Castle Made of Clouds (Wielder of the Sword, Cleric, Shade, Drago, and Keiji Maeda)

OoC:
As the title says, myself, Wielder of the Sword, Cleric, Shade, Drago, and Keiji Maeda are all to fight. Each entrant may only use ONE character apiece. Post in order of your first post. (i.e. me, WotS, ____, ____, _____, and _____). The fight will take place in a castle in the clouds. The clouds can hold any wieght, but can be smashed through. The reason the cobatants have converged here: there is a golden power resting in the (you guessed it) highest point of the tallest tower.

Because of the makeup of the castle, it shifts periodically. It will corral us away from the golden power, so it will take a while to obtain. Make pacts, aliegences, whatever. Make this last a long time.

I'll use Ranul, link in sig.

IC:
Ranul had been searching his library for months about a "Golden Power" in the clouds when he came across an excerpt in a particularly old looking, bloodstained book. It read as follows:

The Diary of Mad Kadakar,

entry: 12 December, 109.

Finally, I have tracked down the moving castle. Fifty years I have searched and all for naught. I cannot reach my goal. I have mapped the movements and will climb to the power when it crosses the mighty mountains of Sadamorn.

So cold. I have but six more days to finally reach it. Food is gone and I have lost my family. It doesn't matter, I will bring them back with the Golden Power. They call me mad, but it exists...

It faded from there. The map fell from the pages.

"So, after long last, I can obtain the power of God! I can bring back my past family... and my real family," Ranul said to himself.

The Golden Power was said to grant the user the ability to grant life and death. It could bring back the long dead and could kill the immortal. It was greatly coveted by scribes, schollars, and mages alike.

"I must find this. I think I deserve a vacation. Napaj can take care of it all... I hope," Ranul said, making preparations for flight. He packed his sword, bow and arrows, food, and medkits. It was a week later when he took off.

After six hours of flight, Ranul saw his quarry in the distance. Another four hours and it's mine, he thought.

It was after he landed that he realized his folly... It was hidden within the castle that sit before him.

As he stepped towards the door, he heard a voice to his left. "You can't get in that way," said...

OoC:
WotS, it's to you.

OoC: Was it entirely necessary to leave out the name? I only have one character, you know exactly who I'll be using. Link in sig.

BiC: …Blitz, leaning against the castle’s plush wall and frowning at his ex-master with his arms crossed. He grinned in amusement at the surprise in the half-angel’s face. “Surprised to see me here, of all places?” he asked smugly, though he didn’t care to know the answer.

Ranul stared back in befuddlement for a moment, but then frowned at the human. It had been some time since he came into contact with the Keir; now was not the most pleasant of times for a reunion. Blitz did not appear to be in a hurry, so Ranul saw no reason to deny him a simple verbal exchange. “I don’t suppose I have to ask what you’re doing here, do I?”

“I should hope not,” said the swordsman sarcastically. “Chances are, we are both here for the same reason. And if we aren’t, I would like to know how you found your way here.”

“I would like to know how you found your way here. Unless you learned to sprout wings at will, I can’t imagine how you might have made it this far.”

“There is quite a bit about me that I did not reveal in my training.” That smirk was beginning to annoy the half-angel, Blitz could tell. However, there were more important things on his mind, such as finding that Golden Power. Without quite knowing why, he did not want to reveal his reasons for seeking out this legendary power. So for now, he would keep his motives secret; it seemed the best option at the time.

Deciding that he did not wish to delay, Blitz stood straight and stepped away from the wispy exterior of the castle. With each step he took, small tufts of white fluff floated upward around his feet, almost enshrouding him in a soft haze. “You will probably agree with me when I say this is not the best time for chit-chat.” His sword filtered into his hand, and Ranul quickly took a defensive posture. But Blitz ignored the half-angel, and instead slammed his sword into the castle wall. Though not made of stone, the cloudy surface caved in beneath the weapon’s elemental strength. Ranul relaxed as Blitz leapt through the hole he had created, and the swordsman lost track of his old teacher from there.

Immediately after Blitz entered the castle, the wall coalesced softly behind him. Even if the half-angel followed, he knew, it would take some time for him to catch up; Blitz prided himself on his speed even when not in battle. But pride was no object now. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he would not pass it up; the chance was too precious, and he could not allow someone else to seize it from beneath his own nose.

His resolve was firm. His destination: The stairs.

OoC: Your move, Keiji.

OOC: Damn it! I was writing and Works closed out on me, so I had to start over. Now my morale is shot, and this post won’t be nearly as good as I want it to be. Also, WOTS, I gave u room to be creative with what u wanted to use the Golden Power for. Oh, and FYI, this isn’t the part where Blitz and Tokumaru become true allies. I intend for them to fight at the end of this, breaking their temporary alliance. We’ll leave the permanent alliance to our own battle.

BiC: Tokumaru gazed through the open window in the large spiral staircase as he sat down for a break. Oddly enough, the fluffy substance was able to hold him and his weight, despite their clear difference in density. The Heavenflame samurai was here on a search for a mythic Golden Power, a substance so strong that it might even allow him strengths beyond Eternal Inferno. This would allow him to final defeat Drago, whom he had tied with just the other day, once and for all.

It was then that Tokumaru heard footsteps coming from below; someone was walking up the staircase. The samurai stood up, and unsheathed his sword, the Hinotama, a marvelous red katana with intricate patterns of flame decorated on its edge. Entering Niman, (High attack stance) Tokumaru awaited the person who began to grow closer. The footsteps began to grow louder, and soon the samurai could see the silhouette of the possible threat. It had a disturbingly familiar aura, and as it stepping into the light of the large window, illuminating its face, Tokumaru was filled with a rush of emotions: relief, surprise, awe, and utter defiance.

“It…” he said in awe, “It can’t be… it just can’t be! Keir, how are you here?!”

Blitz shifted around uneasily in his position, sharing the same amount of emotions that his rival was. He too, had entered an attack stance, and, knowing who this person was, kept it firm and steady.

“Indeed,” he said sternly, “I am here in this place. I should be asking you the same question; why are you here, samurai?”

Tokumaru took a gasp for words, but stopped in mid-sentence, looking down at the ground. The intricate fluff that was at his feet moved unsteadily; it was as if they could sense his emotions, and were reacting to it in turn.

“I am here…” said Tokumaru slowly, “probably for the same reason you are. To find the Golden Power.”

Blitz sighed, realizing that by the tone of his rival’s voice, he wasn’t planning on attacking, and dropped his stance.

“Yeah,” he said, “I am here to get that power for the sole purpose of controlling my Celestial form, also for a few other goals as well. I’m not going to let anyone get in my way.”

Tokumaru put on a grim expression, and sheathed the Hinotama. “Well then,” he said, “I shan’t be letting anyone get in my way either. We‘ll have to battle again, one way or the other.”

A long pause followed. Soon, Blitz extended his hand toward the samurai. “Then until then,” he said, putting a smile on his face, “let us join forces. I sense great evil in this place, however much the appearance begs to differ.” Tokumaru nodded, and shook Blitz hand, starting the first alliance in the Castle of Clouds.

OOC: I choose… Drago to be next!

