The Twelve

[The Great Nevareh]

"Of course she's playing us. Stop acting as though it matters. And if you really need to kill her, go ahead, I guess. Words can't sate bloodlust."

[Molokidan]

Adarl ripped his sword through the air towards Lamotte, crashing into the vine-like muscles covering his body.

The half-drow used all of his strength, gritting his teeth, ripping the sword in deeper, trying to cut through the huge barrier surrounding the man.

He stood there for about five seconds, gripping his sword with white knuckles, sweat pouring down his face, his sword clenched against the left side of Lamotte's head.

Suddenly, he broke through. His sword went sliding through with a sharp crack, slicing through the man's neck.

"YOU BASTARRRRRRRD!!" Lamotte let out a monstrous bellow and reared backwards, his neck now only half-connected to his head. The red vines began to slowly peel back, revealing a body that hadn't quite finished its transformation.

He had gnarled, knobbly fingers, and there were two large bumps to the side of his stomach, as if he was in the process of growing more arms. Bones were sticking out in random places on his body, and the scar was pulsating more than ever.

His face now lacked any human characteristics. It was black, gnarled, and mutated, devoid of any compassion or emotion. Lamotte roared at Adarl, clearly quite pissed, and began a full-throttle charge at him.

****

Rall snorted at Zachary's sudden change of heart. "Well then." he smirked, stepping forward.

(OOC: I'm waiting for Theodarus to post.)

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 12/1/04 4:57 pm

[wkz]

Wait a minute, I fucked over WHO? Theodarus thought. And who's playing who!? He recalled her expression, that naturally beautiful face in an expression of remembered dispair... (or he thought he saw that) "That expression, that can't be false..." Theodarus whispered to himself, as if to vocalize his reasoning, as he watched Rall approach the zodiac.

With part of the charge in his brush, he blasted himself free from the ice. Then in a move Rall obviously did not think of, he climbed onto the ice's surface and ran carefully towards the pair.

Once there, he looked at Rall, then towards Rose behind him. "You agreed to a truce," he said as he turned back to carefully watch the person who would not listen to reason "A truce that I cannot uphold. The only thing left to do is to ensure your safety."

Then knowing full well the implications of what he was doing, especially if he had misjudged Rose, and also what Rall will do to him either way, he used the remainding charge on his brush, wrote another word, and blasted her free from the ice.

"A Banjo keeps his word," he said in the shock of the unexpected moment, "even to an enemy, even at a possible risk to his own life. Remember that. Now run..."

(Theodarus used Words of Power twice in a row. He probably will have problems charging up after that, similar to the effects of the earlier triple-usage)

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wkz@rpgww60462>wkz</A] at: 12/1/04 10:20 pm

[Molokidan]

Rose pulled herself out from the ice, giving Theodarus one look. "Th. . thank you." she said, her eyes glimmering, as she ran over the ice and began to climb down.

"You just made a HUGE mistake, asshole!!" Rall shouted, pointing his arm at Theodarus. "That's my 2.5 billion dollar bounty that you just set free!"

Suddenly a new voice boomed through the passageway. Rose had hopped off of the ice block, and was not standing a few steps down the hallway.

A hulking figure stood in front of her, cloaked by the shadows. She embraced him, nuzzling her head against what was revealed to be a large, ebony chest.

"You okay?" the man said, running a huge hand through her hair. "Did they hurt you bad?"

"No." Rose said. "I'm so glad you came to save me, Bruce."

"Good. . .good, honey." the man put an arm around Rose, stepping forward, to reveal himself. He was a hugely tall black man, with a bald head, and mirrored sunglasses. His body was massive, and he wore nothing but a short pair of jeans. He stepped forward. "Now, let's take a look at these bastards who tried to beat the hell out of my wife. . ."

He plucked his sunglasses from his eyes, tossing them to the ground, frowning. "Maybe you guys are too lame to have your own wives -- girlfriends, even. But if you did. . .you would know that if a man finds out his girlfriend's been getting BEAT, by a bunch of WHINY BITCHES, he's gonna be pretty damn pissed!!!!"

Bruce was roaring now, and his body exploded in flames. Rose stepped back a bit, shielding herself from the fire. The flames leapt from his body, invading the ice, as it began to quickly melt away.

