Monstrous (Chapter Twenty-Six)
Thursday, March 26th, 2015 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanadin posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
mindcrackloveSorry about how late this is going up, and for its shortness! It was hastily written due to time constraints, so I apologize.
The second and final part of the battle over the Nether portal! Next chapter will likely be the last chapter of Monstrous itself...
Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kingdom of Illian, July 23, year 373. Time instance 483Z.
“RAAAAAAAAH!”
A giant wave of faintly glowing water slammed into the kirinax, making it scream and stumble backwards, struggling to build up its flames again.
“Vechs! Are you alright?” The source of the roar bent down to help him up.
“Jsano?!”
“Yep! Etho and I saw you guys fighting and decided to help out. What’s going on?”
“It’s a long story, but- where did that water come from?”
“Oh, right.” Jsano grinned sheepishly. “Water elementalist. Surprise."
“You’re-“
“Vechs! Focus!” Blame snapped, parrying another slash from Zisteau. “Get that kirinax down! Aureylian, you-“
“I’m on it!” Aureylian jammed the claw into the dimmest rune on the portal and made a deliberate mark, changing its shape.
The portal rumbled and the swirls of purple revered direction. Every Nether creature excluding Zisteau stumbled and bellowed in rage, the kirinax especially angry. It charged at Aureylian, but was hit by another elemental water blast from Jsano, who immediately was on the offensive, beating the crap out of it while the others focused on the task at hand.
Vechs moved to help keep Zisteau and the other zombie pigmen off of Blame- the Skullblade was mostly just a distraction, keeping Zisteau busy. The two ended up back-to-back, Blame holding off Zisteau and six pigmen while Vechs handled the rest of the horde. Something clicked in their minds and they moved together, in sync, two halves of one fighting machine. They didn’t communicate verbally, but Blame knew that Vechs had his back, and fought in such a way that without someone covering him, he would have left himself vulnerable.
This sudden show of trust and ability to communicate was something that only those who had shared what they had shared could understand; only those locked in battle against an enemy that they knew they might lose against and knew that even if they would fall, they would fall for a reason and not in vain, that they would fall with someone they knew at their back.
Zisteau managed to get a cheaty kick in against Blame (Vechs winced seeing it as Blame curled in pain), interrupting the shared stream of instinct and battle between the Davion and the Skullblade. Zisteau bounded forward towards Aureylian, furious at her attempts at disrupting the portal. She was just starting to reach for another rune when the diamond blade flicked out at her.
Vechs threw himself at his old friend, immediately knocking them both to the ground. Zisteau kicked him off and disarmed him with a casual flick at his sword, breaking the more fragile iron blade. The crystal hissed and sparked purple and red, as if the two colors were fighting. Zisteau hesitated for a brief moment, and right before the purple overwhelmed the red, a small line of red energy flicked out and touched Vechs’s arm.
A surge.
A sudden surge of power ran through Vechs, and he could feel one pulsing energy line. Only one, but then again, it was the only one he needed access to.
Monstrous.
The flame swirled around him and before it had even entirely dispersed, he had grabbed Zisteau’s sword in his hands and was trying to wrest it from the zombie pigman.
Behind him, the portal let out an angry hiss and the purple swirls gained a tinge of green.
“One more! Only one more!” Seth shouted. “Come on, Aureylian!”
Blame, finally mostly recovered from the kick, stumbled to his feet and threw himself back into the fight, but this time focusing on the protection of Aureylian. “Someone help her look!”
Chad was all too happy to comply, letting Seth take over where he was covering to help with the search.
“Blame, catch!” Vechs had gotten the sword from Zisteau and tossed it to the Skullblade. Blame caught it in his left hand and immediately his entire fighting style changed, as it often does when one gains a second blade. He was just as skilled with two as he was with one, although he was clearly unfamiliar with the diamond sword (it wasn’t balanced for him), it was still a useful tool.
Zisteau, realizing he didn’t have a weapon, backed away from Vechs in fear. Never had he seen such a creature, and never had he been this outmatched before. He raised his fists, but the portal hissed and sparked, the green vanishing and the swirls reversing direction again and spinning faster than ever. The edges of the purple were fringed with black.
“Now!” Seth shouted. “Get him into that portal now!”
