Echo of Time: Awakening [PG14]~

[Alliance]

Kess Andrews
Wielder of the Twin White Lion Gauntlets
New Arc City Plaza – Outside the Clock Tower

"It does not matter to me that you regain your memories. The outcome will still be the same ... You cannot escape this world even if you manage to destroy my Beacons ... Along with Seya, you will all remain here for eternity ..."

The word Seya echoed in Kess’ mind, travelling into the gap of memories, unlocking the door.

As the memories flooded in, reminding her of her secret past that never really happened, she staggered and leant against the elevator wall, not really sure what to think anymore.

How she’d met the little cat Seya in a shadowy corner of the school grounds, and how she’d snuck out in the night to see her. How she’d kicked a guard in the stomach at the AIM Tech building – She’d done that? Wow – and how she’d finally retrieved her weapon, the gauntlets she now wore. How they’d faced down Jago, a massive minotaur, finally expelling his spirit from their headmaster and then defeating him. How Darwin and Florina had fallen in battle. How they’d warped to New Magostra. The things they did.

And, of course, that final fight against Evil Milly, in which they banded together to unleash the full brunt of their powers upon her. And how they’d gone through the light at the end of the Bridge, and how time had turned back as if nothing had happened.

She couldn’t believe that had really happened. It was as if she was reading a fictional story, with main characters just based on her and her fellows.

As the elevator stopped, Diego cried out about remembering everything. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She’d done some crazy things in that – what, two days? – back then. She’d made friends. She’d lost family. She’d gained a second family, one she lost when they returned.

She remembered it all. Including the pain. The pain of realizing that she’d never see her family again. The pain of using so much magic. The pain of being thrown into a hole that went all the way to the core of New Magostra. The pain of realizing they were desperate, desperate to not have their reality shattered.
She felt the same now. She was desperate not to have their world lost once more to the same dark forces. The world could only be reversed so many times. They had to save Ayes – Seya – and destroy the beacons in the three districts. All without letting Seya out of their sight.

It was hard to trust Milly’s word, considering she’d been against them the last times they’d met, but they had to. For the sake of the reality they knew.

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
New Arc City - Outside the Clock Tower

The elevator reached the ground floor as Carly felt something odd rush back into her head, like a flood. Moments after, she heard a voice ringing through her mind.

"It does not matter to me that you regain your memories. The outcome will still be the same ... You cannot escape this world even if you manage to destroy my Beacons ... Along with Seya, you will all remain here for eternity ..."

Suddenly, everything came back, the hole in her memory sealing itself as images flashed into her mind of a night on top of the tower, a minotaur and a different world. The wind seemed to rush through her ears as she remembered her first flight, Seya the cat...everything.

“Caroline McNamara! Guardian of Light, you have been gifted the Valiant Hawk Scythe, scythe with the power to obliterate evil souls! I command you of the Wind Element! I bestow you the ability to summon Kamehameha!”

Even New Magostra came back to her, and her battle alongside Hunter against the Three Black Lordes. Now that's why he looked so familiar... And then, the bridge somewhere out there, Seya's death, the light at the end of that bridge they all went to. As she stepped out of the elevator, all she wanted to do was fly again, wield her scythe once again. Her memories, they were back and unfortunately, that included the statement about Earth's destruction.

Is it true...? Or is it not? Where exactly am I, then?

Whether it was truth or not, Carly was determined to keep going on. Her comrades...Kess, Diego, Zuri, Michel, Hunter...all of them, she fought with them, went through the craziest things with them just in the span of two days. Real or not, Carly did not want to lose anyone once again because of her mistakes. If it took finding the three beacons in the city with the others, or rather, her friends, then find them she would. Ayes...now that she thought about it, it spelled Seya backwards...there was hope after all.

Once they were out of the elevator, she hurried towards the exit with the others, a plan in mind.

"Guys, if we need to find the beacons fast, then we just can't walk, fly...whatever. We're gonna have to use my car to get around. Roof's down for easy spotting and this lass drives wicked fast." She said, taking the lead as she led them out of the clock tower and through the maze that was the plaza. She tried to move quickly, while occasionally looking back to make sure they were there. She still didn't know how Stella fit into the equation or why she was present in the first place, but she shrugged it off. Think later, act now.

"Over here, dudes!" She called as she reached her red Maserati convertible, waving her scythe in the air at them, before getting into the driver's seat and starting up the car, waiting for them to pile in. She slipped the scythe's handle into the space between her seat and the door, its arc blade up, stupid as it looked, if in case she needed to pull it out anytime.

 

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Wielder of the Golden Ox Shield
Clock Tower

Diego elaborated as the elevator reached down. Stella still wasn't buying his explanation. "Oh, how could I have been so stupid to not know that's what's happening. Because that's totally plausible." Stella answered sarcastically while rolling her eyes. The explanation reminded her of some cartoons she'd seen in the past. "This is not bloody Digimon, and we are not Digidestined. Don't give me some childish story."

Then, an omniscient voice rang out from nowhere. "I don't know about the rest of you, but my instinct tells me I have to go and protect my nakama," he said before blushing slightly. "Tell the others and head for the closest district."

"Oh that's cute, you know Japanese. But that doesn't give you any right to tell me what to do. You can't possibly be serious can you? This whole plot sounds like a ridiculous fanfiction I read on the internet."

Then, a voice rang out. "It does not matter to me that you regain your memories. The outcome will still be the same ... You cannot escape this world even if you manage to destroy my Beacons ... Along with Seya, you will all remain here for eternity ..." At this point, Stella was positive all this was some elaborate practical joke. After all, that Minotaur could very well be a guy in a costume, and that voice could be due to good sound effects. If this really were some sort of practical joke, no one else seemed to be acting that way. They all appeared to be taking this nonsense seriously.

"Guys, if we need to find the beacons fast, then we just can't walk, fly...whatever. We're gonna have to use my car to get around. Roof's down for easy spotting and this lass drives wicked fast." She lead them to a red Maserati convertible, waving her scythe in the air at them, before getting into the driver's seat.

"Caroline honey, just because you have a weapon doesn't mean you can steal someone's car to chase some dellusion..." Then she saw her pull some keys out, and start the car. Her jaw dropped. Someone that dressed like her couldn't possibly have enough money to afford something like this. "Alright, who's car did you steal?! There is no way someone like you could get enough money to afford something like this." She also saw everyone else getting into the car with her. "You people are really serious about this aren't you? Well, you can count me out! I am not falling for this ridiculous trick. And I especially am not associating with a potential car thief!" Stella said as she backed away from everyone else, and went towards her limo, which was parked nearby, went in, and slammed the door.

"Ah good, you're back. How was the dinner?" James, who was sitting in the drivers seat asked her.

"It 's a long story..." Stella looked at the golden shield sitting next to her, then back out the window, at the red convertible. As ridiculous as this whole situation was, a part of her was actually curious about this. She'd always loved magic and fantasy as a child, and it never really went away even as an adult. "James, do me a favor, and follow that convertible."

"As you wish Miss Gold."

Joke or not, she wanted to see how this played out. She could always get a laugh watching some of these people make fools of themselves. She could also use this opportunity to find out where Caroline got that car, and get the authorities involved. A criminal always returned to the scene of the crime.

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
New Arc City

"Alright, who's car did you steal?! There is no way someone like you could get enough money to afford something like this. You people are really serious about this aren't you? Well, you can count me out! I am not falling for this ridiculous trick. And I especially am not associating with a potential car thief!" Stella suddenly asked, making Carly give her a cool look as she arched an eyebrow.

"Tell me, bitch...how the hell would I have entered the same design school as you did if I'm...shall I say, 'less talented' than you are? Definitely not by scholarship if that were the case. Do you seriously think that I held up the principal on the street or kidnapped his boy or something? Negative. Girl, answer these simple questions...you heard of Patrick McNamara of McNamara Diamonds and Jewelry, Inc.? Tell me, what color is his hair?" She answered, smirking slightly as she looked back, as well as beside herself to make sure that everyone was inside the car, before speeding away, leaving Stella who was headed for what seemed to be a limo.

"Figures...girl can't even drive herself..." She muttered under her breath as she spun the wheel in her hands, before looking back at Diego and Zuri.

