@Harry: I guess you should deal with the creature... why the trouble if you just can... just kill it?

Good chapter Harry, the Wesker fight was cool XD... can I change my revolvers for some ME gun? I just love plasma XD...

Well, looks like the votes are in; two save and three kill – Khaled you sneaky editor (as of the 29th June anyway, can’t be bothered to wait any longer )

As my hand hovered indecisively over the Soldier, I thought about my choice. Sure I wanted to try and help the person Ahriman had enslaved, but I was still nowhere near capable of helping the others in a fight yet. I grabbed the Soldier with my left hand and hauled it upright. Gripping its face with my right hand, long ribbons of Corruption streamed down my arm. At one point I thought I glimpsed a person, but I kept going. As the Soldier disintegrated the last of the Corruption snaked up my arms. I felt a lot stronger.

The rest of the group had dealt with the other creatures and we assembled in the centre of the room. The Indian woman had, of course, buggered off, and the Prince ran off to ‘have a vision’ by inhaling a strange powdery substance he called ‘Sands’ in order to see the future. I explained to the others my newfound ability to absorb Corruption and how I’d used it to absorb the Soldiers.

“… and I think I might even be able to purify Corrupted, though I haven’t tried it yet.” I finished.

“Wait, you thought you could and you didn’t?” Jan asked.

“W-well I only thought I could, but I wasn’t sure, a-and if I keep doing this I might become strong enough to help you guys again,” I explained hastily. Jan looked like she was about to push the issue, but let it go. Rejoined by the Prince we slipped through a hole in the wall next to the gate and followed the Indian woman. Along the way we were joined by Mystica, who when asked how she escaped the cage, only said that it involved a stepladder, three cans of Sprite and the tiger she was locked up with. Nobody asked further.

“Wait a sec, we left Cole behind!” I remembered suddenly.

Dom glanced over his shoulder, “Eh, last I saw he was still yelling about how he was blind… How did he get here anyway?”

“Probably with difficulty,” Jade commented. As we walked we explained our previous adventures to the Prince. Thankfully he didn’t question them, considering he’d just seen Corruption monsters and Sand Creatures his horizons had been broadened considerably. Of course that’s when a giant creature burst through the ceiling and scattered us all like bowling pins.

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Khaled, Andre, Lester and DiDo were standing in their lair when they were alerted to an intruder by the slow tap of footsteps on stone. They all turned to face the newcomer, readying their weapons as they did. He was wearing a large white robe, wrapped around him in a way that obscured most of his body from sight. From what was visible, he seemed to be Corrupted. His robe’s hood was wrapped around his face so that only one eye was visible.

“Ok, who the hell are you?” Khaled asked. The newcomer glanced at him.

“An ally, if you would take me,” he replied simply. “I believe that some of our plans align in such a way that a partnership would be favorable.”

“I’ll ask again; who are you?”

“You may call me Paladin.”

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The creature roared at us. Upon closer inspection it resembled the Griffin from Warrior Within. It also appeared to be a mix of Corruption and Sands. Its black, gold-tinted wings stretched to either side of the hallway. With a huge leap it cleared the gap between us and it and landed heavily. While most of the others managed to dodge, Jade was too slow. One of the Griffin’s clawed feet slammed down on her, pinning her to the floor. She flailed and struggled, but the creature was too heavy. It leaned forward and seriously menaced the rest of the group, swinging its free foreleg at the group.

A weapon… I need a weapon… I thought desperately. Acting instinctively I crouched down and slapped my palm on the ground. The Corruption on my arms rushed down into the floor and began to coalesce into a pole-shaped object. I slowly stood up as the object lengthened. Finally I stood with a black spear with a wide, triangular blade balanced on its point gripped in my hand. I hefted it and felt it balanced perfectly for my use. I noticed that just about all the Corruption was gone from my arms, used to make my new spear.

Ok, I have a weapon. Wait… that chunk of rock looks ready to fall. I bet if I throw my spear at it I can get it to fall. Should take out one of the Griffin’s wings… but Jade might get hurt. Can I risk her life like that?

Karma Moment: Drop the rock on the Griffin or try to save Jade.

Well well well, time for another Karma moment! Yayz! I’m not sure of a solid time frame for voting, so right now I’m playing it by ear. Also, just a note; on the consequences of Karma Choices, if I hadn’t consumed that Soldier I probably wouldn’t have been able to form that spear. Choose carefully about this one – either way there’ll be consequences for a character in the party… *mysterious*

i vote you try to save jade.

but what would have happened if you had saved the guy instead of eating him? new ally?

