Cornfield [Addums]

[Quark]

Ooc: This is a closed universe, so your character can get here a variety of ways.

Bic:

Corn, it was the only visible thing for miles. This enormous field stretched for what seemed like an eternity in every direction. Tall, thick stalks that stood well over six feet overshadowed the soiled earth. The wind was silent and no birds or insects sounded, it was as if the whole world was this cornfield and nothing more. Something would take place here that would disrupt this tranquility. The sun froze center in the sky, stalking the lonely field in anticipation for the event.

A figure of bones looked about his surroundings. His happening upon this land was by a miraculous accident. He was sitting in a hot springs, actually, enjoying a hot bath he couldn’t feel while watching a select few whom he couldn’t touch. He stayed out of eyesight, of course, being careful not to be spotted, until finally he stood to find a better spot. But somehow, he lost his footing and slipped into the pool. He was never this clumsy. Instantly he brought himself back to his feet, but found that he wasn’t buried in water anymore but in soil. Fate brought him here today, and fate would guide his footsteps. But Toofy didn’t believe in fate, to him everything was an enormous and ugly coincidence, an impossible one at that.

The former jester removed his cockscomb carefully, scratching his boned fingers on his bare scalp. It made no sense to him, in fact it was impossible. How did he end up here? All he did was take a bath and watch few women, shame he didn’t get to have fun with them first. Of course seeing who Toofy was, there wasn’t much fun he could have in that department.

Before the skeleton’s mind could wander any further, he caught sight of something. A figure, several meters in front of him, back turned and unmoving, features obscured by the stalks of corn. At first it appeared to be simply a scarecrow, save for that no stick was holding it in place. Toofy approached carefully, but even as he took his third step the person spoke. “Markus wishes you good luck.”

Toofy froze. Markus, he’d heard from him now and then, but what was this supposed to mean? He’d never contacted him in this fashion before. Toofy opened his jaw to speak, but before he could form his first word the strange figure was suddenly gone. It was almost as if he never really was there. Toofy finally gave up on trying to make sense of things, it actually didn’t matter really, he was quite used to the bizarre and abnormal.

But now Toofy was alone in a field of endless corn, nothing but the sound of his bells to keep him company and the words of an old friend to linger in his empty skull. As soon as he began to walk away, he heard a noise. A rustle in the stalks not ten feet away caught his undivided attention. Finally he found someone else, someone else to play with.

[P.]

Kandred stood in the cornfield. He had had woken up, crawled from his bed and stood up. He had blinked and ended up here. What a strange place… And then he saw him. A man of bones and a Cockscomb, the all-too-recognisable clothes and shoes.

Kandred’s head was just high enough to reach above the top of the corn, so he could see the un-living very clearly in the bright light tat the summer weather had brought. He drew his sword, positioning himself for a fight.

Toofy turned to him. He’s noticed me… Crap. Kandred’s hand reached around his body and slid his hand around the Undying’s hilt.

And then Kandred was high in the air, beginning to fall back down, sword drawn and pointed directly at the jester. Blades clashed and corn-tops fell to the ground, the dried leaves rustling in the wind.

Then the silver of Toofy’s whip appeared, swinging around and ripping the surrounding area of corn to shreds. But this time Kandred had expected it. He jumped back, swinging Rezaveron in the direction of the whip. The air around the whip locked, the whip stopping in an instant. Kandred smiled wryly and sent a gust of wind at Toofy, who was sent flying back into the corn.

Toofy leapt up, his Mock Sceptre spinning in his skeletal fingers. The hard of Jaster smashed into Kandred's head. He reeled back, dropping Rezaveron and clutching his head. And then he tripped on a root.

And then Kandred thought he saw the flash of a Jack card as he dived towards Rezaveron. He simply landed on bare dirt and the Blade had gone. Then Toofy came up to him, holding two swords: one his own, the other Rezaveron.

“And now I have you, Kandred. You are unarmed.” Toofy cackled.

“Use me, my powers…”

“You’re wrong, Toofy.” Kandred sprang up, golden energy crackling around his left hand. Wait, I can’t use lightning on him! He can’t feel. In response to his own thoughts, Kandred leapt into Toofy, his hands growing talons, his hair shining a brilliant gold in the sunlight. His wings hacked at Toofy relentlessly, until, finally, Kandred threw Toofy aside. The ex-jester went flying far into the corn, disappearing from sight.

The gleam in his eyes disappeared and the Æthereal wind that had whipped his hair up into a fierce mane died down, his claws retracted and his wings shrunk into his back. How shall I find him now?

“Let him find you. Burn the field.”

“But I don’t have my sword! Without it flame is not my servant.”

“Lightning.”

Kandred smiled, laughing maniacally. His arm extended towards the heavens, and the clouds gathered, chokingly black now, and smothered the sun. Thunder shook the air and ground, and golden lightning surged down from the sky, unleashing its terror upon the corn.

