darkSpyro

Sere had come awake soon before the checkpoint. "Well, then, we know what to do," he said, as Veris began lowering himself for them to dismount. He and Latnok began taking off their gauntlets, suppressing their own nervousness.
"Veris, tooth." Having used the previous tooth in a concoction to heal Veris and Shade, Sere needed another. On command, after a crunching sound, Veris spat out a tooth, into Sere's hands, which he placed on the shrine. He and Latnok, with the application of some force magic, made some small cuts on themselves using their own nails, offering some of their own blood to the shrine. The offering made, they put their gauntlets back on.
"I can hardly wait," Latnok said - a weird mix of sarcasm and sincerity. He dreaded the whole situation, especially with so many unknowns - but it was something which had to be taken care of.

OOC: We're all online

Angora was pleased, so she picked the piece of cloth while Maverick handed out a turf of his hair and the offering was made. The little troll wanted this nightmare to be over so she could leave that group, especially Latnok, but now that she was going to enter an even more unknown realm to face an abomination of indescribable appearance, she was starting to have doubts on how ready she actually was to face the deadly task ahead...

It was finally the moment of truth. After so many ordeals, so many insults by Latnok, so much stress and hard work, it was finally time to face the abomination known only as the Darkmatter. The little troll immediately activated her armor and called her sword and shield, knowing that asides the magic, her survival experience, agility and reflexes would be vital to overcome this otherworldly monster.
"I think I can't be any more ready than this." Angora replied with a trembling lip, knowing that if she had self doubts now, she would have them forever. She was chosen for this. Neo was linked to her, and she would have to face something that not even the Galaxy dragon himself could. Maverick didn't know what exactly they were going to face, but Angora's nervousness rubbed off on him. Nevertheless, he was determined not to abandon her in the upcoming battle.

Before entering the void, she had to be certain about something.
"Alright Neo. This is what you wanted. You know this is an overwhelming task for a tiny fiend like me. I can't do this alone. Surviving life was hard enough, but this is a whole new level. I need to know you will help me." she mentally asked the spirit, needing to know if he was ready as well. He was a lousy advisor, but he was the source of her magic. He couldn't afford to flinch during his help.

Latnok took off his bag, reaching within a small pocket to grab something he had been saving - an undiluted dragon brew. The power it would grant him would be great; but it would no doubt cause him drastic damage in the process. More importantly, however, was that it would give him the strength to overcome the influence of the corruption, if need be. It was something which he had to risk.
"Well, let's put this thing in the dirt for good." He was brimming with fear - followed by excitement, giddiness even. "Just one more creature to add to the list, am I right?"
"Certainly," Sere replied. Sere looked back at Veris - no doubt feeling extremely uneasy. Sere doubted the usefulness of Veris in the upcoming fight; however, there was an important task he could fulfill. "Veris..." Sere began, placing a hand on the wyvern's side. "If we are to fall in this battle, you are to carry off our bodies and present them to the other Guardians if possible, or devour them if not. Other than that, I will need you to stay on the side and away from danger. Do you understand?"
Veris nodded slowly - a sign of reluctant compliance. Latnok nodded. "I have too many failings... too many people I've let die. I sure as hell don't intend to add more to the list; we have to be prepared for the worst, however."

Dex had offered little bit of his fur. He was trying to be like he was not there. Because if nobody in the group was paying any attention to him, then there is a big possibility that the enemy would not too. He was not sure what he should be doing, but he was sure that the best way to fight for him is if he can surprise the enemy.

As Angora waited for some reassurance, she was listening to the older Guardian behind her. She was certain Veris would follow the latter order, knowing he wouldn't miss the opportunity for food, but even so, she was determined to complete this mission alone. Latnok and Sere would probably ruin it by butting in, but if she did received assist, she would rather accept it from a distance instead of personally. She wondered though, if Latnok and Sere should fall in battle due to their interference, what would happen to Veris? Chances were he didn't know how to survive in the wild. Would he fly to the rest of the guardians to have a new owner? Or would he know what freedom was like? Despite being very upset with the wyvern, she still cared for him and the time she showed concern for her way before Maverick arrived. She didn't want anything happening to him, and to a much lesser, Latnok and Sere. That included the rest of the group as well. She wasn't fond of them, yet she didn't want any fatalities either on this battle.

