Forum Thread

"I bet you didn't even care about her because you were too entranced in your conversation with the enemy! I could see how scared she was, but like I said before, you can't just free her and defeat Legion on your own! You two walked right onto the battlefield like deer in a gun shop!" She drew a circle in the dirt with the bottom of her staff, writing runes around it.

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Isla Greer

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"I see. I'll be sure to thank him." She closed her eyes, though she could still see the intense light- flares of red and orange, dancing across a black landscape.

Since when had kids become pawns?

Since when had she allowed it?

She opened her eyes and glanced down at her companion. Scrap fabric, she often called him. He was a mess of patchwork, sewn by a trembling child's hands. A soul summoned with the pitiful magic she'd had and whatever lifespan she'd needed to complete the spell.

Children had never been free from war.

At least the magician boy had made it out, body intact. She didn't think she could bear to put another soul in a puppet.

She inhaled the sterile hospital air and decided what the hell, scooting off to the side and dropping onto her feet. The puppet yelped. "H-Hey, hold on-"

She ignored him, and limped across the room, pausing to steady herself on the doorknob. She examinrd the hospital room one last time, then opened the door to see the magician boy standing right behind it.

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“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."

Kendo out here quoting the art of war lmfao

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"Issue. You didn't." Iteral scoffs, staring at the angel now. "I was trying to break her free of the chains and it is slightly more difficult when there is some idiot swinging a sword at you. It was almost like I could have used another ally. Maybe one who was also concerned about the Saint." She groans, pulling on her own hair. "You stop pretending to be better than us. This action here just proves you are beneath the two of us, so how about you are an asset once in a while and tell us what your plan actually is."

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Isla Greer

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He yelped and fumbled with a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Isla leaned against the door, in pain, but not too much to be amused as he finally caught it and thrust it in her face.

"It's for you!" he blurted out. "Because you know-" He looked at his feet. "You got hurt trying to protect me."

She blinked. She'd been hurt trying to protect Snavia. And instead, accidentally started a war with a group of powerful magicians and killed a dozen squadrons.

The memory made her heart squeeze.

"Don't blame yourself," she said calmly. "I went out there to die- we all did. It was what we had to do."

"Even so, I..." he trailed off.

She wasn't good at comforting people. She mostly just talked them into going to another officer. Have them deal with it. But she couldn't bring herself to hurt this kid, his face so lost and confused.

"Hey," she said gently. "You told me your name, remember? Adrik. Well, I never heard your last name. Mind sharing?"

Adrik looked at her, bewilderment in his eyes. "It's... Volkov. Adrik Volkov."

"Volkov," she tried it out on her tongue. "Any reason for that? Any place it's from?"

The magician kid slowly drew himself up to his full height. She hid a smile. "Actually," he said. "It's from where I was born. It's an old, traditional name- it means wolf. My parenrs actually changed it, so there's a bit of a history-"

She let his blabbering wash over her, and with each word, she felt the agony in her chest grow duller. The pain from the bullet wound was still there, of course- but somehow, all the faces that flashed in her mind were growing dimmer. Less angry.

"Say," the puppet said, interfering because that was all he was good for besides storing socks. Adrik cut off from his rant, blinking behind his cracked glasses. "You two seem awful close. Lemme guess Isla, is he-"

"A kid," Isla cut in. "A kid I'm taking care of."

Adrik's eyes widened as he stared at her. His mouth opened and shut. He sniffled, hand going up to his mouth. "O-Oh- well, uh- thanks. Your... majesty." He looked at his feet.

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"If I were beneath you, I'm sure I wouldn't have been taken in by the Saint Deity. I'm done arguing with you two, all you're trying to do is have the last word so you think yourself accomplished." She stepped away from the circle for a moment, dropping her staff right through the ground and watching it disappear. Was it underground now? In another realm? Only she knows. "I'm going to find people who will help me without mouthing off and thinking they're better. I look forward to guiding your souls to Hell." And with that, she jumped into the circle. It disappeared right after, allowing nothing else entry.

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Iteral looks over at Kendo, then a little confused. "I thought... devils lead souls to hell. And angels to heaven. Eh, doesn't matter." She waits a few seconds, checking her watch... "Round about now... ready?"

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Kendo huffed.

"Have I ever NOT been ready?"

He checked his watch.

"Plus, when i die I don't go to hell. I go to this weird train station in limbo."

