Goodbye LJ...

[windandwater]

This is just to make it official for those who don't know, but I'm leaving LJ completely. For the rest of this week at least. Tomorrow is the Bar Exam and it runs for three days, so don't expect to see me about at all until Thursday night. Or even until the weekend since I plan on spending Thursday after the Bar drunk and crying. No online time for me at all. *whines* It will be hard, but I know I can do it.

So, because I'm a total h0r like that, I am declaring this to be a spam post. Go ahead. Run wild! Give me fics, give me links, give me pics, just babble to your heart's content and rape my inbox so I have something to see when I finally DO come back to the wonderful world of LJ. I don't even care if you write me a drabble and post it one word at a time. XD;

Though, I've tried to make a spam post before and it failed a bit miserably, so I don't have very high expectations this time around. Feel free to prove me wrong though!

♥

Comments

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

into life, bright lines shot out to connect them with each other. The sky went dark, leaving the searing illumination of magic as blue lightning burst from the tops of the stones. The lines converged in the center of the ring, where an oval portal of light sprang into being, then expanded until it was large enough for a man to walk through. As soon as the portal stabilized, Heero took his hand off the stone, and the lightning died as the sunlight returned to its former intensity.

Quatre regarded the portal uneasily. He could almost see the shapes of buildings and creatures through its flat surface, but they flickered through its blood-red light. He took a deep breath, and mentally prepared his strongest spells as the warriors filed one at a time through the portal to Tristram.

They emerged on a scene from Hell. [2]

Tristram's houses were built of stone, but it seemed that even stone could burn, if the fires were hot enough. The buildings were wrecks, most of them collapsed piles of half-melted stone that still smoldered and glowed with the remainder of their infernal heat.

"This is what became of proud Tristram?" Trowa asked numbly, staring at the bodies.

The town's animals had been carelessly butchered, lying bloated across the scorched earth. Quatre's stomach turned as he caught sight of a twisted human body, limbs pinned to the ground.

"Oh... my God..." Quatre whispered, horrified.

"God had nothing to do with this," Heero said grimly, scanning the immediate area for foes.

"This was the work of the Devil," Duo said unexpectedly in a hoarse voice. His face was very pale, and his eyes distant.

A retching sound caught their attention, and they turned to see Relena throwing up the contents of her last meal. None of them could blame her; Quatre looked as though he wished he could do the same, as the horror of the slaughtered town sank into their consciousness. Dazed, they began to pick their way among the wreckage, following what had once been a road towards the town center.

"I see no demons," Wufei said quietly. "Perhaps, having ruined Tristram, they saw no need to stay here."

"All the same, be on your guard," Heero warned. "The forces of Evil are strong here." [3]

"Does Akara honestly expect this Deckard Cain guy to still be alive?" Quatre demanded incredulously.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

"Help! Help!" The voice came from up ahead, in what would have been the town square. The five warriors exchanged glances.

"Guess so..." They broke into a run, ignoring now the heat of the flames from all sides. The fires were more active here, towards the center of the town. They skidded to a halt as the road became an open space, with three other roads leading away from the square. On the opposite side of the space was an iron cage hanging from a gibbet, inside of which was a grey-clad and withered-looking old man. He moved, turning in their direction as they entered the square, and they knew he could be no-one else besides Deckard Cain.

But something else was more pressing. One of the buildings on a corner of the intersection had not collapsed -- in fact, it was burning like a bonfire. The flames were teeming with more of the small demons, and their shamans, than the warriors had ever seen before. They crowded into the house, seeming to come from the fire itself, and as soon as they caught sight of the newcomers, they swarmed towards them with the familiar gibbering shrieks.

Here, hemmed in by the burning buildings, the warriors could not force their way past the small creatures to reach the shamans, and it was almost impossible to dodge the fireballs their shamans threw. That was not the worst of it, though, because it seemed that the little demons had sent up some kind of alarm; before they could really get their senses about them, more and more monsters began converging on them from all directions. More ghouls and skeletons, than they had seen outside of Blood Raven's burial grounds; worse were some kind of goat-headed creatures that walked and brandished weapons and fought just like men. Individually, the black-furred minotaurs were no match for the warriors, especially not for Heero and Wufei, but there were so *many* of them -- and more were coming.

The warriors found themselves fighting for their lives. Each of them was separated and surrounded by the monsters, and slowly forced against the walls of the burning houses. Duo struggled desperately to stay by his minions, knowing he was in deep trouble if he had to fight all these monsters without help. But his skeletons were taking a heavy battering, without getting a chance to swing in return; he saw pieces crumbling off of one of them, and knew he would soon be alone. He looked around, trying to see his comrades.

Wufei seemed to be doing the best, he and his shadow fighting side by side like mirrors of each other. The monsters had trouble surrounding him; he flickered in and out of sight, and could slip behind a demon and kill it before it even realized he was there. Heero was faring rather worse; the monsters crowded so close around him that he barely had room to swing. He was taking almost more hits than he was giving, and considering how many more of the monsters there were, that wasn't good.

Quatre wasn't even visible, inside a ring of constantly erupting fire and ice. Trowa seemed to be fighting desperately to get near him -- whether to find safety inside

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

"Help! Help!" The voice came from up ahead, in what would have been the town square. The five warriors exchanged glances.

"Guess so..." They broke into a run, ignoring now the heat of the flames from all sides. The fires were more active here, towards the center of the town. They skidded to a halt as the road became an open space, with three other roads leading away from the square. On the opposite side of the space was an iron cage hanging from a gibbet, inside of which was a grey-clad and withered-looking old man. He moved, turning in their direction as they entered the square, and they knew he could be no-one else besides Deckard Cain.

But something else was more pressing. One of the buildings on a corner of the intersection had not collapsed -- in fact, it was burning like a bonfire. The flames were teeming with more of the small demons, and their shamans, than the warriors had ever seen before. They crowded into the house, seeming to come from the fire itself, and as soon as they caught sight of the newcomers, they swarmed towards them with the familiar gibbering shrieks.

Here, hemmed in by the burning buildings, the warriors could not force their way past the small creatures to reach the shamans, and it was almost impossible to dodge the fireballs their shamans threw. That was not the worst of it, though, because it seemed that the little demons had sent up some kind of alarm; before they could really get their senses about them, more and more monsters began converging on them from all directions. More ghouls and skeletons, than they had seen outside of Blood Raven's burial grounds; worse were some kind of goat-headed creatures that walked and brandished weapons and fought just like men. Individually, the black-furred minotaurs were no match for the warriors, especially not for Heero and Wufei, but there were so *many* of them -- and more were coming.

The warriors found themselves fighting for their lives. Each of them was separated and surrounded by the monsters, and slowly forced against the walls of the burning houses. Duo struggled desperately to stay by his minions, knowing he was in deep trouble if he had to fight all these monsters without help. But his skeletons were taking a heavy battering, without getting a chance to swing in return; he saw pieces crumbling off of one of them, and knew he would soon be alone. He looked around, trying to see his comrades.

