The Elder Invasion: CHAPTER 4 - Insanity

[Porg]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Coughing a bit Jack pushed himself up, the ends of his cloak were splintering with embers and the symbol emblazoned on it was a bit singed, but it had served as a pretty affective fireguard for the short time he'd be under the flaming puppet.

He looked around just in time to see Asmo flourish his blades, a group of wires around his legs fraying and dissipating as he moved to strike the woman who had been controlling them. Tegan was fast though and it looked to Porg as though she had dodged Asmodeus' attack.

"Hey Asmo!" Jack called out, his voice travelling unnaturally across the battlefield, carried by the force of the young man's SoulArts. As the angel turned around and advanced on him Jack spoke "Don't attack me too fast Asmo, you know there's always some stupid dialogue before the fight, cliches right?" He said, brushing himself down, wincing a little as he applied a cure spell to his wound to stop the bleeding.

"Let's do this right." He said, his Soulblade materialising in his outstretched hand.

"With that toy of a weapon!?" Asmodeus scoffed advancing still, swirling his swords, in a threatening flourish.

Porg looked to his weapon, nodding his head slightly. "Yeah it's a bit out of place isn't it." he agreed, the sword dissipating in a shower of sparks. "How about this then? Jack held out his left hand in a loose fist, and placed his right next to it, a handle forming in his grip he pulled his right hand out, his left mimicking a sheathe as he drew a new blade in the air.

"Enough!" Asmo shouted, finally getting fed up of the younger man's attitude "You pathetic runt, you have yet to comprehend what it means to be a Hero!" He cried as he beat his wings, rushing forwards.

The twin blades were brought down and impacted with the new-look Soulblade. Jack leaned towards the angel as they stood locked "You're wrong Asmo! Maybe I was like that once. But these people here, they helped me realise that trying to be a Hero is a fools errand!" A wild fire seemed to be burning in his eyes as he shouted at that angel "And I'm just gonna stop you right now, for no reason other than to protect them!"

There was a brief break from the lock and a complicated manoeuvre was performed by both warriors which resulted in Porg leaning backwards and kicking Asmodeus hard, sending him soaring into the now-clear air. Jack twisted around and kicked off the ground, chasing the rising angel. Great black wings unfurled and Asmo stopped his ascent, Porg crashing into him sending them both further upwards in a flurry of blades.

They locked again, Jack stood against Asmo's chest as his Soulblade was held against one blade and his knife against the other. His arms shook as his strength gave way however and he was forced to kick away from the angel. he twirled midair and sent a ball of flame at the angel who was struck in the chest and took a moment to recover from the superficial blow. this moment however meant Porg was back on top of his blades locked once again, but this time in the sky.

"Oh yeah and while I remember Asmo. You're wrong about people's stories! Everyone's story is their own! you're the only one Arrogant enough to think you have the right to control other people's!" As he finished speaking he pushed his blades forwards and out, the force punctuated with an unseen power which sent the angel crashing back to the ground, the rocks and earth shattering and sharding upwards with the impact.

Within moments the fluctuating gravity of Insanity which had allowed the wingless Porg to remain airborne for so long pulled him down. He used the momentum to execute a downwards punch, slamming his fist into the prone angel with a force which shock-waved out of the crater, shattering more of the rocks. Jack panted a little as he held his position, kneeling on Asmodeus.

His hand was loosely around the angel's neck, but one of Asmodeus' legendary swords jutted upwards, through Jack's left arm. Thick crimson ran down the edge of the blade as he looked down at the angels, for the first time really looking at the new hair and eyes. "Y-you're not really Asmodeus.." He panted, a slight fear showing itself in his eyes. "Wh-what!?"

The angel however only smirked, an expression that was worryingly familiar to Jack, dealing out a vicious gut-punch that send the younger man flying. Porg landed, in a heap near Obskeree, pushing himself back up to his feet and holding at his fresh arm wound, wincing as the pain that had subsided from the rush of adrenaline and Soularts returned in his side and arm.

[Porg gets Asmo's attention and after changing his Soulblade to something a little more awesome, takes him on one on one. Fighty Fighty Porg notices Asmo's not quite himself but gets stabbed in the arm and punched away.]

 

[Jack Shade]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Crushed metal twisted in corrupted verticals from the remainder of the Hovercar. No smoke rose from the artifact, only the settling sound of a broken toy. Blood seeped from the ruins, Soulless's forgotten web.

A small distance from the car, four bodies lay in states of disrepair. The wind mage was groundeds, blood trickling from his mouth where the angel's elbow had forced teeth to tongue and the Warmaster's hand had forced teeth to cheek...perhaps he was the luckiest. Drake knelt over Natalie and Sakura surrounded by the sound of tearing fabric. He worked feverishly, hands echoing with the memory of purpose as he bound wounds the best he could with what he had.

Sakura was breathing harshly, eyes wide and unseeing with tainted innocence. Natalie sobbed silently as she tried to hold her innards together. Drake bound them both, speaking hurriedly but softly any words of comfort that came to mind. Left arm, gone...the phantom feeling of its absence was an unsettling sensation. The clang of metal drew his eyes briefly to the battlefield, but another moan from Natalie begged more of his time.

"Rest, please...use whatever powers you have to stabilize yourselves. I need to join the others but I promise I'll return to you."

He did not wait for their acknowledgment, turning back toward the angel as he hurled Porg away from him.

Deftly using mouth and right arm to tie a rudimentary bandage to his left stump, Drake tumbled into the wake of the spinning angel, narrowly avoiding the blade of Reiki as it sizzled the air. Settling near to the switchaxe, Drake gripped it with a sinuous tail. Energy both arcane and biological rippled through his body and fur raced along his face and arms like an approaching wave. Hefting the mighty weapon, Drake laid one hand on the Eviscerator lodged in Kariskan's thigh and yanked it from his body. The warrior fell back, staunching the blood flow and already moving once more. Passing Jack, the wererat spun into the rising Asmo, both blades spinning in the thick air. For a moment, gravity reversed and Drake nearly overshot his target. Adding another corkscrew into his revolutions, both unwieldy blades crashed against Asmo's own.

"Stage Six, the hero moves throughout the land suffering trials, gaining friends, and finding enemies." The words had been studied in Asmodeus Manifesto, a book Jack had religiously kept beside his bed. Words written into an impressionable mind had been his undoing and now the author's own madness had claimed others. Heroes were myth, Leaders were fact. The truth of combat was written in the blood of the defeated and the ink of the victors. No one was so much a hero that did not die in the end. "Did you come to Iwaku lonely Asmodeus? Do you have no one from your past that looks at you with anything more than fear or distrust?"

A hungry Cycle. A vicious Cycle. An unforgiving Cycle.

