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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 20:59:49 GMT -5
"Ack... Ow! Leggo, ya sonova- YIPE!"
Ace wasn't entirely in control of her actions as Jack forced her to dance, and before she knew it, she was spinning like crazy while Jack pranced back over to Patrick. Once she had her bearings back in order, Ace dashed over to them, grabbed Jack by the upper arms and pried him off of Patrick.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 21:06:51 GMT -5
Unfazed, Jack spread his arms out and, with Ace still gripping him tightly, resumed their twirling dance.
"I led the revolution in my bedroom and I set all the zippers free"
He managed to slip out of Ace's hands long enough to gracefully transition between dancing with her and Patrick.
"We said no more war, no more clothes, give me peace"
Then Jack reached out and grabbed them both, pulling them into a tight embrace. It was hard to tell who exactly his next line was directed towards, but both seemed equally plausible...
"Oh, kiss me"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 21:11:26 GMT -5
Ace stared nervously at Patrick, and as soon as Jack whispered those words, she immediately yanked herself free and recoiled in disgust and fury. "HEY!"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 21:23:28 GMT -5
Likewise, Patrick pulled away, terrified by the mere prospect of making out with Jack. Or Evan. Again. "HEY!"
Once the two had moved away, Jack elevated himself off the floor and commanded the swirling shadows to accelerate, engulfing the lovers in a blinding torrent of blackness.
"We are a hurricane Drop our anchors in a storm"
He spun in sync with the shadows, not caring whether or not he struck the mage and the fallen. Which he did. Many times. One dark tendril in particular mowed Patrick down pretty roughly, to which he responded with another cry of "HEY!"
"They will never be the same A fire in a flask to keep us warm"
Fire ignited in the eye of the storm. Jack lowered himself and circled malevolently around Patrick and Ace, as if tempting them to move closer to either the shadows or the flames.
"Cause they know I know That they don't look like me Oh, they know I know That they don't sound like me"
Okay, enough of this. Defiantly, Patrick unleashed upon the darkness a great aura of white, holy light. Jack cringed, losing control over both of his elements, but managed to keep his composure, still smirking at the duo from above.
"You'll dance to anything! You'll dance to anything!"
He clapped his hands twice, then he flew through the ceiling and vanished.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 21:38:22 GMT -5
Ace stood there stupefied, staring at the ceiling with her mouth agape. Eventually she gripped her fists and let out a furious roar. "JAAAAAAACK!!! AUGH!"
She kicked up some dirt and rubble, shadow-boxing wildly like a lunatic. "He always does this!! Gah, it's just the same stupid routine! He has to put on this STUPID show so everyone is too mesmerized by his STUPID tricks and his STUPID theatrics to do anything about him and just stand around like a bunch of STUPID chumps and wait to see what STUPID thing he'll do next because he's so STUPID and crazy and impulsive and STUPID and selfish and destructive and... STUPID... STUPID... STUPID!!!"
After screaming that last word, Ace leaned against a wall and panted heavily. Surprisingly, after unleashing her pent-up rage, she was able to bring herself back down and use that relieved tension to relax. Her breaths gradually grew calmer, as did Ace herself. Her tense stance slumped into a weak slouch. "Patrick, I'm so sorry I unleashed that monster on you..."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 21:43:59 GMT -5
"ACE! Ace... A-Ace..." Patrick cautiously approached her, being careful to avoid her angry swings. To his pleasant shock, though, she managed to calm herself back down. After those previous incidents, it was nice to see her exercise some self-control.
"Hey..." He placed a hand on Ace's shoulder. "Bygones, okay? Don't beat yourself up about it. Let's just focus on getting him outta Evan. Alright?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 21:53:49 GMT -5
Ace took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess first things first." She then straightened up and marched towards the staircase boldly but calmly. "Let's go."
Her black eyes blazed with determination. And... they seemed to be receding... the whites returning.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 22:12:42 GMT -5
"Right on..." Patrick murmured, following closely behind Ace as they ascended. Comforted as he might've been to have Ace's help, especially now that she seemed to have a much more level head, he was still pretty terrified of Jack's antics, mostly if not especially because he could only see Evan doing these horrible things.
Upon reaching the first floor hallway, the castle was filled with offputtingly upbeat piano music. Faint, given the distance it was obviously being played from, but still audible. As was the voice that accompanied it.
"Back to the street where we began Feeling as good as lovers can, you know Yeah we're feeling so good"
Patrick gulped. "Well, this way, I guess..." He illuminated the hallway as he and Ace ran towards where the music was coming from, eventually leading them to a parlor where, sure enough, Jack was busying himself with the ancient, dusty piano.
"Pickin' up things we shouldn’t read It looks like the end of history as we know It's just the end of the world!"
At those last four words, shadows on the walls arose, their forms changing as if they were singing along. Then they started to wrap around Patrick and Ace like inky black vines.
"Back to the street where we began Feeling as good as love, you could, you can"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 22:21:28 GMT -5
"Okay, have it your way..." Ace growled. She quickly unsheathed her staffs and proceeded to slice away the shadow tendrils as if weeding through a jungle, keeping in front of Patrick as they slowly but surely forged a path to Jack through the darkness.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 22:40:45 GMT -5
Patrick stuck close to Ace, practically hiding in her bat wings as he fended off the shadows with meager light spells.
