"Adore" [M] [Not Accepting]

OOC: Desmond only has a small part in this, because I figured I needed to move the Vermillion story more. Also, I know it was originally nighttime when Lydia and Million were on the hill, but for my own purposes, I've changed it to midday.

BIC:

Lydia just stared at Vermillion for a second, before she managed to stammer, "Wh...what?"

"I said, I'm the heir to the Guild known as Adore," Million repeated. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he chuckled, patting her on the shoulder. "But don't worry, I'm nothing like my sadistic father. I, too, agree that what Adore's doing is wrong. And..." he leaned a little closer, as if afraid someone would overhear. "I'm putting together a small force to try and overthrow them." Lydia still didn't say a word, contemplating what she had just been told. Vermillion continued:

"So, Lydia... what do you say? Will you help me? ...I mean, you dropped out of the sky; that's gotta be a sign!" Lydia was still slightly confused. Vermillion kept telling her she had fallen out of the sky, and yet the last thing she remembered was stepping between Jupiter and Desmond. She must've blacked out, but... how in the world did she get here? And... what had happened to Desmond?

"Lydia...?" Vermillion's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I... yes, I will fight with you," she said, almost automatically. If she was fighting Adore, she reasoned, she might run into Desmond somewhere... Suddenly, an ear-splitting shriek rent the midday air.

"What was that?!" she asked Million, who was suddenly staring down at the path leading to Saturnine.

"Dematru!" he shouted. "...Lyre-raptors!" he added when she looked confused, and realization sprung into her face. Peering down the hill they were on, Vermillion pointed. "Look!" Two humans were fighting an impossible fight against nearly 50 raptors, with more pouring from the bushes all around. A small group of them had split off and were now chasing a third figure, with a long cloak, pure white hair, and a pale face, carrying a woman in his arms...

"DESMOND?!" screamed Lydia.

-----

Down on the path, the battle raged on. Though severely outnumbered, Vixxy and Aesanii were too quick for most of the raptors, and the bodies began to pile up. Aesanii turned to see a group of five take off after Desmond.

"No!" she shouted, lunging at them and missing. "Vixxy!" she called. No response. "Erm... Kid! ......Alex!"

"What?!" came the reply.

"Stop them!" Alex complied, sending a fireball towards the renegade raptors. It hit one, which tumbled to the ground, tripping another, but the other three continued their pursuit. Suddenly, three shots rang out, and the Dematru dropped like stones. A man with burnt orange hair emerged from the trees, two guns smoking in his hands.

"Are you guys crazy?!" he called. "Head for Saturnine!!"

-----

Desmond was aware of nothing other than Jill, dying in his arms. The pain in his shoulder was intense, but it was nothing compared to what his heart felt like. He had done this... he had caused it all... suddenly, he thought he heard his name called. He looked around, not breaking stride, but there was no one. Shaking it off, he picked up speed as the gates of Saturnine approached. He tripped and fell forward through the massive wooden gates, Jill tumbling out of his arms, and his shoulder exploded in burning pain as it hit the ground.

"Close the gates!" he shouted at the two guards who were staring at him. "Dematru! Close the gates! And we need a hospital!!!"

This message was edited by BSmith3 on Jul 26 2007.

Aesanii hesitated for a moment, but realized that the stranger knew exactly what he was doing. She grabbed Alex by the back of her shirt-collar and sped off. Seeing their escaping targets, several of the Dematru retreated into the trees where they were safer from bullets. A large number remained to keep the orange-haired newcomer busy.

So it comes to this, a frantic race to the gates.

Alex interrupted her thought with a few indignant shrieks.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?! LEMME GO!!!"

Aesanii promptly let go, with Alex almost tripping and falling at the sudden release. She quickly regained her footing, andd they bolted neck and neck to the gate which they could see was starting to close. The lead runners of the Dematru began spilling into the pathway, snapping at their heels.

The distance between them and the gate was swiftly diminishing. A hundred yards. Eighty. Sixty. Fourty. Twenty. The opening was rapidly closing. Alex made a flying leap through the door with Aevru not two steps behind, and Aesanii had a raptor practically breathing down her neck. Still in motion, she leaped up, spun around, and kicked it in the ribs. A satisfying crunch ensued, and the Dematru's momentum combined with the kick sent her flying through the gate backwards. Before she could hit the ground, she pulled off her pack and held it close to her and braced for impact. She hit and skidded a far distance, then rolled, then stopped flat on her back. The raptors came to a screeching halt as the gate shut and the rattle of gunfire sounded through the air. They scattered, their quarry now unreachable. All of them retreated into the forests, heading back to their mountain caves. The hunt had finally ended.

Aesanii just laid there on her back, dimly aware of the rain. She gasped like a fish out of water, and the pack rolled to her side. A man in white looked at her with concern. One of her eyes snapped open, and she snapped harshly at him.

