Coming Undone

[Dissinger]

Closed.

Wait! I’m Coming Undone!
Irate! I’m coming Undone!
Too late! I’m Coming Undone!
What looks so strong, so delicate!

Korn - Coming Undone

[Dissinger]

“Why are you going?”

“Because our leader just made the largest fucking mistake of his life. I just watched him cut down his men with words almost as efficiently as they were cut down on the field. It’s about time someone went out and gave them the bloody nose they deserve,” The words were spoken with a deliberate tone, the heat of the anger in them not withstanding. What Seth had hoped would be a humbling experience for the Hero of Radasanth had turned into a roast of Jensen Ambrose, who while crass as usual, was not off the mark. The fact Octane and Oreo Jones stood up for Sei showed Seth all he needed. Arguing with Sei wasn’t going to get anywhere but joining Jensen outside the castle.

So, he came up with another idea.

Liliana was trying desperately to get him to stop. Since Seth had joined the Ixian Knights he had done literally nothing beyond irritating the hell out of General Cassandra Remi. Much to his irritation, the girl was gone now, and probably wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. Instead Seth would have to hunt the bitch down after the battle, and pray to the gods above and below that he would do so in time to make her suffer accordingly. He didn’t like rushing his vengeance, anymore than he liked what happened in Sei’s office. Still, he kept his mouth shut, while Jensen ran off being himself, as much as he could.

He turned to his wife, seeing the look of determination and fear in her eyes as she looked upon Seth. The Lavinian gave her a brave smile before hugging her close and whispering, “Don’t worry Angel, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know, it’s just been, nice not having anyone come to bother you all the time. I felt almost like a normal family for a moment,” Liliana said, before she leaned into him, drawing strength from their embrace. Seth gently kissed the top of her head before he whispered softly;

“I know, one day, we’ll be able to rest. Until then I have to do this love. When I get back I’ll make it up to you, tenfold.”

“Why are you doing this for Jensen? Do you like him?” Liliana asked looking up at him.

“What? No, of course not, the guys an ass!” Seth protested.

Liliana smirked looking up at Seth before she poked again, “So you do like him.”

“Look, the guy makes me laugh, I’ll admit that, but that doesn’t mean I like him!” Seth said firmly, looking his wife in the eyes.

“Oh, he makes you laugh, you do like him!” She kissed his cheek before she whispered in his ear, “Go on, avenge your friend.”

“Okay, where the hell is this coming from Lily? You don’t act like this normally. The guy isn’t my friend, and I don’t like him, he’s an ass!”

“You do, otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten so worked up over him being kicked out. Look, its alright for you to make friends, Dumas knows we all need to make new ones to replace the ones we leave behind!” Liliana said even as she smirked.

“You leave your gods out of my life love. Listen, when you go to a play, and laugh at a joke, do you like the actor? No, you like the fact he made you laugh, I don’t have to like the jester to appreciate good humor!”

“Yup, you like him, he’s like a brother to you,” Liliana said a devilish smirk on her lips.

“Me thinks you have too much fun at my expense,” Seth replied with a defeated sigh. He hugged her close before he spoke softly, “I’ll be back in about a month. I want to make sure they don’t follow me back after I do this.”

“So like you, to just march into the room full of guys and take the first swing. I hope Sei doesn’t kick you out for being so bold…” Liliana replied pointedly.

“At this point, I think the troops could use the morale boost. Something to show the enemy isn’t invincible and Valdta wasn’t just luck,” He replied firmly, “Besides, its about time I flexed my muscles, otherwise I won’t be strong enough for the war.”

Liliana gently cupped his cheek before she whispered softly, “You’ll always be strong enough for me Seth. You don’t have to play macho, I know you’re strong enough. Just…be careful. I want Sam to get to know her father, rather than have him run in and out of her life.”

Seth smiled before he whispered, “She’s off learning about the world, I’m sure she wont be back before I come back. Just sit tight, and we’ll all be okay. Alright Angel?”

“Seth, this isn’t a game, lives are on the line here! Please, for me, be careful!” Liliana pleaded.

He closed his eyes before he looked deeply into hers and whispered, “I will, just hold tight, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Don’t die on me Seth,” Finally they got to the crux of the matter.

“I won’t.”

“That’s what you said last time!”

“Then I guess I’ll have to keep my promise this time, won’t I?”

[Dissinger]

Seth moved swiftly towards his target, people quickly making ways for the man on a mission. They could see in his eyes he had devoted himself to SOME course of action. The caves were in the process of being emptied as everyone moved through the areas, not that Seth was all that concerned with what was going on. Instead, he was moving into the family section of the caves, his eyes burning with a focus that seemed undeterrable. Reaching the door he pushed it open, seeing it ajar.

Inside he saw Stephanie and Azza, prepared to go somewhere, perhaps the local playground or some such. The young girl immediatly hid behind her surrogate mother and hugged her leg tightly, even as he saw the woman tense up, her voice seeming firm as she spoke, "You know, everytime she sees you, I have to sleep with her in my bed that night. I would appreciate it if you could at least knock when you enter!"

"Not like she isn't going to need to after what she saw happen to Jensen tonight," Seth replied firmly. He looked at the girl, even as she buried her face into her mother, obviously scared of Seth and his reputation.

"We don't talk about that, and I would appreciate it if you didn't either," Stephanie's voice held a hint of anger, though he could tell she was playing it cool for her daughter, who needed a calm parent, rather than the wild cannon Jensen Ambrose had turned into. When accused of turning the army into a mess by his mere presence, Jensen had responded with his characteristic laugh, and a middle finger to Sei. Sei had ordered Jensen removed fromt he premises, until he apologized not only for his insulting behavior, but his vulgar remarks towards Anita Orlouge, the Daughter of the Dranak Dragon.

Seth could understand from a parent's standpoint, but it didn't make Sei in the right either.

"Where is he?" Seth asked abruptly, cutting to the chase.

Stephanie frowned seeing the look in his eyes before she spoke firmly, "I don't know, now leave. You're scaring my daughter and I don't appreciate that."

Seth reached down, and with a jerk unclasped his dagger belt, allowing it to fall tot he floor. He then carefully kicked the belt to Stephanie's feet, before he spoke, "Azza is it?"

The little girl looked up at Seth with wide eyes, never expecting to be addressed. She spoke timidly, her voice maintaining some strength, possibly from being in such close proximity to her mother, "Yes sir?"

"Those are my knives. I can't hurt anyone without them. I need to talk to your mother, so I'm going to make a deal. You get to hold those knives, and go back into your room, so I can talk to your mother alone, is that a fair deal? Is it okay?" Seth asked, kneeling down to look into the girl's eyes. She immediately buried her face again, and Seth felt a bit of hot anger at having to deal with the kid to get to Stephanie. Still he tamped it down, knowing what he really needed to get the mission accomplished.

Stephanie looked down to the knives on the belt before she spoke, picking it up, "Azza darling, he asked you a question, would you please answer it?"

She looked at the belt in her mother's hands then at Seth before she spoke rather strenly, "You promise not to hurt mommy?"

Seth felt the anger wash away before he nodded firmly and spoke, "I doubt I could, from what I hear, she gives your dad a hard time, and he can beat me up. Right?"

"That's right, daddy's stronger than the boogeyman!" Azza said jumping on that fact. She took the dagger belt into her room, and turned to slam the door.

"Don't pull any of those knives out Azza. Do you understand?" Stephanie yelled to her daughter.

"Yes mommy!" The door slammed shut.

She turned to look at Seth, and he could see her eyes taking in his stance, his clothing, his demeanor. She opened her mouth to speak before Seth spoke firmly, "I hate liars, so if you're going to spout another lie about not knowing where Jensen is, don't bother."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes, even as she set her feet slowly apart. She seemed ready to strike out before she spoke, her voice terse, "How do you know I'm lying? My husband was dragged out of here as a corpse. he could be anywhere in Radasanth by now!"

"If you love him even half as much as Jensen preaches to love you, you'd know where he is at all times. Just like I can tell you Liliana is trying to find something down in the kitchen to comfort herself with, because she knows I'm going out to murder people who's only crime is signing up for the wrong side of this war."

She crossed her arms, her stance stepping down from being hostile. She looked him deep in the eyes before she spoke up, "And why should I give you that information? You going to rub his face in it?"

"No, I'm going to use him to do what Sei should have done in the first place," Seth replied candidly.

"He won't like someone undermining his authority," Stephanie countered.

"I have resources that can't join the Ixian Knights, I use them to do whatever the hell I need to get the job done. I'd consider him one of those," Seth replied firmly.

"Jensen wont just go with you, because you say so," Stephanie replied.

"I wasn't even counting on it, I figure having a chance to prove Sei wrong would do it all its own," Seth said gesturing to her, "I mean really, the guy would jump on this, especially since I hear you guys specialize in this anyways."

"If you hurt him-"

"Please lady, the only thing you have to worry about is me stabbing myself in the ears to prevent me from having to hear his babble," Seth returned.

"If he's in a foul mood, he goes to the citadel. What he's doing there I can only imagine. It probably involves him being a loudmouth though, so he won't be hiding if that's the concern," Stephanie returned.

"We'll be back within two weeks," Seth said a smirk on his lips.

"I hate liars too by the way. I know better than to assume you aren't capable to dealing with me, even without the belt," Stephanie returned.

