[Zorolo] Spearhead's Training

OoC: Previous Training (just in case)
Ok, so I'm finally ready to continue. I'll be continuing from where I stopped, which was Alti's assignment. Sorry if it looks rushed, but I'm still in the Old English state from reading Romeo and Juliet *shivers at the name*.

BiC: Climbing the tree-like wall wasn't hard. Spearhead's survival mentor trained him well, and climbing a tree was as easy as breathing - if he had the right gloves for it. His bare hands ache somewhat at the texture of the bark, making climbing the wall much difficult, but a little bit of pain never hurt anyone.

After awhile the colonel found his way into the swirling clouds. He suddenly felt lighter and climbing the tree-like wall was becoming easier for him. There was no gust of wind that could be strong enough to lift him, nor any sort of wind at all. The baffling discovery conjured curiosity in the colonel, and made Spearhead take a chance as he let go with his hands, falling back and standing onto the wall. Once finding out the very strange effect the lightness of his body had, Spearhead continued scaling the wall by walking up along the bark. Ok, I'm sure it's the beer.

Upon reaching the top of the misty clouds, Spearhead felt an opening of the floor before him. He fell forward and landed on the edge of a large hall, yet smaller than the one he was in not too long ago. A figure, dressed in a black cloak and hding his face with a hood, stood in front of a large, iron-framed door. Thinking that this was a trainer of some sort, regardless of how strange he was of a trainer, he walked up to the figure and stopped only a few short feet away.

"Hello, I am Cnl. Spearhead of the W.P.F." he greeted him. "I was aware that this place was a sort of training facility I could come to train in, so where can I?"

"You are a bit early, but that is no problem," the figure began. He looked old and frail upon further observation. "You may find your teacher in the library beyond this door, but I must ask you if you are truly willing to endure the harsh training ahead. I must warn you, this place is unlike any you have every been to in your military career."

The warning created a bit of uncertainty for the colonel. He scratched his head and gave it a second thought before answering. First of all, he didn't need a teacher. So far he had been taught by many exceptionally trained soldiers in his past, and having a teacher now sounded pointless. The other issue was the warning; why do I need to be "willing" to "endure" the training behind the door? If it was that dangerous, it would be pointless to continue on. However, learning to control his still new power was dangerous itself, even if it was done somewhere besides here. Since he was here, he might as well have went forth and start his training for the day. Besides, there was nothing better to do back at HQ, and that was the main reason why he came here.

"Alright, I am willing to go forth." Spearhead watched the figure wordlessly turn around and watch the cloaked man raise his hands as if to embrace something from the sky. A small rumble was felt from under his feet, and the doors started to shake as the man was mumbling some sort of chant. The doors soon opened for the soldier to enter through, but before he could go on his way, the man stopped to remind him.

"To let you know, your teacher will be someone different than previously established. You may not have known, and it may have little concern to you, but it is my duty to let all participants known inside The Dome of every change in the Council's decisions. Please be wary of any and all dangers, and godspeed."

That was strange, Spearhead spoke in his mind. A new teacher? Who was my first one? And The Dome? So that must be the name of this place. His mind was at ease now that he knew more of this, but he still had no idea where this place came from as he never noticed it anytime before coming here, or getting that ad in his inbox. But all that left his bewildered mind as he reached a large library with many ailes of shelves. He found a small table nearby, and sat on the chair with his feet crossed over and on the table, waiting for his "new" teacher.

OoC: How's that for my semi-first post in my training?

OoC: Pretty good. Now then, while I think of whom I'm going to have train you, (either Zorlo or Monroe) I'll give you a little something to do.

Assignment Time:

Waiting for a teacher simply doesn't cut it here. Have Spearhead realize that sitting around doesn't spawn teachers, as one would hope, and go on an adventure. Have Spearhead travel through the Dome, and he can stop in any of the set rooms (the Cafeteria, the Infirmary, the Garden Rooms, the Fountain Rooms, the Dome Center, the Library). However, after he's done with that, it is time for Spearhead to head off again. End your post with him entering into a room that's entirely black. 500 word minimum.

OoC: Kinda long, but I had him travel through a few rooms instead of just one. Hope that's alright with you.

BiC: The thrash metal Spearhead played blasted through the earphones, almost echoing at a fairly high volume in the large and empty library. Any normal man would lose his hearing in just several minutes after listening to such loud music, but for someone who needs it as much as the young soldier, it didn't matter. The device was the best tool he ever had to use in a battle, mainly because it drowned the strange voices well. Without the loud music, his hearing would be the least of his worries.

His feet were up on the desk, as Spearhead leaned back into the wooden chair he found nearby and waited for his teacher. He wondered who this teacher could be, that he had to wait for him - or her - so long. He thought it would definetely be a woman after knowing of how long it could take a woman to appear for such an important reason. What if it were a man? What could he be doing that would take him so long to arrive? Could it be a trap? Highly unlikely, since the trap would have already sprung by now without time wasted. But just in case...

He took out his trident and split the blades apart for its proper use. The young soldier was well aware that anything in such a place could be possible, even an unlikely trap.

"Ok, so where to look, where to look..."

He searched the almost limitless ailes of shelves in the huge storage of books, his music continuing to blast out of his earphones. It almost felt ridiculous to assume a trap was around, but his suspicious nature never ceased to give up. If there was something strange, and there definetely was, he would find out what it was.

So far, all the colonel could find was just what there was before. The teacher of his never arrived, and it was a little over an hour passed. I'm really growing impatient of him - or her - or whoever it is! The trident's blades overlapped one another as it's always kept when not in use, and Spearhead put it back into its resting place on his back. He aimlessly walked around the library to keep himself occupied and possibly find an interesting book to read while he waited. There were many books he found in the library, almost half of them written in a different language. He disregarded those books, and looked for something else. Even though he was taught to read in all languages from every nation of Narconeia, many of the books he found were published in strange tongues he never saw before. The Dome was becoming a much stranger place for the colonel, and the curiosity he felt only made him the more, well, curious.

He put the last book he found back in the shelf he found it in. So far there were no books of interest for the soldier to read while he waited. I guess this means I have no choice but to look for this teacher of mine.

Spearhead took the closest door out of the empty library, and entered a maze of corridors built from deteriorating concrete bricks and lit by torch light. There were many doors, but luckily they had the room's name on each of them. The first door he went through was the Fountain Room, whatever it could be. He opened the door and suddenly heard the sound of rushing water and his skin felt a cool breeze passing by, although he soon realized it was the mist that lingered in the room. It was fairly thick, but not as to prevent sight. The soldier walked atop the smooth, white stone floor while he searched the room for anyone, but all that existed in the room were the sounds of rushing water and a tall monument shaped like a dull needle with a snake coiled around it as it went up. Spearhead looked at it suspiciously, seeing as how the water he heard was coming out from the statue's top. However, other than its normal functions as a fountain, nothing seemed wrong with it, and no one seemed to be in the room as well.

The colonel exited the cool room into the warmer corridors of before, and walked through the quiet halls. He came up to another door labelled "Cafeteria" which he quickly disregarded while walking by. It was no time for food, and either way the soldier's impatience bothered him more than his hunger.

About two hours had passed already, and the colonel's teacher didn't come to him. He continued to walk through the halls, sometimes feeling as if he went through a circle once seeing the labels on the doors nearby. However, it was easier for Spearhead to find his way through the maze of corridors since all doors were labelled and did not leave him to wonder what could be behind the doors. Already he had been inside a couple of rooms in the past few hours he'd been walking, but none had any sign of his teacher's presence.

One room was the cafeteria, which he quickly thought at first would contain the teacher he was waiting for. There were many people in there, indeed, most of them strange beings apparently not from the world he grew to know well. It was bewildering to see such beings of different species that don't exist in Narconeia. There were many beings who had skin colour not heard of, abnormally large or small body parts as in eyes, ears, legs or arms. Some weren't even humanoid beings and looked more like animals than people. However, after learning from one of the fighters there that his teacher made no appearance in the cafeteria - which made no sense to him since they couldn't know of his teacher - Spearhead exited the room with utter frustration, and continued his almost never-ending search.