"Help!!" Riley shouted, still stuck in the back, Fwupo scrambling beside him. "Someone get us out of here!"

The fire spread towards Theodarus and Rall, who were standing face to face with one another.

"Got anything to say for yourself, traitor?!" Rall shouted.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 12/1/04 10:35 pm

[The Great Nevareh]

"Well, if it isn't my old friend Mr. Wernhart! How are you doing? Have any more lakes of blood on your hands that you didn't have before we had our last pleasant interlude?"

Zachary gives the assassin a thumbs-up sign from his inverted point of view on the cieling.

"Now Mr. Rall, Mr. Banjo, stop caring about money and leave the man to his wife. They clearly have some catching up to do. Unless you have some suggestions as to a course of action, Mr. Banjo?"

[FF Fanatic 80]

This was the moment the half-drow had been watiing for, loss of control by his opponent. He readied himself for the charge, waiting for just the right moment. Then he readies his sword, intending to finish the strike he started earlier into the 'demon''s neck.

[Molokidan]

Adarl charged forward, his eyes blazing, his blade slicing swiftly through the beast's neck. This was the final blow, there was nothing more to it. As Lamotte's head went flying off, the body came crashing down on the half-drow, a huge weight that shocked Adarl's body as he fell against the hard sand.

He shoved the body off of him, disgusted, as blood began to pool out from the grotesque figure. The scar was no longer glowing, and all power had seemed to have been drained from the beast.

Adarl gave it one more look over, and then something caught his eye.

It seemed that, sticking out of the pocket of one of the man's shorts, which had been melded to his body far earlier, was a bit of a white circular-looking thing. . .

****

Bruce wasn't listening to Zachary, he was busy giving a disgustingly personal kiss to his wife, now hidden from the group by the high flames which were spreading along the melting ice cube.

"Yeah. That's a great idea." Rall said, crossing his arms and staring at Theodarus. "Any more great suggestions?!"

[wkz]

Sayings of Theodarus's dad went through his mind right about now: "Every Action will have at least 3 consequences, and at least one of them unexpected, and very likely downright bad.", "It is difficult to walk the honorable path, but at least you'll be able to live with yourself once the dust settles", "Beware the allies of an ally, for they might have different goals and motivations"

Well, those sayings are meant as guides for negotiations, where death does not come fast and furious. But it seems appropriate somehow.

"Rall, my actions are my own." he said to the furious one-armed man "And so are the consequences. Go. I do not know how, but I'll hold them back somehow..." And with that, he turned towards the pair of lovers, and stood his ground.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wkz@rpgww60462>wkz</A] at: 12/2/04 18:32

[Molokidan]

"Hmph." Rall smirked. The vein continued to pulse on his forehead, although his angry face seemed to have taken a chaotic turn for the worst. "You're pretty crazy, Banjo." he said. "You risked your life to save Negi after using him as a meat shield, and now you're risking your life against not one, but two deadly assassins, for reasons that must be beyond me."

He ran his hand up and down his metal arm, and pointed it at the oncoming flames. "So be it, then." he laughed. "I'm not going to let you take all the credit for killing these bastards!"

Rall turned to look back quickly. Somehow, Fwupo and Riley had escaped from their arctic tombs, and had escaped into one of the rooms behind them. He turned his head back. "First, we have to get rid of these flames." he said.

He pointed his metal arm upwards, and a small nozzle began to move out from the black abyss between the clamp. After a few seconds of nothing, a wide, bright stream of energy came blasting out, smashing through the flames and thinning them out, if anything.

The ice cube continued to melt. They were now standing about half of the height of the original cube, and it had gotten much slippery. No one was going to be doing any quick movements without slipping and cracking their heads open.

Meanwhile, the flames were rising up the walls, starting to reach Zachary's perch. He could still barely see Bruce, and he had finished 'caring for' his wife, and was now standing behind the flames, with his arms crossed, grinning.

[The Great Nevareh]

What an interesting control phenomenon of flame... Though with the flame around, Rose can't use her powers without interfering with Bruce's abilities, and Bruce can't throw fire everywhere because he might evaporate his wife. He either doesn't know much about chemistry or his flames aren't sustained in the usual fashion- He'll be suffering some oxygen depravation if the fires get too close to him. And burn too long. Still, I can't tamp down fire with my own abilities. Why isn't Banjo doing anything? I set him up to use his powers, and I don't think I can manipulate these people into being unwitting stooges for me to set up my attacks...