"One professional to another," Seth replied. Stephanie gestured him to continue before he smirked, "I know you could still kick my ass. I'd wear you out, but you'd definitely give me a run for my money. Even if I was fully armed."

"That's one large confession there," Stephanie said eyebrow raised.

"I'm not at my physical peak anymore, my injuries are catching up to me," Seth responded.

"And Jensen?"

"If he actually shut up for once and took the fight seriously, I might be in trouble," Seth replied with a shrug.

Both of them laughed at the comment.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Jensen stood deep in the shadows of a tree inside the confines of Ixian castle. He watched the children play with a lonely eye, feeling an emptiness stir within him to look at familiar faces. Sneaking into the castle had become a harder and harder thing to accomplish lately, and the fact that his daughter was so far from him drove him nuts, but he had to keep to his convictions. Sei was wrong, and no matter what the immortal had said to get him kicked out of the Ixian Knights, he stood by the beliefs he had in them.

“Hello?” A small voice called to the tree. Jensen smiled, despite nobody seeing his face.

“Hey kiddo!” Jensen whispered. The voice took a deep breath of excitement, before an apple rolled to the floor and a pair of maroon eyes peaked past the tree into the corner of the wall segment. When Jensen saw his daughter Azza he forgot he was supposed to be hiding and snatched her up into his arms, holding her tightly. Azza beamed with joy as she nuzzled her nose into Jensen’s chest, the girl growing quite tall for his tastes. But then again, all little girls eventually do grow up, he supposed. He knocked her little hat off, kissed the top of her head despite her horns that grew from her face, and smiled running a hand through her hair.

“How long are you staying today?” Azza asked sheepishly, shifting to grab her hat from the green grass. Jensen sighed sadly, putting on a brave smile. “Not long,” Azza mumbled angrily. Jensen heard the sounds of feet running towards their hiding spot.

“Sorry, but looks like they found our hiding spot. Tell your mother I love her! And I’ll find a way to talk to you again!”

“I miss you, dad,” Azza whispered. Jensen looked to her and he felt his heart melting to hear those words.

“Love you, kiddo,” Jensen said kissing her on the top of her head. She hugged him tightly as Jensen turned around the tree into the open, finding one of Adolph’s useless warrior priests charging with two guards in tow. A child supervisor was huffing to protect Azza, but when they all saw Jensen it was only the warrior priest who continued to charge.

“Tell Adolph I say hello!” Jensen said chuckling as he jumped up to a branch and pulled himself up. He climbed the tree with expert precision. Then, with one final wave, Jensen Ambrose vanished from Ixian territory.

~*~*~

“Oh bullshit!” Jensen called with anger as he slammed another Ixian Knight hopeful into a wall. He turned, kicking outwards and catching a charging man’s gut before snap kicking with his other leg, ending him. To pass the time and his growing anger at Sei, Jensen put up a sign that all people who wished to join the Ixian Knights go to the citadel. There, Jensen began to educate them on being retarded enough to join Sei’s army.

Two more men ran in, mercenaries each, and he easily dispatched them with a few twist kicks and a backhand. It seemed the caliber of fighters was declining as he began to flip backwards to retreat towards the middle, laughing as he disposed of a few more bodies. He pirrouted, vaulted, uppercutted, kicked and punched the enemies around him with reckless glee of a maddened Jester. He found sport in their cracking bones and gushing blood as he took on four at once, darting around and letting them hit each other and tackle their partners.

It wasn’t until he felt his arm being grabbed and tossed aside did he snap his mirth into focus. He skidded on the grassy knoll of the room he set up in the Citadel. It was just an inside hill of grass, like an indoor field with a king of the hill like feel to it, and now standing tall in the center was the last man he expected to see.

“Oh, Sei sent you to silence me?” Jensen barked angrily as he charged forwards. “You reduced to Sei’s lapdog too, Seth Dahlios?” Jensen spat in rage. His earlier mirth had ocmpletly changed to see to the man he affectionately called Boogeyman. As his boots quaked near he began to flip at Seth, legs kicking outwards to start a flurry of attacks.

With ease Seth blocked the first few blows, but as Jensen did another flip and crashed his boot down the body of a broken hopeful tripped the Lavinian. He struggled and Jensen took full advantage of the situation, easily rolling to his feet and lashing outwards with twirling kicks to keep moving forwards and attacking. Seth was blasted four times in the face as he struggled to his feet, blocking only the blows that he absolutely had to in order to keep up a defense, but eating hit after hit as Jensen didn’t let up for a second.

“Mind,” Seth gruffed. “Calming down,” he felt his chin kicked hard in a flash kick, but saw his opportunity as he hooked arms with Jensen’s upside down torso and leapt upwards, slamming the immortal onto his neck with a perfectly executed Tombstone pile driver.

Jensen felt his body shudder once, and with a sigh he felt all his energy drain from the attack, unable to build up anything more than coughing wheeze of a laugh. Seth looked to him, smiled, and then pushed him away so the body rolled to the floor.

“Get out this room, kids. I wanna talk to the immortal alone,” Seth said with deadly intent.

[Dissinger]

People scattered when Seth told them to leave, his reputation preceding him on this matter. his eyes scanned the immortal for awhile, trying to figure out how best to talk to the man, even as he lay on the grass. A wheezing breath could be heard on the gentle breeze before Seth carefully sat down atop the grass and spoke, candidly, "I need you for a mission."

"You'll have to pay my rate, I don't work cheap for the circle jerk," Jensen replied tartly.

"Sei doesn't know about this one," Seth responded.

"Half price," Jensen countered.

"I'm going to prove him wrong," Seth said firmly.

Jensen raised an eyebrow before he spoke, "And just what do you mean by that?"

"I'm going to use the army's tactics against it," Seth replied firmly before he looked Jensen in the eyes.

"You attacking the Ixian Knights?" Jensen asked suddenly bolting upright.

Seth knew the guy was confused, and so with a disgruntled sigh he held up a hand staving off further comment, "No, not like that you moron. I meant the enemy. They've done a good job of skull fucking us with fear, it's to the point even Taka can't draw steel without reminding himself he fucked up, bad."

Jensen laughed bitterly at that, "That's the biggest joke, he didn't seem to understand what the fuck was up."

"It's hard to understand the whole picture when you're only looking at the situation from the outside. He's doing his job-"

"Badly. I haven't seen the Faggot Fairy King fuck up this bad in awhile," Jensen responded.

"The point is its hard to see the repercussions, because he's detached himself from the troops a bit," Seth countered.

"A bit? A bit is not blaming the entire army failing on me. A bit is not sending a boy who just finished soldier training to be a general only to watch him fall apart at the seams because he never had to give orders, just take them. A bit is not having to publically execute a General because they're a loose canon. A bit, is not sending a demon in without full knowledge of what it'll do to the enemy. A bit is not forgetting that Aislinn is slaving away, and still isn't ready, despite what she says. That medical ward is going to fall apart the second the first true casualties hit, and Aislinn knows it, she's just holding on to hope because that's all she has left anymore!" Jensen replied crossly.

"Listen, we can sit in here holding hands looking at the sky and talk about our feelings over Sei's latest fuck up, or we can make use of the obvious bit of information we have," Seth replied firmly.

"And that would be?"

"The enemy has a base, and it's near Radasanth. Valdta had troops swarming over it, and a couple hundred got away from what I understand. Guys who hadn't committed to the fight before the rest of the forces got destroyed. We got Andy Rorton running around on this continent, and I got a bone to pick with the jackass. Obviously they're hiding in Concordia, so we're going to find out where, and eliminate what Adolph couldn't in Valdta," Seth said firmly.

"You already have an idea, don't you?" Jensen asked.

"Yeah, I wish I didn't. As it stands if my hunch is right, I gotta go clean it out anyways. I made a promise to Gild Sorrain long before Sei Orlouge got my loyalty," Seth replied with a sigh and a rubbing of the bridge of his nose.

"Gild Sorrain, who the fuck is that?" Jensen asked.

"Long story, short version is, the guy who taught me fame wasn't everything. Now get up ass hat, we gotta head to Underwood."

"What the FUCK is in Underwood?" Jensen finally asked.

"If I'm right, and old friend who watches over the remains of a lot of fond memories," Seth replied. He placed his hat on his head before he spoke, "If you got the strength get up, otherwise I'll have the monks treat you.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Jensen watched as Seth talked to his contact in Underwood. The man wore a plain old traveling coat with boots covered in dirt so thick it was as if he was a part of the ground. Both eyes occasionally glanced at the immortal as the Lavinian Demon did business with him, and after forty minutes of them gallivanting about the good ‘ol days and laughing about subjects the knight had clue about, they got to business.

“So you’re sure about all this?” Seth said pointedly, tossing the ale mug to the side and lifting his clothed hand out to grab a bread roll. The man nodded as he shrugged, the information he presented not affecting him in the slightest.

“As sure as the sun rises everyday,” He countered lifting up a knife lathered in warm butter. He spread the ingredient slowly over his bread before taking a generous portion into his mouth, chewing ever so slowly with smacking disgust. Jensen actually had to shy away from the sight for it started to taint his appetite.

“How many?” The immortal asked lifting up his ale and sipping at it. The man again shrugged.

