~bellatrix~ (reboot)

Karma failed in his goal.
Curse my soul!
Karma saw the priestess die and he altered his charge to avoid charging into the Fool, who suddenly changed form. Barely missing the jester, he caught the woman in her hands, keeping her body from receiving such final desecration from Scarra.
Karma skidded along the ground on his back, stopping at the cavern wall, while holding the corpse of the priestess atop himself.
The last thing I can for you now is keep you away from the fight and preserve what is left of you.
Sitting up, with his back against the wall, he shifted the priestess off of himself, placing her gently against the wall.
No amount of my crystals will help her now.
Karma sat there, watching the event begin to unfold between the Fool who now looked different, and the woman who had been disturbed by everything going on. His gaze drifted to his sword as it floated in the air nearby. He looked to the werewolf that made off with his Violin, and with a sudden start began to get up.
No! That is the last thing I have from Her, my only One! Blast it!
Karma's body lost it's will, for some odd reason, and he could only sit there, feeling his will to stay awake ebb away from him. His heavy clothing, weighed down by roughly 500 lbs of Hell Lead, ultimately prevented him from rising up.
I... need to... get it back...

 

After taking some time to catch our breath, Leif and I run back into the cavern where everyone else is. With blades at the ready, we rush inside to find...

...

...What are we looking at, anyhow? I look over to Leif and he seems just as confused as I am.

Leif matches Leon's gaze and shrugs, then goes back to looking around the cavern, muttering to himself.
"Well, it looks like the fighting has stopped...but why?"
"Everyone looks like they're in some kind of trance."
"Sure seems that way...let's just take this one very careful step at a time."
"Good call."
With that, the two of them slowly begin moving towards the center of the cavern, searching their surroundings thoroughly for any significant signs of movement.

Mordred stood still, silently thinking over Trinity's proposition. Soon after, he gave a slight nod and spoke up.
"You make a fair point. Overestimating yourself and underestimating your opponent often leads to a swift downfall and I do not intend to fall here."
He walked over to Trinity and sat down next to her on the rock, letting out a heavy sigh as he did. Leaning back with his head in his hands, he turned to Trinity.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seem quite concerned about "becoming a burden" to me. You really shouldn't worry about such trifling things. After all, if you were perfectly capable of handling yourself in combat then my training would be unnecessary. It seems only natural that if a trusted ally offers you their aid, you should graciously accept."
He turned his gaze upward, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.
"Although...I suppose I am asking you to "do as I say and not as I do" in this case. The last time I accepted help from another was...hmm."
He thought about it for a moment, shook his head and moved on.
"Though I plan to teach you many things, there is one thing that I hope you will never inherit from me: my world-weary cynicism. You are a kind and honest person, Trinity. It is my hope that when all is said and done, you will remain that way."

 

Maurith changed his attention towards the people heading towards Mela in an attempt to assault her. As he started running towards them his body became progressively fatigued. From a run, to a jog, to a slow walk. His weight wasn't what held him down it was his body. The sword weighed too much for him to wield under the extreme condition he was in. He dragged the sword and moved in closer and closer to the group until he slipped away from consciousness.

Though his dreams normally had images in this one he was just falling... Weightless he could see nothing and hear nothing. It was an abyss of emptiness. As he fell he was becoming more and more relaxed. And though he considered this to be his death he knew it wasn't.

Mela was unaffected by the magic that this new priestess was casting. And so to wake up Maurith she kept roaring. The roars would shake the entire cavern, rocks began to fall, the situation everyone was in became dire. If they didn't wake up soon the cavern would collapse on itself.

Maurith was awakened by Melas screaming just in enough time for scurra to make an escape plan. Maurith nodded towards scarra and leaped towards Mela grabbing onto her tail and slowly making his way to her head.

 

Wolf Girl tries to play the Vocal Violin.

She plays horribly.

 

Leif scowled and Leon's eyes went wide as the whole room began to shake from the dragon's roars. Debris fell all around them and it seemed that the others were in no position to defend themselves from the falling rocks, so the two looked to each other, nodded and sprang into action. Leon focused his power into his hands and quickly summoned a large warhammer, then he sprinted towards the largest of the rocks and quickly smashed them into smaller, much less harmful rocks. Leif used his magic to summon large spheres of ice in his hands, which he launched towards the larger pieces of debris to knock them out of the way. After the last roar, they looked over to see what looked like the knight, the jester and the dragon trying to escape.
"Don't even think about it, you cowards! Do you think you can just kill off two of our own and run away?!"
Leon was about to charge at them, but Leif grabbed his shoulder at the last second. His voice was calm, but it clearly showed the deep, abiding frustration he felt.
"You think we can take those three on by ourselves? Let it go, Leon...as much as I hate to say it, we can't do anything about it right now."

