Round 2 Team 4

[Silence Sei]

The team is Alyssa Snow and Cards of Fate. Round starts at Midnight tonight, CST, and lasts for two weeks. Good luck!

[Cards of Fate]

“Oh for Fucks Sake!” Vincent grunted as he sprinted through the Red Forest, his golden hair whipping in the wind. He thought he had been done with Pode’s trickery when he had been freed from her red mist the day before, but it seemed the crimson witch had a little more up her sleeve. All around him corpses of everything and anything that had been felled in the forsaken woods rose from the dirt with murderous intent. This put the scholar in quite the predicament. He had very little desire of being torn limb from limb, but also did not feel like abandoning his quest. Thus it seemed his only choice to “Speedrun” this mission, literally.

His feet pounded the ground with each stride as he propelled himself forward, reaching speeds that he would have balked at mere months ago. All around him the crimson forest seemed to blur as he passed it at ludicrous speeds. His lungs screamed for air as he gasped for each breath. Just a little further he found himself chanting internally with each step. His home, The House of Cards, was just ahead in a clearing kept safe from the regular terrors of the forest by mighty golems. The largest, and most potent, Big Bertha was calling to him; begging the scholar to return to the base and help her fend off Pode’s assault.

A living branch swiped at the scholar, barely missing his tangled mane of golden hair. His blue eyes scanned the path ahead of him for roots, rocks, and rampaging beast as he sprinted. His august purple robes danced on his backdraft. Just a few more seconds and he would be in the clear. He burst into the clearing, grinning ear to ear as he slammed blindly into someone or something.

“Oof.” He grunted as he tumbled to the ground, slamming his shoulder hard into the compacted dirt. He hissed and rolled to his feet turning to inspect who, or what, he had just run into. A flash of platinum caught his eyes as he found the emerald eyed glare of Alyssa Snow staring him down.

“Don’t move Vince!’ she commanded drawing her gun quickly and pointing at him.

“Excuse me?” Vince stammered as he stared at the gun aimed straight at him.

The young woman pulled the trigger and Vince felt the heat of the bullet on his skin as it ripped past his ear. He turned to watch it hit a zombified wolf dead between the eyes. “I told you not to move.” She quipped grinning. The scholar chuckled for a moment and the two quickly pivoted and found themselves back to back.

“Well this is gonna be fun.” Vincent muttered glancing around the forest to take in the damage. A small army of the damned seemed to be gathering at the outskirts of the clearing. The small storm of razor sharp leaves that was Bertha was doing an excellent job of holding the attention of a large majority of them. Two smaller golems made out of actual wood seemed to be having trouble though, the hordes swarming faster than they could swipe them down. “So I’ll take the several thousand on the left…”

“And I’ll take the several thousand on the right…” Alyssa replied nodding. “Got it Vince.”

[Alyssa Snow]

Earlier... (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?28965-Round-1-Group-5)

Out of the frying pan and into the metaphorical fire, Alyssa found herself free from a Dur’Taigen infested mansion only to learn their efforts contributed to the agitation of Pode. Instead of soul stealing flowers, poisonous vines, and plant-wolf hybrids, the entirety of all those fallen here now rose from the earth through dark puppeteering. Pode’s words still hung heavy on her shoulders as Alyssa braved the already treacherous woods and defended herself from the horde the only way she knew how: offensively.

The girl laid down spell after spell, trying to focus on pulling new energies from her surroundings to charge her pistol’s weaponized crystals. The numbers alone forced Alyssa into a standoff of stamina, but she could not keep up with the demand for firepower against the unending supply of living dead. Elves, human, and other abominations of a time long past fell to the ground as she ran. Select shots of ice left spiked prongs in areas of vital importance no matter the anatomy of the target. Half abomination of Alerian science and Half misfit of a Forgotten One’s power, this was the element Alyssa was bred for: destruction.

She closed her eyes to shake off the thoughts of uncertainty. Here, a moment’s delay meant the forest would feed and she too would shamble against friends and foes alike on dark strings. Alyssa had to focus. Her aim, her power, her finesse could only stem the flood for so long. She had to turn the tide, and the House of Cards would provide the fortress in which to stage a counterassault. Her reasoning? Such a widespread display of power could only last for so long no matter what god, immortal, or witch.

Her feet carried her swiftly and her pistols carved a path before her. Two, three, and four rounds discharged into fleshy puppets as she bound into the air over them and through the knotted branches of hungry blood oaks. The girl landed with catlike grace, but the guttural warble of animated dead sent a shiver down her spine. Alyssa turned to find the open maw of an unknown beast ready to swallow her in a bite and braced herself for the inevitable.

Instead of pain, Alyssa felt a violent gust and roar of leaves on the wind followed by the stomach churning sound of flesh rendered from bone. Cold, congealed blood misted onto her skin while she witnessed verdant leaves rush around her like a stone in a stream. Amidst the confusion, Alyssa smiled.

“Bertha!” the blonde teen called out as she turned.

In the center of a clearing, a shambling mass of leaves let out a friendly roar. The forest golem, protector of their home, beckoned its razor leaves elsewhere and sundered a trio of undead to ribbons.

“Thank Thaynes, you’re okay!”

Alyssa hustled to the midst of the clearing as the forest golems enacted their roles as guardians. Under another moon some time ago, Alyssa had fought the golem with her fellow Hierarchy members. They succeeded in silencing the beast but through the efforts of Vincent Cain, Bertha was reborn as an ally stronger than before, now aided by her two wooden “children” born from similar efforts

“Where is everyone else?” Alyssa asked the beast.

It shuddered and rustled a response. Alyssa could only assume that meant the golem did not know.

“Damn!” the gunner swore, “We could really the hel--ugh!”
Alyssa staggered from the force of something slamming into her back. She caught her balance and spun on her heel with gun at the ready. On the other end of the sights, Alyssa found herself eye to eye with a familiar face. Her eyebrow quirked.

“Vince?” she mumbled.

Just a few feet from him, the girl noticed a root raise its bark like a cat would do before attacking another.

“Don't’ move Vince!” she commanded as the root retracted into a row of razor sharp Dur’Taigen teeth. She pulled the trigger and fired a bolt of ice just past Vince’s ear and square in between the two glowing eyes. Alyssa holstered the weapon and held a hand out for her ally. He took it and helped him to his feet. The forest took this moment to advance, and all manners of risen abominations pressed into the clearing. Alyssa snapped her hand back to her revolver and Vincent snapped his back to hers.

“Well this is gonna be fun,” he mused. Alyssa swept her gaze along the treeline where thousands shambled on the edge. Bertha swatted the few that advanced inward, but Alyssa doubted the elemental could handle the numbers if they all blitzed at once. After seeing what Pode could do with the Dur’Taigen in the mansion, Alyssa surmised that was soon to be expected.

“So I’ll take the several thousand on the left…” Vincent mouthed over her shoulder.

“And I’ll take the thousand on the right…” Her words were more uncertain than his. “Got it, Vince.

Then, the dam broke, and the flood began.