Landing on pivoting feet, Drake rose with Warmaster and Kariskan as they besieged Asmo from three sides. The angel smirked, rolling along the Warmaster's tired blade and dealing him a blow in the back of the head with his hilt. Striding beyond pain, Kariskan whipped an empty stormbolter at Asmo's head, earning him a blade through his side as fluid form blurred past. Both warriors did not stop, could not stop and Drake admired their ferocity. He came in low, leading with the bloody Eviscerator, a heavy handed swing displaced by a buffeting wing. The Eviscerator came away from numbing hands bloody, and the dark wing turned aside similarly scathed. Both blades sought homes in flesh and Drake pushed himself into a desperate tumble to avoid their scything swings. Up came the SwitchAxe, words following as Drake knocked both blades akimbo and stretched lengthening claws to brush angelskin.

"Stage Seven, The Hero begins his spiral into darkness, the troubles building around him. Things gradually become worse and worse as he loses control…This is the world you built Asmodeus. This maddening hell is the world you would call perfect! Look at those you have murdered, those you have betrayed! Did you come here seeking refuge…or a tribute to your career of failures?!"

Jack…his final moments before donning his wings. Trust was a commodity best left untraded and yet Asmodeus had sold it by the pound. Dark Prince, Fallen Angel…names and titles earned through self affliction alone. Once Iwaku might have been made a peaceful empire. Perhaps now it would end in blood and savagery. So many faces upturned toward a light corrupt and flimsy, following a mad prophet into the slaughterhouse.

Asmodeus allowed the disrupt to swing him back, arching back his wings and completing a flip to bring heel against Drake's chin. The strength was tremendous. Hurled backwards, blood seeping from the makeshift bandage, Drake was fighting a losing battle. Already his legs tremored with exhaustion and numbness had spread through his extremities. This feeling…so familiar.

The angel was before him in an instant. Swinging down his left blade, the Eviscerator was forced from his grasp. Bringing up the switchaxe, Drake thrust toward the angel's face…right where the smug smile peeked from pale lips. Asmodeus side stepped the wild swing, spinning dexterously as the left sword severed Drake's tail at its base.

He couldn't even recognize the pain. At this point, there was only the will to fight animating his tired body and even that guttered. Already forcing his body through the motions of tumbling, there was a moment when Drake did not realize he'd been hefted up. It was, at first, the terrible feeling of ice in his side. It bit through the numbness and reached into the core of his being. Blurry vision confirmed the origin.

He was impaled on the end of Asmodeus's right blade.

"Stage 8, The Hero suffers his darkest moment, when all seems lost. A part of him is killed and he fails completely in his quest. His allies cannot help him and his enemy is at his strongest." The angel held him aloft for a moment, stern gaze sizing up the bloody wererat. "Before the night is out you will know the clarity of shadows and heroes, but you are not wise enough to accept there may be truths beyond what you have known."

There was blood in his throat and his vision swam, but Drake tried to splutter a response. It was lost between coughs.

"Your kind can never become The Hero," Asmodeus continued, white wings bearing him aloft. "So long as you cannot believe in the might of a single heart, this will always be the result of your interference."

Flinging his blade out, Asmodeus discarded Drake to the wind. Some manner of instinct allowed him to land on unsteady feet and look up at the angel, already uninterested in such an unimportant opponent. From his right hand, the device on his wrist beeped twice before falling silent. Two more minuetes before towers crashed and ambitions were shattered. Asmodeus had won this match, but he would not live to see his supposed hero.

Drake would not let him.




Summary: Drake patches up Sakura and Natalie as best he can before going to fight Asmo. He gets out two more stages, but mostly gets his ass kicked. Drake seems to have something on the way

 

[Mainstream Hipster]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

To say that Kaze had been expecting the fist would be like saying that Julius Caesar was expecting to be backstabbed by Brutus. The blow, while not nearly as damaging as it would have been had WMD been fully rested, still hurt like a bitch upon connecting with his already battered face. Kaze was knocked up into the air off of the hood and sent sprawling onto the ground below. Kaze had to lay there, the world spinning as the concussion only made things worse for him. He had previously been a historian, he wasn't accustomed to the rigors of battle, that was partially his reason for choosing Asmo to guide him, his point only proven as Asmo took on all his opponents alone (even if the Cycle was supplementing most of his endurance and strength).

Sitting up, Kaze wiped the blood from his face, something that only served to dirty his arm as more blood poured out, his nose broken and going to need healing after this was all done and over with. Kaze slowly staggered to his feet. He had never been in this much pain before, most of his fights he had had the luxury of winning outright against hte other historians due to his magical abilities. But here, he soon realized just how weak and fragile he was. He stumbled over to the car and looked out at the combatants. Kaze just couldn't understand what drove them, what pushed them to fight against an impossible opponent.

But yet they continued to strive on, to continue to attack Asmo only to be easily swept away by Asmo's merciless strength. Kaze felt anger boiling up inside him as they defied the Cycle, pretending it didn't exist. Kaze reached across his back, grabbing his staff and pulling it free, as if to head into the fray himself and attack. However, it was at this point that the entirety of the scene hit him.

Perhaps it was a stray confluence pulse, but for some reason, all the gore and bloodshed suddenly became apparent to Kaze. The smell hit him harder than WMD's punch, and the pain was secondary to the groaning and gasping of those around him. This was a battlefield and he had just now woken up to that fact. He crumpled to his knees, his will which moments before had been rising like an indomitable wave now shattered like fine china, leaving him broken as tears fell down his beaten face. He was a simple historian, no more. He was never meant to battle like this, to defend the Cycle from those who try to defy its will. Kaze longed for the days of solitude among the various artifacts of history, but those days seemed like another lifetime in comparison to his present surroundings.

Kaze wailed in helplessness as he broke down, unable to put up the brave face that he had worn earlier. It seems WMD's punch was more of a wake up call, because when the time for words had ended, he had been too cowardly to act. Now here he was, on his knees, barely injured in comparison to those around him, yet bawling like an infant child. Those who were veterans would only shake their head, knowing that Kaze, like most rookies, were simply not accustomed to the horror that was war....

 

[Karsikan the Berzerker]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The Grandmaster winced in pain as he pried the crushed helmet from his head, the broken metal left deep cuts in his skin, some of which went clear to the bone, his hexagrammic wards didn't help right now, they burnt more than ever beneath his flesh but still he pushed past it "Pain is an illusion," he whispered to himself before wrenching his sword out of his leg "Pain is weakness," he whispered again as he tried to stand, he favored his uninjured leg heavily, the damage done to his other was just shy of being dead weight, and would have been completely useless to a less stubborn marine.

He limped forward, clutching his bloodied sword in one hand, he knew his only chance was a dirty trick, one he learned nearly two hundred years ago when he was a Black Templar Neophyte, he hated it then too, but there was no other way. "ANGEL!!!" He shouted firing his stormbolter The angel parried the bolts again as he did, The Grandmaster had been expecting this. The angel lunged forward at him, just as he wanted. Timing his swing he brought Exsanguinatus to bear it's teeth unusually still, the angel blocked it effortlessly and brought his second blade in for a fatal thrust directly into Karsikan's forehead.

Exsanguinatus roared to life, it's spinning teeth caught the angel off guard and rudely shoved the angel toward the ground and off balance. Seizing his chance The Grandmaster focused every violent emotion and every destructive thought into his stormbolter gauntlet as he brought it down to what he hoped would be a killing blow.

