The Grand Battle [Game Over!]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"All right, you stupid machine!" screamed Lutherion, as he continued reassembling himself. "I'm missing a few parts. And they're inside you! So, I'll just be taking them back..."

Lutherion, grinning, prepared to shred open Eximo's bag with the newly-reattached wightmaw arm. But then he paused, looking thoughtful.

"Wait, wait, wait! The girl's still here. Can't have her catching me by surprise while I'm busy with you... So I suppose putting myself together will have to wait. It's not like I really need a spleen or a liver, after all."

Lutherion left Eximo suspended in midair as he tried to find Amethyst in the maze of colors. He pulled out several bone splinters, and turned them into skeletal warriors.

"Spread out! Find the girl!" Lutherion cackled. She could probably destroy the skeletons easily, he knew, but could she do it without giving herself away?

As Lutherion searched, Eximo considered the situation.

"Information suggests that objects in containment are interfering with ability to function."

It paused.

"Dilemma: Expelling objects in containment would spread filth. Cleaning filth again would result in interference with ability to function. Failure to clean filth again would be failure to complete the cleansing. Inability to function properly would result in failure to complete the cleansing."

Lutherion turned to the vacuum, still caught in mid-air.

"Be quiet, vacuum! I don't have time for you right now. One more word and I'll destroy you!"

This was all that Eximo needed.

"You are threatening to interfere with the cleansing. This cannot be permitted. Expelling items in containment."

Eximo set its suction in reverse, throwing Lutherion's body parts right in his face. It began glowing.

"This unit is no longer malfunctioning. Threat to the cleansing still present. Threat must be eliminated."

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerHaf'ta say, that's the funniest post in this entire thread.

Aeon then looked at Emily, who was ignoring the racket outside, waiting for an answer.

"In other words, if we separate Nathan and the knife, it will be difficult to keep both halves of the demon's power in check. If we keep them together, though, it will likely be many times more powerful. So, we have two options here: either one of us takes the knife and the other keeps an eye on Nathan, or we both keep an eye on Nathan with the knife."

Emily thought for a moment, then looked at Nathan, who was fiddling with his knife, looking rather... excited? Regardless, she cannot exorcise the demon alone.

"You can take the knife, I'll keep an eye on Nathan. I still don't feel like I can trust you with Nathan alone, especially unarmed. Just remember to stay within sight--we don't want that rabbit scenario."

"Alright, now the only problem is to separate the two." Both of them looked at Nathan, trying to hide their concern.

"W-why are you two looking at me like that?"

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerI'll give dexexe and Draykon two or three more days before I resort to continuing the battle myself. It'll be more fun if they have a chance to respond.

...I just realized that everyone writing for that fight has a nick starting with a D.

Originally posted on MSPA by OddGuy.

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"You know, toy, it would be best to eliminate them. They have ideas about you. Ideas that would damage this deal of ours. I can tell," the demon said, now standing, perfectly balanced, on Aeon and Emily's heads. "Here, allow me to help," he said before disappearing, and the room was filled with Lutherions.

Nathan, sure that it was just another hallucination, ignored them, but then he not only heard the laugh of a nearby Lutherion, but felt the breath on his neck, smelled the rotting flesh. Immediately after, Nathan saw that his left arm was gone, and the pain hit him like a sledgehammer.

Nathan let out a brief shriek of pain, and began to wildly swing the knife around, hitting Lutherions and hearing their ghastly chuckle as they dissipated, mocking him. Enraged, Nathan noticed two Lutherions just standing there, staring at him. Sure that these were mocking him, he let out a feral yell and sprinted over to attack them, knife swinging wildly, making cutting gales with the power of the knife slashing through the air.

Emily and Aeon saw only Nathan sitting before suddenly looking incredibly concerned and gripping his arm and letting out a brief shriek. " Nathan, what-" Emily managed to say before being hit with a sharp gale, cutting her face. Nathan was now coming at both her an Aeon, making sounds that belonged to an animal rather than a human.

