RPG: Puppetry

[Luzifer]

Andras wasn't trying to eavesdrop. Hell, he would have rather never heard a single infuriating word of that obnoxious banter. He had though and it wrankled underneath his skin. He despised it when people talked abou such worthless and knavish subjects such as lust. These two people in front of him weren't any younger then him but they were caught up in their lustful games like two humping dogs in the village green. It was disgusting for him and shameful for them . They seemed to shut up though and for that he was grateful...he didn't know if he could endure their insipid prattling for much longer.

[Efrieda Arwaltz]

Selene pulled herself out of the water, happy to be able to rest. She had hitched a ride on the undercurrents that sped her along faster than any ship could've, but steering your body in the undercurrents is extremely difficult and even more tiring. Still, the undine queen felt it was her responsibility to keep an eye on Roswell and Bridget in case they needed her help. She had been swimming for a day and a half without any rest at all, something that was simple and natural for fish, but very tiring for undines.

Selene had chosen to rest on a small island, maybe a mile or two away from continent. She had spotted the ship about an hour ago and followed it to where she was now. It was a very exhausting journey, but it would all be worth it. The young queen then remembered the discovery of trains, one of the last remaining marvels of the steam technology that existed on the continent called Arotl. They could get you to places faster than coaches, but travelling by train was really expensive. Still, they were currently the fastest way to travel by land. When Selene first saw one, she had called it a landship. It moved like one, but faster and without sails. She remembered how awesome it would be something like that could be applied to water travel. No one would need to use the undercurrents anymore.

"Grr. I can't rest now. Just have to keep going. Like a train, right Selene?" And with that, the undine continued her journey to find Roswell.

[Hollow Ichigo]

Jushiro looked back at the one behind him and shook his head as they spoke so immuturly about being sweet on someone and all the things he didnt care about. Still he continued to walk without a sense of direction. He was a graudian but didnt have anyone to protect. All he could do was protect everyone in this small group.

Jushiro was first to enter the forest ahead of them but didnt look back again. It didnt mean anything to him about the sounds that surronded him but the only thing on his mind was the tornament and his chance to end all the killing back at his home.

[Efrieda Arwaltz]

As Roswell's group continued to talk, Bridget felt a sudden gaze against her back. Turning around, the sorceress saw a creepy-looking blonde guy gazing lazily at the four of them. The two made eye contact for little more than an instant, but the look in his eyes made her instinctively move closer to her puppetmaster. Not only did she not trust the look she got from him, but he wore an odd blade over his shoulder and smelled distinctly like necromancy that was used without permission.

'Maybe he just doesn't know.' Bridget thought to herself. 'No way, no one who knows anything about magic would use necromancy without getting help from the god of death. Without his help, you need to find other lives to use as payment for spells. That, or use your own. And the white in his hair, it's obvious he's used his own more than once. With the way that he looks, he probably won't live to be twenty-five. How sad.' Even though Bridget felt bad for man's most likely early demise, she still felt it logical to avoid him for as long as possible.

"Roswell." she whispered to her puppetmaster. "I think we should pick up the pace a little. Someone's following us and he looks bad. Luckily, Alda's already way ahead of us. I don't think it would look odd if we tried to catch up with her. Don't say anything, just squeeze my hand if you agree with the plan." Bridget, always being the careful one, thought it would seem suspicious if she was having whispered conversations with people. Still looking ahead, the sorceress felt her partner's hand clasp around hers.

'I can't be certain that the guy following doesn't know our names. We'll need to be careful until-'

"ROSWELL! BRIDGET! HURRY UP!" The sorceress's thoughts were interrupted by Emseralda's yelling from further down the path.

'Alda... Even though you didn't do it on purpose, I still can't help but be annoyed at you." Bridget bitterly thought, still using the excuse to run ahead, Roswell struggling to keep up as the sorceress was still holding his hand.

