|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 16, 2009 22:15:26 GMT -5
There it was again. That same reoccurring dream. The one with his greatest enemy... his greatest friends... and his greatest challenge. The child known as Jimmy had had this same dream for the past few nights. It had actually started before he came to the island. It foretold of future challenges... future complications... an angel, with glowing, blond hair... and child in a dark green jacket, saving his life.
Already two parts of it had come true. The 'new complications' pretty much detailed his stay on the island. The child in the green jacket, saving his life. That had been Ed, saving him from Hi'ar with his beam of ZPE. How many more parts would come true? Half of it? All of it?
It always ended the same, as well. He failed. No matter how you looked at it, he failed. He'd allowed himself to be captured by Hi'ar, allowed the beast to drain his magic... it always ended the same. With the death of the child.
Back in Jimmy's home dimension, an entire country had been wiped out, in an attempt to reach the boy. How many more lives would be lost? Ten? Twenty? Or would there merely be one... Hi'ar?
That was another question that arose in his mind. If given the chance... would he be able to do it? Would HE end the life of another? Or maybe he could attempt to talk him down... perhaps try to remove his demon half, turn his human half to the side of good, seal his demon half... but no. The more he thought about it, the less probable it became. In the end, one of two things would happen. Hi'ar would die... or the entire universe would.
He couldn't take it any more, couldn't take the intense calm since the beast's last attack. How long would it be until he struck again? Would he merely attack someone else, to prepare to take the boy's magic? To prepare for all his protection? Or would he go witht he direct approach again?
One thing was certain, however. He still had a hold on the boy. Every night he had this dream... this... nightmare, he found himself there again. In the Cemetery. The one he'd almost lost his life in. The one he'd almost doomed the universe in.
He was sleep walking... or was he being drawn here? Had the man let off so much magic, so much... evil, that the boy's currently latent sensing abilities were trying to warn him of something? Of a coming storm? Or was his fear taking hold this time? Was he subconsciously trying to surrender?
No. No matter who he was in the past, no matter how bloody terrified he was of the situation, he would fight. But at this point, he wasn't certain he would win.
A cold breeze blew through, shaking him awake. He merely had to look around once to realize where he was. To realize that it had happened again. He wanted to cry, wanted to scream for help, but he didn't. He was only able to crouch before it. The tombstone. The place he always ended his sleeping journey.
He felt alone. Even with Ed and the others, even though they let him room with them until he got his own place to stay, he felt alone. He felt cold and alone. Because even though Ed was there, THE ENTIRE ISLAND was there... they weren't who he knew. Who he remembered. He couldn't... couldn't wrap his head around it all. They were so familiar and yet so... different. And inside, he knew he was alone. Against Hi'ar, he felt he would be alone. Because why risk your lives for him, right? The meek, cowardly child. Why?
He could only stare in silence, eyes half-lidded. And as he did, a feeling of fear washed over him. And he was there again. He was in that dream again... but he wasn't asleep... there was a term for it, he believed. Was all this, all of the fear, Hi'ar, the alone feeling... was it all...
Night terrors?
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 2:02:44 GMT -5
BAZAROTH
A humanoid with skin the color of dark volcanic ash shot into the air, his draconic wings spreading out impressively as he turned towards the six that pursued him. He was bleeding from various places, his red blood a little darker than what would be natural for a human. Which pretty much fit. He didn't look anything like a human.
He did, however, look like he was in a lot of pain. He has enough cuts on him that it looked like someone had come at him with a dull chees grater. One of the worst was on his left arm, and was bleeding rather profusely. He glared at his pursuers before banking right and trying to get away. He'd used five of his attacks so far, but they weren't as useful as they could be on other demons. Especially the full blooded variety. His expression turned to a sour grin. At least only the leader of this group was of that sort.
He sensed the energy behind him and let himself drop, not even attempting to stay in the air. Physics worked fairly similar on Bazaroth as Earth, and gravity allowed him to dodge the black sickle shapes that shot over his head. He was outnumbered and quite frankly outclassed. He had killed over one hundred of the demons at the compound, but these six had hung on. His "teacher" and five of his classmates, the irony was terrible.
He flew backwards from one of the classmates that appeared in front of him. She'd always focused more on speed than the others. But it meant he backed right into a full powered blast from the teacher. His wings gave out and he felt himself plummeting to the ground.
