Dust to Dust (A.S, OPEN)

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Well..." Taking a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her brow, Ace surveyed Bonsai Village. "I think that about covers it..."

What a long day that was. Ever since that cloud had appeared, it seemed like the snake creatures it dropped where everywhere. She and Patrick had spent the entire afternoon conducting a clean sweep of the eastern border, taking out any and every wyrm they could find, including those encased in the red cocoons they subsequently discovered scattered about, their fight broken only by a single, hasty lunch break at the Tiny Dragon. After all that hard work, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky turned dark, it finally seemed like the land was clear. Or at the very least, Bonsai Village was. Ace knew deep down that there was bound to be more of them out there and another swarm was likely on its way, but as long as the villagers were out of harm's way for the time being, she couldn't really ask for more.

Besides, if Ace was this tired, she could only imagine how exhausted Patrick was having spent the better half of his day draining his magic to kill the wyrms and repair the land they had decimated.

Speaking of Patrick, where did he wander off to?

"Patrick?!" Ace called out in a random direction, lifting herself off the ground and hovering over the village in search of the mage. "Pat, where are ya?!"

When she didn't receive an answer, Ace touched down on a rooftop and whipped out her phone. She could only hope that... Nope. Still no service. Go figure. That cloud couldn't disappear soon enough. Looked like she was stuck searching for her boyfriend the old fashioned way.

"Patriiiiick!"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Any idea as to what the hell these things are?!" A mace covered in a black substance smashed into one of the strange creatures, the black corrosive causing the wyrm to let out a death cry. "Seriously, what the hell?! They're kinda like those... Things that appeared in Linber, just that these fuckers are a lot more resilient and actually solid!!" Checking to make sure there were no more immediately in sight, Sylvia allowed herself to exhale. The purple mask atop her head came to life, forming into a large cat creature.

"I could not tell you, I'm afraid," was Mara's response, the demon shaking her head at the strange creature. "Looks like you couldn't quite kill it, dear. Shall I dispose of this disgusting creature?"

"Be my guest." Sylvia responded to this with a dismissive flick of her wrist.

With a toothy grin, Mara opened her mouth, a small orb of purple and green flames forming between her jaws. When the cat deemed it big enough, she fired it at the wyrm, its body subsequently being eaten away by the infernal fire. "Disposed of. We know they can't stand acid nor fire, at least... Although... Ah, nevermind."

"What? ... Stupid cat." Sylvia grumbled, feeling the weight on her head return. Muttering some choice words under her breath, the tall redhead made her way into the village. Good gods, she really needed a drink after all that!

[ThePopcornFairy]

Today had certainly been... interesting.

Within the span of a few hours, following the arrival of that red cloud, strange snakelike creatures had descended upon the village, attacked its people, devoured just about everything in their path, and were subsequently wiped out almost in their entirety, with much of the village and surrounding forest being quickly restored to their proper state in the wake of the disaster. Now that things seemed to have settled, the sorcerer in the green, black and bronze armor casually strolled through the woods, surveying the damage that had yet to be undone.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to make of this event. When it became clear that these monsters posed a threat to any and all forms of life, he had of course taken it upon himself to eliminate as many as he could, and once he had deduced their vulnerability to fire and acid, killing them was a breeze. He had quarreled with worse foes, after all. And yet the threat they posed was ever apparent, as evidenced by the rust-colored cloud that still loomed above them, blocking out the night sky and casting a shadow upon the island.

Was he scared for the island's wellbeing? Not especially. The emotion that dominated his psyche at the moment was curiosity. While he had seen worse, he had never seen anything quite like this before. What were these creatures? Where did they come from? What were they capable of that had yet to be seen?

And more importantly... how could he make the most of this situation?

Those questions and more would have to wait, as Loki looked ahead to see a teenage boy walking between the trees, casting some sort of mass healing spell upon the forest.

So this was the mage who had fought so adamantly to protect the village. Loki narrowed his eyes as he examined the boy from a distance. A human had done all of this? How could a measly human have this much control over magic.