"You guys said we head to Zuri first, right? OK, can you tell me when you see any...weird-looking things that could be the beacons? Wouldn't want to crash at this speed, and we need to hurry." She asked, before concentrating on the road as she sped up, leaving the vicinity of the plaza shortly after. She turned a corner and then another one, heading in the direction of the Zuri district.

 

[DVB]

Diego Vendrix- Keeper of the Monkey Staff of Wisdom
New Arc City Plaza – Outside of Clock Tower
11:00 PM

Diego smiled and high-fived Carly as they were all in their car. Diego noticed that neither Michel nor Jess were there. He gave an inward cheer. Now, he had nothing against Michel though his chubby cracks bothered him, though they would now be inaccurate and the guy did prove himself in the end.

However, now there was Stella to contend with. Recalling the Minotaur battle, he knew they were only good when there were all together. He then sighed. This meant they would need her. He took a brief moment to examine the elements.

"Fire, Water, Wind, Ice and... not sure what that shield could be, but since Thunder and Earth belonged to those two..." Diego said as he tried to deduce what element she could be. His experience in video games and fiction were paying off. He wasn't sure to be honest. Michel and Jess were not dead, but did not understand how the magic of this realm work. He could guess by luck, but wasn't sure

"You guys said we head to Zuri first, right? OK, can you tell me when you see any...weird-looking things that could be the beacons? Wouldn't want to crash at this speed, and we need to hurry," Carly asked, before concentrating on the road as she sped up, leaving the vicinity of the plaza shortly after. She turned a corner and then another one, heading in the direction of the Zuri district.

"We shouldn't all go at once! We need to get Seya aka Ayes!" Diego pointed out to Carly. He then realized something.

"Can't we manipulate our Elements? Carly, that means you can fly!" Diego pointed out to her as he tried to remember how to create his cloud.

 

[Black War Dragon]

???
Two heavily armed figures, hidden in cloaks, made their way across a desert in the middle of night with nothing but the light of seven red celestial bodies resembling moons illuminating their path.

"They approach, Gabriel."

"How many, Ry?"

" ... Several thousand."

In a matter of minutes, the two strangers found themselves surrounded by literally thousands of knights, shielded in heavy armor. From the assault group, one emerged to confront them, shield and sword on hand. He was deeply unnerved by the size of the Giant Sword one of them wielded. It was at least three times its owner's entire size.

"In the name of Her Majesty, I demand you leave at once," said he who appeared to be in command.

The two men didn't so much as flinch at the request and simply mumbled to themselves.

"Ry, I'd rather we not kill anyone if we don't have to, especially here."

The one with the Giant Sword looked his companion with both amusement and sympathy. "That's fine Gabriel but if they fail to accommodate our request you know what will happen," he said before directing his attention toward the commanding knight.

"We're here for your queen. Bring her out immediately and we'll be on our way."

" ... No bloodshed," his companion added.

The commanding knight's eyes widened at the ludicrous request, "You can't be serious! Over our dead bodies will you ever lay a single finger on Her Majesty!"

The commanding knight knew exactly who they were up against. Half his mind was telling him to get the hell out of there and the other half begged for mercy. Still, it was his duty to lead Her army and lead tonight he would ... straight to their deaths.

"Attack!"

Thousands of knights charged as the Giant Sword wielder unsheathed his weapon and waited for his companion to ready for battle. Two black, ominous wings emerged from his back. Spreading his dark wings, the dark angel steadily took flight.

The commanding knight watched in horror as the two cloaked strangers tore apart his entire army in a matter of minutes until he was the only one alive. The lone knight dropped to his knees at the sight of thousands of his men piled as corpses. He looked up into the night sky and saw the dark-winged angel approach him. In just a split-second, the last survivor was swooped up and held from his throat midair, all in one effortless action.

"May you find peace ... " The dark angel whispered to his prey before impaling him with his dark wings just as he had done to hundreds at incredible speeds.

" ... "

Her sorrowful, green eyes looked off into the distance. She held tightly onto the balcony as if she knew what had just happened. She felt two evil energies fast approach. Her heart beat increased. Suddenly, her bedroom door flung wide open. Two cloaked figures stepped in.

"You're coming with us ... " One of them calmly said.

She didn't bother turning. She knew exactly why they were here and what they wanted.

" ... "

 

[Kiruria]

OOC: Hmm, there's some interesting stuff to reply to here.
IC:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zuri Watkinson
Wielder of the Blue Flame Tiger Bow
New Arc City Plaza, ~11:00

After Stella insulted Zuri, Zuri thought about replying to her, but hesitated. Before she could utter a word, Stella was driving off in her fancy-schmancy overly-long-and-hard-to-steer car and admiring her flashy yet impractical fake nails. Interestingly enough, Stella was one of two weapon-wielders here who she did not have that deja-vu feeling about, the other being a rather plain-looking yet modestly handsome boy wielding a clawed weapon of some sort. But the former was more of her concern now. Though she didn't say anything about it, Zuri did feel a little hurt at that comment.

But she was able to brush it off. After all, she had heard many similar comments when she was in school, especially back in high school, where she had frequently come across as the crazy witch lady who obsessed over anything occult and obscure, and who probably drank the blood of babies for nourishment. Of course, Stella's comment was rather unique, for she had never been accused of dying her hair white before. It wasn't her fault that she was an albino and looked rather ghostly in appearance. Heck, she could be dark-skinned and curly-haired and people would accuse her as being an overly fanatic Esmeralda cosplayer instead.

With these thoughts lingering in her mind, Zuri silently followed Diego into the mayor's house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Dinner

The minotaur had rung a bell. When it initially appeared, Zuri automatically mouthed the word "Raseo", though she had no idea what it meant at the time. And another thing that had rung a bell for her, though a very different sort of bell, was Hunter. There was something especially peculiar about him, and it irked her as she rode down the elevator with him. But what exactly was it?

And then, once everyone was outside, everything came flashing back. The first thing Zuri remembered was that first day, the day whn she was on a grocery shopping errand for her grandmother and all of a sudden reports of a minotaur attacking the city spread. Zuri had gone in to investigate the matter, only to see a young businesswoman being killed by the beast, her bow then for some reason falling into Zuri's hands. She remembered how she blinded the minotaur by firing flaming arrows into his eyes. She remembered how natural the bow felt in her grasp, and how much the blue flames within the arrows resonated with her beliefs.

She remembered the strange folk in New Magostra, and how she spent most of her time there trying to purify Jessica from the curse she apparently brought about by taking Hunter's pike. She remembered how Milly invaded the planet, and how during the battle DX had emerged from within Diego, and how she purged his soul with her very own arrows. She remembered how frightened she had been at that moment, how she fered for a split second that she had killed Diego by mistake.

And then she remembered the bridge. She remembered that epic finale where everyone used their weapons at once to clear the way to the gateway beyond. She remembered how the bridge crumbled, how Hunter struggled with the knights below, and how Seya and Milly clashed one last time while everyone escaped through the portal to the real world...

And she remembered how she woke up the following day with the bow on her bed, completely clueless as to what had happened. Why had the memories been occluded for so long? What purpose did it serve? Even as she thought about it though, she knew. The world was momentarily at peace. It was like an old adage she had read about: that while peace reigns over the land, the might and valor of those who protect it need not be preserved. If and when it is needed again, it shall be awakened in the right way, for such is the nature of one's most powerful skills, especially if they are divine in nature. And Zuri knew that they were. She--and Diego and Carly and Michel and Kess--and apparently also Stella and Jonathon now--were Seya's Guardians of Light. Those weapons they held had been bestowed upon them by the Princess of Light herself, and their elemental powers were the colours of the rainbow that emerged from that single white light.

Anyway, now the plan was apparently to find three beacons, but first to find Seya. Zuri had to agree with finding Seya first, as the minotaur's beacons sounded like they emanated such an evil presence that the Guardians alone would not be able to destroy. Zuri did have to smile to herself at the bickering over Carly's stolen car, for the fact was that she didn't mind it at all. Looking around, she wondered for a faint moment where Jess and Michel were, but apparently that did not matter now. But once she was in the car, after Diego suggested using their elemental powers, Zuri had an idea.

