Jaxter watched as the rest of the group left Cicero alone. He was vulnerable. One shot is all it would take to sear his arm off, and then Jaxter's work would be done. If Cicero got a bit to violent, he'd have to be put down. But Jaxter didn't want that. He wanted him to live with that agony, like he would for the rest of his life.
Jaxter started to charge the shot in his gun.
As Anguis began to regain his way with the group's direction, a sharp ping hit him in his ears once again. He had felt the pinging like a short pulse for a while now, but was brushing it off as a minor annoyance. However, thanks to recent bell-related events, any annoyance was to become major. The pinging coming from the constant reconnections from a certain terminal.
The serpent had remained hidden for a long while, however seeing as the annoyance was above ground, it seemed as though this would change in due time. Anguis began to build speed, his focus pinned onto the source of the odd pinging. The ground near the group began to shake violently as the serpent breeched the land, grasping the terminal between its fangs, and crushing it between powerful jaw muscles. Anguis swallowed whatever had gotten into its mouth almost instinctively, as it began to coil into a spring.
Just moments later, before the group could recall what had just broke free, Anguis sprung forth into the tree-line, disappearing once more from view, leaving a gaping hole nearby, and what remained of the compound's wall & terminal station.
Cicero glances, as he realizes that the terminal was just destroyed. He instinctively draws his gun, and backs up, training it at nowhere.
"Everyone be quiet. You'll scare the Wolvers off and we'll lose our path." Xindao scolds, turning his head in their general direction. "Gwen? You okay?" His tone is slightly altered, but he turns his head away again. "We're going to slow. Keep up."
He begins running forward, and into the darkness. Overhead, the clouds are dark, and turn in turmoil. Something was strange about this scene. He ran, through the forest and past Wolvers, thorns and bites flying at him. Black blood dripping lightly from the scrapes, he turns back. He can't sense them, the mist separating them. He could barely feel the form of Anguis in the distance, but he was quickly cut off from Xindao's senses. The mist was strange, and thick. Xindao ran into a tree, and fell to his knees. The darkness curled closer, and the figures of dark Wolvers stretched their necks out. They sniffed at him, and curled higher, doming off the tree. Their maws opened, revealing the fuchsia blood dripping down their fangs.
Xindao's heart stopped. He could feel their presence.
But he woke up on the ground in front of the tree. Yet......their presence still lingered....something's about to happen. He could feel it.
[Affraiel places himself onto the edge of a mossy cliff side, with make-shift leaf camo covering his back. He surveyed the forest from the high ground and spotted a group of knights advancing in the forest. He can see them shuffling about while killing some wolvers passed by. Still no sight of Gwen, Affraiel rubs the sweat off his forehead in an attempt to calm himself down. He is going to try to put a bullet into Gwen's brain, but this is not going to be an easy tusk.]
Affraiel: *sneers* "I can feel something... something vibrating beneath the earth..."
Midnight: "Is that the snarbolax?"
Affraiel: "No... more like, some kind of snake... feeding on a tree frog... amazing isn't it? The trails to survive is taking place right in front of us. It is kill or be killed."
Midnight: "Mister Affraiel, it has been an honour serving by your side."
Affraiel: *chuckles* "How so? I am only an old man, what is so intresting about following me?"
Midnight: "You are different, Mister Affraiel... I have never seen a knight quite like you, you praise death and carnage while trying to seeking justice and peace in this world. I sometimes wondered why do you chose to live like this..."
Affraiel: "Like my old man Qiu said, it is up to me to decide what to do with my life and I won't let anyone else tell me other wise. After this fight, Gwen can break my bones and destroy my flesh, but she will never take away my ideals. The things that I am fighting for my whole life, will not be tarnished by anyone." *zooms in on his scope* "Now then, Gwen... where the heck are you..."
Gwen raced back to the party and fell in step behind Xindao. She folded her hands demurely and walked in silence with her head bowed and her hood up.
"Now then, Gwen...where the heck are you..."
Malice.
She glanced around for the source, but finding none, returned her gaze to Xindao's feet.
Luke was yet again trying to process what was happening, Cicero is annoying the Mute Pyro, Highblood man is sitting on his bottom in front of a tree. He shook his head, Ah, screw it, I'll focus on what is happening to me. He shrugged his shield onto his arm and looked around for a possible enemy. None showed themselves, but Luke could not shake the feeling of something ominous lurking in the shadowy fog. Especially since the giant snake thing had devoured the terminal that Cicero was hacking. Falling in step behind Gwen, Luke waited for an enemy.