He managed to recover, but it only meant the impact into the icy water of the Dark Side of the world. He felt his breath leaving as his system went into almost instant shock. If he died, they'd be able to capture him when he was reborn. He tried to kick his legs but they wouldn't respond.
Damn it, if they get me back there I'll never get another chance! I just wanted a little f**king freedom! Get the hell out of this world and live the way my mother would have wanted! I wish...
The half-demon known as Yamiyo Hankou felt a surge of energy below him. He managed to get an arm to respond so that he could see what he was sinking towards. His eyes widened. A gate. Under the water of the Dark Side of Bazaroth. One that, as far as he knew, was uncharted.
What made it even more odd was the way it was formed. The intricately carved double doors, dark occult symbols etched into them as it slowly opened. This was the type of gate only Keys should be able to access, and it has responded to him?
He didn't have much time to think more as the water sucked through the open gate like a vacuum, quickly pulling the half-demon through...
DIMENSION ISLAND
A set of giant doors formed of energy that vageuly resembled the void around the island appeared directly behind Jimmy. They burst open from the massive pressure behind, and deposited a human boy of about seventeen years on the ground along with a huge rush of arctic water. The water continued to flow at massive speeds out of the gate, and washed over Jimmy and the grave he was standing in. The author feels the need to stress the water was the temperature of what you might find in Antarctica as it pooled around, threatening to flood the area.
The Void gates, which shared the design of the ones that had opened in Bazaroth, struggled to shut. Every second dumped more water. Finally, the whole thing just blinked out of existance in a burst of void energy, thankfull ending the deluge of icy water.
And on a closer look, the teenager that had been deposited wasn't quite human. He was tall and would have looked underweight if it weren't for the slight muscles on his exposed chest. His skin was ashen and his ears tapered to a sharp point, but weren't much taller than human ears. As his eyes opened, they revealed black orbs set in a sea of dark grey.
The new arrival had on a pair of extremely tattered jeans, nothing more. He had more than a few cuts and scrapes, and one on his left arm that seemed rather severe. He gasped for air, unaware of exactly where he was at... but his lips had curled into a slightly frightening grin. He was a Key. That made him less expendable...
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 2:16:55 GMT -5
The current situation didn't serve to ease his nerves. At all. First, he'd heard a sound like rushing water... a brief millisecond before he actually felt the arctic water crash into him. He'd have noticed, if he weren't too busy being FROZEN, that the only grave to seem unaffected by the rush of the icy liquid was the one he was stuck staring at. But, you know. He had other things to worry about. Like Pneumonia. BOY HOWDY, PNEUMONIA.
And, you know. The creepy guy that had been deposited in front of him. When he could finally bring his head off the ground(it had been practically GLUED there by the rushing of water), he noticed him. He didn't look completely human... didn't FEEL completely human... it was those eyes. It sent shivers up Jimmy's spine(or maybe that was the water?), made his blood run cold, his heart stop. For a moment, he was paralyzed with terror. And then he finally got the urge to speak up.
"...do you have a hankie?"
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 2:23:42 GMT -5
Yami jerked his head up, immediately regretting the action and letting his head fall back down onto the muddy ground. It made a squishing noise and Yami would have frowned about getting mud in his hair if he didn't feel so exilerated at the moment. He drew in a deep breath and threw his weight upwards, getting into a sitting position.
The pre-teen looked half frozen to death, which was fairly understandable as Yami scanned the area with his eyes. Oh crap. His eyes. He looked towards the kid again. Well, he'd seen them, no use in hiding now. Besides, despite his apparent age the kid had a fair amount of energy coming off him.
"If I did it'd be soggy," he replied.
Fairly normal voice. Maybe a little mature sounding for an older teenager, but nothing too unusual. It didn't even sound all that dark, although there were traces of ego in it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 2:29:27 GMT -5
There was any number of thoughts running through Jim-Jim's head right now. So, dark energy, fairly nonchalant, freaky eyes, only wearing jeans. This guy was either cosplaying the Incredible Hulk, or there was something weird about him. Jimmy chose to beat around the bush instead of outright saying 'HOLYCRAPAREYOUADEMON?'
