- Zodiac - [Inactive]

Nikky followed behind Clark staring at the ground, her mind wondered back to the phone call. Once she got to her dorm, she’d do her homework, have a meal, go to sleep and then…


Halfway through Nikky looked up and started to recognize a familiar path, “Oh hey, I think I know this place!” she waved away the boy’s map, “I got this!” She started heading off in one direction and it wasn't soon she realized she was heading the wrong way. But Nikky didn’t seem fazed by this at all, it was more like she planned on it.


The girl smiled to herself examining the old abandoned area, not too far from there was a building most likely a factory. She was in complete investigator mode, a trance that took a boot to the face to knock her out of. She only had a bit more time left so she might as well experience as much as she could. She wondered toward the building wishing she had a camera on hand, it was old and filthy but still pretty neat. A stench filled her nose causing her to cough, the building was certainly in poor condition, but that didn't stop her from entering. All the mold and rotting parts only brought more novelty to it, right?


Nikky paused halfway inside to see Alice jump into a hole, she blinked tilting her head like a quizzical dog would. She approached it to find the hole was almost sucking her in to it, her eyes glowed with excitement. She then checked to see if anyone around was seeing what she was seeing.
 
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They were almost to the tower, running up the steep, rough path to where the girls were in trouble. The path itself was very coarse gravel, and he kept slipping slightly on it. It was about a meter wide, and when James looked over the side, he could see a coastline, covered in jagged rocks the size of his body, with the forceful waves ready to crush someone against them if they dodged the impaling.


He was a little behind Dominic, not being particularly fit, although he could run reasonably well, he'd had to enough, from legging it away from those who realised he was cheating in a staked game. He was still stumbling every now and then, even though he was now more careful, owing to the sight of what laid below.


At least it was a straight path he thought.


Suddenly, his foot slipped again. This time, though, it slipped a little further than normal, he fell onto his side, his arm, just stopping him from hitting his head on the gravel path. His legs were dangling over the sides, and he desperately tried to grab something as the rest of his body followed, but no no avail. Like some kind of movie scene, he was dangling from his two hands off of the edge, barely holding on to the granite sides of the path.


"DOMINIC!" He yelled, "HELP!"
 
Ulysses faced Adonna. He was happy to see that Adonna was ready to call upon his power, this is exactly what he was hoping Adonna would do in the situation. "Yes, yes! But to do this, I'd have to make a stronger pact with you this time. You may feel a burning sensation on your skull, forgive me." Ulysses closed his magenta spheres for eyes and his "third" eye opened on the forehead of his helmet. It ignited brilliantly, the ray of light emitting form the flaming eye shot to Adonna's forehead, creating a direct copy of Ulysses third eye. With this stronger momentary pact, Adonna's overall capability with Ulysses' Pyrokenesis and passive traits should be amplified much stronger than that of what she was able to do when she confronted Reese and his Arachnid Hollow. "Our own synergy is even more in tune, Adonna. Our own actions can speak a clearer language than that of words. Please, lead the way. I will still remain as your eyes and your fists. Haha!" Ulysses had levitated over to the base of Hotaru's tower. He peered upwards to find Hotaru looking out the window down at her rescuers. "Marabel, and Host! We'll get you down soon, keep still!" Meanwhile, up in the tower Marabel was asked a question she always caught a good giggle about. "Blood Type? I don't have a specific blood type... I can assume any type! What do ya' want? Name it!" Marabel cheered confidently.





~




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Damian stood a yard outside the castle doors, awaiting the expected entourage. From above he saw a beam of fire soar through the sky like a shooting star. A... Magenta, shooting star. Damian took nothing of it, and awaited his "friends." Lance stood beside him, eyes locked onto the path snaking its way into the forest. "But of course. That mut is here." Damian arched his brow to Lance's comment. "A... Mut? They brought a dog?" "No. A wolf. Kenshi. Me and him have an unhealthy history. You can practically blame him for all of this." The anger in Damian began to well up. A wolf who shared history with Lance. No doubt a Zodiac. And so far, a Zodiac was always with a Host. "I wonder who his Host is." Damian said not sounding so curious, but as if he had a hunch who it could be.





~




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Hierophant had placed his palm over his wound, the blood spilling from both exits swirled and clotted into a scab, then finally falling off revealing freshly rejuvenated skin. He again inhaled through his nose, sniffing out any close by Zodiacs. "Bastion." He whispered. Out of all the Zodiac's Bastion was the most of the enigma to Hier. As far as his power goes. But it wasn't anything above his understanding if Hier were to see it performed in person. "Scaling the tower, eh?" Hier placed his palm on the tower wall. His blue aura arced around the perimeter of the tower. The surge traveled from the top down to the base of the tower. The concrete that held the bricks together had been rendered to dust. The tower was nothing more than a bunch of stacked blocks. Hier laughed, hoping to throw the Host off with this next move. He clapped his hands together and a wave of high pressured wind had shot from his hands. At the same time, Hier had reverted to his near transparent state. Rendering him intangible to the falling debris. The bricks of the tower had been blown outward, causing a hailstorm of stone around the side of the castle. The force push had also destroyed the flooring underneath Hierophant causing him to fall. As he fell Hier charged up an more powerful surge in his hands. The energy coating his hand in two orbs of blue, ethereal power. His fall eventually caused him to come at Shun's level. Hier awaited the boys move.
 