[Affraiel finally catches a glimpse of Gwen as she is following another noble knight. He is tempted to pull the trigger and end this once and for all, but suddenly, Affraiel sees Gwen looking around into the distance, as if she heard what he said.]
Affraiel: *quickly undeploys his sniper rifle* "Midnight! This place isn't safe! We better move!"
Midnight: "Why? Mister Affraiel, we have but only this one chance to kill her!"
Affraiel: "I won't waste this shot! She can hear us from here! And the bullet won't do the maximum damage if I fire the shot anywhere further!"
Midnight: "Then how can we hit her if she will just simply phase through our bullets?"
Affraiel: "We need to destroy more bell towers, enough of them to draw out the snarby... and once when Gwen is caught in the engagement, I will do this world a favour by taking her and that mutt down to hell. She is a god, but even a god can't focus her shield onto a stray bullet while fighting something as feral as the snarby. Let's hope our 'distraction' will last long enough for me to take the shot." *draws his claymore* "Let's go!"
Sono stops next to a broken-down Lumber. It was missing it's lower half as well as it's arm. Looking around, he realized he got seperated from the others. "Ah, crap." He checked his minimap, which was for some reason scrambled and static.
Sono tried calling Cicero, only to find he has no signal. "Oh that's just great." He cupped his hands to his mouth. "LUUUKE!! CICEROOO!! GWEEEN!!"
*Hey! Dumbo! Yelling in the Middle of the Wildwoods is Not The Best Thing to Do!*
"The hell else am I gonna find them, Huh Tros?"
A low growl uttered behind Sono. The mist cleared as shadows began slowly wrapping around his legs. He turned around.
Xindao stood up, and pulled off his blindfold, revealing his eyes. The whites were black, and his separate eyes were differently colored. The right was gold, and the other was fuchsia. He looked at Gwen, still unable to see. "We have company. They are here. They smelled you out. You smelled them out as well..." He inched closer to Gwen, looking her in the face, somehow staring into her soul as if he could in fact see it. "You're still a hunter. You want blood as bad as they do, just in a different sense. Haven't you noticed? With the Swarm, the only blood they spill is for their own survival and procreation. With you, it's just to fight back. You're an exterminator..." He moves her out of the way, and walks out , his gavel changing from black to white, his hair from black to white, and his horns from white to an ominous, radiating black.
"Oh precious! Wake up and smell the roses! We bring the vampire, the one who bathes in blood...to slay you, the one who eats with no solution to be true to yourself, or find a solution that still allows happiness." Xindao whispers, but something hears him. The shadows squirm, and at the edge of sight, the blurry figure of the Snarbolax lurks around....but just as Xindao steps forward, it vanishes, and Wolvers appear all around him and Gwen. "Confound it," he mutters, "Well, we're surrounded, and our target is now further away..." the sky cracks, sending the sound rolling through the forest. His clothes torn, they billow in the breeze. His tattoos glow in the new darkness, and the ground moves under him and the whole forest, shifting once more.
It shifts into a hilly terrain. "Anguis, may I solicit you for assistance?" Xindao whispers, and the message travels just as if it were shouted.
This is taking too long. We're going to have to burrow to the next level, seeing as the Elevator is now crushed and the sky is becoming an omen of evil.
[Affraiel manages to find another burrowed bell tower and pries it out of the ground with the blade of the claymore. He then takes out the resonance device with in and reconfigured its circuit board.]
Affraiel: "Okay, this is now our new portable beast bell, with this, the snarby won't get close to us. At least that is what I hope to happen..."
Snarby: *moans in the distance* "RAOOHH!!!"
Midnight: "Mister Affraiel, it seems the snarbolax has awakened!"
Affraiel: "Okay, we just need to destroy a few more bell towers and the snarby will be unleashed! We better move fast! The nobleman that was leading Gwen didn't looked like a friendly fellow to me..."
Midnight: "Whatever he is... we still need to kill Gwen first." *loads a grenade into the launcher* "I won't let my Queen spill anymore innocent blood! I have to take my part in ending her madness!"
[The bell towers where not immune from the grenades even when they are underground, more towers are getting destroyed by the minutes and Affraiel is getting closer to unleashing the snarbolax.]
