WarTraveller

10 hours ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Make a 1d20 wisdom check  (animal handling bonus if you have it).]

[1d20 Roll = 20 w/ +1 for Wisdom Bonus]

[Animal Handling Bonus = +1]

[Total Roll = 22]

[Wisdom Base = 13 / Check Success]

Mujha looked at the salve applied to her wounds - they had stopped bleeding and now looked a lot better, and what pain there was began to subside with time. The fight with the bird creature had left a few wounds, and perhaps that would inconvenience her further down the line (as it tended to do), but for now she was rested, repaired and ready for action.

"...Thank you, kind stranger," Mujha said, gracefully getting out of her bedroll and quickly rolling it up, "I would never have imagined I would meet someone as...mysterious and kind as you in the middle of this wilderland. Now, I suggest you prepare what you have with you..." she paused to place the bedroll in the carriage, then began to slip back into her chainmail armour and find a place for her Explorer's Pack, "We must continue on my selected route as soon as possible. Yesterday was supposed to be the day I would reach this supposedly...eerie city. And I wish to make up for lost time. With luck we might be able to make it by...uh, about lunchtime. Let's go."

With the pack in the carriage and the armour on her person, she quickly jumped over the sands to awaken her pack mule.

"Urgh..." Mujha winced at the stinging pain of the salve on the pecking wounds, "Still a bit hot, I see. But this WILL help, right?"

Hours passed as Caleb continued to stare into the fire, watching the flowers ever so slowly boil in the container. The fire's crackling and snapping was beginning to fade as the fire slowly went out, but the heat remained nonetheless. The shifting sands that surrounded them slowly regained their rich amber colours as the sun shifted back into the sky, blanketing the lands in a powerful light. Before long it was morning, the sun shining brightly down on the pair, as the flames slowly gave up their last and went out. Thankfully, the waters within had boiled the flowers more than enough, and a rather unusual smell was emitting from the container.

Mujha, who had been seemingly sleeping peacefully throughout the entire night, was now slowly stirring herself awake. She finally got onto her arms, groaning loudly, seemingly in great pain.

"Ooow...gah, this hurts..." she turned to look at Caleb, "Morning, Caleb. How're...urgh, how're you?"

"Heh, yeah..." Mujha sighed, "Be careful, alright? I don't exactly want to lose my latest companion right away..."

As Caleb turned to get the flowers, Mujha groaned with the pain. Her chain-mail armour clinked and clanked in tune with the wind, and by this point had become quite hot and incredibly heavy. Heaving with the weight of it, she removed the armour and gathered it into a pile by her bedroll, leaving her in her normal clothes; a long black tunic dress that reached to her ankles and was outfitted in a number of golden inlets and accessories. She pulled down the hood over her head, fully showing her scales and golden eyes, then lay in her bedroll once more, her breathing moving in-time with that of the pack mule, once more letting the crackling of the fire help her sleep.

Next Chapter!

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Chapter 11: A Sickened Mind

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One Year Previous
==========

Chucking out time. Again. The young wildcat sighed heavily. She was starting to wonder if it had ever been a good idea, joining the Red Scarves. A group of thieves and killers. Gentlemanly thieves and smart killers, she had to admit, but nevertheless. She had been 'studying' with them for, what, about three years now? Almost every day was spent waking in some low-quality hellhole, then dragging herself to their sorta-underground base to sit on this giant set of seats and listen for a couple of hours on what it took to be a good thief and an even better killer. Joy. Carol always took as many notes as she could during this time, trying to get all the important bits in her head, as many as possible and as fast as possible. She didn't really like it all that much, but she had the terrible feeling in her mind that she needed to know this stuff. The world was changing around her at a dizzying pace, and certainly not for the better; the three kingdoms, when not taking it in turns to try and exterminate the Red Scarves and everything about them, were gearing up for war. Hell, they had been gearing up for war for a good three months now. And while these...crackpots, Carol guessed, fought each other for glory or death, who would be looking after the ones on the streets? Who would be upholding the law? Who would keep negotiable trade routes open? Carol knew things were soon going to go downhill, with rampart crime and rioting on the streets, unseen to these warmongers, and she needed every last skill and advantage she could ever hope to get.

Not that those skills mattered in scenarios like this. After the 2 hour lesson came lunch, itself one hour, before one hour's physical training and back to living life. Except Carol had no life to really return to. She was, after all, just another victim of the three kingdoms and their mad power struggles. Her own family was one of the many who was sent to fight in that idiotic civil war between Shang Mu and Shuigang. A lot of people died in that freakin' war. Not that it helped. Almost instantly after this little excursion was over, Mayor Zao was instead turning his greedy fingers towards Shang Tu, and its own power sources. Like that Kingdom Stone everyone talked about. The ultimate goal of the Red Scarves, according to their leader anyway, was to one day steal that thing. Not to use it, apparently, but so the other kingdoms couldn't. Warring kingdoms was bad enough, the last thing that was wanted or needed was a Kingdom with what was essentially the Hand of God.

What all this meant for Carol, of course, was that she had no home to return to. The Red Scarves only pushed their lessons on them Monday to Friday; weekends were "private study" returning to their homes and practising their new skills on their own people. But to Carol, this meant returning to the same old filthy mattress somewhere within Shuigang and waiting for the next lesson. No way she was able to steal anything from THESE people, after all. The Shuigang pedestrians thought they were clever and impressively intelligent, but in truth they were no less paranoid than the rest of 'em. Hell, some even managed to keep spears on their person, just in case of an attack. Even if those were often the first thing to be stolen. Carol didn't care. She couldn't steal from these people. She could only wait.

