Crisis of Kismet (Final Hour)

[Ashstripe]

"Leave him!" The Badger snarled unexpectedly whilst waving a dismissive paw towards Freya, even he didn't fully realise why he had snapped so quickly, "He has made his choice...We all have." Ashstripe ground out with a very low growl whilst circling his opponent after being deflected from his initial charge. His normally calm demeanour was now gradually disintegrating.

But he was smiling...A maddened grin that sought nothing but the blood of his former comrade, he could tell from the moment Darkhawk had swung at him that this fight was no where near the spars that they had in the past.

"Good...Good!" Ashstripe laughed madly, letting the full extent of the bloodwraith consume him, feeling it coursing through his veins his wounds suddenly becoming non-existent,
"They say...Fightin' fate and deity's is like fightin' a volcano or an ocean...But I find it to my liking." He spoke in a further mocking and confident tone and lunged forward once more, slashing relentlessly at Darkhawk's defence, like an all too eager child opening a present he sought to unwrap that which protected the flesh and blood underneath.

He wanted him to bleed...

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

Freya held her lance close and flinched slightly at the snarl that came from the Badger Lord. She didn't know what do do. Something told her that she should rush forward and stop the madness but it was impossible as she could see the bloodlust in both warrior's eyes.
"You don't understand! You don't have to kill him! PLEASE! Don't kill him!" she pleaded after a moment only to see the blood red eyes of both warriors. They were going to fight. Ally against ally, friend against friend.

"You're right, Stripe-dog... I can not fight my destiny any longer... No more then can you live without the memories of you past failures!" The redfox hissed, then charged forward. However, this was to make Ashstripe more apt to slash wildly to him. The Warrior grinned after a moment, trying to use his advantage of being smaller and more agile to get around the obvious mountain that was before him. He pivited on on left foot, to push him off to go right, aiming a quick slash for the Badger Lords side as he crouched low.

"No..." Tears rolled down the vixen's face as she held the lance in a deathly tight grip. She didn't make a sound of cry, but Freya could only watch as the two fough. "...Save him.... Don't let him fall into darkness... PLEASE... I beg you... ASHSTRIPE... SAVE HIM!"

[Ashstripe]

Again the Badger shrugged off Freya's initial pleas like troublesome insects, this was for the greater good. Darkhawk's life did not compare to that of Mossflower's, nothing could weigh up to Ashstripe's beloved land; even if it meant sacrificing himself and the entire Long Patrol, he would gladly go down.

The slashes increased with ferocity and velocity, the time for talk had passed, the time for battle was now. There was no sound in Ashstripe's ears other than the constant clang of his sword being repelled by Darkhawk's or slashing the ground. He wasn't aiming, nor was he investing his entire strength behind each blow, he would be rewarded for his sheer persistence soon enough.

Or so he thought, through his flurry of instinct and recklessness did he find a fresh wound had opened in his side. The pain coursed through his body, over-ridding the others through attrition, he embraced this sharp throb, he didn't attempt to stop it; at least not in a conventional manner.

Freeing one gauntleted paw from his sword, he gripped onto the weapon that was now entrenched in his waist and grinned once more, he could feel the rings of his gauntlet twist and turn against the metal but it had yet to come in contact with the flesh underneath,

"The Light can only be seen by those with open eyes." He muttered, his alternating emotions eventually settling for calm and stoic,
"Eyes that are closed can only see darkness..." The maddened smile returned, his canines flashing once more, the Badger seemed to grow larger and more confident with every passing minute, as if he had spent the entire battle fighting in a hunched stance,
"I will open your eyes...Even if I have to gouge them out." He roared, tightening his grip on the blade in his side, he would anchor this god to him and deliver the final blow here and now.

Raising his paw armed with the sword he had found so long ago, he brought it down with as much force his muscle could exert, hopefully to end all this.

