The Eye of Terror: The Labyrinthine Depths of Chaos (Part III)

[Soul Reaver]

The smoke gradually clears, and Fei Serumen’s form is revealed again.  His body and limbs are filled with gaping holes.  But no blood falls from the wounds – instead, they ooze with the thick, impenetrable blackness of the Abyss itself.  With an exaggerated mournful look, Fei looks himself over.

“That actually hurt…”

The black crystalline Shadows Kiss blades rematerialize in his hands as from nowhere.  He steps from the liquid darkness around him, his missing leg somehow restored.  The Abyss tugs at him as he walks, as though reluctant to let him go.

“That idiot.  This has to end.”

His gaze fixes on Soul Reaver, who is just now at the apex of a jump, having attacked a massive skeletal golem – one of Kitharsis’ constructs, no doubt.  At that moment, their eyes lock.

To the mortal observer, what follows would seem to be nothing more than a blur in the air; an enigmatic flash of flame and darkness.  But to Fei and Soul Reaver, it was its own eternity of battle and blood.

Fei leaps toward Soul Reaver, shadowy afterimages trailing in his wake.  The air parts sluggishly before him as time itself seems to drop away.  Soul Reaver, more slowly, but still noticeable, twists himself upright in mid air, speaking words of magic.  His wings outstretch, then flap once with enormous power, hurling the maddened warrior on a collision course with Fei.

Soul Reaver’s body is suffused with powerful sorcery, and a deep burning energy flows from his sword to reinforce it.  The unnatural burst of speed and power would last only a brief moment, but likely a moment is all he had to survive the coming onslaught.

Both warriors slam together in midair, three-fourths of the initial distance between Fei and Soul Reaver.  Unexpectedly, Fei finds his initial slash impacts upon Blooddrinker, which has been brought up in a swift parry.

Soul Reaver is not himself – perhaps it is the exertion, or the effects of the powers he is wielding, but he looks more Daemonic than ever.  His teeth gleam as fangs, his mouth almost a snout.  His eyes are hidden amidst roaring, deep crimson fires.  A pair of shadowy horns seem faintly visible from his forehead.

Fei realizes his old friend will not hold back, and the only option to hit fast, hit hard, and hope that somehow this will prevent his friend from being consumed entirely.  Time seems to slip even further away, and Fei attacks.

Fei Serumen unleashes a barrage of thrusts and lunges, each so quick that the tips of his blades start a sonic boom.  Soul Reaver could not possibly match their speed, and yet he somehow manages to keep pace – holding Blooddrinker as though it were light as air, he deflects attacks through a combination of highly efficient positioning, brute force and something almost akin to precognition.  Somehow, his crimson blade seems to know where the next blow will be coming from, and manages to intersperse itself to prevent a fatal blow.  In turn, it too lunges and dances, supported by the smoky slashes from Soul Reaver’s daemonic talon.

Neither warrior can seem to get the upper hand.  Both avoid the fatal attacks, but are forced to concede the lesser ones.  Blood sprays from Soul Reaver’s body, trailing away in a lazy mist from newly-opened wounds.  Fei’s flesh does not bleed – it oozes blackness when struck, the Abyss flowing around him in thin, twisting trails.

The two warriors whirl in midair, but the ground is fast approaching.  Soul Reaver’s body shines with a sheen of sweat, and the blackness of his wings, arm and horns only seem to deepen.

A sharp ‘ting’ is heard from Blooddrinker as the blade develops another crack along its length.  It does not escape Fei Serumen’s notice.

His face impassive, Fei looks into Soul Reaver’s crazed eyes, and does not see Soul Reaver looking back.  Fei clenches his jaw muscles in determination – he knows what must be done.

With his left hand, he bats aside Soul Reaver’s talon, feints with his right, whirls around with impossible speed and….

Multiple sonic booms burst from the middle of the battlefield where, in the blinking of an eye ago, Soul Reaver and Fei Serumen had joined the battle.  Their combined roar is enough to blast nearby chunks of concrete into dust and throw anyone further away flat onto the ground.  Following them, tiny droplets of Soul Reavers blood spray across an area of several meters, painting it light crimson.

An almost eerie silence follows.  Two figures stand, facing each other.

One of the Shadow’s Kiss blades is outstretched.  It has entered Soul Reaver’s chest and emerges cleanly from his back.  A pair of horns on Soul Reaver’s forehead, barely visible, flicker and then blow away into nothingness on an ethereal wind.

Blooddrinker is outstretched.  It has punched through Fei Serumen’s chest, its grotesque point looming from Fei’s back.  Abyssal blackness drips from the entry and exit points of the weapon.

There is no sound other than that of steel on bone as the two figures pull their blades out of each other.  Soul Reaver sags and staggers backward, a flickering, shadowy talon going to his chest.  A gout of hot, bright red blood pumps from the deep wound.

Fei Serumen flinches but stays standing tall as Blooddrinker is pulled free.  Blackness pours liberally from the hole in his chest.  He looks aside, and says to no-one in particular:

“Heh.  I think I deserve a holiday after this one.”

The living, writhing blackness flows over Fei Serumen.  And then, like a shadow, both it - and he - are gone.

[Shadow Chorus]

As Gulgrim watches the battle ensuing in front of him, a lone ork slips by the Kabinet, swinging a weapon at his Kaptin. It bounces off of Gulgrim's 'eavy armour, but it catches the kaptin's attention. With a baleful glance, Gulgrim looks down at the offending Ork, and with a lance of heat, the smaller runt's face melts away under Gulgrim's stare.

Apparently the boyz were feeling rowdier than usual today if even the Kabinet couldn't put 'em back in line. Guess the boss'd better set things straight once and for all.

"I'M GULGRIM BONECRUNCHA!" the Ork howled, stamping his foot to the ground with a force that caused the ground to shake. In a heavy bolt of lightning, a swathe of the Ork army disappeared from the battlefield.

"I'Z DA BIGGEST!" THUMP. Another stomp, and another flash, and yet more Orks disappear from the field of view.

"AND I'Z DA STRONGEST!" with another earth-shaking slam, more Orks vanish into the aether.

"ANY O' YOU LOT WOT QUESTION ME CAN ZOG OFF, YA LOUSY RUNTS!" Gulgrim slams all four limbs into the ground, the earth cracking under him, and in a torrent of green lightning, the Army disappears. Once again, the only hint of green on the battlefield is the Kaptin himself. The Kabinet, the army, all of it is gone, save the Warboss. With an almost weary look, Gulgrim raises his gaze to find the object of his troubles. He spots the battered and bloodied Soul Reaver in the distance as Fei vanishes into the abyss. Lifting himself off the ground, Gulgrim hefts his kutlass and shoota once more and begins stomping his way towards the smaller figure.

But something isn't quite right. There's a strange wavering to the Ork's form as he presses onward. He flickers from place to place as he walks, appearing randomly at various different angles, always slowly approaching Soul Reaver. Green fire trails from his boots as he walks, his face grim, lacking the haughty, fang-filled grin the Kaptin usually wore. Lightning strikes the ground all around him, kicking up hunks of dirt and powderized stone. Green energy seems to be leaking from every orifice of the Kaptin's bulk, and simply diffusing out of his frame around him. Has the Kaptin overexerted himself? Is he preparing some strange attack? Is he simply zogged off? It was difficult to tell, but there was a strange, perhaps not beneficial change to the air around the mad Warboss.

Whatever the case was, Gulgrim did not seem to be attacking, nor was he making any headway on his march towards Soul Reaver. Every time he vanished from sight he reappeared the same distance away he had been when he began his march, just in a different location on the imaginary circle he seemed to be drawing around Soul Reaver. The effect was almost eerie, to see the normally jovial and loud-mouthed warboss grim and silent, almost tired-looking, his massive, huge-mawed face almost slack and drooping.

No matter the sound of battle around him, Gulgrim's march seemed to drive home in everyone's ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. ZAP! Thump. Thump. Thump. ZAP!

Three steps, then a flash. Always. The drone slowly grows louder, however. The sound of heavy boots hitting earth, and the strike of green lightning seems to grow louder and more invasive the longer Gulgrim's death-march continues.

[Cameron]

Cameron is forced to divert most of his energy to create a shield when Soul Reaver drops from between himself and Gulgrim. This diverts most of the fire away from him long enough for him to drop back to the ground and out of harm's way. He takes a moment to recover as Soul Reaver continues to devote all of his attention to the angry ork.

Then Gulgrim is felled by a spell. Cameron summons his swords and prepares to charge in, but stops short as Kitharsis arrives. Cameron witnesses the blow that causes Blooddrinker to crack. The sight of the fractured blade fills him with dread. A mental message is sent to all nearby companions.

"If we are to have any hope of undoing this, we cannot allow that sword to break! We have to disarm Soul Reaver! Get that blade away from him!"

Cameron rushes in, seeing Fei charging in ahead of him. As Fei attacks, Cameron unleashes a hail of bolter fire from his arm mounted storm bolters to distract Soul Reaver further and keep him from blocking or parrying. At the same time, Cameron attempts to communicate with Soul Reaver telepathically.

"Soul Reaver, stop this! Blooddrinker is going to escape if you press this further! Let us help you control him!"

Cameron Aileron attempts to psychically contact Soul Reaver but after the first few words get through, he suddenly feels a massive barrier erected to block his telepathic message.  To his psychic vision, it looks like a looming, horrifying winged humanoid, interspersing itself between Cameron and Soul Reaver.  It glares back at him with narrowed, glowing eyes filled with nothing but hate.

Cameron dismisses the winged image from his mind. In doing so, he feels tugs from two different psychic connections that are still present. Soul Reaver attacks again, but Cameron has lost all interest in the battle still raging before him. He teleports away in a flash of smoke and fire seconds before a swarm of dark blades slices through the air now occupying his previous position. He re-appears well outside of the range of the battle, at the black barrier separating him from the remainder of his friends… and Peterson.

The barrier is strong, but the link with two entities on the other side of it is stronger. I can almost make out shapes, colors, flashes of light, muffled sounds… I need to get closer.

Cameron now turns his back on his companions completely. He quickly flies outside of the range of the battle and back to the barrier. He clashes against it a few more times with his blades, to no avail. He allows his weapons to dissipate and places both gauntleted hands on the barrier, dismissing all else from his mind.

It’s clearer now. I can make out the vague shapes of my friends, fighting a monstrous power. Kalana is there. I can feel my link to her. If I can just focus more…
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Kalana and the Elementals dive for cover as more catwalks and debris from the warehouse fall around them. Above them, Peterson cackles maniacally as he lashes all around him with his seemingly infinite blade-tipped chains, ripping the celing and support structures down. Kalana snarls as she erects barrier after barrier to protect her allies.

“This is pointless. We can’t keep staying on the defensive. We have to get him down on the ground!”

Mary snarls a reply as her blade rips through a falling section of concrete.