Another room was the Infirmary, which, as well, had no sign of the colonel's teacher. This other room, similarly to the cafeteria, was thriving with many species never seen before on Narconeia, though most were more human than animal. From what it appeared, there was some sort of a deadly battle between a few fighters since many were severely injured and unconcious. The blue ceramic floor was stained with large amounts of blood, which was a gruesome sight to see even for Spearhead. What the hell did they do that caused such a mess, he wondered, but the question was ignored when he learned that his teacher was not in the infirmary as well. Thus, he eited the room and attempted to stay calm under his stressed behaviour.

There was, however, one room which caught the colonel's eye. It was intriguing to see because, unlike all the doors he passed by, this one had no label on it. I wonder what could be behind this door. Maybe my so-called 'teacher' is in here. With a relieving thought stuck in his mind, he quickly opened the door and walked straight in without thinking twice. He soon regretted doing so after realizing that the room was pitch black inside with no way to see where he stood. The door closed behind him, with Spearhead chasing after the door to stop it from trapping the darkness in which he stood, but the door appeared to have literally vanish; there was no sign of a door ever being where it once existed. Why do I get the feeling that this sort of deja vu won't end with this one?

OoC: Good post. Now then, time for you to meet your teacher.

BiC: "GOD DAMMIT!" Monroe yelled as he kicked the power supply and the generator started to rev again, turning on the auxiliary lights turned on. The beeping sound of the sirens blared through the halls of the military base. "Dammit Zorlo, I told you not to pull that switch," Monroe stated as he placed a screw driver in his mouth and began to tinker with the generator. "They're eating the electricity. I can barely keep the auxiliary lights on. Anyway, are you sure that that kid can handle this."

Zorlo laughed as he looked at Monroe. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Despite your little experiments getting free, I think this warrior shall be fine. Anyway, this will settle our bet."

"All right. So, however far he gets into the complex depends on whom teaches him?"

"Yes. If he gets to the organic area where I've been testing out the breeding of animals of differing climates to see what kind of creatures can be formed," Zorlo said with a confident smile.

"And if he gets to the genetics complex where I've been splicing the genes of monsters I've captured..."

"Then if he survives the test, whomever's area he's in gets to teach him!" the two finished in unison as they made off to their areas.

OoC: Assignment Time:

Now then, I leave it to you to decide whom you want to teach Spearhead. He'll find a split path. The left leads to where Zorlo is, the right to where Monroe is. The paths are both littered with dangerous animals, and one superior to the rest in the last room that will lock itself off from the rest of the complex when Spearhead arrives. End your post with him killing the Alpha Beast of either area. 700 word minimum.

OoC: I AM SO HAPPY THIS IS UP! Sorry for the wait, but it's finally up! However, there are some problems with the action part, but I hope you can help with that. I was never really good with action in writing.

BiC: Spearhead knelt down and brushed his hand across the floor. He sniffed his hand and smelled a very bitter smell, disturbed by the presence of what existed in the split paths before him. He stood up and looked beyond both as far as his eyes were able to see. The halls were different in that they were more fitting for any organic life. The halls contained large plants that grew through the cracks of the crumbling brick walls and some insects flew around. It was pretty fitting for whatever the two men were saying that existed beyond what he was able to see. Why did I agree to this?

If he could recall, the two men in the room before were talking about who would train him. They decided to make him complete a task for them - or it seemed so - by defeating the creatures they created with their biological experimentation. He just had to get in the middle of their own mess, which they were lazy to clean up. but what struck him as strange wasn't the mess he was forced to clean up, but rather what the mess was. It's clearly illegal to experiment in mutations in Narconeia after the huge incident in the Daro Mountains. a decade ago. Why would these men bother to do such dangerous experiments after something as bad as that incident had occurred?

Could they be from another world? Everything about this place the colonel was in lead to that conclusion. Many species he had never seen before existed within the Dome, so it could only make sense to believe the thought. However, it was too unrealistic to be true. If Extra Terrestrials were to exist in Narconeia, then the U.P.N. (United Powers of Narconeia) would know about it. Wouldn't they?

But one thing was certainly a good thing. I finally get to kick some ass for once.

He unsheathed his trident and split the blades apart. Turning up the music in his earphones, he walked closer to the left hall and cautiously looked around to spot any enemies. The large plants and tall grass made great cover for anything that relies on sly attacks, but nothing was moving around in them. The adrenaline rush he was experiencing forced his impatience to grow, but he soon noticed many movements in a large group of bushes. The leaves were blown off violently as many creatures sprung out towards the colonel, sounding off their screeches. They were nothing what Spearhead expected them to be. The creatures were about up to his shoulders, with dark brown, scaly skin. They appeared to be a mix between a praying mantis and a bird, bearing a bird's wings and the claws of a praying mantis. The body was covered in small patches of hair, and the head was basically just a beak; it had no eyes, no nose, no face whatsoever. It was a grotesque sight, but it only meant that they would be interesting to fight.

"Hey, over here!" Spearhead called out.

The creatures heard this and turned their attention towards the colonel. They shrieked out loud to announce their assault on the soldier as many were pushing and shoving each other aside to get the first bite out of him. There seems to be more than I anticipated, but I don't think that should be a problem.

Changing the music to one of his favourite grunge songs, Spearhead waited for the assault as he banged his head in tune with the music, spinning his weapon to ready his attack. The creatures charged towards the colonel, pushing through all the thick shrubbery and passed each other. The colonel was about to strike with his weapon fully charged, but when the first attack came from one of the beasts he had no choice but to step forward and thrust the trident into the beak, shattering it with immmense force. He pushed himself up with his weapon and flew above them all, landing onto the head of another of the grotesque creatures. They gawked at him from below as he balanced upside-down on the end of his weapon, forcing it into the corpse below.

"Is this supposed to be hard?" The colonel muttered. "This isn't hard at all, and they wanted me to take care of this as a test of strength. This is easier than Weapon Sparring in the first year at the W.P.F. Academy!"

He leapt off from the trident and landed on one hand, spinning on that same hand while swiping the blade around him to dispose of monsters in his attack radius. Back on his feet, he spun the trident behind him while moving his head with the beat of the song. So far, so good, Spearhead assured himself. The voices haven't been a nuisance, and it's staying that way. He saw the creatures snarling at him with disdain as they begged for his flesh through their sharp, clenched teeth, while some decided to charge at their prey and bite a chunk of meat from his bones. You aren't going to give up, are you?

There were too many to dispose of in a short amount of time, and the lack of difficulty in killing the brown-scaled, genetic mistakes made waiting for a fight seem in vain. Suddenly Spearhead's right arm started to pulse. He looked at the black flames along his forearm, watching them flash a dim, blue light. The young colonel had the idea that his power wanted out, and it looked like a good idea to get rid of the beasts and stop wasting time. However the idea of doing so might have probably made the colonel feel weak since the creatures weren't so difficult to kill. Spearhead looked up at the monsters who impatiently waited to eat. Looks like my own impatience has no other choice, either.

Spearhead sheathed his trident back, pulling back the blades into one. Standing defensively he clasped his hands together in concentration to collect his energy into his arm. In a short moment the black flames on his right forearm began to pulse faster with every second, his eyes lighting up with the same blue colour, until the flames spread across both arms and his back and were lit with blinding light. In what seemed like a split second the arm had a sharp protrusion of lightning the length of his forearm, like a flat beak of raw energy. Blue lightning shot out from the arm every so often, pushing the creatures back in fear of standing in the path of a streak of the immensely powerful lightning. The colonel unsheathed his trident again and stuck it into the ground, changing the music to something more appropriate for the scenario. Once satisfied, Spearhead held the trident in his left hand as he banged his head to the death metal he heard.

"So," Spearhead called out to the scaley beasts with a raspy voice, as if he were possessed. "Who's hungry?"

