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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 27, 2015 18:38:32 GMT -5
Well, that answered that question. Then again, necrotrophs weren't exactly known for possessing other demons, so maybe that was a given. Still, it looked like he had at least connected with Toby's brain, even if he couldn't take over.
Did that mean he could...?
Wait...
Patrick was running up to Jack.
Jack still needed a host.
No. No, not him. Please not him! ANYONE BUT HIM!
"Patrick...?! PATRICK, NO!!"
She quickly flew after him, tackling him and smothering his face in her jacket before Jack had a chance to go for Patrick's mouth. This was going too far! The amount of power Jack would've received from the mage was one thing, but if that douchebag had the nerve to possess her new boyfriend...!
Oh...
Oh crap.
Oh crap, that's right. Jack was a douchebag.
Oh crap, what've I done?!
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Oct 29, 2015 12:44:20 GMT -5
"Kuah!" Bruno gagged slightly as he and his Stand were entangled, unable to move a muscle. He cursed in his head, struggling as best he could... to no avail. He couldn't even move his hands enough to unzip himself to try and escape.
"D-Damn it.." He grit his teeth, glaring at Sanguine before glancing at Madison. "G...Get away..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Oct 29, 2015 13:12:22 GMT -5
Patrick's initial reaction was fear. For a split second, he saw the little black blob darting his way, shooting for his face. Then, so quickly he hadn't seen it coming, he found himself forced into Ace's arms and tumbling away from the parasite.
His second reaction was a distracting overflow of testosterone. For a moment, the world around him vanished. All he was aware of was the fact that his face was buried in Ace's jacket, pressed tightly against the plush contents of her shirt.
Cut him some slack. He was a hormonal teen.
When they landed in an awkward pile, shadows immediately threatened to consume them. Everywhere they looked, the Præt'nos relentlessly entangled everything in their way like a malevolent forest. Melancholic's forces lashed out at Evan. Sanguine had Bruno and Madison trapped. Phlegmatic's shadows surrounded Patrick and Ace, and much to their horror, Choleric had made an extremely rapid recovery, with his army joining they fray once again. Darkness everywhere... It seemed there was no end to it...
And that wasn't even the worst part.
With Ace tightly clinging to the best possible host, any other humanoid beings too far away for such a small creature, and the demons resistant to his possession, Jack was left with only one option. It was a decent option to say the least, albeit one he had already experienced, but it was the best one he had. And it was right there in front of him.
While everyone around him was distracted, Jack scurried up behind Evan, bounced up and plopped onto the top of his head.
Evan flinched and swatted the blob, but it simply used the momentum to swing down Evan's face and snake into his open, snarling mouth. The feral boy yelped and gagged, trying desperately to pry it out before the horrid process could begin. AGAIN.
But no such luck. Against his will, the foul slime slid down his throat, leaving him only able to hack, writhe, and wait...
No... Sickness... Don't want...! Can't...! Different! Bad! No! NO! NOT AGAIN!!!
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 29, 2015 22:06:45 GMT -5
"NO!!!" Ace swung her staffs and shot lightning at the shadows for as long as she could without losing her mind again. Then, watching as the blob worked its way into Evan's mouth, she grabbed Patrick, turning them both intangible and dashed over to Evan. She gave Patrick a silent signal to watch her back while she grabbed Evan and, likewise, turned him intangible in the hopes of flushing Jack out.
"JACK, YOU ROTTEN LITTLE SLIMEBALL, GET OUT OF HIM!!"
But deep down, she knew there was no use. Once Jack was seated in a host, there was no getting him out until he allowed it.
Between this, the Præt'nos, and her precarious insanity, Ace had to wonder how bad this would all turn out. Just pretty bad or catastrophically bad?
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Oct 30, 2015 22:00:23 GMT -5
Evan went limp as Ace shook him, succumbing to the numbing lull of Jack's enchantment. Patrick fended off the shadows with a perpetually anxious look, feeling utterly mortified that this was happening to Evan again.
And soon enough, Evan's hand grabbed ahold of Ace's wrist. His expression was calm, eyes closed as though deep in thought. He took a deep breath, smiling as he exhaled.
