aAAAY, Nice cover page!

Oliver, you better run, fool, I think that painting description is trying to foreshadow something. XD)

HELLO

Oliver is going to die and he deserves it. XD

Actually, he has one last trick up his sleeve. Assuming he can make it, and Brink keeps ignoring him. XD

I wonder what he's planning? Either way, he's going to die eventually. XD

Yeah, probably. XD

I don't think we should do too much before King gets here, but shall we make a start?

Sure. I can start if you want.

Go ahead.

"We're going back to the convoy, Armin" {The Old Man states.} "My brother's a doctor. You remember him, right? Tall guy, greying hair, glasses, you're in love with his daughter?"

'I'm not in love with anyone's daughter,' Armin grumbled. 'She's just a friend.' //Hmm, IS she really just a friend? ...Of course she's just a friend. We've only known each other for... less than a week.// He wasn't sure why he was thinking these things and decided it was probably just an attempt to distract himself from the pain of the shotgun wound.

{The Old Man laughs.} "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I mean, the age difference between you two is massive. I think she'd do better with someone who's not a century old."

(WHBXNSNXNANJXJSK
I'M.SORRY I'M LATE I WAS BUSY)

(I GOTTA READ UP ON THINGS
ALSO DRACO THAT COVER IS FLIPPING AMAZING AAA)

vedgetables

'Yeah, well... Could be worse...' Armin muttered. 'Ana is 25O and she's in love with someone who's... like... 5OO...'

(HELLO KING)

finished cleaning my puinea gig, ready to roll

( @KIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG! :D)

also THANKS FOR THE COVER COMPLIMENTS-
i forgot to reply to those lmao

(Draco - that makes it sound like you're going to roll the guinea pig

d'you wanna do something with Tochi)

{The Old Man looks up as the cars come into view.} "Hold that thought, Armin. Steve! We need help!" {Steve comes running up.}
Steve: "Jeeze, what happen?"
Old Man: "We found Oliver, that's what happened."

'You make it sound like the guy's invincible or something...' said Armin painfully. 'He's not. He just got lucky.'

yes it's like a fluffy potato. i could roll it

I'll do a Toxhi hangon-

Steve: "Bring him inside."
{At that moment, Eliza runs up.}
"Oh, god, Armin, what hapened to you?"

Tochi inserted a coin into the claw machine and aimed for a yellow bird plushie.

Her, her grandparents and Sheldon had all gone to explore the city, and they'd come across a large building with an arcade, a bowling alley, and a small cafe.

'Oliver happened,' said Armin, humorously repeating the Old Man's words from before, though his voice was too weak to make the joke convincing. 'It won't kill me... probably...'

Sheldon hung behind Tochi, watching with interest to see if she managed to get the plushie. 'You know... those things normally never work...' he said quietly, not wanting to break her concentration.

{Eliza wears a face of genuine worry while the Old Man puts Armin down on a table, and Steve gets ready to operate. Taking a shot of anestheitc, Steve administers it to Armin.} "Ok, Armin, this will ease the pain. Just relax." (This shot will either put Armin to sleep, or make him as loopy as a poisoned Maldius. You decide. XD)

Dark Brink could feel his mark being drawn, grin curving as a shudder runs down his non-existent spine. He could almost taste the power about to be returned to him, but as much as he wanted to watch the sacrifice of the two traitors, he could hear his current most loyal puppet calling out for him. While he planned for Mortikai to grow distant for the moment, he couldn't leave Oliver to die, not at this point. From his place on the roof of the Tower, he disappears into a shadow, reappearing near the Illusionist's side. His form swirls into a vaguely humanoid shape, pulling him back into a shadow and teleporting him a few streets away. Dark Brink quickly reforms back into his usual state, landing on the magician's shoulder.
//Stay quiet. Your wounds will be healed.//
While the quick escape had drained some of his power, it would soon enough fill up again enough to take care of some measly bullet wound.

Tochi lowered the claw, but it only managed to carry the plushie for a second before flopping open and dropping it back into the pile.

"I suppose you're right," said Tochi, a little disappointed. "They're so tempting though."

(Oops. Ignore that last comment.)

(That I promptly deleted.)

(Wait, did Maldius actually get poisoned once? I vaguely remember that happening, but I hardly remember anything from TDS anymore. XD)

Armin gave a sharp groan as they set him down, gritting his teeth together to stop any other sound escaping. 'Thanks,' he muttered once Steve gave him the anesthetic. To his relief, the effect seemed to be kicking in fairly quickly.

'Can I try?' said Sheldon, moving up to the machine and pulling a coin from his pocket. 'I think I won one of these when I was 7, or 8...'

( @Crowley It happened like three times. XD Yeah, Ardens was kicking his bum all over Argo for the latter bit of the RP. XD)

(How the heck did he get poisoned three times? He really needs to be more careful. XD)

( @Crowley His mistake was thinking that he was invincible.That, and improper fighting technique against draugrs XD)

(Pff. XD
...The only part of TDS I really remember (and my favourite part) was Ivy getting captured by Maldius while trying to save Casta. The best thing Ivy's ever done. XD)

{With the anesthetic taking effect, Steve starts working on cauterizing the wound with a superheated tool.}
Eliza: "Ooooh, I can't look..."

( @Crowley Yeah, that part was awesome.)

