159 replies to this topic

[Selena]

Selena had stormed off in a huff, beside herself at having to leave behind the body of her rival and friend simply because of that damned cloaked man. Though, truth be told, Selena wouldn't have known what to do with Chikara anyway. Leave her? Go to the trouble of taking the queen back to the Labyrinth? Funeral pyre? It wasn't worth thinking about. It was now out of her hands. There were more important things to deal with. The warning to flee south was fair enough, but the war was still raging. Her troops were still in the hands of her executive officer and, as far as she knew, Khuffie was still breathing somewhere in his citadel. If Selena was going to flee south, the whole Labyrinth army was going to go with her. She couldn't leave her people. The other dorms could fend for themselves against whatever ambiguous threat was on its way.

As she marched back to where she had left her minions, she noticed something was not quite right. There were more Alliance soldiers running around in the distance. Reinforcements? Dammit. That was going to make escape even more troublesome. She turned her eyes toward the citadel. Hard to tell how things were going there. Then, in the direction she had come from, she heard an unearthly sound that rose above the battles and the screaming. She turned back and noticed a faint glow. Her first reaction was to storm back, fearing that that damned Keel had done something with Chikara. She repressed the rage as best she could, sneered a bit, and kept on walking. It was over, she reminded herself. It was over. It had been done, and she'd have to live with herself. Selena was the monarch and she had to lead the others to victory or reasonable escape.

The walk was somewhat therapeutic. She'd always liked to walk. It cleared her mind and drained stress. She took deep, controlled breaths to vent the sadness and anger. No one needed to see her upset when she took command back from her subordinates. She used her spear as a walking stick, keeping her eyes open ahead for any dangers. People were mostly occupied. They didn't notice her presence amongst t...

"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!"

Selena nearly screamed, rapidly pivoting around. Oh... oh no. Oh no, no, no. Selena moved into a fighting stance, holding the spear in front of her, the tip shaking as her hands failed to stay true to themselves. Chikara stood there, psychotic gleam in her eyes, rejuvenated and different at the same time. This wasn't the usual breed of crazy. She'd never seen that look before. This wasn't natural. It wasn't her. It couldn't have been her. Keel must have turned her corpse into a damned hobbit zombie - mindless, short and brain hungry. But with such a murderous look in Chikara's eyes, Selena had only one option available in her present emotional state.

She spun on her heel and began to sprint away as quickly as her unstable legs could carry her.

[Chikara Nadir]

Chikara willed herself to run forward and chase after the less-than-brave warrior woman before her, but she felt her brain glitch, insisting against it. Instead, she ran straight at the closest building, blinked, and found herself standing several feet in front of Selena. Her lips parted, wanting to shout out in confusion but instead spreading and curling into an unnaturally wide smile. There were parts of her brain that knew what they were doing, but those generally weren't the sections that had been awake and in control before Keel's rendezvous with her.

She lept at the woman before the other could react, grabbing her by the neck. She wanted not to choke her, but the grasp around the focus of her blood flow and breath, her very life force, felt quite satisfying. "Isn't this just wicked?"

The woman pushed her opponent backward with renewed vigor, shoving her toward the ground. They landed, not down on the ground, but were pushed up from the floor of an entirely different location. Chikara's eyes darted about, making sure that nobody had followed them (as if anyone could) and that they were alone. Satisfied, she let go of the shocked woman and stood, surveying their location.

They were high upon a balcony overlooking the city, much loftier that even a rich business or a wealthy home might have. This must be a balcony attached to the palace, the very terrible centre of the invasion. That man had to be killed. Others were surely on their way to accomplishing such on their own. But it would be fun to at least watch...ooh, there was a pretty little moth fluttering out on the air not far away. This wasn't such a bad view; thousands of burning homes and bloodstained streets could be looked down upon while one sat in a leisure chair and sipped at a margarita. Being a supreme dictator must have its perks. Well, being wanted dead by all the nations aside.

Chikara blinked, crimson gemstones twinkling from the centre of her eyes as she gazed back at the other woman who had been so intent on escaping her. "...what are you doing here?"

[Selena]

After Chikara released her, Selena, no longer having any sensation of which way was up, fell back first onto the roof of wherever they were.

Selena felt a bit insane on her own. Her mentor had come back from the dead after killing herself. She'd dyed her hair, found some armor, had suddenly master the art of portal making, and was completely and utterly out of her mind. Chikara had always been nuts, but that had been in the endearing bloodlust fashion. This was just batshit insane. The expressions were completely off, as was the body language. The portals. How in the hell had she done that? That was Keel's... Well, no, that couldn't have been right. Was Chikara another apprentice of his? Like Xeres was? But Xeres wasn't insane. Just brooding. Where was Keel? Surely he had something to do, and he was the only one who could have brought her back. It was just too much, too fast, too out of order and random. She couldn't keep up.

It took a moment to breath again after the quick strangulation, Selena putting her fingers to her throat and forcing herself to take a large inhale of soot infested air. After another, she managed to groan out, "What the hell happened to you?"

[Chikara Nadir]

Indeed. What HAD happened to her? Chikara laughed, deep and yet hollow, almost forced. And finally she stopped, willing her attention-deficit brain to hesitate, to think over what Selena had said. Maybe she'd been traveling through the city and testing out her skills to keep her mind busy and try to forget about what happened. She should be overjoyed by the immensity of her abilities, not frightened by the reminder of the darkness she'd seen before her on the cusp of death. Then again, maybe the chaos she'd invoked was just the god's way of determining the limits of its new body. Naw, that was just the beginning.

The queen inhaled through her nose, slowly smelling burning wood and flesh like they were the cinnamon atop a fresh-baked pie. Finally she turned, heels quietly tapping against the marble balcony flooring as she stepped out to the edge, leaning against a stone railing that she could easily be heaved over, should the younger warrior make such an attempt. She momentarily thought about how sad it was that she had to take such facts into consideration when in Selena's company. Not that it mattered, she couldn't be killed that easily anymore.

"What the hell happened to me?" She repeated the question, earnestly asking it to herself. "What FROM hell happened to me? No, it didn't happen to me...it happened to them. I'm still me, but now they're me too."

Chikara stopped, realizing that she was muttering. How had Keel stood to have such confusion constantly at the centre of his attention? Frustration taking over as her dominant emotion, she threw her fist forward and spit a dark ball of energy from it into the sky. It hovered, balloon-like, before dropping to the ground far below. First it caught the moth in its path; the insect never even had a moment to fear its death. Then, where a burst water balloon would spill water on its target, the unfortunate buildings caught underneath it collapsed in all directions, causing the women's footing high above to momentarily quiver.

"Chikara is dead." It was a half-truth, but one that immediately felt far too real. She knew she was still herself, for the most part, the same flesh, same physical reactions, same general mind. But so much of it was misbehaving, like invisible strings controlled by an otherworldly puppeteer. "Keel is also dead." Whether she had actually known Selena's inner thoughts or only guessed them, Chik wasn't telling. Finally, licking her lips, she spoke a truth that she had not even been sure about until she had taken this moment to consider it and decide it must be true. "Lazu remains."

She blinked, staring longingly back at her enemy, her friend. "I'm sorry it had to be this way. You would have made a good queen. But now, you understand, attempting to stop me will only expedite your own death." If she concentrated for a moment, she felt that she could sense Selena's heartbeat even from so far away. If she looked at her for too long, she thought she could even see how long the spear-weilder had left in this world. "I already told you to leave the city, to read the manuscript, to figure it out yourself. But I..."

Chikara would have, on an earlier date, been honest and said that she wanted to see her foe one last time, not knowing where the future might lead them. But now she wasn't sure that was even true anymore. "I could let you see the end of this city, this nation, but you would be unlikely to survive it. Before the sun has fallen, all will come to an end." Well, the end of Khuffie's rule was obvious already. But her tone made it clear that Chikara meant to do much more than kill one man through the strength of her own hands.

"I think I will go see if there's any good seating left for the main event. Maybe even popcorn. I do love fresh popcorn." She passed Selena with a whimsical smile, placing a hand to her whip and muttering half to herself, "This is the only way out and there's many to kill, so we'd best hurry."

[Selena]

Selena stood, trying to contemplate the situation. Lazu remains? She was possessed? Well, that would explain the crazy. She wasn't totally controlled, that was clear enough. The being in front of her was still largely Chik in body and mind, just unhinged and disconnected. She was acting off her emotions, though they were all still hers. Keel had been himself, despite what powers he may have had. If they were some sort of physical vessel for Lazu's power, then... oh, it was too difficult. She had the manuscript, but now was hardly the time to sit down for a long read. Any second she could have been choked and thrown through another portal. She had to find a way to deal with this nonsense.

She and Chik were enemies. Chik now had superpowers. That meant Selena couldn't afford to get on her bad side, at least not while she was so unstable. Chik also seemed lost and confused - her mind broken with the infusion of power. That could work to Selena's advantage. It was like toying with a mentally handicapped old person, or so Selena hoped. She and Chik had once been friends and teammates. They pillaged towns together. They slaughtered innocents. They occasionally went shopping and talked about bo-- gir-- people. If Selena could convince Chik that things were still that way, that it was really a century or two ago, then maybe she could buy herself enough time to think up a better plan and get out.