Fate however would make that decision, not The Grandmaster.



Summary: GMK reaches into his bag of old dirty tricks and manages to knock Asmo off balance, before going straight into what he hopes is a fatal swing.

 

[Asmodeus]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

From darkness lead me to the light​

For the second time, he rose, his hand closing over the Grandmaster's gauntlet, fingers piercing the metal. He exacted a crushing grip on the flesh within. More pain became Karsikan's world, and as he lowered to his knees Asmodeus rose, twisting, crushing. Soon Asmodeus was standing and the Grey Knight was on his knees, the arm extended and locked at an agonising angle.

The angel's gaze traced the man's tapestry of injuries - his bleeding head, his gashed neck, his half-severed wrist, his bleeding kidneys, his mangled leg, his skin burning from hexagrammic fury. Karisikan was like a flagellant's masterwork.

"You could achieve so much, Grey Knight," the angel hissed, and then he crumpled the gauntlet further as he punctuated every word with a savage twist, "If only... you could come out.... of your SHELL!"

With the final word he wrenched the gauntlet, tearing the ceramite from the elbow joins. With a horrid squeal the armour came away, sliding off of Karsikan's arm and skinning most of his wrist in the process. Asmodeus pulled the gauntlet clear and then, with his other hand, drove the Blade of Reikei through Karsikan's back. The blade punched clean through the breast plate and impaled him to the rocks.

There was a gasp from nearby as Acquariana saw the Grey Knight go down, but then it turned to a scream as Asmodeus whirled with the Stormbolter gauntlet mounted on his arm. There was a crimson pulse as the powers or reality bending came to his aid, the stormbolter glowing golden as its ammo bent back into existence. Then it fired and a salvo of golden shells sprayed across the battlefield. The ground where Acquariana had been kneeling was torn apart, seconds after Myrnodyn rushed in and swept the girl up in his arms. The shapeshifter ran as the bolt shells blew apart the rocks around him, and then he jumped, rolling behind the hovercar with Arachnion and Drake, the three of them getting into cover with Acquariana.

Asmodeus kept the trail of bolt shells going, sweeping them towards Noise, who was laying half-conscious on the other side of the car.

KABOOM!

The Stormbolter exploded, tearing Asmodeus's arm from his shoulder, showering blood and metal in all directions. The angel screamed and staggered back, eyes wide as he beheld Torsty ahead of him. The Viking was kneeling at the edge of the circle, next to Tegan, with his hammer clasped prayer-like in both hands. The light of the Nordic gods played like silver around his shoulders.

He had used his reality-bending to counteract the angel's. The stormholder had been ripped from the page, along with Asmodeus's arm.

"Aaaaaaaagh! Aaagh! Aaaaah! Ahahaaa! Ahah! Ahahahahahaha!!!" His yells twisted into laughter and he reeled back again. His eyes still wide, he watched as crimson tendrils spilled from the bleeding stump of his arm, reaching and knotting together like worms. They blended to a bloody protrusion and then flesh and hair formed again.

He was becoming more like Paorou-Sama each second - regenerating as the mad king would. His new flesh shone golden and Asmodeus took hold of the Blade of Reikei, lunging forward, faster then ever. He closed the distance between himself and Torsty, delivering a devastating upswing that sliced the Viking in one long gash from his hip to his stomach, to his chest to his chin. Torsty toppled back in a spray of blood, and Tegan found herself seized by the freshly regenerated arm.

Asmodeus lifted her up, wings moving in mighty sweeps that whipped up dust and ashes around them. They lifted... the angel and the star-child... one choking the other... and even as he crushed her windpipe his face twitched with convulsions of rage and recognition.

Did they know each other? Had they met before?


"I AM THE SPINE OF THE PAGE!" Asmodeus roared as he shook the robed woman, pillars of magma erupting left and right. "I AM THE PAPER AND THE INK! I AM CONFLICT, THE PILLAR OF ALL - YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT ME, EVER-DYING WITHIN MY GRACE! WITHOUT ME YOU DO NOT STRIVE, YOU DO NOT RISE, YOU DO NOT UNITE!" He swirled above the heads of his victims, buffetting Obskeree over with the force of wings, holding Tegan in one hand and his sword in the other. Blood dripped from the Blade of Reikei and splashed on the ground between his two broken followers, Soulless and Kaze.

"I HAVE MADE YOU AND SUSTAINED YOU IN THE ONLY WAYS THAT MATTER. I AM YOUR FATHER. YOUR GOD! IS THERE NOT ONE OF YOU WHO CAN KILL ME?!! IS THERE NOT ONE?!!"

He held Tegan aloft and swung his blade towards her throat.





[SUMMARY: Asmodeus gives Karsikan another beating and leaves him for dead. Then Torsty strikes a seemingly-devastating blow on the angel, only to watch in despair as Asmodeus inherits Paorou's regenerative powers. The viking is slashed up and Tegan finds herself choked by the angel and set to become his next victim.]

 

[Palonis]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Palonis wouldn't say it out loud under the circumstances, but he got a grim satisfaction from knowing that his earlier suspicions had been entirely on the money. Standing there, watching as the heroes of Iwaku threw themselves fruitlessly at this tyrant one by one, the ninja waited for the right moment, when the angel would be exposed and most vulnerable. He didn't have the power to face him with magic, but he wouldn't need magic to drive a blade through the man's heart.

He got his chance soon enough, when the angel grabbed Tegan by the throat and carried her skywards. He appeared ready to dispatch her right then and there, but more importantly, his hands were occupied. The ninja would not have an opportunity like this again, and it was best that he took it quickly, as a life was indeed in jeopardy.

Drawing his sword from its sheathe as he charged forward, Palonis shouted "Sorry!" at Drake right before leaping onto the rat man's head and using that as a springboard to gain the right amount of altitude. The angel saw Palonis in the corner of his eye just as the ninja thrust his sword downwards, intent on piercing him through the heart. Thanks to a quick turn, however, Asmodeus managed to only catch the sword in the shoulder, causing him enough pain nonetheless to drop Tegan to the ground once more.

"Asmodeus!" Palonis cried as the angel began furiously bucking him back and forth. "Stop this madness now! You don't want to do this."

"Where are you along the journey, ninja?" Asmodeus wondered aloud before thrusting his head backwards and striking the ninja in the nose. "Indeed, you are no hero at all, and therefore unfit to live." As Palonis reeled from the first blow, the angel followed up with a sharp elbow to the side, dislodging the ninja from his sword and sending him falling backwards to the ground, where he hit hard and was momentarily stunned.

With a wet and painful sound, the angel wrenched the sword from his shoulder and held it above his head. "Take your cursed blade to the darkness with you, villain," he spat, and threw it point first into Palonis's belly. The ninja hacked up blood and coughed, and found that he could not remove the blade, for it had become embedded into the ground.

But as he lay there, painfully aware that his corruption would not allow him to be slain from loss of blood, the ninja became aware of a sudden vision, that of a large aircraft flying towards the site of the battlefield. Help was on its way, and if the group could only stay alive, perhaps they would be able to live on to see another day.