Within seconds the field was ablaze, and both Kandred and Drakduroth cackled like madmen.

[Quark]

Toofy rattled the dirt from his body. He got distance on that last one, he’d have to kick his speed up a notch; it was surprising this winged guy had managed to hit him so much already. No matter, this game had only just begun, and he hadn’t even gotten warmed up yet. Clicking his neck to the side, he started back toward his opponent, following the trail of downed cornstalks to the source.

Abruptly, the silence of the field was interrupted by a crackling roar and a blazing flash of light. If Toofy had eyeballs, he would have squinted and recoiled from the flash; instead he simply gazed at it as he walked forward. The magical blast engulfed the field, setting it ablaze. Unaffected, Toofy proceeded to walk toward the spreading flames. His marotte spun in hand several times before snapping into a sword. Fighting with two blades: It would be just like juggling.

The fire roared in front of him, then suddenly right through him. It was spreading fast somewhere behind him now, but it didn’t matter, there was no force behind the flames, just heat. The jester’s cockscomb lit up in a flare of flames, but burned without rotting on his bald scalp. Force was what deterred him; fire was nothing but something to instill fear in his enemy’s heart as he walked through it unscathed.

Toofy set his full attention on Kandred’s distant form as soon as he came into view. He met this guy earlier in a mountainous region of some kind; however, for one reason or another, their fight went unfinished. Now they would continue their duel here, and after it was over, only one would be left standing.

Toofy swapped Kandred’s blade into his opposite hand, holding both swords in one boney fist. Silently, the jester removed a card from his sleeve. Snapping his wrist, he released the king into the sky.

At this moment, Kandred noticed the bones walking toward him. It was a little unexpected seeing something walk through fire, but he wasn’t all too surprised having witnessed many of the strange things this skeleton could do.

“Ready to dance, demon boy?” Toofy taunted. The un-living’s hand moved around in place, as if performing some sort of magical hand signal. Kandred instantly recognized the motion; he was grabbing another card.

Toofy’s hand flicked outward quickly, card vanishing into nothing. Just as fast, he slid out a second card and threw it toward his enemy. The Izzorius just barely caught sight of the number two before he managed to slide out of the way. Toofy was already upon him, both blades flashing in the light of the blazing corn stalks.

Kandred flapped his wings forward, flying backward and away from the flailing swords. The skeleton’s movements were erratic, nearly impossible to predict. He was advancing so fast it was hard for him to get an attack of his own in. As if that wasn’t enough, several sounds were throwing him off guard: The first was the ringing of bells behind him, the next was the crackling of the fire around them, and the last was a slight whizzing sound that slowly grew louder. That last sound was the one that grabbed his attention; it reminded him of a volley of arrows seeking their mark. That convinced Kandred to act quickly.

“Ôdu!” Kandred shouted, thrusting a hand toward the jester’s relentless onslaught. The skeleton jerked backwards, tumbling head over heels through the flaming stalks of corn. Before the attack even struck his target, Kandred already turned himself around to the swarm of missiles that were directed toward him. He lifted his hand and managed an “Ôd-“ before the projectiles covered his chest, legs, and arms and wings which tried to protect his face. The Izzorius shuddered, teeth clenched in pain. The griffin feathers dug deep, but thankfully didn’t harm his frail bones. He turned back to the fire he blasted the skeleton through, and eyed the bone sack before him. Something like this shouldn’t be alive.

Underneath their feet, the corn was slowly regenerating, fighting the flames that threatened their lives. They didn’t like being burnt to a crisp, but they would wait to attack once the battle was over. From a distance, a strange scarecrow-like man watched the frenzy that ensued, more particularly studying the skeleton. Yes, he was the one.

[P.]

OoC: You seem to have studied up on Kandred. But there are some mistakes. You got the older Kandred, which is partly my fault for not having a link to the current thread in my signature, which I apologise for. I’ve put a link to the current thread in my signature image.

BiC:
“Argh!” Kandred stumbled back, arms and legs flailing about helplessly as he fell back to the corn-shoot-covered soil. The breath was flung from his lungs as his body smashed down, killing hundreds of helpless shoots.

“How do you allow this pathetic gathering of bones best you, Agrazdiel?” the smoke-dry voice hissed through his mind, almost mocking him.

“He’s too…Strong…”

“And who’s inhabited by an extremely powerful Æthereal Dæmon: you, or him?”

“You’re right. I haven’t been using your powers enough…”

“Yes, our powers…” And with that, Drakduroth was gone from his mind. For now…

“You talking to yourself, Kandred? Maybe you’re mad… Heheh…” Toofy strutted up to Kandred, both blades still in one hand.

Kandred flipped up, shook all the feathers out of his skin and landed softly in one fluid motion. Then he punched Toofy in the face and watched in amusement as the skeletal figure flew backwards. He chuckled. “Maybe I am mad. We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” He leapt forward and swept Rezaveron up from the ground, swinging his outstretched hand towards Toofy, who was sent sliding away from Kandred once more.

