The Elder Invasion: CHAPTER 4 - Insanity

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Soulless turned as he felt his wound heal. To this he gently shook his head and tugged his injury out of her hands before it was fully healed. "No, I'm ok." He purred out softly, taking the moment to gently nuzzle the face of the woman that Jack risked his life to save without taking his sight off of Asmodeus, obviously displeased with his appearance. One could always trust Asmodeus to turn the mood sour, at least with this particular character.

He then was surprised as someone else came to. Another woman, one who was the cause of all of this. The one Saneless took pity on. He let out a strange noise, something between a meow and a whine to get her attention. He took one or two steps backwards to be beside her without taking his general awareness of the angel. Can't be too careful. If he goes for you, you have enough blood to at least stop the first hit... "I'm Soulless." He spoke softly to her. "What's your name?" He purred out softly to her, trying to comfort her fear with his words. "Dun be scared.... I... I think you're the same as us." He blurted out, not quite knowing how to say they were both possibly insane and had severe cases of Multiple Personality Disorder.

Then Sakura seemed to become exhausted, possibly from overextending herself. He flipped out his dagger quickly and stabbed his same wound again, feeling faint but not quite dizzy yet. He would be ok for a little bit more before he would need to start thoroughly regulating how much blood was flowing out of his body. He coughed lightly and took a heavy breath to settle himself before taking out the dagger and sheathing it again. The little blade would be able to do nothing against whatever enemies may come, so he would have to be on his guard. He gave a weak smile to Natalie, allowing a distrust that wasn't his to leech out, perhaps only Natalie would notice it. Perhaps even she wouldn't notice, but it was worth giving a shot. However, he then glanced back at Asmodeus and Sakura and his emotions became all his own again, a deep frown now replaced his happy features and he prepared for whatever would come... especially if it was by some angel.

"I... I didn't hurt them. Jack told me to bring them help." He spoke to explain how he could be found bleeding and around injured bodies. "Jack's in there too." He spoke, this time with a noticeable hint of a growl. He was suspicious, that much was obvious, but he was also very frightened. He wouldn't be able to defend himself, much less everyone else, if Asmodeus decided to be an cruel and evil as he had once envisioned him as.

Soulless refuses Sakura's help, tries to comfort and calm Natalie by assuring her she has the same problem he does, and tries to explain that he, for once, didn't hurt these people.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

As Sakura, Soulless and Natalie stumbled from the woodland, the sugegasa hat of CoffeeCakeSadist tilted and his unseen gaze came upon Asmodeus. "That's my cue to leave."

Asmodeus looked to the old mentor. "Is this it? Is this our last meeting... before the final act?"

Beneath the rim of the hat, Coffee's mouth formed another enigmatic smile. "Is anything that simple?"

"Yes," Asmodeus stated.

Coffee started walking backwards, the shadows around him growing, the mad landscape twisting in colour and texture. "Not me, mon frere," he gave a last smile, "Never me."

He suddenly fell, his feet coming out from under him and his body dropping back into the darkness. The ground and horizon swallowed him up, as if he were a piece of code being overwritten. In an instant Coffee was gone and, with a sigh, Asmodeus turned.

Sakura flinched and took a step back, her body dwarfed by the shadow of the angel. She still remembered the attack on the RRD - Asmodeus's cruel and motiveless backhand that had plunged her into unconsciousness. The girl retreated a little, keeping her eyes on Asmodeus and Natalie... two people who had each tried to kill her in the space of a day.

"Are you following me?" he asked, his tone halfway between sinister and welcoming.

Sakura opened her mouth, stuttering a little, then visibly finding the strength to answer and to show she wasn't afraid. "No!" She turned and motioned to the girl who Soulless was tending to. "That girl... she... she brought us here and... JackShade and Mr Pirogeth too, and Captain Tain and some others. She... there was these mean plants and..."

Asmodeus stepped past her, leaving her with Drake, and stood over the glaring Soulless. He studied the half-conscious Natalie. "Another Reality-Bender?" His eyes shifted. "One of yours, Soulless?"

"She didn't mean it," Soulless replied sharply, glaring up at the angel. "She's just confused."

"The natural state, it seems. And I thought you had died in Shifter Town."

"Did you hear what I said? Jack and the others are hurt."

Asmodeus watched him and the girl a little longer, almost amused, then looked to the forest. "Well, I best go and rouse them. I wouldn't want them to miss the main event."

"Event?"

Asmodeus set off towards the forest, twirling to answer Sakura as he moved. "The Hero of Iwaku shall be revealed tonight! Exciting times, Saki - EXCITING TIMES!" He moved off into the shadows. "Drake - stay with them." he ordered before vanishing.


Soulless's blood-nest was only a short distance into the forest, at the edge of the twisted path where Natalie's fear garden had resided. The carniverous plants seemed to be dormant, their long stems drooping and their blood-red leaves faded to deep violet. Asmodeus could see the remains of Seiji, partially devoured by four of the plants, along with some of the RRD soldiers. He kept his distance as he circled the blood nest and peered inside.

JackShade, Pirogeth, Tain and Okami. They all looked like hell, covered in thorns and blood and spores. The angel climbed into the nest and started checking pulses. But even before he touched them he could sense the heavy hand of death in this place. And as he checked them his wings drooped sadly, his brow furrowing with the sense of loss.

Three of them were dead. One of them lived.

He placed his hand on the face of the survivor, smiling. "It's not yet your time. There's more for you to do."



Five minutes later, Asmodeus returned to Sakura, Soulless, Drake and Natalie. He was carrying a single body, and behind him the Fear Garden was going up in flames, burning with a deep, blood red smoke. The angel's robes were stained with mud, his eyes downcast, a scowl upon his face.

"The poison had reached their hearts. I have laid them to rest." The fire bloomed in the forest behind him as he laid down the survivor. "But this one we can save. Soulless, I need a blood transfusion. We'll put your blood into his system and intercept the poison, then flush it out. Drake, we'll need your claw to pierce the blood vessel - sterilize it somehow. And Sakura, when we flush the poison, you need to heal the wound and keep the heart pumping."

He knelt beside the survivor and looked up at each of them. "Trust me now, or this man dies."

The others approached tentatively, looking down at the dying form of Captain Tain.





[SUMMARY: CoffeeCakeSadist departs and Asmodeus agrees to help Sakura and the others. He goes to the blood nest and finds that Pirogeth, JackShade and Okami have died from their wounds. But Tain is still barely alive. Asmodeus cremates the others and carries Tain out. They now have to race against time to stop the poison reaching his heart.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Soulless growled softly. Shifter town? What shifter town? He has never heard of a- Nevermind what he said! Look, he's coming back now. He's got a body with him only one... can't tell wh- wait... this is bad news. The voice of his other hand rang, piercing his thoughts and directing his attention to the Angel's return. Suddenly flames burst out and the blood bubbled and suddenly Soulless seemed to react to this, tugging his arm backwards almost violently as his blood retreated at the surprising speed which only showed off his prowess as weak as it was compared to his other. He seemed to hiss in pain as he glanced at whatever cells had been boiled and he separated the damaged from those saves, transferring the saved ones back to his body and the useless blood was cast aside. A waste of resources. Still, hoerver, he did not close his injury and kept it open by unallowing his blood to clot. It wasn't time to heal that injury yet, he doubted it so. However, the hero of Iwaku, wait an interesting concept! He wondered who it would be. Hmmm, well there was no time to do this now. Instead, he listened carefully to Asmo's orders.

