Round 2 Team 7

[Lloyd]

Just as the cold steel of Lloyd’s scalpel kissed the yet colder skin of the woman’s breast Philomel began to panic. She began screaming the name of her fox friend from earlier. Lloyd did not understand their connection, but it was clear that they shared some kind of deep relationship. She was loud, loud enough to scare poor old Hector into taking a second step back from the faun. Though her wailing didn’t stop the young Orlouge; he, like his sinister sister, relished a chance for mutilation.

He merely squinted and proceeded to drag his sharp utensil across the length his her breast. A perfect cut. Speckles of blood began to bead up out of the hairline slit in her flesh. With his fore finger and thumb Lloyd separated her lightly tanned skin. Her muscle pulled apart with such ease exposing her bloody breast plate.

The mystic was so incredibly focused with his impromptu surgery that what was happening around him seemed to become blurred and distorted. When the dark surgeon is in such a state of concentration it is almost impossible for him to respond to outside stimuli. He completely relies his faithful slaves for protection until he has finished whatever or whoever he was working on.

Hector watched with his glazed-over eyes the faun as she continued to panic over her missing companion. Though he couldn’t quite understand whatever she was crying out he could see the utter horror on her face. He grunted and resumed a protective stance over his master. Then, like the forest creature she was she leapt past both Hector and the boy, once more disappearing into the thick.

Easy come, easy go.

Lloyd examined the cold insides of the young woman. He noted that underneath her epidermis and dermis there was a distinct thicker layer of flesh. How strange, he thought remembering back to the last time he saw this. This thick layer of skin was only found in the bodies of fallen demons. Not unlike his mother. He looked up at her face once again to reassure himself that he truly didn’t know this girl.

Still she did not bear the same face as Astrodeia.

Lloyd returned his surgical glare once more to her open chest. He licked his lips before plunging his long pointed fingernails into the opening. It didn’t take too much force to break the breast plate- and past that point he was near his goal. With only his hand to guide him Lloyd explored her insides until he felt it. Her non-beating heart was literally in the palm of his hand. He felt it for
a moment, with his thumb he felt how three distinct cords were connected it to the rest of her body. With a slight fist he pumped it once or twice manually.

Then the Sinister Surgeon froze solid once more. Fear washed over him as he heard the most terrifying voice.

“Son…”

[Philomel]

Your fault he has gone, the voice in her head snided. Its your fault.

“Shut up!” she screamed at herself as she raced through the foliage, “Shut up, its not … not like that!”

Uh huh, that’s just what you want to hear. I am your true voice, dearie, the voice of reason.

Slamming down with anger with the blade of her sword, and yelling in synchonisation, she cleaved a heavy branch that stood in her path. With a short leap she cleared its effects as it fell to the earth, thenflanded on the other side, clear. From there she kept running, speeding like an arrow to a target, but able to dodge the plants in her way. Magically imbibed.

His cry of pain, echoing and piercing, poisoned her head again and she found herself wincing. So harsh was the agony that she stumbled in her step. Her right hoof caved beneath her as his scream gave way to a bought of migraine and unsteadily she swayed, before crashing sideways. A great red oak had its way with her horned head, and knocked her firmly on the crown. She grumbled, faltered and tears slipped like the cold dribbling rain that had first ever begun this terrible misadventure.

So terrible.

Again he cried, and once again she tried to get up to run but - but her leg caved in beneath her. Slipping in the mud that was hardly there, slapping into the pool of water created by her own tears. His voice rose, moaned, and then screamed again, this time truly crippling her with real mental agony.

She collapsed by the side of the tree, sobbing, as miserable as a child in the gutter. Emotions filled her, for open to forces as she was. Emotions from before and after, or times now and earlier, here and there. Sorrow from the inability to help Veridian, of not getting as he screamed. Fear as suddenly she was shunned into memories of her cruel father who beat her again and again. Hatred as she remembered wanting to slaughter every last rapist who harmed her girls. Horror as she remembered abandoning Argarron here, in this forest. The great brown bear of the north, the glorious beast who claimed descent from Drys herself, even though she had no children.