Rose, as long as she's close to Bruce, can't become water out of fear of evaporation... So she's useless unless Bruce doesn't use his powers of fire (or she puts out his fires). So long as Bruce fights to the best of his ability, he's our only opponent... How should I work this out, though? I could try to crush them while forfeiting my position up here, but last time I tried to do something like that I created a pocket dimension. Maybe I should try again with lower power... Maybe if, by endangering Rose, Bruce will act differently. Or vice-versa. Can he see through flame? Just got to remember where he is. Don't like it here anyway. Too drafty.

Zachary relinquishes his control of personal gravity and falls to the floor- he tries to manage it to he inverts and lands on his feet, but doing so perfectly might require coordination that Zachary doesn't have.

If he manages to land on his feet, he'll start preparing a Burst of Force to throw into the flame wall, just to see what will happen.

[Molokidan]

Zachary began to fall to the ground. He managed to successfully re-locate his body in mid-air, but as he hit the ice cube, his feet were thrown off-kilter due to the slipper surface, and he slid a bit, falling onto his backside. It wasn't particularly painful, but not the most stylish way to complete a landing.

"Oh, look who decided to join us." Rall snorted, continuing to spray the flames with his beam, not making much of a difference. "You got any magic tricks you've been saving up till now, buddy?"

The flames were now a bit closer to the group, encircling them. In just a few more moments, the flames would probably reach the back wall, and would be well on their way to totally enclosing the trio within the wall of fire.

Zachary got to his feet and began charging a Burst of Force, quickly sending it off towards the wall of fire.

It made a large circle of clear air for a second, and for that moment, Zachary was able to get a clear look at Bruce's face, and vice-versa. Then, the hole closed up with more flames.

"Ooooh. . ." Bruce growled from the other side. "So you came after my wife, huh? Boy, you must really wanna piss me off."

He put his sunglasses back on and stepped through the flames, increasing the level of the ones around himself, now that he wasn't next to his wife.

He said nothing more, but started to crouch, and curled his flaming body upwards. It seemed as if he was preparing some sort of move. . .

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 12/3/04 3:57

[wkz]

Meanwhile, Theodarus had not been idle. He had been reviewing Rose's sad history, preparing the set of feelings and tones required to vocally control his target.

"The distance is going to be a problem... but there's no help for it I guess. Lets hope this works....." Theodarus thought. Then he jogged towards the flames, towards Bruce, and more importantly, towards Rose.

Just as the heat reached unbearable levels, Theodarus shouted, his voice a mix of tortured desperation and utter dispair, yet strangely sounding like something a father-figure would ask...

"Rose! Help Us!"

(Theodarus uses "Word of Command". Let's throw a dice or something :D )

[The Great Nevareh]

"After your wife? Why would I go after your wife? I have a family of my own, you know. But this is neither the time nor the place."

The floor should soon be awash in liquid as it was a short time ago, which Zachary would not prefer- He'd rather brave fire than water.

To hinder Bruce's movement, though, he releases the Burst that he had prepared beforehand at the man enshrouded in flame. The chance that it hits is minimal, but it will definitely serve to grab his attention.

[Molokidan]

(OOC: D. . .dice? What is this "dice" you speak of?)

"Theo! You idiot! Where the hell are you going!?" Rall shouted, as Theodarus ran off towards the flame, totally bypassing Bruce.

He ran towards the flame, the tongues of the fire licking against his robes. He tried to shield himself from the smoke, and called out to Rose.

"You're asking me to help you. . .?" she asked. "Help three random strangers who are threatening me and my husband?" she laughed. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Meanwhile, the Burst of Force hit Bruce head-on, knocking him back a few steps into his own flames.

"Ooof. . ." he said, getting up and rubbing his chest where the burst had struck him. "I had to use some power to guard against that one. . .you sure are annoying, kid."

With that, he began to spin around, the flames erupting around him, and suddenly shot off towards Zachary, spiraling in the air, heading straight for the Runic Knight.

[FF Fanatic 80]

"...perhaps now you will know some peace..." Adarl mumbles, as he approaches the corpse. Taking a quick look around himself, just on the off chance someone was in hiding observing, he goes to remove the object.