How do you people come up with this stuff

quote:

Originally posted by Mortificus:
i vote you try to save jade.

but what would have happened if you had saved the guy instead of eating him? new ally?

Actually I was thinking of being ****ish and having him die of old age

Try to save Jade

And I like the new ally, now the deathbringers have a mount

quote:

Originally posted by UnDead_Knight1:
Try to save Jade

And I like the new ally, now the deathbringers have a mount

I wonder who will that be... and if it wont end up betraying us just like Harry did

hmmmm I vote for, let Jade die, just for originality sake

Making my choice, I sprinted forward towards the Griffin’s foreleg where Jade was trapped. It was currently preoccupied fighting the rest of the group. It roared, blowing a storm of hot Sands at the group. Though Dom was unaffected, Jan had to throw up a shield to protect Ib and Mytica. The act noticeably drained her, but she tried not to show it. The Prince protected himself with the Dagger.

“GET OFF OF HER!” I yelled, lunging at the Griffin’s foreleg with my spear. The black triangular blade slipped between the scales of the creature’s leg and stabbed deep. It roared and withdrew its leg. Jade scrambled to her feet and drew her battle staff. It swiped again with a foreleg, but Jade smashed it with her staff like a batter, the explosion of blue-white energy knocking the Griffin back.

The Griffin lunged for us, its beak snapping too close for comfort. Jade tried to dodge, but she was drained from the magical exertion from before. I jabbed my spear at it as it lunged again. The point sank into its head below its eye, and it screamed in pain and anger. With a jerk of its head I was hurled upwards. Jade grabbed my legs and the last second and the both of us landed on the Griffin’s back. It snapped at us as we flashed past, and my spear broke in half.

Jade and I grabbed fistfuls of the Griffin’s feathers, and I snatched the bladed end of my spear as it fell past. The Griffin rose into the air, its wings sending gale-force winds at the rest of the party. They were bowled over, leaving Jade and I alone as the Griffin rose through the hole in the ceiling and into the sunset skies.

Jade dropped her battle staff, using both hands to hold onto the Griffin’s feathers. The Griffin began to level out and I clambered up its back. As I reached the back of its neck I reversed the shortened spear in my hand and stabbed down. The Griffin screamed and banked hard. I stabbed into its neck over and over again. Furious and in pain, the Griffin began to loop-the-loop while barrel rolling. My grip slid dangerously as I held into the spear shaft embedded into its neck, and I looked back at Jade. She hung on grimly, even when the Griffin was completely upside-down and she was hanging vertical.

I plunged the spear head even deeper, and I saw Corruption begin to well in the ragged hole I had made from my spear stabs. Tensing in mild disgust, I plunged my free hand in. As I drew streams of Corruption out of the wound the Griffin roared in pain and banked towards a tower, intent on scraping us off despite the injury to itself. Suddenly, a yell broke my concentration. I turned, still struggling to draw more Corruption from the beast.

“Help!” Jade yelled. While I had been distracted she had slipped further down the creature’s back and was now clinging to its tail like a frightened monkey. I stared back desperately. Jade couldn’t hold on much longer. But there was still so much Corruption in the Griffin. I’d barely scratched the surface with it!

Karma Moment: Save Jade or try to finish draining the Griffin.

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The Deathbringers were wary of their new ally. Paladin exuded a palpable aura of menace that set them all on edge. His robes were too concealing – they knew next to nothing about him, or even what he looked like. They did know that he walked with a limp. In fact, he produced a walking stick to help ease the difficulty. From the glimpses they could see of him through the robes, he was heavily scarred. He spoke in a low rasp, like he had suffered damage to his voicebox at some point in his life – and despite his obviously Corrupted appearance, Ahriman had certainly never dealt with him.

“I’m sick of this waiting!” Lester exclaimed, “While the heroes are busy screwing with SoT we’re sitting around here doing nothing.”

“You’re right. It’s about time we acted. It’ll also be an opportune time to test DiDo’s loyalty,” Khaled remarked. DiDo glanced back at him with an unreadable expression. Suddenly, he glanced around.

“Where did Paladin go?”

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The group came across a hallway. They spotted a figure at the other end, too indistinct to make out. Ib motioned the others back and stepped forward, hand on his sword. The figure approached.

“Long time no see, Ib,” DiDo said. Ib raised an eyebrow.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“Making new friends.”

Ib whirled around. A gate slammed shut behind him. Through the bars he noticed the rest of the group squaring up to fight the Corrupted. He turned back to DiDo.

“What the hell are you playing at?” he yelled.

“Leveling the playing field,” DiDo replied, “We have a score to settle.”

“W-what are you talking about?” Ib exclaimed incredulously, “You disappear for an hour and you’re one of the bad guys?”

