NationStates Jolt Archive

New Hope, Capital of Houde

Jonah walked along the street in his new police uniform, which was all black, with a lime green rune on the shoulder (See my nations flag, it's the same). He whistled as he rounded anoher corner, going into the dilomatic district of New Hope. He loved the early mornings, always calm, before the hustle of the day, and especially during the autumn, the chill in the air, he found invigorating.

He also found the Ravenspire foxgirl ambassador oddly invigorating. She was always up at this time, like clockwork, running around the city. He knew it was cold today, as he nodded to her when she ran past. I'd like to warm her up some. thought Jonah. The other foxgirl of the city, Yuki, the one who sat on the council, was taken by Kenneth, a Cat Creation. He had no chance with her, and he doubt he had a chance with this one either, but a man could dream. Jonah leaned against the fence which seperated the Lavenrunzian ambassador's building from the road. Jonah mused how life was going fine in the city of New Hope for once, peaceful and quiet.

If he was watching TV, well, that would be a different matter.

Cedric Houde, the current Emperor of Houde, one of half Estavian and half Houdian blood, sat in just his underwear on his bed. He had the magical sword, Valor, across his knees staring at it in the early morning hours. What are your secrets? What do you hide, that even I, your chosen wielder, cannot see? Our totem is the Dolphin. Why? Houde is landlocked, why would they fashion a sword containing a sea mammal?

There was a knock on his door, Meagen, his secretary, shouted form the other side. "You'd best turn on the Television, doesn't matter what channel!" she shouted. Cedric crossed his suite quickly and opened the door, forgetting he was just in his boxers.

"What do you mean?"

Meagen blushed slightly as she saw the twenty year old emperor in nothing but his boxers. Her secret crush on him grew slightly more in those few moments. "Sebastain Cooke, he's up to something. Jammed all the frequencies, so that it only shows him. He has a message for you."

Cedric nodded, and turned on his television, showing Sebastain Cooke talking in midsentence. Sebastain was a prominent buisness man in the Houdian empire, one who has a voiced opinion about outsiders and non-humans. He he huge sideburns, always somking a cigar, and was a big guy. Recently he had hired savory individuals from around Houde and the world, and with them, he aqcuired three of the six powerful weapons that were made by Houdian magics. "...I have issued a statement. ALL NON HOUDIANS SHOULD LEAVE NEW HOPE BY TOMORROW MORNING, OR SUFFER THE CONSQUENCES. I am prepared to use force if nessecary."

"He just keeps saying that over and over again." said Meagen, thinking the red in Cedric's beard matches the light brown of his hari quite nicely.

"I see, summon the councilmen, we have a meeting to discuss."

"Right away Cedric." Meagen said, and rushed out of the room.

Cedric put on his clothes, the black military suit, along with a black half cloak, which had the lime green rune covering most of it. He placed the crown of Houde on his head, and strapped Valor on his side.

He stepped through the doorway of his suite, as the rest of New Hope woke up and went about their day.

It was going to be a long one.

(OOC: Anyone can have a character in New Hope if they wish, doesn't bother me. Ever Houdian TV channel is playing Sebastian's statement over and over again, so non Houdians will know about it. And since Sebastain owns the airlines, their prices have gone up for today.)

Scott Woldson, guard of Captain Oliver Forrester, had the morning off, but he was still up at the crack of dawn. He held Boar out in front of him, preparing for his morning kata. The black bladed two handed sword was another one of the six magical weapons, it's animal spirit being the Boar. As with Cedric, he had yet to unlock it's potential. He swung the sword in long arcs in front of him, practising in his front lawn, where Jonah watched for awhile, before continuning on with his walk around the slowly awakening city.

The foxgirl known as Yuki snuck out of bed, careful not to wake KEnneth, her bluefurred cat Creation boyfriend. She grabbed the mace known as Truth, the Sindestroyer, and felt it's magic shut off. She was the only one able to grab this weapon, because when someone else did, it's power would activate, causing everyone within a certain radius try to kill themselves. The eye that would appear at its base when this happened perturbed her greatly, and she shivered whenever she had to hold the awesome weapon.

Elsewhere in Houde.

Hall Beckman, the voyuer, the watcher, stood alone on the batlements of the old castle that the Carnival of Evil had made their unofficial base. He held in his hands Iceraiser, the warhammer of Rage, which was pointed balanced swung over his shoulder. The warhammer had frost covering it's entire length reflected the rising sun. The dark brown haired individual gazed across the prarie in front of him, watching another weapon holder practising with his weapon. Hall's crow, the red eyed one, was circling above this individual, keeping it's own silent vigil.

Artemis Entreni, the former bodyguard/councilman for the Houdian Emperor, now a traitor, swung his kusarigama (sickle and chain weapon), in arcs. He was the only one to bond with their weapon so quickly, so efficiently, that it seemed paranormal. He didn't care what others thought of this, this weapon was all that mattered to him. The weapon's name was Spiritwielder, the weapon that cut souls apart. The former bodyguard smiled in glee as the sent the sickle out straight, slicing through a rock cleanly.

The last weapon holder could never look upon daylight. The vampire/casino owner, known as Lawrence held the fencing sword called Forethought. It's power was over time, and he slowly was unlocking its secrets, the sooner the better, because Sebastain had plans for the entire Carnival tomorrow, and he needed to be ready. The immaculate white suit Lawrence wore slightly stirred as the vampire settled into a deeper trance, trying to connect with the sword he held in his hands.

OOC: Bump for my dear Houde. ^.^

OOC: Thanks Vlad, but no one likes me here, they don't post anything. BUT I DON'T CARE, ON WITH THE STORY

MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

IC:

Eight of the nine members of the council of Houde, the Emperor's advisors, sat in the confeence room. Gavin McNeil, the fourteen year old son of Taggart McNeil, his massive axe on the table in front of him, and the huge direwolf known as Shadow by his side. Yuki, the foxgirl from Ravenspire, here with her boyfriend, Kenneth Claws, a blue furred Cat Creation, another councilman. Vincent, a red haired spy, the newest member, filling in for Seymore, who is believed to be dead. Captain Oliver, the head of the military, his saberguns out in front of him. Ross Houde, the clone of the former emperor, and Andrea Houde, his niece sitting down nearest to the emperor. Gaspar Wolgosti, the emperor's main advisor. This was the old man who brought Cedric over to fulfill his destiny. The final seat belonged to Artemis Entreni, the one who turned traitor, and now works for Sebastain.

"We all know the situation, how do we deal with it?" said Cedric.

"Issue a message to all non Houdians in Houde, warn them, see what happens?" suggested Kenneth.

"So we cause a possible panic, I think not. We finally jammed his signal, but by now, most people already know what's going on. No, we need to something about Sebastain, and this so called Carnival he has." replied Cedric.

"Prepare. He's obviously targeted New Hope. I can get most of Calir's troops here by tomorrow." said Oliver.

"Good, do that. Meanwhile, let's help some people go if they wish. This is going to be a long day people, but we need to make sure everyone gets rest for tomorrow, when Sebastain shows. We are taking him down." Cedric slammed his fist on the table to emphasize his point.

OOC: For pics and a short history on the Empire of Houde, go here: http://emerald.bbboy.net/nationstates-viewthread?forum=8&thread=31

Official Message to All Nations

We have had threats against Non-Houdians, and these threats have been confirmed. We will assist you in any way possible to extract your citizens from our lands if you see fit to do so. We will spare no expense in protecting your citizens if it comes down to it.

