dragon butt-whooping
Who: Jade Chan, Members of the J-team, Members of Krasus' team, Deathwing etc. (I know I'm missing people from the tag list...)
What: Getting Jade's talismans back from evil dragon-dude (AKA Deathwing).
When: Today?
Where: Somewhere outside the castle.
Rating: PG?
( Kick Dragon Butt )
What: Getting Jade's talismans back from evil dragon-dude (AKA Deathwing).
When: Today?
Where: Somewhere outside the castle.
Rating: PG?
( Kick Dragon Butt )
And yet the supposed hero continues to deceive his charges! The talismans may not be in my possession, but nor are they in yours! I've made quite certain of that.
[ Of course, Deathwing isn't quite clever enough to put two and two together and contemplate the idea of a separate team infiltrating his room. Or maybe he's just overly cocky in thinking such a feat impossible. Whatever the case, he's going to hold his head high and grin down at the pathetic little dragon who dares challenge him. ]
What right have you to banish me from these lands? What right have you to invoke the name of my sister? You who believes that he is worthy enough to dabble in the affairs of Aspects! You are nothing but an insect, a coward, a disease to be cleansed! You think yourself a champion, but all you are is a tool of Alexstrasza! Even now, she is laughing at you, as am I!
[ Rather than attack physically, he's sniping at all the weak points, all his doubts. His words drip with malice, with cruelty, burning as brightly as the magma flowing down his sides. ]
I will return you to her in pieces and take your place, as one deserving of the honor! Now, my dear Korialstrasz...
[ That wingspan of yours? Deathwing doubles it, easily, and shrieks with such horror to make even a dragon quake. ]
Pursue me at your peril!
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Harley's shaky still, but trying to push everything she doesn't want to consider at the moment to the back of her mind. Past experience doing so helps her lock everything away. Humor speeds things up. Able to function again, she remembers Jade being deposited on the ground with her. Harley turns to her.
"You okay, kid?"
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Anyway, Korialstrasz-- no longer Krasus-- shakes his reptilian head at Deathwing's accusations. He doesn't take his eyes off the Aspect, either. He's nothing compared to Deathwing and yet he stands his ground, refuses to give in when the fight hasn't even started.]
How can you be certain of anything? Stripped as you are, you are powerless even to control your destiny! There is no rest for you. Not the rest you so desire, nor the death you deserve!
[It's that next part that fills him with doubt. There's a certain ring to his words-
No! Every fiber of his being hums in response. Those words are far from true. Alexstrasza would never mock her consort so. She would not think less of him were he but a fraction of his power now. She is loving and suffering, and would rather not see her once dear friend and her consort fight like this.
But it must be done. The red dragon bristles, his warm blood flowing with determination and tranquil fury. If he can just distract the Aspect of Death long enough, he can save so many lives. It might cost him his own, and the thought of Deathwing finally killing Korialstrasz, even in this place, gives him cause to shiver beneath his scales. Yet for all his doubts and insecurities, he responds by summoning a small, silent shield to cut out the sound of Deathwing's scream and mad laughter. Or most of it.]
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[His power is nothing in comparison to Alexstrasza's or even Deathwing's but he's still going to try. He concentrates. The plant life that flourished from the red's presence grows radically, seeking to rip that open spot in Deathwing's armor further. They'll certainly burn in the process, but it's the best he can do right now. Being airborne will be more of an advantage when Jade and the others clear out; he can still shield them with his body right here.]
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"I'm sure that..." ]
I am the master of my own fate.
[ He speaks low at first, but with growing power, growing conviction. ]
I am the master of my own destiny.
[ With a vicious swipe, the growth of life speeding towards Deathwing is slashed in two. ]
I am now, and forever more, the master of myself! Not gods, nor dragons will tell me what to do! If I wish to die, I will die, and if I wish to live, I will live! And if I wish to be happy--
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--then you will not, cannot take that away from me!
[ Something has broken free in Deathwing, something that has been repressed for a very long time. The chains of madness give way to a momentary lucidity that fills the great beast with resolve. It is also in that moment that something else becomes terribly clear to Krasus:
This time, he has truly overstepped himself.
There is nothing else that needs to be said. With a shuddering howl, Deathwing charges. ]
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She looks around for the rest of the team. Akira and Natsuki look okay, and Harley's fine except for where the spike cut her. She glances around for Nudge (who she's not best pleased at... reliving memories of evil scientific experiments is NOT an excuse for dropping her thank you very much!).
But what she really wants to know is where her talismans are! Krasus has got some 'splaining to do.
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In that moment, he realizes he never had hope of controlling the situation.
He'll explain things to Jade later, when he's sure that his group is in possession of the talismans. There is much to be done.
Eyes on Deathwing's alarming body language, he flaps his wings and hops out of the way of the charge. Can Deathwing not fly anymore? He'll take advantage of that. Several vines leap to hold the Destroyer in place by the feet or at least trip him up. At the same time, a storm of jagged ice materializes above Deathwing's head in an attempt to blind him momentarily.]
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This pain... this pain is nothing! Nothing compared to what I have endured for thousands of years! You could never understand my torment, my curse! I shall inflict it on you hundreds, thousands of times over!