[The Great Nevareh]

Zachary, thinking fast, does almost exactly what he did to Rose (who was standing still) to Bruce (who is also standing still)- Specifically he throws out a 100 G's effect on Bruce as he flies at him, and then triggers his own speedy charge attack- And will attempt to overpower the potentially semi-stunned superpower.

That and fire doesn't have any force behind it- just heat. So if he goes through it fast enough, he won't feel a thing.
Well maybe something. After all, fire isn't matter. So it can't stop him.

Probably not all that wise, but Zachary needs the badges, and is death all that bad?

(100 G's on Bruce, just the normal effect to slow him down/stun him, Paint it Black attack)

Edited by: The Great Nevareh at: 12/4/04 0:08

[wkz]

"Ok, wiseguy, that Word of Command did not work...." Theodarus thought to himself, "Now what?"

He watched as Bruce shot a .....something towards his 'flying' ally. (he can't see clearly from his vantage point, with a wall of fire right in front of him and all) "I have to assist him at least... .... .... this is sure going to hurt...."

With that thought, he ran towards Rose. Yup, through the flames and all. Flames caught all over his clothing, licking at a whole lot of combustable paper underneith, the temporarly fireball ran towards the hopefully-surprised pair of zodiacs, with the intention of wrapping his arms tightly around Rose.


"This is for not honoring a TRUCE!!" Theodarus shouted, flames lapping around both Rose and himself, as his arms locked around his target.....

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wkz@rpgww60462>wkz</A] at: 12/6/04 0:22

[Molokidan]

Adarl reached down and took the badge out of the deceased man's pocket. It was a clear white badge with the number "43" on it.

With this and the other two badges Adarl owned, he now had enough points to make it through the final door. And he was already on the third floor.

Behind him stood the door back to the main hallway.

****

Bruce was grounded in mid-air, slamming his huge body down against the sliver that was left of the ice-cube, sending cracks all along the surface.

As Bruce was picking himself up, Zachary went flying into him, smashing into his chest and propelling him backwards.

As they flew, Zachary could feel his head in between Bruce's pecs. The man quickly wrapped his flaming arms around the Runic Knight, as they sailed backwards.

The two went flying through the flames, coming to a stop as Bruce's back smashed into a wall. He groaned, but did not let up his hold on Zachary.

Their faces mere centimeters away from each other, Bruce grinned down as Zachary. Zachary couldn't tell whether or not he had broken any bones yet, as he was still in the clutches of his enemy. Bruce simply grinned through the pain, and intensified the flames even more.

Zachary could now hardly breath, as he was trapped in a whirling cyclone of fire, which was in turn surrounded by the flames throughout the room.

Rall stood back in shock, as his eyes flitted between the two fights, not sure what to do.

Meanwhile, Theodarus threw himself through another wall of fire. His clothes immediately erupted into flames, turning him into a huge human fireball. He fell forwards, locking his arms around rose, imitating Bruce's action just seconds before.

She screamed in shock, writhing beneath him, and soon dissipated into a puddle of water, that was becoming consumed by Theodarus's flames. Would the flames that were currently eating away at Theo's clothes and paper be able to do her in as well? Or was it not enough. . .?

[The Great Nevareh]

Zachary, now that he was within extreme short range of Bruce, makes a last-ditch effort to kill the man with point-blank Burst of Force... straight to the heart. He doesn't really need the staff movement, though since he's so used to it, he probably can't do as powerful a surge... but at this range, the surge would start inside of Bruce's chest.

If it doesn't disable Bruce, it might at least buy Zachary enough time to get away from the bearhug. Flame-resistant coat or no, he can't stand up to much of this.

That, and once his armor gets too hot, he's dead no matter what he does.

[Molokidan]

Zachary struck Bruce hard with the Burst of Force, and ripped himself out from the man's grasp, falling to the floor, his body still covered in flames.

His face had been towards the man's chest when Bruce had erupted into fire, and now it was on the floor, so he luckilly was not suffering any burn wounds on his hands.

His robes, however, were little more than scraps, and the fire was beginning to truly cook his armor, He could feel that a bit of his hair was on fire as well. Bruce was not moving, and was still in the same position. It was impossible to tell whether he was dead or not, but Zachary had more important things to worry about. Namely, how to remove the fire from his body before he killed himself.

