main plot The Taste of Death

[kenod]

Kumiko saw the Phoenix rise again, and lifted off herself, hovering above a building near it. She wasn't sure what it was doing, and decided to wait until it became clear. She looked around, seeing the black phoenix destroy the PlasmaCore building and shrugged. It wasn't her issue in the first place. She only cared about the other Phoenix, the one who had brought her those memories. Her face grew dark when she thought of that, and she started wondering if she should kill it here and now. She shook her head. It was too beautiful to be killed like that, no matter what it had done. Besides, she should thank it for giving it her first good fight in more than a year. Noticing some movement in the corner of her eye she looked over, and saw someone spectating them on the ground. She shrugged, not really caring about them. The figure did seem familiar though...

***

KanMien sat on the ground, ignoring the rest of the group. They hated the Alleystorm, the way it felt when it enhanced their spikes. They wondered about how Kumiko was. She had said that she had everything in hand, and she probably would be alright, but they hated the feeling of not knowing for sure. Besides, they told themselves, it would be good to have more information about was was going on, right?

They looked at the others. It didn't seem as if the group was going to do anything, so they could probably leave, right? They looked up at Voidus. "I'm going to take a look at the situation outside, sir." They said in an emotionless tone. Rust, they hated how that storm made them sound. They walked out of the alley, past the burning PlasmaCore building, looking at the Phoenixes. Multiple Phoenixes? They thought, surprised. No, they thought, tapping their zinc and taking a closer look. Two of them lacked substance, and one of those was the wrong color. They thought about it. Those two were copies, probably. People who used their powers to emulate the Phoenix. One was likely Kumiko, probably the golden one, given their abilities, but who was the other? They shook their head, and continued watching, alley close by in case a quick escape was necessary.

***

Just after KanMien left the alley a large black fox moved through it, stopping behind the group. It took care to stay within the area that was still part of the Alleys, not crossing into the normal world. "Hello," it said. The voice had a strange sound to it. It sounded feminine, but with strange reverberations, as if multiple voices were overlapping with each other.

[Fatebreaker]

“Yes.”

She looked into his face, and he saw it. She was breaking. She probably didn’t even realize it herself, but there were cracks forming. Could she continue? They would find out. “Then I offer you a Choice. Would you have Power, or Subtlety?”

The Coin shot from her hand, cutting through the air and thudding into the Stranger’s waiting palm. He caught it and it began to dance across his fingers. Then he flicked it, sending it spinning straight upwards. It reached the peak of it’s ascent and held there, still spinning as it floated.

“Would you steal the secrets of the world with cunning and guile? Would you wear a thousand faces and have none of your own? Or would you tear secrets out with your bare hands from those who would keep them from you? Would you rip the truth from the hearts of your enemies?”

The Coin spun faster and faster, becoming a blur. The Stranger reached within his coat and pulled out two long metal spikes, dripping with a crimson liquid. The Shadows began emerging from him, the figures sorrowful, raging, writhing in their spectral forms. Alleystorm seemed to scream with wordless fury. 

“This choice I offer you, but know that you will never be who you once were. Are you seeking to build upon a weakness, or are you someone seeking to hide the fact that you are weak?”

His eye spike glowed, his right eye deepened, and his voice was as cold and sharp as a scalpel.

@ZincAboutIt

[+ZincAboutIt]

“Then I offer you a Choice. Would you have Power, or Subtlety?”

Lita felt the Coin slip through her fingers and twine around the Stranger's instead. Then he flicked it into the air, where it remained, spinning faster and faster until it looked like a tiny star in truth - golden and bright in the dark fury of the Storm.

The whole of her life pushed her toward Subtlety. She was the Tineye, the secret-keeper, the girl in the shadows. The one to send in first, quiet and quick as lying.

The Stranger continued. “Would you steal the secrets of the world with cunning and guile? Would you wear a thousand faces and have none of your own?"

'My little Tineye,' Forian murmured into her ear, wrapping her in a mink shawl. 'My beautiful little secret...'

He had passed her around like a party favor, and she had been his little knife. A sharp tool in the hands of dull men, again and again. Restraint, caution, listening, waiting.

Obedience.