Without letting the young officer get ready for the assault, they charged wildly at him with no remorse for the others who got trampled over the rest. Spearhead decided to show the same respect as they did with their merciless onslaught, and so he lunged at the first one he spotted. Swiping his right hand he cut through two of the beasts. An attack came from the left by three, who were soon met with one steel swipe from the mighty trident. In a tornado-like attack, the colonel took out all the creatures around him in a beastly swiftness that pushed back the remaining genetic monstrocities with fear and cowardice. The colonel fought with rage far beyond merciless that spread throughout the hallway as the beasts ran in hiding; it was a rage only belonging to a carnivorous animal when fighting another such beast.

Now that there were only several of them, Spearhead felt that the time was right for what he planned to use for awhile since coming to the Dome to train. He sheathed his weapon and stuck it into the ground, and disipated his lightning blade from his right hand. He switched his music to a lighter metal song, and when a favourite of his started a smirk struck his face as he pulled his trident from the ground and split the blades back into their place. He spun the weapon fast in his hand behind him like the blades of a helicopter, too fast to see clearly, as lightning shot out from his body. Everything in the hall was retreating back to where it first came from, but the colonel wasn't going to let the weak creatures escape so easily. He looked around the hall, and noticed that some streaks of metal were visible through the thick vegetation that grew. Spearhead knew what to do then.

The lightning stopped as the creatures were still running away from the colonel. Spearhead brought his trident infront of him, still dancing in his hand until he forced it to stop. A moment before he initiated his idea, he watched the monsters running away from death, only taunting them from inside his head when he knew well that their retreat was hopeless.

He then threw the weapon from his hand and watched it fly straight to the streak of steel panelling on the wall. Lightning shot across the hall, electrocuting all living things stuck in the storm of raw energy. Spearhead swiped his right hand down and created the electrical blade from before, and charged down the hall to wipe out all the monsters that were now stuck in place, being fried to a crisp. Spearhead struck the first victim in his path, creating a blinding light with the strike, and after that one strike nothing else could be seen. In what appeared to be a short instant, all living things, both animal and plant, were only black patches painted on the florr and walls they were once standing on. Spearhead was the only one standing at the end of the hall, looking at what devastation he caused.

"Wow, that was... unexpected," He looked at his right arm, seeing that it was charred just like the walls and floors, blending in with his black flame tattoos. It smelled like burning wood, or more like wood burned to ashes. He wiped the arm clean with his cloak, adding to the already dark colour of his clothing. "I might need to be careful the next time."

He walked to his weapon, still stuck in the wall, and pulled it out swiftly from the metal panelling. He put it back in its resting place on his back, turned off his MP3 player now that his head was at peace, and carried onward to finish the job.

- - - - -

At what seemed like the end of the hallway was a large, round door, resembling a large bank vault. It was about a meter in thickness, with a diameter of 10 m. It didn't look like it could be opened by hand alone - possibly by a computer system controlled from somewhere nearby - and the door was sealed shut. There was no computer room anywhere around where the colonel stood, so it appeared it was inside. Where can I activate the door from? The colonel was going to start looking for a switch somewhere nearby, but the door just suddenly opened to welcome the young officer. Why do things suddenly open when I turn my back?

Spearhead walked in cautiously, knowing that the door opened not to give him a warm welcoming. The smell, as well, didn't seem to give a happy feeling to the colonel once entering,The room was just like the hallway, bearing similar vegetation and thick shrubery that grew in the previous corridor. It was, however, much thicker and more vast compared to the hallway he fought the beasts in. The only light source appeared to be a giant unlit lightbulb that looked old and unused for a long time. There was little to no light to be able to see beyond the light that emanated from outside the doorway. It was a scary place to be, knowing that anything can happen that goes against nature, but the fact remained that the assignment the colonel was given by the men before must be done. No assignment, no matter how strange or impossible it may seem, mustn't be denied completion. That was Spearhead's philosophy.

The large vault door creaked to alarm Spearhead of its closing, pushing the light back into the room outside. The colonel was halfway into the large room - or so he thought - and knew that it would be futile to try and make it outside before the large metal door locked tight. Regardless of the thought, Spearhead continued to focus on the mission at hand as was to be done.

He walked on the wet, moss-covered ground deeper into the room. He couldn't see much of anything except what was standing about a couple of inches away. The only things that Spearhead could sense was a very sour smell and the sound of rustling bushes. There was, without a doubt, something alive in that room, but knowing wasn't enough. The colonel decided to use a bit of his power to light the room to see a fair distance away from him, and so he lit his tattooed arm with an elecrtical pulse. He moved it around, looking around the limited space to where the light could reach, and only saw what was there before: large, various plants, and the marsh-like ground under his feet. Yet he still heard the movement of a supposed beast in the room, followed by slight, raspy snickering. Spearhead became more anxious to find the creature haunting the room, but his impatience to fight the beast overwhelmed that anxiety. He wanted a challenge, as was promised to him by the men who sent him on this assignment.

Before long, several tails waved in the distance, just outside the lit area. The bushes rustled next to them, giving the impression that the beast hid behind them. The colonel saw this as a chance to strike first, so he mindlessly shot out bursts of lightning at the bushes, ripping the leaves off and burning them asunder. Painful screeching came in response, and the creature moved to a safer place to recover. Spearhead tried to follow it, but it escaped his vision. At that same moment, the lights turned on, lighting up the entire room.

The colonel rubbed his eyes to adjust his vision to the bright environment. He continued hearing the movement of the beast and the snickering, which began sounding much more violent. The fear and excitement building up inside him formed the voices in his head, beginning to irritate him, so the colonel quickly turned on his MP3 to something loud and aggresive to counter the effects.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, his eyes showed him the source of the sounds only a couple of feet away from him, slithering around in one spot on its multiple tails. It was a strange beast, moreso than the small creatures the colonel fought in the corridors. It had the same claws as the smaller ones, but its beak was longer and narrower, opening up into equal quarters. It's scales were more green than brown, still containing the brown colour of the others, and instead of legs it had about eight or nine tentacles that help the monster move on the ground in the same fashion as an octopus in water. Another distinct feature was half of its body clad in metal plating, which caught the colonel's attention quickly. He knew that there was an effectve weakness he could use against the monster.

The beast struck Spearhead with one of its sharp claws, almost catching Spearhead off-guard when he barely avoided the sweep. The claw stuck firmly in the ground, Spearhead took out his trident and jabbed it deep into the flesh of the arm, ripping the weapon out swiftly to rip out most of its flesh. The creature screeched in pain, forcing its bloody claw out of the marshy ground, yet Spearhead gave it no chance to fight back. It leapt onto the damaged claw, lunging at the other one with his weapon held at the ready to strike.

Seeing this, the beast reacted rather intelligently, moreso than the colonel had anticipated. It swung its tentacles around and knocked the colonel to the side, pinning him to the wall aggresively. Spearhead tried to break free, however the grip on him was becoming tighter with every movement he made. The monster moved to the helpless colonel and stared at him with its numerous orange eyes, but the uneasy feeling of the staring forced a burst of lightning to shoot out from the colonel's body, forcing back the beast and burning much of the tentacles that held him. The beast let go, dropping Spearhead to the ground, and retreated back into the bushes. Spearhead attempted to follow it with his eyes, but once it escaped back into the vegetation all of the plants began to move, as if the monster was literally all over the place. Where the hell is it, he wondered, unable to find it.

Some of its tentacles stuck out for a moment like living roots, blending in with the background that moved along with it, so the colonel struck it with a lightning bolt. The beast screeched in pain, retreating its tentacles, but it wasn't injured enough to call it back out. Spearhead didn't know what to do, so he started shooting bolts of lightning randomly all around the room. Some hit according to the beast's reaction, others missed, and several strikes only hurt it slightly. Spearhead was quickly losing his strength from the use of his attacks, but the loud music and the rush of adrenaline took his mind off it.However, the colonel soon became tired after using too much of his power to call back the monster, but it was still moving around, circling its prey like a vulture would do in the air over their own.

