AC: Round 1 - Group 9

[In The Vastness Of Stars]

I continued to try and make out the image in the distance, my curiosity having the better of me at this point. I took a step forward, only to stop when I heard the crackling of ice from beneath my feet. I looked down at the spider web-like break below me. Carefully, I removed my boot from the not-so-frozen water and back onto the solid land. It was about that time that I heard my name.

I turned, a smile beamed upon my face as I looked at my tam mates, waving towards them. I pointed in the direction of the figure I had just seen, turning my own head to look at it now. I could now make out that the thing was decidedly blue, almost clear. Furthermore, my eyes must have been acting funny earlier, because the figure was now well past the island, on the ice itself. I bit my lower lip, trying to trace a decent path from us to the mystery person.

After all, if they could stand on the ice, than surely most of us could as well. “Hello! Are you well?!” I called out to the person again, still warranting no response. I blinked for a moment, opening my eyes to find that I could now see the thing even better. It was a statue, an ice sculpture of a beautiful woman in a long dress. She had hair flowing down to her shoulders, and the details of her skin were so perfect, one could actually think she was alive.

I stepped forward again, not realizing the folly of my ways until I felt the icy chill of the water soak my foot. I looked down at the sudden cold and removed my boot once more, looking back up to the statue. I could see that the eyes had been chiseled so well that they looked real. The sculptor of this masterpiece must have been absolutely skilled in his craft, for I had never seen anything so beautiful and creepy at the same time.

“You guys got to come over here!” I exclaimed to my team mates, my eyes still on the art work, “This thing is incredible!”

[Resolve]

Following the trail that Abrinano's wrecking ball of a figure had steamrolled through the remaining forest, Resolve soon found herself at a clearing in the forest. More than a clearing, actually; from this vantage point she could see that the woods formed a circular strip around an inner lake, wide and open, a necklace of dusty green settled over a mirror-like ring of ice almost a half mile deep. It was its reflective quality that concerned Resolve, as without texture from weathering it would be slippery and even more precarious to cross in order to reach the small snow-dusted island in the center.

Their wayward team mate seemed to be doing just fine, the Captain hollering for them to come observe a strange figure that had appeared on the ice. Now that Resolve was paying attention to it she realized her initial scan of the landscape had placed it in a different position, as if it had moved when she wasn't looking.

Resolve approached Blake, keeping her eyes on the statue. It was, indeed, beautiful, but its presence was an ominous threat as its blue, glasslike figure perched on the ice, stormy gray clouds from above reflected as if she was rising from the depths of someplace Resolve never wanted to go. Having a sixth sense was handy sometimes, and something in the pit of her stomach was telling her this situation was about to go wrong.

It wasn't until Resolve went to speak that she realized she'd been humming, the tune unrecognizable from memory. That only added to her caution.

"It's alive," she managed to croak out, addressing her team mates. "What the hell is it?"

Simply out of habit she looked to the others as she spoke to them, but that was enough to allow the situation to worsen. A second figure was now standing out on the ice, a distance away, but equally beautiful and menacing. Giving into the encroaching sense of impending doom, Resolve began to panic. She was going to die here and that was a pretty upsetting prospect. She had things to do, places to see, people to flirt with––

She blinked a little longer than usual as her could-be life flashed before her eyes and the second figure got a few steps closer, its pose different now as it crept forward. It was like a game of red light, green light, except you die at the end.

"Keep your eyes on them," she gasped, trying to suppress the urge to hyperventilate. "Don't look away. We might be able to get around them." She attempted to step forward with her gaze fixed on the villainous sculptures, whatever they were, but the ice cracked under her boot just as it had with Blake. They'd need to find a sturdier place to cross, but that would require looking away.

[Opposites]

Abrinano instantly looked up upon hearing about A living statue. The women out on the ice surely were beautiful, so beautiful in fact that Abrinano intently started to walk out onto the ice. Unlike the others however the ice under his feet stood. Even with Abrinano's weight. He kept on going waking on ice that was frozen to the lake bed. Abrinano had found the path created by the creatures to get to the island. The only things was that they had to go right past the the ice maidens to get to the other side. Abrinano wasn't really minding about that as he started to hum the same song as the others. In fact, everyone in the group started humming again. The song was soothing and mystical. As Abrinano got closer however he started to sing as if he had known the song all his life. His voice was ultra bass but he could still sing.

The beauty of the lovely ones
Is the death of those who love.
Every girl you want to meet.
Uses you as a seat.
Many have come to us to die.
Yet another fro m the sky.
Sing with us till they come.
Now rest under the sun.

