kapuchu

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Lugubrious
I didn't see you set up a "VOTE!" post so I didn't do it <.< Sorry! I'll go figure out which is best right now!

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

The barrier was nothing that Lily could not break through if she wanted to, but for the moment it still made her stop, preventing her from getting out of sight. She had truly hoped that she could go through with her deception. However, the convenient arrival of this... The words "arrogant child" came to mind, caused the entire thing to crumble.

She wasn't averse to violence, but fighting with these Angels here and now only allowed Sevrin to get closer to the seal uncontested. He was the Dangerous one - the one demons and angels alike should be wary of. On some level Lily could perfectly understand why the Troublemaker had called her out, but on another Level it vexed her greatly. People called demons evil, the only thing and their mind being destruction and corruption. But so often the angels were just as bad if not even worse than demons. The mindset one of extreme xenophobia - If you were not one of them, you were not good enough.

Perhaps she was getting too annoyed, as thinking about how annoying angels were was not a prime concern at the moment. She turned around to face the katana wielding angel, spending just the moment to shout over her shoulder, in a tone that brooked no argument: "Fenn, Souta. Stay. Put!"

When she looked at Zarrath again, all pretence of being Uriel was gone, the disguise melting away in a matter of seconds - leaving Lily he had been just prior to her disguise, arms crossed over her chest. "You're making a grave mistake, Angel. It is true that I am not Uriel, but my warnings and information is the truth." She nodded towards the two angels that have been in the ambush. "Those two were among the ones that ambushed that. If you want to blame someone for the death of their comrades, blame them for they were the ones who struck first. Nevertheless-" she looked back to Zarrath "-We are here on business on behalf of the Charred Council. We seek the seal to bring it under the protection of the Council and prevent a premature beginning of the End War. There is also the demon wielding the Yamato. We were following his scent when we were attacked. I do, genuinely, advise that you spread the word of his presence. Even at just a fraction of his true power as he is now, he is still a threat to all of us." She let her arms fall to her sides, her pose seemingly relaxed and unafraid, but fries spoke of a different story: Wary. "If you leave now, no harm will come to you. But if you insist on fighting me, you invite death upon yourselves." She gave a pointed glance towards the survivors off their previous engagement. "Your choice."

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Interesting. A door needing power to be opened? And they suppose that this ruined building we are in is where the seal is located? All of this was valuable information, Lily thought, clicking her tongue. The question now was how to proceed from here. She already had a lot more information than she had expected, and she figured that with the subservient attitude of the angels she could possibly get even more out of them. Possibly even convince them of things they would otherwise deny outright.

And then came the question, that damnable kernel of doubt and suspicion. These angels, low rank as they were, knew who their commanders were; who were present and who were not. In her mind she cursed the small fry, but on the outside she did not so much as twitch an eyebrow. She could kill them easily if she wanted to, but no matter how little it was it was still power spent that she might have need of when or if they ever met Sevrin, and had to fight him. Continuing the deception was her best option - not only did it conserve her power but it also might offer other advantages.

She was about to speak up to explain "Uriel's" presence here on the battlefield when a stranger angel dropped from the sky, immediately blabbering about things that she did not need to be told, and seemed confident enough to seemingly take command of the gathered angels - in the presence of Uriel, of all things. This sky was either bold or stupid, or maybe both. His equipment give him away as an angel serving under the army of light, which meant that there was no way he would not recognise Uriel. Did suspect her? If he did then why had he not called her out on it?

No matter, he did not seem excessively Powerful so there was no reason to believe that he outranked Uriel, and so she still had the option of brow-beating them with authority. He had mentioned a call and angels coming under attack from an unknown group, however, which brought to mind something else the angels had mentioned - specifically the two that had appeared after Lily and her companions had begun observing them. So they were the ones that had fled from their encounter. That made things easier, given as now knew who they were talking about.

She turned to the newest angel, squaring her shoulders and letting her wings spread just a bit as a show of superiority. "It is not your place to question me, soldier," she began, She knew of Uriel's rank, and it was a safe bet that this one was her inferior. "Of course I heard the call for aid, but that is neither here nor there - My business is the White City's business." She turned her that she addressed the other Angels as well.

"I am speaking to you because there are hidden players using this battle to move their pieces undetected. The Charred Council included." She looked pensive for a moment, thinking. The angels were numerous and could be an asset if used correctly. Was it possible that she might be able to use the angels without them realising that they were being used? It was worth attempting.