"Fear not for me, you fool of a man, fear for the others! Now get thee gone before I gain the mind to move you myself!"

Aesanii just stood with a ghost of a smile flickering accross her face. She was half tempted to speak, but decided against it, seeing as the moment was too pleasant to ruin. Flicking a stray lock of hair from her eyes, she turned her attention behind her. Somehow, she felt like she didn't belong there. Peeking out the door and looking around, she pulled Aevru out of the cloak and set the fabric on a bench to her left. She then stepped noiselessly out the door and creeped towards the stairs.

Getting out was easy, since most everyone was too busy to notice. The inn where she had decided to stay was just accross the street, and she nudged open the door to the lobby. Making her way quickly to her room, she closed the door and locked it. On the bed, wrapped in her spare cloak, were the six eggs that she had taken from the Dematru nest. All of them had quarter sized cracks in them, and little pips and chirps came from them. Dematru eggs were very thick even before hatching, and most of the time the parent had to open them with their front claws.

She poked her two index fingers through the hole in one of them, pulling carefully to ensure that it would crack evenly. It split open neatly, and the chick squirmed and flopped, stretching itself from being cramped in the egg. Opening its large eyes it looked around the room before looking at its hatcher. The chick studied her, mainly her eyes. Then, it jumped onto her shoulder in a show of surprising strength and speed.

The rest of the eggs were opened, and soon six chicks were scampering all over her and investigating the room. Only two of them were male, the rest female. Aesanii watched them and carefully chose names.

"Female names...They must be lovely names for lovely chicks. You shall be Nierinn, Evadne, Halia, and Zelani. And the males must have strong names... Jesk and Raithe."

Each chick perked up in turn to its individual name. In the wild, their mother would have a certain frequency of call, almost like a name, and she would call them when they were wanted. So, they responded to what their name sounded like. She got up to walk to the door, and much to her amusement, they followed her, crowding about her feet. Raising Dematru was a legal thing, and they were occasionally used to guard residences or to hunt with. It was no crime to take them into public, at least when they were small. She stepped out the door, listening to their claws clicking on the floor as they scurried after her.

This message was edited by tyto72 on Jul 26 2007.

Five-C and his companions recovered from the huge shock, stood up and kept on walking. But a few minutes later, another strong gust of wind came. It pushed them into a large tree, almost giving them a concussion.

The travellers recovered again and Five-C yelled out of frustration, "God dammit, this path is cursed! We'll be killed if we keep going any further! I should just stray off this path right now, stop this stupid side quest and stick to my original motive: To capture criminals."

Just then, an arrowhead-shaped stone in the path rose and started floating in the air, pointing forward. The travellers looked up, and saw a large place in the distance.
"Hey, that's Saturnine!", Five-C exclaimed. "Just a little more, and... we'll be there. Maybe this isn't so bad after all."

Five-C smiled. "Thank God... No, wait, I'm pretty sure God is the one who made us go all this way in the first place. God, if I ever see you..."
The companions didn't seem to pay much attention to Five-C's outburst. They kept going onward, almost leaving him behind.

"Hey, wait up, guys!", Five-C yelled. "There are most likely more deadly dangers up ahead. We need to take it nice and slow. You can never be too careful."
They gave him a blank stare in response.
Oh, dammit, you're right. We've wasted enough time already. We need to make up for it as much as we can. Full speed ahead!"

And so, they charged forth as fast as their feet would carry them, and within a few minutes, they were finally there. There was a sign that read "SATURNINE" in large letters in front of them. A real sign... Or a figment of their imagination?

There was a large gate, with another name sign. Five-C opened it, and the team entered.

"This is... A strange-looking place. Possibly. You know, I'm not sure what to call 'strange' anymore."

OOC: Edited.

This message was edited by Mario_1 on Jul 29 2007.

"Zeio!"

Lybill's words were whipped away by the merciless wind that relentlessly buffeted the cliff on which he and his two companions stood: Julia, who minutes ago had finally awoken to find that she could not properly stand on her right foot; and Rue, lending her his arm for support.

"Not so fast! We can't move with any speed in this condition!" He tried again. Zeio had taken off at great speed, with very little hint as to what was troubling him. All they had to go from was a giant beam from the unnaturally illuminated night's sky that, in it's short, pestilent existence, had utterly devastated a sizable portion of the land below. If anything, the sensible thing to do would be to move away from the affected area, though apparently Zeio planned on doing the opposite.

"Hurry! Time is one thing we do not have!" he called back, only slowing slightly, "In fact, we are probably already too late!"

