Avatar RP VIII: Chapter VII: Timing

[Shyria Dracnoir]

One minute the world was chaos, blood, and fire. The next minute, Shyria was sitting flat on her butt in the middle of a battle scarred wasteland, Arhra's severed arm still clenched in her teeth. After her brain took a moment to settle, she spat the offending limp onto the ground and watched it dissolve into smoke and slime.

"You think an all powerful chaos god could at least try to taste a little gamy" she muttered to no one in particular. She glanced up at one of the remaining monitors. Just over a minute remained before...well, she couldn't really remember just what was going to happen, only that it was very unpleasant and almost certainly painful. Something caught her ear

Originally Posted by Mauve Mage

"Sooooo.... is anybody still alive out there? Hello?" she paused, listening for a reply over the screaming blue fire. "If you guys are dead, can I have your stuff?"

Ah ha! The best part of any battle; looting the corpses. Sadly, Arhra's unexpected exit had left Shyria with literally nothing more than a bad taste in her mouth, but perhaps Mauve had stumbled on something profitable. She proceeded to follow the sounds of horrible fiery destruction back to the others.

[Teal Mage]

"Normally, yes." Voice still slightly slurred and dream like, Arhra II elaborated, as if Rose's statement had been a question. "The hearts of others are not easily overcome. But her soul is in hiding and so -" Disjointed after images stumbling chaotically around her, the Dark Sorceress continued her shambling advance across the cavernous chamber. "-she is vulnerable."

"Well," Rose growled, levelling her bow. "I'm not."

"You can't save her." It was a statement. "You can't even save yoursel-"

A solid thud cut the Sorceress off.

Body surrounded by a nimbus of fury, Steel Shadow appeared in front of Arhra, delivering a round house kick to the woman that sent her after images reeling.

"That's very nice. But," Landing soundlessly on his sneakers, the dark haired time traveler addressed Rose, "it's not a very impressive threat when you don't have the means to back it up."

"s'what I have friends for." Rose replied, flashing a warm smile and lowering her bow.

"That was an impressive attack, Ms. Sorceress." Steel turned his attention back toward Arhra II, "But, you really should know, I can move faster than you can think. Especially since I took another one of these lil' pills of doom, 'cause apparently no one else wanted them. For you see-"

"Nova Shot!"

Steel decided to gloat later.

* * * * * *

Safely surrounded by a, faintly red, bubble of frozen time, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. At her feet was the unconscious form of Arhra I; an infinitely better place than inside Arhra II's sinister looking magic-book-machine. White light flooded the bow in her delicate hand and the weapon quickly shrank back its former dagger state.

Outside the shield, blinding incandescent light erupted as Pyros' collapsed star struck connected with Arhra II. Had Steel's shield been less perfect, Rose would have remarked at how pretty the roaring pyre of a sun imploding upon itself was. However, as it was, nothing - not even light or sound - could penetrate the protective shield around the group.

"...any takers?" Steel concluded, ending his impromptu strategy session by offering the bag of small red pills to the group inside the shield.

"Are they candy flavored?" Mauve asked, taking one of the pills and regarding it with suspicion. "Oh well. We'll make do with what we have, I guess."

Seemingly agreeing with Mauve's sentiments, Bishoujo silently retrieved her own pill, moving to the barrier's edge.

"They do seem too good to be true." Rose offered, returning Dee to her belt. Orange-red hair trailed lazily behind her as she approached the proffered cache. Unhurried, she extended a hand - they had time, right? "I'll take-"

Fingers hanging inches from the pills, Rose paused as a strange high pitched whine reached her ears. "What?" Frowning, she turned her teal eyes toward the source.

Only to see a brilliant cross of blue light bulging and straining against the faintly red fabric of Steel's barrier.

Eyes widening, Rose closed her hand over four of the pills.

And suddenly, everything went white.

* * * * * *

"Sooooo...." Mauve's voice tentatively floated over the burning wasteland around her, "is anybody still alive out there?" Surrounded by a curtain of faint purple energy, she'd survived without a scratch. "Hello?" When no reply came immediately, she added, "If you guys are dead, can I have your stuff?"

Suddenly, the flames around her warped, as if pulled by a powerful vacuum. They resisted momentarily, before jerking forward in a nearly blinding flash of reds, purples, blues and whites. There was a muffled impact, before the normally dim ambient light of the chamber took their place.

Breathing harshly, Rose stood a handful of paces behind Mauve, weak red light flickering around her form. The cuts that she'd gained from Arhra II's earlier had begun to bleed again, the newly reopened wounds stinging in the sudden sweat that had appeared on her skin. The mage's eyes were screwed tightly shut.