Flushing out poison- it was a gentle process, something that required precision beyond his means. He paused for a moment, before closing his eyes. Really? I thought you hated that damned angel. A reply now came not in thought but in voice, softer.He's hurt. The person himself never did anything, so nevermind Asmo. Please? A gruff laugh. You really outdo yourselves in kindness Soulless... you should sometimes let me just take care of it my own way... fine.

Saneless opened his silver eyes and he breathed in air- something he hadn't done for months, it felt like. Carefully he knelt and glanced at the dying man, his blood slithering out of his arm like a snake from under some stones, meaning no harm... for now at least. He glanced around, then lay his eyes on Asmodeus. "Never speak things of the past with Soulless again. I've... done a little editing to his mind, so he doesn't remember some worse parts." He spoke gruffly, unafraid to order the angel around like he would anyone else. His voice held a lingering but unsaid 'or else'. Albeit, he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to stand up to the Angel but- it was worth a try. Anything was worth a try, or at least that was what he learned in Insanity. With a heavy sigh his blood quietly circled around the injury before slipping in and the rather unknown part of Soulless closed his eyes and his nose wrinkled in a snarl of concentration, his blood seeking the poison that lurked in every vein and artery and capillary, taking it into themselves and giving the poison something to keep itself busy with.

The blood then spilled out of the same wound and onto the crimson floor. It took all of a few minutes for the first trickles to come back, but it took upwards of ten for his blood to really start to return in an easy stream. For a few moments more is blood was rivered around to make sure it was done, then the poisoned blood lay useless and dying and Saneless abandoned it to do so, watching the puddle twitch and then go still, just another typical blood puddle. He sighed and looked at his wound, deciding that his other half could take care of it. "Done." He glanced once at Natalie, then, feeling a little lightheaded from both the sudden acquisition of body and the use of his blood right after, he leaned backwards and instead of being on his knees simply fell on his back, limbs spread out as he stared at the sky. When he closed his eyes and opened them again, the eyes were light and content and the newly renewed Soulless sat up, the injury on his arm immediately beginning to heal.

"Wait... everyone else didn't live?" He asked suddenly. "Are you sure?" He asked again, shaking his head in a bit of disbelief. He didn't know the rest of them, but Jack... had perished from the poison, even though he tried so hard? "...Do you even care Jack died?" He asked, tone more curious than hurtful but his words could've easily been taken as painful. He looked down at Tain, then up at everyone else, lingering a little longer on the angel than anyone else. He glanced at the useless blood, dead in a corner, poisoned. More resources wasted, but what was a meal's worth of blood compared to a life?

[Saneless does the flushing and threatens Asmo with speaking about past events around Soulless, Soulless accuses Asmo of not caring about Jack's death.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Natalie looked at Asmodeus in fear, seeing his powerful wings, completely unaware that his powers were significantly reduced here. Natalie nervously looked on as Asmodeus did not attack her much to her relief. After some nervousness and internal struggle, Natalie gathered herself to notice the dying Tain. Screw it, Feral's not here, I gotta do what I can to clean up my mess, Natalie pulled herself up and followed the others. Not really sure if she could do anything, she decided to ask.

"W-w-well, can I do something?" Natalie struggled a bit with the question to the others, her speech problems impeding her even in these critical moments.

[Summary: Natalie pulls herself up by her boots and asks if she can do something to help]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Asmodeus laid Tain's head back, resting it on a scrap of cloth he had taken from Pirogeth's cloak. Sakura was kneeling by the captain now and doing her best to heal the injury where the poisoned blood had been flushed out.

He glanced at Soulless as he returned to his feet. "JackShade died 18 years ago, helping bring peace between the Pincedoms. He was a hero of bygone days. That is how we shall remember him, not as some short-lived fool who got himself killed by A FUCKING PLANT!" The last words were shouted as he turned on Natalie, gripping her by the throat with one hand.

"Explain," he demanded, lifting Natalie's feet from the ground, squeezing harder. He nodded towards Drake as he continued. "Explain to Drake why his commander is dead - why now, on the night of the Hero's coming, JackShade was denied the chance to witness it!"

Natalie was almost choking, her hand clutching the angel's wrist, her legs kicking at the empty air.

"EXPLAIN!" roared Asmodeus.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Soulless immediately got up, a high snarl rising in his throat as he took out his dagger and in a moment the dagger was thrown away, blood clean on its surface as it fell harmlessly to the ground. He was here to save a life, not witness the brutality of a supposed 'angel'. He shouldn't have let his guard down and think that Asmodeus has changed. Just a flip of a switch and he would fall enraged to whatever victims were around, blind to their suffering. He dashed forward and tackled the angel, his injury was light but his blood spilled out upon the urgings of the boy. Here he was, his blood being used regularly. It's been burned, poisoned, and now it'll finally be used as the fighting technique it was usually used as.

He growled and latched his mouth onto to the angel's arm, biting down harshly, perhaps harsh enough to break skin. His blood soaked from his still-revealed arm and surged out to the angel in a large wave, crashing down in a force more bruising than cutting, something not fatal but it would show clearly his displeasure with bruises and maybe a broken bone of something small. The nails of his revealed hand similarly clawed at the man's arm, his other hand on the angel's wrist and trying to get him to let go by mere pulling, as if everything else wasn't enough. He felt sorry for Natalie. She probably didn't know what she was doing in that situation and so he had to defend her. After all, he was once the past, a person who once desires nothing but to protect Insanity and its residents.

Of course, might as well live up to that expectation and pry something that pretended to be an angel (but for now, was merely a beast) off a victim who, by her inability to control herself, had killed someone he might've called a friend. Although disappointed, he saw how the girl was feeling and it would be obvious that she couldn't control herself properly. Perhaps this was how wars started. One person kills another on the opposite side by action, and the backlash would happen, and then the reaction of that backlash would follow suit. His silver eyes glared warnings at the angel, promising for his blood to switch from pummeling to stabbing in a bit if he didn't control his anger.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Sakura barely had a chance to realize what was going when Asmodeus grabbed Natalie off the ground and started choke her. The girl glanced worriedly at Captain, her healing magic seeping through her palms and surrounding him in a white, fuzzy glow. She bit her lip; while she was worried about Natalie's well-being, she knew Asmodeus was powerful when provoked. She frowned, uncertain of what to do. Should she try to...At the sound of Soulless' snarl, Sakura looked in their direction, her eyes wide. Soulless is...defending...Natalie? Sakura didn't quite understand. She knew that defending Natalie from Asmodeus was something anyone would do, considering Asmodeus' sudden bursts of violent anger, but Soulless seemed so determined that she wondered if there was something else to it.

She stood up, watching the way Soulless was desperately trying to save Natalie and push Asmodeus away. She felt that she had to do something to stop them or they'd all get injured badly. Soulless was already injured, Natalie had not quite healed and Asmodeus was angry. Sakura didn't think a scuffle like thsi would end well. She bit her lip, trying to think of a quick solution and then nodded to herself. She held out her hand and a flash of light and sparkles formed her wand. A small rectangular bag appeared attached to her messenger, the Sakura cards that she used with her Luminous Soul. She raised her hand towards her shoulder and a pink card faded out of the little bag and to her hand. She grasped it and held it in front of her. Twirling her wand, she threw the card into the air and hit the surface with the top of her wand.