As the owl watched Heirophant from within, Shun curiously observed the usage of his power to heal the wounds he had suffered.


Hotaru's healing? Has Heirophant stole our powers?


Shun's thoughts were entirely focused on uncovering Heirophant's source of power; however, it was the blue aura, enveloping the entirety of the tower, that brought Shun to reality with the answer he desired. As the concrete crumbled to dust and the blast of wind forced the tower to begin collapsing onto itself, time seemed to slow as Shun entered a state of quick decisions that would ultimately determine his survival.


Taking hold of Bastion's brush, Shun calmly observed the surrounding area all while attempting to sidestep any falling bricks that were to about hit his figure. He was standing on a spiral staircase that looped to the upper level of the tower. Such a staircase would be supported by the tower's inner wall and any floors in between; so that, once the support crumbled away, everything shy of the bottom few steps would have collapsed under its own weight. For Shun who had barely scaled the tower's height, making his way to a safe point in the stairwell was an easy task as he quickly drew a memory to the space above his head.


Time to test you power's full extent, Bastion.


Shooting the painting with his pistol, Shun smiled as a gust of wind, much similar to the one Heirophant had used, shot upward and removed the falling bricks that were about to rain upon his head. Sighing in relief of his safety, Shun watched as Heirophant slowly floated to his level with both hands brimming with the mysterious blue aura that defined his power.


"Rude, you destroyed quite a remarkable piece of medieval architecture."


Shun's tone was sarcastic as he attempted to stall the spirit through his words. Although Shun did not desire a battle, he felt as if one would be inevitable, and from what he had seen of Heirophant's power, fighting alone would not be an option. Briefly turning to focus to the owl which had miraculously survived the wreckage, Shun sent the bird from its hover above to the direction Adonna had went. It would be once she and her zodiac were located that the bird would settle itself atop Ulysses metal shoulder, and begin repeatably pecking his helmet. Shun hoped the zodiac would be capable of recognizing traces of Bastion's magic, and the dust of the crumbled tower covering the bird's self would hint to his current location.


"Really, I am only curious about this world, though it seems you aren't the type to have idle chat over tea."


Twirling bastion's brush between his fingers, Shun began preparations for the fight to come. Through the past several usages of his magic, Shun had come to a realization about his zodiac's power. The first realization was that he was capable of efficiently summoning anything within the bounds of his memories and mental capacity. The second realization was the efficiency and speed at which summoning could be performed. In the past, he made haste to paint each masterpiece prior to its creation; however, doing so used much more time and energy than necessary. Such a method would only be required for novel creations that Shun held no memories of.


Tapping the brush against the side of his head , Shun flicked his hand forward causing three splatters of multicolored paint to begin swirling in a circle around his form. Moving one splatter directly in front, Shun quickly shot it with Bastion's pistol sending the sonic boom from before directly at Heirophant. Shun knew Heirophant would be hardly affected by his own attack; however, in reality, it was an attack directed toward the spirit's mental state. Shun assumed the spirit believed he held the upper hand in this battle, and in directing an attack stemming from its source, Shun hoped it would cause a temporary mental confusion much similar to that which he felt upon seeing Hotaru's power used by another.


With two more paint splattered memories circling in wait, Shun carefully awaited Heirophant's next move all while hoping he would survive long enough for the remainder of his party to rescue the others. In terms of battle capabilities Shun knew he was no match for the spirit, but a smile of excitement came to his face as the battle of wits would prove fun nevertheless.
 
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A portal sits right in front of you, not knowing where it leads or how you'll get back home. Would you risk it? Would you jump in? If so, why?


That's where the danger of thinking comes in, when you start thinking about doing something, instead of just doing it. The more you think about it the more it will appear to be a much more difficult task than it actually is, and you'll soon find yourself just thinking instead of doing. You can’t just always rely on brains you also need the will to carry it out, and sometimes it might be difficult to find that happy inbetween.


"To another world?"


Nikky played with the thought in her mind, in truth she had no idea where the portal lead for all she knew it could just take her to the 711 down the road. But the idea of being sent to another world was much more interesting than being a realist. She sat a safe ways away from the portal as a precautionary just in case the portal happened to decide to pull her in. Absentmindedly, she picked up a piece of nearby debris and threw it in, watching it sink in and vanish. She continued to do so for a few minutes.


The girl sat back and looked up at the sky, it was cloudy and warm, a overall nice day to be outside. Nikky reached into her pocket and took out the scrap of paper and read it over once again, deciphering the awful handwriting as she did so.


JORNLSM CLUB!


Chek out rom 208


M W TH!


Too bad she wouldn’t be around for that, it’d probably be fun. Letting out a sigh of defeat she stood up to make her leave, there was no point in hanging around anyways. It was almost as if she just lost a battle, she paused and looked behind her at the portal. What was even the point of coming here then? Why did she even bother making an effort if in the end she was just going to throw everything away and go back to feeling like a burden? No, and slowly, she found herself turning around and walking back towards the hole. If she was going to leave and never see this city again, then to hell with it! Might as leave on her own terms, right? She remembered what she had told the man at the bus stop one day,


“I’d rather die trying to learn than die ignorant!”