“Enough to oust the Bandit Brotherhood, what do you think?” Jensen gave the guy a smart ass look, taunting him to continue. Either he was intimidated, or simply didn’t care, but he turned to look at Seth before lifting up a small satchel of gold. “Get rid of them, and I think we can work out a deal with Lord Orlouge,” The man dropped the coin purse and sighed leaning back in his chair. “Sad times are coming, but every army needs scouts, and every bandit needs work. I wouldn’t call you Seth if I didn’t need you.” The demon nodded shoving the satchel of golden coins back into the man’s lap.

“Don’t worry about it,” He said producing his own coin. Jensen looked to see Seth was genuinely being polite to this guy, and not the polite banter he usually gave the idiots back inside the Ixian Castle. Jensen began to wonder just who this man was to influence the boogeyman so. Seth rose and Jensen followed suit as he turned walking away. The two walked side by side out the door and entering into the Underwood streets where several folk were trading and shopping. There was a minor competition in the Dansdel, but the two warriors were rather unappealing to the immortal’s taste for mayhem.

“So where we going?” Jensen asked, lifting up his throwing daggers in a smooth action before twirling them back into his belt.

“Into Concordia Forest, where else would people hide?” Seth asked in a gruff tone.

“Okay mister I have an answer for every fucking thing,” Jensen glared to the man as he took point. “Rip the sand out of your vagina and start giving me information to go on so I won’t ask these stupid questions.”

“What are you expecting us to do?” Seth laughed. “Go in and negotiate?” Jensen shrugged.

“From what I saw back in that tavern, the spark of anger inside you seems to be dying down. You sure you’re ready to go back to fighting? Your feelings may get hurt.” Jensen turned mocking the legendary warrior with a pouty face. Seth merely walked by him, brushing his shoulder into the knights.

“Trust me,” He grunted. “When it’s time for us to do our thing, you’ll see more than a spark of anger.” The immortal felt his lips curl into a sly grin.

“Good,” He muttered. “So the going plan is as I thought it would be,” Jensen giggled at the thought.

“Yup,” Seth said, unable to hide his own glee at the growing thoughts as he twitched his fingers near his daggers in Instinct. “Kill ’em all.”

[Dissinger]

"This is great, I haven't seen this many trees ever..."

The words filtered through the forest as a few men stumbled through the Concordia forest on a path that had never truly been blazed. Though people walked it from time to time, such was the expertise in it's use that the forest had not yet given up it's hold on the small game trail. They were talking and relaxing, jokes flying as the men continued their patrol, watching for enemies that might stumble upon the hidden base.

A few low branched trees flanked the path, giving the feeling of leaving an area, and the patrol knew they were nearing the main road. This small copse of trees had often sheltered them when they were forced to hide from Ixian Knight patrols, and had served as their silent saviors. A small clearing had been made behind the tree stand, and served to enhance the idea that this was an outpost. Two guards sat upon the crates that had been moved down for just such an occasion.

The group finally calmed down as they approached the clearing and called out to the men who remained silent. More than a few snickers passed through the group as they thought the guard had fallen asleep, as they were prone to doing so far from General Rorton. Sneaking up on the group they kept hushing each other loudly almost creating a perverse mockery of stealth before they carefully poked the body of the sleeping guard. When the man did not awaken the patrol looked amongst themselves and frowned. Another poke saw the man slump over, revealing his neatly slit throat.

One of the men jumped back, crying out in alarm as he did so looking about the area for the source of the dead guards. The men spread out trying to find out who had killed the posted guard, and just when the tension had reaching a breaking point, the trap was sprung.

A chain whipped out from the tree branches, the lush leaves hiding the figure within. Wrapping about the neck of the leader, he let out a cry of alarm, before his body was hoisted into the air. The other men cried in alarm as their fearless leader was replaced by a figure, holding the other end of the chain. His face hidden under the wide brim of a hat, except for a devilish grin that caused the man to once again cry out in surprise. One man kept backing up, preparing to leave at the sight of his commanding officer hanging by chain from a nearby tree branch, before he felt himself bump into something solid.

Turning he let out another yell of terror as he saw another coated figure, this one easily revealed grinning ear to ear before he jammed a knife up into the man's mouth, pinning the jaw shut and forcing it's way into the brain, "Thanks for playing! As a lovely parting gift, you get the quick death!"

The leader had grown limp, his neck snapping from the force of having the chain constrict, and the taut muscles of his neck giving himself no room to actually cushion the shock of being jarred to a halt at the end of a chain. The chain dissolved into quicksilver strands that reformed on the arm of the man in their midst, and quickly the fight had broken out into smaller contests, with the hat-clad figure being boxed in by three men. The grinning madman that blocked the route back had two of his own men who rushed in hoping to overwhelm the man.

"Looks like they don't know better, wouldn't you say Jensen?"

"Yeah, they're pretty pathetic," The immortal replied even as he rolled forward coming up on one hand. His legs stretched out before he began to use his forward momentum to pivot bringing his legs about in a kick that knocked one of the men to the ground even as the other narrowly avoided a similar fate by jumping back. Unable to defend or dodge a knife was lodged neatly into his throat, and he clutched at the chunk of metal protruding from where his wind pipe would have been.

The fallen man clambered to his feet pulling a knife, and tried to rush the madman brining it down in a stab, only to find his attack neatly side stepped and a knee brought up into his lowered face. As tooth and blood flung into the air a cackle of joy left the immortal's mouth, and he cackled with glee, "I haven't seen fighting this lousy since Taka thought he could fight with his bare hands."

"Careful there Jensen, wouldn't want me to think you're still a knight..." Seth replied firmly. His fight had already seen one man on the ground clutching a knife wound in his stomach that caused him to quiver in pain. Two others were circling about the demon, who was bleeding from a wound to his arm. That grin never left his face as he carefully shrugged his shoulder, testing his pain tolerance before laughing at how well below his pain threshold it really was. He looked at the two guys before he said, "Pity, I could have let you go, then you had to cut me..."

One man moved in sword slashing out only the find a reverse gripped dagger stopping the blade cold. The other man took the opportunity to strike only to find a small knife flung from the man's belt and into his throat, even as he looked at the man who tried to slash at him with the sword. Locked up with his right hand their blades quivered ever so slightly before the demon grinned. The other man had managed to dodge the clumsy throw and was stabbing forward with his sword, only to find the demon move at the last second. Both men struck each other with one impaled on the sword, and the other taking a grievous slash to the chest. Though not out of the fight, the man let out a cry of pain before Seth slashed out and silenced him with a well placed slash across the throat.

In less than a minute the fight had diminished to the gurgling of those drowning in their blood. Seth looked at the downed figured before he narrowed his eyes and nodded, "I think this will be enough bodies, what do you say?"

"Maybe, I'd have liked one or two more boogeyman," The immortal said before he shook his head.

"Yeah, but this isn't a complex one...and push comes to shove we got plan B," Seth retorted.

"I still think plan B would be better..."

"You know what, lets go with plan B, and save A for when we have enough bodies..."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“Holy tap dancing Yedda!” Jensen cursed under his breath. Seth said nothing but seemed to agree as both men heaved on his chain together. Another grunt of frustration and heaving brought the body up to the top branch, where Jensen turned to grab the rope while Seth gritted his teeth holding onto the body. He wrapped twice around the feet, once over the wrists, and again at the neck. Seth was panting as Jensen quickly knotted the rope on the tree branch, and with a nod and pat on Seth’s shoulder the man let out a gasp of air as the chain returned to a liquid state before resting upon his arm once again.

“How much did that guy weigh?” Seth said popping his neck one vertebrae at a time. Jensen kicked the pudgy solider’s body five times before it went slack and fell off the tree branch towards the ground before snapping to a halt and drifting side to side in large pendulum like swings. The branch that anchored the body bent heavily, but held as Jensen and the Lavinain dropped to a lower branch before vaulting to another tree.

“I dunno, guessing three hundred and fifty pounds or so. He was a porker!” Jensen lifted up a bag of small trail mix he looted from the deceased body. “Trail mix?”

“Never thought you’d ask,” Seth mumbled as he lifted two fingers into the bag and dropped some of it into his mouth. He wiped his hands on his coat before grinning, looking down upon a body. Weary eyes came alight with life as they went wide eyed in shock. Trembling mutterings attempted to scream for help, but the muffled cloth in his mouth prevented him from doing so. Jensen kneeled into the man’s face, digging a knee into his inner thigh bringing one hand to the prisoner’s cheeks and squeezing.

“Oh aren’t you so cute,” Jensen cooed as he lowered the man’s face and began to slap him repeatedly in the face. “I’m gonna ask questions, and you’re gonna answer them.” The man looked to the immortal as if he was crazy, but Jensen grinned in pleasure to prove that he was.

“Who’s your boss?” Jensen asked.

“Fumph Ouu,”

“He said fuck you,” Seth grumbled digging his fingers into the bag for more trail mix.

“Yeah, I got that, ass hat.” Jensen looked to the demon and glared before turning back to the warrior. “New rules dip shit; every time you give me an answer I don’t like, I’ll up the pain. You got that in your fucking head?” He slapped the soldier four times upside the head. “Who’s your boss?”

“Gu tu ell!” He defied in muffled words. Jensen let his closed fist connect with the man’s nose. “Amph, sun ova bissh!”

“Go to hell.” More smacking as Seth ate the trail mix. “And, Ahh, son of a bitch.”