OoC: Yeah! It's time to get started! And by the way Wielder of the Sword, Pm me cause I'm gonna have you and Keiji fight Drago in his last fight before his next form. Yes, Blitz and Tokumaru are going to slay him (For now! )

BiC: The clouds puffed and moved slowly out of the way as a dark aura hurrided down the path. The dragon stopped and looked up at the castle with a grin on his face.

"I've found it at last! Soon I'll have the power to defeat Blitz and Tokumaru at the same time! Then I'll truely be the Dragon Overlord!" Drago murmured to himself as he walked up to the castle.

He slliced it open with the Dragonic Edge and entered quietly. He quickly ran down the hallway. After a time he saw someone up ahead. He sensed Blitz aura on them, but knew it wasn't Blitz.

Ranul felt Drago's dark aura around him. Something of a strange power was here. He looked up just in time to see Drago's tail whip by his face. Ranul turned to see Drago jump over him and land ahead of him.

"And just who the hell are you?" Drago asked with his clawed hand on his sword.

"I am Ranul, you are?" The half-angel asked, not quite sure that dragon's should be after the Golden Power.

"I am Drago Universi, the Dragon Overlord... good bye!" Drago finished as his tail wrapped around Ranul and threw him back at the entrance. "I don't have time for half-breeds like you!"

Drago forgot about Ranul soon after and grew excited when he came to the stairs. He didn't like the look of climbing all of them, so he spread his wings and began to fly up the column.

On his way up, the Overlord passed by Blitz and Tokumaru. "Fancy running into you two here!" Drago yelled and startled his enemies.

"Drago!" Blitz growled. What was he doing here?

"Hello, Drago. I'm guessing your here for what we're here for." Tokumaru stated with a small grin.

"Yes, but I must see to it that I get the Golden Power. No mortal deserves to hold that kind of strength!" Drago replied in bitter hate.

Drago held out his hand towards the two and grinned, "See you at the top!" He laughed as a black beam flew from his hand and exploded where Tokumaru and Blitz stood. Drago then flew towards the top, one thought on his mind.

OoC: Hey Shade and Cleric just post which ever one of you gets here the fastest.

OoC: Right ... I'm using my oldest character, Terrin. Link to follow: http://zeldauniverse.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15203

Not sure who I am going to ally with yet ... Terrin is open game for now! Oh, and KM, lets pretend that Terrin and Tokumaru don't know each other right now, okay? Okay.

BiC: After hours and hours of controlled Posative Force directing of wind, Terrin saw it in the distance ... a towering, cloudy castle. Just what I've been looking for.

As he increased the speed of the wind to fly him faster toward the tower, he felt many aura's beginning to radiate from the inside ... powerful aura's that we was not quite prepared for. Buffeted by the many diverse powers inside the castle, he decided to enter into one of the towers, where it would be less likely that he would meet anyone ... at least, that was his reasoning for the moment.

Unfortunately for him, however, when he softly eased up the Posative and the wind receded, he dropped into a window of one of the many towers ... right in front of two of the strongest aura's that he had sensed.

Both sides were startled by the sudden appearance, and they simply stared at each other in confusion, searching them from head to toe.

Then, as if planning it out, all three drew their swords, and pointed them threateningly out in front of each other.

"I think it is safe to say that we have all come here for the same reason," said Blitz with an air of someone trying to keep calm. "The Golden power that lies at the top of this castle."

"You are correct," replied Terrin, his voice tensed up. He did not think that these people were here to harm him, but he was not ready to let his guard down just yet.

"Stand aside, child," ordered Tokumaru, his sword moving in small circles. "We must reach the top before another foe of ours does ..."

"Drago, the Dragon Overlord, I know," replied Terrin, annoyed. "And I am not a child, I am twenty-eight years old. You should know that."

"How do you know about Drago?" demanded Blitz harshly. Terrin just smiled, and answered "I know many things, not the least of which is that if we don't stand together, the obstacles in this castle will slaughter us all."

Blitz jerked his head a little bit, flicking a strand of hair out of his eyes. "You mean ..." he said in a near whisper, "you want to ally with us?"

"Not so much 'ally'," said Terrin with a slight grin, "a temporary agreement. And with that in mind, let us stop this Drago ... for now, together."

OoC: Ugh, so much freakin' dialogue. No fun, no fun. Lets get to battling after Shade introduces himself!

OoC: Egad! I'll use the never before used Ovirian Kadreen, a.k.a. Justice! Profile in link on my signature!

BiC:A shirtless "man" with tattoos of white intricately designed onto his flesh casually walks through a dense thicket, his eyes half-closed and head lowered as if ashamed of something. At his back, a few yards in the distance a pile of burning bodies lay, covered in golden coins that glint in the sunlight. The man continues walking, and a breeze picks up.

Deciding it was for the better, the figure lifted off of the ground, his medium length white hair, which ended with black near the bottom of every tip rustled as he began to pick up speed. Still looking indifferent, he continued to soar until something on the horizon caught his eye.

It appeared to be a huge cloud, but it was too close to the ground, and it was shaped oddly enough, like a towering castle. He felt an odd, celestial prescence at the very top, while he felt at least 5 other forces abroad in the castle. He decided that flying up to the very top would be impossible, as a curse or enchantment in that area would be too obvious a precaution. So he descended to the main gate, and, knowing that his power was undetectable to other warriors, began to burst through the clouds.

He would eliminate the other forces if he found them wicked, that he was sure. As he ascended, he felt that there was an awesome power at the top of this place, and he felt the need to protect it from infidels. He smiled and chuckled quietly, wondering how powerful any of these foes could be.

He rose up behind a massive dragon, one that completely reeked of the stench of evil. Ovirian stared at the creature, who hadn't detected him. His tattoos glowed as his armor quietly began to grow, sprouting from the magic sealed within his body.

Ranul was pissed. "How dare that dragon scum strike me. It is something he is soon to regret," he said to himself, dashing up the stairs that everyone else had taken.

A few floors up, Ranul sensed that the others were no longer in the same spot. He sensed Drago above him, along with an... empty feeling. He also sensed Blitz, Tokumaru, and Terrin on the floor he was currently on.

"Well, I'll take the lesser of two evils and follow these guys. Besides, the stairs above me are gone and I don't fancy a flight," Ranul said, running to catch up with the others.

It was a few minutes later when he saw those whom he followed. The problem; they were surrounded by some strange creatures.

"Get back!" Blitz yelled to the creatures.

Ranul strung an arrow on his bow and fired at one of the creatures that was readying an attack. Hit!

Tokumaru saw the creature fall and looked to where the arrow had come from. There was a figure a good ways off. "Friend of yours?" he asked Blitz.

Blitz looked up and saw another creature fall before an arrow. Ranul, there you are, he thought. "Friend? No, not exactly."

OoC:
Hmm, I think I fixed it. WotS, have fun.

OoC: I've fixed the problem that was forcing us all to have a bit of a detail block. It was caused by the overabundance of characters all coinciding in the same room at the same time. It's all taken care of now.

