THIS COVER LOOKS AMAZING

Dark Brink's nervous/creepy grin is priceless. XD

HECK
THANK
:D

Yes XD

It's the RP of death and demon summoning where all characters hate each other! *trumpet fanfare*

I need to check the last RP, after all the silly stuff, I can't remember what we were actually doing. XD

I think I'm just waiting on replies from everyone right now.

Especially me :')

I'm waiting on Brink's reply.
Btw, I love this cover. XD

Well, at least you have the chance to catch up now. XD

Hello, Aggron!

Do you want to start, King?

Yeah, just gimme a bit cus I'm getting food and family are over oof

Don't worry bruh, take your time.

@Aggron
Dark Brink's ears perk up as he hears two things: Jerry's voice and the sound of Sargon killing the two traitors. He begins to struggle a little.
//Yes, yes, let me go already! I have places to be!//
His form quivers slightly as the power released from the traitors is returned to him, looking far too excited.

{Dianne glares down at Brink, not letting him go.} "First, I need to set an example. Fred! Bring Oliver here!"

Frederick looked up at the sky. //Come down,// he ordered telepathically, reaching out to Wendigo's mind. A few moments later, the stocky dragon joined them on the rooftop, Oliver still on his back.

'What now?' he growled.

(Oh, quick note to say Draco probably won't be here until later if she comes at all. She's busy watching Star Wars with our parents.)

{With a wave of her hand, Magnus climbed onto the roof and dragged Oliver off of Wendigo's back. Putting Oliver on his knees, Dianne walks right in front of him.} "Oliver Morrow. What do you have anything to say for yourself?"
{Oliver takes off his mask and casts it aside.}
"I don't regret what I did. They all deserved it."

'Not all of them deserved it!' Wendigo snarled. 'You're nothing but a senseless murderer. You kill people for fun.'

Frederick and Ivy stayed silent, watching grimly to see what would happen next.

@Radiant
Mia slips off Crowley's back with a grin, replacing Five on the ground.
"First we gotta find where I left my other robot. It'll be easy, I can sense a giant hunk of metal like it a mile off."
She taps Five with her foot, making it roll out in front.
"It'll probably look around for a bit, but I know pretty much where we need to go. Then we can go 'nd kill those idiots trying to hide from all this!"

@Radiant/Aggron
//Their deaths all served some sort of purpose. I can't expect mortal beings to truly understand the full meaning of it.//
The dark spirit says very matter-of-fact-ly, his grin staying despite the position he and Oliver were put in.

'Riiight...' said Crowley. 'Why did you leave your robot thing way out here, anyway? Do you live here or something?' He looked around shiftily, rustling his wings together in an impatient gesture. He wanted to take the lead; he was bored of having to follow other people around, but that was impossible since as he didn't have any idea where Mia's robot was.

{Oliver turns to Wendigo with a snarl.} "They deserved it! You //all// deserve it! You're all animals! All of you are-"
{He gets cut off when Dianne covers his mouth with her hand. }
"You did this to avenge your family, didn't you?"
{Oliver solemnly nods.}
Dianne:"Don't fret. You're going to go see them now."
{Picking him up by the face, Dianne starts to melt his face with decay magic.}

Ivy immediately covered her eyes and looked away. Wendigo, however, took a step closer, almost looming over Dianne and Oliver, his features locked in a snarl of hatred.

'Give him what he deserves! Kill him!' he roared. 'I want this scum wiped off the earth!'

{Oliver struggled against her, but to no avail. As the flesh melted from his face, and his horrified screaming died down, and his body went limp, Dianne took it a step further. Tightening her grip, she caved in his skull and tossed his lifeless body aside.}
"Take a good long look, Brink. This is the fate that awaits all of your proxies, should you continue to interfere with me."

(R.I.P. Oliver.
Not really.)

@Aggron/Radiant
Brink's grin only widens, a creepy chuckle escaping him.
//You speak as if I cared so much about him. Yes, he was a vital piece of my plan, but one that I was willing to loose, much like most of my proxies. However, all I need to do is stay away from you and I won't need to replace anyone. I'm sure I have enough self control to keep myself away from all the dark power you possess, especially since I will soon rival it.//
He attempts to bring his face closer to hers.
//And trust me...I can almost taste the darkness you have in you.//

(R.i.p in peace Oliver
not even Brink will miss you
how sad :(

@Radiant
"Eh, it's one of a few hideouts I have across the city. Better to have lots of places than one I've found. Plus it's way too slow to have it hanging around me all the time, despite how awesomely destructive it is."
She rubs her hands together in anticipation, a few tiny sparks coming from them.
"But hey, since you're a dragon and all, I bet you'd weed out those human idiots out in a heartbeat!"