“Yeah, you’re right. Where do you want us?”

Kalana feels time seem to slow down around her as she expends her psychic energy inward, boosting her thought process to give her time to think. After what seems like barely a second to the others, she snaps alert again.

“Everyone, draw your elemental blades and charge him head on. He’ll have to focus to defend against the sudden onslaught. I’ll get behind him and try to knock him down.”

The elementals shoot each other a wary glance. They know that Cameron has not drawn Valermos yet, and drawing theirs now could force his hand. Mary is the first to drop her two-handed blade and reach for the hilt of Morthoseth.

“She’s right. Our attacks have done nothing so far. We must act.”

Mary rips Morthoseth from it’s scabbard and Kari, Karyl, and Garr follow suit with Luciandar, Cinthorc, and Molotoch. They launch themselves at Peterson. Seeing them coming, Peterson retracts his chains and prepares to defend and counter. This leaves his back exposed.

Kalana moves quickly. In a flash, she has teleported to the ceiling, hanging in midair behind Peterson’s hulking metal frame. She lunges forward…
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Cameron strains against the barrier with his mind. He feels the sudden pull of all of the elemental blades save his being drawn. Normally this would be impossible to ignore, but his mind continues to be pulled relentlessly towards the barrier.

Now I can see. Mary. Karyl. Kari. Garr. They’re charging. Peterson… he’s there waiting. I’m behind him? No. Not me. I’m looking through someone else’s eyes. Kalana! She’s behind him! She has an opening!
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As Kalana closes the distance between her and Peterson, she suddenly feels a presence rush into her mind. It’s Cameron. He seems overjoyed to have finally broken through to her. But ahead of her, Peterson suddenly perks his head up. Kalana knows what has happened and tries to stop, but her full momentum is invested in this attack and she can do nothing but sail forward as Peterson turns to face her. His face is stretched into an awful rictus.

“Wrong again, Cameron!”

Peterson brings his knee into Kalana’s midsection. He then follows up with an open palm strike into her chest. She feels her ribs shattering and cries out in pain. Peterson then simply bats her out of the sky with a kick to the head. As she falls, he sends a group of chains after her, meaning to impale her before she hits the ground. But Peterson has to divert his attention to the attacking Elementals to avoid being overrun, and the chains miss their mark, slamming into the ground around her as she lands in a heap. Peterson continues grinning as he defends himself from the Elementals with blade and chain.

“She HAD an opening. But then you screwed it up. Did you forget? I can see everything you see, and hear every thought you form in that useless head of yours. As long as she is still hopelessly bound to your mind, she’ll never have an opening on me. And you get to just sit there and watch.”

Kalana groans as she makes her way back to her feet. She coughs and wipes blood from her lips. Her insides feel like glass. She glances up at Peterson before looking back towards the barrier.

Cameron! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be helping Master Reaver! As long as he’s still in your head, you being here is a liability to all of us!

On the other side of the barrier, Cameron drops to his knees. He knows that he should be paying attention to the fight behind him, but he cannot force himself to break the connection with Kalana.

I… I can’t. I can’t look away. Something’s drawing me here.

Cameron and Kalana both flinch as another voice enters their minds.

Yep, that’s me. I’m making Cameron watch me kill off the rest of his race and his lover, while his friends die behind him without his help. Glorious, is it not? The ultimate revenge for what he has done to us. And when Reaver wakes up and realizes what he’s done to his companions, it will be the ultimate revenge on him as well. All that, plus I got a new job with a swanky employer and AMAZING benefits. Everything’s coming up James Peterson today!

Peterson lashes out with a wave of energy, shoving the Elementals away from him.

“I’m going to murder all of you and there’s not a damn thing that either of those poor sad saps can do about it!”

The Elementals attack again, but it’s obvious that Peterson is just toying with them. One by one he knocks them away. Karyl’s electric attacks fizzle with little effect. Garr’s attempts at shadow-play are easily intercepted. Kari’s blade cannot strike true through the mass of chains blocking it. And even Mary, the strongest of them, cannot seem to make an attack without it being parried by the daemon blade Drach’nyen.

Kalana wants to fly up and help them, but Peterson will be able to predict her every attack. She is useless as long as he has Cameron focused on this fight. She has to do something. Her attention turns back to the barrier. She can feel Cameron on the other side of it. She clears her mind of all thought to stop Peterson from sensing what she is doing. She then quickly crosses to the barrier, directly across from where Cameron is.

Cameron… brace yourself.

Without giving Cameron or Peterson a chance to reply, she slams her hands against the barrier. Blue lightning crackles from her eye sockets and around her head as she focuses the entirety of her remaining psychic energy on her link with Cameron. There is a blinding flash, and then Kalana’s body falls limp.
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On the other side of the barrier, Cameron is thrown backwards by the sudden surge of energy. He can still feel Kalana in his mind, but it is no longer through a link.

Ugh. Cramped in here. Cameron, why is so much of your mind still closed off? I thought we were making way better progress than this.

Cameron smirks at the voice echoing in his mind.

It’s not like we’ve had a lot of time to train, Kalana. I’ve been sort of busy.

Peterson’s voice rings out in his head, drowning out Kalana’s response.

What is this? Where did you go? Are you INSIDE Cameron’s mind? That’s veeeeery interesting. Because your body’s still over here… completely defenseless.

Kalana can feel Peterson’s presence, somewhere deep behind the closed doors of Cameron’s mind. She can find him. But she needs time.

Cameron. Tell them to protect me. NOT with your mind. Use your sword.

Cameron looks down at Valermos, still sheathed with the Earth blade Anathros at his side. Even the pull of the other blades being drawn hadn’t been enough to break Peterson’s trance on him. He places a hand on it's hilt. He can immediately feel his connection with the other blades and their wielders.

“Valermos, tell the others. Protect Kalana at all costs. It’s our only shot.”
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On the other side of the barrier, Peterson shrugs off a few blows as he summons green chaos fire from his fingertips.

Cameron, I hope you enjoy having a permanent house guest in your head, cause I’m about to incinerate your girlfriend.I hope you can feel this. I WANT you to feel this. This is what it feels like to fail.

Peterson hurls a wave of fire at Kalana’s defenseless body. But just before it makes impact, a flash of gold light lands just in front of her. The fire parts and is deflected to either side. Mary is there, in true elemental form. Morthoseth glows a violent purple in one hand as she wields a gold shield of pure elemental energy in the other. Wings stretch behind her, shielding Kalana from view. Her pupil-less eyes burn with golden fire.

“Alright, big guy. Round 2.”

Peterson scowls.

“Do you really think a new paint job and flashy lights are going to make the result of this any different than last time?”

Mary spits at the ground and snarls a reply.

“Maybe not. But it was one on one last time too.”

Peterson is caught off guard by the other elementals attacking from behind. Kalana is no longer there, and that means that Cameron cannot see the battlefield. He can no longer use him to predict their attacks. He manages to catch most of the blow with his chains but is still knocked off balance, which is all the opening that Mary needs. In seconds, she is on him, striking him with shield and sword and knocking him to the ground. The metal corpse leaves a crater on impact. His chains flail about mindlessly for a moment before dissipating. But this is only a temporary respite. Peterson is already stirring.

“Morthoseth, tell Valermos that we’ve got this. Let Kalana do her thing.”

Mary nods to the other elementals and they all lunge downward at Peterson, pressing the attack.
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Peterson’s presence in Cameron’s mind has receded for the moment due to the onslaught he is facing on the other side of the barrier. Kalana focuses on Cameron’s mind. It, like most minds, is a twisting maze of corridors and passages. But this is different. The architecture is alien, and the corridors are even more complicated than normal.

You know, I always forget that you’re not actually human. Even your mind is structured differently than ours.

Back in reality, Cameron frowns. With Peterson’s hold on him temporarily released, he has turned his back on the barrier and is now watching his companions try and stop Soul Reaver. Things aren’t going well.

Well, I hope it isn’t going to be too much of a problem, because we don’t have a lot of time. On either side of the barrier.

Kalana pauses to allow her mind’s eye to see what Cameron is looking at. The view is grim.

Yes. They need you. And Mary, Garr, Karyl, and Kari need me as well. I’ll try to make this quick.

Kalana looks around at the twisting jumble of hallways and passages before her. There’s no time to search them all. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to. No mind is locked to her.

Cameron, this might be… a bit uncomfortable.

Kalana focuses and raises her hands, and every door in Cameron’s mind flies open. Cameron is flooded with memories and thoughts, jumbled together in an unorganized mass. He is overwhelmed, but Kalana ignores this and forces her way through the noise. And deep in the back, she feels it. A malignant presence. Something that doesn’t belong here. She begins to run.
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The battle is much less one-sided now that the Elementals are fighting at full strength, but Peterson still has the upper hand. He ducks a surprise attack by Garr and parries a shield swing by Mary. Karyl feints with his “axe” before driving his sword home but only manages to gut Peterson’s after-image. Peterson moves to retaliate but runs into a wall of ice created by Kari. He smashes through it just in time to take a guitar to the face. The shockwave should have been enough to drive him backwards a few hundred meters, but instead he stops himself and smashes Karyl with the flat of Drach’nyen, sending him to the ground. He then just barely avoids having his head severed by a two handed blow from Mary. he whips around and locks blades with her while parrying simultaneous attacks from Garr and Kari with his chains.

“Come now, girl. This is just like before. Even with the addition of your friends, you’re only going to succeed in keeping me locked in this stalemate for so long. Your energy is limited, and I have an unlimited supply.”

Mary doesn’t reply. Instead, she breaks off and unleashes another flurry of blows. Peterson parries them all.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. Hand over Cameron’s pwecious wittle waifu, and I’ll let you all live! None of you are on my shit list yet. It’s Cameron I want. So just take off! No strings attached!”

Mary again doesn’t respond. This time, she disappears. Karyl was waiting behind her, and he strums his guitar and blasts Peterson backwards with what appears to be a laser beam from it’s neck. He tries to right himself but suddenly finds himself engulfed by smoke and shadows. He stops himself to get his bearings and then is struck head on by a volley of ice spears which rip through his exposed circuitry. Annoyed, he snaps them all off and hurls himself out of the cloud before anything else can surprise him. His vision clears just in time to see Mary’s fist before it collides with the fleshy part of his face. Stunned, Peterson barely escapes another killing blow from her as he staggers backwards.

“ENOUGH!”

Chains swirl around Peterson, driving the Elementals away from him. Inside the swirling mass of metal, Peterson smirks.

“Now you’re all on my shit list.”
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Kalana reaches the last chamber in Cameron’s mind. There are a few things buried down here. Memories of the time before Inferia was destroyed. Anger and grief over various losses. But also here is what appears to be a tumor. Of course, it’s not a real tumor. This is just Kalana’s mind giving shape to what she’s experiencing. But it certainly looks like a tumor. A living thing. Pulsing and writhing. She shudders momentarily.

