Sutoratosu

Mareek turned his back on the tiny group and checked the time on his MP3, confirming that they were indeed late for the introduction speech. He glanced off at the forest for a moment... if Devin had managed to find Slade, and this group here had seen them on their way out, then chances were that both of them wouldn't be too far behind. In that case, there was honestly no point going in; he'd just be wasting his time. "Come on, Erce," He said as he began walking away. "We're out off here." The Mantis turned and followed her trainer, stopping a few moments later to glance back at Henry's vulpix, sizing the punny beast up one last time... She seemed to have a habit of staring down other Pokemon that she knew she had a disadvantage to. "Erce?" Mareek called. She turned to find him looking back at her. "Scyyyyyy...." She hissed. With that she began on her way again, catching up to Mareek. The boy walked off once more with her in tow, setting a rather brisk pace as he made his way through the fading evening light towards the Contest Hall across Campus.

oh...one of those, eh? I once ventured into one of them, long ago back when I was just starting out on these subforums I got too intimated after just five minutes of browsing and high tailed right back here. It just felt soulless to me for some reason... it lacked that feeling of comradery and community I get when I'm on here with you all. anyways; I'll try to update soon. is Seacrest finally ready, or are you guys still discussing things? because if it's the later, I'm just gonna go ahead and escalate the scene anyway.

Actually, no wait...Eagle... Kenny and I will run. You can stick behind as our diversion. :Kappa: after all, you still have to test the theory of who would win in a fight between Marcus and Edward, right?

Kenny, Eagle, Run. just run as fast as you can...

Please don't follow, please don't follow, pleeeeeease don't folloooow...

"What Metal?" She sighed in defeat, glancing at Zoliver from over her shoulder. as usual, the boy had refused to give up on the concept...she blamed herself a little; all her children got their backbone from her, while all of their fathers had been completely spineless cowards... well no, not all...John had indeed had a pair of stones on him; walking out on her and their four year old son like he did. "It's obvious that I can't turn your head away from this path... I honestly don't think you should give it any time at all... but again, fine. Just tell me though, please, what metal are you going to work with? Silver, Gold, Miunnat, Steel? or do you plan to be an effete Black smith who specializes in something like Bronze or Copper... or even, God forbid, Tin? I just want to know that my son will be able to provide for himself, and one day for his own family as well." Outside of the house... "Oy, Jack!" a pirate called to his ship mate. "We got a nice lookin one over ere!" "Really?" Jack asked excitedly. "What we looking at?" he crept over to the window beside the first pirate. in the room beyond they could see a family around a supper table, three children it seemed, with the mother hovering in the kitchen. The young woman at the table particularly caught his eye... little did Zoliver know that two men were peeking at his sister Alma. "My... aren't you a pretty little thing?" He said disturbingly. "The things I would do to you..." "Are you talking about the fusil?" his crew mate asked. his eyebrows were raised in confusion. "Mate, what the ell would you 'do' to a Fusil? That's rather strange from the way it sounded..." "Not the fusil, Damnit!" jack shouted. "The girl!" the other man scanned the room, seeing what he was talking about. "Oh, her?" he asked. "You interested in her, mate? because if you are, you just became a registered sex offender... the girl's only like, six, man, what in the sky lord's name is wrong with you!?" Jack simply ground his teeth. His friend here was acting stupid intentionally just to piss him off, like he always did. He glared at him, beginning to crept closer, hands raised in a choking gesture. "Whoa, whoa, mate just a jest!" his friend said, putting up his hands defensively. "you need to lighten up a little, always so stuffy! anyways... the girl... yeah, I don't much care about her...but that table there and the things on their mantle... and the fusil, now, all of that would sell highly on the night market... and who knows what else we'll find inside. so...how do we get in?" Jack puased for a moment...thinking. "We could try the window..." "with them sitting just inside? haven't you heard of the Citezens army, mate? at least three of them will know who to use a weapon, and know how to use it well!" "Alright, alright, fine..." Jack said, scratching his chin... so the window was not an option... hell, Captain would know what to do, outta go ask him. "Let's go get the Captain's advice!" With that, Jack stealthily crept down the hill leading up to the Nix residence, his ship mate following as the two of them picked their way back to the other side of the village towards the docks. ((BTW, those windows are very well soudproofed, ergo, you heard nothing of their conversation outside.))

i'll try to update this tommorow. sorry bout the wait times lately... seems I'm a bit less urgent with my first born RP...