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

Mordred shook his head.
"No...nothing quite like that. In fact, the couple I am thinking of were very kind to me. But, you see...thinking back to that particular time is...difficult for me.
He leaned forward, resting his head on his folded hands, staring forward blankly with a melancholic look in his eyes.
"When I think back to those days...I see fire. I see the home I loved burning to ashes against the night sky. I see the faces of friends and family that I will never meet again. I see their bodies scattered in the streets, their blood running like a river. I see a life that I can never return to again. I see fire, Trinity...and I see the person I once was lost in the flames."
He closed his eyes and let out a lonely sigh. He then turned towards Trinity, though he couldn't quite bring himself to look her in the eyes.
"My apologies. A proper teacher is meant to bestow lessons, not burdens. You need not concern yourself with such things."

 

Wolf Girl follows the retreating dragon out of the caves for some reason.

 

Scarra grinned at the fools, "What's wrong? Don't want to fight anymore?" He stepped onto the dragon's lumbering foot, wrapping a slender arm around its leg. Before giving the signal to his partner in crime, he stuck his tongue out at the two that were awake, "See you later. Next time you won't be alive!"

 

OOT: Really long post incoming, I decided to divide it up into spoiler tags so it wouldn't take up too much space.

OOT2: Accidentally posted a section twice, whoops.

Mordred looked up at Trinity, unsure of how to reply. He could tell that she was sincere just from the look in her eyes. Silently, he went back and forth in his mind for some time, trying to decide if he was ready to talk about it or if it would be better to keep it to himself. It's true that he trusts Trinity more than he has trusted anyone in quite some time so if he were to share his past with anyone, it would certainly be her. Hanging his head low, he let out a heavy sigh and made his decision.
"It must have been...about four years ago now."
He leaned back against the cave wall, settling in as he began to share his memories.

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

Spoiler: Flashback Part 1

"I grew up in a small village on the edge of the kingdom. It was nearly surrounded by a large forest on one side and sat against a mountain range on the other. There were no more than two hundred people there and it was the sort of place where everyone knew each other, where your neighbors were sort of like an extended family. We lived somewhat isolated from the rest of the world, far away from kings and wars and other such affairs. It really was a wonderful place to live."

A young Mordred, no older than sixteen years, had just finished another rigorous training session with his wooden practice blade. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a satisfied smile and sat down on a nearby bench, where his longtime friend Julia was watching him. She smiled brightly at him and spoke up.
"Wow, it looks like you broke your record! How's it feel?"
Mordred laughed weakly, still catching his breath.
"Not too bad. Though I'm not looking forward to beating this record."
"You know, you could try taking it easy once in a while."
Mordred wagged his finger, smiling wryly.
"Nobody has ever excelled at their craft by "taking it easy," you know."
Julia sighed, but never lost her smile.
"I guess I should've seen that answer coming from the village leader's son."
"Naturally. "A true leader must be the strongest of all in both body and spirit." That's what Father says, anyhow."
"Well, for what it's worth, I believe in you. In fact, I think you'll do great."
Mordred averted his gaze to hide the slight blush on his face.
"Oh, uh...thank you."

"That afternoon, I left the village to take care of an errand for my father. By the time I returned...the village was already in flames. The elves had sent a small army after they'd heard rumors of an ancient, legendary sword hidden away in our village. It was a massacre. The villagers never even stood a chance."

Mordred frantically looked around at the burning buildings, a look of shock and terror in his eyes as an overwhelming dread overtook him.
"What...what happened here? How did this happen? Why?!"
One of the villagers, barely clinging to life, grabbed Mordred's leg.
"Run...Mordred. Run!"
Mordred knelt down and held the man's hand.
"Please tell me, how did this happen?"
"The elves..."
That was all he could say before passing on. Mordred slowly stood up on shaking legs, his eyes wide and his mind racing as he tried to will his body to move.

