Bandages

You may have read Myrir's post about the Fury by now. We were attacked by this guy who was insanely strong. I tried attacking him with a mental blast, but he reflected it. When that happened, I lost control of my sanity for a while. I stopped holding back. I ended up passing out, and I guess he left after that.

But I noticed something from our fight with him. He can take a punch. Even when I used my control over reality to increase my physical strength, he could still get back up after being hit. He's practically invincible.

But when we attacked with guns or blades, he made sure to stop our attacks before they reached him. There's a number of reasons why this may be, but I think I know which reason is correct.

It's not his body he's protecting, it's his bandages. He's trying to protect his identity.

Fury

We all met tonight to discuss possible locations of our enemies. We were ambushed. Not by Nolla Row's group, but by someone else. He came out of no where, covered from head to toe with bandages. He raised a hand and sent Wildfire crashing through some crates. As if she wasn't injured enough. Kord rushed forward and punched him right in the jaw. He was completely unfazed by it. He simply swiped his arm, striking Kord in the chest and knocking him into a wall a few feet away. Sound tried to fight him next, kicking him in the Solar Plexus and face, then punched him twice in the face. He then drew his Sonic Sword and sung it, but this time he blocked with his forearm and corkscrew punched Sound so hard that I could hear his nose breaking. Sound fell unconscious just as Kord got back to his feet. He fired a soundwave from his mouth, but the bandaged man stopped it with one had and sent it back at him, slamming Kord into the wall with enough force to leave cracks. Kord slumped down, unconscious.

He turned his attention to me next. I couldn't see his eyes through those bandages, but I'm pretty sure he could see me. Isaac grabbed me by the wrist and took off.

“Where are you dragging me!?” I asked him in between pants.

“Away from that thing!” Isaac replied. “If Malkator were still around, he would kill me if I let something happen to you!”

“Who is that guy anyway?” I asked.

“I can't read his mind, so I can't say for sure,” Isaac said. “All I can say is that he's just as powerful as the Game Master.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“I can feel his power,” Isaac said. “He's exactly as powerful as-”

He stopped dead in his tracks without finishing his sentence. The bandaged man had appeared at the end of the alleyway we were running down. I drew my handgun and shot at him, but the bullet stopped in midair three inches from his face.

“Shit!” I said. I turned to Isaac and asked “Any ideas?”

“I'll see if a mental blast'll work on his,” he replied.

He tried to do just that, but it failed. That man didn't just resist the mental attack; he completely reflected it back at Isaac. He fell over, clutching his head, and fell unconscious. The bandaged man began walking toward me, stopping just a few feet away. He was about to kill me. I could tell.

“Who are you!?” I demanded. He cocked his head to the side, as if he didn't understand the question. “Who are you!?” I asked again. “What's your name!”

He looked up to the sky. After a moment, he swung his hand in front of me, and a series of gashed appeared on the ground at my feet, spelling out a single word; FURY.

“Fury?” I asked. “Is that your name?”

He nodded. He then raised a hand, pulling it into a fist and drawing it back, ready to punch me, but before he could, another fist collided with his chest, knocking him out of the alley and into the middle of the street. It was Isaac. But he was different. His white hair had become jet-black, and the air around him shuddered.

“That was incredible!” I said. “How did you hit that hard!?”

“Reality's my bitch!” Isaac said, turning to me with a malevolent smile on his face. “I'm exactly as strong as I perceive myself to be!”

Fury appeared again, a few feet away. Isaac drew his glave and charged, but Fury was able to stop his blade with his hand. The two of them began fighting viciously. Isaac kept tearing reality apart to summon weapons from nothing, and the Fury kept blocking his attacks and manipulating objects from a distance to fight with. The fight didn't last long, though. After a while, Isaac began coughing up blood and passed out.

Fury paused for a moment to catch his breath before before approaching me again. However, he didn't move after that. He just looked at me for a while.