DiDo laughed. “You think I’m the bad guy? Who’s the one who decided to release Ahriman, hmm? Who decided to destroy the world to save a woman who hated him? Who refused to actually give a damn about anyone but himself? You, Ib. You’re the bad guy here. If it weren’t for you, none of this would have happened.”

He drew Red Queen. Planting it tip-first in the ground, he revved it to a first-level charge.

“I’m sure you have time for one little duel, right?” he asked.

Karma Moment: Fight DiDo or try to reason with him.

Eh, I need to stop making Karma Moments involving Jade. I'm too scared that she'll lose and I'll have to kill her off.

Can anyone guess the identity of Paladin? Whoever gets it first gets to commission me to write whatever they want. Don't feel too sure, though - it's nigh-impossible to guess

... **
EDIT: Didnt saw you posted your story already... Eh... Paladin is you/r evil side or something?[your DA name, thats why I'm saying it]... Unless it is Morty or Jo?...

quote:

Originally posted by stealthero:
... **
EDIT: Didnt saw you posted your story already... Eh... Paladin is you/r evil side or something?[your DA name, thats why I'm saying it]... Unless it is Morty or Jo?...

*taps nose*

you are such a cynical ! Farah, Kaylina, Elika, the Prince, they are all allright( for them everybody!)! I don't know why you act like that !

quote:

Originally posted by vivetta13:
you are such a cynical ! Farah, Kaylina, Elika, the Prince, they are all allright( for them everybody!)! I don't know why you act like that !

How did you write Kaileena?????


Zerban@ Hey, curious that you said you were nearly the end of the story when i asked you to let me in ... Thank you man huh ... ¬ ¬

Well, now I read the story...
hmmmm I vote... Kill Jade and DiDo kill Ib

I agree with Les, let Jade die, and let DiDo pwn Ib's ***

@Khaled and Lester: What’s wrong with you guys? Why do you want Jade to die so badly? Anyway, there’s no chance of her dying this early on. The choices will, however, influence our development.

@Kaileena 750: I’m sorry, but the problem is that there’s already too many characters as is. I’m seriously considering killing a few off to make things simpler. I’ll see what I can do.

I pulled more and more Corruption out of the Griffin. I figured that if I could weaken it enough it would fall to a safer distance. I tried not to think that I was abandoning Jade. Suddenly I felt intense pain in my arms. It was like I was having every bone in my hands and arms individually broken. Recoiling in pain, I withdrew my arm from the Griffin’s wound and stood upright on its back for an instant before the slipstream knocked me head over heels backwards. My arms were seething masses of Corruption. I rolled down the Griffin’s back and dropped off its hindquarters.

I felt Jade snatch my wrist and I dangled in the air, pressed against the Griffin’s back leg. I looked up at Jade, holding onto the Griffin’s tail with both legs and one hand. Her other hand was wrapped around my wrist – but my arms had changed. From the shoulders down they were inky black with various spiny protrusions. I now had only four fingers on each hand, though now each finger was a blade at least a foot long. We both looked at each other grimly just before the Griffin crashed headlong into a tower. I was ripped out of her grasp and was knocked out almost instantly.

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Ib slowly drew his sword, holding it in a reversed guard position. DiDo smirked and pulled Blue Rose out of its holster. He held it up by its chunky double-barrel.

“I don’t need this,” he said, and tossed it aside. It made a heavy thunk as it struck the stone floor. DiDo readied Red Queen in both hands. Without warning he darted forward, releasing Red Queen’s charge. He spun towards Ib, flames surrounding the burning hot weapon. Ib flipped over DiDo and swung his sword down. DiDo deflected it with his Devil Bringer’s armour plating and backhanded Ib across the face. Ib responded by bashing DiDo with the handguard of his sword. They both finally brought their swords to bear, the weapons throwing showers of multicoloured sparks when they collided.

After an intense bout swings and parries Ib deflected one of DiDo’s strikes to the floor and stepped on the blunt edge of Red Queen. As he brought his sword up in a backhand slice DiDo blocked it with the Devil Bringer.

“Is that all you’ve got?” DiDo taunted, shoving against Ib and sending him skidding backwards. Ib didn’t respond, instead charging into the offensive. Taken by surprise, Ib managed to hook his sword inside Red Queen’s handguard and tear it from DiDo’s hand. Before DiDo could react, Ib slashed his face. DiDo hopped back and wiped blood away from the inch-long gash under his eye.

