"Ah, yes. General Stradivari." Nocturne replied. "He is currently in a meeting with Lord Primoris, and the Countess. I probably should ask... what business do you have with the General? Its not every day that we people coming directly to the realm to find someone that does not even reside there."
-----------------------
The priests looked at each other then back to Hikaru. They nodded in agreement. "Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod,
Rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!
Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah,
Ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!" was chanted by them both, as the room lit up and melted into a courtyard. It looked like it was part of a Monastery.
"Welcome to our humble home Ms. Tyris." Resulka exclaimed.
-
Hikaru simply glared with a look of impatience, "Which is where exactly?" She was in no mood for more games, and these two were not helping that mood. "And by that I mean what planet? What dimension? WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?!" She crossed her arms, "And I STILL want to know what it is I am accepting!"
"Um... you kidnap me, and then you say I'm being rude?" Gwyn just looked shocked. "I think you don't understand the meaning of rudeness."
-
"Well, the uh... Spell, I suppose you could call it, that I used should have brought me right to him. I suppose this must be some kind of defense mechanism to prevent us from getting into the domain of your lord uninvited," he explained.
He quietly whispered in Gwen's ear, "I didn't kidnap you, I saved your ass!"
Turning back to the priest, he continued, his voice now more firm with authority and respect. "Look, sir. I have no business with the general, but my friend here," he motioned towards Keith(?), who was, well, obviously not quite himself, "Does. We don't really need to make him mad. Not sure how, but he's got something to do with Anarchy, the general of the Plexan War -- the embodiment of chaos, that is. 'Sides, he says if I can get him to the general, well, he and I can settle our differences and call it even between us, you see?"
"Look, I don't have much to ask of you, which seems fit considering I don't have much to offer you either. Whatever power I had has been revoked with the destruction of South. Whatever kind of magic I may have had is pretty much useless now as well. I have nowhere to go and nobody to be, and it really makes no difference to me if I get this guy to his destination or not, I just feel like it's the right thing to do."
-
"Our blessing of course." Resulka said.
"And as for where you are, you are on world of Keizaal. The gateway to Neo Vulon." The other priest said. "In order to enter, you must have our blessing."
-----------------------
"The General is a High Acolyte of the Court of the Demented. What ever qualms you have with him must be settled outside of his Holiness' realm, or must be dealt with by speaking to Lord Primoris himself." Nocturne replied. "The choice is yours, follower of Chaos."
-
"Well, I guess that's up to you, man," Vincent replied, turning towards Keith, "The choice is yours. I'll follow you regardless. As for you," he turned to Gwen now, "Where do you need to be? It makes no difference to me. You can come with us or we can drop you off somewhere."
-
"Strange names..."
"Who cares, it must be where that damn demon is. And we were right, it does seem to be some kind of bogus ritual. May as well play along," by now Hikaru had calmed down and regained her composure. Now that she was actually getting somewhere, she needed to be able to think straight. Even if these two did continue to piss her off. Though she did wish she hadn't used up most of her spirit energy. Now what was she going to do even if she did manage to get to that guy?
"So then..." Her tone turned more formal as she attempted to be 'nice'. "What is the hold up?"
Save? Gwyn just looked perplexed, what did she need saving from exactly? And what were all of these people talking to. Startled out of her thoughts when asked a question, Gwyn blinked before answering, "Umm.. I don't know where I was to begin with... the last place I remember was umm.." she struggled to think back, trying to recall the memory. "Was being at some type of fighting tournament, and talking to another there. Did something happen at the tournament to require me to be saved from?"
-
"Tournament? I've been out of the loop. The last tournament I remember is the Plexan one, but who knows how long ago that was," Vincent replied, "We found you in Hell. Uh. South. Well. It was South. The Old South now I guess. That has a nice ring to it. Old South. Anyway. You appeared and did this weird thing where you like... Destroyed everything. Then you passed out."
He paused and thought about how insane he sounded. Maybe it was because he was on one of Insanity's planets. "Okay, well, anyway, you showed up and were in a sort of trance or something. You looked kind of funny too."
-
"This 'General' and I have many things to discuss. Although I may suspect words shall not be the primary method to communicate. While I have no quarrel with the Lord of Madness, I will not allow my prey to escape."Keith? said finally, not entirely certain what was going on. His memories and thoughts were beginning to settle, but would probably take a long time to finish sorting his mental state. As it was, he was still unaware what memories were his, what weren't, or what the difference was. To the small girl, he simply said,"If I recall right, you destroyed Hell. Whited it out or something. And the last tournament there was eight years ago. If thats the last thing you remember, then I should recommend you try drinking something a little lighter next time."