“Seth, go fucking play with your dick or something, okay?”

“Trail mix?” Seth offered jiggling the bag. Jensen stood up and smiled.

“Never thought you’d ask,” Jensen said taking the bag and moving on the tree branch so Seth could step forward.

“Bad cop,” Seth muttered lifting up his changeling amulet. “Now I don’t care how you answer, I’ll just cut you until I feel bored enough to stop, or that bag runs out of trail mix.” Jensen jiggled the bag and grinned like a Cheshire cat.

“Ah, love it when the bag is full…” He whispered.

~*~*~

Several soldiers awoke in the morning, the fog still rolling out of the tree lines. Wearily one man lifted his groggy eyes upwards to find some shape in the distance. Calling his superior officer and waiting he peered deeper as he squinted his eyes. The shape was taking more of a hanging quality. Like something from a tree.

When his superior officer came he pointed to the shade creature that softly stirred back and forth. Immediately the man called for soldiers to join him on a search. They walked for five minutes to the edge of the Bandit Retreat, eyes cast outwards for signs of enemies as they slowly made their way forwards. When they reached the shape several soldiers began to go slack jawed. One rather portly soldier was hanging from a tree, a map on his chest with an arrow that pointed forwards down the road. The officer ripped the map off, tossed it to one of his men and ordered them to report to General Rorton what was going on. Knowing full well if he didn’t move forwards on his own his general would be displeased with him. So with a large gulp the man stepped forwards down the road.

Several paces later they found another body with another map, a large arrow pointing west. He ripped the map off, gave it to another solider to hold onto, and moved west. They walked for seven minutes before finding the third body, deep in a clearing. It, unlike the first two, was slumped in a heap on the base of a tree, a bag of trail mix that was spilling onto the forest floor in one hand, and a sign that said ‘Hello, how are you today, Mr. Rorton?’

“See, I told you Rorton wouldn’t come himself,” A voice giggled from behind the troops. Quickly everyone turned around to see one man standing, his cocky smile taunting them to attack him. The officer lifted up his sword before he felt his lung being impaled from behind. Blood gushing out of his mouth silenced his order as he dropped to one knee, clutching his chest as his eyes went wide from shock. The warriors dispersed as the warrior standing before them went to work tossing out several knives. Two more warriors fell to their accurate strikes, and three more collapsed from the rear attack as another man dropped down, a hat covering his features but not his leering grin. One warrior stood left, his hands shaking as he held a map in his hand.

The hat clad warrior turned and grabbed the paper in the dead bodies hand, lifting up the trail mix bag and tossing it to his partner who giggled with spite as he ate a handful. The man shoved the note into the warrior’s trembling hands, slapping his chest as he grinned.

“Got any trail mix?” The hat wearing man said in a throaty snarl. The question coming from left field confused the warrior, and stupidly, not knowing what else to do, shook his head. “Damn.” He looked to his compatriot who tossed him the bag.

“Run, tell your boss the Immortal Boogeyman is coming to get you, and hand him my note.” With a grin he thumbed the exit and the warrior cautiously stepped away before running in a dead sprint back to camp.

“Immortal Boogeyman?” Seth said in dry sarcasm.

“Meh, I went with the flow,” Jensen said climbing a tree. Seth shrugged his shoulders.

“I suppose it is clever,” He mumbled tossing the trail mix bag up and hooking a leg over a low branch and climbing up.

[Dissinger]

"Well isn't this a fine mess..."

The words hung in the air like overripe fruit. The tent that confined them littered with various maps and reports of activity in the area. The table they rested on had only two chairs to accompany it, but according to the gentleman who's boots were upon the flat surface, that was one too many. The owner of the voice was nothing but a source of constant annoyance to the man who was already looking over the numbers.

They didn't look all that good.

Losing half a platoon of men to the so called "Immortal Boogeymen" was insulting enough. The fact they also actively fleeced his men of trail mix even more so. Andy Rorton was not a man of patience, and someone had just given him a bloody nose. The fact this was a man he had already defeated in personal combat, was another thing entirely. That made the situation more frustrating. It was like the Lavinian Demon was taunting him through his men, daring him to try for a round two.

The there was the issue of the red headed woman who was sitting in the chair across from him. Her locks were left loose about her, giving her a wild look, and given her disposition it was a look that fit. The woman's eyes were dead, they held not one spark of emotion or life in them, no matter the smug expression that crossed her face. No matter what he thought, those eyes spooked him mroe than a little. He had heard rumors Seth's had been that way for awhile and if so, it meant it was a choice. The fact this woman made that choice and still managed to feel so smug unnerved the legend killer.

Perhaps he was hunting the wrong legends...

Still the woman had come into the main camp, unimpeded. Any who sought to stop her found themselves submitting to her utterly. Anything to get at the body bound beneath the leather corset, and the matching pants to go with it. She looked like a streetwalker with a dagger belt, and for some reason, the big boss listened to her. Then again that was understandable too.

When someone said they could kill Seth Dahlios, and had the kind of power she displayed in reaching you, you tend to sit up and ask how to pay for such services.

Andy had entered the retreat less than a month ago, and since then the loss of guards had begun. At first they blamed the stupid spiders that ran rampant through the forest. Will there had been negotiations in the work for them to join the cause, they were still a wild card in this growing battle. General Rorton doubted that even with a truce the spiders wouldn't feast upon a few of the men, seeing it as "just payment for their services".

Then the letters had started being left for him. They questions quite a few things about the general, from his manhood to his ability to read. One insinuated that all he was good fro was looking pretty and making noise. He ignored them, called them nothing mroe than an attempt to spook the guards. For the most part it worked, but every now and then he heard the mutterings. Needless to say Rorton was not pleased. When the bitch of a woman Beatrix Dahlios showed up to check up on him, he felt even more pressured.

The result was the meeting that was going on even now, with Rorton doing everything he could not to take the bait. The second he got angry at her, she would know she had him, and he refused to give that bitch the satisfaction. It was just like the men assaulting this place, but on both fronts. To say he was fast losing patience was an understatement. The fact he had not lost it yet was to compare him to an Akashiman monk. Still she had a point, the situation had gotten out of hand.

"Well then, what do you suggest, general?" Rorton replied. General was a word getting thrown around far too much to his liking. Anyone who stood a chance of going toe to toe with any of the nine generals of the Ixian Knights was immediately made a general. It was an organization fast growing a fat head, with no soldiers to run it, even with the influx of people from Salvar and Akashima. The use of the title was more insult than anything, a cheap jab he could take safely at the red headed vixen. Any of the generals was keen on questioning the presence of any other general. There was only one exclusion to this rule, and that was Shiryko Benimaru. That man actually was a decent enough warrior to merit the title, and even then it was done under duress.

"Not my call to make, I'm merely the eyes of our glorious leader. You on the other hand, have complete control. Enjoy that while it lasts," Beatrix replied a sultry sigh leaving her lips. She had made it clear that there were very few people she'd let touch her in even a remotely sexual manner, it still did not stop her from teasing anything with a pulse nearby. The woman was a mere creature of lust, kept on a short leash by their Leader, for the help she was capable of handing out when necessary.

"Doesn't surprise me that you don't know shit about running an army-"

"You're understaffed and losing resources left and right. You can maybe hole up here another week before food runs out. Did you honestly expect me not to notice? You have done a fine job of fucking up General Rorton, and I'm not too keen on saving you from our leader's wrath," Beatrix said cutting him off. She then tapped the map before she spoke, "I would have called a retreat by now. There is no point in grinding more resources to dust trying to hold and untenable position. You'd have been better off making this a roaming camp. Instead you sought a resource well known throughout Corone, and in doing so put your back against a wall."

That got his attention, "Any retreat at this point is moot, they'll ambush us while we move. We're dead either way!"

"Who's fault is that?"

Rorton closed his eyes clenching his teeth and slowly began a count to soothe the fire in his chest. He was about to open his mouth to snap off a retort before another soldier entered the tent, "Sir! A representative of the Immortal Boogeymen is here! He wishes to negotiate a surrender."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

Jensen watched as the tree line rustled with the wind, his face full of content as he let the guards move him forwards. It was a high tension in the camp, everyone looking rather intimidated to see him. When he saw a few familiar faces he winked to them in passing, laughing as he popped more trail mix into his mouth. If the enemy had one thing right, it was trail mix. He rubbed his stomach in a bored fashion, when they stopped at a tent. Exiting the room facility was one rather gruff, dour looking soldier. He favored Jensen with a dark grimace, cracking his knuckles.

“You did a number on my men and made me look foolish. So before you see the general I think I’ll just get some personal time with you out of the-“ His nose began spraying blood as Jensen pulled his fist back, rubbing the back of his head while people ran forwards separating them.

“Sorry, your nose was just so big I felt this urge to reach out and touch it,” Jensen said coolly. “With the blunt end of my closed fist,” he mumbled with a chuckle. When all was said and done Jensen was moved into the tent where he found two people sitting behind a makeshift table. One was a smug little guy, a revolver in hand that he was polishing as his duty boots were kicked up on a stack of what looked like important papers. He had on fine leathers and looked like if he tried a bit harder, he could pass for an incompetent twit. Sei Orlouge probably would like him, Jensen thought with bitterness. The next one up was a vixen and Jensen had a hard time not starring at her body. She was tight, curvy, and not without a charm all her own in the way she ate the immortal with just her eyes. She even licked her lip to let him know she was thinking of him. However, her soulless eyes did give the knight a bit of a shudder.