'Hmm. I can't feel anything anymore,' said Armin, calmly and rather thoughtfully. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then said, 'Tell Dianne when you see her that she sucks at catching people.' With that, he passed out from the effects of the anesthetic.

"Go ahead," Tochi stepped back from the claw machine. "You have to get very lucky - I've won at two of these machines, but the first one was just a cheap rubber squishy thing," she laughed a little.

(i was drawing a new species idea oof)

@Radiant
"You into a spot of pillaging? I know some sweet places that Sargon's army haven't touched! Pretty sure there might be some survivors out there that we can kill too."
Mia says enticingly.
"Pluuuus I stashed my super killer robot near there, y'know, for whenever I need to blow off a little steam."
She grins a little at her own joke.
"How about it Crowley? Sound like fun?"

Sheldon was wearing his best 'concentration face', as he operated the machine controls. The claw closed over the yellow bird Tochi had been aiming for, but let go a second later.

'Hmmh. I guess it's impossible.' Looking slightly disappointed, he drew away. 'Is there anything else we could play?'

(Draco - ooo noice)

(Hey Draco do you want to get the Doggo Squad reunited fully? :D
I can copy over the last thing if you want, it was like two sessions ago oof-)

'Killing and stealing? You bet,' Crowley laughed. This girl sounded way more cool than Morty or even Vitis. 'But I'm much faster than you. I'm not gonna fly on ahead and wait for your short human legs to catch up. Wanna climb on?' he offered, unfolding his wings. He wasn't a large dragon, but he figured he might be able to carry her. MIGHT.

(Draco - by the way could you upload this on your gallery sometime without the text so I can have it in my tags and stuff)

"There's some sort of racing game over there," Tochi suggested, pointing. "It looks like there's two, so we can play togther!"

Henry and Caroline were having a cup of tea in the cafe.

(i'll post it yes-)

{As Oliver was running, Magnus could see him, and saw Brink rescue him.}
Magnus: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Dammit! Bad kitty!" {Once Oliver was rescued, he just kinda went limp against the wall.} "Oh, thank god....Err, I mean thank you." {He whispered.}
"Man, they were just about ready to rip my guts out."
{As Jerry and Sarah caught up, So did Dianne, in dragon form.}
Dianne: "Where did he go?"
Magnus: "We had him! Dammit, we HAD him! Brink showed up and whisked him off somewhere!"
Jerry: "....Oh sh!t...."
{Dianne proceeded to get very angry, slamming her tail on the ground in frustration and pushing over a nearby building with a crash.}
Dianne: "BRIIIIIIINNNNNKKKKK!!!!!"

'Oh, are those the kind where you get actual... seats, and steering wheels?' Sheldon peered over at the arcade machines. 'Let's see if we have enough money left for them.'

(*entire city falls down from Dianne's rage*)

{Steve keeps working while Eliza just sits and watches worriedly. The Old Man just stands there, seemingly deep in thought.}

Ivy ran along the rooftops, heading for a place where she knew she could intercept Oliver. Standing at the edge of the roof, she lowered her revolver and searched for him... Except that he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Then she heard what sounded like a building falling over.

'Oh, dammit,' she hissed, and started jogging quickly back the way she'd come.

{After Dianne had demolished a building out of rage, she turns to everyone else.}
"Spread out! Find him! He couldn't have gone far!"

Ivy was halfway back to the group when she heard Dianne's shout. 'I'll find him!' she muttered fiercely to herself. 'I'm more than capable of it!' With that, she hurried away along the rooftops. Though she didn't really know where Oliver was, the random direction she'd picked just happened to be bringing her closer to him.

Tochi skipped over to the games and looked at the price.

"Hmm... we're 2p short," she announced. "Hey Sheld, want to go find Grandma and Grandpa? They'll probably have some spare change."

(Can't do anything until @King shows up again.)

Sheldon's face fell. 'M-me?' He glanced over his shoulder towards the cafe. '...Me. OK.' Trying to look more confident than he felt, he wandered over and halted a foot away from Caroline and Henry's table.

'Uhm... We were just wondering ifyouhadanysparechange?'

(King is online on the DS, hopefully he'll be back soon.)

(Hopefully.

God, why did I watch the playback to this? X''D)

(O_O Draco did the playback, not me! XD
Well, some of it was me. XD)

The dark spirit's grin curls as he hears his name being called, a chuckle escaping him.
//Hah, her misery and anger is more than enough to bring me back.//
He turns and claws out the bullet from the wound, some shadow moving from his body to heal it, with the addition of minor pain.
//Now, you go run and hide while I distract these goody-two-shoes.//
He leaps off, dissipating into mist, presumably off to encounter Ivy.

(Again with Sargon's posterior? Whhyyyyyy? XD)

(Oof yeah I was drawing while waiting on my phone to recharge :'))

{Not questioning the spirit, Oliver gets up and starts running again, fully healed. //Aaaaagh, gotta hide! How did they find me in the first place?//}

(IT'S BECOME A RUNNING JOKE NOW

AND WELCOME BACK KING)

(I rewatched the playback and my DS crashed halfway through, which I think is fitting. XD)

Ivy paused on the rooftop, looking around suspiciously. She was alone, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was nearby. Lifting her revolver, she turned on the spot, searching. She would never admit to being scared.