Originally posted on MSPA by PawntoD4.

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Emily raised her shield to cover both her and Aeon. Nathans reaction was odd. The demon in his knife was a lord. It didn't make sense for it to make such and animalistic attack directly.
Then suddenly it dawned on her. The split in power, the strange behavior, the hallucinations, Nathan had made a pact with the demon. Emily began shaking with rage.
Aeon could see Emily's anger rising. He had to get her focused or they could be killed. He could already see that they were being pushed back by the shield. IT was a good thing that it was near unbreakable, but Nathan power might be enough to break it if he kept this up for much longer.
"Calm down Emily," Aeon said," We need to figure out how to stop Nathan now!" Emily merely tunred to Aeon and nodded. She was no longer shaking, but her teeth were still clenched and her face was still red.
"Now I think I've got a plan he's very focused on the shield if we can just sneak aro-"
Aeon was interrupted by a shreak of intense pain. He noticed that attack on the shield getting weaker looked behind it at Nathan. Small orbs of light were flying out of him at an alarming pace and he seemed to be getting older.
He went back to looking at Emily and confirmed that the orbs were flying to her and she appeared to be getting younger.
After Nathans blows had stopped the orbs stopped flowing out of him. Emily put her hand on his shoulder. "Restore," she said with the soothing voice you would expect from a healer as the life she had taken from Nathan flowed back into him. Nathan looked up at her with tears in his eyes. However Emily simply stared at him. Her raged had subsided, and now she merely felt sorry for him.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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Whatever that controlled him has subsided for now...

"Nathan, I know you can hear me. That demon of your is making you attack us.

I told you earlier to find a loophole in your weapon. I told you that everything can be exploited without lasting circumstances. This is not a loophole, Nathan. What you have done now is accepted the terms of using that weapon. Think of what would happen if I were to accept the terms of my own; I would be drained to collapse after only a few seconds. What good is a weapon if you are unable to use it freely?

I ask you to break whatever pact you made with the demon. Whatever power it contains, it's not worth it if you lose your free will. Instead, find a way to gain the knife's powers without releasing the mind of the demon itself.

Right now I ask you to withhold the use of the knife, for your protection as well as ours. Whatever images or thoughts the demon has planted in your mind, I ask you to ignore it. From this point on, all I ask is for you to not use the knife, and ignore all further commands from anyone else, including us."

"What are you doing?!" Emily whispered.

"Nathan is experiencing hallucinations. If we try to separate him and the knife now, the demon will likely distort the action and cause him to retaliate. Right now the only safe action will be for him to try to stay calm. Heck, I don't know if I got the message across, but it's the best we can do."

Emily thought for a moment, trying to process everything that had happened, "Wait. Remember that time in the first round, when you were capable of taking control of the powers of the environment? Can you do the same with the demon?"

"Yes, most likely. But the problem with that is that I have to somehow gain communication with it, which right now seems quite difficult."

Originally posted on MSPA by dexexe1234.

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"Gah! Oh, now you have done it!" Lutherion turned around and looked at the glowing vacuum. "Heh! Now it glows! Well it doesnt matter! I will rip you to pieces, and then get the strawberry girl! HEHAHEHAHEE!!!"

Lutherions body parts flew up and attached themselves to where they belonged. Now he stood, fully regenerated, twitching a little with his unlocked wigthmaw arm and just looked at Eximo. "Take THIS!!!" He swung his wightmaw arm in front of him, and out flew a barrage of bone splinters!

Eximo, simply dashes to the side, but when the splinters hit the wall the white smoke sprouted and filled the general area. Eximo could see through this with his sensors, so that was not a problem. What was a problem though, was the creatures starting to form in the mist. About 8 small impish creatures had formed, each one filled to the brim with puss. They quickly hurdled towards Eximo, That proceeded to cut down the first one that neared it. *BOOM!!" The puss didnt just spread, it exploded! "Hahaha! How do you like my incini-imps? HEHAEHEA!!!"

