Echo of Time: Awakening [PG14]~

[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.

[Chaos War Reborn]

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.

[Monster Guy]

Stella Gold
Wielder of the Golden Ox Shield
Zuri

Apparently, those hideous boots Michel had on served some kind of function after all. He kicked the thing down, and it crumbled into a pile of dust. That didn't make them any less hideous in Stella's eyes. They were still dirty and unattractive. Not to mention completely out of place. All the others had traditional fantasy type weapons. His was a pair of disgusting footwear. What kind of weapon is a pair of boots anyway? Clearly, someone got shafted. They might've been tolerable if the horse design on them was one of those cute MLP styled ponies, but it wasn't.

"All right guys, we need destroy the next beacon. I am thinking the one in Aracadia should be the next one..." The guy with the staff points out.

Are you kidding? There are more of these things?

"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?" The white haired girl then produced a red flame, that seemed to be heading in the direction of the Arcadia district. "So, are we taking the same cars?"

"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." Caroline said, before heading to her car.

Stella wasn't about to just go along and pretend all of this normal. Awesome as it was, people do not have magical powers in real life. There was obviously more to this story she was missing. She put her hands on her hips. "Now wait just a minute. We is a lot of people. How can you all possibly expect me to follow you all along blindly? Why should I go along with any of this? I don't know anything about this Seya person or whatever it is you all have going on. Also, even if I did buy any of this, why would anyone want to travel around in that ricketty contraption?" She pointed to Caroline's car. "When I have my own fabulous limosine right there that's just so much more comfortable. I also have a driver who knows how to drive like a normal human being, I might add."

[Chaos War Reborn]

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

In only moments, Milly and Hunter arrived to the sight of bickering, finally reuniting with Seya's Guardians of Light. "I hope you've all regained your memories," Hunter averted his gaze, focusing only on the deserted streets ahead, " ... If not, I'm afraid you'll be entirely useless ..." Hunter turned to Stella as he said the last bit, referring to her.

Milly stepped forward, "The last beacon is in Arcadia but I imagine you've managed to figure that much out."

Hunter didn't trust Milly one bit, in fact he'd kill her right now in front of everybody if it weren't for some information only she had and he desperately needed. Milly was well aware of this.

The red-head in the Maserati, Hunter glanced at her but his expression was cold. He recalled their battle with Hizeah ... And then he recalled his brutal fight against the Black Lorde Knights. Those demons threw him around like a rag doll, shattering the bones of his left arm, busting open his brow and giving him several concussions but still he managed to kill all three. Caroline ... He didn't say a word until something off of the corner of his eye caught his attention, the kind that made him grip his Great Lance tight.

There were shadows moving inside the buildings, you could see from the windows. There were dozens and they moved quickly.

Milly pulled out silverware from the back of her skirt, she held kitchen knives between her knuckles and chuckling half maniacally said, "We have company boys and girls."

Suddenly dozens of dark, faceless humanoids with abnormally stretched out limbs and razor sharp claws for fingers broke through the windows and charged at Milly, Hunter and the Guardians.


Several creatures went straight for Hunter, their claws reaching out. Hunter ducked and caught one by the face, using it to slam against the rest. The creatures screeched as the slammed into the ground. One by one, Hunter quickly stabbed the humanoids with his lance before they could get up but soon had more creatures charging for him. Hunter led the dozen that followed him toward the side of a building and ran upward alongside it, the monsters following close behind. Before reaching the ledge, Hunter twisted his body to face the group of dark creatures head on and dove right through them with a powerful blow, violently smashing them into the asphalt below.

It didn't matter how many Hunter killed off, they just kept coming.

Milly faced her own set of attackers but unlike Hunter, who preferred head on attacks, she flung the knives she held between her knuckles straight for her enemies' foreheads, killing several with limited movement. "We need to get to Arcadia!" She yelled.

...

[*Jean Grey*]

Caroline McNamara
Wielder of the Valiant Hawk Scythe
Beacon - Zuri

"Now wait just a minute. We is a lot of people. How can you all possibly expect me to follow you all along blindly? Why should I go along with any of this? I don't know anything about this Seya person or whatever it is you all have going on. Also, even if I did buy any of this, why would anyone want to travel around in that ricketty contraption? When I have my own fabulous limosine right there that's just so much more comfortable. I also have a driver who knows how to drive like a normal human being, I might add." Stella remarked, causing Carly to turn and face the blonde. The redhead held up her hand and gave the other girl the bird.

"Funny how you first think that it's stolen, then turn around and diss it, just because I drive my own damn car. If I need to be fast, then hell, I'll drive fast for all I care! I haven't run over anyone for the three years I've been driving after all. Your chauffeur? He drives like a pussy." She shot back, then snickered at the younger girl as she got into her convertible and started it up as the rest piled in at the back.

"Arcadia...Arcadia...damn, not many small roads in there. Eh, who cares...we have to get there quickly." She murmured to herself as she placed her hands on the steering wheel and started driving, in a few seconds accelerating to the speed she drove at while getting to the beacon. Screw the rules this time, this was important.

"You guys alright back there? Don't worry, just keep your seat belts on and you'll be fine. We'll get there quickly, if nothing stupid happens." She said, looking back from the wheel and reassuring her friends, before facing forward once again and making a sharp turn towards the next corner. Hunter...Seya...she hoped that everything did not take a turn for the worse.