Wufei seemed to be doing the best, he and his shadow fighting side by side like mirrors of each other. The monsters had trouble surrounding him; he flickered in and out of sight, and could slip behind a demon and kill it before it even realized he was there. Heero was faring rather worse; the monsters crowded so close around him that he barely had room to swing. He was taking almost more hits than he was giving, and considering how many more of the monsters there were, that wasn't good.

Quatre wasn't even visible, inside a ring of constantly erupting fire and ice. Trowa seemed to be fighting desperately to get near him -- whether to find safety inside

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

Quatre's magical zone, or to protect Quatre when he inevitably ran out of energy, it hardly seemed to matter. The body of his companion wolf lay trampled on the ground behind him, as was the remains of one of his animate vines; of his ravens, nothing could be seen. Had he even gotten a chance to summon them? They had all been so arrogant, so overconfident, that they walked right into this trap without even preparing first. They should have scouted the city first, gone around it to make sure it was truly empty before wading right in to the center of things, he thought uselessly, as the last of his creatures crumbled into dust.

He heard an anguished scream from somewhere on his right, and looked over just in time to see Relena crumble in the center of a tightening ring of demons. "Relena!" he shouted, and tried to struggle towards her, knowing that it was already too late for the Rogue; he saw the demons eagerly close in, hacking at the body with their crude weapons, before he was forced to turn his attention back to fighting for his own life.

He saw Trowa reach Quatre's side, supporting the blond sorcerer as he faltered from the strain of so much spellcasting, and began struggling in that direction himself, hoping that they could regroup somehow. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Heero start in the same direction, apparently having something of the same idea; Wufei, free for a moment from the melee, started heading towards the other side of the square and Deckard Cain while his shadow continued to battle the monsters.

Suddenly, over the heads of the tiny demons that still swarmed them, a blood-red giant appeared striding towards them. He looked like a man, except that he was as tall as one of the shambling brutes of the Dark Forest -- and the right side of his face was missing.

He started towards Wufei, apparently having no trouble seeing him. Duo shouted a warning to Wufei and ran towards the new demon, causing an explosion of bone splinters to fly into him. But rather than being fazed, the demon simply shrugged off the projectiles, and smashed Duo to the ground with a single blow.

All sound of the battle dropped out of Duo's ears, and he lay still for a moment, staring at the smoke that filled the sky. He faintly heard someone's cry of rage, and the strange sound of rusted metal creaking, and then Wufei's voice shouting "Deckard Cain -- get out of here!" He tried to move his limbs, to force them to obey him, to get up and fight, but he couldn't do much more than twitch his legs and flop from his back onto his stomach. Slowly, painfully, he up on his hands and knees, but he didn't have a chance to get up further, because then the monsters were on him, just like they had converged on Relena.

Quatre could only watch in horror as the giant contemptuously batted Duo aside, and the monsters that surrounded his helpless form. Heero roared with fury, and leapt to fight the monster, as though he were still fresh to battle, not flagging with injuries and fatigue as he had been moments before. From somewhere inside him, Quatre found the strength to cast another spell, a violently expanding ring of ice that froze the demons surrounding them and drove off others. Wufei dashed back into battle, attacking the giant from behind.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

Quatre's magical zone, or to protect Quatre when he inevitably ran out of energy, it hardly seemed to matter. The body of his companion wolf lay trampled on the ground behind him, as was the remains of one of his animate vines; of his ravens, nothing could be seen. Had he even gotten a chance to summon them? They had all been so arrogant, so overconfident, that they walked right into this trap without even preparing first. They should have scouted the city first, gone around it to make sure it was truly empty before wading right in to the center of things, he thought uselessly, as the last of his creatures crumbled into dust.

He heard an anguished scream from somewhere on his right, and looked over just in time to see Relena crumble in the center of a tightening ring of demons. "Relena!" he shouted, and tried to struggle towards her, knowing that it was already too late for the Rogue; he saw the demons eagerly close in, hacking at the body with their crude weapons, before he was forced to turn his attention back to fighting for his own life.

He saw Trowa reach Quatre's side, supporting the blond sorcerer as he faltered from the strain of so much spellcasting, and began struggling in that direction himself, hoping that they could regroup somehow. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Heero start in the same direction, apparently having something of the same idea; Wufei, free for a moment from the melee, started heading towards the other side of the square and Deckard Cain while his shadow continued to battle the monsters.

Suddenly, over the heads of the tiny demons that still swarmed them, a blood-red giant appeared striding towards them. He looked like a man, except that he was as tall as one of the shambling brutes of the Dark Forest -- and the right side of his face was missing.

He started towards Wufei, apparently having no trouble seeing him. Duo shouted a warning to Wufei and ran towards the new demon, causing an explosion of bone splinters to fly into him. But rather than being fazed, the demon simply shrugged off the projectiles, and smashed Duo to the ground with a single blow.

All sound of the battle dropped out of Duo's ears, and he lay still for a moment, staring at the smoke that filled the sky. He faintly heard someone's cry of rage, and the strange sound of rusted metal creaking, and then Wufei's voice shouting "Deckard Cain -- get out of here!" He tried to move his limbs, to force them to obey him, to get up and fight, but he couldn't do much more than twitch his legs and flop from his back onto his stomach. Slowly, painfully, he up on his hands and knees, but he didn't have a chance to get up further, because then the monsters were on him, just like they had converged on Relena.

Quatre could only watch in horror as the giant contemptuously batted Duo aside, and the monsters that surrounded his helpless form. Heero roared with fury, and leapt to fight the monster, as though he were still fresh to battle, not flagging with injuries and fatigue as he had been moments before. From somewhere inside him, Quatre found the strength to cast another spell, a violently expanding ring of ice that froze the demons surrounding them and drove off others. Wufei dashed back into battle, attacking the giant from behind.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

Finally, Trowa found the room to work, and was able to start casting his elemental spells. He summoned a firestorm, sending it through the ranks of the goat-men; the small demons and their shamans weren't harmed by fire, seemed to like it in fact, but not so the minotaurs. They died with mournful, almost bovine-like cries, but Trowa was not particularly inclined to feel sorry for them. Across the square, there was a flash of blue light as Deckard Cain created a portal that would transport him immediately to safety. Trowa couldn't help but feel momentarily jealous.

Heero was still battling against the demon giant with the zeal of a fanatic, looking strangely small against his towering opponent. As he kept the giant's attention on him, and Trowa and Quatre worked together to wipe out the lesser monsters, Wufei slipped over to where Duo had fallen and worked to drive the monsters away from his body. He stood over his fallen comrade, killing any demon who got too close.

The demon giant fell; Heero wheeled around, a berserker light still in his eyes, and turned on the minotaur creatures that remained. Bleating in panic, they turned to flee, but Heero pursued them, leaving Trowa and Quatre to clear up the minor demons that remained alive. They, too, scattered in all directions, and Trowa chose not to chase them.

Instead, he went over to where Relena had fallen, and knelt on one knee to check for signs of life. It was far too late for her, though, and he reached out one hand to gently close her lifeless blue eyes before getting up and heading over to Duo.