Eximo, a little shocked from the explosion, could see that both the imps and Lutherion was dashing towards him in the white smoke.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"Analysis: Mobile, highly volatile sources of filth are approaching. Recommendation: Detonate from a safe distance. Cleanse filth once threats are no longer present."

Eximo pulled out some more knives and threw them at the approaching imps. Two knives hit imps directly in the chest, and caused them to explode. A third knife hit Lutherion in the face, right below his good eye.

"Argh!" Lutherion pulled the knife out, as the handle was blocking his sight. At the same time, Eximo threw a knife at an imp next to him, detonating it. Lutherion was covered in pus by the explosion.

"Stupid vacuum!" he shouted, charging forward again. "Stop getting in my way!"

"Request denied." Eximo responded coldly. As Lutherion approached, Eximo extended two of its skeletal arms, picked up the necromancer in mid-charge, and threw him across the room.

"The cleansing must be completed. Your continued interference is unwelcome."

Lutherion got back up quickly. "I will not be beaten by a vacuum cleaner!" he shouted defiantly.

Eximo responded by grabbing another imp and throwing it at him. It exploded on impact, drenching Lutherion in more pus.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

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"Thunder Network Go!"
A cyan lightningbolt shot from beyond the twisted fog, arching unnaturally before slamming straight into Lutherion's chest. Amethyst had found her target. She stood just outside the small 'island' of visibility, but streaks of black and purple showed she was near.
"Eximo, I have come with the intention of assisting the in eliminating threat to the cleansing." Amethyst explained, hoping to gain the machine's approval.
"It is appreciated" Eximo responded simply, throwing another knife at one of the remaining imps, detonating it as well.

"Ah hell, this ain't fair at all!" Lutherion shouted, shaking off some of the puss.
He then proceeded to slam his unlocked arm into the ground, digging in with a couple of the outward pointing splinters.
"Rise, great web of bone for your God Lutherion!!"
Bone splinters shot up from the ground, decompressing into a fractal network, expanding out to fill the room. Amethyst began to levitate over, but her foot was suddenly caught in part of the web. She struggled to get free, but the network really was designed like a spider web. Not only was her foot literally stuck to the bone, but the struggling sent a signal down to the center, violently shaking that entire side of the structure. Lutherion grinned, and pointed his arm in that direction, pondering exactly how to finish off his helpless prey.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerBump. I need some kind of post by Nathan or Emily to continue.

Originally posted on MSPA by cyber95.

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SpoilerI think I'll start the poll soon. Draykon, Dragon Fogel, you two are both totally safe. Your writing is just awesome.
The rest of you are also awesome, but Draykon and DF are my picks for the best right now.
Dex's writing has really improved, so I can't just have Lutherion be dead based on his writing and not bother with a poll. While I do think his actually writing isn't the best, he's still got the strongest character skills. So I think I might just put up a poll between all four of you. Would that be alright?

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerI would rather have people post what they're voting for. I simply don't like polls.

How would you rank everyone in order of best to worst?

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerIt's a really tough call this round - everybody's doing a great job.

Personally, I'm considering narrative effectiveness as a tiebreaker - if it's really close, I'm likely to go with the character whose death would work better in-story at this point. That's just my thoughts, though.

Also, I should probably advance the battle I'm in. I'll get to that soon, but probably not tonight.

Originally posted on MSPA by cyber95.

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SpoilerI would rather have people post what they're voting for. I simply don't like polls.

How would you rank everyone in order of best to worst?

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SpoilerBest to worst? Um.

...hey look a distraction!

Yeah, I have no idea. I know that Fogel and Draykon are ruling this, but the rest of you are all also doing pretty great. That's why I like to put this up to majority. I can't decide on my own.

Originally posted on MSPA by bobthepen.