Her stern behavior came mostly from years of leadership during an age where the Labyrinth was in decline, which demanded a serious demeanor. In the golden age, though, she had been much less repressed. She'd been not quite crazy, but not quite sane. Prone to Chikara's normal fits of bloodlust and smartassed play. That was still a part of Selena. She just had to drag it back up from the depths. Okay. It was a century or two ago. Selena was (physically) a seventeen year old. The Labyrinth was at the top of the food chain. Chikara was her mentor and best friend and whatever else. They were off pillaging. Mental image set.

Selena turned around with a bright, girlish smile, trying her best to replicate her younger self. She walked lightly, coming to stand directly behind Chikara. She leaned forward, still grinning, her face moving over Chikara's right shoulder. "Many to kill? Of course there are! Wasn't it stupid for Jericho to build a fortress so far away from the Hall of Heroes? The Labyrinth is doing a good job taking it over. Korhend's troops from the Village are nowhere near as skilled as ours, but they're decent meatshields. It's going quite well. I'm very proud of our strapping young villains. Aren't you?"

"Oh." Selena put one hand on Chikara's back, and used the other to point to the north gate, where Alliance troops were storming in to reinforce the city. "I guess more knights have come to Jericho's aid. They're resourceful, if a bit stupid." And now to get rid of them by baiting the other woman into focusing those powers on something productive. She smiled - a friendly sort of smartass. A tad flirty. "I bet I could kill more than you."


Please work. Please work. Please work. Please work. Please work.

[Steel Samurai]

The white marble floor was a blur beneath Steel's feet. Unerringly, he led the charge towards Khuffie's location, towards the sound of the explosion. Left. Right. Straight. Take this hall. Not that one. Up these stairs. Down the others. For a moment, he let his body handle itself, his subconscious unerringly shifting his feet and adjusting his balance according to the map of the Palace in his head. Where were they going? Steel pulled the map from his memory into the top level of his consciousness . . . Of course. There was no other option. That sick bastard.

Ten guards, broken, bloody, several headless or with their entire torso separated from their legs, littered the hallways behind him. That was all of them. The rest must have been called away somewhere else. Fresh blood stained Steel's armor, its original black hue now turned a dark crimson from the dried blood which caked it. He wiped his forehead and eyes clear, but ignored the rest of his face, and took off again.

Finally, he stood before a stout oaken door. The same door, in fact, that Khuffie had stood before not 4 days earlier. Steel tried the handle. Locked from the inside. It would be a simple matter to pick it, but a much faster way would be to-*SMASH*-kick it in. The door itself was uninjured, but the hinges had apparently not been fixed very securely in the stone wall. Steel stepped into the room, only to have his eyes greeted by a most horrible sight.

Khuffie sat on the couch, legs mercifully crossed, a fat cigar in his fingers. The sound of a shower running came from the room on the other side of the door at the far end of the chamber. A surprised look came to Khuffie's face and he nervously clutched a golden medallion around his neck. That was, in fact, the only thing which covered his skin, save for the trousers around the ankle of the foot still touching the floor. General Khuffie had been caught with his pants down.

"How dare you! How dare you invade my privates, err, my private sanctum? Guards? GUARDS!" Khuffie's voice was a shrill whine. He was obviously not pleased at being interrupted.

"They're dead."

"A technicality that will shortly be remedied. But first things first. To the death." Khuffie reached behind him and pulled a dagger, brandishing it in Steel's face. Steel wasn't entirely certain he wanted to know where the dagger came from, or how precisely one would be able to keep a dagger there without it being rather painful. Or, for that matter, WHY Khuffie would store a dagger in a place that would be completely inaccessible unless he was lacking trousers. Well, it had served him today.

"No! To the pain." Faster than Khuffie's eye could see, there was a dagger in Steel's hand, its hilt locked with Khuffie's.

"I don't think I'm quite familiar with that phrase."

"I'll explain. And I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon."

"That may be the first time in my life a man has dared insult me."

"It won't be the last. To the pain means the first thing you will lose will be your feet below the ankles. Then your hands at the wrists, next your nose."

"And then my tongue, I suppose. I killed you too quickly the last time, a mistake I don't mean to duplicate tonight." Killed him? Steel was unsure of which incident Khuffie spoke, but decided to leave it for now. Factuality should never get in the way of witty dialogue, after all.

"I wasn't finished. The next thing you will lose will be your left eye, followed by your right."

"And then my ears, I understand, let's get on with it."

"Wrong! Your ears you keep, and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, ever woman who cries out 'Dear God, what is that thing?' will echo in your perfect ears. That is what "to the pain" means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery for ever." Steel was technically lying at this point. He had no intention of allowing Khuff to leave the palace alive, much less be seen by any babies.

"I think you're bluffing."

"It's possible, pig. I might be bluffing. It's conceivable, you miserable vomitous mass, I'm only standing here because this is the only place left in the city not overrun by your soldiers. But then . . ." Half a second later, Khuffie's dagger was on the floor, his hand still clutching it. "Perhaps" The other hand, and the dictator's nose had joined their fellow on the floor. "I'm just . . ." Khuffie had almost been able to see Steel sheathe his dagger, draw his swords, drop to one knee, and slice through his ankles. Almost. But he couldn't really be sure, as he was now lying on the floor, unable to get up, his limbs spurting blood. "Killing time, waiting for the one who will end your miserable life to get here." He smirked, dropped to one knee, and plunged his dagger into Khuffie's left eye, just deep enough to scratch the back of the eye socket, but not enough to pierce the brain. Khuffie screamed like a little girl.

"On second thoughts, perhaps I'll leave you one eye. It should make the next part even more interesting. Oh, and by the way, I lied. You'll most definitely be dead by the end of the night." Khuffie lay on the floor, his face a bloody and disfigured mess, the cigar still in his mouth.

"He's all yours, Goose."

The shower stopped running. The door on the far end of the apartment opened, and a rather short, very slim girl emerged, wrapped only in a towel. Steel looked up. Well well. It seemed that Miss Keira Knightley, second consort to Khuffie, was just as pretty as reports had claimed. There were some advantages to being a dictator after all. It would be a pity for her to die. In an instant, Steel was behind her. He touched the back of her neck with his palm, and she collapsed. A roll in the hay with this one might do Ransom some good. That boy needed to man up. Steel carried her to the door, and took one last look at the miserable creature behind him, attempting to rise. He almost felt sorry for the man, until he realized that amoral assassins do not feel sorry for many people, and Khuffie was not deserving of the small stock of sorry feelings Steel had within him. Not by far . . . THOOM. A gigantic . . . presence manifested itself quite suddenly on the borders of his mind. First it had been there, then it was not. Steel's eyes grew wide. Where had it come from. He closed his eyes to pinpoint its location. In this very building. This could be bad . . .

Edited by Steel Samurai, 27 April 2009 - 07:52 AM.

[Ransom]

ooc: spoilers for unnecessary text.

Their feet pounded against the tiled surface like a rapid heartbeat as they ran, passing tapestries, and statues and other hallways. Corpses began to litter the hallways of the palace as they blasted through anything in their path, unimportant drone characters such as guards included.
Their route was getting confusing. Up a stairway then down another, through a hallway, then a u-turn straight back through another to the same hallway. Steel must be going in circles.
Or maybe he just didn’t really know where he was going.
Either way Perseus Ransom was almost enjoying the run. Carrying almost half the weight of the average man gave him an advantage when it came to stamina.
It was his bones that made the difference. Somehow durable yet extremely light, they were a good foundation for his relatively normal muscle mass.

At the rear of the party, it was Perseus’ unspoken duty to make sure no one ambushed them from behind, and to deal with any easy targets that just happened to catch up with them.
Such was the case with a particular three soldiers that had been lying in ambush. With crude battle cries, they suddenly jumped at Perseus from a side hallway, apparently mistiming their jump so as to attack the rear end of the party. Perseus crossed his blades to his attackers, blocking the first assailant’s large saber between them. As a result of the momentum of his opponents’ jump, Perseus was forced to plant his feet to prevent from falling over as he skidded sideways.

The rest ran on of course. No one else should have to disrupt their flow for three grunts that any of them could easily dispatch.

With the saber jammed between his knives, Perseus kicked the soldier back four or five steps straight into one of the other assailants.
Perseus took the opening and Slashed at the lone soldier, using his right hand knife as a decoy for the swift low stab with his left. Taking the bait, the soldier deflected the high swing of his right hand and took the other square in his gut. Perseus pushed the body off with his right leg as the other two soldiers rushed him from behind. He swung around to meet them, as his wing, like an ultimate fan of doom*, shot a blast of air at them halting their advance. Perseus seemed to appear between the two off-balance guards as both knives found the sides of their throats. Blood spurted from both sides like a fountain, painting Perseus’ face a black crimson.

(*worst metaphor ever?)

Perseus stood up as all three bodies crumpled to the ground, creating a symbolic equilibrium of his small victory.


He gazed down the now silent hallway. Nothing.
They must have turned a corner. Turning to follow them, something tingled in the back of his neck.

He felt something. Something was about to happen. Something was about to be done. Something evil.
He stopped. And waited.
The great glass windows that covered the entire eastern wall of the hallway glistened in the midday sun, tempting him in his current state of battle to throw some heavy noun and watch the glass shatter into oblivion.
They were high up in the palace, maybe ten or twelve levels, and as made obvious by the large wall of glass, at some perimeter of the structure.
He looked out at the fallen city, large columns rising from several points in the architecture. So easily mighty cities fall, he mused. Mighty Rulers and their empires, snapping like twigs. But what’s next? Will the combined dorms set up a governing body? A new leader? A council to lead the former peoples of the Alliance?
He doubted it. We know of nothing but war. Soon we will just begin squabbling among ourselves again, and the people of the land will be forced to join a dorm or fall. The weak, the very young and the very old, those with nothing to offer the dorms but stale jokes and youtube threads, or just those who have yet to make a hundred posts. They will all die out.
It will become a land of desperation.

