[02] Age of Wyrms!

[Kill Town]

Age of Wyrms

5-player Cooperative Event

Summary: Players are teleported to a massive plain with a range of mountains surrounding it, where they are facing a giant army of Darkspawn and their arch-demon dragon leader. The five players are the last five remaining “Grey Wardens” and must lead their own army into battle. The objective is to eventually slay the dragon and save all of…whatever the country is called. I forget. You guys can look it up, if need be.

Restrictions: None

Opportunity: N/A

Participants:

• Kazuya
• Wolfgang
• Juno
• Tamsin
• Xenia

[Juno]

The earth shook beneath his feet. The mountains quaked, and the valley trembled. He came to an abrupt halt, dropping to a knee and pressing an ear to the dirt. The rumblings were getting louder - the darkspawn horde, and the archdemon, gained ground every second, poised to emerge from their underground refuge at the opportune moment.

He quickened his pace, the Frostback Mountains rising on either side of him, determining his path. The snow-capped peaks surrounding him set forth a foreboding path, but he knew that this journey had almost reached its climax. In just a short hour or two, he would reach his last checkpoint on his way to Ostagar, the ancient fortress in south Ferelden that had gone unused for hundreds of years, where all of Ferelden’s forces had gathered to meet the scourge.

The request for his help had come as a shock. The tensions between Ferelden and Orlais were well known, and though the two countries had extended an olive branch after the war thirty years before, most Ferelden people still held some hostility toward their former sovereigns. Bitter as they were, they had called for help from the Orlesian Grey Wardens, and Juno had been the representative sent.

He clutched the strap of his satchel, holding it tightly onto his shoulder as he slowed to a stop. The edge of the Frostback Mountains was within sight, lying just down the ridge and over a small slope. He saw a small campfire below, and knew that those must be the other Grey Wardens - those of Ferelden - sent to meet him, to escort him to Ostagar, as he was not familiar with their lands.

The taint within him swelled suddenly, and he instinctively glanced around and let his hand fall slowly to the staff that hung on his back. His robes billowed in the gusty winter winds as he turned back toward the mountains, watching carefully for any sign of the disfigured creatures that he had been sent to fight. There were rustles in the trees and bushes that surrounded him, and he knew that he was not alone. Most darkspawn foot soldiers were not very good at laying low, making ambushes easy to intercept. Nevertheless, he remained cautious, carefully sliding his staff off of his spine while allowing his eyes to dart back and forth between both sides of the pass.

As if from nowhere, a flaming arrow whizzed past Juno’s face, and the Warden turned on his heel, bringing his sword up to block a second attack. He still couldn’t see his attacker, who had shot from under the cover of shade from a patch of trees, but his mind suddenly projected an image of an axe being brought down upon him, and he leapt into the air, spinning and smirking as the hurlock’s weapon clashed with his own. The creature doubled back, climbing up onto a rock face and staring down at the seer.

The Grey Warden turned his attention back to the archer beneath the trees. Sure that his next shot would strike the Orlesian, the genlock leapt forth from underneath his cover and fired off a shot which was easily avoided, and then fell face first into the dirt - hard. Juno lifted his staff and rushed for the creature, eliciting a ferocious battle cry as he threatened to slice the thing in half. The smaller darkspawn was almost done for, but managed to reach into the folds of his leather armor and pull out a bent dagger, mustering up enough strength to parry his opponent’s sword. Dissatisfied, the clairvoyant slammed his foot into the fallen darkspawn’s face, and then wasted no time bashing the creature’s skull in with his mage’s staff.

“Zat is what you get,” Juno taunted, but all of a sudden, he noticed something rather… suspicious. For whatever reason, he now had some sort of accent, the likes of which he didn’t recall having previously. Then, it hit him: he was still inside Kill Town, and this was just a part of the game.

He didn’t have much time to ponder that, however, for the hurlock had become bold once more, swinging his axe at the half-Saiyan’s knees. He leapt into the air, watching as the weapon sailed beneath him, and then landed soundly, pressing one palm against the hurlock’s chest and firing off a Pop. A bolt of violet ki burst forth from his palm, and ripped through the hurlock’s armor, which was of stronger make than the genlock’s, but still not strong enough to resist Juno’s attack.

The mindless goblin collapsed in a lump of smoking flesh, dark red blood seeping forth from the wound. The onyx-haired warrior stepped over the corpse and stood once again at the crest of the pass. His destination was just down the slope.

His thoughts, however, were not distracted long from his recent realization. His eyes floated down and examined the staff he held in his hand - he knew that he was a mage, the only mage of the Orlesian Grey Wardens, and their principal diplomat and strategist. In short, he was the intellectual of the order in Orlais. However, Ferelden was a much different ballpark now; he was in foreign lands, under foreign authority, and he had to respect that.

But something kept tugging at the back of his mind - that none of this was real. It felt so real, though, even more than the pirate ship had. Wait; a pirate ship? When had he been on a pirate ship? More memories continued to return, and eventually, after suffering through a headache of epiphanies that popped up one right after the other, the Grey Warden was forced to realize that he was not, in fact, a Grey Warden after all, but rather a contestant trapped in a seemingly endless game world that continued to plague him with strange situations.

As he began to filter more of his old self back in, he slowly set off down the slope, considering his options. He was, for all the ‘character’ he had been assigned knew, an Orlesian mage, who had gone through a ritual known as the Joining to become a member of an elite order of heroes: the Grey Wardens, whose sole responsibility was to protect Thedas, the continent that encompassed Ferelden, Orlais, and many other countries, from the Blights.

He had heard stories of the Ferelden Wardens - brave, indeed, but much more focused on combat than the Orlesians. In Orlais, it had been a principal part of their training to learn strategy, but in Ferelden, the warriors were valued more often than the mages or the rogues. Occasionally, you could find a recruit that was valuable in thinking up a plan of attack, but more often than not, intelligent as they may be, their skills were illustrated through their prowess in combat itself, not in the planning of said combat. Juno supposed that would be what he was here for: to supplement an already excellent combat regimen with reason, which he had recently gained back since his rash excursions on the Black Oyster.

At the head of the darkspawn horde would be the archdemon, and Juno the player supposed that this was his goal: to join with the Grey Wardens of Ferelden and help them to defeat the archdemon, which would, in effect, then cancel out the darkspawn horde, effectively saving Thedas and, borrowing from video game terminology, beat the game. Only after that would the evil mastermind - Gamer - release him once gain, back to the carnival, back to the place where he could just sit around and wait for either his impending doom or the next event.

Perhaps it would be more prudent to just stay here after all.

No, no, he convinced himself, despite his utter discontent at the idea of being relocated to the circus once again. The slope went quickly, and by now, he knew that the Wardens at camp would’ve probably noticed his approach. He couldn’t turn back. Not now. Now, he had to play this game to fruition - and besides, if he didn’t, what hope was there for him to ever get out? If he had to suffer through one of the creepiest field trips of his life just so that he could get back into the real world, then by the Maker, he’d do it.

He paused for a second; once again he was forced to consider the game he was playing, and evaluate how everything would play out. According to the memories that he supposed had been programmed into him, the order of Grey Wardens was desperately weakened. There were only a handful of Wardens left in Orlais, and even less in Ferelden - four, to be exact. So would they be other players, like him? That seemed like the only logical conclusion.

Night was falling on Ferelden. The orange glow of the firelight now acted as a North Star, and the staff he wielded had transformed into something resembling a blind man’s cane. He stumbled through the darkness, the Wardens’ camp growing closer and closer. In the wee hours of the morning, they would travel to Ostagar, and join the battle which Juno feared was already raging - he just hoped that Ferelden would not have fallen before they had the chance to interfere. Perhaps, though, the king of Ferelden had paused his assault before making his move - they could only hope he had shown some wisdom. The Orlesians had never known the son of the man who drove them from the country to be anything but headstrong and brash. And if that hadn’t changed, Juno wasn’t sure any strategy of his could save them.

“Maker save us all,” he muttered before resuming his approach.

[Tamsin]

It was surreal. Filling the bottom of a large, narrow underground cavern were thousands upon thousands of lights. These turned out to be torches held by monstrosities, the likes she had never seen before. Although their physique resembled that of a human, everything else about them was different. Their skin was grey and rotted, their teeth sharp and their head barely consisting of anything other then a skull and pair of eyes.

Closely packed together next to one another and equipped with armour and weapons, all of them were unusually quiet as they gazed at the figure sitting on a stone bridge above them. That figure was a dragon, it's muscular reptilian body towering above the masses of humanoid figures. Fire ocassionally accompanying it`s deafening roar, it almost seemed like it was giving them instructions.

As the monstrous army replied with screams of their own, the dragon looked up. It gazed right at her with it's white pupiless eyes, chilling her to the bone...

