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Post by cyansky on Nov 27, 2009 21:06:43 GMT -5
Asri smiled as he walked deeper into the theatre, Syl letting go of him and walking close beside him, with a small smile on its face. Asri noticed that it wasn't afraid... which was good... what they were going to check was not for the faint of heart. Asri found Syl's shifting personality to be rather wierd and rather useful at the same time... but he worried whether Kiel was doing the right thing by keeping it like this...
"Come on Syl," he said, "stay strong... I swear that it won't take long."
Syl nodded.
"Alright." Asri held Syl's hand, looking at it with a worried expression.
"You were curious as to what Kiel was up to during all these weeks," he said, "consider this... well... a lesson on why it's best not to wander into the deepest corners of the city..."
He opened one of the staff-only doors and and began walking though the hallway, Syl following him. The lights flickered, switching on and off unpredictibly. The walls became increasingly more ugly and decayed as they walked on. Rats squealed and ran to and fro. Their footsteps echoed eerily off of the floor and the walls as Asri proceeded deeper and deeper into the basement. Eventually, the lights flickered one last time, and suddenly went out.
Asri sighed. He flicked his wrist, and a small ball of light appeared in his hands. It illuminated the nearby area.
"Consider this a sign," he said, "we're almost there."
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Post by citizenmike on Nov 29, 2009 2:24:45 GMT -5
Sara followed close behind. Going on these adventures with Syl and Asri was nothing new to her, she had ventured far with them many times before; she knew she was safe.
"Where are we going?", Sara asked.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 29, 2009 2:41:20 GMT -5
"Deeper into the basement," replied Asri, "Have you felt that it's been getting colder and colder, uglier and uglier, and more and more rat-infested?"
They proceeded deeper and deeper into the theatre, Asri's light guiding the way. It floated close to him, flickering and moving slowly, casting a light blue glow over the area. Asri turned to Syl and put a hand on its shoulder, kissing it on the forehead.
"Get ready Syl," said Asri, "once they emerge, cast exactly the spells I tell you too. Don't worry, you won't be fighting anything."
He then took a vial of blue liquid out of his bag, and casually poured it onto the ground. Syl watched curiously as it boiled and bubbled, crackling with strong energy. It gasped when it recognized the energy - it was Kiel's aura and blood in liquid form. The liquid twisted and morphed until it had formed a bird-like shape, glowing light blue, that took off and disappeared, flying at rocket speed out of the theatre.
"Advance warning," said Asri simply.
Syl understood what he meant, but probably not Sara. Advance warning was basically a euphemism/jargon of their family which mean 'calling for help.'
"Asri..." Syl clung onto his arm now, holding him tightly.
"Trust me Syl," said Asri, "I'm older than I look for a reason. Now let's-"
A shrill shriek interrupted Asri. It sounded horrible, and was so loud, that Syl had to cover its ears. Asri simply looked forwards, his face showing no trace of fear. From the darkness, a swift-moving shadow of darkness charged forward, aiming its bladed limbs straight at Asri's neck.
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Post by citizenmike on Nov 29, 2009 4:15:29 GMT -5
Sara drew out a ball of energy from her hand and held it before the monster. She was used to this, knowing Asri, she was prepared for anything. All that mattered to her now was keeping the two of them safe... God, the things they put her through!
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Post by cyansky on Nov 29, 2009 11:59:52 GMT -5
The shadow being screamed as the ball of energy hit it straight in the chest, momentarily stunning it. Writhing and screaming, it then tried to throw itself at Asri once again. Asri just stood there, smiling confidently. He had been dragged on these adventures too many times to count. There was nothing for him to be afraid of.
"Syl, activate Spirit_Barrier, level 3, identification code 0974968. Default parameters."
Syl nodded, immediately drawing upon its strength, softly repeating Asri's words, clinging to his arm tightly for those few precous moments, as the monster came back at them. At the last minute, a silver barrier surrounded Sara, Asri and Syl. The blade of the monster slowed as the barrier slow it down, eventually stopping it completely. The blade stopped only centimetres away from Asri's throat.
It shrieked and pulled the blade out, the barrier immediately reforming to protect them from future strikes. Asri smiled and ran his fingers through Syl's long hair, softly whispering his words of encouragement to it, Syl closed its eyes and nodded. Asri smiled at it, then turned his attention back to Sara.
"And that's how it's done," said Asri to Sara, "that barrier will block attacks from the dead, but it won't do much against purely physical attacks. If that energy ball is purely physical, it can pass through and hurt it."
He watched as the shadow-being repeatedly attempted to break the barrier, screaming so loudly that one of its friends, another shadow-being, emerged from the darkness.
"Unless you have something that can seriously damage them," said Asri, "we'll just have to hold out against them until Kiel shows up. When these two are out of the way, we'll give you an explanation on what's going on here."
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Post by citizenmike on Nov 29, 2009 12:16:27 GMT -5
"I can get rid of them if you want?", Sara asked with a shrug.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 29, 2009 12:20:28 GMT -5
Asri chuckled as he looked at the shadow-beings trying to break the barrier, with no success.
