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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 3:41:46 GMT -6
Maricul replied with a slight nod and a regrettable expression on her face as she scooted closer to Zira on the bed and rested a hand on the back of Zira’s palm in an attempt to comfort the woman. There was nobody around to comfort Maricul when she had to deal with terrible news, she wasn’t going to let anyone else feel that way, especially when she held strong feelings for them. Using her other hand Maricul brushed a string of Zira hair behind her ear while continuing to comfort her.
“I know it’s hard. It always is but I’m here for you, Zira, like I promised I would be. And I’ll do everything in my power to help you any way that I can.” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 3:57:03 GMT -6
The sensation from before happened all over again. Zira tensed up at Maricul's touch and soon relaxed, enjoying the intimacy even though deep down inside she knew it was wrong. Or was it? The Firebird didn't know anymore and as much as she was tempted to allow Maricul to kiss her, Zira remembered that she was feeling very vulnerable right now and the last thing she needed was to allow the Seductress, of all people, to take advantage of that. The Firebird quickly sat up from the bed and walked over to the wall across from it, pacing slightly back and forth as she would move on to the next and one of the most important questions.
"The End. What can you tell me about her?"
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 4:08:20 GMT -6
“An old pro who’s a beast with a sniper but in danger of keeling over any second.”
Maricul had purposely overlooked the fact that Zira said “her” indicating that The End of the Arashi Trio was a woman, unlike the previous two who were both males. She looked over to Zira to catch her reaction before quickly correcting herself.
“Oh you mean The Arashi. I’d thought your sister knew everything there is to know by now. She’s practically a broken record about it. The End is, as her name suggests, the end of all life. Once she steps into our plane of existence everything around us will begin to unravel.” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 4:36:08 GMT -6
Zira gave Maricul a confused look, raising up an eyebrow at her and wondering what the hell she was going on about before she finally got the subject back on track.
"My sister is not a broken record."
With that out of the way, The End, the end of all things. Well with how the Arashi were for the past couple of years it was only a matter of time before one of them was going to factor in on the end of the world, or the universe in this case. What shocked her the most was that Lord Yahweh, the god Miracle praised, created them. What was Yahweh thinking and was there more than just one incarnation of the Arashi or were they universal creations that spawned from Genesis? First thing first though.
"How do we stop it? And none of that "you can't stop it" bullshit please. Yahweh wouldn't have created something this powerful without a means to fight it if it ever rebelled against him."
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 5:04:41 GMT -6
“Funny you should mention Yahweh.”
Maricul stood up from the bed and walked over to Zira, standing next to her now as she folded her arms in front of her chest and leaned up against the wall.
“There is a way to fight The End but for security reasons I can’t tell you here, we’d have to go back to Utopia and I get the feeling you aren’t ready for that yet.”
Utopia was a place of mixed feelings and bad memories for The Firebird. A place where she finally submitted to The Seductress’ seduction and later lashed out at her with the rest of her crew, a crew that now contained a Judas in their midst. But what she knew, what she had, it was far too valuable to bring up here where they could be lurkers among them without their knowing about it.
“But don’t worry you’ll find out soon enough.” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 5:19:46 GMT -6
Funny? What was so funny about it and why did Maricul sudden change in behavior creep her out so much? She had gone from the mystical reserved individual to an almost normal human being in a casual conversation in a matter of a few seconds. They were talking about the end of the world for Christ's sake, where was this change coming from? In the interest of business Zira would just keep the conversation on what she needed to know. It wasn't everyday the really powerful beings that knew more than you was willing to disclose information on various and very important subjects without expecting nigh impossible tasks to be performed in exchange.
"Where do you and your realm fall into all of this? What happens to Maricul and Utopia if The End gets her way?"
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 5:46:15 GMT -6
“My realm isn’t invincible, Zira. It would fall like any other if The End prevails in her duty.”
This would come as a shock to any that knew Maricul well enough. The once proud and stubborn Maricul so casually conceding to the fact that something like this could happen to a product of her own doing. Zira Firestone was one of few associated with the likes of The Night Angel and The Legendary Dark Knight she felt comfortable enough to admit this to. For now Zira wouldn’t forward anything she learned from Maricul as she would be suspicious of everyone in her inner circle as long as the prophecy on her death remained uncertain.
“I on the other hand am a different matter.”
Maricul pressed off of the wall and unfolded her arms, slowly walking back over to the bed as she continued speaking.
“I am a paradox. A contradiction to the established order. My very survival of The Battle For Aircano is a testament to that fact.”
Halfway through her sentence Maricul turned around to face Zira once again, now standing to the right hand side of the bed where Zira once sat.
“If The End and I had a confrontation it would be like an unstoppable force meeting an immoveable object. Now many assume such a meeting would cause a catastrophe but in reality the two would just bounce off each other and go on their separate ways. A stalemate in other words. I am no threat to The End…. directly, that is.” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 6:05:48 GMT -6
Zira was taken aback by this. She was expecting Maricul to go on a long-winded speech about how she and Utopia could overcome any obstacle, including the Arashi, but instead the Seductress was actually acting humbled and more willing to face facts. Was this another side-effect of what she has become? Did her expanded understanding of life and the universe help Maricul to better understand these things? To not be so stubborn. It was amazing just baring witness to this and if she did tell anyone in her inner circle, they wouldn't believe a single word.
"What about indirectly?"