"Uh... nice contacts? And... uh... cologne preventing an ambient aura? Did you recently... leap over a barb-wire fence?" Right. He didn't have a response to the thing about the hankie. He could, however, apparently add 'ego' to the list of warning bells going off in his mind.
His mind was saying 'DURR, JIMMY RUN, DURR', while his legs were saying 'CAN'T. MOVE.' It was a moral dilemma, coming from his body parts.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 2:34:28 GMT -5
Yami blinked a few times and than laughed, "Wow, I have to say I'm impressed you aren't running off."
He put his right hand on the ground and tried to push himself to his feet. It didn't help that it sunk in the wet ground. Although the main problem was the pain. The fact that he was moving at all was probably a testament to that godawful training he'd been forced to take the last century or so. He sighed and finally managed to get into a wobbly standing position. He made sure he was stable before turning to Jimmy and offering his hand.
"You used to demons or something?" Yami said, having no idea the can of worms that question would be opening for the poor child. The fact that the child's magic was strong enough to pick up on his aura meant it wasn't worth it to hide.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 2:38:02 GMT -5
Thoughts ran through his mind like Kazuma Kuwabara running from Ruby Akai. Very. Very. Fast. He didn't know what to make of the situation. His legs were shaking ever so slightly, his body wanted to mvoe, wanted to run, and his mind was agreeing with it...
...until he came across another thought. A beacon of hope. The one thing that could keep him sane, at this point. He didn't know how very, very, wrong he was.
"OH, I GET IT! SO YOU'RE A DEMON SLAYER! GOODIE GOODIE GUMDROPS!" Jimmy took the offered hand, which was, in retrospect, prooobably a mistake.
THE MISTAKE TO END ALL MISTAKES, HCHA.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 2:43:55 GMT -5
Yami paused, but helped the boy to his feet before continuing. Demon slayer, huh? He could see in the boys eyes that he was terrified, and one of his own special powers made it clear the boy was trying to salvage his own mind. He shook his head.
"No, but I'm not exactly a fan either. Look, I'm not going to hurt you. But I'm half-demon. Father's side. Name's Yamiyo."
He had let go of Jimmy's hand by this point. If the boy was going to run, he'd let him. As it was, his eyes had been drawn to the grave the boy was standing in front of. Not a drop of water, that wasn't normal. And he realized he sensed an energy from it. It was quite the mixture, but it seemed to carry quite a bit of Asrain feel to it. Angelic for those of you who don't know his campaign setting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 2:53:25 GMT -5
Jimmy's fond of being paralyzed with fear. Well, not fond of it, but at the very least it happens. A lot. This was one of those times. But he, himself, felt some need to stay here. On a different level. A higher level. As if the grave in question was... calling to him. There was even a voice, deep in his subconscious, willing him to dig. He would not, however, as he was BLOODY TERRIFIED.
And then there was a repetitive tapping sound. Tap... tap... tap... pause... and then what came next nearly killed poor Jimmy.
"Ungh... what? This isn't Sally's house..." A voice grunted out, seemingly struggling with something.
"This better not be a prank, you guys! I could beat the crap out of you if I felt like it!" The voice came again.
"...Murphy's Law hates me." Jimmy managed to sigh out, at this point hyperventilating.
Poor, poor, 12 year old.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 2:58:08 GMT -5
Yami glanced at Jimmy, who wose pupil's had dialated and was breathing rather hard. He glanced down at the grave. Those weren't the words of some pissed demon or even annoyed angel. And there didn't seem to be any malice inherent in the voices motives. He took another look at Jimmy and walked past him, crouching down.
"Hey, do you know how you got down there?" Yami spoke loudly in an attempt for the voice to hear him. It sounded a bit like a kid, but normal kids didn't exactly get sealed into graves. Jimmy seemed to be a glorified statue at the moment, so Yami had taken things into his own hands.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 3:06:59 GMT -5
"Man, I dunno. All I know is that I've got a fudgeload of crap to do, and am missing THE PARTY OF THE CENTURY. Bah." The voice responded, continuing it's tapping. And then two more voices seemed to decide to join in... the voices of what seemed to be elderly gentlemen.
"There is but one way to get him out..." One of the voices began in its eerie voice.
"W-who's there?" Jimmy managed to get out.