Absalom finally forced himself to calm after a minute or two. He looked over to find the book completely readable, the anceint dirosi tongue it had originally be Transcribed in now fully translated to the Common tongue. The thing felt warm in his hands as he retrieved it, like some type of small animal. The pages pulsated with a strange heat. "It's an old legend..." Absalom said, beginning the lengthy explanation. he didn't bother to look up at Gideon. "Long ago, back just after the Sky Slaying had occurred and the Theocracy was dissolved, The first Sultan of the Dirosi fell deathly ill without warning. His court mages and wise men all tried to find a way to cure his malady, but none of them had any success, no matter what they tried, he only seemed to grow sicker. Everyone thought for sure that he would pass within a months time more... but then the unexpected occured; An unnamed Alchemist and Apothecary traveled together to the city of Lithania. They demanded access to the Castle library and supply rooms, saying that if they had access, they would cure the king and make it so that he and his blood descendants would never suffer malady ever again. No one knew what to do; The king, wasting away in his death bed, had specifically forbid them their request, despite their offer to save him. he felt that they were lying, that they would pilfer the store houses and Records and leave his people poor and stupid. But his son was fascinated by their words, he thought that they spoke nothing but the truth, that they would save his Lord Father if only they were given the resources... and so he secretly sneaked them into the areas they requested, having stolen the key from his dying father. every night at midnight, he would leave his chambers to meet them and grant them access to what they wanted, and for 21 nights he did this... and on the 22nd night, Their work was complete. They presented the prince with a stone the color of the sun, and told him to filter water over it's face and make his father drink of it. The next morning, the prince ordered the chef to do this. By noon, the king was out of his deathbed and more alive than ever. The two knowledgeable men disappeared that evening, before the Prince could reward them or even tell them thank you... but they left something behind; a note... a note saying that no matter what, The Prince needed to hide the stone they had given him somewhere safe; somewhere where it would not be found by those who might abuse it's power. And so the prince hid it in the Palace garden... and then his lord father eventually died, and the prince became the Sultan..." Absalom stood up, thumbing through the book, looking for something. he stopped when he happened upon a certain portrait, and showed it to Gideon. On a double spread of the pages was an intricate painting of a lush garden with a marble fountain in the center, it's water glowing bright like the sun. "He had a massive garden built beneath the royal palace," he continued. "Miles and miles beneath it in a cavern protected by the strongest of magics... and lit by a sphere of light that could rival the sun. It is here that he then moved the Stone when it was completed, hidden beneath the fountain waters. The stone is the filter that the structure uses to purify the stuff; and it inturn turns the water...into Elixir." He slammed the book shut abruptly, dropping it to the stones by his side as he looked at Gideon. "If it could heal the first Sultan of the Dirosi..." he theorized. "Then there is no reason why it should not be able to heal the Sky Slayer as well... but there is one issue... according to the book, we need the company of a living descendant of the Sultan in order to enter the place... and with the entire Capital city having been destroyed by that hellish fire a few hours ago..." *** It took him a few tries and do overs, but it seems those sewing lessons from his sister paid off; Darius had finally succeeded in sealing Zoliver's head wound. The unconscious warrior had given no response whatsoever...but he he was still breathing...so, at least he had that going for him, right? **** Zoliver's mother paused over in the kitchen upon hearing her son's plans. "So you're still going to pursue that little fantasy?" She sighed. there was genuine disappointment in her voice. If there was anything she had taught this boy about, Futility was definitely it. she braced her hands on the oak counter beside the water basin, staring down at the swirled pattern of the wood and mentally preparing herself for the conversation she knew was coming... "So your still going to try, despite all the times that it's already failed... Do you not remember the last time? it took you two months before your hands were healed enough to come back to the forge. Zoliver, who would even by such a weapon? the same exact thing can be achieved with magic so simple that it would only take a few minutes to learn... so why? what point is there in pursuing your little theory?" She noticeably raised her voice a little towards the end. The irritation in her rose little by little... time and time again she had tried to tell the boy that his idea had no point because of Resonances... and time and time again, he had ignored her words and kept on... but not tonight, damnit. Tonight, by the laws of Renalim, he would become a legal adult and leave his parent's household in the morning. And she was not going to allow her only legally acknowledged child to go out into the world and get burned by a bad idea that he simply was too stubborn to give up. No...Tonight, she was going to MAKE him see the folly in his plan, how foolish it is. Tonight, she was going to MAKE choose something more sensible to specialize in... Around the table, both Alma and Aria instinctively sank down a little in their chairs, trying the make themselves less noticeable... they recognized that little tell in their mother's voice that signified when she was getting fed up with something. And when mother got irritated, it was not good for anyone...