She turned to the angel that they had fought before. "You - you mentioned rogue demons in the company of a human, did you not? They are likely agents of the Charred Council, otherwise Humans and Demons would never work together. Spread the word. Keep tabs on them, but do not interfere. They will flush the other parties out of hiding. I do not care what you must do, but get this message to the other officers."

"Now, I have duties of my own, so I leave you with this task." She turned and was about to head off the way she'd come when another thought occured to her. She looked back over her shoulder, at one of the lesser angels while ignoring the newcomer. "One more thing," she said, her tone of voice low and intense, "should you see anyone bearing the demonic sword Yamato, do all in your power to stop them. Kill on sight, any other objective is secondary." She then spread her wings and took off.

Her job, hopefully, done and deception successful, Lily went about making her way back to Fenn and Souta, intending to circle far so that she couldn't be tracked.

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

@Astarael42
I am afraid you have. That sucks. I hope you at least feel better, now! :D

The Crucible - Winner Take All

Brucie was the first back on his feet, pushing himself out of the bent and broken ladder. In spite of the situation, and the numerous cuts and bruises that his body had accumulated over the course of the fights, the shark laughed with exhilaration.

"Good fight, you are," he said, turning to Lily who was still in the process of climbing back onto her feet. "But I am afraid this is the end." He raised his right arm, aiming the water cannon squarely at the staggering woman. "Bye-bye."

Water tore through Lily, punching a hole through her abdomen and into the machine behind her, causing her eyes to widen and mouth to open in a soundless scream. Blood poured from the wound, more dripping from her mouth. Her tails fell lifeless, unmoving, as she slumped over, unmoving.

Brucie sighed, sounding somehow neither satisfied nor disappointed, as if the deed done was a foregone conclusion. "You fought well, girl," he muttered, "but not good enough. Sharks are better hunters than foxes, after all." He turned around and made as if to call for Oren when the telltale sound of electricity suddenly came from behind. He whirled around and instinctively lashed out with one of his mechanical arms, forcing Lily to duck to avoid getting a faceful of metal.

"How did you?" Brucie exclaimed, swinging at her again only for her to jump out of the way, electricity abandoned for the moment.

"You weren't quick enough," she replied tersely.

---

Brucie had almost killed her just then. Two seconds later and that jet of water would have done to her what she showed through her illusion. As long as Brucie had that water cannon she couldn't rely on ranged combat as much as she wanted to, and getting in close was hazardous.

Even now she was ducking and weaving, avoiding both teeth and metallic claws to the best of her ability. It seemed that now that she wasn't running away immediately, Brucie was more than happy to engage in the brutal series of swipes and bites, trying and failing to get ahold of her. Or, more accurately, trying to rip her to shreds.

Her speed and agility kept her out of reach of his claws, thankfully. She needed to get an advantage somehow. She did not possess the same natural weapons or raw physical power that her opponent did, so doing anything in melee that did not involve dodging was likely to yield either very little or no results whatsoever. But at range his cannon became a problem: It did not overheat, nor did it need to reload, and the fact that it was water made it a dangerous tool. Too much water on her tails and her ability to do anything but illusions and blasts of force would be voided.

And therein lies the answer, she thought. A well aimed force strike should destroy his cannon. She just needed a clear shot.

She jumped back, lightning once more dancing in the palm of her left hand, and then lunged forward. Brucie, having seen this trick before, moved his right arm so that the rubbery muscles blocked her strike, and in doing so gave Lily the opening she needed. Her right hand came forward, palm almost touching the cannon. A wave of invisible, kinetic force washed forth, pummeling the small construct until it was bent and broken, no more useful than a regular water pistol.

Lily did not give her opponents time to react from the sudden destruction of his one remaining weapon, instead disappearing into the shadows where she had the advantage.

"You cannot catch me," Lily said, voice disembodied and sourceless. "And your only remaining weapon is broken. You no longer have a chance of winning, so give up and I will let you live. I have dealt out too much death in my life already. You have one chance."

The rumble of Brucie's laughter pushed away the silence that followed Lily's statement. "You underestimate me, girl." From a small compartment in his left leg, he withdrew two small devices. "Watch and learn," he called before slamming the two together.

Out of the blue a massive bubble, easily big enough to cover the entire room, seemed to blink into existence. From up above Lily saw the unmistakable circles of warped space that signified a portal. From it rushed unbelievable amounts of water, flooding the floor and quickly rising - far quicker than it should have. It took twenty seconds at most before the entirety of the room they were in was flooded in seawater.