Quatre was already there, kneeling by Duo's side as Wufei sat propping Duo's head and shoulders against his legs. The braided warrior was still alive, Trowa observed as he joined the three of them. But not, it seemed, for long; he had a dozen deep wounds on his body, and Trowa could see the red life draining out of his already pale skin, leaving the necromancer as white and transparent as a piece of glass. [4]

"Trowa!" Quatre cried, looking up as Trowa hunkered down opposite him. "Don't you have any healing potions left -- even one?"

Grimly, Trowa shook his head. Like the rest of them, he kept healing potions on his belt so they would be easy to access, and like the rest of them, he had used every single one of them in that last battle. And, of course, he had kept no spares in his pack -- he hadn't thought of it, since they had never used so many at once before.

Duo's eyes were open, if glazed, and he smiled up at Quatre. "S'okay, Quatre," he whispered in a thready voice. "'M not afraid to die."

"Just hold on, Duo," Quatre instructed him firmly. "If we can get you back to the Camp, then Akara can heal you..."

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

"Not gonna make it," Duo said faintly. " 'M the Sh'ngami... now 's my turn..." He trailed off, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Damn it, Duo!" Quatre shouted, tears in his voice, and Trowa turned away.

He was startled to find Heero right there, the manic look gone from his eyes; his expression was grim and determined. "Move aside, Trowa," he said. "I will take care of the necromancer."

"There's no need, Heero," Trowa told him wearily, sick of the paladin's self-righteous condemnation of Duo's magic. "He's already dying."

"Move," Heero commanded, and despite himself, Trowa stepped back.

Heero knelt beside Duo, and the expression on his face cut off any questions that Quatre had been about to ask. He set one hand on Duo's throat, almost gently tilting his head back, and closed his eyes. His lips moved in prayer, and a golden light began to shine around him --

Around *both* of them, and to Quatre's astonishment, the gaping wounds in Duo's flesh began to close. Color crept back into his face, and he began to breathe steadily once more. As Heero ceased his prayer, and opened his eyes, he looked down to see Duo staring up at him. For once, the necromancer's expression showed none of its usual careless cheer, nor the bitterness that occasionally surfaced. Instead, he looked -- surprised. And, more than a little bit, awed.

"Heero?" he asked, almost inaudibly. "You..."

"Hn." Heero pulled his hand away, then stood and looked down at the necromancer. "You should still go to see the healer. I don't have the power to heal you completely."

He stepped back, and looked up to find the other three staring at him in astonishment. "What?" he said uncomfortably.

"You didn't tell us you could do that," Trowa said evenly.

Heero had the decency to flush, and look aside. "I... apologize," he mumbled. "I did not inform you of my abilities because I did not wish to share them with you. I... felt very strongly that the magics which enhance my strength, and speed, were too holy to be used by --" he cleared his throat -- "by nonbelievers."

"So that's why you're always outrunning us!" Quatre accused him. "It's not just that you never get tired -- you were using magic!"

Heero nodded, chagrined. "I was wrong to hide my abilities," he apologized. "I will not do so in the future. My auras should increase all of our stamina and fighting capabilities. We will need that advantage in the future, if the demons we face from now on are as powerful as the ones here."

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

"And they will be, that is one thing we can count on," Wufei said firmly. "If we are working as a team, then we cannot withhold any information that will aid us all. And if we are to face Diablo's minions, then we *must* work as a team."

A crashing noise from somewhere not too far away broke into their concentration, and they all looked towards the source of the noise, though they could not see it. "We can't stay here," Trowa said firmly. "We've done our job and rescued Cain; we're in no shape to try and clear every single demon out of Tristram."

"Especially not Duo," Quatre agreed, helping the braided necromancer to sit up. "Can you stand on your own, Duo?"

"I think so," Duo replied, though he swayed unsteadily as Quatre released him. He tried to take a step, then stumbled forward; Trowa moved to catch him, only to find Heero already there. Duo looked up at the paladin, surprise evident on his face, but then lowered his head and concentrated on walking, with Heero's help, back to the portal on the edge of town. They kept up a wary guard the whole way, but were not further attacked as they returned to the Stony Field, and the portal closed behind the last one.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a battered and weary party of warriors who made their way back to the Rogue Encampment near sunset. Any further adventures that day were clearly out of the question; Duo was the worst hurt of the five, but all of them were in need of Akara's healing skills.

Quatre was the one who explained to Kashya what had happened to Relena. The Rogue chieftain had taken it well, with only one more shadow added to her haunted eyes. She offered to lend them another Rogue, but they turned her down, unwilling to lead another one of Kashya's people to their deaths. Kashya was gracious, but she seemed more than a little relieved by their decision.

Trowa and Wufei talked to Deckard Cain. The grizzled old man seemed actually surprised that they had all made it back from Tristram -- but considering how the battle had been going when Cain fled, that was understandable.

"Regrettably, I could do nothing to prevent the disaster that devastated Tristram," Cain said heavily. "It all started with the Dark Wanderer that passed through there several months ago. It was not long after he left, heading east, that the horde of demons erupted and reduced the town to ashes."

Trowa and Wufei exchanged glances. "Akara spoke of a Dark Wanderer who passed through to the East, not long before the Monastery was attacked," Wufei recalled.

Cain nodded gravely. "As you may know, many years ago a hero, not unlike

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

yourself, defeated the Lord of Terror in the tunnels beneath Tristram. He knew that he could not destroy Diablo's soulstone, so he took it into himself, hoping that he could contain the demon. [5] However, in the weeks and months after his victory, he seemed to... change. I now believe that this Dark Wanderer who is connected with the disasters is none other than the hero who once saved Tristram."

Meanwhile, Heero was over talking to Charsi. His armor had gotten quite battered in the struggle at Tristram, to the point where he couldn't wear it until some of the dents had been hammered out.

"When I fled the Monastery," she began after a few minutes of working, "I left behind the Horadric Malus, my enchanted smithing hammer. If you can retrieve it for me, I'll use its magic to strengthen your equipment."

"I can't make any promises," Heero warned her. "We do not yet know what we'll find in the Monastery." He took his newly repaired armor and went back to the others, filling them in on Charsi's request.

"I don't see why not, Heero," Quatre spoke up. "We can use every edge we can get. Besides, Charsi's a very nice girl."

"Girl? She's older than you," Wufei pointed out, and Quatre shrugged.

"Perhaps, but she's a bit idealistic," Heero said. Duo coughed loudly at that, but when Heero gave him a hard look, he put on his best innocent, 'what, is something wrong?' look and said nothing.

They spent another night curled under the tents. At least it wasn't raining this time, so there was more room for them to spread out. Quatre and Trowa ended up in one corner of the tent, Duo and Heero in another, while Wufei staked out a space alone between them. Again Heero took a few moments to pray before sleep; this time, Duo watched him more openly, but there was still the undefinable edge of sadness as he did so. Nevertheless, they were all exhausted from the trying events of the day, and fell asleep quickly.


They trekked across the Tamoe Highland, the thin wisps of fog echoing the somber mood of the group. Even Quatre's usual cheer was quiet and subdued, as Cain's words tolled through their minds.