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"Nah, for this." Iteral grabs Kendo and, in a clock tick, they sank into the ground in a similar fashion, but instead it was a swirl of black and white, as the three travel.

The clock that she gave the angel earlier reacts and opens a similar rift, ejecting the three of them right in front of her. Thankfully, the broom flew ahead and caught all three so they would not crash. Iteral shook her head, smiling. "Told you, we're going to stay for a while!"

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Kendo teleported off the broom, following them through the air.

"Forgot you had that..."

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Isla Greer

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Isla gently thumped the kid on the shoulder. "Don't fret," she told him. "We'll work together, okay? We can get your revenge together."

"Oh.." His eyes lowered. "Well- before you promise anything; I have something to tell you-"

"Your Highness!" A soldier rushed into the room. Isla narrowly ducked to avoid the man before he hit the floor. Strange gurgling noses came from him- there was a row of arrows in his back.

Isla inhaled sharply.

The hospital was under attack.

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She was gone already. As it turns out, she had planted that clock in the worst place possible. A note lay next to it.

Since you're so insistent, how about a game? It's called, get out of the backrooms before you rot there! Have fun!

So that was her other power.

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Iteral sighs, checking the room around. "Of course. Well, credit where it's due... for a complaining idiot who comes up with the worst of insults, that was a pretty well-laid trap." She takes the note and smirks, placing it into another clock and looking around. "Where are we...?"


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Chiara was outside the tents, roaming around. She could not sleep, not with the constant worry of the Saint Deity. Occasionally, she looks at the tents from outside, trying to imagine what was happening inside them. She just happened to pass Setsuna's tent, standing in front of it.

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Isla Greer

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In a second, Isla snapped to action. "Go hide behind the towels," she ordered Adrik. "Take the puppet with you." She whipped on her heel, wishing she wasn't in a hospital gown- they'd taken her sword off her, and thia was about as manuverable as a dress.

She started for the door.

"W-Wait! You're hurt!"

"I hate to agree with the kid, but Isla, you gotta sit down. You're looking like you're about to hit the hay- head first. Come on, you're familiar with blood loss."

Isla rested, panting against the wall, hating that they were right. But she couldn't fight like this. Weaponless, drained magically, half-dead already-

Again, she cursed the sniper who got her. If she got her hands on that crew of misfits again, she'd rip them apart.

"Then..." she said through gritted teeth. "What do you expect us to do? Stay here and wait for guards to rescue us."

"They're probably after you," Adrik pointed out. "Not a kid."

She blinked through her bleariness. "And... what of it?"

"I'll lay down on the bed. If they come, they'll see me first, and leave the room."

Isla whipped on her heel, ignoring the burst of pain. "You'll be right in their line of fire! They could shoot you anytime if they recognize you!"

"They won't," Adrik said stubbornly.

"And why's that?" Isla narrowed her eyes.

"Because I can cast a concealment spell," the puppet said suddenly. Both Isla and Adrik looked at him. "Hey, it's probably not the magicians. And even if it is, they've spared the kid before. They'll do it again."

Adrik scowled, wrapping his arms around himself. "I wouldn't call it sparing exactly..." he mumbled.

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Setsuna Jun

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Hey! That was the sky princess from earlier. Setsuna found himself perking up, a smile settling over his face.

"Hey!" he chirped, waving her over.

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Iteral looks around, holding Kendo and Yue close to her. "A very... odd place. Yellow... drab... kind of like a waiting room." She takes the two around with her broom, scratching her head. The clock she held earlier was rotating and ticking in her pocket, but apart from that doing nothing else.

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Chiara notices the wooing call and walks over to Setsuna, smiling. "Y-Yes, what can I help you with child. Are you also plagued by insomnia?"

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Kendo sighed.

"This place? Again? I hate this place."

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"What? What just happened? Did we-" Yue sighed, incredibly loudly. "How incredible. We've made someone angry and now we're stuck in this- putrid yellow lobby-" He shook his head, kicking a nonexistent rock on the ground. "Wonderful. Just wonderful."

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"Okay, so, I can't teleport out of here. That's the main issue. I've been here before."

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"Wait, you cannot? Well..." Iteral takes her clock out, tapping it. "Mine works... but it takes time to recharge until we can go again. I only gave one clock by accident. So... what do we do now?"

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"Ugh... The hell is this place??" Rei got up, spreading his wings before looking at the main crew "Oh." He simply said, standing there in silence, awkwardly.

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