"Or would you tear secrets out with your bare hands from those who would keep them from you? Would you rip the truth from the hearts of your enemies?”

'What do you think would happen once she realized she was a mistake?'

She saw Forian's eyes in the lamplight, glassy and wide through the haze of her cigarette smoke. Handsome even in death - though death had not come gentle. She had chosen the subtle way, cyanide in a snifter of brandy. Poison - a woman's weapon, they called it. The way out for someone with meager power.

I should have carved your heart out, Forian, Lita thought. She had been weak then, weak her whole life. Unwanted, unknown, a tool. A toy.

Before her, the Stranger pulled two long spikes from within his coat, dripping red. Ghostly shapes bloomed around him, twisted, moving, screaming in the hardened darkness of the Storm. All was sound and rain and agony, but still she heard him.

“This choice I offer you, but know that you will never be who you once were. Are you seeking to build upon a weakness, or are you someone seeking to hide the fact that you are weak?”

All her life she had been subtle, trailing in the wake of powerful people. Forian, her employers in the Alleycity, and now the Dark Alley. A knife in the dark. Knowledge was power, but she had never kept enough of that power for herself. She couldn't hold onto it. Lita had danced around the truth of the world, waiting for someone to lift the curtain so she could see backstage. Cunning. Guile. Weakness.

But not anymore. Now, she would hold her own knife. The price was irrelevant - she had been paying it already. Always under another's heel - until now. 

"The time for weakness is over," she whispered, watching blood drip from the tips of both spikes. Her heart was a malestrom in her ears, rivaling even the Storm. "I seek to build." 

@Fatebreaker

Quote

For clarification she's choosing Power.

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by ZincAboutIt

[I think I am here.]

Why do you say lies as though they were true? You say you want something but do a different thing. You... you are not the one who called me first? The one who stood here and fought? That one understood. You don't understand.

The voice caught Max off guard and he flinched at the response. It sounded... vast. And vaguely female, though of course Max knew this wasn’t Althea.

Althea. She moved closer to him and Max squeezed her hand gently. The Phoenix, he realised. It was talking to him. Or was it a hallucination brought on by all the stress? Harmony knows it wouldn’t be the first one of those.

The one who fought? I never fought, not you at least.

Mac thought, wondered who the Phoenix could be referring to, though it didn’t take much detective work. There were only three times the Phoenix had been summoned into the public, and two of them had been Max. The third, and first one of the summonings was all the way in the Seven Day War.

Rashan. Even while doing one of the seemingly impossible things of the Alleyverse Max still somehow remained in his shadow.

I know who you’re thinking about. No, I’m not him. Unfortunately, Max almost let slide. And I’m sorry if I don’t understand you. I’m just confused.

And I’m not lying. I don’t want to do this. I didn’t. But I did because they took my wife.

Did the Phoenix even know what that was?

They took someone I loved, and said they’d kill them if I didn’t summon you. And now, I just want to live, but I think you’re going to try and kill me as soon as I let you go, so I don’t let you go. It’s comlicated.

It was complicated. And Max hoped the Phoenix could understand, because once the AlleyStorm dwindled the Phoenix would be out of his control anyway, and whether he wanted it to or not it would probably hunt him down.

@Voidus

—-—

Wes took the shirt with reverence. “Thanks, sir.” He said and paused, looked at it for a second. Very quickly he ripped the tattered remains of cloak he had on and slid on the shirt, very briefly exposing the massive scar that ran across his back, thicker than a plank of wood and running down its length.

Seom had seen the scar before. And Wes hoped that was all who’d seen it, though he knew, Mike had probably seen it as well now.

—-—

“We did succeed,” Shez/Alask said.

“And that is ‘we’ as in all of us, not ‘we’ as in Shez and Alask. Although in our own way we’ve succeeded as well.”

They looked around. “We should go back to the Forge. Our work is done.”

@Sorana

Edited July 17, 2019 by I think I am here.