Affraiel: *chuckles while looking into the distant forest* "Ha! Did you hear that Gwen? It is the sound of your time running out!" *looks back at Midnight* "Hey, Valkyrie boy, do you think you can fly?" *passes the remaining thermite explosives to Midnight* "If you can just plant them down throughout the forest! Now go, and If you hear the sound of my BABs detonate, blow this forest sky high, this is my final will..."
"With you, it's just to fight back. You're an exterminator."
He...he...judged me innocent...
Run.
And just like that, she seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving behind naught but a few scant footprints in her wake. She raced faster than the wind towards her enemies, whose vile murders churned her stomach to pain and ashes. Fleet of foot and lighter than air, none could stop her from reaching her target.
For slaying her battle sisters, they would pay.
Moving deeper into the system Blesse gave a mute chuckle as she remembered a closed of set of programs inside the main file folder of the now eaten Terminal. Of course a smart person would have complained about its destruction, but she was mute and thus had to work around that problem. Opening up a file backup of the once working Terminal Blesse found a half finished Beast Bell Imitation sound bit, no doubt the program was finished on the Terminal. Well, it would take me some time but with the help of the computer's here I can recreate the program, if not better then the old one.
Warning: All the Beast Bell's in the area are being targeted by an unknown enemy. I have found a backup program that might help it will take time to rebuild. Let me known whats going on with status reports for I will be working on a different mondier for the time being. The Communcations links will be set to open, should anything happen let me know. I have full control over the workings of the level.
With that said Blesse turned and went to work on the program. Of course before that she turned on the comm. links to voice so she could hear them talking.
Affraiel, Midnight, and Elzilia mysteriously disappeared, leaving Gwen more than a little stunned. What...the...heck just happened? She turned around and walked back towards the elevator.
I'd rather not drop down. I'll wait for the lift this time.
Keeping his piste trained, Cicero draws his sword cautiously. He looks behind him, and notices he is alone.
A long shape emerged from out of the treeline on a ridge, overlooking the events. In the wake of the great beast, a small conflict had occured, leaving a small clearing on a similar ledge torn and battered. A lone rifle, adorned with the marks of fresh blood and fang marks, lay idle and abandoned on the red-stained grass. Anguis curled itself upon the edge of the cliffside, gazing down at the group below.
He began to ponder things in silence, as the ambient sound of other creatures boomed around him, alongside the pleas of those that wished for him to aid them. He thought of things like if they would succeed in eventually slaying the Snarbolax of the council, what were they feeling at this very moment. But he also digressed into more primal thoughts, based upon his most recent meal of 2 Knights. He pondered if the ones below were as crunchy & suculent as the last two.
Not wishing to make himself hunger again so soon, the serpent yawned with a wide maw, before settling down to sleep off his late supper. A small tongue could be seen forking out with each breath, as the contempt Anguis slumbered. The little ones should be able to handle themselves for a little while longer...
Gwen dropped down the shaft and landed softly on Depth 5, Gloaming Wildwoods: Terrilous Trail. The air was thick and musty, and silence covered the forest like a blanket. The only sounds that touched her listening ears were the snapping twigs and crunching leaves that followed her own lonely steps. An eerie, irrational fear crept up her spine as she walked, and even wielding her formidable psi-blades felt like no help at all. Her eyes glanced nervously around the forest, anxiously scanning for deadly monsters that likely were not there.
Teetering on the edge of fright, she gripped her blades and cautiously plodded onward, fully expecting to be assaulted and slain by whatever lied ahead.
I thought the malicious threats disappeared. So why am I so scared?
Turing around Blesse saw Gwen had slipped out of the sight of Sono's Helm Camera, but it was not that which worried the firebug. It was the fact the Console's Hollow-Map now displayed two level's at once, as if being done with a Screen split. On the map she saw a model of a Knight slowly moving threw the woods. Little red blips popping up every now and again, but until the Terminal on that level was turned on she was more or less blind to the world around them. Well, I don't know who this lone Knight is, but from the feed's I have I could make the safe bet and say its Gwen. But Cicerco is still within my sights.
Looking back at the computer she was sitting behind Blesse had just about completed the program which emitated the sound of the beast bells. However she saw in the bass code its' self their was a safety progammed into it to prevent it from being used more then once in a two minute span. She could increase the time but never go below it with out a critical error and the program crashing. Lets just hope the time the bell rings they won't need it again, other wise they will indeed be stuck where ever they are like fish in a barrel. The endless sound of key's clicking in the hall made up for the now dead sound of an empty world. Aside from the breathing of the current guards Blesse could have swarn she was hope, just with more computer's and less time to work with her own fire.