She was lost. She was a child again. If anyone saw her here - Maverik, her mother Lacey, her sailors - they would not see the same strong faun they knew before. The terror of so many years caught Philomel in their icy grasp, and squeezed, trapping her there before she could go and rescue Veridian. She closed her eyes tight shut as the tears dripped, not wanting to see anything. Sliding down the trunk of the tree she curled into a foetal position as the noise reigned around her mind.

As he screamed, and screamed, and screamed …

“NNNOOOOOO ....!”

“You abandoned me …”

The voice from outside.

A voice from outside. Outside her thoughts, outside her mind. Outside in that wide world where the trees were red and society was cruel.

The faun gasped, pulled a shaky breath through her lungs. And she tightened her grip on her sword, noticing now that, strangely, the screaming voice of Veridian had died away.

“You abandonded me.”

She flashed open her eyes as one word formed on her lips.

“Veridian?”

“Pah, you wish, bitch.”

Brown, not russet. Black eyes, not gold. Long hairy nose, rather than a short muzzle, rounded ears rather than pointed and altogether much, much larger.

A roar, right in her face, and Philomel gasped at the face of the earth spirit she had left for dead.

Argarron … The name caught in her throat.

Quickly, she scuttled back but he was far too fast. He followed her. Leaping, the great bear who should have been dead but was now alive, came towards her, huge paws and claws out. There, on the ground, the faun was all but defenceless, save for the white blade still in her hand, and so she raised it he came near.

Yyeeessss .... just in time by like 20 minutes :3

[Lloyd]

Fear… a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain. Whether the threat is real or imagined fear it is instinctive. The young mystic sat still, unable to even breathe, his hand still burrowed inside the woman’s chest caressing her heart.

“Lloyd… what are you doing to your mother!?” The body began to move, yet Lloyd could not. Paralyzed by fear, afraid to acknowledge what was happening. Then he felt the most crippling of things. Her heart began to beat…

Quickly Hector gripped the Orlouge and tore him away from the young lady as she began to fidget and move. As his hand exited her chest cavity a long stream of blood began to spew, speckling his face with red liquid. Still he refrained from looking at the woman. How could he have been so blind? The signs had been all around him from the very moment he laid eyes on this corpse.

“I asked you a question boy!” the corpse started to say as it lifted itself to its feet.

Hector held fast to his master hiding him behind his bulky frame. Lloyd shivered as he mustered up the courage to peer past his slave. His catlike eyes gazed intently over Hector’s should at the woman. Unlike before there was something different about her. Her face had changed, became more familiar. Lloyd quickly pushed himself off of Hector and stood by his side as the gravity of the situation dawned on him. The giant of a slave drew his great sword and held it firm in front of him.

“You’re not real, it is completely illogical,” Lloyd said directed to the corpse that now resembled ever so his faint memories of Astrodeia. He, like normal, was more or less talking to himself, trying to make sense of what was happening. Pode’s magic was great and being a member of the shadow Mystic race Lloyd had strong ties with these dark arts. From the moment he laid eyes on her he should have known. “You’re just one of that Bloody Witch’s illusions,” he said as Astrodeia started to shuffle forward arms extended.

“How could you think that, don’t you remember what your own mother looks like?” she said walking over to her son. Blood pouring from her open chest, she appeared like a visage of the past. With each step she took Lloyd matched it with one in the opposite direction. Out of her mouth he could see razor-sharp fangs and from her fingers talon-like nails.

“How did you get here mother?” Lloyd said making sure to not truly believe anything that she might say.

“Does that matter? We are together again,” she answered. Hector made sure to keep her at the end of his great sword.

“I know that this is only a spell of sorts. You’re not real, you can’t be real. I buried you. We all buried you,” he said to Astrodeia. Anger seemed to cover her face the longer Lloyd denied her embrace.

Then with a loud shriek Astrodeia, or at least the corpse posing as Astrodeia, slashed at Hector with her large sharp nails. Hector raised the base of his large sword to catch her swipes.

“C’mon Lloyd. Don’t you want a hug!?!” he screamed before attacking her beloved son.

[Philomel]

The people died.

She died. They all died.

Or at least, it seemed thus.