"WOOD! Stop them!" she exclaimed. The card she had chosen, The Wood, grew vines out of the ground that curled up to ensnare Asmodeus and Soulless, tearing them apart and holding them in place forcefully. She hoped that by trapping Asmodeus and Soulless in place, Natalie could move away and Soulles

"It's not going help if you fight! Asmodeus-sama, it wasn't her fault Jack died! He tried to save us. He risked his life to save us!" There were tears in her eyes, "Don't blame others for what he chose to do himself! You're not the only one that's upset about it!" She didn't want them to fight, she didn't want anyone to fight needlessly. What was the point of arguing and hurting each other when there were so many people injured. Captain Tain was the one they should be helping. Sakura understood that they had their reasons for fighting each other. She could see Asmodeus was angry. She could tell that Soulless was infuriated. But she believed that they knew better than to resort to violence and hurt each other. That's why she was so desperately trying to stop them.


[Sakura tries to stop the fight between Soulless and Asmodeus by using her Luminous Soul/Card Captor powers. She uses The Wood card to separate them and restrict their movement with vines. She tries to talk sense into them, but is mostly desperate.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Like the hissing clash of fire and water, Reality Bending met with Confluence.

The angel was hauled backwards in the snare of the vines, which writhed like his own skin, both beset by little sparks and patches of colour that moved beneath the surface. The vines spasmed and Asmodeus twisted, the two entities rolling and coiling over each other. In waves the Confluence came, wilting the plant in the absence of the sun, before their own magics reasserted and shimmered with fresh ripeness. A cycle of death and rebirth, neither state gaining dominion.


"My Lord, the Towers are rebuilt. I placed the final keystone this evening and chained the Herald in place. A public ceremony will be held tomorrow morning."

"Spare me your prattling! You have one job, Warmaster. You find him! You find him and you kill him!"

"My Lord, if Palonis does not wish to be found, then there is nothing..."

"Shut up! SHUT UP! GET OUT!"

"What... what is it, my love?"

"Nothing! Go back to your chamber, woman!"




With a painful thud Asmodeus fell out of the vines and rolled across the ground. He ended on his back, staring up at the bleak skies of Insanity. And for less than a second there was a slither of crimson in his eyes, and then he blinked, the angelic blue returning. He lay there, making no effort to move, forgetting about Soulless and Natalie... even the blood that trickled from his arm...

What was that? That memory? It wasn't his. He had never said those things, not to the Warmaster. He had never hunted Palonis. And that woman... the woman who had called from the chamber... he had never known her.

A false memory. A history that was not his own.

What the hell was happening?


Was his mind slipping, even now... the taint of Insanity coming upon him?

Or was this part of what Coffee had prophecised? The True Hero... his emergence that would twist all others who looked upon him?

These were strange times for sure. Stranger and more important than a pair of reality benders. Slowly, Asmodeus got to his feet, his other hand staunching the flow of blood from the bite marks on his arm. His mouth twitched unconsciously, almost forming a smirk, before he brought it under control. He glanced at Sakura, nodding to her slightly.

"That's settled then," he said with his back to Soulless. "I will not question your loyalty to this girl. And you shall not question my concern for JackShade. Look to it, boy."





[SUMMARY: As Asmodeus is trapped in the vines, he suffers a false flashback - a memory that isn't his own, of an event that didn't happen. He puts it down to a random effect of being in Insanity and is then dropped by the vines. He gives up trying to punish Natalie for what she has done.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Natalie was suddenly grabbed by the throat. A bout of struggling ensued as she looked at Asmodeus, absolutely frightened yet enraged at the same time. Dammit, I knew I couldn't trust these people! Natalie's stronger voice yelled over Asmodeus's wrathful voice. Asmodeus was about to choke the young lady when Soulless desperately attempted to restrain the angel. Sakura looked on concerned until she concluded that she should restrain both of them. Sakura's vines clashed with Asmodeus's confluence, and held back Soulless as Natalie weakly fell to the ground, gasping for air on her knees and hands.

Her dominant self angrily yelled out about how she should've taken out the dagger and stabbed the angel, but Natalie merely crawled away from the two men, absolutely terrified. A brief flash-back ensued as Natalie simply lied on the ground, in a state of mental paralysis.


"Natalie, come back here!" a fair-haired woman yelled, chasing the then platinum blond Natalie.

She chased Natalie through the red sands of Insanity, an angered look on her face. Natalie weakly continued to run, tears falling from her bruised face. That same white dress from her dream blew violently in the wind as Natalie began to tire. The wind blew against her, the sand laughing as it whipped itself into her eyes. The cruel world was laughing at her, the heavens ascending farther and farther away as Natalie's young body caved in, causing her to collapse into the sand.

"Your father would want you gone!" her mother violently snapped, roughly grabbing her daughter from the sand and grabbing her by the neck much like Asmodeus did.

In response, that same horrified look that she gave Asmodeus appeared on her innocent face. "Tell me why your father died, Natalie!" her mother screamed as Natalie felt herself slowly fading into consiousness.

" . . . " Natalie gasped as a bud of a plant emerged from the ground, a small, piranha plant like creature emerging from the red sand and smacking her mom away, freeing Natalie.

"Run away, worthless daughter! Never come back!" her mother angrily yelled as she retreated while her daughter nervously gasped, running off into the horizon.


"M-my p-past h-haunts m-me; i-it w-won't go awa-away," Natalie crawled away from Asmo, afraid of him, and afraid of what she would do to him if she reached her dagger in time. "N-negative Legion," Natalie weakly went on before lying down in the sand.

[Summary: Asmo almost choking Natalie gives her a disturbing flashback about how her mother tried to choke her much like Asmo as she weakly crawls off and gives a rather vague answer to his rage-filled questioning.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Kaze raced across past Venun Hill, his body already weary from having been traveled such a great distance as a breakneck pace. He had to get Asmo as soon as possible, especially with the recent turn of events. If he made it quickly enough, then he could inform Asmo of what had happened at the Temple of History before it was too late.

His traveling had been difficult, as both the mountains and the Shapeshifter village were both overrun with noobs. He had skirted both of them, hugging closer to the mountains and speeding through. Lucky for him, if there were any enemies nearby, they paid him no mind or he was traveling too fast for them to do anything. Either way, he managed to get past the first to obstacles and eventually get to where he was now.

As Venun hill faded over the horizon at his back, a massive explosion rocked the ground, and, even from this distance, he felt the massive destruction from Dystopia, watching in awe at the large plume of fire and smoke stabbed into the sky. He wasn't sure what was going on over there, but as he began towards it, he soon saw a speck speeding away from the wreckage. As Kaze followed it, he figured that it must be Asmo, as only he could fly like that and be strong enough to survive whatever transpired at Dystopia.

He saw the dot finally drop and raced in the direction that he lost sight of them. However, as he moved further and further south, he suddenly realized what awaited him. Insanity. Having only read about it in texts, the place was something you should never understand nor try to. The only person to truly call this place home was Paorou, but one could argue he was the embodiment of Insanity itself.

Kamikaze paused at the mirror, trying to steady himself for what he knew, yet didn't know, what laid on the other side. He drove in slowly, and felt his breath be pulled away. It was like some sort of odd dream, where nothing looked right, yet did not have that quality of being false. No color was where it should be, and the air had an odd aura about it, as if somehow it was blowing in the wrong direction. Deciding he didn't have any time to waste, he moved on.

He soon came across a burning patch of land, what looked like charred plants the source of their flames. He looked around to see if he could find the culprit, or some clue to where Asmo was, when he saw him and a group of people upon a hill. Lightning crackled around Asmo, as if he were under attack, though after it ended Asmo did not show aggression to the source, and instead spoke calmly to them, though Kaze could not hear.