“This is it. This is how you’ve been doing this.”

Kalana summons all of the power that she has left.

“I hope this kills you. But if not, I hope it hurts you bad enough that you think twice before trying this shit again.”

From inside the pulsing mass of flesh, she hears Peterson’s voice.

Wait, what? What are you- Oh. Oh you BITCH.

Peterson’s voice is cut off as Kalana brings a two-handed spear of psychic power down into the tumor. It sizzles, burns, and then bursts in a pulse of foul energy. Kalana feels Peterson’s presence flee Cameron’s mind. The link is closed. He is free.
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As Peterson hovers inside of his wall of chains, he begins building power. The time for playing around is over. It’s time to punish these fools for their insolence and then get onto the good stuff. Namely, stuffing Kalana’s head in a box so that he can gift wrap it and hand it to Cameron when the barrier falls. Oh,, to see the look on his face-

I hope this kills you. But if not, I hope it hurts you bad enough that you think twice before trying this shit again.

He had forgotten all about Kalana and Cameron. He could feel her doing something through the mental link, but was unable to pinpoint exactly what it was until now.

“Wait, what? What are you- Oh. Oh you BITCH.”

Peterson tries to withdraw, but it’s too late. His connection to Cameron’s mind is abruptly severed. THe feedback overwhelms him and he loses all concentration. All of his gathered energy is lost and his chains fall away. The elementals spot this immediately. Mary shouts to the rest of them.

“There’s our opening. HIT HIM NOW.”
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Cameron shakes his head, finally clear of the pull that was locking him in place. He hadn’t noticed Peterson’s presence when it was there, but now that is gone he feels more collected and in control than he has in months. He can still feel Kalana’s presence in his mind as well, burning like a sun.

Cameron: Thank you.
Kalana: You’re welcome.
Cameron: You should get back to your body.
Kalana: Not yet. We have a minute. Peterson will take some time to recover. Let’s deal with Master Reaver, while we have the chance.

Cameron looks to the battle. Soul Reaver and Fei have just finished attacking each other. Soul Reaver stumbles back, wounded, while Fei vanishes. Cameron silently hopes that it isn’t the last they’d see of the Antediluvian as he tries to come up with a plan of attack.

We need to hit him hard. Something that he can’t defend against. That’s the only way to get him to snap out of this. We have to incapacitate him to break Blooddrinker’s hold.

Cameron can feel a surge of power building within him. Kalana is in his mind, taking his full attunement to the element of fire and spreading it to the other elements. He feels the pull of both elemental blades sheathed at his side and resists them both. Kalana has other ideas.

Let’s hit him with everything we’ve got, then.

Cameron’s eyes flash, first orange, then white, then a burning blue as he and Kalana’s consciousnesses merge. He launches himself towards the fray.Kalana guides Cameron's hands as he reaches down and grabs the hilts of both elemental blades. Valermos pulls forth freely, but Anathros again resists. He should not be able to wield this blade, since it is made for earth elementals. But Kalana re-aligns Cameron's mind even further, and with his connection to the elements now fully in tune, Anathros comes free from it's scabbard.

Cameron then leaps into the air at blinding speed and bursts through the impossibly high roof of the warehouse. He looks into the sky and spies rocks and debris from the asteroid floating in space. He focuses on one about the size of a tank. With his control over the element of earth and Kalana’s psychic pull, he is able to pull it towards him. It breaks into the asteroid’s atmosphere, and Cameron stokes the flames that form around it, turning the hunk of rock into a burning comet that he directs straight towards the warehouse. He increases it’s speed until it’s falling far faster than it should be.

Miles over Soul Reaver’s head, the roof of the massive warehouse completely caves in. The burning asteroid streams straight towards him, tearing through catwalks and cables and melting the metal and plastic into molten slag that only serves to feed the flames around the rock and make them that much more deadly. The impact will vaporize everything in the area. But the companions near Soul Reaver find themselves shielded from this by psychic barriers. Soul Reaver himself will not be so fortunate.

Cameron himself streaks just ahead of the oncoming meteor with Valermos and Anathros out in front of him. His eyes rapidly flash between white and blue and blue fire trails behind him. He lashes out at Soul Reaver with both blades just seconds  before the meteor’s impact. His goal is to force Soul Reaver to parry these blows and thus not give him time to protect himself against the coming explosion.

[Daccio]

Sepher’s eyes narrow dangerously as his spear punches through the retribution armor and his spear begins to slide into Soulreaver’s flesh, but at the last moment, Soul turns to look back to him and Sepher’s eyes suddenly widen a bit with shock. Where Soul had been before, he wasn’t quite there now.

His spear had pierced flesh, but nothing fatal, nothing substantial even and it had not slowed him. He suddenly found himself hurtling straight into danyael, spear first. The spear that was meant to pierce the heart of darkness before them, now slid right towards one of his companions.

In his head he could hear the daemons cheer and rage at this sudden change of events and his sight goes just slightly fuzzy as they try to take over once more. Being halfway in daemon form, it takes much more effort to control them than it would have had he been fully human. That energy, that precious control it took, meant that he did not have much to give to changing his course or diverting his path.

He didn’t have much time to register what was going on behind him, Soul shifting his talon to a wicked curved blade, the thin glowing orange line of the scythe arc sending out a shockwave of power into the minions fighting. No, he didn’t have much time for that, though Danyael seems to somehow spin away from his spear, leaving his companion unharmed by what would have been a fairly lethal blow.

As light of the scythe blow spread outward and the shockwave hit, he slowly turned to face the fight once more, his momentum still carrying him what had been forward, but was now backwards so he could react and carry himself away from the immediate threats. The energy of the shockwave hit him, but his chaos magic seemed to bolster the enhanced crimson steel that made his armor so special.

As he spun though, his double is sliced in half, the energies washing over him from blow and pushing him further backwards. His concentration on his daemons wavered for just a moment, and once more they tried to wrest control. It took enough of his focus away that he caught some debris on the field and tumbled to the ground, slamming through concrete and other materials alike. The momentum from his attack had finally been halted, but slowly, his vision clouds to black and he finds himself elsewhere for a moment.

Jharms prayer and shield seem to envelope the warrior who had been buried in debris, but he does not seem to be coming out from where he had fallen.

---------

Sepher walked through a graveyard. Thick, yellowed grass and weeds choked the dirt that surrounded the graves. Above, a bright moon bore down on him, red and angry, anchoring his thoughts. Yes, he was there. In that place. His homeworld. Why was he here? How was he here? He destroyed the planet when he had been unable to control himself. He looked down to the graves and his face twisted in pain.

The names of his wife and daughter were evident, and though they were worn, the graves of everyone he knew surrounded him. He fell to his knees in grief, trying to figure out what was going on. It had been a hundred or more years ago since he had killed everyone in an unprecedented moment of weak willpower which allowed Adara to take control. This had never happened. He had never been able to bury anyone.

“Ah. Sepher. Here you are.” Said a deep, malicious voice.

Sepher spun to his feet, turning around to face the voice and was face to face with Adara in his ‘human’ form. Spikes jutted out along the ridges of his arms and shoulders, eyes blazing red like the sun of Severel itself.

“Adara” He snarled “What have you done?”

The daemon god chuckled

“What have I done, you ask? Your mind made this place, not me. I merely…. gave it substance” Adara grinned wickedly, sharp percing fangs revealed. “You are old, Sepher. You are losing control. I’ve waited Several hundred years, but I will soon be in control again. In the eye, with the chaos energies running rampant, I am stronger than you. I will win out.” Sepher glared at the daemon god.

“You know I won’t let that happen”

“You will” replied Adara “And you will lose everyone you love. Again.” The Daemon’s laugh dug into his soul and suddenly the faces of everyone he had ever loved filled his vision. Sepher watched as he, in Adara’s form, killed each and every one of them. His Wife, his daughter, pleading for her life. His friends and the rest of his family.

New visions came to his eyes, blocking everything else out.

Cameron, the first of the companions he had ever met, who had pointed them towards the eye of terror, to this fight for the multiverse. Cameron was broken, laying at his feet, his neck snapped cleanly and his dead eyes staring up at the sky.

Gulgrim, who had only recently just met, but had proved himself to be a ferocious warrior of unquestionable might. Gulgrim’s blood ran down Sepher’s arms as he slowly eviscerated the warrior while he was still alive.

Danyael, one of the more mysterious of the companions, who seemed to have a near limitless bag of tricks up his sleeve for any situation. Danyaels screams peirced the night as his magic flailed uselessly into the sky while sepher tore the skin off of him in strips.

Kitharsis, ever vigilant and supportive of their efforts, his unique tattoos allowed him to focus his energy into unique attacks. He was being burned alive as Sepher used his own chaos magic to turn Kith’s energy against himself.

Soul Reaver, ever ancient, ever knowing. Wielder of Blooddrinker.  Sepher was confused at this vision because they were just fighting Soul, and the confusion gave him just enough of a grounding that even as his spear plunged into Soul’s neck, he was able to get a finger of control back.

Jharm. Angelic being. He had always cared about the companions, even when things got dim. Sepher shook his head. Something was wrong as he raised his Katana to sever the wings from the back of the broken angel….

“NO”  Sepher shouted, shaking his head. His gaze came back up to Adara, furious and blazing. Adara was recoiling as if something had broken a powerful magical connection and the energy was recoiling back on him.

“You will NOT have me. The companions believe in me, and I will never betray them” He growled, stepping forward closer to Adara. “I will not fail them now” he said quietly as he neared the Daemon God.

Adara’s eyes widened and he screamed an infernal scream as he seemed held in place by Sepher’s will. Sepher stepped up to the creature and put his hand on the Daemon’s head. Adara’s screaming intensified as energy built up around Sepher’s hand and finally a bright flash resounded all across the vision. Sepher spoke quietly.

“You will never control me, Adara. Never again. You are mine and you will bend to my will” The light expanded further and further, slowly burning away his vision until suddenly….

------------------------

He started awake, under a pile of rubble. His spear lay next to him. A dull pain spread around his whole body, but he seemed relatively unhurt. He could hear the sounds of battle from outside of his little shelter and he realized that the fight was still going on. Looking inwardly, he felt the daemon souls quieted. Not even Adara was stirring. It was as if he truly had them locked into place. Well, it was time to see what would happen if he pulled on those powers once more.

Drawing on Adara’s soul, he defuses the soul’s power into his body, combining the powers of daemon concentration transformation and the regular version into something he’s never tried before. He could feel the strength of the bound Daemon god spread through him, he could feel his muscles cording with power, his sense of alertness and awareness increase as the Deamon’s powers lent to his own, but he retained his own form.

It was not as powerful as taking the form, but it seemed to give him greater control. He could not feel the Daemon fighting for control as brutally as he would have before. With a deep breath, he stood, the large slabs of concrete being pushed out of the way by his newfound strength. He picked up his Weapon and surveyed the battlefield, and immediately picked a few things out.