"Wait, you can hear them, too? So I'm not crazy? YOU HEAR THAT MOM AND DAD? I'M NOT CRAZY, I'M NOT-oh, right. Man this is bittersweet." The first voice came.
"...is to speak the ancient incantation written on the stone tablet, underneath the moss. The one it is addressed to is the one who may read it."
"You sure? He seems to be freaking pretty badly..."
"No. We aren't half-assing this one."
"Well, if we DON'T, he's not gettin out of there."
"Fine. Fine. What do y ou suggest? That we use the other one?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I suppose he CAN hear us... maybe..."
"He could just be crazy."
"SSSH, DON'T LET HIM HEAR YOU SAY THAT."
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 3:11:04 GMT -5
Yamiyo looked around. Whatever powers had this thing sealed seemed to be trying to get the person out. He glanced back at Jimmy, who was trying not to pass out from air loss.
"Why was the source of the voice sealed?" Yamiyo asked. He was directly addressing the spirits. There tended to be reasons things were sealed. He somehow doubted the magic of the seal would give him a direct response, but he had to try. He couldn't get motives from them though, they weren't "real" enough in that sense.
Yeah, the half-demon and his knowledge of the occult was handling this a bit better than poor Jimmy.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 19:27:19 GMT -5
"See? Told you he was crazy. Actually thinks we're going to tell him."
"But... aren't we?"
"Well, yeah, but we're crazy."
"...anyway. He was sealed because he wasn't ready. Ready for who he was, what he could do, why he could do it. He was sealed, in part, because we didn't believe in the child currently cowering behind you." The voice's statement did nothing to deter the child's shaking, however. If anything, he completely ignored it.
"All that is needed to be known is that a challenge will soon arise. And the child will not be enough. He needs the Inhabitant of the Coffin. The Master of the Grave. He needs this being."
"Gonna tell him about the part where if he hangs out with someone explicitly evil, he'll-"
"NO, THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT, ANYWAY, INCANTATION, RIGHT."
For all those curious, it read 'Party at my place'. Well, no. But that's how the sounds... sounded. It was actually 'Par ti a tmy pla ce".
So yeah. Cowering Jimmy, questionable voices, half-demon, and a kid trying to get out of a box. A normal night on the island, really.
|
|
|
|
Post by mugenginga on Sept 17, 2009 19:35:08 GMT -5
"So you're telling me if I let him out, he'll be forced to do what you want?" Yami's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he got to his feet, "He'll be a slave to this 'destiny', correct?"
He looked at Jimmy. It seems the boy was had far more to him then met the eye. He closed his eyes, and his aura flared a little. The more sensitive would realize he was actually fighting a major flare up. He succeeded, and it dropped down. He spoke more loudly, knowing his voice was further from the grave.
"I could set you free, but don't feel tied to what these spirits want you to do. It's your choice, your will. If you can't bring yourself to believe this, I won't. You can rot for all I care, if you think doing what they want is your only choice."
His hints of dark aura had gotten darker. It wasn't stronger, per se, but more like his paternal side was dominant at the moment. He refused to give the sealed entity freedom if it didn't know how to use it. It was all too familiar. Being born for one purpose and being expected to follow it without question... and he'd know if the sealed voice wanted out only to want out. That motive would be very clear, and Yami was focusing on that skill of his...
|
|
|
|
Post by Jilak on Sept 17, 2009 19:49:50 GMT -5
"Listen, dude, I usually tend to ignore the voices. I just wanna get out of here, go home, and get on with my life... after a wicked awesome party. I don't believe in any of this 'destiny' rubbish. Who do you think I am, James Bond?" He was, of course, referencing as to how TEH BOND seems destined to win, get the girl, and drive off into the night.
"You could bring about the end of the universe if you DON'T..."
"WHICH IS WHY I NEED TO GET TO MY WICKED AWESOME PARTY. IF THE UNIVERSE ENDS, I'M GOING TO HAVE A SODA IN MY HAND AND A LAMPSHADE ON MY HEAD."
"You know, I kind of agree-"
"Shut up."
--
Well now poor Jimmy was entering full-on freakout mode. His hints of dark aura had gotten darker, more... glaringly obvious to the boy. But he seemed, at this moment, to care merely about freedom. He felt he had no right to attack. He also felt that if he missed he'd surely die. But that was another matter entirely.
|
|