BiC: SHING! Blitz sheared one of the creatures in two with a thrust of his sword as it reached out with razor-sharp talons on its three-toed feet. The two bloody carcasses dropped to the soft ground and bled profusely, then disappeared in the most peculiar manner. Blitz gave the absent gore a perplexed glance, but thought little of it thereafter. Judging by their wings, feathers and birdlike appearance, he guessed they must be a variant of harpies. As for the vanishing act, Blitz could only guess as to its secrets. Viscen’s input would have been helpful in determining these beasts’ genus, but such information was not paramount at the time.

Several meters away, Ranul smashed in the face of a harpy and thrust the swordsman a bizarre look that Blitz could not quite identify. It was cold and wreaked of foul play. One more thrust of both fists rendered another harpy breathless, and then the half-angel leapt down the hall. Within moments, he disappeared around a corner. Damn! swore Blitz silently in exasperation. He’ll be the first to reach the top of the fortifications at this rate!

A brief glance of the ceiling of this floor on the outer wall gave him an idea. Mustering up his strength, he called upon the elemental energies around them. Fuel for his power was abundant here in the upper atmosphere; his Fire Rain would be very effective. The instant he released the energy he had gathered, he shouted to his partner. “Tokumaru, get down!”

Without a second thought, the samurai obeyed, and not a moment too soon. Hail-sized meteors suddenly shattered a massive section of the above ceiling, and a shocked Ranul fell to the floor below with an ‘Oof!’ The meteors buffeted the floor on which Blitz stood, but it did not falter; the top floor had received the brunt of the attack.

Taking the opportunity, Blitz let loose an explosion beneath his feet which sent him flying. In a whiff of smoke, the floor beneath his feet disappeared. Fortunately, Tokumaru had been fast enough to leap through the hole and up to the top floor. Blitz landed next to him, his feet striking the cloudy surface without a sound. Noticing that Ranul had not followed suit, the swordsman presumed that he had not been able to recover before the lower floor’s destruction. But now was not the time to worry about opponents.

Now that he was on top of the fortifications, Blitz had a clear view of the castle itself. At this moment, they now stood on the outer wall which sported a hole that spanned its entire width. The stairs which Ranul had attempted to take were in a corner of the fortifications some distance across the gaping hole. A number of those harpy creatures floated lazily through the air near the highest tower, in which Blitz was led to believe the Golden Power lay, but did not appear to have noticed the struggle going on below. Perhaps they were deaf? In any case, the tower did not appear to have any entrances or windows, but that presented no immediate boundary. It was quite obvious, being positioned directly over the center of the castle. Sight of the fortifications alone was enough to earn the respect of any man, but the true beauty of it all lay in the Cloud Castle itself. So majestic it was that Blitz found himself gaping in awe. Who could have built a place like this? he wondered, eyes scanning the massive structure that towered high above. He could not quite take it all in at once. And what happened to those who once lived here? They must have been unbelievably advanced to create a city of clouds!

Beside him, Kyô had a similar reaction, albeit less profound. After several seconds, the samurai seemed to lose interest—or at least keep focus on the task at hand—and beckoned that Blitz follow as he walked toward the edge of the outer wall. “Let’s go,” he said. “The others will catch up soon if we don't-”

Suddenly, a dark figure burst up from out of the hole in the fortifications, wings unfurling around it in an impressive fashion. Drago’s leathery wings beat the air rapidly as he flew toward the highest tower. “I shall see you in a moment when I am a God!” he cackled.

Tokumaru cursed and looked about ready to leap from the outer wall in his carelessness. “We’ll never catch him at this rate! Let’s go!”

“Wait,” Blitz said calmly to him. Already, he had been gathering the elemental energy around him. Now he believed it was sufficient enough to suit its purpose. Preparing to discharge the energy, he thrust out his hand toward the tower. For a moment, nothing happened, and Tokumaru became anxious. Suddenly, there was a thunderous roar as a stream of intensely hot flames billowed out from the swordsman’s hand. It seared the sky as it streaked toward the tower, instantly evaporating any clouds that happened to be near its path. Then, with a startling abruptness, it erupted against the side of the tower, kicking up a shroud of smoke. An eerie silence ensued.

Tokumaru cast Blitz an impatient look. “What was that for?”

“Look,” said the swordsman, pointing at the tower.

The samurai returned his eyes to the cloudy structure; though the smoke had cleared, he had difficulty seeing across such distances. He shaded his eyes with one hand and was surprised to see that the tower was completely unscathed. The intense blast of fiery energy had not been able to penetrate its misleadingly durable surface; obviously, Drago was not going to get in the easy way. The dragon stopped dead in his flight, hovering in the sky thoughtfully. Blitz could only imagine what curses he was muttering as he hovered there, brilliantly outlined by the clear blue sky.

But there was not another moment to lose! Blitz and Tokumaru quickly leapt from the outer wall, clearing the fifty foot drop and landing easily. The castle was at least sixty meters beyond their reach, and Drago was already well on his way to finding an alternate route. Both started in the direction of the castle, hoping to enter through another wall, but a voice from behind stopped them.

“If we are going to reach our destination, we had best hurry,” said Terrin. The two turned to glance at him, and the caster indicated a raised bridge to the right that extended from the fortifications to an upper floor of the castle.

Squinting, Blitz could almost make out two shapes dashing across the bridge. They were a good twenty meters apart from one another, and did not appear allied in their rush. Nevertheless, both of them would gain good headway above the rest of the contenders in this race for power. At such a distance, Blitz could not make out any details on either of the figures. His memory served him well, this time, and he recalled the number of people he had currently met on this castle in the clouds. Ranul is one… he thought, …but who’s that other guy?

Tokumaru voiced Blitz’ question aloud, and Terrin replied with a nonchalant shrug. “I do not know. But as I said, we must make haste if we are to be victorious in this escapade.”

Blitz and Tokumaru nodded, and the three made a mad dash for the castle interior.

OoC: One word: Wow. That turned out great! Keiji, you're up!

OOC: Ok, let's try and make this fun. Maybe we can all split th power at the end? Or maybe not. Lol, its going to be very hard deciding who gets the power if we don't split it. :p Oh, and Cleric, please don't get mad at me for--- (you'll see)

BiC: Tokumaru and his group kept a steady path behind the two warriors, inching their way closer and closer to the top. All three of the swordsmen wondered how Ranul supposedly "knew" the layout of this place so well, and were eager to find out. As they crossed the drawbridge, Tokumaru fired a small, warm pallet of flame underneath each of their feet, for the new flooring was marble, and footsteps would easily give them away.

"You do realize that we'll have to fight those two sooner or later, right Blitz?" said Terrin to Blitz, who was leading them in their stalking. "Why don't we just attack them now?"

Blitz looked back at the Elemental and shot a look of stupidity at him. "Isn't it obvious?"

Tokumaru and Terrin both shot Blitz a dry look, and simultaneously said, "Actually, no."

Blitz sighed tiredly, and continued walking. "Ranul obviously knows his way around this castle," he said, "although I'm not quite sure how. If we don't ambush him, we might be able to follow him to the power itself."

Tokumaru put on a grim expression, looking down at the fine marble on the floor. "Then we will all have to fight eachother, right?"

Blitz and Terrin nodded quietly.