The memory almost made her cringe. Though for all she knew this could really be her demise, but that didn’t stop her from jumping in and saving Ukime and Clark did it? Hell no! And if she’s going to be a journalist her first order of business will be what the hell is up with this city, and it’ll start with this portal. It was time to figure out how much weight her words really held. However, as she was in mid jump a thought occurred,


Maybe, just maybe… this was a bad idea?


Of course this thought had to happen at the last second, just as she was falling into the portal. Time to add this little experience to the list of regrets.
 
Clark stood outside the factory and decided to let Nikky explore it herself (like the gentleman he was). Going in there seemed like a death wish. It looked like the perfect hideout for a psychotic murderer. Why? Why did I let her lead the way. We were doing fine with the map but no I let her lead the way and here we are. Clark thought to himself as he impatiently tapped his foot and let out an aggravated sigh. Acting like an impatient child wanting to go home. Clark wondered if Nikky was the one killing the students. Who else would lead him to such a creepy place.


Clark was about to ask Nikky if she would hurry up but when he popped his head into the factory she was nowhere to be seen. Clark's eyes widened at the realisation of the sudden disappearance. Normally he would've been a bit more considerate and would've attempted to make sure Nikky was alright but his patience had run thin because of the whole day and now that Nikky was gone he decided that he could finally leave. And so he did.


One the way back he got some Chinese food to take away so he was all set for tonight. He ate the chinsese food which was surprisingly good, had a shower and then he resided to his laptop. This had become his evening routine of sorts. He pondered where Nikky vanished of to when Clark wasn't looking but in the end, after all he'd been through today, he didn't care.
 

???


| ??? |


| LIMBO |


Date: September 21, 2014

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Beside Alice's form appeared Tyrik, who was looking lost in wonder right off the bat. With her head tilted to the side, it was clear she was just as new as Alice was to this place. "It's a castle, we know that much." She replied simply. After seeing Alice's failed attempts twice, Tyrik already formed an escape plan. "I'll get this door open." Flinging her arm out to her side with an open palm, she grabbed her flaming scarf that always appeared around her neck. It unraveled to flow around in her grip before becoming stiff and changing completely into the Eliminator.


One good bash with the axe head, and the wooden door was shattered along with the protective shield. The space beyond the door was a corridor, one end leading to a staircase down, and the other leading to two other doors in the tower. Tyrik froze her movements upon detecting a familiar but unfavored presence. "Marabel." She growled the name. The Eliminator's dark and heavy steel swished through the air until it found itself splitting apart the next door down. The seal broken, the female Zodiac followed up her bash with a kick to let the door swing open, only to find Nikky on the bed. Whether or not she was awake, didn't concern Tyrik. "The hell? Another friend of yours, Alice?"


Huffing with anger, she moved on to the next door. Again her weapon made short work on the doors as well as the seals, freeing Hotaru from the captive room. Tyrik's grip on her weapon tightened upon seeing Marabel this close.


"You.."


Meanwhile, during Shun's ascension up Adonna's tower, Bastion had been making mental notes of Hier's ability as a threat. First sound waves, then turning the tower they were on into a set of Legos. His 'ability' was a hard one to grasp, not to mention his skill at hand-to-hand, taking on Ulysses the way he did. Don't forget, Takumi. My pistol can take life just as well as it can give it. If you don't have enough time or space to form something, use it. Truth be told, the gun did a lot more than what meets the eye; all it needed was ammo.


With Dominic having tunnel vision, James was lucky that he heard the plea that came from him. Instantly he stopped, his body skidding to a halt before darting his eyes back behind himself. James wasn't behind him. The stone James clung to was weak and slippery. With his weight pulling down one huge slab of stone, it threatened to slide out of it's socket and fall, taking him with it. Another slip, and the stone came free, James could only now feel gravity eagerly pulling him to the rocky sides below.


But then, his one free hand was caught, Dominic grabbed onto his wrist after having to dive in order to catch him. "Calm down-.. I got you!" Using all of his non-existent strength, Dominic worked to pull James back onto the narrow pathway, the effort stealing away any leftover energy he had in him. "This is insane-.." He panted. Their job was far from over, still. Dominic pushed himself up to his feet, despite his body's protests.


Again he was on the run, this time he was able to make it past the open gates and into the courtyard, where he instantly spotted his waiting friend. "DAMIAN!"
 
James desperately scrabbled for a better hold, Dominic was still running, but he'd never make it.


Suddenly, the rock gave way. It was pulled loose from the dirt, and James' eyes widened in horror as his adrenaline-fuelled mind instantly worked out what was happening.


As he began to fall, all seemed to slow down. He could see individual bits of dirt in the air, displaced by his movements trying to cling on. He saw a bird fly overhead, its feathers slowly rippling in the wind. That must have been Shun's owl, he realised.


Then finally, he saw Dominic, fear painted on his face, fear of losing someone else to this damned quest. He reached out, taking what seemed like aeons to reach him.


Then, it was like coming out of his bubble of slowed time, and everything came back to him ; the sound of his and Dominic's ragged breaths, the smell of salty water from far below. He was saved.