Abrinano continued to sing the song as he got closer to the statues but another came up and started to walk towards him. It was in his blind spot and the others were watching the two in front of him. He continued walking and singing till he was almost to the other two statues. Suddenly his foot landed on a shallow piece of ice which broke due to his weight he fell into the water and was grabbed around the body by many more of these ice maidens who were Arctic Sirens.

[Liliana Ambria]

Their portly friend seemed entranced with the woman of ice before him, and even without reaching out with her senses Liliana was sure this was bad news. Too many demons had used alluring disguises to ensnare mortal snacks or slaves, sins of the flesh coming as easily to them as breathing. It was one of the few things she retained from her time as a demon hunter, a healthy dose of jaded response to anything to beautiful to be true, because it was.

However when she realized it had her humming some kind of tune her eyes snapped to the man who was already walking the path. Liliana immediately grabbed for the man and hoped to pull him back before he took the first step on the ice, with a failed snatch her words echoed hollowly, "Stay back from them you twit!"

She stumbled a step stepping out onto the ice heavily and let out a frustrated scream before she hit solid ice and frowned looking down. The ice was a solid white here unlike other places where the darker hue of the lakebed could be spotted if on looked deep enough. Her eyes followed the trail behind the feet of the food tester when the Seraph realized that the Siren was drawing him off the path. Looking back at the younger woman she gestured at the Sirens, "Keep your eye on the bitch and give her a present, anything to keep her busy, that idiot is going to step off the ice path!"

Rushing down the path she saw the tester take his first step off the path of pure white and sink into the cold. She gritted her teeth as she muttered an old prayer, long forgotten until this very moment, "Kal Ylem." Inky darkness pulled itself from the shadows about the area forming into a solid rod of power. With a casual swing, Liliana saw the occasional spar with Hoturi had not been unkind to her abilities with the rod as it swept out in a wide arc forcing back a few of the statues. Before reaching the hole she stabbed the staff down using it as a breaking system and stopping her from following him right into his hole.

One of the Sirens made the mistake of reaching out to her before her hand reached forth and gently brushed against the ice statue, "Ort."

Perhaps it was instinct, perhaps it was luck, but the word of banishing found something to grasp. It was a tenuous grip, but it did fling the statue back bodily skidding across the ice as Liliana carefully pulled the staff out of the water. Seeing the flailing body of the food tester she was pleased to see panic had overcome libido in a sick reassertion of priorities. Sex didn't matter if you didn't live to enjoy it.

That was a sobering thought.

Liliana ignored her own racing mind as she reached the staff into the water in an effort to give the man something the grip. With a cackle of glee she carefully pulled the staff to the edge of the ice path before she pushed with all her might, and was rewarded with the man slowly coming towards the surface...

...too slowly.

Looking back to shore Liliana focused on the other girl before she gestured her over and resumed the effort and shouted, "Come on, I need more weight to counterbalance his fat!"

[Resolve]

No sooner than Resolve withdrew her foot from the ice did Abrinano begin his journey onto the frozen lake, his lumbering body finding sure footing on the fragile glass. It was either magic, his body was made of air, or he'd coincidentally happened upon a solid path that could mean a successful crossing for the rest of them. She hoped it was the latter.

The girl edged her way over to where he'd initiated his crossing, cautious to keep her eyes on the sirens that were steadily creeping closer, and had taken a mere two steps forward onto an invisible stepping stone when her sigh of relief was interrupted by the deep groan of cracking ice and a subsequent splash. That was all it took for her to lose concentration on keeping the approaching statues stationary and her eyes whipped over to lock on Abrinano's struggling figure, floundering in the icy water as blue hands groped at his body to pull it under.

Liliana thought faster than Resolve did in this urgent situation; hopefully the strange-speaking man would appreciate that later, if efforts weren't for naught. As the other young woman summoned a staff and began an effort to help the fleshy, flailing Titanic, Resolve took it upon herself to join the attempt, dashing over in a blur of overstimulated senses. Her boots slid on the ice as she arrived, now dangerously slippery from the water that sloshed out and around their feet, but her treads found footing before she joined Abrinano in what might become a hypothermic grave.

The groping, grasping sirens were solid again under hers and Liliana's line of vision, but in that form they seemed to act as anchors and weighed heavily on Abrinano's buoyant self. They had to come off or he had no chance in hell.

With a deep breath Resolve summoned some energy again, much like that which crafted her cup, but this was unrefined, naked, crackling. It formed a whispering ball in her right hand and she thrust it with a confident motion down at the closest villain, causing it to shoot from her palm and straight into the siren's back.

