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Post by hoodwink on Mar 17, 2019 10:00:29 GMT -5
A lot happened at once. Most if not all of the Heartless were immediately disposed or taken care of due to Ailill, something The Vagabond was heavily impressed by. Woah...he caught both of them!? It was too good to be true, really. Not only did the cloaked man deliver on his promise, but now The Vagabond had two test subjects he could work on! Truly, it had been very fortunate that he had decided to enter this world and partake in these 'games'. "After this, I want you to follow me for a bit. First to Castle Oblivion, and then, depending on what happens there, possibly to a world I know of. Don't ask too many questions. This is the favor I ask of you." Ailill finally revealed what the 'favor' was, something that disheartened The Vagabond slightly. It seemed he wouldn't get to try his new experiments on his new subjects just yet. Weirdly enough, the name 'Castle Oblivion' sounded familiar, though The Vagabond couldn't think of an image to pair with the name.
It does sound fair, though. The two Heartless Ailill had captured were some of the most powerful ones he had seen so far. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Just as the researcher was scratching his chin in thought, Ailill rushed towards him, wielding a weave of fire as well as a large claymore. "Ah!" The sudden rush surprised the vagrant, who instinctively put both of his hands up and took a step back. Suddenly, two gigantic arms emerged from his back, crafted from Darkness. Two enormous hands clapped together onto the weave of fire, extinguishing it before it could harm their master. The Vagabond kept his dull green eyes peeled and on Ailill. "Don't hold back. This is a game, after all." The cloaked man sounded so nonchalant, all while rushing towards the man he spoke to with weaponry.
"Fine! You got yourself a deal!" The Vagabond shouted the last part, the large Darkside arms resting at his sides, waiting and ready. As Ailill rushed in with his claymore, The Vagabond used the large Darkside arms to push himself up and into the air, high above the man in the arena. "Try this on for size!" The Vagabond held out his own hands, from them emerging a gigantic ball of dark fire. "Firaga!" The massive ball of darkness and flames hurled through the arena down towards Ailill. It was a honing spell, one that would lock onto the target and chase after them. It was one of his most powerful magic attacks.
Wanting to follow it up, The Vagabond put his hands together into one heavy fist, the large Darkside arms doing the same. As he fell back down towards the Arena, the Vagabond hurtled fist-first as he aimed for Ailill. The hope was to shoot down the powerful fire spell, either dealing damage or distracting him and to follow it up with a powerful melee attack. As he plummeted towards the arena, straight after the large fireball and towards Ailill, The Vagabond hoped his plan would work.
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Post by Conrí on Mar 17, 2019 17:27:07 GMT -5
Ailill watched the man carefully, amused that he'd accepted the deal so readily. One of his clones put a wall of Hardened Air up in front of the Firaga spell. The real Ailill smirked and stood there, using a weave of Lighting above the place where his opponent should be colliding with the wall. As soon as the fireball collided with the wall, he moved around the wall, placing one of his clones in his place.
The Firaga had looked so beautifully intricate in its make up, a pattern Ailill tried to memorise. He hoped to show up at Cordamora's flank and deliver a solid swipe of his sword there. He continued to arc around to the man's other side where he had one of his other clones put a Lightning weave. He then finished his attacks by throwing a dimmension trap at the man. If it worked, it would appear that everyone in the arena would vanish.
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 17, 2019 23:27:09 GMT -5
The cloaked swordsman was a blur of motion as The Vagabond hurled towards the ground, ready to deal one solid blow. Suddenly there was a pressure as the Darkside fists collided with a wall of solid air, beginning to smash through it as lightning was suddenly raining down from above. Luckily, since the large arms of darkness protruded from The Vagabond's back, the damage was minor. With a wince the man crashed into the ground, the large fists falling empty on the crumbling arena floor. There was a small crater where the man had landed, from the impact of the collision. Where did he go-?!
Whipping his head around, the Darkside arms moved on their own as they curled around The Vagabond, protecting him from Ailill's sudden sword attack. Though defended, the sheer force of the attack caused The Vagabond to be hurled off his feet. As the researcher began to fall face-first towards the Arena floor, Ailill's dimension trap surrounded him. The Darkside arms reflectively hugged their host, but this would only protect The Vagabond from physical or magical attacks, not something like being caught in a trap. Especially one this peculiar.
Everything seemed to warp as suddenly the Coliseum arena was empty. All that remained in the walled off square space was the large crater that The Vagabond had punched into the floor, as well as a light smoke form the fire and lightning magic used by Ailill. All of the contenders went missing. Watching from the outside, Phil rubbed his eyes and gaped with an open jaw. The crowd, which had been thunderous in excitement and applause at the battle before them, suddenly fell silent and confused. "What the-" The plump satyr whipped his head around from his spot in the stands, searching for the two contestants. "Where did they go!?"