His thoughts were interrupted again by that sharp feeling of evil. It was stronger now, and more focused. Where was it coming from?
His eyes searched the ruins.

Suddenly, Everything seemed to stop. There was a silence; a meaningless, inexplicable stillness that rocked him to his core.
He knew where the evil was now. He could feel it in every bone and sinew in his body. Every blood cell and every nerve had a sudden sourness to it, like it was curdling in his body.

Something was rotten in the state of LA.

Like a cosmic whip, a sudden, great crack resounded through every stone in the palace as the obsidian plate was destroyed. That sound, in Perseus’ ears, was simultaneous with the overwhelming shattering of glass as an angular object flew through the window straight at Perseus’ chest.

The black shard, as he now knew it was, slammed into his sternum forcing his entire body to the wall, skewering him there.
His body crumpled to the ground, one of the bones in his wing snapping sickeningly.

The ear-splitting noise ended as quickly as it had begun, but the evil lingered. The normal sounds of the battle returned with some hesitation, but soon enough, chaos was restored.

---------------------------------

He felt dizzy, how long had he been asleep? Why was everything red. He touched his face. Aha. His eye was bleeding. And so was his chest at that.
He looked down.
A black mass about as long as his hand protruded from his chest, a dark halo of blood covering his entire abdomen.
He staggered to his feet. He needed to find Steel. Or fight. Or something else important.
The cold wind hitting his chest hurt. Actually he hurt all over. Was it pain? Maybe it was just a effing big itch.
His hand on his eye, Perseus stepped to the edge of the former hallway. Gotta find some enemies…

In a delusion, Perseus leapt from the ledge, attempting flight.
Thirty seconds later, his body crashed into the pavement and skidded across the bricked floor. The sound of another bone in his right wing snapping filled his ears just as the pain stabbed his nerves.

Again he got up, holding his eye. He heard the sound of many feet.
The gate of the courtyard, a few hundred metres away, had suddenly become a fountain of Alliance reinforcements.
The Alliance was attempting to lock them in.

“Ah… there’s a fight.”

Like an angelic zombie, Perseus staggered toward them.

Edited by Ransom, 27 April 2009 - 09:19 AM.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

The Platinum Wolf charged through the halls, catching the guards he encountered flat-footed. It had eventually come down to on guard who was smart enough to try and use a polearm as a deterrent, though it ended up mattering little. Ken ran circles about the guard before taking a leap at trying to hit the man's throat. As the polearm came up, the sword floating above Ken's back come down to parry it aside, leaving the man open to Ken's fangs. Once satisfied that the man was thoroughly thrashed, Ken continued on after Steel and Jordan.

He watched silently as the tyrant got what had coming to him from Steel. Khuffie... now that his fate was sealed, what was to happen?

Ken recieved a rather uncomfortably immediate answer to that thought. Turning to human form and going over to the window to take a look outside, Ken felt himself overwhelmed by a feeling of terrible premonition. He almost tumbled out and over the ledge before he regained his senses. As he looked down he thought he saw something... great spirits, was that mangled, bloody mess Perseus?

Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 27 April 2009 - 10:12 AM.

[JRPomazon]

Goose and Steel had reached Khuffie before he arrived. There was a good amount of blood already on the ground, the emperor had been subdued. Rather than watch Goose get his revenge on the man who had killed him previously, Jordan decided to take a step outside. There was nothing for him to do here, this battle was all but done as far as he was concerned. Then the air got heavy. It was just like a moment ago when his eyes went dark. Tiresias' premonition? No, not quite. Everyone could feel this, even Khuffie should have felt something. Jordan looked over to Ken, who looked down in horror.

"Ken, what's wrong . . ."

Then Jordan saw the winged man known as Perseus Ransom slowly walking towards the horde of Alliance troops in his blood drenched state. Without another thought, Jordan leaped down to the ground where the foolhardy warrior was marching to his death. He drew his spear and swung the weapon towards the ground. The wind he conjured slowed his descent, offering him a soft landing. He rushed over to Ransom, seeing just how messed up he got himself.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked, the sight of all the blood making him uneasy.

"Ken! Call Steel out! This looks bad!" He shouted to upper levels, hoping his call was heard.

Edited by JRPomazon, 27 April 2009 - 08:42 PM.

[Chikara Nadir]

Chik subtly raised an eyebrow; it was now her turn to wonder if her peer had honestly gone insane. What was Selena playing at, pretending that Kakariko or the Hall were still anything but the most forlorn of memories? Certainly, they could not be forgotten at least as long as the Labyrinth existed to mock them and remind dorms to come of what the Loddies could survive that none other could fathom.

The warrior was acting like she was her student again, her (barely) lesser quickly evolving into a force to be reckoned with. There was something handsome about a young soldier giddy with the prospect of bloodshed, but now wasn't the time to think of that. Or was it that there was no time like the present? Well, it wasn't as though Selena, or anything else under the earth and stars, could slow down or stop the reborn queen from what she wanted to do.

Alright, she was game.

Chikara turned back to face the younger woman, sharing her grin with wide eyes and sharp teeth. She grabbed up Selena's hand into her own and shook it so firmly that her shoulder socket could feel it. "It's a deal."

With that, she zipped to the left and was gone. With her gone, so too went what little sense of calm was left in the capital city. The outermost wall of the city began to lean-- not just in one spot, but at every corner it protected, slowly tipping downward to menace the homes and businesses it was meant to guard. Soon other structures began to creak, nowhere near the threshold of the city and far from the small fires molting the landscape. As they collapsed, one at a time within a few blinks the eye, like dominoes their neighbors were assaulted, either by the falling debris of bricks and quick-catching embers or by some unseen force, a pestilence upon the very profile of the city.

To Selena's left the city ground gave way, a mile of the landscape disappearing into the crevices of a new canyon with such ardor that the buildings to the right fell back in fear. But soon they too were uprooted, exploding upward as the world churned and spit out the missing landscape atop it, the buildings disappearing in a cloud of dust and a mountain of rocky earth. And atop it, because they seemed to be falling from the sky in plentitude today, a couple of books.

As the 'aftershocks' of quivering debris began to halt, finally the world was still for a moment. But the sun was quickly deciding to forsake this city, and for good reason. Darkness had begun to descend in a few moment's time, not from sunset or rain cloud, not from the still-hovering dust of building collapse nor the ash of wildly burning arson. Across the landscape, both in what was left of the city and upon the battlefield it had begun to rain crimson from an empty sky.

First a few drops with miles of distance from each other splattered on the ground, darkening the cracked, barren soil as a mockery of life-bringing water. But soon it had begun to storm, drenching the helmets of soldiers, quelling fires and even momentarily stopping some battles. Men thought for a moment that they were dead, that it was their own blood that was quickly filling their eyesight and muddying the earth they fought across. Other men had begun to drop to the ground mid-step, mid-battle cry, mid-slice, collapsing into little more than a heap of skin and bones. These, notably, were mostly men of Olimandias, Khuffie's own. Still more men were spared, with deep wounds and life gushing out of them, surprised that their murderers had in turn been destroyed by a small, dark figure who had come and gone in a heartbeat. Some of them chose to believe it was the god of Death playing favourites, and wished that it had taken them instead.

But death did not choose its' victims on merit or reason, she simply wanted to prove that she could indeed make the sky rain blood. And with the task complete, the slippery, crimson-painted woman was back to the hallways just inside from the balcony she and Selena had shared, her drenched fingertips around a soldier's neck and grabbing into his mouth. "Hurry up, I'm keeping score!" the chaotic being shouted out to the bloodstained patio, deftly wrenching off the pitiful man's jaw with a single riiip.

[Selena]

Okay, perhaps that had been a bit overkill. Selena watched in shock as the terrain itself shifted, and she was forced to grab onto the railing to prevent herself from falling, the quaking too much for her legs to handle. The wall crumbling just added to the problem. Selena had simply expected her to collapse the gate on top of the incoming Alliance men, not to start world-shaping and.... oh, for the love of... Was it raining blood? It had been a perfectly sunny day. Selena held her hand out and watched red liquid gather on her palm. A quick lick confirmed that it was indeed blood. Now Chikara was just showing off. A book fell from the sky and landed next to her feet. It appeared to be a tale about a man and his many love affairs. Perhaps good reading, but now was hardly the time. Her hair and armor was starting to become drenched in the foul liquids coming down from above. It would be a bitch to wash out.

Then, to randomly complete the experience, a solitary sock landed on her head. Selena grabbed it and tossed it aside. Time to go inside before a feline dropped down from the heavens.

Selena followed her former master into the hallway of Khuffie's citadel, where the soldier, absent a jaw, was writhing on the floor. Selena stepped over him and followed along, not quite sure where they were going. Khuffie needed to be killed, but certainly the others were handling that by now. It couldn't hurt to check, but things were ultimately left up to Chikara, and Selena was hesitant to keep pushing her luck in terms of trying to direct the violent outbursts. She would just keep in tow, like a good little student would. She just needed to stay alive - keep Chik's mind away from the whole stabbing thing. And the various insurrections. And the failed assassinations of the past. And the vying for power. They were back on the same team. Yes.

