The Aftermath

[Squintz Altec]

Yep, it's that time again, I'm of writing ficcy. Now, I'm horrible at doing these things, and I'm lazy about posting to them, but if I'm sufficiently poked, I should. Well, that's my little disclaimer thing.

This takes place IMMEDIATELY after the defeat of Malachias. For those of you who don't know, Malachias was a Pit Lord (I misspelled Pit Fiend, but whatever) who burned down a lot of stuff. Well, eventually, his defeat was brought about by the summoning of an angel who calls himself the Judge, who was called by the efforts of Barak, a fallen angel once under the control of Malachias. Well, that's backstory, weee. Now, on with Ficcy!


Dhargun was in a TERRIBLE mood, which wasn't really too different from his normal mood, which, also, wasn't really that different from his happy mood. But he DID have a reason. But then again, that reason was walking next to him. He absentmindedly reached up and petted the skeleton next to him. He decided to call it Skippy, which was a perfectly insulting name for what it once was. He HATED it when someone decided to bad-talk drow, especially when he wasn't wearing his ring and was in earshot. Well, that person had also decided to make a random "drow bastard" pay, and that random drow had been Dhargun. BIG MISTAKE. It is said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but this is only partly true. Hell hath no fury like an angry drow necromancer OR a woman scorned. He might have stretched the pain out longer, but he was no sadist. He had ended it quickly with a sword thrust to the chest, before the person could bring their gun up and aim properly. And as a final insult, Dhargun made sure to "bring him back," and now he had Skippy, his bodyguard. But anyway, this story is not about a dead drunk, nor his animated skeleton, but about something else.

Anyway, Dhargun was walking down the street, in Doma City. It had been a LONG time since he was last there, he had travelled to Riva, where he had to wear his ring for fear of being lynched (he could take on one drunk, the whole town was another story.), and to southern Doma, where he had met some necromancer-thingy-guy, named Frigid. Well, his journeys were over, at least for now. Now, he wanted nothing more than to get a drink. He prefered the Ivory Horn a bit more than the Jade Dragon...after all, that freaky dragon-chick owned it, and he and her weren't on the best of terms. Calling someone a bitch did that, he supposed. He was always looking out of the corner of his eyes, and that's good. Because otherwise, he would have missed her.

"Her" was a elvish lady, short and petite, with flowing brown hair. Being elvish, Dhargun could tell that she was a lot older than she looked. Now, normally he would immediately try to bang her, but he was engaged and something was strange about her. Wait...as he looked closer, he could tell. It wasn't any ORDINARY elf girl...that was TAELA! TAELA was ALIVE? This tiny little revelation simply shocked Dhargun, as he didn't think that she could have survived, something he blamed himself for. But that meant...Malchias was gone? What was going on?

"Taela?" Dhargun caught up to her.

The lady looked at Dhargun quizzically, not seeming to notice who he was. Of course she wouldn't at first, he had only been 80 or so when he had last seen her, he had done a lot of growing up. He simply reached up, and covered the three spikes of hair of shortening length he had grew. This simple action seemed to awaken something in the lady. "D...Dhargun?"

"It is I, Taela Torias." He bowed, something HIGHLY uncharacteristic of him. Dhargun NEVER bowed, he never showed any form of ceremony or formality, not even chivalry. Now, having somewhat of a link between his skeleton friend, it ALSO bowed, creating a pretty odd scene, even for the streets in Doma. It's not every day that one finds a drow and a skeleton bowing to an elf lady.

"...It's..been a while."

Dhargun nodded. "Yes, quite a while. About a hundred and ten years. Is..he gone?"

This time it was the lady's turn to nod. "Yes...he is. But that's a long story. We must catch up!" Taela smiled, a beautiful smile that could melt even the most hardened of hearts.

Dhargun, who prided himself on not showing emotion (besides anger, hate, and fury), smiled too. "I know just the place."


(End Part 1.)

[SALSAlys]

Well, at least he's remembering his engagement to Kali...

Like the perspective on this. WOOT!

[Uncle Pervy]

Hmmm...

It's a might bit slangy for my tastes. The Narration and Dhargum should have different tones of voice, and the narrator should sound a bit more proper.

No real Tyops that I could find; no technical complaints aside from the one above.