Where did they go indeed...?
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Post by Conrí on Mar 18, 2019 9:38:26 GMT -5
Ailill smirked as the outside arena now appeared to be foggy image of its former vibrant self. His clones and he surrounded the Vagabond, and they all drew their swords. They each had a twisted smirk on their face. The cloaked man knew that his clones would be disappearing after this. It was an unfortunate loss, but it couldn't be helped. The P--no, that's not what I believe anymore. Not since-- A cruel, dark, blurry image of a memory started to come to him of her Singing. She had been the last...
The man shook his head, and, as a unit, the group rushed at the Vagabond. They coordinated their attacks fluidly and in unison. If all they had was this last go, then, they were going to show off their moves. Ailill chuckled at the fact that he'd finally learned how to put up a decent fight with the forms from his world after all this time. He nodded, and the group twisted around the man in this dimensional trap, blades still blurring and stabbing like annoying needles almost, despite their size. He was simply looking for an opening.
Ailill wondered if he had gotten stronger than Therin at this point. He started to laugh maniacally at the Vagabond, and, his breath exhaled in a wheeze when he finally saw the opponent before him not look so similar to himself. The Vagabond blurred between how he actually was and Rand. Consumed by rage, he nodded again, and he and the clones pushed their onslaught with such force that it should have at least pushed The Vagabond back or overwhelmed him.
The madness. Has it finally overtaken me? Will you...bring me to my end, al'Thor? A strange calmness settled over the cloaked man. It was the look he'd found himself giving in mirrors all too often. The look of one who knew that he was dying, so why not go out in a blaze of glory. As the strange light still flickered, he decided to deceive the other man, "If I release the light in my palm, I can burn your very soul out of existence." The whisper came out in a growl. Like he was thinking about it. "Fortunately, you're of more use to me alive. Shall we go now?" He left the flickering light to die out.
If you were here, raya am'ande, you would have stopped me before I did something so foolish. With a single sweep of your leg, because I'm always caught off guard by your beauty. Sighing, Ailill stared at Cordamora, waiting for a response.
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 19, 2019 1:25:34 GMT -5
Everything shifted, though seemed to stay the same. Wasn't I hit by something? There had been a flashing light, but now the arena seemed to be foggy, almost as if it were a mirage of sorts. Is he an illusionist? It didn't really matter. The Darkside arms on his back were already beginning to move as Ailill appeared and surrounded the researcher with many clones. But are they real, or not? It was an important factor when battling clones. Best to err on the side of caution... The Vagabond set it in his mind that the clones were indeed solid and real clones, able to harm him. His theory seemed correct as suddenly he was rushed from all sides.
In a form of defense, the large dark arms surrounded The Vagabond to shield him from the oncoming stabs and blows, lashing out in an attempt to push them back. A few of the blades had made their way past the large arms, though luckily The Vagabond escaped with some minor cuts on his legs and arms. None were too deep, as the Darkside arms had done their job of shielding their host well, but the pain was there. As the arms pushed out to sweep away the surrounding clones, The Vagabond squared his stance, lashing out with his own fist as the large dark arms mimicked his motion. Ailill seemed to be consumed by rage, suddenly surging forward.
"Like I'd meet you head on like that!!!" The Vagabond moved his arms, the large arms of darkness surging forth on his back to backpedal him before sweeping the researcher off to the side as Ailill surged forth. Sweat was wetting his forehead now, his breathing slightly more ragged than before. He's quick...! It was annoying, being on the defensive. Suddenly, a flash of light caused The Vagabond's dull grey eyes to squint. He hated bright lights. It was emitting from Ailill's palm, radiant despite the distance The Vagabond had gained. Shielding his eyes with a hand for a moment, the researcher heard the mans voice, which sounded different than before.
"If I release the light in my palm, I can burn your very soul out of existence." It was a whisper, a growl, one that cut through the fog of this faded dimension. "Fortunately, you're of more use to me alive. Shall we go now?" The light began to flicker out, slowly waning before fading from existence. Blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light, The Vagabond smirked a bit.
"You're a fool, if you think I've got one of those." His tone was chastising, his finger wagging back and forth. The large dark arms on his back slowly began to recede, shrinking back before fading back into the dark. The Vagabond walked towards the cloaked swordsman, a stern look on his face as he stopped short a dozen feet away. Raising an arm, the researcher pointed at the man. "I already told you, as long as I get those test subjects, you have my cooperation." He was tired of this place, with its eerie setting and wavy outlines. He would have simply escaped using a Door to Darkness, but he couldn't lose those valuable assets! His research could improve immensely from those Heartless.
"We can leave. I'm bored with these games, anyway." Pulling the hood of his open steel blue coat up, The Vagabond's features became shrouded other than his mouth. "So, where are we going?"
