DeviousMe

Nah, Moonscribe crashes all on his own just about every time he dons his full attack chain. You should've seen it last time.

*endurance crash sound*

"Fools. I am not doing anything here." Zoria spat back, "I have been imprisoned in a soul trap. This is merely a means of communication."

It was true. If anyone tried to touch the baron, they would find themselves simply passing through him.

"Though it pains me greatly, I must seek your aid. I will not have the power to maintain this much longer, so listen carefully and do not interrupt."

"Roughly two weeks ago, several of cour covenants around the world began another...'recruiting phase'. Bodies need to be replaced, after all, and vagrants off the street mage generous vessels. But this time, something was different. Not by a great leap, but different nonetheless. A great many of the Lost followed our call among the normal ones drawn to us, and most of these Lost had a great potential for power, as all of you should know."

"The Pariah, as they call themselves, were the most numerous to join us, among the usual rabble of vagrants and scroungers. I thought fate had finally smiled upon us, had finally granted us the Key to the Lock...but I must admit, I was mistaken. We were all mistaken."

Zoria went off into a lament, no seeming to notice if anyone still listened, "We were betrayed! How could it be? Undone by our own hands, by those dreadful sharlatans! Lost they call themselves - HAH! They are but as lost as an arrow in its target! You must see it! This time, they will show no mercy...!"

With that, the image of Zoria faded. His strength had given out...

"Well, that's why you're to test it out." Tharomar smiled as he replied to te radio trnasmission, "Just make sure to target only the very undesirable unes with it for now. And..."

He didn't get any further. A huge wave of heat pressure, and infernal noise lifted both him and his chair over his desk, which tipped over in the firestorm, hurling him towards his office door.

But this wasn't the first attempt on his life, and Tharomar wasn't entirely unprepared. No sooner had he gotten out of the battered chair than he tore away a wall penl by the door, and reached into a compartment behind it, pressing on a contact plate at the same time.

"Security." he simply said as fire alarms blared throughout the building and the sprinkler system in his office decided to go nuts...

((I know. He doesn't. And to be honest, I'm not even sure Penny is there anymore. I''ve completely lost track of just about everyone. But we'll wait for Ess to confirm that.

Security? Soviet's managing that, haha. ))

((Will continue with building collapse soon as I find out what's happening on the roof. ))

[ QUOTE ]
"I... I don't know," Xander confessed in response to Ryuji, "I mean, there was just... just something different, you know? And, well, he did seem pretty suprised."

[/ QUOTE ]
"That I was." Zoria's dark and hertless voice suddenly came form the door as the Archmage walked into the MAGI office as if he'd done it every day.

He was strangely transparent, an none of the wards protecting the place had gone off, which was deeply troubling, and caused Azuria to request backup. She'd always had a few of the Lecgacy Chain on call, and it wouldn't take them long to get here.

"Calm yourselves." Zoria attempted to say normally, but it came out as more if hiss, "I do not seek quarrel this day..."

With a wry, cold smile, Tharomar entered the last bit of instructions into the distribution network. Things were going smoothly, and the day was winding down.

Indeed, it seemed most had already left. It probably meant he should too...

The Hellions at the back door were thrown from semi-ordered counterattack into utter chaos as the door turned into a giant midieval flail torn loose.

What few remained shot, punched, and tired their meager fire magic, but it wasn't likely to do much.

However, that no longer mattered to the ragged figure as it reached the door to the roof. They had served their purpose, and 'Pariah' still had quite a bit of help to call on. A gang of hellions wouldn't be missed. They didn't know anything about the larger plan, but it was probably better to have them out of the way anyhow.

And the roof shook, termbling precariously as 'Paria' kicked in the loocked door with a lot more strength than his tall and lanky appearance would suggest.

Yes, it was time to get out of here...

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

The Hellions were now in utter retreat - or to say it better, they were running scared, trying to get out any way they could, be it doors, windows, or the garbage cute...

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

"Urgh!" was R0CK-0N's comment as the painpie struck him in the side, but the NoiseTank held his ground, going at the Wielder with his swiper arm as the other Swiper and Smasher Freaks closed in.