[Cards of Fate]

All hell broke loose when the horde began to charge. Bertha did her best to break the mob with blasts of razor sharp leaves that tore through flesh and bone indiscriminately. Vincent made quick work of the few monsters that managed to break past her with his mahogany cane in one hand and a steel sword in the other. A rotten corpse shambled towards him, and a magically enhanced cane strike that splattered it’s semi-decomposed head. A Dur’Taigen rushed him, and his steel blade opened its throat, spilling its life blood on the dirt.

A freshly slain orcish brute charged at the scholar, one arm barely clinging to the rest of his body by a few meaty tendons. Vincent gritted his teeth and swept the feet from under him with the crook of his cane followed by the plunging tip of steel through the throat.. A small group goblins sprinted at Vincent as he struggled to remove his sword but were gunned down by an icy hail of bullets from Alyssa.

“This is bad!” Vincent roared to his partner as he pulled his blade from the earth and cleaved through another shape-changing wolf. “There’s no end in sight!”

“You think?!” Alyssa growled back as she gunned down a charging group of zombified lumberjacks. “I can’t keep up with my spells at this rate!” The two exchanged worried looks. Then, a loud roar sounded behind them. Vincent turned and witnessed one of the wooden golems fall to a wave of undead, pulling it from limb to limb.

“Fuck! Jensen!” Vincent screamed. As if to match him, the remaining tree golem screamed as it too fell to the horde. “Oh shit! Alyssa, we need to move!” Vincent turned to his pale companion and she nodded.

‘Vincent’ a voice filled his head. The scholar stopped for a moment as he realized the leaf golem that had formed around the two in the form of a storm of leaves.

“Bertha?” The scholar asked looking up. Above them glowed an acorn; the source of Bertha’s thoughts and the heart of her magic..

‘Yes, listen carefully. The witch’s influence is trying to take control of me, I don’t have much longer until she succeeds. Please, deactivate my core and flee into the house of cards. There is a seal that will keep you safe.’ her voice filled his ears like a song of rustling leaves in a summer night.

“Into the base?” he asked confused.

“What are you talking about the base for?” Alyssa inquired turning to him. The scholar turned to his companion as he furrowed his brow in confusion. Could Alyssa not hear Bertha’s words?

‘Yes! Justice will know where the seal is. Now, quickly! Get inside before it is too late!’ the golems voice grew more urgent as she spoke. ‘I can feel her… taking over...!’

Vincent scowled. “Alyssa! We need to get inside and activate the fortification seal!” he commanded, looking scared. A horde of reanimated centaurs brazenly charged into Bertha’s wall of wind and found themselves shredded to a pulp.

“How do you... Leona made it clear that only Ioder and I were to know about that! It’s only for an emergency!” the gunner screamed back.

“WELL THIS SEEMS LIKE A PERFECT FUCKING EXAMPLE OF A GODDAMN EMERGENCY IF I’VE EVER SEEN ONE!” Vincent spat slightly irritated.

The two exchanged glares and without speaking a word, broke out into a sprint for the center of the clearing while Bertha cleared the path.

[Alyssa Snow]

With each step, Alyssa’s boots caked with blood and earth from the remnants of Bertha’s fury. Her swirling leaves took up a crimson hue and thin red mist hazed the two with each puppeteered body that met her razor gale.

“Alyssa!” Vincent called to her over the cacophony, “When we get to the entrance, I need you to shoot Bertha’s core!”

“What?!” She had heard him clearly, but her tone of shock elicited an explanation.

“I’ll explain later! Just bust her nut when we get there!”

The entrance quickly approached and the command weighed heavy on her conscious. Without Bertha, they would have easily been overrun. Why eliminate their biggest advantage? Why kill an ally?

A bout of mist hissed against her cheek, giving it a rosen hue and waking her from her doubt.

“We’re here! Now, Alyssa!” Vincent shouted. His fist slammed against the hidden pressure plate and the thick stone doors to the House of Cards toiled open.

“B-but..!” Alyssa’s eyes fixed on the glowing acorn above and leveled her pistol on target. She found her sights would not align and her hand quaked in uncertainty.

“Do it now for fuck’s sake, Alyssa!” Vincent roared before he slid himself through the slowly growing gap between the doors.

The sights would not align.

“I’m… I’m…” Alyssa, an Aleran experiment designed for war, never before aimed her weapons at an ally. They were tools of self defense, to protect herself and those she cared about. They were not meant for this.

Bertha’s leaves began to slow, fall, and turn inward. One stray razor edged leaf lacerated the nape of her neck enough to draw a bead of red. She had to act.

Now.

“I’m sorry!” she shouted. The sights aligned, she pulled the trigger, then shut her eyes. An icy bolt of weaponized magic left the barrel and fractured the luminescent acorn to pieces.

Alyssa kept her eyes shut until she turn away and sprinted for the doors. She couldn’t watch her own hand destroy the Hierarchy’s protector. The increasing roar of footsteps and fiendish battle cries told her the aim was true - Bertha was gone.

“Hurry the fuck up!” the scholar voiced.

Alyssa bolted through the doors, Vincent slammed the mechanism to close them, and she skid to a halt over an unassuming marble tile. Her hand swapped pistol for knife and she pried the stone from the ground revealing an arcane scripture beneath. She quickly drew the blade’s edge across her hand and slammed her bloody palm into the rune.

The doors slammed shut in an instant and illuminated with verdant symbology. The seam that parted the separate slabs disappeared like two beads of fluid becoming one. Then, as a testament to its efficacy, the rumbling thud of corpses crashed into it in vain. Motes of dust parted from the ceiling, nothing more.

Alyssa let out a long, pent up exhale. A similar note of relief parted from Vincent only feet away.

“That was… way too close...” Vincent huffed sliding to the floor with his back to the wall.

“Why,” Alyssa sternly demanded through heavy breaths of exhaustion. “Tell me why, Vincent.”

Vincent groaned as he realized the weight of his decision. He had been able to repair her once, but that was when she had been merely split in two. This time she was probably powder. “Pode...was trying to take her over…” he muttered wiping sweat from his face. “She told me that we needed to take her out before she turned on us.” The scholar pondered for a moment before beginning again. “After this is all said and done I will do my best to repair her, I have more experience this time…”

The girl hung her head like a child scolded. Her damp, blue eyes fixed on her bloodied hands. Though she knew it was her own blood, a sense of guilt told her mind otherwise. If Vincent knew of her connection to Pode, would he be so understanding? If he knew she wasn't even human, would he turn on her like the army that marched against her “mother”?

She clenched it into a bloodied fist and stood.

“Fine, then let’s search for the others. They may have bunkered down when things got bad up there,” she said firmly. She looked to Vincent with determination in her eyes but behind it, Alyssa struggled against the recent events of this crusade on Pode. It was changing her, and she knew it.

So did the witch.

[Cards of Fate]

The two exchanged worried glances as they headed down to the actual “Main” floor of the base. Before them, three hallways extended down to a hallway parallel to the one they were standing in. The small orbs affixed to the walls normally lit up the halls with their glow. Now, they were either flickering or completely black, leaving their once familiar home now cloaked in foreboding darkness. Vincent paused for a moment, his heart pumped loudly in his chest. Something was wrong.

