Their presence in the old auditorium stirred the air and thick layers of dust. Its silence was a relief to their ears after what they faced, but it was cut short when they picked up in the distance a child's laughter. Ignatius sensed a presence of dark magic closing in by the second, is it Shadow? As a precaution, Ignatius places a hand at one of his throwing knives and scans the environment carefully. Vandal reloaded his gun nearby while throwing a nervous glance around him.
"What is that?" Asked Senshi, nearly shouting. Everyone jumped and turned to her. Nu made a silent gesture by placing her finger to her lips. Senshi frowned and sighed. As everyone faced the stage, the childish laughter sounded closer. Moryuu blinked as he thought he saw for a moment a little girl in a pink dress, grinning at him from behind the curtains before hiding, yet the curtains didn't move. "I think it found us already." He hissed and kept his eyes on the stage.
"Was it a little girl in a dress?" Wondered Talon uneasy. "I saw her behind the broken down prop for a second."
"I saw her hiding behind the front row." Assured Ignatius and pulled out Magpie's dagger.
"Wasn't she up above on the catwalk?" Wondered Carlos confused.
"Damn it!" Muttered Ignatius to himself while searching feverishly for the child.
"If you got something on your mind, now's the time to share." Noted Vandal.
"It's no ordinary child. She has traces of magic, dark magic from Shadow. I have a feeling she is here to finish us off."
"Do you know how to kill her?" Asked Moryuu coolly.
"Only one way to find out." Gave Ignatius sternly and walked cautiously on bent knees towards the stage with the dagger at hand. In his mind, he has a handful of spells ready to cast while searching and listening. He was on edge because Shadow sent a child to do his work, trying to prepare to kill a monster that looks like a child. His hands grew sweaty, and his heart raced to the thought.529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhnLkbpyrV
"So, you must be Ignatius?" Spoke a sweet girl's voice from behind him. As he turned, Vandal cocked his gun and aimed while others poised at the ready. A little girl around the age of five with long blonde hair grinned up at Ignatius. Her eyes were blue and red and fell onto his right hand with the tattoo. Ignatius gasped at the sudden appearance and sight. How could Shadow do something like this? He shuddered. The little girl's grin split the face to a broad smile, revealing a set of sharp needle-like teeth. "Do you wanna play with me, Raven?" Her eyes glowed red.529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7X49d8W30T
Rapidly Moryuu shot a dagger at her. Without turning back, the little girl sprung up with supernatural strength up to the catwalk with a gleeful giggle. "Playmates it is Blue!" As Moryuu sent another dagger, the girl caught it with her sharp teeth and vanished out of sight, but her giggles echoed around the theatre.
Suddenly there was a sharp groan of wood followed by a crack. On one side of the stage, the faded curtains collapsed to the floor, creating a plume of dust. Ignatius covered his nose and made distance from it, but his eyes soon stung and tears streamed. A cough escaped his lips as he retreated from the stage.
Abruptly Jayden gave a brief shout, and as everyone turned to him, he was gone. Soon a loud crash came from behind the stage. "Where are you! You're not getting away from me!" Jayden's eyes were gold and brought forth his scythe while climbing out of the rubble of broken props. The girl continued to laugh. "Domino knows how to make it fun and exciting."
"I'll show some fun! Show yourself!" Bellowed Cordis furiously with a crazed smile while searching for the girl and a few drops of blood dripped from his nose but didn't let that bother him. He stepped closer to the edge of the stage and scanned the place.
"I shall hide, and you will seek Domino." Spoke the girl and whispered the last word to his ear.
"There!" Pointed Ignatius. The girl was standing next to Cordis and tilted her head to Ignatius with glowing red eyes and splitting grin. "You are no fun, Raven." Before Cordis got the chance to swing his scythe at her or Vandal squeeze the trigger or Ignatius cast a spell on her, she headed straight at Ignatius.
Rapidly Talon built a portal in front of Ignatius. The girl dodged it with great agility and kept aiming for Ignatius. As he performed a spell by holding out his hands and formed an orange curtain-like barrier around the group. The girl ran around the barrier once. "A little island, you are trapped." She giggled.
"Not exactly." Sniggered Cordis as he leapt onto the girl with his scythe above his head, ready to attack.
The girl took, a second before the scythe hit, one single step to the side. The scythe created a large and deep crack into the cement ground. "You're bundles of fun, Domino." Rapidly she sprung at him with Moryuu's dagger at hand and suddenly vanished in mid-air. Immediately Cordis felt a push at the top of his head and something warm stinging at his cheeks. Soon something warm dripped on his hands that held his weapon, he looks down, red droplets, blood. "I'm not going to kill you yet, Domino. You're too much fun. I'll give you my name to remember, it's Ravage." She giggled gleefully but was nowhere to be seen.