(Oh god King I only just saw the dof squad comment ;-;
Yesss - that's reunite themm

(dof squad)

@Radiant
"Oh yeah! That'd be so much better."
As she climbs on, she seems pretty light.
"Oh, hey, wait. Gotta get Five first."
Mia huffs quietly, levitating the bronze robot with a flick of her hand and bringing it over, gaining a suprised beep from it.
"Don't worry, I'll keep a hold on it. Let's go! It's over on the border between the Gold and Silver districts, kinda on the outskirts."

"Spare what?" Henry asked in slight confusion.

"Change..." Carol fished around in her pocket and pulled out a 10p coin. "Is this all you'll need?"

the dofs

'Y-yes, that's completely fine, thanks very much,' Sheldon squeaked. He took the money and hastened back to Tochi's side, wearing an expression rather like someone who'd just been bungee jumping.

'Here,' he mumbled, and slotted the coin into the arcade machine. The game started up in a whir of lights and music.

@Draco
Ango sighs softly, then looks up at Jed.
"It's okay. You get used to it after a while."
Toby whines softly, leaning against her leg for comfort.

Finally, Keenan spots the rest of the squad at the end of the alleyway, grinning.
"Hey, guys! You're okay!"

'HyaaaAAAH!'

With a loud whoop of excitement, Crowley sprung into the air, flapping his wings harder than usual to get up to his normal flying height. Above all the buildings, he had a clear view of the layout of Shacklestone. Letting out a birdlike screech, he plunged forwards at a reckless speed towards the place Mia had indicated, not bothering to warn her to hang on tight.

@Radiant
Dark Brink reforms on the roof where Ivy was stood, grinning. He makes his form larger, into that of a lion, obviously copying from Mortikai's alternate form. Growling lowly, he slowly steps out of the shadows, attempting to back her away from the direction of Oliver.

With a small yelp, Ivy jumped backwards, only wanting to get away from the ghostly lion that had appeared seemingly from nowhere in front of her. But a moment later her eyes narrowed, her stance shifted, and she pointed the revolver and fearlessly fired several shots in Brink's direction.

'Go away, you flea-bitten beast!'

Jed looked round at the approaching Keenan and Thorn. "Oh, you're okay too!" he said, waving at them. "I was starting to worry."

"Hey," Thorn meowed, halting in front of the group. "We gonna get out of the city ASAP?"

( @Kiiiiiiiinnnggg!

Or should I say s8an?)

(S8an S8an S8an S8an)

(I'll probably head off quite soon, my wifi might go off.)

(Ah, ok.)

yeah i'm going too-
i mean my wifi will go off bbut i'm tired too

bye lads

(Draco - g'bye lad)

(Hey, I'm gonna get going for now. I'll reply to everything later or tomorrow.

Bye!)

Once the circle was drawn, Sargon beckoned to the guard by the door and muttered an order. The guard immediately walked over, grabbed Lisa and Nate and dragged them into the centre of the circle.

'I think that Dark Brink will be quite pleased to see you two gone,' said the vampire expressionlessly.

Outside, the necromancer team had finally completed their gruesome task. Ana's original body lay in a lifeless heap in front of the tower, while a few metres away the black-scaled dragon corpse lifted her head and looked around in obvious confusion.

'This form is pathetic!' growled Ana. Her voice sounded different, as it was coming from a different body's vocal cords, but the tone was unmistakable.

'It's the best we've got,' said the lead necromancer shortly. He turned to the magicians. 'Throw this lump of rotting dragon out into the streets. Let those draugrs with the machines clear it up.' They nodded and hurried to obey.

{At that moment, the draugrs with machines show up. I seems that they were secretly watching, and waiting for the necromancer team to finish.}
Random Draugr: "LOOKS LIKE IT'S SWEEPIN' TIME!" {The draugr drove through in the bulldozer, scooping up Ana's old body and driving off with it.}
"GOTTA SWEEP, SWEEP, SWEEP!"

Ana stared in horror as the draugrs took her old body away. 'B-but...' she stammered. The necromancers, despite being on Sargon's side, actually cheered and laughed.

'Whoohoo! Ana's dead and gone!'

'I am NOT! I'm right here!' she yelled. 'Just because I'm UGLY now doesn't mean I'm not the same person!'

As the draugrs were driving away, Wendigo appeared and began to follow them.

'What do you need all these corpses for?' he called down at them, once they had put enough distance between themselves and Ana.

{The draugr on the bulldozer looks up at Wendigo.} "Nunya business!"
Draugr Foreman: "Who wants to know?"

Wendigo snorted. 'I was just curious. If you don't wanna say, that's fine. But I'm not actually loyal to Sargon, in case you didn't know. So it's OK to tell me.'

{The Foreman rubs his head, under his hard hat.} "Well, actually, we need to clear these corpses because each one is a potential breeding ground for the curse, as to prevent its spread if our efforts to kill Oliver are unsuccessful."

'Oh? So it's true that Dianne is going to kill Oliver?' Wendigo landed on top of one of the bulldozers and looked down at the Foreman. 'That would be good. I don't want this bloody curse killing everyone in the world.'

Foreman: "Yup, she's pretty pissed. I wouldn't bet on there being much of him left once she catches him. But, once it's done, Sargon's gonna be coming for us, so we're going to have to get out of here pretty quick."