I know nothing of Dhargum, so this promises to be interesting. A bit more background info for the uninitiated would be nice. What is this Ring, for example? <p><table align="center" cellpadding=2><tr><td></td><td align="center">Rum, White Magic, an' Cabbits.
That's th' life fer me.

Seig No-Pants!</td><td></tr></table></p>

[Squintz Altec]

Well, Dhargun's a little cautious, so he had his half brother (Squintz) make an enchanted ring for him. With it, Dhargun can change into a High Elf, for as long as the ring is on. It's not really that important, as he barely uses it, but it deserves mention nonetheless.

Oh, and about the slangy writing, I narrate according to the character. So, it would be more proper for some other people, and for others, it'd be funky.

[Squintz Altec]

Dhargun had led Taela straight to his favorite spot in Doma: The Ivory Horn. In fact, he liked this place so much that the bartender knew him by name, and had a tab set up for Dhargun. He sat there, sipping at his beer nonchalantly, while Talea sat across from him, drinking a tea.

"I've been gone for over a hundred years?!" Taela was obviously surprised, as was her right.

Dhargun nodded. "Yep, been about that long. Don't worry, you didn't really miss that much."

"...well..I DID miss my boy growing up."

"Yeah, well, it didn't get to Squintz..."Too much, Dhargun added under his breath. He was well aware of what all the pain and suffering had caused him to do.

"Like hell it did! He made his hair ORANGE!" Taela, like any concerned mother, was obviously concering herself with whatever was least important. "My boy made his hair ORANGE!"

"...Actually...that was a freak enchantment. He didn't mean to do it, but he grew to like it, and didn't turn it back." Dhargun sat back and finished his drink.

"I see he decided to take after his mother. And you! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine." Dhargun smiled again, though this time it was somewhat forced. "Just fine."

"And how are your studies going?"

"..." Dhargun knew that this would eventually come up, and he was dreading it. Even though he said that Taela hadn't missed much, he was lying. Much HAD changed. He was possessed, killed people, was killed, came back...Squintz went crazy...Dhargun thought back to the day that had begun the cycle that led him to today...

It was a nice crisp morning, just like any other morning that something bad was going to happen on. Of course, nobody knew what was going to happen. Squintz was standing outside, writing a letter to some girl that he was smitten by. Her name was Vizel, but Dhargun had never really bothered getting their names. Squintz hopped from one to the next so often, it was scary. Squintz looked up to see Dhargun.

"Oh, hello! Hey! I was wondering if you'd like to spar for a bit?"

Dhargun nodded. "I was going to ask you, bro." He reached back and drew his sword. Squintz had made it, and Dhargun had named it Xel'shana. It was a nice blade.

Squintz drew the sister blade, Redeemer. It's name had no signifigance, but soon, it would be the driving force behind its wielder. "I just put a new enchantment on it. I want to see how it works."

Dhargun rolled his eyes. "You and your enchantments."

"Well, if I AM going to be a master enchanter someday, I'll have to learn.

"You should try something more useful, like Holy magic."

"Why should I?" Squintz shook his head. "I don't want to become a paladin or something. I like not being enslaved to one way of life."

Dhargun laughed. "You sure like to cramp my style, don't you? Well, let's begin."

The fight went about the same as all the fights. Squintz was weaker physically, but he was more of a strategist than Dhargun, who was all brute strength. Finally, though, Dhargun decided to let loose a spell. He chanted, not realizing that he had misspoken a critical word in his spell. When he raised his hand to fire it off, a wave of shadow energy washed over him. Not accustomed to it, he forgot to close the spell properly, and a very damaging wave of shadow flew toward Squintz. Squintz, shocked, raised his sword to ward off the blow....

....and was rewarded with a fearsome flash. Somehow, in a strange matter of coincidences, Squintz' spell to sharpen his blade had also been mischanted, in a way that created an enchantment of summoning. And, in another string of coincidences, that enchantment had been activated by the Shadow spell. The result was obviously bad. In the middle of the two young apprentices, there was now a big firey pit. As they both watched in horror, a huge beast with firey red wings and sharp claws emerged. He was followed by smaller, but still large beast holding a glaive, and HE was followed by a beast wrapped in chains.

"Ahh....at last. Ichar took his time...what?" The largest spoke. "This is not Ichar's territory! Where am I?"

"I know not, Lord Malachias." The second largest spoke, but his voice was dejected, like he was not happy with his place in the world. "This is strange..."