"Thank you" he muttered, before passing out.
 
For the second time in her life, Adonna was shot with the magenta beam. As Ulysses promised, it did burn, but abnormally so, a sensation that at the same time felt like and didn't feel like her skull itself was on fire. The aura around her, and the energy that tied them, she could feel it strengthening. It ended in a moment, Adonna unconsciously touching her forehead. It was done, she had his strength. For now. "I'll use it right, Ulysses. Thank you."


At that moment, almost comically, a fluffy predator of the night landed on Ulysses' shoulder. An owl? Upon perching, it began pecking Ulysses' helmet. Clank clank clank clank, like it wanted his attention. Looking quizzically at the owl, "One of your friends...?" she inquired to Ulysses. Was it a Zodiac? It had that feeling, that offsetting energy. A familiar feeling, as it were... wait. Owl... bird... A sparrow, a phoenix. And this feeling. Is this Shun's?


Crap. "Ulysses..." What was the best move here? Hotaru was still up in that tower, but if the owl was here, trying to get their attention, did that mean Shun was in danger? Where's the tactician's manual that comes with this place? she thought wearily. She had a plan formulating in her mind, but no confidence that it was the right one. There was a reason why cops moved in twos, or even in bulked up groups. Why armies moved in large bodies, why students traveled in packs. Was this the right thing to do? It would be bad to rush into a decision, but she still had to be timely decisive.


"Ulysses!" she spoke up more confidentially, "Can you follow the owl to Shun? I'll get Hotaru from the tower..." she faltered a moment, but steeled herself again. If this was a bad idea, if this was utterly off-key, Ulysses would tell her. She was sure. Least she could do was finish the thought. "Let's regroup soon as we can!"
 
Hotaru was very pleased to hear that. Since her body rejects any type of blood type besides type O, Hotaru and Marabel could make a platform of blood and get down the tower. Afterwards they could split the blood and put it back into their bloodstream. Questions began to flood into her mind all about Marabel, "My blood type is O, could you adjust your blood type or something to match mine? When we are done we can share the blood and be okay." Hotaru finished tying the clothes into a long chain. She looked back at long chain and let a small sigh. The chain was going to be plan b for getting down if the blood platform did not work. Hotaru looked around her assigned room. Why was she sent here? She had a small sinking feeling, her drawing must have been slightly out of proportion. If she had not been careful, Hotaru could have murdered her friends. Her friends, Hotaru had the same bitter taste in mouth whenever she said or thought about the word. She shivered again, looking at her self inflicted wound and then at Marabel, "Hey Marabel? Want to play a game?" In writing whenever someone was scared or shocked, they would say their blood ran cold, "You see that door?" In a moment of fear and shock, "Did you see what happened to me? I got burned. The thing is....we need to get to the other side." Hotaru was suddenly interested on getting inside of the castle rather than going out the window.


Even though Adonna's Zodiac said to stay still, Hotaru was not going to sir around. She could save herself, if Adonna had escaped, surely she could as well. She wondered what tempted her to go further into the castle. Maybe the fact that Adonna was found close to the castle was all Hotaru needed. She expanded her idea of a game, "Let's play a quick game. Adonna and her Zodiac said that they will try to get us soon as they can." Hotaru played with her hair, twirling the newly dyed pink hair with her index finger and thumb. Focusing on a dark pink strand she continued, "We need to get down from this tower. We have to leave because if we don't, they have to go through the trouble of coming up and then taking us down...." There was not much to do in the tower, "We could try to open that door and find our way out there. If it doesn't work, we could just go ahead and leave the tower." Therefore the request for a simple game should be irresistible to anyone with a curious mind, "Can we please play?" Her voice became a sweet and saddened tone.


It was the only thing she was good at, looking quite innocent with different intentions on the inside. Hotaru was born looking quite like a small doll, she had big eyes that would turn into small crescent moons whenever she smiled. Hotaru's thin nose would quickly blend into her skin. Her face looked like a porcelain doll. She had an advantage, Hotaru needed to use it more often. More shuffling from behind, Hotaru frowned and stood up walking cautiously to the noise. There was a loud meow, Hotaru quickly looked under the bed to see a pair of golden eyes. She grinned taking the cat in her arms, "The rascal followed me!"


The door began to shudder, Hotaru held onto the cat. Her blood was raised high in defense. The door swung open to reveal Alice and her Zodiac. Hotaru waved at them. Her heart sank at the feeling of uselessness. Once again she was a mute girl, but that didn't matter. Hotaru gave them a happy grin. They saved Marabel just in time.
 
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Alice was too shocked to say anything as Tyrik bashed through the door and started going on a rampage. Smashing down more doors, revealing a sleeping Nikky in one of them and then the next door with Hotaru and some other person inside,"Hotaru!" Alice exclaimed happily but a hint of anger glint in her eyes, the reason being Tyrik.


( Lazypost x3 I'm sorry, too tired to think... )
 
The sound of doors being torn down ringed in Nikky’s ears, causing her to jolt awake in response. She blinked for a moment then felt her face and checked her hands, patting herself down to make sure she was all there. As the final touch, she pinched herself. Yep, everything was in check. She got to her feet adjusting her glasses and smoothing down her attire.