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"Gouge, rip, burn them... So good, is the sound of good... Haha... Rip my eyes out and burn me alive, burn the evil out of me! Hehee haha!" The Red fox jumped back again in order to come with an effective combat against the Badger Lord's superior strength. The Red fox ran forward only to see something that surprised him. A lance thrown at the ground in front of him. The Lord of the WARR Empire jumped back to glance at who had thrown it.
"DON'T!" she screamed at the Red fox before running and grabbing the fox. 'Vulpuz' stared down at Freya, lifting his sword to kill her but was unable to. He remained still, rage in his eyes.
"You're not evil... I know you aren't... You hate the empire... you hate what they did... you hate them for destroy the lives of those you love... You hate them... You hate Vulpuz... You hate it all... You hate fighting... So... why don't you stop... Stop da**ing your own life..."

"I want your hatred..." replied the fox as he held the bade ready to kill the vixen in the way as she seemed to try and calm him. "I want your anger... I want it... so that I know I am not alone... I want your rage... Give it to me... Destroy me... I want this pain to end... I want everything to end..." The last Sephron's red eyes was filled with anger and hatred, not only for others, but even directed toward himself. Suddenly his anger rose as he pushed Freya away staring at the glass into the stormy sky.
"You...Bast*rds..." he slowly looked back at the bodies of those who had caused him his suffering.
"I... I can never forgive you... Never... You are the reason for my suffering. I will never forgive you....... no...... no....." The fox back off, showing that he no longer wanted to fight as he backed away from all of them like a scared child. He would have screamed as he backed away.
"I-I can never forgive myself... It was my fault..... I am sorry... I can't forgive myself... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... SO SORRY!" The warrior backed down as he put his hand around his throat as he gasped for air.
"Vulpuz! VULPUZ! I'll NEVER! NEVER! NNNEEEVVEEER!" Darkhawk screamed as he seemed fight with himself. He suddenly collapsed to the ground coiling into a ball on it. His eyes were wide as he looked actually rather pathetic.
"So....cold... I-I can't feel my heart.... End me... Please... My suffering... Let it be over... Kill me... Kill the last of the Sephron... Kill the last of the infernal blood... END OUR SUFFERING!"

Freya looked away. "You'd... You'd have to kill me... to kill the last of the Sephron..." uttered the she-fox glancing away, not in shame but in a powerless look. She put her paw to where he had been kicked, not really looking up. It was up to Ashstripe, if he would kill someone who wasn't evil, but obviously traumatized to the point that a part was. Would one kill a good being to kill the evil that lived inside?

[Luna Broadsword]

(I really need to boost my activity...)

Vigil had watched the fight with awe in her eyes, and jealousy in her heart. She didn't know anyone could fight with as much intensity as she'd witnessed from the two fighters. It wasn't till Freya stepped between the two warriors that she regained her senses. Vigil stepped between the fighters, but instead of looking toward Darkhawk she looked toward Ashstripe. She knew from personal experience that badgers coming off of blood wrath were just as dangerous as those entering into it. She would address the thousand and one mental problems of the fox at a later time. "Ashstripe, I'm thinkin’ we've lingered in the halls of death for far too long." She said quietly and slowly. Vigil fingered the edges of three needles she kept in her sleeve as she addressed the Badger Lord. "Wee should be leavin' 'em now."

Luna stood, tugging on her mail shirt against the protests of the healers. She would leave the plate though, seeing as she already felt winded from the effort of putting on her mail shirt. She looked across the battlefield at the fortress, apparently lost in thought for a moment. She turned to the healers. "Get me some Merito and Azurian officers. Now." She said, suddenly acting as one expected a seasoned commander too. Her command was instantly obeyed by the healer who fled in search of someone to fill that request. Absently she put her cloak back on and absently let it cover the area of her bandaged side. Luna wasn't one who was willing to appear weak before her allies.

[Ashstripe]

((Now is not the time for moral dilemmas! =P))

Ashstripe shuddered for a moment, he hesitated. Before Freya had declared her conviction to him he would have stepped forward without a second thought, after all the bloodwrath was still coursing thickly through his veins and this was his chance to save his beloved Mossflower.