'Pariah', however, was deep inside the store, collecting all the tech he could.

Things were almost ready...

((Why is this thread seeming to me more and more like Final Fantasy A+?))

"On no, this night is not for resting." the Tempest master agreed, "Mr. Ryuu, do be so kind and instruct them in the endurance trial."

"I'd be delighted." Hotaka grnned devilishly, snapping his fingers. His Jounin knew what to do, dragging sturdy bamboo poles to the site and anching them firmply between the rocks, making ti amost impossible to knock them over.

"Waziri," he instucted the one carring some large wrapped object on his back, "bring us water. Katashi, bring us tea..."

"I...I really just don't know." Azuria admitted, "I mean, there's always someone gunning for magic things, most often some small crook who think it'll turn his life around. But this..."

She turned the laptop on her desk around, and on its screen was a list - a very, very, very long list.

"I don't get it. It's like every villain with some sort of magic affilitation decided it's grabbing-day or something. It's just plain crazy...!"

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

With a hefty CRUNCH the rust door gave - but not in the expected way.

And the tall ragged figure, along with the Helliosn heading for the back door, were very surprised as the troll hed that suddenly poked through the hole in the metal.

"What tha...?" one of them said, his mouth wide agape, before realizing what was going on and drawing his gun.

The others did the same as quickly as they could while another Damned tired to make troll flambe served on platter of rusty door.

And the rag-robed figure took off again, heading for the stairs to the roof. Some way out still had to be clear...

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

The Hellions at the entrance didn't have a chance. Low-powered fire thungs versus a giant wall of muscle and fire tended to end badly for them.

And now the PPD was here too!

"Can this day get any worse?!!!" the Damned screamed as the gang tried to take off running...

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

"Do yer thing." R0CK-0N shoved himself between the rag-wearing figure and the attacker, then poceeded to yell, "Pump up the volume! Pump up the volume...!"

And his speakers did the same, blasting massive wave of sound at Wielder, a few Juicer and Stunner freaks joining into the fray while the melee guys made sure to stay out of the painpipe's range...

"DAYUMM!!!" the Fallen Gunner gasped as he ate his words, bringing his MG up despite everything in him telling him it wasn't going to do any good.

The other Hellions did the same as best they could, fumbling their weapons out with more or less skill. They were a street gang, after all, and not exactly highly trained.

The Damned was just about the only one who did anything competent. The suddenly arrived man looked like the proverbial brick wall, and guys like that tended to punch really hard.

So placing him in a ring of fire was probably a good idea - if it worked.

'Pariah', in the meantime, let the stolen ring vanish into his tattered robes and turned to slip out the back door, making a rather comical appearance as the tall and lanky figure sneaked away as silently as it could...

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

Azuria was quite swamped. There were rerpots coming in from all over: this stolen, that lost, and always a different culprit. Even the Legacy Chain seemed powerless to stop the thefts...Azuria felt very guilty about putting them in harms way by asking the mages to hide some of the artifacts for her.

"Disruption?" she gasped as she was approached, "I don't know what to do anymore. Everything from here to Timbuktu is disrupted in one way or another. It's almost as if every villain group that's even got a tiny hint of magic is laying siege to MAGI. It's just terrible..."

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

"Booya!" R0CK-0N yelled loudly, his built-in boombox blasting rock in all directions, "Feel da rythm!"

"Oh yeah!" one of the Slicers threw his arms up in the air and started dancing right in front of the Talos Island tech store as the rest of the gang busted into the building.

"Yo, I meant dem, knucklehead!" the Noise Tank shouted angrily, having to yell over his own pumping music, "Now get in dere an' grab stuff!"

He turned to the extremtly tall, ragged-robed man next to him, "See? I told ya me an' my boyz got da funk..."

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

((Hal, is Reginald in the ceremony hall or in another?))

((Arlight then, I've been wanting to get a story RP going for some time now, so I reckon now's as good a time as any. Standard rules apply - be courteous, no god-moding, and that's about it. Hope yalls have fun with it.))

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

"Imuras...modeas...caranum...sahkbauum...