Extended in front of her chest and spaced a short distance apart, the woman's delicate hands trembled. A mass wildly fluctuating of red, gold, white, blue and purple energy hung between her almost claw-like finger tips, suspended in a nearly solid aura of deep red light.

Beads of sweat fell from her bowed head, soundlessly turning to steam instants later.

Rose's lips moved silently, as her hands haltingly contracted around the condensed mass of Fury, Chaos Magic and apocalyptic flames.

With a final soundless flash, the orb vanished.

Panting, Rose collapsed to her knees. Thin lines of blood slowly moved from her arms and the outside of her legs, dripping slowly to the charred floor of the chamber. The aura of Fury around her slowly began to rekindle, but containing, controlling, relocating and neutralizing that much chaotic power was no easy task, even with four doses of infinite power to draw from.

At least she'd managed to keep most of the flames from getting to her allies.

Hopefully. She tiredly amended.

[Overcast]

Overcast was caught with a couple spines, but nothing worth noting in the long run. Thankfully he had invested in sleeves so his armor of mismatched clothes had bounced him a good distance before it all went temporal anomaly on him again. It was one of those reality rippers that he usually slipped into the universe on, and from what he gathered it had done a double Arhra removal. Which was unfortunate because he was sure one of them was rather nice.

Getting back on his feet he brushed himself off and decided to get a look at the time, which was currently so low that he could only figure they were all completely doomed. So he shrugged and followed after Shyria to the battle down below, where fury powered madness tore up the last remaining version of the Elite Boss level sorceress. It was a bit late for him to add a support role here, so he stood by. Waiting to see the result, ready to add a helping hand if he could.

But really what could he do right now?

[PyrosNine]

Pyros hit the ground hard, and on his back, feeling the usual powerdrain after such a shot. His body, as usual per use of the attack, felt like all the vitality had been sucked out with a hoover. He also felt cold, like those guys at the end of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and Captain Barbossa.

Even the warmth of his own explosion didn't recoup his losses, due to several pesky laws of thermodynamics. It did however, send him flying back into the distance, where something metallic broke his fall, and something else hard and not smooth broke his head. He wasn't sure at this point, because he was pretty stunned and unsure of much beyond the fact that unless he'd killed something just now, he was in trouble. Also, a cat is not fine too, he was sure of that!

Memories.

There was the last dimension, swallowed up and spit out. There was the one before that. He'd died twice, he'd even given them names, in his humor. Pyros 9.1, and Pyros 9.2. The Pyros of this place, his successor, would be called 9.3, if he was going to be stupid about all this.

Things were serious now. He knew he'd have to be a little more serious, a little less chaotic in dealing with another chaotic, but it was hard. And their fights were like high speed Calvinball on crack.

Was time running out here as well?

He wondered, was there a Raiden for this place? Did that scientist, did she have a father? He'd not taken the time to consider the events that came before, what little backstory he'd had he'd ignored. He'd been orphaned during the course of these adventures, it was easy to forget. Too much to do. Not in character to grieve.

Not enough time to...


* * *

Elsewhere, another being who timeshared the name Pyros was much brighter spirits, as she most certainly was not feeling the post-exhaustion emotional low.

"Mmmm-hm! I declare, this new piece of work combined with my operative designs, old refurbished space equipment, and my esteemed colleagues ideas stolen wholesale, I reckon I've built me a real beaut of a starship, with all the fixins'!" She poured herself a tall glass of Southern Sweet Tea flavored Ice Cream, and poured some homemade lemonade on that for an Arnold Palmer float for victory.

"Ooh, and this sped up development and construction time like a gal with a lump of coal in her britches!"

Dr. Ethington took a spoonful and savored it. Sooo goooood. She hoped things were going well for everyone else who wasn't in a lab succeeding at life, love, and spaceships.

Of course, the scanners were still going off the charts, with warnings about time fluctuations, tears in the fabric of reality, and dangerously high levels of chaos, but Dr. Ethington preferred to prioritize things that one could mount a dragon onto over pretty much everything else.

She even had begun contracting a mad hatter sort to make a giant, dragon sized space tophat and monocle, for classy and dapper interstellar action!

[Arhra]

In the aftermath, NPFers found themselves in an ashen wasteland.

The chamber was grey, ash sifting down like powdery snow. The floor and walls were buckled and sagging, glowing with dull red heat in places. Black smoke diffused from the pools of oil on either side of the double door ahead but most of it had already burned away.

"Sooooo.... is anybody still alive out there?" Mauve asked, looking about the desolation for traces of the others. "Hello?" the mage of mauve magicks paused. "If you guys are dead, can I have your stuff?"

Stray illuminations pushed through the settling murk like spotlights, a gathering glow where the sorceress had stood.

"You can have this." II rasped.