Cameron was falling from the sky, a meteor falling behind him. He looked like he was attacking head on, which they companions had really determined wasn’t very effective, but if he could force soul’s attention to his blades, that meteor might do the trick…

And so sepher found himself hurtling across the ground at breakneck speed, towards Soul from the opposite direction as Cameron. He would aid in the distraction and hopefully this battle would be over shortly.

He leaped over some debris and engaged with Soul, his spear spinning like a staff, striking from all direction, both blade and blunt, in an effort to connect and assist Cameron in Distracting Soul. Soul would note that his speed and strength and ability to respond to things had all increased, making him a deadlier opponent than he had been.

As he went into battle with soul, Jharm would notice something funny about him. The Daemon souls seem to be much quieter than they were.

(OOC)

[Veldanya Venalla]

As Soul Reaver unleashes a truly demonic roar, the Seraphim is slightly overcome by a veritable wave of malevolence.  His steady march falters for a brief second.

"“HONOUR?!  I WILL SHOW YOU THE WAGES OF HONOUR!”"

Black shadowy wings sprout from the knights back once more as his visage seems to become even more demonic in appearance.  He raises Blooddrinker and seems to be about to strike when the ground suddenly begins to shake violently.  Jharm can see a giant creature made of skulls barreling towards the twisted warrior but then Soul gestures with his arm and a large wall of black flames erupts between the angel and the warrior.  The Seraphim leaps backwards and launches into the air as a wave of intense heat washes over him.  He has lost sight of the crazed night!  The Seraphims soars through the air as he attempts to get around the fiery wall.  Just as he nears the edge a series of sonic booms echo from the area and as he rounds the edge he sees Fei and Soul standing in front of each other, their respective weapons embedded in each other. A second later the shadow wielder steps back, says something and vanishes from sight.  Before he has a chance to react further a large meteor comes crashing through the ceiling, Cameron a short distance in front of it.  It would seem the elemental is attempting to finish things. 

He must not know what is coming....

He then sees Sepher charge across the field and attack Soul Reaver from the opposite direction of Cameron.  The sight of the other demon-wielder rankles the holy warrior briefly but then he realizes something.

His demons....they seem oddly quiet.  I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.  No time to think on it, I must aid him.

Deciding to further use the obvious rage Soul has towards him due to his besmirching the knights honor, Jharm slams down onto the ground in front of Soul Reaver (though a reasonable distance still between them).

"Blooddrinker!  You once again flee from fighting me!  I can sense your fear demon!  Behold the glory and majesty of the Light!"

Power surges through Jharm as his body and armor glow and then a second later seem to explode with light.  To everyone but Soul Reaver it seems as if they are bathed in the soft radiance of a noonday sun.  To the twisted warrior however it is as if he is gazing into the depths of the Sun itself.   

[Kitharsis]

Soul Reaver seemingly splits into two mirror images.  Kitharsis grits his teeth as he swings his horseman's pick in an effort to deflect the overhead chop aimed for his head.

As the two weapons collide, the image of Soul Reaver stands firm.  But it does not last as glowing red tendrils pierce through its illusory body.  The image dissipates into nothing, leaving Kitharsis battling the air.  The tendrils blink out as he readies the horseman's pick once again.  He can only watch as Soul Reaver's finishes his attack on the golem.  Bones fly into the air as the immortal performs a back flip at the apex of his swing. 

Soul Reaver plants his feet on the golem's chest, and he is met by the stares of hundreds of clattering skulls.  Their jaws work furiously, muttering silent curses at the crazed warrior.  Blooddrinker pierces through the mass of bones up to its hilt, the thirsty blade greedily sucking up any energy it can find.

But as soon as the tip of the blade slides through the first layer of bones, the Tirthandaran energy running through them darts off.  The bones lifelessly begin falling to the floor below, and by the time Soul Reaver completes his swing Blooddrinker finds that it is sucking on dry marrow instead of the rich energy it had a taste of moments before.  It seems that the golem will not be such an easy meal.

The bones, once out of Blooddrinker's range, come to life once again and reattach to a different section of the golem's body.  It's razor sharp claws extend further than before, and they swipe at Soul Reaver as he lingers in the air before the golem.  Alas, reanimating itself took too long, as Soul Reaver is out of the golem's extended reach before its blows can connect.

Fei and Soul Reaver exchange blows, almost too fast for Kitharsis's eyes to see without activating his rune tattoo for speed.

Their battle comes to a head, and as they both wrench their blades free from each other an eruption of black ichor and bright red blood coats the area.

Fei disappears, swallowed by the writhing blackness.

Gulgrim was keeping some distance between himself and Soul Reaver, probably waiting for the right moment to strike again.

Cameron appears, crashing in from the impossibly high ceiling of the warehouse.  An asteroid is tailing him with great speed.

Sepher, with newfound strength, hurtles across the battlefield with spear spinning wildy.

Jharm slams down in front of Soul Reaver, and explodes with light.

Now is the time for a final push.  Kitharsis runs at full tilt toward Soul Reaver, the bone golem following suit.  As they are nearly upon him, the bone golem begins shedding waves and waves of bones.  The multitudes of bones and skulls fly through the air like a swarm of insects.  The mass of bones part around the companions, weaving and writhing their way to their target so not to be a hindrance to the others.  The bones slam into Soul Reaver from all directions.  Some are blunt, others razor sharp.  There is such a large number it would be difficult to block and dodge all of them.  Combined with the attacks from the other companions, it would be nearly impossible to come away unscathed.

Kitharsis leaps through an opening beside Sepher.  His arms are encased in blades of Tirthandaran energy.  His battle senses are at full tilt, aware of everything around him.  Each swing is precise and ruthless.  This is surely a fight for life and death, another companion cannot fall from this madness.

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver staggers backward, blood gushing from the gaping wound in his chest.  He does not have time to recover before the other are upon him.

Cameron throws himself toward Soul Reaver as above him, a massive flaming comet crashes through the distant roof, scattering shards of superheated rock and metal.  His two swords, humming with power, flash through the air to keep Soul Reaver occupied.

Sepher joins the fray, his spear jabbing, slashing and striking with speed and precision.  He was more in control of himself than before, and his increased focus was making every blow a calculated and potentially deadly strike.

Kitharsis and his bone golem were not far behind.  The horseman’s pick rises and falls, delivering blows with a force that would shatter solid steel.  The golem meanwhile accompanied Kitharsis with a rain of attacks.

Jharm’s form blazes with blinding light to support his companions’ attacks, the brightness sending ribbons of blackness streaming from Soul Reaver’s smoky wings and arm.

Gulgrim and Danyael were not yet engaged directly – not that there would have been much room left for them to join the fray – but Gulgrim already seems to be weighing up the situation in preparation for a strike of his own.

Gravely wounded, Soul Reaver seems to be skating the edge of unconsciousness.  Jharm’s light sears Soul Reaver’s vision and he instinctively raises his taloned arm to shield his eyes from the blinding brilliance.  But Blooddrinker has a mind of its own and does not need Soul Reaver’s eyes to see.  It parries and counterattacks to keep the assailants at bay.  Though swift and effective, the movements are mechanical – the sword yanks at Soul Reaver’s arm rather than flowing with it, lacking any of the usual grace of Soul Reaver’s swordsmanship.  Soul Reaver’s already battered and blood-soaked body earns yet more scars, but the shuddering surface of Soul Reaver’s Retribution Shield, combined with Blooddrinker’s self-serving efforts, manage to avoid what would otherwise have been fatal blows.

Hot power surges through Soul Reaver’s body, focussed on staunching the bleeding from the wound at his chest.  It feels like a hot iron searing the skin, but it knits enough tissue back together to prevent Soul Reaver bleeding out.  The white-hot agony seems to jolt Soul Reaver back into a semblance of frantic awareness.

There is a sudden, deep thud, like the beating of a black heart, and a ball of smoky darkness suffuses Soul Reaver, plunging Soul Reaver into comforting shadow, hiding him and shielding him from Jharm’s painful glow.  Through the shadowed veil, Soul Reaver espies the comet grow large behind Cameron’s form, its impact imminent.

Instinct kicks in as Soul Reaver acts to protect himself.  The Retribution Shield had been in place for much of the battle.  Throughout the conflict, it had absorbed blow after blow.  And for every blow dealt to it, the power it had sapped from the enemy attack had been stored, waiting to be unleashed.  That time was now.

Images of screaming faces crawl up the surface of the dark Retribution Shield as it begins to shake and shiver.  The orb can barely retain its integrity as phenomenal amounts of energy sheathe over its shell.  Then, multiple arcs of white power lash from the shield at those nearby: Kitharsis, Cameron, Sepher, Jharm and Kitharsis’ towering golem.  Each blast flickers and jumps like a living thing, unerringly striking at its targets chest.

Soul Reaver spreads his arms wide as the comet’s blazing form looms over him, as though to embrace a fiery end.  But then one last, massive blast issues from the surface of the shield, leaping to meet the incoming comet.

The impact emits a deafening boom, and the comet bursts apart into countless fragments.  The chunks of flaming rock fan out as a deathly rose of stone and fire, before they slam into the earth, their flames going out as they sink into the lingering remains of the black ichor covering the ground.

For a few moments, Soul Reaver’s black wings and taloned arm grow unstable, as they begin to fade in and out of existence.   Soul Reaver’s shoulder’s slump and Blooddrinker is lowered, as though its weight was dragging its point to the ground.  Head to toe, Soul Reaver’s whole body is slick and wet with blood.  It would seem that even with the Daemon Lord’s raging, his body is reaching its limits.

[Shadow Chorus]

THUMP

As Gulgrim came to a halt, planting his foot as his seemingly endless march ceased, the sound reverberated and echoed across the battlefield, washing away any lesser sounds in its wake. Unoccupied gazes, especially those sensitive to raw energy, find that Gulgrim's presence has an almost magnetic affect as the power contained within his form pulses brighter and brighter. Stones on the ground rattle, green lightning dances across the battlefield, and the ground around Gulgrim seems to rumble.

There's an ear-shattering sound, like radio static amplified to some ungodly power, and an explosively loud message rockets into the minds of those on the battlefield.

"Ya get one chance. One chance 'fore I krush 'em meself. Fix 'em, krump 'em. Yer choice. One chance."

The very act of receiving the psychic message is almost painful, as if Gulgrim can't even perform a benign action without overcharging it with force at the moment. And then, with a crack of lightning that sends rocks scattering at its impact points, Gulgrim vanishes and reappears standing almost immediately in front of Soul Reaver.

And then all hell breaks loose around him.

All of the power Gulgrim had been building throughout the fight, all of the raw energy, all of the anger and Orky rage that he had been collecting, especially during the death march, was unleashed around him. The buffeting force of the sheer WAAAGH!!! energy that was unleashed swirled around Gulgrim like a Hurricane, with himself in the eye, his coat and hat flapping in the winds, but seemingly unharmed.