Driving up, he slowed down to a stop before the group. His breath came in small pants, he had never driven for such a long duration, and it was having a noticeable effect upon him. Walking up to Asmo, he spoke in short bursts,
"Asmodeus, I bear news..... from the Temple of History. Despite.....despite Chaos being with us.....the Cycle has deemed it fit that he die protecting the.....the knowledge that the Temple contains. I have come here to you.....to seek you to become my mentor in place of Chaos... Only then, can I become strong enough to guard what is most valuable....History."

Kaze looked around at the rest of the group behind Asmo, Natalie on the ground, muttering and looking obviously disturbed, Sakura with a worried face upon her, as if she were helpless to her current situation, and Soulless, who was obviously injured, but still held an aggressive stance towards Asmo, who it seemed angered him in some way.
 
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Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Drake said nothing, silently moving to Tain’s side to being the procedure. It was strange to think Jack had died, but he could not bring himself to feel remorse for the young angel. Inevitably…Jack would return…perhaps death would teach him a lesson this time.

“May your soul rest beneath the branches of the Father tree,” Drake murmured automatically, the customs and rituals of ages and lands past bubbling to his lips. “May your feet point to the Northern Paradise.” Shaking his head of the words, Drake watched Asmodeus from the corner of one dark eye. Tremoring with excitement, the angel wove his way around the conscious like a watchful hawk. The child who had brought the survivors, Soulless as it was called, seemed repulsed in the callous indifference Asmodeus had accepted his long time general’s death. His angry words clanged against Drake’s soul and reminded him all too clearly of what he’d said before.

“That broken creature will never love you.”

Piercing Tain’s skin briefly, the wererat paused as emotions flared. One arm cradling the captain, Drake rolled from the explosion of roots and vines dividing the distance between angel and child, hissing softly his disapproval as though chiding the young.

“Put away your fangs, a man grows close to death while you two squabble!” A hand on his feverish brow, Drake cast a desperate gaze at Sakura. With the energy she’d spent, completely cleansing this man would be beyond her power. Perhaps, however, if the captain were to be altered…one poison might be fought off by another.

Drake reviled from the thought at first, a shadow crossing his skin and eyes. It had been years since he’d passed on the curse of lycanthrope and It was not a proposition he enjoyed the thought of. Still, it was the difference between life and the shroud of death. Still there was resistance! A lifetime of persecution, of minimal control, of fear…It was not a fate Drake wished on any, and yet it strangely seemed the only recourse to saving his life. Asmo had dropped the girl who crumbled in on herself in tears. Laid low by fate and dire circumstances…was there any other state of being in Iwaku? The Cycle chose its plots haphazardly, quick in execution but rare in foreshadowing. It all came out too quickly to defend against. So then…there was no preventing what was to come…and no stopping what Drake had to do. Opening his mouth and pausing only briefly to whisper an apology, Drake bit into Tain’s shoulder. A rush of energy passed from Drake into Tain, throwing the airship captain into convulsions. “Hold him down!” Drake snapped at Asmo, his own body weak from the magical exchange between the two beings. Falling back from Tain, the wererat lay limply on the crimson earth and cried. Tears coursed from shut eyes as a familiar nausea embraced his stomach. Even in the act of salvation, his victory was laid low in context. Life as a lycanthrope was what this Tain had to look forward to now…should the curse take to his battered body.

Asmodeus had turned to help Drake with the captain, his own face strangely glowing with unnatural excitement. Watching him wearily, Drake wondered if perhaps he should have killed the Angel when he had a chance in Dystopia.

No…Asmodeus would serve his purpose despite what twisted role the Cycle wanted of him.

The angel had been right, it was unfortunate Jack could not be here to observe the end of the climax. Pity Asmodeus who was not insightful enough to know the full plot of the play.

The approach of a new individual did little more than illustrate the selfish inadequacies of new iwaku. Were these the heroes Asmodeus sought? Creatures like this…Kaze…focused on himself and his own needs without regard to what happened around him. Angrily Drake hefted a crimson stone and hurled it at Kaze’s face with a snarl. “Have a mind to observe circumstances boy! What need have we of history with the people dead and the land torn asunder?” His tears muddled his vision and Drake lay back upon the ground again, staring up into the licorice sky. “Does he live Asmodeus? Was I at least able to save one?"

One question still pricked his mind, eyes sliding to Natalie gasping on the ground. What had Jack been doing in Insanity, and what did the girl have to do with it?

Furthermore, how did Asmodeus know?


Spindly stalks cracked in the heat of the inferno, snapping jaws long charred and silent among the dying Fear Garden. Within the center, sticky corpses glittered in expectation of consumption. Each hid a secret in cold flesh, a crimson mouth where heart once beat. Seiji with his arms of steel lay with eyes half open. A curious expression held rigid on his face. Okami splayed beneath him, dog-like eyes bulging and unseeing as fire took their liquid gleam. Pirogeth was silent, his frowning lips stilled as his color soaked the dust. Jack lay upon them all, his body crumpled almost forgetfully. The shape around his heart had run, sinews working back together with a steady eagerness. But he did not stir as fire wrapped around his figure, burning clothes and flesh without discretion. Beneath closed lids the eyes were frenzied, bouncing back and forth.

“Your end will come!” the bearded man shouted, a bobbing sign among placid faces. “Asmodeus is lying! The towers must not be completed!”

Hoisting up his grungy pants, the rotund prophet rested against a curfew poster neat upon a marble wall. No one stopped to read his words, too fearful of reprimand to pay the fellow mind. He wiped a dirty arm across his forehead and bent to even out the smears upon his sign.

“Slander is punishable by imprisonment and torture,” Above him, the sound of wings beating the air majestically announced a presence he was well familiar with. “Zeon misses you in his chambers, are you giving me a reason to drag you back?”

The stout man did not acknowledge at first, evening the edges around his damning message carefully. “His lordship does not appreciate the seeds of fear you spread, I won’t warn you again.”

“You…” the man murmured, gripping the pole of his sign, “Are the biggest fool of all, lawbird. What do you think they’ll do with you when the towers are completed?”

“Enough!” the voice barked, a pair of armored legs followed by a torso framed by glimmering wings. “Perhaps a week in the Mature Tower will teach you respect!”

The prophet swung his sign up to shatter against the breastplate of the angel, forcing the figure back a few steps. Turning, the rotund man danced away with a glitter to his step, reality warping around him. “Myrnodyn!” The angel cried, drawing his sword. “Stop!”

“Farewell Jack Shade,” Mynodyn smirked and was gone…leaving only the remnants of his sign behind.

Jack picked up the splintered pieces, making a note to hassle the Research division about locking Sector 19 from Disapparation and glanced over them.

“The world unravels, Beware the Red Storm” Was written brightly, as through scrawled in new blood.

The memories weren’t his, but Jack could not awake to dispel them. A voice broke the surface of his tormented consciousness, soothing in its soft tone as icy tendrils dragged Jack beneath another face…a different face from what he knew.

“Sleep sweet knight,” the intruder commanded not unkindly “When you wake your world will be different.”

Jack struggled against the foreign presence, daggers of question ripping at the visage.
“WHO?!” Jack cried before his mind was sent to slumber “who…?”

“I, dear knight?” the voice replied almost incredulously, “I…am Nobody. Nobody at all.”