Cedric Houde
Emperor of Houde.

OOC: LOOK, it's Bumpie the amazing bumping elephant!

OOC: Come on, people, I know you all want to RP with a mighty November nation.

OOC: Try changing the title a bit, maybe. Something like "Threats Against Foreigners (open CO-RP)"

Or if you really want hits, something about a couple of elves getting killed. 8)

OOC: Yeah, I should change the title to "Elves being killed in the streets!", and then maybe poeple will RP.

I think they fear my superior story telling skills.

Booya!

Or they look at my 150 odd posts, and don't realize I'm one of the oldest nations here.

Voice 1:Or they're ignorant.

Voice 2:There's a good way to get people to RP, called them names.

Shut up voices in my head, I'm thinking here.

More story soon, as it happens, here on the Houde network.

All Houde, ALL THE TIME!

Booya

Sebastian Cooke (http://www.casualvillain.com/original/morty.jpg) walked into his own conference room, to talk to people under his employ, his Carnival of Evil.

To his immediate right sat Artemis Entreni (http://img.atpictures.com/orphen/orphen002.jpg), the newest member of his team. His weapon, Spiritwielder, strapped to his waist. He seemed to have an air of casual ignorance about him today. Sebastain didn;t care, as long as the former councilman followed his orders.

Down the line were other various criminals, the huge Banjo, and his brother, Dave Peck, who had mastery of the winds with his gaunlets. The eccentric casino owner/vampire, Lawrence St. Pierre, the man who now held the fencing sword, Forethought. Hall Beckman, his pet crow sitting on his shoulder, also held a weapon of power, Iceraiser, the warhammer of rage. The strange St. Nicholas, with his cloak flapping in unseen wind behind him. If one looked closely enough, the underside of the cloak had eyes. Rumors say people have been enveloped by thwe cloak, never to return. The rumors are true. The Asian, Yami, a master thief, and the Estavian Tabitha, another excellent thief. The tiger Creation, Stripes, stoold against the wall, his tail flicking at dust. Lastly came the twins, Tempest and Nieve Jarvis (http://img.atpictures.com/niea_7/niea01.jpg), strange, but useful fellows.

Sebastain smiled, these were his generals of war, his troops, his new vision for Houde.

bump

<tag for my own reasons. *grin*>

*bump* :evil:

Hhraag had been wandering the streets of Houde for a couple of weeks. He enjoyed diplomatic status being the youngest hatchling of the ex-emperor Kraah, and heir apparent to the Sakkran throne. Just passing his neo-nate status, he was beginning to show some tinges of blue around his bright green scales; a mark of his lineage. His father had wanted him to see the world, and thought Houde would be a good place to start.

He was resting in his hotel room and turned on his TV, when he saw the message from Sebastian Cooke. He sat bolt upright in his bed. "Ridiculous! A barbarian, to be certain. I had best leave before he decides to make a purse out of my hide." he began to pack his things.

When Hhraag reached the airport, he found ticket prices had tripled. If he coughs up the money, the clerk will tell him they went up again.

***FC's famous HQ***

"Sir, we have many, many freedomian citizens in Houde!"

"I know!!! And they aint getting harmed!!"

"What do we do, sir?"

"Well, for gods sake get some commandoe's over there, and make sure no-one, I MEAN NO-ONE, gets hurt."

"Yes, sir. We will ask permission, yes?"

"Yes."

http://www.bondmovies.com/images/mi6.jpg

-United Trading Conglomerate HQ, Slutbum Wallah-

"We've a report in from Houde, someone there is planning to kill all non-humans or something..."

"Who cares? Next item of business..."

"Wait, sir! Whoever has organized it is preventing one of our subisidaries, Slutbum Airlines, from operating. We're losing money."

"WHAT? Use your connections withing the Special Ops network! I want whoever is responsible for this dead!"

-Slutbum Wallah Embassy, 21b Academy Road, Just Over the Baker Shop, New Hope-

Ambassador Volkozein lounged in the two-room embassy in downtown New Hope. So far, no one seemed to have noticed his existence and that was fine by him, as long as they kept sending paychecks. The phone on his desk rang, interrupting his reverie.

"Ambassador Volkozein here... yes sir, it's good of you to call... no, not too busy... you want me to what?... what broadcast?... find whoever responsible?... Sir I'm an Ambassador not a private detecti... yes sir. I'll get right on it ." He replaced the phone. "Aw, hell."

"What do you mean the prices have just risen again? What manner of hair-brained operation are you running here?" The crest on Hhraag's neck rises, and his eyes widen. He storms away from the ticket desk, and tries to find some manner of public commm device. (If there is none, i'll edit)

Contacting the Kargaah Imperial Complex, he gets in touch with Advisor Kraah. "Sire, I think I am being detained here in Houde. There is a madman calling for non-human blood to be spilled, and I am not being allowed to leave."

The sound coming from the comm device can be heard for yards away. "WHAAAT?!? No one holds one of my line hostage! There will be death! Hold on and try to lay low, i'll sort this out."

"Yes, sire."

*click*

Kraah is furious. His long crest is fully upright, and the scent of combat pheromones runs rampant through his room. He contacts one of his aides. "Get me the leader of Houde. Cedric, I believe! If my hatchling is not permitted exit, then we will get him out ourselves! With force! NOW GET ME THAT COMM LINE!"

Answer to Freedom Country-

We would accept your aid, if we could. We don't want to cause Sebastain Cooke to jump the gun as it were. If we did, we are afraid he would attack earlier, causing more mayhem than we want. However, sending in one or two specialists will get under his radar. Also, we are gathering people who can't leave at the military base in New Hope. Give us a list of names, and we can get your people to safety.

Ross Houde
Diplomatic Councilman

OOC: Slutbum Wallah, its real easy to get information on Sebastain Cooke. He is the buisness leader in Houde, and has millions of dollars. He has always had a stance against non-humans, and has made it quite known. He is now wanted by the Houdian government. If you want to search for more info, the bars are the best place to start.

Answer to Kraah from Sakkra:

Please, give us the description of Hhraag, and we will get him to our government building post haste, and try to get a private flight out for him.

Ross Houde
Diplomatic ambassador.

To Ross Houde:

Hhaarg stands at about 6'8", has bright green scales with a tinge of blue on the edges. Red short crest, yellow eyes. His safety is of utmost importance to the Imperial family.

#tag so I can come back and post later

To Ross Houde:

Hhaarg stands at about 6'8", has bright green scales with a tinge of blue on the edges. Red short crest, yellow eyes. His safety is of utmost importance to the Imperial family.

"He's a freakin lizard? Get this description out to people, and get him over here now!" said Ross.

A while later

Hhaarg is appraoched by two individuals. A man with an enormous black sword strapped to his back, wearing a Houdian military outfit, and a small child with white hair, who has a white fox riding on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, are you Hhaarg?" said the man with the long sword.

Hhaarg keeps one eye on the man in military dress, and the other eye on the child with the fox (the eyes can move independent of each other). "I just might be. Did my father send for me? These people here are giving me "The Eye", as it were."

A man lays prone atop a tall building in (insert city name here). He was an agent of the Red Dawn Mercenary Army, sent to observe these 'threats on foreigners', and the consequences. His commanding officer had given him a small cellular phone, and a number to call, should he want to make contact with the government of Houde. For the moment, he sat and waited, keeping his customized W2000 and nickel-plated Berretta handy, in case he was 'threatened'.

