Lost Ruins of Chaos Rising

"Oh you little piece of crap..." Obsidian growled when the pixie came back and slashed him across the nose. Immediately, he sunk into the shadows and shot towards where the pixie had darted off to. Being faster, he caught up to her quickly. Obsidian overtook the pixie and jumped out of the shadows in front of her, pinning the pixie to the ground with his paw. Ignoring the fact that his nose was bleeding, he glared at the pixie who decided to sign a death wish. "That was not a smart move on your part, pixie." He growled, his bladed tail coming around, the point stopping at the pixie's face. "Now then, anything to say before I decapitate you?" He growled. It was obvious that the pixie had ticked him off.

Okay, maybe not the best idea. Rakata struggled under Obsidian's paw, although it didn't really do her much use. She was pinned down pretty darn well. She would use her thorn, except for the fact that the arm holding the thorn was pinned underneath the paw. And spells needed two hands to be casted. Starting to get genuinely scared at that point, especially with the threat of decapitation, she began sweating nervously. She could see no safe way out of the scenario, which was a first for her. She started trembling, her breathing becoming slightly ragged. Struggling more, since that was really the only thing she could do, she really really hoped he wasn't serious about decapitation. Because if he was, she was done for. And he sounded pretty darn serious.

Cheetah jumped into the air and flew over to where Obsidian kept the pixie pinned. Landing next to Obsidian, she crossed her arms. "Obsidian, it was just a scratch. You've taken worse." She said, defending the pixie. "I don't take lightly to pixies slicing me across the nose." Obsidian growled in reply to Cheetah, to which she raised an eyebrow. "Yea, but hey, she's just a pixie. Kinda mean to be picking on someone who's just eight inches." Cheetah said, and Obsidian took his tail blade away from the pixies head. "Take this as a warning, pixie." He hissed, a dangerous tone in his voice. Lifting his paw, Obsidian glared at the pixie before heading back to where everyone else was.

"Sorry about that, Obsidian's kinda a jerk, but he's the only one who knows Zerinika's weakness, so we gotta stick with him." Cheetah said, picking the pixie up from the ground. "And plus, I reckon pixies are kinda cute."

Rakata breathed a sigh of relief, nervously rubbing the back of her head. "T-Thanks." She stuttered, taking a moment to calm herself down. She was still shaking, despite the fact that she miraculously wasn't going to lose her head. She should really learn to be more careful. "W-Why are all you guys banded t-together out here a-anyway?" She asked, still stuttering. She was also still trying to process why she still had her head. "And who's Z-Zerinika?"

"Well, apparently we're headed to get some rest and gather information down here." Cheetah said, shrugging. "And Zerinika? Two words; Pure Evil. Seriously. She's the leader of the infamous group Zerinika's Rouges, and apparently has a grudge against Obsidian because he's the only one who knows her weakness." Cheetah said, waiting for the group to catch up.

"O-Oh." Rakata managed to reply, feeling her neck with her hand as if to be sure it was still there. She had a sinking feeling that if she was caught by Zerinika she would lose alot more than just her head, which wasn't exactly the most comforting thought in the world. Shakily standing up in Cheetah's hands she gave her wings a couple flaps to be sure they were still working.

"I suppose I should introduce myself. The name's Cheetah, what's yours?" Cheetah asked, smiling at the pixie. "Oh and so you know, I wouldn't get on Obsidian's bad side again, he used to be a part of Zerinika's Rouges, but Zerinika exiled him for knowing her weakness, and she sent her rouges after him to try kill him, unfortunately they failed." She said, smirking. Obsidian just happened to walk past then as well. "I heard that." He growled, glaring at the pixie before continuing.

Finally getting over her near-decapitation scare Rakata fluttered off of Cheetah's hand, hovering a couple inches above it. She glanced warily at Obisdian as he passed them by. "I see..." Rakata mumbled, slowly returning her gaze back to Cheetah. "You wouldn't mind if I tagged along, right?" It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.

"Sure, the more the merrier right?" Cheetah said, tagging along with Gravity and Cosmic as they walked past.

Jest yawned, his head having cleared up somewhat. Distracted by the scene in front of him Jest let go of Starshooter and made his way towards Cheetah and her new companion, grinning when he saw the angered state of Obsidian. "If anyone can make Mimic that angry and still live to brag about it then they're more than welcome to team." Jest smirked, offering his input on the situation as he drew level with them.
"I'm Jest, another one who's perceived as unwanted by the group. Or at least thats what i'v came to the conclusion of"

((OOC: This is gonna be a short post, I'm kinda busy >.< OH! And I may be introducing a new character when I introduce Cyan as well! Anyone got any ideas on who it could be? >:3 She's gonna be the one to be Zerinika's final downfall *evil laugher*))

"Yea, well, she wouldn't be alive had I of not interfered." Cheetah said, shrugging.