Vechs needed no further invitation. He seized Zisteau’s shoulders and yanked him the three feet to the portal before shoving him into the swirling vortex.
Immediately, the purple was beginning to be drawn from the crystal into the vortex as Vechs counted the seconds. Zisteau struggled for freedom and screamed in agony as his corruption energy was drained and as the crystal became more and more incompatible with his body. Blame moved forward to help hold him.
Twenty-six seconds.
The horde of pigmen rushed them. Blame had to move away to help all of the others fight off the pigmen, tossing Aureylian the diamond sword and switching fighting styles again.
“Don’t let him out of that portal, whatever you do! Keep him in there no matter what, do you understand?!”
Vechs didn’t respond, still counting.
Thirty-four seconds.
He felt a zombie pigman strike at him with a golden sword, barely denting the hard scales on his back and breaking the sword. He also felt the high-volume blast of water knock the pigman away.
Forty seconds.
Vechs’s heart pounded as he counted down the last three seconds, waiting for the moment he could pull the now-still Zisteau out, worried about him.
Right as he began the count for forty-three, the kirinax regained enough strength to knock him and Zisteau back, away from the portal. Jsano blasted it into the vortex of the portal, killing it instantly and overloading the portal.
The red runes flashed and exploded, causing the vortex within to vanish and the frame to crack.
Every force of the Nether within the overworld screamed as their power diminished.
Ragged cheers broke up from where the other Mindcrackers were fighting, including those around the portal. Aoxdorren shattered the damaged frame with her tail easily and sent up a flare, the signal for Malkorvyss to bring Guude in.
Vechs ignored his friends and the dragons beginning to finish off the much-weakened forces, as he knelt on the ground with his friend. He wasn’t sure if that had been a full forty-three seconds. The crystal wasn’t purple at all anymore, but it was reacting badly to Zisteau. Whenever he touched it, it would shock him and make his hand jerk away. It didn’t want him touching it- it wanted Guude.
He shivered, looking at the sky, praying for Malkorvyss to get there fast enough to save Zisteau.
He couldn’t lose his friend, not again.
The blue dragon landed beside him and Guude slipped off his back, stumbling towards them. “Crystal.” He fell to his knees weakly beside Vechs and put his hands around it.
The crystal flashed once in recognition and released its hold on Zisteau’s flesh, allowing Guude to easily pull it out. He sighed in relief as the interruption to his lifeforce vanished, feeling his strength returning.
Every Mindcracker felt a wave of energy overcome them, refreshing them entirely and healing their wounds. From MC’s slashed leg to Thejims’s wounds, from Blame’s bruised and aching body to Pause’s healing burns, it was all restored.
And yet their access to the energy lines was not.
A shockwave was sent out from them all, eliminating all of the remaining weakened forces of the Nether.
A true cheer broke out this time, only Vechs not participating. He ignored them and noticed nothing, shaking Zisteau.
“Zisteau. Please wake up. Come on, I can’t lose you again. I just got you back, dammit, Zisteau, come on!”
His breath caught in his throat as he spied something.
Movement.
Zisteau’s remaining left eye dragged itself half open.
A small, weak smile crossed his face.
“You’re not worried about me, are you?”
Vechs shook and laughed in relief, losing his monstrous form for his human one but barely noticing, hugging Zisteau tightly.
“You’ll be okay, right?”
“Yep. Just one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I am never going into an abandoned lab with you again.”
Vechs nodded, too overwhelmed with everything to do much else.
Aureylian approached them, looking down at Vechs.
“Is it over? Did we win?”
“I think so.” Vechs nodded, looking down at Zisteau, who had passed out again. “I think so.”
Not quite.
The second and final part of the battle over the Nether portal! Next chapter will likely be the last chapter of Monstrous itself...
Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kingdom of Illian, July 23, year 373. Time instance 483Z.
“RAAAAAAAAH!”
A giant wave of faintly glowing water slammed into the kirinax, making it scream and stumble backwards, struggling to build up its flames again.
“Vechs! Are you alright?” The source of the roar bent down to help him up.
“Jsano?!”
“Yep! Etho and I saw you guys fighting and decided to help out. What’s going on?”
“It’s a long story, but- where did that water come from?”