The group continued their trek up the current tower, which was surprisingly easy, seeing as how Ranul and this "Ovirian" character took out the monsters for them, even though they had know idea they were doing it. As they got higher and higher up into the keep, an eerie mist began to befall them. More or less, the castle itself was an eerie mist, but you get the idea. Higher and higher they ascended, walking down long hallways of pure cloud, waiting for something to turn up. Sooner or later, they reached a hatch, and Ranul and Ovirian climbed through. The group of three swordsmen stayed behind for a moment, and then climbed through, knowing that it was safe.

What they beheld then was a large roof, looking off into the distance. Apparently, whoever left the Golden Power also left a Rider Dragon, as Ranul and Ovirian were already riding through the skies to an even larger tower, supported by a huge pillar. This tower must've been concealed by magic from the swordsmen’s last vantage point, as Blitz, Tokumaru, nor Terrin had seen it. It was then that they began to worry.

"Damn, how are we going to get over to that tower?" Blitz said angrily, running over to the edge nearest the high tower.

"That appears to be the final tower." said Terrin coolly, looking up at the wondrous splendor that was the tower's support pillar.

"Look!" said Tokumaru, who had sent his Sôryûsen Ryû out to scout. "Up there, at the top of the tower, do you see it?"

Indeed, at the very top of the tower there was a large pillar of pure mana, holding up a huge coliseum-like structure.

"That must be top floor." said Blitz, who had also looked up to see it. "But it's no use if we can't get over there! Dammit!"

It was at that instant that the Wielder of the Sword felt a powerful heat from behind him. It was a familiar heat; the Pyro-mana that surrounded Tokumaru in his Inferno stage had returned. With this form of being, Tokumaru's sword increased in heat, and two wings shot out of his back. He walked over to the ledge and stepped up on the barracks, holding his hands behind him as if he were going to give someone a piggy-back ride. In fact, that was exactly what he was planning!

"Hop on, Blitz." Tokumaru said. "I'll come back for Terrin in a moment."

Blitz let out a sigh of relief, and hopped on Tokumaru's back, who jumped off the ledge and into the air. What a view it was from that angle! They had indeed been climbing high into the upper atmosphere, for the air was thin, and the once large entryway to the castle seemed like a small pinhead way down below. Finding the terrace where the Rider Dragon had stopped, Tokumaru set Blitz down, and began to fly back for Terrin. It was then that he sensed a powerful aura.

"Oh no!" said the samurai, realizing who the aura belonged to. Blitz corresponded by saying, "What is it?!"

Tokumaru said no words, and kicked off of the terrace, heading straight back from whence he came. Indeed, as he feared, Drago was there, and Terrin was fighting valiantly for his life.

"Terrin, jump!" said Tokumaru frantically as he held out his hands.

Terrin blocked a blow from the Overlord and quickly twisted around to speak to Tokumaru. "It's ok, go on without me! I will catch up in a moment!"

Tokumaru's face went pale. "Are you kidding me?!" he said with a mix of anger and worriment, "I'm not going to leave a child here to fight the Dragonic Overlord! You don't know what he's capable of!"

Terrin blocked another blow, and, using the Posative of wind, he flew into the air for a moment to speak to Tokumaru. "I'm not a child!"

"What?!"

"Just trust me! I'll catch up later, I swear!"

Tokumaru turned around regrettably, and flew off towards the higher tower. "You.... You fool!"

OOC: I set it up so Drago (who is next) can have a little fight with Terrin (who is after that) and then in Cleric's post, he can close the fight and rejoin the group. SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST TERRIN, CLERIC!

OoC: Ok let's do this! *Cracks knuckles*

BiC: "Damn samurai! Puts me up against a child!" Drago yelled to himself.

"I'm not a child, Drago." Terrin replied a little ticked.

"Keep telling yourself that, kid!" Drago angrily spoke as he brought his sword down.

The fight had begun. The Dragonic Edge hissed with excitement; fresh blood was so close. Terrin blocked another of Drago's attacks and tried to stab the beast, but Drago dodged.

The air filled with the sound of ringing steel as the elf and dragon mingled. Drago threw a punch at Terrin and missed. The elf spun around and raised his sword to enter Drago's back, but Drago's tail was quicker, and it made a leap for him.

Terrin dodged like crazy as the devilish tail aimed for him, attacking viciously. Terrin ducked under another blow and made a vertical cut at the tail, but missed and the tail surged forward, slicing him across the chest.

Drago spun around and back-handed the elven warrior. The Whip of Chaos was ready to steal flesh as Drago pulled it out and cracked it to catch Terrin's attention.

Terrin dodged the whip effortlessly as Drago made a snap at him. He ducked under another slice from the sword and rolled out of the way. The cloud where he had been was blown to bits by the whip.

Terrin jumped over a sweeper slash and cut the back of Drago's right knee. Drago paid no attention to the pain and kicked Terrin away, then ran towards the boy with one opened-palmed hand towards him.

Terrin didn't even move as Drago's three black beams hurtled by. They missed Terrin by a long-shot, so he knew something was wrong, but turned to look too late. The beams of Chaos smashed into him and let off a massive explosion.

"Augh..." Terrin managed to say as he flew into a wall of the previous tower. Drago tried to punch his face, but Terrin ducked and the Overlord's hand got stuck in the tower.

"Great!" Drago swore as he tried to pull his hand out.

Terrin concentrated for a second until he heard the sound of cackling flames; his sword had lit on fire. He did a fancy spin and drove the sword into Drago's back.

Drago cried out in pain as his boiling blood oozed from the wound. Drago ripped his hand out of the way and punched Terrin a little ways off. Drago ran towards him in a charge and landed in front of the elf.

Terrin looked up to see Drago's foot come down and he rolled out of the way, but very soon he felt the Whip of Chaos rip of a piece of the flesh on his legs.

Terrin gritted his teeth and got in a crouching position. When Drago tried to cut the elf with his sword, Terrin rolled in between the dragon's legs and planted a kick in the beast's back, impaling his foot on a spike by misfortune.

Drago roared in pain and anger as he brought his fists down on the cloud. The entire area shook and the area began to part.

"You see… the thing is, kid, that I can fly…. And you can't!" yelled Drago as he broth black flames at the mortal.

OoC: That should do for now.

OoC: Right, sorry for the wait, guys. I was off for the weekend, but now I'm back in action. Wait up for me, Blitz and Tokumaru! I'm coming!

BiC: Fed up with being called a child, Terrin made a daring running leap from the crumbling ledge, and forced the Posative Force out and into his body, blasting the wind around him. He propelled himself with force disproportional to his size, and crushed into Drago's back. Both flew through the air, attempting to throw each other off.

"DON'T ..." bellowed Terrin, the Yuathian sword scraping deliberately across the Overlord's chest, "CALL ME A CHILD! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH!"

Two punches landed down hard in Drago's stomach, and the wind blasted out of him. Both of the rival's landed hard on their backs on the ledge where Tokumaru and Blitz had just landed. They were sprinting ahead together, although they were stealing glances over their shoulders.