'Yeaah, you might want to,' Wendigo drawled. 'From what little I've heard, both he and Ana are furious. Something about a prank call. No idea what that's all about...'

{The Foreman shrugs, not knowing what Magnus did.} "I dunno. This is the first I'm hearing of it. Well, it's going to be very important to get clear of the city once we're done here. We're vulnerable here, given the wide open spaces and the fact that we're outnumbered."

'Good luck, then,' said Wendigo. 'If I can, I'll try to delay Sargon and Ana coming after you. Might be impossible, but... I'll have a go.' With that, he took flight and headed off towards the front gates of the city. He wasn't going anywhere in particular - he was just bored and wanted to fly. And he wasn't truly loyal to Sargon, so Dianne wouldn't kill him if she found him.

{The Foreman watched Wendigo leave, then went back to work.} (Hold on, I'll give Wendigo something to do right now...)

{Oliver ran for a while, trying to put some distance between himself and his pursuers. Panting, he stops to catch his breath near the front gates. //Almost there. I just need to make it out of the gates, and I'm home free.//}

//Who's that down there?// Wendigo hadn't expected to come across anyone, with the city being almost empty, but there was a strange man running through the streets below. He watched curiously as the man paused by the front gates. //Wait... Is that Oliver himself? The famous Illusionist?//

A greedy smile curled up the dragon's jaws, and he swooped down towards Oliver, landing some distance behind him.

'Nice day, isn't it?' he said calmly.

{Oliver's heart drops at Wendigo's voice. Pulling out his shotgun, but careful not to let Wendigo see it, Oliver turns his head.}
"Yes, quite pleasant, isn't it?"

Wendigo took a step closer, his grin turning feral. 'Yes, I wonder... What could a simple human be doing walking around on a day like this? When the city is free of all humans except those in league with Dianne? Are you on her side? Or... is she maybe chasing you right now?'

{The Illusionist takes a step away from Wendigo, not wanting him so close.} "Why, of course I'm in league with her. Why do you think I'm here?"

'Then why are you all on your own?' said Wendigo. 'What has Dianne asked you to do that involves you being so VERY far away from everyone else?'

While he was speaking, a bird of unknown species came flying down from the sky and resolved itself into Frederick. He stepped up beside Wendigo, glancing between the dragon and Oliver, clearly figuring out quickly what was going on.

{Oliver looked to Frederick, then back to Wendigo.} "I'm not telling a couple of goons our plans! Beat it, and leave me be!" {With that, he starts walking away.}

As soon as Oliver had turned his back, Wendigo jumped at him, rather like a cat pouncing on a mouse, and pinned him to the ground with one clawed forepaw. 'If you were really in league with her then you'd KNOW that Frederick and I are not loyal to Sargon!' he growled, digging his claws into the Illusionist's back. 'Also, we already know who you are! Oliver Morrow, the one responsible for setting off this damned curse!'

{Oliver turned when he got pounced, so that he would fall on his back. He looks up at Wendigo, smiling under his mask.} "Well, looks like I'm found out. But, it's strange. You're just as stupid as Armin." {With that, he fires the shotgun, taking off some of Wendigo's fingers, allowing him to free himself.}

Wendigo howled in pain and backed away, blood pouring from his ruined front paw. Frederick didn't even glance at the dragon in concern - his attention seemed focused entirely on Oliver. 'What do you mean, we're as stupid as Armin?' he said coldly and threateningly. 'What have you done to him?' Normally Fred was as expressionless as Sargon, but right now it was obvious how worried he was for his father and the rest of Dianne's group.

{Oliver met Frederick's gaze, his right eye visible from his broken mask.} "Oh, just that he never expected the shotgun either, that is, until it spilled his guts." {Quick as a flash, he reloads his weapon.} "Just like he never thought-" {Just then, he was interrupted by Magnus' voice from further down the street.}
Magnus: "There's that slippery bastard! Git that Mofo!"
Oliver: "Shet!" {He turns and bolts away.}
"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH MY ASS!!!"

'After him!' shouted Frederick, leaping onto Wendigo's back. A number of people were heard running through the streets in their direction, and it didn't take a genius to know that they were after Oliver too. He urged the dragon up into the air. Wendigo gave a small moan of pain, staring mournfully at his bleeding paw, but at Fred's command he took off and flew after Oliver without protest.

(I love how insane Oliver is. XD)

{Oliver started running for the gates} "Haha! Almost free!" {That is, until a car drove in and blocked his path. It was Jerry. He had circled back and gotten in an abandoned car.} "....Dammit!" {Before Jerry could exit and start shooting, Oliver dove through a window and into a building, out of sight.}

(Heheheh, If Ana's taught us anything, it's that sanity's overrated. XD)

Wendigo growled and landed on top of the building Oliver had entered, whereupon he swiftly and mercilessly tore a chunk of the roof off. Not wasting a second, Frederick leapt off the dragon's back and jumped down into the room below, pulling out a gun - it looked to be some kind of pistol - and looked around for signs of where their prey had run to.

{Jerry got off the car, and the rest of his family caught up. The building was surrounded.}
Jerry: "Oliver! We have you surrounded! Give up the curse, or we're coming in there and taking it!"
{Oliver yells out from one room below Frederick.} "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, COPPERS!"