Tamsin abruptly woke up, awakened by the nightmare she was experiencing. Touching her temple, her head painfully throbbed as she thought of what she saw in her dream. Or was it a dream? Although she could not explain it, the girl was certain it was more then just a dream....it was a vision. But a vision of what? The creatures she saw were entirely unfamiliar to her and she did not even dare to think what their intentions were.

Finally looking at her surroundings, Suzaku found herself sitting on a blanket in some sort of camp. White tents gently glittered from the setting sun as people hastily walked around, going about their business. Some were practicing with swords and bows while others were sharpening their blades and checking their gear. It was preety obvious....they were preparing for a battle.

Looking down at her body, she realised that she was wearing leather armour instead of her usual orange uniform....or the tactical black uniform she had worn only recently. That is when she remembered what was going on....she was still in Kill Town. Gamer probably grew bored and started another round of events, sending her and everyone else away from the carnival.

It was a cruel fate, she lamented as she recalled her snack with Kazuya. For a few brief moments, she was able to not stress herself out. For a few brief moments, she was able to forget her worries and enjoy the company of another. But unfortunately for her, it was not meant to last, her troubles crashing down upon her as she was forced to snap back to reality....or fantasy, as was the case here.

Suddenly, a voice rang across the camp: "Look! Someone from the order in Orlais has arrived!" Looking at the nearby forest, the teenager did notice a robed person approaching the encampment, the thuds of his walking stick sounding ever closer. Suddenly, the person was approached by an armoured figure who's face she could not make out. However, she was clearly able to hear his words: "Welcome to Ferelden..."

The maid pondered. Orlais? Ferelden? These names meant nothing to her and probably will mean nothing in the future, assuming she survived this whole debacle. But the only way to survive was to get through the game...and to do that, she needed to find out what was going on. Hesitantly, she got onto her feet and approached the two debating individuals.

[Juno]

Seeing as the last event hadn’t given the half-Saiyan too much time to relax, he was thankful that this time around, he might get a chance to just wrap his head around what was going on. His time for socialization had been short—aside from brief conversations with Sage, Ander, Alura, and Ace—and it was about time Gamer set aside some part of an event that he could use to settle in to the game, a bit.

The camp seemed like such an opportunity, presented to him by the administrator of this game. Well, he couldn’t say he liked Gamer all that much, but now he had at least one reason not to hate him. Granted, the reasons to hate him greatly outweighed the former. A couple of white tents were set up haphazardly around the clearing that sat just off of one Frostback’s shortest peaks, and soldiers hustled and bustled throughout the camp, checking all the supplies not once, not twice, but more than three times to make sure that everything was in place for the trip the next morning. They knew they wouldn’t be getting much sleep, but the half-Saiyan noticed that some people seemed be trying to steal a few extra winks—particularly a silver-haired girl, who seemed to be just rising from a nap.

“Welcome to Ferelden.”

“Hm?” the fortuneteller replied as his focus was directed away from the lazing soldier to a guard which had crept up rather creepily next to him. Juno’s eyes glanced him up and down—he seemed perfectly fit into this world, and therefore the half-Saiyan was left with no other choice but to discard him as one of Gamer’s AI. “Oh, thanks,” he finally said, breaking the relative silence.

“The king had requested our assistance immediately,” the guard replied, “So we will be leaving as soon as all five Grey Wardens are here, and are ready.” The point was so direct—did he not even have a say in this strategy?

“I am not so sure zat zat’s a good idea,” Juno quirked an eyebrow, “If zese soldiers aren’t ready when we leave, and zey surely won’t be if we depart in the next couple of hours, zen zis battalion won’t do much good to King Cailan when we join him on the battlefield.” In truth, the half-Saiyan was just worried that his prized social time was being robbed of him. Of course, Gamer had probably known that this situation would’ve presented a very valuable opportunity for his player—so why not just cut it?

At that moment, the silver-haired soldier who’d been lazing away just moments before popped up abruptly. “H-hi,” she muttered, and the half-Saiyan could sense confusion in her voice. It was not, however, the same type of confusion a scared soldier would feel—rather, this girl seemed like she didn’t know anything about this place at all.

“Zank you for your time, soldier,” the onyx-haired party member smiled before the newcomer could say much more, nodding the guard away, “I’ll take my concerns to the commander if I have a moment.” With that, Juno motioned for the leather armor wearing girl to follow him over to the fireplace, where he sat down and patted the earth beside him. She followed suit, sitting and then holding her hands out and warming them with the fire’s heat. Juno looked her over—she didn’t look like the normal medieval soldier, so he could only assume that she was, in fact, one of the Wardens. “Ze Frostback Mountains are pretty cold, eh?” he asked, his accent still as thick as ever.

“The Frostback Mount—oh, yes,” the girl replied, glancing over her shoulder and noting what must’ve been the mountains the boy had referred to. There was a short silence as she stared into the fire, avoiding the knowing gaze that Juno had fixed upon her. “…you’re… not really from the order of Orlais,” she finally nodded, slowly.

“You are a quick one,” Juno smirked, and stuck out a hand, “I’m Juno.”

“Suzaku Tamsin,” the silver-haired girl grinned, glad that she had finally figured something out about this event. Perhaps now she had at least one ally in this strange arena. “But you can call me Tamsin.” The fortuneteller nodded, placing one hand on the hilt of his sword and keeping one hand on his staff, which he had laid on the dirt beside him. Tamsin watched his hands cautiously, only slightly afraid that he may try something.

“So you’re here to go and fight for Ferelden, defeating the evil army of creatures and its mothership along the way?” Juno asked her. The half-Saiyan used the word mothership loosely; the archdemon was anything but alien to this country, he knew, and if Tamsin happened to have the same amount of knowledge he did about this situation programmed into her, except applied to Ferelden, then she might get offended at such a statement. Luckily, this wasn’t the case. “You are a Grey Warden?” he simplified his question with a friendly smirk.

“To be honest,” Tamsin chuckled, “I have no idea.”

[Kazuya]

The sky was a blaze of deep oranges and fiery reds as the sun came to a slow decent along the rocky horizon. The landscape magnificently painted with dark, long shadows that threw themselves for miles, reaching towards her as if trying to escape that dying light. Kazuya looked onward from a high cliffside, taking in this majestic scene, her heart and soul feeling almost at home. Her body sang with energy as it seeped from the ground, upwards through her mount, and finally, into her. There was something dark within that energy, a taint, that flickered within her like a dying flame. She felt the presence of something far more familiar, something that beaconed for her to come join. It had been far too long since she last felt that energy, but there was no mistaking the flavor of this kind, and while one half of her rejoiced to know that there were kin out there, the other half resisted, knowing that if she followed where she was yearning to go, she’d be lost forever. It wouldn’t be just one half that fought with the demon that resided within her, no; she knew that without someone with far more willpower than she had, she’d be lost to the demonic taint, and she would become that which she feared.

Suddenly, the barren landscape with its growing shadows no longer held the magic it did just moments before. In this strange new land, battles would be fought, and win or lose, she wondered what her place in it would be. Which side would she reside? Would she be a hero or villain? Was the path ever so clearly cut?

“We must move to meet camp, Warden.”

“I know,” Kazuya sighed reluctantly, shifting her weight as she took the bridle of her mount. She’d removed the plated helm, holding it within her lap, but the rest of the armor was stifling, not at all as comfortable as the battle gear she’d donned once upon a time. Her hair was bound tightly against the back of her skull with leather thongs and meticulously crafted sticks, ones she’d placed there because the dipshit that put her in this armor didn’t know how to bind hair correctly. “I am assuming the fire down in the valley below is where we are to gather. How many more Wardens will there be besides myself?”

“Four others,” replied her guide. She never did get his name, and honestly, didn’t think he was important enough for her to know. “I do not know how many have arrived already, but we are wasting time sitting up here and not covering more ground.”

“The horses needed rest,” she half-truthed. She stopped not only for that, but because the scent of demons flared within her body, not unlike being too close to a fire and feeling its heat against one’s skin. The closer she got, the more uncomfortable it became.

“They’ve rested enough, mi’lady.”

“Hai, yes,” Kazuya agreed. “Then let us not waste any more time. The camp looks about an hour’s ride if we move quickly.” Without further conversation, Kazuya wheeled her horse around and down the path they came up, instincts taking over as she found herself at the foot of the large hillside and turning towards the camp.

The brush was sparse, thankfully, and ahead, she saw the faint light of fire as it flickered between makeshift tents, shadowy figures moved around the encampment as she drew closer. The thunder of hooves as the small party approached alerted the guards within the encampment to throw up their torches, and she knew they would be prepared for anything.

It only took a few seconds for one of the men further back in her brigade to throw up their friendly flag, a blue piece of fabric with a white insignia of a bird in its center. It flew loose, billowing in the wind they created, and the torches ahead waved. She guessed that it was a friendly gesture, and there wouldn’t be any unnecessary skirmish upon their arrival. Good.

