Dark Age Legends

[Haraldur]

"Yes, 'King', I am different, very different. In ways you could not imagine. It does not worry me that I am unwelcome, as this is irrelevant to my visit.

"I have come here to give you an ultimatum on behalf of the Revolution. We are currently smashing the state and other tools of oppression in the areas we control, creating an equal society. You must dismantle your state, your army, your police, and distribute all weapons amongst the workers and peasants. You must abandon all of your authority and the authority of others. You must peacefully go into the situation of a stateless, classless and equal society. If you have not done so by the time we have dealt with some of the things we have to do right now, we will have to make your revolution for you. You have been warned.

"Any questions?"

____________________________________________________________________

Revolutionary spirit was everywhere, and intensifying fast...

In the capital city of Tjed, red and black flags were waving as a protest march, increasing in size as it marched, walked up the main street towards the palace. slogans were being shouted: "End privelege!" "Solidarity!" "The rich keep plague prevention for themselves!"

A few minutes later, some police and army arrived to block the way to the palace. Some rocks were thrown, and they then charged into the march, launchng a full scale riot in the old city...

____________________________________________________________________

The proletariat of that Alternan town reached the landowner's palace, with Tesla among them.

Suddenly, arrows came from the palace, with a few people slumping to the ground as the rest took cover. Tesla motioned to some other revolutionaries, and fired at the building with his plasma rifle, blasting the door away. He rushed towards and entered the building, followed by many others.

After some confused fighting, the revoliutionaries were victorious, dragging out the landowner and several priests, and the local bishop. There were calls for the oppressors to be killed.

Tesla nodded, and the prisoners were dragged to the main square, and lined up. Tesla walked up the line, blasting the plasma rifle through the face of each one, spattering burning blood onto the cobble-stones, to the cheers of the crowd, the largest cheers being for the landowner and the bishop.

They then started to walk back towards the palace.

[Trent]

Tsu, Zion, and Xenai turned to face the new arrivals. "Oh, this is FUCKING great! Not that guy again!" He scowled at the sight of Abodahon. "Xenai, why do you think we went though that training?" The blue-haired asshole quickly pondered it. "To be able to inflict a huge amount of damage in a little amount of time, why w- Oh. Heh."

Tsu frowned. "If we're going to fight, don't count on me using New Forever anytime soon... I just know I won't pull it off." He looked down at his hands, which were tingling insanely.

They then observed what transpired. "Holy sh-! This fucking demon...!" Damn, should I get that ball away from Draven? No, Draven can take care of it.

"Valos..." Just what we need... This demon is THAT merciless...

"..." ...

[D. Ein]

Ein noticed that the minotaur picked up a number of logs.
-"Hey! Throw one at a time!"
He then turned around to Marshal.
-"Yes, I heard. Although it really means nothing to me. I have never even heard of the person."
He walked around his machine.
-"Hmm... It needs a name... How about...... Zerstorungscmaschin? Means "engine of destruction" in a language I happen to know." //German\\
-"Nah, too long... Oh, I know: Leviathan! Yes, Leviathan it is."
He pushed a few levers here and there, and the machine started rolling through the woods. He then stopped it.
-"So Marshal, are you coming with or staying?"

--- --- ---
Steorra brandished her staff a bit.
-"So are we going, or what? And when I said "sir...?" i meant, what was your name?"

[Xorlak]

Draven's eyes widened at the sound of Valos' new voice.

"... Nex...?"

Before he could react, the ball of shadow energy sped towards him.  Draven moved his finger slightly, blasting the small speck of crimson energy at the orb.  The two forces collided exactly between the two, sending smaller flames of fire and shadow speeding in  all directions.  The building they were standing on was filled with holes, and began to crumble... Draven seemed to disappear in the blast and resulting smoke...

... But his image suddenly appeared directly behind the hulking Abodahon, his figure dwarfed by the monster...

"You!  How dare you manipulate my men!"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.  Draven shifted his weight to his left side, falling just behind Abodahon's head...

Blast it!  One soldier that actually proves his blasting worth, and you kill him!!

