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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 1:06:15 GMT -5
Despite the situation he was in, Evan had to mentally smile as he listened to Ace's speech. It was touching to know that someone understood his best friend the way she did, and that she would defend him from this monster in Evan's head.
Jack smirked a little and nodded slowly, tapping his fingers along the handle of his walking stick.
"Touching sentiment... but no matter, I suppose.
It's been a while since our partnership drew to a close.
Though it was nice while it lasted, I'll move on for both our sakes,
But I would still like to see the next move your man makes."
"Ace..." Patrick stood up and lightly pressed a hand against Ace's arm. His expression seemed very solemn and serious, almost bafflingly so. "It's okay. I got this."
He marched in front of Ace, glaring up at Jack, a rainbow of arcane magic sparking to life through his aura.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 15:09:37 GMT -5
Ace was about to step up and lay the smackdown on Jack when she was cut off by Patrick's unexpected intervention. She stared down at him, baffled and concerned. "P-Pat...?"
Still, even though she kept her defenses up, she stayed where she was and simply observed, hoping that Patrick knew what he was doing.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 15:43:04 GMT -5
Jack watched with keen interest as his opponent approached him, waiting and watching to see what his first move would be.
Just as they had before, the mage's eyes were an indiscriminate shade of green, somewhere in the middle of Patrick's emerald, Van's pea and Ray's forest, making it impossible to tell which facet was in control, let alone if all three of them were somehow sharing control. With a flight spell courtesy of Van, the Rooke boy floated up to Jack's level. Patrick's dancing lights orbited his form. A red glow surrounded his fists at Ray's command.
Three voices seemed to project from his mouth at once as he sang...
"Tonight we are victorious
Champagne pouring over us
All my friends were glorious
Tonight we are-"
"VICTORIOUS!"
Jack joined in, willingly taking the bait with reckless abandon.
"Oh-oh-oh-ohh!
Victorious!
Oh-oh-oh-ohhhhhhhh...!"
Patrick released the lights, sending them whizzing around the room like a spectacle of fireworks. Van started flying in a circle, with Jack matching his movements so the two remained parallel. Ray was more than likely the one who dictated their smirk, which Jack of course mirrored.
Jack charged at the mage, cane aimed to strike, and continued to sing solo...
"Double bubble disco queen headed to the guillotine
Skin as cool as Steve McQueen, let me be your killer king"
Van flew out of his way while Patrick blasted a wave of pure force at Jack. With impeccable strength, Jack simply flew right through it and chased the mage all around the room.
"It hurts until it stops, we will love until it's not
I'm a killing spree in white, eyes like broken Christmas lights"
Eventually, Jack flew down to the floor, raising his shadows to surround the mage from all sides. Van spun in place while Patrick struck each shadow with light.
"My touch is black and poisonous
And nothing like my punch-drunk kiss, I know you need it
Do you feel it, drink the water, drink the wine"
Ray threw down a destruction spell next to Jack, launching him and bits of the floor into the air. Taking this in stride, Jack flew up and twirled around, stirring up a cyclone of shadows and setting the airborne debris ablaze.
"Oh, we gotta turn up the crazy
Livin' like a washed-up celebrity
Shooting fireworks like it's the Fourth of July
Until we feel alright!
Until we feel alright!"
Sucker, Ray chuckled, his red aura pulsing.
We got you right... Van mused as he floated with the flow of the shadows.
...where we want you, Patrick finished whilst keeping Jack's flames under control.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 15:53:22 GMT -5
Ace flew after them, circling around Jack's shadow barrier and keeping as close an eye as possible on Patrick/Van/Ray. He seemed to be holding up, at least, but she was ready to step in if the need arose.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 16:08:36 GMT -5
So now that Jack was fully invested in this dual, it was time for the trio to move on to step two: let Jack have his way.
Van came to a halt and Patrick charged up abjuration magic, but he seemed to be hesitating, waiting long enough for Jack to swoop in and grab ahold of him.
"I'm like a scarf trick, it's all up the sleeve
I taste like magic, waves that swallow quick and deep"
Patrick couldn't help but gag at that last line, taking it all too personally. If Evan had control over his own body, he likely would've done the same. Trying not to look too defenseless, Van yanked himself free, flinging himself into a loop and letting Ray hit Jack with a light fatigue spell.
"Throw the bait, catch the shark, bleed the water red
Fifty words for murder and I'm every one of them"
Though Ray's spell did its part to leave Jack slightly physically winded, he powered through it and quickly ensnared the mage in his shadows. Van made an effort to try struggling out of it. Patrick threw several miniscule light and banishment spells at them, mostly out of fear.
"My touch is black and poisonous
And nothing like my punch-drunk kiss, I know you need it
Do you feel it, drink the water, drink the wine"
He yanked free in time to watch Jack conjure a massive fireball. Rather than throw it directly at the mage, the demon released it all around him as if to set the whole room on fire. Patrick hastily raised his arms and seized control of the flames, letting them swirl around them without touching anyone or anything. Arson was NOT part of the plan!