'Ha!' Crowley grinned, showing needle-like teeth that still carried faint bloodstains from his last fight. 'Of course I can. I can smell humans a mile away - they stink. But come on, lead the way, or whatever. I wanna see if your stupid robot is as powerful as you said.'

{Dianne brings Brink closer.} "Raise your darkness all you want. You might think you're a big shot, but in my hands, you're just another ghost. I've heard you're helping Sargon. I'd stop if I were you, next time you piss me off, I might not be so forgiving."

(So, Sargon's going to attack the moment that curse is contained, yes?)

(Aggron - When he finds out, he might. But he has other plans that he considers more important than attacking Dianne and Jerry's group.
Of course, he might not be able to contain Ana...)

@Aggron
//All I've done so far is made his little stooge stronger, but you picked her off pretty easily. I've yet to actually help him with anything.//
Dark Brink gains a slightly smug look, especially since he was about to grant Sargon his power as soon as he was released from Dianne's hand.

(Heheh, ok. Dianne's got a plan. >:3)

{Dianne looked at Brink with mistrust.} "Keep it that way, or you and I are going to have a big problem. Now get lost." {With that, she throws Brink aside, forcing him back to the next dimension over in the process. Taking out the phone, she dials Sargon.}

Sargon was heading out to see Lord Grimm and talk to him about their plans to travel to Sovereign's Land. On the way there, he heard his phone ring in his pocket. With a look of slight annoyance, he picked it up and answered in clipped tones. 'Yes, Dianne?'

{Dianne cuts right to the chase.} "Alright, listen close, I'm only going to say this once. I have the last of this curse. You'll get your city back soon, but not yet. As I haven't recalled it yet, our deal still stands. I will recall the last of it tonight at midnight. Once that happens, do what you will, but, if you get overzealous and do anything stupid before that, I'm going to throw it right back out on your men and let you idiots deal with it. Until the twelfth chime of midnight, I expect you and your people to stay right where you are. Break this agreement, and you're back to square one, got it?"

'That sounds reasonable,' Sargon responded, though with a touch of exasperation in his voice. 'Might I ask what you're doing that requires you to keep the curse unrecalled until midnight? Clearly, you have some kind of plan.'

//And you are becoming tiresome, Dianne,// he thought, but didn't say that out loud. He had wanted to move his people out of Shacklestone as soon as possible, but now he was forced to wait. He knew he could not risk Dianne unleashing the curse back on him while he was trying to move them.

"Well, we do need time to get the hell away from you." {Dianne states matter-of-factly.} "You've been warned. However, you will still be able to call me with that phone afterward. You know, for when you're ready to negotiate your surrender."

If Dianne had expected him to deny that he'd be surrendering, she was going to be disappointed. He simply said: 'Perhaps. But you had better be careful, Dianne. If you break the truce and do anything to harm my people...' He left the sentence trailing off, an unspoken threat.

“Relax.” {She said smoothly.} “I won’t harm anyone who’s behaving properly. It’s up to you to keep them in line.”

'Fine,' Sargon replied, while privately wondering how he was going to keep Ana from doing something reckless. 'I cannot guarantee that none of my people will give you trouble, but if they do, I will not try to stop you from killing them.' With that, he hung up. //I must talk to Grimm...//

{Dianne puts her phone away.} “Ok, people, let’s regroup. I’ve bought us some time, so we need to decide our next move. Fred, Sargon wants to attack the Sovereigns next, yes?”

'That is his intention,' replied Frederick. 'And I think he'll do it as soon as he can. It's getting hard for his army to survive in Shacklestone, now that his access to Riverside is lost.'

(Sorry for disappearing. My parents turned off the house wifi without telling me.)

( @Radiant Don't worry about it. )
Jerry:"Alright, I think I know what we should do next, but let's go back to the convoy first. I'd like to see how Armin's doing."
{With that, everyone starts to head back. }

Ivy nodded and hurried after Jerry. She threw a last glance back at Oliver's mutiliated body as she left. //That was so sudden,// she thought. //So brutal. Sure, he was evil, a horrible person, but did he really deserve to die for it?//

As they approached the convoy, Frederick said, 'I must go back to Sargon. We've been away for too long.' With that, he climbed onto Wendigo's back and they took off for Atlas Tower.

Jerry: "See ya." {Getting back to the convoy, Jerry approaches Uncle Steve and his dad.} "Hey, how's Armin?"
Steve:"He'll be ok. You know vampires, they bounce back from everything."
Old Man: "The curse, did you get it?"
Jerry: "Yeah, we did. We caught Oliver and Dianne kinda...melted his face..."
Eliza: "Glad I didn't have to see that..."

Ivy snickered as she came in. 'Yes, that was really nasty. I didn't even realise Dianne was THAT brutal... Though I suppose, in the long run, it's better that Oliver is dead. He was trying to kill /everyone.'/

(Shall I have Armin wake up soon, or do you need him unconscious for now?)