"Damn it, come out already!" Spearhead shouted demandingly, stomping his foot to let out his anger more aggresively. Hearing the soft ground under his foot, Spearhead looked down and saw the wet grass. He looked around, and saw the entire ground covered in it. Seeing this, an idea spawned in his head. Maybe it could work...

Spearhead collected a bit more energy in his body, his eyes lighting up in their bright, blue colour. Clasping his hands together, streaks of lightning collected into a ball of raw power in Spearhead's hands as he slowly pulled them apart. Suddenly lightning stopped shooting out, and the colonel closed his right hand into a fist, holding the once collected ball of power that was in his hands now in his tattooed arm. He raised his fist in the air and was ready to strike the ground, but the monster suddenly leapt out into the clearing and charged at Spearhead with full force, knocking the colonel back and stopping his attack on the creature.

The power in the colonel's arm burned inside with tremendous heat, severely injuring Spearhead. The strength of the heat was hard to bear, making it difficult to stand up and defend himself. The monster charged once more, mouth opened to eat the colonel and end the fight with a hearty meal, but Spearhead saw it as anything but his end.

"I'd rather be burned alive then lose my dignity, not complete the mission, and be eaten by something as ugly as you!"

As the beast came close enough to feast on the colonel, he attempted to punch it in the mouth, but the beast closed its beak shut, swallowing the colonel up. It let out a cry of pleasure, finally eating its prey after enduring much pain in the process. It was finally over, and the beast was satisfied with its meal.

However, the meal ended in a very bad case of heartburn for the beast, its chest area burning up inside. The pain followed with a light emanating from the beast's chest, growing brighter until beams of light started to shoot out. The pain slowly grew stronger and more severe, irritating the creature. It wriggled in pain, suffering in the process, until the chest ripped open and the light blasted out. The creature cried in pain, moving around and hitting itself into the walls to fight back the pain, but it was too much to bear and the monster fell to the ground, no bit of life inside it.

Then a hand stuck out from the chest, covered in green fluid. It pulled out a body from the dead creature, also covered in the green fluid. The colonel stood up on top of the beast, but fell from the lack of energy to do so. He attempted to push himself up with his trident, using it to aid him in standing, as he greeted a shadow that stood under a tree nearby.

"So, is that all you have?"

OoC: Damn, is that long! That has to be over the 700 word mark, no doubt.

That post... was... astounding! Great job. A few small errors, but things that can be overlooked. Anyway, moving on.

BiC: The Aura Master couldn't lie: he was impressed. This guy was rather good, although not too good to avoid needing help. The green haired man stepped out of the shadows of the tree he was standing under and rested his right forearm on the handle of Apollo as he looked at Spearhead. "I am Zorlo, the Aura Master and Fencer of Tasogare, and it is nice to meet you, Spearhead. I'll be your teacher here at the Dome," Zorlo said with a smile as he extended his hand.

OoC: Assignment Time:

Time for Zorlo to explain what was going on. Namely involving the Dome. Z will answer any questions that Spearhead has about the Dome and teachers and that stuff but will avoid subjects of himself and the experiments. After a little while, the fencer will suddenly have to leave and send Spearhead to find a room called the Necrol. End your post with Spearhead finding said door and you describing it. 700 word minimum.

OoC: Man, do I hate this next post.

BiC: He was a strange fellow, but there was a soothing aura surrounding him that made Spearhead feel calm within his presence. The man, who calls himself "Zorlo", was in his early twenties and wore many shades of green, as if he were a tall elf with rounded ears instead of the typical pointy ears you'd expect. Even his eyes and hair were green, and they didn't seem dyed or surgically implanted from what little observation the colonel could make. He could have lived in the forest before, or just like the colour green so much he'd rather wear that than anything else. He seemed to also keep his rapier safely with him, as he was resting his hand the entire time he was with him, and before when he was given the assignment. The thought of who the man could be wasn't important to Spearhead, however, for there were more important matters he wanted to deal with first.

"Are you alright?" the fencer asked him, still leaving his hand out to help the colonel up.

He didn't appear to be a threat of any sort, putting a smile on his face to be friendly with the colonel. From his past experiences, however, Spearhead knew that the nice ones always have a secret motive.

Spearhead pushed the fencer's hand away, using the aid of his trident to stand as his legs were still numb. He leaned against the beast's corpse to support himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied while being cautious of the young man. "But could you mind telling me what the hell I was fighting just a moment ago?"

"Sorry, but I'm not able to discuss that with you" Zorlo explained. "It's classified information. Only members of The Dome are allowed to know."

"Yeah, whatever," Spearhead irritantly replied. "How about yourself? Mind telling me about you and this 'teacher' business?"

"You did come to train here, didn't you?" he asked. "I was sent to help train you to become a better fighter. However, that is all I can say about myself."

"I never asked for anything personal. In fact, I could care less," the colonel coldly explained to him. "All I want to know is about this place and who my previous teacher was supposed to be."

The green man walked by a couple of feet away from Spearhead, looking out into the large vault room while trailing off into thought.

"This place, which is called The Dome, as you may already know, is the training grounds for only those who would dare to risk their lives for power." He looked at the colonel with curiosity. "Which tells me that you are seeking that same treasure."

"I'm not seeking anything, I'm only here to know more about my abilities, not to get more nuisances shoved down my throat." He looked at his tattooed arm, wondering about the powers he possessed. "I only want to know what the Hell this thing is."

"And that's my job," Zorlo assured Spearhead. "I'm here to help you learn to become better and more able to control your own abilities, plus much more."

"If you're supposed to help me, then answer my question." Spearhead stepped forward, still leaning on his weapon. "Who was my previous teacher?"

"Why would you care about such a trivial thing?" Zorlo replied, perplexed by the question. "Does it really matter that much"

"For all I know, you could be a spy sent to exterminate me," Spearhead explained calmly, yet angered by the intolerable replies that he was recieving. "Unless there was an actual change in teachers for me, you could have switched places unknowingly, or killed the previous teacher. I need to know."

"I can promise you, colonel, I am no threat," the fencer reassured him. "I am only here to teach you what you want, and need, to know."

The man was still strange, but his words were reassuring. The colonel could tell that something was being slowly unravelled, but the fencer's words comforted his cautious behaviour. There was nothing more that Spearhead could do but trust the fencer and see what will come of it.

"I trust you," Spearhead complied. "But only enough to let you train me. If you make one move that's out of place, I'll have no choice but to kill you."

"I hope it won't have to come to that," the fencer replied, still smiling warmly as he did before. "Now, for your next assignment."

So the fencer explained to Spearhead about a door to a room called the Necrol, which he could find in one of the many halls beyond the door across from the entrance. After explaining the task, the fencer left among the dense vegetation and seemingly disappeared into the woods. Great, another search.

Leaving through the door once recovering enough strength, Spearhead found himself in a similar set of corridors as last time, when he looked for his teacher. There were more doors along the walls, but the Necrol was said to be very distinguishable from the rest. He began to search through all the hallways he came across, looking for the most smallest of features that could distincuish the door from the rest. All the doors looked the same as the one next to it, aside from the different labels on the doors that specified which room existed behind the door. There were many distinct scratches and markings on numerous doors, but each one was a normal area, such as a cafeteria, a library, infirmary, or any room Spearhead was in before. It was all beginning to be hopeless seeking after a long time of searching for this mysterious door.

"This is hopeless!" Spearhead shouted, punching the nearest wall to let out some anger. "A distinguishable door? They're all the same thing! I didn't come to waste time, looking for random things that mean absolutely nothing, I came to learn how to use this damn power of mine!"

He fell onto the nearest wall, sliding down to the floor to rest. His anger and and impatience took a lot from him, making him regret wasting his energy so easily. [IPull yourself together, Spearhead. Stay calm, you're just tired from the battle. you'll find the door soon[/I].

A green light shone from behind. Seeing something appearing on the wall behind him, he quickly moved out of the way to see what was happening. It a quick flash of blinding light, the colonel saw a green symbol on the wall; a circle that was split into four equal quarters by a cross, with strange symbols written on either side.

