RPG The Magicians [PG]

[Allamorph]

[SIZE=1]For the second time yet that afternoon, Darius found himself looking down on the city, riding on the back of a fellow Magician. He was currently seated sidesaddle on the unicorn, just in front of Cameron?s massive white wings, gazing over her left side at the streets beneath them, trying to get his head around the events of the previous ten minutes.

Actually, he had been brooding ever since he had dealt with Crowley?s murderer in the alley. It was the man?s first statement that had initially made him uneasy. There had been no ?What do want with me?? or ?Who are you?? or such questions that might have made Darius doubt himself. No, the man had immediately revealed his guilt:

[B][I]?He didn?t wish to join the Master. He had to die, and, and?so will you.?[/I][/B]

This admission had also told Darius four things: one, the killer had already known why he had been pursued; two, the killer had recognized Darius on sight; three, the killer had not only known Darius was a Magician, but that he was one of those who had resisted the ?Master?; four, this ?Master? most likely knew all of that information as well. Add to that the fact that the man had not continued fleeing once he?d gained the alley, but had instead attempted to assault Darius, and the Magician was led to one rather disturbing conclusion.

[I]?Crowley?s room was left for us to find.[/I]

If that were true, then the sickening words on the wall were not so much the random inspiration of a mildly insane killer (which the greasy, revolting man had certainly seemed to be) than they were a premeditated message left specifically for them.

Darius had been so completely preoccupied with his thoughts that he hadn?t even been aware of LeCrosse?s presence until the Cajun had already immobilized him. The telekinetic had been shocked and very angry; he had probably seen the rather fruitless interrogation, or at least its result. In the heated conversation that had ensued, Darius had rattled off some cliché and unconvincing excuses, too bothered by the direction his logic had been leading him to pay much attention to what he was saying. LeCrosse had finally released him, albeit grudgingly, and the two had returned to the lobby, where they had found the other Magicians. Apparently they had done what they could and were preparing to leave. Some concern had been expressed over what the two had been up to, but LeCrosse had immediately covered everything up; Darius was certain that Xavier, at least, hadn?t fully bought the story. LeCrosse had then hissed a warning to him. It had been completely unnecessary, and Darius had almost refused to acknowledge the sentiment at all.

He had been on his way out when he?d noticed police uniforms headed towards them. In the brief glimpse he had been afforded, he had counted nine.

[I]?The cops are here already?[/I] he had thought in surprise. [I]?That was really good response time?.[/I]

[B]?Officer! That's him! That's the man who killed Crowley!?

?Put your hands behind your head, sir! Do not attempt any resistance!?[/B]

Darius had turned in time to see LeCrosse tactfully hurl a ticket stall at the officers, who?d immediately ducked out of the way and returned fire. Luckily, Xavier had been on top of the situation, and the Cajun the police had so dutifully killed was only an illusion. Albrecht had provided a few more seconds of time, and Cameron had provided a quick ?getaway car?.

And now the police bothered him. They had gotten there much too quickly?the other Magicians had been in Crowley?s room for no more than five minutes, and Darius was positive they had been the first to arrive. There had been no evidence in the backstage crew?s actions to suggest that anyone else had known of Crowley?s death, and yet the police had arrived almost instantly and had already had a ?witness?, who had conveniently pointed out LeCrosse as the killer.

[B][I]?Darius, don' you t'ink dat dere's others aroun'? ? Someone will have realised you killed him, and dey won' be happy 'bout i'.?[/I][/B]

LeCrosse would probably attribute the incident to Darius, and normally Darius would have agreed. But Darius didn?t believe his actions had instigated this situation; it had happened too quickly to be retaliation. He let his vision blur and thought back to the moment he had spotted the killer in the lobby?.

[I]A brief flash of black to his left caught his attention; he turned and saw a retreating figure wearing a black mantle?. A flash of black to his left?flash of black?twisting black cloth?[/I]

The figure had turned. He had been stationary, facing Darius, and he had turned.