To Lily, who had tried desperately to keep herself dry, there was only one word that properly encomepassed her thoughts on the matter. And that was "Shit."

Fire would not work, and electricity would be hazardous. She could still create force pulses and illusions, but those were of limited use when surrounded by water. She had to find a way to win, but Brucie was not in the mood to just let her think.

It had not taken him long to find her, swimming toward her far quicker than her waterlogged body could move. She hadn't a choice. She had to try. She extended a hand and unleashed as powerful a blast of force as she could. It hit him head on, but far from as damaging as it would have been aboveground, the water taking the brunt of it. The blow forced him to veer off, making him circle her instead, waiting for the oppertune moment to strike.

Seconds ticked by, each moment bringing Lily closer to the point where she could no longer hold her breath. She needed an idea and she needed it now. She could only keep pushing him away for so long, not that exhaustion from continuous use of her powers would be a problem, as she would drown or become fish food long before that happened.

Brucie struck again, and again she shot at blast of energy out into the water, pushing herself out of the way. Barely. Metallic claws raked at her, leaving another line of shallow cuts along her leg.

I don't have time for this. It is the only thing I have that might work. If this fails - Tsukiko, I am sorry.

Brucie was still reorienting himself after his latest failed attack, which gave Lily the time that she needed. For the first time in years she pulled upon everything that she had, gathering every ounce of electricity that she have stored up within her, directing it to her hands. Focus! She told herself, gritting her teeth and fighting to not let it all out and electrocute herself. She could not afford to let even a little of it flow through her before it was unleashed. She had herself, and her target. From A to B, that was the only path allowed. Anywhere else and she risked death.

Brucie circleed her once again, eyeing her.

Lily raised her arm, the other supporting it, one finger extended.

Their eyes met.

Brucie grinned and made a rapid turn, speeding towards her.

Lily gave it her all to keep everything concentrated on only one point.

Then she fired.

From the tip of her finger erupted a flood of electricity, lightning striking Brucie before he even had time to register the attack, followed by a thunderous boom that shattered the bubble cause of water to spread everywhere and quickly reducing the water levels, allowing her to rise to the surface and finally breathe again.

It was over. She had won. She looked around at the rapidly dwindling, quickly finding the shark-man floating around in the water, or what remained of it. She watched as the remaining vestiges drained away, leaving the two of them on the ground again, though only Lily appeared to be conscious.

Strange. Now that she looked at him outside of the chaos of battle, she took notice of his own phylactery. Like hers it beat in a slow rhythm, much like that of a heart at rest, glowing a warm red as it did. It seems to still be active, which meant that he was not dead yet. The fact that she had not, after all, killed her opponent actually made her smile. She picked herself up and walked over to him, taking her own phylactery out in the meanwhile. He mentioned a mosquito. The thought flitted through her head as she bent down and punctured Brucie's phylactery with the syringe-like parts of our own.

Whatever she had thought would happen, it was not the pained screams of a tortured animal that currently came from Brucie. He thrashed and screamed, clearly seeking a way to diminish the pain, but whatever he tried the phylacteries remained remained locked together.

This one for thirty long seconds, after which both the erratic movements and the screams ceased. When they stopped, Lily was kneeling beside him, looking sorrowfully down on the creature she had just tortured so.

"I'm sorry," she said, almost at a whisper, meeting his now open eyes.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Because of the pain I inflicted you. I have seen it before. Once." She fell silent, at once wondering why he did not attack her as well as being grateful that the fight was now over between them.

"Why are you here?" He asked, still lying down.

"There is a man. I lost him a long time ago. He is the only thing I ever had that even resembled a parent." She paused. "Why are you here?"

At this Brucie laughed, weakened as he was. "Bein' a freak show's great for rippin', killin', and destroyin', but there's more to life than that... A lot more. I don't wanna be a weapon anymore. I wanna be human." He sighed. "Ship's sailed, I guess."

Someone wanting to be something they were not. The idea was not an alien one. She had met many such people in her life. The young ones wanting to be something strong and awesome, or the elderly ones simply wanting to not be harried by time.

"That's not impossible," she said at length, eyes trailing upwards. She pronounced each word slowly as if they came to her as she spoke them. Finally she looked down upon Brucie again, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I used to be human. I used to not have any powers whatsoever, but look at what I am now. In my world, we have the technology to change your very body into a completely different species. If you go there, they should be able to help you. They should be able to make you human. Once Oren gets here, let's see if we can get hold of some College people who can help you make a trip to my world. They should know how to get there. Help you visit."