Her stomach rumbled underneath her tunic. Great. Hungry with no food...again. Carol sighed. Two days to go with no food and no-one to steal from. Unless she really tried. And, all aside, it looked like she had to. She groaned, sitting up on the dirty mattress she was lying on, plans and rejections massing in her head; well it was almost night time, but she was sure this was when pedestrians got EXTRA cranky and aggressive. So...probably not. Carol continued processing a solution until a sweet and soft humming sound met her ears. In front of her, walking through the city, was a girl. A member of the Red Scarves, if her tunic and red accessories were any indication. She was some kind of dragon too, with light purple fur/skin/something, with two cute little horns poking out the top of her head. Two blue gems hung around the sides of her head while two tendrils hung out of her back and to around her backside. She was smiling, holding a brown paper bag in her arm. To Carol's surprise, she had reached in and grabbed something from out of it; an apple. A Honeycrisp, specifically. Carol began to drool; she LOVED Honeycrisp apples, and this one just looked so...round and...succulent and...perfect! The dragon girl was about to take a quick bite of the apple, but she stopped. She had caught Carol's sounds of interest and was now turning her head to see who it was. She saw the green wildcat, clad in a very similar tunic to her, as well as the red headband and scarf. She looked on with confusion, while the wildcat simply looked away, embarrassed and blushing. The dragon girl looked at her, then down at the apple she was about to eat. She was only getting groceries for her own home, but...well, one less apple couldn't hurt, could it?

Carol sighed, thinking she was being incredibly stupid and selfish. It was HER apple, dammit! Not Carol's. Even though she wanted it to be hers. Suddenly, a small red object popped up in front of her face. The Honeycrisp apple! Carol looked up incredulously. It was the dragon girl, her smile warm and radiant, holding the apple out for the wildcat to grab.

"Hi there..." she began, "Here, take it. I've got plenty more where that came from..."

"I..." Carol stuttered, "I don't know what to say...thank you..."

Carol grabbed the apple, slowly and politely, and bit down on it. The juices rushed headlong into her mouth and she recoiled with the heavenly taste of it all. She was right; it was red and juicy and pretty much perfect. The dragon girl giggled at Carol's reaction, "Like it? Old friend of mine from school's got a business selling these, all the way in Shang Tu. Think her name was...Zyo Ling or something. She grows 'em herself."

"It's incredible!" Carol said happily, "I...thank you, miss..."

"Lilac," the dragon said, sitting by Carol on her mattress, "Sash Lilac."

"Sash Lilac, huh?" Carol said, "That's a cool name...what species are you?"

"A dragon girl. And, uh...newest member of the Red Scarves. Master Spade told me you would be of great help to my studies."

"Studies?"

"Well..." Lilac scratched the back of her head, "As I said, I'm new here. Gotta learn the ropes. Gotta know what's up. How to steal and kill...I...don't really want to, though."

"Yeah, I get ya..." Carol sighed, "It's not a nice experience is it, getting robbed...but you've gotta learn. Those kingdoms are probably minutes away from launching enough attacks to reduce a good portion of this land to a crater..."

"Hmm..." Lilac said, "Yeah, you're probably right. Hey, uh...is this...is this your home?"

Carol could sense the dragon girl's timidness in this, so she cut her some slack and answered with a sigh, "...Yes."

"Here?" Lilac asked, "On this filthy mattress? With no covers or even a pillow?"

"Yes..."

"...You poor thing," Lilac said, sadly giving the shivering wildcat a warming hug, "You can't live like this. Tell you what, how about I let you sleep in my room at the HQ?"

"No way!" Carol called out in amazement, "You have a room there? Only the best are said to get a room at the HQ!"

"Well..." Lilac said, "Spade said I was pretty special, being a water dragon and all. He also said some girl had established the room in advance, just for me. So...yeah, I have a room there!"

"That's so cool!" Carol said, hugging Lilac right back, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Lilac said again, smiling, "I'm hoping one day, after passing my 'classes' at the HQ, I could move into Shang Tu territory. All the people there are snobs who think they can't be touched. Ripe for the picking for us Master Thieves, eh? I'm even thinking of setting up a treehouse there. Heh...come on. We best get some sleep back at the room."

Lilac arose, then reached out her hand to Carol. She grabbed it and was hoisted to her feet for her troubles. Carol was blushing, close to tears from the happiness, "I...I really don't know what to say about this...I...thank you. For everything, Sash Lilac."

"Just call me 'Lilac'," Lilac said, patting the wildcat's back, "Y'know something? I think this is going to be the start of something...wonderful..."

=======
Present Day
=======

"And THEN I said, 'Ooh, I think this is going to be the start of something wonderful'! It certainly was, wasn't it? Then she has the nerve to just abandon me! Let me get myself tortured to death by this lanky breadbasket! ARGH!"

"Lilac, Sweety!" Sonar was saying, "Please, calm down!"

It was the evening, on the cusp of night at this point. Lilac had led herself, Blade and the two hallucinations to the the base of operations for the Red Scarves. For something that would naturally be hidden, it still had quite the imposing look to its high walls and pointed steeple. Even the hallucinations were wondering just how Prince Dail had not noticed this before. Refuge in audacity, perhaps? Still, Lilac had managed to use Blade to cut her past the heavy iron doors and even now the pseudo-group was walking down a metallic corridor, boots clomping as they slowly approached the door to the courtyard. Franky had remained silent the entire trip, while Sonar had been trying to talk with Sonar in an attempt to keep her stable. But this wasn't working. Lilac's mood had taken a turn for the worse; she was getting cranky, twitchy, stressed out and prone to outbursts and rants. She was so far gone from the real Lilac that it was almost scary. Nowhere near the brink of insanity, perhaps, but just enough to say a definite change was taking place.

"NO!" Lilac roared back, "That...that...that WILDCAT stabbed me in the back! Left me to die!"

"Lilac, you don't mean that!" Sonar pleaded, "That's just your anger talking! Blade's influence! You've gotta remain calm and concentrate."

"That hallucination's right," Blade said, "You're only getting stressed out with the knowledge you're gonna go crazy. But if you act like that then you ARE going to go crazy! Faster, too."

"Oh what would you know?" Lilac growled, "You're just a possessed hunk of metal! A War God who hungers for blood!"