(Go ahead and wake him up.)

{Dianne walks in next} “That’s nothing compared to what’s in store for Sargon.”
Jerry: “Dianne bought us time though. Sargon won’t move until midnight, so we need to decide what we’re going to do. Sargon’s next move is to attack Sovereign City, but he has to make the trek.”
Dianne: “And he has no food for his people. He’s probably banking on getting more food from that city. Jerry, what’s our play?”

'Hey, wasn't someone laying traps for him or something?' said Ivy. 'What kind of traps are they? Will they stop his whole army?' She spotted a chair nearby, and sat down.

Armin was awake by then, though he was pretending to still be unconscious as he listened to the conversation. //So, Oliver's dead and the curse is gone... And Sargon's planning to run away to Sovereign... Well, it's just like him to run when things aren't going his way.//

Aunt Sarah: "That was me. They're standard tripwire traps. Those should kill a couple dozen, and I put them on streets leading to the main gates. That'll force them to slow down on their way out to look for the traps."
{Jerry takes a minute to think.} "Well, the next step is to warn the Sovereigns, and get them prepared for the oncoming siege. Thank's to Dianne, we have until midnight, at which point he starts mobilizing, plus however long it takes for him to get to the city. It's quite a ways on foot."
Dianne: "Jerry, you should go there now, while we have the time."
Jerry: "What are you going to do?"
{Dianne smiles slyly.} "You know those bodies my draugrs were clearing from the city? They've all been shipped off to my Riverside workshop. I can get really creative with the wide assortment Sargon's so graciously provided."

Ivy's gaze flickered between Dianne and Jerry, then grinned. 'Sounds fun. But isn't the King supposed to be really scared of non-humans or something? I bet he'll panic when you tell him that the monsters are coming for him... He'll go crazy. He'll probably run away and leave all his citizens to die.'

Jerry: "Then I hope his general isn't a complete coward."
Dianne: "That sounds troublesome. Magnus will stay behind with the centaurs and pester Sargon on his way out, try to slow him down. In the meantime, you're going to need all the time you can get. I'm going back to Riverside to prepare a force. Once Sargon leaves Shacklestone, I'm going to seize this city and cut off his escape. If all goes well, you'll keep Sargon from the Sovereigns, I'll cut off his retreat, and we could potentially win this within the next few days."

'Just let me know what you want me to do,' said Ivy. 'I'll help with anything.'

'I second that,' said Armin. He finally stopped pretending to be asleep and sat up, wincing in slight pain. 'Is everyone OK? Oliver didn't kill anybody?'

Jerry: "Ah Armin, feeling better already?"
Steve: "You can help by coming back to Riverside with me to recover. "

Magnus: "To answer your question, Armin, no, Oliver didn't get any of us. On the contrary, Dianne got him."

'Oh, I know,' said Armin. 'Something about her melting Oliver's face off, and I'm going to echo Eliza and say I'm quite glad I didn't see that.' He turned to look at Steve, frowning slightly. 'Well, I guess that's all I can do right now. But I'll probably be healed in a day or two. I /am/ a vampire.'

Steve: "Good. You need to rest. You've suffered some pretty severe tissue loss."
Dianne: "Well, Armin, you can come with me when I go to seize Shacklestone after Sargon leaves. But Jerry, you really should be going. Time is limited."
Jerrry: "Ok. Eliza, Dad, Sarah, Bob, Ivy, and the rest of you, come with me. Grandpa Joe, Steve, you take Armin and go back to Riverside. Let's go."

'Good luck, then,' said Armin, looking at each of them in turn, his gaze lingering on Eliza for a fraction of a second longer. 'All of you.'

Ivy rolled her eyes and jumped to her feet. 'I'm ready,' she said. 'Let's get going, right now.'

{As everyone got ready, Eliza approached Armin.} "Hey....Be safe out there, ok? The position Sargon's about to be in might make him a little desperate."

'I'm not too worried about Sargon,' said Armin. 'He's not as dangerous as he'd like everyone to believe... But, thanks. You're probably right. I'll be careful.' He looked down at her uncertainly. 'You, too.'

Ivy was stocking up on ammo for her gun, having used some of the bullets trying to shoot Brink earlier. She hummed songs under her breath while she worked.

{Eliza looked around. After a moment of deliberation, she hugs Armin, before running off to join the others.}

Given no time to react to the hug, Armin just watched her leave with a surprised expression. When she was gone, he smiled slightly, then turned to address Steve. 'So... To Riverside now, I guess?' he said as if nothing had happened.

Ivy followed the others outside. 'How are we supposed to get to this Sovereign City? By car? It must take a while. It looks quite far away on all the maps I've seen.'