Arhra II looked profoundly unwell. She was skin and bones, as if all the strength had simply evaporated out of her body. Her chest heaved with every breath. The excessively elaborate costume she favoured was reduced to rags, her pale flesh was blackened and smeared with ash. The wound Shade had inflicted almost half an hour ago was bleeding freely again. Her one wing was barely there, flakes of shadowy colour drifting around a more solid frame. The streamers of Fury bleeding from where she'd ripped her other wing free were brighter by far. The ghostly images around her swarmed like they were trying to escaping, flickering with bands of static. The mysterious book she'd summoned was no-where to be seen.

Blue light glowed in front of II, a burning core surrounded by a nebulous sphere that shaded to pink at its outside. Sparks were pulled in and pulled apart, transforming into motes of light, more condensing out of the air and being drawn in. On the ground around her, spindly shapes of blue light twisted and flowed like the shadows of birds racing over the landscape. They wheeled around her.

"I'm giving it my all." she said, warping space in strange ways as she fed it her chaotic power. "A special collection-type just for you." It continued to build, gathering up spent energy from the spells and abilities that had been tossed around in the battle so far.

Also there was less than a minute until the countdown reached zero.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Geist

Geist was just about to sit down and enjoy his pizza when he was harassed by some random chick. He was this close 6to throwing a chair at her, but he noticed she looked suspiciously like the crazy bitch from earlier. Her twin? God he just couldn't escape!

"I was," the cranky spectral responded, "he kicked the bucket though. Got carted off my rats or something I don't know. The jack-asses are over at the big tower place fighting a crazy bitch who looks unnervingly like you before the countdown finishes and we all die. I'm just going to enjoy my pizza in the final few minutes so please let me have some peace!"

With these parting words of grumpiness Geist walked over to one of the booths and put his pizza down. Why would she waste his time at a dire moment like this? He only had a few minutes before the timer went off and he wanted to fisnish his goddamn pizza even if he didn't have a stomach.

Bard

Contrary to what the Summon believed, the Summoner actually didn't die and get carted off by Scavengers. In fact, he was very much alive as he had elected to hang back behind his meatshields. However, he was finding it to be increasingly hard to hang back and perform some crazy rituals with tons of Overcast/Intern-nin fanfiction falling over head. After he found one of Geist/Australia, he gave up on trying to attune this blade to work for summonings. Oh yeah, the fire was sort of problematic as well. Bard was just inches away from meeting a 21st death in the same day, but he managed to avoid that fate due to the efforts of Rose.

"Thanks..." he mutteres to her as he arose from the ground. Shit, well, Pyros gained his repsect. Capable of making a wasteland from almost nothing but good old fire.

His attention was suddenly returned to the battle at hand though. It appeared Ahrha II was still not fucking dead. She was charging some attack as well. It appeared to be a collection of all trhe abilities used against her. However fortunate for Bard though, he had not made use of his own abilities for any form of offense! He was surely the anamoly!

How would he do it though? Why the old fashioned way of course! Trusty knives! Or knife. But how to do it without getting close to her? He had just the answer!

FLASHBACK

Bard had quite a smile as he walked to the manager's office. He'd had his job at the circus for only a week, and he was slowly becoming a hit already. With Geist, Shade, and Berserker backing him up in the acts he was stealing the show no problem.

It was actually by chance he joined these guys. He was just fitting in with that last cult group, but he was a bit unsettled by the heavy levels of rat poison in the same cabinet as the kool-aid, so he decided he best leave. He was just sort of going through a phase when he joined them anyways.

The act was quite a hit. He's juggle knives, let one cut him, call Shade to help with the next trick, all sorts of stuff. He had become very skilled with knives over thew course of things. He was simply the best their was. Throwing knive, juggling, in fact, some people began to have suspicions it was a fetish. His relationships with his knives were completely platonic though! He swears!

That was why he was so crest-fallen when the boss fired him. "But why!" the summoner cried.

"Because your actions are much too imitable," he responded, "all's it will take is one emo or just plain stupid kid before the complaints start to roll in!"

WIth a frown on his face, Bard began his departure once again. He had very few possessions, so it only took a few minutes for him to pack up and say his good-byes. He would have to move on to other things...

---

It begins to dawn upon him that the entire flashback was a complete waste of time. Armed with his single knife, Bard glared up at the Sorceress who was charging her final attack. The one thing few had tried so far was the most mundane solution. A good ol' knife to the face.

Lifting his arm in the air he swung it backwards and sent it flying at the Ahrha II's face with great accuracy. The entire climax of the fight was almost probably hanging on his shoulders.

[Overcast]

Overcast stared at the sorceress as she took her time building up her final attempt at killing them all, which altogether seemed unnecessary seeing as they were all likely to die very soon anyway due to the the bombs and their lack of a solution to that problem. Still as long as he was playing in this scene he may as well see this through to its bad end. He took off his gloves and sat down staring at the mass of building chaos,

"I swore I said this once before. I don't believe in magic."