They entered the camp unmolested, a dozen or so warriors behind her all on mounts that looked like demons themselves as they grunted and snorted, a heavy fog billowing from their flared nostrils as they calmed from the long, hard ride from the cliffs. Kazuya led them to a makeshift stable area, where they shackled their steeds.

Kaz slid off her mount and grabbed her helm and sword, sliding the weapon into the hilt on her back and the plated head piece to her side as she made her way back into the center of the camp, while the rest of her entourage branched off to other areas. There was one familiar face, what was her name… “Suzaku, how very nice to see you again,” Kazuya greeted the silver haired beauty warmly, bowing her head politely. Her eyes darted to a young dark haired man, dressed in dark robes and a cane in his hand. “And you are?”

“Juno,” he replied, face stoic as he took in the former samurai’s features. “You must be another Grey Warden, I assume?”

Kazuya nodded. “So I’ve been told, hai, yes, I am.” She sighed. “Although not so much by choice; this game, it seems, is getting more dangerous as each day passes. I feel something not natural in these lands, so we must proceed with care.”


Juno nodded. “Are you familiar with ze Darkspawn?”

“Not familiar, no. But I do feel…demons.” The word rolled from her tongue like something putrid, her face distorting in disgust. “They have touched this land like a plague.”

“A plague we have been charged with to eradicate,” Juno supplied. “We shall depart shortly, once ze other two have arrived. Ze quicker they come, ze quicker we can be rid of this menace, and return to ze Carnival.”

Kaz shuddered. “I just want out of this game.”

“You and me, both;” Juno sighed. Tamsin nodded in agreement.

[James]

Weaving with the ease of a bird in flight through the thicket of trees rode a cloaked vision of darkness on the back of an ebony stallion. Moving as though a shadow himself, the rider's unsurpassed expertise was apparent in the agility of his quick maneuvers, turning embankments and bounding without hesitation over fallen timber. The equestrian followed abidingly along an unmarked path till a break in momentum caused it to buck her front legs back, striking the air till landing again on the forest floor.

From the surrounding brush emerged a trio of shades; two of equal size and girth with the exception of one small figure who stood barely waist high to his counterparts.

"Beyond the ridge, Warden. We are within sight of smoke, less than an hour by foot." as the rider spoke he tugged the leather straps bound to the horse's mouth forced the beast to turn back down the path indicating the direction of interest.

"Well done. Proves useful for a scout, eh?" a burly voice from one of the larger frames jested in direction of his equal to which a terse grunt was replied. "How many in all?"

"Three others of our escort have already settled. The battalion itself appears to be readying for their move."

"Then we've no time to waste- shall we?" a collective nod from the party warranted travel as they broke rest and began forth once more through the hillside. As they progressed there was little conversation between the four with the exception of terse spasms of coughing that came from the smallest of the lot whose stamina hadn't the strength his weathered colleagues held.

The light blazing at the end of the collective torches marking the edge of camp lit the ground the group now tread upon- the horse and her riding pacing ahead and off toward the stables to rest from the arduous travel it had endured.

"Go on, boy." a harsher tone than the other, still the playful thrust of his shield against the child's back urging him towards the group of Wardens gathered shown somewhat of his good faith. Since waking to yet another twisted scenario as the one previous, Wolfgang had determined these strange going-on's to be something of a dream what with their numerous details and exploitative areas by which to interact in. Nothing about this screamed normal to the poor boy but still... the prospects that he would eventually wake from all this hung heavy with hope in the back of his mind.

He looked back briefly at the man, sighing before venturing forth toward the group already gathering- that is, a man and two women who seem to stand out as far more significant than the others roaming the area.

Timidly he approached with no intent on drawing any attention from the three till the male had cast an eye in his direction. Uncomfortably he toyed with the end of the dark emerald cloak he wore, almost thankful no one could see how stupid he looked in the leather armor he had on beneath it.

"H-hello." Wolf's eyes were staked defiantly towards the ground as if attempting to divert the attention from him onto something aside from himself- like the twig underneath the smaller girl's boot. "I'm... Wolfgang... and yeah." he was no smooth talker but if this dream was anything like the last, these people might be the best chance he had at making this whole experience anything less than a nightmare this time around.

[Celena]

Xenia stepped out of the green portal and appeared into a brand new landscape. Despite the negative aspects of Gamer’s game show, he could have at least given her a briefing on the event she was about to partake in.; that was logical instead of sending her into a random environment without a clue of what to expect. Fortunately, she instantly came across a number of people that were gathered against the wall of a mountain opposite her. There were six people and a dog. They were all clad in silver armour with matching helmets. A few of them were holding their shields and swords while the others left theirs on the ground near them. The only exception was the dog of course who barked at the incoming stranger. Logic told her that she would be involved in a battle one way or another. The only thing she could not figure out was whether they were allies or enemies.

The dogs barking got the group to notice her, while she was easily able to notice something out of place about each of them. The man to the far left looked fat in his armour, there was no getting around it. He seemed to be more interested in consuming a roast turkey leg that anything else. The man next to him was the opposite and definitely looked as if he needed the turkey more than anyone else. No amount of armour could hide his physique. Xenia had to look down to indentify the third man. He was a dwarf of a man, or perhaps actually one, standing roughly around four feet, five inches. Either he was putting on a mean face to make up for his puny size or he wore a permanent frown. Unlike the other two, he had his sword and shield in his hand which made her instantly have more respect for him than the other two. The fourth was a youth who looked in his late teens. He had one foot against the wall and also leaned his back against it. His posture was as if he was too cool for school. He twirled his sword constantly against the stony ground while his shied was flat on the floor. As a scientist, Xenia had a very accurate understanding of the body languages of living organisms and by studying his demeanour; she predicted that he was an arrogant child. The fifth was the only one without a helmet and also the only female in sight, besides Xenia. She had long and luscious purple hair with an attractive young face that looked a tad bit older than hers. Her sword and shield was on either side of her. The item inside her hand had nothing to do with combat; as a matter of fact it was completely the opposite, an item of glamour, a pocket mirror. She frowned at the quarter saiyan and shut the mirror, and then tucked it under her armour. It made the hybrid suspect that she was expecting someone else to have come out of the portal, probably a handsome prince charming. The last man looked large in his armour with broad shoulders. “Who’s a good little doggy?” he said in a babyish voice, laying on his back while he tickled the stomach of a blue retriever. Xenia could not decide what was more bizarre, the fact that an overgrown grown man was acting like an infant or that a retriever came in blue.

“A girl?” wondered the youth. “You’re kidding me right?” he wondered, turning to the skinny, lanky one. “We’re being led by a girl.”

“Am I the only one who doesn’t know anything about why I’m here?” Xenia asked.

“I’m just glad there’s another girl here besides me,” said the purple haired female, even though she had had a funny way of showing it a moment ago.

“Don’t mine me,” said the hybrid, sarcastically.

“Gamer brings a girl out here who knows absolutely nothing about the situation ahead of us and expects her to lead us into that very situation. Well it’s obvious that Gamer wants us all dead.” Since the dwarf appeared to be the most intellectual of the group and the only decent one among them, she devoted her attention o him. “That doesn’t surprise me. ...Well since he’s at least briefed you all, mind filling me in?”

“No-”

“Sure, why not?” wondered the dwarf before frowning at the youth.

“Why explain it to her? We don’t need her; we can do this without her? She’s just a liability to us.”

“She wouldn’t have been chosen for the game show if she were a liability now, would she?” replied the purple haired girl. “I’m Eliza by the way,” she continued, smiling while she extended her palm towards the blonde.

“Xenia,” the hybrid replied, joining hands for a brief moment.

“I’m Derik,” said the skinny one, shaking her hand, “and that’s my dog Sparky playing with the big guy,” he said, “whose name is...” He placed his long and frail index finger on his head, trying to remember the behemoth’s name.

“Charles,” said the dwarf, next to greet her with his hand. “The big, playful one is Brock as I remember.”

“Barnsley,” said the fat one with an English accent, bits of turkey flying out of his mouth, travelling towards Xenia’s face. She winced, jerking her head backwards and then used a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her face, and then discarded it.

As he brought out his free hand to shake hers, she refrained. “Right.”

And then there was one...

She gazed at the teen who frowned at her. “You haven’t earned the right to know my name.”

“The right? ...HA!” replied the dwarf turning to him with anger. “Nobody knows anything about you. For all we know you could be the weak link of the group.”

“Just because you’re a dwarf doesn’t mean I won’t slice you up.”

“Big words, kid,” said the dwarf, raising his sword towards the kids chest, but within a blink of an eye, found a hand on the blade of his broad sword that did not belong to the youth. Nobody had detected Xenia’s movement which had left them all in shock.