"Indeed it is, Barak." Malachias looked around. "Barak, Malak...apply your failsafes. I want you to find one person, and do what I taught you. I'm going to find the strongest here for MY slave." With that, the huge beast lumbered off.

Barak looked around with cold red eyes. "This one is perfect..." He glared at Squintz, who soon felt something tugging at his mind. Squintz, however, was aware he was being possessed, and he put up a mental barrier to deter it. He felt the tugging cease, but Barak smiled and faded from view. What this meant, Squintz did not know. However, in only a few minutes, he heard the voice of the demon Barak in his head...a voice he would not be freed from for the next hundred and ten years.

Dhargun was not as lucky. When Malak tried to invade his mind, Dhargun could do nothing to defend himself. He felt his mind be assaulted, and knew what had happened. Fearing that he had not much time left, he turned tail and ran, sheathing Xel'shana along the way. He had later found out that the head demon, Malachias as he was called, had struck out to find the strongest fighter. However, not even he had expected that the stongest fighter there would have the one weapon to defeat him.

Taela Torias was fighting the demon herself, using her enchanting magics to the best of her ability. However, he was gaining ground. She reached out and grabbed his head while performing a enchanced jump. The demon reached out to grab her. A huge flash of light ensued, and when it cleared, both were gone. It was assumed later that Taela had sacrificed her life to defeat the demon, much to the chagrin of her husband, Lotherial. However, this was untrue. She had cast a spell on Malachias, one that sealed his demon form. However, he had also cast a spell on HER, and absorbed her into his being. He had teleported away, because without his true power, he would have been trampled by the town. Battered, beaten and angered, Malachias waited for his chance...

"You still there? Dhargun?" Taela was looking concerned.

"Yes...I was just thinking about something...that's all."

Taela could tell something was wrong. "No, something's the matter. Tell me."

"....I said it was nothing." Dhargun practically growled this, and turned away.

"...that's very unbecoming of a paladin in training. Or are you a full paladin now? Are you?" Taela seemed to light up for a second.

Dhargun sighed. It was time to let it out. "I'm...never going to be a paladin." He then pointed toward Skippy, the skeleton. "THAT is why."

"..." Talea wasn't stupid, she could see what the skeleton symbolized.

"Yes...now you see my shame." Dhargun sighed, and looked away. Not even the mask of arrogance and anger could hide his tears.

(End part 2.)



Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/usquintzaltec.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Squintz]&nbsp; at: 9/18/02 2:22:40 am

[Uncle Pervy]

Interesting...

I would suggest a rewording of the description of the inadvertant summoning. You sound like your trying to MST yourself. Let's try this on for size, eh?


...And was rewarded with a fearsome flash. As the shadow energy collides with Squintz's blade, the two spells react with one another. The dark magicks fuse with the spell Squintz had hastily wrought, and unwittingly miscast, over his blade, creating a flare of blinding light that overwhelms the vision of both the young elves.

As the light Clears, they can only stare at the immense fiery pit opened between them by the miscast magic. Fear roots them both to the Spot, and an enormous winged horror with claws like daggerblades draws itself from the pit and looms over them. A smaller, yet still towering fiend carrying a Glaive emerges next, followed by a man-sized thing unbound in chains like some sort of warped mockery of a mummied corpse.


This might do the scene a bit more justice. ^^; <p><table align="center" cellpadding=2><tr><td></td><td align="center">Rum, White Magic, an' Cabbits.
That's th' life fer me.

Seig No-Pants!</td><td></tr></table></p>

[SALSAlys]

Yesh...

^_^ Whoo. Go Adam! ^_^

[Squintz Altec]

Meanwhile, while Dhargun and Taela were having their painful reunion, the one formerly known as Masqueetes Theodoric Torias looked up at the sky. Squintz was also reflecting on his past, seeing a huge piece of it finally sort itself out. He looked down, and saw the Sword of Malachias buried in the ground. As far as he had tried, he could not pull it out. It was like Malachias himself had rooted it to that spot for all eternity, a grim reminder as to what had transpired in this spot. Squintz walked up to the sword, and gave it one last pull. Seeing it did nothing, he sat down.

A familiar voice rang out. "It's no use. Didn't I tell you this before?"