He glanced down and found a wisp of red fog toying with the bottom of his boot. Instinctively, he leapt back and hissed like a cat. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding!” His eyes widened as he glanced around ahead of them. The whole floor, as far as he could see, was lightly coated with the sinister shroud.

“What the hell…” Alyssa a muttered trailing off.

“Pode’s magic…” Vincent replied shaking his head side to side. “I saw this in the main base, she swept the whole place over with a wave of red fog and sent everyone who was asleep into a deadly trance…” He sighed and began to fish through the pockets of his robe until he produced a large fist sized glass orb. “Alyssa…” his voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

“Yes Vincent?” the young woman asked turning to look at him.

He quaked slightly as he took in a deep breath. “Could we...stick together on this one? I don’t…”

Alyssa nodded and glanced at the orb in his hand.

“What’s that?”

The scholar grinned slightly, a small gesture to mask his current fear.

“I bought this when I was in Etheria Port once, it’s an orb capable of producing light!” his eyes lit up as he spoke, “Finally, a use for this little bauble other than reading late at night and exploring the base…”

Alyssa smiled back at the young scholar.

“Way to go Vince...” Alyssa could feel his tension and set a friendly hand on his shoulder. “How does it work?”

“Well I simply say...ILLUMINATE” he gasped the last word, traces of magic reverberating in his voice as the orb sputtered to life bathing the hallway with a pale light. Alyssa clapped slightly impressed by the range the orb seemed to have.

“So I’ll take point with my guns drawn just in case something...not so friendly is down here with us, and you stay in the back with the light?” she asked. Vincent nodded weakly and the two began down the center hall with doors on either side of them.

“I hate the dark…” Vincent mumbled under his breath, too soft for his friend to hear. “Too many bad memories of late night horror game marathons. Next thing you know the god damn animatronics start moving fuck...” He shivered at the thought.

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa cautiously put one foot over the other. Light sputtered from the luminescent orbs in the distance and caused shadows to dance. As they advanced, the gunner jutted her pistols at each door they passed.

“Hello?” Alyssa murmured softly.

Nothing.

She wasn’t sure what to expect as a response but whether it be ally or enemy, she’d be ready for both. Then, she paused. Down the hall, the furthest door on the left, Alyssa noticed it had been cracked open.

“What’s up?” Vincent asked. “Do you see something?”

“My room,” Alyssa replied. “The door’s open. I always lock it when I leave.”

Alyssa heard Vincent gulp behind her.

“Let’s check it out,” she continued with her pistols pointed toward it. “Make sure nothing sneaks up on us.”

Another audible gulp. Between the wood door and stone masonry, only a few inches of pitch black showed through. Light flickered from across the hall, but at an angle where it did more harm than good. As they approached, Vincent’s light poured through enough to see the edge of one of her wardrobes. Alyssa continued past it where the hall ended and quickly snapped her head side to side.

Only more darkness.

Alyssa backtracked to her room.

“I’m going to look inside,” she warned. Alyssa holstered one of her magnums and reached for the handle.

Instead, the door shut.

Alyssa and Vincent both jumped back. The gunner’s holstered firearm already drawn again and aimed. A few seconds passed in silence.

“This is giving me the creeps,” the scholar mumbled.

“Yeah, me too.” Alyssa said as she stepped forward. With her pistol still in hand, she gripped the handle. She turned it quietly, then abruptly forced it open with her shoulder. Her guns shot up into the darkness and swept from side to side. Everything was exactly as she left it.

“Bring that light closer,” she commanded.

Alyssa entered her room cautiously. She checked the wardrobes, under the bed, behind the furniture, and found nothing. She turned to Vincent and shrugged.

“Nothing…” she commented.

“Nothing?” the scholar asked incredulously as he glanced around. “Then what the fuck just slammed that-”

A childlike giggle stole the words from his mouth and cast a chill on both their spines. Both of them turned toward the source, a stairwell leading to the floors below. From it, a rolling mist crawled along the marble floor to their feet.

“Uh… did you just?” Alyssa began.

“Yup.”

“Should we...?”

“No way in hell…” Vincent shook his head. “Nope. Nope. Nope!”

“Well it’s that, we stay here in the dark with the opening and closing doors, or we go back outside to play with our half dead friends. Your pick.” Alyssa said firmly.

“I’d rather ask Leona a million stupid questions and take her hits square on the fucking chin then go down there!” He paused for a moment breathing heavily. Alyssa heard each beat of his heart as it thumped in his chest. What was wrong with him? Why was he so scared? He took one deep breath and held it, arms trembling. “Fuck it, let’s get this over with…”

[Cards of Fate]

Vince’s heart pounded furiously as the two began to backtrack to where they had heard the laugh. The stairs the dove deeper into the base were exactly behind the set of stairs they had entered from. As they walked each door that they had opened slammed with tremendous force, booming through the otherwise deafening silence. It was now readily apparent that the fog was coming from below, how the two had missed such a detail was bizarre. It was almost as if something was trying to draw them deeper. The scholar gulped and turned to Alyssa, face pale and clammy. “Should we…”

“Yeah…” Alyssa nodded grimly. “The others might be in trouble…”

Vincent gritted his teeth, it was very well possible that the others were in trouble. If that was the case, he needed to burn his dread and bite the bullet. The Hierarchy was his family, they had given him purpose when he was lost. They meant more than life to him. He quickly checked that his sword and cane were safely hanging at his belt before he took the first step down, brandishing the glowing orb of sunlight before him in some vain attempt at banishing the fog before them.

Light or no light it would be almost impossible to see as the descended onto the second floor. The fog began to thicken with each step, becoming thick enough Vincent could barely see the glimmering light of the orb in his outstretched arm. “I can’t see shit…” The scholar muttered nervously.

“Could you give me your hand, Vince?” Alyssa asked. “I can barely see you…”

The scholar nodded “Sure.” he extended an arm out towards her carefully until is brushed against something soft. “What am I..” he muttered before it became all too clear.

“DAMN IT, VINCE!” Alyssa screamed as she reared her hand back. “REALLY?!”

“OH FUCK! IM SO SORRY”! Vincent managed to reply turning to face her before he felt the backside of her hand slam into his cheek. His vision flashed as he stumbled backwards, arms flailing. Suddenly the orb wasn’t in his hand anymore, and he watched in horror as it sailed through the air above them.

“FUCK!” They both shouted in unison as Alyssa scrambled over a downed Vincent to chase after the orb desperately. The scholar struggled to his feet and took off after the gunner as the orb came crashing to the ground. Instead of shattering it simply bounced and took to the air again in parabolic flight. Alyssa dove for the orb grinning as her fingers caught it. Her grin quickly vanished as she realized she was tumbling down the stairs to the next floor.