[+Ark1002]

Chaos. The Dark Phoenix screeched. It had taken the other Phoenix. The Red Phoenix. Her very soul ached at the thought of the Enemy controlling her mind, directing her, enslaving her. Then she realized something. The Alleystorm gave her more power. It also gave her more control. She changed the way her mindlinks worked, and directed them. All of them. Into the Enemy. Not an image. Not words. Just a feeling, all encompassing. Like Rioting and Soothing, but worse. Every thought would be overloaded with the feeling. The senses would shut down. The mind would blank, except for this emotion. The emotion was one thing. <Shame> The enemy would have his mind blanked for a full five seconds, and only feel shame. She howled in satisfaction, and did a small loop in the sky.

Dark Phoenix would kill them. Burn them. They were ants to be crushed, a disgusting slime on the face of the earth. She would compete for the sky with the Red Phoenix, but this was more important. Kill them all. In a flash, she turned, directing all her power, all of it, toward the PlasmaCore building. Her form shrunk to a small Phoenix, maybe half of the size of the Red Phoenix. But the blast of heat, in a beam, broke the air around it. The sound of thunder resonated through the city, but it didn't stop. It. Just. Kept. Going. And the PlasmaCore building, at the top, slowly moving down, began to melt.

She howled her frustration into the heavens as it burnt.

[Voidus]

She waited for the response, waited in the endless darkness, only vaguely aware of what was happening around her body. The Rival had begun burning brighter, begun the process of reducing the Enemy of Stone to cinders. The Rival knew what to do with Enemies, they understood. Nearby the Pretender hovered, neither running nor attacking. She didn't fully understand why, she was stationary, should be an easy target. Not attacking her in this state could only be called naive. But she still liked that kind of naivety, it spoke to simple and honest ideals. They didn't want to destroy an easy target, they wanted her to fight back, they wanted to Live. They understood.

Why did the Enemy not understand?

The one who fought? I never fought, not you at least. The voice called out.

So it was a different Enemy. It didn't change anything, she would still need to hunt them. But she did feel a spark of pride flare back up that she had at least destroyed the other Enemy as she'd thought. They hadn't managed to survive her attack.

I know who you’re thinking about. No, I’m not him.

This Enemy knew the old? That was curious. What tied the two of them together that they both had enough power to call to her? Were they family?

And I’m sorry if I don’t understand you. I’m just confused.

It was comforting to know that the Enemy was confused as well. But she still didn't like that feeling it sent, those first words. Sorry. Wishing for something that wasn't? She picked the word apart, tried to grasp the Enemies meaning. It was something that the ones who walked said often to each other, something said to stop a fight? Why would they stop a fight? If you wanted to fight something you fought them until one of you died.

And I’m not lying. I don’t want to do this. I didn’t. But I did because they took my wife.

More lies. If you didn't want to do a thing, then you didn't do the thing. Did the Enemy perhaps think her unintelligent? That she couldn't understand so simple a concept? Or was it them that didn't understand? And then they spoke of a mate, but why did that matter? She hadn't cared that the Enemy had a mate until now. And now it was only because it meant she had one more thing to burn in front of them.

They took someone I loved, and said they’d kill them if I didn’t summon you.

Then why didn't it kill them? Or control them. She didn't take the mate, why control her?

And now, I just want to live, but I think you’re going to try and kill me as soon as I let you go, so I don’t let you go. It’s complicated.

Lies? Or did it just not realize it made no sense? They said they wanted to live, she understood that. That if they let her go that she would kill them, that was true as well. But then they didn't want to let her go? How could they live if she didn't try to kill them?
The air that the ones that walk breathed definitely had to be poisonous, how else could they have such strange ideas and think them normal?

She concentrated on the word that the Enemy sent, tried again to pull it apart and understand their meaning.

Live. She understood that word, she craved life. Was life. But the Enemy's 'live' was different. They didn't mean talons and blood, fire and adrenaline. Their 'live' was safety, comfort, happiness. Mostly though, their 'live' was to 'not die'. Strange. How did they know they were alive if they didn't face death? Perhaps it simply didn't understand what Living was really like? Was that why it accepted that pale imitation?

Life. She replied. She accompanied it with images, with what Life was to her. Life was fire, life was pain and being healed, life was crushing with talons and tearing with beak and burning with flames. Life was struggle, fighting, hunting .