"Excuse me! You there!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

Patrick took a deep breath and leaned against a tree, well and truly exhausted from the long hours spent killing wyrms and repairing what they had eaten away at. By now, he was straining to channel even a little bit of magic, but he kept at it for the sake of restoring at least a little bit of the status quo, regardless of how long it would last. At least things seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since that morning. The fact that he wasn't being attacked from all angles anymore certainly put his mind at ease.

As he pulled away from the tree, Patrick looked down and noticed a crevice in the ground right behind it, spotting a clutch of rust red cocoons tucked away beneath its exposed roots. He let out a deep sigh at the sight. He really wanted to be done with this whole thing, but he knew he couldn't just leave those there.

Before he could charge up a lightning spell, however, Patrick heard someone call out to him from a little ways away, looking up to see a black-haired man in an intricate uniform approaching him. It was hard to tell who it was in the darkness, but the closer he got, the more Patrick recognized this man.

"Uhhhhh... Hello... Loki..." He slumped slightly in disbelief, gawking at the approaching Asgardian. "Were you... talking to me?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

After conducting another aerial search, flying a lap above the village, Ace touched down on the edge of the nearby woods, taking a deep breath and marching onward. She could only hope Patrick was in there somewhere. She was anxious to put this day behind her already. "Pat, where are ya?! We gotta meet back up with the others!"

In her search, Ace eventually noticed a figure in the distance walking back towards the village. She quickly dashed over to it, desperately pleading for it to be Patrick, only to discover a girl in a purple mask. After slowing to a halt, Ace let out a frustrated sigh and raised an apologetic hand. "Sorry. Hope I didn't startle ya. I'm just looking for my boyfriend."

She peaked over her shoulder, then back at the girl, looking exhausted and slightly irritated. "You wouldn't happened to have seen a short, straw-blond-haired guy with mismatching clothes and magic powers, would you? We're kinda working on the clock here. Need to meet up with the rest of our team ASAP."

[DanteMGalileo]

"I DON'T HAVE THE FUCKIN' TIME FOR THIS-" Sylvia lifted the oversize mace above her head, ready to bring it down, when... Well, none of the things had had to fight on the way over looked like that. Although... While such creatures were rare in her world, they weren't exactly easy to miss, or easy to forget. Although, she wasn't aware they had ears.

"My apologies. I thought those damn things could talk," the dark-skinned woman responded, lowering her weapon. "It's been a fuckin' long-ass day, fighting worm thing after worm thing. 'Fraid I haven't seen such a person."

Had the eyes on the cat mask been visible, Ace would have seen them roll. "Oh silly little Sylvia, to me, it's too obvious that she is not one of those creatures," said Mara in a small voice, just so her charge could hear. Sylvia's own eye roll was all too visible.

"You wanna say something, you stupid cat?"

"Not yet. I'll wait until our entire audience has arrived."

[ThePopcornFairy]

So this kid knew who he was? Given his apparent magical prowess, this didn't seem particularly surprising, but Loki was still somewhat taken aback by Patrick's response. "Yes, as a matter of fact I was."

He came to a halt a few feet away from Patrick, sizing the young man up. What Loki saw was... underwhelming, to say the least. Short, scrawny, dorky-looking, wearing the tackiest attire Loki had ever seen, carrying not even the tiniest bit of dignity in his stance or appearance. Hardly imposing for a sorcerer of the caliber he had demonstrated throughout the day. He almost pitied the kid. Or at least he would've if not for the fact that he had witnessed the effects of Patrick's spells, and to think that that kind of magic was being wielded by this snot-nosed brat...

He had to know just how much this kid was capable of. He refused to believe that this child could be better than him at his own craft.

"Quite the fight you've put up today," Loki mused in a thinly-veiled attempt at politeness, beginning a slow pace around Patrick. "Hope you don't mind, but I've been keeping an eye on your work for the past few hours. You seem like you have a fair amount of mastery over the magical arts. Perhaps you would be willing to trade some secrets, one sorcerer to another?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Um... I, uh... I prefer the term 'mage,' actually," Patrick nervously replied to the looming Norse god/Marvel villain. Being around Loki was intimidating enough, but to hear that he had been watching him for most of the day? That was just creepy...

