Tamrissa lies on her side, curled into a ball, frozen with shock and the emptiness that the Antedeluvion promised.

Gabriel is curled up next to her, his back pressed against hers. His eyes stare sadly at Jihon’s monument.

The Tonberry, Schzed, is sitting, leaning back against Gabriel’s stomach, his eyes in the same place as the big cat’s.

*Brigid is not far away, leaning against Sabre’s monument, her upper torso and hips covered by the torn pieces of the cloak she wore earlier, making a very crude-looking outfit, her cat-like beauty seeming not to be meant for such embarrassing clothing. Yet, she seems perfectly comfortable, an ease which only an animal, a shape shifter could possess. She has her arms crossed, gazing at Tamma steadily.*

“How long, Tamrissa Roshan?” she speaks after the long silence. “How long will it take you to let it go?”

*She pushes away from the monument and steps over to the still lump that was once the firey, strong woman she knew from so long ago. She crouches down and leans over to brush a blood-dyed curl of golden hair from the pale creature’s cheek.*

“They were right, you know. He would not want you to end this way, not if he truly cared for you,” she purrs out soothingly. “None of the three would want this. You have a mission and other friends to tend to.”

*The long fingers of her tan hand caress the side of Tamma’s face and then drop away. A few seconds later, Jihon’s monument explodes, making her leap to cover the vulnerable body of her friend with her own. She raises her head after it is over and stares at where Jihon’s monument was. Moving back, she allows Tamrissa to sit up and look. When the petite woman curls back up again, she touches her shoulder lightly.*

“Tamma, Jihon’s monument,” she whispers, a slow smile lifting the edges of her burgundy lips. “They’ve found him!”

[OOC: I’m still here! Just a little late. Going to make quite a few posts here, but nothing that will affect anyone currently, just going to catch brigid and Tamrissa up. ]

Tamrissa blinks, Brigid’s words echoing in her mind.

“They’ve found him,” a hoarse, little voice repeats.

She widens her eyes, realizing how small and weak she sounds. How shaky and horribly helpless that voice sounds. She pulls herself up slowly and looks around the obsidian island, as if she has not ever seen it before.

“They’ve found him,” she tries her voice again, smiling a bit as it begins to sound stronger.

Her hands press into the ground and she gets to her feet slowly, balanced on those hands until Brigid helps her the rest of the way up. She shrugs her away and looks to the monuments, then spins around to search the rest of the island.

“Where are they?” she wrinkles her brow and looks at Brigid. “We have to go to them.”

She begins searching for a thread, a trace of the portal that they had opened just a moment ago, or what seemed like a moment ago in this place.

~A sweet, little woman...with more bite than bark~

“Tamma, rest for a bit before you do this,” she tries to guide Tamrissa over to lean against the monuments. “We will go soon enough, but you are still in shock.”

*She drops her hands to her sides and sighs as the woman waves her away and continues searching for a trace of the portal. Instead of arguing, she looks at Gabriel and Schzed.*

“They're in the Upper Umbra..or what is left,” she crosses her arms and smirks faintly as Gabriel rubs against her legs and the Tonberry dances around anxiously. "I suppose we’d better get ready to go then."

“Brigid, ready yourself for a possible fight,” she tilts her head as she looks over the scene, then glances over her shoulder. “Shades.”

She narrows her eyes and turns back to the portal. Her curls disheveled and still stiff with dried blood stir in the wind that the portal is causing. The tawny flecks of her olive eyes swirl slightly and a dangerous sparkle makes her looks much more like the old Tamrissa. She motions at Brigid.

“My sword…and I’d do your little transformation trick now.”

Her lips curve in a slight smirk as Brigid gives her a frown, but she is handed the sword and the sounds of Brigid transforming into her panther form fills her ears.

“Let’s make our entrance,” she steps through, sword at her side and amused expression on her face as she stares at the shades and the circle that they have made around the others.

“Sorry I’m late, boys.”

~A sweet, little woman...with more bite than bark~

But then...

"Sorry I'm late, boys."

Soul Reaver sees the Warp Gate open several metres from his current position, a glowing path to freedom... but dozens of Shades lie between it and the fighters.

"Beware, Tamrissa! Any of your life-giving magic will fail in this dead world, and I fear that even your most powerful magic will be weak when used against these creatures!"

He looks over his shoulder at his two companions. Beads of cold sweat sparkle on their brows in the wan light of the single star.

Have I forgotten what I stand for? I will not allow them to die on this rock! I will get them to the portal!

Soul Reaver suddenly tenses his muscles, his face twisting into a snarl.

"For honour and glory!"

With that battle cry, he leaps at the Shades, Blooddrinker swishing through the air in a massive, double handed swing. The first two Shades in his path are sliced in two, their torn remnants swept away by an invisible wind.

Soul Reaver's skin blisters from the intense, life-sapping cold of the Shades, but he grits his teeth and ignores the pain as the creatures dive at him from all direction. Their claws slash in the chaos, rending through his armour with ease, carving bloody tattoos into his flesh.

Soul Reaver, however, continues his assault, heedless of the countless foes and the injuries he is sustaining. Inside him, the power of a hundred souls now burns brightly... his own most of all. In a whirling circle of destruction, he carves a path towards the portal.