Not Life. She sent an image of her former body, hovering in the air, eyes blank and devoid of expression. She imagined that was what the Pretender was seeing now. Seeing the shame of her being unable to Live.

You called, you will die. She explained, trying to attach the inevitability of that. The Enemy could hold her like this all it wanted, but someone had called her and so someone would die. That was a fundamental law of the world. Stealing Life from me won't stop your death. A Call demands death.

@I think I am here.

-----------------------------------------
 

Quote

Also, we're waiting on Detteca in the Alley scene I think.

@AonEne

[+Sorana]

Mike paused for a moment, that scar. He wanted to ask what had happened, but Wes was still calling him Sir, although Mike wasn’t in charge, or maybe he was in charge, but not officially. He wished Wes would stop building that barrier, would stop with these formalities. Mike had asked him, had almost begged him to use his name, that Wes insisted on the title, was a sign easy to be interpreted.

“If you ever need some help, tell me.”

He offered and his hands touched his spikes. Smiling he looked up at Seom, who had returned with some food.

“I suppose we could try to search Lusk and his troops?”

He suggested and took out his phone.

Sir, any new orders for us? - Mike

@I think I am here.

@Ark's Boyfriend

==================

“Sure. Do you have some family in the city? We could drop by, see if they made it out safely on our way back.”

Lena reached into her bag for a pancake and found it empty. Searching around she realized she had run out of food. No pancakes, no sandwiches, no tacos, not even a cereal bar. Nothing. That was bad. She was standing outside in a storm without anything to eat.

“We need to stop at a supermarket. I’ve run out of food.”

She informed him and looked around for a sign indicating a store was close by.

 

[I think I am here.]

10 hours ago, Voidus said:

You called, you will die. She explained, trying to attach the inevitability of that. The Enemy could hold her like this all it wanted, but someone had called her and so someone would die. That was a fundamental law of the world. Stealing Life from me won't stop your death. A Call demands death.

Max thought about what the Phoenix said to him, but before he could respond all feelings were wiped from him, like a clean slate with only one mark appearing, the mark of shame, and his entire thought process shaking with one thought and one thought only, that what he’d done was shameful.

He doubled over and with his free hand clutched his forehead. He hated himself, he hated himself so much. He’d taken over the Phoenix, he’d captured her in her own body, just like Ruin. He was like Ruin, controlling the creatures, forcing people to bend to his will. Max wasn’t ready to handle such power, he was just a man, a simple man, and yet he’d messed up so much, he’d hurt so many people. His temper tantrum in Oasis had killed so, so many and he’d never done any good with his Rioting. He just created problems and failed to fix them, the Phoenix being a prime example. He felt such shame that he thought he might explode, he really was a monster, exploiting weaknesses to gain control, like some sort of twisted puppeteer. And —

And then it was over. Five seconds extended to a timeless vortex of shame. Even with the cold air and the rain Max could feel he’d been sweating. He stood up again, a little closer to Althea. He’d been shaken up a bit. Back to the Phoenix, with it’s inevitable statements, and that he’d robbed her of life. But Max’s mind was raw from the attack the Dark Phoenix had given him and he struggled to remember the diplomatic response he had planned.

Listen, he said, voice jagged. I know you like hunting. That’s why I’m not even in this city. Why would I summon my Enemy to the same city I was at? I’m in the mountains, near the grass and the rivers, maybe on the other side of the world. I might be in the Boundless Plains. I would never come to the same city you’re in. I thought you were good at hunting, well, the hunt’s on.  

And the last thing he sent to the Phoenix, before pulling it out and giving it back control, was a face he pulled from a photograph he’d seen as a child somewhere in the Canton, taken from some forgotten part of his memory.

It was of a winking face. Rashan’s winking face.

—-—

Wes looked to Mike. If you ever need some help, tell me.

“I will.” Wes said, adjusting his glasses. He gestured to thin air in front him. “It’s nothing compared to yours, sir.”

He looked around. “And Mr. Uwik is gone somewhere. I saw that Ghostblood woman teleport him and some others out of PlasmaCore.”

—-—

“No family in the city,” they said.