“How’d...how’d she move that fast?” asked Derik to nobody in particular.

“I didn’t even see her move,” replied Eliza. “I didn’t think it was humanely possible for anyone to move that fast...but she just moved that fast.”

Xenia removed her hand from the blade. “It’s time someone briefed me on the situation.”

“Lance,” said the youth and then turned away from her.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything we know, captain” replied the dwarf.

[Tamsin]

Slowly, but surely, the venerable Grey Wardens assembled in the camp. Although the game participants were glad to have discovered one another, they had little time to rejoice the matter....afterall, there was no rest for the wicked. Shortly after the woman called Xenia arrived with her diverse party, an announcement was made that they needed to leave if they hoped to reach Ostagar by dawn. And so, with a frustrated sigh coming from many, they began to disassemble the camp and made preparations for their departure. Although not all of the "Grey Wardens" were fortunate enough to appear in Ferelden with their own steed, soldiers still managed to find horses for all of them. However, this had awkward results as most of them were not used to riding them. Tamsin's own inexperience clearly showed when she clung the neck of the riding animal as if her life depended on it. Much to her embarrassment, many of the soldiers accompanying them shared a hearty laugh at the sight of this. Wolfgang, Xenia and Juno remained quiet, however, since they did not want to draw attention to their own cubersome positions. Only Kazuya seemed relatively well-versed in using her warhorse.

Under the cover of the night, the caravan began it's long journey. Like one enormous choir, crickets chirped their song all around them as complete solitude befell the company. The tension and anxiety among them was thick enough to cut with a blade, concerns of the uncertain future plaguing their minds. The ocassional cries of wolves did little to ease their fears. The earth beneath them still shook, indicating that the Darkspawn did not rest. Feeling the atmosphere, the horses neighed in discontent and ocassionally stopped moving. However, their riders coerced them into moving and they pressed on.

With her head placed on the neck of her steed, Tamsin observed Kazuya that rode next to her. Although the dark-haired woman remained completely silent during their trip, her pale face clearly stood out in the darkness....it was obvious that something was troubling her. But Suzaku did not dare ask what was on her mind as she did not consider it her right to drill into the halfling. Even so, however, the prodigy already had a good idea what was most likely the cause of her apprehension since it filled her with dread as well......the recollection of the dragon's pupiless eyes haunting her.

None of them were able to sleep. Even if they were used to doing so on a horse, the presence of the scourge kept them wide awake. As such, hours felt like days and their journey seemed to last for an eternity. Finally, the sun once again showed up from behind the mountains, throwing light onto them. Yet, the dawn did not bring them any peace of mind. Infact, the crimson shade of the sky only served to remind them of one irrefutable fact....that blood would be spilled on that day.

However, that was not the only thing that made an impression on them. As they made their way around a large hill, an entire view opened up to them. Situated in narrow pass between hills was their destination....Ostagar. Abandoned for centuries, the ancient fortress had seen better days. Having been unmanned for so long, the decay was taking it's toll on the stone structures as some portions were either damaged or destroyed entirely. Neverthless, the excellent craftsmanship had allowed the fotress to withstand the test of time with most of it's walls still intact. The tall structures that made up Ostagar towered above them, instilling awe into whoever layed it's eyes upon it. The gentle sunlight that touched it only served to strengthen the power that emanated from it, a power of an empire long gone....a power that would serve them well in the trials ahead of them.

What was once a large empty ruin was now brimming with life, however, as thousands of soldiers occupied it's walls and towers. Whether they were busy strengthening the defences, sharpening their blades or doing other tasks, all of them fevereshly worked to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle. As the riders ahead of them raised their flags and made way for the rest of the caravan, a horn sounded their arrival and many a men left what they were doing in order to look at the new arrivals. Cheers and glimmering eyes accompanied them with every step....the Grey Wardens were a symbol of hope, a light in the darkness. Their presence alone strengthened their hearts and raised their spirits, knowing that with the Grey Wardens by their side, they could stand against the Blight.

However, no man was more of an epitome of this then the blond individual that walked up in front of the company. His golden armour well suited to his general appearance, he wore a prominent smile on his face as he greeted: "Brothers, friends.....I, king Cailan, warmly welcome you to Ostagar. This is a glorious day for all of us. After many years, the Grey Wardens will once again fight alongside the king of Ferelden and put an end to the Blight once more......and believe me, it is a great honour for me that I will have you by my side as we face the Darkspawn. Now come, Grey Wardens. There is much to be said and our finest hour draws near."

With that, the Kill Town participants removed themselves from their steeds, all of them relieved to be finally able to do so. With no questions, they followed Cailan's lead as he lead them into a section of the fortress that was once a dining hall. It would be there where they would form a plan on how to defeat the Archdemon and his lackeys.

[Juno]

The blanket of night watched over them all.

Perhaps the trip would’ve gone a lot easier if its participants were familiar with their steeds. As it stood, however, several of the Grey Wardens, including Juno, had not experienced the wonderful equestrian sport of horseback riding yet. As such, the onyx-haired Saiyan was forced to occupy himself with something, for if he focused on the road, the horse got pissy, and started taking him off in random directions that didn’t help their cause. His eyes fell on the blonde darklighter just a few paces ahead of him. He kicked his horse a bit to spur her forward, but he probably kicked too hard, for he was forced to hold on for dear life as the thing trotted pretty darn fast up next to the girl’s horse.

“You’re Xenia,” Juno repeated the blonde’s name from before, keeping his voice hushed as the trip had been mostly silent, and she turned to him with a curious expression on her face, nodding. “We met during Friend or Foe—you’re Sage’s sister, right?”

“I remember,” Xenia nodded. There seemed to be another topic that she was interested in, however. “You know my sister?” Xenia asked, this new revelation suddenly piquing her interest.

“Uh,” Juno stammered, unsure about how to describe their relationship, “Yeah. I mean, not extensively—”

“I should hope not,” Xenia smirked.

“Well, I mean, she’s pretty hot—” Juno accidentally blurted out, and Xenia’s eyes grew wide, but a smirk remained on her face. The boy—as of yet—hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to hurt her sister, so for now, she was content to toy with him. “I mean, of course, she’s got a pretty hot… uh, warm… personality. Like, uh, nice.” Xenia quirked up an eyebrow, and her smirk grew wider as she watched him squirm with his words. There was a slightly awkward silence, and a couple of intermittent laughs from her team, before she decided to break it.

“Yeah, she’s a pretty nice person,” Xenia replied, looking back at the road. The group of soldiers that had arrived with her chuckled a bit more, watching Juno blush profusely. “Well, anybody who can get Sage to talk to them for more than a second or two is obviously not an awful person, so that makes me feel better about trusting you.”

Juno looked away, his cheeks probably blood red from embarrassment. “Zanks,” he forced out, and quickly let the conversation go silent again, walking casually beside the blonde, eventually resorting to whistling an awkward tune. Xenia glanced at him, her eyes portraying annoyance, and he quickly let the air grow silent again. She was an imposing figure, after all.

Slowly but surely, the sun dipped over the eastern horizon, and dawn was upon them. The trip didn’t last too much longer, thank the Maker, and after a brief introduction with the king, the five Wardens were whisked off to a separate section of the fortress that looked as if it was once used as the dining hall. From the many soldiers who were stuffing their faces, it looked as if it had been rebooted in that capacity.

Juno was the first to sit, leaning on the table and eyeing each of his comrades in turn, starting with the one he was most familiar with: Xenia. The blonde stood, arms-crossed, and surveyed the fortress. Her spine was relaxed, her eyes not hostile but observant—something had definitely changed about the blonde since before, something that stole away not the confidence, but the boldness that she had had before. That was not to say that she was, in any way, less courageous or intimidating, but that something had simply… calmed the storm, if only a little.

Tamsin was, perhaps, the most curious specimen. Young, true, but not the youngest in the group—that spot was reserved for Wolfgang—the young girl held herself high with a sense of pride he hadn’t seen in many people that young. As if he wasn’t young himself, that is. She sat contentedly beside Juno, glancing from him to Cailan to Kazuya.

Wolfgang, as previously mentioned, was the youngest, and obviously the most frightened. He was attempting to put up a front, the onyx-haired seer could see, perhaps trying to impress the others, or perhaps trying to convince himself that this was going to all turn out alright—either way, Juno wasn’t all that sure it would. Wolfgang followed the black-haired man’s suit, sitting cross-legged in the grass and smiling shyly.

Kazuya remained standing, along with Xenia. The Japanese woman was a complex character, and Juno couldn’t even imagine looking into her motivations. She seemed distinctly unfamiliar, almost as if she was from a completely different time and place—wherever she was from, her personality did not fit this world or this game, and while Juno surmised that she must’ve just been a strange person, under the surface he knew that there was something there. He wasn’t about to bother himself finding out what, though. Not when they had a job to do.