Summary: Drake tries to help Tain, but Sakura is too weak for full detoxification. Drake bites the captain in hopes the curse will counteract the poison. Kaze shows up and Drake hurls a rock at him for being so self centered. Jack awakes amid bodies but is swiftly put to sleep by another presence within him. We understand it goes by the name Nobody.
 
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Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Asmodeus had been standing with his foot on Tain's chest, pinning him as Drake sunk his teeth into the young captain. And now, with one outstretched hand, he caught the rock that was hurled at Kaze, stopping it a few inches from Kaze's face. So it was that he gave the Wererat a look of twin disdain, for his anger and for the unholy gift bestowed upon Tain. He watched Drake move away, licking his lips as he laid upon his back.

“Does he live Asmodeus? Was I at least able to save one?"

Asmodeus dropped the rock and took his foot off Tain, leaving the man to convulse and murmur, cared for only by Sakura. "I'm sure he has a few more tales in him." The angel moved away towards Kaze, who was catching his breath by the hover car.

ben_mauro_9.jpg

The Fidelis, a vehicle built and enchanted by Chaos. He had provided it to his servants at the Temple of History, allowing them not only to reach the mainland for supplies but also navigate the great vaults and libraries of the Temple itself. The vehicle's original engine no longer seemed functional, but Kaze had evidently refitted it with orbs that resonated with his wind magic. The car was virtually propelled by the mage's own energy.

Not bad, for a historian...

He watched as Kaze sat back on a boulder, clearly exhausted from his journey. His clothes were marred with dust and flecks of blood, his skin carrying the telltale hue of smoke. He looked like he had crawled out of a warzone and the grass around him twisted and whined, as if reflecting the horrors he had seen.

"So..." the angel spoke quietly, "Chaos has fallen too. We add him to the epitaphs of this night - the cleansing before the Hero comes." His eyes drifted as he muttered, then came back to Kaze. "And the others? The Knights? Daryl? Angela?"

Kaze shook his head.

"Then Grant and Uriel have yet more reason to mourn. I would I could give them my tears, for surely theirs are spent."

"The Temple is gone," said the Wind Mage. "Burned by the Elders."

Asmodeus's eyes drifted to the horizon, looking over the heads of Soulless and Natalie. "Then that explains it. History is bleeding..."

Sakura looked up from tending to Tain. "What are you talking about?"

Asmodeus turned to regard the girl. "Sakura, what was your brother's name?"

She opened her mouth immediately but then stopped, the answer stalling on her lips. She frowned for a few moments, then suddenly remembered. "Why, Razilin, of course."

"You almost forgot, didn't you?"

Sakura frowned again.

"Iwaku has never endured without the Temple. For the first time, we are without the Archives and the Cycle is being denied the record of its deeds."

"What does it mean?"

Asmodeus looked again to the horizon, "The Elders have attacked the very thing that defines us from the Noobs..." He gripped the hilt of his sword, his upper lip twitching with another half-smirk, half-sneer. "... our history."






[SUMMARY: Asmodeus learns from Kaze that the Temple of History has been destroyed. As a result, the history of Iwaku is bleeding, causing patches of amnesia and the false memories that he and Drake are experiencing.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

In the darkness, only stillness and silence existed.
The only color that existed was a sliver of crimson, alone in an endless black.

After what seemed to be aeons of static and quiet, a voice suddenly boomed, breaking the monotony.

"Awaken to your duty."

The single red sliver found itself bathed in golden light, as countless golden eyes filled the dark space.
As more eyes opened to gaze upon it, 'his' form became more complete, and more defined.

The single speck of red became wavy and long, as the light illuminated its presence. It quivered with life, unfolding and unraveling with each convulsion. From within, the first signs of flesh emerged. Limbs stretched, bones and sinew snapping them into position. Then, short raven hair became visible, adorning a shadowed face.

A great angelic chorus echoed throughout the realm, and 'He' opened his dull, black eyes once more.

"Esteemed King of Madness, Lord of the Endless Cycle, The World cries out for your guidance."

"What is expected of me?" 'He' responded with a rather lazy drone to his voice.


"Define what is, and remove what is not. Weed out what is against your will, and create what you desire. Shape everything; Thou are a living god. And the world needs you as it's caretaker."


A great surge of energy rocked 'his' domain, and 'he' looked to the heavens. The power to shape the very foundation reality coursed through 'his' veins, and seared the soul.


"Very well."


The world rocked and gaped open, revealing 'him' to the skies. The light of 'his' own gaze blinded 'him' at first. Then, 'he' clenched 'his' fists and began to float upwards.

As 'he' prepared to take flight and see the world for the first time, 'he' suddenly stopped and shuddered. There was a great realization, a paradox that now ate at 'his' thoughts. The newly born god who possessed the power to shape, and unmake, froze with confusion.

'He' was prepared to shape the world, to define and bend it to 'his' will.

But what was 'his' will?

__________________


It begun again.

The skies turned black and crimson, sneering with scorn and contempt.
The earth groaned and convulsed in defiance.
It's verdant, yet dying fields were inundated with blood;
The twisted flora starved and drowned, becoming dry and ashen.
The faithful stood on top of heretical sigils;
Their holy chants beckoning for the service of demons.

It was all because of the Elders.

Dimensional holes opened in Insanity, like gaping mouths into the gullet of the Empyrean. Antimatter dripped like drool from these holes, spewing their ichor unto the twisted landscape. Simply staring into the abyss of these mouths filled ordinary men with a stygian dread; an unexplainable fear of what lay beyond.

Then, they came.

The mouths vomited them forth with a horrible cacophony of slurping sounds. They fell unto the earth, and on on top of each other, like a swarm of dung beetles rolling upon each others' offal. At once, these balls sprung into action, becoming wicked spider-like warmachines that marched towards the hordes of the Bread God.

"In the beginning, Iwaku was one."

A masked baker-sorcerer turned to the sky, looking towards the great eye of Paorou - Insanity's Sun. It gazed back at her with indifference, simply illuminating all as it were. She turned back to the approaching insect-like creatures with a sigh. The officer pointed her staff forward, signaling their counterattack.

The bread god's faithful shrieked and howled, summoning forth demons and calling down pillars of fire with their zeal.

"However, the gods became divided. They fought for dominance until all but one remained."


The Elders spewed forth wicked rays of light that bisected demons as if they were mere fleshlings, banishing them back to the court of Skhone. The fires of the Bread God's ovens did little against their stone skin. They could each take out a hundred men before they succumbed to destruction.


"The mad king, Paorou, remained on this forsaken world."


Awaken to your duty. The voice echoed in his head.

He had fallen asleep again. It was a flaw he did not understand - gods needed no sleep. Yet, his duty was over the last time, so he had nothing to do. He slept, and only now realized that his duty was never over. then, as he began to think more clearly - he remembered that this was a conundrum he had awoken into several times already.


"The mad King Paorou decided that the fallen would be revived, to become the people of his world."


Awaken to your duty. The voice repeated again.

He stood up.

Golden eyes opened about him, illuminating his domain. He turned down, looking toward the mortals below. He saw the things that should not be, crawling all over his earth.

He grimaced, and began to descend.


"He realized that the earth was broken, and thus gave his own body to be trampled upon. Men tilled his flesh, and his hair became forests. Men built houses on his back. His brown skin eventually became the land, and his body became the earth of Insanity."


The Elders stopped their approach as a great mound of earth erupted in front of them.
It split open, revealing a pair of shoes.
Then, legs.
Then, a torso.
A red cape.
And then, a black haired head.