“Remove his weapons,” the general said in a bored manner, examining the trigger. Jensen shrugged and tossed his jacket open, revealing all his weapons as they clattered against one another making a soft jingling noise like a wind chime. The woman whistled and even the general gave a quick glance. Jensen pulled out his punch dagger first, lifting it up and nodding once as it dropped on the table. Then he pulled out his two pairs of steel daggers. Nice ones they were, and with a flick they landed on the table. The woman moved to touch one, but Jensen swatted her hand aside with a grin. She matched it, leaning back as she smiled looking to the three iron triangular glaives that he placed on the counter top. He chucked the throwing daggers one, two, and three in rapid succession and then lifted a pair of leather gloves with studded steel knuckle pads, slapping them like a whip and winking to the woman. She winked back.

Jensen then began to pull out a short sword from his pants, followed by a bandoleer of throwing knives each one the size of his palm. He did a silly show with a butterfly knife, pretending to lose his grip as it flew out of his hands into the woman’s where she caught it and played it with it much like he did, but without the loss of control, before stabbing it in the table. Jensen dropped for survival knives from his belt, and sighed in pleasure as he stretched.

“That all?” the general asked.

Jensen smiled with a shake of his head, lifting his leg and dropping it on the table, lifting the pant leg up like a stripper, and revealing several straps and harnesses for ankle knives that went all the way up to his knee. He pulled each one out, stabbing them in the table until five were neatly arranged, and then kicked his other leg up performing the same task. When he was done, he looked to them. Before the general spoke Jensen pulled out his next set of tools, a roll that dumped seven more survival knives. The general inspected them and his eyes narrowed before he lowered his feet.

“These belong to our army!” Jensen shrugged.

“I figure five gold a piece and I can get a hefty piggy bank going.” The general gave him a dark look as he rose his eyebrows in challenge. Jensen laughed, and reached down his pants for the ultimate weapon. He fished around, grunting a bit as he groped with his hand down the front of his pants, eyes fluttering in pleasure as his tongue lazily held out.

“What in the name of-“

“Shssh, I like watching him, he’s funny.” Jensen thanked the woman silently, before at last, when the big climax came he pulled out his secret weapon. He sighed in relief, sat in the chair, and flopped the ‘weapon’ onto the table.

With the rubber chicken on top of the pile of arms, Jensen was ready to negotiate.

[Dissinger]

Andy Rorton looked over at the red headed temptress before a sigh of disgust left his lips. Fingers went to the bridge of his nose before he spoke firmly, "You're here to negotiate the surrender of you and Seth Dahlios into custody, start talking..."

"No I'm not," Jensen replied. He let out a soft chuckle at the apparently ludicrous words coming from Andy's mouth before the man narrowed his eyes and spoke;

"Then why are you here? You can't possibly-"

"I'm here to negotiate your surrender. Leave the retreat, never come back, kill the girl and we call it even," Jensen replied chucking a thumb at Beatrix. She eyed him for a moment raising her eyebrow at the statement before a sly smile crossed her lips.

"Seth's worried about me, touching..."

"He's more worried about the several diseases he'd have to ask a discreet priest to remove if he let you touch him. That is, if Seth was right, you are General Gonnorhea right?" Jensen asked his eyes moving between the two.

Knife flashed into hand before the Immortal could look. Rorton moved swiftly, grabbing the woman's hand at the wrist and stopping the casual flick that would have ended the conversation there, "He's trying to get you mad, you'd be doing him a favor by killing him. If he's dead, Seth doesn't have to worry about rescuing him."

"General Incompetence has it right," Jensen replied his head nodding in agreement, "Though can you really acknowledge anything that he does right Major Herpes?"

Both of them tensed at the verbal flogging, even as the men began to fidget nearby. Rorton carefully removed the revolver from the holster before he pointed it at Jensen, "You are really beginning to be an annoyance. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you here and now..."

"I thought you just did. You must be like a ferret, idea pops in and leaves your head. No wonder you can't lead men, you have the mentality of a two year old!" Jensen replied cackling, "Captain Chlamydia should leave now, save herself the embarrassment of knowing you..."

One of the men let out a nervous chuckle at the words, and General Rorton immediately snap fired into the man's head. He was dead before he hit the ground, a fist sized hole appearing where his nose had been. The others carefully moved the man away, watching for signs of displeasure. They didn't want to be the next target of Rorton's temper. Beatrix watched the display passively before she carefully let out a breath and sheathed her knife. Her dead grey eyes bore into Jensen before she spoke, as calmly as her temper would let her, "Seth may get away with those insults, but you are not my cousin. Continue to raise our ire, and we will push the limits of how long before a man capitulates to pain. By the time we decide to let you go, you will wish we had killed you."

"Seth was right, you were wearing the pants in this relationship. So, how many times did you do the nasty with Captain Clueless? I'm certain that the Syphilis is addling both your minds. You should probably get that checked out. I mean how many counts of murder is it when you sleep with someone?"

The knife sunk deeply into the immortals head. The dull thunk of the hilt hitting the skull marked the end of the projectiles journey, even as Beatrix let out a snarl of rage. The immortal let out a wheezing giggle even as he pirouetted and fell to the ground. Even his death annoyed the Hex Magi who looked on with a rage that filled her slender frame, with one exception, her eyes. Roughly she twisted and pulled the knife out before she wiped it on the immortal's jacket and turned to go. Rorton already ordering men to dispose of the body.

There was a tacit agreement that neither wanted the immortal to live.

It was one thing to insult them, to imply either of them wanted anything beyond avoiding each other had been the final straw. Even as they turned to walk away their rage had unified them on that one act. Perhaps the first thing they had agreed on all day. Even as she looked about the compound she let out a frustrated grunt and turned to fling the knife, before she watched horror struck.

An infernal giggling was still emanating from the corpse, even as Jensen arched his back and sprang to his feet. His eye slowly reversing the process of popping even as he twitched subtly in response to the regenerative magic that even now was keeping him alive. Eldritch green energy flowed through his body before he eyed the two of them and said firmly, "Don't you two make the cutest couple, Major Idiot and Seargant Scabies."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

There was unease in the camp as the tension grew. For the past hour General Rorton’s gun had fired four times. General Dahlios, the vixen of the Dahlios clan Beatrix, had screeched so loud in rage that the wind itself howled her fury. On one occasion the body of Jensen rolled out the tent flap, body covered in the knives of those the immortal collected. Beatrix had rushed out, kicking him stiffly in the chest with both feet, and he pirouetted and collapsed, a giggle wheezing out. With heaving breaths she looked down to Jensen, before pulling out her own two daggers and reciting dark words making the weapons glow.

“You stupid insufferable mongrel. This time die and stay down!” The audience gathering knew she was a Hex Mage, the damning soul magic that made Seth Dahlios a legend of Althanas. When she muttered those words an ethereal nail formed from the energy, a purple colored weapon that she used to stab Jensen in the heart with. There was only speculation as to what such a spell did, but chances were from the way she said it, the spell was meant to keep someone down.

To be fair, it did wonderfully.

Jensen suddenly began to giggle, a soft, whine like noise as the green energy rolled around him, sealing the knife wounds and pushing them out of his flesh until they pooled around his stained shirt. The only thing that stuck was the nail, and the immortal looked to it with a laugh the boiled inside Beatrix’s head.

“Knew you wanted to always nail me!” Jensen shouted with a fit of giggles, the woman already anticipating the crude insult as she let out another violent, earth rending screech of battle. She turned on her toes, digging up the dirt as she came at him lifting her feet up in a vault, preparing to pounce him with daggers extended. Jensen continued to laugh as her weapons dug into lungs, effectively killing him again. Each agonizing breath was a cough of mirth, blood spitting up that covered his throat and chin in a thick, sticky paint. When his eyes rolled in the back of his head Beatrix continued to watch him. She paused for a moment, just to make sure, but at last it seemed he was done.

For now.

With exasperated breaths she stood, her breathing not unlike a woman who was just wholly satisfied after sexual intercourse. She licked her blade clean, relishing in the blood of the fallen. Her body turned but not her head as she observed the warrior one last time. As her head turned she caught the glimpse of movement out of her right eye. She turned, looking to the immortal, but he lay still as the dead. Just as she was about to turn again there was another hint of movement. Her body reacted instantly, turning in time to observe him. His chest did not rise, his fingers did not move, his lips did not curl nor did his eyes flutter. She leaned closer to the immortal and could feel no breath entering his body.

Slowly, she stepped backwards, her eyes still upon him as she went to leave, before she heard a laugh. This time she felt her neck muscles tighten and crick, causing pain at the speed she turned her head. The immortal looked as he always did. Still dead. To be sure she waltzed back to him, like a tigress who saw pray trapped in a corner with nowhere to run. Casually she kicked one of the hunting knives on his chest up to her hand, and stabbed him in shoulder. There was no response; No giggles, no laughs, no nothing. She turned her head and began to ponder if she was losing it. Three steps away and she heard another stifled giggle.