"Too late for what?!" Lybill pressed, following Rue and Julia who had already set off after Zeio. No answer. Lybill cursed softly, cursing their luck, their situation, Julia's injury and the Kezerds that caused it but also cursing Zeio for his apparent lack of faith in them, constantly keeping them in the dark. With renewed vigor brought on by the frustrated anger coursing through his veins, he picked up the pace, determined to get some answers from his mysterious leader.

Soon afterwards, Zeio vanished from sight completely, leaving nothing but a faint trail in his wake for them to follow. Evidently there were more important forces at work than the safety of his friends; this served only to darken Lybill's mood. His master, his friend, had deserted him. Looking to Rue, he scowled.

"He's left us," he growled, but Rue merely shook his head in reply.

"There's something wrong. Something's affected him, I think he thinks Opal is in trouble," came the steady answer. Julia's face came into view, peering over her friend's shoulder.

"Rue is right. You're just tired, Lybill, think about it," she agreed, her eyes giving away her concern. Her eyes... Suddenly Lybill was released from his anger, seeing sense once more.

"You're right," he sighed, visibly deflating. Rue regarded him with concern.

"Could you carry Julia for a while for me?" he asked. Lybill nodded, taking her weight and supporting her on his right shoulder. With a knowing grin, Rue muttered his thanks, striding forwards to give the two some space.

"Thank you, Lybill," Julia whispered, her mouth centimeters from his ear, her silken hair drifting across his face and vision, across his world. Her utter dependence on him at that moment, the warmth of her body against his, her smell and voice... All combined and overwhelmed him. He smiled, turning his head slightly to reply, but before he could say a word her mouth covered his as she kissed him swiftly. Too surprised to react, Lybill simply stood, overwhelmed. And then it was over.

"Come on, we need to catch up," she said, the smile still lighting up her face despite the situation. Lybill, finally regaining control of his thoughts, nodded, setting off once more after their allies.

------

It was less than half an hour later when they finally found Zeio, stood over a slumped figure, half-invisible against the sodden earth with so little light to illuminate him. Rue, his face darkening as he realized the identity of the figure, ran to Zeio's side.

Zeio's eyes, visible only because of their eerie glowing in this darkness, were glazed, misted. For once, emotion showed itself in his face: not sadness, but shock and disbelief. Through a translucent haze, the world swam, and Zeio's world, at this moment, was the pale, lifeless face before him.

Opal.

Dead.

Lybill and Julia gasped in unison as the fallen man was identified. Zeio, wordless, shouldered the limp body, turning and striding silently away from the dark scene. Around Opal's resting place, the grass had wilted, the land dark with what looked like blood. Nature itself seemed to recoil from it's very presence, leaving an unnatural bare patch of black earth.

As Zeio left the scene, head bowed and hood up, another emotion flashed across his features. Hate, and vengeance.

"Aracnid..." He whispered, the man's blood running slowly down his black coat, "Lutious will pay."

----------

The arrival at Saturnine only a further hour later bore not relief and happiness but instead only loss. First, their leader and guild members had turned against them. Now, a powerful ally and good friend had fallen victim to their betrayal and had lost his life. The party were silent as they trudged through Saturnine's guarded gates, a grim, black procession of the dead, the injured, the hateful and the lost.

The first other they came across was a strange looking woman, dressed darkly, with several reptilian creatures and another, larger furry one following in her wake. Though the strange sight served only to deepen his confusion, Lybill decided not to ask questions. They'd all been through too much today.

"You're Geist, aren't you? You know Desmond? And Jill?" the woman turned suddenly, putting the question to Rue. Obviously the uniform had become famous even in these parts, as none of the four could recall seeing this woman before.

"Yes," he answered, "How do you know of our allies? Are they here too?"

"Yes, they're here. Follow me and I'll lead you to them," she replied, abruptly turning and going back the way she had came. Rue looked to Zeio, who simply nodded.

"Let's go," he said, shifting Opal's dead weight to his other arm as they set off after their guide.

----------

(OOC: Not the inn, as such. I'll leave that one to you :L
Also, apologies for the length: I had rather a lot to fit into this post.)

"OK, let me try to sum all this up to make sure I've got it right.", Five-C said. "Our leader betrayed us and killed Merlin the Magician, and instead of disbanding, we're now under a new commander, who happens to be... God, I'm guessing? And according to God, our goal changed from 'saving the province from rapists' to 'saving the world from domination'?"
Five-C then started pointing at the sky.

"Hey, God, can you hear me? I've got some questions for you. Tell me, why are you referring to yourself in plural tense? And why did you make us bust our asses walking all the way up to here? And now you want us to walk to a town? F**k that! You can teleport us, so why don't you teleport us over there? Or at least, teleport my weapons over here to me. And some candy, I'm hungry."