But he drew more into his sense of calm with every deep panting breath he took, snarling lightly at Freya and then to Vigil. Indeed, was this the right thing to do? He would save Mossflower from a great evil all for the cost of one cursed soul...Or did it have to be two? The more he allowed himself to think the more he felt the rage dissipate.

He would also be committing genocide, something he wasn't sure he would be proud of, after all, from what these seasons had taught him, any beast whom sided with this Empire deserved a slow painful death; but Darkhawk didn't...At least he didn't intentionally side with the Empire...And genocide in itself was not something he wanted to carry with him to the gates of the Dark Forest.

The Badger gritted his teeth, this was hard. Too hard. Half of him wanted to run his sword through them both and be done with it, while another protested how wrong such a choice was..

Two wrongs never made a right...What would three wrongs make? A left? Nay, ye bein' foolish again...

Ashstripe snorted in frustration and turned to leave, having made his decision, fearing that one day he would live to regret leaving such an evil sealed in his comrade, that one day this decision would cost a lot more lives then he had saved.

"I never believed any o' that nonsense anyway." He justified his actions half-heartedly, Darkhawk, or Vulpuz, was only one beast and as far as he was concerned, one beast couldn't destroy Mossflower, "Now, are ye goin' t'walk back to Salamandastron or will I hav' t'carry ye both...", he turned his head to the side after halting his exit momentarily, keeping up his façade of scepticism - Gods? Apocalypse? He might of only seen one of those things but what he didn't see, didn't exist.

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

"Yes, Luna'Zar." hissed a Merrito Commander that had approached the Badger Lady thathad been posted by the Entrance to the Secret Passage. "Her' ya' want... status... sit'u'ation... Ash-Zar is... in Fort... WARR returns ta' Fo'r'et..."
An Azurrian attack party ran back to where Luna was, obviously exosted.
"Azurrian's have placed the flames... The dam should give way at any--" There was a sudden shake which made the Azurrian's surprised.
"NO... That was too soon.... The water.... Ashstripe and his warriors need to get out, and now. Two minutes... it will be gone. The Fort will be gone along with nearly 3/4 of the entire WARR Army...."


Freya nodded after a moment. "The Empire has lost... They are finished... The masters of the Empire are slain... They have lost... and we have won... It's over." said Freya softly to Ashstripe, in hopes it would calm down the Badger Lord.
"Weak bast***." hissed Darkhawk as he seemed to go into a feedle position it sounded as if he were talking to Ashstripe. However, after a moment it was evident he was speaking to himself."You can't kill him? YOU are weak... YOU are spinless... How can you even call yourself a Sephron... You tarnish our name... You weakling..."
"Darkhawk... Stop... You are Darkhawk... You aren't only Sephron..."
"PATHETIC WORM..."
"...You are You..."
"IT was all your fault...ALL your fault because you are weak..."
"You were born this way doesn't mean you have to be that."
"IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! ALL OF IT! ALL OF IT!" screamed the warrior in an insane like manner as he cried. He was now on his knees staring at the sky, seeing the rain and clouds. "They.... They are all dead... My... my.... And.... and it is my fault... I wasn't strong enough... I am too weak... I'm cold... DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON WHAT YOU ARE! I AM YOU MASTER! YOU ARE MINE. YOU ARE NOTHING! A SNIVELING CHILD, WEAK, PATHETIC BEAST... YOU ARE NOT MY SON... YOU ARE NOT MY FLESH.... YOU ARE JUST A TOOL... A WEAPON.... A SCOURGE AGAINST ALL WHO STAND IN OUR WAY! WE ARE GODS AMONG THEM...STAND AND KILL THAT SLAVE!" Darkhawk had his hands on his head for a long moment as he suddenly stopped crying.
"....But.... I was strong enough to defeat you... I was strong enough to stop you..." Darkhawk stood slowly after a moment, talking normally as he slowly moved and stared at the image of Vulpuz that stood over his family, Rosethorn's image as he feirce looking warrior. "...I'm not going to fight you.... I'm just going to look at you...." The Red Fox stared at his Father's Legacy, the bloodshead, the terrible things they had done. The Fox stared before turning. "...And I am going to walk away." And Darkhawk did exactly that walking a few steps before looking at Ashstripe, his eyes no longer red but the brown that they normally were.
"...Darkhawk Shadowheart... Defender of Mossflower... Present, sir."