BAM!


Nikky quickly turned her attention to next door, she approached the doorway and checked down the hall. Walking over, she looked inside to see Alice wielding a giant axe and Hotaru waving around red liquid which Nikky could swear looked just like blood. She then took notice of two unfamiliar beings one decked from head to toe in black armor while the other was painted in what again, appeared to be blood. Nikky raised a finger as if about to question but quickly thought better of it. Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water until eventually she just fell silent resting her chin in the palm of her hand appearing as if she was trying to figure out a very confusing puzzle in front of her.


The word 'Zodiac' kept repeating in her head but it just didn't click.
 
Ulysses felt something tapping against the side of his helmet. "One of your friends...?" Adonna had asked. Ulysses had look to his shoulder and found an owl perched onto it. He recognized the power it gave off as one of Bastion's creations. "Bastion's here as well? Just how many Zodiacs am I going to run into?" The owl had fluttered off. As Ulysses' followed it with his glare he noticed that the tower that Adonna once resided within was now in ruin. Ulysses felt his stomach sink, the tower falling and Bastion's owl flying towards it meant one thing: Bastion's Host was in serious trouble. "Agh! No! Yes, yes I can help Bastion and his Host. You get Hotaru down!" Ulysses used his hands to light a powerful ignition of fire to propel himself forward hastily. He flew into the falling ruin where he found Bastion's Host, Shun in the face of Hierophant...





...Hierophant hardly felt the blast that Shun mimicked because of his transparent form. The only thing that could really pass through him was physical objects. Seeing the blast rose Hier's curiosity of Shun and slightly changed his judgement of the boy. "You imitated my blast? I'd be insulted if I weren't curious as to how you knew that I made a blast of air in the first place." Hier was wondering why Shun hadn't painted something more effective against him. His first trick hardly made a difference whatsoever. With Bastion's power he could've easily made quick work of Hier with the right design and execution. But why didn't he? Before Hier could open his mouth to answer his question, he saw the black mired helmet of Ulysses scaling up the falling debris towards him. "Don't you ever know when you're not wanted, War Monk?" His blue orbs converted into two black holes. The holes had shrunk into the palms of his hands and the gravity surrounding what was the towers circumference had been increased ten fold, forcing the falling rubble underneath Shun and Ulysses down into the ground. "Now... As for you." Hier had forced Shun down with a forcible pull of gravity, abliet not as powerful as the one Ulysses felt. The pull was enough to have Shun land more "softly" towards the ground. Hier had a few questions before he had cast Shun off from his plane. He quickly made his descent to the ground, standing over top a pile of bricks, looking down towards the two. He had returned to his physical state, revealing his complete appearance to Shun. "You could've done away with me in a more effective manner, Host of Bastion. Why haven't you? I come to you with malicious intent and you simply try to imitate my attack? But much weaker? While on the topic of that, how did you know a blast of air is what fell the tower?" Hier asked, piercing his sharp glare into Shun's eyes.





~




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Hearing Hotaru mention a game got Marabel all sorts of interested! "A game!? OOoooOoOoooOoooh!! Yes we can play a game!" Marabel said with a curious excitement followed by some amused clapping. She listened attentively to her Hosts words. The game sounded a lot like just getting out before they can be rescued. It was like a race! "Okay, Hotaru! But first, I'll change my bloodtype!" Marabel said, her face beginning to turn a beat red. Her face scrunched up, as if she was focusing a little too hard on what she was supposed to be doing. Her bodily heat has raised so much that if you stood too close to Marabel you'd feel a little warmer yourself. After a good 11 seconds of concentration. "Ding! I'm now Bloodtype O! Lets make that ladd--" Marabel heard a sudden banging noise from behind her. The door that led into her room was busted down by a huge cleaver... A familiar cleaver. Marabel saw a Host unfamiliar to her and... Tyrik. A Zodiac bitterly familiar to her. "O-Oh! H-H-Hi Tyrik! I like your host..!" Marabel said nervously while hiding behind Hotaru.





~





"DAMIAN!"

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The first thing he heard before spotting Dominic run from out of the woodwork. Damian peered down at Dominic with a disgusted look, feeling the betrayal that had been plaguing his mind since he arrived here. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't off you right here and now? I want an explanation as to why I've been attempted to be killed, twice. In different circumstances." Damian demanded. Lance stood beside Damian, sporting a more expectant look towards Dominic. From the corner of his eye Damain saw one of the towers fall into ruin. "That Hier guy must've been keeping the others busy I assume... Before you get any ideas, no. That wasn't my idea. Now, why have you followed me here?"


​




 
Ugh


A splatter of blood splashed Shun's shirt as he coughed in response to the breath being forcefully drawn from his lungs upon landing on the ground.


Gravity? You're kidding me!?


Stuck in the field of increased gravity, wide range motion was out of the question; however, for Shun who experienced a lesser pull, some movement, albeit taxing, was still possible. Slowly moving his left hand to his face, Shun wiped away the blood dribbling down his chin before resting the crimson stained hand against his forehead. For Heirophant who was attempting to question the youth, a look of amusement mixed with a coughing fit of chuckles would have been his only reply until Shun regained the breath he had lost from the impact.