“Th-though I-I th-think sh-shopping m-malls a-are c-closed n-now.” Shez/Alask frowned. Their voice was usually two voices overlaid but now it seemed one voice was coming after the other with a small delay. They must have been getting out of sync as the power of the AlleyStorm stopped fuelling them.

They walked ahead and like with the words, shortly after they walked a transparent outline of them, like an atium shadow, trailed behind after a short delay. “O-out o-of s-sync,” they said, then shut up.

—-—

Lusk got the message from the Guns n’ Ninjas squad and made a note on the database. As much as they were underlings they’d been key in shutting off the Vortex. Them and Freedom. He made a note on the database, maybe a promotion was in line, maybe not. He’d have to think about it some more.

PlasmaCore’s going to attack the city with an army any time soon, he messaged. Be prepared.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Quote

IC, Seom played an important part in saving the world. 

Seom gave Mike an apple and a protein bar, then gave Wes the same. @Sorana

[+Sorana]

Althea helped Max up, when he suddenly knelt down. She flicked a gesture to Brashen to stand watch and wrapped her arms around Max. He seemed shaken and she suspected she knew what had happened, but for now she simply held him close. She could do nothing to stop someone from influencing his mind, she could only be here. For a moment she closed her eyes, forced herself to exhale, to reduce the urge to run, to jump and listened to the city around them. For now, it seemed safe. The Phoenix wasn't acting anymore, the dark Phoenix was attacking Plasma Core. The dark one was a problem, but, one step after the other.

 =============================

Lena shrugged and followed Alask along the street.

“Wait here.”

She told him and pushed the door to an evacuated building open. Inside she headed to the kitchen and looked through the shelves. Satisfied she pocketed some chocolate and took a bite of a pear before walking back to him.

“Chocolate?”

She asked and offered him the bar.

Quote

Move it to the forge? Or somewhere else. They don't really contribute to this thread and it would be a lot easier to keep track of them all if there were in a different thread.

================================

Mike took the food and smiled gratefully at Seom.

“Lusk said to prepare ourselves. He’s expecting an attack from the Lord Ajax.”

He thought for a while.

“Do any of you need something?”

@I think I am here.

@Ark's Boyfriend

[Sherlock Holmes]

"I'm good," Seom said.

[I think I am here.]

29 minutes ago, Sorana said:

Move it to the forge? Or somewhere else. They don't really contribute to this thread and it would be a lot easier to keep track of them all if there were in a different thread.

Quote

Yeah, we should probably move it to the Forge.

Shez/Alask nodded and took the bar of chocolate. They put it near the face, and there was a mouth there, as part of Alask’s body, but it was hidden underneath the blackness and smoke-like effects. They took a bite and gave Lena a thumbs up.

“F-Forge,” they said and walked in the direction they knew. They could have ran there at an incredible pace but they didn’t want to leave Lena behind.

—-—

“Me too,” Wes said.

—-—

“It’s okay,” Max said, but grateful she was there. However, he knew she didn’t like expressing in front of strangers.

“It’s over now.” He opened his eyes.

Edited July 18, 2019 by I think I am here.

[Voidus]

She waited for a response, a little surprised at how easy it was to be calm here, in this world of darkness. She didn't like that, she shouldn't be calm while speaking with the Enemy. She should be excited. Or angry. But not calm, calm was for the in between times, when there were no calls, no prey, no enemies.

Listen, The voice called, out. It seemed a little different, harsher maybe? I know you like hunting.

That was obvious. What kind of creature could enjoy a time without Life?

That’s why I’m not even in this city.

She felt an urge to cock her head at that, curious about the statement. It felt like lies. She had felt the Call, the Enemy had been here at least. And she recognized the power that they held her with. The power from the Storm. They were nearby.

Why would I summon my Enemy to the same city I was at?

To fight it. She wanted to scream back.

I’m in the mountains, near the grass and the rivers, maybe on the other side of the world.

It said it didn't want to be near her then told her where it was? It didn't make sense. More lies?

I might be in the Boundless Plains. I would never come to the same city you’re in.

Was it playing games?

I thought you were good at hunting, well, the hunt’s on.

She paused, digesting those words as the Enemy sent one final image, a face. Their face? She couldn't tell. But those words. She understood those words, but did the enemy?