"I know..." Blade sighed, "But I pride myself on having restrictions. Can't just go around killing everyone 'cause they called you mean names. I'm not THAT God of War."

"You really don't think much of this, do you?"

"Not really," Blade said, "I've been through this scenario countless times, after all. Ever feel like a burden to everyone you meet? As far as Master was concerned, everyone around him died."

Lilac looked blank, "Well, I'm still here, aren't I?"

"I never said the deaths were physical..."

"Look, Lilly, the plan is obvious," Franky shrugged, "Just go in there, establish that mentally you don't have long left and then ask them for help. With the Red Scarves, we could take on the Dreadnought and save the world!"

"The Dreadnought?" Lilac asked.

"Brevon's ship, remember?" Franky said, "It's his base of operations. It crashed 'cause Torque was a man and shot him down. A ship that size with a ship the size of a shoebox? Don't say that ain't impressive."

"Well, take out the energy supplies," Blade said, "And you can ground anything, if you're accurate enough. Anyway, just try to stick to the plan. Get in there, maybe punch the odd gaff who looks at you funny, get Carol back on our side and try to amass an army large enough to take on a battle cruiser the size of a city. Piece of cake."

"Just DON'T kill anyone!" Sonar said.

"And DON'T die!" Franky grinned.

"Great..." Lilac growled, feigning a grin, "Thanks..."

She walked off, leaving Sonar and Franky walking along by themselves,  "Franky, I'm getting a bit worried. It's only been about seven hours and she's exhibiting symptoms of insanity. Well, at least the build up to it. Her temper's only been getting worse and worse!"

"Hmm, I'm getting the feeling we won't stick around for long," Franky said, annoyed, "To be fair, getting electrocuted, then getting a gunshot in the stomach, then being told you'd go crazy, THEN having to walk across a world that actively wants you dead...yeah, I'd be a little unhinged too. Regardless, I don't really want to be replaced by...her. Look, we've gotta try our best to stop her doing anything insane. Like, say, she cuts off her best friend's hand."

"Sounds pretty contrived," Sonar sighed, looking sassy, "Urgh, this is annoying. A medic who can't help..."

"HEY!" Lilac called out, "You two figments get over here! I want you to see this!"

"...We're screwed, aren't we?" Franky asked.

Sonar said little, just nodding, before both ran at breakneck speeds to catch up with the damaged dragon girl. They stopped in front of another door, a giant metallic one at that, that seemed almost impossible to surpass.

"This is it..." Lilac said, her voice calming and her grip on Blade tightening, "The final door to the Red Scarves base of operations. Ready?"

"Do we have a choice?" Franky snarked.

"...No," Lilac said bluntly, "I guess you don't. Blade, it's time to show that red-eyed warmonger how to save a planet!"

Blade whispered, "If only we could save you."

======
Meanwhile
======

"Carol..." Milla whimpered, "I'm not too sure about this."

"Why?" Carol asked, "It seems like the perfect plan. We gather the Red Scarves and attack his base head on. We don't really need Lilac or that Travelling guy. Plus we'll get to show Little Miss Heropants how it's done."

"...Little Miss Heropants?" Spade asked, "Lilac?...Well, I suppose you could call her worse. A fitting nickname, nonetheless..."

Milla was sighing, tustling and tugging at the small red tunic she had been forced into. The entire group within the courtyard had been shocked beyond senseless by War Master's video. Granted, most of them had calmed down knowing they didn't have a clue who this Brevon was, but they knew that he was a threat. Which made War Master, his killer, a bigger threat. They had spent countless hours getting everything together, preparing for this supposed final battle. All across the courtyard, various members of the Red Scarves were busy hauling around weapons, supplies, medical appliances, everything they had and everything they could hold. It was all going into a giant truck, no doubt pilfered from Mayor Zao after the attacks on Shang Mu. Spade was on a wooden platform in the middle of it all, looking over his troops. His face was still no different from before, and inside he was still busy thinking. This War Master sounded like just another hack out for attention, but is he was what that Traveller guy USED to be...well, this would be an interesting fight.

Milla, on the other hand, was terrified. Carol had covered her eyes when War Master slit Brevon's throat, but it had done nothing to stop the screaming. The loud, grating, mechanical screeching mixed in with the sound of War Master roaring in victory and the sound of ripping flesh. Then, the sounds of gurgling and blotted out screaming, before finally ceasing with a thud. Milla's fear had reached new levels from that, the pained screaming far too much for her to bear. She wanted to run, to hide, to stay as far away from this War Master as possible. Carol could even tell she was crying a bit, if only from the outward reaction. But she didn't care. At this point, she couldn't. Brevon may have been someone Torque could've hyped up, since she never saw him in action. But here, she could see what War Master was perfectly willing to do, with no hesitation and a big old smile on his face. This time, action was justified. And action was what he would get.

"It'll be fine," Carol said, "I know this looks dangerous, but...look, it'll be fine! He's just one guy with a buncha jokers. We're a whole army of trained ninjas!"

"But did I REALLY have to join?" Milla sighed.

"Well, it helps with the paperwork," Carol sighed happily, "Besides, you get a few neat extras, like high quality food, good life skills and free pancakes on Sundays! Look, we'll get outta this, don't worry about a thing."

"But what about Lilac?" Milla said, almost disgusted, "You just abandoned her to her fate! Don't you feel ANYTHING about it?"

"Well..." Carol sighed, "I do feel a LITTLE bad for leaving her to face Brevon alone. But seeing how easy he went out, I doubt Lilac had any trouble..."

