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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Aug 21, 2014 21:49:37 GMT -6
Max's demon thrashed against Faro's tendril hand, but only for a few moments, then backed off. It knew Faro and his second class demon Malevolence. The two of them had faced off before. Experience and skill were all he possessed against him, but Max's demon had power, immense power, and that was all that it thought mattered. "More of you?" It growled out of Max's mouth.
Meanwhile, the demon inside of Natsumi raged against Faro's other outstretched tendril arm. Faro was holding her formidably, but the more furious she became the harder she bashed against his defense. With the added aggression also brought an increase in strength, and it was only a matter of time before the ferocity of her attacks beat back Faro's arm of tendrils.
Natsumi's demon was indeed one of the most powerful that Syrus had ever produced, but it lacked any strategic value in battle, and Argoth noticed this almost immediately. He was incredibly thankful that Faro had entered the scene. Without him there was no telling what would have happened to himself and the others. The situation wasn't over either, and Rii and the kid were still in the line of fire. Faro's sudden shift in attention to him and Rii snapped him out of his thoughts.
"You two, run. I can handle this. Keep that one safe."
"Right," Argoth concurred, nodding and swiftly stepping in Rii's direction. It took him only a few strides to get to her. Argoth was one to never run away from a fight, but currently his priority was Rii and the girl. He needed to get them a safe distance away, and to also make sure Syrus didn't reappear for a second act. Faro wasn't speaking lightly when he commanded the safety of Rii's little one. Sryus was a cunning and unpredictable bastard, there was no telling when he may return to sneak another kidnapping in. Although, Argoth wasn't sure he would even be useful in defending either of them let alone himself should Syrus come back. After this was over, he needed a long, long rest.
The pain was beginning to get to him, clawing its way through his body without the least bit of mercy. The adrenaline had worn off now, and the throbs and aches it had stifled in the previous moment of crises had ceased. His forehead beaded with sweat as he fought back, forcing his limbs to move. Argoth moved in and took Rii's hand, his face stern as he focused on getting Rii and the little girl to safety. He lead them away from the battlefield in quick, long strides, and in a few moments they were far away enough to merely watch.
Demon Max watched in revulsion as Natsumi's demon flailed against Faro. Whatever his creator concocted inside this little girl was nothing but a feral beast waiting to be put down. It filled him with anger and hatred that this piece of garbage was drawing in the same air as him. With Faro here or not, he was going to eradicate this bottom rate demon scum. He took a step back and crouched down on one knee. Max's legs shifted into a chitinous substance and he launched himself into the air and over Faro's head. The boy's legs morphed back to normal as he descended upon Natsumi. His adversary had noticed the attack the moment Max had leaped into the air, and backed up away from Faro's tendril arm. She was ready to receive whatever Max was about to unleash. A furnace of pure, loathsome rage burned in her gaze as it fixated upon the descending demon child.
Demon Max hit his target with enough force to send them both tumbling through the dirt. The two of them rolled together for a good ten feet, delivering punches to each other along the way. Max came out on top, with Natsumi directly under him. He raised a gargantuan stone fist above his head while he held his prey to the ground by the throat. The demon possessed girl formed two massive hands of her own and pried Max's hand away from her neck just as his fist descended upon her face. She moved her head to the side just in time for Demon Max's strike to send a shock-wave through the earth. There was a small crater next to her head as Max cocked back to deliver another one. Before he could finish his strike, however, Natsumi wrestled him off of her, wrenching his arm to the side forcing him to roll. Demon Max returned to his feet just in time to catch and upper cut from a huge stone fist. Stars entered his vision and he back peddled a few steps. Natsumi kept coming as he retreated, slamming fists into his body and face. Demon Max kept on backing up as he allowed each strike to connect. Rage fueled Natsumi's attacks and each successful hit felt more and more exhilarating. That is until her offensive came to a complete halt.
"You have no idea," Max's demon began, snatching one of Natsumi's fists from the air with an enormous stone hand of his own. His other arm swatted away the oncoming attack from her other arm, and he slammed left fist across Natsumi's face with enough force to shatter diamond.