She ran along down the hallway, piercing her spear through the chest of one more Alliance soldier and using her powers to fry another's helmet and face. Well, that was two to... several thousand. Hard to come away as the winner with those odds. Selena kept things good humored, maintaining her pleasant demeanor. "Now, that's hardly fair - you're cheating. Who knocks down a whole wall and forces the sky to rain books? Just showing off to impress me, that's all. Lemon."

Selena zapped another soldier down the hall, watching parts of his armor melt off, burning the skin. Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask. She wasn't in charge anymore, after all.

"So, er, do you have a plan?"

[Goose]

"Your royal highness. Do you remember me?"

Goose had a look of zeal combined with that constipated feeling where you need to get something out, but you just cant get there.

"Incase you dont, you had me killed. After an incident with your eyebrows, a mistaken spell. I apologised, you sent me out in to the wasteland to die."

Goose started to dance the dance of a guy who doesn't dance except when he's very serious. One foot, the other foot. One foot, the other foot. Tap. Tap.


Tap.


Tap.

"Now, your highness. Its your turn to die."


Tap.


Tap.


Tap.


Tap.



Shuffle.


Tap.


Tap.


Tap.


Tap.



Shuffle.





Slide

Slide



Spin.



Shuffle.





Eyebrows up, Eyebrows down.



"Death. The incurable disease."


And with that, the dance of death was completed, and a bolt of energy so intense fired at the emperor who was left with a look on his face that reminded Goose of the face of his dead wife, upon death. The look of utter surprise.

[DarkJuno]

Earlier......

Death. Ruin. The shattered dreams and bodies floating, twisted amongst the wreckage of the various ships from the combined fleets. The wood, cloth, steel and bodies conglomerated into a mass of depression, together in the end, as the sea claims the lives of all who fell, not caring about allegience or fealty, an uncaring mistress only having the life that it once birthed eons ago - multiple times, in fact - returning to its cold embrace. Standing on the bow of the Darksyde, the Admiral stands, looking out at the carnage before him. Already, even as the battle surely still raged further inland beyond the bloodstained nearby shore, the gulls and creatures began to pick apart at the bodies floating the gulf, ducking the falling remnants of ships and fires burning here and there. While the naval portion of the fight had gone rather well, there had still been an annoyingly large number of the coalition ships to have been destroyed. Alas, it's only a minor bother in the grand scheme of things, it certainly wouldn't take much effort to wait and rebuild again once this whole mess was over.

Sending the pawns to fight while the leader sits back and accepts the victory. A sound strategy that worked so well before...

Ignoring the voice, the Admiral continues to ponder over what to do next. Certainly, build up his forces again and see what could be done about the rest of the riffraff in this alleged union to take down the Alliance. Perhaps wait a little bit longer then he had anticipated, but time was the one thing he had that could never be taken away. It would probably take a few more decades to let this blow over, but it wouldn't be a particularly hard task to wait it out, perhaps introducing more technology into warfare which would allow him to give the pirates more of his secrets. Yet...

Having......second thoughts...? That haughty, self righteous voice rings in the Admiral's ear as he visibly grimaces, frowning. There was certainly no use hiding anything from her. Gruffly he responds,

"What is it to you, my dear..." he icily and sarcastically in a rarely shown form of expression declares, safely due to only having hsi elite guard and crew currently on the ship. Out of the corner of his eye he can make out that annoying, irritating ethereal shapely form sitting on the edge of the ship, looking boredly at the same landscape he had been staring at. This woman....well, to be fair, gender, form, and distinction were all beneath "her," the Admiral supposes, though he had settled on the feminine pronoun to refer to her to better declare and show his disdain for the being which he unfortunately owed a debt to, the oinly small consolation that she was locked into a contract with him as well. It was ahrd tos ay whether her being there was merely in his head, or if she truly was there in a metaphysical sense but coiuld only be witnessed by himself and perhaps those with extremely heightened spiritual senses - and even then she could probably make herself disappear anyway. Whatever the case, it doesn't really matter. Still....

Oh, come now "Admiral," how long has it been since I offered you my services? I lost count after that last fallen blazing star razed that particular version of civilization off the face of this ancient planet...

"Too long. It hardly matters to me."

Regardless, I know when something is bothering you. Come now, speak to me.

"Surely so you may delight in something that gives me the slightest bother."

Well, I never said I was completely altruistic in my intentions....

"Quite the opposite, everything you do is for youself." Suddenly, the Admiral feels the being now standing behind him, leaning on his armored frame and the cold touch of her hand somehow penetrating his shoulder armor as she leans her face close to his ear. The first few times the damn bitch had tried this so long go, he had tried to shake her off, but had soon learned that his mere mortal hands could hardly do anything to the being, and as such had relented and ignored it.

Even so, we have been together long enough that I believe you can tell me what I wish to know.....lest I merely pull it out myself. Sighing inwardly, the man questions as the wind slightly picks up, the mixed smell of blood and salt on his lips.

"When you first came to me all those years ago, did you really expect that I would be able to do what you believed you were tricking me into?" She was honestly surprised and taken aback by this as she slips away from his shoulders and back to his side in one swift hair rustling motion. Regaining herself, she replies in her normal arrogant tone,

Of course I did. I wanted to rule this world in all of its realms, yet in my current state of being and existance doing so is something that a higher force has barred me from, as you know. I sought you out because you were the one most likely to be able to accomplish this in my name. I had, unfortuantely, not anticipated that you were not a mere thug to be toyed with as a pawn. As a result, you and I are stuck together unless one of us breaks the deal.

"And let's be honest, we both know that will enver happend..."

Indeed

"So is this all? Is this all my life and your existance have amounted to? Stuck in a perpetual Faustian agreement where we try to outmatch and outwit each other to trip the other up which we both realize will never occur because we have been at this for tens of thousands of years!?" The Admiral thudners slightly, the being now being mroe surprised then ever. The Admiral had seemingly long ago lost the ability to express anything resembling human emotion, yet here was one - anger. Not the usual anger he displayed at his meatbag underlings or at situations either, he was...frustrated.

"However you did it, and whenever, I do not know, but I learned long ago you are no god in the sense of the word, woman. So even in your enlightened, immortal state of being, where petty things like gender, mortality, and even morals are beneath you, I know you too still feel the tinge of emotion eating at you. Are you not tired of this perpetual dance as well? To go forth and slowly conquer lands, seemingly always waiting for the right time, yet at the very end, these damn stupid humans or zorans, or gorons, or whatever prevalanet race is around does something stupid and idiotic that wipes them off the face of the planet, and as a result I....no, WE have to wait for civilization to sprout up once more to try it again?" Looking directly at the being's facial features, the Admiral angrily grasps both fo ehr shoulders - which only proved how surprised she truly was since normally she could float out of his mere mortal grasp.

"I'm starting to think that if I could, I'd jsut break our deal now and let you kill me." She was......speechless. While certainbly the thought of killing the man ahd always floated about her mind these last few millenia, it was mere imagination to please herself. Yet now as he matter of factly declares his small desire, she almsot felt.....something she never thought she would have ever felt again. Almost.

I....see.....however dear Admiral, we both know that we are stuck in our deal. Floating out of his grasp, he badly tries to keep her haughty front up and continues.

I admit.....things certainly have not turned out the way I beleived them to be. Yet....oddly....I have almost gotten used to our little dance. Do not mistake my words, as my ahtred for you is as deep as yours for mine. At the same time....

"....it's gotten to be as much a part of my life that I could not bear it being gone." He finishes for her.

"What a disturbing, odious pair we make."

Indeed....

Thanksfully for both sides, the two both suddenly feel a sharp, brief pain throughout their bodes, as the Admiral turns back to the shore and glares. The being too clutches her forehead.

"...something's wrong. I know you can feel it as well." It felt....bad, to put it as blankly as possible. Something was going horribly wrong, or rather....different. This was not part of the grand plan he had in his mind or had executed so many times befoire. This was.....vastly different. Narrowing his eyes, the Admiral turns to his troops on the Darksyde and declares,

"Crimson Corps! Cerulean Corps! Make haste, we land and join the battle now!"

Never in the hundreds of times this had happend had he ever had to give that command. Never.

[ninja kitten]

Without warning Shiima suddenly found herself no longer sitting in the corner of her dank dungeon cell, but falling through the bloody sky. She spun head over heels for several seconds until she was able to right herself just before smashing into the ground with a loud "uumph!" The air rushed out of her lungs and she felt the pain of a thousand bones screaming about the sudden stop. She looked up through the shower of blood (unsure of how much might be her own) and saw the castle doors closing behind her captain Selena. "Wait!" she thought after the figure as she struggled to draw a breath.

As Shiima sat there with her head spinning, she began healing a few of the fractures that had occured due to the fall. Looking up from a serious scrape she had just finished healing, she began to notice where she was. The blood covered ruins were obviously from a recent fight, as were the many footprints and bodies lying around. Taking one more deep breath, she pushed herself up from the ground and readjusted her damp skirt. Since her weapons had long since been confiscated by the prison guards and her armor was still sitting in her empty jail cell she set off to find something to replace them. Musing to herself, she began scavenging among the bodies. Piece by piece she was mostly re-equipped and ready for whatever was occuring inside the Palace. She had only heard stories of what Khuffie's City had once looked like and was overcome with saddness that she would never be able to see it. Reaching out with a roughed up hand Shiima opened the large door and carefully closed it behind her.