+flashback+

"It is certain that we face the demon queen Andariel, who has corrupted the Rogue Sisterhood and defiled their ancient Monastery. This does not bode well for us, my friend. [6]

"Ancient Horadric texts record that Andariel and the other lesser evils once overthrew the three Prime Evils -- Baal, Mephisto, and Diablo, banishing from Hell

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

to our world. Here, they caused mankind untold anguish and suffering before they were bound within the soul-stones. Andariel's presence here could mean that the forces of Hell are once again aligned behind Diablo and his brothers."

Quatre's mind boggled, trying to absorb the complexities of Hell's internal politics. But Cain continued.

"If this is true, I fear for us all," he said seriously. "You must kill her, before the Monastery becomes a permanent outpost of Hell, and the way East is lost forever."

+++

"Kill her," Duo echoed yet again. "Just like that."

"Stop complaining," Wufei said wearily. "Even demons can be killed."

"Excuse me?" Duo demanded. "This was the same demon who drove out an entire monastery full of warriors -- although if Relena was any sample, I suppose it's not too unbelievable --"

Quatre nearly choked. He had been brought up not to speak ill of the dead, but then again, perhaps that wasn't a big concern for necromancers.

" -- but still!" Duo continued. "If the dozens of them couldn't make a dent against Her Bitchiness, then what chance do we have?"

"We have the strength of a hundred warriors, because our cause is holy," Heero avowed. "Through us, Andariel will face her divine judgment."

"And if she squashes us like bugs, does that mean she's been judged as the winner?" Duo muttered.

Heero glared. "Stop complaining. We can win against her."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Is blind optimism characteristic all paladins, or did we just get lucky?" he asked snidely.

Heero raised one eyebrow. "You sound very pessimistic, yourself, Duo. Pessimism is a characteristic of souls tainted with the Darkness. And we all know how Paladins feel about the Darkness, don't we?" His eyes gleamed.

Quatre stared at him, agape. "Heero... did you just make a joke?" he gasped.

"Did I?" Heero said with a straight face. "I didn't notice."

Duo snickered, and was just opening his mouth to continue the teasing, when the previously-quiet Trowa spoke up. "We're there," he said quietly.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

The five adventurers looked up, just in time to see the specter of the Monastery Gate looming above them. It was made of black stone, with broad iron-grated windows of red-stained glass hiding the interior from view. It was easy to see how such a thing could be said to be the Gateway to the East; it stretched seemingly endlessly from side to side, and it seemed as tall and solid as a mountain. And yet, all of its strength and solidity had proved a false promise, lulling its inhabitants into a dangerous sense of security. Andariel now lurked beneath this black stone pile; she held the way East, and she could break human civilization in two.

More than a little awed by its tragic magnificence, none of the others saw the way Duo's face went suddenly pale, his mouth dropping slackly open while all the humor ran out of him like water. The friendly banter of only a few minutes before was forgotten, and the warriors continued on into the Monastery's shadows hushed and subdued.

The Monastery gates were not locked.

The heavy doors creaked open to admit them, at first into a courtyard open to the darkening sky. Another waypoint was set in the exact center of the courtyard, almost invisible under a layer of moss. The once neatly-tended gardens were overrun with feral animals, quill beasts grown to unnatural size. They hissed and threw needles, but Quatre still hated to kill them. They were just so... cute.

Surrounding the courtyard were doors leading into storage areas. They paused to re-light their torches, or, in Quatre's case, make the nifty little glowy thing at the end of his staff. Mostly, the storage areas seemed to be empty of all but rats, every useful provision long since stripped out of the place. Finding nothing useful in the room, they moved through it to the exits on the other side. Quatre stepped through the doorway, holding his light high to illuminate the room, and then stumbled to a halt with a horrified gasp.

They had found the first bodies.

This room looked like a dining room of some kind. Neat rows of tables had been smashed and burned, old dried blood spattered across the benches and floors. It looked like the inhabitants had been taken totally by surprise; on some of the tables left standing, dishes and the rotting remains of a meal were still set out, interrupted and abandoned.

A skittering motion and the shifting of shadows snapped Quatre out of his paralysis; the room was not devoid of all life. A faint muttering from the shadows betrayed the presence of more of the carver demons, skittering around in the corners and hiding behind tables. There weren't enough of them for a determined assault, and Quatre cast firebolts to drive them out of hiding into Wufei's metal claws and the fangs of Trowa's wolves.

Seeing that his weapon was not required to clean out the room, Heero looked about at the scattered and mangled bodies. It was easier to understand, now, the

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

shadows that haunted the backs of the eyes of everyone in the Rogue encampment. Gently, almost reverently, he went to one knee beside the nearest body and whispered the Prayer for the Dead. A faint glow whispered about the corpse, indicating that the soul had departed freely, and Heero moved on to the next one.

The light drifted further away, as the other three moved off down the long hall to exterminate the the demons. Heero lifted his head suddenly from the last of the bodies and frowned; he heard Quatre's voice, and Wufei and Trowa's, but he couldn't remember hearing Duo's voice in some time. Hastily, he got to his feet and moved back towards the last room they had been in, searching for Duo.

The braided warrior was standing by the doorway, back pressed against the wall. His eyes were huge in the dim shadows, and dark. With a shock, Heero realized that Duo was shivering. It didn't make sense; the Necromancer was far more intimate with death than any of the rest of them; he handled corpses and bones with a casualness which still made Heero's skin crawl. Why should a few bodies bother him now?

"Duo?" he said, rather hesitantly. This wasn't the Duo he knew, the cheerful, garrulous, darkly sarcastic spellcaster he had grown to tolerate... he looked like nothing more than a scared little boy. A chill went through Heero as he recognized the shadows in Duo's eyes, the same darkness that hung over all the Rogues... the look of someone who had seen too much horror.

"They were in the middle of dinner," Duo whispered, barely audible in the tomb-like quiet. "Right in the middle of eating, just like every other day, when they came... there was no warning, none at all..."

"Duo..." Heero wasn't sure quite what to do, but Duo continued on as if he hadn't heard him.

"Blood... all over the floors, the walls, oh Gods there was so much blood... they cried out to the Gods to save them, but they didn't, they ripped them apart just the same, she screamed but they didn't stop -- so much blood...!"

"Snap out of it!" Heero commanded urgently, feeling cold and sick. Duo tried to push past him, stumbling against the wall and reaching for something only he saw, but Heero grabbed his shoulders and pinned him back against the wall. He wasn't in any shape to fight off demons right now, and the shadows could be hiding anything. "Duo, what's wrong with you?"

"Heero!" he cried out, sounding suddenly much younger. "Heero, they're all dead!"

Heero stared at him for a long moment, before answering quietly. "Yes, Duo, I'm sorry. I would save them if I could, but it's too late. But the demons who killed them are still in here somewhere, Duo, and I need your help to fight them."

Duo blinked, seeming to come out of a trance. "Since when do you need me for

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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anything?" he whispered, focusing on Heero at last.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Heero let go of Duo's shoulders and stepped backwards. "You're here, aren't you?" he growled. "And there are some demons here who need to be punished for their crimes. Are you up for it, or not?"