(Summary: Using Drake as a springboard, Palonis jumps up and stabs Asmodeus in the shoulder, causing him to drop Tegan to the ground. However, he is unsuccessful at talking Asmodeus down, and is quickly taken out like everybody else, but he also has a vision of a ship coming to save the day.)

 

[Jumi]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

From the rocks where Jumi laid sprawled on his back, with pieces of his broken mask, and bucket laying before him, his form returned to this world. His short spikey hair, grew to waist length, and once again his beard grew out into a magnificent mane of status as Lieutenant. Rising from the rubble, Jumi stared at those before him with wide, and haunting eyes. His lips then twisted into a grin revealing pearly white teeth in contrast to his blackened eyes.

"Viva... the darkness..." Jumi said as he then grasped his head in both hands, and started screaming like a banshee sending a chilling wave across the field. His hands shook violently, and left his head moving towards an object strung to his back... his pure white guitar was now blacker than the void, with strings of red adorning it's fretboard.

"Wahahahahaha! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED! WOHAHAHAHA!" The Cursed Lieutenant continued laughing like a mad man, and firmly grasped his guitar in hand. He swung his muscled arm downwards, and struck the strings releasing a confused melody. Each eye moved independently, and looked at the heroes as they were broken, and busted before him.

As the sound increased in tempo, Jumi raced forward, planting a knee into Warmaster's face, all the while still laughing insanely, and pivoted on his foot driving his guitar towards Porg. The headstock of the guitar drilled into Porg's chest, and knocked him from his feet, all the while, Jumi continued playing that melody, and began moving towards the Grey Knight.

Summary: Having been freed from his curse, Jumi has once again entered the service of the strongest individual in his vicinity... Asmodues, and inherits his desires. He then begins attacking the heroes, and due to his Guitar playing ability, has increased the rate of time around himself, effectively making him immensely faster.

 

[Neko Archy]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Well, damn. She had been planning on distracting him and escaping the blood binds, not breaking the kid's mind. They'd need to get a doctor, which Archy was not. She wanted to sit by the kid's side and make sure he got through everything okay, but now there were other things to deal with as well. Mostly the psycho angel who needed to get his ass kicked.

Archy took off her jacket, wadding it up to serve as a sort of cushion for Soulless's neck during his spasms. She ruffled his hair slightly, then bent down and kissed him on the forehead.



That left one foe on the field, the fallen angel. He managed to steal a bolter gun, and Archy was not one for getting shot a third time this day, so she went for cover behind the burning wreck.

How can I beat him, without utterly destroying him...

The gauntlet was ripped off, but Asmodeus's arm only grew back from a mass of red tendrils.
Well, that makes things easier.
Archy's eyes fell on the various cracks in the ground, lava pulsing underneath the battlefield.
Hm...

As Asmodeus stood over the fallen ninja, he staggered suddenly. His back burned, muscles and flesh being turned to a blackened crisp before cracking and falling off as the red tendrils replaced them.

"Hm. You know, you never answered my question."

Asmodeus whirled in rage, burning eyes come to face the catgirl who now faced him. Archy, for her part, shifted from the baseball pitcher stance to a more ready one, her ball of lava having done it's job.

"Though, at this point, I have think I have fair reason to suspect that it's something crazy and stupid."
"This world thrives on conflict! It is the blood that feeds its heart. And I shall bring it-all the blood it can drink!"
"Yeeep. Crazy and stupid."

The angel charged at her, his sword seeking blood. Archy reached in past the blade and knocked his hands to the side, providing an opening for her to punch his chest with as much magical and physical force as she could muster.

The resultant blast was deadened by...something, and only turned the front part of his previously glistening chest into bloody gibs. Not so bad of a wound that he could not recover, and he brought his sword slicing through the girl's stomach as he did so. He kicked her, and Archy fell to the ground.

She held her abdomen with one arm to keep her guts from falling out, while she looked up at the looming angel. The sun framed his head perfectly, forming a blazing red corona around him.
"The greatest heroes of Iwaku have faced me today. Now not one remains standing. How poorly this world is served, now all its sons and daughters have failed it."
He slowly traced a line up her body with the blade of Reikei, keeping it's tip just ever so slightly off of her skin. Archy quickly found herself staring up the length of the sword to Asmodeus's body, now free of any evidence of her attack.
"And you...you are just a poor, gender-confused neko. What chance did you ever have?"

"More than I needed."
She kicked at his leg, charging the blow. It rended his flesh, and the angel fell to earth.
"...bitch."

Summary

Archy leaves her jacket with Soulless so he doesn't split his head on a rock. Asmodeus and Archy fight. This turns out as well for her as you may expect, though she does explode part of his chest and a leg.

 

[Sakura]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Into the Rush

Sakura watched, horrified as Drake slipped away to fight Asmodeus. Almost immediately, she did as she was told, using her powers to heal Natalie and herself from the bodily injuries they'd suffered. Her mind, however, was elsewhere, on the battle. She almost wanted to turn away, to shut her eyes and cover her ears, screaming until she could no longer hear, see or feel any of it, but this was reality. She couldn't escape it. This was her Iwaku. These were her friends, fighting with the last of strength, struggling to fight the angel who had gone insane.

Asmodeus' sword cut through Drake and Sakura screamed, covering her mouth with her hands. She recalled his promise. Drake's promise to return to them, to return to her and Natalie after he fought with his friends. And now, Sakura found herself trembling at the thoughts running through her mind, scared of what Asmodeus was doing, what he was capable of.

Why...Why is he doing this? She brushed away her tears in haste, looking over at the sobbing Natalie close to her. And then at herself, palms laid open in her lap. She stared at them, thinking. In her mind, she thought of how everyone was struggling to fight Asmodeus despite the odds. No one was running away. No one was giving up. She closed her eyes tightly, placing her palms against her cheeks. I can make a lot of excuses for myself and just sit here...but can I really watch everyone struggle and ignore this feeling? She knew she couldn't. Her mind was already made up. She was going to fight. It was just a matter of how.

Asmodeus is obviously more powerful than I am physically... I can't get him there, so using a sword is probably out of the question... She looked up, over at the battlefield, watching closely. And it doesn't look like close-range attacks are very helpful either...If I can stay out his way... She stopped, pulling her messenger bag strap over her shoulder and taking out the pouch containing her Sakura Cards. He's fast and he can fly. Physical attacks and a sword are useless. That leaves me with magic or long range options. She shuffled through the cards hurriedly as Palonis charged for Asmodeus. The sounds of battle seemed louder now as if the very emotions around her were pulsating through her own veins. She felt a rush of adrenaline and took a deep breath, turning over card after card trying to decide on the best course of action.

And then she came upon The Arrow and nodded. Right now, this is all I can think of...

She stood up, releasing her wand into her hand in a flurry of light and sparkles. Slinging the smaller card-holding pouch across her chest, she slipped two cards into her hand. She threw the first one into the air and struck it with her wand, "FLY!" calling out it's name. Two little wings formed at the base of her wand. She did the same with the second, "ARROW!", but this time, because of the dual-card usage, FLY's properties changed. Instead of the wings on her wand, they formed into angelic wings on her back. With her new ability to fly, Sakura leaped into the air and held out her wand. It transformed into the bow and arrow used for the ARROW card.