[I]?He was waiting for us. He was a plant. The guy was a freakin? [U]plant[/U]![/I]

The whole thing had been a set-up. The room, Crowley, the killer, the police?not only had the ?Master? known they were coming, he had prepared, meaning he was probably anticipating their every move. They needed to get out of the air, and fast.

It occurred to Darius that he had no clue where they were right now. He was generally good with navigation, but then he had never seen his landmarks from above the city before. He looked up to ask for help and saw Xavier up by Cameron?s, neck giving her directions while referencing a small book in his hand.

[I]?A contact book? But wouldn?t that have been taken? Unless?.[/I]

He pushed his concerns aside, masking his worries behind his usual genial demeanor.

[B]?Sorry for chiming in so suddenly, but where are we??[/B] he asked after they?d landed, scanning the streets for landmarks.

[B]?This is SoHo, one of the bordering neighborhoods to my home neighborhood actually,?[/B] answered Xavier to everyone in general.

SoHo. Darius recognized the buildings now. He?d been here once or twice, so he still wasn?t really familiar with the layout, but at least now he had a reference point. He listened as Xavier talked a bit about SoHo and the Magician they were looking for until the illusionist was cut off by screeching from the left. Darius didn?t even have to look around?he already knew what was happening. His mind raced as he and the other Magicians prepared to defend themselves. [B]?We don't have time for this, so the best thing to do is to just get by them as fast as possible...whatever that may involve!?[/B] he heard Mugen say.

Nikki went still beside him for a second. She had closed her eyes and appeared to be concentrating; Darius abruptly remembered that she was a time witch. [I]?Ahhh,[/I] he thought proudly, [I]good thinking, girlie.[/I]

[B]?Well, then,?[/B] she announced after a second, smirking. [B]?That should take care of things. They won?t be moving for a long time.?[/B] She looked around at the others, who hadn?t quite grasped what had happened yet. [B]?So what are we waiting for??[/B] she added. [B]?Let?s go find this Trisha Parke person.?[/B][/SIZE]

[Zen]

[color=darkred][size=1]

Mugen stared on mesmerized by Nikki?s great power, each of the dark-cloaked bodies stood perfectly still in their steps. It was then that Mugen began to realize the actual great number of them in his wake, number in at least the twenties, each one now a black statue in the crowded SoHo street. It struck Mugen as strange that this area of the city was empty of regular humans, but now wasn?t the time for him to question. [b] ?G-good job, Nikki??[/b] Mugen praised his partner.

[b] ?Don?t mention it. Let?s just get on with it!?[/b] she replied in a happy tone. She was the first to step forth into the crowd, slowly navigating around each of the hooded human sculptures. Mugen looked to Xavier and shrugged with him. The two started off into the frozen crowd themselves, followed closely by the rest of their group.

[b] ?Bo?, dis seems almos? too easy, eh??[/b] LeCrosse?s charismatic Cajun spoke.

[b] ?Almost, but it?s working, heh??[/b] Mugen laughed back to him.

[b] ?Aye, tha? Nikki girl be a powerful magican indee?.?[/b] LeCrosse gave a toothy smirk as he side stepped a particularly intimidating cloaked man.

[b] ?Ya got that righ-?[/b] Mugen?s words were stopped by a short feminine whelp from the front of their group. He looked onward to see Nikki drop to the ground. Suddenly, the entire group of dark magicians reanimated. [b] ?Shit! Everybody be on guard!?[/b] Mugen shouted amongst the disoriented bodies. Thinking quickly, he rushed to Nikki?s position.

[b] ?Who? who broke my spell!?[/b] Nikki stammered while she crawled backwards, attempting to stand. Mugen lent his hand and helped her back to her feet. Xavier pushed his way amongst the now attacking magicians with unusual agility towards them. At that point, one of the dark cloaks sprung after Nikki with an unusually curved dagger in hand. Reacting out of instinct, Mugen body spun in a lighting-quick spiral and slammed his foot into the cloaked man?s chest. The dark magician glided back violently, slamming into another on of his allies. Xavier arrived shortly after.