"Using our elemental powers... I like that," Zuri replied, before withdrawing an arrow from the quiver beside her. As she held it tip-upwards before her, a little blue flame came into light on the tip. Taking a deep breath and focusing on this flame, Zuri began to speak to it.

"The flame that remains while the storm rages on,
You are the beacon of the soul burning strong.
By the glorious Light from which the flame did come,
Show us now your kindred Sacred One.
May the fire of the soul follow the Light,
In wake of hidden forces that penetrate the night.
Firm be my will and valiant be thee.
Merry meet, and blessed be."

As she spoke this chant, the flame at the tip of her arrow began to grow in size and dance softly around the tip, as if reacting to her words. And then, when she finished, the flame burst into life once more, flaring up and briefly forming an image of a flying cat within it. Carefully, Zuri cupped her hand around this flame, guiding it upwards off the tip.

"Do not worry," Zuri said to everyone. "This flame is a will-o-wisp, the mere spirit of a flame. It shall not burn any part of this car, or any of us. Just don't reach out and touch it--it might give you a bad case of the chills."

Once again Zuri focused on the flame, glad that Stella wasn't there to condone her about it. It hovered about for a moment, but then suddenly it flashed scarlet, growing even brighter. Zuri's heart felt a tinge of fear.

"Seya's in trouble!" Zuri blurted all of a sudden. "Follow her!"

Thrusting her palm forward, Zuri pushed the bright red flame forward. It passed right through the car's windshield without leaving any marks, made a swirling motion before it, and then veered off to the left and headed down a street.

"There!" Zuri called. "Turn left at that light! Drat, the light's turning red!"

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
New Arc City

"Can't we manipulate our Elements? Carly, that means you can fly!" Carly heard Diego say from behind her as she turned the steering wheel, allowing the car to turn another corner. She allowed herself to look back at Diego and arch a brow.

"And get us into more trouble? I can't just make my fucking car fly along with us, there's no cover-up for a flying car after all!" She protested. Zuri then started chanting in the back seat, ending with a message of reassurance.

"Do not worry. This flame is a will-o-wisp, the mere spirit of a flame. It shall not burn any part of this car, or any of us. Just don't reach out and touch it--it might give you a bad case of the chills." She said, her last statement making Carly chuckle softly. Bad case of chills? Well, at least it could be much worse.

The next thing Carly saw was a bright red flame suddenly shooting in front of her, narrowly missing her curtain of almost equally red hair, before passing through her car's windshield. True to Zuri's words, the windshield was intact and unscathed. The twenty-one-year-old watched as the flame headed to the left and zoomed away.

"There! Turn left at that light! Drat, the light's turning red!"

"Aye, aye Captain! Let me take care of that!" Carly replied before forcing the Maserati to take a sharp turn to the left as she increased her speed. Ever since they entered Zuri, the streets were seemingly less crowded and for Carly, that meant that she could drive faster uninterrupted. As the car moved down the street, she kept her eye on the scarlet ember, which seemed to have stopped not very far away. Continuing on, she allowed herself to look up, seeing a tall structure which gave her an odd feeling for some reason. She looked straight again and saw that the flame hadn't moved.

"Guys, I think we're just about here." She said as she slowed down, the car eventually halting near where the flame was. Turning off the engine, she grabbed her scythe and stepped out, waiting for the others to do so.

 

[DVB]

Diego Vendrix- Keeper of the Monkey Staff of Wisdom
New Arc City Plaza – Toward Zuri
11:00 PM

Diego remained silent. He would have stated that covering-up would be pointless considering the priorities they had. He saw Zuri summon the small Will-o-wisp to help lead them. "Uh Carly, we need to go back to the plaza to get Seyaaaa!!!!" Diego said before Carly performed her sharp turn.

Diego sat back up as his words fell on deaf ears once more.

Diego saw the tall strcuture and felt a rather disturbed sensation.

Considering their objective and the otherwordly sensations eminating from the monolith, Diego deduced this was one of the beacons they had to destroy.

"I assume this is one of the beacons we have to destroy," Diego said before he took out the staff.

"All right, let's try and summon our elemental powers for offensive purposes," Diego stated as he tooka deep breath and began gathering moisture to try and see if he could form a structure of pressurizes water.

 

[GoldenHouou]

OOC: Alright, guess who's back~ Hint: It starts with a G and ends in an H.

---

Michel Lefèbvre
Wielder of the Stallion Boots of Gaia
A street somewhere in New Arc City

When Michel had woken up earlier that morning to hear that his car was being painted and that he wasn’t allowed to use it for the next thirty hours or so, he had suspected this day wouldn’t exactly turn out to be one of his favorites. And when he had ended up showing up to a date wearing ridiculous boots straight out of some freaky Japanese cartoon convention, he had known this day would suck.

But when he had woken up late from the mysterious dinner he had been invited to by an equally mysterious – but busty – chick, and when he had desperately grabbed some local kid’s bike to try and get there as fast as he could and almost crashed about ten minutes later – seriously, how embarrassing was it to almost die riding a damn bike – as he had suddenly heard a strange, taunting voice in his head, he had realized this day was way beyond his worst expectations. In fact, it wasn’t until he had gotten up from his landing spot right next to the highway and pinched himself a few times before he had even accepted he wasn’t still safe asleep in his bed, ready to wake up to a much better day any minute now from this damn nightmare.

Hm, strange that line of thought felt somewhat familiar. Like somewhere, long ago, he had been denying misfortune, deeming it as nothing but a nightmare out of fear of not being able to deal otherwise. But when?

Actually, did it really matter? Michel decided it didn’t with little effort. He had no time to go crazy right now. He was still somewhere on the side of the road, his “borrowed” bicycle laying a little to his left. Great, the kid he took it from would never let him hear the end of it if it was broken. Thank god the car hadn’t actually managed to hit him.

“Guess I’m just really outta luck today,” he sighed with a shake of his head as he picked up his sunglasses from where they had fallen as he had dodged that oncoming car earlier. A quick look-over told him the lenses weren’t broken at least. Maybe he did still have some luck left. Actually, maybe that had been it for the suffering for the day? Maybe the rest of the day would be awesome. Maybe he’d meet a really hot chick who’d offer to take him home and-

He hadn’t quite managed to finish that line of thought yet when he was suddenly hit with a strange, nostalgic rush inside his mind.

His memories hit him the second he straightened his back, and he almost fell straight back down on his self-proclaimedly fabulous bum from the sheer impact it had to his brain, to his mind and, most of all, to his heart. An immense wave of emotions Michel hadn’t even realized he had ever felt rushed back into him in the form of memories, of images and words, sounds and smells retelling him the story of two years ago. His story.

Story that ended with a fall. A damn painful fall. He recalled holding tight onto a paper Pegasus, the kind he made to the kids he frequented at the local daycare nowadays. Kids like the one who had given the thing to him in the first place, just less… blue. … Was he going crazy? He had to be right? He had dodged the car he was almost hit with by in some fucked up angle and banged his head so hard against something all sense had shattered to pieces, right? Two years ago, he would have probably decided things were so and went on his way. Now? Now he couldn’t. Much as he would’ve loved to deny it and be on his merry way, Seya was out there somewhere, and she needed help. Plus, he didn’t quite appreciate the way the strange sound had mocked him earlier. So, first things first, there was some talk about beacons? And destroying them? What kind of a villain actually hinted at what they were supposed to do like that? For a cocky s.o.b, the guy wasn’t too bright.

Not that telling him about the beacons helped much, as Michel had no idea where the others were, or what beacons were being talked about. Michel figured his best bet’d probably be to check out the mayor’s place, even if he was a fashionable half an hour late from the dinner. It was the only place he could go to right now and the others were supposed to be there.

Michel had just decided that to be his next course of action, gotten up and started to be on his merry way, when a car had almost run over him again and Michel had been forced to jump back to the side of the road. This time, though, the guy couldn’t help but take a double take. He knew that car. And the car following it. His two darlings, here to pick him up! … And drive him past. Aw. Well, at least he’d know where to go now. Too bad he’d miss the date with Milly now. He was pretty interested to see if she had become a better kisser in these two years.