Milla covered her ears in instinct. Surely such a phrase would invite something bad to happen, as it had countless times before. She was indeed right, her ears protected from the ear-splitting metallic shriek that filled the room soon after. She slowly watched as the other members in the courtyard were reeling from the shock, the two large metal doors in front of them slowly falling off their hinges with green sparks emitting from every edge. Finally, both blew and fell to the floor, crushing some supplies in the process. The dust that gathered from the impact cleared and, there, all alone in the middle of the doorway, was Lilac. Carol's once proud expression had dropped like a stone the moment she saw her, her hands covering her whimpering mouth. Lilac was ravaged, a broken dragons in barely-there clothes. Her arms and left leg were covered in bandages, some still fresh but others stained red with blood. Her clothing was ripped diagonally across the chest, exposing parts of her undershirt, while her gloves had lost their fingers and showed her bare digits for all to see. But the worst was just how damaged she was; her fur was a mess, wild and a charred grey that smelled of smoke, her eyes reddened and twitching, her lips crumbled and bleeding, her horns cracked and blackened. And there were no tendrils that Milla had happily said were like rope in the past, only replaced by more crimson stains and perhaps some flashes of bone in there as well. Finally came her expression; an enraged, tear-ridden, teeth-grinding, death-doling snarl.

"Lo, peasants!" Franky cried out, arms out stretched, "We have arrived to kick ass and chew bubblegum! And I'm all outta-"

"Franky, it's 2015!" Sonar said quickly, "Everyone's sick of that! Look, no-one can see us, so all we can do is make sure Lilac doesn't kill anyone. At least, not yet. Got it?"

"Got it."

"CAROOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" Lilac screamed at the top of her lungs, "YOU'RE A DEAD CAT!"

Carol had nothing to say, only the deep whimpering that came when every ounce of your strength slowly drained away to nothing. She had thought in the past going to the Red Scarves for help and leaving Lilac to her own mistakes would be the best course of action. But now here she was. An enraged, shattered shell of her former self. She stomped forward, slowly crunching through the courtyard,  glaring at anyone who looked at her with fear on their faces. She clambered up to the wooden platform and continued her advance. Carol gulped; Lilac was furious and clearly directing her anger towards her.

"Hey, Lil..." she said quickly, "I see you've got a new look. It's uh...it-"

"SHUT UP!" Lilac screamed, slapping the wildcat across the face, "I've had enough of your excuses!"

"Is..." Carol said quickly, "Is something the matter?"

"...Something the matter?!" Lilac shook the wildcat like a doll, "LOOK AT ME! All my grace and beauty, all gone! I'm a shambling wreck with burn marks, doomed to fall victim to the bane of insanity! And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Lilac, don't do anything!" Milla cried out, reaching towards her, but was stopped by Spade.

"Out of the way, kid!" He said, "This is going to get to ugly."

"My fault?" Carol asked, "How did..." she stopped, her face falling, "Oh no...it's because I left you to take on Brevon alone, isn't it? He proved to be a bit tougher than I wagered, right?"

"Yeah, he was!" Lilac said, grinning like a madwoman, "He freakin' was! Attacked me with a robot, nearly burned me to death with lava, cut off my tendrils, tied me to a pole, electrocuted me to within an inch of my life, and then decided to let some other bastard finish the job! All with a smile on his face!"

"But Brevon's dead!" Carol cried out, "War Master slit his throat on national TV!"

"You think I didn't SEE that?" Lilac growled, her face half-crazed, "I saw it all! In high def! You don't think that screwed with me a little, did it!? All that pain, the searing agony of electricity running through every part of your body, the screaming! Perhaps that's driven me just the little bit..."

"Crazy?"

"EXACTLY!" Lilac screeched, letting go of the wildcat and arching low, "And if that wasn't enough, I got shot! This...War Master shot me in the stomach! Do you have ANY idea, ANY AT GODDAMN ALL, how much that hurts?"

"Lilac dear!" Sonar grabbed Lilac's arm and attempted to pull her back, "Don't do this! You'll regret this for the rest of your life!"

"Go AWAY!" Lilac screamed, throwing the hedgehog over her shoulder, "I'm monologuing here! Gunshot wounds hurt like the deepest pits of damnation! And the only way to heal 'em on this planet? THIS!"

Lilac punctuated this by holding up her left arm. In it, clenched within her fist, was the Blade of Hysteria itself. Carol's face fell even lower at the sight of such a weapon, "Oh..."

"Look kid, I'm sorry..." Blade said, "I'm trying all I can to prevent this!"

"SHUT IT!" Lilac barked, "This has gone on too long. You left me behind to face Brevon all alone. You left me to die! And now, I'm here to repay you."

"Lilac...please..." Carol pleaded, "I didn't know Brevon would do this to you...I'm sorry!"

"That's not enough..." Lilac growled, "Not anymore."

"Oh COME ON" came another voice. Everyone stopped and turned to the doorframe Lilac had sliced her way through. Within it was Clone Master, looking very angry, "I'm the one who busts down the doors around here! Does anyone knock in this universe?!"

"YOU!" Lilac growled.

"The one and only," Clone Master sighed, resuming his grinning nature.

"You have quite the nerve to come here!" Spade growled, "Invade my domain, enslave my services, then betray me for all the power you could ever want! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't sic my entire group upon you?"

"Hmm. This'll do..." came another voice. Spade turned his head to see Clone Master was gone. Instead, to his side, Clone Master had dashed and grabbed Milla, holding Brevon's bleeding blade to her throat, "Back off! Or the superdog gets it! And then some..."

"What're you even here for?" Lilac growled, "You've caused quite enough chaos already."

"I'm here for the pancakes," Clone Master snarked, "Nah, I'm just here for a little...cultivation. Carol ain't your friend anymore, is she? I mean she left you to die, by MY hands. Now that's enough motivation to...you know."

"Don't listen to him!" Milla pleaded, "He's trying to turn you against everyone!"

"Not now, kid..." Clone Master said, bringing the dagger closer to her throat, "I'm working. Now, Lilac, you just have to remember all of the things that'll happen because of this. No Kingdom Stone, no credibility, no hope. All the kingdoms are gearing up for war. And this time it won't be some piddly civil war."

"How would you know about that?" Carol asked.