Squintz turned to see the person who had haunted his thoughts for the last century. Although he had only seen him once, he hadn't seen the true form of Barak. Red skin on a somewhat bishy figure stood in front of Squintz. The black feathered wings were neatly folded up behind the back of the fallen angel. Barak reached up to brush his hair, which was short and brown. His eyes burned with malice, though Squintz supposed that it would fade eventually. It was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Squintz spoke. "...yes..I see that now."

Barak walked over to the sword, and sat down. "Where are the others that defeated Malachias?"

Squintz looked down for a second. "Most likely, they are still at the Jade Dragon...I suspect that they're probably out of dragonale by now..."

"Hn. Knowing them, yes." Barak sighed and looked at the sword. "You know, you should probably loosen up and join them. There's nothing worse than a sober party pooper like you."

Squintz sighed. "...If you so much as even GLANCE at another person's thought...By my honor, I swear I will kill you. Again." The glare coming from Squintz' eyes was one that was very rarely seen on his face, showing how serious he was.

"My, my. You sure are pissy today, aren't you?" Barak chuckled, a laugh which was too familiar to Squintz. The resulting look from him was showing how 'funny' he thought the joke was.

"Leave me alone." Squintz' voice was cold as ice.

"...suit yourself then."

"...and stay out of my head."

Barak looked at Squintz for a second. "I said I will never do that again. It was necessity."

"Whatever you say."

In the months following the disappearence of Malachias and Taela, Squintz turned a new leaf. He seemed to be reborn, and changed completely. Whereas he wished to become an enchanter before, he opted to become a Bringer of Justice, a paladin. He kept and refined his enchantment skills, as they had proven useful to him once before, but he focused himself completely on the Holy arts. Whereas he once was famous for his silky-smooth manner around ladies, he now dedicated himself to one. In every way, he became more and more righteous and devout. In many ways, the day Malachias had arrived, Masqueetes Theodoric Torias died, and the beginings of Squintz Altec started to form. However, there was still one more thing that needed to fall into place before the transformation would become complete.

While Squintz was becoming more holy and more just, Dhargun was becoming the exact opposite. Whereas he was once an apprentice paladin, soon to take the trials to become one, Malak twisted him. With the demon controlling Dhargun completely, Dhargun soon abandoned all his Holy magicks, and replaced them with spells of darkness and pain. He became so black in the soul that he doubted the Holy light would ever accept him again. He became a master of the Dark arts, necromancy and Shadow magicks the best of all. His form became twisted by the demon, growing red horns, and his white hair shifting to black. His eyes glowed red with a fire of eternal hatred and anger, and his spirit was forever altered. Dhargun began to hate everything, even himself. He slowly created an undead army so that he could remedy this problem of existance.

Squintz, however, was in the happiest time of his life. He was engaged to become married, and he was preparing to take the Trials for Paladinship. Lotherial, Squintz' own father, gushed with pride in his son, while secretly wondering where his other son went. Vizel Altec, the bride to be, was preparing herself for the wedding. Squintz was laying the final enchantments to his sword, Redeemer, which he planned to become the ceremonial sword at his wedding altar. This spell DULLED the blade, so that it would not harm anyone. He could always undo this spell later, so it wasn't a major concern for him. The day was perfect, the joy was overwhelming.

Nobody knows exactly HOW Dhargun found out about the wedding. It is mostly assumed that one of his undead messengers caught wind of it. No matter, he found out. Enraged, he decided to make his move that day. Just after the ceremony was completed, a horde of zombies charged at the guests. Drawing his sword from the altar, Squintz and the guards, along with Lotherial, fought the horde. Eventually, Dhargun revealed himself at the head of his army. The sole intent of the defenders became to break through and to destroy the zombies leader, for without him, the zombies would disintegrate. However, more troops arrived, and only Squintz could break through. After a heated battle between Squintz and Dhargun, Squintz managed to knock his half-brother back, and he landed a blow to his chest that was sure to kill Dhargun. However, the same spell Squintz had cast to make the blade safe at the wedding was not undone, and the slash only cut Dhargun. Laughing, he retreated. Injured, but not dead, Dhargun decided to become more powerful. After all, he had completed his objective for that day.

When Squintz turned to help the wounded and mourn over the dead, he found his father among them. He had been overwhelmed by zombies, and was mortally wounded. Squintz never got to say good bye to him, for he died shortly after Dhargun retreated. With tears in his eyes, Squintz vowed that he would stop Dhargun, and declared it to be his Trial. He silently praised Ishtar for keeping his wife safe, and he set upon the task of taking over after his father, and leading the U'harean Guard.