He grinned at the thought, even if part of him grimaced and feared she’d somehow be able to hear his thoughts. He didn’t fancy another beating. Either way, after the cars now, thinking about Milly later.

So, jumping up on his feet, Michel looked down at his boots and nodded.

“Alright guys, you aren’t much of a lookers, so you’d better show me what else you’re good for.”

And they did. And Michel almost hit the pavement again trying to regain his balance from the sudden burst of speed.

--

Michel had to admit that he had never stopped a car before. Well, he had stopped taxis and even used the traditional ‘hold up your thumb on the side of the road and pray’ method once, when young and desperate. It was incident he didn’t like talking about. But either way, never before had he actually had to do the stopping quite like this.

He was running next to the slower of the two cars – which was still moving at speeds nobody should run at, peering into the limo’s windows and trying to find his friend from one of them. Should he have gone after Carly’s car instead? At least hers didn’t have such horizontal issues. Eventually, Michel just gave up trying to find the right window and decided to use his voice instead. He did have a beautiful one, after all.

“Hey, Stelstel!” He shouted, hoping she’d understand the nickname he just came up for her now. He had a dozen of them, even if she didn’t seem to appreciate a single one of them. “It’s your best bud out here! Wanna open the door and let me in? S'il vous plait? I got a world to save and the wind’s messing up my hair!”

 

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Wielder of the Golden Ox Shield
Being driven around

As Stella was having James follow Caroline's car, she couldn't get what the redhead had said before she got into the limo.

"Tell me, bitch...how the hell would I have entered the same design school as you did if I'm...shall I say, 'less talented' than you are? Definitely not by scholarship if that were the case. Do you seriously think that I held up the principal on the street or kidnapped his boy or something? Negative. Girl, answer these simple questions...you heard of Patrick McNamara of McNamara Diamonds and Jewelry, Inc.? Tell me, what color is his hair?"

Stella clutched her necklace as she thought about it. She didn't get a chance to answer, but she heard every word. McNamara Diamonds and Jewelry, Inc. was a huge company, she was wearring some of their products even now. She didn't think of it right away at first, because there were hundreds of McNamaras in New Arc, there's no way in hell that the two could be related. Especially since Patrick owned a fabulous Jewelry company, and Caroline was... well... a common street urchin. Now that she had this information, she was amazed she hadn't thought of it sooner. It would've explained how she was able to get into the most prestigious fashion design school in the country, and be absolutely terrible designer with ghastly taste.

Despite this revalation, Stella did not gain any new found respect for her redheaded classmate. In fact, her opinion of her went down even lower than it already was. "She's the heiress to a multi-million dollar corporation, and she chooses to behave the way she does? That is absolutely disgraceful!" Stella was very much looking foward to catching her in the middle of a criminal act, and getting her sent to prison, where girls like her belong. Stella also considered convincing her father to buy out the company for her afterwards. He has the money, and the business saavy to do it. Then, when that was done, he might rename the company after her, and give her some degree of creative control. "If anyone is going to be running a jewelry company, it's going to be me. Stella Gold Inc. has a lovely ring to it. And it'll be the first step on my way to forming my own business empire! Then those uncultured idiots back in school will be groveling at my feet, begging me for a job. Oh, it'll be fabulous!"

Eventually, the car stopped due to a red traffic light. As Stella was having a fantasy of herself swimming in a pool of money and diamonds, she was interupted from her thoughts by someone's voice.

“Hey, Stelstel! It’s your best bud out here! Wanna open the door and let me in? S'il vous plait? I got a world to save and the wind’s messing up my hair!”

The blond looked out the window, and saw her purple haired classmate Michel standing next to her car. Normally at this, she would've driven away without another word after that he called her by that ridiculous nickname, but...it was the best buds line that got her. For all her fortune, she never had an actual friend before. Her parents were always away, and she was mostly treated with indifference from the other students. James, and her white Persain cat Diamante were the closest things she ever had to friends. One was on the payroll, and the other wasn't even human.

Stella pressed a button, and the window rolled down. "What's the matter Mimi? Don't you have a tiny car filled with other clowns somewhere you could use? Ugh, whatever, you're lucky I'm charitable." She sighed, and opened the door. "Get in. Stay as far away from me as possible, and if you so much as think about touching me, I will throw you out. AND KEEP THOSE HIDEOUS BOOTS OFF THE SEATS, THIS CAR IS WORTH MORE THAN YOUR HOUSE! You're going to stain the material. Now hurry up and get in, I have things to do." Michel was an absolutely lecherous human being, and as amusing was, she couldn't just be best friends with just anybody. After all, reputation is everything in Chevalier, and she wasn't willing to be another notch on his belt. But... if he was willing to prove himself, then maybe some things could be over looked.

"Miss Gold, could you please make haste, the light is about to turn green!" James shouted from the drivers seat.

As soon as Michel was in, she slammed the door, placed her golden shield in between them to keep them separated, and James took off. "Wipe that grin off your face, this is not going to be a regular occurrence. I just happen to be in a good mood today." She glared at him before taking out her pink 3DS, and playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity on it.

---

Wherever this beacon is

Shortly after that, the limo pulled over, and game to a stop. Stella turned her head up from the game she was playing. "James why have we stopped?" She closed her game console, threw it in her purse, and took a look out the window, and saw the red maserati she was following, and it's three riders standing in front of a large metallic structure. "Actually, nevermind that!"

Stella opened the door, and gracefully stepped out the car. This time, she took her shield with her for protection as they were carrying those old fashioned weapons. Maybe it was some ritualistic thing. Whatever, she was going to put a stop to it. "Hold it right there! You have five seconds to explain why I shouldn't call the authorities right now!" The twenty year old then grabbed Kessandra's wrist and pulled her to her side."Don't worry dear, you just got caught up with the wrong crowd. I won't let the police take you away." She took out her iPhone from her purse. "1" She pressed a button on the phone. "2..."

 

[DVB]

Diego Vendrix
Keeper of the Monkey Staff of Wisdom
The Beacon in Zuri

Diego swore he heard the voice of the only other male wielder of a Sacred Weapon, Michel. Granted, his annoyance with Michel's lecherous behavior and general uselessness along with Michel's jokes about his weight was why he was hoping the boy wouldn't show up. However, he did manage to grow a pair to face off against Milly in her One-Winged form those years ago. The fact that he is coming says something about him.

At the very least, he is much less annoying than Stella is right now.

Speak of the devil...

He saw the pompous rich girl come out to them and threatened to call the cops on them before pulling Kess to her. Diego was a man of patience. However, he was also someone of short temper and considering the situation, he had no time for messing around.

He gently pulled Kess back before facing her.

"Here's a damn good reason," Diego claimed as his focus had been reached and he tapped the ground with his staff. Water began being drawn from the atmosphere as well various other sources such as puddles and water fountains. They swirled around the head of the staff before he pressured it into a hammerhead.

Diego was somewhat annoyed. Water was a very versitile element, but required creativity and he doubed he could create ice with it. However, that was not the time for that. He then proceeded to attack the beacon as well as he could.

They were on a schedule. Diego also hoped for rain as it would give him more water to work with and do other attacks besides augmenting his staff with different weapon heads made out of pressurized water.

 

[GoldenHouou]

Michel Lefèbvre
Wielder of the Stallion Boots of Gaia
Getting into a car

Michel couldn’t help but grin as the window lowered and his classmate’s face came into view. He knew it. Knew she wouldn’t be cruel enough to leave him hanging like that. Mean and cocky as she might’ve been, she was still both his friend and a chick. The former tended to help each other out despite any bickering they might’ve had – he had learned as much during the past two years of learning what the hell emotions actually were, and chicks? Well chicks digged him. Simple as. They couldn’t abandon him on the highway alone at night. So, as the window opened, Michel leaned closer with his usual grin in place.

“Hey, there you are, you come here oft-“

"What's the matter Mimi?” She interrupted, and Michel’s grin faded – only to be replaced by another, more amused one half a second later. Aw, look, she even gave him a nickname! It wasn’t the best nickname in the world but hey, who was to say she just didn’t have a sucky naming sense? He shouldn’t judge based on that. At least she tried.