"Oh, we gotta turn up the crazy
Livin' like a washed-up celebrity
Shooting fireworks like it's the Fourth of July"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 16:15:58 GMT -5
"AHH-!" Ace's efforts suddenly became devoted to dodging the flames. Patrick seemed to be taking care of them, but jeez! She knew Jack's self control had always been nonexistent, but this was just excessive!
She looked back at her wings. What few black feathers there were still clinging to them were getting singed.
If they could just hold out a little while longer...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 16:30:07 GMT -5
Quelling the flames was a long and arduous effort, and all the while, they continued to cycle around the duelers, mingling with Jack's twister of shadows. With each of them manipulating these elements, Jack and the Rooke facets hovered in the eye of the deadly storm, arms raised, harmonizing together...
"Tonight we are victorious
Champagne pouring over us
All my friends were glorious
Tonight we are victorious"
Patrick seemed to absorb the flames, extinguishing them as they came in contact with his aura. Likewise, Jack drew the shadows to him, letting them engulf his form.
"Tonight we are victorious
Champagne pouring over us
All my friends were glorious
Tonight we are victorious"
Finally, with the fire put out and the shadows merged with their wielder, Jack, in Præt'nos form, hovered over the mage, surrounding him in darkness. Patrick threw some weak light and holy spells at the beast, all of them ineffective, the power they held not enough to combat such an overwhelming about of demonic force.
"Oh, we gotta turn up the crazy
Livin' like a washed-up celebrity
Shooting fireworks like it's the Fourth of July
Until we feel alright!"
At Jack's command, the shadows simultaneously lunged at the mage, striking him from all sides with impeccable force. Patrick, Van and Ray fought back only to stay in the game. This was a losing battle. They knew it. That was what they had prepared for.
"Until we feel alright!"
The shadows separated from Jack, allowing him to float down and grab the mage by the shoulders. The boy looked to be too out of it to fight back, but one last enchantment to tire him out couldn't hurt. Now was his chance.
"Tonight we are victorious
Champagne pouring over us
All my friends were glorious
Tonight we are victorious"
And finally, satisfied by his good work, Jack leaned in and kissed the boy once more.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 16:34:21 GMT -5
"GAH! NO!!"
Ace swooped in, the shadows parting in her wake, as she aimed to once again pry the two boys away from each other...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 16:46:59 GMT -5
The mage's wide eyes remained open long enough to watch Ace fly his and Jack's way, then the three personas put their focus fully on the task at hand. He closed his eyes and pulled Jack closer in a disturbingly tight embrace, ensuring that their lips remained locked.
Ray's energy was devoted to enchanting himself, keeping their shared body on high alert. It was a difficult task, being forced to suppress Jack's enchantments, but Ray was the man for the job.
Patrick and Van, on the other hand, were working on a team effort. They had one chance to get this right, and there was no going back now.
They felt the parasite slip into their mouth and down their throat.
With Jack having made the jump, the mage pushed away from Evan's liberated body. Pure magic coursed through his being, the process of charging the spell a stressful and painful ordeal, one that forced a scream from his mouth the moment he could catch his breath.
Patrick evoked a great burst of light.
Van merged it with their body, physically transforming them into a being of pure light.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 16:54:33 GMT -5
Ace had to do a double-take when Patrick/Van/Ray pulled Jack into an even tighter embrace. What were they thinking?! Were they trying to get possessed?! This would only make Jack even more powerful!
"Patrick! Van! Stop!!" Her efforts to pull them apart were fruitless. Soon enough, Jack had swapped bodies and the two separated on their own. Ace caught Evan's limp form while Van kept the mage hovering. As she tightly held the keymaster, she could only stop and stare at her beloved with no idea how to help him now.
But then Patrick and Van transformed their body into light.
And just like that, Ace knew that they were victorious.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 17:13:21 GMT -5
Skin glistening, aura gleaming white, Patrick and Van struggled to keep this bizarre form intact while Ray switched his motive to keeping Jack docile. Not that the latter was absolutely necessary. The glowing mage cried out and hunched over in discomfort as he felt the parasite writhing in pure agony in his stomach. The searing light might have been the worst possible burn the little blob could ever have felt, but his painful thrashing was torture on the mage's interior. It almost felt like Jack was a ch-
Oh...
Oh God...
OH GOD, NOT THAT...
CRAP, NOW PATRICK WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT MOVIE!!!
Patrick, please, focus!! Van desperately pleaded with his partner.
Ah-! Sorry! Patrick whimpered, doing his best to push any thoughts of John Hurt out of his mind and keep powering his light.
After enduring this mutual torture for long enough, Jack's movements came to a halt. Van took this as a sign that the demon was well and truly done for. Once he was certain that Patrick was ready for the last step, Van altered his spell, transforming his and his other selves' body and clothes into a gaseous form. The foreign entity within them was unaffected, causing Jack to fall out and flop to the ground like a black prune.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 17:29:11 GMT -5
Ace jumped slightly when Jack's weak form was expelled from the mage's body. But with the light gone, it was only a matter of time before Jack recovered, and who knew how long it would take for Van to turn himself solid again so he or Patrick could cast another spell?