"I'll try to see what's in store for us," Latnok said. He needed to see further - further into the future than his powers would normally allow. The pressing feeling of the corruption increased as the group came closer... now was as good a time as any to begin to power up, not knoeing hoe effective his other tools would be in the coming battle.
With trepidation, Latnok brought the vial to his mouth. Taking a gulp, he immediately felt intense power radiating throughout his body - more power than he was comfortable with. With the power came immense pain, though the adrenaline pumping soon after almost completely blocked it. His skin became alight, visible even under his armor, as his power diffused. There was still much more in the vial - but that would be very dangerous, so he would save it for desperate times.
"Be very careful with that..." Sere said. "I'm sure you know the dangers, and the stakes - don't be reckless, though."
"I know what I'm getting into," Latnok said. "I'll be able to better see the future this way. No surprises - or fewer surprises, rather."

"Let's get in then." Angora said after a long sigh as she entered the void with everybody, Maverick closely behind her. She had a shield, but he was ready to lend her his own in case it wasn't enough, or if she only needed some extra leverage. He has seen many things in both his voyages and walks, but never something like this. Now he wondered if everybody was as nervous as him, entering a place probably nobody else have seen in their lives...

Like Dex, Raclaw gave a little bit of his fur-- opting for the fluff rather than a wing feather. He had more than enough to give, after all. As they got closer and proceeded to enter the void, he could feel the greatly increased corruption and part of him feared the worst-- knowing the effects it could have and recalling when a minor darkness had successfully taken him over. "Let's do this.," he said looking at the others and entering alongside the group.

Future sight always was difficult to maintain, due to the huge number of variables, and sifting through them to get the vision you should focus on took much mental effort. However, with the boost in energy, Latnok was able to maintain a stronger future vision, and his focus was also improved, allowing him to resist the corruption more effectively. He felt like he was forgetting something, though...
Oh, right, he had to unsilence Angora. He dismissed the spell with a thought and a wave. Hopefully she would just be focusing on the mission ahead, and not looking to cause trouble. He doubted it, though - her pettiness had shown to be something which she exhibited even when it was directly detrimental to the mission. Maybe they would get lucky, and she would lose herself and fight; even then, though, one good act would not suddenly signal a good person.
Sere took a brew from Veris, exactly like the one Latnok had. He held on to his, however; it would do them no good to have them both start burning out.

Angora only spend a brief time contemplating the place. It would've been beautiful if it wasn't for that black and red crystal in the middle. It was an eerie atmosphere there. Angora could feel the pores of her face tingling. The aura around was way too similar to Shade when he was evil.
"Well now, whatever this Darkmatter is, it sure loves to have it's presence known. So now what? Should I attack that dark crystal?" Angora asked Orion, wanting the Galaxy dragon himself to instruct her on what to do. She knew it wasn't going to be easy as to strike the Crystal and get it over with. What was this Darkmatter anyway? Was it living on the crystal? Or was it simply corrupted? Maverick was making himself similar question, too nervous to observe the world around them. He felt like he was in an entirely different dimension, far away from the world he knew.

Raclaw looked at their new surroundings in awe-- in particular the single black crystal and its haunting red aurora. He scanned the area using his telepathic abilities, looking for any mental presence and extending the mental barrier as needed to deal with the now *much* closer corruption. He paid particular attention to the crystal and their immediate surrounding, being prepared for anything.

Latnok looked at the black crystal with some uneasiness. A manifestation of pure malice... and yet, he wanted to reach out and touch it. Not yet, though. They had to know what would come next. He grabbed several arrows, being prepared to set up an arrow web should the situation call for it.
Veris began shrieking, nigh uncontrollably. "Calm down, Veris," Sere commanded. "I know you don't like this place, but none of us do - it's something we will have to deal with." He began to wonder what would happen to the Guardians should he fall here - what would the next Godfather do? Sere had worked very hard to make the changes he had, several of which many members, though compliant, disliked. Would all he had done to change the overall direction of the Guardians be for nought? Would they cease all peacemaking efforts and just go back to killing without compromise? That was a scary idea...
"I cannot fall here," Sere said. "Everything I've worked for... I will see it through."

The tiny troll felt depressed, but not despaired. She couldn't believe the irony of it.
"Great. It just had to be another dragon. And it talks." Angora said sarcastically, confirming her suspiscions that this wasn't going to be easy. This looked like a dark, messed up version of Orion, and if it was a foil of the Galaxy dragon himself, it was no wonder it assumed that form. What was worse, it could talk, and talking opponents would usually try to make conversations get to your head to distract you from the fighting, something Angora had experience with.