- RR (Gotta stop forgetting I'm on Draco's account)

""Yep." {It seems that Steve wasn't watching and completely missed the hug.}
Jerry:"Yeah, we have to go by car. If the king is as afraid of non-humans as you say, it's better if we don't show up on a dragon's back. Sure, it's far, but we have until midnight to get there, and the roads are wide open."

'OK, OK...' said Ivy, sounding slightly disappointed. 'But I want my own car. I can drive. And it's really boring sitting in the back seat all the time. If you don't have a spare one then I'll take that abandoned one just over there.' She pointed at a small blue car sitting a little way up the street.

'Alright then,' said the vampire. 'Let's go before all heII breaks loose.' He started to stand up, but his legs wouldn't support him, forcing him to grab Steve's shoulder to stay upright. 'Ouch.'

-RR

"Easy there. Baby steps, c'mon." {Steve grabs ahold of Armin and helps him to the car.}
Jerry: "Ok, just don't crash, ok?"
(It's here I would suggest a time skip, but I know Crowley and Mia and Brink and Sargon have unfinished business. Want to do when Sargon finds Grimm, or maybe throw Ana at mah peeps before they leave?)

(Hmm, I think I'll write something with Sargon and Grimm. And I'll throw Ana out as well, just to annoy everyone. XD
-RR)

(Lol, Grimm's hilarious. XD He's my favorite Sargon goon.)

Ivy shot Jerry a glare. 'Crash? And why, exactly, would I /crash?/ I know how to drive!' Muttering to herself, she ran over to the abandoned car and got in. A moment later, she had started the engine and was slowly rolling up the road to where the other cars were.

Just then, they heard a loud cackling laugh from somewhere up above. Ivy leaned out of her window to look, then groaned. A black dragon was perched on a nearby rooftop, staring down at the group as they prepared to leave.

'Watch out,' she said. 'Some ugly lizard just showed up.'

Though Ivy hadn't noticed this, the dragon in question was wearing a very familiar witch's hat.

After the phone conversation with Dianne, Sargon calmly continued with his earlier task: talking to Lord Grimm. He found the old dragonshifter loitering idly outside one of the buildings near the tower, where he'd been watching the draugrs and their machines go past.

'Ah, Sargon, old friend!' he said happily. 'So nice to see you. I assume you've finally decided to talk to me about our plans, then?'

'Yes. We will be moving the army south to the Old Kingdom first thing tomorrow morning.'

'Tomorrow morning?' repeated Grimm. 'But why then, and not now? I thought we were in a hurry.'

Sargon looked faintly annoyed, but tried to hide it. 'Dianne is refusing to completely recall the curse until midnight, so we must wait until then for it to be safe. However, we will have to be careful. As soon as the curse is recalled, our truce with Dianne's side is over.'

{Dianne turns to look at Ana, a very displeased look on her face.} "The Harlot. What are you doing here? The truce is still in play!"
Magnus: {Takes tape recorder.} "Don't make me use this! You know I will!"

Grimm stared at him for a moment, then started laughing nastily. 'Dianne really has you over a barrel, doesn't she? You're forced to do whatever she says.'

'I am in full control of the situation,' said Sargon, sounding even more annoyed.

Grimm patted him on the shoulder in a patronising way. 'It's alright,' he said. 'Don't you worry. I'll help you get out of this.'

'Oh, don't worry,' said Ana. 'I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just wanted to see you off.' She gave them a nasty grin, showing several missing teeth. The dragon whose body she was inhabiting wasn't in very good condition. 'And to tell you that you are the absolute most /disgusting/ people in the world for how you're interfering with Sargon's plans. Can't you just crawl away like good little humans and stop bothering us?'

In one of the cars, Armin was watching. 'Oh god, is that Ana /again?/ I swear, one day I'm going to kill her myself.'

Jerry: "We're fighting so hard because we're human. If you think we're just going to let you freaks walk all over us, you've got another thing coming."
Dianne: "We're disgusting? Look at you! You're falling apart, literally! Answer me this, Ana, if Sargon cares so much about you, why hasn't he even bothered to embalm you properly?"

'Because our necromancers are weak!' shrieked Ana, looking enraged at the mention of her appearance. 'This is the best they can do, apparently! ...But who cares about that?' she added, her voice suddenly low and dangerous. 'You might be fighting, but you're going to lose. You're human, and we're magical beings - WE have TRUE power! Why should your race be allowed to rule the world, when we are SO much better?'

Old Man: "Because you're //not// better than us. Your overwhelming strength make you arrogant, overconfident. Why do you think you're trying to overthrow the /human/ government? Because we won. And we'll continue to win. You might be stronger than us, but that doesn't make you better."

'You arrogant pieces of filth!' Ana howled. There was a sudden flickering movement around the group, like the way the air shimmers on a hot day - and a second later, ten ghosts materialised, forming a circle around the group. All of them carried long daggers.