Nearly at the same time, Talon opens another portal within the barrier to bring the others in safety. Abruptly he felt a firm grip at his right ankle and looks down. Ravage grinned at him, "why leaving so soon when the fun has just begun, Exit?" And pulls him with a considerate force that he loses his footing and falls to the ground. The portal vanished within a blink. "You." Ravage smiles at Nu, "you must be Butterfly." Nu winced and kept her ground and swallowed loudly. Rapidly Vandal stepped in front of her. "Let me guess, Butterfly's little Beetle." Ravage scoffs to his reaction and angered expression.
Quick-witted Moryuu threw another dagger at Ravage, she caught it between her fingers without looking to his direction. "Is that all you can play, Blue?"
Rapidly Senshi charged at Ravage but Talon held her back. "No! Don't!" He hissed at her.
"My, how strong you are, Exit? Holding back Bull is holding back fun." Ravage turned to Senshi and then to the others. "Why is everyone so shy in having some fun every once in a while? Especially you Raven so serious at all times. I see why Shadow dislikes you."
Ignatius dissolves the barrier and faces her. "Why are you seeking what you call fun? Shadow sent you here to kill us all."
"Not exactly, I can kill if I want to but Shadow told me to spare you and little Butterfly here. The rest is up to my liking and that is having some fun before I end the rest of you." She laughed maliciously with her child-like voice. Talon swallowed loudly to her words.
Senshi grunted angered and charged at her, pushing Talon aside and pulled out her knife. At the same time, Cordis charged at Ravage from the other side with his scythe at hand and Ignatius whispered the arcane words for a holding spell to trap her, flexing the index and middle finger in front of his mouth while kneeling to the ground and placing a hand to the floor. Moryuu took out his tonfas to hand and made them lightly static, small blue bolts twirled erratically and cracked around them and his lower arms. He went after Senshi and aiming for Ravage.
Ravage smiled broadly. "Finally," she giggled.
Nu placed her hands to the ground and let ice crawl towards Ravage's feet to hold her down. Before an icicle reached, Ravage sprung up with dagger at hand, she dodged Cordis' scythe as he came from above and gave him another cut at the arm. Within a blink, she faced Senshi with a malicious smile and slashed multiple times her arms with small cuts and knocks out the knife Senshi had at hand. As Senshi landed she grimaced and grunted in anger and pain as blood dripped to the floor. As Ravage landed on the floor Cordis swung anew his scythe at Ravage with his other arm but she made a backflip to win a distance and stood on top of a chair from many among the rows. "Slowpoke!" She teased.
Vandal squeezed the trigger but Ravage dodged the bullets by making further flips onto further chairs and Ignatius forged a part of the cement ground to his control and formed to a root snatching for Ravage's ankles to restrict her. The crumbling sound didn't surprise Ravage and kicked the source where the root grew with her little foot. It crumbled and scattered across the rows and seats into small pebbles. Moryuu charged at her from the side with his static tonfas. Her blade clashed against one tonfa and sent an electric shock through her. She gasped but soon smiles at Moryuu, "that tickles." Moryuu grunted with clenched teeth in anger and swings the other tonfa, aiming for her head. She ducks and slashes deep with the dagger at his knees. Moryuu gives a short cry of agony.
Ravage sprinted in high-speed past Vandal, cutting a deep cut at his arm and side as he tried to aim her. She headed towards Nuallis and held a bloodied dagger against her throat. "This was fun but as always time is short and there are things I must do for Shadow." She faces wounded Carlos who stood beside Senshi. "Comforting wounded Bull is cute, Rabbit." He glared at her.
"You're not going anywhere!" Shouted Cordis and struck the scythe close beside Nuallis and Ravage. He gives a short chuckle as an idea passes his mind and further drops of blood dripped from his nose. "Or at least take me to him. There's a score to settle once and for all."
"You can't be serious!" Ignatius stepped closer. "You saw what he did to you with his magic, which was a part of my magic. With Magpie's magic, it won't be the same, he's gotten stronger."
Cordis gave Ignatius an angered glare before facing Ravage again. She smiled and tucked the dagger at Nuallis' throat. "Sounds like fun, Domino. I'll let Shadow know of your coming." Rapidly she knocked Nuallis out cold with the hilt of the dagger and threw her over her shoulder. "I'll look forward to our next encounter." She smiles with her needle-like teeth and vanishes at high speed out of the theatre.
"This isn't real; this isn't real." Repeated Magpie to herself while staring out the black void. Holding the wool blanket close to her and her knees close under her chin.
Suddenly a bright white flash struck in front of her like lightning. The bright blaze cut through the void for a brief second but from Magpie's eyes, it was more than a second. What she saw was her old fear, her past she wanted to forget.
The air began to fill with a regular rhythm, the sound of a whip lashing, metal chains clinking against each other and stone. The smell of old leather, sweat, metal and copper scent of blood penetrated Magpie's nostrils. Soon followed by a painful pulse across her back, how the whip cut and hit bluntly her skin. Heavy nausea crept up her throat and avoided her from shouting in agony. Knowing if she puked there will be more lashings from these so-called men. The will to contain and the agony grew heavy that she couldn't stand anymore, her knees buckled. A jingle of the chains rang in her ears and soon felt the cutting of the shackles against her wrists.