"Please Heirophant, save me the act of ignorance. You have the ability to manipulate both matter and non-matter, and yet you expected an effective attack?"


To the spirit, Shun's tone would have felt as bored as the expression upon his face; however, hidden from view was the turmoil currently ravaging the boy's inner thoughts from the mistake he had made.


Damn it all to hell.


Adonna's zodiac had arrived much earlier than he had anticipated, and the sudden presence of another threat had caused Heirophant to act much differently that what would have probably occurred under different circumstances. Having seen Heirophant attack the metal zodiac incapacitated by his side before proceeding to collapse the tower upon his head, Shun had predicted his opponent was nothing more than a malicious spirit intent on their destruction, but as it stood before him, calmly questioning his motives, Shun realized his fatal miscalculation.


Assuming Heirophant's patience was slowly waning from his favor, Shun opened his mouth to give reply to the spirit's second question, but as the response formed in his mouth, a memory of Bastion's earlier advice rushed to his head, leaving him temporarily speechless as a small grin began to form on his face.


If i'm stuck unable to form something, just use it instead, eh?


Focusing his sly gaze directly into Heirophant's eyes, Shun chuckled once more before giving the spirit the answer he desired.


"Observation."


Focusing his ability onto the power brimming from Heirophant's palms, Shun took in a deep breath before summoning Bastion's pistol into the hand resting atop his forehead. Channeling the extra existence of gravity into a bullet for his gun, Shun pointed the pistol toward the sky and shot the manifestation of his own gravity field that would in theory counter act the pre-existing pull.


As the pressure began to lessen, Shun sighed in relief as he rose to a sitting position and spat the leftover blood which had pooled in his mouth. A familiar pain throbbed in both the sides of his head as Shun, who was ignoring Heirophant, rose to his feet and awkwardly began scaling across the rubble to remove himself from the tower's circumference. Once free of the gravity, Shun dispelled the field he had cast and fell to the ground in fatigue from the many creations he had made.


The owl, which had been on reconnaissance since alerting Adonna, swooped down to settle itself atop Shun's stomach and give him a cheerful hoot for a mission well done. Sighing once more, Shun removed Bastion's mask causing the last of his creations to fizzle from existence as he returned his attention to the spirit he had ignored.


"I'm amazed you never noticed the presence of my owl, Heirophant. Though at the least, I suppose I should thank you for giving me the answers I desired."


Pausing his explanation, Shun turned his head to spit out yet another splatter of blood before returning to his reply at hand.


"I never wished for a fight, spirit. When I claimed I was merely curious about this world, that was the truth coming from my mouth. It just so happened that watching you attack metal man then collapsing a tower upon my head made me conclude you would be a threat to our existence.


Though that's not to say I didn't enjoy our fight."


Smiling toward the end of his reply, Shun's vision blurred as dizziness and fatigue slowly began to affect his conscious well being. Turning his attention toward Adonna's zodiac, Shun opened his mouth to give the report of his owl's surveillance.


"The girl's are fine, and will be united soon enough, but Dominic has met Da....."


Unable to finish his thought, Shun's eyes would close as he finally succumbed to fatigue and blacked out with hope that he had at least played his part in the battle.


 
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The sound of a building crumbling released her from her thoughts. She hurriedly moved into the room past Alice and Hotaru careful to avoid bumping into those strange entities to make her way towards a window to see a tower had collapsed. Unknowing of what had caused it, she assumed that the castle itself was falling apart. She turned looking at the other girls, noticing the tension hanging over them, but she decided to ignore it for the time being.


"Hey, if this castle is falling apart we should get out, and fast."


It was more of an order than a suggestion, even if Nikky was the most helpless in the event their tower did collapse. Nikky made her way into the hallway to notice more closed doors.


"Maybe we should check...?" She looked back at the two and by 'we' she meant Alice and her giant axe.


Love, Tapatalk
 

???


| ??? |


| LIMBO |


Date: September 21, 2014

​



Hiding behind anything when Tyrik had you in her sights seemed useless, but at a time like this, where she would just attack without regards to what was going on, she didn't. Instead of chopping through Marabel and her host, she simply set the axe down at her side. "It wouldn't make sense to blame all of this on you when I find you trapped in a room like this." Marabel was elusive enough, but for another power to come by and trap her, they did what Tyrik had been trying to do for years. Whoever done this was the real threat. Marabel's execution would come later.


"So your host is Hotaru, eh..?" Unfortunate. As wreckless as Tyrik was, she couldn't bring herself to slay the friend of her host.


"Hey, if this castle is falling apart we should get out, and fast."


First, they had to figure out where they were exactly. There was a mixture of strange energies and shifts of gravity here and there - it was enough to pend a threat to her.





---




​



"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't off you right here and now? I want an explanation as to why I've been attempted to be killed, twice. In different circumstances." While Dominic tried to process what Damian was talking about, Adonna's tower had collapsed in the distance, sending a bad shiver down Dom's spine. "That Hier guy must've been keeping the others busy I assume... Before you get any ideas, no. That wasn't my idea. Now, why have you followed me here?"


"I came here to get you out of here!"