"Oh you poor deluded Carol..." Clone Master cackled, "I took part in that war! Well, not ME, per-se. War Master. The REAL one. Said his greatest kill was these two Basset hounds."

"Milla's parents?" Carol asked.

"No..." Milla sobbed.

"Shh..." Clone Master patted the hound's hair, "It's okay, Milly. It's war! It happens. But get this; I wouldn't have got involved if the war never happened. If those moronic rulers you've fought for got along. I probably would never have got the message while multiverse travelling. Think about it, Lil. All this death and destruction. All in the space of a days. The entire planet at war. And this time it wasn't just them. It was Carol too."

"What?" Lilac asked.

"Carol abandoned you, didn't she?" Clone Master explained, "Left you to be tortured, mutilated, driven to the brink of insanity. All so she could go back to those she hated and get some free shelter."

"No..."

"Abandoned her sense of morality! Went back to those who would rather rob you than look at you!"

"No!"

"It's like, 'Oh it's alright, don't worry. I'll just sit here with an iced tea while my best friend gets her limbs cut off and the world crumbles around me'. You ain't no hero, and War Lilac isn't even needed! The world's gonna wipe itself out. And it's all because of her!"

"NOOOOO!" Lilac screamed, swinging the Blade with enough force to slice right through the wooden floor. Carol had dodged just in time, and she had the horrible feeling Lilac was too far gone for reasoning. Indeed, she slowly raised her head, her eyelid heavy but slowly opening with slight force. Carol gasped; her eye, the one remaining eye, had faded. No longer was it a bloodshot pinkish colour, it was now black. With a single, small, red dot of a pupil.

"Yes..."  Clone Master growled, holding the frightened dog tighter, "Give in to the madness! That Blade will give you all the power you could ever want! But at a price..."

"GET..." Lilac growled, "GET OUTTA MY HEAD!"

"Don't fight it!" Clone Master said again, "This is the transitional period, after all. All Warmongers get racked with anger at this stage. So you've gotta...let it out. And I know the perfect punching bag..."

Carol began to panic, "Lilac, you don't need to do this!"

"Why not? You'll just be another Casual Tea! Damn you! You've ruined EVERYTHING!" Lilac screeched, lunging forward with the Blade. She missed Carol by mere inches, who yelped and leaped backwards. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to fight her now.

She reached into her back pocket and brought out her own weapon of choice; nunchucks. She loved the little things, ever since she first used them during her early years at the HQ. Swinging them around, smacking everything around her...damn, it made her feel almost invincible. Perhaps she was; she was never hurt while using them. Now it was time to put it to the test. Lilac swung with the Blade again, just missing Carol's arm, before rearing up and throwing a right punch in Carol's general direction. This did not hit either, throwing Lilac off balance and leaving her open. Carol took the opportunity and kicked Lilac in the face, sending her reeling back and grabbing her face. She regained her balance, her face not changing in the slightest, before dashing forward and swinging rapidly with the Blade in hand. Clearly she had no idea how to use the thing, but that wasn't going to get in her way. She swung vertically, once again just missing Carol's arm, before dashing forward and slicing rapidly at her chest. This did hit and Carol jumped back in pain to which Lilac followed up with a kick to the chest. Carol was flung back from the force, collapsing onto the ground and really close to the edge of the platform. Everyone could only watch the fight unfold; no-one dared to get anywhere near the fighters at this point. It was far too dangerous.

Carol attempted to keep up with Lilac's assault, but she couldn't. Lilac was unskilled, but she was fast and incredibly strong. It would be only so long before Lilac found a weakness. And, at last, she found one. She roared and swung Blade upwards, finally catching Carol by the wrist. She screamed and held onto her wrist as the pain increased. Slowly, it dawned on her something was wrong, missing. And there, bouncing across the wooden platform, was Carol's left hand. Severed, twitching, still clasping the nunchucks. Carol felt faint and could only stare at her former friend who had just performed the deed, shivering.

"L-Lilac..." Carol whimpered, "What...what have you done?"

"I..." Lilac groaned, her voice wavering, "I..." her face began to fall, "I don't know..." she stared at her own hands, now covered in blood, "I...what've...what've I...done?"

She began to look at the others, too scared to act, fear across her own face. She began to breath heavily, staring at her hands and at Carol's own singular. Carol noticed that her eyes had thankfully reverted, going back to the old bloodshot eye from before. Not that it helped much, but oh well. Lilac was still breathing heavily, wrestling with her own thoughts, clutching her head. Carol, despite all that had happened, still felt sorry for the dragon girl. She didn't know this was going to happen, after all. She tried approaching Lilac, slowly and cautiously, ignoring the searing pain from what used to be her hand.

"Lilly..." Carol said quietly, "I'm sorry. I didn't know all of this would happen. I would've gone with you if I did. I...Lilac?"

"Get away from me!" Lilac squealed, pushing Carol away and staring at her, "I'm...I'm a monster..."

She turned and ran, sprinting in a jumbled manner out of the doors, gibbering all the way. Carol was silent, as were the others.

"Well..." Spade said at last, "That happened. Now then, War Master! Unhand the child or..."

"...Where is he?"

"Dammit!" came another cry. Everyone heard the voice and began to stare at the rooftop to see someone standing on top of it. Clone Master had warped, again, and was holding a struggling Milla under his arm. He was visibly annoyed, "There's still a bit of the old Lilac in there, somewhere. Oh well. A little more cultivation should set the Warmonger free! Wherever she wants her to or not!"

"Darn it!" Carol called out, "How do you keep jumping around like that?"

"Short-Range Portal creation, Carol-girl!" Clone Master grinned, "Basic power they teach to ALL MasterSelves at some point."

"Disgraceful creature!" Neige called out too, "You swan around as if you're a god!"

"What, did the red eyes not tip you off?" Clone Master cackled, his voice switching to a tone far more demonic, "I AM GOD! Now, if you excuse me, I've got a lot to do. Remember; the Dreadnought rises at 5 o'clock! Smack bang in the middle of the Battle Glacier! Don't be late!"