It continued to rise above them, eventually overlooking them. A red-caped man suspended in mid-air had stopped their advance. He was upside down.

The man looked up, looking down at them.


"Seeing that the air was still and lifeless, the mad king exhaled loudly. His breath brought forth an endless breeze, creating storms, shaping the skies and controlling the tides. His breath brought life to his steed, which fed on thunder and lightning. It grew wings made of levin fury and became the guardian of Insanity's skies."


A great gust of wind scattered the Elder's ranks, and caused even the earth to shudder. The red caped man simply stared at them with disgust, for he still stood in mid-air, unmoving and upside-down. A loud bang echoed throughout the land, and the mere sound caused a line of Elders to be dismantled in an instant. The earth itself was torn by it's passing. A great pair of wings made of living lightning streaked the skies. It came to a stop and hovered behind the red caped man, shrieking.

Its cries sounded like a mix of a woman screaming, a motorcycle revving, and the booming of thunder. The creature itself is like a great dragon, formed out of metal, particularly parts of some wheel-propelled vehicle. On its back were wings of living lightning. The hushed whispers of the beleaguered bread cultists gave it many names - but two words were constantly repeated.

"Crimson God"

"Paorou realized that the old sun was false. It only mirrored the light of the land, rather than creating its own. He plucked out his own eye, golden and resplendent, and set it upon the sky. His shining gaze warmly lit up the world when he was pleased, but became harsh when he was wronged. When he blinked or slept, it became dark, and the people took their cues, sleeping as he did. The people learned to fear the sun, which had them in his gaze and served as judge and executioner."

The man set himself correctly, standing upright like everyone else. He then pointed at the Elders, and drew an imaginary straight line along their ranks.

The sun blinked.

After the momentary darkness, a great pillar of light came down from the heavens. It vaporized a cluster of Elders instantly, and tore through the earth, leaving a scorched line that coincided with the caped man's designs.

The people of Insanity knew this as the true purpose of Insanity's sun. They called it many names, but all had something to do with Paorou's wrath.


"Paorou's blood and sweat began to seep out of his wound, creating rivers and seas. His sweat evaporated, becoming clouds in the sky. However, Paorou could control where they flowed, and he used them to shape his own will over the land. Where the men of Insanity shaped with their tools, Paorou controlled all with his essence. His blood and sweat became the lifeblood and essence of the new world, defining it by flowing through it."


The Elders had somehow broken from their stupor, continuing their assault. The pillars of heavenly light could not halt their movement from it's singular source. A line of Elders had broken through the patterns, forming a wedge formation to smash into the caped man himself.

The man held his hands out, stretched like a welcoming gesture.

The Elder vanguard threw itself at the caped man at terrible speed. As it flung itself through the air, it slurped loudly. With the alien a mere few inches from his face...

The sun disappeared from the sky, casting all in darkness.

In the next split second, an elaborate web of golden light appeared all around him. Each individual ray of light had impaled an Elder, stopping it in it's tracks.

They exploded violently.

The rays faded, revealing a myriad of resplendent golden eyes, blinking and watching around the crimson-caped man.


"Paorou saw that all was good and slept."


The eyes all turned to the remaining elder hordes, who were still numerous.

Again, Insanity was thrown into darkness.


"However, when the time comes that his world would come to harm..."


A great light was seen in the sky.

The red caped man held out his hands and held his legs together, his body becoming a cross representing the cardinal points.

At his feet, hands and head, 4 great golden eyes gazed over the lands of Insanity.

He finally spoke.


"... I will awaken to my duty."


4 great beams of light punctured the very fabric of reality itself, cleaving the earth and disintegrating Elders by the masses.

The Elder were simply massacred.

Great tracts of land burned, from the black fires of the empyrean intermingled with the crimson fires of his wrath.

Even his faithful people ran for cover as the sky fell upon the earth, for whatever held it up had been severed by his fury.


"I am the living crimson god of this senseless world of madness."


The man beheld the burning world below, and made a condescending smirk.


"I am Paorou."





SUMMARY: In the beginning, a crimson-caped man awakens to find out that he is a living god who has to shape the world with his will. He realizes he has no such will.

The elders attack, and although the bread cultists have prepared defenses, they are overwhelmed. A crimson caped man appears, narrating the creation myth of insanity while destroying them with a flashy set of powers. Lots of symbolism is involved.

He destroys the Elder hordes, and introduces himself as Paorou.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

"Wh... what is that?" whimpered Sakura as the ground shook and the southern horizon flared with apocalyptic curtains of crimson and gold. Even this far away, they could hear the clash of the Elders and the Bread Cult. A shape moved behind the roiling clouds, a titanic form piercing seas of darkness. Every blade of grass, every root, every leaf around Sakura seemed to writhe with silent dread.

And amongst the chaos, one sound cut the howling winds. A giggle, from none other than Soulless. "He's here..." the boy whispered, grinning deliriously as he looked to the horizon.

Kaze and Drake had their weapons drawn, looking in all directions as if some phantom were about to pounce. "Who's here?" shouted Kaze above the gathering winds.

Asmodeus stepped over Tain, striding a distance away from the others and standing on the crest of the hill, looking out over the seething lands of Insanity. His blue eyes focussed through the gauntlet of smoke and darkness, his fingers balling into fists as he answered.

"Paorou."




________________________________________________​




CHAPTER FOUR:
The coming of the True Hero

My_Story_Sneak_Preview_by_SpookvdOp.jpg

A narrow valley, forested and steep, dwelling in perpetual twilight. It was the only way into Insanity... the only place that wasn't swarming with Elders. This remote and inhospitable pass was all that remained of these once-proud lands. The other castles had been overrun, taken by Noob warlords or Elder slave-masters.

But not this one... not this castle. And not this valley. This was the one path to the Mirror. The one route into the lands of Madness.

This was the Valley of Markov... remotest region of the realm of Transylvania.



And at the edge of this valley, a half-mile from Castle Markov, the Teknikan shuttle set down and allowed the heroes to disembark, Myrnodyn and Porg leading the way. The Teknikans had done all they could - resupplied them, fed them, healed their injuries. But now they could go no further. They would be taking the rest of the civilians back to the saftey of the Fleet. Naturally, they had advised the heroes against this course of action... this suicide mission into the Nightmare Realm. But their words were futile.

This quest could not be stopped.

Leaping from the shuttle, the heroes landed in the werewolf-infested forests and began the ascent towards Markov Castle. They moved quickly and with purpose, knowing what they had to do this night.

A deal would need to be struck with the masters of this land, in order to get them safely through the Mirror and into Insanity.





Bitten_Bride_by_ANARKYMAN.jpg

"I grow tired of these amusements," muttered Count Markov as he moved from the balcony of the castle, tossing down the woman he had drained. The body fell amongst the others that littered the floor of the grand chamber - a lavishly furnished place where his family were reclining.

At the dining table his brothers sat and studied the equipment taken from the prisoners, while on the sofas his sisters were entertaining themselves, playing instruments or else dining on their chosen victims. The family had reaped the harvest of refugees from Shifter Town who had been stupid enough to flee south. And tonight they had sated themselves as the oil paintings of their ancestors looked on.

But still, they could not ignore what was happening beyond their castle.

"The other dynasties have fallen," spoke a vampire as he studied an axe. "We must flee before we are next."

"No," argued another, who stroked the head of a slavering wolf. "An alliance with the Elders - only that can protect us!"