"Demon scum!  DIE!!"

He brought his right foot up as his body ignited in flame, and sent a super powered kick in the direction of the beast's skull...

----

A chuckle riegned out from the men surrounding Haraldur.  The king was not as amused.

"What sort of nonsense is this?  How dare you mock us with such ridiculous demands!  Be gone, foul demon."


Ven knew it was Zeros' who spoke to him, and if it wasn't for him, he would have charged...

Ven's face faulted and he clenched his teeth.  He brought his right hand to his sword hilt on his back, and resisted the urge to attack...

Any quick movement, though, and he will not hesitate...

Suddenly this mysterious enemy that had fought against far away from home had become a very personal threat...

----

(Um... no, Haraldur.  Just no...)

The capital of Tjed, hidden high in and surrounded by mountains, echoed with the din of the small riot that night.  It occurred in the upper class neighborhood, near the castle.

An upper class woman fearlessly exited her house and faced the crowd, in response to the chants.

"How could you say we have protection from the plague?  My children suffer just as yours!"

She broke down in tears.  Another man appeared.

"How dare you insult the integrity of our king!  After all he has done for us!"

"His free clinic has saved hundreds!"

"Yeah!"  A couple more echoed.

In the torchlight it was reviled that those leading the crowd and held the flags also bore large bottles of whiskey and ale, and were in fact quite drunk.  Those that threw the stones were arrested and sent to jail for the night to dry out, and at most a fine of a few copper coins.  The rest were sent back to their homes with a warning but also condolences from the soldiers, who also had family members who had fallen ill.

The chancellor watched the crowd peacefully disperse from one of the castle's higher balconies.  This night may have ended well, but the populace is getting more and more restless.  He feared the worse if a cure for this plague was not found soon...  Everything seemed to go down hill after the High Knights of Tjed disappeared...

(No revolutions in Tjed, please.  Heh...)

----

Vincent entered the innards of he huge fortress.  General Hector appeared at the end of the hallway, followed by some twenty crimson soldiers and a colonel.  He was a tall man with pitch black armor, and a striking red cape.  He spoke in a thick Australian accent.

"Well, well, if it ain't Vincent the alchemist.  What brings ya ta Sigmund, mate?  Did ya finally get kicked out of Redvik for doing nothin' all day long?"

"Charming, Hector.  I've come to warn you of an impending attack.  There is a large force approaching from the west..."

"Ha!  So what?  No one can touch us in 'ere!  We'll just blow 'em up if they get too close.  Get outta my way.  Go make some gold or somthin'..."

Hector continued down the hallway, his entourage following.  Vincent placed his hands behind his back and watched him turn the corner.

"Heh..."

----

"WHAT!?  You want to DIE?  Just keep talkin'!!!"

The orb in Hans' right fist swelled to double size, he threw his hand back and then foward like a baseball pitch, aiming the electric orb at the (probably conductive) metal axe, rather than Leto himself.


Rufus brought both of his huge arms to his sides, widening his stance.

"Hah, you ain't got a clue who we are, do ya?"

His left fist swelled, the muscles budging.  Rufus slammed the fist into the ground creating a small tremor and sending a crack towards Ogen.  When he pulled his fist up, a large chunk of ground came with it-- a rock some five feet in diameter.

"HRRRAAARRRGH!!!!"

He reared his hand back and punched the rock his left fist was embedded in, sending the bolder soaring towards Ogen.


James flew towards the ground very quickly, his descent slowing when he was about two feet away from the ground, a ring of dust pushing away from his feet.  He landed softly, still some distance away from Celer.  At the same time his eyes shifted, following Felix, before returning towards his opponent.

"Perhaps you can tell us your reasons for attacking the Crimson Capital and perhaps we can spare some unnecessary violence."

Explosions could be heard from the other two elites' attacks.

"If you are attempting to employ diversionary tactics, I can assure you they will not succeed..."