[Luna Broadsword]

"That's good, because the other guy was given me a headache." Vigil said with an annoyed look. "This is all so very lovely and answered a lot of questions about yer mental state, but we should be leavin'. Now." With that Vigil turned to the door and left, not waiting for anyone else. She moved up, intending to leave through the front exit. She was more than a little claustrophobic and the idea of going through the tunnels again was unbearable for her.

Luna's ears seemed to have stopped woking for a moment when the Azzurian officer said that the explosion was to soon. The world seemed to fade to a numb grey as she tried to understand what the beast just said. Than rage replaced the numbness and suddenly her hand was around the officer's throat and she shoved him against the pole holding up the tent. The whole structure shuddered, but she was beyond caring.
"What do you mean 'too soon'?" She growled. The Azurrian gasped and clawed at her hand, but this did nothing to loosen the grip.
"It means that all those in the dam are now the honored-"
"No, they are not your 'honored dead' yet!" Luna shouted digging her fingers further into the creatures soft throat. "You are going to fix this... mistake. You are going to get them out now." Luna turned to those still in the tent who were watching her. "Get the fastest runner and send him to the fort to retrieve our group. The rest, get ropes and lines and wooden planks. Send parties further down the ravines wall with all these supplies as well. If we have to drag them from the watery depths, we will drag them. Now go. We have no time." She shouted the last bit, throwing the Azurrian to the ground. Everybeast sprung to life and went to do as Luna commanded.

(Hope you don't mind me borrowing an NPC Darkhawk.)

[Ashstripe]

The bloodwraith faded slowly, unwillingly releasing it's hold on the Badger, bit by bit, claw by claw, it's grip loosened until it was as if Ashstripe had done nothing at all the only real tell tale signs of the events that had transpired within him were the various wounds that were all too glad to remind the badger that they existed.

He grunted and clenched his paws tightly, unable to grip a single one wound as the pain came in concentrated spurts, each sting and throb cancelling the previous. We have won... those were the words he had been waiting to hear for all these seasons, through all the marching, training and battle the one thing he was waiting for was this moment.

Ashstripe panted with deep breaths, all the while grinning like a dibbun who'd found the candied chestnut supplies, despite his body finally finding it's signals of pain and fatigue finally reaching his brain - he was happy, he was cherishing the moment.

The grin faded quickly with the resurfacing of the madness, to think that he would lose all that he had worked for was unbearable. He instinctively reached for his sword but consciously did nothing; Darkhawk was resisting...And winning.

But no sooner then had he seen those eyes he had recognised, the ones that lacked the bloodied mantle that his took on so often, did his smile return. A surge of happiness caused the badger to shudder lightly, he felt somewhat giddy and resisted the urge to nearly lift Darkhawk into the air with shear joy - his body and not to mention his image, could not handle that.

"Glad t'know." The smile turned into a chuckle at Vigil's remark, yes even his old hatred subsided for this occasion, in the face of certain death, no beast that stood by his side could be considered his enemy. He brought down a paw and clasped the fox's shoulder lightly,
"Glad t'know..." He repeated his words again this time more softly and more solemnly all the while turning to leave and taking his few steps, a great victory had been won today, a victory that he couldn't help but feel would go unrealised beyond the horizon of Salamandastron.

Saving Mossflower, or even the world at that, wasn't quite as dramatic as the old tales had always narrated; good enough for Ashstripe.


((I'm too slack to drag the hares back into this, let's just say Breeze has dropped his little mission and is 'leading' the retreat.))

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

(No problem... steal my NPC's, they don't mind a bit...)