The next few years passed in a blur. Squintz and his troops tried to find where Dhargun was hiding, but they were unable to. They were divided, as Dhargun would make guerilla raids against the town often. Squintz became an experienced and talented leader, inspiring his troops with his battle cry of "JUSTICE TO THE DAMNED!" This cry was later shortened to "Justice," and from there, Squintz used that name for his strongest spell. His sword, Redeemer, tasted the flesh of the damned often, and through it all, Squintz maintained his spirit, and was still completely moral and pure. He was a loving husband, and was soon to be a father. He believed that Dhargun would be stopped, and that the constant battle was weakening him. This was the largest mistake Squintz ever made.

It happened while Squintz was battling a force of skeletons. Dhargun had not revealed himself since his first attack, and so they expected he was hiding in fear. Not so. Dhargun was merely increasing his power. While Squintz was fighting, a normal raid took place upon U'harea. The guards were just about to mop up the zombie forces, when an aura of evil and darkness arrived that was so intense, the soldiers paused. This was their last mistake. Dhargun fired off bolt after bolt of pure Shadow energy, decimating the guards, and destroying some of the town. However, he soon went upon his task, and left without destroying one more thing.

Squintz came upon the town later, finding it burning. Rushing to put out the flames and hear from witnesses, a dread formed in his stomach. He returned to his house, and saw that it was in perfect order on the outside. Inside, however, was a scene of horror. Blood was on the walls and the floor, in a handwriting Squintz immediately recognized as Dhargun's. It was gloating over the anarchy he had caused..the pain he inflicted. It led...to Vizel's room. When Squintz walked into the room, he saw possibly the worst thing he could have ever seen: His pregnant wife...dead...beaten...bloodied...and raped. Squintz saw the blood formed into a letter to Squintz, giving him the exact location that Dhargun was hiding in. Squintz looked at it, read it, then left the house. Not a single emotion was displayed until he was out of sight of the image that was burned into his memory forever. He soon found it fruitless...and the sorrow in his heart released itself. Soon, the sorrow turned to anger, which turned to rage. A small voice in the back of his mind spoke...the voice of the demon known as Barak. When he had tried to posess Squintz, he failed due to Squintz' spell. Instead, he made it inside, but was unable to control Squintz. Now, though, it was time for Barak to act out his will.

Not much is known as to what happened that day, save Squintz or Dhargun themselves. Suffice to say, Dhargun was killed by Squintz, and his reign of terror ended. Squintz returned to U'harea, heralded as a hero, but Squintz in his mind regarded himself as a failure. He buried the dead, built a shrine to his departed wife and unborn son, and...disappeared. On that day, the elf known as Masqueetes Torias died forever, and Squintz Altec, bearing the surname of his beloved wife, was born. Squintz wore a mask of shame, so enchanted to turn him into a human while he wore it. His plan was to die a mortal death of old age, and be freed of the pain in his heart. However, he was unskilled with polymorphing enchantments then, and his spell was incomplete. He didn't become mortal. He just became human in appearance. For a hundred years, Squintz roamed Igala, trying to do good and atone for his supposed sins. However, nothing lasts forever, and the mask eventually was removed, and led the way to the Squintz Altec of the present.

However, Dhargun's story is incomplete. His spirit roamed, restless after his death. It took him a hundrend or some odd years for him to gain enough power to regain a mortal form. Possessing a recently killed drow, as he was drow before his death, he turned it into what he looked like BEFORE Malak posesesd him. As for Malak, he was gone as soon as Dhargun died. Malak's influence over Dhargun was gone, but Dharugn's spirit was forever corrupted. Dhargun remained a necromancer, but his power was decreased because of the demon's absence.

...And thus, this is how we are led to the current state of affairs...

(End part 3)

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/usquintzaltec.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Squintz]&nbsp; at: 9/21/02 4:26:33 am

[Uncle Pervy]

HEY! I offered to get that bastard a drink at th' Jade Dragon! He too damned good fer me hospitality 'r something? Bastard!

You should mention us a bit in this fic now and again. We did stuff too, you know :P Mentioning how we tried to destroy the blade would add a bit of flavor to it. As would squintz thinking back to some of the crazy @#%$ that happened during the battle.