He decided to take a support role holding out his hands for anyone to use,

"But I know all I touch becomes stronger."

Win or lose it was almost over. Not much use fighting anymore.

[Arhra]

Geist was dealing with the irritating appearance of yet another Arhra at the pizzeria. This one was a mess biologically: half succubus, half dragon, half ghost, half magical rock and completely lacking in useful powers as the result of ill advised fusions. She still looked mainly like a succubus. Of the turtle detective she had been travelling with, there was no sign.

"I was," Gesit replied, talking about being with Bard. "he kicked the bucket though. Got carted off by rats or something I don't know. The jack-asses are over at the big tower place fighting a crazy bitch who looks unnervingly like you before the countdown finishes and we all die. I'm just going to enjoy my pizza in the final few minutes so please let me have some peace!"

The spectre moved to a booth, hoping to eat his pizza in piece.

Gestalt Arhra followed him, slinging a weapon the approimate size of herself off her back and sliding into the bench opposite the spook.

"Don't tell me One finally snapped." she said, face draining of what little colour it had.

Geist corrected her; it was the person who looked and dressed like she did. Her outfit could be summarised as complicated, black and revealing. Wings made so many things difficult. Therefore the crazy bitch was Arhra II.

"But she was the calm and rational one." Gestalt Arhra protested feebly.

"Anyway, I hate dying." she said with a little pout. She helped herself to one of the slices of Geist's pizza. "Wouldn't you rather see things through?" she asked him around a mouthful of pizza. "Why not fight for glory without honor or humanity?" she leaned forward, looking at him intently. She was smiling. "Take a leap of faith."

"There will be pizza." Gestalt Arhra promised him.

She snatched his pizza box and ran towards the city center.

* * *

"I swore I said this once before." Overcast said, sitting and staring down II's spell. "I don't believe in magic."

His disbelief did not stop or even slow the buildup of magical destruction. He did not believe in magic, but it believed in him.

"But I know all I touch becomes stronger." the box headed man tried, looking at the NPFers and offering his hands.

That wasn't going to save them.

Bard had already saved them all.

Reflecting on his carnival days, the summoner had an epiphany. He was going to stab the sorceress in the face from afar by throwing a knife at her. It had already claimed the life of one Arhra and the happiness of another. It was hungry for more.

A dark shell unfolded around Arhra II, delicate as a soap-bubble. The dagger hit and stuck balanced on it point, golden sparks arcing from the contact.

The barrier had a moment of existential dread; it didn't believe it existed. The dagger slipped through, gold hugging where it touched.

The images around the soceress vanished a split second before the dagger hit. Whatever controlled her gathering spell was lost. The pink and blue sphere flopped forward like a toad and sank into the floor, eating through it.

Motions drunken and uncoordinated, Arhra II raised one hand to the knife's hilt. She pulled it out. The Fury she was filled with kept her alive even when it didn't make sense, blood trickling down her face. She looked at the bloodied dagger, vague puzzlement behind the burning rage in her eyes.

Marked only by its sudden absence, the red energy leaking from every wound stopped flowing.

Arhra II fell over sideways. The dagger fell out of her grip and skittered along the floor.

One problem gone.

0:32

One problem left.

The NPFers were in the bowels of the monster filled labyrinth beneath the Kurosen Tower. They were in a large chamber, wrecked by battle. Parts of it still radiated heat as the last of the ash drifted down into drifts. A dead Arhra was in front of them, pale body in a loose fetal curl. She was starting to glow. The hallway she had been blocking was now unprotected. The countdown had not stopped.

[PyrosNine]

Kitty Pyros decided that now was a good time to get GTFI, and deal with that there timer. He wasn't sure how this Kurosen worked related to the last one, and he really didn't have time to find out.

Though boy was he tired, even in his EnergyStar compliant form, he was still low on fuel, so to speak. He'd just skitter in there, find whatever looked like a green wire (it's never the blue wire!) and blast it with a kitty blast, assuming he could still muster one. After that, it was time for a warm nap on top of a radiator and a saucer of milk, and maybe a half pound of 'nip.

The inside of the tower Arhra had been blocking was...surprising.

[Overcast]

"We're fucking doomed. Well, you're all fucking doomed. I'll survive, probably take whats left of your cool items and totally screw them up with my awkward nature. Then you'll come back someday, and I'll still be here."

Overcast had been overcome with a large quantity of fatalism! Statistically he had just no other means to look at. He didn't think any one of them had taken bomb defusing 101, and altogether they were just going to die. Big bad fiery death.

He was just trying to get in the spirit.