“What are you waiting for?” A voice asked. I looked past Fury to see Martyr Beta. “She's your target! Finish her!”

Fury ignored him. He turned around and began walking away from me.

“What are you doing!?” Martyr Beta demanded. “Kill her!”

Fury waved a hand and the words DON'T FEEL LIKE IT became gauged into the wall. He then disappeared.

“Who is that!?” I demanded.

“A hassle is what he is,” Martyr Beta said. “I already got one kid to babysit, and then the Archive goes and shoves their super weapon on me to take care of. A real pain in the ass.”

“Super weapon?” I asked.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that those who cross the Archive will learn to regret it,” he said. “You're off the hook this time, but you won't be as lucky the next time you cross paths with the Fury.”

He left. I regrouped with the others and we're treating Wildfire and Isaac's injuries. I don't know what happened to Isaac back then. He was using his control over reality recklessly, without caring about what it did to his body. He seems to be okay now. His hair's even turned white again.

But Fury.... just who is that guy? And why is he so powerful? I'll have to watch my back from now on.

A True Dragon

We went to the place, but it was empty. They had recently left, so we decided to split up and try to look for them. Sound, Kord, and Wildfire all went different ways, while Isaac stayed with me. Overprotective, much? I guess I can't really blame him. Anyway, he kept track of the other's minds so that5 if anyone found Nolla's group, he could alert all of us ad we could all regroup to take them on.

Isaac and I had been walking for about an hour before he stopped dead in his tracks.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“Wildfire,” he said. “She's found one. The beast guy, Jerard. This way!”

He took off and I ran after him. He used his telepathy to let Sound and Kord know what was going on.

“Damn that reckless bitch!” he shouted after a while.

“What's wrong?” I asked him.

“She went and challenged him on her own!” he said. “Let's hurry!”

We found her and Jerard (in bear form) duking it out in an empty park.

“Stay out of this!” she shouted at us when she noticed us. “I'll fight him on my own.”

“Are you crazy!?” Isaac demanded.

“I can handle him,” she said. “Plus, he insulted my friend. I can't let that slide.”

“Well, if you want to take me alone, you should stop holding back,” Jerard said.

“I can say the same for you,” Wildfire said. “Show me what you can really do.”

“Only if your psychic friend agrees to stay out of my head once I do,” he said.

“O'Zalia!” she snapped.

“Fine,” he said. “But if you die, I won't hesitate to get involved.”

“Good enough for me,” Jerard said, removing his earring.

“What?” I asked.

“Uranium,” he said. “The same substance that disrupts your friend's psychic abilities also restricts my own power.”

“But how can you survived wearing a radioactive substance all the time?” I asked.

“It's part of Nolla Row's power,” Isaac answered for me. “She can augment the bodies of herself and others in order to survive radiation.”

“You're just as clever as the rumors say,” Jerard said. “Now, behold my true strength! Celestial Wolf!”

His body became more canine, like a werewolf, and his fur turned a bright silver. He moved with blinding speed, attacking Wildfire. He swiped at her, sending her crashing into a nearby tree. He let out a howl, as if he was laughing at her. She got to her feet, seemingly unharmed.

“That was impressive, I'll give you that,” she said. “But you're not gonna beat me that easily.”

He charged at her again, but this time she flew into the air to dodge him. As she did, her body changed. She sprouted a pair of red, scaly wings. Claws grew from her hands. Her hair became rigid, almost like spikes, and the air around her became tinted red from the heat she was emitting. Jerard jumped at her, leaping impossibly high. The two of them began striking at each other in midair, but he soon fell to the ground, unable to remain airborn like she could. As he fell, she inhaled deeply and spat a stream of fire at him, incinerating his body before he could hit the ground. She landed afterward and returned to her normal(ish) form, just before passing out.

“Is she okay?” I asked Isaac, as he walked over to inspect her.