Kazuya spoke first. “What’re we going to do?”

Cailan choked a bit on his words, obviously slightly nervous in the presence of Grey Wardens. “Uh, well, I was going to let you all talk that one over.”

“Some king,” Kazuya muttered under her breath, crossing her arms. The others shot her a glance, but the black-haired woman ignored them.

It was the question everyone had thought about, but no one voiced until the black-haired woman had. Her eyes flitted from ally to ally as well—it seemed she was sizing up the group as well. Her already-present scowl only deepened when her eyes fell on the young Wolfgang. Juno spoke up.

“That tower’s a weak point if I ever saw one,” he offered, “Those creeps could be completely wiped out on the battlefield and hole themselves up in there, ready to surprise us just when we think we’ve won.”

“H-he’s got a point,” Wolfgang nodded, though Juno wasn’t sure if he was nodding because he really thought the idea was a good point, or that he just wanted something to agree with. Perhaps he was making all these assumptions because he assumed all tweens were like he had been—severely impressionable. Wolfgang could be something completely different, he didn’t know. Whatever it was, though, it didn’t matter.

“We need to send someone up there, I guess,” Xenia amended, “Maybe light a beacon or something signaling the tower’s clear?”

“That sounds like a novel idea,” Kazuya sighed, “Tamsin’s good at getting into tight places like that. She disarmed a bomb for us last time around.” Juno looked at the silver-haired girl. She glanced up at Kazuya; thankful for the notice, obviously, but not so sure she felt up to the task. “But… do you think you can handle clearing the tower by yourself, Suzaku?”

“I…”

“I’ll go with her,” Juno piped up. “We’ll clear out the tower, and then you guys can stay down here, hold off the darkspawn till the ‘archdemon’ arrives. After that, you guys can take him down. We’ll signal you when the tower’s done, and then you can make the killing blow. Gamer’s info says that only a Gray Warden can kill an archdemon. Not sure why, but if that’s what it says, that means one of us has to do it, and if you three are on the ground, then it’s looking like it’s all on you guys. That is, if everyone agrees to the plan.

Tamsin and Wolfgang nodded almost immediately, and Xenia nodded a few seconds later after considering it. She’d be in the thick of battle, and that suited her.

Kazuya elongated her pause. She wasn’t quite sure she liked taking orders from a twenty-year-old, but the plan was good. “Alright,” she agreed, and the plan was settled: Juno and Tamsin would clear out the Tower of Ishal, and then light a flame beacon at the top; Kazuya, Xenia, and Wolfgang would stay down, battling darkspawn alongside King Cailan’s soldiers and, eventually, fighting the archdemon itself. With any luck, one of them would be able to sink their sword into it, and the battle would be over smoothly.

The half-Saiyan scoffed; it wasn’t going to be that easy, he knew, but hey, a guy could hope, right?

Juno’s eyes flitted from his companions to the sky outside the nearby window. Morning had barely left them, but already clouds hung in the sky, denying them the sun’s warm rays. He felt… cold, in a strange, foreboding way, in a way he’d only felt once before—during Friend or Foe, when he had stood there, staring at Balrog beat Sage and Ashe like they were playthings.

For some reason, he was at his best when others were in great danger. When he was the only thing at risk, something inside him denied him strength. Now, however, he had someone—or something—to fight for, and if it took the death of him to win this battle, he knew that he would risk it. He was aware, simultaneously, that most of his companions would do so as well. Now, whether they’d do it normally or whether the game had programmed this newfound mantra into them—he didn’t know.

And truthfully, he didn’t care, either.

~+~

The afternoon was slowly settling in at Ostagar. The darkspawn had, not surprisingly, delayed their push until a darker setting crept in—the soldiers knew they would march on the fortress at any second. The onyx-haired Warden slipped away from the fire, searching for the blonde in their group—Xenia. Sage’s sister. He found her a few minutes later, standing at the window of a large turret, gazing out at the plains and the forest below, waiting patiently for the battle to start. He walked up beside her and leaned against the marble wall, glancing briefly out the window.

“How is she?” he asked, accent still thick. The blonde bombshell didn’t look up.

“I don’t know,” Xenia muttered. “She got sucked into an event same as I did, right?”

“Yes, I guess so,” Juno replied, nodding and pushing himself off the wall. He started to walk out then turned back toward her. “How’re you holding up?” he asked, looking her up and down and noticing, for the first time, the distinct difference that had been plaguing him for the past few hours: she was much calmer than before, much more relaxed, without being apathetic. She wasn’t so tense.

“I’m… I’m good, I guess,” she said quietly, “I mean, as good as you can be, stuck in some crazy guy’s game of life or death.” She laughed, and Juno smiled, placing a hand on the door. She turned from the window. “Be careful out there,” she said, almost forcing it out, but with a little chuckle, “Sage wouldn’t be happy if you decided to join us in the prison.”

“I’ll do my best,” the onyx-haired fortuneteller laughed, twisting the doorknob and opening the wooden door of the tower, preparing to walk out. Xenia stood up straight, returning to her stronger stance—she couldn’t let any of those soldiers see her soft side, not before a battle. She met Juno’s eyes, and the two of them knew that they had to win this, at any cost. “Same zing to you,” he continued, “I wouldn’t want to have to explain how I let you die to Sage.” He smirked. Xenia looked up at him with a sarcastic glint in her eye, and laughed—he wouldn’t have to worry about that. Her will to live was higher than most people he’d seen before. With that, he turned to leave, and slowly began to pull the door to.

“Juno,” Xenia called after him, and the half-Saiyan stuck his head back through the space left between the door and its marble frame. He quirked an eyebrow, as if to ask her what she wanted. “You… you really care about her, don’t you?”

He opened the door, his expression growing slightly darker. “Yeah,” he said simply, finding no other way to explain. He didn’t know whether or not he actually cared about her as much as he thought he did, but nevertheless, he wasn’t going to stand by and let something bad happen to her. If Sage needed him, he’d be there for her… it was the same with Sophia, and with Kaden (though he probably wouldn’t admit that), and with anyone else he might’ve considered a friend. He bit his lip. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

“You’d better,” Xenia smiled, “Otherwise you’re going to be dealing with me.” The pair chuckled briefly, and then left, the sun slowly sinking into the horizon behind them as the cloud of the Darkspawn converged on the fortress. This was their hour—and it was up to them whether or not it would be their most glorious hour, or their final one.

~+~

The five Wardens stood on the fortress wall, gazing down at the incoming cloud of darkspawn. A few of the goblins burst from the forest into the fields, the first sign of the horde that continued to come. A few were larger, riding on disfigured steeds, and the five Wardens knew—through Gamer’s programmed knowledge—that these were the generals, one for the Hurlocks and one for the Genlocks. At the back of the cloud, the cry of the archdemon could be heard, but the thing had yet to show itself.

“Coward,” Xenia muttered.

“I guess this is us, Juno,” Tamsin muttered meekly, and tugged at the sleeve of her taller partner. The onyx-haired half-Saiyan nodded.

“We’ll head to the tower now—wait until you get our signal to finish off the archdemon,” the onyx-haired Grey Warden told his four comrades. “And whatever you do, make sure it’s one of you zree that delivers ze killing blow. If not, it won’t work.” The three soldiers of the group nodded, and Tamsin quickly hugged Kazuya. The Japanese woman seemed slightly disinclined for pleasantries at the moment, but she didn’t deny the silver-haired girl’s embrace. Juno placed a hand on Xenia’s shoulder, and nodded to her. She nodded back, and then Tamsin and Juno departed, heading west to the Tower of Ishal.

The tower wasn’t too far—it didn’t take them ten minutes to get there. It towered over Ostagar, once the central point of the fortress. Kings and generals would take up shelter here, strategizing, bent over maps and battle plans put forth by tacticians who knew nothing about true battle. Wars had been waged from here, and for a moment, Juno and Tamsin slowed their stride to reflect. They glanced at one another, then the half-Saiyan walked up to the wooden gate and rapped hardly upon its boughs.

No answer; he knocked again, but still, silence. He turned to Tamsin, a knowing expression on his face. She nodded, and reached for the hilts of her knives as Juno backed up and lifted a palm. He let out a loud Pop, and violet ki spun forth from his hand, crashing into the wood and sending it splintering across the tower’s courtyard. “Well, that’s one way to do it,” Tamsin joked, and then she walked slowly into the courtyard ahead of the mage, glancing around furtively. Juno pulled his sword out of his belt and held it in one hand, his staff in the other, and let his eyes survey the area. Something wasn’t right—they had feared that the Darkspawn might try to attack, but the area was quiet. Too quiet.