'Hm, not very many,' said Ana. 'I guess that's because your drauges stole most of the bodies... But never mind that! Charge!' The ghosts began to close in on the group while Ana laughed insanely.

Jerry: "Shiiiiit! Dianne, help!"
{With a wave of her hand, Dianne causes the ghosts to dissipate right as they were on top of Jerry's people. Walking up aggressively, Dianne speaks in a growl.} "Novice! I should release the curse again, and inform Sargon that it's //your// fault his plans have failed!"

Ana hesitated. 'You wouldn't do that,' she growled. 'I haven't hurt anyone. I haven't broken your stupid truce. I--'

Whatever she'd been about to say was cut off by the arrival of Wendigo, who stopped in mid-air to hover before her. 'Ana! Get back to your dam.n post!' he bellowed. 'You care about Sargon so much, yet you keep disobeying him? Get out of here!'

Ana hissed indignantly. 'I don't take orders from you, little worm! But thank you for coming - now I can fight someone without breaking the truce!' With a feral smile, she threw herself at Wendigo and the two dragons started grappling in mid-air.

'Maybe we should get out of here?' shouted Ivy.

Dianne: "You all go. I'll make sure you're not followed." {Dianne takes out her phone, videos Wendigo fighting Ana, and sends it to Sargon with the caption "About to re release curse 'cause Ana's a bitch. This one's on her."}

'I do not need your advice--' Sargon began, and then his phone chimed. He took it out of his pocket and looked at Dianne's message. His eye twitched.

//Anastasia, return here immediately!// he called to her, making the words into a powerful telepathic blast strong enough to hurt anyone who heard it.

Ana froze in mid-air. 'I...' she began, then sighed. 'I must return...' Looking depressed, she turned and soared away back towards Atlas Tower, her ears drooping.

However, the end of the fight had come too late for Wendigo. Ana had struck him under the jaw with a sweeping blow, slicing open his throat. The smaller dragon fell and crashed onto the ground close to the cars, no longer moving.

Grimm just smiled knowingly. 'That silly girl giving you trouble again?' he said to Sargon.

{Dianne walks over to Wendigo and taps him with her foot. } "Hey, pal, you still breathing?"

Wendigo raised his head a little and stared up at Dianne - or rather, through her. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. 'Sorry, Fred,' he whispered. 'Couldn't keep my promise after all.' His head slumped back to the ground. He was dead.

Ivy, who had sped out of the city as soon as Dianne told her to leave, stopped her car and looked out the window, trying to see if Dianne was coming back.

Sargon glared at Grimm. 'It is none of your concern. I have to go and talk to her.' With that, he turned and swept away in search of Ana.

Jerry's convoy continued on towards the Sovereign. Dianne walked up to Wendigo and sighed.} "Well, he'll make a better draugr than he did a Dragon. " {With that, she grabbed his tail and started dragging him off. }

Ivy kept her car close to the others. She drove with her window rolled down and her radio turned up to max volume, so the music blasted out across the otherwise quiet landscape.

----

Sargon looked for Ana, eventually finding her perched on the very top of the tower. However, he hesitated upon noticing how... downtrodden she appeared. He decided to give her some space and leave his reprimands until later.

Ana sighed to herself. Her life meant nothing anymore. Sargon didn't love her and never would. She had no friends. She was trapped in this pathetic, mangy dragon's body. She wasn't herself anymore. //Is there any point in me existing anymore? I'm not even ALIVE... Maybe I should just end it, and save myself the pain of knowing he hates me...//

(Huh, that's basically what Magnus said. I guess he portrayed Ana perfectly.)

{As Jerry's convoy went towards the Sovereigns, Steve, with Grandpa Joe and Armin, headed to Riverside.}
Steve: "How you holdin' up, Armin?"

(Yeah, Magnus did pretty well. X) Ana wouldn't normally act like this, but let's be honest, she doesn't have much to live for anymore.)

'Hm?' Armin glanced up in surprise; he'd been staring out the window and not paying attention. 'Oh. I'm all right, I think. By tomorrow morning, it should have healed - well, enough for me to walk, at least.'

Once he was sure Dianne had left, Sargon took a quick trip down to the city gates to see whether Wendigo was dead or alive. There was no sign of a dragon's body lying on the streets - just copious amounts of fresh blood glistening wetly on the road. He sighed and started on his way back home.

//This may be the last straw,// he thought grimly. //The others will not tolerate Ana killing one of our own... Especially Frederick...//

{Dianne indeed left. She was flying away from Shacklestone with Wendigo's body in tow. She did not raise him right away. It seems she had plans for this one.}
(Yeeeaaaah, Fred might not like what Dianne has planned for his dragon buddy. )

{Steve nods.} "Good. From what Dianne said, she may need you soon. Once Sargon leaves, she's going after the city. "

{As Sargon was walking, something could be heard. His own voice. Not far away, Magnus sat with the tape recorder, replaying a part of the prank call. The part where Sargon said he did care for Ana, but she needed to find someone else to love. However, there was no mockery on Magnus' face, only confusion.}

Armin settled himself more comfortably in the back of the car. 'Good. I'll help any way I can. It sounds like the war against Sargon is going to be over soon, and I'd rather die than not be a part of it.'