"Elemental attacks will hurt them, not kill them," he said, "but if you want target practice, your're free to try."
Syl tugged gently at Asri's sleeve, looking up at him. It gave him a small smile as it leld onto him - hope.
"Kiel's on its way," said Syl, "I can sense it approaching."
Asri clapped his hands, grinning.
"Excellent! This will be fun indeed! All three of us, just like in the good old days!"
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Post by citizenmike on Nov 29, 2009 12:31:53 GMT -5
Sara took a look at the creature and opened her arms out as a portal appeared behind the creature, trying to suck it inside.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 29, 2009 12:57:05 GMT -5
Asri watched as the creature was sucked into the portal, writhing and screaming. Its friend managed to escape the portal, and continued to attack the shield.
"... Well, that was uncalled for," said Asri softly. "Kiel won't be happy."
Syl nodded.
"You're not supposed to destroy them, miss Sara," it said.
Winds swirled around them, and when they subsided, Kiel appeared, as if out of nowhere. The ends of its scarfs fluttered about, even if they were inside. Kiel crossed its arms as it leaned next to a nearby wall, outside of Syl's spirit shield. It narrowed its eyes as it glared ar Sara.
"Damn right," said Kiel, "if we lose any more of them, Lord Azrael will be displeased."
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Post by citizenmike on Nov 29, 2009 15:52:54 GMT -5
Sara let go of the portals and pushed herself back. Before her, she watched as the portal closed with a half a beast inside it, causing the other half to slump to the ground.
"What the hell was that for then?", Sara replied.
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Post by cyansky on Nov 29, 2009 20:50:15 GMT -5
Kiel shrugged at it approached the barrier, summoning pair of wicked-looking daggers and infusing them its energy, giving them a light blue glow. It then casually threw them at the two shadow-beings, string them in their chests. They screamed as the magic pulsated through them, immobolizing them immediately, leaving them as squirming little black things on the floor.
It smiled at Sara.
"If these two haven't mentioned my name already, it's Kiel," it said, "pleased to meet you."
Asri grinned at Kiel.
"Good to see you too, Kiel."
Syl waved at it as well, grinning widely. If it wasn't mainting the spirit barrier, it would have gone and tackled it to the ground, hugging it tightly.
"KIEL!"
Kiel waved back at them and approached Sara, entering the shield easily. It owed her an explanation for what was going on... especially as what may as well be going on may not be simple. Serving Azrael as one of its reapers was not an easy line of work.
"The things that you encountered are called Lost Souls," said Kiel, "the souls of the dead that have slipped through the cracks. For various reasons, they will do anything to escape the afterlife that awaits them. For example, they will stick to the shadows of society and the world for the sake of not being discovered and forced to move on, hence why you rarely see them out in the open. They are so desperately trying to flee the inevitable that they can end up anywhere, and surprise, suprise, these have somehow found a way into Animus."
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Post by citizenmike on Nov 30, 2009 6:32:02 GMT -5
Sara, remembered Keil. At times, she often thought of it as a flamboyant smartass who amused her. They didn't know her yet, so it was gonna take sometime before she could be completely open around them.
"So, what do we do about them then?", Sara asked.
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Post by cyansky on Dec 1, 2009 7:55:56 GMT -5
Kiel smiled at her, casually putting its hands in its pockets. The ends of its scarf fluttered about randomnly, even if there were no winds inside. They were a part of it, and quite a useful part too. In melee combat, four blades were better than one. However without a certain type of magic infusion, they wouldn't be able to harm the dead.
"Oh, that's an easy question," said Kiel, "we sent them to where they belong - with Lord Azrael. Not that they'll go willingly, mind you. You know how hard it is to drag around screaming kids when they don't want to go to school? This is twice as hard."
Asri watched Kiel with a smile on his face as well... The good old days... oh, how much he missed those. Their adventures were anything but safe, but they were really fun.
"So, Kiel, what's the plan?"
Kiel chuckled as it slung its arm casually over Asri's shoulder.
"The usual, unless you want Sara to be more than a mere spectator to our work. You do remember your contract with Lord Azrael, right?"
Asri rolled his eyes and looked away.
"How could I forget?"
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Post by citizenmike on Dec 2, 2009 10:37:24 GMT -5
Sara shrugged and said, "Again, I'm up for anything.".
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Post by cyansky on Dec 5, 2009 12:12:34 GMT -5
Kiel grinned. This girl was certainly bold, but it questioned how bold she would be when faced with the stronger Lost Souls. The two what Kiel had so easily subdued were nothing more than some of the weakest there was. If she couldn't handle them, what chance would she stand against the stronger ones, who had evaded Lord Azrael for centuries, accumulating power along the way?
"If you do anything stupid, it's your funeral," said Kiel cheerfully, "now, before you proceed, I'd like you to explain to us what you're capable of, and if you have any experience whatsoever in dealing with the dead and undead. (There's a difference, you know). I'm sure that you've heard of the usual sort - Liches, zombies, banshees, skeletons, ghosts, wraiths, Graveyard Shades, ghosts, most vampires, death knights, wights, bone and ghost dragons... and the original ones we've encountered over the years..."
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