"Ya feel that ya spikey git?" The Ork warboss bellowed, his voice blasting loudly from his throat, reverberating with energy. "Dat's da raw power o' Gork an' Mork! I'z dere avatar, an' now you'z woken da twin godz o' da orkz! Time ta get Krumped, little 'Umie! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!"

And then the raw power begins to gain direction and focus, turning from a hurricane to a drill, pressing in towards Soul Reaver's chest. Force like a thousand giant hammers began to attempt to batter the dark Knight, pressing down and down, harder and harder, trying to pummel the possessed warrior into the earth. It was as if the limbs of Gork and Mork were battering away, attempting to beat the warrior into submission or death.

All around Gulgrim rocks are flying, lightning is crackling, and wind is roaring, but the hurricane has largely died down, most of its power being focused into this all out assault on Soul Reaver's form. Meanwhile, Gulgrim was standing unmoving, staring coldly into the dark knight's eyes, his glowing red gaze unmoving, unblinking. His body did not move or flinch, and he almost seemed helpless if not for the swirling torrent of energy hammering away at his opponent.

[Cameron]

Cameron leaps to the side and crosses his swords in front of him. A shield of pure elemental energy pours from the blades and absorbs the blasts coming from the Retribution Shield, but each one forces them apart a little more. The final detonation is enough to break Cameron’s defense and he tumbles to the ground.

The elemental warrior quickly finds his feet again. Power armor servos squeal in protest as damaged plates right themselves. Cameron falls into a defensive stance, his swords held loosely in front of him. Flaming rocks fall all around him but any that come close to impacting him seem to steer themselves away and into the ground.

Cameron regards Soul Reaver. The warrior looks drained. The wings and daemon talons gifted to him by Blooddrinker are now insubstantial. Cameron doesn’t think that he’ll be able to hold out much longer.

And then comes a voice so loud that even Kalana’s presence in Cameron’s mind recoils in pain.

"Ya get one chance. One chance 'fore I krush 'em meself. Fix 'em, krump 'em. Yer choice. One chance."

The message from Gulgrim is clear. Cameron can feel the raw power that has built up in the Ork Kaptain. He was not even aware that Orks could harness this kind of energy, let alone so much of it. If nothing is done, Gulgrim will certainly finish this fight, and their friend.

“We need to do something. We can’t just let Soul Reaver die.”

In Cameron’s mind, Kalana is sliding through memories of the beginning of the battle. The parts she missed when she was busy fighting Peterson. What had set Master Reaver off like this? Blooddrinker is obviously in control, but something had to have happened to cause Soul Reaver’s guard to drop.

They took her, and you let them.
How easy it must be to make a sacrifice when you are not the ones paying the price!
YOU DID NOT STOP THEM!!!
HAVE I NOT GIVEN ENOUGH ALREADY?!  WOULD YOU TAKE WHAT LITTLE I HAVE LEFT?!!
You shall take nothing more from me!

What could he be talking about? Unless…  of course. It was her. It had to be her. They had come for her, and Soul Reaver could have stopped them. Cameron and the others could have stopped them. But they didn’t. There’s no doubt that this has been weighing on Master Reaver’s heart since it happened. And it makes sense for him to hold the others responsible. Hell, Kalana had been there too. And she had also done nothing.

Kalana shifts her focus to one conversation in particular, between Jharm and Soul Reaver. Cameron had been focused elsewhere by this point. But even though he did not actively hear the words, they still ring in the background of his memories.

I said....ENOUGH!  Enough of your dark machinations and twisted spells!  You have betrayed EVERYTHING you stood for Soul Reaver!  You have turned against your loyal friends and companions!
HONOUR?!  I WILL SHOW YOU THE WAGES OF HONOUR!

The wages of honour? But no, that’s not right. It wasn’t honour that stayed their hands that day. It was something else. Kalana allows both her and Cameron’s memories of that day to flood back into her mind simultaneously. All of them wanted to act. There wasn’t a person on that ship who wanted her to go. But they had let it happen.

Because she ASKED us to.

Cameron is startled by the sudden outburst from inside his mind.

What? What are you talking about?

Cameron can hear the determination and urgency in Kalana’s voice as it rings out in reply.

Soul Reaver thinks that losing Asaki was part of “the wages of honour.” He feels like he is being punished repeatedly for doing the right thing. But he didn’t make the choice to let her go! None of us did! SHE made that choice! We all tried to stop them and SHE stopped us from interfering! It was what she wanted!

Cameron frowns.

Okay, right. That is true. But I fail to see how this helps us now. I’ve tried talking to him already. He’s not listening.

Gulgrim begins to direct his massive buildup of energy at Soul Reaver. There isn’t much time left. Kalana shouts inside Cameron’s mind.

Protect him! Don’t let Gulgrim kill him! Buy me some time and I may be able to end this!

Cameron wastes no time. He leaps into the air. He lands between Soul Reaver and Gulgrim. A psychic shield protects him from the onslaught of WAAAAAAAGH energy for a moment, but it starts to fail immediately. It will not hold. Cameron stabs Anathros into the ground in front of him and pulls upwards. A wall of rock shaped like an ocean wave is pulled out of the ground by the elemental blade. It is big enough to cut both Cameron and Soul Reaver off from the blast of energy. But it quickly starts to crack and shatter. Cameron continues to hold it up with Anathros over his head while he slams Valermos into the center of it with his other hand. Fire begins to pump into the rock shell, and cracks and fissures are repaired over and over again by superheated magma. This will hold, but Cameron is pouring energy into this defense and won’t be able to keep it up for very long. He shouts to the two closest people to him, Jharm and Sepher.

“Hey! Help me out here! We can’t let Soul Reaver die yet!”

*JHARM*

Jharm reels slightly as his body is assaulted by the waves of energy from the Retribution shield and his mind is assaulted by Gulgrim’s “announcement.”  He manages to fend off most of the waves with his hammer, but the final blast sends him stumbling backwards. He uses his hammer to keep from falling down and allows the Light to wash over him, healing him slightly. Next thing he knows, Cameron has erected a large earthen wall between Soul Reaver and the rampaging Ork.

“Hey! Help me out here! We can’t let Soul Reaver die yet!”

The Seraphim’s gaze passes from Soul Reaver over to Gulgrim and back again.  One would almost swear for a brief moment the angelic being was contemplating allowing the Ork to complete his attack and destroy the knight.  Then Jharm locks his gaze on Gulgrim, gripping his hammer tightly in his right arm as a large gleaming white shield materializes on his left arm.  Launching himself into the air, he flies over and slams down in front of Cameron's earth wall.  He is immediately assailed by the WAAGH energies and is forced back against the wall but then his form glows brightly and he raises the shield in front of him.  The green energy crashes against the pure white metal but the Seraphim holds his ground.  Light flows through Jharm, healing the wounds he suffers from the Ork’s assault, and further solidifying his already godlike strength.  Focusing all of his power and attention on holding back the onslaught, he does manage to send a brief message to Cameron and the others.

Deal….with….Soul.  I shall hold back…..the tide!

*SEPHER*

What control! What power he wielded now. Every strike felt more deadly than they ever had. His blade was sharp, his mind sharper, and his skill with the blade masterful. He pushed forward even as Soul Reaver unleashed the energy from his retribution shield

    That...was a hell of a lot of energy. It would take even more to fully block it. His spear spun, even as the energy arced towards his chest. A large amount of chaos energy welled up at the spear’s end, and he swung at the visible charge from the retribution shield. It deflected the energy enough to prevent a killing blow. The energy jumped from the tip of his spear, deflected by the chaos Sepher had gathered, and it rebounded off the side of his scale mail. Metal tore free from the armor in a small explosion of light, blood splashing as a wound tore open on his side.

    His metal shaping abilities quickly had the armor on the mend, even as he caught his breath from the vicious blow. He grimaced, the blood seeping from the wound slowing. He faced Soul. Just as he did though, he was hit with a headache producing amount of psychic energy, as Gulgrim belted out in their minds.

"Ya get one chance. One chance 'fore I krush 'em meself. Fix 'em, krump 'em. Yer choice. One chance."

Even as his wound stopped bleeding, he was buffeted but the Orks energy, a sudden maelstrom of waahhg, whatever that was. He threw up his hand to cover his eyes, but some of the energy of the storm was suddenly blocked, as cameron threw up an earthen wall and Jharm held fast with his shield. He heard Cameron Shout out.

“Hey! Help me out here! We can’t let Soul Reaver die yet!”

It appeared as if Cameron had a plan. He just needed Soul Reaver to not die. That meant stopping the Ork’s Energy, before it consumed Soul. He sighed to himself. He wasn’t sure how good of an idea this was, but he had trusted cameron to this point, he might as well trust him the rest of the way.

He flicked out a hand, the spear suddenly changing its shape to a band of metal around Sepher’s wrist. Now that that was out of the way, he could focus on what he needed to do. Chaos magic. Raw, unformed, Chaos. It had unlimited potential, and could do just about anything. It began to thrum around him as he drew it into himself. He needed to help Jharm hold off the Wagh Energy.

Slowly, he held his hands out to the side and looked to Jharm, weathering the storm. “Hold steady my friend” He said and in a burst of energy, he expended all of the raw chaos energy to Jharm, forcing it to take shape with his will, buffering Jharm’s shield, giving him more power. Jharm would find his power exponentially greater as the raw potential aided him however he needed.


As Jharm and Sepher leap in front of him, Cameron allows the shield of rock and magma to crumble and fall. He breathes heavily. But he knows that this isn’t over yet. Jharm’s shield is powerful, and even more so with Sepher’s help. But he can feel the WAAGH energy growing ever stronger. Jharm begins to slide backwards. They need more help.

Cameron braces himself and brings Anathros and Valermos together. The two blades act as a channel as Cameron harnesses all of the elements simultaneously. Normally this wouldn’t be possible, but Kalana’s influence has opened Cameron’s mind farther than it has ever been before. He can see the threads of all things now, just as clearly as he could his own natural element of fire. Pure elemental energy arcs from the blades in a blinding white beam, surrounding Jharm even as it restructures Sepher’s chaos magic into something more compatible with Jharm’s holy light. Jharm can feel his strength and resolve bolstered even further. But Cameron can feel his energy waning. And even with all three of them, Gulgrim’s attack will overpower them soon.

Kalana, whatever you’re gonna do, do it NOW.

As the companions work to keep Soul Reaver alive, Kalana reaches out to his mind. Others have tried this tactic before. But they were all saying the wrong things. Hopefully, this time will be right.

Here goes nothing.

Kalana projects her power from Cameron’s mind back to Soul Reaver. An image of her appears before him. She stares into his eyes as she begins to speak, though the words are not audible. Instead they are spoken directly into Soul Reaver’s mind.