“Alyssa!” Vincent roared as he sprinted to the steps watching her and the ball of light tumble into the darkness. Soon all around him was pitch black as the red fog engulfed him. “Fuck!” he grunted through gritted teeth. “Fuck fuck fuck FUCK!” he stamped his feet in frustration. “Are you okay!” he called down below. No answer met him. He lingered at the top as he debated what to do. Sure, he was in absolute darkness but down below might be even more dangerous. All of his earlier resolve was suddenly gone. Was this the fog or his own cowardice? He had no way of telling.

[Alyssa Snow]

“Ungh….”

At the base of the stairs, Alyssa awoke with her face against the cold, damp stone and her body crumpled upon itself. With a soft groan, she pushed herself to her knees. Her head pounded like an echo of each step it hit and limbs throbbed from sites of future bruises.

“Damn it, Vince..” she groaned.

The gunner’s vision adjusted to the darkness as best it could. Unlike above, all sources of light were absent. With the addition of a damp, thick haze, the only things Alyssa could make out were rough shapes. From memory, she recalled the layout of halls stretching in each of the four cardinal directions. Aside from vague assumptions, the girl was lost in the dark.

“Vince, can you hear me?” Alyssa called out, rising to her feet. A rush of vertigo forced her to stagger. Luckily, her hand found support against the frigid stone walls. She gripped her spinning head with the other.

“Alyssa?” she heard Vincent call out somewhere deeper in the mist.

“Yeah, over here…”

“I have no idea where ‘here’ is,” he replied with snark. “Just look for the light, okay? Illuminate!”

A soft luminescence permeated through the thick haze of crimson. Alyssa squinted to get better focus, but the fog ensured her visibility would be limited.

“Okay, I’m coming, don’t move!” she called out.

Using her hand to guide herself along the wall, Alyssa stepped toward the light. Her foot brushed against something too difficult to see, sending it skipping and clattering elsewhere. She dismissed it as a pebble or stone and focused purely on Vincent’s light. Meanwhile, the object came to a stop against the stairs behind her and flickered a weak glow.

“How’d you get down there so quick?” Alyssa asked.

“I heard the orb bounce down this way and made a dash for it. Problem is, I can still barely see shit with it.”

“I know, this red mist is really thick. Did you find anyone else or where it’s coming from?”

“No, but I do see something we should check out. There you are!”

Alyssa broke through the veil of darkness and Vincent smiled warmly to her.

“About time!” he chided. “Let’s me show you what I found!”

Vincent turned and began to march even deeper down the hall. Alyssa tailed him, but quirked a brow.

“You okay, Vince?” she asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” He kept walking as he spoke, eyes forward and without pause

“Well, you seemed uneasy just a minute ago, now you’re… “

“More confident? Yeah, I have a pretty good feeling that we’ll find what we’re looking for up here. Call it… a Hierophant Hunch.”

“Okay…” Alyssa didn’t find his reply satisfying. For as unsettled as he was earlier, this Vincent seemed too confident, stronger, maybe even arrogant.

Together, they stepped into a clearing of the mist. Vincent’s light spread to the jagged cavernous walls and illuminated the shimmering surface of steaming pools. Alyssa paused and glanced around. She stood in the middle of the House of Cards’ underground hot springs. Here, everything looked as it did on any normal day. Except, the clear waters were tinted a deep hue of scarlet.

“This is it. End of the line!” Vincent exclaimed triumphantly with arms outstretched.

“How do you know?” Her tone was hesitant, confused even.

“Fuck, Alyssa, how many times do I have to tell you? I am the Hierophant; I see the truth behind lies!” Vincent let out a short laugh, slightly dark and ominous.

“Okay…” Alyssa took a step back. “Now what?”

He turned to her, his face so stern it sent a shiver down her back.

“I was just going to ask you that same question. You know already who’s at fault for all this, or did you really think you could hide your relationship with her from me--” He drew his staff and sword from his waist. “-- Pode’s Little Abomination?”

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent peered down the dark stairs nervously “Alyssa?” he yelled for the millionth time. Some part of him was simply hoping she would come bounding up the stairs, orb in hand, and whoop his ass for accidentally groping her. Instead he was met with silence. The funny thing Vincent found about silence for a response is it leaves it open for interpretation. Silence is an ambiguous answer with no definition. Alyssa could simply be unable to hear his call, or she could be unconscious, or dead.

This left the scholar torn between two very powerful emotions, fear of the unknown darkness below, and the love he felt for his fellow Arcana. The two forces tugged at his heart as he glanced into the abyss. One part of his mind was screaming to run for his life, hide back in the library above and wait for someone else to come save him. The other side was urging him forward. Vincent Cain was no longer the young man who ran from bushfires or large naked bandits with comically large...swords. No! He was Vincent Cain, motherfucking Hierophant who could find the truth regardless of who was trying to obscure it from him. Vincent took a deep breath, and he began to descend the stairway.

“Alyssa!” he called out at the top of his lungs. “I’m coming down! Stay put where you are!” he carefully followed the wall with his right hand. and paused to check each step he took downwards. After what felt like an eternity he finally reached the bottom landing and glanced around. The fog was thick enough to cut with a knife and spread on a piece of toast, and made seeing even his own hand in front of his face almost impossible. “Alyssa?” he yelled rather futilely. Are you o-” he took a step forward, kicking an object and sending it scattering before him with a very distinct click.

“Fuck!” he roared throwing himself to the floor grasping desperately for what he had just kicked. After an eternity of blindly groping in the dust the scholar snapped up to his feet slapping his forehead. “Illuminate!” he snapped angrily. Suddenly a soft glow bathed him from his left. “Im such a fucking genius, maybe Leona should have made me her Fool…” he trailed off as he bent over and snatched the orb from the ground.

He glanced around for a moment. While he couldn’t see much, the fact that Alyssa wasn’t crumpled up at the bottom of the stairs sent both relief and concern flooding through his systems. Either she was fine and walked off, or wasn’t and something had dragged her away. Not knowing what to do, he found the steps once more and began to walk forward.

“This should lead to the hotsprings…” he muttered to himself. “Maybe Pode did something to the water to make this fog…” it made perfect sense, this level was especially humid and damper than normal. He could feel his sweat began to bead up and pool in his robes. “The most powerful witch ever and all she does is poison our onsen...inventive,” he muttered disdainfully as he walked slowly through the darkness. He found himself at the entrance to the baths, but instead of their usual solid oak double doors he was met with...what looked to be the door to his childhood home. Plain white with a small latticed window that seemed to glow bright, slicing through the darkness.

“What do we have here?” he asked curiously. This was obviously a trap of some sorts, but it was an interesting one to say the least. “Okay Madame Pode, the Red Bitch, let’s see what you can do…” he grumbled to himself as he threw the door open. He winced as light flooded the hallway. Squinting, he carefully stepped into the light.

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa turned to the door and instead found it missing. Where the entrance they walked through minutes ago now stood jagged, cavern stone. Alyssa pressed herself against it. It had to be there! Instead, she fumbled over solid rock, and dread settled in the pit of her stomach.

“Where do you think you’re going?” She felt his breath hot on her neck. Alyssa turned, back pressed to the wall.

“You’re not Vince!” she shouted as she lashed out for his face. He nimbly avoided the wild blow and put space between them, laughing.