“Don't you have a tiny car filled with other clowns somewhere you could use? Ugh, whatever, you're lucky I'm charitable."

The door opened, and Michel made his way in, humming to himself as he did. He really didn’t mind her little insults. He knew – or at least, was pretty sure he knew – that she wasn’t serious anyway. Her intention wasn’t to hurt him but just keep up appearances; maybe it was the way she was brought up. Remain proper and cold and that crap. Or maybe something had happened that had made her feel the need to protect herself from getting attached by being like that? If so, Michel could relate. He was like that too, two years ago. Nothing could get past his grins and smiles, nothing could touch his heart and all that. It was still difficult today, but at least he had learned to open up a bit more. Keyword being “a bit”, but hey. It was an ongoing process. Either way, if that’s what made her act like that, Michel knew the feeling all too well. Maybe that was why, when Stella yelled at him to not touch her and to keep the boots away, Michel just smiled and nodded obediently, even bending his neck a tad for a fake bow. Feelings were a scary thing, especially if you weren’t used to them. She wasn’t mad, she was afraid.

Either that, or he was completely off the mark. Wouldn’t be the first time. Maybe she was just genuinely mean, no tricks and buts and ifs about that. Didn’t matter to him either way though. She was his friend regardless. So, Michel made sure not to stain anything with his boots which, he admitted, did look a bit hideous inside such a luxurious place. But, ever since getting his memories back like what, two seconds ago, he had grown to appreciate the dirty pair a lot more. Before that they were just some freaky larp gear, but now? Now they were the weapon he had helped defeat an evil god with or whatever. Definitely upped their cool factor by quite a tad.

It was then, as the car started up again that Michel remembered he had yet to actually thank Stella for helping him out. He was just about to turn to do that, when a shield was basically slammed in between them.

Aw.

“Wipe that grin off your face, this is not going to be a regular occurrence. I just happen to be in a good mood today."

All that did was make Michel’s grin quite a bit wider.

“Yes, ma’m, wouldn’t dream of it!” He said with a somewhat mocking, if happy, tone and made himself at home in his seat. “But something tells me you’re going to be in a ‘good mood’ a lot around me.”


The Beacon in Zuri (Godthatsoundsdirty)

The car pulled up and Michel reluctantly exited the car after its owner. Aww, he wouldn’t have minded the ride a little bit longer. True, any and all attempts to strike up a conversation had went to deaf ears, but the car was still damn comfortable and, more than anything else, warm. It was freezing outside. Stupid snow. He definitely wanted a limo for himself now. Maybe if his sister hadn’t used up all his money to-

Michel fell silent at the thought. Oh, right. He… didn’t have a sister anymore, did he? The Earth was destroyed two years ago, right? So then, what, what was this world? Had time moved back? Or was this... world just a dream built for them to live in to keep them from the truth? The voice earlier had said they wouldn't be able to leave 'this world', so it sounded logical for this not to be the real one. But then why was it this dream sounded something he liked better than the real world?

What did he have in the 'real world', if it was indeed destroyed, anyway? His boots? The clothes he wore? Some cool earth powers that allowed him to kick up dirt? Against what, the entire world and his family in this dream? Friends, a job an education. A life. Weren’t the others like that too? Why were they so inclined to end this dream and return to a nightmare? Or was he in the wrong? Had time really turned back? What the heck was real then?!

Michel was shaken out of his thoughts for now as he heard Stella about to call the cops and Diego – oh, his good old chubby friend was here too! – conjuring up water in the form of a hammer. He was still a bit out of it, still a bit uncertain about what to do, but he knew he at least didn’t want the cops pulling up on them and getting them arrested. Time to play the hero or whatever.

“Three, four, and so on~” Michel finished for Stella in a singy-sangy voice as he grabbed her wrist gently - but still a bit rougher than he would have wanted to. His head was a mess. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. Regardless, he yanked Stella backwards against his chest, snatching the cell and turning it off with his free hand before holding it up beyond her reach. Which, admittedly, wasn’t that easy because she was a tall girl and her heels didn’t help any. Luckily Michel's boots were pretty thick and added even more inches than hers did.

Phew, cell confiscated and immediate danger eliminated. Now to make sure she didn’t kill him for touching her. Er, this part of the plan he hadn’t quite thought through. Well.

“Sorry, Stelstel, just thinking about your reputation and all!” He rushed to explain, his voice still calm and somewhat comically cheery like usual despite his slight fear of the consequences and a small urge to actually let her call the cops and let the beacons be rising.

“If you called the cops now, you’d be found with us too, big-ass shield and all. And if by some miracle you didn’t get associated with us and rushed off to the station with us, you’d at least land your face right in the middle of tomorrow’s paper, y’know?" He chuckled. "We’re nobodies, our presence doesn’t really matter, but the daughter of a prestigious family shouldn’t run around at night destroying beacons and saving the world and stuff. All that jazz. The world’s unfair. You’ll get your cell back when we’re done, I promise.”

Not really sure whether his little speech was working or not, Michel leaned his face a little closer from above.

“In the meantime, hey, I still haven’t given you a proper thanks for the ride just now,” he began, a flirty smirk forming. He felt suicidal, what the heck. Maybe this would help him get rid of his doubts. “Did you know we thank with a kiss from where I’m from?”

Hey, that distraction had worked wonders with Milly!

Behind that grin and those carefree words though, Michel was a wreck of conflicting thoughts, and he hated it. This was exactly why it sucked to care about anything.

 

[*Jean Grey*]

(OOC: Black Shamrock is a name I made up for New Arc City's biggest Irish gang...probably where Stella suspected Carly to be from, since there's bound to be at least one McNamara.)

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
Beacon - Zuri

"I assume this is one of the beacons we have to destroy." Diego said as he stepped out of Carly's convertible. The redhead looked up at the structure and, recalling that her powers were back, leapt into the air and held her scythe in front of her, before starting to spin in the air, creating a silvery-green whirlwind around herself. Flying forward, she started striking quickly at the beacon with her twister-powered scythe.

"Hold it right there! You have five seconds to explain why I shouldn't call the authorities right now!" Carly heard a familiar voice, causing her to stop her attack. She looked down and saw that it was - speak of the devil - Stella. Carly decided to play it cool and smirked at the blonde as she flew down. Stella was already trying to coax Kess to come with her, her sugary-sweet voice laced with hidden vitriol.

"Don't worry dear, you just got caught up with the wrong crowd. I won't let the police take you away." She cooed, before looking at the others, demanding an explanation and starting to count. She was however, interrupted and stopped by Michel, who took her phone away and explained in his usual easygoing way.

“If you called the cops now, you’d be found with us too, big-*** shield and all. And if by some miracle you didn’t get associated with us and rushed off to the station with us, you’d at least land your face right in the middle of tomorrow’s paper, y’know? We’re nobodies, our presence doesn’t really matter, but the daughter of a prestigious family shouldn’t run around at night destroying beacons and saving the world and stuff. All that jazz. The world’s unfair. You’ll get your cell back when we’re done, I promise.” He said, before offering to kiss her, which made Carly want to grin like a maniac. Oh, the joy to see Stella scandalized and losing her dignity to that!

However, it wasn't only Stella involved, but everyone else. If Carly knew one thing, she was responsible for Kess, Diego, Zuri...everyone. If they went to jail, she had to answer for all them. The last thing she wanted was Paddy having to bail her out. She was twenty-one and she was capable of looking out for her friends, as her memory from three years ago proved...well, minus her being possibly responsible for Florina and Darwin's demise. She shook off the horrible thought, and stood her ground.

"Damn, do you seriously think I'm going to allow everyone to be arrested? Think again, bitch. We're all involved in this. How'd you like to be questioned at the station and possibly getting detained for a night? Unpleasant, wouldn't it be? Seriously, having all of 'em arrested solves nothing and doesn't make you the hero. You're here, you're involved. Better not get yourself in a hot mess while you still could. Paddy sure as hell wouldn't want to hear that his sister got arrested for...you know, something minor like driving to Zuri and checking out a beacon, and I'm sure as hell that they and their folks wouldn't want a call from the police in the middle of the night too. It's all so petty, so damn stupid." She said, before spitting on the ground as a sign that she wasn't going to comply.