Not... Not again...
"And that one regret is you."
Patrick blinked, then stared at his possessed friend in confusion. Had Jack been holding that last line in this whole time?
The young man opened his eyes, no longer bearing Evan's warm brown, but Jack's glowing silver.
"Ace... So good to see you again, dear."
Jack then pulled away and flew up over the crowd of shadows, demons, and those who combated them. With a snap of his fingers, conjuration energy swirled around Jack's host, instantly replacing his casual attire with Jack's suit and trilby. His cane popped into existence lastly; he twirled it in his hand as he studied the onlookers.
"Now, let's see what we have here!"
"And just what is going on now...?" Melancholic mused as he studied the Keymaster. "Has Mr. Anders been stricken with something this annual fog had no part in?"
"What does it matter?!" Choleric insisted. "I don't care if he choses to be feral or fancy! We're just gonna kill 'im anyway!"
Hearing this quip from the hot-headed general, Jack had to laugh out loud, his maddening cackle echoing all across the cemetery. He then looked down at the demons with an expression somewhere between humor and pity.
"Hahaha! Oh, sure, kill my host if you so chose.
I have no part in your quarrel. I have nothing to lose.
But just know this, shadow-based one...
I won't be leaving 'til I've had my fun."
A dangerous sneer snaked across Evan's face at Jack's command.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 30, 2015 23:02:51 GMT -5
Okay, so catastrophically bad it is.
...
No.
NO.
NO.
JUST.
NO!!
One obnoxious demon was enough for Ace, and quite frankly, she was fed up with all of them. Herself included. She wanted to be DONE with these abominations. She refused to put up with them any longer!
With a venomous screech that pierced the eardrums of everyone in the vicinity, Ace raised her head and arms and unleashed upon the Præt'nos a blinding onslaught of lightning, illuminating the graveyard in a bright white haze.
No more demons.
No more.
No...
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Oct 31, 2015 16:14:50 GMT -5
I may not be very smart, but I can tell this isn't really good...
Madison was trapped in those shadows, barely able to move. The only action she could really do was play her violin, which she continued to do, sending increasingly eldritch bugs into the fray.
That being said, bugs were just about as effective on shadows as you may think. In other words, not at all.
"Oh, fiddle me! This is the second-worst thing that's ever happened to me! I DEMAND PROPER RESPECT! ... Don't ask about the first worst."
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Nov 1, 2015 10:55:31 GMT -5
Bruno just glanced at Madison at her comment. "I shudder to think... urgh..." He struggled more against the shadows, attempting to get even one hand free enough. If he could do that much...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 12:02:36 GMT -5
Ace's nigh-insane act of mass electrocution did its part to cause extensive damage to the Præt'nos, less from the lightning itself and more so from the intense light it gave off. A vast number of the shadows dissipated, but interestingly enough, they seemed to absorb the electricity itself, leaving only the light and no ill effects towards Patrick, Madison and Bruno.
Well, s***. Coulda done that sooner, Ray quipped.
Bearing in mind that Ace is not exactly thinking that clearly, Van sighed. Even now.
Patrick didn't respond to his inner voices, instead opting to charge up his abjuration magic and prepare to once more expel the demon from his best friend.
Jack simply shielded his face with his arm and chuckled. If his photosensitive eyes were in any pain from the white light, he did a fine job of hiding it. His mischievous remark, despite being at an average speaking volume, was still surprisingly audible over the cracks of Ace's lightning.
"Feisty as always... if somewhat deranged.
It's good to know some things never change."
An aura of fire ignited harmlessly around Jack...
"Thank you, Ace, for showing me mercy.
Now allow me to return the courtesy!"
...and with a thrust, the fire expanded outward, quickly engulfing the cemetery in a red and orange haze of heat, light, and the underlying darkness of destruction.
Jack summoned his welder goggles and slipped them over his eyes, grinning like a madman. All this darkness. All this destruction. This was what he LIVED for...
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 12:42:10 GMT -5
"Rgh..." Ace managed to calm herself down, momentarily distracting herself from her vengeful thoughts by concerning herself with Patrick and her new companions' well being. She grabbed her boyfriend and flew well above the flames' reach. "Y-You alright? I hope I didn't..."