She flew over to spot a little distance away from Asmodeus; close enough for her attack, but far enough to escape, if necessary. She strung the arrow, closing one eye and aiming for his heart. If this is the only way to stop all of this... She tried to reason with herself, but with her fingers on the bow, she decided against it. At this time, in this situation, she was going to follow her instincts.

She let go of the arrow and it flew ahead, splitting magically into a volley of arrows. As soon as they were launched, Sakura twirled the bow to the side and it became her wand. She threw up another card, striking it instantly, "FIREY! Onto the arrows!" Upon command, the fire creature that was released from her card rushed ahead and cast it's magic on the tips of the arrows, accentuating them with burning red flames.

[After healing herself and Natalie, Sakura attempts to fight Asmodeus as well. She uses her reality bending-Magical Girl powers to gain wings to fly. Then she launches a volley of fire arrows at Asmodeus from a distance away.]

 

[Tegan]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

As Asmodeus raised his sword, Tegan's eyes began to drift sleepily shut. As oblivion crept its way past the edge of her vision, only one thought permeated Tegan's mind.

Bombastic little twat.

And then, just as suddenly, the feeling of freefall jolted Tegan awake once more, catching sight of Palonis on the angel's back as she plummeted toward the earth. Falling to her death would be a lot more gruesome than decapitation, but easier to avoid.

Now, if only she could find the strength to summon her light.

Tegan lay in the center of crater, naked and shivering and new. This strange mortal coil that swathed her ached and convulsed andwasdyingallaround-

She whimpered and curled tighter into her fetal position.

If she had known how to open her eyes, she would have seen the large of shadow of the angel who loomed over her. Eyes calculating.


Tegan's eyes widened, glowing with power as her light surrounded her, then shot out in a concentrated beam as she neared the ground. The resulting explosion halted her fall for a mere second, but it was enough to throw her off her deadly descent and flung her away to a very painful (but at least not fatal) landing.

Tegan landed hard on her back, her lips parting in a silent scream as pain filled her every fiber. It was still difficult to breathe, which made the burning agony in her muscles all the more worse. After a few moments of torture, Tegan was able to summon the will to sit up. Immediately she began to cough and gag as blood flew from her throat and spattered her hands and clothes.

By the time she had recovered, she spotted Archy deliver a vicious kick to the angel, sending him falling towards the ground. Asmodeus flapped his wings to right himself, but just before he could regain his balance, the fiery arrows the small girl sent at him slammed into his chest. The force of the blow sent him spiraling down once more. He slammed into the earth with such force, it caused a small crater to form around him. To Tegan's annoyance, he was recovering faster than he really should have been able to.

Time to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Spoiler

Asmodeus sat up, still a little stunned from his fall, his attention was focused on Sakura, intent on attacking her next, he didn't see the movement to his side until it was too late.

Tegan's wires wrapped tight around his throat, near-crushing his windpipe. With a flick of her wrist, the wires broke away from her rings, leaving the wires tied around his neck like a deadly choker. Now he could not use her own wires to pull her to him, and he would be forced to use it hands to pull it away.

As the angel's left hand shot up to wrench the wires away, Tegan slammed her body, knees first, into his chest, sending him sprawling onto his back once more, his grip on his sword loosening just enough for her to snatch it. Straddling him, Tegan took hold of his fallen sword and raised it over his right shoulder.

With a savage cry, Tegan plunged the sword deep into the space between his collarbone and pectoral muscle, not stopping until the hilt touched his flesh. Now he was pinned like a bug to the ground, his right hand rendered immobile. Tegan's thighs tightened around him, and she pushed her whole, straining body into the sword to keep him pinned to the ground, to give someone the chance to deliver another blow.

Asmodeus' left fist shot up, grazing her face, the force slamming her head to the side and rattling her brains in her skull. Since his body was pinned to the ground, he had not been able to deliver a direct blow, but even the graze was enough to jar her and make her vision blank.

Yet she held tight, unmovable.

Blood dripped from her now split lips and dripped onto Asmodeus' chest. The woman's eyes narrowed with wrath as she glared down at the angel.

"You really couldn't help yourself. . . could you, Asmodeus?" She whispered harshly.



Summary: Tegan uses her powers to avoid falling to her death, but is still badly hurt from her fall and Asmo's attack. Using the combination of Archy and Saku's attack as a distraction, Tegan chokes Asmo with her wires and pins him to the ground with his own sword.

 

[Jack Shade]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The stormbolts crashed against the remains of the hovercar, and a fourth individual was pulled behind its glowing husk. Kaze found himself spun in front of the ragged faces of Myrn and Drake, held by the one good arm Drake still had. His face was taut with agony and his breathing stuttered irregularly. He'd lost blood...too much blood. Not a blood magus like Soulless, Drake could only hope the regenerative factor of his curse would keep him alive for the next few crucial moments.

"There now," Drake muttered, forcing a toothy grin for the historian, "Warmaster barely nicked you and there are still some of us who draw breath...this battle is far from over."

Myrn cast a frown at Drake and put a hand on his shoulder, a firm reminder to stay down. "It is for you, friend. You're in no condition for the front lines any longer...you're barely in a condition to stay conscious."

"Perhaps," the wererat agreed, grimacing, "But I have no need to engage Asmodeus any longer." He pointed up, the sleek black shape of a familiar ship cutting through the smoke and gore to rest above the three "Myrn, our cavalry and your purpose in this battle have arrived." Myrn raised a skeptical brow but Drake waved it off, turning to Kaze. "We have need of your talents scholar...and we don't have long."

"I cannot aid those who defy the Cycle," Kaze answered hollowly. His eyes were dark and face slack as though lost in the entirety of the event around them. "Asmodeus is the Shadow and only the True Hero can stop him."

"But what if he wasn't," Drake countered, causing both Myrn and Kaze to glance up at him. "What if Asmodeus was never the Shadow to begin with?"

"Impossible." Kaze countered, a frown creasing his face. "Do you see how easily he fights you all?"

"Perhaps," Drake mused, glancing at his bloody stump "But if you help us and it works, we can prove whether Asmodeus is the True Shadow. If he is, then no effort we can muster will be enough...only the True Hero can defeat him."

Kaze said nothing, an ugly bruise spreading across his face where the Warmaster hit him. Behind them the crazed laughing of Jumi echoed strangely off the air of Insanity and his deafening chords brought a trickle of blood from Drake's ear.

"I need you to help them," Drake said, grabbing Kaze's chin and lifting his face to meet Drake's bright eyes "I need you to whip the wind of Insanity into a sandstorm...buy our warriors time to heal and extract our wounded." The wind mage did not answer, instead looking the mess which once was his primary means of transportation.

"You can sit on the sidelines and observe, or you can be a part of the history you care so much about recording...the choice is yours."

A beam of light fell upon Drake and he lifted up toward the Harbinger, grabbing Myrn's arms and taking the shapeshifter with him.