Argoth couldn't believe just how hard Demon Max struck poor Natsumi. It was as if a meteor had been launched into her face at supersonic speeds. It was unlike anything Argoth had ever seen before. With that single punch, Natsumi fell to a knee, and then Max scooped her up off the ground by her throat. His huge stone hand engulfed the entirety of the little girl's neck.
"...who you are dealing with," the demon finished. Satisfaction spread across Max's face as he held up Natsumi. She kicked and punched and struggled as much as she could, shifting all parts of her body into various weapons to try and escape. It was of no use. With Max's free hand the demon transformed Max's arm into his usual blade, and drew it back in line with Natsumi's skull. "Die," he spat, and the blade descended toward Natsumi's face.
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Post by Faro/Blade on Aug 28, 2014 23:55:59 GMT -6
Faro growled at the two as things began to spiral out of his control. Max leaped over him, and faro missed in his attempt to snatch the boy out of the air. With that, he was on the other one, bashing and clawing at her in a fit of rage. He would have winced at the thunderous crack that sounded off when Max hit her, if the poor girl had done anything but bend a knee. As angry as Max's demon was, the one inside the girl was stronger. However, at this moment it was weakened. Faro had one shot at this.
He seized the chance, sending stone-like tendrils to wrap around Max's blade. He yanked back, hard, and pulled Max to the ground. Faro rushed forward as the tendrils released Max and formed a stone fist, which grew in his until he was dragging it along the ground behind him, a fourth seal having broken so he could have the strength to keep speed. A roar came from him as he shifted his weight, bringing the heavy fist up and over his head smashing it down onto Max, not caring if his blade split the stone or not. All he needed was a second.
A thin tendril reached into the bag he'd brought along and fished out a small black cube, only a cubic inch in size. As faro bounded over Max's stunned body, the tendril brought the cube to his hand and he grabbed it, thrusting his arm forward and placing it against Natsumi's forehead. It began to glow brightly and cube-shaped tendrils erupted from the small block, ensnaring the girl. Once the tendrils obscured her form entirely, they would collapse into the same small cube as before, another tendril snatching up the cube. She was trapped now, in a world of light that would help her own mind fight back against the evil influencing her.
Faro turned to Max, the other cube ready for him. He could only hope that he hadn't showed his hand to the kid too early. He had to make the demon slip up just in case, and he knew just how to do that. "Just you and me now, you cheap copy." He spat at the demon. Max's demon had a god complex that it couldn't let go of, he knew that from the way it attacked Natsumi, thinking her to be an abomination. "Calling the girl an abomination. Pretty rich coming from the product of faulty research." He added, waiting for it's reaction now.
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Post by Rii/Thell on Sept 3, 2014 12:45:34 GMT -6
Rii followed Argoth, her child close to her chest as she scanned his body in a panic, observing his struggles as he tried to mask the pain he was in. Their safety was his priority, but it was going to cost him.
Wait.
She whistled a few high pitched notes, scanning the horizon. It had been a few days, but they both knew how her days of absence played out. They would always be there for one another, even if he preferred to answer to her whistling instead of an ocarina or reed traditionally meant for such purposes.
"Chew this," she instructed in a low voice, slipping her webbed fingers out of Argoth's grasp so she could offer him a bitter-scented leaf from her pack. It would numb the pain and likely make his movements less controlled, but she hoped it wouldn't prove a problem once a certain lightning footed friend appeared.
"What's dat?" The voice was small and unsure, and Rii smiled.