"What're you gonna do to me?" Milla whined, still struggling with all her might, "Kill me?"

"Kill you?" Clone Master asked, "No, Basset. I won't kill you. Chaos, I ain't THAT sick. But I've still got plans for you..."

Clone Master cackled evilly, before suddenly dashing backwards off of the roof. There was a quick zapping sound, which ceased just as it had started up. Clearly the guy had opened a portal below him, having fallen into it after dashing off the roof. Clever. The Red Scarves below remained silent, with a select few murmuring across themselves.

"Well, he's gone..." Spade sighed, "I can't believe I was being led by the nose by that hack. Looks like we'll have to double our efforts. Someone get some a tourniquet for Carol's...stump. And resume all actions at twice speed!"

"Why?" Neige asked.

"If I can't get to my father's killer," Spade grumbled, "I'll go for the guy who killed him. It's all I have. Any questions?" a shrug from Carol, already receiving treatment for her removed hand, "Thought so. Right! All members of the Red Scarves, prepare for combat! We mobilize by midnight!"

=========
Meanwhile 
=========

"No, I can't keep him stable!"

"Don't worry Medi-Chick. Give me the defibur...the defibul...the shock pads."

"The defibrillator? Mr Freakly, defibrillation can't be used to restart a beating heart!"

"Medi-Chick, this is a world where half-zetis and anthro hedgehogs can wear clothes and practice medicine using power derived from glowing crystals. I'm pretty sure the laws of reality aren't strictly enforced in such scenarios."

"...Can't argue with that logic. Fine, here you go."

"Thank you, Sony."

"Sonar."

"Whatever. CLEAR!"

There was a sudden sound of bursting electricity and Traveller came back to his senses. He wrenched forwards, gasping for breath, before he finally flopped back to whatever he was laying on. He felt empty, hollow, like something was missing from him. He slowly turned his head, his eyes still focusing on the figures in front of him. Some kind of female hedgehog was the first to meet his view, albeit quite out of focus.

"He's stable!" she was saying, "It worked!"

"It...it did?" Traveller asked weakly, "Did I die?"

"Yes..." the hedgehog sighed, "Somehow, we've managed to revive you."

"Let's just say...magic," the other figure said, "Loads of magic."

Traveller's eyes focused at last, and the two before him were very familiar indeed. Sonar and Franky, to be exact! Only now there were...differences to them. Sonar was almost unchanged, if not for her change of attire; her blue bodysuit from before had long been replaced with a green jacket with nothing underneath, as well as gym pants and a blue ascot tied loosely around her neck. She had also fallen into the while 'Boom Bandages' craze that was sweeping her own world, and wore copious amounts of sports tape around her arms and hands. Perhaps not the best course of attire for a medic, but at least it kept her in fashion. Franky was next to her, and he too had only a few differences, mainly an ill-fitting suit and a few more scars across his chest.

"Welcome back!" Sonar said happily, "Genuinely thought you weren't gonna make it!"

"Sonar..." Traveller wheezed, "Are...are you the real one this time?"

"Real?" Sonar asked, "You've been hallucinating me?"

Traveller shrugged sheepishly.

"Oh well. Nice to know you think highly of me."

Traveller turned his head again, "Franky..."

Franky's reply was cold, "Traveller."

"Nice to, uh...see you again?"

"Don't think so. Last time I saw you, you pushed my entire species to extinction," Franky growled again.

"Yeah, uh..." Traveller sighed, "Sorry about that. Wasn't thinking. Look, I questions; where am I, how did I get here and how did you find me?"

"Simple, really," Sonar explained, "Someone told us about it. Told us that you and some alien dude would end up stranded in the Ice Caps. All we had to do was find you and nurse you back to health."

"AND fight off that damn snake creature," Franky said almost gleefully, wiping the blood off his hands, "Guy took a beating and no mistake. I suggested stuffing his tail down his throat, but Amelia wanted us to just detain him. He's been sent to the No-Zone Prison. Ain't no way he's getting outta there, not after that green hedgehog's breakout."

"But...didn't I kill him?" Traveller asked. Franky's cold grin extended into a genuine one.

"Exactly..."

"Where's...where's Torque?" Traveller asked again.

"Torque?" Sonar looked blank for a bit, before she jumped, "Oh! The green alien! We got him too. He wasn't anywhere near as wounded as you were, so we took him back and gave him...minor treatments. He's talking with Amelia right now."

"And...final question..." Traveller gasped, "Who's Amelia?"

His question was answered shortly after. There was a sound of a door creaking open, followed by footsteps and voices. One of clearly Torque's, but the other was shrouded in mystery. But to Traveller, it sounded...almost familiar.

"A Chronomancer, huh?" Torque was asking with interest, "I've never heard of them. Nor have I seen them on the Coalition's databases."

"Of course you won't," the other voice was saying, "I'm the first of a new breed. Ever heard of Chronos Energy? No? Well it's what powers the laws of time. Tap into it yourself and the laws of time are yours to control. I haven't quite got the hang of it, though."

"Fascinating..." Torque said, "Perhaps we should perform a few studies on your abilities?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. The less people know about me, the better. I've got enough problems without the entire multiverse trying to...exploit my powers."

"Okay. I will respect your wishes."

"Thank you..." the voice sighed, before she was finally in Traveller's sight. She was a hedgehog, strawberry blond fur, quills turned up into a split ponytail. Her skin was pale and her eyes an electric blue. She wore a white shirt with a sleeveless jacket over it which reached to her tights, splitting around her stomach so her belt buckle was visible. Her trousers were black, ending in brown shoes with multiple straps upon them. She wore a choker, red in colour, alongside black gloves that also had red bracelets attached to them. She looked quite solemn, almost drained, with a thousand-yard stare and trembling limbs. Nevertheless, she began to stare at Traveller coldly, yet with a since of familiarity, "Hello, Master."

"Traveller..." Traveller grumbled, "It's Traveller now."