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bobthepen's favorites:

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Spoiler1. Draykon - Draykon's passages have strong style and good character development. My only complaint is that I'd wish he'd post more.
2. Dragon Fogel - Dragon Fogel posts frequently and almost always has something plot relevant and highly entertaining. His passages seem to be fragmented at times, with each paragraph only having a few sentences.
3 & 4 Aryogaton - Pretty good all around, but this round his passages haven't been very entertaining or plot driving.
3 & 4 Dexexe1234 - Dex does an excellent job of making monsters, and Lutherion is right up there with Eximo as far as favorite characters are concerned. His grammar and writing style could still use improvement, but it has improved drastically from the first round.
5. OddGuy - OddGuy's started the round fairly weak, but his recent posts have shown a drastic improvement towards plot and character development.
6. Pawn2D4 - Pawn2D4's posts have been consistent, but mediocre.

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SpoilerReally, I think it's a toss up between OddGuy and Pawn2D4. I really like what everyone has done so far. It's gotten to the point where I feel bad saying a particular player is doing the worst because I've really enjoyed everyone. Plot wise, between Emily and Nathan, either one dying could have good story related consequences. I think the discussion on who should move on should remain focused on style and post quality. Though, personally I like Nathan more than Emily as a character, especially now that he's starting to spiral into madness, but that's just me.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Before he could make a decision, Lutherion suddenly felt shaking in another direction. He turned, and saw Eximo attempting to suck up the bone web. "You think that will do anything?" he cackled. "Stupid machine! There's way too much bone for that to work!"

Eximo did not seem to care. As far as it was concerned, the bones were filth, and the filth needed to be cleansed. Unless it faced an immediate threat, it would continue to cleanse.

However, the second shake gave Amethyst an idea. As it seemed that Lutherion was keeping track of their locations through vibrations in the network of bones, it might be possible to disorient him with a large, widespread vibration. She quickly settled on the right spell.

"Vertigo Wind!"

Gusts of wind suddenly blew around the entire room, causing the web to shake in all directions. The wind wasn't especially strong, but it was enough to stir up the bones. Lutherion screamed with rage, having lost track of where his opponents were in the massive network.

The main problem with the spell was that Amethyst had to concentrate to keep the wind blowing. If she stopped, Lutherion would likely find them again easily, especially as Eximo had apparently decided to clean instead of fight. She would have to think of something else, but at least she had some time now...

"ARRGGH!! Stupid vacuum!"

The sudden scream surprised Amethyst. Moments later, the bone web collapsed. She looked at the center of the room, and saw Lutherion with his arm reformed, except with one large length of bone extending from it and into Eximo... who was now suspended in the air once again. With the bones linking them, it almost looked like Lutherion was flying a kite.

"You're not supposed to be able to follow one strand right to me!" The necromancer turned to Amethyst, blustering with rage. "And if not for your damn wind, I might have realized it sooner! I've had it with both of you!"

Amethyst smiled. "It would appear that Eximo and I form a potent team. Also, you might like to look up."

Lutherion sneered. "Please. You think I'm going to fall for that old trick?"

"No. But I think my friend has picked up a new one."

Lutherion suddenly realized that his string of bones wasn't feeling quite so tight. He looked at his shoulder and saw the bones falling towards the ground... then he looked up. Eximo had gone into reverse again, and was falling... right towards his face.

Amethyst ran over and pulled Eximo out of the mess, casting a Rock Bind spell at Lutherion's body at the same time to keep him out of trouble.

"That will not hold him long, but it should give us time to retreat. Prolonging the battle does not seem to be beneficial." She pulled Eximo away and headed towards the hole it had made in the wall earlier.

"Analysis accepted. Lifeform known as Lutherion is very disruptive to the cleansing. Cleansing can be performed more efficiently by focusing on another area for the moment."

"Not quite the reasoning I used, but I suppose that's just how you think." They ran for the exit, and once outside, heard noises coming from a nearby house.

Originally posted on MSPA by Draykon.

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SpoilerI would prefer a post count over a direct poll, simply because that leaves more room for constructive criticism. If someone has to post to get an opinion out, they're more likely to actually explain why, instead of just "I don't like X."