Rakata glanced at Jest as he approached. "Jest, huh?" she echoed, ignoring Cheetah's comment. "What makes you unwanted?" She was curious as to why he felt like that.
~~~~
Vienna glanced up at Jest and Cheetah, and apparently the newest member of the group. She was rather small, and of little concern to Vienna. Returning her gaze to the ground, she began drowning in her thoughts once more.

"Because he's an arrogant pain in the ass." Gravity said, glaring at Jest. Cosmic grinned and raced up to where Obsidian was. "So, How long do ya think the pixie will last?" He said, and Obsidian grinned. "Not long if she continues to be as arrogant and annoying as she is now." Cosmic snickered at Obsidian's remark, and the two continued to pass smart-assed comments about the pixie as they made their way towards the city.

Jest smiled innocently down at the absol, holding hands up in surrender as if to prove he meant no harm. "Pretty much that. Seems everyone is either on your side, or against you," he shot a meaningful glance at Obsidian and Cosmic, not having to warn the pixie to watch her back. "Spiteful idiots stroking each others egos. Even I didn't have this much trouble when I joined.... must of been a delayed reaction"
Jest took a few steps back in case Gravity decided to retaliate for insulting her brother. 'If you think about it, the only neutral party is Sempai'

Gravity growled at Jest, but said nothing more, almost as though she agreed. Starshooter walked behind everyone, a small panel of blue magic appeared in his palm, showing a map of The Last Citadel. "We seem to be nearing the Clock Tower. Wasn't that were the Time Spirit showed us that first vision?" He said, walking up next to Jest. Obsidian stopped, looking up towards where the Clock Tower stood. "Cosmic, is there anything up there?" He said, and the umbreon's eyes glowed for a brief moment, before going back to their normal color. "I sense a single presence up there, it definitely has something that is enchanted, it gives off a very powerful aura, though not powerful enough to be a Ruin Spirit." Cosmic said, and a green dot on Starshooter's magic map confirmed this.

Jest nodded thoughtfully, looking at the map and comparing the look of the tower in the vision and what he could see of the one standing before them. "We should keep moving, if whatever is in the clock tower our enemy it has the advantage. You can see all of the Lost Citadel from there, it's likely the creature is already aware of our presence." Jest announced, tracing a path on Starshooters map.
"If we head to the castle there are wards that prevent enemies from entering or listening in when activated. Should whoever is up there fail to reveal themselves before then, at least we'll be safe to regain our energy."
He didn't have to give voice to what would happen should the stranger attack. Shoving his hands down his pockets Jest grasped the bone shard, unwilling for things to come to that. His tail rested in his shoulder, tapping mindlessly against the cold steel of his right shoulder as he glanced back and forth between the map and tower.

Cyan stood on the Clock Tower, surveying the strange rag-tag group. He held his sword, Runescathe, over his shoulder, the enchanted metal shone with the cerulean hues of the runes that danced over it's surface. "Let them rest up. This must be the group that has been rumored to be housing the Exiled Rouge Obsidian. If they are that group, I must tell Zen. She will want to know that Obsidian still lives." He said, jumping down from the tower. As he jumped, a small shred of light hit Runescathe, sending a flash of metal through the damp chill air. Sliding on the roof of the castle, Cyan jumped down onto the ground, racing towards the training grounds, where Zen would most probably be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Obsidian's eyes locked onto the flash of metal, it seemed to be traveling towards their destination. "Jest, did you see that? The flash from the Time Spirit's vision." The vulpine said, watching as a dark shape slid along the castle roof and out of sight.

((OOC: Yay! Introducing Cyan into the roleplay! He's gonna have quite a distance between the group and him for a bit, everyone will meet him when they get to the castle.))

Jest tensed, feeling a strange tug of power as he locked eyes with on the fleetingly illuminated metal blade. "Yeah" He replied, voice slightly rugged, as if something was wearing him down. 'This feeling must be connected with that enchanted item, there's something about it that sets my teeth on edge'. A sense of dread built up inside Jest as he felt the vision being set into motion. What could that flash have meant? Was there something overlooked in the vision?

Cyan raced through the district, towards the training grounds. Running past startled citizens, and annoyed guards, Cyan made his way to the training grounds quickly. Skidding to a halt at the entrance, he walked up to where a Crested Serpentine coated in chainmail armor stood, training with a bow. She stopped at the sound of Cyan's footsteps coming closer. "So they're here. Where are they headed?" The female said and Cyan leaned against one of the climbing frames. "Towards the castle." He said and the Crested Serpentine nodded. "Go. Wait for them in the castle. Wherever they go, Zerinika can't be far behind." Cyan nodded at the female's words and raced off, towards the castle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Obsidian looked back at the group. "C'mon. We have to hurry. Whatever that flash was, it could be dangerous. The faster we get to the castle, the faster we get to safely." Obsidian said, his pace changing from a steady walk to a fast paced run.