The Azurrian ran quickly yelling in his native tongue to other Azurrians. Some grabbed spears, some still carried their arrows while other ran to grab rope. They ran quickly toward the entrance of the passage that lead to the Fortress of the Empire. The ones that grabbed ropes ran to the revine cliffside and threw the ropes down. However, it was to far down to get the rope all the way there. Those trapped down their would have to climb the wall.
The Merrito Warriors called with loud yelps to each other, sounding much more brutish then the Azurrians. They moved to grab whatever they could to grab to send down to help the 'honorable' warriors.
One Merrito ran to the tunnel yelling into it.
"Puvic! Cecum et gavtāsnt! Javu-Javu!" screamed the Merrito loudly into the tunnel.

Darkhawk nodded after a moment. He was happy to be back, or at least his happy to be back. It was merely a slight nod of his head to show his joy but it suddenly stopped when the earth moved slightly and the screams of the Merrito soldiers echoed into the tunnel. Darkhawk understood no word of the language but it sounded like a warning or order.

[Chancellor Zeffer Winterfur]

[glow=white,2,300]"Jaxizav!" spat Zeffer after a moment before shaking his head. He was repeating the word with a vergorus anger as he looked at the others.
"New Azurrians... tch... Felians... are a little too good with their own weapons.... They blow the da** dam to early... We have to run... Tunnel... that be bad... We have to try and climb the wall..."
A sudden pounding came on the door showing that WARR soldiers had reached inside the fort..."
"I am not going to die next to these Javā..." spat the Merrito Leader as he glanced around the area for a secret way out. In the corner there was a small trap that looked to be inconspicuous.
"That should lead us out of the Spire... We will proceed threw the Fort and climb the rock face... Hopefully... The Azurran's didn't blow the entire dam up... and we will be able to get out that way...Dark, you know this area better, you go and lead us threw streets."[/glow]

[Ashstripe]

Earthquakes? First the storms and now earthquakes? Were the stars and the earth somehow aligned against Ashstripe this day? Thankfully not quite so as Zeffer readily pointed out, the dam that he had all but forgotten about in the midst of the battle had reminded him of it's existence rather spontaneously.

"Why is nothing ever simple.." He groaned while wincing in pain, as he took a few painful steps towards the would be trap door, he didn't know where it led, but he knew he wasn't in any condition to fight an army of soldiers fighting for their own existence.

The idea of climbing a rockface didn't exactly appeal to him either, but it was a choice between drowning, fighting or climbing and had he been in better shape, fighting would have been his ideal decision to make his final stand - but he wasn't going to be a hero, not today at least.

[Luna Broadsword]

"Be better if they waited till the water came ta start tossin' out ropes." Luna muttered. She passed the edge of the ravine, watching the activity around and the Fortress. "Someone with remote intelligence, figure out which way they'd come out. 'Cause no beast with half a brain would use those tunnels with the earth a quakin' an' floods a comin'." She roared. "Tell those in charge of the ropes an' what naught as well as spotters after ye' figure out where they're comin' from. Speakin' a' which, anyone seen anything yet?" She continued to bark orders, trying to convince herself it wasn't worry but the need to kill Ashstripe herself that had her marching back and forth across the edge of the ravine. Surely only hate would keep you going when the fresh stitches in your side were threatening to tear.

Vigil came running back into the chamber through the door she'd left through originally, closing it behind her. She saw the group heading to the far wall. "Where are you goin'?" She called, stepping foreward. Than she noticed the trapdoor, and immediately froze. Images of small dark tunnel walls closing in on her filled her with panic. "Ya know, I think I'll stay here an' cover yer retreat. Nice known' y'all." She said, staring at the trapdoor in horror.

[ferretface]

'Retchen was on the watch, as his boss commanded. He surveyed the battlefield, plucking his bow absently.

Then he saw it.

"I SEE SOMETHING! I SEE THE FLOODS! WE HAVEN"T GOT MUCH TIME, PUT YER BACKS INTO IT!!!"

[Ashstripe]

An uncharacteristic smile formed across the Badger Lord's lips, or was it a smirk? The two emotions were so similar with Ashstripe and he used them both for the same occasions. But it didn't matter, he was amused and slightly concerned for the rat. Former-foe or not, no beast deserved a watery death or pointless one at that.