“Why? Because I trapped you in here? Because you thought we were friends? Because I acted scared to lower your guard?”

Alyssa opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words. Maybe it was all a rouse? Was he really capable of this?

“You should know deception when you see it, Alyssa,” Vincent began as he paced the water’s edge. “You’ve been lying to us since day one. Did you really think by escaping that lab, you would be able to run away from what you are?”

Alyssa felt her heart quicken. She searched the dimly lit cavern for any sign of an exit. Even the gap between the men and women’s side was replaced with stone. Could Vincent truly be this powerful?l?

“It’s not what you… That’s not why I ran! I’m not… I won’t --”

“Kill indiscriminately like you were designed? Oh, you will. Look what you did to Bertha!”

“But you told me t--”

“You could have just sealed the doors, left her behind. She wouldn’t have gotten through. You knew that.” Vincent fiddled with his cane, spinning it in his fingers before taking a seat atop one of many stone decorations.

Alyssa’s stomach churned. It had to be done, right? If Bertha told him to, then… or did he make that up too? Was that also part of the plan? Alyssa’s knees felt weak.This couldn’t be real. This wasn’t Vincent. Pode tried this once before, maybe she was doing it again? The blonde shook off her spiraling thoughts and reached for her pistol.

“You’re not Vince!” she repeated, this time louder as if trying to convince herself too. She rose her magnum toward him, but its muzzle trembled to stay on aim.

“Really? Me too, Alyssa? Are you going to shoot me like you shot Bertha? Who else is next? Stella? Rayleigh? You’re very existence with us is a dangerous line I’m tired of walking.” He threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes. “Fucking unbelievable! Should’ve listened to Leona when she told me to take you out sooner...but no! She knew this would happen…” he muttered running a hand through his hair.

“L-Leona?!” Her gun lowered slightly.

“Yeah, but don’t just take my word for it…” Vincent shook his head and snapped his fingers. The sound echoed in the humid cavern before silence took over. Alyssa brought her gun up and looked around.

Nothing.

Then, from behind a large boulder to Vincent’s left, a tall, dark figure strode into view. Alyssa’s heart stopped. Her hands shook so violently, the magnum clattered to the floor.

“...T-Tobias?!”

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent found himself standing in a dimly lit hallway, floor lined with pseudo wood paneling, walls covered in a pale wallpaper cluttered with wooden frames bearing portraits. Shocked, the scholar dropped his orb after hearing it clank to his right. He stepped closer to the wall and picked one of the photos off it He glared at it and the bad feelings it embodied. A man and a woman smiled back with perfect white teeth as they both clutched a tiny bundle. Their very faces seemed to mock him with their perfect olive skin,blonde hair, and sapphire eyes slicing through his very core. They seemed so happy to have brought that little bundle of joy into the world, but the sounds of familiar screaming in the background seemed to betray the peace in the picture.

Vince spat as he threw the painting to the ground.

“Of FUCKING course she would...” he muttered between clenched teeth as the glass shattered upon contact with the ground. He stomped on the frame as he turned to his right to see the door at the end of the hall crack open. A young child, no older than six, poked his crying visage through the dimly lit portal.

“Who are you?” he squeaked nervously as he stared at the scholar.

“My name is Vincent…” the scholar replied scowling, every fiber of his being was telling him that this was all an illusion. That was his power, but how on earth had Pode managed to replicate all of this?

“Really mister? You look too strong to be a Vincent…” the child muttered back. Vincent cringed for a moment, tensing up.

“Why is that?” he asked cocking his head to the side.

“The doctors say theres something wrong with me…” the boy began. “That I’ll never be like the other boys my age…”

He looked down as he clutched a stuffed otter tightly to his chest.

“Mommy wants to send me to grandma’s...Daddy wants to take care of me…” The youth noticed the orb on the ground and scooped it up. “You should take better care of your things mister…” he said waddling over to hand it to Vincent.

The scholar gritted his teeth as the memories flooded back. The doctors had said his heart was too weak to do much of anything. Long walks could make him faint, getting too excited even could lead to a trip to the hospital. His childhood had been miserable. He wasn’t allowed to drink soda or eat sweets, his mother and father would scream at each other behind closed doors where they thought he couldn’t hear. Tears began to stream down his face.

“Hey now…” his voice faltered as he took a step towards the child. Kneeling to his level he put on his best smile. “Listen Vinnie, I'm gonna tell you a secret ok?”

The child nodded and looked at him.

“You’re...” he paused. “You’re going to be ok alright? No matter what happens, no matter how much it hurts you will roll with the punches and you will get better and…”

His voice trembled for a moment.

“The doctors are gonna get you a new heart and you’ll be able to go play with the other kids…” he trailed off.

The poor pain this child would go through. Losing his father would only be the start, the abusive stepfather to come, the years of surgery and therapy to make him a functioning human being, the ridicule from his peers, the names he would be called; all of these things would tear the poor child down. Sticks and stones would break his bones and words would shatter his spirit.

“You’ll turn twenty and dad will give you the greatest gift ever…” memories of his journey to Althanas flooded his thoughts. How he had met Leona, his first missions. All of the triumphs and defeats he had endured. “You just need to hold on ok?”

“No Vincent…” a voice called from behind him. The scholar turned to find a figure shrouded in crimson fog at the other end of the hall. “It will not be ok, it will never be ok…”

[Alyssa Snow]

Tobias Stalt strode next to Vincent with his sword, “Blackheart”, perched upon his shoulder. After all the things they had been through together, seeing him as a part of this drove a dagger into her back.

“Tobias, what’re you doing here?!” Alyssa stammered.

“Hunting witches,” he said in a flat, cold tone. His dead eyes locked on her with a void of emotion behind them.

Those two words drove a stake so deep into her core, Alyssa’s bones began to ache.

“Everyone is here to kill Pode and get rid of her curse. They don’t know what we know: That her bastard daughter is right here, waiting to take over when ‘mommy’ passes on,” Vincent chided in a sing-song voice. “You won’t be escaping this time. We’re not letting you kill us off one by one… Tobias, she’s all yours.”

Vincent waved his hand and Tobias stepped forward. Alyssa tried to back up but only pushed her weight into the stonework at her back. Vincent folded his arms over one another and remained seated, watching… smiling...

“You know, I’m not one for words, but I have to say I knew this was coming.” Tobias rocked Blackheart’s hilt against his shoulder as he drew near.

“Tobias, please. Let me explain. I don’t want anything to do with her. Please, you have to believe me…” Alyssa begged. She slid along the wall, desperately trying to keep her distance from his stoic gaze.

“Bullshit,” Vincent spat in the distance. “Stop lying, Alyssa. Hierophant, remember?”

“I’m not lying! Tobias, you have to believe me!”

The Witch Hunter’s lips did not move, his expression did not change, and his pace did not slow.

“Tobias, stop…”

Alyssa’s boot caught the edge of one of the soaking pools and caused her to tumble to her knees with a splash. She scrambled to right herself but failed to get her footing. Red water stained her porcelain skin and light blonde hair. She finally managed to face him. The Witch Hunter stepped into the pool and continued to draw near, his blade now at his side.