Spearhead used the wall to help support himself and get him on his feet. He looked at the glyph on the wall, wondering if it could be the Necrol that Zorlo spoke of. It was no ordinary looking door, if not at all a door, but it was the only different possibility among all the other doors, so I might as well try it out. It's better than nothing, I suppose.

he walked to the glyph, attempting to open the supposed door by any means he could come up with: knocking on random parts of the symbol, moving his hand across certain sections, pressing his hand against anything that may appear to e a switch, but nothing worked.

Spearhead fell on the wall on his elbow to rest for a small moment.

"How am I supposed to open this damn door?" he wondered. He looked at it one more time, wondering still if it was a door at all. Before he could tell, a blast of light shot out from the circle, blinding the colonel with immense force.

Good post. I liked it very much. ^_^

Assignment Time:

Now that the gate to a kingdom of the dead, it is time for Spearhead to go on in and fight with the mass number of zombies and skeletons. The time has come to fight towards the center of the necrol and meet with the necromancer that's taken up residence there. End your post after a short discussion between the two, but no battle. That is all. ^_^

OoC: I'd promise myself no delays, but lying to myself wouldn't do much for me there. XP

BiC: It was no ordinary place that a mortal would imagine to see. The entire landscape was a wasteland, bearing no life nor vegetation, and all was sand and dried mud. The sky glowed a blood red; very unwelcoming to newcomers who dared to venture in this strange land. The lurking aura of death and eerie silence didn't welcome the soldier with warm intent; that was, as well, sure enough.

Looking around, Spearhead saw that nothing stood at the horizon. There were no forests, no mountains, not even a few hills here and there. It was all flat, sandy and dried land. It wasn't surprising that nothing lived here, nor was it shocking to hear only the passing of the cold wind. But there was just something about this place that didn't feel right. There was something that gave the realization that the true nature of this foul land was hidden much too well from human eyes.

Spearhead took slow steps forward, looking around him cautiously for any signs of hostility. The land was as barren as it was when he arrived, but the colonel could not shake off the feeling of a vile aura surrounding him. There was something frightening about the wasteland, and it had nothing to do with the already frightening landscape. It was something more.

"Where did that damn fencer send me to?" he questioned. Impatience drove him to wondering how to get out, almost guiding him away from his mission, but there was a potentially legitimate reason as to why he was sent here. There always was, and so this was no exception.

A cold wind blew past his face with an icy bitterness toward the foreigner. It wanted him to leave, but the colonel resisted its threat, so he pressed onward. Another gust of wind passed, only this time it spoke. Did it just say something? he wondered. He barely noticed the eerie voice in the cold breeze, but ignored the thought. Everyone knows that wind cannot speak... can they?

The wind blew by again. This time the voice was louder and clearer. Spearhead froze from the sudden numbness of his legs, unable to move his feet any step further.

"Another has come to see me dead, it seems..."

He tried to move his legs, but they were cemented to the ground. No matter how much he commanded, Spearhead was unable to move from place. What the hell is happening, he bitterly wondered, annoyed from being unable to move.

"You will not see the door to your world, I promise you that..."

"That voice," the colonel murmured. "Where is it coming from?" He looked around waringly, but saw nothing. His heart suddenly started to pump faster as sweat from his head poured down like a shower over his face. Why do I feel like this? Why am I burning hot? The young soldier began to hear voices in his head, irritating him and painful enough to prevent him to reach for his MP3 player to drown it out. Dammit, why now?

A hand shot out from the ground under him, grabbing his ankle with a stone grip. The colonel saw a head popping out slowly from underneath, only patches of skin visible on its bony surface. As the figure slowly crept up from the ground, the voices became much louder and his heart became more strained from pumping the tremendous amounts of blood, burning him almost like a flame inside-out. However, it did not stop him from seeing the horrific image of the creature that threatened him. Spearhead saw what he knew, without a doubt in his already broken mind, that his leg was being pulled down by the undead.

Soon after this realization, he saw more coming out from the dead earth around him. Most were all skeletons with patches of dead skin hanging off their joints and edges of their bones. Some, however, were fully covered in flesh with disfigured faces and bones sticking out from theiir arms, legs, or backs. Spearhead couldn't believe that such things were walking toward him, but he could not focus on them so much without ignoring the pain he felt from the voices.

He desperately reached for him MP3 to blast some music to counter the screams and yelling in his head, but for reasons unknown his arm felt as numb as his legs. He could not fight off the voices any longer. He could not bear the pain they created. I can't hold on any longer...

Slowly they crept toward him, groaning with arms stretched out like nagging children of the dead. Slowly, black clouds began brewing in the skies, swirling above their prey. Lightning scarred the earth in the horizon as the light flashed blindingly at the mob of zombies and skeletons. Spearhead watched the lightning strike numerous times, knowing something wasn't right. He knew it was happening.

...Destroy your enemies, and survival will be absolute...

The fiends grouped around the colonel, grabbing his arms and legs to feast upon them. They fought one another to get the most meat and blood out of the young soldier. As the first bony hand laid itself on his shoulder, that's when a regretable tragedy occurred upon the undead.

The hungry creature that laid its fleshless hand on the colonel's shoulder was swiftly caught at the neck by Spearhead's hand. He looked at the helpless fiend, watching it squirm for its meal, but he could only laugh at the monster's attempt at freedom. With only one small jerk of his wrist, he snapped the fiend's neck and shot a bolt of lightning through its lifeless body to shatter it into what seemed like limitless piece of flesh and bone. At that moment, all backed away from the soldier. Pillars of lightning shot down from the heavens in a barrage of violent attacks around Spearhead, further pushing back the group of the hungry undead menacingly.

The intense heat of the bolts that hit the ground shredded Spearhead's cloak, exposing his scarred body. The black flames on his arm crept up and over his back, and soon over the entire body. Heat emanated from the colonel, literally burning everything that stood too close to ashes. Spearhead inhaled slowly, concentrating as much energy as he could, until he could breathe in no more. He let it all out in a ferocious growl which shook the ground, and lightning fired from the black skies in a violent siege to the monsters.

"It seems you are stronger than I anticipated..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When the light faded away, the clouds dispersed quickly, as if they initially weren't there. Spearhead lay on the ground motionless. The ground was shattered from the violent attack, with body parts either burned to a crisp or incinerated entirely. If one was to compare what was to be more horrible, between the undead and this violent storm, that individual would tell you the latter to be his answer.

The colonel slowly woke up, feeling some painful side effects to the calamity. He sat himself up, and as he looked around him to see what was left, faint worries sparked in him. How did it happen so suddenly, he pondered. It never happened so quickly, as he always had a good amount of control over it to avoid a catastrophe much like this. Nonetheless, he was thankful he was able to survive what had happened.

He slowly stood, still feeling light-headed from his onslaught a moment ago. He quickly took out his MP3 player to see if it was still usable, but from his pouch he took out a crumpled piece of burnt plastic and metal. He let out a disgruntled moan, disappointed by the outcome of it all, but the colonel's thought turned toward what he was to do about avoiding his destructive nature to come back.

"Dammit all, I don't need this right now," the colonel said discontently. He scratched his head while contemplating what alternative there could be to fighting what he believed to be more of these ghouls, however nothing came to mind that would work. With a heavy sigh, he decided to take the chance.

Swiftly he took out his weapon, carrying it in his right hand with the blade pointed down. Albeit he didn't know where he was supposed to go - of course, he had more important things to deal with - the young soldier walked aimlessly forward in the vast wasteland until he would find an exit of some sort.

He breathed slowly and consistently, steadily inhaling and exhaling deeply to concentrate on controlling the energy flowing through his body. Now that his only defensive strategy against the ominous screams and voices became a small clump of charred plastic and metal, the colonel was at a loss for a simple battle with the fiends of the desolate land. The question now was: will it happen again?

Hands and heads started to sprout from the dry earth like shriveled vines. Unlike before, the ghouls were larger and more intimidating with faces like those of skinned wolves. They had sharp teeth with the same sharpness and lustrous glow as sabers, and their bones were thicker and seemingly stronger. It was either he was close, or whoever that voice belonged to - he believed the voice belonged to the one summoning the undead - wanted him dead too quickly. Well, whichever one it is, they aren't going to take me down!