Kaze was left to watch...and make his decisions.



Inside the Harbinger:

When Drake dropped in the center of the Harbinger with Myrn, he dropped hard. All the adrenaline had worn thin in his blood and little of that remained in his system. The ISAF medics looked up from a recovering Carl and rushed to Drake's side, pulling the wererat up on a stretcher and tending to his extensive injuries.

"Shit," One said, poking at the wounds with a scalpel as they removed stray dirt and material "Guy's already healing up!"

"But without blood he's just flesh and bone without kick," Countered another, pulling packages of blood from a cooler at his side. "We need to beat his regeneration to save his life."

"Hate lycanthropes," the first muttered "Whoever heard of Regeneration being a bad thing anyways?"

Myrn stood by Drake's side, noting with disdain the amount of ISAF inside the belly of the Harbinger. Most of them worked feverishly at some gargantuan device directly over the hangar doors, the cylindrical object glinting with cold intent.

"Another bomb?" Myrnodyn guessed distastefully, "Hasn't Dystopia used enough of those?"

"Not out bomb," Mcarthy muttered from his stretcher, holding out a folded piece of paper to Myrn, "Drake just told us to build it."

"What?" Myrn asked incredulously, snatching the paper. He recognized the script of Nylock in the corner...a name to grimace at and nothing more. But as his practiced eyes roved the design, a fire lit where hope had faded.

"I need five minutes," Myrn confirmed, striding to the open control panel of the bomb "You guys want to help? Make sure Asmodeus stays busy till then."

Mcarthy chuckled, nodding to a few grinning soldiers "Oh we have some payback waiting for the Angel shit and I know my boys have ammo itching to get fired."

Myrn gave only a nod, a different sort of expression crossing his face. This was his forte, his strength...this was how he was going to save them from a mad angel. Stepping beside the bomb, Myrnodyn stuck his head next to the mess of wires and grinned.

Maybe three minutes.



Summary: Drake asks Kaze to make a smokescreen for the fighters and to help. Then he and Myrn are taken aboard the Harbinger. While Drake recovers a bit, Myrnodyn has begun work on a bomb of some sort...looks as though the ISAF have a bone to pick with Asmo and want to help out.

 

[Mainstream Hipster]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Kaze's mind was torn. He knew that it was futile to go against the Cycle, but at the same time, Drake's words spoke to him in a manner so deep that he immediately wanted to do what was required of him. It was true that, as a historian, one grows jealous of those who are always in the spotlight, whose endless conquests you must write down, you yourself never actually a part of them. It was every historians dream to be a part of the history they chrronologued for the records and this was no less true for Kaze.

As Drake stood there, a beam of light came down and pulled him up into the ship that hovered far above them. It seemed that Drake no longer had time to wait around for an answer, and seemed to trust Kaze to make the right decision. Kaze's mind was racked with all the possibilities that could come out of both, but even as he argued the logic of the Cycle to himself, he kept going back to Drake's words and the faith he seemed to place in him, despite barely knowing each other. However, one image popped into his head and Kaze wondered if it was a sign from the Cycle, or mere coincidence. Could the light have meant...? Kaze stood, realizing that, for him to find out, he must do his part as well. While the True Hero was their only salvation, the Hero would never be powerful without the aid of allies. How Kaze had forgotten this was beyond him, but he now knew what he had to do.

Asmo, fed up with the annoyance that Tegan was posing, let out a roar of frustration that was aimed at Tegan. Using brute force and his head as a focus point, he bucked Tegan off of him, as well as unsheathing the sword from the earth. The wires that had been around his neck snapped as his muscles bulged underneath. Jumping to his feet, Asmo pulled the sword out of his body in disgust, before kicking Tegan in the ribs, sending her skipping across the ground until a tree connected with her back, stopping her force of motion, the tree groaning under the sudden collision.

Kaze slowly put his bowstaff back on his back, it's effect was too direct for what he needed. He circled his arms, building magical prowess from deep inside himself, the dust around his feet already circling under his strength. The wind began to pool around him, gaining strength as a train gains momentum as its pistons churn, and Kaze's arms moved faster in response. Insanity, as if understanding the chaos he was trying to bring, brought about more wind in addition to his, the dust all around them being kicked up with impressive force, the trees groaning and swaying under his effect. By the time Asmo realized what was happening, it was too late, the area now under a massive sandstorm, Kaze hidden from view as the galeforce winds picked up anything not roped down, its roar drowning out any other noise.

Kaze then stopped his arms pendulum swinging, the winds now out of his control as they raged on around him, his magical ability the only thing keeping him safe as he simply stood by and waited as his storm raged on, the battlefield now angry and blinding all those inside of it. He hoped that what he had done was right, but now it was too late, and he would have to stand by his decision, even if it meant death.

 

[soullesshuman]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Saneless paused in his mind after. The sobbing echoed over him, turning his sadness into something more. Everything was ruined now... He'd have to start in a palce fat worse than when they first met... and it was all the fault of that angel. Soulless was suddenly shoved from the body, hurtled into his mind, sobbing and confused as to what was going on. In the meantime, the body got up and the tears went away. He pulled his dagger out and cut a strip off his straitjacket, ignoring that he also cut into his own skin. Then, leaving the dagger sheathed in his arm, he tied a small eyepatch to his left eye, right eye staring at the storm of dust around him. Where was Asmodeus?

He'd find out. Snarling, Saneless shook off the wind and ignored it even as he had to dig himself into the dirt with every step to keep from being flung by the wind. A fallen feather whipped by him. Then a few more. His blood surged and sped through the wind almost completely unnaffected by the sand and wind. Some other blood kept him firmly attached to whatever ground he was on as the blood now found the angel, confused and buffeted by the wind and sands as his wings became more of a hamper than a help. Silently, Saneless stepped forward, into the view of the angel.

"You bastard... you said... you could fix this." Saneless snarled, barely heard over the wind. Asmodeus probably couldn't hear him, but he still spoke. "You... ruined... everything." Suddenly blood burst from his arm and surged at the angel, slashing and biting wherever it could reach as the blood that had found the angel in the first place exploded upon him like a deadly net.

 

[Asmodeus]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The net flew straight then trembled as a pulse of Confluence struck it. Kaze's gathering winds scattered the blood apart, and both Saneless and Asmodeus found themselves amid the whirlwind. Dust and ashes circled all around the characters, along with the horrendous quantities of blood and magical particles. It was a swirl of colour, disorientating and terrible, clogging eyes and lungs.

But in the centre, as if in the eye of a cyclone, Asmodeus fought against it. Feathers tumbled from his wings as he emitted more and more Confluence, every stride hard won, his feet pushing strenuously through the air. His wings flapped and curled, trying to fight the magical forces assailing them. Sakura hit the ground next to him, while Obskeree went flying by, hurtling out of control until Porg managed to catch her and slump to the ground, curling over her to keep her safe.

Exquisite pain blossomed through Saneless's body and his uncovered eye became clogged with dust. He dropped to his knees, and as Asmodeus passed him his throat became dry, his head ached and he vomitted from the cocktail of endorphins and adrenaline. The boy crumpled over and the angel continued moving.