He stumbles into the darkness, out of his trance. Stumbling for awhile, up a steep hill, he finally stumbles all the way to the large form of Anguis. He whispers, "Anguis, the elevator is either down or there's an ambush waiting for us there. We will be safer in deeper ground. Can you get us to Depth 6? The Roarmulus Ruins...?" He hugs the large form, gray tears running down his face. "I don't wanna stay here. It's messing with my head..." he whimpers...
-and now we're here... Luke finally got himself caught up with the previous events. Everything was happening so quickly since he had gotten out of the infirmary. Dang, that's been how long ago? I know what the facts say, but I'm not so sure about Gwen being behind the most recent murders. Wasn't there another Val... Valk... Valkry? Whatever it was was, it was a fallen one right? Like an underworld version? Luke raised his head to pose a question.
He was alone.
Luke froze midstep. Scrap, I didn't look up while I was thinking. Now where has everyone gone? His fist tightened slightly around his Flourish, seeking the familiar handgrip for comfort. Luke gathered his senses, and decided to check his headset.
"Hey, can anyone hear me? I think I may have gotten separated." He quickly checks his map. "And my map seems to be down. Can anyone hear me?"
Blesse looked up from her work as she went to the main Console to answer the incoming call. With her mind working on several things at once she had forgotten she was suppose to be watching the comm. devices incase something came up. This counts might as well see whats going on. Pulling upto the keyboard she started typing her message to the calling knight.
This is Blesse at the Hall of Heroes. Currently on duty, how can I help? Once it was typed she sent the message on it's way to the virtual mail box of the incoming caller named Luke on her Screen.
The snake perked up, as he blinked his eyes open, revealling the piercing eyes he has been known for. Anguis rose to full height, yawning once more before recalling what his associate had called him for. Lowering its head, it began to burrow through the ledge, levelling out at ground level, making the ground shake in the process. As it slithered above ground, the winds of the wildwoods seemed to carry its voice eerily through the forest as it approached.
"I come to aid, after a slumber, past curious wolver, through expired lumber. Bear in mind, its the Judge I serve, anyelse who I meet, best hold their nerve. I pick up on fear, it calls to me like a whistle, and while your poor spirits quake, I shall sting like a thistle"...
The serpent eventually arrived to the Judge, and only after a brief glance with piercing gaze, did it begin to burrow at an acute angle, down toward the next level, leading onto the canopy of the trees below. Moments later, a crash could be heard as Anguis impacted the earth below, into the next level where he made work of making a fresh hole.
I had to edit this out, because Psychnade can't stop godmodding.
Meh.
OOC: Ill just scrap that whole fight...
"Luke reporting, I got separated from the main party. Came across another two broken bells."
Luke looked around, and checked his Co-ords.
"Err, I don't suppose you could tell me the Coordinates of the group?"
Listening to the man on the communations link Blesse went to the main Console and started hunting down their X, Y, Z and W Coordinates. Thankfully because of her constant uplink with Sono she was able to git them from the tracking program which ran without the knights knowing in the backround of their suite's computers. Hmm, Truth be told I lost Gwen and two others. Outside of that I have some other reasons to believe that they are on the next depth down...Better stick with the facts.
Reporting, They are at the Coordinates show on you're HUD. Head there now and do hurry. From the looks of it your not too far away but do expect a bit of a walk. If you need anything else, I am listening to the chatter, Blesse out.
Once that was sent Blesse started up a second message for Sono warning him of the new party memeber joining the ranks.
Warning: You have a new member on that level. I have a uplink to his feed as well as his record. His name is Luke, just so you know when he arrives.
Damn I've done about as much as a damned intel officer has...Well if this job fails out I can always go to them and get a job bringing in some money and new systems.
Xindao bows his head. "Thank you, friend." he whispers, the snake picking up the sound. He raises his gavel, and charges it up. Fuchsia leaks, almost unseen, from pipes showing from the hole Anguis burrowed.
"The land...." Xindao stutters, feeling the presence of the fluid as his gavel charges up. "The land is poisoned! We've been led astray....oh Vog.....oh my Vog. The others. They aren't safe. The Snarbolax here isn't safe...we're doomed..." he whispers. The thunder claps. This land is cursed. Any minute now....Swarm Knights will find them. This will not do. The others should not noticed us being followed.
Xindao prepares to strike down the hammer as it charges up. "You stay out of this." he whispers fiercely, and swings down.