Master Reaver, listen. We were all there when the Soreans took Asaki. Any one of us could have put a stop to it. And we all wanted to. And you’re right. We didn’t. None of us did. But it wasn’t because of honour.

All of us have made sacrifices for honour. For justice. To help others. None know this pain more than you. You’ve fought for so long, and seen so many fall so that others can live in peace. But Asaki was not another casualty of that war. She chose to go with them. She asked us to let her go! Don’t you remember? We didn’t let her go because it was the honourable or just thing to do! We let her go because it was what she wanted!

We could have killed them, you know. Easily. Even drained from our previous battle as we were. We could have eliminated them with ease! But do you think Asaki would have been happy if we did that? If we just piled their bodies up like cordwood and ejected them into space? She would have hated us. She would have hated you most of all. You were her mentor. If anyone was supposed to understand why she chose to do what she did, it was you. She needed that justice. She needed to face her past if she ever wanted to be happy and be at peace again. She trusted you.  And if you had defied her wishes that day and robbed her of her chance at peace and absolution, she would have never forgiven you. We would have denied her wishes and violated her trust, and she would have never forgiven any of us.

But you didn’t. None of us did. In the end, we did what she asked of us. We did what she needed us to do. And I’m sure she’s out there somewhere. And I’m sure she still remembers us fondly. And she’ll never forget the mentor who showed her the way. And she would never want you to hold yourself responsible for her decisions and actions. She would feel terrible  if she knew how much pain and guilt you were still carrying with you.

And she would be horrified if she could see you now. This is not what she wanted for you. You’re killing your friends. Letting your daemon control you. And for what? What does this accomplish? Even if killing us all would bring her back… even if you scoured the multiverse and left a trail of carnage in your wake until you finally found her…  what would she say? Would she be happy to see you after all of the damage and destruction you caused? No. She wouldn’t even recognize you. She’d probably fight you. And then what? Would you kill her too? Would Blooddrinker make you do it? If so, she would die cursing your name. Is that what you want?

I know that’s not what you want. That’s not what any of us want. Only Blooddrinker wants that. And he’ll get it if you don’t come back to us. We can’t do this without you. You didn’t let her go. You didn’t kill her. You saved her. And now, we need you to save her one more time. We need you to save us one more time. Come back to us, and put this daemon back where he belongs!

Kalana punctuates her last sentence with a burst of memories compiled from both her and Cameron. She doesn’t bother with memories of saving people or memories of when justice was served. That’s not what Soul Reaver needs now. Instead, she floods him with memories of the companions as friends. Every happy moment they’ve shared. Every peaceful moment spent away from the battlefield, however fleeting. All of the happiness and hope that came with these moments slam into Soul Reaver’s mind like a tsunami. Kalana uses every last bit of her energy to try and get this message through. One last ditch effort to make Soul Reaver see reason. She prays that the effort isn’t wasted.

And as she expends the last of her reserves, the image of Kalana before Soul Reaver extends her hand to him. Waiting for him to take it.

[Kitharsis]

An arc of white power lashes out from the releasing Retribution Shield.  Kitharsis crosses his arms in front of him.  The multiple blades of energy adorning his forearms take the brunt of the blow.  The orb blasts him backwards, disintegrating the energy blades in the process.

Kitharsis's metal boots dig into the warehouse floor as he lands.  His free hand digs into the floor as he slows his momentum.  A rain of bones falls around him, his golem took the blast head on.  The blast barely missed its vital spot, yet the damage done was substantial.

As if that wasn't enough, Gulgrim pounds home and unleashes a torrent of WAAAGH!! energy.  The poor golem's bones, which were already trying to scamper back to its main body, are caught in the vortex and are being scattered even further around the battlefield.  The much smaller golem retreats out of Gulgrim's proximity and grumpily collects its bones.

Kitharsis squints and shakes his head from the WAAAGH!!! combatting his senses.  In the span of a few moments, Cameron, Jharm and Sepher have come to Soul Reaver's defense.  Kitharsis does not share the same sympathy for the immortal warrior.

Without a word, Kitharsis quietly moves to the side.  Gulgrim's assault is rampaging against the shield erected by the three companions.  But are they defending someone who is capable of being saved?  The bone golem, having collected as many bones as it could, stands beside Kitharsis.

They wait just out of range of and watch Soul Reaver closely.  Prepared for anything.

[Soul Reaver]

At the precipice of unconsciousness, Gulgrim’s psychic bellow sounds like little more than pure noise to Soul Reaver’s ears – but it brings him back to attention just in time to see the raw Waagh energy begin tearing apart the battlefield.

Though disoriented, a frantic, hateful urging pushes him to raise his crimson blade just as something akin to a drill of crackling, roaring power launches itself at Soul Reaver.

Were it not for his Retribution Shield, the drill would have hit before he could have reacted.  But fortunately, it holds against the impact just long enough for Soul Reaver to bring Blooddrinker up in a defensive parry across his chest.

The tip of the insubstantial drill impacts on the broad side of the blade, unleashing an ungodly metallic screech.  Blooddrinker seems to absorb and simultaneously dissipate the energy, unleashing uncontrolled explosive arcs of green power in all directions.  But it isn’t sufficient to hold back the torrent, and in moments, blow upon blow batters Soul Reaver’s already tortured body.  Gulgrim stares Soul Reaver in the eyes, motionless, as the attacks rain down.

The pain of the attacks blows aside the dazed fog.  Soul Reaver needed more power to break free.  The blade would provide...

Soul Reaver closes his eyes, and is about to open the floodgates even more.  Within his weakening prison, Blooddrinker rejoices.

But then something unexpected happens.  The Waagh assault stops with such suddenness that it causes Soul Reaver to stumble forward.  Confused, he sees the armoured figure of Cameron interspersing itself between himself and Gulgrim.  A wall of magma and rock explodes only to be rebuilt again and again, now bearing the brunt of the attack that was meant for him.

The angelic figure of Jharm slams down in front of the barrier, bringing up his mighty shield.  White light shines from the warrior as he holds fast against the attack.  Shortly afterward, Sepher approached from the side, and unleashed a tangible surge of power to fortify the seraphim’s defences.

Yet even with this aid, Jharm is being forced back.  Cameron allows the magma wall to fall, and using Anathros and Valermos, fires a beam of pure elemental energies the likes of which he has never before wielded, enveloping Jharm in power and shaping Sepher’s energy to assist further.

Through the haze of hate and rage, Soul Reaver can barely comprehend what is happening.  And for a moment, what he thought were his own thoughts ‘separate’ into two.  On the one hand, he can see himself, taking this moment to sink Blooddrinker deep into Cameron’s exposed and unprotected back, revelling in his revenge.  But on the other there is a memory, a dim glimmer of understanding – the knowledge of WHY these men are standing between him and oblivion.

It is in that crucial moment that Kalana appears before him.  This time, Blooddrinker is not in a position to block the psychic message.

Kalana’s mind speaks to Soul Reaver’s own.  She wields no weapon but the truth… and it is the sharpest sword of all, cutting into the very heart of Soul Reaver’s madness.

Each sentence drives another wedge between the thoughts of Soul Reaver, and those that Blooddrinker would have him believe were his own.  And upon completing her speech, a flood of memories washes over the immortal warrior – of fleeting, happy moments, of all those times where he knew that those around him were people he should be calling “friend”.

Kalana reaches out her hand, asking for Soul Reaver to take it.  Almost as though in a trance, Soul Reaver reaches back…

And he sees his hand is not his own.  Instead, he sees a hideous talon of smoke and shadow reaching toward her.  The shock of this realization unleashes a surge of emotions.  Happiness at both those times past, and the knowledge of what his friends were willing to risk to save him now, in spite of everything.  An intensifying horror, as his recent actions and failures began to dawn on him.  And growing stronger by the moment – a justified anger, both at himself and at the Daemon Lord that would make him into its tool.

Soul Reaver snaps back to reality.  The black wings upon his back flicker out of existence, and the black talon on his left arm vanishes into the ether, leaving behind an ugly, bleeding stump.  Soul Reaver can almost HEAR the scream of unbridled rage that emanates from Blooddrinker as his influence is peeled away.

But then, the physical pain and exhaustion of his ordeal come flooding over his senses.  His right arm especially feels as though it is on fire, where cords of red metal have snaked themselves through his very flesh and bone.

In the moment of physical weakness, Blooddrinker makes a last-ditch effort.  Freedom was so very close, and if the energy he needed could not come from the deaths of those near Soul Reaver… then perhaps it would come from Soul Reaver himself.

Against his own will, Soul Reaver finds the blood-soaked sword jerk upward, spin around, its point now facing his chest, and then hurl itself to pierce Soul Reaver’s heart.  Instinctively, Soul Reaver raises his left arm to parry the blade… forgetting that his arm is gone.

Time grinds almost to a halt.  Blooddrinker slides inexorably forward through the air, the blade shimmering as it slices hairline cuts into the fabric of reality itself.  A distant, unreal scream of vengeful, triumphant hate emanates from the sword, heard by none by Soul Reaver himself.  The tip of the blade touches Soul Reaver’s unprotected flesh…

And then all is white, and all is clear.  There is a pulse of silent noise and invisible light.

Soul Reaver’s face is passive and emotionless, his eyes aglow with an unsullied radiance.  A single drop of flesh blood flows from a small puncture in his chest, where Blooddrinker’s blade has begun to pierce his skin.  But it can go no further – for Soul Reaver is holding it by the blade, with a left arm composed of pure white energy.  The metal screeches and writhes against the touch, but makes no headway.  As though it were but a pesky thorn, Soul Reaver pulls the sword back.  As he does so, the metal corded through Soul Reaver’s right arm retracts, shudderingly, painfully, as though against Blooddrinker’s own will.

At last, Soul Reaver can release his grip on the sword.  It drops to the ground with a dull clang.

Everything returns back to normal. The glow fades from Soul Reaver's eyes, and his newly born left arm disappears as though it had never been.  The pain and exhaustion, too, return tenfold.  Through a supreme force of will, Soul Reaver forces himself to remain conscious long enough to utter five words.

“Forgive me… and… thank you”

Then it all becomes too much, and he crashes to the ground.

[Shadow Chorus]

The WAAAGH! energy has won. Its target is no longer capable of fighting. Something in Gulgrim knows that he is victorious, and like a breaking storm, the tornado of energy slowly begins to fade. After a moment, everything dies down, and the battlefield is left feeling almost eerily calm in the aftermath of Gulgrim's violent final attack. there is no more howling wind, no excess energy being blasted around, not even a chuckle from the Ork Warboss. The gargantuan figure of Gulgrim, who had been so close he was practically towering over the group defending Soul Reaver, slowly began to totter, and then fell backwards onto his back. With arms splayed wide, and his eyes rolled back, Gulgrim slowly takes a breath he had been holding for so long.