Wandering around the hallways seemed like a rather silly idea, but since Shiima had no other choice she set off with high hopes that she would quickly run into someone who could explain what was going on. With had no idea where Selena had taken off to and no way to contact anyone in this crazy place she decided to go right. As she turned the third or fourth corner, she stumbled across someone she had not expected to see so soon. "Honey!" she called out excitedly and rushing down the hall to embrace her once lover. Only seconds before she crashed into him did she notice the body that he carried in his arms but was unable to stop, thus causing her to launch into the air and tackle the pair. All three fell to the floor in a tangled and bruised heap. "Lonely were we?" she asked with as much venom as she could muster as she looked down at Keira's beautiful face.

Edited by ninja kitten, 29 April 2009 - 01:36 PM.

[Chikara Nadir]

Chikara had generally been content in ignoring Selena's words as the woman ranted on with heartbeat heavy and voice slightly shaking, clearly concerned of her own health as long as she was in the company of her resurrected peer. Not that the blood-coated woman could blame her; the queen had been working hard to ignore the urge to make sense out of all of this madness, herself. She honestly was beginning to consider the possibility that it could make her head explode. Which was tempting to try out, but...

"Of course I don't have a plan." At least her sentence structure was becoming more coherent and perhaps a bit more Chik-like. She wasn't losing her strength from all this commotion, nor her rush from acknowledging to herself these newborn skills. However, she was at least letting them settle into her system. Still, it was dizzying to see the shadows so clearly, to hear with booming clarity the tone of weaponry clashing distantly down the hall. The only sense she seemed not to be bothered by was touch-- her body still felt somewhat numb to the point where she almost questioned if her blood had simply congealed in her veins after her interrupted death. At least the thick layer of stolen blood that coated her held some warmth, globbing though it was in her matted hair and the joints of her armour. It was undeniably thicker on her figure than Selena's for whatever reason, leaving distinct footprints down the corridors with no sign of letting up.

As meager competition arose in the form of a few frightened but faithful guards, Chikara finally knew they were getting close. Good, she was getting bored with all of this walking. It would be so much easier to simply will herself to be at the centre of activity, likely near Khuffie's throne room. But too much of this dragging Selena around with her while in this haphazard state, and she might accidentally leave a few of her daughter's limbs behind.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea...

Two men had begun to rush the lady warriors with lances held out, emptying their lungs of battle cries to aid to their appearance of strength. Chikara noted that Selena had already begun to draw her weapon in defense, but was too busy to care. She had taken a single step forward, yards away from either man, yet was then behind them, grabbing at either man's arm before disappearing again. They were caught mid-run, unable to react to the realization that their weapon-bearing arms had been removed entirely from their torsos. Then, to add insult to literal injury, either man ran himself into the path of his own weapon, hovering for a moment midair with armored limb still grasping it firmly. When the arms and weapons dropped, so too had the fallen soldiers.

Chikara, standing again where she had begun in her bloody footprints, continued on.

"You're falling behind," the woman snarled at Selena impatiently, though the warrior princess was only a couple steps in Chikara's shadow at furthest, and often even daring to walk beside her. No, it wasn't foot speed that mattered, her mind was still on that little competition Selena had proposed. And you think I've gone soft? she thought to herself, but chose not to voice this opinion. It was better to have her daughter questioning whether the limits of Chik's sanity allowed for her to remember what time period this was, and therefore their stance as one another's enemies under normal circumstances. She could easily kill the girl and return to her Labyrinth in peace. Well, war more likely than peace any day. But then who could she gloat to?

A bulky soldier came from the side, more muscle and heavy iron than threat. She only needed to take one step to disappear from the range of his huge, screaming axe and place herself up against him in what almost seemed like a gentle embrace. Then the hug turned sour as the queen released what was left, bones tipping out of the form at all angles, blood and brawn withering to the floor in a slimy heap. Chik, of course, looked indifferent to having a fresh coat of red paint over the front of her physique, and only raised her hand to wave 'goodbye' to the man who had literally been turned completely inside-out.

And so the dance continued, music and voices thickening in her head until they became a crescendo of screams and laughter, the soundtrack to her slaughter. A line of men with muskets became bullet-ridden, one even catching on fire. A group of swordsmen began to attack one another, puppets on near-invisible strings as their true murderer darted in and out of sight, coercing their movements individually but in deadly real-time. She could see everything so clearly, moving in slow motion if she dared it to, yet her sight was also filled with nothing but beautiful, glorious blood.

And then, when all her humanity had been lost to the scarlet river and the urge to cackle with rage and excitement welled up nearly into her throat...she stopped. And stared at the large door standing in front of her, twenty feet high and clearly built from one of the older, thick trees stolen from the Lost Woods. Well, she couldn't turn IT inside out. Nor could she make it cry for mercy. This was certainly a dilemma that she hadn't the time to waste figuring out. Finally, this was a time to really get down to business.

"Lena...this door is going DOWN!" she wailed, rushing it unarmed and face forward and launching her shoulder into the side of the formidable foe. It made only the lightest boof tone as she hit it, otherwise seeming ignorant to her existence. Chik practically bounced off it, falling backward and struggling momentarily to stay on her feet. She slid her hands over either of her forearms, as though to push up invisible sleeves and ready herself for a brawl. "Alright. This means war."

Once again she was lost from sight for only an instant, reappearing with several huge metal rods in her embrace. Releasing them, Chik waited only until they had begun to chime against the floor before rushing the door yet again. This time, the bars keeping their hinges together removed, either door slowly toppled over into the royal throne room, slamming to the elegant floor with all the quiet of a cannon to announce the arrival of the blood-inundated Labyrinth royalty. Chikara liked to come to parties in style.

Parties that take place... in an empty room. The queen hesitated, her grin faltering in an instant. She'd gone to that much trouble to impress...and not even the court jester could be found. Nuts.

[Selena]

"I'm not falling behind," Selena argued. "You're cheating!"

She continued to tag along, indeed falling behind compared to the other woman's freakish killing pace. It wasn't really her fault. She tried to fight. It was just that every time she started, Chikara had already killed all the available targets. What was there for her to do? Mop up the blood? Take a cloth and dab the stuff out of Chik's eyes? No, that would have been life threatening. Chik probably liked the blood there. It added to the experience. Selena just stepped over whatever limbs were in her way and carried on, glad to be without major injuries for the moment. Selena had spent only a short time in Olimandias, during her short lived career as a representative. Before the banishment to Ikana Canyon that occurred after she, well... after she had stopped playing nice with the other politicians. She let Chik lead, despite the crazy.

That soon proved to be a bad idea. The doors which Chikara so valiantly fought gave way and crashed to the floor. Selena peered inside the throne room to find... absolutely nothing. Khuffie was not there. Khuffie's personal guard was absent. There wasn't even a politician or aide in sight. Well. That was... anticlimactic. Selena leaned against her staff and looked over to her companion, who seemed to be just as surprised.

"All those powers, and you can't even find the one guy everyone is looking for. This was epic."

[Steel Samurai]

Steel turned, the unconscious Keira over his shoulder to make some witty remark to Ransom. But he wasn't there. When had he left? He closed his eyes for a moment. What? Steel rushed to the window. Through the glass, he saw a scene that might have come from one of the tales of the old days he had read in Lord Juno's library, the days before even the Labyrinth and Hall of Heroes were in their ascendency. The days of the Admin wars.

He stood, one man facing nearly ten thousand. Blood was streaming from cuts all over his body, and embedded in his chest was a sleek black piece of stone, shining from the blood that pooled around it. One wing was spread, the other hung at an odd angle, the feathers stained red from the blood pouring from the wound on top, where the snapped bone had pierced the skin and now jutted out into the night. Ransom began to move, staggering towards the onrushing Alliance horde, blades pointed towards them. Though the cold, calculating part of Steel's nature told him that the boy was a bloody fool that had no sense, something deeply buried within him exulted in this epic display of courage in the face of unbeatable odds. Jordan suddenly dropped down beside him, ruining the diorama. The soldiers grew closer, closer when suddenly nearly half of them suddenly collapsed, gigantic gashes crisscrossing their bodies. A spot of red hit the window. Then another. And another, the viscous red liquid blocking Steel's view. There was another thing. The presence had been moving. It was back on the other side of the palace. Steel turned from the window, only to see Goose fire an energy bolt at Khuffie. The pirate blinked, and Khuffie didn't have a heart any more. Steel wasn't sure he had had one to begin with, but now he was absolutely certain of the fact. It was done then. The man who had been the most hated and feared, but also loved and adored leader on the planet was dead. An ominous sense of foreboding was growing in the back of Steel's head. Whatever else happened tonight . . . things would not be the same again. And perhaps in more ways than he could imagine. A voice sounded in the distance, but Steel ignored it.

WHAM. Steel suddenly found himself on the floor, looking into the pretty brown eyes of . . . Shiima?

"Lonely were we?"

Steel, for one of the only times in his life, was speechless. She almost seemed a different girl than the one who left him on the beach so long ago. Her gaze shifted from him to Keira. He looked from the unconscious girl in his arms to Shiima, and then back again several times before enlightenment hit him.