Tamsin screamed first—the arrow whizzed past her, and she stepped backwards, tripping into Juno, who pulled her in and fired a swift blast of purple ki from his palm, nailing the Genlock squarely in the face. It collapsed into a heap of dead flesh, and the silver-haired girl sighed a sigh of relief, looking up at her compatriot. His expression was uncharacteristically grizzled and stern; this wasn’t over.

The young girl stepped away, gulping. She held her daggers high, sliding into a fighting stance. She was well trained with the weapons, it seemed. Juno smiled—the youth was learning fast. She needed to learn faster, however, because in seconds, a darkspawn had leapt forth from nowhere and tackled her to the ground. Juno had just a moment to watch her struggle to keep his dagger away from her before another creature pulled his attention away. A large, burly creature leapt at him, a foreboding axe in hand, and Juno brought his elf-wood staff up to block the blow. The weapon vibrated at impact, and Juno swung his sword at the darkspawn’s feet, hoping to catch him off guard—no such luck.

Tamsin, meanwhile, was having a similar amount of luck. After a bit of a struggle, she managed to kick the monster off of her, but when she lunged with her knives, he thrust his own dagger at her, forcing her to dodge the blow in mid attack. Her wrists weren’t ready for the sudden movement, and they flipped back, her fingers loosening their grip on her weapons as they did so; the silver-haired girl’s knives were sent flying out of her hand and rolling onto the ground several yards away. The youth ran for them, but the darkspawn grasped her by the ankle and pulled her back towards him, lifting his dagger.

The onyx-haired Warden parried blow after blow, and for a moment, he and the darkspawn were locked in the closest thing Juno had had to mortal combat since Friend or Foe. Eventually, however, he was able to get a footing, and in this body, discovered he was able to fire ki attacks through his staff as his aimed the weapon and fired a Pop from it.

“You alright over zere, Tamsin?” Juno yelled over the clang of his sword against the Hurlock’s axe. He let his eyes look away from the battle once second and saw the dagger fly downward toward the silver-haired maid, and opened his mouth to yell—“NO!”—he sputtered, but the Hurlock took the blunt side of his axe and smashed it into Juno’s skull, knocking the onyx-haired Saiyan off his feet before he could try to save Tamsin.

The dagger made a crunching noise as it reached a destination, but fortunately, it wasn’t the destination it had originally hoped for. The metallic weapon slammed forcefully into the dirt, Tamsin barely rolling out of its trajectory. Her ankle, however, was still in the grasp of the Hurlock, so she used her hands to launch herself upright, bringing her free foot squarely into the creature’s face. It doubled back, releasing its hold on the implanted dagger.

Suzaku stood over the thing as it clutched its face, and her expression had grown rather angry. Juno slowly lifted his head up as the silver-haired girl glanced from her original opponent to the new one that was moving closer to her. Unlike usual, she didn’t look scared—she was putting up a front here, making the darkspawn believe that she was fully confident in her ability to kill them. And for a moment, Juno believed that she was.

As confidently as she could, the silver-maned servant ripped the dagger from the ground and stabbed it into the kneeling darkspawn’s forehead, tears forming in her eyes as she dug it forcefully into his skull. The onyx-haired Saiyan was impressed; she wasn’t about to back down. He gradually brought himself to his feet, grasped the hilt of his sword, and watched carefully as the other Hurlock approached her. She stepped back, losing that aura of confidence, and then he took his opportunity. He leapt into the air, using his Flight to keep himself aloft long enough, and jammed his sword through the creature’s back, sending crimson blood flying all over his robes.

The Hurlock collapsed, dead, and Tamsin looked upon the mage and smiled.

“I couldn’t let you do all the work,” Juno joked, and Tamsin’s smile grew slightly broader at the light-hearted Saiyan’s urging.

“I think… I think we make a good team,” Tamsin chuckled, picking up her weapons.

“I don’t zink, I know,” he smiled at the shorter girl, clapping her on the shoulder. “But, we’ve not got much time. If there were darkspawn out here, that means there’s darkspawn inside, so we’ve got to hurry.”

They wasted no more time, quickly running up the steps to the large wooden doors, opening them, and slipping inside, closing the entrance with a resounding slam that surely awakened any darkspawn in the tower to their presence.

[Kazuya]

Kazuya watched the forms of the two wardens disappear into the tower, the wind whipping her hair violently around her face. Brushing it away, the female warrior growled deep within her throat. The call of the creatures that lay beyond was strong, pulling, tugging at her like a magnet. And the girl, she just couldn’t let her go out alone with that young man. Surely what she felt right now would be too much for the duo to endure alone.

“I can’t let them go alone,” Kazuya stated, her eyes darting over to the blonde female standing at her side, watching the tower in the distance. “They’re young, inexperienced, cannot even ride a horse, for fucks sake, much less a weapon capable of staving off these creatures.”

“We have to wait for the signal, Kazuya.” Xenia scolded the older woman, her yellow brows furrowing in displeasure.

“You can wait all you want, kid. I’m going after them.”

“Can I go?” The young boy, Wolfgang, piped up from behind them. She’d almost forgotten about him.

“No.” Kazuya and Xenia said in unison. The boy frowned, not understanding, so Xenia elaborated, “One of us has to be a lookout. Stay here until we give a signal, and we’ll keep an eye out in case you see trouble, yeah?”

The boy nodded, but disappointment still painted his features like fresh paint.

Xenia looked at the lithe female, face set in a stern expression. “Well, if you’re going, I might as well, too.”

“I totally wouldn’t have guessed that,” Kazuya spat sarcastically.

+ + + + +

The heavy claymore glistened with fresh blood as she and her fellow wardens tore through the packs of darkspawn that lay siege within the innards of the massive tower. From all appearances, it appeared to have several floors, with corridors within, chock full of the demonic spawn, and they were plowing through them like a hot knife through butter.

Shoving the end of the weapon deep into the chest of a skullfaced creature, she watched with twisted pleasure as his lidless eyes widened in pain, if pain is what that expression meant, before she turned the blade, his body growing limp. Pulling it free from its body, she felt the power surge through her as it thumped to the ground, that one little flicker of his energy one less to conflict with her own, instead, it merged with hers, causing the light that burned low and dark to sparkle against her skin.

The power was strong, so strong, almost intoxicating as she danced and weaved through the bodies in her own seductive way, all thoughts of that innocence that was there before banished in a wash of blood and gore. Instead, there was nothing but this, nothing but the power, and oh, was she was thirsty! Kazuya was lost, mind, body and soul to the rush, oblivious to everybody but herself. Nothing made sense anymore, she knew none of the faces, but the screams, she knew those. There were no sides, no good, no evil. Her voice undulated her pleasure as her sword found its home within the bodies of the menacing creatures that seemed to flock towards her. She didn’t even notice her dark red aura was alight like a living fire around her body, each life she took only adding that much more to its luminosity.

“Kazuya!” the voice was distant, foreign to her ears. She continued her assault, more bodies adding to her pile. Her name was called again, and once more, she ignored it. A hand on her shoulder caused her aura to flare in a billowing display of light, the red flicker of the flame like tendrils dancing on the stone walls. “They’re dead, Kazuya, they’re dead!” The blonde insisted, but Kazuya’s eyes, drowned in a deep, bloody crimson light, only blinked, incomprehensive to the words. She felt the fainter aura, a sweet, innocent thing.

“Harrah, tsili compra.” Kazuya whispered, face going slack. The fire around her began to die down, but not fizzling completely. “Death, and life, the line between the two, we must dance. Carefully, carefully, we must tread, or all will be lost.”

“The hell are you talking about?” Xenia asked, confusion heavy in her expression. Juno meandered through the corpses littering the stone floor, coming to stand before the possessed woman.

“I’ve never seen anything like zis,” he murmured, a slight tinge of fear poisoning his words. “What is she?”

“No idea,” Xenia shook her head, dumbfounded. “I don’t like it.”

Tamsin approached the Halfling with caution, watching her face with addled curiosity. She reached up through the flickering light, and touched her face. “She’s warm, way more than usual.”

Juno reached over to the other side of her face, nodding. “Whatever zis is, I’m willing to bet it has zomthing to do with ze darkspawn. She was not like zis before we left.”

“She was paler than usual at Ostagar,” Xenia observed. “Is she sick?”

“Possessed,” Juno took a guess.

“Not possessed…” Kazuya muttered. “Far worse, but I...”

“Will this affect your ability to continue?” Juno prodded, his dark brows furrowing.

“I…I don’t know.”

“You have to know, we cannot take you if you’re going to be a risk.”

“But we have to.” Tamsin looked at the older man, desperation sparkling in her eyes. “We can’t succeed without her.”

Juno was silent for several long moments, before a loud crash upstairs pierced through the silence. “Fine,” he sighed, reluctant to the truth, his eyes flickering to the silver haired maid. “But it will not be my fault if she gets us all killed.”