[D. Ein]

Celer drew his daggers.
-"We are looking for one of your generals, namely Valos. We have reasons to believe that he is in that fortress. //don't bother correcting me - i know he's not in there, but the Nightshade doesn't.\\ And you're right - perhaps no blood shall be shed if you just make way for us into the fortress. We have reinforcements standing by in a charged portal - all they need is a signal from us, and your castle up there will be flooded with our troops. No, if that happens, you just DON'T want to be there."

Ogen watched the boulder go towards him. He made absolutely no effort to dodge it. The boulder landed on him and a really nasty crack could be heard from down under it. After a few seconds, however, the boulder moved a bit. Then it moved again. Then it simply rolled away, and Ogen got up. He was all covered in scratches and scars. His head had a fissure in it. His left arm was oddly bent. He was limping on the right leg, which had a bone sticking out of it. However, he continued coming towards Rufus.
-"No, quite frankly, I have no idea who you are. And I don't care. All I'm here to do is my mission, and get out. If it involves killing a couple of maggots like you, then so be it."
As he approached, his scars started to heal. The fissure in his head grew back and his bones evened out. He flexed his newly-healed arm. When he stopped about a meter away from Rufus, his body was as good as new. The leather armour that he had took no damage.
-"There is absolutely no way you can kill me. Not with pathetic strikes like that. In fact, even I know of nothing that can kill me. I welcome you to test that statement at your convenience."
His tone changed with the last words, as he brought back his mace and swung it aiming for Rufus' shoulder.

Leto placed his axe in front of him, which was struck by the orb. The energy, arcing in small sparks, travelled from his axe to his armour-plated gloves to the rest of the armour that he was wearing. //from the description, he doesn't have armour as such - just large evenly cut pieces of metal strapped to him.\\ However, he took no damage. The armour seemed to absorb the blast.
-"Let me ask you something, yellow one. Do you know what capacitors are? Well, I don't either, but what I do know is that they're these little things in my armour that seem to absorb all sorts of energy. Now..." He waved his axe over his head. "Now  all that energy will be released... into the first thing I touch with my axe."
He came closer to Hans, ground shaking as he walked.
-"But why should you believe me? Why don't you try it YOURSELF?!"
He brought the axe to his side then swung it at Hans, hoping to cut him across the chest.

Leaven was now almost near the fortress. He made a leap... and managed to get up close enough to the bottom of the fortress. //from your comparison of the fortress to a floating island, Xorlak, I'll assume that it's bottom half looks like an upside-down mountain, sort of.\\ He struck the rough surface with his sword, keeping himself on the surface. He searched around inside his robes, finding the "blow-it-up-yourself" kit that was given to him by one of the diciples. He placed the small brick on the island, and used his pinky finger to carve the symbol on the soft surface of the brick. In the next moment the brick emitted a controlled blast into the island, burning a thin hole through it. Felix reached for the crossbow...

[Dude Man]

Abodahon then moved his head back, dogging the kick; he then ghosted a couple feet in front of him.

Valos then turned his head and looked at Draven "Well, you should come to expect this sort of thing my friend. You've been betrayed by so many people: Ragnar, Scorch, Duilin...etcetera."

Abodahon then spoke. "I really don't see why you continue to trust people, you obviously don't have the correct people skills." He then motioned toward Valos to attack, still keeping an eye on the enraged man.

"Oh, it just upsets me to think how heart breaking your love life must be." The demon added mockingly.

Valos then jumped into the air, surrounding himself in a dark purple glow. He thrusted both his palms towards Draven and shot two dark lightning blasts.

----

Marshal nodded. "I'm with you." He said heroically. He then climbed aboard The Leviathan. "Onward."

----

"Oh, sorry, Captain Smith Darak." The soldier stated. "Anyways. I saw somebody get through a hole in the barrier, if you could fly us over there, hope you don't mind caring me, then we could start fighting."

----

"You're on a role here, sir." The dealer said to Duilin. "What's your next bet?"

"You know...normally I wouldn't do this. But I'm feeling lucky, I'm gonna bet all 200 of my gold coins!" Duilin replied

"Sir, are you sure?"