That being said, I'll agree that we've gotten to the point that you can't really say anyone's been doing 'badly.' The whole story's getting really interesting, and I think everyone's contributed alot to that.

My thoughts on individual writers (In no particular order):
Dragon Fogel - Has done a much better job with Eximo Pulvis than I really thought would be possible. Has generally been able to control other characters very well, and kept the plot interesting.
Aryogaton - Early on had a tendancy to not really 'do' much, but has recently gotten a fair bit better. Aeon could potentially be a very interesting character, but I think he still needs to get more involved.
Dexexe - Still has a few readability issues with his writing (No grammatical errors, but still kinda 'off.' Probably to be expected really. It's still much better English than I hear from most foreigners, and many Americans) But in spite of this has been able to keep the story very interesting. Lutherion is also my favorite character, and I'd hate to see him die now.
OddGuy - Like Aryogaton, had a bit of an issue with 'doing things' towards the beginning, but has gotten much better. I really want to see where this whole 'demonic possession' thing goes before I say much more. o.o
Pawn2D4 - Has kept Emily an interesting character, but also has a few readability issues- though this has also improved a fair bit.

Really, if I had to pick someone- and I really don't want to- I'd say Pawn2D4 is my choice. It's not that he's really done 'bad,' it's largely just because Emily feels like she's been sinking into the background a bit this round.

Also, thanks for the compliments guys. [img]images/smilies/icon_heartbeat.gif[/img] I really would post more, it's just half the time I'm not really sure what to post about. x.x

Originally posted on MSPA by PawntoD4.

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SpoilerI have to agree with Drakyon on almost all points. Dragon definately deserves to stay and Luther can't die until the end.
Unfortunately with votes against me I have no choice really but to pick someone as well.
Amethyst is an uninteresting character to me though. She doesn't have mush personality. Her fighting is really fun to read, but she doesn't really have much of a story going on like all the other characters do. Drakyons writing is good, but not much better than anyone else here. (Of course I've never been a really goood judge of that sort of thing.)
Aeon I dislike for the problems pretty well explained by Drakyon.
So my vote is for either Aryogaton or Drakyon.
I'm going to have to choose Amethyst for her lack of real potential here. Aeon has potential to get really involved in fights and story, but as far as I can see Amethyst doesn't look like she's really going to develope very much. I'm sorry Drakyon.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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SpoilerMy thoughts.

1. Amethyst

Amethyst doesn't shy away from challenges. She regularly goes after Lutherion, and she's the only character so far to put significant thought into how to escape from the "game" itself. She's also good at magic-related exposition, and it's generally pretty easy to follow. I can kind of see Pawn's point about personality, and Draykon could probably do a better job of letting that show through; I think the basics are getting through, but a little more depth could be useful.

2. Lutherion

Dexexe's writing style could still use a little polish, (mainly he just has a few issues with sticking with the past tense for actions) but the characterization is excellent. Lutherion really comes across as insane, unpredictable, and dangerous. And, dexexe is very good at giving the rest of us something to play off of, as well as reacting to attacks (which happen quite often when he's involved).

3. Nathan

I'm mainly ranking him high for this round, because OddGuy pulled off a great twist by having him deal with the demon in his knife. This has all kinds of potential; but he'd better make good use of that potential, or he's at a high risk of being voted out.

4. Aeon

I would say that Aeon's strong point this round was when he explained his reasons for planting the bomb on Alcarith. We've seen that he can be cold and calculating, but it doesn't seem that he *wants* to be; he's been kind enough to Nathan. And, of course, he was the catalyst for Nathan's big twist, and now he wants to undo that damage. Overall, he's a wildcard; he'd probably be willing to cooperate with any of us, other than Lutherion, but if he saw it as necessary to target someone else, he wouldn't waste an opportunity. He really has potential to shake things up, but we've only seen a few steps in that direction so far. I'd say the more he does with that, the better he'll do in later rounds.