Spearhead jumped in the air and lunged into the middle of the group, taking out one of the giant ghouls with his trident. Another threw its claws at the soldier from the back, but quick maneuvers helped to avoid this, and from under the beast the colonel cut straight up and sliced it in two.

Two more charged, one from each side, so Spearhead rapidly dodged the attack by jumping above them once they collided. He landed on top of them and shot a bolt of lightning through them, splintering their bones and breaking them apart. So far, there were no voices or screams, but only a faint hissing noise like steam shooting through a crack. Was it gone? After how much he had to suffer with it, he doubted it very much, but then why did it hardly bother him?

More charged at him, and he continued to defend himself against the vile monsters. He kept himself calm so as to keep his mind focused and avoid his dangerous mental state, which he couldn't fathom as to why it was absent at this time. Spearhead, however, didn't care much for that problem at this time, but moreso the enemies he was fighting.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. The undead fiends panicked, running around and trying to escape the earthquake. Spearhead looked around and saw the chaos among the creatures, running wildly around and into each other. Spearhead knew that this was no ordinary earthquake; something bad was happening that, surprisingly, even the dead would fear.

The earth cracked open from under him. The colonel stepped quickly to the side to avoid being eaten by the mouth of the wasteland. All the other fiends were falling in, some holding on until their hands would shatter from desperately holding on for too long. However, some survived, but they fled instead of taking the chance to rip a piece of flesh from the soldier.

And from the depths of Hell came what the colonel could only marvel at and fear at once. Five stone towers rose up to the heavens, followed by a shrine situated in the center. They were all a brown, sandy colour, just like the sands all around. There was a circle with a rune-like symbol inside, carved into the stone surface of the temple, reaching out to the base of the towers. But out of all this, nothing could take his eyes off the crystal ball that shone like a star, so divine and yet so devilish in nature.

"I see you have come, stranger," a voice echoed. Spearhead took a stance, looking around to see the source of the voice, but could see nothing.

"Where are you?" he called out demandingly. "Come out and show you're not a coward!"

A puff of black smoke crawled from the shrine toward the colonel. It circled slyly around him like a snake approaching its prey, ready to surround and strangle him. Ready for whatever was to come, he held onto his weapon in his left hand, and formed a blade of electrical energy in his right. The voice could only chuckle at the soldier ready for attack.

"You foolish mortal. Do you really believe your efforts will bring victory?"

The smoke formed into a vague figure of a man in front of Spearhead, then a layer of smoke blanketed the figure and cloaked him to avoid anyone to see his face.

"Who are you?" the colonel asked irritatedly, gripping his trident ever firmly in his hand.

"I control this land, and all who dwell within," was his ominous response. "And I, as well, take care of every bit of abnormality that enters. That includes irritating mortals such as you, Colonel Ethan Warrick."

His eyes widened from shock when he heard the name. "How do you know of that name?"

The man laughed mockingly, circling the dumbfounded colonel. "I know everything about you, Ethan. I know when you were born, I know your age, your family, your strengths, your weaknesses. I especially know about that power of yours, as well."

"What?!" the soldier asked, enraged. "You know about this?"

"Oh, I know more than you could ever imagine to know, colonel," he smirked. "All too well, in fact."

OoC: I hope I didn't screw this up, being gone for a long time and all (like, 4 months too long). I admit this isn't my best, but for what it's worth I hope it does well for your liking.

The dark clad man crossed his arms as he watched the Necromancer quietly. Monroe had used Spearhead as an effective shield to get this far. Now, he would see how the man could handle the Necromancer before the Quincy stepped in to nail the finishing blow. Or would he be able to defeat the death mage alone? That was what Monroe planned to watch for.

Assignment Time:

Now its time for Spearhead's first true test. He'll do battle with the necromancer in a battlefield that leans more towards the dark mage's powers. Be creative and recall that this mage is no push over.

Also, on another note, Monroe will be taking over your training thread as your teacher, due to plot stuff. Just thought you should know. ^_^

OoC: This time. I mean it when I say "no time to waste".

BiC: The cloaked man lifted his hands to the air and drew on thunder from the sky, as it shot into his palms and shaped itself into a ball. Spearhead took his stance and watched carefully to strike at the right moment. Clouds circled above the mage in a spiral and descended to the ground in a funnel over the shrine, where the radiance of the crystal ball was housed. The cloud drew onto the light and stole the luminescent glow of the crystal until it was nothing more than a glass relic.

"Now you will feel the pain in being destroyed by your own weapon!" he shouted over the loud winds. The colonel watched as the necromancer collected more energy in his hands from the streams of lightning circling the funnel cloud, enlarging the ball of power he held. When it covered both his hands, the mage shot it into the tip of the funnel, and the funnel opened up wide to surround the two men, over the runic symbol. Spearhead braced himself against the fierce winds, until it collapsed over the entire temple into a large, black dome.

"You will only escape in death..."

Darkness was all there was. All he could see and touch was the empty blackness of the void the mage surrounded him in. Despite the emptiness of the dome, there was a strange force that pushed against Spearhead's body and wanted to crush him until he was nothing more than a speck. But there was a problem that was far greater in importance than being lost in the darkness or being crushed by that same entity. Where did that damned mage go?

The colonel forcefully looked around, turning his head to see beside him as he simultaneously fought the opposing pressure that held him firmly still. He tried to spot whatever looked distinct in the black dome, but he found it foolish to look for a man clad in black in a dark void. So he took the alternative and did what he was taught to do as a second strategy.

"Mage!" he called temptingly. "I'm right here! Come here and fight me!"

Silence was his response, but he wasn’t going to let the mage hide. Breaking the bonds the shadow had on his body, the colonel strenuously walked forward. With each step came more fatigue, but more will to complete his mission. His mind told him he couldn't stop here. He knew his mission had to be complete, and he had to defeat his enemy. It was much too soon to meet his end, and much too soon to even think about digging his grave - especially since his arms wouldn't budge, so grabbing a shovel wouldn’t do much, either.

"Come out and show yourself!" the colonel called out once more, this time showing his violent nature and shooting lightning bolts blindly into the void. He ignored his dwindling strength and kept firing lightning everywhere his arms could reach. But regardless of the amount of shots he fired, or the energy he put behind every shot, the mage would not appear.

Then a laugh slyly crept up to his ear from behind. "I can sense your anger boiling in you, Ethan," he told mockingly. The colonel reacted as quickly as he could, and shot another stream of lightning behind him. He watched as his attack flew into the blackness, hitting nothing in its flight, and witnessed the shadow swallowing it in the distance. Where is he? he wondered impatiently.

Whispering entered his ears; the voices of many danced in his head, little by little growing in number and volume. His heart started to pump faster and a thick layer of sweat coated his body. He reached for his pouch, but soon remembered that his MP3 player was charred and destroyed from the earlier event. Damn, not now! he murmured. I can’t have this again. Not now!

"I think it is time to put you out of your misery," the mage whispered into the colonel's ear. Spearhead knew it was coming from his left, and so he turned and attempted to punch the cloaked mage, but at an inch away from his face, his fist stopped. He couldn't move, and stayed frozen. The necromancer chuckled mockingly at the site of the soldier's helplessness, walking around him like a wolf ready to pounce on its prey.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Spearhead demanded. The mage could only laugh more at his prey.

"Do not worry, Ethan," he retorted, smirking while running his finger along his outstretched arm. "I will try to make this as painless as possible."

He threw a punch into Spearhead's stomach, forcing blood out his mouth. He fell to the ground while clutching where he felt the strike, trying to regain breath from the strong attack. But the necromancer did not stop. He raised his hands up slowly and pulled him up into the air, inches off the ground, like a puppet. He threw a swift roundhouse kick to push Spearhead back with immense force, the pain feeling as if a battering ram had hit with the strength of ten men. The necromancer pulled his puppet back up once more and held him in place.