Alyssa patted her thighs in a panic and found her second revolver. Fear drove its muzzled to aim for Tobias’s heart. He stopped.

“Go ahead. You know it won’t work.” Tobias stood like a demonic monolith, expressionless like stone.

“Please don’t make me,” Alyssa sobbed. “Just let me go. Just let me disappear.”

“You know we can’t do that.” He took a step forward.

“I’ll do it!” she threatened with a waver.

He raised his blade and took another step.

“I’m sorry!” Alyssa pulled the trigger. The ice shot fired, followed by a splash. Vincent grinned.

[Cards of Fate]

“You know? You pick very terrible puppets Pode…” Vince growled as he rose to his feet and wiped the tears from his eyes. Before him stood his mother, a tall woman with brilliantly bright blonde hair and sapphire eyes. Her usually tanned skin however, was gaunt and pale like that of a corpse. Young Vincent opted to cower behind his future counterpart’s leg from the unfamiliar person.

“This means nothing coming from the lips of a failure…” she spat, her words leaving her mouth in a trail of crimson fog. “You will never mean anything to anyone…”.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree…” Vincent grinned, tapping his head. “The Hierophant knows when he’s being lied to…” Pulling his cane out from his belt, he shrugged. “Now, I’m pretty sure I need to find the young woman I was with. So unless you’ve got something true to say, we’re done.”

“Leaving so soon?” The woman cooed, “I’ve missed my bab-”

Her words were cut off as Vincent drove the owl shaped handle of his cane into her nose, sending her stumbling back.

“I said.” he seethed. “We’re done here.” He twirled his cane in his fingers as he watched his mother regain her balance. “Now get the FUCK out of my way before I get to show mini me some of our sick future moves.”

The spectre of his mother simply laughed and cracked her neck to either side. “You’ve got some nerve talking to a goddess like that…”

“You’ve got some nerve calling yourself a goddess when you’re nothing more than a pretender, clinging to life desperately…” Vincent retorted.

“Perhaps you need to be taught a lesson…” she growled.

“Maybe I do, but not from a washed up hag like you…” Vincent spun the glass orb on his fingers and felt energy boiling up inside of him. Bright blue sparks danced along his skin ,and his eyes began to glow. “Now then, I need to be going…”

“You’re not going any-”

The illusion was cut off by Vincent roaring.

“ILLUMINATE!”

His voice shook with raw energy.The orb shone a brilliant teal, slicing through the fog and the illusion as the walls began to crack.

“How…” The illusion began but could not finish.

“You wasted your time showing me this place, Althanas is my home, not this hellhole!” Vincent spat as the walls tumbled down.

“Remember this, Pode, I WILL KILL YOU.”

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa clutched her throbbing hand. Tobias stood above her, unharmed. Blackheart’s tip hummed threateningly close to her neck, and its edge glistened with crystalline powder from her shattered spell shot. The terrified blonde sat speechless. Before she knew what had happened, he managed to deflect a projectile from five feet away, swat her magnum from her hands, and return his sword for a killing blow.

Yet, he did not take the advantage to kill her swiftly. Instead, he held it hauntingly still.

“Any final words?” he seethed with a venom that chilled her very core.

Tears began to stream down Alyssa’s face.

"Tobias...?" she whimpered, "Please..."

Alyssa saw him looming over her, but a different man stood in his place. He was not the man she shared shade with under Fallien’s scorching sun, or the friend who comforted her in Bienost. He was not the Tobias she first met. Alyssa knew Leona’s missions had changed him, but she never imagined this. The man who gazed down upon her with empty eyes betrayed all the emotions she had for him.

Then, Blackheart's tip fell to his side. Tobias's face remained as unchanged as a corpse: cold, stoic, lifeless.

"You're right..." he said softly.

Alyssa let out a sigh of relief between sobs, and her lips curled into a weak smile.

"I should take my time saying farewell."

Before Alyssa could react to his words, his boot slammed into her and whipped her head against the stone at her back. Spots crawled inward from the edge of her vision. A high pitched ringing drowned out all ambient noise. Through her daze she felt a pressure at her throat, tightening more and more until she could no longer breathe.

As her senses returned, she saw Tobias atop her with teeth clenched, hands violently clamped around her windpipe in an attempt to crush the life out of her. She clawed at his hands, but his strength far surpassed her. Panic forced her knee into his gut and his hands instinctively released her to grip at his stomach. Alyssa gasped for air and thrashed through the shallow water to escape.

"Help!" she hoarsely choked to no avail.

"You're letting her get away!" Vincent roared, but Tobias paid no heed to the scholar. He already closed the gap with ease.

He lunged for Alyssa and gripped her around the waist. His weight forced her under water while knocking the air from her lungs from hitting the bottom of the pool. She kicked violently to shake him free, but only purchased enough time to surface for a brief moment. The Witch Hunter scrambled to regain his advantage, intent on wringing the life out of her with his bare hands. Alyssa felt him grip her shoulder and flip her to her back with his monolithic might. Then, his calloused hands resumed their deadly clasp around her neck and forced her back under the heated crimson waters.

As she struggled, lashing for anything that may give her freedom, he stared at her through the surface. His lips, eyes, and brows showed no sign of remorse, no anger, no conflict.

"What a perfect way to put down Pode’s abomination!" Vincent laughed. “Drown the bitch in her ‘mother’s’ own cursed waters!”

"Silence Vince," Tobias calmly replied. “This is personal.”

Alyssa felt her chest heave to pull air, but what little reprieve she made through his iron grasp only let her inhale more of the murky water. It felt like daggers in her lungs and though she tried to cough, his numbing grip denied her. She struggled to knee him like before, but his straddled position rendered it useless and creeping black began to encroach on her vision.

"Pode can't save you here, Alyssa." Tobias stated, his muscles tense and unflinching to her blows. "You should have died on Forral's Fortress..."

His words failed to meet her ears through the thrashing sounds of water and stifled screams.

"At least I get the pleasure of snuffing you out. All those long nagging arguments about how you cared... Disgusting."

Alyssa shook violently, her muscles ached from effort, and skin burned from the heat of the springs. Her mind raced with whatever she could use to escape. She felt along the pool's bottom but did not find her salvation along the jagged floor. No loose stones, no missing revolver, and her knife remained pinned behind her back. Time began to trickle away with her consciousness in tow. Her flailing slowed and weaked.

"Goodbye, Alyssa..."

As the darkness threatened to squeeze the last of the light from her vision, Alyssa reached out. Both her hands found his face and while her touch was gentle, he continued to apply all the pressure and weight he could muster upon her. One of her hands slipped from his cheek and disappeared under the scarlet water. Her kicking stopped; both legs slid limp. Her chest's attempts to inhale anything, water or air, slowed and stopped.

Alyssa's remaining hand slid slowly down his stoic face.

Tobias... I'm... sorry...

"Aww, the show is over already?," Vincent whined as he hopped from his perch.