[The Great Nevareh]

And now the coup de grace!

Completely ignoring his own pain and misfortune, Zachary picks himself up and proceeds to dry to do a dance on the back of Bruce's neck. You can never be too sure. A few jumps and an interesting rendition of "The People's Elbow" later, Zachary might begin to worry about his own burning flesh.

Edited by: The Great Nevareh at: 12/5/04 18:10

[wkz]

Theodaurs, in the meantime, was either being extremely savage, or desperately trying to save himself: He was rolling his burning body up and down the puddle of water, the same puddle which Rose had dissolved into...

[FF Fanatic 80]

It seemed his current task was half over, as he looked over the badges in his hand. But it would likely be just as, if not more, difficult from here on.

I will make it through this... and I will find out what he wants. Adarl thinks to himself, as he packs the badges away and starts for the door.

Why did you let me live, when your comrades wanted me dead...

Is it truly feelings for me, or something else...?

He shook off the thoughts for now, realizing now was not the best time to be distracted. Adarl approaches the door cautiously, making sure to keep behind cover as he opens it. He glances about to get his bearings.

[Molokidan]

(OOC: Some descriptions of what both of you were wearing underneath your robes would be nice!)

Zachary jumped back at his foe, endangering himself even further, to ensure that his opponent was indeed killed.

At this point, the flames had totally destroyed his robes, and he was down to his armor, which was now cooking rather nicely.

He of course, had burn wounds in the making across the small parts of his naked flesh, excluding his face, which had been guarded from the flames by his hair, which was now singed beyond belief and growing very thin.

Although he had temporarily ignored the pain, there was still no ignoring the tiredness that was overtaking him. Part of it was from the recent repetitive attacking he was doing, combined with the concentration he had used to keep himself on the ceiling earlier, and another part of it was the flames that were now eating his body.

With the amount of flames still on his armor, it was almost like being in an oven. A few more minutes of cooking between the metal plates, and Zachary would become a runic casserole. On the flipside, Bruce was now surely unconscious, blood dripping from his mouth, and multiple wounds around his body.

While the cyclone of flame that was previously engulfing had now dissipated, the flames that Bruce had set earlier were still tearing through the room. Rall was busy with his laser, trying to put them out, and failing rather miserably.

Meanwhile, Theodarus rolled himself in Rose's water, his burning robes quickly soaking up the fluid, ceasing the burning.

He was left with a charred, ripped cloak, which was now very damp. The question remained: At this point, with most of the water that Rose had created evaporated. . .was the remaining water, absorbed into Theodarus's robes, hair, and boots. . .be enough to bring her back?

****

Adarl stepped out of the door, looking around warily. As he completely removed himself from the sandy world, however, he saw a familiar face staring at him in shock.

It was Jemyle Parkins.

He was currently squashed under a huge, concrete boulder. Someone had apparently knocked the wall out, and caused it to fall on the poor man. As he saw Adarl, his eyes widened.

"Adarl!!" he shouted. "Oh, thank god, it's you!! I thought I was going to die under this thing. It's so damn heavy. . .I can't pull myself out. Man, I am so lucky you came up here. I was fighting this huge guy who freakin' punched a wall out! As you can see, I'm pretty much done for. A few of my bones are broken, as well. All my badges are gone. I'm not even thinking of continuing at this point. . .I just want to escape with my life. You gotta help me!"

Ahead of Adarl, a little bit past Jemyle, were the golden doors to the final floor, opened just a tad, but not enough to glimpse of what was beyond them. There was no one else in the hallway, besides the half-drow and the small man crushed beneath the fallen wall.

[The Great Nevareh]

At this point in time, Zachary begins a mad dash to remove his armor, thus leaving him with his light blue shirt, his mostly destroyed pants, his entirely destroyed boots, the ashes that were once his gloves, the scraps that are all that remain of his cloat, and... well, not much else. He does make sure to prevent the badges from melting into wonderful little piles of molten plastic, but once he's out of his armor, he's going to put out his hair and make his way over to one of the less on-fire spots of the room and take a load off.

Oof.