Maverick dropped his arms in horror, never having expected the crystal to materialize into such a horrendous shape. He was scared enough of the normal dragons, but this thing looked like a genuine demon, and he had no doubts that the welcoming wasn't in good faith. Even so, he was still determined to help Angora however he could, even though he knew nothing at all at what to expect next...

Veris roared immediately upon seeing the creature appeared, and flared his wings. He was obviously ready to fight - Sere would not have it, though. "Retreat, Veris," Sere said. "Remember what I've asked." Veris reluctantly complied, flying away.
Latnok felt the corruption intensify as Darkmatter materialized. He had to keep focus... he grabbed his vial, and immediately took a swig. The energy radiating through him, as well as the light emanating from him, intensified, and his hands began exuding fire in a bluish-white hue. Despite the increased pain, the increased focus allowed Latnok to function otherwise normally. He needed to watch himself - but he would do what he had to.
"Nice to meet you," Latnok snarled. "You've wasted enough of my time, putting up with all this inane garbage. We will destroy you now."
Sere took a sip from his own vial, and began radiating light and energy just as Latnok had before. Unsheathing Grimbane, it began oscillating between light and darkness once again, as it drew on his power. He would not attempt to use the copied spell - not yet. That, he would save, either as a trump card, or an act of desperation.

As Shade and Latnok felt the corruption, so too did Raclaw-- with his eyes briefly turning black as he adjusted to the increased corruption. "Darkmatter-- we've dealt with your corruption long enough. We.. will.. defeat you.," he said getting in a defensive stance and feeling the same energy of the others. He was prepared to do whatever it took to defeat the darkness.

Latnok would not burn his energy in a futile effort at a direct attack. He knew that wouldn't be his job here. "Now, where would the fun be in spoiling everything right away?" he said. "All big and bad... can't be too bad if I've only heard of you a few days ago." Using his future sight, Latnok kept an eye out for possible attacks, in order to facilitate nullifying them, or communicating them to his allies. He settled for shooting arrows at various points of the area, instead, his bow resisting the fire in his hands.

Angora wasn't the least bit surprised whom stepped up, being stupid enough to challenge this dragon is abomination without knowing what to expect.
"Honestly, it had to be you! Do you always have to butt in on everything, feeding your air of grandeur?" Angora rebuffed to Latnok, knowing that he was desperate to play the hero in this deadly battle.

"Shut the hell up, you worthless piece of trash," Latnok said to Angora. "Do you actually intend to do anything, or just take an issue with people actually trying? You know, trying? Like trying to be a better person? Oh, I suppose you wouldn't. How about you actually put in some goddamned effort for once in your life? I'd settle for once." Of course, when he removes the silence, the first thing Angora had to do was start problems...

"Guys! Por favor..." Maverick began to say, wanting to bring peace among them just this once. Not even when things were at their most desperate, those two couldn't stop arguing. He couldn't finish the sentence when the entity tried to slap Latnok as if he was nothing but a fly.

Angora nodded at Neo's begging, knowing too well he was right.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I let him get to me." Angora apologized, angry at herself for letting Latnok always get to her. He was seriously worse than that thing. After the abomination attacked the young Guardian, she took a single step forward.

"Picking on someone smaller than you? How about someone much smaller?" Angora said to the monster, without stammering but with trembling lips and shattering teeth. Even though she had the sword that could destroy him, she didn't want to rush to the attack without thinking first. Chances were that the beast would recognize her sword, so she concentrated on finding weak spots and studying his anatomy to try to predict his movements. How she wished she could have part of Latnok's annoying futuristic powers to know how will this thing attacked...

Latnok, seeing the attack in the future, deftly rolled away. "Neither will that," he retorted. Grabbing some more arrows, he fired more of them into various places into the arena.
Meanwhile, Sere began displacing light around himself, rendering himself invisible, using magical sight to compensate for the resulting blindness. He kept his future vision up as well.

Meanwhile, Raclaw focused his mental energy on Darkmatter himself and attempted to project an altered version of reality to the dark dragon. If it worked-- Angora and the party would be hidden from Dsrkmatter's visual site giving them an temporary advantage. He scanned the creature for any weak spots, hoping to be able to surprise it.