"How can you?" he managed to ask, dizzy from the pain he received. "You aren't physically strong to do this to me. So how-"

"Do you still not understand, Ethan?" he interrupted, looking at him with a smirk faintly noticeable in the grim darkness. "This place is mine to control. Anything that occurs in this realm is of my own doing. I can turn you inside-out, ripping all your insides apart and leave them mangled, and still you would breathe if I wished it."

The cries worsened in his mind. Spearhead clutched his head to try and hold in the menacing voices that would explode out. It never got too bad so quickly, even in worst case scenarios. The colonel then remembered earlier that day, when he was up against the wave of the undead. Back then a similar thing happened, one that occurred with an unusual trigger. Was it him?

“So you figured it out,” the necromancer said, reading his thoughts. “Or at least, you understand how...”

“You bastard,” the young colonel bitterly replied. “It was you who triggered it, wasn’t it?”

“How else would it have happened?” the mage asked tauntingly. “I told you, this is my land. I can do whatever I wish, and that includes playing with your head.”

“But then that means-“

“Yes, it does,” the necromancer smirked. “I know what they are. I know all too well. But enough of this, I am not here to teach you anything.”

He motioned his hand, and with a slight jerk of the wrist the necromancer pulled Spearhead up into the air like the marionette he was, holding his arms up unwillingly to embrace his torture. The necromancer smirked joyously. He knew that the colonel was unable to do anything to escape from his world.

The mage looked at his hand, pondering what sort of torturous act he should begin with. “Maybe I’ll start off from the inside.”

His hand began to glow an eerie gray all of a sudden, and slowly the mage’s hand became transparent like glass. Spearhead was too exhausted to notice what he was doing. The necromancer placed the glowing hand on the colonel’s chest and chanted quietly in an unknown language, before the light shone brightly and passed into his chest.

Spearhead could feel his insides burning with unstoppable ferocity as the necromancer played with his organs, first with his lower portion, slowly traversing upwards to his heart. Spearhead couldn’t help but to hold onto his life by the thread which felt weaker after every second that he managed to live through his torture.

“So, Ethan, how does it feel?” the mage sneered as he continued to play with the colonel’s body. “Do you like it? Do you want more?”

“You son of a-!” the colonel bellowed, but released more painful cries once the necromancer pressed harder inside.

The colonel was not about to submit to this torture, he knew he couldn’t. To fail a training session would be more than defeat – it would be utter shame, both as a soldier and as a man. But in the back of his mind, Spearhead knew that he had no choice but to surrender.

Then the pain ceased. The necromancer removed his hand from the colonel’s body, smoke enveloped around it. Is it over? Did he lose interest? He was relieved that the pain ended, but his mind gave him a little nudge to make him wary of his continued pain. No, it isn’t over, Spearhead reminded himself. He wouldn’t be done with me so soon.

… wake up…

Spearhead looked up, startled from the voice. He saw only the mage, and the black void beyond him. There was no one around to have said anything.

…wake up, Ethan…

“Wh-who’s there?” he replied, getting no response except the baffled look on the necromancer’s face.

“Who are you talking to?” the mage asked quizzically.

… your time is now, Ethan…

“Who are you!?” the colonel cried out, demanding an answer. Again, there was nothing, no answer except a mixed expression of confusion and anger on the mage’s face.

“What are you talking about?” the necromancer asked again. “I demand you to tell me!”

Spearhead stayed adamantly quiet. The mage attempted to read his mind, but to his surprise he gained nothing from it. His eyes open wide from the shocking discovery that his ability to read the colonel’s mind grew weak, angering him more. He had only one alternative.

“If you will not tell me, then I have no choice.”

The mage then shot his hand into Spearhead’s head, pushing his hand into the colonel’s mind to search for what he wasn’t able to learn before. As if his head was blown open with a large hammer, Spearhead screamed in agony. The pain was increased tenfold from his previous torture, unable to bear it with the strength he had.

… awake, soldier…

There it was again; the voice called him, but it was clearer and much louder. Spearhead did not see anyone nearby, and did not know where it was coming from.

… wake up, Ethan…

Who are you, he asked mentally, understanding that the mysterious voices were speaking to him.

… cut through the darkness, Ethan…

His tattoo began to glow a light blue,, pulsing slowly.

… awake, soldier, and cut through the darkness…

… fight, Ethan… fight…

Who are you? Spearhead demanded. Answer me!

… destroy your enemies… fight, Ethan, fight…

The tattoo gradually grew up his arm, pulsing faster every passing moment. The necromancer was unaware of the black flame creeping up the colonel’s arm. Spearhead continued to fight the pain, despite the little strength he had that he wholeheartedly knew would not do him good for long. Any moment, he would break. Any moment, his body would become destroyed, burned inside-out from the tremendous amount of pain. Any moment, his mission would be incomplete.

… wake up…

“Shut up…”

The necromancer looked at the colonel with a confused look on his face. “What did you say?”

… destroy him…

“I said shut up!”

“What are you babbling about?” the necromancer demanded Spearhead.

The light emanated brightly from the black flames, and it grew fully around his body. Soon after his whole body was covered in flames that glowed a bright blue. His eyes imitated the glow, shocking the necromancer.

… destroy him… destroy your enemy…

In a split second, the black void was countered by a blinding blue light that shone mercilessly with incredible force. Lightning split the dome of shadows, opening it up and destroyed it entirely. Pillars of lightning bolts shot down from the heavens and sliced the dry earth as it circled the two men in the now collapsed shrine.

“Wha… what’s happening!?” the necromancer asked rhetorically. “My dome… impossible…!”

“Your death is near, necromancer,” the colonel spoke, but it was not his voice alone; there were other voices that spoke along with his.

“What do you mean, ‘dead’?” he asked, mixed with fear and anger. “I control this land! Do you hear me, Ethan? I will die when I demand it!”

“I am not Ethan,” Spearhead retorted, speaking simultaneously with other voices. “That name is forever gone. My name is Spearhead.”

“It doesn’t matter what you call yourself!” he threatened. “No matter what, you will still die here!”

Cupping his hand over each other, he called upon the shadows to come to his aid. The necromancer was adamant in defeating the colonel. His pride fueled his rage against Spearhead, but the colonel was not ready to back down. He, too, collected whatever power he could to fight the necromancer on now-equal terms.

“I hope the afterlife will be very comfortable for you, Ethan,” the necromancer yelled through the lightning storm. “Death usually doesn’t welcome others warmly.”

And then, whatever energy he collected, the necromancer fired at the young colonel. Spearhead braced himself and readied his attack on the mage. Waiting for the right time, he concentrated his power long enough to send a final strike to end it all. This last strike would decide the outcome of the battle; it would decide the winner, the survivor.

Pushing forward with a fist, he sent his final strike at his enemy, blanketing the grounds of the shrine with blinding light. He covered the necromancer’s attack, as well as the entire battlefield, until all was covered in light.

OoC: Wow, I didn’t expect this to happen. Seriously, it just… jumped out of my head, so to speak. But anyway, I let you fill in the end result, just so that I can rest my imagination a bit. XD

BiC: Monroe stood quietly, a little ways off. Even so, he had witnessed the entire battle, from start to finish, and found himself almost smirking at the outcome. "Impressive. You're a lot stronger than you seem to be. Still," the Quincy paused as he looked at the destroyed battlefield and began to walk towards Spearhead, "it seems that there is something powerful in you that is triggered by the tragedies that you've caused. One day, the screams will leave you, as they leave all professional warriors. For now, though, let me get you out of here."

Monroe bent down and lifted up Spearhead and walked out of the battlefield.

OoC: Well, I like it. I must say, I found that most enjoyable to read. ^_^

Assignment Time:

After a brief dream about whatever you want it to be about for Spearhead, he will awaken in the Infirmary where he is being taken care of and healed. From there, he can speak with the other patients there to learn a bit more about to the Dome. At the end of your post, make sure to have Spearhead notice that Monroe has entered into the room. 700 word minimum.