"KAZE!" he screamed into the roiling tempest, "SUCH A DEATH YOU COULD HAVE HAD BY MY SIDE!" He ripped the Sword of Reikei from his shoulder where Tegan had buried it. And as his celestial blood spilled into the wind he slashed at the dust and ash around him, trying to find the Wind-Mage. "BUT LO WE SEE THE ARROGANCE OF MINIONS, WHO REACH BEYOND THEIR MASTERS AND PLUNGE INTO OBSCURITY!"

He stepped over the dying Palonis, past the bleeding Arachnion, and on towards Grandmaster Karsikan, every Confluence pulse tearing wide their wounds and making them bleed afresh. Placing a foot on the Grey Knight's back, he pulled the Sword of Bowie from his flesh and held it aloft. The two swords dripped with the mixed blood of the heroes, glinting savagely.

"IS THIS IT?!" He roared, even as the Harbinger passed overhead, unseen in the storm, "WHERE ARE YOU?! WHERE IS THIS HERO?! BRING ME THE SAVIOUR, THE GOLDEN ELIXIR! BRING ME THE ONE WHO WILL END THIS!!"

He clashed his blades against each other, sparks of crimson light leaping from the celestial metal. "KILL ME!!" The swords began to split, crimson seams opening along the lengths of each weapon. "ONE OF YOU! FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE TAKE CONTROL OF THE STORY!"

He shook the swords fiercely, one half of each blade falling away. In a pulse of crimson the last two souls of Metraton were manifested. The Blade of Casepheny, and the Blade of Tel'Nein, gifted to him by the Angel Lamord, from the time beyond time, from a future just as dark as the one he would usher in.

The two additional blades swung down and he caught them, the hilts reversed so that he was now dual wielding the four swords, his reality-bending keeping them perfectly balanced.

So many contradictions... so many inconsistencies... the angel enforcing reality whilst bending time and space... wielding the four souls of angelic beings in his demonic fury.

"KILL ME!!!" he roared, going into a frenzy with the four blades, whirling and slashing in all directions. He moved as fast as the storm, at times going with the wind and at times against it, like a relentless bird caught in the vortex. He was a web of deadly grace... and any who came too close would be torn apart.


And just as he didn't see the Harbinger, nor did he see the giant shape advancing over the hills from the north. The TL;DR Scorpion was following the Harbinger, dripping with the ashes of Dystopia and thirsting to erase its next victims. Drawn by the ship and now by the storm, the Elder War Machine drew closer and closer, its tail rearing and charging with apocalyptic power.





[SUMMARY: Asmodeus breaks the Sword of Metatron further, bringing out the blades of Casepheny and Tel'Nein. Dual-wielding the two pairs of swords, he hacks and slashes at the dust around him, trying to find Kaze. His sanity is now completely gone. Meanwhile, the Scorpion that destroyed Shifter Town and Dystopia has followed the Harbinger into Insanity...]

 

[Tegan]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

A powerful wind.

Darkness. Flash.

Obskeree was rescued by Porg.

Darkness. Flash.

Asmodeus stood in the center, shouting something she could not hear.

Flash.Flash.Flash. Crimson.

Tegan's limp body lay on its side, unable to move because of her injuries; her consciousness was fading in and out as her eyes would drift open and shut to catch glimpses of what was happening. Finally, when a stream of blood flowed from somewhere on her head and into her eyes, Tegan was forced to close them. Her healing abilities were slowed significantly by the confluence pulse, and her injuries became worse by the second.

Such a waste. . .

 

[Mainstream Hipster]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Amongst the dull roar of the wind, Asmo's ranting could be heard even by Kaze, though where Asmo was or how close he was couldn't be determined. He knew, however that for now he was safe from the crazed angel. Not even his confluence pulses could stop the wind and dust, and since he couldn't fly above the wind, Kaze had a few moments of safety.

Turning around, Kaze slowly moved forward, reaching out with his hands, until he finally came upon the destroyed carcass of the Fidelis. He shook his head, as if in pity for the piece of twisted metal, before taking a deep breath and laying his hands down on the fallen machine. Kaze used his wind magic to let the dust and wind warp around him, leaving him in a shell of relative tranquility compared to the chaos outside. Concentrating, Kaze's hands glowed upon the Fidelis and slowly, the metal began to churn and groan. Pieces that were strewn across the ground were pulled back by his reality bending, as the entirety of the hovercraft was covered in a glow.

It wasn't long before the Fidelis began to resemble its former glory, to the point of the paint having its sheen back on the paint. Panting slightly, Kaze dropped his hands, the Fidelis finally restored to working order. Fixing the craft wasn't what had drained Kaze, it had been the wind storm that he had summoned. Crawling inside the now clean interior of the Fidelis, Kaze hid out, waiting out the storm and catching his breath, ready to flee if necessary.

 

[Karsikan the Berzerker]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The grandmaster was jarred back to consciousness as Asmodeus drew his blade from his back, he lay still for a long time as the angel ranted, his soul tormented with the decision before him.

For fifty years he'd never broken his vow, half a century. A part of him would rather die than use his power, yet another, quiet but growing in strength told him to unleash it. he contemplated everything in his life to this moment, the guard, the black templar, the deathwatch and his mutation, the loss he felt when he had to leave his brothers, but in the Grey knights he'd found new ones, a reason to keep fighting, and that reason was why he was here. The Darkness that was before him now, that angel was that Darkness that had drawn him here, but there was more, the girl, Acquarina, she'd shown him that innocence still existed in the galaxy.

It was because of her that he made his decision, and though the confluence pulse weakned his power, the realm of madness they were in fueled him. Though nobody could see it in the swirling madness around him, his wounds re-knit themselves as he stood, The Angel, stood with his back to him at first turned around, to see Karsikan uninjured and standing.

"My name is Grandmaster Karsikan Banrae, and I accept your offer"

With that two hook-like blades extended from his forearms, each wickedly serrated and at least a meter and a half long, and his muscles became infused with the warp power, he felt the world around him for the first time with his psychic senses as his body crackled with eldritch energy.

For once, The Grandmaster had the terrain advantage as well, The angel struggled with the winds around them, while the Bulk of The Grandmaster's Terminator armor scarcely noticed the storm around them. Both He and Asmodeus moved in almost the same instant, celestial blades meeting warp infused bone in a violent crash, before The Grandmaster's Brute strength took over, forcefully repelling each attack and sending Asmodeus off balance, he finally had the advantage, he was finally stronger than the angel.

and He loved every second of it

Strike met parry, while The Grandmaster did have the benefit of immense warp-strength, the angel was still faster, and with four blades he was forced to pierce a near impenetrable wall of steel. The two battled a long time this way, neither one able to hurt the other before The Grandmaster took hold of the reigns of battle. He used his hook blade to capture and Disarm Asmodeus of two blades, now with only two blades, The Grandmaster recognized with his warp granted senses every move the angel made. He caught the angel off balance and ran his right forearm blade through the Angel's belly before wrenching it free, using the serrations of the blade to tear out as much flesh as possible, the blow was agonizing and would not permit the regeneration that had saved Asmodeus before.