The creature was brittle in that state and cracked like a mirror under the direct hit, fractures spreading like spiderwebs through its torso before a kick from Abrinano broke it into a thousand tiny pieces.

That was encouraging and Resolve had to suppress the urge to fist-pump.

With that encouragement Resolve moved to the next side, sending a blast at the next siren that clung to the giant. Her aim was less true this time out of urgency, however, and the hit nicked the creature's side and met with Abrinano's leg instead. It was a concentrated blow that would likely leave a bruise, if not a hairline fracture or dislocated joint, but it was impossible to tell what damage she'd caused on her team mate while he thrashed in the water. She was hesitant to fire off another blast, afraid she'd seriously injure the man; however, her concerns were lessened when the bottom half of the siren cracked off and sunk down into the water, just its arms, shoulders, and head clinging to Abrinano's clothing.

It was at this point Liliana gestured to her for help, and Resolve cooperated. Leaning down and grabbing an arm, she hoisted the giant with an unladylike groan. With both of the girls' strength Abrinano was pulled from the water and dragged belly-first across the ice like a beached whale. Resolve slipped as they lost the antigravity assistance that the water gave and fell back, her clothes soaked and bottom sore… but that wasn't the worst of it.

The remaining body parts of the last siren had reconstituted into living flesh when she'd looked away, but apparently after the creature's demise could no longer return to a solid state. Dead fingers, pasty and blue, clenched at Abrinano's clothing, the ghastly and beautiful face of the siren pressed against him as if in a deep sleep, her frosty lips curled into the ghost of a smile. Thick, clear ooze dripped from the bottom of her exposed ribcage, skin torn to shreds.

Resolve couldn't catch her breath. She'd done that. And now that gorgeous creature's bottom half was kicking around under the water somewhere, a feast for fish.

It was the most embarrassing thing she could've done, but Resolve began to cry. Not a pretty, heroic trickle of tears but full on shrieks and sobs, globs of mucus running from her red nose. It was mortifying, but if she didn't want to join that poor woman she'd need to avoid the temptation to give into throwing herself a pity party right there and then. That could happen after the tournament was over. Olive threw the best parties, anyway.

The girl struggled to her feet, wiping her face on the end of her sari before looking over to where Blake was contending with multiple evildoers. Resolve took a deep breath, then another and another, as she collected energy in her palm and rose it to take aim. The Captain was far enough away from her target that she was comfortable going for it, and so she did.

The blast missed the siren and punched a hole in the ice just past it. Damn.

Resolve did it again, this time striking the creature's feet and breaking into the ice again, causing the cracking sculpture to fall into the water. It bobbed and then sank. That felt like an accomplishment somehow, though in the back of her mind she feared she'd be done in by it if not now, in her nightmares later. If she didn't have feet she'd probably seek revenge, too. Would an amputee siren survive in the wild?

This ice-breaking method seemed to be working, if not to actually kill the demons but to get them out of the way while they crossed. Resolve shouted to Blake as she tried to sink the remaining sirens.

"There's a path over here! Quick, let's try to cross and get out of their range!"

[In The Vastness Of Stars]

I watched as my team moved like a unit that had been together for years in order to rescue Abrinano. Liliana used an incredible strength to pull the heavy set man out for the most part, and Resolve had seemed to figure out a way to hurt the sirens, at least while they were in ice form. Resolve yelled at me from the distance to cross the ice, and I simply looked at the statues above.

I had faith in Resolve and Liliana’s abilities now after watching them in action. Even Abrinano would probably be able to punch through an ice sculpture or two if he put his weight into it. That left me; what purpose had I served my team aside from getting lost, succumbing to the song of the sirens, and watching helplessly as one of my own drowned before my eyes? I had been useless this entire adventure, and that was about to change.

I withdrew my S.T.A.R. sword once more, shifting my gaze downwards. Resolve was looking towards me, so any statues that were trying to sneak up could not do so. I activated my weapon once more, closing my eyes and taking a huge sigh. My team, my temporary crew would never make it across the ice so long as there were sirens in the water. They’d get pulled down from underneath and then it would be like the Abrinano rescue all over again. “You guys go first!” I yelled back to Resolve, kneeling towards the edge of the water.

“What?! Blake, we can all get across!” Resolve yelled as she motioned for me to come. I simply shook my head.

“You can take care of the sirens above the ice, but what about below? The waters too cold for anyone to stay under there and just stare at them, but I can make sure the things are distracted so the rest of you can go.” I looked towards Resolve with a smile, memories of me ordering my star ship crew to evacuate so I could stay with my vessel flashed before my eyes. That ‘self-sacrifice’ was how I wound up on Althanas anyways, so maybe it would not be a bad thing for me to run distraction here.