5. Emily

Emily has really been strong this chapter, but unfortunately, she hasn't stood out in any particular way, at least compared to the others. I will say, though, that I was impressed that Pawn went for a direct confrontation with Aeon right after I set the stage for it. Ultimately, Pawn's writing has been strong, but I'd have to put him at the bottom because everyone else's has been even stronger.

By the way, are we approaching the end of the round, or just discussing this to keep us thinking about it? I have a couple of things I'd like to pull off before the round ends.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerI actually have quite a bit planned out, including a little loophole I found that might bring me back into the fray if I were to be voted off. I'm really just waiting for the right time.

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SpoilerMy votes:

Lutherion - Other than being a pivotal point in the plot (including the aforementioned loophole), as has been said before, Lutherion is really the most well-characterized out of all of us. I'm still thinking Lutherion is going to stay till the end, or at least near the end.

Amethyst - She is quite a mysterious character. I'm looking forward to experimenting a bit with confrontations and whatnot, since she is the most like my own character (other than the magic and er... radioactivity). I'm guessing there will be a battle between the brains soon.

Eximo Pulvis - I have to say, I never expected a vacuum cleaner to be so important. Nevertheless, Dragon Fogel's writing is too good to throw out.

Nathan - Oddguy truly redeemed himself with the demon pact twist, even though he really didn't do much earlier. I honestly have no clue where this is going to go, and that's good.

Emily - As said before, she seems to drift into the background, with the big fight taking place. Her redeeming points is being a perhaps crucial point in Nathan's situation, but if I had to vote someone off, my vote would have to go to her.

Nobody in the house were paying attention to the battle outside. As such, no one expected Amethyst to barge into the room, dragging the vacuum cleaner behind it. Aeon took a glance back at the courthouse, and he could see the shape of Lutherion encased in rock, but was already starting to crumble.

Emily instinctively raised her shield at Amethyst, expecting some form of attack. Amethyst ignored her, and began placing defenses on the house. The vaccum cleaner proceeded to clean up the place, picking up Nathan's empty bowl in the process.

"What do you want from us?" Emily stated simply and coldly to the frantic figure. Amethyst turned to Emily with a look of mild surprise, returned to her work, and only then did she give a reply.

"What does it look like? We have just narrowly escaped from Lutherion, and I am now establishing defenses here. You have magic potential; assistance would be appreciated."

Emily looked at Amethyst, then at Nathan, who was shivering on the floor. He didn't seem to pay any attention to what was going on, and was very vulnerable to attack. I have to keep her busy, Emily thought.

"Stand back," Emily said to Amethyst, as she muttered a few incantations that presumably reinforced the door. Amethyst then proceeded to the nearest window, closing it. Within the next few minutes, both Emily and Amethyst were making the house practically a fortress.

None of them noticed Aeon escape from the house a few minutes earlier through an open window.

Originally posted on MSPA by cyber95.

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SpoilerYeah, I'm planning on ending the round sometime soon. I think that from now on I'm going to be using your analysis posts to personally decide who will be out. I mean, you're practically casting votes as it is. Anyway, keep going for a bit to do what you need to do this round and then I'll end the round.

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"I think that's done it," Amethyst breathed a sigh of relief. "I doubt it will hold him indefinitely, but we should at least have warning when he attacks."

Emily looked around the room. "Wait a minute! Where's Aeon?"

Eximo seemed to take this as a question that needed answering.

"Scanning for lifeforms. Three lifeforms located in this room. Irregularities noted with one signal in room. One weak lifeform signal approaching this location; presumably Lutherion. Two other signals located in range, one stationary and one approaching stationary signal. Insufficient data to determine which one is lifeform known as Aeon."

Emily and Amethyst looked at the vacuum in surprise, then turned to each other.

"Did that demonic machine just say there's something else out there?" Emily asked.

"I believe so. I saw signs of sabotage in the previous round; perhaps one of our captors is taking matters into his own hands?" Amethyst thought for a moment. "Alternatively, when we were introduced to this location, we were told it was once home to vampires and werewolves. Could one of those still be here?"

