Lords of Creation (Story Thread 2)

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox was drifting in darkness. Everything was fading as his life drained from him. It would be so easy to just let go and fall into the sweet embrace of death.  But no, some spark within him kept him alive. A single spark that began to grow.
Aox was drifting again, but this time through his own memories. He remembered, he remembered his motivation. He had to prove himself. He couldn’t die, not here, not now.  He had to uphold his promise to prove crafting’s power. All the while the spark within him grew, building up.

The first sign of what was happening to Aox manifested as a light glow about his wounds. A dull hum echoed eerily in the air. In the stands, Crav smiled wryly. This fight was far from over. The hum escalated into a series of loud thumps. The sound of a heartbeat, Aox’s heartbeat. Static began to crackle across Aox’s body.  His skin began to glow. A hot wind picked up, swirling about him in a cyclonic fashion.

Slowly Aox got up, rising as though he were being lifted by invisible strings.  The wind increased, kicking up dust and grit. Carefully, Aox opened his eyes. They were solid blue and glowing like stars. Then he spoke. His voice was different, layered with something unnatural.

“Now look what you’ve done. I have to fix this.” He said slowly and clearly.

But he wasn’t talking to Kagehana, he was talking past her at some unseen subject. Or perhaps he was talking to himself, that much was unclear. Aox raised a hand and his satchel burst open as screws, metal plates, wire, and other miscellaneous parts flew out and began to swirl about Aox. Many of the pieces moved to his severed hand, where they connected together forming a rudimentary hand.

Aox flexed his new hand and smiled crookedly at Kagehana. The rest of the pieces moved to his other arm where they coalesced to create a set of metal claws. Aox began to laugh. It wasn’t a hearty, happy laugh. It was insane, unhinged.

“Heh heh heh….Do you yield?”

[Mik_Hael]

Dephos: nod "Affirmative"

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Crav nodded in approval at Aox's strange transformation. Finally, he had found his inner strength.

Sarina gasped in astonishment. She had never see such a thing. Not surprising considering she had been created so recently.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Then lets do this!" She shouted, placing her hand on the crystal.

"Lets." Said the Reasonable, joining her.

[Zaleramancer]

Delicious..

The delicate banquet of fear and unease. Oh delicious.

Itself wanted more. Itself hungered for the horror of nations.

Itself moved along the roofs and walls of the village, moved like a beast or a insect- scuttling and jumping with great speed. Itself saw something. Yes, it did. One of the fearing was alone. All alone in the darktime.

So silly, these things were. Knew they not that Itself hunted in the dark-time?

Along the walls Itself crept, many arms moving, flowing black hair covering. Red eyes glowed. Steel teeth gnawed.

The fearing screamed. It screamed and screamed.

Itself feasted.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

The Vandals gathered in formation outside of their hole, under the tall afternoon sun. The females anyway. The drones stood off to one side. Their were considerably fewer of them them than the soldiers, and their training would be specialized. Each Vandal held a crude wooden shield, and a long piece of wood. It had been all the Veteran could whip up on short notice. Culture was all well and good, but he needed to tell show them, to let them no what it is they were.

To this end, he had ordered everyone out onto the hot sand of the desert, handed out their weapons, and formed them into the columns that he not strode in front of. They had taken to it like fish to water. It was, after all, encoded onto their very souls. But you couldn't rely on that. Some things need to be taught.

He looked out over the sea of attentive faces, and began to speak in a clear, commanding voice.

"You done good in the tunnel. Hollowed yourselves out a nice littler place to live. I'm proud of you! I also saw some of you taking the time to carve out little pictures in the wall, and I proud of that to. When I walked down one tunnel, I heard some of you humming, and form the words to a song, and I'm Damn proud of that. You could excel in anything you chose to do, farming, art, trade."

There was a general murmuring of agreement from the Vandals, but it stopped when the Veteran continued.

"But I didn't give you the strength to lift ten times your body weight so's you could farmers. I didn't give you tough armored shells so's you could be artists. And I didn't give fill ya with three different type of poison so you could be traders."

There is a general confused outcry at the last comment, before the Veteran held up his hand for silence. The Vandals quieted again.