This time she roared as she ran towards the dead body, screaming as she took her personal knives and ran them across Jensen’s throat, opening the wound further. She debated for a moment what to do, as hysterical impulses caused her to breath heavy. She heard the laughter still. Even in death, he was still laughing! She would rip that out of him! Her knees shifted so she straddled the immortal’s body, rubbing herself against him as she leaned closer to see if he truly was messing with her. Yet he did not speak, did not breath, and his blood did not run. Her hand gripped his, her thumb pressing firmly on his wrist. No pulse.

She lifted herself, looking to him intently as she gave him a dark, curious eye. Narrowing her eyes she gazed at him, unknowingly stroking his chin in thought with the edge of her blade. She heard running footsteps behind her, followed by a panicked voice that spoke.

“General Dahlios,” he grunted between breaths. Before he could explain anymore however the woman grabbed another of the hunting knives and tossed it at the voice. With ease it slipped into his mouth, and the man died instantly. She did not wish to be disturbed as she lowered her head to the immortal’s chest, closing her eyes as she listened for his heartbeat. There was no soft drumming, no indication that he lived. She looked at his eyes, and they still were rolled in the back of his head. She stood, slowly, lifting her knives up and turned as she began to walk away.

When she was four paces away she heard the laughing again. She stumbled a step, as if catching herself before a fall, and her hair fanned before her as she ground her heel in the earth much in the same manner she ground her teeth. Soon she began to chuckle, her eyes filled with murderous intent as her shoulders began to shift, her chuckling turning to maddened laughter. She turned again, seeing the body only, nothing at all indicating a change at all. She stepped forwards with determined purposes, the laughter ringing in her own mind as she echoed it out from her lips. She twirled the blades she carried to her hand. She would mount his head on her bedpost and use it to tell her lullaby’s while she slept. She would maybe scoop and burn the flesh away, and keep his skull as part of her armor. She was growing attached to the insane dead body. What did she care anyway? All that mattered was cutting off his head.

As she knelt over him, preparing to do the deed she heard laughter again. She giggled with it, before turning slowly. The laughter continued as Beatrix’s eyes widened at what she saw, her lips unable to contain the mirth she felt as she intensified the grip on her daggers. She laughed for a moment with the voice, unable to contain herself as she looked to who stood before, until at long last they both stopped, and the man stepped forward twirling daggers of his own.

“Well isn’t this a heartwarming family reunion,” Seth Dahlios chuckled to his cousin.

[Dissinger]

Seth chuckled at the display even as his knives became alive in his hands. It was the sort of style that looked like pure substance, a knife twirl here, a flourish there. Seth continued to move the knives, adding in flips now and again as the red headed vixen regarded the man, her own giggle dying not long after the chuckle.

"To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?" The words were cautious, ready, even as she subtly shifted into a knife fighting stance. She had fought Dahlios before, when he had been on the edge, distracted, unsure of her talents. That had been years ago, before his death. She knew he had grown since then, watched him fight once or twice, but still was uncertain of the strength he truly bore. He had been holding back then, determined to keep his demons in a neat little box.

Then he had been taken to Haven.

"I figured you'd had too much fun playing around with your power. It was time for you to be put in your place. It figures you'd be running around wasting your talent on anything within range. Father, would kill you for your lack of will," Seth replied as another flourish flashed across his body. Beatrix looked about, trying to find where the guards who were supposed to detain him went. It was there that her eyes went wide.

The guard, had been trying to warn her he was the last one left.

"Who's wrath, who's wrath is this?" Beatrix breathed. Bodies littered the ground about the camp. So intent had she been on killing the immortal, she had missed the silent screams, the grunts of agony, the moans of pain. Now, there was only two people standing in the retreat, Jensen's true purpose for showing up brutally revealed. Sure they had killed the Knight of the Apocaypse, but that was nothing compared to what they had accomplished with that sacrifice.

Seth immediately lashed out with a kick, which caught the woman off guard. She had no reason to believe he could even begin to fight while keeping up the twirl of blades. This style of fighting had been unknown to her, and the last time they had fought, he hadn't been using it. The kick caught her in the chest, sending her back as she brought her arms up crossing them to lessen the blow. While she hadn't seen it coming, it didn't mean she couldn't react to it. She hissed as her arm went numb from the pain, only underlining how much she didn't know about Seth anymore. It had been at least a year since he had escaped Haven with the help of the harlot.

Beatrix began an offensive of her own, even as she heard the tent flap rattle showing Andy Rorton emerging from the canvas building. Knife flashed out trying to catch Seth off guard while he was flipping a knife, only to realize, Seth hadn't let down for a second. The flourishes were as deadly as a clock, and with the effort he put into twirling, he was actually disguising the attacks. Blade clashed against blade as sparks erupted between them. Beatrix tried to gain ground only to feel a gauntlet clad fist back hand her readily. She grunted in pain before she stumbled back a step, and watch Seth standing there twirling knives.

"Who's wrath is it!?" Beatrix managed. She heard a chuckle from Andy Rorton who seemed more than content at watching someone kick her ass. A knife was pulled from her belt and thrown with such force it surely should have gotten trhough the Lavinian Demon's defenses. Seth merely twirled, tossing a blade in the air as he grabbed her knife, and spun using her momentum and adding his own as it rocketed back towards her. She barely slid from under the strike as Seth closed the gap another fist catching her off guard as she felt it slam into her gut. She hunched winded as the demon brought the knives to a stop in his hands. A savage kick saw her knocked over as she glowered at the thief.

"Mine," Seth growled as he brought the knife down towards her. The soft click that echoed through the camp brought the fight to the end as the knife stopped the point putting phantom pressure upon Beatrix's eye. She shivered in fear as she realized she had nearly died, even as the demon froze in his tracks. She could see the seething rage, burning in his eyes with an intensity she knew was reserved solely for her. She remained still, lest she push Seth into killing her, and ending her part in the Grand Design.

"I could kiss you Dahlios, for that display you just gave. I can't let you kill her though, that would not be nearly humiliating enough," Rorton drawled. His eyes studied the Lavinian who didn't move, not hazarding to let up the pressure on Beatrix. The second she was allowed to squirm out from under him, she would have pounced like a coiled serpent. The gun remained trained on the thief before he spoke again, "Now, nice and easy, back off the lady. She has a humiliating defeat to survive..."

Seth carefully twirled the knife, placing them in the sheaths on his hips before he carefully moved back from the downed Hex Mage. She could tell from his tensed muscles, he was waiting for her assault, and refused to give him the satisfaction of grabbing a free hostage to escape Rorton. Carefully she scrambled back from the Lavinian Demon and rested on the ground next to her partner in this travesty. He stood at his full height and carefully crossed his arms over his chest as he eyed the gunman.

"I should kill you, make you suffer for what you did to me. Part of me wants to pull the trigger here and now, part of me wants to clap you on the back for pulling off something we could only dream of. The destruction of an entire platoon isn't easily bought. Doing so with only one companion and only losing him in the exchange, that is brilliance I can get behind," Rorton said a hint of genuine amusement and appreciation in his voice.

"You haven't shot yet, so you obviously want to talk," Seth replied, moving carefully to the downed form of Jensen. He carefully pulled knives out of the corpse, setting them down on the ground, almost ignoring General Rorton as he did so.

"Join us Seth, this isn't your war. You don't owe Sei anything, and we can protect your daughter far better than he can. The best you can hope for is that Sei hears about what happens to her, when it already too late to save her. Join us, and we have the rest of the world to protect her, rather than a down on its luck group floundering in the dark," Rorton said the gun still held up. Seth noticed the slight tremor in his forearm with a sense of glee.

Despite what anyone could guess, holding a multi pound weapon up in one hand at someone took a bit of strength and effort. It wasn't something you could do forever, and relied on your stamina. Rorton's was nearing empty in the reserve tank, and if a fight broke out soon, Seth knew the General would be retreating after the opening salvo. Then again, Seth had heard Rorton fire shots repeatedly in the tent. It was possible he was out.

"Is that it? You threaten my girl if I don't submit?" Seth replied firmly, pulling the last knife out. He looked down at Jensen's mangled form before he looked upon Rorton, "Prophecy is a powerful thing, and there's more than one involved here."

Rorton narrowed his eyes before he spoke, "I was only told of the one Sei used to find his generals. I'm surprised you weren't one of them. Possibly a translation error. I think you would have been in Remi's spot."

"What do you think Cousin, am I right? Is this the fight?" Seth replied firmly.

Beatrix narrowed her eyes before Rorton looked between the two. The gun dropping as Rorton's interest was piqued, "What is he talking about General Dahlios?"

"He's merely plying the family business of sowing discord and havoc upon the enemy armies of his cause. This is what he does, for he has nothing left. He's pathetic Rorton, you'd be better off shooting him now and saving us a problem later," The woman replied, carefully standing. "I'll also add he won't join us. He's rather stubborn about the causes he fights for. My involvement here has cemented it as well."

Rorton holstered the gun with a sneer before he gestured at the immortal, "Take him and go."

Seth grinned as he reached down and carefully plucked up his fallen comrade turning to go. Beatrix looked between the two of them before she hissed, "What are you doing General Rorton?"

"He's out of ammo. Has hasn't been supplied for a few weeks, and Jensen blew his last bullets," Seth called. Beatrix moved to follow before Rorton grabbed her by the collar, jerking her back.

"Let him go, all you'd end up doing is getting yourself killed. He wouldn't hesitate to take a knife to rip your throat out. He also just cleaned your clock. I don't think you have a clue how to beat him now, do you?" Rorton said firmly.