"Oh! This isn't what it looks like, I promise!" He said, realizing as soon as the words came out of his mouth that they were unlikely to be horribly convincing. He scrambled to his feet, somehow managing to pull Shiima up with him. Where was the presence, the potential threat? He closed his eyes for a moment, figuring out how far away it was, and then mentally compared the distance between himself and it to the map of the palace he had memorized long ago. The throne room. It was looking for Khuffie. But wait. There was something else with it, an aura almost completely wiped out by the larger one beside it. Lena. Damn. If the power was great enough to overshadow her aura by that much . . . There was no possible way Steel could defeat her. It was unlikely he alone could escape, let alone if he was burdened by the rest of the party. There could only be one option then, one that fortunately looked possible. If Selena was with the presence, whoever it was, then they were likely in league. And if they were in league, and looking for Khuffie, then, as the saying went, the one who cuts the one who cuts me . . . But there was no guarantee of that, and it was not in Steel's nature to do anything without at least three back up plans.

His focus returned to the girl in front of him. Impulsively, he pulled down his mask, grabbed her chin and tilted it towards his, and captured her lips with his. For a moment he stood there, then released her. He laid Keira down behind the couch on which Khuffie had been sitting and smoking not moments before, and stepped to the door, ready for whatever might come.

[Crimson Lego]

As the group of dorm troops began moving slowly towards the entrance, though not directly, Leo held up his hand. Up ahead, the dwarf could hear murmurs of what seemed to be others. Readying his axe, he darted behind a wall and peeked around the corner. Dorm troops...thank God. Breathing normally again, Leo stepped out, startling the survivors. Doing a quick count, he estimated there were about 30 or 40 of the dorm troops.

"You guys trying to get out too?"

The soldiers nodded and stood to attention. One of them, the leader, walked up to Leo.

"I think the path to the entrance is deserted, except for 10 or 15 Alliance soldiers, sir," whispered the man. "I think the rest of the army has moved further into the city, expecting us to have gathered in there."

Nodding acknowledgement, Leo gripped his axe. "Alright. We're gonna make a break for that entrance, then split once we're outside of the city. Hopefully by now, Steel and the others will have broken into the palace and killed Khuffie. There's no more reason for us to stay here." Without another word, Leo led the others further down the road, where they soon ran onto a larger street. Making a left turn, Leo was startled to see they had just returned to the main road. Glancing to his right, the dwarf was both astonished to see the entrance just 30 feet away....and about 20 Alliance soldiers guarding it. At the sight of him, the soldiers cried out in alarm and charged. Snapping his fingers, Leo dodged back behind a wall as the Alliance archers fired in his direction. When the projectiles stopped flying, the dorm troops moved onto the main road and attacked. Their guard down, 4 of the Alliance soldiers were quickly killed and the rest surrendered. Finding some rope in a small house nearby, Leo and the others tied the soldiers up, then put them in the house. 3 dorm troops were killed in the charge between the 2 sides. Looking through buildings between the group and the entrance, Leo was amazed to find about 50 dorm PoW's, all tied up. Quickly freeing them, the dwarf led the remnants of the Dominion troops out of Olimandias. Looking upon the fields of battle, Leo breathed deeply. Turning, the dwarf spoke to the 80 or so dorm troops whom had made it.

"Soldiers of the Domains. We have endured many things and won victories for ourselves. Today, if they have succeeded, our leaders have killed Khuffie and ended the rule of the Alliance empire. Congratulations." Sitting down, the members cheered for victory.

Sitting down, Leo leaned back on his hands, breathing in the fresh air. Today will be a day well remembered in the future.

Soon, more dorm survivors began emerging from the city. They reported that the Alliance was moving in on the citadel, and that Steel and the others might not have a chance. After 30 minutes, Leo estimated there were about 500 dorm troops gathered outside the city. Deciding to follow orders, he reorganized them into the 3 dorms, then marched further away from the city. Following orders and scattering the troops, Leo dug in about a few miles from the gates of Olimandias. Now we wait.

Edited by Leo Crimson, 30 April 2009 - 01:44 PM.

[ninja kitten]

Whoo! Shiima thought as Steel released her. I'd forgotten what a great kisser he was. Fighting the urge to grab him from behind and go all the way in Khuffie's chambers, Shiima busied herself with checking and rechecking her armor. Fidgeting was what she tended to resort to whenever she felt flustered and she was definitely flustered.

It was only after she had finished checking all her buckles and ties for the second time that she noticed how uneasy Steel seemed to be acting. As he stepped toward the door she broke the tense silence that had been building for the last few seconds. She motioned with her hand toward the couch where Kuffie's consort had been laid and asked "Should I be worried?" as nonchalantly as she could. Worry was beginning to seep in as the reality of the situation began to settle upon her. There was obviously something major that she was missing.

[Chikara Nadir]

The vaulted ceilings throne room were silent as a monastery after the reverberating echo from Chikara's assault on the doors had dissipated, but for the sound of the two blood-mired women trekking over the fallen passage with squelching boots. She frowned in well-deserved disapproval, never having liked doing more work than was necessary in situations short on time. If someone had already gotten to Khuffie while she'd been playing around with her newly begotten powers, or if the man had escaped, she would certainly not be happy.

"I'm still getting used to this," Chikara muttered, eyes gazing into the quiet foreground for any sign of a skirmish that might lead them to her prey. And how she grew to wish to be that fair lioness who snaps the neck of the crying, feeble-minded calve, the sacrificial animal known as Khuffie. But for all the motions and sounds she knew were happening somewhere up ahead, she could not find it within her power to know who they were yet to face. That was strange, Selena's aura was very distinct and noticeable even from a distance-- it was very helpful in tracking down the woman to force her into this current tag-along position. Perhaps the others seemed just out of her grasp of comprehension because she did not know them, and did not care to. But nowhere could her mind's eye sniff out the wretched odor of Khuffie.

"After all, it's only been -- what -- not even an hour since I felt your blade gut me?" The woman had grown a bit weary of being ridiculed by Selena...no, that was a lie. She didn't so much mind it as she wanted to have the opportunity to do it back. Judging from the other's reaction to finding her mother alive and 'well', the death was still a touchy subject for her. Perhaps it had something to do with Lena's strange 'let's pretend Hall of Heroes and Kakariko are still around' fetish; she could never tell quite how sane her daughter really was.

Her eyes, scarlet from insanity and bloodshed, began to turn toward the other warrior to complete her line with a glare, but stopped short at the shadow of a figure standing before the empty throne in the hollow light. She blinked and he was gone- an illusion manifested in her mind as a trick to fool itself. But still, for a moment that ghost of the past had seemed so real, hands held out with a tome clasped high enough for an invisible assembly to gape at, full of a preacher's verve.

There be shadows and hardship and despair and toil, but you must not know fear. You will not know fear. Blessed be thee in the shroud of Guidance. Embrace the Light...

Oh, ew. She shut out that wretched voice before it made her too nauseous. Chik now knew who the voice belonged to, and was acutely convinced that she had never listened to enough of his pitifully pious ranting to have memorized such a verse. It did give her the urge to hit someone with a fruit, though.

Trying not to let that get to her, the woman trudged on. When a short line of soldiers came from a side hallway to investigate the noise, knuckles and jaws clenched in fear of the situation, she chose to ignore them. The direction they'd came from was meaningless to her; there were more interesting presences past the doorway nearly behind the forgotten throne. That must be where the bastard was hiding, in his personal chambers with his beautiful, wretched girls. How that man obsessed over such primal emotions, letting them control him rather than being their master...

I'll fulfill secret most hiddenmost desires no matter how unorthodox they may seem to society...I'm the freak type.

Well, that certainly wasn't a quotation from the terrible Book. Had she been reborn with reception into the minds of the insane?

The soldiers didn't have an answer to her silent question, either. They had abruptly halted some yards away, stunned and disturbed. Some had dropped their weapons, grasping their skulls, their hearts, clawing at their eyes. Others kept their swords and spears high, running at the walls with them, or at each other. Chik glanced at the display for a moment, scratching an itch on her chin from the crusting caked blood. Deciding nothing was wrong with their madness, she began to venture down the connected hallway with growing impatience. Under her breath she whispered only to herself, "If I were a king who needs to be die, where would I hide?"

[JRPomazon]

Jordan found himself on the ground by one of the many citadel walls outside. He woke up slowly, his vision was hazy while shapes began to take more definite forms. This tended to happen a lot to him. He quickly got to his feet, realizing that there was still a battle going on outside. His spears was . . . several feet away in different directions. Had they been knocked out of his hands or out of the sling that held them to his back? Where was Ransom? What the hell had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was encountering Ransom and then . . . something large. Heavy even.

Jordan went over to collect his weapons and investigate just where he was. He was still near the palace, it was right in front of him. But everything between meeting Ransom and now was still a mystery. It would have to wait, regrouping was the best option. But there were soldiers coming through the walls last time he checked, where were . . . oh here they are. Their silver armor splattered in blood and sweat shimmered, even though the sky was dark. They looked pretty angry but then again, they always looked angry. Or scared.

Either way, they were bad news. Jordan charged at them, throwing his spear at the group of soldiers. He held out his free hand (the other obviously holding his second spear) and began directing his thrown spear using wind manipulation. The spear began to spin and wobble in the air, as if it were dancing. The weapon stuck the soldiers erratically, they couldn't predict where it would strike soon enough before realizing that they had either been cut or hit. Jordan recalled his spear after shaking up the group of Alliance men, the spear turning around and returned to him. As the soldiers attempted to charge again, Jordan swung his spear and sent a gust of wind to blow them away.

As the soldiers were sent flying by his attack, Jordan felt more cuts opening on his body. To be able to conjure a powerful gust with the swing of a spear had its uses, but the cost proved to be burdensome. With his new opponents down, Jordan ran off in the other direction hoping to regroup with the others.