I took a step forward into the water, and then another. My body started to shiver as I continued to walk, until I was knee deep in the icy liquid. Without another word, I jammed my S.T.A.R. sword into the water. My own body would be immune to the radioactivity produced and spread through the lake, but the sirens would be a different story; they didn’t have IGS Captain training and thus were easy pray to ‘planet poisoning’ as the higher ups called it.

The water around me began to bubble a bit, the heat from my radioactive sword being placed in the water already heating up my surroundings. “Go!” I barked the order once again to my team mates, hoping Abrinano was in a condition to run, “I’ll follow shortly! You guys get to the island!” I looked down, several hands of ice bobbing out of the water around me, only to sweat away from the increasing heat of the S.T.A.R. sword use. It didn’t even look like the sirens were concerned about grabbing me, but rather trying to escape the horrible pin their bodies must have been going through at this moment.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered so that only I could hear, but I was completely unsure if I was apologizing to the demonic ice creatures, or to my crew for lying.

[Opposites]

Abrinano was indeed able to run. The blast that Resolve had given him was absorbed by his leg fat making it shimmer throughout the body. As soon as he saw the sword hit the ice turning it to water he picked up his allies and started running down the path to the island, destroying the two Ice Sirens that was in their way. He got to the island just in time to turn around and see Blake disappear under the water. He didn't know if the man could swim but it didn't matter he was upset and fell to his knee's crying out "Why didn't you sacrifice yourself to kill us! We weren't a team Captain Blake! Please don't be alright!" he was really upset he didn't want to see anyone die, especially for him, A giant gluten who was of no use except as a cook.

Abrinano then got extremely angry and turned around just in time to see two more Sirens come out of a man made cave. He quick took out his giant fork and knife and pointed it at them they were right between his allies. He wasn't going to loose any more. He ran straight past this allies who looked nervous the squired them both, one on the giant fork, the other on a giant knife, he lifted them up and through them out across the ice, shattering on impact. He looked into the cave and noticed stairs."This mustn't be where we have to go. We shall not complete this quest in honor of our fallen ally," he said turning to his remaining allies

[Liliana Ambria]

Rage.

Liliana looked upon the food tester and felt the last vestiges of her patience growing painfully thin as she looked upon the obese servant. She knew that she was angry, and perhaps this would be clouding her judgment, and she had often told Seth to keep a reign in on his temper because to lose one's anger was to lose control. Further Uriel's wisdom stated that loss of control was tantamount to loss of power. You might win an egagement while enraged, but any gain from such an act would be minimal, for you might cause more damage resolving the issue than before.
None of that mattered to the brown haired wife of the Lavinian Demon, who grabbed the food tester by the front of his shirt and began pummeling him with every voitriolic word she could come up with, "You stupid, incompetant, pathetic, moronic waste of space. What in the hell did you think you were doing going out onto the ice like that? Do you even think? Or are you too busy being contrary to even consider the fact that your childish antics just got someone killed!"

Her breath came in gasps as she glowered at the food tester her eyes boring into his as she said angrily, "I swear to the god I serve if you say another word, word one..." She thrust a finger into his face in order to underline the statement before she continued her tone no warmer than the ice on the lake had been, "I will rip your tongue from your mouth and feed it to the crows. Don't even answer with your lips nod your head if you understand. I am through carrying your fat ass around this island, and the faster we get through this trial the better."

Words said Liliana's demeanor seemed to change in the manner that only a true parent could fathom, her breathing steadied as she looked upon Resolve with a more compassionate gaze. She was faultless in this and had helped as much as she could, Liliana couldn't hate the girl anymore than herself. She merely gestured to the nearby stairs and spoke softly, her rage gone and the adrenaline rush it created making her look far more tired than she had been moments before, "Let's go. I'm done with this place..."

Her heavy boot steps crunched on the snow as she moved in stiff silence, shivering only slightly from the cold winds whipping at her wet clothes. She knew that she would need to change, but was loathe to do so in such an exposed state. She looked back across the banks of the lake to see her satchel, remaining dutifully behind and let out a soft snort of derision, "Of course. Now I see why Seth never sets his down...just my fucking luck."

[Resolve]

Before Resolve knew it she was hoisted up under the arm of the should-be-injured man they just saved and was deposited on the ground safely a short moment after. This turn of events would have earned a heartfelt "what the hell?", but at this point that icy water that had soaked her clothing was chilling her to the bone, goosebumps visible on her bare arms and midriff. Why did she think this would be better than a desert, again? And Blake, he was still back there. Was it okay to move forward without him?