Eyes blinked once again, vacant and expressionless. And then she blinked. Her eyes closed and then opened again, intelligence sparkling within them once more. She saw the city sprawling out beneath her. Her Rival in the distance continued to burn the Enemy of Stone, but that Enemy no longer held interest to her. She would cede it to the Rival, the Rival deserved that hunt more than she did. She had another Enemy, and that Enemy had challenged her. They had chosen to flee rather than fight, but it was still a hunt. Perhaps the Enemy finally understood.

She looked towards the other, the Pretender who still waited nearby. She liked that one, perhaps it understood best. It had been willing to risk dying on her talons so that it could Live. But they had also waited rather than attack her while she was helpless. There was no fun in killing a helpless target after all. That was not Life. Perhaps it wasn't a Pretender after all, perhaps it truly did belong in the skies. She wished she could hunt with that one, but this hunt was for her alone. She tilted her head towards them in a nod, eyes closing for a moment in respect. Perhaps it would follow, try to hunt her. She would enjoy Life with them if they did.

Her eyes tilted upward, towards the sky and the Storm that covered it. She used the Storm, pulled it into herself and then pulled it further, dragging herself along with it. She felt up suddenly become down. She used all the power that she could drag out, felt her bones begin to creak under the sudden acceleration as she was thrust skyward. She left the city behind, left the Rival, the Pretender. Rocketing up until she was alone in the skies once more, above the Storms and surrounded by a brief pocket of silence.

She halted her ascent, waiting above the Storm for a moment, eyes now pointing down. She wondered where the Enemy truly was. She could ask some of her Kindred to track them, some of them were very good at tasks like that. But why should she share? This Life was hers. And the Enemies. They would share it until she found them and gave them the death that the call demanded. But the Enemy had called twice, not once. Who else could she find to pay the price for their call?

[Rushu42]

Aln watched the Phoenix narrowly as it flew away. It left, she thought. Why? Perhaps something to do with the Alleystorm... She herself could still feel the power coursing within her, begging to be used. Could the Phoenix have been similarly affected? Perhaps, she answered herself, but that shouldn't have caused it to abandon its prey. Unless, however, the bird is a Hemalurgic construct, rather than a native species. She felt a small surge of excitement. Yes... The increased power of the storm could have allowed an emotional Allomancer to seize control. She turned from the sky and began scanning the buildings around her. The connection weakens with distance, so... There. She spotted a small group of figures on a roof some little ways away. After descending from the structure where Kumiko had dropped her, she began to walk towards them.

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Rushu42
Slight continuity error.

[+Sorana]

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

Shez/Alask nodded and took the bar of chocolate. They put it near the face, and there was a mouth there, as part of Alask’s body, but it was hidden underneath the blackness and smoke-like effects. They took a bite and gave Lena a thumbs up.

“F-Forge,” they said and walked in the direction they knew. They could have ran there at an incredible pace but they didn’t want to leave Lena behind.

—-—

“Me too,” Wes said.

—-—

“It’s okay,” Max said, but grateful she was there. However, he knew she didn’t like expressing in front of strangers.

“It’s over now.” He opened his eyes.

Mike sighed and then he laughed.

"So basically we'll sit here and do nothing, unless I've got an idea? Did I get this right?"

@Ark's Boyfriend

=======================

Althea kept her arms around him for another moment, then she stepped back from him.

"It's not over. It's not gone, there are two more. And there is still Lord Ajax and his army missing."

Exhausted she closed her eyes for a moment. Once this was over, they would go home. And he could hold her for a moment. Or an hour. Without anybody watching them, observing them. He'd promised that they would go home. She clung to the promise, it gave her the strength to keep going, to face this new situation. She had to. If she didn't there would be no home anymore.

"Remember, when we waited for Septhis to step into the city?"