The Crucible - Winner Take All

By the way, due to an assignment I have to turn in friday, don't expect the last update for Lily v Brucie until after that. I doubt I'll have time.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Banana
*Scans Squishy*
*Turns into Squishy*
*Vanishes from Existence 'cause Squishy has no bones*

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Lily was not the biggest fan of jungles. Not that she did not appreciate the beauty of an untamed wilderness, but the swarming bugs and innumerable branches, that constantly got in her face, quickly became an annoyance that she would rather be without. She had wandered through jungle before, particularly the amazonas, and found even those places to be less bug infested than this place. Or was it simply the distant sound of fighting that annoyed her?

Even if that were the case it did not make up for the one thing that this forest lacked the most: Humans. Aside from Souta, this place felt as abandoned as the frozen south. The ruins spoke of a lost civilization which had once lived here, and made this forest their home, but intriguing as they were in their overgrown glory, buildings that have long since fallen to rubble did not hold the same potential for entertainment, as a few tribes did. Ruins she could make into an ominous and mysterious abode, and while that could be a year or two of interesting work it just could not match the fun of being worshipped as a living, breathing goddess, or to play chase with said tribes as a "malevolent" demon or spirit. Humans were so diverse and unique, they were always a source of entertainment where there should have been none. Old ruins? Not so much.

It was with those thoughts on her head that Lily followed Fenn, as he steadily brought them closer to their quarry. Where Fenn kept his nose to the ground, Lily kept her eyes and ears open. Her elven ears caught the sound of voices shortly before Souta heard them and guided them into a cover. She dutifully followed, motioning for the hell hound to comply as well. He wasn't likely to simply follow the Smith, so she figured that a command - even if a silent one - from her was necessary. Fenn wasn't known for his willingness to work together with others, after all.

Angels, she thought. They sound like the same ones we just fought earlier. They sounded confused, frightened even. Souta's clumsiness may have contributed to the angel's paranoia, but them thinking that someone was nearby was only part of it. Like a snake, cutting off the head had proven quite successful in spreading confusion. But what was the first mention of a door? An intriguing bit of news. Lily smiled, she had an idea. She moved to a place with higher cover, where she knew that she would still be in hiding even at her full height, then unceremoniously stripped, tossing her close to Souta with the request that he handle them with care until she came back. Then she changed.

Her hair remained the same silvery-white colour, but shortened to just below her shoulders as opposed to falling to her hips. Her body grew more bulky, muscular and less voluptous. Following that luminous wings erupted from her back and quickly pulled back tight against her body to avoid any accidental sightings of her mid-transformation. What followed was a serious of lesser changes that made her look more like an angel, and less of a Fae creature. When a full minute had passed, it was no longer Lily who stood there, but an angelic commander, complete even with the golden armour and an angelic sword. Her equipment were mere projections - made in the image of a female commander she had once met - but for lower ranking angels such as the ones aheard of them, the sudden sight of a commander coupled with the recent loss of one, would hopefully make them more than willing to trust her.

"Wait here," she whispered to Souta and Fenn before backtracking until she was neither within range of hearing or a line of sight.

When she was finally far enough away from the angels she took to the air and flew across the trees until she reached the small opening in the trees where she could drop down, making certain to approach from a different angle than she actually came from. She landed close by, but not within striking distance, and turned to the one who had spoken off the door earlier.

"What news?!" she demanded.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Banana

The Crucible - Winner Take All

Brucie got back on his feet unsteadily, groaning like some drunkard recently awoken with a mountain of a headache. He looked the part, too, Lily decided watching him cradle his head. No matter, if he was giving her an opening then she would not be so ungrateful as to not take it. She dashed forward, electricity once more jumping between her fingers.

Arm out-stretched, she lashed out, expecting to meet metal or flesh and see him wracked with lightning again. Only, no such thing happened. She had only moments to register that he had blocked her with the rubbery parts of his arm before pain flared in her left side and she was sent reeling. Jumping back, she sought cover behind a large machine of some description while cursing her own recklessness. She had seen a moment of weakness and just rushed in, and now she paid for it with blood and pain. It wasn't the first time she had done such a thing, and every time she did it in the past she had been admonished for it - not only by her superiors, but by Tsukiko as well. And if there was one thing she feared, it was making that woman mad.