"Just deal the cards dock..."

They play it out for a little bit. Duilin eventually gets 20. "Stand."

They both reveal their cards. The dealer had 21. "I'm sorry sir."

"Oh fuck!" Duilin yelled. Turning some heads, some people found it quite offensive; to see a demon walk in, play blackjack and start swearing. Duilin then, rubs his forehead, ignoring the people around him and then walks over to Rink. He seemed to have a lot of luck with the slots; he had an entire pile of coins next to him.

"What!? How did you do that?" Duilin asks in great confusion.

"I guess I'm just lucky." Rink smirked. "Looks like you busted out, Duilin. You should be careful, blackjack games are usually rigged." He winked to him

"No they aren't!" Duilin snapped back

"Shut up Duilin." Rink said smiling. He was quite enjoying this.

[Haraldur]

The proletariat arrived at the palace, and proceeded to start a debate on whether to collectivise the land around the settlement, though it was effectively a formality.

Tesla went off towards the prisons, there was an old friend incarcerated...

____________________________________________________________________

"Mock you? You think I come here just to mock you? Also, what authority do you have to order me to leave? Why should you have authority?

"My purpose for being here is to negotiate a peaceful transition rather than violent revolution in Tjed. The reason for this is that, so far, you have been slightly less tyrannical than the those rulers of kingdoms surrounding you.

"As for foul demon, I would have thought you might be more thoughtful about your speech, as you have two half-demons on board your ship, 'King'."

Haraldur sat down on the floor, taking a map out of a pocket in his black bearskin cloak. He unfolded the map, and layed it out on the floor in front of him.

On the map was a picture of the whole world, with all the land coloured with the colours of their allegences. The Crimson Empire was a fiery red, and there was a patch of Grey on the western side of the Dark Continent. Tjed was (//whatever colour Tjed is, you choose, Xorlak.//). Wahabbia and Alterna would have been green a short time ago, but now was speckled. In the green were areas that were black (as you cannot have black and red for one country...), and they were centred on settlements, and were growing in size and number. They could be see merging as both countries went from green to black.

Haraldur pointed towards the grey patch, and said, "This is the area currently controlled by the Grey Empire, that is controlled by my father Melkoth (in whose employ I was when I attacked you five years ago, but now my mortal enemy). It aims to enslave the entire world under its iron-clad fist. It is currently fighting the Crimson Empire, which has similar aims."

He pointed towards Alterna and Wahabbia: "These areas were under the rule of Benito Franco Salazar until very recently, when I killed him. Currently the Revolution is spreading and victorious there, as you can see by the expanding areas of black."

A spot of black appeared in the middle of a pool of green, and then spread out.

"Here you have just seen a settlement vote to collectivise all the land around it, and so run it more equally and efficiently. They are not under my control, I have nothing to gain by their actions, other than the same as they gain (if I ever live there). They are carrying out their new lives in an equal society, with no rulers."

A large spot of black appeared before spreading out.

"Ah, and there goes the Alternan capital. Now, why am I telling you this? I am doing this, 'King', to show that my motives are truly open, but also to show that this is no joke, and that I am determined to bring this to its ultimate conclusion: an Anarchist world."

//Note: In case you do not already know, black is often associated with Anarchism.//

[Trent]

The trio phased nearby pretty soon after Draven did. "Draven," said Zion, "Whether you like it or not, we're helping you with this one."

"This big fuckin' guy was really, really, bothersome before," said Xenai. "This time, I hope that changes."

All three started to gather energy. (1/2 charging posts)

[D. Ein]

-"Well then, off we go."
Ein pushed a lever forward. He then pulled another one, and the machine fired. A new projectile slid in place. Ein, seeing Marshal's confused expression, said:
-"I needed to see if the minotaur will put another log in there as soon as I fired this one. Anyway, now we can REALLY depart."
He pulled yet another lever, cranked some wierd mechanisms, and the machine slowly started building up speed. It went faster, then eventually it stopped accelerating, but it was already going very fast. In fact, a horse would not be able to outrun it.
-"Weiter, weiter ins verberden!" (Onward, onward to destruction!)
--- --- ---

-"So, are we going or what?"
Steorra was walking about, looking bored.