War reigned around her as the great bear bounded towards her, claws extended. She let out the loudest of screeches before duck and rolling. Her blade caught Argarrons underbelly, she was so sure, but he seemed unaffected by it. Instead the beast just came at her again.

Tucking her hooves beneath her the faun swallowed, fearing her own life now other than that of her heart's beloved, wherever he might be. With adrenaline as her strength she tried to turn and run, but the bear was faster.

"Get off!" she yelled.

And he answered hauntingly, "Never."

Dark claws scraped down her back, bouncing off her drake scale breastplate and then digging deep into her spine.

With a yelp of pain she threw back what little dust she could find at a moments notice, the audden blow of a magical storm sent raging back at the Monster Who Should Be Dead. This, again, through seemed to not slow him and he just spat before slamming into her back and pinning her to the ground.

"Mine," his noisy, seething teeth scraped by her ear. "Mine now."

She scrabbled at the ground, all but forgetting the power that lay in her magical palm, because she reigned in fear. A lump caught in her throat that would not go, and tears of pain continued to drip as the bear tore into her skin again and again and again ...

She screamed. Like Veridian had screamed before. As high as heaven and so loud that Hell itself could hear her.

"NOOOOOO!"

The bear roared, suddenly, in agony and pain. His hold let go, poisoned as he was in that moment by her piercing cry. It was by no ability, but purely by her horror that she managed the pitch, and it granted her a moment to sieze. Siezed it she did, and as soon as she felt his grip loosen, she scrambled, savagely in the dirt, holding onto her sword for all that it was worth. As he tended to his wounds she ran, as fast as one can go back the way she came, but blindly for the tears stung her eyes.

[Philomel]

I

Admins: this is up to you. Or rather, I guess it is up to you, Sei.

My internet broke from roughly early this morning until about half an hour ago, so entirely convered the time I was going to post in. It cut past the 24 hour mark by about an hour. I entirely understand if I need to be DQ'ed for this one, however I still would like to continue the thread with Ioder.

Many apologies Ioder. Of course I will still help in what capacity I can.

[Lloyd]

In horror the young Orlouge stayed behind his faithful thrall who stood between Lloyd and what seemed to be his mother. Astrodeia, or what was at least pretending to be Astrodeia, swayed back in forth with her razor sharp claws ready to strike. The moonlight that had fought so hard to break through the canopy earlier was no more. With it, went all of Lloyd’s hope, all of his fight.

Ciato was a great father and raised Lloyd like he did with all his children. He, from an early age, was taught that family was everything. And that family, more specifically Ciato and his children, were the only thing that mattered in this world.

Hector let out a grunt as he once more caught Astrodeia’s lustful swipe of her claws. Again and again she lunged her arms forth, slashing at Hector. Lloyd stood back watching as his mother continuously lashed out towards his thrall. Agonizingly his head began to ache as he watched his mother try to kill Hector. Her sour expression was one of both anger and sadness.

“You can't hide behind you little toy for long!” she cackled as the force behind on of her strikes knocked Hector back a step. Hector responded with a mighty swing of his blade.

“No, no no no no no…” Lloyd murmured again and again. It was all he could do. He replayed vivid memories of himself placing white flowers atop her grave. It overlooked the oceans to the west, and was nestled under a large hanging tree. He could remember, though long ago, he having to help Ciato as they dug her grave after she passed.

“What’s the matter dearie? Not happy to see your mother?” she hissed at Lloyd.

“You're not real!” he yelled. “You can be real. I buried you!” Lloyd was filled with emotion. Sadness and pain blanketed over him while he was forced to relive the hardest time in his life. The mystic focused on the last moments he can remember of his mother.

Like a sneaky witch Astrodeia started to laugh at the boy who was clearly struggling to handle what was happening. It was all he had to still command Hector to fight for him, though it was mostly instinct it still required some capacity for thought. She knew that the boy was struggling; she played on his sorrows.

“Having a hard time son? Here let me console you!” She hissed once more at Lloyd before finally making her move. Till now the reanimated Astrodeia was merely moving Hector around, positioning the thrall closer and closer to the surrounding tree line. With every slash of her claws Hector was forced back a step or two. With Hector being mindless and his controller distraught by emotion, it seemed to be over before either of them knew what was happening.