“Cracked ribs, fractured Ulna, missing one of her eye teeth,” he said. “Other than that, she seems fine. Just exhausted. That dragon form must take a lot out of her.”

“The fuck happened here?” Sound asked, finally arriving.

“Dragon girl decided to take beast boy on her own,” Kord said, arriving from the other direction. “I overheard it all.”

“Let's get her somewhere else so I can see about her wounds,” Isaac said.

“Can you do that?” Kord asked.

“I have all the medical experience of any doctor within range of my telepathy,” Isaac said. “Now help me with her.”

That's three Emissaries down. All that's left is Camazotz and Nolla Row herself.

Working Together

So, we met up with Isaac a few days ago, but he already spoke about it on his end of the blog... although, I really wish he hadn't blabbed about my pregnancy. I was hoping to keep that quiet, at least for a little longer.

But yes, I am pregnant with Ben's child. When we had sex back in December... well, you can probably figure that out.

I just wish he hadn't died then. He... He'll miss all of this.

I'm sorry. I'll get back on topic.

We're working together with Isaac, but he refuses to show us where he and the other runners are hiding out. He doesn't want to risk their safety. We've been meeting up every night and doing what we can to try and find Nolla Row, but we haven't found out much. At least, I haven't. Isaac says he's beginning to understand her power. I don't know why or how, but he is a genius.

We've also met Wildfire. A former servant of the Game Master. She has dragon like powers. She can levitate, breath fire, and a few other things.

Isaac says we may be getting close to something. His new ally Kord picked up some kind of activity in the next town over that may or may not be Nolla Row's group. We'll be checking it out tomorrow.

Meeting

I saw that post by Myrir. Yes, I did give her her password back. Felt like I should. And, of course, she's looking for me, along with Jerome. What occurred in their last post interested me, so after much thought, I decided to lead them to me telepathically. Took them a while, but when I felt them close, I woke up Kord and went to meet with them. I left Wildfire to guard the others. I thought it was best to leave her behind, since Sound seems to be hunting her down.

We met them in a park. There were other people there, so none of us would be dumb enough to try anything. As soon as I saw Myrir, I realized there was something different about her, and it didn't take me long to figure it out.

“There is a thing in your stuff!” I blurted out. I couldn't help it. She immediately facepalmed when I said it.

“Yes, I'm pregnant,” she replied.

“With Malkator's kid?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“Holy shit,” I said. “That is... um... congratulations?”

I honestly wasn't sure how to react to that.

“Why did you lead us straight to you?” Jerome asked. “Up til now you've been specifically avoiding all proxies. So why allow us to find you?”

“Because I want to know more about your Emissary power,” I said.

“This guy's an Emissary!?” Kord said.

Keep it down! I hissed in his head. We're in public. We have to keep this kind of stuff low key.

Sorry, Kord thought back at me.

“Yes, I am an Emissary,” Jerome confessed.

“Really?” Myrir asked him. “But, how come you never told us?”

“And how come you didn't already know?” Kord asked me. “You're a mind reader, aren't you?”

“Jerome was my best friend when I first became a proxy,” I said. “He and I had an agreement that I would never probe around inside his head like I do with most other people.”

“True,” Jerome said. “My father, Dr. Gary Welric, was an Emissary. And so am I. I was granted an ability as a child, but I ran away and became a proxy around the same time as Isaac.”

“And what exactly is your power?” I asked.

“Demon physiology,” he replied. “Flight, claws, the works. Problem is, each time I enter my demon form, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to revert to my human form.”

“I see,” I said. “So, next question; what is it you want with Wildfire?”

“I've been ordered to investigate her activity,” he replied.

“And?” I asked.

“Depending on the circumstances, I may be ordered to kill her,” he said.

“What kind of circumstances?” I asked.

“I don't know,” he said. “I'm just following orders.”

“At the moment, she's helping me deal with some other Emissaries,” I said. “One of which I believe you killed.”

“Asmodian,” he said. “She was nothing. So, what do we do from here?”