Finding a way into palace easier than before, but the number of mutilated bodies had grown since the first run through. Someone was having a little too much fun and chance were that it wasn't Steel or Goose. Jordan quickly tried to make his way to Khuffie's special chamber to meet up with everyone and perhaps discover Ransom's fate.

[Selena]

Selena's many years doing questionable things had fortunately desensitized her to the graphic displays of violence occurring in the halls. If she hadn't been, then the last half hour would have certainly done the job of making gore look mundane. She kept her eyes open for chances to escape, but knew full well that Chikara could just portal after her. In that case, death or capture was assured. Selena needed something to distract the other woman long enough to get out of the city. As Chikara had taken out the city walls and reshaped some of the terrain, it seemed as if there would be few things that would distract her long enough for that to happen. Selena felt stuck. What if a situation never presented itself? Chikara was surely going to kill her at some point. If not that, then Selena was going to be forced into the job of High Priestess of the Holy Order of the Hobbit. And who knew what sort of a sick, perverse thing would occur once that happened. It had been hard enough fighting against a queen, much less an avatar of the god of all darkness and chaos.

Chik was absently wandering the hallways, and Selena followed along. Killing Khuffie was a common goal, at least. It wouldn't hurt to have additional firepower for that, unless it had already been done. The two continued on, until Selena heard noise up ahead. Her ears perked up, recognizing the voices of Shiima and Steel. Shiima would be fine. Shiima was a Loddie, and Chikara wouldn't be likely to hurt her. Steel, on the other hand, was in much greater danger. Regardless of his romantic attachments to Shiima. Selena didn't necessarily mind. Steel was a powerful and influential dorm leader, and it was probably best to be rid of him in the long run. It eliminated any chance of him ever opposing her. It would be better to have a weaker leader in charge of the pirates. But would now really be the best time? It certainly wouldn't have been good to kill him in front of Shiima.

Selena quickened her pace, hoping that the other woman would not mind her taking the lead. Her spear was in hand as she pretended to be taking the offensive. She rounded the corner, and was faced with Khuffie's highly disfigured dead body. Well, that wasn't going to make the "goddess" very happy. There were Steel and Shiima, though she felt as if there were many more nearby. Knowing that Chikara was going to be right behind her, Selena tried her best to explain the situation by putting fear into her eyes and nodding back to where Chik was coming from.

She silently mouthed the word "run" and hoped they understood.

[ninja kitten]

Shiima's eyes opened wide with suprise as Selena turned the corner. As she tried to find her voice to greet her captain, she looked closer. Something wasn't right. This wasn't the powerful Selena she knew from all her time spent under her command. Shiima noticed her nodding her head as if trying to indicate that she wasn't alone. Suddenly she felt rooted to the floor, but as Selena mouthed "run" Shiima suddenly found power in her muscles and the desire to flee flooded her body. Muscles suddenly exploding with energy, she whipped around, hissed "run!" and grabbed Steel's wrist, pulling him toward the other door. They slammed through the door together and she dragged him down the hall blindly running away from the unknown fear. Anything worthy of the look in Selena's eyes was certain to be terrifying for Shiima.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken had stumbled into a corner of the chambers, tired and phased from all the effort and stress of what had happened so far. Jordan appeared to have gone down to help Ransom, but Ken felt little interest in anything else as he sat in his corner, holding his head.

Khuffie was gone now, but something else was definitely right around the corner.

The burst open to Shiima, scaring the bejezzus out of Ken before he realized there was no threat. He enjoyed the silly moment of watching his commanding officer attempt to explain to his significant other why there was another women draped in his arms. He would have clapped for the two, but knew it would have ruined the moment.

The tension returned as Ken noticed one more person enter the room--his blood almost froze as he watched Selena come in with that dangerous look in her eye. He noticed her mouth something, and then he stood as he noticed Shiima pulling Steel along. He went along after them, pausing a bit to look back at Selena. That look... Ken morphed to wolf form and chased after his commander with all due haste.

Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 30 April 2009 - 10:09 PM.

[Steel Samurai]

Steel furrowed his brows as Selena appeared before him and told them to run. It confirmed his estimation of her power relative to the new player's. But if she was safe, why would she be telling them to run? Shiima was one of Selena's soldiers, not just an ally, so she should be safe, if the Selna and the new power were on the same side, as they seemed to be at the moment. He, however, was under no such protection, and he could think of at least half a dozen reasons Selena would want to kill him. Shiima grabbed his hand and dragged him off towards Keira's chambers. No . . . something wasn't right. If Selena were any less of a heartless bitch, he would say she was saving him because of his relationship with Shiima, but that was very nearly out of the question. There was only one answer then. She must want to avoid his meeting with this other person, because of some advantage it would grant him or the Other in question. Now his curiosity was piqued. It was unlikely he would be able to escape the palace without running into them in any case. This hallway was a dead end.

He stopped in his tracks, gently pulled Shiima's hand away from his, and turned around.

"Stay here. You should be safe, regardless of what happens to me." He didn't look back. "Shiima, if we're separated . . . find me when all of this is over."

He walked down the hallway. Ken dashed past him in wolf form.

"Ken," he yelled after him "stay with Shiima till it's over."

Through Keira's apartment. Back into the Imperial Love Chambers, just in time to see the Presence step through the doorway.

It was a woman. A small, slim woman, shorter than Selena, but she carried herself as though she were six times the size of everyone. Which, it terms of raw power, she probably was. Her eyes crackled with dark fire, and a whip was coiled at her waist. It was Chikara. Steel recognized her from the times he had been in this very palace undercover. But she had changed. Something about her was vastly different. It made him feel an urge to leap through the window and slake his bloodlust on the throats of a thousand enemies, to abandon all logic and calculations and exult in the dark red revelry of a blood-dance, the minuet of a life-taker. But the urge was swiftly quenched by the analytical side of his brain, reducing it to a mere niggle in the back of his head. He should be afraid. Lord Juno made him afraid, sometimes, and this creature had many times the power of Juno. But somehow, he held absolutely no fear of this person, now he had seen her. She could kill him in less time than it took his heart to beat, and he accepted this, and knew it to be truth, yet was nonetheless unaffected by it. It was if that small twinge of madness in the back of his head had succeeded in countering his (usually completely logical) mind only enough to quash whatever (reasonable) fear was in him.

He stood, arms folded, the corpse of Khuffie between himself and Chikara.

"If you're here for Khuffie," he nudged the body, "You're a little late."

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken continued on to where Shiima was as he was told. He was following orders of course, another part was simply scared of what was coming their way. Shifting into wolf increased the sense of fear he felt, some animalistic part of him letting him know that somethign very wrong was happening to the natural order. He knew not what it was, but it was definitely disturbing.

Ken walked into the quarters relatively silently--sure enough, Shiima was there. He did not know too much of her--mostly for now that she meant something to Steel, and it was now his duty to make sure he kept on eye on her. With a sens of nervousness, Ken checked out of the door, the fur on his back stood on end, the sword hovering over him rising up up a little bit. Nothing there--nothing there immediately that is. That feeling of dread remained.

Ken began to consider what might happen in the next few moments. What had Steel commited himself to? Ken began to considered unwanted possibilities of what could happen before he shook those thoughts away.

[DarkJuno]

OOC: ARGH! Original post lost, abbreviated version below. Alas.


******


The sea had nothing on this.

The Admiral grimaces as he and his elite guard walk through the ruins of what was once probably a magnificent city. Well, to be honest it really wasn't that much worse off then any other major city that had succumbed to an invasion, with the mix of bloodshed and beauty intertwined into a twisted, sickly kind of amalgamation, but there was something just inherently wrong with the atmosphere of the place, one that made the carnage at the sea pale in comparison. It was an uneasiness that seemed to tug at him, niggling like a tiny little bug that began to eat your flesh but was so small it was unnoticeable until your limb was nearly gone. There was just something...

I assume the blood all over the place is worth noting as well

Yes. That. The Admiral had heard, witnessed, and had in fact been the cause of more then a few examples of the old adage about blood soaking the streets to an apple's depth, but this was rather ridiculous. Granted, there had been a lot of death in the area, and the Alliance soldiers had been far and few between thus far, but there weren't enough people in the entire Lalvician Sea to have this much blood. Clearly something had gone horribly wrong here. Frowning, he continues to step forward, paying no heed to the bodies lining the streets as he and the Elite made their way down to the city's stronghold, though disturbingly he noted that the soldiers began to get thicker and more prevalent. With a sigh, he halts, as his troops too come to a standstill in their extreme, some might say obsessive discipline. The Alliance army was massive and it would be foolish to believe that most of them had already been slain. Furthermore, while hsi Elite were some of the best trained soldiers in the world, it would be foolhardy to fight on an entire army with merely two regiments, well trained or not. While subtlety was hardly a preference of the Admiral's, perhaps it was time to try a different approach. Turning to his troops, he thunders icily,

"Cerulean Corps. Crimson Corps. Fall back, find the pirates and join them. I expect the same from you with them as when you are with me - death is nothing to fear." With nary a nod, the lightly hued armored troops turn and silently march away in plain sight. The Elite were not one for stealth, their existance was made up purely for brute force and no-nonesense fighting. No wasted movements, no fancy moves, just quick, brutal, efficient, and disciplined with unwavering loyalty. They would not do for what had to be done. Surely, for a paranoid power mad leader like Khuffie, there were more...secretive ways to move around the city, and between the various government buildings of the capitol...