Frederick looked at the floor in disgust. 'Does anyone have something we can throw downstairs rather than risk going in ourselves? A grenade, perhaps?' Up on what remained of the roof, Wendigo watched attentively while clutching his injured paw.

{Jerry and a few others moved in on Oliver. He had barricaded himself in a bedroom.}
Jerry: "Just teargas, really. No frags."
{From the room, the sound of furniture being dragged across the floor can be heard. After it stopped, buckshot came exploding out from the floor, near Frederick. It seems that Oliver is trying to shoot Fred by aiming just from the sound of his voice.}

Frederick stepped out of the way before anything could hit him. 'We could all storm inside at the same time,' he suggested in a whisper, so Oliver wouldn't hear him. 'He might have weapons, but even he can't fend off so many opponents at once.'

{Jerry considers this for a moment.}
"I've got an idea. Wait here, don't let him leave."
{Jerry runs off, and returns with two of Dianne's centaurs.}
"Let's send these two in instead."

Frederick stared at the centaur creatures with surprise and, possibly, disgust. 'What are those abominations?' he muttered, then shook his head. 'Never mind that. They look like they can handle him. Send them in.'

{Jerry nodded his head at the centaurs, who promptly flipped Fred off before getting in position to breach.}
Centaur 1: "Abominations...Like he's any prize pig himself!"
{In a moment, one broke through the door without effort while another broke through a wall. There was the sound of quite the scuffle, with Oliver yelling and cussing, shooting at them and trying to stay away from them.}
Oliver: "Oh, GOD, they're HIDEOUS! AAAAAH! WHY DO THEY HAVE BLADES INSTEAD OF FINGER NAILS! WHOSE IDEA WAS THAT?" {After a short while, Oliver dives out and throws himself at Jerry and Fred's feet.} "Wait! Spare me! Just keep those //things// away from me!"

Frederick immediately aimed his pistol at Oliver's head. 'Someone grab his weapons,' he said coldly. 'I can see him pulling another cheap trick on us and escaping again.' From above, Wendigo roared in agreement.

'Let me kill him!' the dragon bellowed. 'He shot three of my fingers off, Fred! THREE! Yeah, that's OK when I'm in this form, but I'm going to look stupid when I'm human again!' Frederick ignored the angry dragonshifter, keeping his gun trained onto Oliver.

{The moment he jumped out, every gun in the building was trained on him. The centaurs exited, one of which was missing half of its head. Jerry kicks Oliver over onto his back and opens his jacket, only to find all manner of knives and gas grenades.}
Jerry: "Jeeze, just take the whole jacket off!"
{Oliver does so, and Jerry starts searching it. After doing this for a short while, he seems to get frustrated.} "The curse, Oliver, where is it!"
Oliver: "It should be there..."
Jerry: "It's NOT! Where is it!?"

With a growl, Wendigo lowered his head through the hole in the ceiling and glared viciously at Oliver. 'Either he's misplaced this thing somehow, or he's lying. For god's sake, can't we just kill him and then get Dianne to track down the curse?'

{Oliver looked surprised, then an evil grin crawled up his face. You see, Oliver wa about to go for the biggest bluff of his entire life. When Dianne had grabbed him earlier and got slashed, she had taken the curse, but no one in this room knew that but Oliver. And Dianne was likely busy chewing Brink out on the roof with Ivy.} "Ohohohoho! Yes, I've sent it off! And if you want to find it, you'll have to keep me alive! Unless.....You want Brink to take it instead! Mwahahahahaha!"

(Oliver, they're soon going to find out Dianne has the curse, and then everyone will murder you. XD)

Frederick scowled at him, then turned to Jerry with an annoyed expression on his face. 'What do you think? If we really have to keep him alive, you had better make sure he can't run away again.'

{Jerry sighs and throws down the jacket.} "Good idea, Fred. What do you suggest?"

'I don't know,' said Frederick irritably. 'Aren't YOU supposed to know these things? I'd have said tie him up, but he's the Illusionist - he could probably escape.'

'I could carry him,' offered Wendigo. 'He wouldn't be so stupid as to jump off my back from fifty feet in the air.'

(Gotta go.)

(Ok.)
{Rolling his eyes, Jerry pulls out his revolver and shoots Oliver's foot.}
Oliver: "Aaaagh!! You son of a BINCH, you shot me!"
Jerry: "Put him on Wendigo's back. He's not going anywhere now."

Frederick got hold of the Illusionist and dragged him onto the dragon's back.

'He'd better not pull any tricks on me,' Wendigo growled. 'Hold on, magician, or I might just decide to drop you.' With that, he took off into the air.

Once they were gone, Frederick approached Jerry. 'I have to ask: Is the rest of your group all right? Dianne isn't here, and Oliver said something about Armin...'

{Oliver clings to Wendigo, trying to think his way out of this one. Jerry takes off his hat and runs his hand through his hair.} "I know Dianne's fine. I just saw her not ten minutes ago. You're dad's going to be fine, he just, uh....he caught some buckshot in the side while he was trying to subdue Oliver. I'm sure he'll recover in no time."

'So, he's alive, then,' said Frederick slowly. 'That's good.' He looked up, noticed that Oliver and Wendigo were no longer anywhere in sight, and said, 'What now? We have Oliver. Should we go and inform Dianne about this?'