“I can do a lot worse than that, too,” Ib threatened. DiDo growled and launched the Devil Bringer. The ghostly projection snatched Ib’s sword hand and wrenched his sword away, tossing it across the floor. Ib ducked a projected punch, but was hit in the stomach by the next. Rolling away from the third, he got close to DiDo and punched with his gauntlet. DiDo caught it open-palmed with the Devil Bringer and bore down hard. Ib growled in pain as the metal plates of his gauntlet buckled and snapped. With a vicious wrench DiDo ripped the whole thing from Ib’s hand. Ib ducked the following Devil Bringer punch and retaliated with a vicious spinning back kick to DiDo’s head. DiDo was knocked over, giving Ib enough time to run for his sword.

Once the two had scrambled for their swords they turned to face one another. Both were panting from the effort the fight had taken. Ib readied his sword and DiDo revved Red Queen. Ib sprinted towards DiDo, his sword dragging across the ground. It threw up sparks and chips of stone as it went, and it began to glow a fiery orange. DiDo shot forward, Red Queen spewing arcs of flame. They drew level and swung. They ended up facing away from each other. DiDo noticed a searing pain in his side. Looking down, he noticed a gaping wound above his right hip. He touched his hand to it briefly, and turned to look at Ib. He was glaring at DiDo.

“Let that be a lesson to you, DiDo,” Ib stated coldly, “Screw with me again, and I promise you won’t survive it. That is, if you survive now. Goddbye.” He turned and strode out the gateway, back to where the rest of the group had seemingly finished fighting off the Corrupted. DiDo growled in frustration and slumped to the side, unconscious.

“What happened?” Jan asked Ib as he approached them. Ib shrugged.

“DiDo’s sided with the Corrupted now. Looks like that’s becoming popular nowad-“

“IB!” Jan raced over to where Ib had fallen. Moving his cape out of the way she saw that there was a huge, ragged wound in his right side. Not only was the wound deep, but the edges of the wound and the clothes surrounding it were burned. Ib had somehow managed to act completely fine for a few minutes after receiving such a bad wound – he certainly had pride on his top list of priorities.
“Someone help me lift him!” Jan asked. Dom and the Prince stepped forward to take Ib’s bulk. Jan glanced into the room where Ib had fought DiDo, but apart from a bloodstain on the floor, it was empty.

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“DAMNIT!” DiDo yelled, “He beat me! The arrogant ******** beat me!”

“Shut up,” Lester cut him off irritably, “Villains get beaten a few times. It comes with the territory. You’re not special.”

“Well, if we don’t do something about the crater in his side he’ll be an ex-villain,” Andre added, “So, anyone have any ideas.”

“Here’s a very simple one,” Khaled said slowly like he was talking to morons, “He makes a deal with Ahriman for his life in exchange for service. It’s win-win!”

The three Corrupted nodded as DiDo began to slip out of consciousness again.

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”Breathing’s just fine. Pulse normal. Scrapes and bruises healed. First power accessed. Looking good, Harry.”

I woke up. I was lying under a pile of rubble. With some difficulty, I hauled it off and surveyed the crash site. The Griffin was gone – apparently that hadn’t been enough to kill it. I spotted Jade and raced over to her, helping free her from the rubble. My new claws were able to cut and chip at the large stones to make them manageable to lift. With some difficulty I helped her up.

“What a touching moment,” a voice said. We both turned. It was a figure in a white robe which obscured most of the features. Through an opening on the left side of its face I saw a glowing blue eye and inky black skin. Hands the same colour protruded from the sleeves, one carrying a walking stick. The figure appraised me with a glance.

“It seems you’ve survived the crash,” he remarked.

“Who are you?”

“I’m the newest Deathbringer, actually. You can call me Paladin. I am also your father.”

Silence.

“Just kidding.”

“… What?”

“Can you use those?” Paladin asked, indicating my claws. I glanced down.

“Why do you want to know?”

Paladin spread his arms wide, dropping his cane as he did so, “I’m standing in front of the only non-demolished doorway out. You’ll have to fight me to get out.”

He cracked his knuckles, “I’m going to enjoy this.”

(No Karma Moment this chapter because it didn’t really fit. Hopefully there will be one next chapter.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Zerban_da_Great,

Sorry to double post, but this is really confusing me - why has nobody posted a reply yet?

quote:

Originally posted by Zerban_da_Great:
Sorry to double post, but this is really confusing me - why has nobody posted a reply yet?

sorry about that, i havent been looking into alot of threads lately as i have been working on getting the drawing right for a comic strip i am planning on doing.

lester and dido in this one kinda cracked me up "were villains, we lose alot"

It's cause it's a bit long and it's exam time for me, so I haven't read it yet...

I thought it was because nobody cared

Neah, we care I'll read it at the 14th of July after I do my last exam