Hhaarg keeps one eye on the man in military dress, and the other eye on the child with the fox (the eyes can move independent of each other). "I just might be. Did my father send for me? These people here are giving me "The Eye", as it were."

"Yes he did, yelled our ears off alittle too. My name is Scott Woldson, and don't worry, I'm here to take you to the government building, so we can get a personal jet to take you outta here."

"Wow," mummured the girl, "His eyes are looking in different directions, THAT'S SO COOL!"

"Hush Naomi," said Scott, "Excuse my sister, she's very curious about things."

A man lays prone atop a tall building in (insert city name here). He was an agent of the Red Dawn Mercenary Army, sent to observe these 'threats on foreigners', and the consequences. His commanding officer had given him a small cellular phone, and a number to call, should he want to make contact with the government of Houde. For the moment, he sat and waited, keeping his customized W2000 and nickel-plated Berretta handy, in case he was 'threatened'.

On another building's roof, the man sees a blond hair individual, with a Houdian military outfit on, show up. He sits on the edge of the building, and places an obviously, high powered sniper rifle, next to him. He pulls out a comm, and says soemthing into it, and nods back. HE calmly scans over the roofs next to him, nodding to the mecenary, and looks in another direction.

A man lays prone atop a tall building in (insert city name here). He was an agent of the Red Dawn Mercenary Army, sent to observe these 'threats on foreigners', and the consequences. His commanding officer had given him a small cellular phone, and a number to call, should he want to make contact with the government of Houde. For the moment, he sat and waited, keeping his customized W2000 and nickel-plated Berretta handy, in case he was 'threatened'.

On another building's roof, the man sees a blond hair individual, with a Houdian military outfit on, show up. He sits on the edge of the building, and places an obviously, high powered sniper rifle, next to him. He pulls out a comm, and says soemthing into it, and nods back. HE calmly scans over the roofs next to him, nodding to the mecenary, and looks in another direction.

OOC: Was that really nessecary? This guy is quite capable of defending himself, as well as staying hidden.

OOC:

Wow, people are replying to this.

MS:

Erm, I don't see what is exactly wrong.

"Yes he did, yelled our ears off alittle too. My name is Scott Woldson, and don't worry, I'm here to take you to the government building, so we can get a personal jet to take you outta here."

"Wow," mummured the girl, "His eyes are looking in different directions, THAT'S SO COOL!"

"Hush Naomi," said Scott, "Excuse my sister, she's very curious about things."

"Yelled your ears off? That sounds like my father alright. He's very .... passionate. Very well then. The personal jet sounds optimal."

He bends and picks up his bags. His head is cocked at a 45 degree angle, scanning rafters and the surrounding crowd at the same time. If anything strange happened between here and there, he wanted to be certain he could at least see where it was coming from.

A man lays prone atop a tall building in (insert city name here). He was an agent of the Red Dawn Mercenary Army, sent to observe these 'threats on foreigners', and the consequences. His commanding officer had given him a small cellular phone, and a number to call, should he want to make contact with the government of Houde. For the moment, he sat and waited, keeping his customized W2000 and nickel-plated Berretta handy, in case he was 'threatened'.

On another building's roof, the man sees a blond hair individual, with a Houdian military outfit on, show up. He sits on the edge of the building, and places an obviously, high powered sniper rifle, next to him. He pulls out a comm, and says soemthing into it, and nods back. HE calmly scans over the roofs next to him, nodding to the mecenary, and looks in another direction.

OOC: Was that really nessecary? This guy is quite capable of defending himself, as well as staying hidden.

OOC: Granted but your someone that no one knows, hiding on top of a building, in a city that is on HIGH alert, looking for people they don't know. Never underestimate the power of satelite survillence. The only reason why no one has attacked him, is because he's a foriegner, and they know that Sebastain wouldn't hire foreigners, or so they think. Anyways, he's just keeping an eye on you, he's really going to particapate in something else, that your character's about to witness. So keep your pants on.

Hhraag notices that Scott is also on high alert, scanning the surrounding area. They proceed through the airport, and onto the street with no problems The government building is in walking distance, and Houde never has had alot of cars, Scott explains and they proceed towards the building, anly a mile down the road.

The mercenary sees the trio walking down the street, and notices the man on the roof next to him pick up the rifle, and scans the surrounding buildings, looking for something.

As Scott explains what is going on, three individuals step out of an alley way, with the look of thugs to them. One is twirling a chain, the other is holding a lead pipe, the and last is putting on brass knuckles.

"We don't want any of your kind around here." drawled the first man.

Scott puts his hand on Naomi, and pushes her behind him. The fox jumps off her shoulders, and calmly stares at one of the thugs. Scott puts a hand on his sword.

"We don't want trouble." he said.

"Then killed that big lizard, and then there's no trouble.

The mercenary sees the blond haired man sight the sniper rifle, and take a position.

bump

Hhaarg drops his bags and gets into a fighting stance. His hands and feet are spread apart, showing large claws, and he crouches and opens his mouth, showing two rows of serrated teeth like steak knives. His tail is twitching furiously.

"Come to me then, soft-skins, and greet your death. I will enjoy sucking the marrow from your bones! HHhhssssssssss!" The smell of cinnamon is heavy in the air now.

Man, he gets pissed off really quick. thought Scott, as he simply let go of the sword, leaving it strapped to his back. He simply took a fighting stance.

The girl stayed behind them, but her fox lesuirely moved towards the trio of thugs.

The thugs simply grinned at Hhraag's statement, and spread out alittle.

Hhaarg keeps one of his eyes on the other two thugs, and the other eye on the first one. His tongue flicks in and out tasting the air. His mouth begins to salivate as he begins side-stepping slowly. He's watching for them to make their move.

It would be unseemly for me to initiate combat here. I will wait, and if they attack, I will 'defend' myself, avoiding an international incident.

The fox moved first.

One of the men groaned, as the fox slammed into his chest. Too everyone, this appeared as a mere white blur. Hhraag heard the girl mutter a few phrases under her breath right before the attack.

The man with the chain swung it at Scott, who caught it in his hand.

The man witht he iron pipe charged Hhraag, raising the pipe up, as if to bash him.

The mercenary saw the man with the sniper rifle calmly unshoulder it, and smile at the ensuing fight.

Hhaarg simply stepped aside to his right and swung his forearms in a counter-clockwise arc, attempting to deflect the pipe-swinging arm. As this was happening, he aimed his teeth at the thug's shoulder, ready to bite down hard.

Scott and his thug pulled the chain taut, each trying to get the other one off balance. Working with a six foot broadsword as your main weapon made Scott a pretty strong fellow. With a grunt, he pulled forward, bringing the thug to him, and punched with his other hand, connecting with the man's face. The thug dropped to the ground, unconcious.

Hhraag's thug screamed as teeth ripped into his shoulder.

Naomi walked backwards alittle, staying out of the fight.

New Alexandria, Terraus

Neil Tathers slowly put away his painting gear, after finishing his rendition of the sunrise over the city. He was happy with it, and cursed the fact he needed to buy more orange paint if he wanted to do another one for tomorrow. Walking back to his home/studio, he thought about the last couple of weeks in Terraus.