Terrin was first to react. A split second before the dragon was able to pick himself up from the ground, the elf rolled to his feet and kicked out hard. Drago was sent rolling across to the very edge of the cloud. Had he rolled but an inch further, he would have gone completely over, into infinity, and whatever lay there.

Saying not a word, Terrin hurried off after his allies, and, upon joining up with them, they threw themselves up the curving path that wrapped steadily around the tower they were ascending.

After two minutes of all out sprinting, the path entered the very top of the tower, and exited it on the other side ... onto a broken cloud-made bridge, like everything else. The wisps of smoke rising from it told them that it had just moments before been broken by Ranul, to prevent them from following.

"This time, we go together!" said Terrin fiercely, his voice radiating with a force undiminished by the fact that he was trapped in a child's body.

But even as he said this, a rage filled snarl echoed behind them, and they whirled around in the dark tower. There stood the dragon overlord, looking angrier than ever, sword out, ready to taste blood.

OoC: That may have been the worst post I have ever done ... sorry about that. Okay, lets take this slower, though. Remember, this is supposed to be a long battle ... lets make some more serious obstables rather than harpies ... and each other! Whoever is next ...

The Neon Angel left Ranul behind him, sliding away into a cloudy wall while he wasn't looking. He then flickered in and out of the clouds, holding his breath so he didn't make so much as a sound as he passed through the excess of exquisite cumulus, his rather strange hair moving lightly as he approached Drago. As Terrin and the others fought the titanic fire-breathing monster, Ovirian quietly watched from a distance.

He felt the royal lizard grow with fury at one point, and knew this was the time he felt he should strike. He appeared soundlessly behind Drago, his tattoos now glowing brightly. Drago realized that someone was behind him, sending a lightning quick slash behind his back, but all he hit was shining, white armor that had spawned on Ovirian's chest. Ovirian aimed a hand at Drago and a stream of white energy struck his armor, refracting off of it and hitting a column composed of clouds, and with Ovirian's mental command, it refracted off of it as well, hitting Drago in the back of his scaly head.

The Dragon growled at this new enemy, but for some reason, he couldn’t sense any power coming from them at all. He placed a claw on the back of his head and felt the back of his head smoking in pain. This was too much. The dragon entered a state of bloodlust, and lunged at the tattooed man, who flipped backward, the single piece of armor on his chest gleaming as his fist collided with Drago’s.

Drago snarled, sending the flames of chaos at his opponent, who jumped over him, but was hit by Drago’s claws in midflight, knocking him downward into weaker clouds below. The figure with white and black hair rose up beneath Drago, gripping his scaly legs and pulling him through. Their fists collided as the two spun and crashed into each other, and Terrin even had to jump back as a misdirected laser shot up at him.

Tokumaru and Blitz couldn’t see the brawl going on beneath them, but they supposed it fierce as somehow this man was putting up a fight, even though they couldn’t detect his power. Terrin could barely see them through the hole the laser made, but he could tell it was savage. At some point, The heavily tattooed figure burst up, a series of scratches on his chest, and a few more pieces of white armor on his body.

Drago soared up after, breathing flames of chaos at him, but he cancelled the attack with a laser that made a buzzing noise as it tore through the flames.

He then soared without the aid of wings over to the others, motioning for them to duck as more of the dragon’s flames raged at them.

The man pushed his hair out of his face, his white eyes glowing under his lazy lids as he turned to face the dragon again.

“Mortal! Who are you to interrupt me?”

Ovirian’s voice seemed distorted as he spoke.

“Wretched ones such as you should know me as Justice, while the others should call me Ovirian. Repent!” He conjured several more lasers from thin air that hit Drago’s armor, pushing him backward slightly, making a grinding noise.


OoC: Not my best work, but hey.

Ranul thought he had a one track mind, but he was mistaken. He saw Drago and a strange variant of angel fighting. "Oh no you don't, I claim Drago!" he exclaimed as he flew down.

Drago and Ovirian both looked up to see a bolt of lightning crash down upon the two of them. That started a chain of strange and unexpected events.

The lightning bolt grounded itself through a crystal behind Drago and Ovirian, charging it with energy. The floor suddenly opened up and a ceiling appeared at the top of the pillar that was holding up the final tower. Walls began to appear from nowhere, placing Drago in a room full of winged Gargoyles, Ranul and Ovirian in another room full of minor Dark Angels, and Blitz, Tokumaru, and Terrin in another room containing ghost-like men... the ancient, dead inhabitants of these clouds.

Ranul hit the ground hard, as did Ovirian. Strangly enough, they were unable to fly again untill the ceiling finished. It was only a moment before the dark angels found their prey.

The room was dark, but the two combatants could still see. They imeadiatly wished they couldn't. Minor angels, by definition, were twisted and deformed, created by man to "buy" their way to the heavans, but it failed miserably and the minors turned on their creators. The humans were eventually saved by the very beings they were mocking. The minors were scattered accross the land. A run-in with a minor angel is bad, but dark minors were even worse. They were a cross between deamons and minor angels. Dark minor angels had the ability to bend darkness to their will and were dangerous in numbers exceeding four. There were at least fifty in the room with Ranul and Ovirian.

"Hey neon, I assume you don't like me. That's okay, because I don't like you. But, differences asside, let's work together, eh?" Ranul asked as the minors drew closer.

"Fine, but I will fight you later," Ovirian replied.

OoC:
There, now it will take longer.

I think that works. I didn't get a reply from everyone as to who they wanted to be paired with, so I did it based on what I have. WotS, you know you're next.

OoC: Mood music time. ... ... ... I've got bad news for those of you who are very impatient. I tried as hard as I could to find a copy of the track I was looking for, but there were only a few downloadable versions that I could find... This is the most easily accessible, believe it or not. Click here and, if you have the patience, register for an account. If you do that, you'll be able to head back to the link I provided and download the track. Scroll down--it's track number 16 on disk four.

BiC: Despite the suddenness of the fall, Blitz managed to land in a crouch without scraping anything. The Supernova had already found its way into his right hand for safety’s sake. Now, oddly, Blitz and Tokumaru and Terrin were in a room made of decaying stones. From what Blitz could tell, for it was pitch-black, the room was approximately twenty-by-twenty meters and looked to be a dungeon of some sort. There were no visible entrances or exits, although a rather large pillar stood erect in one corner. Suddenly four candles on each of the four walls were lit with blue flames, and the entire room was thrown into sharp relief.

What the Hell? Blitz cried silently as he saw creatures illuminated by the candlelight all around them. All of these creatures, their pale human-like faces twisted and distorted, were held to the walls by iron clasps. Attached to each one’s leg was a ball and chain that made clinking noises as they struggled. They wore clothes that were covered in grime and tattered beyond repair. A couple of them even had bloody stumps where limbs should have been. They were all watching the trio with dull, dilapidated eyes.

“What is this place?” Tokumaru whispered aloud in unnatural fear. “Who are these people?” Warily, he drew the Hinotama which flashed brightly in the blue light of the candles. Something was wrong about this room; something sinister had happened here, long ago.

Terrin moved toward one of the grotesquely disfigured beings, drawing his sword and taking aim at one of the clasps. “It doesn’t matter, we have to help these people.” The Yuathian blade severed a clasp like butter, and the right arm of one of the creatures was freed. Terrin then took aim at the clasp that held its left arm to the wall.

