2. While The Hit Reaches Its Conclusion
*Rather then place this RP bit by bit, I will explain it in a
series of sentences.. probably be easier to read.*
End and Astrynax warp off to finish their fight, and both are apparently killed. Astrynax uses a bit of unknown power to revive himself and flies off to his home base, whereever that may be. End receives a warning from an unknown figure about the force of 'Mu' impending upon the world, and shortly after End is revived by Rydia. The two decide to travel to Blarhg together to consult with Dragan, apparently Dia's mentor of sorts. Along the way and into town End learns of the Rivans, a rival faction fo Dragoons, and gets to know them rather well after being captured by them, where he learns that Astrynax is the leader of this band of Dragoons, which is odd -- seeing as how Astrynax was the one who had wiped out End's original 'home'.
As End escapes, Dragan and Rydia decide to try to find the Dragoon -- the warning of 'Mu' seems to be one not to taken lightly, and as the three eventually meet again, End reveals some tortuous background on himself.. and on Astrynax's ultimate plan.. just as Astrynax orders the Rivans to storm the town. Around this time, Lance (who had a role in The Hit, too -- go read it, now) shows up, joining for his own reasons, and as the Rivans close in, the group, using Dragan's warping ability, goes to a safe location.
It seems that Asty's ultimate goal is to gather all of the crystals, absorb their latent energy, and use it at a point where magic force is strongest and release the force of Mu upon the world. In whatever case, the group decides to prevent any more Crystals from being stolen, and Lance reveals a few things -- he's a vampire, and the castle he's from had a Dark Crystal of its own.
They make their way to the Castle, just as Astrynax's Rivans are decimating the vampires.. they meet up with Asty himself at the Crystal room, and after a fairly equal battle, Astrynax simply grabs the Crystal and Warps himself away, leaving his army behind to die, no longer needing them.
As the party leaves the castle, Dragan seems to sense the planet weakening. Indeed, the earth itself seems to crumble as the winds die, the waters grow still and dark, and the skies begin to fade. It seems that Astrynax has already gotten most of the Crystals, and the final, most crucial one, is on a landmass called the.. FLOATING CONTINENT! *bum bum bum*
The Floating Continent can only be revealed by those with great magical ability and a pure heart. Astrynax has both (a pure EVIL heart, natch) and swiftly finds its location. The heroes ponder this little legend of the FC, as explained by Dragan, but End questions this, saying that even Astrynax is able to make it to the Continent, how can they?
The answer: Fluffy! Rydia manages to goad Fluffy into somehow revealing the Continent's location, and End again questions how they're going to get to it, even if they can see it. Rydia yells at End for being an idiot, reminding him that he has Black Magic and can just 'Warp' there. End yells back, and they argue briefly.. then go.
The Continent is beginning to crack apart, and End seems to sense that its core, its Crystal, of both Light and Dark, is being eaten away at by Astrynax. The group rushes forward to find themselves being pushed at and attacked by random elemental forces, but End and Rydia manage to find a way to block off these forces for a time and push until they meet with Astrynax at the center.
End finally asks Astrynax why he's gone from destroying a Dragoon Center to trying to have the world perish into Mu, and Asty simply replies that his entire Black Mage clan was destroyed by the same group of Dragoons that End himself belonged to. Rydia yells at Astrynax, saying that that's no reason to try to destroy the planet, and Dragan agrees, questioning Astrynax's attempts to 'avenge' his fallen brethren.
Astrynax simply smiles and shatters the Crystal in half. As he does so, the Continent crumbles and sends everyone falling as elemental forces spill out from the remains of the island and begin to eat away at the planet below. The Black Mage manages to catch all of the heroes with a simple incantation and tells them that they will be the first to witness the Void itself.
Dragan thinks quickly and manages to break the paralysis surrounding everyone just as Asty summons Mu itself, cracking open the atmosphere of the world itself, as the Void begins to consume the planet.
Lance rushes in and manages to rip off one of Astrynax's arms but not before he is thrown back by a lunge of gravity into Mu itself, but he is caught by End as Rydia pulls off every summon spell she knows. Dragan himself can only stand by and watch, having used his last MP to break everyone free from paralysis. Astrynax is annoyed to the extent that he begins to reflect the summons casted at him, and Dia can only do her best to dodge. Fluffy is suddenly hit, and Astrynax quickly grabs the little dragon and apparently kills it. Rydia seems to snap, and End is so enraged by this development that he finally regains full control of his draconic half and becomes a full-blooded Reshiki Dragon. He and Dia, both raging with Draconic power, begin to fight with Astrynax but finds themselves easily beaten back now by the raging succession of spells being casted by Asty.
The world is beginning to fade away completely now. End and Rydia are severely wounded, and Lance must hold off Astrynax as long as he can as Dragan, End, and Rydia begin to try to formulate a plan.
Meanwhile, the Rivans begin to head home, declaring themselves the better for having lost their PMSing-leader..
There is one last chance: End asks for everyone to make one combined attack on the Black Mage. When questioned why, End simply smiles and turns to Astrynax. Lance falls back, pondering if this is the day he dies, and Dragan criticizes him for saying so.. saying that any sacrifice in the name of preservation is a good one. The group agrees to make one last stab at it, and the three attack, being knocked back, but setting off Astrynax and his magic just enough so that End can rush forward, seize the Black Mage, and plunge into Mu, finally destroying the Black Mage once and for all.
The world itself begins to rebuild. The Crystals were not destroyed, after all -- stealing their energy does not destroy them, and will even cause them to reform with even greater energy. Dragan refers to this as greater forces at work within the planet itself, allowing the elements to once again return.
Rydia goes back to Blarhg with Fluffy (see, he's alive!) and Dragan, and Lance heads off on his own way.. apparently disappearing.
As for End.. no one knows for sure.
Edited by: Crawling Reshiki at: 6/12/02 3:03:33 am