Beatrix seethed with rage, her grip on the lust that fueled her powers slipping from her grasp before she shouted, "Cousin! I'm going to make you regret this day! You should have killed me when you had the chance!"

[Enigmatic Immortal]

“How much did we negotiate from them?” Jensen asked as he grunted towards Seth. The two men tossed rope back and forth as they tied the last of the tarp over the final supply cart, three linked together by ten horses. They had to stop several times until they got to the main road, but now that they arrived on the path towards Radansath, and more importantly, Ixian Castle the trip was moving at a relatively fine pace. After Seth had left Beatrix and Rorton behind Jensen awoke from his death. He gave his demands, and added the last, hidden demand that the Hex Mage left written in a folded note to Rorton.

“I already told you,” Seth gruffed back. “All of it. I want a nice stock pile for when the war starts.” Jensen gave the rouge a bit of a glare as he spoke in a heated tone, his fingers trembling as he lifted the reigns of the ponies.

“The war already started Seth. It started in Valdta with Adolph, it was going on since the smear campaign against us. As soon as Taka lost his mercenary company the lines were drawn and it was clear Sei wasn’t ready,” Jensen snapped the leather so it whipped the ponies, and with a stubborn whinny they began to move forwards.

“Sorry, I forgot you get all touchy feely about death,” came the reply from the old warrior. “Considering how much you like to die. Beatrix did you in pretty good, didn’t she?” Jensen gave the man a half hearted shrug as he pitched his fingers into the bag next to him, pulling out a bit of the salty trail mix. “Hey, you have your own bag, eat from there and leave mine alone.”

“Of all the things you get your panties bunched up with, it’s fucking trail mix, Boogeyman,” Jensen teased. Seth gave a half hearted shrug. “Though admittedly, this shit is good.”

Seth kicked his feet back, tilting his hat as he prepared to rest his weary eyes. The two men had done a lot of camping out during their adventure, and the stop in Underwood to let Seth’s pal from the Bandit Brotherhood know the retreat was empty again was the final pit stop. At their current pace they would hit the castle in no time. Just to be sure, Jensen whipped the reigns and forced the beasts of burden into a ground eating trot. The two gave each other an odd look, before both grinned.

“Hell of a time, Boogeyman,” Jensen said.

“That it was,” the old veteran agreed, his head nodding in a solemn manner.

“I’ll take some payment in the form of Trail Mix,” Jensen joked. Seth’s hat tilted up and he eyed him carefully.

“I’d rather just pay the gold to Azza’s piggybank.” Jensen chuckled as he whipped the ponies along. “You think we got the message clear to them?” Seth asked aloud. Jensen looked to the looming towers of Sei’s massive estate. He waited a moment before answering, passing the reigns to the boogeyman.

“Maybe we did, or maybe we didn’t,” Jensen replied evenly. “But at least we did something; more than Sei can say. Take care boogeyman, we hit Castle grounds and I’m not a member of Sei’s circle jerk.” Jensen lifted his arms up giggling as he grabbed a low branch and rolled upwards in a curl mounting the tree and waving Seth off. The old rouge laughed as he saluted the immortal, resting his hands. “Tell my family I love them!” Jensen shouted. Seth lifted a hand in acknowledgment.

“Crazy bastard,” Seth said softly lowering his hand to his bag. He hit the padded seat, and he looked to see his trail mix missing. He looked backwards, seeing Jensen tie the bag up and laugh, darting away never to be seen again. Seth cursed to himself, mumbling darkly as he lifted his hand into the cart and pulling out another bag, ripping the seam and pouring it directly into his mouth.

When the horse drawn carts arrived Adolph stood at the gate, his foot tapping impatiently as he watched Seth ride in. The Chaplain approached the Hex Mage with a soft military nod that he didn’t return.

“You did quite the vanishing act on us. Reports that Concordia had ghosts came to us. Another week and we were going to send William Arcus and his men.”

“Nope, no ghosts there,” Seth said darkly. “Just a couple of poachers. Now it’s time for me to see lord Orlouge. Stephanie nearby?” Adolph gave the warrior a coy look before nodding, his hand gesturing to the red head who looked to him with expectant eyes. He dismounted and patted Adolph on the shoulder heading towards her as Adolph called over a few men to help him bring in the carriage.

“Jensen is just fine,” Seth said before she could speak. “Our mission was a success, and he sends his love, now once I get finished with telling Sei’s what’s what I’ll pay Azza for the service he provided.” Stephanie nodded as she turned with him, a hesitant hand reaching for his shoulder to detain him. He looked to her darkly, but she did not back down.

“I…I guess the words to say here are thank you,” Stephanie whispered. “For letting him blow some steam and hopefully come to his senses.” Seth gave her a friendly nod as he moved on. Adolph looked to the tarps and ordered them removed. When the last rope was cut and the tarp vanished, the Chaplain cursed loudly to himself as the other men surrounding the cart began to laugh.

“Are you kidding me?” Some asked.

“Oh my lord, that’s a lot…” another whispered loudly.

“Is that all the same thing? No way! Pop some open!”

Adolph looked over to the Hex Mage as he walked and gave out a snort of mirth. With a motion from his gauntleted hand he waved the wagons into the Castle. The Chaplain laughed about his predicament, not entirely sure exactly what he could do with three carts of Trail Mix.

[Dissinger]

Seth entered Sei's office looking around, taking in the sights. The warm fire, the desk that was clean and inviting, the look of Anita Orlouge raising an eyebrow at his entrance. It spoke volumes of the thief's skill that he had come back from his fool's errand. To do so looking nearly unscathed was something that was sure to draw attention. Then again, Seth knew that unscathed was easier to pull off than normal. Only Liliana would see the scars from this sortie.

The mute looked upon Seth with his hands folded in front of him. His gaze was piercing as he looked upon the Lavinian Demon, almost inscrutable. The two met gazes for awhile, neither deigning to back down from the other. Finally Sei spoke up, his voice tired, When I asked for your help-

"You agreed to let me do things my way when I saw fit," Seth cut him off. The mute narrowed his eyes at the second act of defiance towards him in as many months. In the wake of Jensen's absence people had followed the rules more closely, had bent over backwards to appease the Ixian Leader. Seth however, seemed unbloodied and unbowed.

Seth, please, take a seat...

"I'll stand thank you," Seth replied firmly. His arms crossed over his chest as he waited. There was nothing passing as friendly between the two and Anita shivered at the cold tone of the Lavinian Demon. Still, she knew better than to speak up in this battle of wills, and wisely looked back and forth between the two.

Why this defiance? I gave no orders to attack the Primordial Enemy. In fact, I believe I gave an order to the contrary... Sei asked.

"Because we stop and remain reactionary to what's going on in this war, we lose," Seth said flippantly.

Seth, that is my call to make, not yours.

Seth moved forward and slammed his hands on the desk, showing a bit of his Lavinian Pride and snarled, "And just when were you going to admit that you had no clue the Bandit Brotherhood's retreat was being used as a forward base? When were you going to tell me that my family has gotten involved on the other side? When were you going to inform us of what the fuck was going on?"

Anita jumped from her chair at the violent act, as Sei remained impassive. His eyes drilled into the stormy gray of the Lavinian Thief even as sweat began to pour from the Demon's forehead. A casual flick of Seth's wrist saw sweat soaked hair flung behind the vision of his eyes. He continued to look upon Sei before he spoke, "You can lie to everyone else out there. You can blame Jensen for what happened last month. You can lie to yourself as much as you want. Don't you dare lie to me Sei Orlouge. I don't like Liars, my family is nothing but a bunch of them, and with the exception of my wife and child I will burn this world alive just to make them suffer. So when you sit in that chair and you accuse one of the few morale boosters in this army of being the reason Taka wasn't ready, Cassandra got out of hand, and Arcus didn't check his target, I call bullshit. Arcus and Remi can't be controlled, you can only point in the direction of what you want handled and pray that they don't pick off stragglers when they do so. Taka is too green to know how to lead and he learned a valuable lesson. At this point you're at a cross roads Sei..."

Oh? The sound of restrained fury hung in Sei's voice, and it was only because of the tentative friendship of the two that the mute didn't give Seth the same treatment he had given Jensen. It also helped that Seth had phrased his argument civilly without dragging Anita's good name through the mud, or even keeping the cursing to a minimum. Still Seth could sense the traces of curiosity.

"We need to act now. The Hex Magi are in this war and even though I know how they operate we don't stand a chance if we don't do something to make their efforts worthless. They're vultures lumping in with the biggest army hoping to raze another continent like my homeland. You stay back and only fight them when they show up, and you are going to give them the forum they need to get all the power they want. If you think I'm a handful, just you wait till you create an entire army of me because you let them cherry pick their spell book."

Sei raised an eyebrow at those words before he leaned forward and said firmly, What do you mean, an army of you?

"Reinstate Jensen, pending his apology for making Anita collateral damage," Seth replied brutally.

To do so would be to appear the hypocrite. I refuse on principle alone! Seth turned to go his knives clinking on his dagger belt before the mute slammed a fist on his desk, Thayne damnit Seth! You're asking too much!