He relantionship with the Executor, Alexis O'Connell, cool down, and eventually became a friendship. Neil expected that to happen eventually, she was to wild to be tamed this early in her life. Oh well, he thought, at least I won't be waking up with various scratch marks and other bruises she always gave me. He was happy with his life now, ever since the fateful night were he declared his independence from Mother Earth and was able to win his freedom.

He reached his house. A two story building. The bottom was an art studio, where he sold his paintings, and did portrats for various customers. The top floor was his studio apartment. He opened the door and was greeted by his pet coyote, Faith.

"Hey girl, nice to see you." he said, rubbing behind her ears. The coyote rubbed his leg inreturn, and ran outside. Neil took his painting out, and hung it in the window, and proceeded to open the store. He finished with his preparations, when the bell above the door rang. Neil turned around and saw an old man, Mr Fletcher, enter the store.

" Nice painting of the sunrise Neil, your getting to be a real pro now." said his neighbor. They always had their morning chat about gossip and other news before Neil had breakfast. Neil smiled in return, and pulled up a stool for the old man to sit on.

"Not going to stay long, I've got to go soon. Your from Houde aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?" said Neil.

"Check the news. Gotta go." Mr. Fletcher left the building, letting Faith back into it.

What's going on now? thought Neil as he turned on the TV, switching it to a Houdian channel. He saw the ad Sebastain had blocked all Houdian channels with.

Neil Tathers was the former guardian of Houde, selected by Mother Earth herself to guard it, from dangers much like these. Usually he would manipulate matters from afar, only involving himself when needed. Neil had powers, he was a werecoyote, and a powerful one at that.

All Neil did this time, was turn off the TV. And speaking to no one in general, "Someone else's problem this time."

He flipped the open sign on his door, and smiled at the sun, and didn't think about the problems Houde was having.

He had finally let go.

bump

Government House, Bristol, Renard

The Prime Minister, Cameron Williams, leant back in his seat and rubbed his eyes, he needed to arrange an eye test soon - or more specifically have his secretary arrange one - but early mornings following late nights never helped. Opening his eyes and blinking a couple of times he looked across the table to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

"Threats against foreigners?"

"Apparently sir, in The Empire of Houde - the UN classes it as a 'compulsory consumerist state'."

"Do we have many people there?"

"Diplomatic staff mainly, a lot of people like to go and sample the casinos. You'd be suprised how many times the embassy has had to fly people back at the state's expense."

"So we advise people against travelling there until the situation is resolved?"

Johan, the Minister for Defense, a large military man whose face shows signs of age compared with the others broke in: "We need your signature before we can advise the diplomatic guards."

"Diplomatic guards?" Cameron paused, his coffee half way to his mouth. "You think it's that serious?"

"Johan does, I don't." The Minister for Foreign Affairs said resolutely. Neither of the two men could remember his name off of the top of their heads.

"I think we'll go with Johan, if someone gets hurt we'll plummet in the opinion polls."

Wombat News Report (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=86590)

Hhaarg maintains his toothy grip on the thug's shoulder, while pressing his arms at his sides. After a short time, he let's go of his bite, and tosses the thug aside. "Bah! I wouldn't suck your marrow if it was the last thing to eat on the planet!"

The thug slammed onto the ground, screaming in pain. Scott turned around, and smiled, "Suck his marrow huh? Interesting. We best continue on, who knows how many of these pyschos are still around."

As Scott helps Hhraag gather his luggage, Naomi screams. They turn around to see one of the knocked out thugs holding Naomi by the throat, threatening her with a knife.

"I'm walkin...." His voice was cut off by the bullet that penetrated his skull, killing him instantly.

On a nearby rooftop, there was a figure, holding a sniper rifle.

"Captain Oliver, he's a crackshot, hardly misses." stated Scott, as it was a matter of fact. Naomi ran over to him, hugging him. He picked her up, and held her as she sobbed alittle. "Let's get going."

The rest of the trip passed without any problems. Police picked up the criminals left on the street.


Hhraag is shown to a guest room.

"Wait here, the Emperor will be here in a minute." said a brown haired woman.

Meanwhile, in an old castle...

Purple lightning erupted across the grass, knocking out clumps of dirt, and starting a few fires. Behind that, a wall of ice appeared, putting out the fires. Then, a figure in a suit appeared at four different points at the same time ontop of the wall of ice.

"Excellent." said Sebastain as he watched his crew at work. The weapons were yielding their secrets, slowly, but surely. They will be ready for their midnight attack on New Hope.

A light drizzle pick up, the four figures became one, the vampire Lawrence. He seemed to be shrouded in black. In a blink of an eye, he appeared next to Sebastain.

"Hey boss, see what I can do." The rain wasn't even falling on him.

"Shroud yourself in darkness so you can exist in daylight, nice trick."

"Actually, I stopped the time around my body, freezing it, making it nighttime. I thought it was ingenious."

"Good work. We attack at midnight."

"Excellent."

bump

Renardian Embassy, New Hope, Houde

Ian Pritchard, corproral in the Renard Defence Force looked out across the city from the office windows. He knew being attached to an embassy was an important job, but he couldn't wait for his six months to finish. He could feel himself going soft, when he got back out among the regulars he'd be floundering like a fresh recruit.

Stepping back from the window he signalled for Lamin, the other soldier attached to the embassy to follow him. Opening the supply closet he pushed several buckets and brooms to one side and revealed the small arms locker they weren't supposed to have.

OOC: OK then, I'm thinking of fastforwarding to the fight at midnight, just need to settle some stuff with Hhraag first. Then the chaos begins!

IC:
Soon, a female secretary brings Hhraag to the Emperor's throne room.

The Emperor was dressed in Houdian black military garb, with a half cloak draped over his right shoulder, with the lime green rune signifying the Houde family name. He had a beard, reddish brown, and short brown hair. Even though his eyes were brown, they had piercing qualities to him. He also looked very young, in his lower to mid twenties.

"I'm assuming your Hhraag?" he stated simply.

bumpage

The Sakkran looked at the Emperor with one of his yellowish eyes with his head cocked; the other scanning the room behind him.

"That I would be, Sire. Thank you for seeing me."

"Trust me, no one will jump you here. We have word, from our spy in their camp, that they will attack at midnight, instead of dawn like they said. This gives us a few hours, five to be exact, to get you out of here. Seeing how Sebastain has screwed the planes, we will take you out of here via military planes, and swiftly. See any problems with this?"

All Amabssadors in Houde, all known foriegners in Houde, and all Houdian citizens recieve the same message.

Be warned, hostilities with Sebastain Cooke is extremely likely. Be warned, we plan to counter their attack, stay out of the streets. The attack begins at midnight. Be warned.....

The message is repeated and repeated over Houdian national television.

"I see no problems with it. One must make do with what one has, as long as the job gets done, yes?"

Cedric responded, "Yes they do, officially, you are to leave in ten minutes. Unofficially, your leaving in two."

The door opened, and two Houdian military guards showed up, each with Hhraag's lugagge. "Right this way, your jet is waiting."

Hhraag is escorted to a Houdian XJ, the fastest plane in the Houdian air force. He's ushered on board, and the two guards get in with him.

"We'll have you home as soon as possible."

The jet takes off, harriet style, and flys towards Sakkra.

Hhraag made it out of Houde, one of the few forigeners that do.

OOC: It's me, MS. Just too lazy to log out, then in again...

IC: [i]The Mercenary watches with alarm, raising his own rifle.{/i]

Renardian Embassy, New Hope, Houde

It was late, and the embassy had taken on a different atmosphere. As well as the embassy staff the offices were now acting as a temporary home to the various tourists who either hadn't been able to get to their hotel room. Or simply hadn't felt safe there.