He left the angel to suffer and die, that shadow of arrogance still clouding his judgement

potentially worst of all, he enjoyed the fact that the angel would slowly suffer and die, after all the injury that he'd received.

He searched around with his psychic senses again, feeling for the others. He retracted the blades from his forearms as he approached the first one, a badly injured Warmaster Death, he knelt beside the wounded space marine and placed his bare hand on his chest, he psychically commanded every cell of the Warmaster's body to repair themselves, and within moments he was completely healed.

"I must ask something of you Warmaster," Karsikan said "I was called to this world by the darkness that holds it in it's talons, and I issued a rallying call to anyone who would listen, So let's stand together side by side against anything that would come to harm this world? and maybe, just maybe win back this world from the evil that holds it." he paused a moment to let the Warmaster think about what he'd been asked, "These people deserve to be free from the constant wars here. Let's give them that freedom."

Summary: GMK makes the decision to finally give it his all and manages to wound asmo deeply before looking around for the injured. He finds WMD first and makes a proposal to him after he is healed.

 

[Jumi]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

Moments after The Grandmaster had healed the fallen space marine, he felt a tremendous force crush into the back of his head, and send him across the ground a good fifteen yards. Jumi had connected on a fully powered swing from his guitar. The Cursed Lieutenant leaned back slightly, and rested his guitar on the back of his shoulder as he looked down at the Warmaster. "Remember me, sunshine? We got some business to finish...." He then placed a solid thunderous kick to the Warmaster's side, which sent the man up into the air, and onto his back again. Turning to look at the Grandmaster, Jumi only grinned "I'll be with you in a second boy. Simmer down there, and wait for the end. It'll be here soon enough."

He then turned back towards Warmaster, and reached into his pocket. Removing a cylinder like object, he ran a thumb across it. Click... A beam of bright red energy shot out from the object, and began to hum peacefully. "Remember this? It's time for history to repeat itself a bit!" Jumi yelled as he ran towards Warmaster, and braced his arms for a viscious cleave.

Summary: Having not been seen, Jumi cleans GMK's clock, and then issues a challenge to WMD from the days of Old.

 

[Neko Archy]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

cocksuckingsonofabitchbastardymotherfuckin'thrice-dammed fuck!

Conflunce pulses tore through the area, and Archy. By all means she should be dying. Which, thanks to aforementioned confluence pulses, she was. Third almost-death in 24 hours. Busy day.

Still, she had to do something. No matter how bad things looked, they could always get out through sheer determination and ingenuity-The mature tower had taught her that.

She staggered around blindly in the sandstorm, searching for Asmo, Tegan, somebody. Just lying there and bleeding to death was not her. Hell, if she was going to die, she'd make sure something came of it. Preferably involving explosions.

I wonder, is the blood loss making me loopy? er?

Something flapping around in the wind hit her in the face, and it took her a while to recognize it as her jacket and put it back on. Then she went back to walking around in the blinding storm, when she practically stepped on Soulless's crumpled form. Archy helped him up with the hand that wasn't busy keeping her intestines inside her body, and let him lean on her as she hobbled along.

To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but it had to be better than nothing, right?

 

[Jack Shade]

Re: Insanity - CHAPTER 4

The Warmaster lunged upwards, self-impaling on the lightsaber, roaring as it burned through his chest and armour and out the other side. But even as he did it he grabbed Jumi by the throat, crushing his windpipe. The two men fell together, choking and burning the life from each other.

And beside them, the Grandmaster rose once again, his skin burning with warp power, his armour hanging in pieces. He turned with a roar, preparing to cut down Jumi and consolidate his victory.

But then a golden light tore through his chest, blasting a fist hole in his chest cavity. He dropped like a rock, convulsing, twitching as his life blood ruptured and his heart began to shudder.

He was dying.... and the angel was rising once more. With golden eyes, Asmodeus shrieked with laughter, his face now half his own and half Paorou-Sama's. His eyebeams scoured the rocks and blew back the dust and wind, dispelling Kaze's magic. His stomach, where the Grandmaster had gouged his wound, was no only light... terrible, infernal and utterly insane.

And as the clouds disperesed, the shadow of the rearing Scorpion loomed over all of them, the TL;DR ray ready to fire.

But it was not the rumbling of the approaching Scorpion, or the moans of the fallen and injured which gave the angel pause. The sound of metal across metal cut through his Confluence like the toll of a bell. A square of light fell through the storm, pulsing with red and green energy and biting at the magic around it.

Drake and Myrn descended in that glow.

They stood atop a cylindrical device, holding the taut metal line lowering the leviathan toward Asmodeus. Myrn held a remote in his left hand, the right holding to the wire. His face was solemn, but excitement blazed in his eyes like suns in the depths of space. Drake shivered beside him, bandaged and bloody. The bomb stopped above Asmodeus, hanging in the center of an ethereal glow it swayed.

"What now?" The angel mocked, gesturing with the sword of Reiki, "More bombs and toys to sway a God? Have you learned nothing?" Neither of them spoke, Myrn striking a switch on the remote. The device hummed into life, an unseeing eye blinking on at its apex as gears turned inside it…twisting like the Cycle.

"Myrnodyn!" Asmodeus roared, "Has your journey meant so little? Will you not test your destiny against mine?"

"I'm no hero, Asmodeus," Myrnodyn sighed, looking down at the hunk of plastic and wires in his hand "I couldn't save Shifter Town and I couldn't protect my friends when they needed me. At best I'm Myrnodyn, the acting Regent of Shapeshifters…nothing more."

The angel roared, earth wearing away beneath his feet as his Confluence pulse warred against the energies of Insanity. "SUFFERING IS ALL! NO HERO CAN STAND AGAINST ME WITHOUT KNOWING PAIN!" Bringing his swords toward his chest, the angel looked almost pleadingly at the bearded shifter. "Kill me Myrnodyn…drive my blade through this heart. You are the only one who has not tested his strength against me… Till me, Myrnodyn... is it you?"

"There is no hero Asmodeus," Drake whispered, his words oddly loud among the winds. "He will not come and you will not be killed by him."

"SILENCE, RAT!" Asmodeus roared, slashing at the air with his blades, "YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND WANTING!" Saliva dripped from the Dark Prince's mouth and ran across his gore flecked chin. His mind had been shattered. Drake frowned, remembering Jack regale him on the legendary madness of Asmodeus. At the height of his power, his mind cracked beneath the weight and he allowed his body to become a vessel harboring his belief…his will…but not his mind.

"You are not the Shadow," the wererat interrupted coldly "Are you so blind to your precious Cycle that you can't recognize that? You are a Guardian by your definition, a hurdle for those who walk your hero's path. No Hero will be revealed for you because it is in the nature of the Guardian to be defeated and this…" Drake looked down at the bomb humming louder as time went on, "Is your end."

Asmodeus's golden eyes stared, expressionless evil, and then he stumbled, a force much like a vacuum tearing confluence from his body and up toward the metal giant.