"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" Emily lost her composure. "Nathan's gone and made a deal with a demon, I'm stuck in here with you and that infernal machine, Lutherion's headed this way, Aeon is gone, and there's something else in this town that we don't even know about! And we're still no closer to finding a way out of this 'game' we're caught in!"

Amethyst tried to calm Emily down, as Eximo proceeded with its primary objective: Cleaning the room. It came across Nathan, shivering on the floor.

"Request that the lifeform move, so that the floor underneath may be cleansed."

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SpoilerAnybody else is free to decide what the extra lifeform on the scan is. You may have noticed that I foreshadowed this before.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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SpoilerOH F-

I'll wait a post or two before making a move.

Originally posted on MSPA by PawntoD4.

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Emily regained her composure and pushed Amethyst gently away. There was just too much going on for someone as old as her to handle. However she had faced dire situations like this before, so she would do what she could.
"Okay," she said turning to the demon girl," You have the ability to see things from a distance correct?"
"I would have to send out a probe, but yes."
"Good then you get on that. We need to know what we're up against before it gets here if possible." Emily then walked over and grabbed Nathan off of the floor. She had the look of a commander on her face as she spoke to him. "Boy we're going to need your help and if necessary the help of that cursed knife of yours. Now stop whining and get ready for battle."
Nathan nodded numbly in response but when she let go of him he simply fell back to the floor.
Emily then turned to the vacuum. It had gone straight back to cleaning once she'd moved Nathan. It probably wasn't going to follow orders. At least not from her.
She shook her head. This was hardly a defense force, but it'd have to do.
Amethyst turned to Emily while holding a crystal in her hand. The crystal displayed a frail looking creature. However she could feel the power radiating from it even through the crystal. "This is the second lifeform Eximo picked up." Emily nodded, she was greatly upset that her best soldier was a demon, but beggars can't be choosers.

Originally posted on MSPA by Aryogaton.

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Aeon found himself to be inside the bakery. The smell of not-so-fresh dough lingered in the air, but it was a pleasant change from the rotting smells that dominate nearly the entirety of the town. Few pieces of bread were still edible, and Aeon could tell that there was something strange about them. He grabbed a few pieces and stored them, taking note of the slight irony with his luck of finding food items. He sat down at a nearby table and began thinking about what has happened so far.

Only a few hours ago he had been running a few errands for a friend back in his hometown. Moments later, he was taking control of a poltergeist and summoning illusions to scare off a necromancer. An hour later he was sabotaging a flying vehicle piloted by a half-dragon in the midst of falling buildings. And now, he was sitting in an abandoned bakery pondering what has happened. He found it all to be a bit strange in retrospective.

A slim figure in the doorway interrupted his thoughts. It did not enter the bakery, but gave a vague motion that it was hungry. Hoping for the best, Aeon tossed him a piece of bread and thought nothing of it.

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Emily saw the figure stand in front of the doorway to the bakery. Aeon was obviously inside, but she could not see anything in the building. She saw the figure catch something and eat it.

Seconds later the figure convulsed and began transforming. It grew fur and its body practically reversed itself in proportions. As soon as the transformation was complete, the werewolf lunged into the bakery. Amethyst stopped the probe, thinking it is best to not see what is next.

"What are you doing?! Show me what happened in there!" Emily exclaimed, thoughts racing through her head.

"I believe it is best that you don't see what is next." Amethyst replied simply.

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Shit, shit, shit... Aeon thought, as he ran out of the bakery with a pair of daggers in his hands. The werewolf was already moving towards him, and Aeon leaped out of the way. It is faster than I am, but I'm nore agile.

Aeon threw the dagger in his left hand at the werewolf, hitting it directly in the eye. It didn't seem to care much. As Aeon was running back towards the house, he took a small silver charm from his pocket and pressed it into the handle of the other dagger. As he turned around the corner, however, he was greeted by a rotting figure with a horribly-deformed arm.

"Why hello there, buddy. Missed me?!" Lutherion cackled as he began to attack.