"I....Need...A zoggin....Drink....." the Warboss slowly manages as his eyes refocus and he finds himself staring at the ceiling. Apparently the process of wielding that much power, even gathering it in the first place, had taken quite a lot of the Ork, and now he couldn't even summon up the energy to stand. After using every last drop of WAAAGH!!! energy in one final attack, the Warboss now lay, exhausted, on the ground, his limbs resisting his commands to move. He does eventually manage to coerce enough movement out of them to sit up, and the Warboss looks over to examine the havoc that had gone down before him in the vicinity of Soul Reaver. Cameron, Jharm, and others, looking battered and scuffed, but alive, and one very calm looking Soul Reaver.

"So...." Gulgrim panted out, adjusting his hat with his right hand. "Did we win ladz?"

[Cameron]

Soul Reaver reaches out to Kalana, and as he does, a look of realization and anger appears on his face. Kalana knows at this moment that she has reached him. But then his sword arm comes up, and he moves to impale himself with his own blade.

No. NO!

Cameron’s head jerks back as he attempts to see what is happening. Kalana lunges forward to try and help. But before either of them can do anything, Soul Reaver pulls the blade away himself. His missing hand has been replaced by one of pure energy. Blooddrinker finally clatters to the ground. He utters a plea of forgiveness and thanks before he falls to the ground.

The image of Kalana quickly rushes to his side. Although she is insubstantial and rapidly losing strength, she is still able to transfer some of her remaining energy to Soul Reaver. It won’t heal his wounds, but it should comfort him and ease any pain he may be in.

The WAAAGH energy suddenly dissipates as Gulgrim realizes that the fight is done. Cameron drops both his swords and stumbles forward, dropping to one knee. He is nearly spent. He raises his head when Gulgrim speaks.

“So… did we win, ladz?”

Cameron nods, almost imperceptibly.

“Yes. This battle has been won.”

 He glances back over his shoulder again at Soul Reaver and Kalana.

“Is he alive?”

With some amount of effort, Kalana forces her reply from the glowing image of herself to be audible instead of merely mental.

“Yes. He lives. Barely.”

Cameron forces himself back to his feet, glancing at the other companions. Gulgrim, Jharm, Sepher, and Kitharsis are all present. Danyael is nowhere to be seen, although he can feel his presence. Of Fei, there is no trace.

“By Inferia, how many have we lost? So many were with us at the beginning of this who are not with us now.”

And then Cameron remembers the other combat that is still raging.

“Kalana, you need to get back to your body. The others are still fighting Peterson. They need your help.”

The glowing figure rises and drifts over to Cameron.

“Not sure how much help I’ll be with my energy drained like this, but you’re right. You have to figure out how to get this barrier down, though. I’m not sure how much longer we can-”

There is a flash from the direction of the barrier. Four pinpoints if light appear on it’s surface. They slowly grow larger. Then, with a tearing noise, 4 claws punch through. Lightning arcs between them as the barrier around them seems to crack. Within seconds, blood begins gushing around the claws through the holes in the barrier. The cracks in the barrier widen and soon cover it’s entire surface. And then, a pulse of energy sweeps over the companions as the barrier shatters.

As the pieces fall away and fade into nothing, Peterson is revealed. His face is contorted in an expression of immense pleasure. The demon blade Drach’nyen rests in his right hand, hanging at his side. His left arm is outstretched. At the end of it is the Talon of Horus, the tainted artifact power claw that once belonged to Abbadon the Despoiler. Kalana’s body is impaled on it. It appears that Peterson must have slammed her against the barrier with the Talon, sending the indestructible claws through both her and the barrier. One of the blades has passed directly through her skull.

Cameron is frozen to the spot. He slowly looks away from the grisly scene to the image of Kalana standing next to him. Her facial expression is one of horror and desperation. She looks back to Cameron.

“I... I took too long. I'm sorry...”

The words trail off as the image of Kalana fades away. Cameron turns back to Peterson.

“I am so disappointed. I wanted you to watch me do that. Maybe even force you to do it for me. But she managed to break my connection with you before I could."

Peterson emits a comically loud sigh.

“Oh well. This will just have to do.”

Peterson points Drach’nyen at the fallen Soul Reaver.

“I see you saved him! What a pity. He deserved to die. But no matter. This will serve as a just punishment. He gets to live knowing that he served as the perfect distraction that cost this one her life.”

Peterson gestures with his left hand, causing Kalana’s body to shake back and forth. her arms and legs flail about and more blood spatters on the ground.

“This was what I needed all along. This body. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I wanted to kill her for fun anyway. But now it’s for fun AND profit. Even better!”

Cameron hasn’t moved. His swords remain on the ground. The expression on his face is one of absolute defeat. Peterson smirks.

“Don’t worry, Cameron. You don’t have to thank me. I know how grateful you are for me relieving you of this burden. You must he at a loss for words. You can thank me later.”

Peterson raises his sword in a farewell gesture.

“You all give my regards to Soul Reaver when he wakes up. Okay?”

[Veldanya Venalla]

Jharm can feel himself slowly being pushed back by the gale of energy slamming against him.  Digging his heels into the ground, he suddenly feels energy course through him as his companions bolster his strength.  The Seraphim has little knowledge of what is occuring around him, his focus directly on the Ork in front of him, but then suddenly Gulgrim seems to look past the holy warrior and then his onslaught comes to an end.  There is a brief moment of silence, interrupted by the sound of the exhausted Ork crashing backwards to the ground.

"I....Need...A zoggin....Drink....."

It is clearly evident that the Ork completely exhausted himself with that last attack, as he struggles to adjust the hat upon his head.

“So… did we win, ladz?”

From behind him, Jharm hears Cameron respond to the question.

“Yes. This battle has been won.”

“Is he alive?”

Soul.....

Turning around, the Seraphims gaze falls upon the seemingly comatose Soul Reaver.  Every inch of his body seems to bear some wound or injury from the brawl, the worst being one of his arms is completely missing.  As Jharm moves towards the fallen knight, the shield on his arm fades away into nothingness.  Placing his hammer on the ground, the Seraphim drops to one knee and removes his helmet.  The glowing orbs residing within his eye sockets gaze down on the man laying in front of him.  Closing his eyes, Jharm places his gauntleted hands on Soul, focusing for a few seconds as light begins to glow from within him.  The glow then seems to flow down into Soul Reaver until his form takes on a faint glow as well, the Light flowing through his torn, battered, and broken body as it works to bind his wounds. 

The Seraphims ministrations are interrupted however when a bright flash occurs from behind the companions.  Glancing behind him, Jharm sees pinpoints of light piercing through the barrier around Peterson and the elementals.  A loud tearing sound is then heard and the pinpoints begin to widen as 4 claws begin to force their way through the barrier, blood gushing around them.  Lightning crackles as the strength of the barrier seems to fade and then Jharm realizes what is about to happen, moving to shield Soul Reaver just as the barrier explodes outward.  As the dust settles, the Seraphim looks back to see a truly horrific sight.  Peterson stands before them, sword in one hand and claw in the other.  It is what hang on the claw that disturbs the angellic creature.  The body of Kalana dangles from the cursed implement, one of the talons having pierced through her skull. 

“I am so disappointed. I wanted you to watch me do that. Maybe even force you to do it for me. But she managed to break my connection with you before I could."

Peterson emits a comically loud sigh.

“Oh well. This will just have to do.”

Peterson points Drach’nyen at the fallen Soul Reaver.

“I see you saved him! What a pity. He deserved to die. But no matter. This will serve as a just punishment. He gets to live knowing that he served as the perfect distraction that cost this one her life.”

Peterson gestures with his right hand, causing Kalana’s body to shake back and forth. her arms and legs flail about and more blood spatters on the ground.  A deep scowl spreads across the Seraphims face as he watches the macabre display.  Reaching over to his weapon, Jharm wraps his hand around the shaft of the hammer and stands up, moving closer to Cameron.

“This was what I needed all along. This body. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I wanted to kill her for fun anyway. But now it’s for fun AND profit. Even better!”

Jharm glances over at his friend to see that he hasn’t moved. The elementals swords remain on the ground, an expression of absolute defeat clear on his face. Peterson smirks.

“Don’t worry, Cameron. You don’t have to thank me. I know how grateful you are for me relieving you of this burden. You must he at a loss for words. You can thank me later.”

Peterson raises his sword in a farewell gesture.

“You all give my regards to Soul Reaver when he wakes up. Okay?”

The Seraphim grabs his hammer in both his hands, light gleaming around his form, a deep scowl clear on his face as anger wells within him.  The desire to charge the being in front of him courses through him.  The knowledge though that 2 of their number were crippled stayed the Seraphims fury.  Jharms voice booms out, strength and determination evident in it, the holy flames surrounding the halo over the Seraphims head seem to intensify in brightness and strength as well.

"Peterson....by the light and glory of Nelathia I will see you punished for what you have done!"

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver remains unconscious through Kalana's noble efforts to lessen his pain, but his pained face seems to relax somewhat in response.

Jharm's ministrations heal Soul Reaver's body, staunching the worst of the bleeding and staving off the reaper.  Soul Reaver's regenerative powers kick in - though not visible to the casual observer, his wounds slowly begin to heal of their own accord.

It is only partway through Peterson's mocking speech that Soul Reaver's senses begin to return.  Peterson's booming words are muted and incomprehensible - sounding far away, as though from the bottom of the ocean.

The ground is hard, and small pieces of gravel dig into Soul Reaver's cheek.  The ground beneath him felt hot and sticky.  Where was he again?

Soul Reaver forces his eyelids open and tries to focus.  Somewhere nearby, he sees the hulking form of Peterson.  He is waving something around in the air, like a rag doll.

"....served as the perfect distraction that cost this one her life.”

Horrified recognition dawns within Soul Reaver as he looks at the lifeless figure, its limbs jerking in a macabre dance.  As Peterson continues to taunt Cameron, Soul Reaver tries to get up, but his aching muscles simply refuse to move.

"You all give my regards to Soul Reaver when he wakes up. Okay?"

Soul Reaver somehow manages to lift his head slighty and tries to spit a hateful reply between broken teeth, but all that emerges is an imperceptible, sibilant "ksssssh" and bloodied froth.

Then blood runs into his eyes and obscures his vision in an opaque red veil.  Exhausted, his head falls back to the ground.

[Kitharsis]

“Forgive me… and… thank you”

Soul Reaver collapses, finally succumbing to the beating the companions have enacted upon him.  Kitharsis breathes a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping as the head of his horseman's pick meets the floor with a heavy clank.

Kitharsis's chest is badly burnt from the last kick of Soul Reaver's dying madness.  The tattoos on his forearms are mottled with deep black burns, rendering them useless for the time being.  He will need to have one of his skeletons replace them when given a chance.  The crystals covering the wound on his ankles remain, acting as scabs until his stony skin heals.  He is a little worse for the wear, but a flash to his left gives little time for recollecting.