"Hey, someone stab Bruce over there a couple hundred times to make sure he doesn't get back up. I wouldn't trust him to stay down after a heart attack and a cha-cha on his spine. And I call his badges. I need all the badges I can get. Now someone wake me when it's over."

And with that he slumps back, closes his eyes, and ignores the world.

[Molokidan]

Rall watched Zachary run over, give his speech, and then slump over in the middle of the floor, all the time eyeing the man as a scentist would eye a rare, frightening new specimen.

He scratched his hair and looked at the fire. It was certainly weakening, but was still tearing about the room.

"You can have the badges, sure. . ." he said, looking over at the crumpled body of Bruce. "I just want the man's head." he grinned.

Suddenly he snapped his head around, looking around for Theodarus. The man had been standing around earlier, but now he was nowhere to be seen over the high walls of flame.

"Shit. . ." Rall said. "He better not have done anything else too stupid."

With that, Rall picked Zachary over his shoulder and walked to the back, dodging a few flames across the ground, and then walked into the medical room.

Negi was sitting on the cot, looking a lot better. "You alright now?" Rall asked.

"Yeah." Negi said, craning his neck to look at Zachary. "What happened?"

"We ran into 2 Zodiacs." Rall said. "I'll tell you everything later. There still might be one out there. This guy took down one by himself."

"Whew. . ." Negi said, hopping off of the cot and staring at Zachary in awe. "'zat so?"

"Yeah." Rall tossed Zachary down on the table. "PRetty crazy stuff, eh?"

"Oh, by the way." Negi said, turning to Rall. "Riley and the little guy came through here. They told me to tell you guys that they found another entrance to the third floor. It's in the room next to this one, and apparently it leads straight up to the exit."

"I see!" It was Rall's turn to be surprised. "Anyway, that's good news, even though those two guys skipped out on us. I guess in retrospect, it was best for them to get out of the way anyway. I have to go search for the other guy, so if you'll excuse me. . ."

"Theo?" Negi threw the name out experimentally.

"Tall guy, kinda slim, right?" Rall turned around.

"Yeah." Negi sighed, rubbing his forehead. "The one who saved me, right?"

"Yeah, that was him."

Sheesh. . ." Negi said, opening the door and following Rall out to search for Theodarus. "Looks like I may be able to repay your favor after all."

[wkz]

Theodarus could feel the heat around him, but continued to remain in the puddle of water now that the fire's out. He sat up in the small puddle of safety around the flames and did a little examination of himself for injuries.

Most of his paper, and some of his brushes were burnt out together with his overcoat, revealing a long-sleeved white shirt (burnt into a short-sleeved gray shirt by now), and his pants had become a sort of mis-matched length shorts. A lot of his bare skin was burnt to some degree, although he could not make a guess whether if it was bad. And he's wet...

"Rose?" he said out, both hands reaching into the puddle, scooping a handful of water. Lifeless water. Water from a person whom he might have killed. "Dammit, Why!" he choked, remembering the expression Rose had when talking about her past. "Why do I have to be forced to kill you!!"

His eyes adding to the puddle, he slumped where he sat, uncaring of the heat on his bare skin...


(As mentioned somewhere in the front of this RP, Theo really hates to see people die....

Also: I went back to look at Theo's character sheet, and found that there really wasn't much in terms of actual physical description. So I'll use a sterotype to explain his appearance: British Threads (Formal Wear).

Think something lacey, like what a court noble will wear in the British Court, or what Russel's character was wearing in "Master and Commander" (complete with gloves, silver-trimmings/buttons and leather boots.). Something distinguished and seemly with LOTS of history and power behind it, even when the person wearing it had rolled in the dirt. Colour is darkish sky blue outside, white inside. No overcoat/cape

And he has a long, blond hair tied in a unique sort of ponytail with ribbon, the style that was popular in those days. And last of all, he's clean-shaven, although he kept his sideburns to make himself "look older"

And, as mentioned by Molo several times, he's frail, tall and thin....)

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wkz@rpgww60462>wkz</A] at: 12/6/04 21:49

[Molokidan]

From the water that Theodarus had scooped in his hand, pretty much all that was left in the room, Rose began to appear.

At first it was her hair, and then it was almost like Theodarus was cradling her head in his hands. Finally, her body seemed to slide out of Theodarus, out of the water in his hands, and she stepped out of the tiny pool and stood above Theodarus.