She asked. Because somehow it had been the same. They had waited for something bad to happen. Had prepared, had observed, had dared the moment everything would blow up in their faces. Althea looked at the Phoenix and waited. It was all she could do right now.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

"I want to nap," Seom pointed out. @Sorana

[kenod]

Kumiko saw the Phoenix turn towards her, and saw it nod to her. She nodded back, smiling. Quickly it flew up into the sky, past the storm clouds. She looked at the black Phoenix. Should she fight it too? She shook her head. She wasn't in much of a state for more fighting, and honestly, she didn't really care what it did to the city. As long as it stayed away from her she would leave it alone as well. She flew down towards the ground, wondering about the person she had seen there. She took a closer look at them. KanMien? She thought. She wondered why she was there. Was she there to make sure she didn't do anything stupid? Did she think she couldn't be trusted with something like this? Or perhaps, maybe she was worried about her? Maybe she was just there to help her once she was done. She was smart, she probably had at least some idea of what she had been planning to do, and would probably have guessed that she would need help afterwards. She smiled at that thought, for some reason. She slowly started moving down towards the location she had last seen her.

Quote

So unless Dark Phoenix wants to try and pick a fight with her Kumiko (and probably KanMien) will retire from the plot here.

@Ax's Boyfriend

[AonEne]

On 7/15/2019 at 9:06 PM, Voidus said:

The voices continued to whisper for a few more seconds before she finally dismissed the Lightweaving that had maintained them.

Quote

Are you rusting kidding me?...I'm not even mad

Very sorry for the delay.

Deteca was tired. She wasn't a fighter; she wasn't even Invested, and though she'd heard others speak grandly about the Alleystorm's wonders and power, to her it was just bad weather. She ducked against the pelting droplets and moved closer to the DA delegation. The emotion she most felt was despair, she had to admit. She'd been too late; she hadn't gotten there before the building was obliterated. Deteca could only hope those inside had escaped on their own beforehand. The method she'd used to get here hadn't improved her mood, even though she had had assistance.

"My apologies for being reduced to Alleytraveling," she said to Voidus, meeting his eyes. She stood straight, but didn't bother to try to appear strong. It would only come out as bravado, and she had gone through their alleys. "I wanted to get here fast, and that seemed my only option. Not that it helped, clearly."

***

Pi dipped his head at Zokora, then gestured for her to bring her soldiers into the tunnels as he went inside.

[Rushu42]

4 hours ago, kenod said:

So unless Dark Phoenix wants to try and pick a fight with her Kumiko (and probably KanMien) will retire from the plot here.

Quote

Aln's probably going to want to follow up with her. (My apologies if this is undesirable. Aln can be pretty relentless.) Can she talk to Kumiko at some point?

 

[Fatebreaker]

The Stranger watched as a storm raged inside of Lita, even as the Alleystorm raged without. He saw her hunger, her brokenness, the war between what she was and what she wanted to be. She wanted power, to transform into something new. She was willing to sacrifice who she was to become something more. She was reaching her limits and was not satisfied. It was a hunger the Stranger had seen many, many times.

In Research and Development many came to test limits. The limits of the mind, the body, the universe. They molded and reshaped their bodies, minds, and souls. Often once they got a taste, it consumed them. Few were recognizable in as little as a year. If they survived that long. It was what the Stranger himself did, test the limits of reality to understand the world that was rich with glorious knowledge. And with that knowledge came power. 

But there was an important distinction: The Stranger was after the knowledge, Lita was after the power. 

He could tell, even before she answered what she would choose. The hunger in her eyes was too great, and it filled her like a tempest. A small voice whispered that this could consume her. It almost gave him pause. He had never waivered in his offers to Denizens, it was they who made the choice. But out of the corner of his eye he saw Laurelai,and the earlier conversation with Voidus flashed through his head. Voidus, the greatest scientific mind the world had known, had regrets. Would Lita one day become something she couldn't reverse? Would she regret her choices from a place in which there was no returning? Did she truly understand the weight of Sacrifice?

"I seek to build."

Lightning flashed, reflecting off of the Coin as it spun in place. Then it froze, floating at eye level, both faces showing a skull with a spike through the left eye socket. The Stranger stared into Lita's eyes and whispered in a voice of blood and iron.

"So be it."

And he stepped forward and drove the spike in his left hand into Lita's torso. 

@ZincAboutIt

@Voidus

[+Ark1002]

The building melted, step by step. Slowly, it was reduced to a slightly magical heap of slag.