Toofy jumped up, his body twisting around in amazing and unpredictable ways, displaying his extreme level of flexibility. And in a single second there was the flash and crack of the whip, and Kandred lay flat on the ground, tripped by the flexible cable whilst he was still in midair.

Kandred quickly righted himself, wielding Rezaveron with extreme ferocity and accuracy. Yet his sword was still blocked by the all-too-flexible Toofy and his two-headed marotte. Two, three and four cards flew at him, which, with difficulty, he managed to stop with flames and minuscule flickers of lightning. One managed to slip past him and came back at his wings. Agrazdiel reacted with break-neck speed, slicing the card to shreds with a quick, powerful and taloned hand.

But in that time, however small it was, Toofy had managed to gain ground on Kandred, who twisted away from the ripped card and spreading to his full height, only to find that Toofy had disappeared into the flames.

“Find him.” Drakduroth sprang back into the front of Kandred's mind and Kandred could sense Drakduroth’s growing frustration with him.

“Of course,” he remarked, a grim smile finding its way onto his face. He held the Undying Blade forward, muttering under his breath words in a foreign, magical language. The fire rune on the upturned face of the sword shone like a firestar, lighting up Kandred's Dæmon-like face with a bloody-red glow. The blade seemed to melt, floating around Kandred like plasma. And then the all the flames were sucked towards him, soaking him in their heat. The flames and plasma-Gallatrite merged, forming back into the blade on Rezaveron’s crossbar. But Kandred could no longer see Toofy, who had seemingly disappeared completely.

Then Toofy struck. He leapt up from behind Kandred, and came down, smashing the flat of his sword onto Kandred's skull. Darkness enveloped Kandred's mind and vision, consuming all.

“Not now, Agrazdiel. You cannot give in now.” Drakduroth’s ash-rough voice roared loud, breaking the silence of the darkness. Lightning seared across Kandred's mind, its thunderous might burning away all the darkness from Kandred's mind, sharpening every sense. Kandred could feel an immense amount of the golden and bronze Æther-power flood his entire body.

“What is this power? Where is it from?” Kandred was in confusion.

“It is the power you have been ignoring. Our potential.”

Kandred's body convulsed and shuddered as his wings were replaced by massive, hook-wings of Drakduroth’s, his hair was replaced by a voluminous mane of starlight silver, and his whole body changed into the monstrosity that was his Dæmon and him combined.

Toofy stared as Kandred's body mutated into an eight-foot tall spined beast covered in bronzed golden scales and shadows, the lightning blue eyes with golden pupils stared at him, the shining hair whipping around like a shredded cloth of stars and lightning.

Kandred spoke through gnarled teeth, his voice now as dry and crackling as Drakduroth’s, “Now, Toofy, you must fight the beast you so foolishly challenged.”

“Now we are truly Agrazdiel, the Unforgiven.” Drakduroth cackled and hissed delightedly, roaring in triumph.

“Very well then, Kandred. I shall defeat you, Dæmon or no.” Toofy laughed and spun his sceptre around his head, not phased in the slightest by the golden figure.

“Finish him.” Drakduroth ordered, pumping Agrazdiel full of his power and might. In response to Drakduroth, Agrazdiel swung his immense, golden and bronze claws at the jester. A talon just managed to merely rip a sleeve off Toofy’s clothes, the jester dancing around merrily, sceptre in hand.

Toofy flung himself through the air and onto Agrazdiel’s back, navigating his way around the forest of golden spines and scales, eventually reaching the Dæmon-man’s thick neck.

Toofy laughed amusedly and flicked his sceptre into a sword. “And with a final blow to the neck, Toofy slew the incredibly stupid demon-thing!” he exclaimed, swinging his sword around his head before sinking the blade into Agrazdiel’s neck.

“No!” Drakduroth roared through Agrazdiel’s open mouth, shaking the ground. Toofy, still cackling wildly, jumped back down to the ground as Agrazdiel’s body crackled with golden energy and became translucent, like a thundercloud. With a final shudder, crackle and scream the now smoky Dæmon-form drifted away with the wind and Kandred was left nude and exposed on the bare soil, the shoots of corn springing up all around him. Kandred stood and Drakduroth, using the last of his strength, summoned back his pants for modesty’s sake.

“And now, for my next trick, I shall trap this puny mortal with a simple queen of hearts!” Toofy laughed menacingly as a silver box appeared around Kandred, trapping him.

Just as Kandred was about to start pounding his scaly fists against the inside of the box, Drakduroth whispered to him, “Do not give him the amusement he wants from you. You will only exert yourself trying to get out.” Drakduroth was right, so Kandred sat down and waited.

He muttered beneath his breath, “You may think you have won, Jaster. But it has only just begun.”