Part of him simply wanted to drag her by the collar and down the passage, he wasn't going to die on her behalf. But nor was he going to risk such a display of semi-affection either, he had an image to maintain after all.
"A small rat lass like ye? Against a raging horde? 'Fraid not, yer wouldn't make that much o' a cover I'm afraid." Ashstripe chided almost mockingly and flatly, still chuckling internally at such an irrational fear. Really, he had no empathy.

[Chancellor Zeffer Winterfur]

(Since DH is lazy, he will post within this post)

"No you don't!" replied Zeffer as he instantly grabbed the rat to throw her over his shoulder and flee into the tunnel and out of the Imperial Spire. The Pounding against the door was louder as they began to break the wood with loud cracks. The glass shattered as the warriors on the other side threw rocks threw the window. Zeffer quickly made his way down.

Darkhawk gestured with his head for Freya to go ahead of him as he glanced to the Badger Lord for a moment. The She-fox kissed the Red-fox's cheek and jumped down the Trap door into the tunnel that lead to behind the well. Darkhawk glanced back to the other dead Sephron for a moment. He had killed his own people, destroyed the Sephron. The Leaders of the WARR Empire laid on the ground in pools of their own blood. He lowered his gaze for a moment.
"I can't help but feel... sorry... They are all dead... The Magus... my father... all of them..." Darkhawk glanced back to Ashstripe. "It's weird... but I shall think of that later..." Darkhawk hurried to the Trap-door to get out of the Spire.

[Luna Broadsword]

As Zeffer picked Vigil, the rat let out a bloodcurdling scream. She instantly began to fight, shouting alternateingly in common and merrito, saying something about hating small dark places because they were really graves and she didn't want to die yet. She shut her eyes titghtly still muttering in any language she knew.

"Well, ye heard the bowbeast. Floods comin' get ready!" Luna shouted. It seemed they were going to have to fish the beasts in the fortress out the ravine. She shrugged and watched both the flood and her allies for this particular battle.

[Ashstripe]

It wasn't often, but when it did happen it was a spectacle in itself, Ashstripe raised an eye-brow, seemingly oblivious to her justified fear. Graves? Huh, never thought of it that way. At least, that was what he managed to pick up from her poly-lingual protest; he momentarily considered knocking her out for the benefit of the group, but decided he may as well drag a corpse while he was at it...Since when had his mind drifted in such a direction?

He kept up a steady, limp pace with the group, he didn't want to die yet either, as easy as that would have been. He still had a lot to finish in his eventful life yet - there was still a horde roaming Mossflower that he was fighting alongside with and there was still a Mountain that needed a Lord. Yes, Ashstripe would die, but not today nor would he in the seasons to come.

The Badger was near hopping whilst he ran, wishing he could indulge himself further in the euphoria of the blood-wrath, even stabbing someone would have given him the release from the pain he felt in his legs, he grinned suddenly to himself and no other. There will be no shortage of that, rest assured.

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

The exit wasn't to far as the path lead to a small trap door that wasn't to far at all. Quickly, Freya opened the trapdoor which revealed just as Zeffer had said. Freya was first up and then Darkhawk as he glanced about before turning to run down the screet.
"Make haste," he hissed quickly as he lead the way down the street away from the WARR soldiers that were approaching the Spire, "It is not far... We have no time... Just follow." Darkhawk didn't look back as he lead the way.

[Ashstripe]

Another grunt of pain and annoyance was emitted from the Badger, his pride was taking a huge blow for the sake of his life. A fair trade-off? Ashstripe sure hoped so.

Wordlessly, whether from weariness or simply a lack of a remark, he quickly fell into the tunnel, padding against the steps quickly, a fast paced rhythm of escape to lead the dance with death.

Darkhawk was setting the pace now, a quick step around the back alleys of this condemned city, the badger shuddered lightly at the thought of all that water crashing through the streets and claiming whoever was too stupid to run. He certainly hoped he could claim at least one of their worthless lives before the tides could.

He smiled to himself sadistically, yes...One more life, the last one would be the sweetest.