[Luzifer]

Andras eyes met the sorcerous girl's for a moment but it was too much. He sighed with aggrevation as her body tensed up and she moved closer to the puppetmaster. He had hoped that he would be ignored in their wonderment with the new scenary but it seemed that he had been noticed... sometimes his deathly appearance was annoying even to him. "Oh, well" he muttered to himself. There was nothing for it but to follow at a greater distance. He continued on his way now a bit further behind but, with a Vansel's Danse Macabre it wasn't really a great length... if he used that spelll it would serve them no protection and only allow him more momentum. He fingered the skull pendent idly as he waited for that idiot... what was his damn? the hook person... it didn't matter what his name was what mattered was that he should be here but wasn't. It was his damn target that Andras would be opening the way to he could at least show up so he knew when to start this insipid affair.

[Efrieda Arwaltz]

Edgar quietly leaped through the underbrush. True to his nature as a hunter, he was completely unnoticed. He managed to constantly keep both Roswell and the hired help in sight as he followed behind his prey. He feared he would be discovered when Bridget turned, he silently sighed at the discovery that she had noticed his employee. If they evaded him, Edgar would probably be able to take at least one of Roswell's friends before the puppetmaster could properly ready his weapon, but it the other two would still give him trouble.

"ROSWELL! BRIDGET! HURRY UP!" Edgar didn't recognize the voice, but he figured that if the idiot he had hired didn't recognize them now, he really was useless. As the sorceress ran ahead, the hunter realized his oppourtinity. Roswell tripped. It was just a stumble, but it was enough to momentarily seperate the two of them.

'Now's my chance.' Edgar thought, preparing to leap.

The hunter quickly jumped from the underbrush, releasing the weapons on his legs as well as unbinding his arms. He spun using the momentum from the jump, landing a kick on the still-stunned sorceress and punching Roswell in his side. The puppetmaster fell backward and Bridget stumbled forward. Edgar noticed her slip a ring on her finger, no longer stunned, and he turned toward Roswell. It was then that he noticed his employee.

"Hey, Dishpay! If you're gonna help, do it now!"

While he yelled, Bridget was making preparations to cast a spell. Esmeralda was getting her puppet ready and Vanar had already unsheathed his sword.

'The flow of magic, the Leylines, are tricky here. I'm in an area that is unfamiliar with my being. That'll reduce my spellcasting potential. The dominent Leyline elementals in this area are Wood and Earth. I'm no Nature Sage, so my spells relating to them will be weakened. We're surrounded by trees, so Shadow spells will also be strengthened. Metal element spells will be weakened due to presence of Wood element, and although Fire spells will be strengthened, they'll eat away at the Wood Leylines here. There are birds, so it would be best to follow their updraft and start with a Wind spell. With the difficulties in mind, the Leylines will allow me enough space to cast about six spells. I can extend this amount by maybe three or four spells. That gives me ten spells maximum' All of this information, long-since memorized, flowed through Bridget's mind in a matter of seconds. She quickly reached into her bag, extracting a flask filled with a dark grey liquid with the consistency of saliva. Placing the bottle between her right index and middle fingers, she placed her right hand next to her already extended left. An crystal ring had been placed on her left middle finger and she had her fingers seperated.

'I'll use the Wind element in the air to propel this bottle of Shadow element toward that guy. The combination of Wind and Shadow element should allow me enough space to summon.' Focusing her energy, Bridget made a magical link with the Goddess of War, the breeze that acted as the Scion of Wind, and the tree's shadows that acted as the Scion of Shadow. A large, intricate rune, colored dark purple, was engraved on the ground around her.

"Goddess of War, I have made Shadow the head of my arrow. The Ring of Modren has been selected as my bow, and I request Wind as the my arrow's shaft. Brind forth the elder of Wind at the point that my arrow lands and place him in my service. I will offer the amalgamation of Earth and Fire in the form of a vessel of the God of Space as the seal of our covenent. Let the Bow of Modren shoot my arrow true! God's Arrow!" The rune contracted and surrounded only Bridget's ring. Two curved beams of white light erupted from the ring, safely passing through her fingers and making a shape resembling a bow.

Bridget pulled back her right hand, a third beam of light, perpendicular to the ground, connecting the two existing beams and "stringing" the bow. The incantation had allowed her fire without missing her mark. The wind would be in her favor. She would just need to wait for the right moment.