"Billiam of Lightning Feet," Rii answered, keeping her voice warm to soothe her child as the appaloosa bolted for them. "There you are." Billiam slowed in front of them, impatiently pawing his hooves against the ground as he eyed the battle going on atop the hill. The Twili hybrid, caught off guard, pushed back against Rii's chest before hesitantly reaching out a hand to feel the warm air leaving the horse's nostrils. At the sight of her Billiam stiffened, eyes bulging as he alternated between Rii and the child. Then he breathed out heavily and glanced over at Argoth, noting he was in the poorest condition. Billiam was slowly discovering that skill, as Rii was always able to find the most ill or heavily injured patient and ease them onto Billiam's back for safer transportation. "If anyone is in pain Billiam is always ready for a rider." She cast her gaze over at Argoth pointedly, already assessing his wounds and deciding what she would need. Unsure of how the fight would pan out, Rii wanted to be sure everyone was as maneuverable as possible. The nearby stream would be just fine for her and her daughter, but Argoth would need something else to compensate for his loss of adrenaline.
But Rii knew Argoth would do what he wanted, something they shared, so she glanced back over at the fight. You are a mighty tree, Maximus, and the demon inside you is nothing but an owl. Don't let it tear you apart.
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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Oct 19, 2014 19:44:46 GMT -6
Demon Max was already returning to his feet when Faro came at him with his gargantuan stone fist. There was no time to counter, so he settled for defense. The demon raised Max's arm in time, and with a snarl, formed a shield that covered the entirety of his little body. When the stone fist connected with Max's shield it released a thunderous sound that echoed throughout the battlefield. It drove Max into the ground with incredulous force, and dust and rock exploded into the air. When the dust cleared, Max was standing. He faced Faro and caught the end of his encounter with Natsumi. Searing hot anger boiled up from within him. How dare he!?! That was his prey, his kill! He had no right to take what was rightfully his! And then the two of them were standing across from each other, and Faro began to sling insults at him. A look spread across his face as if he had just smelled something foul. "You disgust me," it began, "You know nothing of my perfection, and I will not be lured in by petty insults from filth like you." A cold stare brimming with hatred set onto his face, "No, I-" but instead of finishing his sentence he was crashing into the ground. A flash of light and pain entered his head, and before he knew it his face was in the dirt.
"Faro, now!"
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Argoth watched the battle intently. From its beginning he knew that whatever Faro had in mind to secure these two was going to have to be quick and effective. And then he witnessed Natsumi being sucked into the tiny cube. Brilliant, he thought. A wave of pain hit Argoth like train-wreck, and he wobbled slightly. It took a few moments, but he managed to put the pain back into the recesses of his mind. Sweat beaded down the side of his head, and it was all he could do to keep himself standing from the fatigue. His vision began to blur slightly, but he reigned it back in. With a shake of his head Argoth began to focus again, and then Bill showed up, and Rii was pushing some herb into his hand. She instructed him to chew it, and immediately he complied. Whatever he was chewing definitely helped as the pain dulled to a throbbing ache. Once the pain was under control, Argoth began to assess the situation again. This couldn't go on any longer. He needed medical attention and they needed to figure out what to do with Natsumi immediately. This fight needed to end and quickly. If he could assist Faro in any way he would, and by stepping in unexpected he hoped to end the fight prematurely. Sure, Faro could do it himself, but Argoth was running out of time, he needed to get somewhere where Rii could treat his wounds. And then Argoth saw his opening. Without thinking he started in Max's direction, first slowly then working his way into a sprint. He traveled across the ground as quietly as he could, and in a few seconds he was bounding in on Maximus. Come on Faro, keep his attention. Everything fell into place as Faro began to insult the demon. Now was his chance. As the Demon used Max's mouth to respond, Argoth launched a kick to the side of the kid's head.
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Post by Faro/Blade on Oct 20, 2014 20:54:48 GMT -6
Faro was ready to attack Max again before Argoth reared up behind the boy and kicked him. Winding himself down a bit, Faro passed himself the second cube. "Saves me the trouble of having to shut him up myself." He said with some disappointment as he tossed the 1-inch cube at Max's forehead. Like with Natsumi, it expanded outward as flat, broad bands of darkness that would cover his body and eventually envelop his form before condensing itself back to it's original size. As the Void magic's embrace gripped the young Maximus, Faro stared the demon-controlled child in the eye and spoke to directly to the beast living within him.