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 6:23:27 GMT -6
“Indirectly?” repeated Maricul as she smiled widely, picking up the Force Edge from the bed and pulling it out of its sheathe slightly in order to admire the beauty of the blade. “Indirectly I’m going to be a pain in her ass.”
Maricul drew the Force Edge completely out of it sheathe and began to swing it around as if it was an extension of her arm than a weapon. As if she had wielded it for centuries instead of only a couple of seconds showing how quickly she could adapt to a foreign weapon. It was the first time Maricul’s hand has ever touched the handle of such a remarkable blade. Mirror Edge notwithstanding, but it was only a replica.
“This is a beautiful blade. I have a friend back at Utopia, name’s Eva, she has a perfect replica of this very sword. She was grown in a laboratory back in your sister’s realm by a faction called The Sisterhood of Vampires. A clone they made from Sparda’s DNA after retrieving his blood in battle. The Demon Assassin. Eva possesses the experience and memories of Sparda but they have two very different approaches in battle. It’s surreal to think they’re cut from the same cloth.”
Maricul put the blade back in its sheathe and down on the bed before Zira got too testy over The Seductress holding the sword she carried with pride. The weapon that acted as a beacon of hope wherever she went.
“Is there anything else you wish to ask me of The End or should we switch topics to General Vulture?” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 6:37:15 GMT -6
Zira's eyes darkened at the sight of Maricul holding the Force Edge and she took a step forward before Maricul started swinging it around and talking. She had heard all about Eva from the others after multiple conversations with the group. The Sisterhood and the Sparda clone wasn't mentioned often and probably due to how much of an impact they left on them. When Maricul asked if they should change subjects Zira remembered one more question she wanted to ask.
"What role does my sister play in this coming conflict? What must she do once The End finally arrives to bring all life to a screeching halt?"
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 7:01:47 GMT -6
And thus came the most important question of all. What role did Amoura play in the battle of fate. It was interesting how everything came back to her, a fact that made The Paradox furious. Maricul has sacrificed just as much as she, endured just as much as she if not more, and yet fate chose The Night Angel over The Seductress. Where was she when The Spokesman summoned his demons against Genesis? Where was she when the Ajerian King rained down his wrath to countless innocence or when the Ookami wrote her name into legend? Nowhere to be found. While many of these threats never stepped foot onto Genesis they played a critical role in Maricul’s development and to those around her. They were The Arashi and Ghost of Legion to her Night Angel and Legendary Dark Knight. Yet it was Amoura meant to carry the cross of fate and Sparda to lead the way? How insulting. But Maricul kept those thoughts to herself. Now was not the time to disclose such things. She would wait for Amoura herself to come to Utopia before letting those feelings finally come out. For now….
“The Ghost of Legion wishes me to bestow unto your sister the means to fight The End. They believe that with it she can challenge fate and stop what’s to come…. Tajna Rasha gives her far more credit than I do.” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 7:35:46 GMT -6
"Amoura has to face her alone?"
Zira knew whatever her role was wouldn't be good but this was even worse than she had feared. How the hell was she supposed to face something this powerful on her own? The Firebird knew Amoura was capable of handling herself but there were just some things you didn't tackle on by yourself and the second aspect was a large example of that.
"No I won't allow it. We're a team. We'll face this thing together I don't care what fate says."
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 7:45:59 GMT -6
“Have you forgotten what we just discussed? Someone is preparing to betray you and it might very well be your own flesh and blood and you’re talking about going to war with your brothers in arms?”
It would be a cruel, ironic fate if Amoura turned out to be The Betrayer after being the victim of it for so many years and it could also have a serious consequence to her being meant to stop The End. But no matter. When worse comes to worst Maricul will send another just as capable as performing the task if Amoura could not be trusted in the role.
“Not to mention that it doesn’t matter if you’re betrayed before The End or not. There is only one known way to fight The End and I have it in my possession. If you’re not wielding it then the only thing you and your friends are going to be able to do when she comes knocking on your doorstep is run. The End isn’t like Veran or Aper, she can’t be challenged in the same way they were. The sooner you accept that the easier it will be.” |
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Post by Zira Firestone on Sept 13, 2011 8:09:35 GMT -6
Zira released a growl in response and then a wail of anger before punching a hole in the wall. None of the others must have been present in the building because if they were, they would have been coming around to this part of the manor in a matter of no time at all. The Firebird took big, deep breaths before glaring back at the Seductress.
"Then let talk about people we can take on. Tell me everything you know about General Vulture and his army in Isafaro."
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Post by Ayen on Sept 13, 2011 22:54:04 GMT -6
Maricul looked concern at Zira outburst, wanting to hold her and comfort her but knowing that Zira would only reject her at this point so she kept her distance, allowing The Firebird to calm her nerves before moving on to the next topic.
“I don’t know what I could tell you that you don’t already know by now. General Vulture is an insane dictator who thinks he can take on the entire universe. Being on top of the mountain for so long will do that to a human mind. While his weakness is in his ego I wouldn’t underestimate him or his armies. They are very capable of giving you guys a hard time.”
Maricul looked back over to the hole and then Zira’s hand to see if it was okay. It was a foolish notion as Zira was quite capable of healing far more serious wounds but emotions dictated actions which was not always logical or well thought out. Snapping herself out of it Maricul decided now was the time to inform Zira there was much more riding on this war than who owned the tower.
“Make no mistake though. There is far more at stake in the coming war than just who possesses the Downward Spiral. The Trial of Fates has begun.” |
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