--- --- ---
Leaven whipped out the crossbow given to him, took out a bolt and tied the explosive rope to it. This process took quite a while (imagine tying something while you're using one hand to keep yourself on the ceiling!), but he managed it. He prepared to fire through the hole.

[Xorlak]

"There are good demons and there are foul demons, my friend, and we all know the difference..."

King Henri looked at the map with interest.

"The Crimson Empire is evil, and deserves your wrath.  I've heard of Alterna's foul deeds as well.  Anarchy would be an improvement for them.  But keep your 'revolution' away from our nation."

Suddenly a bright blue light emitted from the man's forehead, and a third eye stared at Haraldur.

"I can see your work at hand, cleansing Gaian of unjust tyrants.  But I have no such desires, and I will protect our people to the end from this... lawless chaos that you speak of.  If you do not believe me, then you are welcome to talk to our populace yourself, and they will laugh at your ridiculous ideals just as my men have.  I stand by my subjects as my subjects stand by me."

The eye grew wider, staring into Haraldur's soul.

"I can see some success.  I can see freedom from oppression...  I can see happiness..."

His tone grew darker...

"But then, when the populace is left alone for some time... as the generations pass... I can see much darkness...  I can see a tyranny far greater than is capable by the worst tyrants today...  Greed is an undefeatable enemy, and no mater how equal the citizens are, each is laced with a very uneven level of greed...  I can see a war spanning the entire globe, and suffering to match...

"Haraldur, your ideals are not meant for this world..."

Ven couldn't hold it back any longer.  His majesty didn't even retort Haraldur's challenging his authority.  He stepped forward, his black cloak flowing with his long strides.  His voice was fiery and became more angry the more he spoke:

"What about you?  What authority do you have, deciding how nations are governed?  Do you take us for some stupid fools who blindly follow the orders of a man just because he claimed some god gave him special privileges?   Or maybe because he has a big strong army and he'll kill us if we say 'no'?  Are we too stupid and weak to decide what is good for us on our own?"

Ven's arm flowed from the cloak, pointing at Henri.

"I'll have you know this 'slightly less tyrannical' man's endless sacrifice for his people knows no bounds, and his wisdom is greater than the entire mind of the people of Tjed combined.  There is no common vote of the populace that could ever hope to match his benign decisions.  If you utter just one more syllable of an insult towards this man or suggest that you intend to defile our great nation with your one-man 'revolution' once more, know that I will claim your head RIGHT NOW!!!!"

As he said the last word, Ven removed his blade from his scabbard and slashed it to his right side, a shockwave of wind emanating from the sword and sweeping across the deck, splintering the wood just below the blade.  The sword exploded in a furious white light, bathing the dark ship in brilliant light.

Henri turned and held out his hand, angrily snapping:

"Ven!!"

The soldiers in-between Ven and Haraldur got the heck out of the way...

(Translation:  Haraldur, go away and let me do one non-political side quest, okay?   Heh...)

[Zeros']

(( Uhm.. Trent: Allen is waiting for Aura to land from the transporter. So, if you could... ))

Zeros' sighed, and shook his head at Ven's rashness. He stepped out of his own hiding place, and let down his cloak. The elbow of his left arm rested on the hilt of his sword, and his right hand was in his trench coat pocket. He looked towards Henri, and shrugged, as if to say 'sorry'.

"Ven... I told you to not act rashly. Now look what you did," he muttered.

[Haraldur]

"Lawless chaos? That is your view, and I think it is one based on inaccurate information, but I will not stress the point. Suffice to say that I disagree, and think ti will be a very sustainable and equal system. Keep in mind, that most aspects of human behaviour, such as greed, are results of the conditions within which they live. Maybe at some time in the future, I could show you the town of Laus? It has currently been away from Gaian for 100 years, for them, due to accelerated time. I think you would find that things are going very well, without either mine, Tesla's or indeed Durruti's involvement."