"Hell yeah!" Duo gave a shaky smile, but his composure seemed to be returning, covering up all traces of the frightened child. "The God of Death is here to send them back to Hell where they belong!"

"Now that's more like it," Heero said with satisfaction, and smiled slightly.

"Heero! Duo!" Quatre called from the other end of the hallway. "We've found another door back here..."

With the strange moment of vulnerability past, Duo gave Heero a strange look before bouncing forward to join Quatre and the others. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Heero followed.

The five warriors pushed on through the barracks, methodically sweeping through every room to clear out the demons before moving on to the next. After the disaster at Tristram, none of them wanted to take chances by leaving enemies behind them to block their escape route.

The wisdom of that precaution became suddenly apparent as Heero threw open a heavy metal door to reveal a forge room packed with monsters. They backed out into the hallway, letting the narrow doorway crowd the demons down until they could only come at the warriors a few at a time. Heero and Wufei waded into battle, aided by the summoned creatures and the spells cast by the other three.

"Quatre, could you tone down the fireballs?" a harassed Wufei called as one passed directly in front of his face.

Boom. "Sorry, sorry!" Quatre called sheepishly.

Behind the legions of smaller demons, a large troll-like creature with a burn-spotted leather apron came striding at them, a smithing hammer in one hand. "Your souls will burn!" he boomed out, swinging the hammer at Heero, who barely managed to deflect the blow on his rolange.

Duo cast a poison spell on the monster, frustrated when the demon shrugged it off with little effect. "He's tough!" he called out.

"But slow," Wufei observed, ducking easily under one heavy swing.

Calmly, Trowa stepped up behind the demon and opened his mouth as if to speak. But instead of words, a furious stream of arctic air blasted from his mouth, washing over the Smith and freezing him in place, slowing his movements to a glacial crawl.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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The others stood stunned for a moment. Duo was the first to speak up. "Wow, Tro!" he exclaimed. "I'll never make cracks about your freezing wit again!"

With a growl, Heero set to work on the large troll-shaped ice statue that his opponent had become. It took some effort, as even a frozen Smith was tough, but with the combined efforts of all four of them, he at last shattered into pieces on the floor. The hammer dropped out of his hands and landed with a thud that dented the floor.

Grimacing, Heero examined his shield, before tossing it aside. "Ruined with one blow," he growled.

Quatre reached down and picked up the hammer, staggering a little under the weight of it. His eyes grew wide. "This is no ordinary hammer!" he exclaimed. "It's the Malus!"

"Charsi's enchanted hammer?" Wufei questioned. Quatre nodded.

"It's good that we have this back again. Such a powerful tool could do great damage in the hands of a demon," he said. "We should return this to Charsi as soon as possible."

The others agreed, and they started the trek back to the courtyard waypoint. Heero was watching Duo closely as they passed through the bloody dining hall once again, but the necromancer seemed to have control of himself once more. Still, the tension faded from his shoulders with every step they took into the open air, and he didn't breathe easy again until they returned to the Rogue Encampment... even though he knew it was only a temporary respite.

"You found my Horadric Malus!" Charsi exclaimed, practically bouncing with glee. "I don't know how I can ever thank you. It's a powerful and valuable tool that belongs in the hands of the Light. Now, in return, I will imbue one of your items with magical properties."

Nobody said anything, but somehow, they all ended up looking at Heero. He sweatdropped. "Oh hell no," he said emphatically. "I like my weapon the way it is."

"But, Heero," Quatre began persuasively, "Of all of us, you are best suited to handling a powerfully enchanted weapon. And besides, when we face Andariel, you and Wufei will be the only ones who will have a chance against her in close combat. And Wufei's katar would be far harder to enchant than your scepter."

Heero growled something under his breath, but gave in with a sigh. He unhooked his weapon from his belt and, not without a trace of lingering reluctance, handed it over to Charsi.

The smith set immediately to work, taking the weapon and clipping it into the vise above her anvil. Picking up a pair of tongs, she reached into her glowing forge and

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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pulled out a thin sheet of heated steel, laying it beside the scepter on the anvil. She then paused and took a deep breath, hefting the Horadric Malus. "It's been a long time since I worked with this," she mentioned in an offhand way. "I just hope nothing goes wrong."

A faint sound, like a muffled whimper, escaped from Heero, but the other four chose to diplomatically ignore it.

She swung the Malus in a practiced move, and as it struck the weapon, a light flashed so intense that the warriors all had to shield their eyes. The sound of metal striking metal continued, though, reassuring them that this was supposed to happen. After about five minutes, the light faded, and Charsi picked the scepter off of the anvil and plunged it into a bucket of cold water. Waiting a few seconds, she then pulled it out and wiped it dry with a spare cloth. Enough heat lingered in the metal to dry it the rest off the way quickly, but it was cool enough to hold, and Charsi handed it back to Heero with a faint air of pride.

"Thank you," he said as he gingerly took the weapon and studied it warily. It still looked like the familiar scepter that had fought so many battles with him, but it hummed faintly against his hand and he could almost feel the new power coursing through it.

Duo whistled faintly, impressed by the extra sheen the metal seemed to have acquired. "So it's an enchanted weapon now, huh?" he said. "Do you think it can stand up to killing the Demon Queen, Andariel?"

Heero took a deep breath, and quickly hooked the weapon back to its accustomed place on his belt. Even when he was no longer directly touching it, he could feel the faint hum emanating from it. "I think this weapon was made to kill her," he said.


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According to Kashya, the only way to reach the Inner Cloister was through the Jail beneath the barracks that had at one time been used to contain demons and now served as their breeding grounds. It took the five warriors some careful searching to discover the stairwell leading down, surrounded by metal bars.

Before they started down the stairs, Heero stopped to pray to his Gods for strength and protection. A faint golden-white light surrounded him, then spread to each of the others -- even, much to Duo's amusement, the summoned skeletons. At least it improved the ambient light level.

As they descended into the dark space, a horrible stench rolled out of the blackness ahead towards them. It was especially sickening to Trowa, accustomed to open space and clean air, but he bore it stoically. Beside him, Quatre gagged. "What is that awful smell?" he exclaimed.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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pulled out a thin sheet of heated steel, laying it beside the scepter on the anvil. She then paused and took a deep breath, hefting the Horadric Malus. "It's been a long time since I worked with this," she mentioned in an offhand way. "I just hope nothing goes wrong."

A faint sound, like a muffled whimper, escaped from Heero, but the other four chose to diplomatically ignore it.

She swung the Malus in a practiced move, and as it struck the weapon, a light flashed so intense that the warriors all had to shield their eyes. The sound of metal striking metal continued, though, reassuring them that this was supposed to happen. After about five minutes, the light faded, and Charsi picked the scepter off of the anvil and plunged it into a bucket of cold water. Waiting a few seconds, she then pulled it out and wiped it dry with a spare cloth. Enough heat lingered in the metal to dry it the rest off the way quickly, but it was cool enough to hold, and Charsi handed it back to Heero with a faint air of pride.