“Oh, right.” Jsano grinned sheepishly. “Water elementalist. Surprise."
“You’re-“
“Vechs! Focus!” Blame snapped, parrying another slash from Zisteau. “Get that kirinax down! Aureylian, you-“
“I’m on it!” Aureylian jammed the claw into the dimmest rune on the portal and made a deliberate mark, changing its shape.
The portal rumbled and the swirls of purple revered direction. Every Nether creature excluding Zisteau stumbled and bellowed in rage, the kirinax especially angry. It charged at Aureylian, but was hit by another elemental water blast from Jsano, who immediately was on the offensive, beating the crap out of it while the others focused on the task at hand.
Vechs moved to help keep Zisteau and the other zombie pigmen off of Blame- the Skullblade was mostly just a distraction, keeping Zisteau busy. The two ended up back-to-back, Blame holding off Zisteau and six pigmen while Vechs handled the rest of the horde. Something clicked in their minds and they moved together, in sync, two halves of one fighting machine. They didn’t communicate verbally, but Blame knew that Vechs had his back, and fought in such a way that without someone covering him, he would have left himself vulnerable.
This sudden show of trust and ability to communicate was something that only those who had shared what they had shared could understand; only those locked in battle against an enemy that they knew they might lose against and knew that even if they would fall, they would fall for a reason and not in vain, that they would fall with someone they knew at their back.
Zisteau managed to get a cheaty kick in against Blame (Vechs winced seeing it as Blame curled in pain), interrupting the shared stream of instinct and battle between the Davion and the Skullblade. Zisteau bounded forward towards Aureylian, furious at her attempts at disrupting the portal. She was just starting to reach for another rune when the diamond blade flicked out at her.
Vechs threw himself at his old friend, immediately knocking them both to the ground. Zisteau kicked him off and disarmed him with a casual flick at his sword, breaking the more fragile iron blade. The crystal hissed and sparked purple and red, as if the two colors were fighting. Zisteau hesitated for a brief moment, and right before the purple overwhelmed the red, a small line of red energy flicked out and touched Vechs’s arm.
A surge.
A sudden surge of power ran through Vechs, and he could feel one pulsing energy line. Only one, but then again, it was the only one he needed access to.
Monstrous.
The flame swirled around him and before it had even entirely dispersed, he had grabbed Zisteau’s sword in his hands and was trying to wrest it from the zombie pigman.
Behind him, the portal let out an angry hiss and the purple swirls gained a tinge of green.
“One more! Only one more!” Seth shouted. “Come on, Aureylian!”
Blame, finally mostly recovered from the kick, stumbled to his feet and threw himself back into the fight, but this time focusing on the protection of Aureylian. “Someone help her look!”
Chad was all too happy to comply, letting Seth take over where he was covering to help with the search.
“Blame, catch!” Vechs had gotten the sword from Zisteau and tossed it to the Skullblade. Blame caught it in his left hand and immediately his entire fighting style changed, as it often does when one gains a second blade. He was just as skilled with two as he was with one, although he was clearly unfamiliar with the diamond sword (it wasn’t balanced for him), it was still a useful tool.
Zisteau, realizing he didn’t have a weapon, backed away from Vechs in fear. Never had he seen such a creature, and never had he been this outmatched before. He raised his fists, but the portal hissed and sparked, the green vanishing and the swirls reversing direction again and spinning faster than ever. The edges of the purple were fringed with black.
“Now!” Seth shouted. “Get him into that portal now!”
Vechs needed no further invitation. He seized Zisteau’s shoulders and yanked him the three feet to the portal before shoving him into the swirling vortex.
Immediately, the purple was beginning to be drawn from the crystal into the vortex as Vechs counted the seconds. Zisteau struggled for freedom and screamed in agony as his corruption energy was drained and as the crystal became more and more incompatible with his body. Blame moved forward to help hold him.
Twenty-six seconds.
The horde of pigmen rushed them. Blame had to move away to help all of the others fight off the pigmen, tossing Aureylian the diamond sword and switching fighting styles again.
“Don’t let him out of that portal, whatever you do! Keep him in there no matter what, do you understand?!”
Vechs didn’t respond, still counting.
Thirty-four seconds.