Haraldur stared impassivley at Ven during his tirade, then spoke:

"I have no authority other than the natural loyalty by those who have met me. I do not order people to do things and assume that it will be done due to my position, as I have no position higher than anyone else's. Many people just choose to carry out my suggestions. Even then, they are not many, as I do most things myself.

"No, you follow him because he was born into that position, and happened not to be massively incompetant. The fact that he is very good at what he does is a bonus.

"This 'slightly less tyrannical man' still has authority which is not the natural authority I mentioned earlier, and that is tyranny. Police, army, taxes, laws, all are parts of tyranny. Inequality of income and power is tyranny. Also, on your point on common votes, you are assuming those votes to be coercive, to have power over others. These sorts of votes would not exist in the society I envision.

"One-man revolution? Wow, I must have many more parts than I thought. Not ten, but 300 million. Wow. Just because I am a type of figurehead does not make the revolution either mine or one-man."

Haraldur brought his hands out in frontn of him, repairing the splintered deck.

"And Ven, and I do know your name from before, there is something I would request of you. I request that you cast your memory back a few days ago, back to when you were stuck with some of my comrades in a settlement that is now part of Laus. And no, there are no popular votes."

Haraldur stared at Zeros'. "Greetings, hypocrite. Have you finally stopped carrying out Draven's dirty work, or is this just a holiday?

"I will take my leave, I have other things to attend to. Good day, 'King', Ven, Zeros'."

Haraldur jumped up, and flew North into the Dark continent.

____________________________________________________________________

Tesla entered the prison, and started unlocking all the doors, finally reaching the one on the end, and opening it, smiling at a bedraggled looking man. The man looked up, and smiled, standing up and the embracing Tesla.

"Where is Haraldur?"

"He is currently moving into the Crimson Empire for an attack, shall we join him?"

"Yes, let us do that."

They flew Northeast, towards where Haraldur's signals were coming from.

[D. Ein]

-"Ignoring me won't get you anywhere. Now, either you will let us through and allow us to search the fortress for Valos or we will both waste time and energy fighting. Then again..." Celer took out one of his own gravity vortexes. "Would you like to do this my way? I can assure you, we brought more than one of these toys. Twelve, in fact, and we still have eleven ready to go."

--- --- ---

The machine with Ein and Marshal was speeding through the woods. Eventually, a rising island in the sky could be seen...
-"What do you expect me to do? We're Aspyes, we hate the Crimsons, and Lawessov just happens to be near the Crimson Capital."

[Dude Man]

"Of course." Darak said. He then headed nearer towards Alphagrad. "I can hear fighting going on." He then pointed to the barrier. "That's what is blocking us from getting in. Could you use one of those fancy spells? From what I saw, you seem to be far greater then average."

----

"Ah, yes. An excellent target." Marshal replied. He then noticed something. "It seems as if somebody has the same idea as us. It looks like that elite force that I saw a few days ago are fighting some people."

----

//I'll wait until Xorlak responds to Abbodahon and Valos before I update them\\

[Xorlak]

(Abodahon wins the quote of the chapter!  Heh...)

Draven's eyes widened in rage as his body turned perpendicular to the ground.  He stayed floating a few inches above the street...  He turned his right hand towards the dark thunder headed his way, meeting it with a blast of crimson flame and neutralizing the spell...

That's it.  Everyone's gonna die...

He padded his right cape pocket... empty... Blast it!  The communications orb... he dropped it when fighting that dragon...

Suddenly Zion, Xenai, and Tsu could hear Draven's voice in their heads...

"One of you go find my communications orb and return it to me... I dropped it in the forest southeast of here... it should give off a detectible aura..."

Draven then became fixiated on Abodahon, ignoring Valos-Nex entirely.

"So, all of my traitor problems stem from you...  Well, then I should thank you for directing me to my proper target..."

He brought both of his clenched fists to his sides.  His black hair began to wave with his increasing aura of flame.

"You worthless demon scum... always trying to meddle in the affairs of superior races... You stupid brutes are meant for nothing but servitude.  Now, accept your punishment..."