Nearby, Kenshi sat perched atop the castle walls, his gaze overlooking the confrontation between Dominic and Damian. "Ever since you've gotten that thing-.." Dominic pushed out the word 'thing' with a glare towards Lance. "..-You've been acting differently. No Skype, I barely see you anymore. Everyone knows that Lance is corrupting you, Damian. It isn't too late to come back!"
 
"Corrupting his mind!? I have do--" Lance was cut off by Damian's hand blocking his view of Dominic. Damian wanted to settle this scuffle himself. Dispersing into the ground like a dark shade, he then reappeared in Dominic's shadow. He slowly emerged from it looking as if he was walking up a flight of steps. Damian didn't have the nerve to face Dominic so Damian remained behind Dominic, onlooking the carnage going on not too far from where he stood. "Lance hasn't corrupted me, first of all. I killed my Stepfather yes, but is that a true crime? After everything he's DONE TO ME?" Damian shouted, almost turning his head to Dominic but halting to a stop before he was in line of sight. "I want you to explain why Len had ambushed me at YOUR hangout spot. That shrine you wanted me to meet you at? Someone was there, waiting to end me because of Lance. On top of that, what was with Red? Why did he suddenly want to shoot me? How did he know I'd be at Soul Food meeting with you all? Why did he ignore you all and just go for me? Explain that Dominic! I've hardly been the villain here, and already I've nearly faced death twice. For what? Getting revenge on someone who wouldn't even be missed? A personal vendetta of mine? Whatever, sue me! But do I truly deserve to be sought out and killed twice by people I do not know!?" Damian turned his torso and swung his arm towards Dominic's back. A sharp edged tendril curved, following Damian's crudely open palm. Before Damian could even turn 180 degree's he stopped and lowered his shadow. He again disappeared and reappeared at Lance's side, facing towards the castle. "If you want to settle this, then meet me inside. I don't want whatever pity party you brought with you interfering. Come alone." Damian said sternly, beginning his trot back inside.
 

???


| ??? |


| LIMBO |


Date: September 21, 2014

​



Dominic found himself frozen, fallen on the ground due to the instinct of dodging Damian's attack, only for it to dispell mid-swing. There, he watched as Damian retreated back into the castle with Lance. Kenshi dropped down from his vantage point and approached the stunned boy. "There's been a change of plans, Dominic." Slowly, the boy turned his head toward the Zodiac. "Do you remember that strange source of power I mentioned earlier? It's as I feared. Heirophant is here, that opens up many possible reasons as to why your friend is the way he is." Dominic looked away from Kenshi for a moment to glance at the large castle doors Damian passed through. "Nothing good comes from teaming up with that spirit. My assumption is that he's going to be betrayed at some point." "So either way, Damian dies?" "Damian can be spared, so long as I investigate this after this is all over."


Dominic's hair shadowed his face, he came to an agreement internally with the spirit at hand. "Alright, Kenshi. I will be your host." His battered hand came to rest on Kenshi's head, where light began to shine until it was blinding.





...




​



The large castle doors creaked with their forced movement across the flooring. Dominic parted them, only for them to close behind him. There was a renewed strength behind his expression. He didn't don the defeated, confused look anymore. It was one of determination, and stubbornness. His Soul Fool uniform gone, his clothing had changed completely. A black suit accompanied by a red vest and checkered tie. This was his fighting form. "No more games, Damian." His voice echoed through the great room. "I'm taking you back - conscious, or unconscious."
 
Hotaru turned her neck to look at her host. Marabel kept her multicolored eyes to the ground as Tyrik's glare bore through her and Hotaru. The pink haired girl had no reason to be scared of the mask-wearing Zodiac especially where her friend was right next to her. The male feline in her arms fidgeted as it tried to get into a comfortable position. Hotaru's lips straightened to a small line as her eyes were focused on a patch of cat fur. The blood behind her floated dangerously above her head. Tracing circles in the the cat's belly, the blood and the cat began to calm down. Using her other hand, the girl drew out words on the black fur. The blood began to shape out into words, Hotaru blinked by directing her eyes to go downwards, she wasted less time by doing this. The cat arched his back as Hotaru applied pressure to his paw. He did not do anything, instead the cat laid his head down in her arms.


Hotaru lifted her head to look at Alice and Tyrik. The warmth from Marabel was slowly fading, if Marabel was focusing on Hotaru's face she would have seen her eyes widen just a bit. She could feel the unfamiliar Zodiac's eyes on her. Hotaru's blood was still above her head with a message that greeted her friends, "Hello!" Hotaru locked eyes with Nikky and nodded burying her head in the cat's fur. She lifted her slightly injured hand at Marabel. It was a request from Hotaru to hold hands as they walked. She did not care if Marabel wanted or did not, Hotaru leaned backwards keeping her gaze on the group and took Marabel's hand. Pulling her Zodiac along, Hotaru walked up to the group in the entrance of her room. The blood followed along, the cat obliged, and Marabel was alright.


//Craptastic post.//
 
Farra heard a crash and the ground shook. Her eyes widened and she tried to get out. She pounded on the wall-it crumbled at her touch. There stood seven figures; Hotaru, Alice, and Adonna,and Nikky, along with three weird creatures. "Perfect," she muttered under her breath. They began to walk away, talking about the castle collapsing. "Hey, um, guys? I'd be cool if I could come with you guys...I kinda don't know what else to do."