“Ah, Terrin,” Blitz said, feeling something foul in the air here, “I don’t think you should do that.” Something was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end; somehow, he knew, a terrible thing was about to happen.

SHKAK! The clasp fell in two pieces to the floor, clattering loudly. Now freed, the humanoid creature slumped over. Its head lolled on a limp neck, apparently unused to a free range of movement. Then, slowly, as its head lowered, the eyes settled on Terrin. With a start, the elf realized that the man he had just freed had no pupils. As the dead eyes locked onto him, moments passed, seconds, and what seemed to be minutes.

Then it let out a low, eerie moan that sent chills down Terrin’s spine. A sick grin crept onto its face, parting the dried skin on its lips and bearing sharp yellow teeth. Suddenly, it snarled, thrust out its hands and lunged for the elf!

“Look out!”

SHING!

The creature toppled onto Terrin, knocking both of them to the floor. Its head rolled away to a corner of the room, still grinning. Terrin was stunned for a moment, but quickly regained his senses. Startled by the rotting flesh on top of him, he yelped, threw it off of himself, and leapt to his feet.

“Are you alright?” asked Blitz. “Your breathing is heavy.”

Terrin felt an overwhelming need for a bath, but was forced to settle with frantically brushing himself off. “Thank you for your help, but I think my breathing is justified, considering…”

Around the room, the creatures began to moan in unison. Their heads rolled in circles on their shoulders, and the ones missing an arm began to flail wildly but were unable to move freely for the chains on their legs.

“What are they doing?” Tokumaru almost whimpered.

A very faint but sharp noise met Blitz ears, and he was quick to locate its source. Terrin, having naturally acute hearing as an elf, also identified the sound’s origin. The blood drained from Blitz’ face as he realized what was about to happen. One of the creatures lacking for a limb was struggling so strongly against his binds that the clasp holding to the wall was beginning to…

Crack!

“Oh, ****!!”

OOC: Unlike the past couple of days, I've been able to post well, but today I'm just out of all creativeness, so please excuse the ****iness of this post. Oh, WOTS, there’s a quote in here I know you'll love.

BiC: "Holy ****!" yelled Blitz as the creatures broke through their chains, beginning to waddle towards them, reaching into their pockets and pulling out assorted knives and strange devices.

Tokumaru had seen this once before, for he had died once, and look outward, and spoke: "Yes, Blitz. Holy **** indeed. These creatures are of the undead, and psychical attacks wont work on them, and if they are resistant to fire, we're screwed."

Blitz held a hand up into the air, concentrating a large amount of Helios-pyro-mana into his hand. As if they read Blitz' mind. Terrin and Tokumaru rushed into the plume of dead warriors, hacking off heads and burning limbs to the ground. Not to there surprise, the burnt limbs stayed on the ground, but were soon latched on by another undead in search of a limb. They were going to need one hell of a fire blast. Even in their regeneration, the undead were able to be held back long enough for the Sun Bomb to reach the peak of activity, or at least the highest peak that the tomb could've withstood.

The Elven Warrior and Heavenflame samurai retreated back to Blitz' location just as the Wielder of the Sword launched off the huge beam of Helios and Pyro-mana, thusly illuminating the room in a gallant splendor. But as the glare cleared, the group was given quite the sight. The mangled and burnt carcasses of the undead floated back together, latching themselves onto assorted bodies, and lurching once again towards the three warriors.

"Dammit!" yelled Blitz, pressing back against the wall quickly. "My fire doesn't work, our physical attacks don't work, what the hell are we gonna do?!"

Terrin looked closely at the arms and limbs of the newly reconstructed undead. Even though they were walking erect and healthy, the limbs were still burned and damaged, and that is when an idea struck his mind.

"What if we attack all at once?" he said, "You know, with a pretty strong form of fire?"

Having really no other choice, Blitz used a large amount of the remaining mana he had left to conjur up another Sun Bomb, whilst Tokumaru entered Raging Inferno, and held out his hands, readied the Twin Flames of Annihilation. Terrin then gathered up a large amount of Posative force within him, and, after about three seconds, each warrior was ready to unleash their respective attacks.

"Sun Bomb!"

"Twin Flames of Annihilation!"

"Shining Inferno!"

At that moment, a light like no other was unleashed as Helios-mana, Pyro-mana, and Posative of Fire were forced into one, large conglomerate of flames, completely obliterating the undead creatures, and the southern wall, revealing a long, dark passageway. Without hesitation, the warriors rushed out through the corridor, and began to jog towards the door at the end. As they opened it, they were brought back into the clouds, and were apparently on a high terrace, overlooking the castle. They took a quick look down below, and instantly knew that they were at the midsection of the Tallest Tower, and by the sounds of things below them, they were ahead in the race.

But above them, they heard the cries of fiendish demons, and walked through the other door beside the one they had came in through, and were met with yet another long staircase, this one filled with demons of all kinds

OOC: ^Quite possibly my worst post EVER!

OoC: Erase those posts you idiots, and WOTS if you don't post in Drago's end I swear to god!

BiC: Drago landed with a loud sound. He looked up to see a stupid grin right in his face. Drago threw his fist into the gargoyles face and it crumbled to dust.

Gargoyles, the second to most annoying creatures in the world. They were strong, fighting, and could sneak up on people quite easily. Usually pretending to be part of the landscape and tricking opponents to an early death.

"Drago..." One of the larger gargoyles whispered silently.

"You!" Drago replied as his sword flipped into his hands. He had met this creature once before.

"Funny seeing a creature like you in my domain. I thought you said you feared me so much that you would avoid me at all cost." The gargoyle whispered with a smirk from its stony face.

"Stalfo, you freak. I never feared you once in my life. Now... what in god's good name are you still doing on this earth," Drago paused, "anyways, why are you a gargoyle. Last time I checked you were a awkward looking skeleton with power." Drago smiled at his comment.

"Come now Drago. I have brought my horde here to reclaim what is mine. The power at the top belongs to ME!" Stalfo yelled.

All of the beasts swarmed around Drago. They all wanted to taste his blood. Their master had other plans though.

"Yeah. It was your power till the Godesses decided you used it too much. Pathetic really. Now what do you want? You would've killed me by now if you didn't want something."

"... Very good Drago. Yes I do want something. If you let me share the power with you, I'll let you join with us, but your the only one who may free us from this prison."

Drago paused for a minute. He knew Stalfo lied as he said he'd share and Drago knew he was a formidible opponent.

"Deal!" Drago answered smiling. He would kill the fool when the time was right.

Stalfo grinned with excitment and made the gargoyles form behind Drago. He pointed to a black door.

Drago ran forward with his sword and stabbed through it. The wall of shadow energy shattered, leaving an open doorway.

"CHARGE!" Stalfo's deep voice echoed through the room.

"Prepare to die fools." Drago whispered at his oither enemies as he ran ahead of the massive force.

After a few minutes of flying, Drago noticed the gargoyles were climbing the walls quite quickly. They were fast, even if they were made of stone.