"I made you to be soldiers, defenders, protectors. That's what you are, at the core of your very being. In times of peace to be just another race, in times of war to become the most feared fighting force this world has ever known. But to be a soldier, you have to know what you're fighting for. You ain't gonna do it out of pride! That's the warriors way, and I didn't make a race of warriors. And your not gonna do out of "justice." Only horrible things come from that sort of thinking. Think that way, and soon you're doing things to people "For their own good." No, you fight because you need to, because you have something you want to protect. If you don't think you have anything, look beside you." heads turned obediently.

"You do it for them. Now, lets start with the basics. "SHIELDS UP! SPEARS FORWARD! NOW, LETS MARCH!"

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

(0 motes previously +3 motes, Total: 3 motes)

Kagehana: "I see. It is unfortunate that you choose this route."

The shadows swirl ever tighter and faster around Kagenobara as they disappear from around the Clone-Blade. Kagehana raises the Clone-Blade, then swings it, activating its power for the first time for others to see. From its blade blasts forth a dozen swords formed of light, the same type as those that Tirion had used in the first round.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Hidden by her illusions, Brynhildr watched as the chaos went on and salaciously licked her fingers that had had the blood from the heart on them. The heart had tasted so good, but the amount of ruckus showed that the next time she killed, she'd need to hide it with her illusions. All she needed to do now, was to wait fornight...

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox wagged his finger at Kagehana as several black pots ignited themselves and burst forth from his satchel. They dropped the ground where they exploded into dense clouds of thick smoke. Aox disappeared into the smoke, where he could not be seen.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Kagehana raised both Kagenobara and the Clone-Blade, this time swinging with both at the cloud of dust, with Kagenobara letting loose a Midnight Fang and with the Clone-Blade releasing another half dozen swords of light at the cloud of dust.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

There was silence. No sound came from the cloud of smoke. the air seemed to stand still with anticipation. Then there came the smallest of sounds.

*click*

Aox rocketed out of the cloud with his spring loaded boots. His hook blade and newly created metal claw pointed at Kagehana. He was upon her in an instant. Slashing, hacking and clawing with inhuman determination.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Kagehana moved as fast as she could to block Aox's attacks. This was much more interesting than before. Kagehana activated the Clone-Blade's power yet again, only this time, it wasn't one of Tirion's techniques, it was Nayotake's. A snake-head formed of several katana blasted forth at Aox to bite him into unconsciousness.

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

Nayotake: "Hey! That's my technique Kagehana! Why're you using it?"

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox crouched low to dodge the initial attack and rolled to his left. With a shake and a squeeze, a small nozzle appeared from his wrist. Taking aim Aox unleashed a stream of cold sticky mud at the snake head.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Kagehana grinned, her ruse had worked. She swung Kagenobara sideways twice unleashing two consecutive Midnight Fangs and simultaneously forming shuriken from the shadows before throwing them at Aox as well.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox rolled, mud still streaming from his nozzle. The shadow attacks collided with Aox and the mud creating a muddy explosion. It was impossible to see what had happened as mud coated everything.

Suddenly a pulse of blue glowing light displaced the mud, revealing Aox. Aox's back and sides were covered in metal plates, held in place by the same blue light that had built his replacement hand and Metal claws. His legs were cut up a bit from the attacks, but his torso was fine.

Slowly Aox pulled himself to his feet, shaking dried mud from his clothes.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Kagehana grinned. It might be time to end this soon with either her loss or Aox's but it was going to be fun. Kagehana slashed yet again with both the Clone-Blade and Kagenobara for a Midnight Fang and a multi-colored arc of light (burning) similar to Tirion's from the first round.

[Zaleramancer]

There was a distant caw and a thin stick fell from the sky to land next to Aox.

It was little more than a long twig, still carrying most of the bark and a small leaf at the end.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox acted quickly tossing two explosive pots into the on coming attacks. He rolled to the side. Something poked him in the side as he rolled. As he landed he picked up the object. It was a stick. Strange, where did it come from? Aox slipped the stick into his belt, it may come in handy.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

The attacks collide with the explosives, causing a large explosion in the arena. As the explosion occurs, Kagehana quickly fires off another Annihilation Blast and swings the Clone-Blade to fire off a dozen swords of light at Aox.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox ducks and turns his back to the attack. His metal plating absorbs most of the shock, but still sends him flying forward. As he streaks towards the edge of the arena he extends his feet. Seconds before he collides with the wall his boots activate, the springs extend and propels himself in the other direction.

He launches arrows and razor disks as he speeds back towards Kagehana.