Pritchard and Lamin circulated, allegedly to "show a presence" and reassure the tourists, in reality neither of them coud sit down if they were told to. Adreneline pumping through their systems they watched the clock tick closer and closer to midnight.

OOC: Let's get ready to rumble.

IC:

11:30 PM

The night was chilly. Jonah drifted in and out of near sleep leaning against a doorway, in the shadows.

At 11:30, his radio crackled to life. "All policemen and military, 30 minutes until first contact with enemy. Several blimps on the radar have been sighted coming from the west. Be extremely careful. Weapon safeties off, permission to fire on sight."

Jonah sighed, and check his sabergun, making sure it was still full of ammo. It stilll was, he never used the thing, and probably hurt his own friends first.

He looked to the skies, and waited. Tonight promised to be anything but boring.



In one half hour, chaos erupted.

Air raid sirens went on, waking those who managed to go to sleep even under the tension. Military personal, the ones who were held for this moment, jumped into XJ's, and took off, looking to intercept. Captain Oliver, placed amoung the rooftops, ordered his troops to begin the lookout.

All heads turned to the north, were the planes were coming from.

Explosions erupted from the diplomatic district, causing alarms to go off around the city. People screamed as the gorund beneath them shifted, and out came mercenaries, shooting at random, Houdian troops going to intercept, sniper rifle raining down form above.

In the air dog fights were erupting, keeping the Houdian Air Force busy, also keeping them awayt from Cooke's transports. The finesse of the sir force was being shown

And transports same, paratroopers, wearing Cooke's colors, a dark green laced with purple, jumped out. Oliver and his troops went to work with sniper rifle, taking as many as they could.

New Hope Memorial Park

Cedric knelt in front of Taggart's statue, flanked by Scott Woldson, Gavin McNeil, Shadow, and his cousin, Andrea.

Shadow growled as the explosions started to erupt.

"Are we safe here?" said Scott. His sword, Boar, out before him.

"Yes." came the simple reply.

Shadow, the huge direwolf, tensed. "He senses someone." said Gavin, unhooking his massive axe, and holding it in front of him.

Seymore's tree blew in the breezes caused by the airplanes and after a few tense moments, an old man walked out of the darkness. His name was Salvatore Burke, or as everyone calls him now, Old Sally.

"Why are you here?" said Andrea, perplexed.

"This will make a fine story." said the old man, as he sat down on a stone bench, the one he sits on every day. "I plan to witness it, first hand."

Shadow suddenly released a massive growl, the wolf's hair standing up on end.

Everyone turned except Cedric. He merely stood up, and placed a hand on Vigor. This close to the lake, which reflected the various explosions, he felt more power within the sword. "Hello Artemis, news?"

On top of the statue stood Artemis, the traitor, his weapon, Spiritwielder, attached to his side. He calmly jumped off the statue, and landed, the chain weapon hardly making any noise.

"TRAITOR!" screamed Gavin, raising the axe.

"Hold." said Cedric. He looked Artemis in the eye. "This man is no traitor, simply a spy."

"Aye," said the former assassin, "and now, here's what Cooke plan's to do."

Cedirc looked on, and prepared to relay instructions to various teams.


Old man Sally Burke listened on. This is going to make one hell of a story.

Renardian Embassy, New Hope, Houde

With the explosions around the diplomatic district the embassy went silent, Lamin and Pritchard went for their guns as they waited to see if the explosions had been as close as they sounded. A few seconds ticked by, and through the window they could see figures on the road below.

"I'll grab the SMGs." Lamin said quietly, stepping back from the window and disappearing to the supply cupboard.

"Next year I'm staying in Renard's casinos." One of the tourists muttered.

Lamin reappeared after a coupe of seconds, pistol holstered and an MP5 slung over his shoulder. Holding the second MP5 out to Pritchard he emptied his pockets of magazines and started laying them out on a desk near the window.

"Beats the hell out of patrols doesn't it?" Pritchard slotted a magazine in his SMG and checked the safety before cocking it. Extending the stock he aimed it through the glass to the road below, the street lights were out and the only illumination was from the moon.

"I'm starting to pefer patrol, I'm allergic to getting shot." Lamin grinned and walked across to the corner of the office that overlooked an intersection.

IC:

"..so that's his plan." finsihed Artemis. He unslung Spiritwielder, and swung the ball as he waited for Cedric. The Emperor looked at Gavin.

"Gavin, take Andrea with you and inform Yuki where Hall Beckman is. Tell her to take some men and intercept him. After that, get too...."

"Did you think it would be that easy? Do you think I'm stupid?" said Sebastain Cooke, as he walked into the park. Flanking him where Lawrence and St. Nicholas. "I had St. Nicholas trail you, when you left your station early. And we find the head of the snake. If we kill you, the empire will crumble."

"Gavin, get Andrea out of here, to a safe place, GO!" said Cedric, drawing out Vigor, the sword glinting in the electric light.

"Which one you want Larry?"

Lawrence gave St. Nicholas a cold look, and drew out Forethought. "I'll take Artemis, you can deal with the emperor."

St. Nicholas drew out his two guns, his coyote materialized from his cloak, which had spread out. "Let's get going then."

Sebastain watched as the two men charged. Old MAn Sally Burke watched also, absorbing every detail.

************************************************

The streets were fill of soldiers, Houdian and rebels, fighting each other, concentrated in the diplomatic district. Yuki cursed having to lug around the heav, awkward mace. She ducked behind some handy rubble, and reloaded her gun.

"Should of took Alaric's advice, and gotten out of here when I could have." she said to no one in particular, and shot some more rounds at the enemy.

Gavin grabbed Andrea by the arm, and ran off, leaving the park. Shadow was running in front of them, taking them down streets without any enemies. As they reached the gate leading into the diplomatic section, the group slowed down, and gazed upon the wreckage, the fighting was immense, and just starting. Dogfights were still going on in the sky, as well as paratroopers still descending, spraying bullets. The trio ran into an alleyway, and out the other end.

The street they came into was deserted. Blocks of ice were visible, as well as chunks of cement taken out of buildings.

"What happened here?" said Andrea. Shadow tensed up and growled. At the end of the street entered Hall Beckman, with his crow riding on his shoulder. As the neared, the crow took off.

"Hello, Andrea Houde I presume? Guess what little girl? Your coming with me."

Gavin stood in front of Andrea, his axe held up. "Over my dead body." he said.

"Well, I guess that can be arranged." Hall took out Iceraiser, and brought it down on the ground. A wall of ice appeared, coming straight for Gavin. Shadow jumped, and tackled Andrea to the side. Gavin jumped to the other, effectively pinning him in with Hall.

"Let's go." Gavin said, charging Hall.

*************************************************************

Yuki got seperated from her group of soldiers, and came upon an empty street. She saw ice spring up unnaturally.

Someone's in trouble. She ran towards the danger.

*************************************************************

Ross Houde stayed in the government building. He'd be no help in the actually fight itself. His hands shook and he took some more pills that the doctor gave him.

*************************************************************

Scott Woldson strode through the streets unafraid of bullets as they embedded in the cement surrounding him. He pulled out Boar from his sheath, and held it up high. He focused his energy, much like his sister taught him too. Above him lightning crackled, and soon, erupted from the sword itself. Soon, a large boar made of lightning appeared in the sky, and ran towards the enemy, shocking them.