Thinking quickly, Ace set Evan down, jumped in and bombarded Jack with a tremendous onslaught of gravitons, constantly pressing down on the little black blob as if gravity had increased to that of Jupiter's pull. She towered over him, her force unrelenting, squishing him into the floor like she was crushing a bug beneath her boot.
Good Lord, was this cathartic.
But as she finally delivered unto Jack a proper comeuppance, Ace felt no demented pleasure. She wasn't acting upon vengeance. She simply wanted nothing more than for this demon to be dealt with and the ordeal to be over.
She watched in shock and fascination as the skin of her exposed arms regained its complexion...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 23:15:22 GMT -5
Between the crippling effects of Patrick's holy light and the crushing force of Ace's gravitons, Jack was most certainly not going anywhere. And he felt nothing but anger. To think he had been bested... single-handedly... by this moron that Ace was so obsessed with...! This kid was trouble, and if he thought this would be the last he'd see of Jack, he'd be sorely mistaken.
Van undid his spell, turning his body and clothes solid again, and thankfully assembled in the proper order. He then dropped to the floor and immediately surrendered full control to Patrick, who subsequently hit Jack with another light spell with one hand and a binding spell with the other. The light further immobilized the blob while the blue energy encompassed him, forming into another orb. But the longer he strained to maintain both spells simultaneously, the more drained Patrick felt.
He eventually dropped the light spell and devoted the rest of his energy to the binding spell. His magic... strangely enough... felt less potent. He still sensed his connection with the arcane, but it no longer felt quite as physically prominent. On top of that, the anger he had been repressing, the anger felt by and between him and his two other selves, seemed to vanish altogether. For the first time that night, Patrick felt calm. He had felt drowsy beforehand, but not calm up until now.
Finally, Patrick exhaled the air he had been holding in, his binding spell complete. A new, bright blue orb surrounded Jack's still, tiny, frail form. With his work done, Patrick fell to his knees and took a moment to just breathe.
He looked down at Evan, lying on the floor, eyes closed and breaths ragged, still dressed in Jack's attire, still adorned with crystalline blood horns... He was clearly just as worn out as Patrick.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Nov 8, 2015 23:39:25 GMT -5
Ace stepped aside and observed in silence as Patrick finished up with Jack. At least up until a new development distracted her...
She looked down at herself, watching as a white glimmer surrounded her form. Her shredded, sickly grey skin came back to life and healed itself almost instantly. The horns on her head crumbled away, the wounds from which they once protruded sealing up. Though she couldn't see it for herself, her black irises brightened to their natural shade of green. And perhaps most spectacularly, her bat-like wings spread out to their full length, and one by one, feathers sprung to life upon the leathery surfaces... feathers that appeared white at first, but withered and blackened the moment they each reached their full length.
The white glow dissipated and Ace relaxed, excitedly studying her restored appearance. Although, she had to smirk at her wings. It was nice to see them fully feathered again, regardless of the color. "Not yet, huh? Well, at least You know where I'm going..."
Once Jack was sealed away, Ace lifted the orb up to her eye level, levitating some debris while she was at it. She cast a smirk at the blob, one characteristic of Jack's persona, as if to simply rub salt in the wound. "Some demon we both turned out to be, huh?"
With that said, Ace gathered as much rubble as she could, compressing and interlocking the molecules to create a steal-tight encasing around the orb. She then smiled sweetly at her beloved. "Patrick, think you can find a place for this rock?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 8, 2015 23:58:29 GMT -5
Patrick looked up at Ace, managing a little smile and a nod. With the last of his energy, he opened up a portal to his personal storage space, allowing Ace to fling Jack's prison into the void. Even if no one could hear him, Jack of course had to give some parting words as he was put away for who knows how long.
You're a clever mage, I will not deny...
I trust that we'll meet again soon, you and I.
For I've seen my future. When next you meet me...
I'll be unstoppable. You'll see. Yǫu'l͠l̶ all ͞see.̷
Once Jack was sealed away for good, Patrick closed the portal and slumped between his lover and his buddy just as the latter started waking up. "E... Evan?"
"Ughhh..." Evan sat up slightly, rubbing his pounding head. "God... And I thought Halloweens in the valley were rough..."
Patrick chuckled, weakly but still in good humor. "How you feeling, man?"
"Like I just got run over by a garbage truck... Between Jack and my lack of clear thinking, I-" Evan went rigid when his gloved hand came into contact with one of the makeshift horns protruding from his forehead. He sat up fully and grabbed both of them, gauging their size and shape in horror. "Oh- Oh God, what is this, WHAT ARE THESE?!"
"C-Calm down, man," Patrick wearily insisted. "They're not real horns. They're just... kinda like... solid blood."
"...Get 'em off."
"I'm sure they'll break off eventual-"
"Get 'em OFF!"
"W-We will, Evan. It's ok-"
"GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF GET 'EM OFF!!!" Evan screamed, furiously tugging at the crystal horns in a desperate attempt to pry them loose.
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