She looked down at him, and although her face was wet, he thought he could see a stream of tears running through the midst of the water on her face. She coughed suddenly, falling to her knees, water spurting out of her throat, much like blood would do.

She now turned to face him, their eyes at the same level. "Why do you help me. . ."

<<<HE IS YOUR ENEMY, YOU MUST KILL>>>

Her eyes seemed to roll back in her head for a bit, and she coughed again, staring at Theodarus. She blinked, as if she was having a sort of seizure. There seemed to be two type of eyes to her, the compassionate one that Theodarus had seen before, and then the ones that he was seeing now. The ones that made him feel like his life was in danger.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 12/6/04 22:21

[wkz]

Through the tears, Theodarus saw Rose's eyes change almost in a struggle, and recognized mind-control for what it is. "No..." he whispered, knowing what he had to do to save himself, yet reluctant to do so... "No, don't make me do this..... fight the mind control Rose. Fight it!!"

The more sensible (and cruel) part of the mind was prepared to sweep his hands forcefully through the watery, not-quite-solid-yet enemy, but Theodarus continued to hesitate....

[Molokidan]

Rose grasped her head, trying desperately to listen to Theodarus and fight off the urges she had at the same time. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body seemed to shake, as if she was convulsing.

She lay on her back, on the floor, writhing in agony, as a million thoughts raced through her head.

From this day forth you are mine. . . She remembered Kaen telling her this as she laid in his arms, and she stared at the destruction of the building, from an airship high above the wreckage.We will be together, with 10 others, and pave a new civilization for this lost world. . .

Her situation wasn't looking up. If someone didn't do something fast. . .

[The Great Nevareh]

"Keep his head. Cut it off now. Make sure that bastard's dead. Several times over. And I need the badges to continue the tourney. Chris has my original badge, so I need five of them to qualify for the next round... and please don't stop supporting me. Standing up doesn't look like something I can do anytime soon. Where's Rosie? Ooof."

[wkz]

"Darn it! I have nothing to counter mind-control!" Theodarus thought to himself, as he watch Rose in agony on the ground, the mind control winning with each second. There was only one option left....

Shutting his eyes tightly, Theodarus finally swept his arms around, headed towards the still-watery neck, intending to break it....

[Molokidan]

"Don't worry." Rall said to Zachary, almost in an afterthought. "The head's mine."

And with that, Rall and Negi stepped out of the door, and went moving over to the huge body of Bruce, which was now slumped on the ground.

Rall approached Bruce cautiously, holding his metal toenail-clipper arm out in front of him, the blade on the top twisted forward.

He took one step. . .

And then another. . .

And then finally, put his blade next to Bruce's neck. "Looks like your goose is cooked, buddy." he smirked.

Suddenly, he saw a flicker of a flame -- and as soon as he saw it, he brought his blade down, down, through Bruce's neck, sawing off the head in and instant.

As Bruce's head rolled to the ground, Rall blinked and tried to look at the spot where he thought he saw a flame. Had it really been there? Was it just an echo from the fire? Or was he just going nuts?

"Whatever. . ." he muttered, pulling a strange metal square out of his pocket. He placed the square on the top of Bruce's head, and out of it, came a large chain mesh covering. It spread out across Bruce's head, finally coming together at the bottom. Rall picked up the square, looked at the bag to see that it had sealed properly, and slung it over his back.

He stared down at the corpse, and looked through the pants, which had somehow not been burnt from all the fireworks Bruce had been doing.

"Well, shit." Rall said, his hands digging through Bruce's pockets. "This guy's gotta have about eight badges on him." He emptied the man's pockets, filling his pockets with theb badges. "That about does it." he said, turning to Negi.

"Right." Negi said. "Now let's look for Theodarus."

Meanwhile, Rose looked up to Theodarus, and her eyes momentarily stopping their reeling as he wrapped his hands around her neck. She seemed to stare deep, deep into him, and a smile broke through on her face.

"Kaen. . ." she said. "The day he took me from the building, he took my life as well." And then, as if she forgot something, she suddenly pursed her lips. "No. . .that's not true. I never had a life of my own in the first place." she stared up at Theodarus, as he tightened his grip.