"You're both fools!" snapped one of the sisters, throwing away a young boy she had been feeding on, spitting out the bitter Shifter blood. "The Elders don't even know we're here. In this valley we are safe, as we have always been!"

Count Markov ignored the squabbling and returned to the centre of the room, between the plush sofas, where the rest of the 'food' was huddled. "We cannot live on the slim pickings of Noobs," he said, his rich voice resounding from the walls. "This war affects us all. Without the Iwakuans... we do not have the delicacies we have grown accustomed to."

He moved through the terrified group of humans and shifters, kicking aside the old and the half-drained. He reached out, gripping one of the men by the throat to inspect him.

"Hmm..." he said as he looked into the eyes of Q. "Weak." He tossed Q aside, flinging him down between the sofas.

The Count continued onwards, then gripped another, holding him beneath the jaw. This man was the healthiest of the prisoners, his eyes ablaze with defiance. The count leaned towards him, inspecting his fine bone-structure, his tanned muscles... his healthy, ripe flesh.

"Ah, a good year," the vampire smiled as he looked at Noise. "What is your name, barbarian?"
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Earlier...
The man, dressed in a black leather jacket over a dress shirt with black slacks and boots of the same color, pushed a pair of dark sunglasses up his nose to cover his eyes as he took the last drag of a cigarette at the street corner before walking toward the alleyway. Dusk was the time he normally did business. Dusk, night, and rainy days.

Not too far into the backalley, Bornes met a crunched over man who appeared to be afraid for his life.
"Y-you're the guy, right?" the obvious junkie scratched his arms and frantically looked about. Probably some homeless man his new employer hired as an in-between.

"Yeah," Bornes stated, holding out his left hand. His voice was a soft tenor, although grated by years of awful habits. Talented people would hear a french accent almost completely worn away by practical english use.

The junkie looked around again, and seeing no one, turned around and sifted through a backpack, checking for something. Some ruffling around later, he pulled out a manilla envelope and handed it over to the foreigner. Just as Bornes's fingers touched the paper, however, a cellphone rang, startling the addict. He dropped the envelope and scuttled to the phone, in a rush to answer.

"Y-y-yes??" The junkie hurriedly answered, as if his life depended on it.
A moment passed.
He held the phone out to Bornes, just as the man had stood back up from picking up the dropped envelope of his supposed next target.

The 25 year old cocked a brow behind his glasses, and with a hmph, took the phone. He hated phones.
"What's the purpose of an in-between if you're just going to--"
It's done, The voice on the other end interrupted. Why did you bring someone. I thought you worked alone.

"I do--" Bornes was a bit confused, for one of the first times in a long while. He looked over to the opening of the alley, where he saw a girl.

"Shit, I'll take care of it, we'll--"
Bornes was cut off yet again.
Not the deal. You're dead to me. The phone clicked off.

Bornes knew that wasn't good. He didn't know if this man had his own muscle, but if he did, then they were definitely trained on him, right now.

"What's going on?" The junkie asked.
"Hey!" He had finally noticed the girl. "She's not supposed to be here. Did she come with you??"

Bornes grimaced and looked to the envelope, wondering what to do with it. In all his years, he'd never actually been caught in the act before. He looked to his left, a dead end. Great. To his right, the girl.
Should he kill her? No, then he'd have to leave town. But he already had to leave town now that this deal was ruined.
His covered orbs looked back to the junkie, who'd already run off at the first chance he had.
Bornes growled and threw the cellphone to the ground. "Damnit!"

He stared straight at the girl. "I hope you're happy with yourself."
He knew to an outsider this probably just looked like some sort of drug deal. So he swiftly walked toward her, intending to pass her and get out of this death alley and go some place inside. Some place with few windows and less openness so he could be less worried about someone trying to off him.

"Wait!" The girl stopped him. "I know who you are! Q! You killed my father!"
Bornes grimaced, but shoved her aside and kept walking out of the alley.

"Not my business," he said.

The girl pulled out a gun and pointed it at Bornes, whose street name was in fact Q.
"Not your business?! HE WAS MY FATHER!!"

Bornes stopped in his tracks. "Then kill me if that's what you want."
His voice was monotone. He stood still, waiting for it.

.
.
.
PYUUU!

The familiar sound of a rifle with a silencer. A body fell to the ground with a grunt.
It wasn't Bornes's.

The 25 year old turned around and saw the girl on the ground. He looked up to the window, hoping to pinpoint where the shot came from. He couldn't. He hoped whoever was behind the butt of the rifle wasn't a good shot. He turned around and ran out of the alley toward his hotel room.
He was next. They were out for him.

He had no time to worry about how this girl had found out about him, or how far she had chased him, or if the man he was supposed to be working with was now hunting him down. He simply ran toward his hotel, shoved himself inside, and began to pack all of his shit in his seabag and lock it up. He put on his shoulder holsters, then grabbed the violin case and locked seabag and began to try to walk out the door.

But by that time, his condition had worsened. The running had made him lightheaded and the one cigarette hadn't been enough. The room spun and the foreigner dropped to the ground, stuff still in his hands.

He was in and out of it. The air was thick with the smell of blood and death. He gagged at first, and it took a while for him to realize what was going on around him. He didn't think he'd ever discern the entire scope of his new environment.
Many people were cowering in fear, others were dead or passed out or similarly as dazed as he was. In the several moments that past, Bornes, also known as Q, was able to figure out that his things- violin case with M40 inside and his green seabag- lay in a large pile of other things, probably stolen from these people.

Luckily, his possessions seemed to have been untouched, much less interesting and valuable looking than the hoarde of others. The relief wasn't quite worth it, however, as when he checked his own body he realized that all of his weapons were gone- his shoulder holsters were empty and his knife was nowhere to be found. He sighed at the realization.

He tried to figure out what had happened. Tried to recall events.
He couldn't.
The effort even seemed futile. He was weak, tired, felt like he was going to throw up, even. It was hard to breathe here. Had he been kidnapped? Who were these people?

Feasting on blood, he could only imagine they were lunatics or fetishists. Possible both. There were more than a few 'vampires' at the fetishist clubs he used to frequent. Though drinking blood wasn't his cup of tea.
Maybe it would've helped him, though. Given his condition.

Yes, that thing. That must've been how he ended up here. He must've passed out again.
Damn his blood.

Something was wrong with him. It had been explained to him that his heart and veins were larger than they should be... Or maybe that he just didn't have enough blood in his body. Bornes didn't pretend to understand his condition. He just knew of the effects.
If he was injured and lost too much blood, he passed out. If he became too excited or riled up about something, he'd pass out. It used to not be so bad.
Now it was happening more often. He'd been losing a lot of weight, struggling with random fevers. He was pretty certain he would die soon if he didn't find a cure.

He'd self-medicated by smoking. It has seemed to tighten up his veins - or that's what someone had told him - Bornes just knew that it worked. If he smoked enough cigarettes, he didn't pass out. So whenever he felt like he was getting dizzy, he'd smoke. And he'd smoke until the feeling went away and he wouldn't have to lose consciousness.
But now he was up to several packs a day. He'd have to move up to something more... More what? Stimulant?
A harder drug, anyway.
He knew nothing of drugs, and didn't like them. He didn't want to start experimenting now. He was too old for this shit. But what else was there?

Well, maybe if he got out of this alive, he'd consider looking up possible stimulants.