He felt a strong wind blow, and opened his eyes revealing a large boulder coming at him fast. He jumped to the side, losing his concentration, and the gigantic boar of lightning disappated. The boulder skidded across the street, wrecking a house wall, and killing some of the Houdian guards.

"Hello, nice to see you again." said Dave, with his enchanted guanlets gleaming in the lamp light. His massive brother, Banjo, was beside him, picking up another boulder. "Let's finished what we started in that cave, shall we?" The cocky mercenary threw out his guantlets again, creating a massive wind, knocking Scott off his feet.

*************************************************************

Tabitha and Yami jumped from rooftop to rooftop, away from the main bulk of fighting. Their job was an assassination, one of Gaspar Wolfgosti.

Gavin swiped low with the axe. Hall somersaulted backwards, clearing the descending blade, and landed with his back to Gavin.

"I see everything young McNeil." said the voyuer. He casually placed the warhammer on his shoulder. Gavin seethed with anger and charged again.

Hall turned and this time blocked the massive axe. Even with his enchanted weapon, Hall felt numbness in his hands after the impact.

"Strong little boy, but not strong enough.

Shadow paced outside the ice wall, whining, trying to scratch his way through the barrier. He couldn't get through, and the direwolf was afriad for its master. A yelp from Andrea made the huge wolf turn around. Hall's annoying crow was flying near Andrea's head, trying to peck out her eyes, or at least keep her scared. Shadow leapt into the air, driving straight for the crow. At the last moment, the crow dodged, and squawked angrily at the wolf.

Gavin pulled back, and swung again, this time high. Hall ducked, and swung his warhammer, which connected with Gavin's chest, sending the boy flying backwards, into the ice wall. Gavin struggled to get back up, his ribs hurting. Hall smiled triumphantly, and closed the gap.

"I shall enjoy watching you die." he said, and swung Iceraiser again. This time Gavin dropped, and the warhammer slammed into the ice wall, punching a fair sized hole into it.

A second later, Hall was treated to a face full of enraged direwolf. He reeled from the assualt, and was slammed to the ground, under the tremendous weight of the wolf.

"Shadow.." muttered Gavin before he passed out from the pain.

This time, at cost to itself, Hall's crow saved the voyuer's life. The crow attacked the face of the wolf, causing Shadow to retreat a few steps. Shadow took some weight off of HAll, and caught the crow with his mouth. One crunch, and the crow fell lifeless from the wolf's mouth.

"BASTARD!" screamed Hall from underneath the wolf, and slammed the warhammer into the wolf, sending Shadow backwards, and skittering away. The direwolf also collasped from pain.

Hall stood up and walked toward Andrea, who was holding Gavin's head.

He raised his warhammer, ready to finish his job, when he was interuppted by a gunshot, that slammed into the ground next to him.

Yuki covered the ground, and finally unslung Sindestroyer. She looked at Hall and at the fallen Gavin and Shadow.

"You ready to die?" said the foxgirl.

"Let's find out." muttered Hall, ignoring Andrea and turning to face the Yuki.

Scott braced himself against the wind that emanated from Dave's gaunlets.

"Give it up kid, I ain't givin' ya a break." screamed Dave over the wind. Banjo hurled another piece of rubble. Scott let the wind take him, and him flew backwards. He slammed his sword into the ground, and stopped his movement, ad the piece of rubble got caught up in the windstorm, and flew off to the other side of the street.

Scott concentrated again, focusing his energy onto calling the Boar spirit. Lightning sparked around the sword once more, this time making its way to Dave. His gaunlets served as lightning rods, attracting the dangerous electricity. It slammed into Dave, sending the smaller Peck flying backwards.

Scoitt abrutly charged forward, trying to catch the huge man off guard. Banjo waited until the last moment, and picked up Scott, using Scott's own momentum to throw him off to the side. Scott twisted in mid air, and against protesting muscles, braced his fall. He launched himself into the air once more, bringing Boar around.to cut Banjo. Banjo took a slice on his side as he dodged.

Scott landed on the ground, and turned around. Banjo was holding his side, moaning in pain.

"Do you give?" said Scott.

"Brother?" replied the big man. "Help me..." Dave was just in the big man's vision. He looked at the odds, and down at his now ruined gaunlets.

"Sorry bro, maybe I'll bust you out." With that, Dave ran off, leaving his brother in Houdian possesion.

OOC: Feel free to post battles between your troops and there's.

Just give them standard weaponary and such.

Artemis swung his chain, while Cedric drew out his sword. St. Nicholas's two glocks appeared in his hands, and Lawrence's rapier was already drawn, pointing straight.

"Shall we" said the vampire.

"We shall." responded St. Nicholas, and the two men charged.

St. Nick came on, bullets flying, and his cloak spreading out. Cedric, blocking some bullets with his sword, taking others in the chest, jumped backwards, away form the cloak. He heard stories about it, and he didn't want to see what happened if he got sucked into it. He jumped to the side, and bullets slammed inot the ground next to him.

Artemis twirled his chain, and swung it out.

"Dodge this vampire."

The ball speed outwards, and doubled, doubled again, and again, making eight ball and chains emanating from one.

Lawrence smiled, halting his charge, "Predictable." he muttered. His sword flashed, and suddenly there were two Lawrence's, then four, then eight. Each one braced themselves, and blocked the ball and chains. They skittered upward, dissolving back to one, which Artemis swung back towards him. The eight Lawrence's grinned wolfishly, and dissappeared, leaving one.

Cedric screamed as Wraith, the mysterious black coyote of St. Nicholas', went through him, spreading cold. Almost as soon as he felt the cold, his own sword spread warmth throughout his body. Cedric looked up, just as St Nick smashed him with the butt of one of his guns. Cedric felt his nose break, then reform. His sword was obviously getting a workout. Cedric hit the ground, and kiddup to his feet, swinging the sword wildly. It slashed part of the cloak, cutting it.

"MY CLOAK." screamed St. Nick.

Cedric got an idea.

Artemis lashed out with purple lightning, emanating form the sickle on Spiritwielder, but Lawrence was simply too fast, bending time to make him faster than Artemis. Artemis took to swinging the chain around him, while lashing out with lightning, trying to keep himself protected, knowing that Lawrence could get to him anytime.

Cedric pressed his attack while St. Nicholas was distracted. He cut up the cloak, cutting piece after piece of the enchanted fabric off. St. Nick was stunned, unable to move. Cedric pressed the sword point against his neck.

"Do you yield?"

"Mmmmyyyy clllooaaakk." St. Nick stuttered.

Cedric cut the clasp on St. Nick's neck, which cause the cloak to fall. He then cut the cloak in half in mid air.

"It's done." he said. Before St. Nick could respond, a scream of pain erupted from the other part of the park. Cedric turned to see Lawrence cutting Artemis in various places at impossible speeds. Cedric ran to help, leaving St. Nick clutching the useless remains of his former power.

I've never got paid to kill before, its fun, and easy when its and old old man." said Yami. "He's old anyways, we're doing him a favor."

"Most people are quiet when they plan to sneak up on someone." whispered Tabitha, as they crept across the rooftops, towards Gaspar's hiding place.

"He's an old man, he won't hear us."

"Who's to say that he's the only one in the house numbnuts." she said back. Gripping a sai in one hand, she pointed to the opposite roof, and Yami easily dropped over. When he landed, he heard a click from below.