He kept his eyes shut, trying to block out everything, and slowly found his hands finding their way not around her neck, but inside it, as if he was digging deep into her. It felt wet, too, and soft. He squeezed harder, harder, under there was nothing left but water in his hands.

It spilled through his fingertips, which were not bloody at all, dropping on the floor again. It was not much more than the original amount of water that Theodarus had picked up.

Then, he could hear the voice of Negi, far beyond the dying flames around him. "Theo! Theo! Where are ya, buddy?"

The water was on the floor, but its texture had changed completely. It seemed. . .empty. As if, if it was poured in a pot, nothing would grow. As if, if it was drunk, there would be no energy to had from it. As if. . .the life had been utterly drained from it.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 12/7/04 6:31

[FF Fanatic 80]

Adarl looked the man over, then glanced at the door. This is what he had been waiting for, a chance to pass onto the next round, and finally get his questions answered.

Whereas he barely knew the man named Jemyle. In their brief time together, the man was not entirely forthcoming about himself. Something he was not sure was worth risking his own safety over. So he looked over the man once more, then spoke.

"...I warned you, several times as we came across one another, that you should not count on anyone during this tournament. I went againts my own advice, and have paid the price several times. Give me one good reason why I should help you, or how I can possibly believe you will not try to betray me as well."

He would only give Jemyle a moment to answer, before making his decision.

[Molokidan]

"Come on!" Jemyle begged. "What are you talking about? We know each other plenty! We were a TEAM!" He looked at Adarl with wide eyes. "All you gotta do is lift this stone off me! It doesn't even require any thinking, for god's sake! Then you can run through exit! Come on, man. Show me you aren't a cold-hearted monster like all the other people in this tournament. Show me that you're the true-hearted warrior I know you are." Obviously, he was really trying hard at this point. It seemed as if he really wanted to get that stone off of himself.

[The Great Nevareh]

"I need... five. Or three. Or something. Did you cut off his head?"

[wkz]

Theodarus could feel the water drip from his hands. It felt as if... no, it IS a life dripping beyond any salvation, sinking into the earth, sinking into the afterworld. A life now dead, by his own hands.

He did not see her death, but he could feel the last bits of life flowing through her neck, could hear her last words despite not wanting to. Words longing for a life of her own. A life she did not have, to be true, but a life ended before she found what she wanted.

The first life Theodarus ever ended, guilty only for being born into the wrong circumstances...

He could hear Negi calling out, could feel the heat from the flames nearby, but he was beyond caring. Theodarus Banjo just continued to stare at the evapourating wetness on his hands, denying to himself what had happened, numb to the world...

[Molokidan]

Rall turned around, arching an eyebrow at Zachary's words. "If you're energetic enough to shout at me, get your ass out here and help us find Theodarus." he shouted. "And of course I took the head. If you want your damn badges, get on out here and take 'em."

Negi ignored his fellow bounty hunter, searching through the flames for Theodarus.

"Theo!" he continued to shout, finally coming upon what he thought was a tuft of the man's hair, and then finally stepping forward to see the beginning of a head.

Theodarus was staring down at a puddle of water solemnly. It didn't take long for Negi to figure out what was going on. He gave Theodarus a deep stare from behind him, and then let out a sigh. "At least you're alright." he said softly. "I won't say anymore. Just tell us when you're ready to move on." He said, turning around to make his way back through the flames.

[wkz]

"I'm.... I'm ok, I think" Theodarus said after listening to his ally's words, duty and honor of his word compelling him to move despite his grief.

"Although I think I may need some help standing up..."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wkz@rpgww60462>wkz</A] at: 12/9/04 2:42

[Molokidan]

"Now THAT I can do." Negi smiled, offering four arms under Theodarus, easily hefting him up from the ground and onto his feet.

As Theo stood up, Negi gave him a thick, honest smile, staring him in the eyes. "I still owe you." he said. "I won't forget."

The two made their way back to the entrance to the medical room, where Rall was standing, slouched, holding the bag containing Bruce's head at his side like it was a purse.

He stared at Negi, looked to Theodarus, and nodded swiftly, looking back into the room. "How's the human cannoball doing?" he shouted sarcastically into the medical room. "If everyone's ready, I suggest we high-tail our asses out of this frying pan and up to the third floor."