Nodding, Jest quickened his pace until he was running alongside Obsidian. "So much drama recently. When all this dies down I am going to be unnecessarily bored" He said, voice back to its usual amused tone as his mood changed once again. The various scents and sounds of the citadel rushed over him as they made their way out of the labyrinth, a satisfying change from the damp, moss ridden corridors and chambers they had passed through.

Obsidian rolled his eyes at Jest's remark. "That is, if you survive long enough for the drama to cease." Obsidian said, skidding to a sudden halt as something blue flashed by at fairly high speeds, accompanied by the same flash of metal that they saw at the clock tower. Starshooter raced up, looking rather confused. "Something just shorted out my magic. The only thing that can short out my magic is another being or object that has the magical enchantment that blocks all magical things." He said, and Cosmic nodded in agreement. "Me and Gravity can't use our power's either. Something's definitely up." Obsidian looked to Jest. "Any ideas on what the hell is happening? Not everyday that everyone's magic is shorted out."

((OOC: Dun dun duuuuuuun))

"Trust me, you won't be saying goodbye to me so soon after the funs just getting started" Jest retorted, halting as an influx of energy hit him, draining and rendering him powerless.
Jest gritted his teeth, running a hand through his hair as he contemplated how utterly obvious the whole thing had been. idiot! of course there were signs. "Let me explain. The object causing us so much grief at the current situation is most probably a device created by rivals of the ancestors. I remember witnessing technologies built to disable our power sources. Normally such things wouldn't affect those not linked to the energy cores built or connected to the ancestors, yet it seems you guys can feed off the power emanating from inside the ruins which in turn links you to the core. That's my guess, cause i sure don't know anything that would leave not only magic wielders but myself- who has no affinity with magic- powerless" He explained, gesturing towards where the flash was last seen "So basically our powers were drained by an ancient artefact wielded by who knows what. We're doomed"
Jest shrugged, running another hand through his hair. Tail flicking back and forth in an exaggerated manner.

Rakata was left temporarily blinded by the sudden bright flash, and she stumbled mid-flight before regaining herself. She had felt her magic suddenly being drained, and it wasn't exactly the best feeling. Magic was really her only defense other than the ability to fly, and without it she felt almost empty. She shivered at the feeling, and hoped the effect wouldn't last long. She hated feeling powerless.
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Vienna glanced up as something blue flashed by them, and overheard talk of people's magic being drained. Funny. She didn't feel any different. Then again, she didn't know the first thing about magic, let alone her race. All her abilities were natural. That was probably the reason it didn't affect her. She wondered how the others would fare without their magic.

Obsidian sighed. "In that case, we better get to the castle. And fast. The wards that Jest mentioned will allow us to regain our powers." Spotting the looming castle, Obsidian noticed something jump onto the roof of the castle, and it seemed to be holding a large sword. "Jest. On the castle roof, you see that?" He said, looking back to the group. "We must hurry. In case the being that holds that artifact has 'friends'." Obsidian said, looking back towards where the dark shape was, but it was no longer there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cyan stood on one of the six pillars that bordered the castle. "Any of the group that has magic won't be able to use it until I let them." He said, tracing the path of one of the cerulean runes as it glided across the steel surface of Runescathe. "Runescathe's magical enchantment will prevent them from using any magic. Not only that, but it'll help if that cyborg decides to attack." Cyan said, muttering to himself as he watched the group come towards the castle. Jumping down into one of the castle's balconies, Cyan quietly slipped into the castle, awaiting the group when they entered the ancient structure.

"Yeah, that is if the creature doesn't activate them first. It appears to know it's way around. I wouldn't put it past them," Jest said, uncertain on exactly what objective this creature had. Was it us or something residing in the castle that held the strangers interest? Jest started moving, glancing around for a short cut to their destination. "In here! This should take us right to the court yard outside the palace"
Jest shouted, turning into a dark cobweb filled alleyway that you wouldn't notice at first glance. The crumbling bricks had blocked off one side of the path so they would have to continue in single file.