Tobias turned to face him but before Alyssa's hand slipped off his cheek, it locked firmly against his skull.

Shards of ice, frost, and hail ruptured explosively from her hand, dismembering Tobias's head from its shoulders. Crimson water, blood, and meat misted into the air. Amidst the chaos, Alyssa surged from below and involuntarily gasped a mixture of three. She choked, sputtered, and spewed bile. Tobias's headless corpse slumped into the pool and vanished from sight.

"Holy fucking shit! You killed Tobias!" Vincent shouted in shock. "You bitch!"

While Alyssa struggled to regain herself from the precipice of death, Vincent stepped into the pool with cane and sword poised for blood.

[Cards of Fate]

The wall behind the false Vincent crumbled as the mighty oak doors to the springs swung open.The true scholar stepped inside, cloaked in a brilliant aura of teal. Crimson clouds, the remains of his crumbling illusory trap, flooded the springs and blocked out all vision except where the orb’s shine burned it away. The convictions of the Hierophant and his search for truth acted as a righteous beacon of hope.

The scholar's luminescent pupils scanned the room, vision unaffected by fog or shadow. A pretender stood between him and Alyssa, and Vincent’s entire body tensed up.

“Out of my way!” Vincent spat, voice layered with equal parts magic and determination. His anger against Pode had changed him, and immense power coursed through his body like a mighty river. The air hissed and smelled of burning ozone as he stepped towards his double.

“Why? So you can help Pode’s little bitch?” the false Vincent howled. The haze separating the two from Alyssa absorbed all sound as they spoke and left them isolated.

“Pode’s little bitch?” Vincent asked scowling. His innate sense for the truth picked up a small fragment of accuracy in the pretender’s words. “Elaborate, the only little bitch I see is you...”

His false reflection grinned sickly.

“You mean you didn’t know?” it cackled maliciously while it rubbed its hands together. “Alyssa Snow is an abomination created by Alearian foolishness! She’s clone of the very woman you’re trying to-”

Vincent flashed forward in a burst of blue sparks and slid his sword through its throat.

“Here I thought you had something important to say…” Vince muttered through a scowl.

’You would go to her even though she is my daughter?’ a sick, grotesque voice boomed in his head.

“She’s family, and that’s all that matters to me...” Vincent spat as he began to charge forward. The storm of red mist surged towards him. In one last desperate attempt to quell the light, the scholar’s orb flashed a blinding blue. Red clashed against blue and ignited into flames. Pode’s vile screams echoed in Vincent’s mind as he plunged himself headfirst into the inferno.

“Alyssa!” Vincent roared as he pushed onward, sword still in hand. “Are you Ok-”

The young blonde emerged through the chaos, rushing toward him. She pressed herself against him sobbing, and Vincent felt a sharp bolt of pain in his abdomen.

“Leave me alone!” she shouted hysterically.

The remaining fog burnt away, and the orb in Vincent’s hand slipped from his grasp into the knee deep waters. Behind him, the last of Pode’s grinning imposter burnt away into mist.

“V-Vincent?!” Alyssa stammered as looked from Vince to Vince. “No… Oh, please no...”

Vincent let out a light cough as blood trickled down his lips.

“Is that a knife in your hands...or are you just happy to see me…?” he grunted, looking down at the dagger buried in his chest.

“Fuck, that’s deep…” he muttered, then his legs crumbled beneath him.

“Vince?!”

[Alyssa Snow]

Alyssa dropped to her knees where Vincent began to slip beneath the surface. She reached for him and pulled his head into her lap to save him from drowning. Alyssa’s bloodshot eyes streamed tears, her body shook in hysteria, and her sobbing quickened.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t -- There was another you! I didn’t mean to--” she babbled frantically. Her hand instinctively reached for the blade buried in his chest.

Vincent reached up and grabbed her before she could remove the knife.

“Leave it in,” he managed through wet coughs. “I’ll bleed out quicker if you take it out.”

He let her quivering arm free and jolted in pain. The gunner looked down in fear, sadness, confusion, and a continued myriad of horrible emotions. Was this really Vincent? Was this another trick? Did she actually kill someone else? What was real anymore?

Alyssa rocked, sobbed, and carefully brushed his wet hair from his face. With the hot spring’s still tainted a deep crimson from Pode’s magics, she couldn’t tell what was blood or water.

“I didn’t -- You were going to -- I killed Tobias…” Alyssa stammered in tears.

“Stop talking,” Vincent calmly commanded.

He grabbed her hand and held it still over his heart. She could feel each rapid beat as if it were her own. In the madness of the past few moments, it somehow managed to slow her panicked breaths. This was real.

“You… you called me an abomination. You said Leona and Tobias were--” Alyssa rambled despite his dying request.

“Alyssa.”

“They all wanted me dead. I didn’t choose to be like this! I don’t want to be a monster!”

“Alyssa.” Vincent sputtered a globule of red and clutch her hand tightly in his pain.

“I’m not a monster! I just want to be--”

“Alyssa! Fuck!” Vincent spat, wincing with pain..

The irrational blonde snapped from her trance. Her rambling stopped and she matched her bloodshot gaze to his. He had her utmost attention.

“You’re not a monster.” The words stung her but this time, it felt right. “You’re our family. My family. That wasn’t me. That wasn’t Tobias.”

Vincent tensed again, his eyes shut, and his hand involuntarily gripped at the handle protruding from his ribs.

“Fuck, that hurts like a... Did you have to go so deep!” His muscles relaxed again and he let out a faint laugh. “Heh, that’s what she said…”

“I’m so sorry,” Alyssa pleaded as her tears continued to well from her eyes. “I didn’t mean to --”

“I know, I know,” Vincent assured her with another grip of his hand. “I would have stabbed him too. Listen Alyssa, we won’t blame you for what you had to do. The Tarot won’t judge you like that. It’s not what you’re made of that matters. It’s what you make of yourself.”

Vincent may as well have plunged her knife back into Alyssa’s own chest with those final words. The image of her former companion, Illara, flashed through the chaos of her thoughts. Pode’s words tried to rip her apart before and those words fell on deaf ears. Now, they drove home and calmed the storm. Perhaps others didn’t see her as a monster? Perhaps she could make her own life?

Alyssa forced a weak smile on her face.

“There we go,” Vincent commented.

Then, he tensed again but this time, it would not relent. His crushing grip pressed her hand against his heart, and Alyssa felt its message. Vincent was about to die.

“Vincent, hang in there! I… I can fix this! I… I have to fix this!” Alyssa stammered.

If she could just close the wound, or cauterize it.... That’s it! Alyssa remembered that her knife could melt through any steel. If only she could use that to…

“Vincent, hang on. This is going to hurt!”

While he continued to seize, Alyssa gripped the knife in his chest and began to pull. His thrashing became worse, but she tried to keep him stable regardless. Finally, she removed the blade, but the cost sent her into shock.

Vincent stopped moving.

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar’s heart stopped after moments of agony as his last breath left his body. His entire body relaxed, his head rolled back, and his blank gaze affixing itself on Alyssa. She’s too pretty to be a monster… he thought to himself, then everything faded to black.