In a crimson splash, Lloyd was covered by specks of his thralls essence. Astrodeia had pushed Hector so far that neither Lloyd of the thrall could see the low hanging vines behind him. After blocking just one more of her mighty blows Hector backed directly up into the deadly vampiric vines which, like any predatory creature, struck. In a simple passing of a second the thrall had been run through by several deadly vines and gone once more cold to the world. He dropped his great sword and with it he faded back into oblivion.

“Huh.” Lloyd flashed back into reality as his link to his thrall had been severed; he was all alone. He reached up gingerly and wiped his face with the trim of his cloak. Astrodeia kneeled beneath Hector’s lifeless corpse and grabbed hold of his large sword. Lloyd knew now that it was going to matter who this was here in a moment. Whoever this was, Astrodeia or Pode, was going to kill him. He stood tall and proud for the first time; he flexed his right forearm and out launched two steel claws from his gauntlet.

“You all by yourself now, are you ready to embrace your mommy?” the corpse woman yelled out as she started for the young Orlouge. From behind the reanimated Astrodeia Lloyd could see a shining light moving in the forest.

[Silence Sei]

Philomel has been disqualified and may not continue to post in this thread. This quest can be moved to another area if need be but as per the request of Max Dirks, there will be no posting in the actual AC thread to make judging easier.

[Lloyd]

“C’mon you dirty old witch!” The young Orlouge yelled as he matched Asrtodeia's charge. Lloyd held strong to his heavy spade while also bringing his claws up to parry Astrodeia swinging Hector’s massive sword. Though Lloyd knew what he had to do he still felt uneasy fighting against the reanimated corpse of his mother. She was now coated in a suit of her own blood spewing out of her open chest.

“Watch your tongue!” she said as the two clashed with a loud sting of steel on steel. The mystic caught the end of the big sword between his two claws and twisted his arm fiercely. He redirected the blade downward to the ground and took his shot.

“No matter what you keep telling me I won’t believe it. I can’t believe it!” he yelled before using the spear end of his spade to skewer Asrtrodeia through her open wound.

“Aaahhhh!” her scream was like the sound hundreds of dyeing children. Though it may have seemed that Lloyd had run her through she was still standing. The magic that hosted her in the realm was strong, stronger than even his. She began to move once more even with his spade piercing through her chest.

“What are you?” he asked as he took a step back.

“How come you can’t just accept that I am your mother?”

“Its because I can still remember. I remember the day you died!” he said as he started for her, more specifically to relinquish his spade from
her chest.

“You do not understand all of this!” she said luring him on. She also raised her sword once more and swung it at her child.

“I know enough that this is all the work of Pode. She is hiding somewhere now controlling all her pawns.” he said as he tucked his head her mighty swing. “And you are just one of her pawn. Who just so happens to make me remember my past.” He wasn’t sure if his assumption of the situation was right but he didn’t care. He just wanted to end this as best he could. With a quick upward motion he gripped his spade and tore it out of his mother’s chest. Again a shower of blood rained on Lloyd whom also used this chance to drag his claws along the length of her torso.

“You little fucker!” she yelled before dropping her sword and simply using her quick and talon-like claws to shred the meat of the mystic’s left shoulder. She tore through his shoulder pad into his flesh like it was nothing. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe I’m you poor dead mommy. I’m still going to have fun nibbling on your bones!”

“Shut your bloody mouth!” he yelled back at her. From his calculations who or whatever this woman was, she is not bound to death. If death was natural she defied it. But there was still something he could do. “Eureka!”

[Lloyd]

Lloyd felt a bitter sting in his shoulder. He nervously reached his hand up to and felt his blood as he it started to ooze form his wound. “Ouch…” he cringed at the sight of his azure essence. But there was no time for any of that now. He had one chance to finish this, only this one chance to come out of here alive.

Philomel was nowhere to be found. Not like she would be of very much help right now anyway. This is not a battle of strength or speed, where she seemed to excel in combat. But this was now a battle of clashing magic. Clearly this was the work of Pode, her district magical influence was visible in everything around them. The reanimated Asrodeia was no different. Lloyd sighed realizing this fact only just now after he had lost both the faun and Hector.

Slowly the mystic reached down into his satchel.