Like they always say, the blind guy early bird gets the worm.

We already have a thread discussing this. I'm not even going to hotlink to it because It's pinned at the top of these very forums; you can't miss it. really... you can't.

Time zones can't do shit against the combined writing force of us all. now stop whinning, this thing has gotten a shit ton of activity ever since it started, and that's a lot more than a lot of RPs around here can say.

Patience, young tacos... These stories we all help to make are not written in a day.

Mareek ignored the little exchange going on with the other first year handing his ralts off to get help for it. His eyes were glued on whom he percieved to be the leader of this little group. "There's a healing station outside the Contest hall," he said to Claude, jabbing his finger over his shoulder. "But before you go, tell me one thing; did you see a guy with red hair and a fedora out there? He probably would've had a Growlithe with him."

"What are you..." Ethic trailed off as he saw what Kenny as talking about. "Jesus fucking christ! You have got to be kidding me right now!" He rushed over, examining Lucian's corpse. it was still warm. But he knew for a fact that the Keeper was gone the moment he spotted the bullet hole inbetween his eyes. But he didn't care so much that Lucian was dead, not as much as whether or not he still had the Arcana under his dominion... if he did, Ethic should be able to harves- "DAMNIT!" He Roared. The Magician had been Pilfered from Lucian. He could sense it's residual, but the actual power this man once had was gone now. And Ethic had a pretty certain hunch about who had done this. He looked at Kenny, getting up from the ground. "Kenny, man..." he began. "We have to find a guy with slicked back hair and whose wearing a business suit! and we gotta do it soon! Come on, I'll explain on the way!" With that he took off at a slow run down the corridor, still a little tired, though his anger seemed to be giving him a little strength right now; only to remember the unconscious guy on the ground. "Grab that Unconscious guy over there, Kenny!" he called back behind him. "Let's take him with us!" with that he resumed his run down the corridor, grinding his teeth. Maxwell...that son of a bitch... Stealing his Arcana, his rightful power. Oh hellllllls no... no, this was not going to stand. Ethic was going to find that suit wearing demon, and when he did... God, the things he was gonna do to him! Up until now, he had thought of the bastard as a potential ally among foes; But after he goes and does this; after he goes and pilfers what Ethic rightfully won in combat? No...no...NO!! THIS. MEANT. FUCKING. WAAAAAAAAAR!!! ((Kenny, he's headed towards the Area that Mr.Taylor and Phantom are... the one with the big door.))

Oh, hey look at that! Happy Birthday Jory!

Well... you have one hour... One. because after that, Mareek's going in guns ablazing.

Mareek glared at Henry for a few moments... just like Devin, he had a few valid points against going into the forest; most notably that Mareek didn't know a lick about the places lay out and would probably end up stuck in the middle of nowehere. And if he ended up lost out there and Devin had to come rescue him along with Slade... the consequences probably wouldn't be pleasent. But could Slade really handle what ever was going on out there? from his screw up in the dorm earlier and the way he had reacted when Mareek had tried to console him about it, he honestly doubted that... but he should give the guy a chance... maybe his first impression of Slade was wrong. Afterall, a person shouldn't be judged entirely based on just one mistake. "Fine..." Mareek sighed, crossing his arms. He discretely reach into his jacket and checked the time using his MP3. "But if no one comes out within an hour, I'm going in there...and you definitely won't be able to stop me." Erce began to par her claws against one another in agreement... that Vulpix looked a pipsqueak; she was sure she could take it out if needed, even with the type disadvantage.