Jack paid no mind to them as they approached, orchestrating his shadows to slow them down as he continued playing, no less cheerfully.
"Into a place where thoughts can bloom Into a room where it's nine in the afternoon And we know that it could be And we know that it should And you know that you feel it too"
Eventually, the shadows forcibly wrapped around Patrick and Ace's arms and legs and started to swing them around carelessly like cheep marionettes. Jack danced and floated in place, his fingers never leaving the piano's worn ivory keys.
"'Cause it's nine in the afternoon And your eyes are the size of the moon You could 'cause you can so you do We're feeling so good just the way that we do When it's nine in the afternoon Your eyes are the size of the moon You could 'cause you can so you do We're feeling so good"
Patrick awkwardly squirmed in place as the shadows yanked him in all directions, his spells constantly missing their marks.
Then, as Jack continued to play his music, his tune rose a few chords as he smoothly transitioned into a new key for a new song. As he began to sing anew, he drew away from the piano, his shadows continuing to play it in his place.
"Now I'm of consenting age to be forgetting you in a cabaret Somewhere downtown where a burlesque queen may even ask my name"
Jack floated up to his two victims, tauntingly drifting in lazy loops around them. Then, while the shadows restrained her, Jack pulled off Ace's jacket and playfully draped it over his own shoulders.
"As she sheds her skin on stage, I'm seated and sweating to a dance song on the club's P.A. The strip joint veteran sits two away Smirking between dignified sips of his dignified peach and lime daiquiri"
He stopped right in front of Ace, giving her a teasing smile and a kiss on the nose as he tossed her jacket aside.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 22:52:57 GMT -5
Darn it! Why couldn't she phase through shadows like she could with ordinary solid objects?! It was something that had always infuriated Ace, and Jack's typical callousness and the fact that he just took her jacket and kissed her nose didn't make her any less angry. She might not have been able to move, but at the very least, she could summon a strong enough burst of gravitons to send Jack flying back towards the infernal piano. So she did. And she could only hope he would crash into and destroy the piece of crap in the process.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 23:11:15 GMT -5
Well, Jack did get pushed back by Ace's gravitons, but he was able to brace himself in time and adjust himself so he landed atop the piano, where he began a tap dance and swung his cane about in a lively manner.
"And isn't this exactly where you'd like me I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know"
Jack rocketed away from the piano just as the shadows twisted Ace into a sitting position whilst continuing to restrain her arms. He landed in her lap, wrapping his arms around her neck and his legs around her torso.
"Praying for love in a lap dance And paying in naivety"
He flew off of Ace upon receiving the inevitable second helping of gravitons, swooping up over her and weaving through the shadows as if continuing his tap dance in mid-air.
"Oh, isn't this exactly where you'd like me I'm exactly where you'd like me, you know"
He then rested atop Patrick, who was tangled up prostrate and face-down. The boy tensed up as he felt Jack leaning on him.
"Praying for love in a lap dance And paying in naivety"
Scared out of his wits, Patrick abjured the heck out of this situation with a spontaneous burst of bright blue light. The shadows were forced away, cutting off the music and causing Patrick and Ace to tumble to the floor, while Jack, shouting in an odd melodic way, was launched several feet away, landing at the entrance to the parlor room.
The demon quickly sat up and hovered backwards out of the room, leaving the duo with a grin and some taunting parting words.
"But I'm afraid that I... Well I may have faked it And I wouldn't be caught dead De-dead-de-dead-de-dead in this place
"Well I'm afraid that I Well that's right, well I may have faked it And I... wouldn't... be... caught... DE-E-EAD in this place!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 23:19:45 GMT -5
Ace grunted when she hit the floor, quickly getting up and scrambling after Jack as he disappeared into the hallway. She stopped at the doorway, punching the frame in frustration... gently. "Patrick, I don't think we're gonna get anywhere just chasing him down blindly. We need a solid plan... or... any plan, really. I'm sick of being a captive audience."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 1, 2015 23:34:29 GMT -5
"Ow... Yeah, that's a... good idea, I suppose..." Patrick grunted as he picked himself up and rubbed one of the many sore spots he had been accumulating over the course of the night. "If I had a clear shot and the time to build up the proper energy, I could hit him with a light spell powerful enough to scatter all the shadows and blind him."
He swallowed again, his throat dry from the stress-induced workout he was getting. "But... Jack... I know he's just messing with us for the sake of messing with us, but... it almost feels like he wants..."
To possess us and copy our powers, Van finished. A terrifying concept, and one that I honestly question would even work in his favor or not.
Bluh... For once, Ray was at a loss for words. He was still pretty loopy.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 1, 2015 23:46:17 GMT -5
"Yeah... Yeah, I got that..." Ace mumbled. "I've seen him do it plenty of times before. It's... It's sick." She gripped the door frame, shaking slightly. Everything Jack did was sick. She was pretty jaded to it, but it was still sick.
"I'll distract him. Van, why don't you hide yourself and sneak up on him while he's busy with me? You guys can charge spells while someone else is in control, right?"
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