"That is where you're wrong. The loss of a little pride should be the first price you pay in a war," Seth replied quietly, "I lost this fight against my family once, because I stuck to petty pride. I got myself killed for petty pride. Let me tell you Sei Orlouge, pride only means so much when you're staring death in the face. Pride only goes so far when the demons of the afterlife are tearing at what's left of your soul, because you were so prideful you thought you could handle things alone. Pride is not going to keep Anita safe or let Kyla learn what she needs to be a General in this army. Pride certainly didn't help Taka when his family came to kill him. Pride certainly didn't let William check his targets, and for the love of the Thayne Pride did not let Cassandra fucking Remi stop when she murdered my daughter!"

Sei seemed to deflate before he spoke finally, I will on one condition. I need to punish you for disobeying orders. If I let Jensen back into Ixian Castle, I want you to go into solitary confinement for two weeks for Dereliction of Duty and Failure to Follow Orders.

Seth reached over the table and shook Sei's hand before he spoke firmly, "Deal. I will begin the write up about the Hex Magi for your desk soon. Expect it on your desk when I get out and see Jensen back in Ixian Castle."

[Enigmatic Immortal]

To say the air in the castle was electrifying would have been an understatement. The castle was buzzing with rumors and several people had been unable to not hide their thoughts on the matter of the banned bodyguard, Jensen Ambrose, returning to the army. Stephanie Odara, Jensen’s girlfriend had ran to Sei with Tobias close at hand just to confirm the news. Even William Arcus, always the dour soul, had mentioned it was a joy to see his favorite punching bag return.

Many in the knights were happy to see the Enigmatic Immortal return, but the Chaplain’s, ever Sei’s will, kept the people from making too big a show of it. Jensen was only allowed back in if he apologized to Anita, and this was to be a humbling return of a warrior who was out of line and saw the errors of his ways. It was not be a welcoming home party for a martyr.

That didn’t mean Jensen’s friends hadn’t set up a little gathering for him. The message was sent out by Sei to send a messenger to find the immortal, and express his consent to let Jensen back in to see his family and to give his apology. The main courtyard was filled with soldiers who Jensen’s antics had inspired and many gathered to see him once again. Yet while Anita continued to check her summer dress was neat and orderly several times, Taka shadowing her, the mute Mystic and Jensen were not seen. Tobias and Stephanie waited with Zerith and Duffy, all eager to see their comrade once more. Azza held her mother’s hand tightly, excited to see her father again.

Yet the minutes continued to pass, no sight of anyone that wore that trademark jacket. Those minutes turned to two hours of sitting around, before people began to disperse when there was a shout that jolted the assembled audience. It was a cry of mirth, a wail of laughter, and it echoed in the trees causing several birds to fly into the sky in fear. The crowd grew anxious as Anita lifted to her tip toes looking to see the immortal, but the laughter echoed only, never growing closer. There was also terrible malice to it as well. Seth and Sei stepped forwards from his office, the mute holding a large stack of papers as Seth covered his eyes from the sun.

The wind whistled as the laughter died away, and Taka stepped forwards lifting his Katana out guarding Anita. Sei lifted a confused eyebrow as Seth let out a grimace, moving forwards and shoving Taka aside as he lifted a hand out. Easily he plucked the throwing dagger out of the air, a paper wrapped around the hilt. The demon snarled as he ripped the message out, reading it before handing it Sei.

“What’s wrong…” Stephanie asked. Seth looked back to her as the mute read the note before he gave a glance to Seth.

“Let’s get a conference started, Seth, I’ll disperse the crowd.” The demon nodded as he turned to follow the mute, when he felt a set of hands grip his arm tightly. He turned to see Stephanie looking right into his eyes with pleading; an unspoken question asked between them. The rouge, uncharacteristically, lifted his hat and looked back to her.

“Beatrix has Jensen…” the Lavinian said.

[Mordelain]

Rubric Style: Condensed
Thread: Coming Undone (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?21922-Coming-Undone)
Participants: Dissinger, Enigmatic Immortal

Plot 18/30

Story: 7, gripping, well placed within either character’s continuity, and built to last, your story work here was one of the thread’s strong points. When your heroes, though defiant of their leader return to the castle, there’s a real sense of purpose to your endeavour. Questions were answers, more were raised, and the people who witnessed, and were part of the dynamic duo’s riot through the countryside were dealt with tactfully, disposed of appropriately, and I felt involved, too. As with pacing below, a little more exposition, recollection, and references to past and future events would improve the narrative. A reader needn’t be immersed in Jensen and Seth’s personal back story to get anything out of it, but they should be given more titbits to compel them to seek out other tales.

Setting: 5, setting were nominal, at best, with most of the focus going on describing the action, the dialogue, and the mood between the various participants. A few expedient, sparing, yet well placed descriptors, such as the summer dress, the stack of papers hiding Sei’s eyes, and the use of fusion (combining description and emotion to give a scene a different sort of setting – ‘words hung in the air like fruit’ – post 9) kept you above water here, gentlemen, but the reader expects a lot more to paint the picture behind all the conflict. Some of the time, it was as if you were fighting in an eternally white void.

Pacing: 5, the initial, ‘straight into the action’ was jarring. Even the slightest exposition or perhaps a solitary prologue post to set the scene would have eased the reader not necessarily into the story, but certainly into the setting. Once the concrete facts were established, by post three or four, we were back on track and keeping up appearances. The trailing off into the cliff-hanger could have been tempered out into a better rhythm; something a bit easier to stomach than just an end stop.

Character 19/30

Communication: 6, spunky dialogue, plenty of cussing, and lots of to and fro aggression between friends and enemies alike kept you above water here, though the use of slang, earth terms, and colloquialisms that seemed out of place and unusual in the mouths of those speaking them constrained your efforts. Be careful not to let dialogue take over, as well – you can improve on communication in a story by, ironically, reducing the amount you say. Brevity is key applies to everything within a piece of creative writing, and not just to the words in a sentence.

Action: 8, I genuinely found the action, though a little intense, and detached from the environment, to be the most enjoyable part of your thread. You two have, from memory, been involved in a lot of war, battles, and arguments, so I needn’t tell you there’s experience behind every slash, strike, and stab. If you utilise the environment more, and capitalise on moments like Beatrix’s double kick, then this will hit the 9, and, with setting boosts, maybe slip into the ten marks in due course. Excellent work gentlemen.

Persona: 5, sadly, the death of any true literary hero usually comes when he becomes too familiar, too readable, and too much like himself. Jensen, and Seth, have become so engrained in their behaviour that, as enjoyable and brogue like as they are, I'm running out of those awesome ‘shock horror’ moments I had when I first encountered you both. When Jensen or Seth swear, are rude, or beat on the innocent and the downtrodden, it’s not intriguing any more. We know why they are both like they are. You need to consider mixing up behaviour, evolving your characters as the people around them, and the world, slowly change, and giving your reader something new to fall in love with. You are running the risk of hammering the final nail in your coffin by being so intuitively and harmoniously focussed on writing your characters as they've come to be expected. Avoid this pitfall at all costs!

Prose 15/30

Mechanics: 4, as established writers, who have both received numerous judgements, both exemplary, and lacklustre, I am surprised by the amount of standard errors frequenting this thread. Comma errors, speech mark misplacement, formatting errors, and more run-on sentences than I can shake a stick at. Within the framework of the rubric, you will lose out on crucial marks if there’s a mistake in most posts. Here, there was, so please proof read, double check, and ensure you form sentences correctly. Whilst I appreciate the frenetic nature of your characters, and the intense action allows for some flexibility in structure, to give a sense of tempo and danger, some rules should not be broken – the age old capitalisation issue after an ?, or an !, within speech marks was the worst offender.

Technique: 5, you used all the standard points of interest for a thread. You had a beginning, middle, and an end (with suitable cliff-hanger); you used dynamism between friends, an enemy, a set piece sequence, and everybody’s favourite, well placed humour throughout. What cut you off from achieving above average scores here was the damage your Earth references caused. I appreciate it’s difficult to invent names and counterparts to things that would likely exist in parallel cultures, but I found it bemusing to hear syphilis, chlamydia, and other various terms. If it truly is unavoidable to do so, use them sparingly, and not post to post. You should also standardise your enunciation and emphasis methods. Capitalisation is a faux pau in writing that you should avoid unless there really is no other way to put your point across. A dash of italics, a rare sighting of bold, both are all well and good.

Clarity: 6, be careful with action heavy threads not to cloud a reader’s perception of what’s going on with too much momentum. You both developed a thread that required little re-reading, but between post 5 and 7, and when the description turned to intense dialogue, I had to visualise, and re-visualise where everyone was to stay on track. This hampered neither the enjoyment, nor the comprehension, but it did disjoint me from the scene in places.

Wildcard: 5, though the thread was full of character, and you both made an attempt to tell the same old story in a way unique to your character’s, shall we say, peculiar school of douche, I feel you failed by allowing the excitement you clearly had writing it get in the way of developing mechanics, fluidity, pacing, and setting. It came across as if it were intended for an action movie script, and I became lost in the first throws and the uppercuts, too overwhelmed with catching up with every minute motion to truly get a senseofo enjoyment out of the thread. It’s a solid read, but I hope you will continue to work on Dailsen, Jenios? (Brangelina will have nothing on you two!)

Total Score: 57/100



Dissinger gains 1277 experience and 150 gold.

Enigmatic Immortal gains 1460 experiences and 150 gold.

[Letho]

EXP/GP added.