“Depends,” I said. “It's been nice catching up with you two, but I can't allow any servants to find where my runners are hiding.”

“You don't trust us?” Jerome asked.

“Barely,” I said. “We were friends before, but you both still serve the Slender Man. What's to stop him from following you to me?”

“Even if he didn't follow us, you can't hide from the Fears forever,” he said.

“I know,” I said. “But I plan to keep these people safe as long as I can.”

“I have no intention of harming them,” he said. “I can't say the same for our Master-”

“Your Master,” I corrected him.

“Whatever,” he said. “Look, you and I share a common enemy right now. I also have orders to kill Nolla Row.”

“And why does Slender Dick want her dead?” I asked.

“I don't know, but each one of us is opposed to her right now,” he said.

“Are you proposing that we work together?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Fine,” I said. “But if either of you try anything funny, I won't hesitate to wipe your memories and leave. I agreed I wouldn't read your mind, but I can still alter it.”

“Okay,” he said. “Where do we begin?”

“We still need to figure that out,” I said.

So, we're working together now. Still need a plan, and we still need to find the Emissaries. Til then, we're laying low.

Flying On Wings Of Sound

We were attacked while we were looking for Isaac. We were at the top of a building, trying to get a bird's eye view of the city, when a woman approached us.

“Hello there,” she said. “You two are acquaintances of Isaac O'Zalia, correct?”

“What if we are?” Sound asked.

“You see, I'm trying to get in touch with him,” she said. “I could use your help.”

“Well, we don't know where he is or how to find him,” Sound said.

“I know,” she said, drawing a sword. “But I figure that if his friends die, he'll come straight to me, looking for vengeance.”

“Who are you?” Sound demanded, drawing his Sonic Sword.

“My name is Asmodian,” she said. He hair and eyes turned red as she spoke.

“You're a Blood Vessel,” Sound said.

“That's right,” she said, smiling. “And you know what that means, right?”

“It means you enjoy pain,” Sound said. “I'll just have to kill you quickly, then.”

They charged at each other, fighting ferociously. Sound seemed to have the upper hand for most of the fight, until she lifted a hand and he was sent flying backwards, landing a few feet from me.

“What was that?” he demanded.

“An Aero Pulse,” she said. “It's my Emissary power.”

“You're an Emissary!?” I demanded.

“An Intended Emissary,” she said. “I was claimed by the Red Cap before the Game Master could return for me. much like your friend Isaac.”

Sound tried to get back to his feet, but she hit him with another Aero Pulse, knocking him over the edge of the building.

“Sound!” I shouted.

“Don't worry about him,” she said. “He'll be dead before he hits the ground. Now, to deal with y-”

She paused and stared at my stomach for a moment, then she broke into maniacal laughter.

“Oh, Isaac O'Zalia is gonna be pissed when I kill you, isn't he!?” She said, still laughing.

She took a step forward, but before she could get any further, Sound landed right in front of her. He had changed. His back was turned to me, so I could see his face, but what I could see was a pair of sinuous wings sprouting from his back. He stretched out and clawed hand and stabbed his fingers into her chest. She gasped in both surprise and pain.

“What the fuck are you!?” she asked.

“My name is Jerome Welric,” he said. “And your power is nothing compared to mine.”

He ripped his hand out of her chest, and I could see her still beating heart clenched in his fist. She collapsed to the ground. He turned to face me. I could now see that his face and eyes looked more sunken, and a pair of bone horns were growing from his forehead. His eyes had also turned a deep, blood red. His face contorted in pain as his wing and horns retracted beneath his skin and his features returned to normal.

“I swear to god, in gets harder to change back every time,” he muttered.

“What was that?” I asked him.

“It's nothing,” he said.

“It was definitely something!” I said. “You had wings!”

“I don't wanna talk about it,” he said.

“But-” I began, but he interrupted.

“I. Don't. Want. To talk. About. It,” he said. “Come on, let's go.”