don't go giving him Ideas...because honestly, if he comes back right now, Kenny's gonna have to cover both our asses... though, he'll be in for a nasty surprise from Ethic when next they meet...>:^) And... in a twist that couldn't have been anymore obvious, it seems as though Maxwell has stolen the power of the Arcana... EDIT: So... with the addition of both the Tarrots of Temperance, representing Moderation, and that of Justice, representing bringing things into/ back into balance, Ethic is no longer as crazy as he was becoming, due to Death's effects being somewhat nullified on his mind. But he's gonna find Maxwell... and it won't be pretty. He killed those guys with guerrilla tactics and a clever trick fair and square, and he wants the power that he fought and shed blood for, Damnit!! still have no idea what their effect is gonna be though...

Ethic got up from ground slowly, sore all over from the rather rough landing. But the toll from that burst had gone away a little bit... he'd still need some time to recover before he could get back into top fighting shape, but...oh...nevermind then... "Um...alright then," He said, looking at Edward as the other young man fell to the ground unconscious. "Thanks, randomly appearing guy." He turned his attention on the two Keepers. Longicus was getting up, snapping his limbs back into place and slowly forcing his body to regenerate. Monty reformed not far from him, albeit looking like complete hell. He seemed to have somehow found a last minute way to avoid Edward's final attack... but only the upper half of his body was intact. The hermit gazed up at him, defeat in his eyes.. "Damn it..." he snarled. "We would've won this damn fight and been done with you if He had just followed my damn plans!" he slammed his fist against the ground, grinding his teeth. "You win this day, Ethic! But don't don't think this is over! not by a long shot!" A rift was torn open behind him, the light of the Shinning Path spilling out. Ethic re-established the death link one more time, summoning his saber to life. "You're so damn wrong...dawg..." he smirked. Monty again went a little pale. "This is over... the first two slipped, but you and Longy here didn't bother to watch your step..." The blade began to extend in length. Ethic put all the concentration he could muster into it, sending it lashing out; running Monty right through the heart. The old fool was knocked over by the blow, laying dead on the stones. Ethic retracted the blade, turning quickly and doing the same thing to Longicus. He broke off the link again, letting himself collapse to the ground in a sitting postition... yeah, he'd defintely gone overboard with that burst... but the strategy had worked out, and that's really all that mattered in the end. the same voice from before popped up in his head as he sat there, along with visions of the Chariot and Hermit Arcana. Good lord... you handled this as if they were nothing... Am I correct in assuming that you accept Dominion over these as well? "Naaaah," Ethic said sarcastically. "I just killed them both so that some other guy could come along and take them..." There was silence in response to these words. Ethic began to get a little scared about that... "I accept, alright," He admitted. "That was just sarcasm...jesus, man..." I know it was sarcasm... that's not the issue. Someone just stole them both.... "Hold up, did I just fucking hear you correctly? Someone stole them?" Yes...that is how it seems. He was watching the entire battle and then swooped in just now... he was gone before I could even notice him... "who was he...?" Ethic sighed. after all this shit, he had to deal with this now? "when I find him..." I can not tell for certain... but he has...or rather, he had a strong connection to this place... that is all I was able to gleam about him in the few seconds I was aware... He had nothing to say in response to that. because he had a feeling of exactly who had done it... there was only one individual he knew that would know anything about the Arcana and fit that criteria... coupled with the guy's strange behavior back in the second circle... "Maxwell..." he finally snarled. "Scott was completely right about everything... that motherfucker just the Hermit an the Chariot right out from under my nose!" He got up, furious at himself for being sarcastic earlier and not just shouting out 'I accept' the moment the question was asked. God! of course it was fucking Maxwell... where was that damn Business card he had gotten...? Oh, that's right, in his pocket... Ethic scoffed as he read the text more carefully this time. Maxwell Cunningway, P.H.D. in Deceit and Treachery Lawyer extraordinaire Keeper of The Devil Arcana Head Clerk and manager of 'Devil's Bargains R us' Inc. can be contacted at: 660-000-0006 Between the hours of Midnight and 3:33AM "DAMN IT!" He shouted. "How could I have been so damn gullible!" It was pretty embarrassing now that he thought about it; The guy's frickin business card said that he held a doctorate in Deceit and Treachery... and here Ethic had gone, actually trusting that anything the guy did was to help him. That reason for assisting him that he had given Ethic when they first met had probably been Kuso too... he was probably in with the Head Keeper... sent to reclaim any members of the Tarot that Ethic might so happen to beat... after all of this, just to have it swiped away... "Look..." He sighed in frustration. "Is he still around here?" there was no response. "Hello?" he called. Again, nothing. "Oh... you're just gonna up and leave now, aren't you!? You fucking responsible for this Fiasco too, ya Know!" There was again no response. He could feel his anger rising, but not like before... it was different now; it wasn't all consuming. It was like something a normal person would feel in a similar situation; Being absolutely pissed off about getting robbed. "KENNY!!!" He roared. He honestly was too off his rocker right now to bother monitoring the tone of his voice. "We just got ourselves a huge Issue! get over here! NOW!" *** "What the hell was that?" Lucian asked. "That was me putting my plan into action..." Max grinned. A strange sight, given the fact that half of his face was gone from the self inflicted Gun shot wound. "Hopefully it'll work just like a charm..." "That's not what I fucking asked..." Lucian snarled. "Why exactly did you just put a bullet into your own head!? And what did you just do down there with Ethic?" Maxwell looked at him, smirking mischievously. he pulled out a glock with a silencer on the end. "Ooooh...That?" He asked, waving the gun in the air. "Well, that was me committing suicide and technically claiming complete dominion over my own Arcana." Lucian only raised an Eyebrow at this. "I see you don't comprehend..." Max continued. "Enlighten me..." "You remember when I said I used to know the Keeper who came before Ethic?" "Yes..." Lucian said. The next thing he knew, however, Maxwell had leveled the gun at his chest and fired. The mage fell to the ground...or the ceiling in this case, clutching the wound as blood began to pour out. He glared up at Maxwell with Contempt. "Yeaaaaah...." Max began. "That was more of a metaphor... I did know him very well... because I WAS him." Before the Magician could react, Maxwell popped another round into him, right between the eyes. A moment later a Tarot card emerged from the man's cooling body, which Maxwell promptly snatched up in one of his hands, crushing it into shards and taking full dominion over the Magician Arcana. He glanced down at Ethic, who had just noticed his little robbery. "Yes... That's right Ethic..." He said. "Get pissed... there are two Lords of Arcana now... and you're going to help me become the one and the only... keep up the good work, I just took these three to give you a little more motivation." Then he vanished from sight, merging into the shadows. Lucian's body fell from the ceiling and plummeted down to the floor below lag a sack of flour... right beside where Kenny was standing.