[ His bindings are fraying already, even as they cut deep into the metal holding him together. Krasus had best move unless he wants to get speared by a horn; the loss of blood is fast working him into a frenzy. ]
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[The red has another advantage besides flight: his smaller size and therefore easier maneuverability. Another flap of his wings brings him well out of range of Deathwing's thrashing, but he misjudges the speed and takes the scythe-tail to the shoulder. It burns. He hasn't felt a touch so hideous in millennia, but he manages not to cry out despite the dizzying pain.
Now he goes airborne and sends a gout of flame at the weak spot in Deathwing's armor. Fire itself isn't very strong against a master of the molten, but the fire of a red dragon carries innate properties that should aggravate the wound.
As for the ground cover, it's a lost cause. Whatever isn't dying by Deathwing's claws melts under the heat of his body. Korialstrasz focuses his efforts on that weak spot Jade and the others created instead.]
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I will paint the grounds with your blood, fool! You will not defile her any longer!
[ With those words, he begins launching himself into the air, snapping his jaws to try and snatch Krasus by the throat. He jumps and crashes, jumps and crashes, all in increasingly frustrated efforts to end this feud for good. ]
You will not take what's mine!
[ A great leap. ]
Mine!
[ And another. ]
Mine!
[ And another. He's panting now. ]
She... she promised me that we would always... we would always...
[ You can only evade Deathwing for so long. With a final heave, his teeth manage to close around Krasus' neck.
Whatever you're planning on doing, you had best do it quickly. In a few seconds, you'll be dead. ]
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There's the barest trace of remorse to be found in his draconian expression, but then it's gone as he's suddenly snapped out of the air. He roars in searing agony, the burning and the pressure too much for him to bear; yet he puts all of his strength into flapping his wings to rip himself free. It'll exacerbate the wound but he'd rather have crippling pain than suffer certain death when Deathwing manages to bring them both down. The rest of him is thrashing too. He knows, even as he strikes out with claw and club-tail alike, that what touches the dread black will be burned in return.]
My queen... still suffers from your memory, but I- will always suffer for my queen!
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[ And just as fatal fangs are poised to sink deep into Krasus' throat, Deathwing is shaken off, and is sent spiraling to the ground. With a howl of sheer agony, he collapses onto his side, earth seared beneath him. Blood flows forth from his prone body, and in a hideous sort of groan, a hulking piece of armor is sheared clean off. It appears, for now, the conflict is over... ]
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You think yourself the hero of this tale, do you? Acting on your own brazen authority, for the supposed good of all?
[ Deathwing spits magma at Krasus' feet, massive head lifting to regard him with furious eyes. ]
Let me tell you something about heroes, whelp. Heroes are corruptible. Heroes are weak. I was a hero once. The greatest breed, the noblest of all creatures! Respected and revered, loved, even! And yet gaze upon me now! Look what has become of the Earthwarder! Nothing but shambles and pieces of a lost soul!
[ Rain begins to fall, lightning flashing to illuminate Deathwing's hollowed face. ]
I wonder, Korialstrasz, the measures you're willing to take to ensure my obedience. Already you've tossed human young my way, knowing full well they would not be spared my wrath! You lie, you deceive, you manipulate and meddle, and yet you have the audacity to claim the moral high ground?! To prosecute me on the basis of stolen stones I've done nothing with? Fallen Aspect I may be, you dishonor and disrespect me as none would dare! You go too far, Red! Too far indeed! And so--
[ Deathwing is struggling for breath now, near wilts again, but he's strength enough to challenge him yet. ]
And so you force my hand. I will allow no further transgressions of yours, of any sort! If I ever catch you disturbing my affairs again, if you dare attack me once more as you have done this day, I hunt down every last child in this castle and gut them bow to stern, heads upon pikes! You believe to have seen the depths of my depravity, of my madness?
[ His laughter rises with the fury of the storm, until even it is drowned out by insanity. ]
Dearest consort, you haven't seen anything yet.
[ Welcome to the living embodiment of your nightmares. Do enjoy your stay. ]
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Deathwing's words chill him, but even now he's able to keep his focus through the pain and stars flashing before his eyes. Ironically, it's Liadrin's conversation that haunts him now. He fights to stay aloft.]
I am... no hero, [he manages, ignoring the blood seeping down his neck. He's lost a lot, but so has Deathwing.] Merely a servant, and a guilty one. My crimes and the lives I bear responsibility for-they will weigh on me until I die! And your crimes... will swallow you as well!
[With a final roar, all manner of flora burst from the charred ground, though not where Deathwing's blood has been spilled. For a moment, the battlefield becomes truly, achingly beautiful. And then it all begins to die as the plants sacrifice themselves to keep Deathwing down, tearing again at his armor and his wounds even as they shrivel and burn.
He gasps. His team is through. He has all of Neltharion's pieces captured except the king. Check!
But it's hardly comforting as he begins to fade, his mana flaring one last time to protect himself, and he reaches mentally toward his queen... But he doesn't have the concentration to teleport, and so he crashes hard into the field beyond the castle.]
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