"It will not be long now." the heavy-robed Archmage smiled fiendishly as the cremeony's chants took effect, reverberating forcefully off the ancient stone walls and high, vaulted ceilings of Orenbega, "Soon, it will all be over."

'Pariah' nodded, the ragged robes that covered his entire body moving with the gesture.

"Come now, Lost One." the Archmage beckoned as he stepped up onto the pedestal while the mages gathered on the floor fell more and more into their trance, "With your dormant power, we shall thrust open the gates once more!"

"Gates...will open..." 'Pariah' spoke slowly, almost forced, following to the pedestal.

"Behold!" the Archmage announced, "I, Baron Zoria, shall on this day break down the walls of worlds! We shall call upon the other side, and the days of glorious Oranbega shall return!"

"Imuras...modeas...caranum...sahkbauum...

The gathered didn't even seemed to notice anymore, mecghis streaming all about the Great Hall. Torches and candles flickered, their flames disturbed by the malevolent radiance of power.

"With this tool," Zoria produced a spirit thorn from his robes, handing it to 'Pariah', "we release your dormant power! Take and behold, for you shall achieve beyond your wildest dreams!"

It was a trap, of course - a trap the Circle of Thorns had been using for millenia.

'Pariah' simply nodded, taking the thorn.

"To you: thanks." he stated coldly and promptly thrust the thorn into Zoria's own black heart!

"Deceiver!" the Baron wailed in agony as he stumbled back, clutching the vile thing sucking out his soul, trying to remove it with every ounce of power in him...

"Destroy him! Destroy him now!" he called to the gathered.

But neither action was to any avail. The thorn was embedded firmly, and the gathered too entranced to notice anything anymore.

"Sharlatan..." the once mighty archvillain lamented, going to his knees as his body withered away, the maintaining magics breaking down, "You never intended to aid us! The opening of the gates was all a farce!"

Something clicked within the ragged robes of 'Pariah'.

"Negative..."

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

The Equalizer swore as another victim was carried away on a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance. He looked spitefully at the still-burning building, fire crews fiercely battling the blaze.

"Any word?" the SWAT Grenadier commanding the rescue effort wanted to know, wincing at the sight of another young mage being taken away. No one knew if he would make it.

Legacy of Light they called themselves - members of the Legacy Chain, a through and through good organization.

It wasn't fair!

"We've called in as many heroes as we could, Sir." the Equalizer reported, "Anyone who can help with the fire was called here, and the ones with healing abilities to the hospital."

The Grenadier nodded stoically as the last ambulance howeled down the streets of Kings Row and away to the medical center.

It had been terrible. An entire covenant either slain or at the brink of death. Only the fire had brought any attention to the building in the first place, and even then it had take a while for the PPD to arrive.

How many had died in that time? Fighting for a good cause, battling valiantly against evil even though it was generally agreed that the Legacy Chain did not have the strongest of magics at their disposal.

Magic gone awry was the general concensus of the cause. But villainy was more probable, even though forensics hadn't been able to prove so yet. They had only found one thing - a ragged robe, mostly turned to ashes by now.

The SWAT team only hoped a few heroes would arrive soon. The fire was raging out of control, Paragon's fire department already heavily stressed all around with Hellions...

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

"Oh yeah, we're gonna do it this time!" the Hellion yelled excitedly as he drew the last chalk sigil onto the concrete floor, neatly arranged around a pentagram.

"Hahaha, it's the big times now, man!" another laughed, nudging 'Pariah' in the ribs, "We got a BIG plan, huh?"

"Shut up, you morons." the Damned snarled at them, "And make sure you do it right this time. We can't afford to mess up."

"Hey man, no sweat. We can't mess up on this one. We got Pariah here, and..."

"We got it!" a Fallen Gunner suddenly brust through a door with the rest of his gang, greediy clutching a glittering ring in his fingers, "We got it!"

"Shut up!" the Damned warned, hastily slamming the door shut again, "You want some Cape to find us?"

"Haha, ain't gonna happen, Boss." the Gunner handed the ring to 'Pariah', "They're busy all around town. Lifting this thing from MAGI was even easier than the last two dozen times."