"Thats quite impressive..." Lucian said. "I know, isn't it?" Mawell replied. the two of them stood upside down on the ceiling not far from the fighting. Maxwell released his hold over Longicus, allowing the Keeper to have full control over his own body again. "As I said before; I'm far more powerful down here than any of you... My little jedi mind tricks could even effect you, Lucian, If I wanted, that is..." "Well...Either way." the magician said. "Should we...step in?" Maxwell glanced at him, smirking. "Why, we just did..." he said. "I just forced old Longicus to take an incredibly stupid Strategic decision; attacking Ethic's friend instead of Ethic himself. All we have to do is hope that he'll see an opportunity and kill Longicus just like he did for Joseph and Cromsly..." *** "shit..." Longicus cursed. he backed himself away from Kenny's attack, leaping back a few feet. "Why the hell did I just go after you instead of Ethic? doesn't matter..." He glanced over his shoulder... and His prey was nowhere to be found. But sight didn't matter; he could easily sense him around here somewhere... well, he could sense the three Tarots under his command, rather. "Looking for someone?" His voice called out. It seemed to be echoing from everywhere at once. Longicus found that he couldn't sense him anymore. "Wasn't it you who said 'fight me like a man?' he asked ironically. "Why don't you do the same now?" He got his answer in the form of a tiny bullet crafted of life force barreling through the air towards him, lodging itself deep into his right shoulder. "MotherFuc-" his cry of pain was interrupted by another one lodging deep into his left thigh. "So this is you fucking tactic!" he yelled in frustration. "Your just going to hide in the darkness and shoot!?" Up high above the heads of Kenny and Longicus, Ethic hung from the ceiling of the space. His fingers each had claws of his life force protruding from them, anchoring him to the stone surface like a gecko. He lowered his other hand, still glowing from the bolts he had just fired. He could feel the limit in his mind, silently urging to be mindful. but the shots had been small, he would be able to continue for a good while longer at this rate before he croaked. "Yeah, that's pretty much the gist, man!" he called. the acoustics of the architecture allowed for him to echo his voice all around the cavern; something which he was gonna exploit the hell out of by making his shots all take angled paths so that Longicus would never be able to home in on him by following trajectories to where they originated in the darkness above... but he had no idea what had happened to Monty. "But I got an even nastier surprise for ya, Longy!" he taunted. "Tell me, you like being blown to bits?" "No..." a familiar voice called from behind him. Ethic strained his neck, knowing who he'd find there. None other than the Hermit. "But we have surprises for you as well... are you familiar with the legend of Solomon?" As the old man asked the question, a pentacle of salmon colored light appeared around where Ethic hung from his arm. "Because if not, that's too bad... Because it would've surely helped you right now!" "I know it..." Ethic smirked. "And I also know that I'm going to kill you next, Monty ol buddy ol pal." With that he withdrew the spikes on his fingers, falling from the ceiling towards the ground below, positioning himself into a spread eagle stance. then he flipped himself around to face the old man as he plummeted, flinging one of his hands out in an arc and shooting and whip blade at him, cutting through the man's cloak before he could react and wrapping it around his left calf. "Wait...no..." he said, surprised by His prey's actions. the glowing shards he controlled trailed behind him as Ethic's velocity pulled him off the ceiling, sending him tumbling towards the ground many meters below. "You clever little wretch!" he roared... though, he seemed to genuinely be a little impressed by this new tactic. "Well... At least it's something more than those two imbeciles from earlier were trying..." "Quiet, Dawg!" Ethic shouted, recalling Scott's last minute words about Monty's bane. "This ain't a game, yo, I fight to win!" Monty's face went pale when he processed those words. "You...damn you..." he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "But how....?" "a certain someone told me and easy way to 86 you!" Ethic shouted in response. Good to see that Scott hadn't been lying, this strategy was working like a charm from what he could see. "His name was Scott, by the way!" With that, he reeled the whip blade back in like a tap measurer, recalling it to his reservoir and in turn drawing Monty closer and closer until he crashed right into Ethic in the air. the shock of the impact had stunned him, but Ethic was ready, having braced himself. Monty began to panic, knowing that his invulnerability to physical harm had been negated by the uneducated, atrociously vulgar slang that Ethic had begun spouting... God, how he hated when people did that, talking as if they hadn't been in an academic facility a day in their lives. Such Folly! "Release me, Immediately!" he demanded. He began struggling against his hold, but Ethic made sure to keep strong, using all his might to keep the Keeper from breaking free... but he was beginning to slip. "You can not outmatch me in physical strength, Ghalen!" "Your right!" Ethic shouted over the drone of the wind passing them by. "Luckily I don't have to!!" he spun his and Monty's bodies around in the air, almost at the ground now. he gripped the Hermit by the Lapels, looking into his eyes as he lined up his shot and prepared his legs. "GOOD BYE!" he shouted. he forced himself backwards in mid fall, pulling Monty up Vertically. A second later, he launched both his feet into the man's body, sending twin burst of life force as he did so. The poor recluse was sent flying through the air like a rag-doll, slamming directly into Longicus's chest and sending him flying too as Ethic landed roughly on the ground, breathing heavily. He had gone a little overboard... damn...now really wasn't the time to have to take a break to rest. He broke off the Death Link, hoping that doing so would help with recuperation like it had several times before. Meanwhile, both Keepers shouted various profanities at him as they each hurtled through the air...right towards Kenny and his aura bladed katana.