This... man, Peterson he thought he was called, appears through the shattering barrier.  The Talon of Horus is impaled through... Kalana.  As her telepathic image fades away in seeming death, Kitharsis's heavy hand wraps around the handle of his hammer.

He clenches his fist around the rune scrawled handle, pain runs up his arm as his burned and crackling skin buckles.

Cameron stands defeated.  Jharm raises his hammer in defense, making no move to attack.  The pieces of tattoo still intact on Kitharsis's arms begin to glow with power.  But they quickly snuff out.  A pained expression washes over Kitharsis's face.  He grips his horseman's pick's handle even tighter as he falls to a knee.

Dangerously low on energy, Kitharsis realizes that defense is his only option at this point as well.  Peterson continues spewing nonsense.  He seems to be giving some macabre farewell speech.  The Tirthandara rises to his feet once more, and begins pacing closer to Jharm and Cameron.  The bone golem, whats left of it, follows behind.  Stray bones fall to the floor as it walks.  The power holding it together waning along with its master's strength. 

Kitharsis intends to stand with his companions in solidarity.  Should Peterson change his mind and attack, they will need a combined effort to even survive, let alone defeat him.

[Daccio]

As both Soul and Gulgrim crash to the ground, the Wagh energy seems to dissipate and the sheer amount of energy he was pouring into Jharm’s shield was no longer necessary. He withdrew it back, feeling the power surge into his very being, strengthening him. He could feel the nasty wound on his side knitting up.

As Cameron declares them victorious, he allows himself a breath. They had been fighting so long and hard that he had almost lost himself multiple times. He pushed all his daemon transformation powers away and in a small glow of white light, returned to his true form. That of sepher, in his tattered coat and scale armor, blood splattered all over him. He wavered a bit as if he were going to fall over, but held himself up.

Sepher’s head jerked in the direction of the barrier as a flash came from that direction. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, then widened in surprise as four claws tore through barrier, blood seeping through. As the barrier shattered, he had to take a stumbling step back due to the pulse of energy from that direction.

Sepher’s mouth drops open as he sees Peterson standing there, Kalana implailed on the Talon of Horus. He felt cold, frozen. Suddenly, it turned to heat. Blinding, burning heat. They had lost so many already, and now another, Kalana, and he was playing with her corpse. Raw Chaos listened to his call as he drew it into his hand, gathering the energy. He did notice, however, that his companions weren’t moving. He could not do this alone. He glanced to Jharm and could see the holy warrior wanted to charge right in, but he heard him spoke.

"Peterson....by the light and glory of Nelathia I will see you punished for what you have done!"

And with that, noting kith also did not move forward, he steadied himself, waiting to see if this monster called peterson would attack. They would need all of their power if he should.

[Cameron]

"Peterson… by the light and glory of Nelathia I will see you punished for what you have done!"

Peterson laughs.

“Jharm, Jharm, Jharm. So full of yourself. You’re going to punish me? Get over here and try it, then. Don’t just stand there.”

Peterson looks to Kitharsis and Daccio, who have taken up defensive positions but aren’t moving forward either.

“The same goes for the rest of you. If you think you can stop me, then by all means, let’s see it!”

Peterson continues to taunt the companions, but Cameron hasn’t heard anything the creature has said. His mind is unfocused. All of the memories that Kalana had dredged up from his mind to help Soul Reaver now echo hopelessly, almost taunting Cameron with how out of reach they now seem.

Cameron has been bracing himself for the oncoming shock of his mental link with Kalana being broken. That still has not come. He keeps reaching for the space in his mind where the link was, but instead of finding an empty jagged hole, he just finds nothing. As if no link was ever present in the first place.

It’s because she was in my mind when she died. It has to be.

Cameron knows that there is no backlash coming. And to him, that’s almost worse. He deserves to be punished for letting her die, but there is nothing. Nothing left.

Cameron closes his eyes as a single tear rolls down his face.

Nothing left.

The companions can feel a vast, terrifying power building. Cameron begins to shimmer.

Nothing at all.

Cameron’s eyes fly open. They are blank. His pupils and irises have vanished into a sea of white fire.

Nothing.

Cameron suddenly bursts forward. White energy trails behind him, forming the shape of large wings. As he passes over where the elemental blades lay on the ground, they fly into his hands and begin to reshape themselves into much larger weapons. By the time Cameron reaches Peterson they have doubled in length and the blade of each has been consumed by white fire.

“...So if none of you have the stones to attack me, then I’ll just be on my way-”

Peterson is cut off mid sentence by Cameron’s attack. Cameron swings both of the burning blades straight at Peterson’s neck. Peterson has just enough time to throw Kalana’s corpse to the ground and bring Drach’nyen and the Talon of Horus up in a cross to parry the blow. For a moment, they are locked in a stalemate. Cameron’s blades push against the daemon blade and the artifact weapon as Peterson begins to slide backwards, digging rivets into the floor.

“Oh, there you are. Finally wake up? This power of yours is new. I guess your girl must have done some tinkering in that head of yours before I snuffed her.”

Cameron says nothing. His expression is as blank as his eyes. Peterson slides further backwards.

“I know how you feel. Just like I knew how Soul Reaver felt. I know what it’s like to lose the one you love and not be there to stop it from happening. You’ve saved her before, but this time you couldn’t.”

Cameron’s expression remains blank, but he finally speaks. His voice is cold. Almost alien.

“You will pay for this.”

Peterson grins. He sets his feet and stops sliding backwards.

“But I’ve already paid. This is you paying me back.”

Chains manifest behind him and drip down to the floor, enveloping Kalana’s body in a shifting metal cocoon.

“We’re finally even now, you son of a bitch.”

Peterson vanishes. Cameron lurches forward, slamming his weapons into the ground where Peterson stood an instant before. For a moment  he just stands motionless, the burning blades still clenched in his hands. Then he turns to face the companions.

The Cameron they see now looks nothing like the Cameron they know. His skin is now an ashen white, and he looks strangely inhuman. His eyes continue to be blank pits of white fire, and his hair is writhing as if it is alive. Huge glowing white wings stretch out behind him. He coldly regards the companions, almost as if he has forgotten them. Hhs gaze focuses on the fallen figure of Soul Reaver.

“This was your fault.”

Cameron begins to slowly walk towards Soul Reaver and the companions, with his burning weapons clenched in his hands. His slow, deliberate footsteps echo throughout the empty warehouse as he approaches. His expression cannot be read at all but the companions can practically feel the killing intent radiating from him.

“This is YOUR fault.”

Cameron continues his death march. He will reach Soul Reaver within moments.

[Shadow Chorus]

As Gulgrim finally catches his breath he finds that Cameron has gone zoggin' mad and is marching at Soul Reaver.

"Wot? We doin' dis again? Zoggin' 'ell you 'umies is Weird in da 'ead. But 'least it's roight orky, it is."

 Sensing another fight in his future, Gulgrim's energy immediately pulses with life. He can feel it building, slowly but surely. He's nowhere near at usual fighting strength yet, but at least this should be enough to do something. Indeed, it serves to be enough to get him on his feet again, and to cause his kutlass and gun to appear in his hands. He stands in front of Soul Reaver, facing Cameron. There's a heavy clacking noise as the slide of his rifle slams home.

"Roight. Might need a moment ta recharge, ladz. But I'll be zogged if I'z gonna skip out on a good fight."

Gulgrim is currently still mostly bluster, barely having the energy to stand and summon his weapons, but if a fight truly breaks out, and if he manages to stay alive, his power will slowly return until he is back at full fighting strength. Already his arms are slumping less, but there's none of the show of Orky power that is usually present in the Kaptin's combat stance.

He was vulnerable, at least for the moment, but he wasn't about to ignore a perfectly good scrap.

[Veldanya Venalla]

“Jharm, Jharm, Jharm. So full of yourself. You’re going to punish me? Get over here and try it, then. Don’t just stand there.”

The Seraphim scowls at the taunting response Peterson gives him.  Jharm would like nothing more then to charge the twisted "man" in front of him but he doubted if he and his companions had the energy to defeat him right now.  He then feels a vast power growing beside him and Jharm glances over to see a single tear roll down Camerons face and then his eyes fly open and they are completely white.  The Elemental charges forward and locks weapons with Peterson.

“Oh, there you are. Finally wake up? This power of yours is new. I guess your girl must have done some tinkering in that head of yours before I snuffed her.”

“I know how you feel. Just like I knew how Soul Reaver felt. I know what it’s like to lose the one you love and not be there to stop it from happening. You’ve saved her before, but this time you couldn’t.”

“You will pay for this.”


That voice....that did not sound like the Cameron he had traveled with for so long. 

“But I’ve already paid. This is you paying me back.”

“We’re finally even now, you son of a bitch.”

Then Peterson disappears along with Kalana's body. causing Cameron to lurch forward and slam into the ground.  He then turns around to face the companions and Jharm takes a small step back, surprised at the change that has overcome his friend. The Cameron they see now looks nothing like the Cameron they know. His skin is now an ashen white, and he looks strangely inhuman. His eyes continue to be blank pits of white fire, and his hair is writhing as if it is alive. Huge glowing white wings stretch out behind him. He coldly regards the companions, almost as if he has forgotten them. His gaze focuses on the fallen figure of Soul Reaver.

“This was your fault.”

The Elemental then begins to slowly march towards the fallen warrior, it is clear that he seeks blood.

No....not again.

It would seem their newest companion (Gulgrim) has also realized what is going on but seems to have a slightly different opinion on the proceedings.

"Wot? We doin' dis again? Zoggin' 'ell you 'umies is Weird in da 'ead. But 'least it's roight orky, it is."

"Roight. Might need a moment ta recharge, ladz. But I'll be zogged if I'z gonna skip out on a good fight."

A scowl returns to the Serpahims face as a hint of anger surges through him briefly.  This creature seemed almost....excited at what was happening.  He did not seem to regard the fact that he was speaking of drawing blades against yet another of his fellow warriors.  From his travels with the others he had learned a little bit about the Orks.  A bloodthirsty, battle-lusting race who would fight against themselves almost as easily as against any other race.  It mattered little though....this was NOT a fight he would allow the creature to have.

The Seraphim quickly summons his shield once more and moves in front of Gulgrim, intentionally blocking the creatures path to Cameron, while blocking Cameron from Soul Reaver. 

"Cameron!  Do not do this!  It is EXACTLY what Peterson WANTS you to do!  He is turning us against each other!  Didn't you hear what he said?!? He twisted Soul Reavers thoughts and feelings just like he has done to you now! Think this through!"

A gleaming orb surrounds the Seraphim as he focuses his concentration of defending the crippled Soul Reaver.  At the same time he sends a mental message to the Ork behind him

Stay your weapons Ork.  There has been enough bloodshed here.