Sargon stopped dead in the middle of the road and turned slowly, seeing Magnus there. 'Why are you here?' he said softly. 'Why have you not left with your friends?' His crimson eyes went to the tape recorder in Magnus's hands, narrowing slightly as he heard his own voice coming from it. 'And what are you doing?'

(Fred is not gonna be happy about any of this.)

{Magnus stops the recorder.} "I'm here to ensure you hold up your end of the deal. I leave at midnight. As for what I'm doing....well, I'm listening back to our earlier conversation, and I'm trying to understand what Ana really means to you. You don't love her, but you claim to have some sorts of feelings for her. What is that, exactly, if I might ask?"

Sargon stared at him for a long moment, not speaking. Then he said, in a cold voice: 'I do not 'love' her. She is a loyal ally. I trusted her more than anyone else because I always knew she would not fail me... Though I can't say I trust her very much anymore...' His expression darkened. 'Perhaps you're right, however. Maybe I do have 'some sort of feelings' for her. It is hard to work with someone for over two hundred years and not feel a kind of connection with them... Maybe even a kind of friendship.'

{Magnus chuckles and leans back.} "Then let me be the first to say, you are a shitty friend. You led that poor girl on for two centuries. You knew she loved you, and you let her have false hope and for what? So she could be a more obedient pawn? That's really crappy of you, //friend\\."

'I never pretended that I returned her feelings,' he said coolly. 'It was her own fault for seeing something that wasn't there. For expecting something I could not offer her. And I am a bad friend? That is not surprising. I have never had a friend before. Perhaps I do /not/ consider Ana a friend after all, and I simply value her as a reliable minion.'

He shrugged slightly, as if to say he really didn't know either way, nor did he particularly care.

{Magnus just smiles.} "Heheheh, how about that? Dianne was right about you. Don't play dumb. You may not have confirmed that you had feelings for her, but you didn't deny them either. If you didn't deny, that gives the false hope that maybe you do, and that is the cruelest thing you could have done. In the hopes that maybe you would love her back, she took the one step she could never take back. She //died// for you. Does that mean nothing to you?"

A flicker of anger crossed the vampire's face before he forced his features into their usual expressionless mask.

'I don't think that my treatment towards my people concerns you,' he said coldly. 'You and I stand on opposite sides. We want control of Vallis; you want to stop us. Ana is your enemy, too; why do you care about her? And I have no reason to regret her death - not when I can raise her again as many times as I like.'

This, of course, was a lie. He had regretted Ana's death, and his part in it, since the moment it happened. He knew she deserved more consideration than he gave her. But he simply didn't know how to give it to her. He was too cold, too unaccustomed to caring about anyone.

{Magnus grins at Sargon's fleeting anger.} "Because unlike you, I have empathy. Sure, we're enemies, and I think Ana is an arrogant wench who's blinded by her love for you, but at the same time, I pity her. Her story, as it has unfolded before me, is a tragic one. One of love and loss, and of betrayal, and with an end she didn't deserve. She wasn't evil, just nieve and misguided. Consumed entirely by a cause, and by a man...{Motions to Sargon}...who was more than willing to take advantage of her foolish, trusting heart. After two hundred years, I would think she's deserving of your pity as well. But alas, nothing from you but two hundred years of a stolid expression."

Dark Brink growls savagely into the empty dimension Dianne had shoved him into, pacing around with his tail lashing from side to side.
//Who does she think she is, talking to me as if she's the more powerful being? She may be able to manipulate me, but so can I. All that dark power she possesses is just asking for me to take it and use it for something more worthwhile than a curse and a few dragurs. I /need/ it.//
He pauses, grin widening into a fanged spiral.
//I just need to empower my allies. Bring Sargon under my power will let me possess all the dark energy he's created and kept over the years. And Mortikai...he won't let me possess him without good reason to. If I could pin a little accident on Dianne and her crew, oh, say a...death, of some sort, and his anger will be enough to let me bring our darkness together and take whatever we please!//
A purr that sounds more like a throaty growl emits from the malevolent spirit in content at his plan.
//Then again, that little one...she still needs to realise her true place in my plan. Oh well. That can wait. For now, I'll make my way back to the Tower and wait for Sargon.//
As he prepares to hop through the dimensions, he smiles to himself.
//Oh, I do love a good monologue, especially when there's no one else around.//

( @King OOOooooooohhhh. Exciting! :D)

Sargon's eyes narrowed. 'You lecture me on the way I treat my allies? I see no healthy relationships on /your/ side, either, Magnus. Come now, don't pretend. You and Dianne... Does she care for you at all, or are you merely a servant to her? Does she value your opinion? Care about your feelings? I think not. I heard that there was /quite/ an argument between you, Dianne, and that traitor Armin after your ridiculous prank call. I heard that she would have killed him, had you not intervened... Perhaps I am inconsiderate to Ana, but at least I've never threatened my own people.'