Mareek stayed where he was as the stranger addressed him, Erce by his side, ready to fight any opponent they might come across out in the forest. The machine had done it's job; she was good as new, not even a trace of any of her injuries from the fire remained. With her in perfect health... well, him fearing for her life in the case of a fight had been the only thing that had made him decide not to rush in. But with that factor out of the equation, Mareek was dead set on heading out to find his roommate. Even if Devin had said it was dangerous out in the woods, the boy figured he was a decent enough strategist to handle any wild encounters there might be to be had. "What do you mean 'Took me long enough?'" He demanded. "Just who are you?" He would have to make this little conversation quick. there was no point in wasting anymore time then he already had been forced by circumstance to.

Eh... I don;t really care about the bunnying since it was such a slight thing this time. I was actually thinking that Chimchain would be controlling the line or something, so whatevs... And you make the mistake of assuming that Mareek has any idea of whats going on with Slade and the others in the Forest. He simply doesn't want to sit back without at least trying to find the guy first, since then he would be able to at least say he gave a search an honest attempt. He didn't want Erce healed to fight the Rookie specifically, but when Devin told everyone that there are dangers beyond the gates, he assumed that he meant there are a crap ton of strong wild mons that would attack anyone they saw. Seeing as how shes his only partner right now, he has nothing else to rely upon, and if he had gotten her involved in a fight, he was afraid the wounds would end up killing her. So yeah... his will probably be akin to something like "What the hell are you going on about, man?" EDIT: actually...no, screw that; Erce being hurt was the only reason he was willing to obey Devin's orders to not get involved. That motivation has been removed, so he's heading to the forest now...

Oh, and Kenny, sorry bout the Auto-Hit from Longicus. but like has already been stated, up to now he hasn't even been fighting with a fraction of what he's really capable of. His full speed can nearly rival that of light itself... so kinda hard to avoid a hit when you barely have a few nano seconds to even realize it's coming at you. (He was using regular speed when he threw his spears at Ethic, hence why he was able to deflect them in time. and You got the info for him and his abilities as a Keeper in the PM i sent you and Eagleby.) Now...to figure out what Temperance and Justice do...