Anyway, you're getting better with each post; I find less to bitch about <p><table align="center" cellpadding=2><tr><td></td><td align="center">Rum, White Magic, an' Cabbits.
That's th' life fer me.

Seig No-Pants!</td><td></tr></table></p>

[Squintz Altec]

The pure irony of this is that I was just about to add a new section that DID mention you guys. XP

[pd Rydia]

"Of course she wouldn't at first, he had only been 80 or so when he had last seen her, he had done a lot of growing up." XP Funny. I like the other bits of humor speckled throughout the story, too.

You misspell Taela as Talea occassionally.

I've always liked the frame story technique, but it's rather nifty how you have the framed story in different segments like this. *nod nod* Keep up ze good work. ^_^ <p><center><font color=navy><small><hr width="47%">The Whoosh Owns You.
<hr width="47%"></center></font></small></p>

[Squintz Altec]

Barak, who was reading the thoughts of Squintz at all times, despite what Squintz had said, heard what his former host was thinking about. "Yeah...I sure was ruthless back then..."

"Shut up." Squintz had a glare on his face that said a LOT more than 'shut up' to Barak, but Barak ignored this too.

"You really tried to hurt yourself. For really no reason. I mean, you fought honourably, just like a Paladin would."

"Paladins don't fall prey to emotion..." Squintz looked down dejectedly. "Paladins must maintain focus, and not let emotions cloud their hearts."

"That's not paladinship. That's something closer to a necromancer. A Paladin is such a good person BECAUSE they are empathetic, and they WELCOME emotions." Barak stood, and flapped his wings. "Hmm...If only Mithra was here, he'd tell you a thing or two..."

"Mithra?"

"Yes, Mithra." Barak looked at Squintz, as if to ask, "you don't know about Mithra?" He looked at the sword, and continued. "Mithra was an archangel. Him and me were pretty good buddies back when I wasn't fallen and everything. Well, I guess we're still along the same terms..but a lot of stuff has changed. Anyway, Mithra devoted himself to the pursuit of justice, and he had the means to do it. There was only one real problem. Mithra couldn't manifest himself here, in this plane, instead being stuck on the Holy plane. So, he was content to help out those who were like him." Barak looked at Squintz, then laughed.

"...what? What is so funny?" Squintz looked just about as confused as possible.

"The funny thing is that YOU were one of the people he helped! Think about it...there's no coincidence that you named your spell 'Justice.' Yeah, sure, you were the one that gave it the name, but Mithra kind of bumped you along. You, Squintz, are Mithra's first paladin, you've just never realized it."

Squintz was speechless. He just kind of stared while Barak continued.

"You've seen him before, in your dreams. You know, don't try to refute me. Mithra is the Judge. Sure, he does get a bit fanatical at times, but he is just like you."

Squintz finally mustered up the intelligence to speak. "...but...what...Malachias...how?"

Barak sighed. He would have to explain how Malachias was destroyed.

(author's note: I'm expanding what happened in that chat RP, so I hope I don't OOC the characters in it TOO much...)

Malachias roared. He was in his demonic form, which he had broken the seal on because of his sword. Having sustained wounds that he did not expect to feel, he decided to step it up. He would not fail. However, he knew that even if he did, there would be others. Malachias was but the first. But he wanted to be the last. Raising his hands, and chanelling the energy for the paralysis spell. The fighters were left unconcious, and were rendered helpless as Malachias raised his sword, ready to land the killing blow...

"NO!" A small, misshapen figure appeared on the horizon. Barak, the Barbazu demon, stood. He walked briskly toward Malachias, knowing full well he would not beat him. No...he needed the others to help him. And he knew that the one way to release them was to sacrifice all of the power that he had been granted...the power he had earned since he became a demon. He felt the energy leave him, flow into the others. He shrunk, and his form took that of a tall humanoid with red skin. His crimson eyes looked at his former Master, and he unfurled his black-feathered wings. Barak Sentia, Fallen Angel, was now almost powerless, since he gave most of it to break the spell on his allies. But he remained confident. "This time...I will not lose. Even if it takes my power."

Daien, the elven elementalist, looked around, then at his hands. "What is going on?" he asked.

Captain Pervy laughed. He had said before that Barak would fight with them, and he was vindicated. "Right! Like I was saying!"

Barak nodded, raising his staff. "This time, I fight WITH you."