"Hey, I he......." was all he was able to get out. The click activated an electrical trap. The tile he was standing on was electrified. His body went rgid as electricity poured through him like water in a river. Eventually his body fell off the roof, landing heavily on the ground twenty feet below. Smoke was belowing from his head.

See, never talk dumbass. Well, that's one problem done with. She crossed over to another roof, and then looked in the windows. Their was Gaspar, talking to a girl young enough to be his granddaughter.

Idiot, never stand by a window if you have an assassin's contract out on you. She shifted her grip on the sai, and threw it out. It was thrown with pinpoint accuracy, and smashed through the window, slamming into...

...a mirror. What? Tabitha prepared to move, but guards had swarmed the position, and various guns were pointed at her.

"Alright, alright. I know how trigger happy Houdians are." She threw her remaining sai on the ground, and stood up. "Just get the asshole over here."

A few moments later she was brought before Gaspar.

"Why Tabitha, so far away from home."

"Why Gaspar, nice roof you have. It did in one of us."

"Unfourtanately, the stupid one. I was hoping to get you with the roof."

"Well, we all can't plan for everything." Her hand casaully adjusted her pants. "Like the fact I would only carry two blades." She threw a small knife at Gaspar.

His cane moved fast, and deflected the blade to the side. His other hand held a sabergun, pointed straight at her head.

"You know, I do have problems killing people, always have. But, you see, Houdians don't have those such problems. Enjoy the last few seconds of your life Tabitha."

Gaspar walked out of the room with Lucia. He heard Tabitha cursing him, then a gun shot. A tear was in his eyes.

"Why are you crying? She tried and failed, shouldn't you be happy? Survival of the fittest you know."

"Yes." said Gaspar weakly. "But still, its a human life, not very good for the karma in my opinion. I am tired, take me to bed."

"Right away Gaspar."

Yuki brought the mace in an slow circle cursing the fact she never learned to use it properly. Hall swatted it away, the resulting vibration knocking it from Yuki's loose grip.

"Fine, I hated that thing anyways." said Yuki, and pulled out her two saberguns, both out of ammo, and switched them to sword mode. She attacked with them, one of them low, the other high.

Hall used his mace handle to block the low one, and dodged the high one by moving slightly to the side. He didn't count on a foxgirls speed though, and got sliced in the cheek.

"Chicks dig scars." muttered Hall.

"What, when you watch them from afar." replied Yuki, again going for the two pronged attack. She shifted her swords grip, bringing them together, trapping Hall inbetween the blades. Iceraiser emitted an eerie glow, surrounded it's self with a white mist, which blocked the attacks, Yuki's saberguns effectively hit an ice wall.

Hall laughed, and press the swords out further, forcing them away from himself. Yuki pretended to struggle against it, and then shot a foot out, catching Hall on the chin, her antimagicness disrupting the shield's rigidity. The kick knocked Hall backwards. He groaned on the ground.

"Not much of a fighter, are you?" replied Yuki, walking over and placing a foot on Hall's chest. She pointed the tip of the sabergun at Hall's throat. "Give darling?"

Hall's arm swung up, the one holding the warhammer, and slammed into Yuki, sending her flying to the side.

"Hardly." he replied.

"ENOUGH" screamed Andrea. Yuki, getting back up, abliet slowly, and Hall both stopped and looked over at her. She had grabbed the handle of Sindestroyer, and stood up. Feelings of guilt washed oer her, but she didn't care. This man was going to kill her friends, and already hurt the person she has a crush on. He was going to pay.

Without much finess, she charged, and brought the mace down, much quicker than Yuki did. Hall, after his initial bewilderment, managed to get his warhammer up enough to block the blow. But, feelings of guilt washed over him...

...He was fifteen, and his younger sister had a bunch of her friends over for a sleepover, and he wanted to watch. He loved watching them play games, and sleep, and talk.

He really enjoyed it when they slept, and he could watch them then.

He could spend hours out there, if he had enough lotion with him.....

....he came back too, long enough to block the next blow, and more feelings of guilt, washed over him....

....One year later, his sister laid beneath him tied up.

"I get to have you now." said Hall, gripping her roughly.

Her lifeless body didn't respond...

Hall struggled to lift his own weapon, blocking Andrea's next wild attack. And again, more memories...

...Hall watched his girlfriend's place burn. Sure, he could have saved her from death, but the bitch didn't deserve it. She went out tonight when she wasn't suppose too.

Who cares if she was going out to eat with her family. She said she was going to be home...

"No..." muttered Hall, and the warhammer fell from his unresisting fingers. He had lost all will to live, the memories of all his sins washing over him, making him feel pathetic.

Yuki watched in horrid disbelief as Andrea brought the mace down on Hall's head. Not once, not twice, but four times before she stopped. Needless to say, Hall was dead. Andrea was reduced to crying, sobbing. Yuki rushed over, as much as her injured body could, and grabbed ahold of the mace, shutting off it's magic.

"I think we should get Gavin to a hospital."

Andrea sobbed in agreement, and off the two went, taking Gavin to the hospital, Shadow following behind.

bump

bump for Houde

bump for me

Cedric rushed to Artemis' aid, slashing at Lawrence, who disappeared right before Vigor connected.

"Are you ok?" said Cedric to the severely hurt Artemis.

"Just kick his ass." he muttered before pashing out. Cedric turned around to gaze upon the vampire, who held the rapier in front of him.

"I see the past, present and future. I must say, yours ain't looking to good." Lawrence smirked, "Cause your going to get your ass kicked. By me." The vampire bowed, then turned a bluish color before disappearing.

"Damn it." muttered Cedric, "how am I suppose to hurt something I can't see."

Cedric felt a stab of pain when Lawrence pierced him with Forethought. "A little slow, ain't ya?" said the vampire before turning a bluish haze and disappearing.

Why doesn't he attack when he's traveling through time? thought Cedric, looking aroung him. He felt a rush of air, and saw Lawrence, the air going from a deep violet to a light blue around the vampire before the sword struck a second time. Cedric desperately threw up his guard, and manage to block it. The sword seem to not only slice his body, but also put the area it touches through incredible agony.

"I got you." muttered Cedric, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. "Just waiting for it."

A deep violet outline appeared in front of Cedric. He thrusted his sword into the outline. He was rewarded by a scream of pain.

"What?" muttered Lawrence, coming back into focus. Cedric didn't let up, slashing with his sword, hoping for a lucky hit.

He got it, Lawrence, who seemed in confusion, had looked up as if he was talking to someone. Cedric's swing took off Lawrence's head. The head flew in mid air, with a confused expression before turing to dust, along with the body. Cedric ran over to Artemis.

"Artemis, Artemis." said Cedric, shaking the assassin, hoping to awaken him. He noticed that Artemis' wounds where festering, spreading through out the body. Cedric toook Vigor, and stabbed Artemis with it, hoping it wasn't to late for it's healing magic.

Behind Cedric, Sebastain walked over and grabbed Forethought.

"It ain't over yet boy."

OOC: Patience is a virtue, or so I'm told

I'm going to finish this with one massive post, so give me a couple days.

Cedric struggled to stand back up, being in two fights, so close together, and the beating he took had drained most of the energy from him. Now, another battle with the time sword was not something he wanted.

But he needn't worry, he wasn't about to battle the time sword.

"Useless junk." muttered Sebastain tossing Forethought onto the ground. "A piece fo junk these so called weapons of power. Who would confine such power in a hunk of metal. It should be free."