Latnok, rather taking any further action, just waited, seeing as he would not be effective until he could figure something out. He could feel himself slowly burning away...
Sere stood by. Noting Latnok's stalling, he cast an image displacement spell, shifting Latnok's allearance somewhere a few paces to the side.

Maverick stood still, ready to assist Angora, but from a distance. He didn't want to get in the way and endanger both her and himself. As he watched how everything played out, he also drifted his attention to Katnok and Sere. Being warriors, he feared that they might try to do something reckless in order to have this dark abomination defeated, but most of all, he was worried that Latnok would insult Angora and distract her from whatever was going to happen soon...

Quote: Spyroconvexity

When the arrows hit the ground they turned to fire. “Trying to trap me huh?” He then turned to Angora and saw the sword. He hissed and backed away slightly. “That emerald sword. Neo.”

Angora scowled, surprised to hear Neo by name.
"You have a history with this thing?" she asked Neo, wondering how anyone would know a spirit by name. She needed answers fast. Why would the beast even know Neo's name. She could understand why it would know Orion, but Neo?

So you're a mind reader, then... Latnok thought, seeing as the monster knew his plans. Hmm... He continued to stand by - he would most likely let the effects of the brew wear off, at the current rate.
Sere continued to observe the battle - waiting for some opportunity to make a meaningful intervention.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

“Yes. We fought millions of years ago. Long before Earth was created.” Neo said. “I was with Orion at the time but then him and Darkmatter both wounded each other and both went to a deep sleep to heal.” Neo said.

“You will not best me a second time!” Darkmatter said as he breathed purple flames at Angora.

Before Angora had a chance to reply and process what Neo told her, she found herself shielding away the flame. As at troll, she was good at withstanding heat and cold, but this abomination's fire was enough to make her sweat. Still shielding herself, she made a jump backwards to get out of the literal line of fire.
"You coward! Not playing fair? Well I can do that too!" Angora said furiously but nervously, now far more than convinced that this monster wanted her dead at all costs, especially if it meant it will get Neo as well.

Maverick was terrified out of his mind. This was the first time he has seen a dragon... or at least an imitation of it, breathing fire. Even after Angora managed to get away from the first breathing, he still feared for her life. What could he possibly do? He had no magic, and didn't believe he would be able to dodge the dragon's flame in time. How could he even help Angora?

Latnok audiy chuckled at the concept - here the troll was, complaining about not fighting fair in a life or death scenario. Was she finally beginning to realize how imlortant it was to survive before any of this honor nonsense? The residual heat from the flames didn't much bother him, especially when he eas already burning. He kept his future sight up - waiting for an opportunity several seconds into the future to do something meaningful, or for an attack to avoid. Right now, however, he was drawing blanks.

Angora gulped, knowing that this attack will cause the monster to target Shade as well.
"Shade!" she yelled, worried about his interference. She wanted to be no fatalities in this battle. How did she earned Shade's strong loyalty is beyond her, but she knew she couldn't waste any more time trying to find weak points in the beast. He looked pretty much the same wherever she looked. Desperate, she tried to invoke the spells Latnok taught her. What came from her sword after the yell was not a force bolt, but it wasn't fire or a laser either like last time. It was a big blue ball of electricity.
"Well, whatever works." Angora muttered to herself as she pointed the sword again to throw another spell. She knew that ordinary magic wouldn't have worked on the monster, but since it came from the emerald sword, it should hurt him...

Latnok looked on, absolutely amazed at what he just saw. "Hmm... so you actually did learn something." He highly doubted that Neo would be choosing to cast a lightning spell at the moment, amd Angora shouting with the cast strongly suggested that she was channelimg the energy. Maybe she had an ounce of capability after all. "I see Shade coming under attack very soon, various possibilities as to how. Be prepared to take advantage of Darkmatter's distraction."

Sere thought... maybe his own spell, even if it wasn't effective, could fool Darkmatter into thinking it was the real deal? Without dismissing his invisibility, he formulated the imitation sword, visible to all.

Dex was making sure he was not noticed. Right now there was nothing he could do really. His poison would not work against a thing like this. But maybe he would be able to do something in the end.