Resigning herself to being more careful, she went about inspecting her injuries. She still had that cut on her right arm, which was to be expected, as well as an assortment of lesser bruises and scrapes. Her newest additions were at series of cut along her rib cage. The bones kept it shallow and had protected her, but they still bled enough to make her worry. If she did find a way to close the wound, either by cauterization, bandages or thread and needle, she would be in trouble.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" the Shark's voice rang out, making Lily jump. That kind of voice coupled with sing song tone like that were eerie at best.

The fact that he calls out to me instead of going after me tells me that he is either expecting an ambush, or just not want to get in close. So far he has only engaged in melee whenever I have gotten close myself. Conclusion? He is superior at close quarters but prefers to stay at range. He is powerful at range, but so am I. I should stay at range, at least there there's no disadvantage.

That decided, Lily ran out of cover. She did it again, and again, and again. Soon there were at least a dozen images of Lily standing hodgepodge around the room, some in plain view, others half in cover, and even some crouched on top of machines and pipes. Brucie looked much as she had expected; confused and unsure where to aim his cannon.

He knew that all but one were fakes, having blasted through a few of them already during their fight, but even that knowledge could not keep his instincts from screaming at him that he was vastly outnumbered. Sapient though he may have been, she was still very much a shark, and his animalistic side told him that a single shark could not beat twelve beings such as Lily, not at the same time.

Luckily, he was not just a single shark. He was so much more. The remaining three tubes opened on his shoulder, spewing out a rocket each that immediately went for three separate clusters of Lily's, causing each and every one to seek shelter. The rockets exploded causing shrapnel, both metal and not, to fly across the room, ricocheting off of various surfaces, denting and puncturing even some pipes. Only three Lily's remained, and only one of them bled. A flying piece of metal had almost hit her in the eye, and only superhuman reflexes had allowed her to dodge it in time, leaving a bleeding cut across her cheek to show for it.

"There ya are. I can smell yer blood, y'know." Brucie grinned, looking the real Lily straight in the eyes; meeting her glare with as flippant a look as a shark could muster.

[i]So he can smell my blood?[i] Lily almost smiled. "Good to know," she replied, and threw her hands outwards, covering a large portion of the room in the scent of blood. She wasted no time in getting back into cover, from shadow to shadow in an effort to throw off Brucie. She was successful to an extent, but not completely so as evident by the jets of water hitting places frighteningly close to her, both in front and behind.

She couldn't afford to get hit. Too much water and her ability to generate friction between her tails would be lost. She jumped behind a thick pipe, coming to an immediate stop but sent forth the sound of a pair of feet running across the concrete floor. Metal groaned and snapped some distance ahead of her, a pipe having been punched clean through by a jet of water, clothes to where the sound of footsteps originated.

So he is going by sound now? He is working out what I can do. He knows I can mimic smell and create images. He probably suspects that I can also render myself invisible. Not untrue, but he went for the sound.

An idea started to form in Lily's mind, one that was sure to earn the ire of Tsukiko were she to ever find out, but nonetheless one that she figured might actually work.

She let the footsteps continue to circle Brucie, but had a second set split off in the opposite direction. Another set of footsteps sounded from Lily's current position, running out to the left. She didn't stop until six sets of running feet could be heard circling Brucie, both going in and out of shadowy areas.

Now comes the reckless part. Lily stepped out of into the open, facing Brucie, and started to slowly make her way towards him - tails undulating behind her. She didn't muffle her own steps or turn herself invisible. She played on his paranoia, on his expectations that the real one was among the phantom sounds surrounding them. Each step saw another ball of cobalt fire wink into existence around her

The shark immediately aimed his arm-mounted gun at her. He looked triumphant for all but a second, before suspicion took hold and his eyes narrowed. "Are you the real one?" he asked, metallic fingers flexing, fidgeting.

"I am," Lily replied, fighting to keep her expression neutral. It was a gamble, telling him the truth, but hopefully he would take it as further misdirection. So far he had been easily fooled, falling for each and every trick she threw at him. There was no reason he would not beli-

"I believe ya."

Water rushed at Lily, and once again it was only her superior reflexes that prevented her from sharing the same fate as the metal pipe from earlier. Barely the words had left the shark's mouth before she abandoned all pretence of being an illusion and threw every single bit of fire she had at him.

Fire and water met in a roar of sound and mist, the resulting explosion sending both of them flying back. Lily ricocheted off of a pipe, landing face down on the concrete floor.

Brucie had fared somewhat better. Instead of his own body taking the brunt, he had just managed to turn in such a way that has metallic limbs absorbed most of the blast and the resulting collision with the set of stairs.

"That one actually hurt," he groaned.

The faint sound of Lily's groans echoed his assesment.