Five-C turned his head back to the crowd. "Stupid God... Ah yeah, that reminds me... Do any of you have anything to eat? I'm starving."
But he didn't get an answer.
"Ah, fine, whatever. Maybe I'll find some good grass and soil to eat. Or maybe I'll just die. But I've got something to confess to my companions... If it wasn't for a screw-up I had made, we probably wouldn't have had so much trouble with the law. Sorry, guys."
Condor, Salem and Mint gave him an angry stare.

"Anyway, I don't get this. We're just a crimefighting guild. Shouldn't big tasks, like saving the world, be left to big-shot superheroes... Like Jesus? And as for this Adore guy... He isn't a rapist like the others, is he?"

Edit: Whoops, forgot to italicize the last quote. Fixed now.

This message was edited by Mario_1 on Aug 01 2007.

OOC: Since no one else wants to post, here we go:

BIC:

No one else spoke for a minute. They were all looking towards Vermillion, as if he had something to do with the voice. Million, however, was simply staring at the ground. Lydia put a hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, then looked up.

"OK folks, as I was saying..." his voice trailed off for a second before resuming. "I am putting together a force to attempt to overthrow my father, the leader of Adore, and be rid of the injustices they have committed." But compared to the mysterious voice's 'bringing down the gods' theory, Vermillion's words seemed weak. "Anyone who wishes to take part in this... and I'm sure you all do, since you are here... will be most welcome. Now, first order of business..." he glanced at the stoic faces around him. "We need some sort of... gameplan, here. I say we meet... no... uh... how bout we just... oh, screw it, we head for Rhys tomorrow!"

Though no one gave approval for Vermillion to suddenly be leading them, no one objected, either. They had all unconciously been looking towards Opal to guide them, and he had now turned up dead. Aesanii slipped out of the house, presumably to get her Dematru, who were trailing behind her, something to eat.

Desmond was lost in thought. It wasn't a question of believing, for him; no, he believed that all this was real. Rather, he was worried. If Opal, who had seemed so strong, could be taken down so quickly by Lutious, what chance did the rest of them stand against him? Even with this angel-like voice on their side... Jill squeezed his hand, as if she knew what he was thinking. He smiled half-heartedly at her.

Five-C looked down at the floor and paused. Sitting beneath his chair were his Kukri knife and dart gun, and a brand new pistol, along with a note, written in beautiful, looping cursive: Thought you may want these. You're welcome. Ava. Five just looked at the note for a minute, before looking up.

"What, no candy?!"

-----

The members of Geist spread out through the city to find places to stay. Vixxy and Aesanii shared a room at the inn, as did Mint, Condor, and Salem. Desmond and Jill went back to the hospital, which they had snuck out of. Zeio wandered off somewhere by himself, and Rue, Lybill, and Julia stayed at the house of Rue's great-aunt. Five-C and Lydia remained in Vermillion's house. As Five made himself comfortable, Million and Lydia talked in whispers in the only other room of the house.

"So," Lydia was saying, "What did she say to you?" Vermillion quoted as best he could remember:

"Vermillion Adore Mason, my name is Ava. It seems the responsibility for the group in front of you has fallen on your shoulders. I ask you to lead them, to guide them. This journey will not be simple; I fear many more will be lost like Opal. But you must be the force behind them, you must push them on. I am entrusting this great task to you, Vermillion Adore Mason. Good luck, and do not fail me."

"...Something like that." Vermillion looked at Lydia for a second, then said, "...Lydia? ...Did she say anything to you?"

"N...no." Lydia stammered. "Nothing... well, nothing except what everyone else..." she faltered under Vermillion's stare. "...Yeah."

"Lydia McKenzie Mackenroe, my name is Ava. It may appear that you have been caught up in this war by accident. However, do not believe so. Nothing is accidental. You will play a part in this before it is over, of that you can be sure. Stay with Vermillion; encourage him, and support him. Be there when he needs you."

They looked at each other for a moment, then Lydia blushed and turned away.

-----

The next day, everyone was gathered in a field outside of Saturnine. Dandelion seeds flew past in the wind, and poppies lined the hillside. Opal's body lay in a grave, dug by Zeio and Condor. No words were spoken; no one could find the right ones. Only Rue stepped forward.

"Goodbye, Opal. You'll be avenged." With that, the grave was filled, and a stone marker placed atop the fresh earth.

-----

It was midday before everyone was finally ready to go. The forlorn group began walking, almost mechanically, down the southern path, not knowing exactly what they were walking into; the only clue they had was, 'The town of Rhys holds the answers you seek.'

OOC2: Thus ends what I believe to be the first part of "Adore". But many questions remain unanswered. What lies in wait for the group in Rhys? Who is this mysterious Ava, and how does she know so much? Where are Cliff and Wendy? Why am I asking these rhetorical questions? All shall be revealed in Adore, Volume 2! XD

...Oh, and anyone who wants to can post. You can even go ahead and introduce a small conflict if you want.