With Darkmatter able to read minds similar to himself-- Raclaw knew that he wouldn't be able to successfully trick the large dragon and so he decided to take advantage of the distraction. Without much thought as to avoid Darkmatter knowing his plans; Raclaw fortified and extended the mental barrier around his mind to not only block the corruption-- but anything that wished to probe his mental conscious. Perhaps if this creature couldn't read his current thoughts, it would be less likely to anticipate and predict what he was about to do.

With the mental barrier fully up, Raclaw would not only be able to hopefully prevent any such mind probing but also incidentally block himself from connecting to other minds as well. 'Let's see you predict this.,' he thought to himself. As soon as Darkmatter was in appeared to be a weakened state, Raclaw took to the air and started a continuous flame attack flying circles around the dark creature. 'Let's see if this affects you.,' he thought to himself as he immediately joined in the fight.

Latnok, feeling that his presence wasn't particularly useful, allowed the effects of the brew to subside. As his body returned to normal, he felt rather fatigued, his powers being less effective than they typically were as a result of being pushed by the brew. He began some meditation during the distraction, having full confidence in Sere being able to warn him in time of any attack.

Quote: Spyroconvexity

Darkmatter hit Shade with his tail but shade caught it with his maw and throw him with a mighty throw. Then the lightning hit Darkmatter and it screeched in pain. “You little insects will pay for that!”

"It... it's working!?" Angora said with exitement, knowing the spell did the trick, but Shade's brave assistance was helping a lot as well. Even though it was foolish, she appreciated Shade's help, and was surprised he was able to throw Darkmatter away like that. Was it because he had some of it's power? Whatever the reason, it was bringing the battle to their favor. The little troll fought alongside Shade, yelling random spells at the monster. Most were more blue balls of lightning and ordinary orange fire, but one spell in particular in which she focused the most, she threw something completely different. A... a force bolt? She had no idea what it was, but it was an energy she has never experienced.
"Alright Shade. When you can, catapult me to it's neck. This should end right now!" Angora whispered to the defensive dragon, uncertain she would be able to jump that high. She needed someone to throw her to the beast's neck so she could behead it and end it's threat once and for all...

As Latnok meditated, one sound in particular pierced through - a whooshing sound, followed by the sound of a sharp explosion of concentrated air. A force bolt. Something was different, though... Latnok broke his meditation.
That's what it was. It wasn't coming from Sere's direction. It came from Angora's. Well... she actually did it... that's something else. Despite how much he detested her, Latnok couldn't help but feel a little bit proud. Not only did she learn how to cast the spell - it was a sign that she was fully inthe moment, her mind not burdened with other things which would cause other spells, or at least it wasn't in that one moment.
Sere looked on and smiled - so he WAS right about Angora having some potential...

Before doing so, Angora had to make sure Darkmatter wouldn't see her coming. Knowing how much Latnok wanted to be helpful, she looked at him and while Shade was distracting Darkmatter, and covered her eyes and pointed at the beast, hoping the young Guardian would understand her signal. Clearly he had a spell that could temporary blind it, didn't he? Knowing there was no time left, Angora placed herself on Shade's tail, ready to be catapulted, sword firmly clutched in her hand...

Latnok had enough experience fighting in groups to understand exactly what the signal meant - go for the eyes. And he had just the spell for the situation Bow already in hand, he nocked an arrow, charged a spell, aimed, and fired, all in a split second.
"Look away," he telepathed to all of the others involved in the arrow. Upon the arrow nearing Darkmatter's face, it exploded in a blast of absolutely brilliant light. Preparing to make a follow-up, he took another swig of the brew, and the physical changes once again became apparent on him.

Angora used her shield to cover her eyes, and after the light diminished, she braced herself for the swing. Shade flung her hard, and she only had a few seconds to react. Shade flung her just slightly above from where she wanted, but it should still be enough. This was it! She couldn't fail! Using her shield to protect herself just in case Darkmatter breathed fire at her, and holding the sword on the other hand, she brought it behind her, prepared to make the swing that would finally kill this abomination. In those seconds, she prayed for a miracle...

With his mind intentionally isolated from any such communications, Raclaw was almost blinded by the bright light but had managed to look away in time. As the little Troll flew, Raclaw briefly caught notice of the interaction and directed his flame attacks towards the opposite side of Angora-- hoping to keep Darkmatter distracted and give her the precious few seconds she needed for what could possibly be the final blow. 'Good luck Angora-- you can do it.,' he thought to himself.