"I'm... not really sure if I have much to share," he murmured, turning his attention back on the cocoons, preparing an evocation spell in one hand while rubbing his tired eyes with the other. "I learned arcane magic when I was a kid. I don't know how well I could teach you some of my tricks, let alone if my specific variety of magic can even be wielded by folks not from where I'm from."

He raised his palm at the nest, striking it with a lightning blast.

"ACK-!!! PFFT-!"

Immediately, the soft cocoons exploded in a puff of red dust, striking Patrick right in the face with the grainy, foul-smelling substance. He turned around and quickly started wiping his face with his sleeve in disgust, even spitting on the ground to get the dusty taste out of his mouth.

"Besides," he continued, wiping the tears from his stinging eyes, "I'm super tired from fighting all these worm things. Don't quite have the magic-channeling strength I had this morning."

Christ, Pat, don't tell him that! Ray insisted in Patrick's head. This guy clearly means business, and you're flat-out telling him that you're vulnerable?!

He has a point... Van warily admitted. Throughout all of his incarnations, Loki is portrayed as a trickster. Who knows what he could be up to here?

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Ace took a few steps back, hands raised defensively as she cast a wary look at Sylvia, eventually dropping it shortly after the young woman had dropped her weapon. The initial violent reaction had left Ace rather uncomfortable, but she was more or less willing to roll with it, especially considering the mess they had both just emerged from. "Yeah, I hear that... We've been trying to wipe 'em out too. Kinda hoping we'll be able to figure out what they are in the process. So far we've had only moderate success in one of those fields."

She sighed, rubbed her neck and looked around the forest again. "Here's to hoping we at least cleared enough of them that we won't have to deal with too much destruction once we recuperate. Guess I oughta keep searching so we can get outta here. Um... thanks anyway."

Before she could take off, Ace peaked back at Sylvia with a raised eyebrow, having just picked up on her last comment. "...Cat?"

[DanteMGalileo]

"... It's not your business, angel-face," Sylvia responded roughly, casting a glare up at her mask. "Look, it's been fuckin' hours, and I really need some drinks. Shit man, I don't think I'll be able to process this sober, there had better be a bar around here."

Once the winged girl had flown off, the redhead removed her mask, shaking it roughly as she walked. "You form this instant, you little shit! I know you know more than you let on!! Do NOT make me replace you with the garden hose!!!"

The mask frowned, and Mara formed, her usual grin replaced with a ruffled look. "And what were you planning on doing with the garden hose, pray tell? Your strength, while abundant, would be insufficient to handle these revolting creatures."

"I want a STRAIGHT ANSWER outta you this time!"

And the cat demon's grin returned. "I think you just alerted several individuals to our location, my dearie. And one of them looks utterly delectable. Mmm." Mara licked her lips. "You don't see souls like that every day."

[ThePopcornFairy]

"Where you're from?" Loki repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What realm are you from that would possess a plane of magic unique to and solely at the disposal of your kind?"

He paused and took a step back when the dust from the ruptured cocoon was spat in Patrick's face, resulting in a logically disgusted reaction from the boy and a deadpan reaction from Loki. This kid was gifted enough to wield such tremendous magical power with admirable tact and skill, but was dumb enough to get that close to something so clearly volatile? The more he dwelled on it, the more frustrated Loki felt that this kind of magic was in the hands of someone so incompetent... yet at the same time, the less he actually cared about comparing the two of them. Despite his talents, this boy obviously couldn't stack up to the Asgardian.

"I see." Loki took a deep breath and turned a few degrees, ready to depart and leave both this fool and his own misguided concerns behind. "Well then, if I could make a suggestion... watch your back. You're not the only one who deals in magic on this island, nor are you the greatest."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Hey, I can accept that," Patrick muttered with a shrug, still wiping the dust out of his hair. "I never claimed to be the greatest mage this side of paradox space. I'm just a kid trying to use his powers to help his pals. And right now, that seems to include dealing with these snake thingies. Or, more accurately, recharging my reserves so I can continue to deal with-"

KILL HIM.

"What? YIPE-!!!"

All of a sudden, Patrick raised his hand and fired a blinding lightning blast at Loki, parting the trees and filling the forest with a deafening, resonating thunderclap.