[b] ?Hey, you and Nikki get away from me, I?ll handle this!?[/b] Mugen shouted to him. Xavier nodded in understanding. Grabbing Nikki?s hand, he ran away with her in tow. Spinning around, Mugen faced the crowd of dark magicians before him. Some where doing battle with walls of flame, other flying away in random direction from what must have been LeCrosse. Mugen stared off with his own attacking group. Tensing his entire body, steam began expelling fiercely from his body. Slowly, a low growl in Mugen?s throat became a full-fledged battle cry as his clothes began to float about him, the ground beneath him cracking in small sections.

A visible aura had gathered around him, and he posed in an attacking posture, his body side ways and hands held high, he waited for his opponents. Two sprung forth at the same time, their magic powers unknown. The attacker on the right began forming large crystals of ice around his hands. The other presented two hands full of large tarot cards. In synchronization, the two launched their respective projectiles. Taking a great step forward, Mugen shoved his hands downward and shouted loudly, causing an enormous barrier of ki to expel the attacks in different directions. The ice crystals splintered off into a small grouping of dark magicians, causing one unfortunate one to become enveloped in ice. The tarot cards sped off into an alley, causing a small explosion.

The attacking dark magicians were left stupefied, giving Mugen his opportunity. Before anymore attacks could follow, Mugen was flying through the air. Spinning backwards mid-air, he launched both legs the sternums of his opponents, sending them sprawling into the concrete with an inhuman force. Another stepped forward, attacking with mysterious streams of water which resembled whips. Mugen leaped backwards and sent his right leg heel first towards his head in a reverse hooking kick. The skillful magician ducked down, but Mugen caught on before landing. Without missing a step, he dropped his left leg onto the magician?s clavicle, folding him into the ground, a great roar escaped Mugen?s lungs. With a ferocious expression, Mugen looked on towards his remaining opponents.

Visibly hesitant and intimidated, the five remaining dark magicians all charged forth at once, brandishing various glowing auras and foreign weapons. Mugen readied himself for a final assault. He hoped that his allies were fairing as well as he?[/color][/size]

[Allamorph]

[SIZE=1]Darius grinned at Nikki?s retreating back. That had been quite an impressive feat, freezing their assailants in place, and she?d hit all five guys at the same time, too. Not bad at all. He began to follow the others through the motionless bodies.

And then there were more. They just kind of appeared around the Magicians, like somebody besides Xavier had been using an illusion as a mass cover and had lost focus.

[I]?What the?.[/I]

There wasn?t time for thought. He heard Nikki yelp, and the cloaks immediately stirred to life again.

[B]?Move!?[/B] he cried, shoving Amelia sharply to one side. He leapt forward and tackled Ivy, twisting so that it was his back, and not her face, that hit the street. A blue streak of something-or-other shot over them, connecting instead with another black cloak on their other side; the robed figure disintegrated on contact. Still holding Ivy, Darius used his lower body to throw them to their feet, and he spun her behind him, using his now free right hand to withdraw and hurl about a dozen matches towards another magician. The matches erupted in his attacker?s face, and the cloak caught fire; its owner stumbled blindly away, wildly flailing its arms, attempting to put itself out. Darius grabbed a bit of the flames and pulled it to him, splitting it into two small fireballs, one in each hand.

[B]?Ummm?,?[/B] he began intelligently, [B]??crap.?[/B]

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[indent][B]OOC:[/B] I didn?t want to post again [I]quite[/I] this soon, but I read [COLOR=DarkRed]The Boss[/COLOR]?s bit and saw the set-up; [COLOR=DarkRed]Eclipse[/COLOR], [COLOR=DarkRed]Revelation[/COLOR], have fun with Darius. [/indent][/SIZE]