Little did he know that Azuria was fed up with this - she had called just about every hero she had contact with, asking them for help to crack down on the Hellions. They'd been stealing artifacts from the MAGI vaults for only a few days, and already so much was gone she'd lost count.

"But yeah, none of 'em saw us." the Fallen Gunner added, "Them Capes are idiots anyway. We busted in, did our thing, and ran back out laughing our heads off..."

((And no, I'm not gonna spoon-feed the plot to ya in post one. For now, feel free to have your character(s) come in just about anywhere, including, but not limited to, the depths of Oranbega, the Legacy Chain office, the Kings Row hospital, or the Hellion warehouse.

Be warned, though - this RP's gonna have a twist, so be ready. ))

((It did, but your post stopped in the elevator. Tharomar's still in his office, so you'll have to get past Penny and anyone else there first. ))

As the group walked along the bridge and through the gate, which had opened before them, those with enough attention would notice a drastic change with Hotaka.

He seemed to grow taller, inch by inch, not stopping before he had reached at least seven and a half feet. His flowing gray beard did the opposite, shrinking together into a finely arranged Fu Manchu.

His pupils, however, were still noticably missing, his eyeballs ghostly pale as always.

Arraivin at the other end, he stopped and stratched as the tempest master walked ahead, handing him his walking stick.

"Ahhh." Hotaka took a deep breath. It felt good to become a little more like himself again. The old man had his advantages, as he wasn't very noticeable on long journeys, but walking hunched over all the time was pretty annoying.

The Tempest Master climbed a set of steps, stopping at the top step and turning about.

"You have chosen the Path of Strength!" he announced, "And if you think this will be easy, you are mistaken! Wearing the colors of the Tempest is a privilige, not a right! It must be earned, just like everything else here!"

He tapped the walking stick on the ground. A heavy gong sounded.

"Your training has now begun. It is here you will spend your first night. Strength comes from within, and you will learn to harness yours..."

((Cliche, but it had to be done for the Tempest school. First night is the harshest of all, to see if you've even got the guts to stay even if the most basic things are denied to you. Pretty standard, really - all the new students get is water, which must be rationed, and you sleep on the rocks at the Temple gates. If anyone has something else to add to these, keep 'em coming. ))

((Well, the opening of the gates WAS supposed to be dramatic and all, but meh, I guess not. ))

"It will be an honor to have you with us again, Mr. Fang." the Tempest Master bowed as well, a sign of mutual respect, "As with you, Mr. Ryuu, and Ms. Tenryuu. But now come, the gate awaits. It is time."

And as two Jounin finally bounded through the trees and into the bushes, dropping into the soft grass at the rear of the group, Hotaka agreed he was ready as well.

"Your students, I assume?" the Tempest Master wanted to know, waving a hand at the bridge for the students to step onto it.

"In a way." Hotaka smiled, "They are now quite capable themselves, and they will be assisting me."

"I see." the Master returned the smile, "Very well, let us be off then."

The Tepest bridge led out and into the mist, across the gorge. However, it never reached the other side. In the middle of the bridge sat a large, ornately decoaretd wooden gate, cobalt blue and white, the school colors marking every inch of it.

And it was still closed...

((Quick question, Midnight: is Xander and old-timer returning to teach once more, meaning he would know the Tempest Master and vice versa, a graduate returning to teach, kinda like Reishi, or a newcomer?))

The Tempest Master chuckled at such words, "Oh, you believe you know much about us, do you? well, you'll quickly discover that the Path of Strength isn't always synonymous with dealing the first blow - just as the path of Serenity doesn't teach nothing but defense."

Hotaka nodded in adreement, looking into the underbrush. His own apprentices should have been here by now...what was keeping them this time...?

"That will be all." Tharmar replied nonchalantly, keeping up the manner of the distanced boss who didn't know anybody's name.

Though he had to admit he hated it - they were working on something grand here, after all - he had to acknowledge it was drawing close to evening now, and the normal departments would soon shut down for the day...

"Hm?" Tharomar looked at his monitor once more. He'd almost forgotten about Penny.

"Do come in..."

((Confused me to no end for a moment there too. ))

"Ah yes," the Tempest Master added to his Mountain colleague, "we would all appreciate that, Ms. Tenryuu. And we'll have none of it from you either, Mr. Ryuu."