"It looks like we have a straggler. Finish him off."
Mordred quickly turned around as he heard the elven captain give the order. Fear gripped his heart so tightly, he thought it would burst. His face clearly showed the sheer terror he was feeling. Even if he had a weapon, he was too afraid to even try fighting back. He did the only thing he could do. Run.

Spoiler: Flashback Part 2

"I ran back to my home as fast as I could. It was the first thing that came to mind. I should have known it wouldn't be safe; even so, in my mind, I had to go back there. Perhaps...I had to see it for myself to truly believe that everything I'd ever know was gone."

Mordred managed to avoid the elves for a time, gasping for air as he hid in his house. Fortunately, the elves hadn't put it to the torch yet. But they were there. Mordred found that out for himself when he saw his parents' bloodied corpses in the main hall.
"They...why would they..."
He fell down to his knees, tears forming in his eyes as his throat went dry. He stared blankly at the bodies, covering his mouth to stop himself from screaming in case the elves were nearby. Tears soon fell down to the floor as Mordred quietly sobbed, hanging his head low and nearly collapsing on the floor. He likely would have fallen over right then and there if it weren't for a loud noise nearby that made him stand up straight, tearing him away from his grief.

"There was a secret entrance in my house that led to an old shrine. In this shrine was a relic that had been guarded by my family for generations. When I was a child, my father told me that it would one day become my responsibility to guard it, but I must never remove it from its resting place. I went down to that cavern to escape the elves. That was when I made a decision that would change the very core of my being."

Mordred slumped down onto the shrine's wall and his breathing became steadier; he felt that he was safe for now. Staring up at the cavern's ceiling, he felt tears running down his cheeks once again.
"They're gone. They're all gone."
He held his head in his hands, sobbing quietly as he spoke.
"Where will I go? What will I do? This place is my home, my whole life, it's everything to me. Why? Why did they do this? Was it because of--"
He stopped suddenly and looked up towards the center of the shrine. There sat the sword that his father told him about.
"Apocrypha."
He let the name slip under his breath. He remembered what his father told him. He remembered that this sword was too dangerous to be wielded in battle. Then he remembered everything and everyone that the elves had taken away from him. He slowly stood up and walked over to where Apocrypha was resting. After some slight hesitation, he gripped the hilt of the sword and quickly pulled it out of its pedestal. Almost immediately, he could feel the sword's power surging through him as it bonded with him.

"When I first drew it, I was completely overwhelmed by Apocrypha's power. I had no control over it as I do now and in my weakened state of mind, I had no chance of resisting its influence. It compelled me to feed its thirst for blood. In that moment, I was all too willing to oblige."

Spoiler: Flashback Part 3

Mordred slowly walked through the smoldering ruins of his hometown, bloodied sword hanging in his right hand with a look of cold fury in his glowing red eyes. He stopped suddenly, turning his head to a figure on the ground who, while frozen in fear, was still very much alive. He soon recognized it as the elven captain from earlier who was now pointing and shouting at him.
"They're not coming back...! What did you do?! What have you done, you monster? You walking abomination!!"
Without a word, Mordred slowly started walking towards him, pulling Apocrypha up to shoulder height for a killing blow. The elf, after uttering some sort of incantation, launched a fireball directly at Mordred. Mordred hardly even flinched as the spell was easily deflected by a veil of shadows. The captain panicked, backing up against the wall, sweating profusely as he whimpered and begged for his life. His cries for help fell on deaf ears and were soon silenced as Apocrypha was thrust into his heart.

Another elf, covered in blood and barely standing, raised his curved sword with shaking hands as he muttered curses under his breath.
"Blasted human...you killed them all! My comrades, who I've known since before your grandparents were even born! Do you think your short, wretched lives are anything compared to that?!"
With his last ounce of strength, he let out a yell and charged at Mordred, who had only just then turned his head to acknowledge the elf's presence; though he sensed the elf since long before he'd made himself known. Just as the elf was about to bring down his sword, chains of darkness rose up from the ground, immobilizing him and dragging him down to his knees. Mordred turned to face him, bringing Apocrypha up to his captor's neck. The elf gasped in terror with wide eyes as he stared at the sword.
"You...you don't understand. Death is not something...we can even comprehend. The very idea seems preposterous and...terrifying to my kind! The idea that this weapon can inflict such a fate...please, I beg of you--"
Those were the last words he uttered before Apocrypha removed his head from his shoulders.