-
"Hm.. strange, I don't recall any of that," Gwyn looked thoughtful for a moment, "It may have been Satya, but she hardly ever comes out or talks, and when she does, it's never more than a word or two. She has amnesia, you see. And she's currently asleep... However, I suppose I will join you, I wasn't really doing anything before this, and if the tournament is indeed over, I'm sure my schedule is clear." Gwyn smiled as she nodded before adding, "...So where is it we are going and what are we doing?"
Hikaru continued to glare as her patience wore thin, "Well?"
-
"As I do respect everyone's want for revenge, and what have you, the Lord of Madness has already agreed to another belligerent party's request to settle differences with General Stradivari. However, if you do insist I or one of my priests can escort you to the Countess so that you may discuss this with a higher authority." Nocturne informs them.
------------------------------
Resulka simply nodded to his colleague. "She has given consent." he informed him. The colleague nodded in response. Both priests put their hands together and chanted.
"Naal our suleyk mu ofan you kogaan "
A circle formed around Hikaru, with lines making formations within. It glowed green.
"Kom mu aak hin kotin fin qo."
The circle started to transition to blue, and grew brighter, and brighter.
"Nocturne's zul kos ofan ahrk suleyk wah lo. Kodaav vahzah mir wah Drog Primoris ahrk siiv Insana fus. Fin kogaan do vul morokei naal dinok nivahriin bovul."
A great force was now exerted from the circle, up and outwards, blowing Hikaru's hair up in a flailing manner, and blowing back the hoods of the priests.
"Ok dun Drog Primoris kos werid." The concluded. After a few moments, the circle dissipated, and the priests approached her. The blessing now complete, she would now feel the immediate affects of becoming a Demented. Had she her soul, she would feel her new power as well.
"How are you now, Child?" Resulka asks her.
-
"Another party?" Vincent asked, skeptical, "Differences? I don't think we're on the same page here. You must be talking about that other group. I believe Chaos was among them... They were seeking out this guy, trying to find something that belongs to Lady Hikaru, if I understand right."
-
"Not likely. Well, they may be attempting to retrieve something belonging to that firestarter, I dont know about that. But I know for a fact that my brother no longer lives. And whatever expedites our progression towards the death of this 'General'. If I must speak with a member of your faction, then very well." Keith? said, first to Vincent and then towards the guard. Despite his words, his tone was fairly even, implying indifference to who he had to speak with or why rather than annoyance. He turned to his other ally, saying,"For now the only quest I have is to confront a former General of Hell who has...To put it lightly, he has wronged me. And to do this, it appears we're meeting with a noble of Insanity's domain. On your note, you mentioned a 'Satya'? From how you describe her, I do believe that is very similar to how you were behaving. You were very quiet, at any rate."
-
"Ask me that again... and I will make sure you are destroyed..." Hikaru said through gritted teeth before she promptly fell to her knees, one hand on her forehead, and the other holding herself up. Obviously that ritual was a little more than she had anticipated, but for the life her, Hikaru could not figure out the magic that had been used or what spell took place, even when she wracked her memories of reading most of the spell books in the Records of Time. If it was not in those, just what the fuck could it be?
Of course, the fact past memories had started to flash before her mind more rapidly than before did not quite help her thinking in fact it was starting to hinder it more than ever now. Just what was the deal with that?
"It is your own fault you know, you should never have killed them..."
"Who are you?!!"
"Who are you?!!" The question came from both Hikaru and the second split, but no longer Ingrounded, Hikaru that was within the back of the mind of Hikaru, at the same time, both aloud and within the mind.
"Wait.. if it is not you, then what?!"
"Do you not remember? Those many years ago you killed me, and then put me to sleep for the rest?" The newer 'voice' sounded depressed yet at the same time soft and small.
"Well either that ritual was one of possession or... we never left that room and have both literally lost it. I am strongly hoping it is the former...
"GRRR.. Just shut up right now! ...BOTH OF YOU!" Hikaru hastily shoved the past memories aside ignoring the cries of protest from the other 'voice' and forced herself to standing, her glare darker than ever as she growled at the men before her. "Just what the fuck was that ritual?! I demand to know the exact spell!" Before waiting to receive her answer, Hikaru simply shook her head in disbelief with a short laugh, "NO! You know what! Better idea! Take me to the damn demon now!" She reached out to grab the robe collar of one of them, not caring if she succeeded or not.
"I played your damn games, and participated in whatever your ritual was, NOW I DEMAND THE PRIZE! DEMON! NO-" Hikaru suddenly paused her screaming as a wave of something big hit her, a wave of ... from the feel of it, a large, extremely powerful magic and an equally frightening signature that followed it." Her expression quickly changed as Hikaru glanced around, looking for the source of the signature as she glanced in the direction of where it had been felt. "...Did you feel that?"
Gwyn merely smiled in respond to Keith, "Sounds fun."