“Agreed,” Xenia chimed.

“I need…I need a few moments to myself.” Kazuya growled, the light dying around her, but the color never left her eyes. She was calmer, yes, but her body still felt like it was on fire. Her eyes darted around, seeing a small room off to the right, the door slightly ajar with spatters of blood all over the wood. She started towards it, stopped, and turned her head. “Tamsin.”

“Yes?” The young girl quirked an inquisitive brow.

“Come with me.”

The girl followed her without question, the door closing behind them with an audible hush. Cool, nervous eyes were trained on the older woman, noting the dull red glow just beneath the skin, pulsing visibly through her veins.

“Suzaku-chan, there is something you should know about me,” the samurai began, her hands flexed at her sides while a cool sweat broke across her flesh. “I cannot trust them as I do you, even though I’ve only known you for such a short time, I have no others within this group that I can entrust this…secret to.”

“Me? Why me?” Tamsin squeaked.

“There is something about you, an innocence I cannot explain, that is pure. What dwells within me cannot touch it, because you have yet to feel the poison of true sin.” She explained. “I am old, so very old.” Dropping down to her knees, Kazuya bowed her head, a sheet of pure ebony hair veiling her face. “Four hundred and eighty years ago, maybe a little more, there was an epic battle, very much like the one we have embarked upon. I was young, twenty maybe, I can’t remember.”

“That’s…that’s impossible.” Tamsin stammered, disbelief plain on her face. Kazuya lifted her head slightly, peering at the girl through a slit in the curtain of hair. Bright red halos circled her pupils, causing chill to travel the length of the younger girl’s spine.

“I should have died that night, but instead, the demon that we fought against, couldn’t bring himself to kill me. I cannot speak his true name, Tamsin, for fear of invoking him further. Before his life was snuffed from what remained of his body, he did something that normal creatures of his kind shouldn’t have been able to do: he cursed me with his dark energies, he uses me, to this day, as his vessel, rendering me in part, a demon. I don’t think that Gamer had intentionally done this to see what would happen, but being here, around all these darkspawn, is making this creature within me restless.”

“Will it hurt us?”

“Kazuya let loose a heavy breath. “I don’t know, Suzaku-chan. I have never been around this many spawn before, of any flavor. I don’t think it should be happening, this is all fantasy, but it’s affecting me all the same, and I can’t hold it back for long.”

“Can we banish it?” This came from the door, and Juno’s dark form leaning against the doorway, the blonde just behind, peering in curiously.

“I thought I told you I wanted some privacy?” Kaz hissed angrily.

“Something like zis should never have been kept from us, Kazuya.”

“You will kill me,” Kazuya’s eyes blazed to life once more, drowning out what bit of white had managed to come back. “People like you think of someone like me as evil, when in truth, there are no such connotations. Everything is black and white, and anything different must be destroyed!” She rose to her feet, a sweep of energy beginning to swirl around her ankles. “That’s why I only trusted the girl with this knowledge, until we came to a point where I could trust you, as well. But I feel it, wafting from your flesh like stink that hasn’t been bathed away in weeks. How can I entrust such a thing with you when I must then fear for my own existence?”

“I never said-“


“But you were thinking it,” Kazuya accused coldly. “Time is not on our side this night, Juno, and neither is my willpower.” Taking the claymore in hand, Kazuya lifted it, its weight a familiar thing within her grasp. “The aurae of these creatures fight against me, what’s left of me, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.”

“Then let us finish this quickly,” Xenia said, folding her arms across her ample chest, her body straightening with a swagger of arrogance. “But, if I have to choose between my life and yours, Halfling, I won’t dawdle over the decision.”

For the first time that day, Kazuya smirked. “The feeling, my dear, is mutual.”

[Celena]

The three Grey Warden leaders stood firmly on top of the fortress along with their soldiers, looking down at the mass of monstrosities, the army known in Gamer’s world as the Darkspawn, head towards them under the dark sky. Their sinister army consisted of creatures of all types, the look of them so hideous that they instantly drove fear into Xenia. The overshadowing, horrendous shrills from the undetectable Archdemon from behind its army contributed to her state of mind, enough to make her cold; goosebumps formed all over her body. Among the various types of creatures, she was unable to recognize any, even the canines, snarling viciously as they raced in front of the army. The hybrid could hear the whimpers of Derik’s blue Labrador from behind as it dipped its head towards the ground submissively. Who could blame it? Even a German Sheppard would have reacted in the same way. There was no type of canine within the universe that appeared as aggressive as them. The sound of clattering came from behind. Xenia turned to see Derik huddled against his dog, body trembling in fear. Derik wad a coward, that much she had discovered when he had made his feelings clear earlier to the group that he had been forced to participate, and there was no way his closes companion, Sparky, his dog, would have let him go this alone even though the animal was equally as useless as he was. Eliza had been forced into the event too, and to illustrate this, Xenia could see the fear in her blue eyes. The princess had originally assumed that her underlings were made up characters in this event, but they were real, the Darkspawn were also real; everything in Gamer’s game show was. The people and locations were all part of an alternate world. It was like the people in the Chronicles of Narnia that discovered a new world, only this was a world in which she had intentionally been trapped.

“We’re outnumbered,” said Barnsley, stating the obvious. With six troops and a dog, Xenia’s army was the smallest of the five Grey Warden’s ho had been chosen to lead their own troops, by a long stride. The fact that Charles and Lance were the only two that had shown a sign that they were suited for combat did not make the situation any better. “I could do with a chicken right now,” he finished.

“We don’t have arrows Xenia,” said Charles. “S-”

“Which means you all must head downstairs ...fight them head on,” she replied. Xenia was a saiyan princess, an heir and if there was ever a more important the time to prove to herself whether she was capable of being a leader, it was now. Even though she was nervous she could not let her soldiers know it because if she did, she would look bad as a leader.

“What about you?”

“I’ll attack them from here.”

“With no weapon or even a shield? Have you gone insane?!” asked Eliza.

“Get downstairs...that’s an order!”

Brock had already left the scene and was racing down stairs, jumping two to three stairs at a time. He was far from an intelligent man. If you were to describe him, he’d be a few French fries short of a happy meal. He failed to understand the direness of the situation which was being extremely outnumbered. Xenia just hoped the rest of her troops, the raven haired woman, Kazuya’s troops and the kid, Wolfgang’s troops would make it downstairs quick enough to give him a helping hand before it was too late to save Brock from meeting a quick demise.

I hope she knows what she’s doing, thought Eliza, racing down the stairs, heart pounding from fear. She believed Gamer was truly evil for what he was putting them through and that his actions were unforgivable.

Xenia turned around due to the constant rustling noises of jewellery to find Derik crouched next to his dog, hand trembling as he held out his chain which had been tucked inside his armour. She noticed that there was a round, bronze amulet attached to it, the same size as a two pence coin. Her direction shifted to Sparky, noticing that he had an identical amulet attached to his black dog collar. Xenia laughed quietly at the irony of a coward possessing an item that folklore stated was supposed to protect its owner from harm. “Are you ready?” he asked his blue Labrador.

“Woof!”

Xenia had doubts about the legendary amulet’s ability. How could a piece of jewellery be powerful enough to change a person’s fate? Perhaps Derik and Sparky could prove her wrong. Only time would tell. A smirk reached her face as he lined his amulet with Sparky’s. Now he was just taking it too far in her opinion, however the smirk was removed as both amulet’s glowed, the light projected from them so
bright that she had to cover her eyes. While they were shut all she could hear was a humming sound. It went on for a while until the light dimmed, and with the dimming, the humming noise reduced. Xenia slowly opened her eyes, getting the biggest shock since being flung into Gamer’s game show. Before her stood another man, athletic with a broad chest, handsome with familiar green eyes and facial structure. He was taller than Derik, standing roughly at six feet four inches. He carried a shield in his left hand while his sword was sheathed behind him.

It can’t be, she thought, but it was seeming as if anything was possible in this matrix.

Her mouth opened even wider at the sight of the creature
that stood next to the man. It was a blue and white coloured wolf with a spiky mane. As the creature, dressed in a blue gi stood on its feet, its back hunched. It was at least seven feet tall. The man was wearing a chain attached to the same bronze amulet while the wolf had his around a black dog colour. It was proof that they were still Derik and Sparky. If the amulet’s had the power to transform two wimps into stallions then it surely had the power to protect them from harm.

“It’s been a long time, Sparky,” said the new warrior, his tone of voice deeper and more masculine.

“Too right,” it replied in a growly voice.

What had transpired was truly amazing.

“You believe we can win this, right?” Derik asked Xenia.

Xenia looked down at the battlefield below and gasped once again as the Grey Warden troops dominated one Darkspawn after the other. It was a positive sign, and even if the tables would turn, she had to be optimistic as a leader; besides, her saiyan pride would not let her admit defeat in front of her inferiors. “Of course I do.”