He felt a zombie pigman strike at him with a golden sword, barely denting the hard scales on his back and breaking the sword. He also felt the high-volume blast of water knock the pigman away.
Forty seconds.
Vechs’s heart pounded as he counted down the last three seconds, waiting for the moment he could pull the now-still Zisteau out, worried about him.
Right as he began the count for forty-three, the kirinax regained enough strength to knock him and Zisteau back, away from the portal. Jsano blasted it into the vortex of the portal, killing it instantly and overloading the portal.
The red runes flashed and exploded, causing the vortex within to vanish and the frame to crack.
Every force of the Nether within the overworld screamed as their power diminished.
Ragged cheers broke up from where the other Mindcrackers were fighting, including those around the portal. Aoxdorren shattered the damaged frame with her tail easily and sent up a flare, the signal for Malkorvyss to bring Guude in.
Vechs ignored his friends and the dragons beginning to finish off the much-weakened forces, as he knelt on the ground with his friend. He wasn’t sure if that had been a full forty-three seconds. The crystal wasn’t purple at all anymore, but it was reacting badly to Zisteau. Whenever he touched it, it would shock him and make his hand jerk away. It didn’t want him touching it- it wanted Guude.
He shivered, looking at the sky, praying for Malkorvyss to get there fast enough to save Zisteau.
He couldn’t lose his friend, not again.
The blue dragon landed beside him and Guude slipped off his back, stumbling towards them. “Crystal.” He fell to his knees weakly beside Vechs and put his hands around it.
The crystal flashed once in recognition and released its hold on Zisteau’s flesh, allowing Guude to easily pull it out. He sighed in relief as the interruption to his lifeforce vanished, feeling his strength returning.
Every Mindcracker felt a wave of energy overcome them, refreshing them entirely and healing their wounds. From MC’s slashed leg to Thejims’s wounds, from Blame’s bruised and aching body to Pause’s healing burns, it was all restored.
And yet their access to the energy lines was not.
A shockwave was sent out from them all, eliminating all of the remaining weakened forces of the Nether.
A true cheer broke out this time, only Vechs not participating. He ignored them and noticed nothing, shaking Zisteau.
“Zisteau. Please wake up. Come on, I can’t lose you again. I just got you back, dammit, Zisteau, come on!”
His breath caught in his throat as he spied something.
Movement.
Zisteau’s remaining left eye dragged itself half open.
A small, weak smile crossed his face.
“You’re not worried about me, are you?”
Vechs shook and laughed in relief, losing his monstrous form for his human one but barely noticing, hugging Zisteau tightly.
“You’ll be okay, right?”
“Yep. Just one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I am never going into an abandoned lab with you again.”
Vechs nodded, too overwhelmed with everything to do much else.
Aureylian approached them, looking down at Vechs.
“Is it over? Did we win?”
“I think so.” Vechs nodded, looking down at Zisteau, who had passed out again. “I think so.”
Not quite.
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 03:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 05:54 am (UTC)The only real issue that I could see here was your tendency for dues-ex-machina: Dragons, Jsano, Time-mage-person, the like. While I can understand its use in story, you may want to try and build up to them at least a bit more, so that they don't seem out of place.
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 09:53 am (UTC)Thank you for the feedback! I'll work on that. (I do just sorta throw shit at you, huh?)
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 08:05 am (UTC)That last line though...
have some cookies (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 09:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 03:42 pm (UTC)FREE COOKIES
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 04:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 09:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 11:09 am (UTC)What I noticed here is your tendancy to sort of put things in without too much buildup. (JSano water Mage.) do you have the entire story planned out? It's a lot more fun to write if you do because 1: no worrying about writers block. 2: You get to drop subtle hints at the future and them make people wonder how they didn't see it. Better yet, red herring!
Anyways, good chapter! I think you're a bit hard on yourself sometimes.
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 11:21 am (UTC)I have s very basic idea of where I want to go but it's not all planned as of yet.
And believe it or not, I have been, just not around things thay are relevant yet. ;)
Once again thank you for feedback ^^
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 07:14 pm (UTC)Great chapter, here (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
no subject
Date: Friday, March 27th, 2015 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2015 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Saturday, March 28th, 2015 12:38 am (UTC)