-
"I guess we're off to see the wizard, then," Vincent joked, eyes locked onto the priest's.
-
"The effect is strong on her... She is definitely as powerful as we thought." The purple priest said to Resulka. "Perhaps we should bring her to Lord Primoris."
"Agreed. We shall." Resulka responded. he now focused his attention to Hikaru. "Child, would you like to speak with our leader? Im sure he has something very special in store for you."
---------------------------
Nocturne clapped his hands together. A circle now began to surround them, with lines making odd shapes and symbols in the middle of it. "Drog Primoris, Aak." He chanted. The circle grew lighter, and soon the scenery melted away into a large throne room. "Welcome to New Dementia!" he announces.
(New Topic.)
-
Hikaru said nothing for several seconds as she continued to glance around. Could such a strong magic signature have came from this place? Or had it been further off..? And just what could have been that powerful? The only signature she knew could match such a thing was her own and her brothers. But it was not her own, and she would have recognized it had it been Kai or K2323, was it an embodiment? Or something else....
Letting the thought hang, Hikaru forced it from her mind. AS much as she was tempted to find out what it had been, at the moment, Hikaru couldn't even think straight, let alone, figure out who the signature had belonged to. She would just have to wait until her magic was back.
If she ever got it back... With that thought, Hikaru quickly shook her head and snapped back to 'reality' returning to glaring at the two men before her. She had no time for such thoughts, she had to focus... "And just who the hell is this Primoris person? If it is that demon, then YES! Dammit! That is the entire reason I played your stupid games or agreed to your stupid ritual in the first place!"
"You know, you should not yell, it is very disrespectful..."
"SHUT UP!"
"SHUT UP!"
-
A man appeared on the planet, wearing a red, chrome mask -- the mask of Anarchy, dressed in a black trench coat with a scarf and long, black pants and a wavy, dark blue shirt. The moment he appeared, his entire body, which was surrounded by red, Anarchaic energies, shot energy outward as the red energies started to sort through the massive insanity, the illusions of the planet naturally finding themselves in chaos as this figure walked forward, searching. A scream would pierce through the minds of all nearby, a scream filled with absolute mayhem in its voice.
"CATORCIUUUUSSSS! SHOW YOURSELLLLFFF!"
Whoever this man was, he wasn't playing around.
-
"Well, well, well..." a female voice came from behind. "I wasnt expecting such an honored guest." Behind the man stood a female dressed in red robes, and a hood. The Manic Priestess, Mother Kilauea Pele, presented herself to the newcomer.
-
Turning to face the priestess, the Anarchaic man stood, staring, turning his mask-like stoic chrome face, from which light bounced off and the priestess would be able to see her reflection. The red aura that surrounded him seemed to want to reach out and touch the priestess, as if the power of chaos wanted to complement the power of insanity. However; this power was not raw and untamed like Chaos' had been. This man had control over his Anarchaic abilities.
Again, his words rang out into the minds of the priestess.
"I seek one named Catorcius, of the Tyris. Do you know him, woman?"
-
"I know of the one named Chaos..." Pele answered. "If it id the Embodiment you seek, you will only find his work. Welcome to the Domain of Lord Insana Primoris. The Embodiment of Insanity." she introduces the newcomer to what he has just found. At the mere utterance of Insana's name, one could feel the power that was present on the planet as it reacted. With the both of them there, the planet itself began to excite itself after. Wind started to blow, and rain started to pour upon them.
-
When the rain and wind would touch the red aura around this man, it would seem to simmer and burn in the chaos as his face took in the surroundings of the planet named Insanus. He was in the domain of the embodiment of Insanity? What was Chaos doing here? Turning back to face the priestess, his mind rang out again.
"The man, Catorcius, son of the embodiment. You know of him?"
-
"OF him, yes..." She replied. "What know you of him? Or of the High Embodiment of Insanity?" he questioned.
-
"That's not important," the man's psychic reply came again as his black "eyes" -- or the blackness where he should have had eyes -- stared at hers. "My spell brought me here. Catorcius Tyris should be here, but I do not see him anywhere. What is the meaning of this?"
-
"You've stumbled to a place of Chaos, but not of Chaos himself." Pele explained. "However, i am not on to judge the quality of your spellcasting, but it brought you to the Domain of Insanity for a reason."
-
"Hm... So you mean to tell me that Catorcius is not present?" his psychic 'voice' rang out now as he finally took a step forward, a red, hot wind of chaos blowing out.
-
The wind blew her hood back revealing a deceptively young looking woman. Her hair was jet black, and her eyes were as red as her robes. "Chaos is not here." she said in what sounded like a an exhausted voice, but she was holding something back. "How may i be of service to a Regent such as yourself?" she asked, now inches away from him.
-
"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," his voice rang out now, before he disappeared.