[Luzifer]

Andras looked at the attacking Edge with slight annoyance but quickly turned his focus to his opponents. From the various reactions he could ascertain at least three opponents. A puppetmistress (an threat even when alone but with two others a frightening prospect indeed), a warrior (easier then the puppeteer but he seemed competent and not something to be underestimated) and a sorceress (something to be killed quickly before it grew to be an aggrevation, which meant before she cast her second spell.

A plan quickly fromed in Andras' mind. Gathering together energy from the air (what bare amount was there even in this relatively verdent place) and his own body (emptying most of his liver of extra blood cells) he prepared his first spell. The plan was simple... he would cast Pit of Shades to slow the puppetmistress and her warrior while he charged the sorceress, Amati and Stradivarius would move toward the pit of shades and hopefully bite the puppetmistress and warrior if they attempted to cross. The other two he would save to use as the situation warranted.

Execution...

"Barhiem's Pit of Shades" intoned as he pulled his massive blade from over his shoulder and his two centipedes scuttled down his legs to the ground where they headed to a rapidly darkening patch of ground. Soon ghastly hand burst forth from the ground and the faces of dead souls leered up from the earth, moaned as if struggling to be free. They could not though and their grasping hands wavered. One grabbed on to a bystandered who had the misfortune of being in the same place he required the pit and they clutched at his legs preventing him from running, no matter how hard he tried. The arms had no leverage to drag him down so he was merely forced to stand their and moan as the phantasmal hands groped his legs.

His blade fully unsheathed Andras charged straight at the sorceress 'come on little girl' he thought to himself 'just attack me with that precious little spell of yours... make this trap complete'

[Efrieda Arwaltz]

Bridget watched as the one who was following her group attacked. He had already used a spell, drawing strength from the air in the process, and unleashed what seemed like familiars.

'He uses familiars and life in the air to compensate for a lack of talent. Not bad, but my skills are far superior to his. He obviously has no clue what this spell is for.' Bridget aimed the bow, not at Hook, who she figured Roswell could handle on his own, nor the attacker. Instead, she aimed at the tree only meters away from him. The corked bottle sped toward the tree, breaking to pieces as it struck it.

'The combination of an element with Shadow is frequently used for summoning, after all. Wind Element. Summon Wyvern!' The pieces of the broken bottle vanished as though they were evaporated. The grey substance inside began swirling around, and a monstrous howl erupted from it. What appeared to be a winged dark green dragon that lacked forelegs flew from the shadow substance. Its long, scaly tail ended in several rows of sharp spines. Its mouth opened, loosing a beastly howl that sent all remaining bystanders running.

'I've got nine spells left. As a fake necromancer, it's impossible for him to read the Leylines. He has no idea how much power I have. I still wish I had given the land more time to sync with me, but this happened so suddenly.' Although she had help in her fight, her opponent still approached her. Bridget reached into her bag, having no intention of using her Modren's Ring on someone so close. Her hand was clasped around a potion containing the power of Fire. She would be able to use the spell without exhausting the Leylines, but she didn't have any more Fire bottles. The one she had would have to count.

Esmeralda and Vanar found themselves stuck on the wrong side of a pit full of lost souls. Alda had by then prepared Witch for combat. The puppet stood at three-and-a-half feet and resembled more of a doll than anything else. It was dressed the same as its mistress, though in all black. Also, the marionette had wings that resembled those of a devil. Extending from either wrist was a nasty-looking blade about a foot long, and from the brim of its hat dangled a multitude of small, scarlet gems. Each one secretly inscribed with a different simple Fire spell.

"Vanar, do it!" Alda yelled at her brother, just finishing attaching Witch's strings to her fingers. The swordsman grabbed the marionette carefully, quickly throwing it over the pit. The puppetmistress pulled a few well-selected strings, causing Witch to drop several low-grade explosives into the pit before being reeled in by its strings. She had seen a few bugs crawl into the patch of land and hoped for them to be killed without injuring the lone man trapped in the spell.