Wendigo kept high above the city, occasionally muttering insults directed at Oliver. 'You're an insane fool,' he grumbled. 'Setting off that curse, didn't you realise it would kill EVERYONE?'

{Jerry puts his hat back on and nods.} "Yeah, we should. Let's go find her."

(Now, before we throw Dianne back in, there are a few things she'd like to say to Brink, but we'll have to wait for @King...:/)

{Oliver responds to Wendigo unnaturally calmly.}
"I was aware of what it could do. That's why I picked it. I couldn't resist. A tool that could get my vengeance on Sargon in six hour's time? It was too perfect."

'You'd also be killing all the HUMANS and all of the innocent non-humans, too!' snapped the dragon. 'Don't you care about anyone's life but your own?'

"Bah!" {He says.} "You monsters already killed most of the humans anyway, and there's no such thing as an 'innocent nonhuman'. You're all animals,, just waiting to strike the moment our backs are turned. Sargon's cowardly attack on this city proves that."

'You moron, not all non-humans are like that, just as not all HUMANS are like that! What about me, huh? What about Frederick and Armin and Dianne? We're trying to STOP Sargon because we think he's as disgusting as you do, bet you never thought about that, did ya?'

"No, I did." {He states coolly} "Armin kicked this party off by murdering that young girl six months ago, so, he's no saint, you tried to kill me, even before I shot off your fingers, I'm sure Fred has done something to deserve this, and Dianne, formerly known as Delilah, was once a member of an ancient cult known as The Will of Death, and she alone is responsible for the deaths of millions. So, remind me, what redeeming qualities have any of you?"

Wendigo took a few deep breaths, just to stop himself from dropping Oliver off his back. Then he began to speak. 'Do you REALLY think that Armin is responsible for everything that's happened here? Sargon would have still attacked this city, no matter what. Armin being forced to kill one person is nothing by comparison. As for me, I WASN'T trying to kill you. I just wanted to subdue you until the others arrived. Frederick is no saint, and Dianne definitely isn't. But the point is that we're all trying to change, all trying to redeem ourselves. Trying to end this once and for all.

'So don't you dare compare yourself to ME, scum, because you were planning to wipe out the entire population of Vallis, whether they deserved it or not.'

"Now, that's not true. If that were the case, I would have killed Dianne when I had the chance. I knew I'd have to keep her alive, or I'd unintentionally kill everyone in the province. I just wanted to keep the curse around long enough to kill off all of Sargon's men." {Oliver then crosses his arms and turns away.} "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

(*points gun at Oliver* No making references. XD)

Wendigo just let out a contemptuous snort. 'Like I care. Not all of the people in Sargon's army are working for him voluntarily, and there are other people still in the city who aren't working for him at all. So we're not letting you spread that thing around. Tough luck, pal.'

(OLIVER'S GREAT)
(Oof Dark better prepare for Dianne-)

@Radiant
Daek Brink lets out a low chuckle as the bullets move through his body and ricochet off the concrete below his spectral feet, his form wavering slightly as they "hit".
//Oh, you poor dear. All your little pals have up and left you! How sad, no one's around to hear you scream.//
He speaks in a mocking tone of sadness, hardening into a delighted growl as he reaches the last few words, his grin widening into a spiral of teeth.
//It's been far too long since I last did anything like this by myself...Why prolong it any more?//
The dark spirit's jaws open as he lunges for Ivy.

Ivy yelped automatically and stumbled backwards along the roof, avoiding the creature's jaws closing on her by mere inches. 'Hey! ANYONE THERE?!' she yelled as she continued to retreat, not bothering to fire her gun since as she knew Brink was not affected by bullets. At that moment, her foot caught on something and she tripped, falling backwards. 'SOME HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!' she shouted.

{As Brink lunged, a large dragon paw shot down and grabbed him. It didn't go through Brink, it actually grabbed him and held him in place, effectively trapping him and causing his form to twitch and convulse a little. It was Dianne, and she didn't look happy.} "Brink, you son of a bi.tch, what do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, this isn't over." {Oliver growls.} "Brink will save me, I'll get that curse back, and vengeance will be mine. I don't expect you to understand. //You// didn't lose everything in the attack like I did..."

'Plenty of us have lost things, so don't talk like you understand,' Wendigo snarled. 'If you hadn't just tried to kill us, I might feel sorry for you, losing your family like you did. But do you really think your family would want you to become a mass-murderer?'

Ivy gasped as Dianne seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She hadn't even heard the dragon's approach. Scrambling hastily to her feet, she brushed her clothes down and tried to look as though she hasn't just fallen over.

"You don't understand. Without them, my life has no meaning. No purpose. It doesn't matter what I do anymore. My life ended with theirs."

'If nothing matters, then why bother trying to kill everyone? I guess you just want revenge - to hurt those who destroyed your family. Personally, I think revenge is pointless. Killing other people won't bring the people you love back.' Wendigo spoke with the faintest hint of bitterness in his voice, as though his words brought back memories from something in his past.

"No, it won't." {He said with an undertone of acceptance.} "But I know that once they've been avenged, only then can they rest peacefully. I will take Sargon's life, lay waste to his army, and once it is done, I will finally be able to rest, knowing that they have been avenged."