"Thank you," he said as he gingerly took the weapon and studied it warily. It still looked like the familiar scepter that had fought so many battles with him, but it hummed faintly against his hand and he could almost feel the new power coursing through it.

Duo whistled faintly, impressed by the extra sheen the metal seemed to have acquired. "So it's an enchanted weapon now, huh?" he said. "Do you think it can stand up to killing the Demon Queen, Andariel?"

Heero took a deep breath, and quickly hooked the weapon back to its accustomed place on his belt. Even when he was no longer directly touching it, he could feel the faint hum emanating from it. "I think this weapon was made to kill her," he said.


----------------------------------------------------------------------


According to Kashya, the only way to reach the Inner Cloister was through the Jail beneath the barracks that had at one time been used to contain demons and now served as their breeding grounds. It took the five warriors some careful searching to discover the stairwell leading down, surrounded by metal bars.

Before they started down the stairs, Heero stopped to pray to his Gods for strength and protection. A faint golden-white light surrounded him, then spread to each of the others -- even, much to Duo's amusement, the summoned skeletons. At least it improved the ambient light level.

As they descended into the dark space, a horrible stench rolled out of the blackness ahead towards them. It was especially sickening to Trowa, accustomed to open space and clean air, but he bore it stoically. Beside him, Quatre gagged. "What is that awful smell?" he exclaimed.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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"Demons," Duo advised him. "Lots and lots of demons."

"Oh, wonderful," Wufei muttered.

"What kind of unholy place is this?" Heero demanded. "Locked away from the sunlight forever..."

"No-one should be caged," Trowa agreed quietly.

Though it never disappeared entirely, the oppressive stench faded as they grew more accustomed to it, and they pressed cautiously onwards. Instead of being arranged in neat rows of cells or corridors, the jail more resembled a maze of bars and metal doors. Wufei seemed to have no trouble opening doors, mere locks presenting no obstacle to the Assassin, but Quatre still jumped nervously every time a heavily barred door crashed shut behind them.

From somewhere up ahead, they heard a loud caterwauling, the likes of which they had not encountered since the ambush of goat-men at Tristram. The five exchanged wary glances, but had no real choice but press forwards.

A little farther on, they encountered the source of the noise; dozens of minotaurs swarmed about in a confined space, bleating menacingly and brandishing their crude weapons. Duo took one look at them and burst out laughing; there were more than enough of them to overwhelm the adventurers... but they were on the wrong side of the wall of bars. None of the monsters had anything more sophisticated than crude swords, so all the adventurers had to do was stand back a few feet to be completely free of danger.

Wufei and Heero sulked rather while Quatre, Trowa and Duo threw leisurely spells at the trapped and frustrated monsters. Quatre assured them earnestly that just because they weren't needed now didn't mean that their contributions to the team weren't appreciated. Duo helpfully volunteered that even if they died, he would reanimate their bones for the good of the cause. Heero suggested that he'd better make sure he could reanimate his own before Heero would let that happen. Duo sulked.

Sighing, Duo turned back to the imprisoned minotaurs. Only a few of them remained, their numbers quickly diminishing under the assault of fire, lightning and poison. The last of them were quickly dying off, bleating at them what were probably potent and eloquent death-curses in goatmanese. He was just considering the puzzle of how he was going to get one of the bodies to the other side of the bars -- he could summon new skeletons from the dead bodies, but then they would be stuck just as the monsters were! He selected a body that had fallen close against the bars, close enough that his creature would emerge on the correct side, and was just starting the incantation when the body dissolved right before his eyes. Startled, he looked up to see one of Trowa's animated vines just finishing off the last of the bodies. "Oi! Trowa!" he protested. "Leave at least *one* for me, why don't you?"

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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The last usable corpse dissolved into powder, and the vine retreated. "...Sorry, Duo."

Glowering, Duo turned to Heero. "Hey, Heero! He works with dead bodies too. How come you never came down on *him* for black magic and stuff?" he wanted to know.

Heero raised one eyebrow sardonically. "If I had to say," he began, "It would probably have to do with the fact that he doesn't *flaunt* his allegiance with Dark forces the same way you do."

"I do not flaunt it!" Duo said indignantly.

Heero's gaze traveled pointedly up Duo's form, at the jet-black clothes and the bone dagger sheathed at his hip to the sun-avoidant paleness of his skin. Duo flushed, and, crossing his arms, he huffed and turned pointedly away -- but his ears stayed red. Heero's flush, concealed beneath the more tanned color of his skin, was not nearly so visible.

They traveled on, and before too long found the connecting passageway between the jail and the catacombs beneath the Inner Cloister. Why the Rogues had felt the need for easy access between the tombs and the jails, none of them really wanted to think about.

At first, Quatre was relieved to be away from the endless procession of bar walls and grating doors, at least until the first time he opened a door into a dark chamber and came face-to-mandible with a giant spider. A very giant spider. As the door opened, it chittered and started forward, pressed by the weight of the dozens of other spiders, behind it. Quatre took one look, and freaked. "AAHHHHHHH!"

Startled, the other four backed up as Quatre seemed to explode into a frenzy of electricity. Duo wisely dropped to the floor to avoid the backflow as Quatre filled the air with dozens of lightning bolts, not even waiting for one to dissipate before casting the next. Though the magic was directed forward, it couldn't help but bounce back onto the rest of the party, and Heero clenched his teeth hard as the lightning shivered and jolted against his metal armor.

After a long moment, it was over, and the faint smell of fried spider wafter out of the door. Quatre stood, breathing heavily, hair standing on end and eyes wild. "I. Hate. Spiders!" he panted.

"I hate chain lightning!" Wufei growled in return, gingerly trying to convince his jaw to unlock.

From the floor, Duo piped up. "Oi, everyone okay?" he said. "No more than lightly fried?" Trowa, who hadn't been wearing quite as much metal as the others, just ran one hand through his hair to dispel the static and nodded.

Quatre finally began to look sheepish. "Sorry, guys. It just sorta surprised me."

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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The last usable corpse dissolved into powder, and the vine retreated. "...Sorry, Duo."

Glowering, Duo turned to Heero. "Hey, Heero! He works with dead bodies too. How come you never came down on *him* for black magic and stuff?" he wanted to know.

Heero raised one eyebrow sardonically. "If I had to say," he began, "It would probably have to do with the fact that he doesn't *flaunt* his allegiance with Dark forces the same way you do."

"I do not flaunt it!" Duo said indignantly.

Heero's gaze traveled pointedly up Duo's form, at the jet-black clothes and the bone dagger sheathed at his hip to the sun-avoidant paleness of his skin. Duo flushed, and, crossing his arms, he huffed and turned pointedly away -- but his ears stayed red. Heero's flush, concealed beneath the more tanned color of his skin, was not nearly so visible.

They traveled on, and before too long found the connecting passageway between the jail and the catacombs beneath the Inner Cloister. Why the Rogues had felt the need for easy access between the tombs and the jails, none of them really wanted to think about.

At first, Quatre was relieved to be away from the endless procession of bar walls and grating doors, at least until the first time he opened a door into a dark chamber and came face-to-mandible with a giant spider. A very giant spider. As the door opened, it chittered and started forward, pressed by the weight of the dozens of other spiders, behind it. Quatre took one look, and freaked. "AAHHHHHHH!"