She looked down at Madison and Bruno; the shadows might not have had them ensnared anymore, but the fire was quickly proving to be almost as big of a threat, not to mention...
Wait, who was that guy? What was that weird power he was utilizing??
Darn it, Ace, focus on the real problem! The problem that YOU CAUSED!
Ace scowled at Jack with nothing more on her mind than to give him the thrashing he had coming to him for years. "Jack, you insufferable prick... I see you haven't changed either."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 1, 2015 17:02:06 GMT -5
Think Madison, think!
She started prancing through a field of wildflowers and dead bodies, twirling and dancing all the while...
Madison Spaghettini Papadopolous, aren't you supposed to be thinking??
"I'm a very non-linear thinker Mister Mummy, didn't I say that before, now go back into your tomb or something!"
She then realized she had just said her little train of thoughts out loud. "Oops. Must've said that out loud." She continued with a nervous chuckle, as if she was more concerned about the embarrassment than the wall of flames.
"Hey there- HEADLESS ONE- mister, can't you just put one of them zipper thingys on the grounds so maybe we can all- I REFUSE TO DIE AGAIN- escape before that fire burns us all to the ground?"
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Post by ShadesofGrey18 on Nov 1, 2015 23:05:08 GMT -5
As soon as the shadows had dissipated sufficiently, and Bruno saw the fire, he nodded at Madison. "Already ahead of you. Come with me if you want to live!"
Grabbing the girl with his free arm, Bruno directed his Stand to punch the ground, opening a zipper in the ground. He yelled at Ace and the others. "That goes for you all too!" Bruno was a few things, but an idiot was not one of them. He knew that he was rather outmatched.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 23:27:58 GMT -5
Patrick gulped as he looked over at Bruno and Madison. He would've gladly gotten the heck out of there right that moment... but he couldn't. He had to help Evan and Ace. Without a word to the duo, motioned for them to hurry up and get out of there if they so wished.
This was his problem.
"Rgh..." Soon enough, the only Præt'nos who remained were the four generals. They were not pleased by this interruption, especially not Choleric. And fortunately for him, Jack had supplied him with a vast amout of his personal element. "Whoever this brat is... whatever this brat is... it controls the Keymaster. I see no reason not to kill two birds with one inferno."
Jack paid no attention to the shadowy figures below. His focus was solely on Ace.
"I must say, for all the things that have stayed the same,
Your skill, your attitude, and even your nickname,
You seem... quite different, my dear Ace.
Heh... I mean, for one thing, just look at your face!"
He lowered himself slightly and hovered in circles around Ace, taking note of her altered, demonic appearance.
"Let's see here... shed skin... featherless wings...
Soulless black eyes... and horns, of all things!
And given you so willingly came to my aid..."
Jack halted right in front of her, smiling that questionable matter-eating grin of his.
"Have you by chance fallen even further, Ace Spade?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 23:41:22 GMT -5
Ace snarled and smacked Jack away. "Shove it, Jack! I'm above that, remember?! When I told you that you were a greedy, obnoxious, repulsive little monster, I MEANT IT!"
She stepped back a bit, trying not to look shy and humiliated by her appearance. "And if you think I've reverted back to my old ways... to your ways, you're dead wrong. This is just a temporary thing brought on by the island curse. I'm no demon, and if I was in my normal state of mind and... y'know, not teetering on the edge of insanity, I wouldn't dream of lifting a finger to help you ever again!"
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Nov 1, 2015 23:48:47 GMT -5
"C'mon y'all!" Madison chirped as she hopped into the hole created by the Stand. Poking her head out slightly, she raised a hand to the side of her mouth and yelled,
"Hurry! YOU MUST SERVE ME!! I dunno about y'all, but was don't have a lotta- FIRE IS MY ONE WEAKNESS- time! Hurry! Into the hole that- HEADLESS ONE MAKE HASTE- um..."
She turned to Bruno. "I'm sorry, but I never got your name. NOT THAT I CARE. Um, what's your name mister?"
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