"Really? I never got it," the figure grumbled back, "All members of your scumbag race seem to be the same. But they have...good memory. Do you recognize me?"

"...No," Traveller said, "I've never seen you before in my life."

"No? Well here's a hint..." the figure got nice and close, "Remember Delago's last target?"

"...Wha..." Traveller was struck with confusion, "But...no! It can't be you!"

"It is. It SO is..."

"She's the girl from the Knight Island Incident, remember?" Torque said plainly, "You the girl you tried to save."

"I left you to rot on that island..." Traveller gasped.

"You did," the figure said coldly, "Then someone came along and pumped me full of that Chronos Energy you used to be quite interested in. Restored me. Brought me back to life, gave me powerful abilities! Perhaps the name is familiar...Amy Rose..."

"No..." Traveller whined.

"Amelia Rosalina..." Amelia smiled, "Time Travel Extraordinaire, at your service. And I'm here to fix the things you've screwed up."

"What're you talking about?" Franky asked, "What things?"

"Lilac..." Sonar looked blank again, "Never heard of her."

"Odd," Franky shrugged, "I have. Some tales and legends of this water dragon going insane and reducing her world to dust...right?"

"Yeah," Amelia grumbled.

"I knew it!" Torque called out, "I remember now! This...Warmonger creature put Traveller's Blade in Lilac's hand. Said it'd drive her insane!"

"...Sh*t!" Traveller tried to get up, "I've gotta go!"

Traveller suddenly cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor. Sonar got him back on the bed, "You can't! You're hurt!"

"Sorta," Amelia said, "All part of Chronological Reversion. Reverting a person's body to a previous point to alleviate wounds. No more stomach stab wound. But the PAIN can sometimes be a little...out of sync."

"Right," Sonar said, "So I and Franky'll stay here to keep you stable."

"But..." Traveller gasped, "But Lilac!"

"You've ruined enough of her mind as is," Amelia growled, "You've pushed her to the brink of insanity, if only by existing. I'm taking these reigns now. Just rest, and think about it all. Come on, Torque."

Amelia turned to walk out of the room, Torque stepping out of the room alongside her. The door slammed shut behind them, and Traveller lay his head back down, closing his eyes.

"Chaos..." Traveller sighed, "What've I done?"

"It's okay, man..." Franky said, still having a scowl across his face, but a warmer tone, "You tried."

==========-----==========

DeviantART Link: http://fav.me/d9c5nqs

1 hour ago, Prince By-Tor said:

http://www.polygon.com/features/2016/8/30/12700542/system-shock-3-art

Blimey. That's a bit of a shock. A system shock, if you will. Looks like another icon of gaming is returning.

"Well..." Mujha sounded quite impressed, "Your survival skills are certainly...admirable. Where are you from? Lot's of different places?"

"Heh, I knew there was this joking attitude about you..." Mujha flashed a small smile, before she sighed again and drank some of her slowly-cooling water, "Still, you sound like a very interesting man, Mr Caleb. Me? I'm a traveller too. A travelling merchant, you could say. For years I've tried to fit in with whatever floated my proverbial boat; heck, I even tried to join my local Paladin guild! That, uh...didn't go well. After that I decided to just leave my hometown and become a merchant."

Mujha pointed towards her carrige of random stuff, most of it her's but a good deal of it in crates marked "TO SELL". Caleb couldn't tell exactly what was in those crates, but it must have been stuff from elsewhere in their world. Mujha continued speaking;

"I enjoy it, actually. Always on the go, always seeing the sights, getting into the local customs. And it makes it easier to get stuff from one end of the world and sell it elsewhere for a decent profit. That is my ultimate goal, really, why I'm here; to make something of myself. Specifically my fortune. I have a lot of stuff from all over the world, even from the cold, cold poles from where my ancestors were spawned. They cannot resist if they tried...uh, hey," Mujha's pained expression returned, "I see you have a good deal of magic. Do, uh, you have any healing magic? These wounds are getting a bit painful now."

"Yes, but after a while you notice what your homeland missed. Stars, sunlight...houses...people..."

The screams and the crackling of the intense fires still raged in Mujha's head, but she shook them out with a pained sneer. She took another bite of the meat on her plate, a lush and somewhat savoury taste rolling down her throat as she swallowed it, then turned back to Caleb;

"Apologies. My...past can sometimes catch up to me. Regardless, if we are now going about this together it may be wise to get to know each other a little better. So, Caleb. Where do you hail from? And what brings you to Qadesh, this item you're looking for?"

8 hours ago, Wulfsbane said:

Origin isnt terrible it's just not user friendly

And neither is uPlay, to be fair.

About half an hour had passed, and the smell of cooked...bat monster filled the air. It was a rather unusual smell, mixing the numbers of chicken, veal, ostritch...alligator, maybe? Regardless, it smelled like a wonderous multi-course meal, the sort Mujammed had not experienced for a long time, albeit all encased in a slab of meat on a relatively small plate. Mujha looked up from her plate, a part of the meat still on the bone, and looked at Caleb.

The Half-Elf, this mysterious joking man with powers that could seemingly slay demons, was staring into the fire with his flask of water by his side. The water down-stream from their food's carcass was indeed pure, or at least uncontaminated enough to cure by hanging over the fire, and both containers were now full to the brim. Caleb had been supping it all through the meal, and something was clearly on his mind. The night was somehow still young, but Mujha still had a few more questions before sleep could begin;

"So..." she started, clearing her throat and accidently releasing a cloud of super-cooled vapor from it, "It's uh...quite a nice night, isn't it? Look at those stars. Don't get star patterns like this back in my homeland...or, whatever may be left of it..."

"Well..." Mujha said, eyeing the beast with a contemplative look on her face, "Now that you mention it, it at least LOOKS edible. Your little lightshow back there might have been enough to cook its meat, though I perhaps a bit of fire magic could be...applied to it. Just to make sure. I have a feeling you perhaps know more about how to properly collect from and cook such a...whatever it is."