Startled, the other four backed up as Quatre seemed to explode into a frenzy of electricity. Duo wisely dropped to the floor to avoid the backflow as Quatre filled the air with dozens of lightning bolts, not even waiting for one to dissipate before casting the next. Though the magic was directed forward, it couldn't help but bounce back onto the rest of the party, and Heero clenched his teeth hard as the lightning shivered and jolted against his metal armor.

After a long moment, it was over, and the faint smell of fried spider wafter out of the door. Quatre stood, breathing heavily, hair standing on end and eyes wild. "I. Hate. Spiders!" he panted.

"I hate chain lightning!" Wufei growled in return, gingerly trying to convince his jaw to unlock.

From the floor, Duo piped up. "Oi, everyone okay?" he said. "No more than lightly fried?" Trowa, who hadn't been wearing quite as much metal as the others, just ran one hand through his hair to dispel the static and nodded.

Quatre finally began to look sheepish. "Sorry, guys. It just sorta surprised me."

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

Cautiously, Duo scrambled to his feet, and went to peer past Quatre into the room. He whistled his appreciation. "Damn, Quat, you really did a number on them!" he said approvingly.

Heero, still feeling a bit singed around the edges, just growled wordlessly and pushed past the others, leading ahead. Blushing, Quatre fell behind, but Trowa hung back to walk with him, offering wordless approval of his actions.

They came out of the chamber into a hallway that lead off to the right, while a door was set in the wall ahead of them. Heero, in the front, opened the door, but then immediately closed it again and turned right. Curious, Duo put his hand on the door, but Heero grabbed his arm and dragged him past with no explanations. Puzzled, Trowa and Wufei exchanged glances, and Trowa opened the door just far enough to see inside while his body still blocked Quatre's view.

Inside, a group of chairs were arranged in a circle, like to prepare for some entertainment, with large torches set high to make sure the scene was well-lit. In the middle... Trowa hastily slammed the door shut, and, like Heero had done, took hold of Quatre's arm to pull him past. Neither he nor Duo needed to see that, not even if it meant taking the extra time to go around.

Finally, they found a stairway leading upwards, into the Monastery's Inner Cloister. It was completely deserted, devoid of even rats, much less monsters. The Inner Cloister consisted of a closed-in courtyard, surrounded by circular halls that echoed with every sound. At the northernmost end of the courtyard was a vast, ornate door leading into the cathedral. Faint sounds escaped through the door, the shrieking and gibbering of demons, and... something more.

"That must be the cathedral Andariel has taken over," Quatre said in a half-whisper, as though afraid sound would carry past the heavy door and alert the demons inside.

Heero snarled silently; every part of his mind was incensed at the cold mockery of Andariel, choosing the most sacred place in the Monastery to house her revelries. He put his hand on the hilt of the enchanted scepter, the one Charsi had modified for him, and felt the pulse of magic hungry for demon blood. Almost unconsciously, his aura began to glow blood red, and it quickly spread to all of his companions, filling them with energy.

Duo closed his eyes, concentrated, and chanted something in a low voice. The other warriors almost didn't hear the chant, but they definitely heard the noise that followed; a loud, distinct sucking sound as *something* pulled its way out of the floor and stood before Duo. Quatre turned to see what new creature Duo had pulled out of his hat this time, and gasped. Unlike his earthen golem, which had been formed of dirt, this monster seemed to be formed of flesh... but not into any human shape. Instead of skin, there was nothing but uncovered muscle, and an empty hole where the internal organs would be in a human. Droplets of blood constantly ran from it, but disappeared before they hit the floor.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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"Oh... ew!" was all Quatre could say.

Duo looked a little pale, but proud of himself, despite the revulsion evident on the faces of his teammates. "It's not a pretty beast, but it's useful," he said quietly, actually reaching out to touch the golem. "The more damage it does, the stronger it grows. And since it shares my blood, it won't die... unless I do first."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Wufei said, profoundly disturbed.

Duo rolled his eyes, getting his breath back from the difficult casting. "Of course it is, Wufei," he said sarcastically. "But, in comparison to, say, going up against one of the lesser archdemons of Hell --"

"Let's go," Heero said abruptly, not seeming to have truly noticed to their new companion. "This is what we came here to do."

"Is everyone ready?" Trowa asked quietly, one hand on each of his wolves' heads as though communicating with them telepathically.

"As ready as we're ever gonna be, Tro-man," Duo replied, straightening and taking a firm, almost white-knuckled grip on his weapon.

"Then let's do it."


It took all five of them their combined strength to shove open the cathedral door, but once it got moving, it swung out on its own. In the wide, high-ceilinged space inside, demon heads turned all over the room to see their entrance. The spellcasters let loose, fire and lightning pouring through the doorways as curses rained down at them from overhead, blinding and weakening the demons. Heero and Wufei hung back, at first, picking off any demons who got too close and waiting for their main enemy to appear. Wufei tossed out a few firetraps, wreaking havoc into any group of monsters it landed among, but Heero just waited, face grimly set.

The cathedral, once a proud and beautiful space venerated to the Gods, was barely recognizable now. Most of the tapestries were torn down, or soiled with a thick black slime. The center open space in the room was actually sunken into the floor, seething with the sullen glow of molten rock. Demons ran back and forth in hysteria, wavering between running away from their unexpected attackers in terror and towards them in fury. Very few demons, though, got close enough through the elemental magics that were flying around to be finished off with the quick strike of a weapon. Bodies fell in heaps, to be reanimated into skeletal minions or dissolved for the health and mana the carrion vines could glean from them.

Absorbed in keeping up the assault, the warriors did not even at first notice when a pair of doors towards the back of the cathedral burst open and a towering figure stalked out. Heero was the first to see her, twice the height of any of the demons they'd fought before, form a hideous parody of a woman. Four viciously clawed

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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limbs like that of a praying mantis emerged from her back, and her legs were bent backwards like a goat's. [7]

Heero broke away from the others, running like a shot across the floor between the dying lanes of fire. "Heero! What are you..." Quatre's voice trailed off as he saw what had caught Heero's attention, and his eyes got very big. "...doing. That's Andariel?"

"You go, Heero!" Duo cheered, eying the towering demoness nervously. "Hit her in the kneecap!"

As Heero approached the demoness, she drew back slightly, and opened her mouth to speak. Instead of words, however, all that came out was an infernal hiss and a cloud of vile poison that caught Heero by surprise. He turned green and stumbled backwards; fortunately, some of Duo's summoned creatures were nearby, and at a shouted command from their master, they mindlessly threw themselves at Andariel. A single blow from one of her claws shattered them into pieces, but that gave Heero time to recover.

He charged in again, holding the enchanted scepter ready to strike, seemingly oblivious to the monsters that were closing in at his back. The other four worked their way across the chamber as fast as the could to support him, Duo spending all his energy to call up new undead minions to support them. They might not be much use against Andariel, but they could at least clear out the smaller demons and protect their backs while they concentrated on the larger threat.