"Besides, you know what's easier? Just shut your trap and go with it. It's not as if you got involved with...Black Shamrock or something. Now, if I were a Black Shamrock, then maybe getting me arrested is a different story. But then again, I aren't." She finished, before smirking at Stella and giving her a sarcastic wink. Now to wait for Michel to give her a kiss or not.

 

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Wielder of the Golden Ox Shield
Beacon - Zuri

“Three, four, and so on~” Michel finished Stella's countdown in a sing-song voice as he grabbed her wrist gently, yanked her backwards against his chest, snatched the cell and turning it off with his free hand before holding it up beyond her reach.

"Hey, what did...?!" The twenty year old started to shout.

But Michel continued speaking before she could finish. “Sorry, Stelstel, just thinking about your reputation and all!” He started to say. “If you called the cops now, you’d be found with us too, big-ass shield and all. And if by some miracle you didn’t get associated with us and rushed off to the station with us, you’d at least land your face right in the middle of tomorrow’s paper, y’know?" He chuckled. "We’re nobodies, our presence doesn’t really matter, but the daughter of a prestigious family shouldn’t run around at night destroying beacons and saving the world and stuff. All that jazz. The world’s unfair."

"Please, my daddy knows the editor in cheif of the local newspaper. And he would never allow them to scully his precious daughter's reputation." She wasn't sure if that statement was true, or even possible, but it sounded good.

You’ll get your cell back when we’re done, I promise.” Michel leaned his face a little closer. “In the meantime, hey, I still haven’t given you a proper thanks for the ride just now,” he continued, a flirty smirk forming on his face. Stella didn't like where this was going. “Did you know we thank with a kiss from where I’m from?”

At the mention of a kiss, Stella wriggled her wrist free from his grip, turned around, and gave him a well deserved slap on the face. She gave a satisfied smirk when her palm made contact with his face, and made a loud SMACK sound. Then she grabbed her phone from him while he was distracted. "You really think I'd let your lips get anywhere near mine?! Hmph, I should call the police, and report you for attempted rape."

She took a few steps away from the purple haired teen, and was about to make good on her threat, but was once again interupted by another teenager. This time that Diego kid again.

"Here's a damn good reason," Diego claimed as he tapped the ground with his staff. Liquids started to appear, and swirled around the head of his staff before it took the shape of a hammerhead.

"And just what do you intend to do with that? Splash water on me? Oh, whatever will I do?! I'm just a defenseless female! Someone help me! He's got liquid, I'm frightened!" She exclaimed in an overly dramatic way that made it quite clear she was being sarcastic. For a second, she missed the point that he had magically produced water. The realization hit her eventually, when Diego had gone off to attack the structure with his watery hammer. "Wait...what was that?!" This was getting too weird.

"Damn, do you seriously think I'm going to allow everyone to be arrested? Think again, bitch." Stella recognized who the voice belonged to, but had to look around for a minute before finding her... flying in the air. Surrounded by strong gusts of wind. Her eyes widened. This looked like a children's cartoon, except, it was real. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, and she wasn't. This is getting way too strange for my liking! I have to get out of here! She couldn't really pay attention to what Caroline was saying because all this blasted wind drowned out her voice. Not that she was interested in hearing any of it, but the gusts were going to ruin her perfectly styled hair. It had a tendency to frizz easily, and there was nothing pretty about frizzy hair. She raised the arm where she held the shield above her head, hoping it would work like a parasol, and protect her hair from getting ruined. It didn't seem to be doing much good.

"Besides, you know what's easier? Just shut your trap and go with it. It's not as if you got involved with...Black Shamrock or something. Now, if I were a Black Shamrock, then maybe getting me arrested is a different story. But then again, I aren't." Caroline finished her statement with a sarcastic wink.

"You may not be, but you're the ones running around attacking public property like a bunch of ruffians. I have every right to call the authorities. You know something, girls like you belong in prison! You don't deserve to be the heiress to McNamra Diamonds, let alone hobknobbing with the social elite of Chevalier. Your kind will never make it. Never!" The winds seemed to get stronger the more Stella shouted. "You may not be criminals, but you're all a bunch of freaks!" She raised her arm in anger. "AND I'VE HAD IT WITH ALL THIS BLASTED WIND!" Unbeknownst to Stella, her eyes were glowing for a second. Suddenly, a thick slab of metal, only a little taller than herself, rose from the ground. She forgot what she was going to say next from the shock of what just happened, It took her a second to process everything. The metal slab did prove to be an effective shield from this wind."...Did I...just...?" She raised her arm again, and the metal went back into the ground. Slowly, a grin started to appear on her face, and she threw her head back, and laughed. "Ohhohohoho! This is lovely. I'm a freak too!" Despite the insult at the end, she wasn't upset about this sudden development in the slightest. Surreal as it was, she was thrilled to have magical powers of her own. Even if these weren't the kind of powers she would've chosen for herself. She made another gesture with her hands, and the metal spike reappeared. "You know what... I take it back. This is fabulous!" She had forgotten about the strong gusts of wind in her state of euphoria, and her blonde hair was flying around all over the place, and getting very frizzy. She made a swift gesture with her arm, the metal spike became bigger, and shot out towards the beacon. She threw her head back, and laughed once more. "Ohhohohoho! DID YOU SEE THAT?! THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Once the piece of metal collided with the beacon, and retracted back into the ground after making impact, Stella soon regained her composure. "Ahem, I mean... yes, well... That's quite enough of that." She pulled out a small compact mirror, and a hairbrush from her purse, and started brushing the frizz out.

 

[GoldenHouou]

Michel Lefèbvre
Wielder of the Stallion Boots of Gaia
Beacon – Zuri

As Stella started to wriggle herself free from his grasp, Michel realized, much to his joy, that his little suggestion had succeeded in reaping a reaction. The force of her struggle told him it wasn't exactly a positive one but then, what had he expected? He allowed his grip to loosen, already mentally preparing for the impact that would soon follow. This really was Milly all over again, huh? Well, the blow should be effective enough in shaking him out of his spiraling thoughts about the world and beacons and what not. And hey, at least unlike with Milly, this time he didn’t have to fear the girl almost killing him with one punch or slap or groin kick or whatever evil counterattack she had planned for hi-

A smacking sound echoed and Michel nodded to himself mentally as the stinging pain from his cheek spread throughout his face, leaving behind a burning, throbbing pain and probably a big fat hand mark on his cheek. A slap, then. Ah, the classics, ever popular it seemed. Well, not that he complained, it was far better than a groin kick, at any case. Seemed like she did have a heart after all, hidden somewhere underneath all the snark and violence. Michel rubbed the sore area of impact, finding himself chuckling a tad. Yeah, it sure hurt alright. But compared to him flying through the air and hitting the pavement from the force of Milly’s slap, this wasn’t really much. He’d live. A more unfortunate consequence was that Stella managed to snag her cell back, and was again threatening to make a call with it. Luckily, it was shut and would take a while to boot up at least, and that would give them more time to take it away or destroy the beacon again. So mission partly accomplished? Michel at least liked to think that was the case, otherwise his cheek had suffered in vain. Well, almost in vain; it had pretty effectively cleared his thoughts just like he had intended, at least for now.

"You really think I'd let your lips get anywhere near mine?!” She yelled, and before Michel could reply with something cheery and perverted, she continued: “Hmph, I should call the police, and report you for attempted rape."

Ouch. Calling the police and sticking them after you for vandalism was one thing, calling them after you for a real crime like rape was completely another. The former would land you in jail for a night and take some of your pocket money away, the latter would condemn you as a pretty shitty human being for the rest of your life and have you locked up for months if not years. And to do that to your friend? See, it was times like these Michel was really glad “friendship”, to him, meant little more than liking someone’s company. Stuff like that could have hurt him if he had really cared for the other person, and for a good reason. But, as things were, he was too aloof to get that troubled over it. He just chuckled, just about to comment that if he was going to land his behind in jail for stuff he hadn’t done he might as well steal that kiss first, when Carly piped up from the skies above to the two. Michel grinned. Always a pleasure to the eyes, Michel nodded her a quick hello which she probably didn’t notice. She was a tad too busy scolding Stella. Yikes, she looked scary. The girls began to yap at each other, and Michel saw it best to just… stay the heck out of it. He wasn’t quite suicidal enough to go interrupt two warring chicks.