Before Jaxter has the opportunity to take a shot at Cicero, Cicero is bowled over and the thing hooks his boot with a claw. He slashes at it with a sword, but it is to no use. The thing drags him, and he blasts it's flank with his Polaris. It screams in panic as it's fur burns, yet keeps running. It drags him over the edge of the Clockworks, and they tumble down a depth.
It slams on top of him, and they land a few feet in front of Gwenivere. He scrabbles for breath, as he realizes he is dying. His ribs crack, and his eyes close...
Cicero sits, chained up. The door across the opens, and the form of Gwen walks through. She brushes his hair, then kisses him on the lips. Then, grins wickedly and disappears in a puff of flame.
"What the HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? Why is Gwenivere here!? WHERE AM I!?" Cicero demands, yelling. He realizes that the chains are gone, and he is wearing loose-fitting robes. He then realizes that Gwen had been a psychological ploy.
"Oh come now, Cicero. You know I wouldn't forget my favourite Champion. And I certainly wouldn't let him die such an ignominious death. " Vog says, as his serpentine form curling past in a blaze of fire...
Cicero's eyes flutter open, and he shoves the corpse off him.
"How do you do, Gwen?" He says chivalrously.
Xindao slams his hammer on the ground, marking a glowing green beacon that is set to turn off in approximately thirteen minutes from when it was set. He slings his gavel into a sling on his back, and walks down the tunnel Anguis made. He kicks dirt over the fuchsia-leaking pipes, stomping it in. "No one's going to find out...not like this..." he mutters. The light ahead guides him....and he drops from the hole onto the next level. The storm can now be barely seen through the higher clockwork levels. They should be safe....unless someone were to get in the maintenance tunnels.
He walks forth. Anguis can rest for now...maybe keep an eye on the others and inform if anything goes wrong. Or....maybe he needs a real avatar to command. But that would be silly. Where would I get an avatar on such short noticed. He grins to himself, laughing as if he had heard a joke. His shadow was split in two as he walked, though he passed many light, the shadows would not change from their stances. If one looked, they could see the shadows mouths moving...
Xindao shakes his head. These thoughts, these explanations....they were useless.
Continuing forward, a pack of Wolvers walk out from the thorn bushes. "Vogdamn...." he mutters, and grips his gavels end instead of the hammer's top. The end of the gavel was slightly pointed. It might work as a quick 0-1* attack weapon...
"I'm never prepared for these scuffles...but still. They are kinda fun." he talks casually to himself, grinning while wet spots appear in his blindfold.
When Cicero sits up, he realizes that the sleeve of a gray, bloodstained cloak was lying on top of him.
It still has someone's arm in it.
Jaxter was about to take the shot that would kill Cicero, but instead a Snarbolax did it for him. The large animal attacked the knight dragging him into the foliage and disappearing.
'Interlopers...well, at least it did my job for me.'
Jaxter holsters his gun and makes his way back to the elevator.
But what he didn't know is that was Cicero wasn't dead.
Cicero sits up, and gingerly lifts the arm off. He inspects the ground for footprints and trails of blood, that may lead to Gwenivere.
The arm was still attached to its owner, so he didn't have to look far. A young Valkyrie laid next to him, her bloodied golden hair nearly hiding her dead blue eyes. Her wings were visible and fully extended; Cicero was sitting on her left wing.
But despite the differences, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Gwen...
Cicero checks for a pulse, then pulls out a Spark of Life. He breaks open the small rectangle, and removes the insulated glove and the sphere from it. He slips the glove on, and primes the sphere. He shakes her a bit, and if she doesn't wake up he will use the Spark.
Queen Freya "Giggles" Val'Hallarn awoke on a metal floor beside an armored human. She strained her arms to push herself up and glanced around. Where am I? She sat up and brushed back a few tresses of her golden hair. Her gaze fell upon the human, and their eyes locked.
She tilted her head to the side inquisitively. "Who are you?"
"Cicero Eregath." He says matter-of-factly. "Who are you?" He says sarcastically, knowing that it was Gwenivere.
Sitting back Blesse watched as the Bell Stations slowly sunk into the ground. Her connection was fine till one of the Stations foundations where torn asunder. What the hell was that? Turning on the feed from the sector of which the Bell Station was destroyed all Blesse could see was a destroyed section of ground, no smoke, no left overs. What ever happened happened out of sight.
Um..What the hell? That thing under them maybe? No it's still in place.