'Well, let me tell you something - if you ever get the chance to kill Sargon, feel free to. We all want to see him dead,' growled Wendigo. 'But we're not going to let you murder any innocents. If you do, then you'll become my enemy as surely as Sargon is. And you don't want me for an enemy.'

"Innocence.....I don't think there's any left in this city. Now, it's just those who lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. Whether you're my friend or foe, you're no different. You're all the same."

'Yeah, sure, you keep on believing that,' Wendigo scoffed. 'You're too stupid to see that we're not all like Sargon.' He flew higher, circling above the city. He knew that Frederick would call him telepathically as soon as his business was concluded and they could bring Oliver to Dianne.

"I'm stupid? Ha!" {He says.} "I'm probably the smartest person left in the city. You and your whole group of monsters have done nothing over the past week but tiptoe around Sargon, while I have claimed the lives of hundreds of his pawns! Judge me how you will, but you can't argue with my results!"

'That's because we're planners, not murderers,' growled the dragon. 'And we're not as reckless as you are. Keep in mind that we've successfully caught you, and nobody has caught US. I think that's proof we're better at this than you are.'

"Bah! Actually, I'm curious about that. How //did// you all find me?"

'No idea,' said Wendigo. 'You'd have to ask Jerry or Dianne. They were the ones who found your hiding place and flushed you out. They must've found out where you live somehow.'

"Hhhhmmmm. I guess so." {He trails off.} "So, you're planners, huh? Well what's your plan for when Sargon attacks the Sovereign?"

'Pretty sure I overheard some member of Jerry's family say that they're laying traps for him,' said Wendigo. 'So that should at least slow him down. Also, an army is vulnerable while on the move. They could run out of supplies, or get lost, or get attacked by the wild dragons. There's lots of obstacles in Sargon's way.'

"Hm. Well, once I'm free, I'm going to make sure his trek across the countryside is hell. If all goes well, he'll never even make it across the province."

(This is RR on Draco's account.)

Wendigo huffed out a short laugh. 'Well, I wouldn't mind your help when it comes to killing Sargon. But I can't guarantee Dianne will let you live.'

{Wendigo couldn't see it, but Oliver got very nervous at that. //Oh, crap, I forgot about her...//} "Well.....I'm sure we can talk about this in a civilized manner and come to a mutually beneficial agreement..."

@Radiant/Aggron
The spectral lion lets out a strangled, almost comical yelp as he's pinned, clearly not expecting to actually be stopped by anything. Feeling his form struggle to cope, he shifts back to his usual form and swiftly wriggles free of Dianne's grasp, looking slightly startled for a moment before his grin returns.
//Ah, Dianne! I was wondering when you'd show up. I've been awaiting this little talk for quite some time. After all, two dark forces in the same city is rather delightful, wouldn't you think? That's besides the point, I was just hoping to relieve you of this useless little human you have here! I mean, she hasn't done anything vital for your cause, so it's be best to cut her out and let someone...more worthy to take her place. That's how you run a successful force.//

@Radiant
Nate glares maliciously up at Sargon as he draws the circle, not that anyone would be able to see it. As the guard grabs them and picks them up, he struggles and claws at the guard's hands, hissing and spitting like some kind of animal. Lila smacks her brother to make him stop, which pauses his actions until the guard lets go of them within the circle, giving himself a moment to decide before launching himself at Sargon in a fool's attempt to strangle him. The older of the psychics attempts to pry him off, knowing how much worse their death would be if he enraged the vampire.

{When Brink wriggled out, Dianne's hand closed audibly around the empty space. Shifting back to human form, Dianne approaches the spirit cat menacingly.} "Nevermind the girl, Brink. I want to know why Oliver, //your// proxy, stole //my// curse! What game are you playing, vermin?"

//I don't know /why/ he stole it, per se, but he did release it with /my/ blessing. Isn't it fantastic though? All that dark power in a tiny, little vial...Ooo, it makes me shudder at the thought.//
His grin curls tighter.
//You know my game, don't you? I've been playing it for hundreds of years and I haven't even gotten through the first half yet. I'm sure you, a fellow being of such great dark power, would know how it feels to gain more for your wondrous plan?//
While he may be missing a few details here and there, did it really matter to him in the long run? No. No it didn't. So he ignores them.

{Dianne growls at Brinks words.} "It's not //yours// to decide its fate! The curse is //Mine!// He stole it from me, and as your proxy, that means //you// stole it from me! I am not part of your game! I am //not// your PAWN!" {Once she had closed enough distance, she lunged at Brink, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and bringing him up to her eye level, but out of clawing distance.} "Now you listen to me! You //will// surrender Oliver to me, you will //never// interfere with my plans again, or I will tear apart every. Single. Proxy you own, and banish //you// to Oblivion!. Am I making myself clear?"

Ivy just stared as the two great creatures argued. //Soo, Brink's a creepy weirdo and Dianne's got anger problems,// she thought, shuffling backwards a few more feet along the rooftop.

Sargon caught Nate by the back of his hooded jacket and pulled him off without effort, throwing him down into the centre of the circle. 'You should have known you were dead the moment you became disloyal to Dark Brink,' he said. 'Or rather, you should have known the moment we caught you. Have you any final words? If you have last requests, perhaps I will be able to grant them.'