The warriors cautiously surrounded Andariel, dodging clear whenever she turned on them spewing poison. Trowa tried another Arctic Blast, to freeze her or at least slow her as he had done to the Smith, but she shrugged it off with no effect. Duo cast his strongest poison spell, but it was just as useless as Wufei's metal claws, which practically ricocheted off of Andariel's demon hide. The only thing which seemed to do damage was the enchanted scepter, which flashed white light despite the fact that what dim light was available in the dank room was a sooty red. Where the weapon struck her, Andariel shrieked and recoiled, and retaliated with another blast of noxious vapors.

The first few times Heero was caught by the poison cloud, he took a precious second to quaff an antidote potion, but before long he was running out. Steeling his determination, he decided he would wait and take the antidote only after he knew he wouldn't be infected again. The poison quickly sapped his strength, so he redoubled the speed and fury of his attack.

Changing tactics, the others gave up on hurting Andariel and resorted to distracting her, keeping her deadly claws away from the real source of danger, Heero. One of Duo's spells finally managed to catch hold, a vicious curse that reflected damage back onto the demoness every time she managed to land a hit in.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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Finally, just as his vision blurred and he thought he could not lift his weapon one more time, Andariel faltered. Falling back, blinking to clear his eyes, Heero heard the infernal shriek that Andariel gave out, lashing out but hitting no target. The five warriors quickly backed to a safe distance as Andariel's skin began to crawl as though boiling, and at last she collapsed into a cloud of noxious vapors. A deep rumble seized the cathedral, and stone blocks shivered loose from the roof and fell as the seething green energy shook the very foundations of the Monastery.

At last, everything fell quiet once more, and they cautiously looked up again. Wufei breathed a silent sigh of relief; he had not been entirely sure that the cathedral wouldn't collapse around them. Trowa, who had been standing next to Quatre when Andariel died, had wrapped his arms around the slender mage to protect him from falling blocks; for a moment, they just stood there, before Trowa seemed to realize what he had done and broke away with an uncharacteristic blush.

Duo, however, missed out on this wonderful blackmail material, hovering at Heero's side as the Paladin struggled to get his breath back. He solicitously offered healing potions and encouraging chatter, the latter of which was ignored, and Wufei shook his head in exasperation. As though we didn't have more pressing concerns, he thought irritably.

A portal flickered to life above the quickly disintegrating remains of the demoness, and Quatre saw the by-now-familiar shapes of the Rogue Encampment through it.
"At least we don't have to walk back through that wretched dungeon," he said with relief. "Let's get out of here."

"Not yet, Quatre!" Duo said protestingly.

"Why not?" Quatre demanded. "We've killed Andariel. What is there left for us to do here?"

"Well, for starters, this was where Andariel was camping out, right? Which means... there's gotta be some serious treasure here!"

Heero, apparently, had recovered enough to growl. Trowa sighed and shook his head. "Somewhere along the line, Duo, you're going to have to get your priorities in order," he said.

"They are!" Duo insisted defensively. "Clear out the Monastery: check. Kill Her Bitchiness Andariel: check. Locate all available loot is next on the list..."

"Where does 'rid the world of evil' fall on that list?" Wufei asked dryly.

"Somewhere after get a good meal and a good night's sleep," Duo replied promptly.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

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Finally, just as his vision blurred and he thought he could not lift his weapon one more time, Andariel faltered. Falling back, blinking to clear his eyes, Heero heard the infernal shriek that Andariel gave out, lashing out but hitting no target. The five warriors quickly backed to a safe distance as Andariel's skin began to crawl as though boiling, and at last she collapsed into a cloud of noxious vapors. A deep rumble seized the cathedral, and stone blocks shivered loose from the roof and fell as the seething green energy shook the very foundations of the Monastery.

At last, everything fell quiet once more, and they cautiously looked up again. Wufei breathed a silent sigh of relief; he had not been entirely sure that the cathedral wouldn't collapse around them. Trowa, who had been standing next to Quatre when Andariel died, had wrapped his arms around the slender mage to protect him from falling blocks; for a moment, they just stood there, before Trowa seemed to realize what he had done and broke away with an uncharacteristic blush.

Duo, however, missed out on this wonderful blackmail material, hovering at Heero's side as the Paladin struggled to get his breath back. He solicitously offered healing potions and encouraging chatter, the latter of which was ignored, and Wufei shook his head in exasperation. As though we didn't have more pressing concerns, he thought irritably.

A portal flickered to life above the quickly disintegrating remains of the demoness, and Quatre saw the by-now-familiar shapes of the Rogue Encampment through it.
"At least we don't have to walk back through that wretched dungeon," he said with relief. "Let's get out of here."

"Not yet, Quatre!" Duo said protestingly.

"Why not?" Quatre demanded. "We've killed Andariel. What is there left for us to do here?"

"Well, for starters, this was where Andariel was camping out, right? Which means... there's gotta be some serious treasure here!"

Heero, apparently, had recovered enough to growl. Trowa sighed and shook his head. "Somewhere along the line, Duo, you're going to have to get your priorities in order," he said.

"They are!" Duo insisted defensively. "Clear out the Monastery: check. Kill Her Bitchiness Andariel: check. Locate all available loot is next on the list..."

"Where does 'rid the world of evil' fall on that list?" Wufei asked dryly.

"Somewhere after get a good meal and a good night's sleep," Duo replied promptly.

Re: World of Darkness (cont.)

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

As it turned out, Andariel had indeed collected a great deal of treasure during her occupation of the Monastery; gold, jewels, and fine-crafted weapons in abundance. Heero found a new, ornate scepter to replace his old one; after Andariel had vanished, the weapon had sizzled and corroded almost into uselessness, its magic spent. By common consent, or at least by majority vote, they agreed to leave the majority of the wealth to the Rogues, so that they could begin to rebuild, and take only what they could easily carry to Lut Gholein. Warriv, the caravan master, was more than anxious to get going after such a long wait, but he agreed to wait one more day for the warriors to rest and say their goodbyes.

The Rogues were overjoyed at the news. Charsi actually risked life and limb to give each of them an exuberant hug; only the fact that her weapon had made their victory possible restrained Heero from taking her head off for the unexpected embrace. Even Kashya approached them to say their goodbyes, and, reluctantly, she admitted that maybe they weren't so bad after all. For outsiders, that is.

Deckard Cain had decided to accompany them. "You'll need my wisdom for the trials ahead," he had pointed out. "After all, you may have defeated Andariel, but she was but a Lesser Evil in the hierarchy of Hell. In order to face the three Prime Evils, you will need not only strength and skill, but courage, determination, and cunning... not to mention the Gods' own luck."

"You're so encouraging," Duo told him as the wagons rumbled out of the Encampment.



~tbc~



[1] since diamonds raise resistances, I attribute this to the diamond lodged up his butt... ^_^
[2] Figuratively.
[3] No shit, Sherlock!
[4] Those of you who have played the game should be groaning about now.
[5] I always thought this was a singularly stupid thing to do. Who did he think he was? Tal Rasha?
[6] See footnote 3.
[7] In other words, she's one ugly mutha.