Cedric's mind raced, What in the devil is he talking about.

Cooke continued, the approaching dawn slowly lighting the park. It's light shining on Sebastain's black hair. "Did you realize that this was a test young Emperor. It's too bad you had to fail, isn't it."

Cedric raised Vigor shakingly in front of him. Sebastain rushed forward and kicked it out of Cedric's hands. The sword skidded through the grass, coming to a rest in front of Taggart's statue. Sebastain grabbed Cedric by the collar and held him in the air, Cedric's feet dangling, trying to touch the ground.

"You didn't even realize. With all your plots and scheming. Did you think it was a happy concidence you found out about the weapons? Did you think your beloved tutor was that good. Oh no, I had to set some bait for him to find the pages about Vigor and Boar, and even then, I had to invade his dreams to give him the answers. Did you think I gave one twit about the foriegners. Why would I? I'm a buisnessman, they spend more than average Houdians. It was a test, to test that strength of your sword. See how much you can harness it's power. You haven't even used one tenth of it, not even one tenth." Sebastain's eyes seem to glow with inner fury. "If that weapon was in my master's possesion, he would be invincible."

Cedric's mind missed the blantant clue in his struggle to breathe. St. Nicholas continued crying in the remains of his once powerful cloak.

"Have you figured it out yet boy, have you? I don't think you have the slightest notion of who I really work for. The envelopes sent to the now defunct carnival where enticed with a chemical magic. Only two of them suceeded in breaking it, that useless man over there," he nodded his head towards Artemis, "And the man who controlled that cloak of power, which you so nicely got rid of for me. After pitting the Carnival against your forces, I knew who would win, but it was fun, kinda of like a chess game of sorts. My master enjoyed it, even with the other game he is currently playing. You know who my master is Cedric, he sends his regards, and gives me permission to end your pathetic existence. Aphetto Kabal says goodbye!" Sebastain pulled back his free hand, and went to punch Cedric in the head.

The sound of a energy weapon slicing off his arms, the one holding Cedric and te one moving was quick and precise.

The green light of the lightsaber shined the person's face underneath the Creeparian cloak. "Why do bad guys ALWAYS explain what they are going to do before they do it." said Brigid, smiling. "Oh well, back to work." she rushed Cooke.

"NNNNOOOOO!" screamed Cooke, which was his last words as the light saber decapitated him, the head rolling across the ground.

Cedric coughed as he flunged tghe severed arm away from him.

"You ok?" asked Brigid.

Cedric merely nodded and grabbed Vigor, even its healing power seem exhausted, it slowly feed him energy. He finaly foudn his voice, or most of it anyways. "How?" he simply uttered.

"Was in the neighborhood, and decided to have some fun." Brigid. "I asaw that jackoff's message and decided to help basically.

Clapping interupted them. Both of them looked at the corpse, it's severed arms clapped to gether in mid air.

"How come things don't know when to die around here?" said Brigid pulling out her lightsaber.

"No, it's Aphetto, to much of a coward to show himself."

"Am I?" said a voice behind them. They both turned around to see Aphetto standing on the other side of a portal. "Hello young emperor, had fun with my messenger I see. And I almost so had you too." Brigid went to bumrush the portal. Cedric grabbed her, "Never run into a spider's web." he muttered.

"So true, so true, I do love fiesty flies." Brigid scowled at him. Aphetto smirked, then continued "Well Cedric, I wish I was closer to you,but, I'm off in your old stomping grounds, raising a little chaos, trying to upset the balance of power over here. It should be suitable until I get back to your country, when I destroy you, but, well, this is fun I must say, Estavia is such an intriguing place, and Mordred is such a wonderful host."

Cedric muttered, "Asshole."

"Well, I did tell him you want to conquer his country, looking for allies and such, and I did state you were building forces."

"To protect myself."

"Yes well, he thinks its to invade his country. I love misunderstanding between powerful individuals, it makes a wonderful sight to behold when they first meet.

"Can I hurt him, like, cut out his tongue or something?" said Brigid.

"Leave Aphetto."

"I will, not because you asked me so nicely, but because I know I can beat you anytime Cedric, anytime." Aphetto grinned and closed the protal behind.

"What a pompus idiot." said Brigid. "He leaves a stench in the air, don't he."

"It's his way, he makes you think he's an idiot, or a weakling, and when your not looking, he attacks you from behind." Cedric looked at thwe rising dawn, letting the light wash over him. Should I warn Mordred of his folly? The arrogant fool won't believe me, and most liekly won't talk to the 'peasant' king. "Brigid, helpe me with these two," he pointed to Artemis and St. Nicholas. "We need to get them some care."

"Sure, whatever." replied Brigid.

*******

"I give up."

"What?" muttered Kenneth, his hand stopped in midflight, about to damaged Daniel's skull. Both of them had been fighting for about an hour or so, and both of them bore scars from the fight.

"I give up, how many times do I need to say it. You won, the good guys won, now just take me away."

Kenneth looked warily at Daniel, "I guess your right. We did win." He gazed down the destroyed street. "But at what cost?"

*******

Jonah looked at the scene before him. An ice wall, a crater, and a dead body at the bottom of it missing its skull. Or at least a small meteor hit it's skull. For good measure Jonah shot the body twice in rapid sucession. You never know with Lodoss and all. He started to examine the ice wall. "Hey, Jimbo, what could have caused this?"

He turned around when Jimbo didn't answer him. "Jimbo? Where are you man?" He then felt cold steel against his neck.

"Hey buddy, save a spot for me in hell, would ya?" said Dave Peck, the last free man of the Carnival, as he carved a new smile in Jonah's neck. He dropped the dead body to the ground and looked around, spotting the discarded Iceraiser on the ground. "I'll be taken' that. It makes up for leaving my bro behind. Hope you do well in the jail Banjo, your bro is outta here." Witht hat Dave took off, not even relaizing that his broken gauntlets he still wore were the only things protecting him from Iceraiser's magick.

*******

Days Later

Gaspar entered Cedric's office, to find an unusual moddy Cedric.

"What's the problem boy?"

"So many people died, so many relantions gone, all because Aphetto wanted to 'test' me." he said.

Gaspar settled into a chair, "Just relax Cedric, it comes with the job. Wars are started because two individuals, powerful ones, get mad at each other, a few slurs go around, and then bam, it's a war. You should know though, Artemis and Gavin will make it. They two strong willed people."

"I'll try to be happy, but I think of the other hundreds of people that died."

"You should know something. We have all the weapons except one."

"Five beats one, it's simple math." replied Cedric. How could Gaspar think of the weapons now, when so many people jst died.

"The one we don't have could bite us in the ass. It's Iceraiser, the weapon of weather. Do you kow what controls the weather boy? The balance of forces in the air. Iceraiser seeks to mantain that balance, whether it be for good or evil. It's going to kill hundreds more people unless you do something about it boy."

Cedric clenched his fist, "Not on my watch it won't."

*******

On a desolate mountain range in Houde

Dave stood on a rock, the snow whipping aroung him. Who would have thunk it, a whole tribe of warriors, wainting for me. A man could get use to this.

In front of him, the Yeti that guarded the weapon for generations praised Dave, their new leader. Their were hundreds of them, all shouting his name.

Oh yeah, a man can get use to this.

Inside of Iceraiser, it seeked to preserve the balance.

The End, Finally