She turned, looking upon the city.

Will I burn this too?

[+Sorana]

3 hours ago, AonEne said:

Pi dipped his head at Zokora, then gestured for her to bring her soldiers into the tunnels as he went inside.

Zokora gave the corresponding orders and followed Pi inside.

===================

10 hours ago, Ark's Boyfriend said:

"I want to nap," Seom pointed out. @Sorana

Mike nodded.

"Do it?"

He suggested, but his thoughts turned back to the attack Lusk had mentioned.

"If we knew where they plan to attack, we could maybe prepare some trap for them."

[I think I am here.]

13 hours ago, Sorana said:

“It's not over. It's not gone, there are two more. And there is still Lord Ajax and his army missing."

Exhausted she closed her eyes for a moment. Once this was over, they would go home. And he could hold her for a moment. Or an hour. Without anybody watching them, observing them. He'd promised that they would go home. She clung to the promise, it gave her the strength to keep going, to face this new situation. She had to. If she didn't there would be no home anymore.

"Remember, when we waited for Septhis to step into the city?"

She asked. Because somehow it had been the same. They had waited for something bad to happen. Had prepared, had observed, had dared the moment everything would blow up in their faces. Althea looked at the Phoenix and waited. It was all she could do right now.

Max nodded. “Yeah.” He hadn’t noticed the similarities to their current situation before. But, even if there was a sense of inevitable doom, they could do something about it.

Max looked up to the sky, and pointed to the figure of the Red Phoenix, leaving the city, a trail of flame following it bright enough to leave the sun in awe. “It’s a ‘she’, did you know that?” He said. He knew this wouldn’t be his last encounter with the bird, because it would keep hunting for him, that was for sure. And he’d keep on having to dodge.

He pointed to Kumiko, in the distance, though he didn’t know she was a person, and thought she was another creature from a distance. “That one is leaving as well,” he said.

He looked to the Dark Phoenix, and he frowned. “I don’t know about that one,” he said. “Hopefully they will be satisfied with destroying the building.”

He looked to Althea. “There’s only the army left. We can do it. And we have this,” he reached out his hand, palm up, and rain from the AlleyStorm pooled in it.

—-—

“I’m tired too,” Wes said earnestly. “That Vortex thing was very intense.”

He looked to Mike. “If you turned into the wolf it would make a very nice pillow,” he joked and laughed a little bit.

[kenod]

5 hours ago, Rushu42 said:

 

Quote

That probably won't work, sorry. Kumiko is going to faint as soon aa she drops her current form, and KanMien is going to take her back into the Alleys, and won't be that interested in people disturbing her.

 

[+Sorana]

Quote

If you want to, you could head to Max & Althea (and Eiran & Tels) or to Mike, Wes and Seom if you want to rp a bit.

@Rushu42

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

He looked to Althea. “There’s only the army left. We can do it. And we have this,” he reached out his hand, palm up, and rain from the AlleyStorm pooled in it.

"Hopefully."

She replied and mirrored his gestured, held out her hand, watched the rain. The wind still tore at her cloths, and she was completely soaked by now, but there was no reason to seek shelter. She felt alive, enjoyed to hold more stormlight than she could use without having a bad concience about using it. The storm was hers. Once it was gone, she would probably freeze, but for now she was fine.

"How are you?"

She asked him quietly, wondered if they had to time to get him to hospital. Most likely not. If there really was an attack coming, she couldn't risk missing that as well.

=====================

Mike laughed as well, and fetched a cushion and a blanket for Wes.

"I'd prefer not to."

He looked outside. And he would prefer to not head outside again. He knew, he had no chance to keep them back, not with the storm raging. In the end he would end up a helpless fish on the ground. Mike didn't know a lot of things about salmon, only that he waited. And waited. And one day, salmon would show him his true face. Wolf was easy to please. Squid too nice to be a serious problem. Fox scared him, but at least he knew that he had reason to be afraid of fox. Salmon though mostly kept to himself.

Realizing he had been staring outside for a few minutes he forced himself to look back at Wes and Seom.

@Ark's Boyfriend

Edited July 19, 2019 by Sorana