He slowly moved closer to Magnus and walked in a circle around him, his silver cape swishing about his ankles.

(Brink's planning some super evil things...
-RR)

{Magnus grins, following Sargon with his eyes.} "I won't deny, Dianne has//major// anger issues and absolutely no respect for Armin. I used to think she felt nothing for me, but as I found, she does value my opinion, otherwise, she would have cast me aside and ripped him asunder. Furthermore, she told me herself that once you lie dead at her feet, I get to go see my family in the afterlife. Dianne has been called many things over the years, but dishonest has never been one of them."

'Really? How interesting. I always thought she cared about nobody.' Sargon raised an eyebrow. 'Now, as enlightening as this conversation has been, I really ought to get back to work... Good day to you.' He nodded briefly and started to walk away.

//I should go see Ana,// he thought. Talking with Magnus hadn't made him realise anything he hadn't already known... But he had been treating Ana poorly for too long, and she WAS loyal to him. It was about time he apologised, and told her that she was free to leave him if she so desired.

{Magnus waved Sargon off.} "You might be a maniac, but at least you're polite. That's more than most can say. See ya."

Ignoring Magnus's last comment - largely because of it calling him a maniac - Sargon hurried back to the tower, searching for Ana. He quickly spotted her, sitting up on the roof where she had been the last time he saw her. Seeing the black dragon with the familiar witch's hat, he felt a pang of disquiet. He had always prided himself on treating his minions with respect. But Magnus was right; he had been unfair to Ana. He should have told her a long time ago that he didn't share her feelings - the only reason he hadn't done so was because he'd been afraid she might leave him.

{Meanwhile, back at Riverside, Steve and co. arrive. Going around to help Armin off the car, Steve opens the door.} "Ok, let's get you inside, champ."

{Dianne could be seen outside her workshop, ordering her draugrs to drag the bodies from Shacklestone off the trucks and into the surrounding buildings. Wendigo's body, along with half a dozen other dragon bodies, and Ana's old form, were dragged into a warehouse. It seems she had plans for them.}

Armin hauled himself out of the back of the car, then leaned against it for support, trying to keep his weight off his injured side. 'Hey,' he said slowly, looking past Steve at where he could see Dianne's workshop a short distance away. 'Isn't that the Wendigo guy?'

{Steve looks over.} "Yeah, it is. What happened? Did Dianne kill him? I thought he was a friendly?"

'No.' His expression darkened. 'I'll bet Ana did it. I saw them fighting just before we left.' He sighed and looked around at the almost deserted village. 'Frederick won't be happy. Anyway, shall we go inside somewhere?'

Atlas Tower was tall; climbing all the stairs up to the roof took time. But Sargon didn't even think of shifting into a bird and simply flying to the top as any other vampire would have done. His mind was too fixed on thoughts of Ana, and the future, and everything he'd seen lately.

He climbed onto the roof and stood beside her. It was cold and windy up here, but neither of them noticed. After a while, Ana turned her head and gave a respectful half-bow, though looked reluctant in doing so.

'My Lord. Do you have a new mission for me...?'

'No, Ana. I came to talk... And to say things that ought to have been said a long time ago.'

He saw her ears press back, warily and a little suspiciously. She had never heard him talk to her this way before. 'M-my Lord...?'

{Steve nods.} "That's right, now I remember. Oof. Those two seemed close. To lose your friend, then watch him get turned into a monster, can't imagine it...C'mon, let's get inside."

Armin nodded in return and started out towards the hotel they'd all been living in, leaning on Steve for support. 'Yeah. I don't know how close they were, but I think they've been working together for a long time. I don't think he's going to be thrilled by whatever Dianne's planning to do with the body.'

(I've been awake since 4.30AM. Save me.)

(OH MY GOD RADIANT GO THE HECK TO SLEEP)

(I WAS ASLEEP
THEN I WOKE UP AT 4.30AM AND COULDN'T GO BACK TO SLEEP)

(GO TO SLEEP NOW THEN)

(IT'S 5.45PM
WHO SLEEPS AT 5.45PM)

(Uh, hey, does anyone else want to post the RP room tomorrow because I'm lazy? There's no need to draw a full cover, since I know there's not much time. It could just be a picture with the words 'Shacklestone RP'. XD)

(I'll do it. It will be appropriately themed. >:D)

{Steve: "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let's just focus on getting you healed up. Big day tomorrow."