He started walking, and didn't say another word.

Sound... just what the hell are you?

Melting Point

The other night, we attacked what we believed to be one of Nolla Row's hideouts. We fund Camazotz waiting for us. We had a fight, and he got away. What's more, I was forced to draw upon my powers over reality. I'll need to think of a counter strategy for our next encounter with him.

As we were leaving the base, I felt something briefly. I picked up the brainwaves of someone connected to Nolla Row, if only for a moment.

“Go on back to the hideout,” I told Kord. “I'm gonna do a bit of patrolling before turning in. If I find anything, I'll contact you.”

“Okay,” he replied.

I had no intention of contacting him. He was getting better with his powers, but he was still too reckless. I was going to inestigate what I had picked up on my own.

Sure enough, I found one of Nolla's minions.

“It's Balor, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” said the man. He was at least thirty, with fiery red hair and yellow eyes.

“You allowed me to find you on purpose,” I said. “I'm guessing you wanna prove yourself, right?”

“You're just as smart as they say,” he replied.

“I haven't even begun to display my brilliance,” I said to him.

“Hate to break it to you, but your smarts won't help you in a fight against me,” he said.

“We'll see about that,” I said, gripping my glaive.

I charged at him. A sword made of fire appeared in his hand, just as I expected. Our blades clashed, and he forced me back with his brute strength. He extended his sword and swung it at me. I stepped back a couple feet and avoided his slash.

“2.5 meters, approximately,” I said. “So that's the range of your power.”

“You know about my power!?” he demanded.

“I had a few guesses as to what it was,” I said. “They Balor is commonly depicted as a demon wielding flaming weapons, so I figured your power would involve pyrokinesis, likely with limited reach and the potential to produce pyrokinetic constructs. And it looks like I was right.”

“You may understand how my power works, but that doesn't mean you can fight against it!” he said.

He raised his sword, and brought it down with all his strength. I raised my glaive with both hands and blocked his attack with the pole. I then sliced his chest quickly before taking a step back. He cried out in pain.

“How!?” he demanded. “My sword should have been able to burn through that wooden pole of yours effortlessly!”

“This pole isn't made of wood,” I told him. “It's just painted to look that way.”

“Then what the hell is it?” he demanded.

“Tungsten,” I said. “It has a melting point of 3140 Celsius, higher than any other known metal. It was built to handle fires.

“It may be able to handle my flames, but your body can't!” he exclaimed.

His body was surrounded by a vortex of flames. He stood in the center, laughing.

“Your weapon isn't long enough to reach through these flames!” he said. “You can't hurt me without hurting yourself.

“You don't seem to understand how weapons work, do you?” I asked.

“What?” he demanded.

“Glaives are very similar to spears,” I informed him. “You know what spears are made for, right?”

Before he could answer, I switched my grip on the pole and lifted it over my shoulder, taking stance. His eyes widened in fear as he realized what I was doing.

“They're made for throwing!” I shouted, hurling the lance.

It pierced through the flames and stabbed into his chest. The flames died down as his body hit the ground. I approached him. He was still breathing heavily. I grabbed the pole of my glaive and twisted it. He cried out in pain.

“Y-you had a weapon designed especially to defeat me?” he asked.

“Don't flatter yourself,” I said. “This weapon wasn't designed to kill you.”

I ripped the glaive from his chest and gripped it in both hands.

“I was made for HELLFIRE!!!” I exclaimed, as I sliced off his pathetic head.

As his head came off, I noticed something dangling from his ear. A crystal earring. It didn't take me long to figure out what it was.

I understand now. I know how Nolla Row's been disrupting my powers. I also have some understanding of her power now. The question is, how does she know my weakness? I suppose someone with an understanding of how brainwaves are affected by eldritch energy might have been able to figure it out, but they'd have to have an IQ nearly as high as mine to piece it together.

Just who is Nolla Row...?