“Are you ready?” he yelled with the stern voice of his father. A tone he heard him use a lot when Astrodeia was still alive. She only dropped her jaw and began to salivate uncontrollably while she gurgled nonsense. Her features started to slowly become more monster like with every passing moment. Her petite frame was starting to fill out and her claws began to grow long. “It doesn’t matter c’mon.” Lloyd finished before dropping his spade and charging his mother.

Astrodeia gurgled something indistinguishable as language before matching Lloyd. In a flash the young mystic pulled from his satchel a bottle. He opened it in mid run and through its contents at his mother. It was a solution that aided him in his surgeries by putting the subject asleep. But in this case when the solution splashed one her face she briefly closed her eyes and shrieked.

Lloyd knew he had to fight fire with fire. The only thing he could do was try to override Pode’s magic by using his ancient talent in the craft. Like a masterful surgeon he somehow pulled a scalpel from his satchel and had it ready in hand. He had only one shot at this.

He spat…

Then with all the force he could muster Lloyd released his claws and plunged them into the reanimated Asrodeia’s left palm. She fell to the ground and with her so did Lloyd. His claws pieced through her hand and continued to pin her to the ground. With his other hand he reared back his scalpel and did the same to her other hand.

“Gotcha!” Lloyd said before taking his hand off his scalpel, digging for his last one. Asrodeia tried fighting and thrashing to escape but between her being pinned. His blades stayed firm in her flesh and he sat all his weight on her. The beast was going nowhere. “Are you ready Pode? Can you fucking hear me in there? You have caused enough pain in this world. Me and my family will put you down permanently.” He began talking to the bloody witch through her vessel.

[Lloyd]

Astrodeia continued to struggle under the weight of the mystic. He only smeared some of the blood from his face with his sleeve and spat in her face. This was not his mother. It never was. She was just one of Pode’s evil curses trying to pray on his emotions. The witch was weak now and pulling out all the stops to kill the resistance.

After a moment he revealed his final scalpel from under his cloak and waved it around in her faces. He tied with all her might to through the boy off her but she couldn’t. She tied biting his hand, but she couldn’t. This was going to be the end of this. Lloyd raised his scalpel up and focused on it intently. From the cold steal tendrils of black shadow magic formed and began to wrap around his arm.

“Any last words in there?” he said smirking, knowing that he had the upper hand now. It seemed that even he can be an amazing worrier like
his father and sister. She only spouted nonsense before Lloyd once more entered her chest though his earlier incision. This ancient technique was his shadow surgery, his form of the nerco art. From the very moment his blade entered her body his tendrils started to work. They first started to repair any dead tissue form the most essential organs. The heart was first, followed by the liver and lungs.

He once more entered a state of super focus while he worked…

Her kicking and screeching no longer bothered him. He could no longer feel or hear them. All he could do was focus on the task at hand. It only took moments for his technique to fully revive her organs to their natural working state. Then he went on to the outer organs and her muscles. She had bad lacerations along her arms that his tendrils stitched up nicely.

“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” he said smiling at his own corny joke. She had stopped moving, all had stopped. It was over…

Like he presumed, Pode’s magic was strong but only affected the dead. But now after having the shadow surgery performed the woman was no longer ‘dead’ in any sense. Her heart began to beat once more and Lloyd who had done this many times before forced his will into her very being though this action. Her face returned to normal, the face nameless visage before dead in the woods.

Lloyd released his claws from her hand and pulled out his scalpel. She softly stood and allowed his newest thrall to stand as well. She had returned once more to a regular human but still kept her elongated claws. Her eyes were the same as Hector’s.

The young mystic felt an immense pressure leave his shoulders as he knew this was over. The war was far from ending but this battle was done. Lloyd had both figured out a loop hole to exploit to negate Pode’s magic and managed to do it without any help.

“I know you can still hear me!” he began to yell once more. “This is the end of your reign. I or any one of use will find you and end your wretched life.” he stood resolute next to Lucy. He was always quick to name his pets. Then he squared her up and brushed off the dust from her shoulders and arms. “This will be a delicious surprise for pops. I need to find him.”

This thread is done. It was definitely hard after Phi left me but Im glad to have something finished.