"My memories of the time when I first picked up the sword are somewhat blurry; however, the one thing that stands out in my mind is the sensation I felt after every enemy I laid low. It might disturb you to hear this, but each time I killed one of them, I felt an overwhelming sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Although much of it was Apocrypha's doing, to the point where it had more control over my body than I did for a time, it was still feeding into my hatred, my bloodlust, my thirst for revenge. And so I butchered them. I took my revenge on every last one of them-- probably numbering nearly a hundred-- and when it was all over, I had one last encounter that set me on the path I walk now."

Spoiler: Flashback Part 4

Mordred wandered aimlessly around the town, his glowing red eyes looking glazed over and his face now an expressionless mask. He had no purpose in mind and no enemies to fight, so he simply walked through the streets in complete silence, save for the harsh rain that was still falling to the ground. He finally stopped when he saw a familiar face. He knelt down next to her broken body and whispered.
"...Ju...lia..."
His eyes returned to their normal grey color as tears began to stream down his face. With great difficulty, he managed to stand back up and walk away. He only made it a few feet before his legs gave out and he fell back down to his knees. He looked down the street that was littered with corpses, then he looked back to Julia, then he looked up.

And he screamed.

He screamed, he wailed, he sobbed and he cried until his voice was hoarse and his tear ducts ran dry, then he cried tears of blood, quietly sobbing to himself between harsh fits of coughing. Finally, his body gave in to exhaustion and he collapsed on the ground. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed and his mind slipped into unconsciousness was the blood-covered sword he still held in his hand.

Spoiler: Flashback Part 5

"Some time later, whether by luck or by fate, a family of merchants that frequently did business in our town found me on the road and took me in. They could hardly believe what happened. It was even harder to believe that I had survived the ordeal. When I woke up, I knew who they were right away; my parents were very good friends with them and apparently they owed my father a great deal of their success. They offered to let me live with them, saying that they would gladly take me in as their own son. Their daughter, who was two years younger than me, was a good friend of mine and she seemed to be fond of the idea as well. Their kind offer was very, very tempting, but I knew I had to refuse."

"Are you sure we can't talk you out of this? You could start a new life here. We travel all over the world, so you'd certainly never get bored."
Michael, the head of the family, tried one last time to talk him out of it, but it was clear that his mind was made up. Mordred lightly shook his head.
"No. I'm sorry, I simply cannot allow myself to stay here. Not after everything that's happened."
"So...what are you going to do now?"
Dana, the mother of the family, spoke up with a look of deep concern. Mordred hesitated slightly before replying.
"Those elves were organized and well-equipped, much like an army. An army never acts on its own, they receive their orders from a higher authority. I need to know where that order came from."
Then their daughter Rose, who was biting her lip until now, spoke somewhat forcefully.
"Are you out for revenge? Just...forget about that! I can't even imagine what you're going through, but what good is it gonna do trying to take them down all by yourself?! Do you really think you can do that?"
Mordred looked down on the sword at his waist, then back up to Mira.
"With this sword, it might very well be possible."
She was about to speak her mind again before her father stopped her. He then turned to Mordred with a solemn expression.
"If you feel like you really have to do this, I understand. Just know that...if you ever change your mind, or if you get what you're after and you don't know where to go, you've always got a home with us. Okay?"
Mordred nodded.
"Thank you. I'll remember that."

"Ever since that day, I have taken up the mantle of an assassin. Even now I search for the one who brought complete desolation to my home."

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

Mordred paused for a bit after telling his story and let out another heavy sigh before leaning forward and turning to Trinity.
"There you have it. If I may ask, what do you think of me now that you know the truth? Please be honest. If you have any fears or reservations, I need to know about them now."

 

Mordred listened intently to Trinity as she spoke, staying quiet and only giving the occasional nod to acknowledge what she said. When she finished, he sat there in silence for a short time, taking in what she told him. Although it didn't show in his expression, he felt a deep sense of relief and contentment that she'd heard his story and still accepted him.

Something about that statement resonated with him. He realized then that he truly does think of her as a kindred spirit. Despite his best efforts to isolate himself, he'd finally found someone that he could truly understand and be understood by in return. He gave one last nod and replied with a simple "I see" before standing up and walking over to her.