OoC: I think I improved a slight amount. A very subtle improvement XD

BiC:“Focus all your energy on driving them out of the western border region, and then stay there to wait for further orders,” the colonel explained to the platoon, running his finger on the 3D map of the city. “Lieutenant, I want you to lead Squad 3 and 5 around to this building complex to aid in forming a pincer formation around their base of operations. Do not do anything until I’ve reached with the other squads. Understood?.”

“Yes, sir,” replied the young officer.

“Alright, troops, we have only till 1400 hours to complete the mission. Time is short, so I don’t want any screw-ups.”

All soldiers followed their team leaders to their assigned location. The lieutenant colonel led his team to the north western buildings, where he was to wait for further orders from his superior. It was his first firefight in years, since his time in the prior years were spent in the forests and in the academy. Though he did engage in other forms of military operations as a child, they weren’t anything more than minor rescue missions and reconnaissance, where not much fighting had occurred. This was different from those. Not only did he have to engage in combat, but he now had the support of 20 or so soldiers at his disposal. This was a true battle, one that would prove that he had the ability to lead, despite his young age and small experience.

The streets were silent, though several gunshots and explosions echoed from distant engagements with the insurgencies. The homes were abandoned or barricaded over the doors and windows with wood and metal scavenged from junkyards or what they had in their homes. Only the poorer citizens of Damaro would do what they can to stay, as they have nowhere else to go. Those who left already had something to go back to in case of emergencies, as majority of people in the city were rich merchants or business men. They would probably never come back even after the battle was over.

“Colonel Spearhead,” a soldier whispered from behind. “We are here, sir. This is our assigned location.”

“Then we’ll split from here. M. Werill, you lead Squad 3 into that office building and wait for further instructions. Squad 5 will follow me around the building and we’ll wait across the street on the opposite side. You have your orders, now move out!”

“Yes, sir,” all responded in quiet unison.

As one squad left for their location, Spearhead led his squad for the other side of the building. A daunting feeling snuck its way into him. His head started to throb with pain and render him unable to focus. He put his hand on his head, trying to squeeze the pain out, but it started to pulse faster and more severely.

Screams and explosions were coming from behind. They were very clear and loud as if they were only a few feet away, so he turned instinctively and pointed his rifle at nothing but an empty road. What’s happening to me, he questioned, panicking as sweat poured down his forehead.

“Sir, are you alright?” a soldier asked him. Spearhead looked at her, terror in his eyes. She looked at him, concerned, seeing that something was wrong. Everyone else noticed, too.

“Colonel, is something wrong?” another asked.

“S-stay away!” he warned, stepping back to eagerly run away.

“Sir, what is it?”
“No, s-stay back!” Spearhead warned. “Don’t come any closer!”

“If there is something wrong, sir, we can help,” the female soldier assured, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Spearhead looked at the hand fearfully as if it were a key, one which would open a cage that held a dangerous beast inside. He knew that the key would unlock the beast within him, thus he feared it, knowing that once the key opened the lock that barred him from his mysterious insanity, the unavoidable chaos would ensue.

Stay away… please, stay away…

“I said stay away!” he roared, throwing a steel tray he grabbed from the table beside him, throwing it across the room, barely missing the nurse that walked by. All looked quizzically at the colonel, who was panting and sweating vigorously. Once his senses came back after a few seconds and he was wide awake, he realized he was in the Infirmary of the enigmatic Dome. It was all just a dream…

“That must have been some fight you had,” a voice spoke from beside.

The colonel looked to his side and saw a young man, barely in his twenties, with a cast on his left arm and bandages around his forehead and his limbs. He had dark hair and pale skin, and was very slim but had much strength in his physique. There was a calm feeling about him, something soothing which put the always-serious officer at ease, but he was also a very energetic individual by the sound of his voice.

“Why would you say such a thing?” Spearhead asked dully, trying to act as if nothing happened.

“Are you kidding?” he retorted enthusiastically, as if all that energy was bottled up until a spark of surprise ignited it. “You should have seen yourself when they brought you in here.”

Spearhead looked at him from the corner of his eye, avoiding turning his head to seem uninterested.

“You were out cold, man, but not like ‘cold’. Your body was burning with some intense heat that they had to carry you with thick rubber gloves. Never seen anything like it in all my years training at The Dome, even if it hasn’t been that long.” The young man grinned invitingly. “The name’s Kriss, Kriss Armsfel. What’s your name?”

The colonel was reluctant to reply, but complied to do so as he realized that the man mentioned he was in the mysterious Dome for quite some time. Maybe he could get an answer as to what this place actually was?

“I’m Col. Spearhead of the W.P.F., tactical specialist and team leader of Special Unit Hybrid.” Spearhead doubted he should have mentioned this sort of information. The force never had much of a rule concerning secrecy of a soldier’s affiliation with them, but the colonel himself thought it best to always keep such things to himself.

“Ooh, a colonel,” Kriss replied with curiosity in his voice. “And special unit? Wow, and at such a young age.”

“Young age?” Spearhead turned to see him fully, noticing only what could be seen as a normal man. “You don’t seem any older than 20 years.”

“Sorry to fool you there, bud, but I’m much older than you,” he explained, smiling. “Actually, I’m about a couple centuries older than you are.”

The officer looked with amazement, though surprisingly enough he had not an ounce of surprise. “You look human to me. What are you, really?”

“Hmm, never knew you’d take it so simply as fact,” he replied. “You’re probably the first ever to have acted normally after hearing something like that.”

“After spending time in this place, normal is hardly the word to describe anything.” Spearhead eyed the infirmary. He saw the numerous species on the beds lined down the aisles, each aisle divided by a wall of white curtains. He saw the variety in the races that populated the room, noting that the Dome is not something of his world.

“So you must be a stranger to The Dome’s mysteries,” Kriss noticed.

“What is this place?”

“The Dome is a mystery even to someone like me, who has been here for the past several years. But what I do know, or at least what I believe, is that this Dome is a link to many other worlds out there.”

“What do you mean a ‘link’?” the colonel asked.

“Look around. Do you not see the many faces? I tell you, there is a link to all the worlds in the Dome, and they all exist in real-time. Whatever is happening here right now in the Dome in your world is probably happening in the one in my world, or the world light years away from here.”

“Given what I see here, I cannot question that possibility,” Spearhead concluded doubtlessly. “However, I don’t care to contemplate on this issue. I only want to find that son of a *****, and move on with his so-called ‘training’.”

“I’m guessing you mean that “son of a *****’, right?”

The officer looked to the direction Kriss pointed his finger. He saw a young man like his teacher, but very different in appearance. Unlike Zorlo’s somewhat long green hair, this man had short hair which did not hang over his forehead. His physical appearance was slim, and he was slightly taller than the fencer. His clothes helped determine that he was not the man the colonel met before, as they were close-fitting and white in colour, with a mantle hanging down from his shoulders to his elbows; very much unlike Zorlo’s green outfit.

Wonder what the story is behind this one…

OoC: *Bops* HIs clothing is black.

BiC: The Quincy entered and looked at the man. "So, you're Spearhead. Zorlo told me about you. I'm Monroe Vossler, the Technological Quincy. I'll be taking over your training while Zorlo is gone," the dark clad man said. "Come, I'm sure you have many questions, so let's get those out of the way."

OoC: Assignment Time:

Well, time to meet your teacher. Same drill as with Zorlo, where he'll answer some questions, do some talking, and then show Spearhead to his room:

Originally Posted by Zanza-sensei

Simply put, this lesson is a description of your room. Your character will be told to find his/her room. Each room is different and unique. Take some time and describe the door; the secret to the Dome is its many doors. Each door is unique and elaborate, and gives a clue as to what lays beyond its closed surface. Afterwards, your character will enter their room, which reflects the character in some way. Take your time and describe EVERYTHING. That means furniture, colours, décor, etc...EVERYTHING!! I want you to SHOW me the place, so I can imagine what it looks like. This post is all about description, NOT necessarily action. For help, check out other people’s training threads. Minimum 600 words.