"Once you've broken free of that prison on your own, you can go on about your false notions of perfection." He chastised the arrogant presence. After the cube condensed, he picked it up and held it for a moment. "Good luck with that." He placed it in the bag with Natsumi's, having given Max the same type of Void. It was a realm of naught but pure light, sure to help Max suppress the violent evil within. Once the evil had been beaten back, the cubes would change from black to white, and Faro would release them himself. They were the only two Voids in existence that functioned in this manner, and Faro owed Ganon for creating such a specific set of tools. Faro looked to Argoth and tried to soften his expression a little, if only for the sake of being friendly and wanting to look the part.
"We need to get going." He told the assassin. "There's no telling when Syrus will show up again, and I don't have enough patience, or Void Cubes, to deal with him right now. Do you have any idea where we're going?" He asked, meaning to scout ahead of them for the sake of the wounded and the women, which was everyone aside from himself.
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Post by Rii/Thell on Oct 21, 2014 23:15:04 GMT -6
Rii's eyelids drooped as she watched Argoth run, evidently feigning adequate health as he bolted for the fight and knocking the demon in Maximus unconscious.
"He is so stubborn," she murmured with a smile, shaking her head.
"Stubborn?" the small girl asked, not recognizing the word.
"You will soon learn, little one, what stubborn means. There are many I know who fit its description," Rii assured her child before gesturing for Billiam to follow her towards Argoth, Faro, and the two small bodies. She arrived just as Faro asked his question. "Somewhere close and near water," she answered. "Those leaves are going to make your" she looked calmly at Argoth "muscles extremely weak in roughly ten minutes, and your body will be fairly numb. It'll be ideal for me to work on you as soon as possible. And I wish to give you an analysis as well, my mysterious friend. "
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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Oct 22, 2014 21:18:14 GMT -6
Argoth was bent over, hands placed upon his knees, breathing heavily when Faro and Rii made their way over to him. He had never hurt so much in his life, nor had he ever been so mentally and physically drained. Unconsciousness was creeping up on him, but he could not afford to let it take him, not yet. Nothing that Rii or Faro had said made it into his mind. There was only one thing he could think about now that Syrus was gone and the kids taken care of.
"Mathayus..." Argoth breathed. The rushed over to his fallen friend's side, ignoring the immense amount of effort it took just to move the few feet to reach him. Argoth dropped to his knees next to Mathayus' corpse. He took a moment to analyze the body, then hung his head in sorrow. A few tears escaped his eyes, "I'm so sorry.." he whispered. Argoth couldn't imagine what he must have felt before he died. The sheer agony of knowing that the only child you have is possessed by an evil unlike any other...if Argoth had known anything it was that Mathayus died the moment he saw his daughters eyes. No amount of preparation could have readied him for that.
Argoth sat at Mathayus' side in silence for several more minutes before saying in a raspy tone, "We need to take care of him before we go anywhere."
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Post by Rii/Thell on Oct 22, 2014 21:52:45 GMT -6
The small Zora-Twili's eyes flickered from her mother to the new arrival to the man who had been with her mother when the child had appeared. Her red eyes focused on him, watching as he ran to the body of yet another stranger. As Rii finished speaking, her green eyes followed her daughter's. "He's. Dead," she whispered disjointedly, and Rii felt hollow as she nodded. Her child already knew of death. Yet another thing she would learn of from Karis, Rii was sure.
It was Argoth who reminded them that a burial needed to be done.
Rii was about to ask where as she approached with her daughter in her arms, eager to honor the man who had obviously tried to protect her and everyone else when he was forced to make his deal with Syrus.
"Take care of him?" the small girl murmured, fingers beginning to curl tightly into Rii's skin. "Da-ddy said dead things stay dead."
Rii cocked her head to one side as she repositioned the child in her arms, almost as if to cradle her despite her size. "He isn't always right," she whispered. "But we will honor him by giving him a burial."
"Be-ri-ull?" She sounded out the new word on her tongue.