Over the din of the battle, he shouts to his companions.

"Tamrissa! Brigit! Help us clear a path! Halcon! Thisahon! To the Gate! We must get to the Gate!"

"Yes..."

*Thisahon leaps into the air taking flight on his newly aquired wings.*

cLuTcHFieND stands facing the portal. He and the scavenger are the furthest away from it, and dosens of Shades surround him. With his energy fading, cLuTcHFieND knows he will only have power enough for one attack.

"It's gonna hurt like hell, but It's my only shot."

cLuTcHFieND begins gathering his remaining energy. He uses half of it to change from his normal Flamemage state into his Elemental form. His fading aura regains some of it's intensity and turns grey. His drawn sword is replaced by a strange staff with a bladed triangle at it's tip. Even as this happens, cLuTcHFieND is already summoning the next incantation in his mind.

Now to use my more powerful magic to summon my flame element transformation. It's the only thing strong enough to get through these things. "Tak alah him en tow, Nic roth cal lach....."

The last of the incantation is lost as cLuTcHFieND suddenly sprouts huge leathery wings. There is a tearing noise as cLuTcHFieND's outer body is physically ripped to shreds by the huge mass of his transformation. It takes the shape of a rather large dragon, and it stands ready to plunge towards the gate, the others can actually hear two of the creature's thoughts blast through their minds.

I wont be able to hold this shape for long.
I hope I can fit through that gate.....

The dragon utters an earsplitting roar and plunges headlong twords the gates, knocking Shades and rubble out of it's way like small toothpicks.

“Schzed! Go back through the portal and wait for us! Gabriel! Brigid! If anyone or anything not on our side comes within ten feet of that portal, rip them apart!”

She swings the sword, letting out a slight screech as she feels the lifeless cold coming from the two shades that have begun dragging themselves towards her. Their claws rip at her unarmored skin as she cuts them to pieces, making her grimace in pain, but she continues to help clear the path.

“Where’s Jihon?” she gasps out, glancing at Soul Reaver as she cuts through one of the deadly creatures.

Her skin is wet with fresh blood, her olive eyes almost glowing against the crimson of the pouring blood. She backs up slowly as the others make their way through the shades, occasionally hacking apart one of the ghouls.

Halcon is almost to the portal but a shade succeeds in hitting him and it tears through his armor. The now useless armor dangles from his back and Halcon's torso is now exposed. Instinctively Halcon flares up his aura, but it fades quickly, after the shades suck up it's energy.

"NO! I shall not be beaten!"

Halcon goes into a mad rage and stops defending himself. Instead he goes on the offensive. He carves a hole through the advancing shades in his mad rush. Soul Reaver is surprised to see Halcon passing him on the way to the portal. Halcon is hindered by his dangling armor and slows down a bit. This only makes him more intense in his fighting. Frustration mixed with anger, pain and determination fuel his body and soul as he charges through the shades and slowly makes his way towards the portal.

"Oh yeah....easy for you....you're a robot...."

As the mass of dark creatures closes in on him, Soul Reaver alters his path, cutting left and right to keep the creatures at bay. Halcon is still fighting viciously, but his rage has blinded him to the threat of the foes approaching from behind. As several Shades fall over him, Soul Reaver, covered in blood and his skin colder than ice, breaks through the ranks near Halcon.

Blooddrinker cleaves through the shades just as their claws are about to tear into Halcon. They fade with noiseless screams as the Daemon blade slices through their immaterial forms.

Soul Reaver, his blood-streaked face a vision of horror, yells at Halcon over the din.

"Halcon! Abandon this futile attack! Run to the Gate NOW! I will hold them off!"

His eyes blazing a furious crimson, Soul Reaver turns back to face the Shades, madly hacking at his opposition.

*As the warriors press on, they notice a shadowed shade in the back, standing right next to the portal. Several presences can be felt within this character. Each of the aura's resemble that of Akkarajul's. Soon, the powers begin to fade, and Sabre Soldier's presence is felt..Growing, and becoming much more powerful. He holds out his hands, and shades begin to fall into ashes, and be consumed. Sabre Soldier's form begins to brighten, making it easier to see him. The antideluvians presences are gone, and his glows brightly. **The shades around him are gone, making it a little easier for the other warriors to get through. But other shades still exist all around.** He stands taller that he was, about 6'6" now, and his power is incredible. Much higher than it was, when he was a vampire. He has become something much more now. His presence begins to suffocate the others, and the warriors rely on each others 5 basic senses to know that each other are still alive, and around. Sabre Soldier lifts his head to reveal his glowing green emerald eyes. No expression is on his face. The dragon that was once on his back flows around his unclothed torso, alive, looking around the area, but never leaves the surface of his body. The pendant begins to glow with energy, and some of the emptiness disappears as well. Sabre Soldier then looks at himself curiously at what has happened, feeling his fingertips, and moving around his arms. Afterwards, Sabre Soldier attacks the shades around him visciously with his bare hands, turning them to dust on contact, as he presses forward to the other's location, making a path for them.*

"That looks like Sabre Soldier! But it can't be! He's dead, isn't he?"

cLuTcHFieND looks on, powerless to do anything to help his friends.

"Your turn to move Soul... And the rest of you, hurry. Sabre's new form disturbs me."

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