[Luzifer]

Andras ignored the dragon... he was already close enough. Using the full eight foot length of his sword-spear, Andras spun the massive blade hand over hand in a hard arch toward the sorceress. Still though his mind work. He didn't want to use his trinket until he was sure it was necessary... and he still had a fortunate reserve. He had two more centipedes to fall back on... the other had been sacrificed though they had given him valuable intelligence about his opponents and made them expend their own energy. This would not be easy... he might even have to sacrifice a limb... but such was the way of thing he supposed. As long as survived his promise would remain unbroken.

[Hollow Ichigo]

Jushiro turned round and noticed the fighting going on. He dropped his bags and rushed back to help. He moved with grace and speed and without fail Intel he stopped and looked at the one called Andres. He looked at him and growled before turning his head to the threat that was before them. He didn't look over at the other puppetmasters but did know that they were their.



************************


Toshiro crawled from the boat and placed both hands on the shore. His stomach growled as he stood to his feet. he was sea sick and hated the sea but he had to find Jushiro before his illness toke over again. Toshiro looked up at the forest ahead of him when he felt Jushiro close by. He toke off and ran toward the forest and his brother.

[Efrieda Arwaltz]

(OOC: @Hollow Ichigo: Controlling major NPCs in combat is forbidden unless I give you specific permission which only lasts one battle. That permission has not been granted and thus, your action is voided. Also, between you and Edgar are Esmeralda, Vanar, Bridget, Andras and a wyvern. Keep in mind of your surroundings when battling. Also, Luzy, after this post, the battle with Bridget's group is entirely controlled by you. Esmeralda, Vanar, Bridget and the wyvern are moved by you. If Hollow Ichigo is taking part in this conflict, I would suggest coordinating something with him)

Bridget held up her left arm, feeling the heavy blade make quick work of the shield that was quickly conjured by Modren's Ring. After hearing the shattering sound from her barrier, the sorceress felt a sharp pain in her arm. The blade had cut into her. She rolled across the ground from the force of the blow and checked her wound once she was back up. It wasn't deep and probably wouldn't leave a scar if it was handled quickly, but it would be a burden in battle. That done, Bridget took a quick glance at her ring to discover that it was unharmed as well, but would likely not play a part in this fight any longer.

"Why are you working for Hook?" she asked desperately. "We didn't do anything to you, did we?"

[Luzifer]

Andras grunted as his blade smashed against the shield and broke it. A wave of shock traveled up his arms and reverberated through his entire body. "Nope. It's nothing personal. Just work." However, while he had been talking the wyvren had made its way towards him and was now looming over him and preparing to strike.

Time to get rid of this thing, eh? Andras thought and spoke the activation word for his charm, "Father!" the skull leapt up and opened its mouth and began drawing the sorcerous energy away from the wyvren, and gradually, by degrees, the summon faded from the world. The skull glowed with light as it began to dissipate the sorcerous energy it had absorbed. It had been a strong spell so Andras doubted that he would be able to use the skull again that battle. He always hated using it, it reminded him of the painful things he had had to do in order to make it. Two lives... heh... focus.

Bridget saw the other getting distracted by her wyvren and though she was suprised that he had brought with him an item to counter-act sorcery she couldn't worry too much about it now. Rather, she had to focus on stopping him before he attacked again. Using the opprotunity while he was looking at the wyvren she tossed the fire potion she had used before offering a prayer to the Goddess of War to activate the concotion.

He turned back to Bridget just in time to see the vial of liquid herttling toward him and bring his blade up to stop it. He knew full well this was going to be painful. He hadn't had the time to dodge as would be required.

The potion exploded in a spray of fire and glass shards which soon liquidified. It covered a large area and seemed to completely engulf the young exile. Suddenly though his body from the fire rolling across the ground as he was painfully knocked back by the force of the explosion. Suddenly he hit his palm against the ground pushing him up into the air for a moment and he used this time to recenter his balance before he landed on the ground in a low crouch.

His right hand, the one holding the blade, appeared to have been badly burned, though not enough to render it unuseable. There was blood dripping from the side of his face where a piece of shrapnel had cut him. He sighed to himself in frustration as he got up but soon was forced to jump back as witch came down on him with both its blade, one cutting him slightly in the shoulder. He quickly turned and struck back with the full power of his massive blade and though the infernal marrionette manage to avoid most of it, the blow still clipped on of its legs sending it to the ground some distance off.