Mujha turned and began to walk briskly towards the opening she had created with her longsword, picking up the torch she had foolishly dropped during the fight, only stopping when she realised Caleb was not following her. She turned, brushing off her snout as she did;

"Well come on, then. I left my waterskin back at my campsite, so I will return there and go downstream to refill both that and your flask. Perhaps it would be within both our interests to carve out some of the bird monster first and let it cook while I find some clean water."

[+1 Wisdom, +3 Survival]

"Thank you..."

Mujha took the canteen and stored it among her person, the slight of the sloshing water being music to her ears. She spoke again.

"Well then. I have made camp a short distance from here, a small fire and what belongings I have with me. I must return before they are taken by the thieves of this land. Perhaps you would like a safe-ish place for the night? That way we can move on to Qadesh together."

"I see..." Mujha said, slowly cupping one of the more profusely bleeding wounds on her person, "Well, perhaps your artefact IS in Qadesh. You could come along with me, if you'd like I could always do with someone to help with my cargo. And someone with water, because I have more or less run out of the stuff. I was going to take some from the lake here, but..."

Both she and Caleb looked towards the expanse of water. The body of this creature that had attacked the two with its swarm of ravens now rested lifelessly in the water, its blood spilling into the once fresh-looking reserves and tainting it beyond hope.

"...Yes, that appears to be out of the question. Look, I'm just trying to discover the ancient secrets of this city, see if I can...find my way. I have come a long way from my homeland to get here, I am not turning back now."

Mujha sighed, winded but still very much active, resting her hands on her knees before looking back up at Caleb;

"Tell me. Are you from around here? Do you know of Qadesh?"

Just now, MJ Knight said:

Long story short - last name is Knight because of my love for the show Knight Rider.

Oh yeah, I remember watching that show! The original was always the best, to be fair.

1 minute ago, TheRedStranger said:

It was good for me. I feel like it was the first part to a three part story. I think it's not perfect - but I really feel people have both loved and hated it too soon given its following the en-medias-race style. I feel like it's trying to bring back the relavatory experience of the original films from the perspective of those experiencing it in theaters. We know all the spoilers back and forth and have Episode 1-3. We all know who Vader really is and who Luke's sister and father is. But the people in the 70's and 80's did not, they were thrown into a story already in the motions when it came to a New Hope (episode four). In writing this is called a "Revelatory Plot" (Eg. Narnia series) rather than a "Chroniogical Plot." (Eg Hunger Games series). I think it's too quick to critique this first story just yet as a whole when it comes to the characters and lore as it something that is clearly extending far beyond the confines of this one film. My opinions will become more solidified when the second Act of this three part structure arrives. 

Fair enough. TFA is obviously the start of a long story, so it's probably a bit too early to judge it overall. As an actual film, it was still good. Not my favourite, though. THAT goes to Deadpool.

The Knight, eh? Are you a tyrant of the shade? The spite? The pain repaid?

...Heh heh.

Welcome to the site!

11 minutes ago, TheRedStranger said:

That's when they get real good... Gotta love the classics.

I do wonder though. What did you think of The Force Awakens, Stranger? I personally thought it was...alright, I guess.

Mujha groaned a bit, partly from the pain of her wounds and partially from the Half-Elf himself.

"Oh, one of those people, are you? The joking ones? Argh, nevermind. My name is Mujammed, Mijha for short. At least it is right now. I...had to change it some time ago. I was just on my way to that fabled land, Qadesh, I believe. Are you on your way there too? ...What is your name?"

I remember my sister used to LOVE The Sims. Still does, actually; one of her little jokes is to ask me to buy her The Sims 4. Which I wouldn't because A: It's an Origin product and therefore evil, B: it is also an EA product and therefore evil and C: it has less content than  Sims 3 for a higher price. And is therefore evil.

1 hour ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Everyone can freely speak with each other. I am only going to give this warning once - don't forget to say in the narrative that your character picked up there equipment. If you forget something like you shield, Mujha...you will have to get it back. Same goes with arrows, darts, the works. Again - you only get this warning once! Heed it well.]

[Well now I just feel stupid]

Mujha blinked once or twice, slowly ignoring the aching pains of her fresh wounds under her armour. One second she had been fighting for her life among the ravens, sustaining a not-unsubtle amount of pecks and scrapes - and the very next second they were gone. Vanished, as the body of the beheaded beast rolled backwards into the once fresh water. She scrambled to get to her feet, frost emitting with every pained breath, as she got up and began to limp towards this mysterious half-elven man.

"Greetings, traveller," she began, "That was...well, that was incredible! Tell me, do you speak Common or are you of just another tongue?"

4 minutes ago, TheRedStranger said:

[The wizard's turn, unless Mujha wants to say something or add to the scene with something not-involving combat.]

[Not really. I now only have half my health.]

1 minute ago, TheRedStranger said:

[White or black?]

[Black]

1 minute ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Describe!]

[Almost got it...]

Mujha's sword swing hit hard, carving a gash into the burned creature's chest. The burned creature reared its head and roared in retaliation, sending a number of the swarm down towards the two travellers. Mujha moved fast, at least as fast as she could, dragging the Half-Elf away from the attack and into a safer place among the bushes. The ravens that once homed their position instead slammed into the ground beaks-first, injuring them but not killing them. Mujha rested the Half-Elf in the bushes nearby and began her attack on the swarm of ravens that had now dashed for the pair. She swung her longsword with great force, slicing into the crowd and killing quite a few ravens in the process. Unfortunately, she had overestimated the amount of them and now they had began to circle her, keeping her trapped in the swarm and pestered with divebombing ravens. Nevertheless Mujha managed to dodge almost every raven she could, continuously swinging her sword into the pack and taking out a number of ravens with every slash. The damage was severe, there was no discussing that, but the swarm was just too vast and the ravens too determined. It would not be long before Mujha would get tried - and overwhelmed.