Suddenly something warm began to trickle down her arm. Magpie didn't look up; she didn't care what it is. All she wanted was this moment to end one way or another.
"Alright, I think you've had enough. I bet the King will take you in without a second thought as the dungeon master." Spoke a man to another and patting heartily on the shoulder. The room fell to silence which got abruptly cut by the raucous laughter of the two men and footsteps walking away.
Rapidly the flash vanished before Magpie's eyes. She gasped to its sudden disappearance and felt something cold tickling down her face and hands. They were covered in cold sweat of fear and her hands trembled; a few droplets trickled over the scars on her wrists. If only she had her leather cuffs to cover them and stop reminding her of the blood that used to roll down from the shackles. The evil peal of laughter from the slave-traders echoed in Magpie's mind along with calling her name. "Elyza."
Her eyes widened in terror and welled with tears; she couldn't hold the fear within her anymore. She screamed to the top of her lungs while clasping her ears to avoid hearing the trader's voices, but they were still there. Her tears mingled with the sweat, and soon Magpie's quick and shallow breathing made her dizzy. She curled herself into the fetal position on the ground while tucking the wool blanket close to her cheek.
Suddenly a soft hum of a familiar voice met her ears and felt a gentle stroke through her short hair. Rapidly Magpie made space, as their glances met she sighed relieved. It was Ignatius. He gave her a sad grin. Hesitantly and shyly she reached for his hand on the floor. His hand was warm as their fingers met and interlocked. A strange, tingling feeling of magic ran through her body. "Ig-Ignatius?" Whispered Magpie as she found her voice and looked into his dark eyes. Her heart raced and felt a throbbing at the ears.
"Magpie." Magpie blinked, knowing she heard his voice but didn't see his lips move. "I sense you are there, can you hear me? Think of the answer in your mind." She heard Ignatius' voice in her mind.
"Y-yes." She gave short. "H-how are you doing it?"
"This is how the dragons speak to each other, and Shadow's tattoo eases the connection. Listen carefully Magpie, you are not alone. I will come and save you. I promise with my life. Just hold on, I will come for you-"
Suddenly his voice was cut off, heavy silence and solitude filled the void Magpie was in. Tears brimmed from her eyes, filled with mixed emotions and a stinging pain within her chest.
"Oh," cooed Shadow with false pity as he appeared in a plume of smoke and soon reformed himself to a human form as before. "It seems your caster is giving you false hopes." He smirked down at her with his hands folded behind his back.
"Go away." Hissed Magpie without looking up to him and pulling her knees up.
"That obnoxious caster does know how to get under one's skin. I should have killed him when I had the chance." He laughs, crouches down to her and holds her by the chin. "Of course, I made a promise with you; a strong, talented and beautiful woman."
Before Magpie had the chance to speak, she got suddenly spun into a twirl like in dance and was abruptly on her feet. As she blinked her eyes fell onto her hand holding Shadow's. "I've been neglecting you lately. I hope this is to your liking?" Shadow smiled and led Magpie to a mirror. In the mirror stood a young slim woman with long wavy copper-brown hair reaching to her waist, wearing a long indigo blue dress with long hanging sleeves (medieval style). The only thing Magpie recognized were her eyes, and they were reddened from the incident before. Cautiously she reaches out a hand which soon touches the glass of the mirror.
"It is you." Assured Shadow calmly and followed her glance in the mirror. His eyes glowed for a moment. "You have such lovely hair; it's a shame to have them cut so short." He brushes a few strands of her long hair with his fingers.
Magpie steps away from him and the mirror as more tears welled in her eyes. "Go away, you bastard! Leave me alone!"
Shadow remained still with a composed amused smirk, but his eyes glowed. After a moment he sighed and looked away from her. "Dear little Magpie is blind again." He looked at her and leisurely paces around her at a certain distance. "You agreed upon my offer, so I can't really leave you. You made the choice yourself."
"No, you forced me! I had no other choice!" Magpie shook her head and sobbed.
Shadow chuckled. "If I forced you, you wouldn't have been able to choose from the beginning and speak freely as you do now." He pauses. "And I'm sure you had more than one choice. For instance, you could have refused and things would have gone differently. You could have attacked me with your sword and magic and killed Ignatius. He would have been free at that point." In lightning speed, he stood beside Magpie and whispered to her ear. "But your morals forced you to do the choice, you brought yourself here."
Please let me know if your characters are OOC, and I'll correct that.
Names Ravage gives to other characters:
Ignatius = Raven529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRM8wY9rxri
Moryuu = Blue529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IM3LJhfj2
Jayden/Cordis = Domino529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5jD8oPQUr
Nu = Butterfly529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYN7zcQXNz
Vandal = Beetle529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTrdzIpe8A
Senshi = Bull529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSneBJu8Yiu
Carlos = Rabbit529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfW74OJecO4
Talon = Exit529Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSOROCdY2d