Andras looked back over to the puppetmistress and noticed her warrior was rounding the edge of the Pit of Shades. Damnit! There were too bloody many! Logic told him to just fall back, he wasn't being paid enough to die, but he remembered that all he had to do was keep these idiots distracted long enough that this "Hook" person could get his butt handed to him by the pupppet boy.

He just needed to hold their attention long enough and not get himself killed in the process.

[Hollow Ichigo]

Jushiro just stood their and watched he didnt want to jump in to fast and mess up any plans and by they way everything was looking he felt he wasnt need at this time. Jushiro watched as they fought and a smirk spread across his face. They were fighting with ture passion something he didnt have anymore. Jushiro continued to watch intel his chest began to pulse and blood escaped from his mouth onto the battle scarred ground around him.

*************

Toshiro continued to head toward therising fire that covered part of the forest. he couldnt what to see his brother and knew the first thing he would do was kill him for being the main reason his mother was killed.

[Luzifer]

The fight continued to drag on for several more minutes. Andras was now engaged completely with the warrior and for the most part he was able to use the warrior as a living shield from the sorceresses spells. She wouldn't dare attack Andras while her friend was in the line of fire and for as long as that lasted he was able to focus his attention almost solely on the warrior. Almost. He did have the annoyance of the puppet which kept darting in with its knives trying to stab him but he was able to keep that at bay as well. But it was all he could do not to get killed. He had already taken a horrific gash across the chest... blood was starting to stain his shirt but he knew if he tried to retreat he would get stabbed from behind. He had managed to give the warrior a couple close calls but hadn't actually wounded him, predominately because his sword wasn't designed to "wound". It killed or it didn't. If he had hit the warriors harm like he almost had the warrior would have lost the limb, not taken some meager to-the-bone cut.

He hadn't cast any spells since the Pit of Shades, mostly because the damn sorceress had used a blinding light spell to stun him while the warrior cut into his chest, which was why he had the massive wound in the first place. With so much bloodloss Andras wouldn't have the vitality he needed to cast his spells.

Suddenly Vanar's blade clashed hard against Andras' own and he was forced down to the ground. For that moment he was exposed and for a second he looked defeated but he gritted his teeth and muttered, "I will not... break... my promise!" and lunged up catching Vanar in the stomach with his knee while the warrior was still bringing up his blade. Before Andras could really do anything to exploit his new found advantage the puppetmistress attacked him with new found fury and shout "VANAR!!" Andras was forced to jump back from the attacking puppet but not before gently slicing Vanar's arm with the entire length of his blade. Andras smiled... it was time for his Gambit. He wiped the blade with his hand, draining the life from the fresh and still warm blood. Gathering the energy he spoke the arcane words, "Vensel's Danse Macabre" His leg muscles went taught with barely contained power and tension and he sprinited towards the puppetmistress. He passed both Vanar and the puppet before they had a chance to react and not even the sorcerous was able to ready one of her catalyst driven spells before he had his arms around the exposed puppetmistress (the pit of Shades having long since faded away when it stopped serving its purpose and he cut the umbilical cord of power that connected him and it). He slipped one arm around the puppetmistress shoulders and stuck his fingers into her chest, between the collarbone and her breasts. Her skin seemed a liquid to his fingers as they slid in, the thin material did not rupture but rather allowed his necromatic fingers entrance into their protectorate. He felt around and soon found what he was looking for, that thin and precious thread of life that existed within all creatures. He smiled as he gently began to manipulate it bring it right to the tip of his fingers just as he put his own near the same point. He whispered with a gentle malice into the puppetmistress' ear, "I'm going to be burrowing you for a little while. This will hurt" he then smiled and looked up from where he had been staring, his hand as he carefully had manipulated the life threads. "Nefreta's Life Knot!" he shouted and suddenly the two threads were tied together, overlapping one another in a perfect mixture.