Of course. Karis would teach her child of death and not of respect and honor and gratitude and hope. Of course. "Many people dig a place for the bodies of their loved ones to rest in death," she explained, not about to sugar coat something for her child.
"What shape? What does it look like?"
"A rectangle for most cultures. Several feet into the earth."
The girl nodded, glancing over at the fallen Mathayus. "A… rectangle?" Suddenly there was the sound of dirt and rock being shifted. Rii stiffened, grip tight on her daughter as she looked to the top of the hill, where mounds of dirt were being lifted and set aside, forming a perfectly rectangular shape, going deeper and deeper until - at roughly five or six feet - it stopped. "Lllllllllike dat one?!" The Zora Twili child waved her arm in its direction, red eyes seeking confirmation from her mother.
Rii glanced over at Argoth and Faro before looking over at the freshly dug grave. "Yes, sweetheart…" she eventually said, taking in what she might have suspected deep in her mind upon first touching her daughter. "Just like that." She smiled down at her daughter, not wanting her to be scared of what just happened, though the occurrence seemed perfectly normal to the little girl.
Rii's daughter had magic.
Of course she did.
"To lay him to rest," she started slowly, "will this work?"
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Post by Faro/Blade on Nov 2, 2014 23:35:18 GMT -6
Approaching their fallen comrade, Faro picked him up with his own arms and placed him near the grave. Looking for loose cloth, Faro eventually settled on the belt around his waist. "Someone find his sword." He told the others as he set the belt aside. He posed Mathayus' body and stood up. Carefully, Faro wrapped him in tendrils and began to slowly lower him into the earth. It was never easy burying someone, though it must have been much harder for Argoth, who knew Mathayus better than most.
As Mathayus neared his final resting place, Faro's eyes trailed over to Rii and her child. He hadn't seen the Zora around much, and was unaware she had a child. His train of thought was broken by the feeling of Mathayus' form hitting the earth. The tendrils unwrapped themselves and receded, and Faro joined the search for Mathayus' blade.
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Post by Argoth/Maximus on Nov 18, 2014 18:17:54 GMT -6
Argoth stood up as Faro began to move Mathayus over to the grave. The effort it took to simply stand drained him immensely, and he nearly fell back to the ground as his knees began to wobble. He nodded his head at Rii and said, "It's perfect." He found the ninja's blade a few minutes after Faro mentioned it, and brought it over to the grave. For a long, silent, moment, Argoth looked down at his fallen comrade. During this time the herb that Rii had given him began to kick in, and his body began to tingle with numbness. They needed to wrap this up quick so Argoth didn't pass out before they got him on the horse. Rii's daughter lifted the dirt back into the hole and Argoth placed his sword blade down in the center of his grave. "Farewell, Mathayus, may you be at more peace in death than you were in life."
After the quick funeral for Mathayus, Argoth turned to mount Billiam. Faro had to assist him for his muscles were beginning to fail. Once he had finally gotten on the horse, fatigue began to overcome him, and he leaned forward to pass out moments later. Where he woke up next was up to Faro and Rii.
[End thread]
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Kadina
Administrator
If you're bored then you're boring.
Posts: 379
Played By: MOjO
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Post by Kadina on Dec 31, 2014 17:18:59 GMT -6
(((Just finished reading this and I've got to say... I'm beyond impressed with you guys. I mean, wow... talk about determination, first of all. 'The Year-long Thread'. This thread is record breaking to the site for continuing so long and actually concluding. And each post was perfection. Not a single post faltered in detail. So many milestones and unlocked history as well as accomplishments. Very important stuff that you might all consider editing into your character bios. I'll be moving Mathayus over to the character graveyard (RIP... I can't believe it). Also, I have a twili sheik character I was hoping to introduce soon. I sense a friendship between her and Rii? Lahnea? Hmmm Great, great job Argoth and Rii aaaaand of course I gotta throw a bone to Faro for coming in as back up and kicking some ass. So proud of you guys)))
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