Battle was joined again. While Reako Somner and Pervy discussed tactics through telepathy, and Kamos and Hakaril prepped spells, and Aya and Daien focused their minds for another devastating spell, Barak hit a button on his staff, causing the blade set in it to pop out.

After much more battling, the time had come.

The crystal infused with the proper spell began to glow, shedding its light silently. Hakaril, the one who was holding it at the time, held it in the air, preparing to harness the energy within...Barak shouted. "MITHRA! HEAR MY PLEA!"

Then the crystal shattered.

Well, that probably was the LAST thing anyone was expecting, even Barak himself, who had MADE it. "Oh, @#%$!" Hakaril said. Then, to cover himself, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I SWEAR!"

"Give it a second..." Barak wasn't giving up yet.

"So, this means we're going to kick his ass normally, right?" Kamos was becoming impatient.

"Right! We'll just have to do this th' hard way!" Pervy grinned.

Barak, who seemed to be focusing on something, opened his eyes. "NOW!"

A bright flash appeared in the air, near where they were standing. A booming voice roared. "MALACHIAS!"

The others looked about. Hakaril stated, "It sounds like the voice of God or something..."

Pervy further gloated, saying, "Sounds like yer daddy's callin'!"

Their talk was interrupted with a white winged angel flapping down onto the ground. He wore a large helmet, one that covered his eyes. 8 magnificent wings flowed from his back, 2 of which were very large. He held a staff in his right hand, and wore armor. Mithra, the Judge, had arrived.

"Malachias...I have been called..." He looked around for a second, then spoke again. "Hmm..I sense two demons here...but one isn't powerful enough to do anything."

Barak, who was the second demon, shouted. "HEY!"

"But YOU!" Mithra continued, "..are a menace to existance itself. Your very presence corrupts and blackens the souls of all who come into contact with you. So, Malachias..." Mithra rose into the air, and began to glow, "For your crimes agains existance, I sentence you to death."

Malachias roared. "NO!"

Mithra ignored that, and raised his hands. "So sayeth Mithra, The Judge. Malachias. Your judgment is guilty. Burn forever in eternal torment!"

Malachias would have screamed again, but he never had the chance. The energy that the Judge exerted was of a level most had never seen before, and not even the Pit Lord himself could handle it. He was gone, not even a speck remained of him.

Everything except the sword. The Sword of Malachias buried itself in the ground, and was immovable. Not even SPELLS would free it. And so it stood...the reminder of what happened that day...

The others had decided to celebrate, and they probably were still at the Jade Dragon. They deserved it, Barak thought. They deserved it.

"So...why couldn't Mithra have come here himself?" Squintz had sat through that entire story, and of course had questions.

"Because Malachias sealed the Holy Plane. Magic could flow through it, but beings couldn't exit. That's why I cast that spell on the crystal. Mithra used it as a focal point, so that he could slowly unmake what Malachias had done. When Malachias was weak, Mithra broke the seal, and lit up the crystal to alert me. Then, he arrived."

"Yes, that's pretty much it." A booming voice rang out. Barak and Squintz looked to the directon of the voice. A helmet covered most of the face, and the armor gleamed in the sun. the 8 wings were folded behind his back. Mithra, the God of Justice and Judgment, stood before them.

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/usquintzaltec.showPublicProfile?language=EN>Squintz]&nbsp; at: 10/5/02 2:20:33 pm

[pd Rydia]

"The crystal infused with the proper spell began to glow, shedding its light silently."

That's fucking HILARIOUS. XD

You know, in FFIV, in the SNES easytype version with yon crappy translation, at the very beginning of the game it says: "The crystal was shedding its light silently..."

Sorry, I'm a sucker for FFIV refs. ^_^

Anyway... *bump* Tell me that's not all, eh? C'mon! <p><div style="text-align:center">

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"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...an F.N.W.C.!"
-- VampireJesterJinx (VA by...Dia! :D!)</div></p>

[Squintz Altec]

Oh, it's not all, and you DID catch the ref. Even in the RP, I wrote, *the crystal sheds its light silently*. So, you're thinking right.

As soon as I get my thoughts togther, I'll continue. It has a bit to do with my current RP, so I'm eager to finish it.


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<div style="text-align:center">
People, the edit button is your friend. Use it.</div></p>Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=pdrydia>pd]&nbsp; at: 6/10/05 17:10