A wave of relief flooded into Andras as exactly half his pain and wounds left his body and Esmeralda buckled slightly in his grip when those same wounds and pains were given unto her. Her features paled slightly and his grew slightly more colored as their lifeforces balanced out.

[Hyuuga "Corkskrew" Te]

Hiding within a nearby bush, Stone and Sine watched the fight, Stone smiling slightly. If she entered the fray now, it would be useless and somewhat silly. After all, Sine was still recovering from their last fight. But, she thought, I have to admit that this man, this sorcerer-warrior, is quite capable. I've never seen someone use this particular spell before.

She absently began stroking her marionette's hair, attempting to analyze each combatant in turn so she could determine the best course of action.

(OOC: I'm sorry it's so very short, but I'm not part of the fight.)

[Efrieda Arwaltz]

(OOC: I must apologize for my long time away. Immediately following my return home on the 18th, my family decided to take a vacation which required that I spend a little while in a Toaist retreat somewhere in Montana. I haven't had internet access for two weeks. I'm back now and I'll be able to perform my work as a GM. I actually couldn't have informed everone, I had to leave practically the moment I got home. I was given an hour and a half to pack and then we had to leave. Again, sorry.)

Esmeralda almost vomited at the sudden pain in her body. As far as she knew brother was uninjured and Bridget was fine. She had yet to hear from Roswell for several minutes. As far as she knew, she wasn't wounded, but it felt as though the puppetmistress had suffered significant nerve trauma.

***

Bridget had found her opening. Her adversary's actions exposed a new weakness. Though she wasn't well-versed in Shadow Element magic, she knew enough to perform a simple binding spell. Even though she couldn't use magic controlled by the Law gods, she still had studied many of the spells that were available to those who made the ritual or had "the gift." The spell that the pseudo-necromancer had used had effectively bound him to Esmeralda. Most of the puppetmistress's clothes were silk. Silk operated as a wonderful catalyst for magic. Bridget figured that she could use Alda as a catalyst and Bind the one who had attacked her. Silent casting such a spell would ordinarily be impossible for Bridget, but the cover or shadows over the area, plus the fact that she had paid a sorcerer to create a Binding Contract for her almost a year ago would make speaking completely irrevalent.

Ordinarily, a Binding spell using a contract would require the mark of the one that it was binding. A blood sample would suffice and thankfully, much of the attacker's blood was smattered around. It would be a stretch, but Bridget believed that the spell could be used to force him to submit to her whim. Of course, due to the specificity of the Binding, it would only function for as long as the man was attached to Alda and Bridget had no idea how long that would be. Still, it was worth the risk.

Retracing the steps that the battle had taken, Bridget located a small pool of blood that had belonged to the fake necromancer. Dipping her right index and middle finger in, she extracted a small sample and placed it onto the appropriate point of the contract.

'I have just the thing for this.' She thought, reaching into her bag and removing a small, silver knife. Silver was the magic anchor that would allow the God of Law to to recognize the contract as valid. She quickly located the tree that produced the greatest amount of strength to the Leylines and placed the contract against its bark. 'I'll need to speak a little to activate the contract, but by the time he can act, it'll be too late.'

"You whose blood stains the Holy Ground of the Great Judge, Submit!" Bridget drove the knife through the top of the parchment, pinning it to the tree. 'The effect should be instantaneous. The combined being of Esmeralda and the other one should bend to my will whenever I command.' It would hurt to place commands that effected her friend, but it was something she would, for the moment, need to endure.

***

Selene pulled herself onto shore, immediately feeling the presence of magic.

"That must be Bridget." she said out loud. "Guess I should change into something a little more useful." It had been a true gift to be able to abandon formal dialect, at least for the time being. The stuffy talk of aristocrats never interested the undine. She liked the way Roswell and Bridget talked a lot better, so she opted for that style to speak whenever possible.

'Changing is always a real pain, but at least I have the water nearby to help.' The 'change' that Selene could go through involved using the water's nature as a solute to disslove some of her body's elements, rebuilding them using whatever biologocal components she could access. In short, she used water, sand and dead fish and plants to turn herself human. She figured it would take a few minutes to get used to walking again. She had taken almost a year to learn how to walk the first time, and since then she had constantly looked for more excuses to do so.