Hotaka cackled for a moment, smiling back innocently, "Who, me? Oh come now, Taka, I'm not that bad...it was really more circumstantial than anything...besides, the tower needed remodeling anyway, and...oh, alright, I'll behave."

The Master smiled knowingly, then continued to both Reishi and Hotaka, "Since both of you have been off journeying, I hope your wisom has grown with your steps. Oh, and Hotaka, where are the other instructors you told me would be coming?"

"Around." Ryuu shrugged in reply, "I thought it best if they didn't arrive until later. Waziri still has his little spazoid problem, and I didn't want to risk a few trees being turned into toothpicks when anyone so much as hints at chopping things up."

"Ah yes, the Crazy One you have told me of. You are probably the only one I know of who would teach such as him."

"It's in my nature." Hotaka shrugged once more, "Can't go against that."

"Yes, I suppose." the Master sighed, stepping off the narrow bridge to free the way, then turned to the potantial students once more.

He gestued at the rope bridge with one hand, "This is the path to Strength. It is harsh, unforgiving, and sometimes cruel. It is not for the faint of heart, and it may very well destroy you in more than one way."

In age-old tradition, after the Mountain Master had freed his path, they would utter together, "Time to choose..."

"Interesting." Tharomar jotted something down in a small black notebook after Milly had left.

He turned to Mr. D, "Keep an eye on her for now. Her memory has become of little consequence. Our bioengineering division would truly appreaciate knowing about something like this..."

"Oh yes, I quite agree." Hokata replied to Xander, "I have to say, it's uplifting to see you alive and well."

...though Xander apparently still mixed japanese names front and back. He'd done it correctly with Reishi, but once again he'd called him 'Mr. Hotaka' instead of the proper 'Mr, Ryuu' or just 'Hotaka'.

He decided not to make anything of it, though. There was far too much of interest going on right now - not the least of which was the sound of a large gong that ended the tolling of the bells.

And now the master of the respective schhool would come from each gate, across the rope bridges leading into the mist, where the gates were hidden.

Across the left bridge walked an unassuming-looking man, his age clearly marked by the long white beard that trailed down almost to the waist of his robes, which draped over the ground in such a manner it looked like he hovered.

The robes were cut simply, but finely, creating a perfect blend of cobalt blue and pure while, the identifying colors of the Tempest. Even his small, rounded glasses, completely covering the eyes of his bald head, had the same tint to them, and his rigid white beard and moustache, hanging down like long strands of perfectly aligned clouds, only complemented this picture.

His arms foled into one another in front of him, the master of the Tempest school carried an air of aloofness, but reachability at the same time.

Finally, he reached the end of his bridge, taking a quick bow before starting to speak.

"It pleases me to see such an array of potential." he began, "It dismays me that I may have to send you away by day's end. I warn you now, the Tempest is not for the weak. If you still choose the Path of Strength, you wil refer to me as Sensei, and nothing else, until you have earned the prvilege to adress me by name."

He paused, waiting for his 'colleague' from the Mountain school to make his proclamation before continuing. It was tradition - every ten years...

((Oh, do you mean you'd like us to introduce the masters? I thought you'd bring them out and then we'd control them like NPCs or something.))

The Posbi hadn't turned, but mustered the newcomer with great interest with its ring of blue-glowing optical sensors.

"Negative." 2247-U stated to Acid, having already expected their contact had finally arrived.

"Eh, he'll show up sooner or later." Acid slid back into his wooden chair, which made a cracking sound as one of the weapons he cariied on his back, under the gray cloak, wedged itself into a rib, prompting a curse and a jerk to get the thing free again...

((Alright, so we have someone for Mountain too. Good. I figured if I took both, there would be a conflict there. ))

((And Hokata isn't hooded, he's wearing a martial arts robe and a large bamboo coolie. The only odd thing about him right now is that his eyes have no pupils.))

"Eh, that's what they always say." Hotaka egged Gerden on, "But I guess aerial combat is akin of the old boneheads. Hm, how old am I? Ooooh...that's a tough one. I really couldn't tell you - you start to lose count after a few centuries, you know..."