The Memory before them had just begun to play when Ethic got that familiar tugging feeling. Scott glanced over at him, noticing the white glow. "It's almost time for you to come back," he said. "Eh... we can just continue this next time." "Wait," Ethic interjected. "You said all of you have these right? so that means rodric does too, right?" The other man's face simply darkened. he pushed his glasses back up the ridge of his nose, a glare forming on the lenses, obscuring his hazel eyes. "Rodric... is not bound by the same laws as other keepers," he confessed. "Obtaining his Story Orb will be an entirely different scenario in itself..." something vibrated in his pocket. he pulled his phone out, seeing a reminder pop up on the screen. "Oh, and one more thing," he continued. "Two more, actually; Don't ever Trust Maxwell, accept his help if he offers it, but you watch your own back every step along the way. Second thing: That Keeper you met earlier, Monty? the one in charge of the Arcana of the Hermit? yeah, his bane is, of all the things it could be, it's slang terms... I'll leave you to figure out how to exploit that." "Why the hell are you helping me?" Ethic questioned, suspicion lacing his voice. "You were on their side, weren't you?" "Wrong, I was never on their side," Scott retorted. "All I ever wanted was the chance to save someone that I was too petty and selfish to save when I had the chance... I didn't want to be a Keeper; I got tricked into the job, and then forced to continue when I tried to get out of it. But that's something to discuss later..." Ethic opened his mouth to say something in response, but before he could voice anything else, he began rising upwards towards the darkness. And then his vision faded to nothing. *** "Then we shall now consider this an act of open war" Longicus snarled. He brought his spears back out, glaring at Kenny with more ferocity than Ethic could've ever mustered. "YOU WERE FUCKING WARNED BOY, REMEMBER THAT! YOU WERE GIVEN A CHANCE OUT!!!!" He turned to glance over his shoulder. Monty and the others had all rendered themselves visible, awaiting his command. "TEAR HIM APART! AND LEAVE ETHIC TO ME WHEN HE RETURNS!" "You just threw your entire life away, boy," one of them said to kenny. His entire body was hidden within a gray cloak swathed with black, making seeing any of his features impossible. the same thing went for the other keeper who spoke after him. "It seems it's time for the fool to prove himself. Your stupidity is beyond imagination for doing this." "Indeed it is..." Longicus snarled in agreement. He vanished a second later, becoming a mere blur as he closed in on Kenny's barrier and unleashed a hellish assualt, thrusting and slashing with his spears thousands of times in just a few seconds, inflicting such a beating that there was no way the shield could withstand it. The thing began to cave in, then by the three second mark, completely shattered around Kenny...and only kenny... Because Ethic's body was now gone. Longicus advanced on the lone young man, his weapons and body glowing with monochromatic light. "As I said, you have seen nothing of what I am capable of." He said. "But you will not receive a quick death from my hands. I'm going to drag it out with every method of torture I ever learned fighting for the Empire..." "Like hell you will!" Ethic shouted. a moment later two gruff voices cried out in pain as he cut through the hamstrings of the two cloaked Keepers, sending them both down to one knee, unable to stand. This little surprise attack had been easy, given the fact that he had realized that he could decide where he came back after he died, so long as it was around the same area. These two kneeling before him had been the easiest and most preoccupied targets, had never even suspected him of being right behind them. "Your fight is with me, Longicus, not Kenny!" His blade glowed brighter as he spoke. he moved over to one of the wounded men as he spoke, grabbing him by the hood, getting a good handful of