Draven brought his fists downwards as his burning aura literally exploded.  A shockwave of flame ripped through the delicate buildings of Alphagrad, disintegrating their very foundations like sandcastles and igniting the rest of the town in a blazing inferno.

Draven was now wrapped in an intensely burning fireball, hovering above a deep crater that the resulting surge of power created...

----

Ven sheathed his sword, and the light died down.  He watched Haraldur depart.

"He's gone..."

Henri's third eye closed.

"What settlement?"

"I saw one of his societies at work.  I hadn't made the connection then..."

Henri placed his arm on Ven, smiling softly and the two began to walk towards the captain's cabin.

"So you were able to see it objectively.  How was it?"

"It seemed... like a utopia..."

"A utopia is unachievable, but you can clearly see that this man is not evil..."

"But... any man who seeks to usurp your reign..."

"He is a visionary, an interesting one at that... a visionary with a lot of power..."

"You're not saying..."

"No, of course not.  Like all visions, his has it's flaws..."

Edward appeared from behind, his arms still folded.

"My liege, we've more pressing matters..."

"Yes, the plague..."

The three ships began to round the northern edge of the island that was once Romme.  The island had returned some time after Retan's attack, but it's populace had not.  It was now an uninhabited, overgrown island...

----

The metal door swung open, and the two soldiers present saluted as Vincent entered the room. He looked around at the various metal compartments, his hand on his chin, the soldiers standing at attention...

He went to the larger one, and looked out the slit in front of it to see the long barrel of the magic powered gun sticking outside.  He then opened the compartment, a violet glow emanating from within.  The soldiers eyed him...

Vincent removed the long slender jewel, looked at it for a moment, then turned it upside down and replaced it in it's slot.  He shut the compartment door.

"Are you this gun's operator?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

"You should be careful.  This turret is liable to explode..."

Vincent placed his hands in his pockets and exited the room, smirking...

----

(Ein, just because I didn't get a change to update these characters doesn't mean they're ignoring yours.  Wait until they respond before updating yours.)

James smiled slightly, placing his hands behind his back.

"Hmm, you are are a few hundred miles off if you are seeking General Valos.  He is stationed in the west quelling some insignificant resistance.  You wouldn't know anything about this resistance, now would you?"

A portal, hmm?  That would be perfect.  If these are in fact members of Ragnar's army, a counter invasion through portal to discover their base of operation would be perfect.  They technically didn't have the authority, but Draven would likely approve...  Of course, it's probably just a blasted bluff...

(The Crimson Empire is still under the impression that the Greys are under the command of Haraldur.)

"Hmm, yes.  Do bring your troops.  We've several friends that are just dying for company..."

James then caught sight of the gravity vortex encased in an orb.

"So that's how it is done...  I see.  I wouldn't mind seeing one of those in action as well..."



"Huh?!  What the--?"

Rufus took a few steps backwards as Ogen regenerated.

"That's just, really freaky man..."

He brought his left fist upwards, the mace striking his metal gauntlet with a loud clang, denting the metal.  At the same time he took a small leap backwards.

"'Course, that just means I get to hit ya a whole lot more!"

His right fist slammed into the ground, fissuring the rocks beneath Ogen.  Two gigantic boulders rose on each side of his enemy, and fell quickly towards him, in an effort to sandwich the man in-between....



Hans jumped straight up into the air, the axe passing under his feet.  He flipped upside down and his hands met the earth.  He catapulted himself away to gain some distance, and landed on his feet.

"Nice, let me show you mine..."

He removed a small metallic tube from his belt.  The upper end of the tube crackled and a beam of light shot forth, forming the blade of a sword.  It was similar to Draven's crimson blade, although it was composed of yellow lightning energy...

Hans flipped the blade towards the ground, which the tip of it passed through, leaving a scar on the earth.

"Check it-- LIGHTING SABER!!"

His feet left the ground and he flew towards Leto at breakneck speed, aiming a quick slash at his adversary's neck...