Bornes had been lost in his thoughts all this time, his eyes only half open when one of the vampires came close to him, speaking about nonsense. Maybe they were LARPing.
Fuck if Q knew. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
None of this made any sense.
"Hmm..." the vampire said, having picked up Bornes by the throat.
"Weak." He tossed Q aside, flinging him down between the sofas.

Bornes crumpled behind the furniture, only several moments later turning on his side and rubbing his throat with his left hand. He gave out a slight cough.

The throw seemed to knock his senses back into him, tell him to wake up and stop being pre-occupied with thoughts that didn't matter currently.

He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and decided to actually pay attention to his surroundings. Maybe he could crawl away while they were pre-occupied with the other men...

... But then... How long would he live without his stuff?
Bornes eyed his seabag and violin in the corner. Was it worth the risk?
And there was no telling where his dagger and handguns had been hidden...
I somehow make a tl;dr out of jack shit happening. No seriously. Nothing happens.
Q gets thrown by vampire, looks at his stuff, debates trying to escape.

Also an explanation of his illness. Q passes out a lot. He believes he will die soon if he doesn't find a cure.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Sliding off the top of the Teknikan vehicle, Palonis took a moment to catch his breath before he stood up and caught up with the rest of the group. Of all the people here, he probably had a little more experience dealing with the vampires. Most people, when trying to kill one of these sorts, preferred to do so by shoving cash into a professional's hand rather than attempting to do the dirty deed themselves. This was generally the smart way to go about things, because the Markovians not only protected their own, but they protected their own with guns and supernatural strength and agility. You couldn't plan out how to win in a fight against one of them, because that sort of situation rarely came up. Rather, an ideal plan for dealing with the vampires involved making a beeline for the nearest escape route and praying that you didn't end up with a bullet in your back.

Fortunately, Palonis being the professional he was back in the day, he was quite certain that the only vampires who knew what he looked like were already long gone. Still, he would nonetheless have to keep a low profile, just for general purposes of safety.

"Looks like we're cutting through vampire country," Palonis remarked to the people beside him. "I hope that at least one of you knows how to negotiate, or things could get hairy."
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Closing his mouth, the viking sniffed all the raw air he could get through his nostrils. His legs placed tightly together while his arms were stretched out with his palms pointing upwards. The air that filled his lungs felt almost like a drug, filling him with strength and joy, like if he was reborn in a way the Teknikans material goods could not.

Keeping this pose for a few seconds, the longer he kept it the stronger he could feel the realm of Madness calling for him. He was so close to home, yet someone or something stood in his way.

"Castle Markov." Torsty responded to Palonis quick reappearance.

He lowered his arms back to normal and turned to look at his fellow travellers. They weren't weary, and that was important. Entering the valley exhausted was not recommended, without the help they had recieved they would have been an easy prey for the vampires.

Due to the current surroundings of the area, maybe they had come to the Count at a good time, for them, not for the Count, or maybe for both parties. It would be un-wise for either of them to fight each other now, the Count had bigger worries with the Elders and the Noobs, even if neither knew of their location. The vampires would only attack if they had a perverted death wish on their own heads.

"Everybody!" The viking spoke up. "I suggest if anyone has a plan they wish to follow, they will be presented to us all now! Megane...Megane might've lived were it not for our errors in the tower." The viking paused, not trying to make a scene for arguments as a tension of conflict seemed to appear quite often among the participants. "We're best of if we make sure everybody is on the same page before we greet Count Markov." Torsty continued.

"I also suggest if anyone has any questions, this would be the best time to ask them."

[SUMMARY:
Torsty feels the nature of Insanity calling his inner-self and starts blabbing to the crew that they should plan for what might occur ahead.]
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Tegan stepped off the ship with the others, a little slowly though. Her skin had taken on an ashen tone, and her stomach felt like it was doing flip flops.

She hated flying.

Even from a distance the very sight of the valley filled Tegan with a sense of dread. She had always made a point to avoid these lands, and not just for the fact that they held countless dangers but out of fear what it would do to her. She was human in this lifetime, and her nature was delicate enough as it was. But now, with a human mind and body, she feared that the very air itself in Insanity would shatter her.

That is, if she wasn't devoured, first.

After a few minutes of being on the ground, Tegan was able to recover as she listened to Palonis' and Torsty's suggestions.

"You're both right," she chimed in, her voice slightly raspy from the acid that rose in her throat during the journey. "We need a plan of approach. Trying to fight would only slow us down, or worse, as would trying to slip through their home under their noses."

Tegan had never really dealt with vampires, but she heard that they held a certain sense of decorum: traditions and mind games were high on their priority list, under blood.

At least, that's what she had heard.

"We should send in a small negotiation party, first," she looked over the faces of the group, taking note of who was there. "And another party, ready to defend, should diplomacy fail."

"I volunteer to aid in negotiations; however, our main speaker should probably be one of the more experienced of you." Tegan motioned to Jack, Palonis, Torsty and Myrn.

Summary: Proposed plan for negotiation, with a back up group waiting to cover for them if things sour. Thanks Myrn, Torsty and Archy.
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The place just seemed to scare the young woman as she looked out at the dreary surroundings. It was rather desolate without the noobs attacking the valley in droves like they were back in Shifter Town. Acqua nervously looked at the others around her as she got off of the ship with the rest of the group. Listening to Palonis and Torsty made her nervous, but she couldn't go back now, so she kept herself calm enough to not freak out about the situation while Tegan began to speak. Listening to the plan, Acqua nodded in agreement with the three, but was not really sure where she would fit in Tegan's plan.

"I really like your idea, but where'd I fit in it?" Acqua couldn't help but ask Tegan, nervous because she had never dealt with vampires before.

Acqua felt fear. She was scared that she couldn't do anything to help anyone, nor would she be able to help herself. With just her staff and her voice to defend herself, she felt like she was bringing a dagger to a gunfight. However, the fact that these people were probably much more powerful than her was beginning to settle in as she clutched her staff before easing her grip on it and relaxing a bit. Well, look at it like this: these people have gotten me out of a pickle before; they can get me out of this one, too, Acqua reassured herself as she became somewhat more relaxed.

Summary: Fluff, then Acqua asks Tegan something based from the fluff, then more fluff! o_o
 
Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

After a few moments, Bornes decided to go for it. There wasn't much to lose, anyway.
Maybe. Well, maybe not, considering. But he'd been in somewhat comparative situations.
Sort of.
The risk of death was high. That was the only comparison, really.

Bornes slowly crawled his way behind the couches and against the wall while the vampires' attention was grabbed by the barbarian, timely making his way toward the dining table with those sitting down and the huge pile of crap from all the other people in the room.

He was somehow able to get to the pile without too much trouble, but now being particularly close to the vampires and his assortment of crap, he was beginning to have second thoughts. Thoughts like What now? and How the fuck will I carry this out without being noticed?
Perfectly legitimate thoughts. Thoughts Bornes would've preferred to have come up with before he'd gotten this close to danger.

Briefly, he debated just leaving now without all of his shit. He'd be in the free and clear, then.
But I have to have a gun, at least...
He crawled over to his violin case, and grabbed it.

SQUEAK.
The old, un-oiled handle of the case whined.

Bornes immediately realized this could quite possibly be the last mistake he'd ever make.
Regardless or not if the vampires at the dinner table heard him, he rushed to open the case with a click and load the M40 inside, hoping he'd be quick enough to fire one or two off before the loonies decided to take a bite out of him.

I'll delete this if needed. But meh, it was bound to happen.