Then, without any warning whatsoever, he pulled her into a tight embrace.

After a few moments, he let her go and started walking towards the cavern where the rest of the group was while speaking in his usual tone as if nothing had happened.
"We should meet up with the others, I'm sure they've secured the area by now and we wouldn't want them to leave without us."

 

Karma arose, in spite of his sudden fatigue.
That creature... I must get my Violin back!
One step after another, he slowly plodded to the werewolf, anger fueling him. He stretched his arm, as if to reach across the space between them, as he closed in on the werewolf.

 

Zerron finally came to just as Succa was telling them next time they'll all be dead. He answered back as if he'd been out drinking for the last day or so.

".... No.......You'll be the one that won't be alive ya evil...... jester." Zerron was knocked out when the group was knocked apart by the knights attack. After getting up he looked around to find the whole place shaking and falling apart.

"What's going on now...... oh." before he finished he saw the dragon. that would explain all of the shaking and falling rocks.... need to leave!
Just then Zerron spots Sean at a cave entrance on the other side of the cave and starts to run towards him.

When sean was hit, he wasn't knocked back. He was hit with the electric charge along with everyone else, and for a lightning ninja that's different. He made the mistake of allowing it to flash teleport him ahead of where they where heading. Didn't get him lost, but placed him a good distance between the group and him.

"Really? I couldn't just have been thrown against a wall or placed closer?"
Sean drew his blade as he sped down the cave towards the rest of the group. As he got closer he could see the cave shaking and rocks falling. after dodging several falling rocks, he got to the cavern that everyone was in.

 

Vixie tried to fight through her sudden fatigue. Her ears pointed forward, as she growled lowly in frustration. She stepped forward, and almost lost her footing. She growled again, as she rose to her feet slowly. If she wouldn't be even more fatigued after transforming back to her other form, she would have done so...however, she knew that she'd be of no help to anyone here, and she wasn't about to burden anyone with having to carry her...not at this crucial time.

OOT: sorry for the short post.

 

Karma caught up with the werewolf, angrily gripping the violin. Stopping the werewolf's movement with his firm grip, he brought his masked face close to werewolf and uttered a single word.
"Mine."
Karma yanked the violin and bow away, relieved to have it back. Looking back, he saw that the cave was collapsing.
I need to get my supplies back. A pity they were not put to any use.
Turning around, he made his way back to his supplies, bringing his Vocale Violin up to his chin.
Music protects.
Karma began playing an odd tune. Long and solid in sound, hardly changing in tone. It may have been strange in sound, but the results allowed Karma to ward off the fatigue, cutting a path through whatever magic was bothering him. Rocks fell around him, never landing on him as the unseen shield around him protected himself from harm. Upon reaching the rags that he called a bag, Karma stopped playing his violin and began to gather up the supplies into his coat pockets.
Just my luck it had end up with the wrong person. At least I can recover everything with all the pockets my coat has.
The shielding around Karma persisted even when stopped playing, as a result of giving a last high-pitched note. He resumed playing where he left off, making his way back out of the entrance.
Time to get out of here before it is too late.

 

Wolfette has the violin torn from her and she begins to cry.

 

Leif looks around the collapsing cavern, then turns to Leon.
"Looks like we're out of time in here! I'll make sure the exit's secure; I'm sure you can handle rounding up everyone else."
He gave him a wry smile.
"Isn't that right, captain?"

I return Leif's grin and nod.
"Did you even need to ask?"
He runs off into the next room as I take a look around, looking for any stragglers. It looked like everyone was in some kind of trance when we first got here...I'm hoping they've snapped out of it by now! I call out loudly, hoping they can hear me over the falling rubble.
"Get a move on towards the exit! Do we have any injuries in the group? Sound off so we can get you out of here!"

Mordred shrugged.
"I would imagine so. They are a persistent bunch if nothing else."
As they approached the entrance, he felt the cavern rumble and his neutral expression now looked to be tense and focused.
"An earthquake? We need to move quickly. Otherwise, we may never catch them at all."
He broke into a sprint as Trinity followed behind, quickly making his way inside the collapsing cavern. His eyes darted around and he saw part of their group making their way to an entrance on the other side. In the blink of an eye, he drew Apocrypha and reached his left hand towards Trinity.
"Grab on, I can get us to the other side safely."