Then Liliana went off like a time bomb and Resolve watched in shocked and befuddled amusement as she berated the gentle giant. He deserved it, that was for sure, but this humorous intermission seemed out of place and so incredibly inappropriate. The girl couldn't help but snort out a pained little laugh between trembling gasps as she gained her bearings again, trying not to think of the Captain who was disappearing under the bubbling surface of the lake.

As Resolve reflected on the ridiculousness of the last few minutes of her life, mere moments that passed in a slow motion blur, the chill was setting in even further. Was it possible to feel a chill in the center of one's bones? She knew now.

By the time Liliana was finished telling off Abrinano, Resolve's fingers were completely numb and her limbs were quickly following. Even her brain was cold and the urge to nap was setting in. Fortunately, she was just aware enough to recognize these symptoms and moved quickly to counteract them.

Resolve bounced up to the priestess with forced optimism and grabbed the other girl's hands, rubbing them briskly in her own. "We will win, don't give up!" That probably wasn't very convincing coming from a person with blue lips and bluer hands, especially since her whole body was vibrating with a shiver that was beginning to inhibit her movements. "Let's do this."

With a deep breath Resolve looked to the stairs in the cave that led down into the earth, the shattered remains of the sirens glittering like cut stones on the path that, if they were lucky, would lead to their salvation. She glanced out at the lake, pushed Blake from her mind with an apologetic frown, and looked back to the cave as she crept forward. "Do you think it's warmer down there?"

And so she descended into the darkness, hoping her team mates would follow. The staircase was long and winding, the stone slippery in places where black ice had formed an invisible obstacle to their footing. Resolve clutched at gaps in the stone wall as she walked, the pathway darkening into near blackness.

Then their descent ended, a blue glow beckoning from the end of a quickly narrowing tunnel. Resolve was concerned for Abrinano's capacity to fit, but she was wretched enough to push concern for anyone else from her mind. She didn't want to go like Blake did.

The end of the tunnel opened up into a small cavern with what appeared to be dwellings built into the walls in a pale gray and white stone, ghostly and beautiful. The light originated from a glowing orb in the center of the ceiling, hanging chandelier-like in a tangle of roots from above. The floor of the underground city was covered in several inches of clear, sparkling water, the stone giving out into a dark, bottomless pit toward the center of the circular space. Perhaps this was the spring that filled the fresh water lake. "Is this where we're supposed to be?"

Resolve was almost taken aback by the beauty and almost stepped forward into the pool of water when there was a bubbling from the well in the center that began regurgitating the shreds of the city's inhabitants that had fallen victim to Blake's action, radiation-boiled chunks of sirens pouring forth with a gratuitous smell that shouldn't have reminded Resolve so much of a good meat stew. She leaned forward and vomited into the water, clutching at the edge of the tunnel so she didn't fall into the muck. "What the hell… Blake, did you royally screw us all?"

[In The Vastness Of Stars]

I had been on the shallow end of the lake, thinking that maybe the sirens would be more concerned about their safety than about taking me out. I was a fool to have thought such things, as what felt like a pair of hands grabbed me by my feet and pulled me under. I made sure to hold onto my weapon with all my might as I was pulled under, deeper and deeper across the lakes floor.

I tried to keep my eyes open, but the water kept forcing me to close them, to reopen and try to gain my composure. I could feel slaws tearing into my clothes all around me. I tried to scream, tried to swim up towards the surface. From down below, I watched as my team safely made it across the ice bridge, which was in and of itself melting away. Even if I hadn’t have been put in this situation, there would have been no way for me to follow my comrades trail.

Upon realizing that I had bought the trio enough time to escape, I smiled, opening my arms wide and closing my eyes shut. I could feel claws and teeth tearing into my skin, pinning me to the floor below and kicking up an underwater dust. There was a pain as they tore at my flesh, but I had found myself losing consciousness before I was delivered any fatal blow. The darkness was wonderful; no pain, no sirens, just the feeling of being in a deep sleep, watching as my memories played out before me as if I were watching a movie.

The greatest victory would come from my self-sacrifice, from my dying so that my comrades would live. No, not comrade….friends. So my friends could live.

It was funny; I had hardly met the group, but all it took was a few rare instances to prove that I would lay down my life for them. I think, when it all comes down to it, it’s all about what you would die for. Yes, I think that’s a good lesson to learn.

But for now, I sleep…

((It’s been a pleasure writing with you all. Blake Andrews has perished, and thus I shall not continue writing for him in this thread. It was fun, guys! Hope we make it to the next round!))