(I typo'ed Dark Brink as Bark Brink in that comment and I was so tempted to leave it there)

(Soooooo, my last final exam is on Thursday, and I was thinking about hosting a random RP Friday to celebrate my freedom.
That something y'all would be interested in?)

(It depends! I can't stay up late at night on Fridays, and my timezone is several hours ahead of yours, so if it's held early enough then I might be able to hang around.)

(Ok. How early is early enough?)

(If it starts at the same time Shacklestone normally does, I could be around for at least two and a half hours. I might be able to do longer, but on weekdays it's really a gamble as to when my wifi gets switched off.)

(Alright! It'll probably be up earlier than that!

I have been curious though, why does your wifi turn off at night?)

(My parents don't leave anything switched on at night after everyone goes to bed. Probably to save on the electricity bill or something. And it's switched off earlier on weekdays because my parents go to bed earlier, due to my dad having to wake up at 3AM for work.

And alright! I'll try to remember to show up. XD)

(Ah, ok. I hope to see you there :D)

(Also just saying this here cus idk if it'll be seen this late on the chat buuuuuut
I'm going to my sister's over the weekend so I might not be as active as I usually am on Saturday. I'm not sure what we'll be doing on the night but I'll try to be there as much as possible!)

@Aggron/Radiant
Dark Brink somehow manages a slight chuckle, despite hanging limply from Dianne's hand. As soon as she grabbed him, his form turns into his "feline" form, loosing his spirit trail with his newly formed hind legs folding against his stomach.
//You think Oblivion would stop me? I'd be brought back one way or another, either by Mortikai or the being I'm supposed to call a father, the White Stag.//
He trails off, thinking for a few moments. While Oliver /was/ quite a vital part of his plan, he didn't value the life of one proxy over many others.
//But fine. I'll let you have him. You're lucky I didn't have any solid place for him in my game yet.//

@Radiant
"WOAH!"
Mia exclaims as Crowley takes flight, getting thrown back a little before she manages to grab a hold, her hand tightening into a fist to whisk Five along with them. She grins, laughing slightly at the thrill of how fast and high they were. Her grip tightens as Crowley dives down, exclaiming again. If this wasn't such a thrill she would complain about how he hadn't warned her about having to hold on.

@Radiant
Once Nate hits the floor, Lila pins him down to the floor, stopping him from causing any trouble. He struggles, yelling into the minds of anyone close enough for him to connect to.
//IT WAS HER FAULT! SHE MADE THE DEAL WITH HIM, SHE FORCED US TO BE LIKE THIS! KILL HER, NOT ME!//
//SHUT UP!//
Lila retaliates, kneeling on Nate'a chest to keep him down and finding her hands wrapping around his neck. She glares back at Sargon.
//If you're gonna kill us, make it quick, or I might have to kill him for you.//

(King - Alright, no problem! Thanks for letting us know!)

(King)

Crowley swooped and spiralled over the city buildings, laughing like a complete maniac the whole way. When he finally came to roughly the place Mia had told him about and came down to land, he was a little surprised that the girl and her robot hadn't fallen off yet.

'Huh,' he said thoughtfully, folding his wings and waiting for her to climb off. 'So, we're here, somewhere between the Gold and Silver districts... Where now?'

(King)

The guard near the door winced slightly from the strength of Nate's telepathic yelling. It was worse for Sargon, being a person naturally attuned to telepathy, but he gave no sign of discomfort, other than to shift his position very slightly.

'That I will.' He snapped his fingers, and two knives appeared out of nowhere, floating on either side of him at head level. He made a gesture with his hand, and the two blades flew forwards and slashed the twins' throats in a manner that would likely kill them quickly and with little pain.

(Am I the only one who sometimes stops to think about how dark this RP is? XD)

(I do sometimes XD
But I kinda like it! We've just grown accustomed to the darkness XD
Cus usually on other places I try to be careful with the level of darkness I put in stuff cus I dunno what people like and don't like)

(King - Yeah, I usually have to be more careful than this, too. But all of us are generally comfortable with darker themes, which is pretty cool.

Seriously though, it's an RP featuring mass destruction, child murder and horrible plagues, run by a group of people who constantly make Satan jokes.

I just love that for some reason. XD)

(If anyone else was to see this, they'd think we're mad XD
I just,,, I love this so much it's great you lot are great)

(Yes
I agree
I love you all and thank you for helping me make this weird RP a thing)

(Lol Y'all are great too. I really don't have an off switch when it comes to the dark stuff. Yeah, I can do sweet and light hearted, but when I go dark, I try to get my money's worth, if you get my meaning. >:D)

(Aggron - Hah, I'm not really bothered by any level of dark themes either. It's all good fun. Though I wouldn't like it if an RP was JUST dark stuff, which is why I like the cute/lighthearted/emotional family reunion stuff that we also have in this. X) )

(Of course. The balance is part of what makes this group fun. :D)

{Dianne glares at Brink, not letting go.} "Of course. The White Stag needs you to help keep balance. But, I think you ought to be in there with the worst creatures known. Permanently. But, if the Stag thinks you're worth saving, far be it from me to tell him otherwise." {As she finished, Jerry and Fred came into view.}
Jerry: "Dianne, if you're done terrorizing the ghost cat, we caught Oliver. He says he's hidden the curse and we're hoping you can get some answers out of him."

(Quick note to say that I will be posting a new RP room today, but it may be slightly late.)