Instead, he focused back on his cheek, still rubbing it and trying to chase away the memories of fighting Milly the pain brought. He didn’t want to remember what happened two years ago, all it did was bring back the knowledge of the fact that Earth was probably gone which, in turn, made him doubt his decisions even more. He looked up at the beacon, sighing a tad when his head started to be filled with conflicting thoughts again.

“Aw, Stelstel, you should’ve hit me a bit harder…” He mumbled more to himself than anyone else, shaking his head.

And, as if on cue, metal shot out from the ground just beside Michel and slammed against the beacon, apparently conjured by none other than Stella herself. Michel’s face fell.

“Woah, woah, I was just kidding!” He exclaimed and took a few steps backwards from the metal. Okay, now that would have hurt. As he took a look at Stella though, it seemed she was unaware she had almost hit him with it. Oh. So I wasn’t deliberate? Well that helped a tad, he figured. As the metal retracted, Michel noticed a crack in the structure. Diego had been hammering the thing with water and Carly slashed it with wind earlier, but as one would suspect, metal had proven to be a lot more effective in damaging the beacon than the other two elements. Still, the wind had cut up the thing quite a bit, and the water had weakened the structure. It didn’t seem like it’d be able it withstand one more hard, controlled blow now.

Well, Michel didn’t know about controlled, since he felt like his command of his powers still wasn’t on par with the rest of the team who had received theirs earlier two years ago, but if anyone needed hard blows, well, he sure had that part covered. So, tapping the ground with the tip of his right boot, Michel stretched a tad. Well, time to test out the offensive potential these babies held. It had been a while.

Michel still wasn’t entirely sure if destroying the beacons was the right choice but what the hell. In the best case scenario destroying just one would be enough to convince him that ending this dream was the right choice. Honestly, he was ready to take the gamble. He just wanted to stop worrying, it made him irritated and he didn’t want to be grumpy in the company of ladies. So, nodding to himself, he walked next to Diego and patted him on the shoulder.

“Hey man, great job with the hammer and all, but I think you might wanna move aside for now. That beacon needs something tougher than water to topple it, y’know,” he grinned, just a tad cocky. “So leave this to me.”

Michel distanced himself from the structure enough to allow himself a runway, and then kicked himself into a run. Earth got stuck onto his boots as he advanced, making the boots bigger and more solid. And so, as he reached the beacon and slammed his foot onto the damaged area Stella’s metal had struck earlier, the structure didn’t even try to resist the blow.

And so it crumbled.

 

[Black War Dragon]

Hunter
Wielder of the Red Lightning and the Great Lance
Clock Tower

With his feet well grounded, knees angle-locked and ready to attack, Hunter readied his Great Lance. The blood-red markings on his exposed fore-arms burned his flesh; the energy flowing within was incredible but the pain all too real. All that power. The atmosphere around him became thick, almost malleable from the intensity. Sparks of red energy crackled mid-air as the red aura engulfed his whole being. Still, not a single muscle of his face moved, his eyes remained focused and his breath steady. Hunter anticipated the powerful slam of his opponent's massive weapon. With unbelievable focus, Hunter tracked the movement of the downward swing and parried the blow with his own Great Lance, leaving his enemy wide open for a fatal blow. "May the Gods have mercy on your pathetic soul Jago because ... I won't!" Hunter yelled as he took to the sky with an ominous leap, violently smashing his lance down his enemy's throat. The monster desperately tried to gasp for air but only gargling noises could be heard; Jago was choking on the blood trickling down his throat but Hunter remained unfazed and instead further dug his weapon. The Minotaur's eyes widened as the lance reached the pit of his throat. Jago plummeted to the ground smashing into the ice cold road, Hunter still forcing his weapon down. As the beast raised an arm in plea, Hunter released his Great Lance and jumped back, allowing time for his opponent to manage getting on one knee and then he mocked him with the point of his lance.

"Shhhdllnnt ooouf dnnn thaaat!" Struggle in his speech, Jago managed to let out a few last words before charging Hunter. The beast sped right into his doom. Hunter quickly slid to the side to avoid contact but his lance connected. The raging Minotaur fell to the ground face first. His right leg now missing, Jago couldn't get up. Hunter calmly walked several dozen feet to where his wrecked opponent lay. He tightly grabbed the Minotaur's horn and violently lifted its head up. After gently placing his lance back into his weapon case, Hunter charged his freed hand with Red Power and violently exploded that which he held ...

Hunter tared down the corpse. He balled his fists at the memories that had been sealed. The memories of his time in that place with Gabriel and the others made him feel nostalgic but no the kind that makes you long for what is no more. Instead, Hunter felt the nostalgia of the constant tension he felt around them. Gabriel was his only friend, everyone else? He was convinced they wanted him dead. Hunter gazed to the heavens and closed his eyes. His breath was visible from the cool of the night. Conflicted about his past and future only one thing was certain. He would not escape a violent death, after all there was no forgiveness even now, right?

Ayes
New Arc City Plaza

The crowd marveled at the sight of the mayor's 19 year old daughter, Ayes. There was a majestic, otherworldly feel about her with her black silky hair and her glossy red lips. Her porcelain skin and bright blue eyes were enough to interest the most suited bachelors from all over. She stood gracefully in center stage, holding dearly to the microphone she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking in the most melodic way. "Welcome kind people of New Arc City. It's my honor to inaugurate our most important tradition, the Lantern Festival. Every year we release thousands of lanterns in remembrance of those that left this world and are no longer with us. Our brothers ... Our sisters ..." A knot formed in Aye's throat, she hurt for something but couldn't understand why. Her entire life she grew up shielded from society. With an obvious break in her sorrowful-yet-beautiful voice, she continued, "We ... We ..." But she couldn't. She ran out the back stage with tears in her eyes and found the nearest bench to rest. She dug her face into her delicate hands and cried.

Before the gasps in the crowd could become actual noise, a person took center stage and finished the speech, queuing the release of the lanterns.

Thousands upon thousands of bright-orange lit lanterns illuminated the night sky. And then the first beacon fell.

The world began to distort. The lanterns slowly began to mold together. People all over the entire world began to melt into black liquid. From the dark liquid rose black, faceless humanoids with stretched limbs and only one purpose, find the Guardians of Light and destroy them.

Hunter
Wielder of the Red Lightning and the Great Lance
Clock Tower -> Chevalier -> Arcadia

Hunter looked around, not a single soul could be heard. Something was wrong. Suddenly, two black figures attacked him from opposite sides. One aimed its claw-like fingers straight for his face and the other went after his legs. In a split-second reaction, Hunter flipped sideways to avoid the blows, grabbing each figure from the head as he turned and forcefully slamming them to the ground. Hunter witnessed the figures turn to oil and then simply gas which disappeared. Hunter looked up and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the hundreds of similar black figures that now had him surrounded.

Seems excessive for just one person, he thought. Hunter bolted through the crowd of creatures doing his beast to keep alive. Managing to break from the circle, Hunter continued running through the streets trying to lose the small army that follow close behind. From the top of a building he spotted a human silhouette, Milly. She jumped off, caught up and sprinted next to him. "Seems they managed to bring down the first beacon ... " She said with a big grin.

"Mildred. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end you right here, right now." Hunter replied. Avoiding eye contact, he kept his sight straight ahead.

"I'm the only chance you have to escape this place, Hunter. Without me you'll all die here."

A couple seconds passed before Hunter entertained her with an answer. Hunter knew she could not be trusted but she had valuable information he was determined to get. "The next beacon ... Where is it?" He asked.

Milly grinned even wider before she made a sharp turn, "Chevalier District, follow me." She said. Hunter followed close behind.

...

After losing the mob of evil puppets, Hunter and Milly arrived at the beacon site in the Chevalier District. Milly stepped back. Hunter walked past her. Before touching the black structure, he looked back at her and glared. She simply sighed at his skepticism. "What is the purpose of these beacons?" He asked.