WHAT WAS THAT?! Van fearfully demanded.

DUDE, YOU'RE GONNA PISS HIM OFF! Ray hollered.

"I-I'M SORRY!" Patrick yelped, shaking with panic. "THAT- THAT WASN'T ME! I DIDN'T...! AUGH!!!"

He hunched over and grabbed his pounding head. The world was spinning. A sickly, burning metallic taste was building up in his throat. Magic coursed through his being against his will. Three voices in his head were screaming at him, the familiar, mediating voices of Van and Ray quickly being drowned out by an overwhelming order to ANNIHILATE this meddling sorcerer. To protect the innocent beings that his power threatened. To destroy all that stood in their way.

With a crazed snarl, Patrick looked up at Loki, red dust spewing from his open mouth with each gravelly exhale. Bright blue energy surrounded him, forming an arcane circle beneath his feet.

"Murderer..."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Uhh..." Ace just lowered her eyelids at Sylvia, looking unamused by her nickname and disinterested in the cause of her strange behavior. "Okay, then. Sorry to bother you."

Taking to the air again without looking back, Ace took a deep breath and resumed scanning the forest for any sign of Patrick. She was starting to get concerned by this point. They had been apart for about an hour now. There was no telling what kind of trouble he could've gotten into in that amount of time. She could only hope that he had managed to deal with the wyrms safely. That he was unharmed and at least had enough magic left to-

CRACK

"GAH!!!"

Ace leaned back and scrambled in midair, startled by the sudden lightning bolt that had split the forest not too far away. Abruptness aside, judging by the fact that the electricity seemed to have generated from the ground rather than the sky, she could easily guess what had caused it.

"PATRICK!!!" Worried and anxious, Ace swooped down in the direction of the phenomenon, praying that Patrick's sudden, explosive burst of magic was the end of some disaster and not the beginning.

[ThePopcornFairy]

Loki's eyes widened the moment Patrick raised his hand, leaping aside quickly enough to avoid the brunt of the lightning strike. The force of the impact and the hasty maneuver sent him tumbling through the fractured foliage, though he was quick to prop himself back up at scowl at his attacker, who seemed to be in a great deal of pain. From what, Loki wasn't sure. All he knew was that now this boy was a threat.

He stood up and marched closer to Patrick, watching as the boy recovered and prepared another attack, red dust pouring from his mouth as he breathed. The same red dust from the cocoons.

Loki tilted his head, instantly deducing what was going on. Not that it mattered much to him. If this kid wanted a fight, he felt inclined to concede.

"Fine then." A dagger materialized in each of his hands. "It's been a while since I've quarreled with a decent sorcerer. Give it your best shot, whelp."

[ParamountKeymaster]

Growling dangerously, eyes bloodshot and blazing, Patrick threw his arms down, surrounding himself in an energy barrier that glowed with a chaotic blend of multicolored hues. Immediately thereafter, his blue abjuration circle faded away, replaced with a green evocation circle. He raised his hand, a giant, green energy hand forming above him.

With a swing of his arm, he slammed the energy hand down upon the Asgardian.

The magic hand seemed to phase right through him.

"What?" Patrick snarled. He gripped his hand, the magic hand following his movements. Though it surrounded Loki in its entirety, it didn't seem to actually be holding him. Even when he waved his hand back and forth, the magic hand phased through Loki every time until he finally got the hint.

"Illusion..." Sure enough, after spitting the word out with a mouthful of dust, the projection of Loki standing before him vanished. Enraged, Patrick whipped around and scanned the dark forest for any sign of the god of mischief.

FIND HIM. HE IS TOO DANGEROUS TO BE LEFT ALIVE.

"WHERE ARE YOU, FROST GIANT?!" Patrick screamed into the night, the magic hand fading as he readied another spell. "GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD, OR I'LL LEVEL THIS WHOLE FRICKIN' FOREST!"

Heheh... Let me take 'em, Ray chuckled, clearly just as corrupted as the rest of Patrick's mind. I can kill that sonovab**** without even knowing where he is.

Now be mindful, you two! Van insisted. No mass fire or death spells. We don't want to kill any of the queen's children!