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Post by Conrí on Mar 20, 2019 8:39:49 GMT -5
Ailill smirked as his plan kind of worked. He was somewhat amused that the Vagabond said he didn't have a soul. He chuckled. "Sorry, I was trying to put it in a way that would be understood. I guess I should have said that your very existence would have been wiped from all dimensions."
The cloaked man nodded and laughed slightly. Sorry to bore you, Ba'alzaemon. Cordamora just wasn't fitting all that well." He wondered if the new name would scare his enemy or not. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the dimension. The arena appeared clear again and the crowd erupted in a roar. Ailill sighed slightly. Most people had that reaction. He was thankful to release the Power and nearly wretched, but, he controlled his posture.
"To Castle Oblivion." The cloaked man said this simply. "When you're completely ready, I will blink us there. Worry not, your research is safe with me, though, you will have to tell me where to send them."
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 20, 2019 9:25:27 GMT -5
"Sorry to bore you, Ba'alzaemon. Cordamora just wasn't fitting that well."
The name rang through his head. For some reason it sounded more ominous, though truthfully The Vagabond had never heard such a name. Everything seemed to wane and shift, almost as though a candle flame, the arena suddenly losing it's misty and blurry outlines. For a moment, The Vagabond felt weightless and nauseous. Suddenly the Coliseum Arena surrounded them in its usual state, though the large crater on the floor still remained. Whoops... The hooded man toed at it, seeming to ignore the cheering crowd that was erupting in applause. Phil leaped from his watch stand, running over to the square platform as fast as his small goat legs could allow. Ailill seemed to be in different spirits, laughing and seeming to be in a different mind state than before.
That guy is dangerous when he fights. It wasn't just the powers the swordsman had, but the apparent shift in personality as well. Something changed about him when he was in the heat of battle. 'Ba'alzaemon' was reminded of his own mood shifts that used to happen, when his heart had been new to the darkness. Back then the darkness would be able to affect him in ways he couldn't control. Not anymore, though. After rigorous meddling on other worlds due to his research, The Vagabond had discovered the true power of a heart. The power to take on other hearts burdens. Maybe, I can bring balance to this guy, too. He had mostly become a peacekeeper by accident. His research simply caused him to delve into the nature and powers of the heart. Going through different worlds, he had stumbled upon some of their Hearts. World Hearts were magnificent in his opinion, indescribable in beauty and potential. The Vagabond had aided two World Hearts in returning to a natural balance, having absorbed their darkness into his own heart, already twinged with darkness. It had only strengthened him. His heart hadn't shattered or become lost.
Phil finally managed to reach the platform, interrupting The Vagabonds thoughts as he roared: "BOTH COMPETITORS ARE STANDING!" He slapped the hooded man on the back, albeit having to hop in order to do so. "Congrats, stringbean! I didn't think ya had it in ya!" To be honest, the satyr had grown worried when the two had suddenly disappeared. Eyeing the swordsman, the stout coach gave a grin before hopping over to him, punching him lightly on the shoulder. How did he jump so high?
"You're full of tricks, tough guy!" Phil suddenly became very animated, hopping back and forth on the arena floor as he jabbed and punched at invisible enemies that weren't there. "A real ringer!" The satyr beamed at Ailill, tossing him a golden medal fashioned to a golden chain. "Feel free to contend here anytime! You could really make a living at this!" With that, the roaring crowd began to settle down as Phil hopped off the stage, urging them all to hit the gift shop on the way out. He would have a lot of cleaning up to do.
"To Castle Oblivion. I'll blink us there. Worry not, your research is safe with me, though, you will have to tell me where to send them." Ailill mentioned a castle, one that for some reason brought back a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Wasn't I recently at a castle...? His memory seemed hazy as he tried to remember. The two were ushered off the arena by Phil as the hooded man struggled with his memory.
"Radiant Garden is where I've set up my lab." The hooded man turned to look at Ailill over his shoulder, his face shrouded in shadow. "Send them to the sewers. I'm not sure how long this'll take, so please do ensure they stay in a stable state." He was excited for the new opportunities these powerful Heartless held. His next project was going to be different than his last ones. For so long the researcher had focused on extracting a heart tainted by darkness in order to heal it. He had never thought of simply tampering with it while inside the vessel.
Reaching into one of his many pockets, The Vagabond pulled out a glowing green bottle. This world had been full of fighting, he could feel his stamina waning. Downing the contents quickly, the hooded man returned the empty vessel to the pocket he had found it. He liked to recycle and reuse them. For a moment his body glowed with a green aura as he felt reinvigorated. Stretching a bit, The Vagabond turned to Ailill, giving the swordsman a thumbs up.
"Alright, I'm ready." He was curious as to what this 'Castle Oblivion' looked like.
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