"Three beacons, Hunter. Dark energy flows between them. It's that energy that keeps this place in the reality which you've lived in for these past two years. This place isn't even a world. It's a fabricated reality populated by the mind of Michel, Caroline, Kessandra, Zuri, mine and yours."

"Seya, and the other Guardians?"

"Seya? and the other girl?" Milly laughed at Hunter's question. Hunter wasn't amused with the provocatively-dressed blonde with pig-tails. Milly had a secret. Her secret would devastate those impacted by it, Hunter knew that much but he didn't care to ask for now. It wasn't his place to because it didn't concern him.

Once more, the markings on Hunter's fore-arms began to burn as he charged his Red Lightning. He placed his hand on the black structure and seconds later the beacon shattered into a thousand pieces.

"The last beacon Mildred. Where is it?"

Mildred licked her lips at the thought of a reunion with the Guardians. "Arcadia." She responded and so they made way to the last beacon where surely they'd all be reunited.

***

 

[DVB]

Diego Vendrix
Keeper of the Monkey Staff of Wisdom
The Beacon in Zuri -> New Arc City Plaza

Diego had noticed it taken awhile for Stella to notice his water manipulation or Carly's wind manipulation. Not only that, her pretty scathing speech about Carly pissed him off. However, in her temper tantrum, it was revealed she had some sort of metal manipulation. Diego groaned inwardly as he realized they has someone else they needed to care of. However, currently he was concerned about Seya and finding her.

He got really pissed when she referred to them as freaks before she showed her powers.

"Ohhohohoho! DID YOU SEE THAT?! THAT WAS AWESOME!" she said rather uncharacteristically. Diego raised his eyebrow. Looks like there is some interesting life beneath that icy mask. Maybe she wouldn't be as useless as he thought.

Maybe.

He then saw her regain her composure. He sighed and shook his head in exasperation. Diego raised his eyebrow as he saw Michel go and finish off the first pillar. He knew that Hunter would be doing all right on his own. That meant they would move on to the next of these beacons. Hmm... if memory served him right, the closest one is Arcadia.

In Arcadia.

However...

"All right guys, we need destroy the next beacon. I am thinking the one in Aracadia should be the next one," Diego points out, getting a bit annoyed and a bit worried.

 

[Kiruria]

OOC:

The Beacon in Zuri (Godthatsoundsdirty)

Haha, you're right, it does. XD And the fact that Zuri was the one to find it means... oh never mind.
IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zuri Watkinson
Wielder of the Blue Flame Tiger Bow

Zuri had spent the past few minutes being both irritated and confused, two things that were normally rather unusual for her. The confusion came first, initiating right when the flame she summoned led her not to Seya, but to the first beacon.

Huh, she thought. And Seya's not here either. Why would the flame led us here instead? Is Seya trapped somewhere and we need to destroy the beacons to set her free? Would destroying the beacons also destroy the evil force that threatens her?

She paused for a long while, contemplating this. But just when she thought she had reached a conclusion on this, something distracted her. Someone, rather. It was Stella, who initiated an argument with everyone else and even made a police threat. And then she discovered that she had the ability to make metal spikes protrude out of the ground... But she acted all giddy about it. The entire time during that entire act, Zuri watched her in disdain. Even though she was definitely one of the Guardians of Light, and even though there just might be a heart of gold behind all the makeup and bling, there was something about her that Zuri did not like one bit. She felt it when she initially insulted her. She felt it both before and after she discovered her powers. And she still felt it now. Zuri made a point to stay away from her for now, lest a conflict similar to the ones she used to have back in high school arose...

Zuri remembered those days. Those days when she felt estranged from her classmates for not "keeping up with the times", for preferring to stuff her nose into silly spellbooks than to socialize and play basketball and go out to watch movies or drink illegally or whatever else high school kids did those days. She especially remembered this one snooty rich classmate who thought it would be a kick to tell their conservative history teacher about the book on the tarot Zuri had brought from her parents' house. Not only was said teacher displeased, but he also mentioned the situation to the equally-conservative school principal, who mentioned it to her grandmother. And that in turn led to over-religious Grandma's desperate attempts to purify Zuri's soul over the next few years. Zuri was for the most part over this by now, but the intense hatred that brewed between her and that classmate would serve as a warning in her mind from then on...

And then the sound of crumbling rock once again distracted Zuri, this time from her whole irritation and confusion getup. The beacon had actually been destroyed! Hooray! But alas, it was not hooray. Something happened afterward that just didn't sit right with her...

"All right Diego," she remarked after his remark on going to Arcadia next. "That sounds like a good idea. But it's strange. Did any of you feel this weird vibration when the beacon was destroyed? It feels like we have just lost something, though I cannot quite fathom what."

As she was saying this, she once again took out one of her arrows and held it before her, summoning a flame from its tip. As if picking up where it had left off earlier, it instantly flashed the same shade of bright scarlet as it had last time.

"It's funny," Zuri said to the others, but while still gazing into the flame. "I thought this flame was going to lead us back to Seya at first. Yet it seems the fates have led us to take down the beacons beforehand. Clearly the beacons must be linked to Seya if this happened. Yet, what will happen if we destroy them all?"

Zuri closed her eyes for a brief moment, and for some reason a single tear leaked out of one of them. And the bright red flame in front of her leapt in its place, circling around and then scurrying off behind her.

"Hmm, it looks as if it is headed towards the Arcadia district," Zuri concluded as she watched the flame fly away. "So, are we taking the same cars?"

Zuri silently hoped she would not have to ride in Stella's limousine. She doubted that stuck-up shield wielder would let anyone else ride in her flashy chariot anyway.

 

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
Beacon - Zuri

"You may not be, but you're the ones running around attacking public property like a bunch of ruffians. I have every right to call the authorities. You know something, girls like you belong in prison! You don't deserve to be the heiress to McNamara Diamonds, let alone hobknobbing with the social elite of Chevalier. Your kind will never make it. Never!" Stella shouted in reply, not that Carly heard its full volume due to the gusts whistling in her ears. The blonde kept shouting, until suddenly, a metal spike rose from the ground and collided with the beacon. It seemed as if Stella also had powers, much to Carly's annoyance. This was followed by a rather uncharacteristic guffaw from Stella, who quickly regained her composure and started fixing her hair once again. Typical Stella, as usual. Carly still couldn't fathom how exactly Stella got dragged into this, but she guessed that perhaps, things like that couldn't be changed. Like her or not, she was part of the team now.

With a final kick from Michel, the beacon crumbled and fell. Carly allowed herself to land back down on the ground and calmed down her winds. Diego then mentioned that the closest beacon was in Arcadia. Now, Carly had the thought that they at first had to go to Chevalier, as the place was overall smaller and easier to navigate.

"It's funny. I thought this flame was going to lead us back to Seya at first. Yet it seems the fates have led us to take down the beacons beforehand. Clearly the beacons must be linked to Seya if this happened. Yet, what will happen if we destroy them all?" Zuri said after stating that she felt the strange feeling of losing something after the beacon fell. Carly tried to remember, but she was up in the air at that time, surrounded by gales. She had not recalled any strange feeling, unless her memory served her wrong. But then again, Zuri was a lot more attuned to vibrations and spirits than the redhead was.

The red flame materialized in front of Zuri before traveling off once again. Zuri concluded that it was indeed heading to Arcadia. Perhaps Carly's thought of going to Chevalier was in fact, flawed and heading to Arcadia was the wiser choice.

"So, are we taking the same cars?" She finally asked. Carly nodded, motioning to her Maserati.

"Yeah. C'mon and hop in. We need to get there quickly and I think just flying would get us arrested. Michel, you could come in too, unless of course, you'd prefer to stay with Stella." She said, before heading to her car, getting into the driver's seat and starting it up as she waited for the rest to get back inside. Hunter...where was Hunter now? She did remember seeing him inside the clock tower before she left. Was he still alive? If he wasn't...no, Hunter was a survivor, she thought...if anything, he was going to make it. She placed her hands on the steering wheel as she started to think of the fastest way to get to Arcadia.