After her transformation, Selene reached into the watertight bag she had brought with her and donned a long, cream-colored skirt like she had seen Bridget wear before. After a few unsteady steps, the undine got use to walking again and set off to find her friends.

'They're in trouble again, I can almost feel it.'

[Hollow Ichigo]

Jushiro continued to watch. This was a very good fight. Jushiro let his white hair sway in the air in tel he felt a familiar force. It was his brother. Jushiro turned around quickly as Toshiro stood looking at him with a grin on his face. Jushiro toke a step back as he remember everything.
"Toshiro my brother..........Why are you here?" Jushiro toke another step back as he felt his anger. He hate Jushiro and Jushiro knew this. He no longer had his,little brother. He was gone only this monster of death and destruction was left.

"Jushiro you know why i am here.you are the direct cause of my mother's death and their for i will destroy you know matter what." Toshiro pulled out his large silver gun as he toke a step back. He pointed the gun at Jushiro as the fighting continued. He grinned before releasing four or five shots at him. No one could tell how many their were due to the fact that the echo of the shots made some believe one thing when their was something else.
Toshiro rushed toward his brother as the dust cleared from his shots. He jumped into the air above him and spinned firing three shots at him. He landed on the ground and looked as the dust cleared. Jushiro wouldn't die that easy even if he has his disease.

Jushiro rushed out of the dust and Toshiro landed. he had all ready drew both his sword and kick Toshiro back into the tree directly behind him 4 yards away. Jushiro was a guardian above everything else. He could see something and know how far away it was. Jushiro jumped into the air as Toshiro hit the tree. The cloud themselves began to turn black as lighting traveled to the ground and flashed around everyone. Jushiro didn't want to use this one but he may have to. This would be very hard. Jushiro pointed his sword into the air and lighting traveled down its blade. Even if Jushiro could control Lighting,if it hit him like it was it could kill him. Lucky,Jushiro was smart. he used his second katana to point downward at Toshiro using himself like a lighting rod. The lighting traveled down his body to the tip of his second blade. The light formed a ball before releasing in a wave. The wave slammed into the ground around Toshiro,then finely hitting him. The dust rose as Jushiro landed on the ground. The lighting continued to flash as he felt his katana in his stance.


Toshiro slowly stood to his feet. A shield of fire slowly lowered around him. His body was covered in dirt due to the fact that he had been hit by Jushiro's attack. He growled before spitting blood on the ground. This made him mad and he would make him pay.

[Luzifer]

Suddenly a great weight heaved itself onto Andras' shoulders and there it seemed to die, a cold dead mass that choked the life from his lungs. His knees buckled and he would have completely fallen had not he used his blade as leverage to keep himself up, albiet without his legs to support him. "Tch..." he clucked his tongue against the back of his teeth... an intense hatred burning inside him toward... nothing really. Perhaps it had been preceded by a slight terror but terror was such a...weak emotion. Long ago he had learned to channel his fear into fury and now it burned white hot in his chest and twisted along his every nerve. And from his nerves the hatred was spread to all things evenly, to the sun for having blinded him at one point, to the puppetmistress for having bombed him, to the warrior for slicing him, to the sorcereress for having not only wounded him but binded him by using his own life knot (the fact he had taken someone elses freedom with him was as much comfort as telling a soldier that before he had gotten cut down by an arrow he had crushed a worm that had gorged itself of enemy soil). But these were not the main focus of his loathing. Indeed, they were but the background, as the world had always been but a background to him, someplace he existed in but was (in his mind) never truly a part of.

Some dry and painful smirk slit his face as he slowly regained his footing, though still leaning heavily on his blade while the drip-drip sound of blood from his shirt pattering against the ground made a nuanced rythem to the entire affair. For a long time this rage had burned low... always their but for a long time channel merely as a constant contempt... how starkly and how clearly he remembered the two other time his fury had burned this hot! How he had wanted to shatter the world like a pane of glass and reveal the nothingness and everythingness (black as day yet bright as night) from which all things came and to which it would all go. But then, as now, he was powerless to do anything like that.

And his smirk cried tears of blood.