====

Xenia, Kazuya and Wolfesgang watched as their soldiers fought off the Darkspawn from reaching the top of the fortress.

“I can’t let them go alone,” Kazuya stated, her eyes darting over to the blonde female standing at her side, watching the tower in the distance. “They’re young, inexperienced, cannot even ride a horse, for fucks sake, much less a weapon capable of staving off these creatures.”

“We have to wait for the signal, Kazuya.” Xenia scolded the older woman, her yellow brows furrowing in displeasure.

“You can wait all you want, kid. I’m going after them.”

“Can I go?” The young boy, Wolfgang, piped up from behind them. She’d almost forgotten about him.

“No.” Kazuya and Xenia said in unison. The boy frowned, not understanding, so Xenia elaborated, “One of us has to be a lookout. Stay here until we give a signal, and we’ll keep an eye out in case you see trouble, yeah?”

The boy nodded, but disappointment still painted his features like fresh paint.

Xenia looked at the lithe female, face set in a stern expression. “Well, if you’re going, I might as well, too.”

“I totally wouldn’t have guessed that,” Kazuya spat sarcastically.

[Tamsin]

Without another word, the group made haste through the hallways that formed the Tower of Ishal. Although debris was scattered at places, the tower mostly showed the same degree of craftsmanship as the rest of the fortress and withstood the countless years of decay and natural elements quite well. However, the Grey Wardens had little time to think of that as their minds were preoccupied with what they had just learned. Kazuya said nothing more, however, taking point as to avoid looking at the people that had eavesdropped on her mere moments ago.

Following behind her was Tamsin, who observed the ebony-haired woman. Tears were flowing down her gentle cheeks as her heart swelled in ache in light of what the halfling had confided her. Having lived her entire life under great expectation of others, the prodigy normally had a great deal of mental fortitude. However, the story of the female warrior touched her deeply, remembering how her master was haunted by his own demons as well. The fact that Kazuya reminded her of her late mother only served to lengthen the maid's sympathy towards her.

Suzaku had felt that something serious was troubling Kazuya, something beyond the Darkspawn, already back when they had departed from the camp. However, she did not previously know what the issue was, nor did she know how to help the woman. That was the reason she hugged her prior to leaving for the tower. Suzaku even suprised herself with such an act, since the maid normally strictly followed proper etiquette. However, the girl felt that her adult counterpart needed some consolation for whatever was troubling her, which prompted such a gesture.

But now that Kazuya revealed to her just how deep the problem is, the servant knew that a mere hug would not suffice...yet she did not know what she could do. The halfling had been forced to contend with her troubles for many years all alone....yet, it seemed like there was nothing Suzaku could do to aid her. "Uzumaki-sama...." the girl sadly mumbled, her own helplessness only serving to make her feel even worse regarding the whole matter. But Kazuya did not respond, either being unable or unwilling to do so. Juno saw how the maid cried for their companion, but said nothing on the matter.

Much to their suprise, the group encountered little remaining resistance as they proceeded up the tower. They merely encountered an ocassional Hurloc and the creatures were quickly cut down either by Kazuya or Xenia. Soon enough, they found themselves on the top floor, which was a sort of circular stone chamber. A large hole on the ceiling allowed them to hear the thunders of battle that raged below them and served to remind the Grey Wardens of their task.

Noting that there were no more signs of Darkspawn, Xenia commented: "Alright, we cleared the tower. Now let us light the beacon and get out of-" But the Saiyan princess was interrupted by the sound of a strong air motion, a large shadow appearing over the crack on the roof. Fearing the worst, her onyx-haired counterpart yelled out: "Quickly, move out of the way!"

The Wardens seperated from one another and not a moment to soon as something crashed into the chamber. The sudden impact threw all of them off their feet, the falling parts of the rooftop threatening to bury them. As dust settled down, the fallen Wardens were able to make out an enormous figure. Standing in the middle of the chamber was the very being they were tasked to slay, a large reptilian creature, the leader of the Darkspawn....the archdemon.

Turning it's head around, it screamed resoundingly. But what shocked the warriors more then the scream was that they heared words mixed in, the Darkspawn blood they consumed allowing them to understand the ancient language: "Sense.....presence...."

Turning it's massive body, it faced the direction where Uzumaki was lying. Weighted down both by her armour and the demon inside her, she tried to get onto her feet. As the dragon observed her every motion, he screamed once more: "Hadoken......come......join...." The oriental woman, in spite of her resistance, felt her body being drawn to the archdemon and she began to draw closer.

"NO!" a shout suddenly interrupted the exchange and Tamsin suddenly appeared between the two as the adolescent realised what was happening. It was unbelievable. She had only known Kazuya for a short time, yet she could not just stand and watch her turn into the monster she was fighting. The girl was not there to save Amaya Suzaku, she was not there to save her mother. Now that someone similar faced impending doom, she could not turn their back on them.

"Do......not......defy........will......!" shouted the archdemon and it charged towards the maid. Suzaku did not know what she was thinkining. Fear gripped her entirely and all her senses were telling her to run. Yet, she stood her ground, knowing that her frail body was the only thing that prevented the archdemon from calling out the demon inside Kazuya and allowing him to take complete control of her.

"Suzaku-chan.....no!" came the weak call behind her as the dragon opened it's massive jaws. But Tamsin did not respond, her mind and heart freezing.......Had death come to claim her?

[Kill Town]

Keith Summers had been fed up for quite some time upon watching the Age of Wyrms event. It wasn’t so much that he was getting bored. He wasn’t even disappointed. It was just that they seemed to be dragging things on and on and on despite the fact that the dragon was right in front of their noses the entire time. It was likely that they didn’t see it, but it had definitely been hiding in the shadows, waiting for a perfect moment to strike once they made it to a certain destination. However, the group had done the one thing that Gamer prayed they didn’t do.

The Tower of Ishal had only been added to flavor the event. The maniacal mastermind behind the game hadn’t anticipated that the group would even want to make a trip there, let alone even have the time to consider doing so. When they did, one of the contestants put on a sob story, which might have boosted ratings for a television show, but it did nothing for Gamer. When the time came, the teenager flicked a switch and typed in a few commands in the prompt, summoning the dragon to move from its perch and attack the group head-on.

The massive wings of the beast swung towards them, creating a massive gust of wind that forced them to take a few steps backward to regain their balance. What happened afterward, however, made Keith lean in closer to his monitor. The archdemon began calling out to one of the participants, something that was not detailed with its programming in any way, shape, or form. The woman Kazuya shook her head vehemently, closing her eyes shut as she took a step forward, then another, then another, inching her way closer to her supposed enemy.

What compelled the girl to go forward? The massive jaws of the monster snapped, a forked tongue whipping out in between clamps, sure to scare any child away. No normal person in Suzaku’s position would throw her relatively frail body into the fray like she did, but sure enough, there she was, tossing herself forward like a ragdoll. The teenager wanted some blood at that moment, but at the same time, anyone with that amount of…guff surely deserved to go on, if only for entertainment value. As the demon charged closer, Gamer clicked a few buttons and halted its progress, it’s razor sharp teeth stopped merely inches short of her temple. The frightened maid opened her eyes and stumbled backwards, hoping that the dragon would stay in its state of stasis.

“…huh,” Juno crossed his arms. “That’s odd.”

“Why does everything turn out so anticlimactic?” Xenia shook her head. “Makes you wonder.”

“What does it matter? Somebody just…stick a sword in it or something,” the female samurai shrugged, raising an eyebrow at the stares she got. She laughed and patted the hilt of her sword as realization struck. “Oh, right.”

Kazuya took cautious, calculated steps towards her dragon foe, holding out the tip of her blade to make sure the archdemon wasn’t playing any tricks. Shaking her head, she gripped her weapon with both hands and leapt forward, driving it through the neck. Like most things, getting stabbed in the jugular was the jolt it needed to get moving again, likely just a dying animation. Sparks and fire flew out from its wound—along with its fair share of blood—until it finally just smacked itself against the ground.

Gamer sat back and smiled, pleased with himself and the situation. The players in this event did their part, and none of them would be eliminated yet. However, just as that thought crossed his mind, a buzzer sounded, prompting him to move the camera to another screen. Upon doing so, he winced as he realized that the person they had left behind, Wolfgang, had been fighting a squad of darkspawn, who had stumbled upon him. Although he had given his best shot, they eventually swarmed him to the point where Gamer could no longer see his face.

“Oh, son of a bitch!” Keith sighed.

1st place: Juno – 40 monies
2nd place: Kazuya – 30 monies
3rd place: Tamsin – 20 monies
Wolfgang has been re-directed to the prison. He may resume roleplaying there whenever he is ready. Xenia gets a pat on the back.