[Chikara Nadir]

Chikara had initially been curious about Selena's rush to take the lead into Khuffie's personal chambers, sure that the girl wanted to prove that she wasn't totally inept and at least kill a couple of weak soldiers to tally against her mother's thousands. But no, something was amiss. The spear-bearer was neither killing those in the room ahead, nor announcing the presence of a god for them to bow down to and fear.

Betrayal..., a voice whispered in her head, too ambiguous for her to even guess their identity. She hastened her pace, grabbing Selena's shoulder to wrench her aside and out of the way as she entered the chambers to face the harsh reality that had resulted from her tardiness. She'd taken too long to die, much less to level the city and dip the entirety of it in blood. She could blame her foolish daughter for all of that, and her patience with the girl was beginning to flicker in harmony with one of the lamps hanging down the hall, low on oil and more then eager to extinguish its effort in favor of darkness.

It took only a moment for her to decide she, and the voice, were right in their assumptions. Shiima was there, a faithful soldier from the Labyrinth's flock...no, more than that. Keel had told her that Shiima was his follower, a servant.

Wait, that couldn't be right-- he had never said any such thing. And yet she was, all the same. Chik was sure of it, this was a girl who could be used for the sake of her mission. Something...something in her insisted upon Shiima's survival.

The others were meaningless to her. They were in the background, worthless as the overstuffed furniture and draperies that the queen quickly found herself wanting to shred until they were unrecognizable. Far more important was the fact that he was dead.

Dancing dead, bring him to life and kill him again? Chik pushed her gauntlet-covered hand to her head, trying her best to ignore the insisting voice. That would be no better than if Selena had taken credit for her mother's temporary demise.

Regardless of the state of the fallen king's body, the woman took a single step forward yet looked upon the scene as a spectator in the background. She felt numb, unable to acknowledge that the marks, several deep, now a dozen, ripping into his unmoving skin were from her own whip, lashing again and again at already mutilated flesh with the roaring accompaniment of a hateful, animalistic scream.

Only when the dead body did not respond to mock her or to cry out in pain and fear did she remember that several people had disappeared further into the catacombs of Khuffie's chambers before she'd entered the room, almost as though they'd been...forewarned.

"Selena." Her voice was harsh, that of a parent who had caught their child playing in the dirt in their best church clothing, their chores and homework undone. Not that any child of the Queen of the Damned would have gone to church functions, nor have homework that involved staying clean (victim torture was a common rite of passage for the young, prospering underworld dwellers, for instance). "If you wanted me to kill you all along, you should have just told me so. I'm your mother, I appreciate your honesty in all situations. Or, should you have wished to challenge me to another duel, I would have been more than willing to oblige."

She did not bother to turn and face the other woman- Selena was not a threat to her as far as she was concerned, just a pet who had chosen to bite the hand that let it live. But the lamp light had since snuffed, and others down the hall were choosing to follow its' example regardless of how much oil they had left. As far as Chikara was concerned, her own single shadow was not nearly heavy enough to express the weight of her displeasure at this situation. "But remember that this is MY GAME," the woman shrieked, slamming her foot down in emphasis. the very stones beneath her feet giving way and shattering. "I am the queen. The most powerful player by far. He..." she flicked her hand to the side, meaning to refer to Khuffie, "is the king whose failure to stay alive means doom to his nation. Weak, repulsive, worthless. And then there are the pawns, toppled with a look if I so choose."

Chik's shadow hovered, shifting, licking the floor like cold black flames. "I so had hoped you would choose not to be a pawn."

She tensed her whip-hand, ready to make some unforgiving move...but with Chik's short, faulty attention span, salvation came in the form of a brave but foolhardy return to the death-chamber by Steel. He twitched for a moment, looking the slightest bit disturbed by her presence, but chose not to repeat his escape once he'd seen the woman's blood-caked form in person. Selena had been responsible for her slowness in getting here, and he was no doubt in some way responsible for the death of a man who she had every right to kill on her own. Yet neither had the common sense to fear her as she deserved.

"That's it, then," the goddess incarnate said blandly, her shadow back in its proper place, shifting only when she did. "I have nothing left to tie myself to this city. No more fools worthy of my appreciation. I suppose I should bring this nation down then...but don't worry, not everyone in it has to die."

"SHIIIIMA..." she shouted out, a grin quick to replace the grimace on her face. "Come out, my pet, I would very much like you to help me dispose of these naysayers of the power of Lazu..."

[Selena]

Well, that had been a glorious moment. The one time she ever tried to be merciful, and it backfired. Steel was an idiot no longer worth saving, no matter how Shiima's little heart might break at his loss. Now she'd failed in her bid to save them, and she'd incurred Chik's wrath for trying to do so. This was why being evil was so much simpler and far more gratifying. Well, back to hardening that heart. When Chik called to Shiima, that served to remind her that many Labyrinth members had belonged to the Society. The Society, in turn, was just a group of willing slaves to Lazu - and now Chik. That was going to complicate matters. Selena couldn't just return to the Labyrinth and plot to put Chik out of her misery (again). The whole place was practically Chikara's headquarters with those powers. Selena would also lose any remaining Society members that were left in her half of the Labyrinth forces. She couldn't trust her home. She needed to rebuild and relocate in order to fight back and take a stand.

It was very stupid to fight Chikara in such a state, but what else was there to do? Become a willing slave, like all the others? That was not in Selena's blood. She took orders from no one, answered to no higher power, and she wasn't going to start now. She wasn't going to lose all the freedom she had attained. There would be no point to life. Fighting, however... that was what Selena lived for. Especially if it was against Chikara, regardless of her power. Selena would leave, assemble a new group of loyalists, and do all she could to be a thorn in Chikara's side until she could discover a way to end that new, foul goddess. There had to be some way. There was always a balance to things. Nothing was invincible. There was Diel and his powers, but would that force her to become subservient to yet another manipulative god? She was hardly a saintly figure and had little desire to become one. Perhaps it was better to just fight on her own and die trying. At least it would be a good, honorable death.

And then Chikara could sit on her throne, alone and bored, without her lifelong rival and opponent. Lazu would be satisfied with an eternal war with Diel. Chikara would not. She was bound and forced to obey the will of her new 'owner.' What a pathetic existence that would be.

Selena looked up, above Chikara, and, without warning, charged a large amount of dark energy into her arm. She released it at the ceiling just above where the goddess stood. The impact was enough to cause a small cave-in of sorts, dust and heavy debris falling down upon the targeted area. Oh, it wouldn't kill Chik. But it might distract her long enough to escape. If Chikara was now more worried about dealing with Steel and acquiring Shiima as a new sidekick, then she might have a few minutes at the very least.

Selena pivoted on her heel and sprinted out of the room, heading back the way they had come. She had to get out of the city, take what loyalists she knew she could trust, and then go south. It wasn't logical to trust anything Keel had said, but that had been an odd moment of clarity and, perhaps, even honesty. She had no other option. The other option was the eastern continents, but she first needed a boat, and it was too dangerous to go out via the Lalvican with its present condition. South it was. She careened down a flight of stairs, further and further, trying to reach ground level.

[Steel Samurai]

Steel stood, puzzled for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what was going on here, whether he could decipher the relationships between these people. Obviously the relationship between Selena and Chikara was not as simple as he had first thought. But Shiima was now being ordered to attack him and Selena by Chik, which meant that Chik had some kind of hold over her. Chikara and Selena had not been on good terms in Steel's lifetime, but Selena was smart. A survivor. If living another day meant pandering to Chikara for a little while, he had no doubt she would do it. But it seemed as though the tables had turned, perhaps as a result of the warning she had given them. And now he was on her bad side, probably as a result of the dead body she had just been whipping on the floor.

Fact: Steel would die if he attacked Chikara.

Fact: He had no inclination to fight Shiima or fight Chikara to defend Shiima should she choose not to follow orders

Fact: Selena was on Chikara's bad side at the moment.

Fact: Redemption in the godess' (there was nothing else to call her, at this point) eyes could possibly be found by attacking one she disliked.

Just as Steel had reached his conclusion, Selena turned, and began to run away. Quick as a flash, Steel drew the dualist blade and his Odachi and leapt toward her, bloodstained armor glinting in the lamplight. Missed. By a hair. She rounded the corner. He dashed after her, running down a flight of stairs. Her movement was erratic, puzzled. She didn't know the palace as well as he. If she headed that way . . . Steel broke off his pursuit, touched a panel, dashed through a tunnel, and emerged directly in front of her. They were not that far away from the origin of the chase yet. Within earshot. He hoped.

"YOU DARE FLEE FROM THE WRATH OF THE ETERNAL GODDESS CHIKARA?" His voice boomed out in the empty, bloody marble halls. He was making it up as he went along now, hoping it would work. She was either insane, or had a seriously bad case of PMS, and, whichever it was, Steel knew if he was to survive he had to ensure she knew he meant no disrespect for her. "THIS TRANSGRESSION SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED." He slashed towards her with both swords. It was a rematch years in the making, though he had not expected it to occur in exactly these situations. The last time he had fought Selena, she had killed him. But that was before . . . He was different now. Stronger. Faster. More agile. Whether he could emerge alive from this match, he was not sure, but he sure as hell had a better chance against her than Chikara. And with any amount of luck . . . he wouldn't have to finish it.

Edited by Steel Samurai, 01 May 2009 - 03:21 AM.