his beneath it as well. he yanked back, putting his Life Saber to the individuals throat. "Back away from him and fight me like a man!" he shouted. "Or they both die!" "You wouldn't fucking dare..." The Roman snarled. "Do it, and I'll hunt down everyone you've ever cared about. I will take everything from you." "I won't say it again!!" Ethic roared. he wasn't phased in the least bit by Longicus's threat. because he knew that the soldier wasn't going to leave here alive, not if Ethic could help it. "Make your decision... you have to the count of five. One..." Longicus became a blur and moved in on Kenny, taking the blunt ends of his weapons and slamming them both into Kenny's Ribcage, with more than enough force to cause some internal damage. it was so fast that there had been no way for him to have predicted it and evaded... The second immediately following the savage blow, the Roman was a mere blur again, then he was right back where he stood before, hoisting his spears in preparation to impale Ethic. His eyes held a silent fury. "I will not negotiate with you, Ghalen." he said simply. "You have crossed the Rubicon as Ceaser did. You've courage, I'll give you that, but I have far more power at my command than you ever wi-" "FIVE!" Ethic shouted, skipping right over the other numbers leading up to it. He maneuvered himself inbetween the injured opponents, a second saber extending from his left palm. He swung both arms in harrowing arcs, slashing their throats, the blades so powerful that he nearly decapitated them on the spot. The two gurgled for a few seconds as wisp of steam issued forth from the wounds, followed by a frothing black liquid. They fell face first to the floor, clutching at their necks and trying to stop the bleeding. a moment later Longicus had lobed both his spears at the Black man, the two of them homing in like missiles on Ethic. he slashed through the air with his blades, increasing the intensity, putting every once of Life he had into them. They deflected the Spears just in the nick of time, sending them both of course and impaling the walls beside him instead of Ethic. Two Tarot cards suddenly flashed across his vision; Temperance and Justice, along with a familiar voice. So you've killed two more... that was unusually easy; you might have a real knack for this. Moving on to business; Do you, Ethic, Lord of the Arcana, hereby accept full dominion over the power of Temperance and Justice, which you have conquered from the grasp of you foemen? "I do!" Ethic called. The cards vanished from his vision in a flash of light. From his pocket, the physical cards of Temperance and Jutice flew out, then shot off towards the cavern ceiling. He felt something surge within his mind; two new links to call upon...though unlike for death, he had no idea what either of them did, even when he focused in on them. He redirected his attention to Kenny though, having seen Longicus pull that cheap shot a moment ago. It had looked and sounded like it had done a shit ton of damage... "Kenny!" He called. "You alright man?" Longicus was charging towards Kenny now, drawing his gladius and preparing to take out Kenny's jugular. he was moving noticeably slower than the last time... strange... one would think he would keep up the same pace of attack... or rather, not strange. there was a slight look of fear on his face, probably from watching the Fugitive take out two of his men so easily.. and it seems that fear put a damper on his physical movement.

Fucking troll...going around fucking with my friend's RP... why I outta... Eh, whatevs, the guy's gone now and hopefully he won't do it again. anyways... I think I'm going to escalate this to a battle royal... me and kenny, against twelve of those superpowered bastrds... well...no, guess I'll just keep it to four for now. being the champion of the council, Longicus has a certain pride to uphold...wouldn't look good if he went calling everyone to fight against just one guy who isn't even the one they want gone/secretly fear.