After an amount of time Drago saw Tokumaru and his party running quickly towards the top. When they were nearing it Drago began firing at the ground infront of them.

"Damn." Tokumaru whispered without seeing who fired it. When they finally jumped around Drago landed infront of them.

"Meet my new friends..." Drago murmured as the horde of gargoyles flew around them.

Drago quickly took note of the demons above him. They climbed down with amazing speed. The Overlord soared up towards them. He sliced through them and laughed as they ignored him and went for the warriors, hoping for better luck.

"Burn in Hell..." Drago whispered as he spat towards the trio and took off towards the top.

OoC: *sniff* I love being an evil bastard. ( lol )

OoC: Alright already, I’ll post! and Drago, please stop getting so near “the top” because we are trying to make this last a while.

BiC: The trio simply stared up the stairs, packed with an assortment of enemy gargoyles. They all appeared to have dark red skin, bloody looking jowls, and yellow eyes fixed on them. They were snarling viciously, baring swords and claws of all shapes and sizes, varying by their own body sizes.

“Not cool,” were the first words that left Terrin’s mouth. Nobody laughed, they did not turn their gaze away from the barrier now in front of them. the cloudy tower above them stretched still higher for miles and miles … and if it was all packed with these things, they would not likely have a chance in hell of getting to the top.

Tokumaru shook his head, and decided to take a quick chance. He lunged forward with the Hinotama whirling, and struck down three demons in quick precession, their dark blood peppering the cloud around them. As if on cue, all the monsters above on the stairs overlooking this scene roared out a challenge, and charged downward, their hooves and feet padding hard on the stairs as they went. Tokumaru stood alone in front of the onslaught. Terrin and Blitz rushed forward to come to the aid of their ally.

It was incredible. The flailing bodies moving everywhere blind sighted everyone, and the three fighters simply struck out whenever they saw red skin, usually with positive results. Every once in a while a demon would earn a gash on their own arms, and they would grow angry, fighting hard with their fiery powers.

But their luck did not last. They were twenty stairs up when a club made contact with Blitz’s chest, and he struggled to regain his senses as pain blasted through his limbs. He stumbled, and a demon swept at his head with what looked to be a long, wooden pike. The Keir was forced the move further back to avoid this attack, and completely lost his footing. He slipped, and crashed into both Terrin and Tokumaru, who had been fighting alongside each other. The three allies toppled to the side, past the surging demons, and blasted through the thin layer of clouds that made up the wall of the entire castle.

As simple as that … one second they were standing on solid ground, the next they were sailing downward through the air, toward a bridge two levels below … which, by the castle’s standards, was slightly more than eight hundred yards of open air.

They seized each other as hard as they could, as if planning out their strategy, and Tokumaru, who was on the left side, unfurled his wings, flapping furiously as the wind gusted hard and blew them off balance. It was not nearly enough to stop them from free falling, and so both Terrin and Blitz assisted, calling on their own powers. Terrin took hold of the elemental energy around him and forced the wind to push up, against them. Blitz, using his special blitzkrieg power, conducted small balls of fire to explode beneath them, propelling them up higher. With all three of them working together, their downward fall slowed considerably, but it was not nearly enough to lift them back up to the mid section of the tower.

“Look!” shouted Terrin over the rushing of the wind, the explosions of blitzkrieg, and the flapping of Tokumaru’s wings, “that bridge over there! It leads into the bottom of the tower!”

Indeed he was right. Less than one hundred yards to their right there was a cloud made bridge leading into the tower that they had just been knocked out of. As one, they began directing their direction toward the bridge as they slowly fell. Before long, they had landed down on the bridge, and toppled in separate directions, coming to rest on their backs and stomachs, breathing heavily.

It took them several minutes to recoup, pull themselves to their feet, and take stock of their surroundings. The high tower rose above them for miles, stretching high into the sky. They looked glumly at it, wishing they did not have to ascend it all once more.

Crashes were heard from behind them, and they turned, looking into a connecting tower about fifty yards away. Two figures were moving about, swords flashing.

“They are overtaking us. We must hurry!” shouted Blitz, and the trio sprinted into the gigantic tower together.

Ovirian chuckled under his breath as he leered at the dark beings that stood around him, their black winged bodies converging and twisting, black fluids oozing out of their mouths as they assessed their prey. The black winged creatures were all hunched over, their claws sunk deeply into the white fluff that made up the floor of the castle. Ranul took a fighting stance, swinging Electrode with startling accuracy as he decapitated one of the false creatures, sending a spray of black that stained the white of the room.

The Neon Angel cracked his knuckles as his tattoos lit up, and white armor formed on his body in a beautiful design. He then focused holy energy into his hand, and shot it out in a concentrated beam that pierced three of the wicked creatures straight through the chest. Ovirian then opened his mouth and a rush of white flame enveloped severl more of the creatures, and Ranul sidestepped as he did so, looking surprised.

Ranul then fired a lightning bolt at another one of the creatures, causing it to light up like a christmas tree, and smoke like a turkey, impaling another minor half demon on his blade and kicking off of it. One of the other angelic failures crept up behind Ranul, stabbing it's claws into it's back before he used Telekinesis on it's throat, pushing the sides of it's neck together until it shattered with a disgusting crunch.

"You're not too bad a fighter, Ranul." The tattooed angel remarked, his armor finally growing a helmet, that covered vertically one half of his face, leaving his confident left eye and corner of his mouth visible as he gripped two of the manmade beings and crashed their skulls together, finishing them both off with dual laser blasts as he moved on to the next onslaught of hideous angelic abominations.

"I could say the same for you...by the way, what manner of angel are you?"

"Well, I can tell by looking at you that your God and my God are not the same."

"Interesting..."

"So, that creature, the dragon, he is known as Drago?"

"Yes, that is his namesake, and I shall be the one to slay him."

"I doubt that very much. ALL SINNERS I CAN TOUCH WILL BE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF ICE, AND DRAGO IS NEXT!"

Ovirian followed up this statement by creating several small spheres made of the same material as his armor out of thin air, moving with exceptional velocity as they smashed into more of the creatures.

OoC: Sniff... I almost made myself cry.

BiC: The trio dashed across the bridge as quickly as they could, Blitz Keir making a bit more headway than the rest of them. As he ran, he gave the area a thorough look; to his surprise, this was not the area they had seen upon exiting the fortifications. In fact, he did not recognize it at all! A glance upward revealed a blanket of clouds above them as though there were another floor up above. Suddenly, Blitz’ stomach sunk into his feet.

They were below the castle. This was far worse than Blitz could have imagined; not only had they been set back by nearly ten minutes of hallways and stairs, but they had been sent back even further than they had started! Even though this new realization distraught the swordsman, he continued to run. Pausing now would undoubtedly guarantee his loss in this race for power. So far, he had told no one his true intentions for the Golden Power; none of them would have been able to guess what he desired it for. None of them knew her. Now, it would require everything he had to reach that tower first!

The protection afforded by his two traveling cohorts now became a burden. Strength was no longer necessary; what he needed was speed. In light of that, there was only one viable option. Without seeming to look, Blitz examined his position in comparison to Terrin and Tokumaru. He was a good ten strides ahead of them now, and they were already halfway across the bridge. A sly grin spread across his face as he glanced over his shoulder. They noticed his expression, but it did not matter.