Alyssa’s hands trembled violently as she dropped her knife. She stared numbly at the corpse of her partner. Her friend, was gone...

“Oh god…” Alyssa stammered staring at his dull, sapphire eyes. “Vincent...VINCENT!” her hands found his shoulders as she shook him. “Vincent wake up! Come on! Please…”

Her body shook violently with each sob.

“Vincent…” the words left her lips in a whimper. “Why…?”

A soft scraping permeated the air, alerting the gunner to another's presence. She tensed and fished through the water frantically for her blade.

“Don’t come any closer!” she screamed as she brandished her blood stained knife.

“Goodness me…” a familiar voice called out. “Your friend banished Pode from the base, yet he meets such a tragic fate…”

Alyssa faltered for a moment as shrouded figure came into view. The familiar robes of the Ai’brone fluttered in a non existent wind while the large statue of a man strode forward.

“Young Alyssa…” The first Ai’brone muttered offering open hands. “I am unarmed, and your friend there has about five minutes for me to save him…”

“Ai’brone!” Alyssa yelped with a step backward. It took her a moment to process his presence but when it settled, her face lit up.

“Please!” she begged throwing herself prone. “It was an accident I didn-”

His stone fingers shushed her.

“Quiet child…” the monk chided before he took a kneel.

“Tsk tsk, you pierced his lung…” The stone monk began as his hands deftly undid his robes enough to bare his chest. Blood seeped lazily from a gnarled gash in his granite chest, “Yet he talked to you the entire time...that must have been excruciating…”

“He said it wasn’t my fault…” Alyssa trembled, “...said I was part of the family…” tears trickled down her fair face.


“Well you can thank him here in a moment…” the monk rose his right hand and snapped his fingers. His stone gaze lifted to the heavens, beyond the limit of what any could see as he muttered ancient words long forgotten by history.

“Found you…” he whispered as he snatched thin air, pulling a spectral stream of quicksilver from nothing. “Oooohooo” he whistled slightly, “A Locus...just like his father.”

“Locus?” Alyssa asked, her gaze locked on the ethereal essence floating in the monks stoney clutch. It was beautiful beyond words and cast a glimmer on the two of them with its faint shimmer.

“He’s...hrmm.” Ai’brone paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. “To put it in Khal’Jaren’s words, he is a mortal tap spring. When the Forgotten shattered the Eternal tap, the world still needed tap energy to survive. So, it created Tap Springs. Normally this would be enough, however, in some cases it would manifest itself in a chosen few who would need it’s power to do great things…”

He clenched his fist around the mercurial substance and slammed it into the scholar’s chest. Meanwhile, his other hand ran over Vincent’s wound, and he mouthed another chant. The gash began to glow and sealed itself whilst bright blue sparks ran across the scholar’s body.

“Was that...Vincent’s soul?” Alyssa asked, peering over the giant monk’s shoulder.

“Yes, almost slipped away from me too.” The monk muttered, his mystic gaze never leaving the scholar. The monk raised his right hand and with a stony smirk, snapped his fingers.

Vincent’s entire body convulsed violently as he snapped upwards, gasping for his first breath of rebirth. Alyssa rushed past the monk and cradled the scholar in her arms while sputtered and thrashed - remnants of his death throes.

“Shh…” she whispered into his ear while stroking his damp hair. “It’s okay…”

The youth trembled one last time and let out a loud cough.

“Holy fuck, dying sucks ass!” he stammered glancing around. His youthful eyes met Alyssa’s, and he let out a faint smile.

“Hey... smile…” he said flicking her forehead. “Im not dead anymore…”

Alyssa stared at him incredulously.

“YOU DIED VINCENT!” she growled. “I’m not going to just turn around and laugh it off! I KILLED you!”

Vincent chuckled softly.

“I got better,” he nodded. “All thanks to…”

Vincent turned to where Ai’brone had been standing only to find...nothing.

"He was just…how does he do that? He’s like a stone solid snake…”

“Excuse me?” Alyssa asked. “Solid...snake? What does that have to do with --”

Vincent chuckled once more.

“I love it when I confuse you guys,” he muttered, hugging her.

“But now that I’m not coming down with a serious case of the deads, are you ok?” Vincent asked, looking at her slightly concerned. “Do you want to talk about it at all?”

“Maybe...later?” Alyssa avoided his gaze as his arms pulled her closer to him. She could hear his heartbeat, slow and rhythmic at the same pace as her own. “It’s just...a lot to handle right now…”

“You know what would help with that?” Vincent asked as he let go of her and leaned back into the water. “Ice cream.”

“Ice cream?” Alyssa asked cocking her head to one side. “Is it like your ‘pizza’?”

“Sorta, it’s another thing from Earth. It’s often used to help deal with stress, though.” Vincent nodded. “Especially chocolate…”

“Like from Dheathain?” Alyssa asked. “...Cocoa?”

“Yup,” Vincent nodded with a smirk, “And I figured out how to make it”

His smirk grew into a Cheshire grin from ear to ear.

“I also happen to have a test batch upstairs in the ice box…”

Alyssa laughed softly, “I will never understand how you can go from killing zombies on the surface, to scared of the dark, then become calm and collected with a knife in your chest. Now you’ve just come back from death, and you want to eat what I assume is a dessert.”

Vincent stood up and shrugged off his bloodstained shirt and robes, leaving his tanned torso exposed. A light scar had formed right over his heart, above an incredibly faint mark forming a small “X”.

“Don’t dwell on it too long, you’ll hurt yourself if you think about it too hard…” He offered a hand to Alyssa, who took it and rose to her feet. Neither of them had noticed the card tattoo on the scholar’s chest had changed from a “V” to “IV.”

The bearers of The Hierophant and Justice had entered the base but together, they would emerge Emperor and Empress.


Done! I would like to request a spoil of adding an additional enchant to Vincent's orb purchased in the link below to add that it can light up an additional two times a day and once per day it's light can be channeled to burn away any illusion.


http://www.althanas.com/world/showth...0-Price-Check!

[Max Dirks]

You two put together the best story of the second round with one exception. Your conclusion was far too convenient and anticlimatic. Otherwise setting and pacing were excellent. The thread was suspenseful and I felt the peril your characters felt. What prevented this from being of JC calibre was your mechanics and clarity, Cards. The thread was difficult to read. There were multiple spelling errors, omitted words, prepositional phrases and changes from passive (had) to active writing (was). I realize that you're here to RP for fun, but tournaments are where you have to show off your writing prowess. Realistically, a quick read of your threads outloud before you post will shore up most of your mistakes. Alyssa, I have very few comments for you. For the most part your writing was on point.

Team 4 Judgment

Story: 7
Setting: 7
Pacing: 7
Action: 7
Communication: 5
Persona: 6
Mechanics: 5
Technique: 5
Clarity: 5
Wildcard: 5

Total: 59/100

Alyssa Snow receives 818 EXP and 94 GP
Cards of Fate receives 920 EXP and 106 GP

You both advance to the finals!

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added.