Still unheard. Sighing, Farra ran up and patted Hotaru on the shoulder. "Hey, Hotaru! Hello? Can you--" Farra noticed there was a reddish liquid floating above her head; blood. "Oh, shit. This is getting weird."








shitpost~
 
"I have to say, Dominic, I like the suit. Very smart. And I know my suits, believe me." James said, complimenting Dominic on his recent magical change of attire.


"So then, " he asked Dominic, "do you think I could maybe do some magic, get to see who the hell you're talking to all the time?"
 
Nikky managed a grin at Hotaru's message written in red liquid and made a small wave at Marabel; despite the situation everyone seemed kind of calm allowing Nikky to relax and not worry as much as she thought she should of. Hotaru walked out with a curious little cat following after her, the sight of the spirits must of distracted her from noticing it. She started to take mental notes.


Hotaru had (blood?) powers and Alice had... the ability to wield heavy weapons? She looked over at the spirits, assuming they had something to do with it. She opened her mouth to ask a question when she heard another voice then moved to see Farra running up to pat Hotaru on the shoulder. Did Farra also have a spirit with her?


"What are you all even doing here?"


Though she was sure she had the stupidest reason.
 
Hierophant admired Shun's power of observation and the fact he used recon against him right under his nose. Or more accurately, right over his head. As Shun succumbed to his wounds Hierophant felt shame seeing a potentially brilliant tactician fall before him, in such in deserving conditions. Hierophant knelt down to the unconscious Shun and placed a gentle hand on the boys chest. The spilled blood from Hierophant's crushing attacks and recalled back into Shun, and repaired any internal damages done. With Shun unconscious he can do what he was planning in the first place. Still placed upon his chest, Hierophant started up another surge of power, sporting it blue and red speckled effect. A blue barrier had overcame Shun and consumed him, taking him from the plane of Limbo completely. "I do not wish to kill any of you hosts, I simply need you all to leave. But you're making it difficult..." Ulysses saw Hierophants act of respect and restraint, but it didn't change the urgency of the situation. With gravity stabilized thanks to Shuns quick thinking Ulysses was able to stand on his feet and assume a fighting stance. His armor was dented and dirtied, the blows had made Ulysses sloppy and stagger about but he was still standing. Heriophant rose up, keeping his eyes locked on Ulysses who still intended to be his opponent. "Ulysses, your tenacity has always impressed me, but it's truly aggravating given the circumstance." Hierophant complained, his voice getting rougher. His eyes lit up intensely, his hair rose from the atmosphere being coming under subjugation, and his body arced with his blue energy.





~




​



Marabel was whisked away by Hotaru, her heart began to pound in fear of being cleaved in half by Tyrik as Hotaru drew her closer to the duo. Despite this, Marabel tried to focus and keep her cool so she can keep her blood pressure under control... If she got anymore antsy or blood control altogether would suffer. "U-Umm.. Hotaru are we still going to make our blood stairs..?" She asked with some stutters.





~




​



Damian was already sitting in "his throne" legs crossed above the other. Damian's dark presence is already at it's strong point. All of Damian's frustration, interpersonal demons, and disappointment went into this call of darkness that surrounded him. He saw that Dominic's outfit suddenly changed, a possible outcome from whatever Zodiac he wielded. It was only a matter of time before he got powers as well... That saying if everyone else got one. He slowly rose from his thrown, the darkness around the castle interior began to creep and rise in a black steam. Damian's upper torso was completely coated in darkness, his arms and hands would remind Dominic of Alex Mercer's scythe-like claws. Taking two steps forward Damian replied:





The shadows of the castle began to creep even more violently, and Damian's black aura exploded from the rage. As much as Damian was reluctant to finish his friend off, he wasn't so hesitant now.
 

???


| ??? |


| LIMBO |


Date: September 21, 2014

​



James' words were mere passing through Dominic at this point. He was locked in, dead set on bringing Damian back to the real world, literally. When Damian's claw-like arms replaced the human pair, he found himself gulping out of oppressed fear. If I lose, I could die here, speaking of dying.. Dominic shifted his eyes back towards James, who had somehow snuck in with Dominic before the main doors shut behind them. "Hide behind something!"


Damian's dark explosion forced Dominic back a few feet, his arms thrown up to guard his face as he skidded to a halt. The entire room was dark, things were hard to see as it was, which meant Damian could move around freely, no boundaries like in the broad daylight. He had the home court advantage and Dominic had to keep that in mind.


I really wish I was in my room right now, watching some youtube..


Clutching his fist, Dominic sprung into action, running full sprint toward Damian who was no doubt prepared. Size was Dominic's advantage, but with shadows, who knew what kind of tricks his opponent had in his arsenal. The only real way to gauge where he fared with Damian, was to learn by experience. A swift right hook for Damian's head, and Dominic was waiting for the inevitable reaction.
 
A wide spread grin grew across Damian's shadow cloaked face. Dominic's right hook connected right against Damian's left jaw. Despite the blow Damian's expression didn't change nor did he seem to mind it. From behind his back, arachnid-like legs with jagged edges protruded from his back and swung down towards Dominic's shoulders.
 
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