“Sorry to cut our alliance short, but I’m not willing to lose!” With that, he leapt into the air, his eyes locked onto the cloud ceiling far above. A series of explosions alighted beneath his feet, all within point-two-five seconds of one another, consuming a massive amount of heat energy that Tokumaru had been planning to use to his advantage.

The two stared at him in utter disbelief, but wisely chose not to stop running. Blitz thought he heard Tokumaru shout something at him from below, but could not hear it for the roar of flames beneath his feet. Rising rapidly, he snatched his sword from its scabbard and slung it over his shoulder, gathering as much elemental energy as he could into its already glowing blade. “Sonic Boom!” Just as the blade began to glow a brilliant white, he swathed it across the air, launching the energy in a horizontal swipe. The collection of energy soared upward and ripped a large chunk out of the ceiling upon contact. A mere second later, Blitz rocketed through the hole. Instantly, the string of bursts ceased; he performed a graceful flip that ended his rise, and landed stylishly on one knee.

Returning his sword to its sheath, he gave a brief look at his surroundings. He was now below the bridge upon which Ranul and that stranger had gotten ahead of them all after Blitz had escaped the fortifications, which were now behind him. Fortunately, his memory served him well enough to remember that Drago had been ahead of the two. All he had to do now was find that accursed dragon’s entrance route. Almost immediately, he located the path his foe had taken. There, in the wall toward the left of the bridge above, there wall had been shattered with brute force. Blitz smiled momentarily in triumph, then made a mad dash for the hole.

A brief memory of his beloved flashed through his mind, a pleasant one this time. It was a memory of their first family reunion. Despite the fact that Amy’s entire family had been murdered when she was still a teenager, and that Blitz’ parents had vanished from existence one day, the two had their friends. Drake, Viscen, Zeroun, Valerie, Psyx, and even Hybrid… All of them had been there, celebrating their friendship with food and wine. It had been a wonderful day that the swordsman would never forget. A sad tear rolled down his cheek. Sadness and longing in turn fueled his determination. He had to be the first to reach the Golden Power. He would be the first!

“My love…” he whispered to the image of that beautiful girl in his mind, “Fear not. For I shall have you back!!”

~~As I sent you all in a PM, (I couldn't send one to shade, too many people, will someone forward it to him?) this week's internet schedual is going to be quite hazardous for me. Now, since I have no idea on when I shall return, PLEASE do not skip me unless I do not post for 48 hours!~~

OOC: In the immortal words of Sylvester Stalone, "Lez do 'dis." Oh, I believe some of you are familiar with the phrase, "God mode" cheat? *cue insane smirk* Mare-Ignis = Latin for Sea of Fire

BiC: Tokumaru ran through the flames in a sea of Rage, Terrin following close behind, equally as mad. The two allies rushed through the raging Mare-Ignis to the other side of the fallen bridge, jumping lightly over as they did. Blitz was well ahead of them now, and they were both furious. Tokumaru intended to use the power to give his son a proper home, and increase his own power immensley. Now that Blitz had betrayed them, it appeared that he might not get to reach his goal. It was at that moment that, still running, he turned his face to Terrin.

"Terrin," he said, "if you help me defeat Blitz and get the Golden Power, I shall give you half of it. I swear on my life and the good name of Bushido that I will."

Terrin had once heard of this "Bushido", or way of the warrior, that Tokumaru spoke of. Apparently it was very highly taken with samuraial and Roninal men and women, and swearing on it was the highest form of truth. And after all, Terrin sensed a good aura radiating from this man, and, continuing his run, outstretched his hand towards him. The Ronin grasped it firmly, and the two set off, continuing their trek through the castle.

It wasn't long before they resurfaced at the grand entryway. Contrary to before, the mana level was barren here at this level, and it would be difficult to pull anything off. Anything, except perhaps a legendary mana transfusion. This was a long disappeared method used in ancient warlock societies when mana levels became low. The process was deadly, and often resulted in the death of countless bystanders due to either exposure to raw-mana, or else the implosion of raw-mana that creates useable forms of it. The only way anyone could get this implosion to work was to contact the respected god of that element, and settle on an agreement or sacrifice so that the god would lend some of his power to create the raw-mana implosion.

Tokumaru needed Pyro-mana -- desperately -- and there was only one way he could get it. He knew very well that he could die from the forces, and stopping to perform the feat would decide whether or not he and the Elf made it to the top; if he failed, he would be too far behind to catch up, and if he succeeded, well, the former's consequence really wouldn't be a problem anymore. So, he sent Terrin to an abrupt halt, and tipped his sword to the solid clouds at their feet.

A shiny glow left the Hinotama and collected on the ground; raw mana of Fire was now set up. And with that, Tokumaru began the almighty chant:

"Oh great Hephaestus, God of Fire and the Forge, unleash unto me thy strength! Give this premature energy life, and let us reach the top of this damned castle first!"

A great booming voice was then heard from the skies above, and even Drago, high in the sky as he was, heard it loud and clear, and stuttered.

"What dost thou offer in retribution for this favor, Fire-User Tokumaru?"

Tokumaru sighed, and put on a firm expression. "I," he said, Tokumaru Kyô, plan to offer you the bones of the Dragonic Overlord. May it be today, tomorrow, or decades after, I will slay him in your name."

The booming voice paused, and spoke again:

"Very well. I shall grant thine raw-energy its strength."

Instantly, a huge surge of flames rained down from the sky, cascading dark and eerie shadows against the clouds; everyone in the halls of the castle saw those flames, and new exactly who was making them. The fires crashed down upon the collection of raw mana, and a huge explosion went off, not damaging Tokumaru or Terrin at all, quite to the samurai's delight and surprise. The entryway was then imbumed with a surge of Pyro-mana, and Tokumaru used it to his advantage.

"It's been while since I've unleashed this," he said, "and I hope that the mana created here will be enough to get me into it, and sustain it." He then looked over to the Elf. "Hop onto my back," he said, "for even your Posative of Wind cannot go faster than what you are about to see..."

It was then that Tokumaru underwent a huge transformation. His wings turned into flaming quills tightly bunched together, and his sword became what looked like a casket of flame on a night-black hilt. His hair danced around like fire itself, and his warm Hazel eyes were transfused into a fiery glow. He had entered his most powerful state, Eternal Inferno. He then kicked off of the ground and rocketed into the air, bursting through the weaker ground level barriers, until he came to an abrupt halt. There was a barrier above him that not even he could break, and so he floated into a nearby terrace and stopped.

The Elf looked at him insanely as he hopped off of his shoulders. "Why didn't you do that in the first place?!"

Tokumaru chuckled nervously and walked inside the new tower, and realized that Blitz was close. Very close.

"Well," the samurai said in reply, "I didn't know if it would work, so I saved it for an emergency occasion such as this."

The Elf laughed, and the two warriors rushed into the Tower, running towards the aura that was Blitz', and the Wielder of the Sword grew nervous.

OOC: SERVES YOU RIGHT FOR ABANDONING US!