(Alrighty, I'll be looking forward to it. >:) )

Armin continued watching Wendigo's body for a moment, then looked away. 'You're right.' Though he still wondered how Frederick was going to react to this.

The hotel seemed quiet when they got inside, which was to be expected, since as everyone except them and Dianne had left for Sovereign City.

(Well, Jerry's mom and a few odd cousins stayed behind, but not many.)

Ana just stared at Sargon. She clearly hadn't been expecting anything like this and didn't know how to respond at all.

Sargon was quiet for a moment. Then he said: 'Recent events have made me realise things, Ana. In short, I realise that I have treated you unfairly... I allowed you to believe that there was some chance of a relationship between us, when I should have told you long ago that it was impossible.'

Ana averted her gaze, flushing slightly. Sargon had never openly talked about her feelings for him; not like this. 'I-it doesn't matter, My Lord. It was my own fault for being so stupid... I should have noticed...'

'No, Ana. Maybe you should have noticed... But I made things worse. So I am apologising. For every unfair thing I've done to you. You are free to leave my army, if staying here is too difficult for you.'

Ana didn't seem to know what to say. She blinked several times, watching Sargon as he gazed out across the half-ruined city.

(Oooh, OK. I'll just say he didn't see anyone when he first entered the hotel.)

{Steve helped Armin to a room on the bottom floor, set him down on the bed, and handed him the remote for the television.}
"Alright, just relax. See if there's a movie on."

'Thanks.' He switched the TV on and started idly flipping through the channels. He paused on the news channel, where a Sovereign City reporter was talking about how an army of 'hideous monsters' had taken over Shacklestone, and how the King was afraid they might decide to attack his city too. 'Well, they're a few days late reporting this, but at least they know about it...'

{Steve chuckles.} "Heh, wonder what the report will be when my nephew gets there. Maybe Jerry will be on tv."

'He's probably going to cause an uproar,' remarked Armin. 'Seeing as he's going to tell the Sovereigners that Sargon really is coming for them. I'll bet they'll all evacuate the city, and Sargon will get there to find it empty.'

"Everyone but the soldiers, I hope." {Steve says.} "That's the plan. Deny him entry to the Sovereign city, cut off his escape, and with no resources and no where to go, either force him into surrender or finish him off on the plains."

'I'm sure he'll try to pull a trick out of his sleeve when he realises he's cornered,' said Armin. 'He's not the type to just give up, from what I know about him. He'll keep fighting until the end.'

"I'm sure he will." {Steve says lowly.} "I only hope our people over there can handle it."

'Oh, I'm sure they will. We have Dianne on our side - she could probably obliterate Sargon's army by herself if she decided to. Though I want to get the chance to kill him myself, personally.'

{Steve nods.} "Seems like he has a long list of enemies. That said, I hope you get your chance."

'Thank you,' said Armin. 'And he does. But he has lots of devoted followers too - people like Anastasia. Well, maybe not ALL of them want to sleep with him, but they're still insanely loyal to him.'

{Steve nods.} "I guess we'll have to deal with them in time. Anyone you know of that might cause an issue for us?"

Armin thought about it. 'Weeell... They're not as bad as Ana, but I remember a few people who are loyal to him. There's a dragonshifter called Hurricane who's been with him since the beginning. And his whole necromancer team are pretty loyal to him, from what I recall. There's also some people who AREN'T, and I'm going to try and get them out, if I see them.'

'I-I won't leave, My Lord,' said Ana after a long pause. 'I know now that you can never love me...' She sniffed noisily. 'But you still saved my life, all those years ago... I want to repay the favour.'

'Ana, you have /died/ helping me in my mission to take Shacklestone. Any duty you had to me was fulfilled a long time ago.'

'No, My Lord. I still feel the need to stay with you, to help you finish what we started... Besides, even if I left, where would I go? What would I do?' She looked down at herself with undisguised loathing. 'I'm a horrible monster...'

There was another long pause, during which the only sound to be heard was the cold whistling of the wind over the tower.

After what felt like a long time, Sargon spoke again. 'Ana,' he said, slowly, 'you do realise that there is a high chance we might never finish this? We are running out of options now... That contagious curse could have killed us, and the only way to end it was to put ourselves at Dianne's mercy. Now, we must march on to the Old Kingdom. If we can take the city, we will have a chance. But I've no doubt that Dianne and her little army are planning something to stop us.'

Ana gazed at him in horror. Then her face fell and she looked away with a sigh.

'I had a feeling,' she whispered. 'But to hear you say it...'

He gave a tiny shrug. 'I am only speaking the truth, Ana. Perhaps I am wrong. Maybe we will survive this after all. But if there's ever a time when our defeat looks inevitable... Please take as many of our troops as you can, and leave. Run away to a place they can't find you. I will not have my people die if I can help it.'