I Moderate (i_moderate) wrote in we_archive, @ 2006-07-14 22:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | baron mordo, stephen strange, willow rosenberg |
i_amveiny Classic battles [ Strange ]
The small spots of blood were nearly impossible to see against the dark fabric of her Salem inspired coat. She'd been tricked. Although Willow had succeeded in ripping the skin from her still living victim's flesh, insuring an unimaginably painful death, the victory was sullied.
Warren had won even in his death.
The scream that followed would have made the ears of surrounding bystanders bleed if there had been any. It was a furies' cry and Willow only lacked talons and snakes for hair. The tantrum that followed made the ground quiver in unease while the air became frigid and sharp.
Wherever she'd been sent, it was claustrophobic. If she wasn't released soon...
Tags: stephen strange, willow rosenberg, baron mordo
From: i_estrange Date: 07/14/2006 21:36:22
Everything had occurred quicker than he had anticipated. Sure, The Oracle had warned him of the evil's arrival. Not exactly in City Standard Time. But told him that it would be soon enough to prepare. And when she arrived he needed no help in telling him.
She vibrated, echoed, and reverberated across the entire mystical spectrum; snatching him up out of his peaceful meditation and back into the physical realm.
"By the Ravaging Rains of Raggadorr!"
And in practically a blink of an eye, he teleported himself from his Sanctum Sanctorum to the center of The City Park, where she had made her arrival.
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/15/2006 10:00:05
She'd been looking at that spot. It would be difficult to determine whether she looked there seconds before or during Strange's arrival. Black eyes bore into him as her anger subsided into a frowning pout which did not look pleasant at all.
"I want to go back." The tone was nearly a request, but very obviously a demand. She'd felt his power. He must have had the capability.
Not even the trees had been able to fool her. This spot looked very much like the place where Warren had been flayed like a stuffed pig on a spit, and true, some of the trees had probably been sent with her, but this was not Sunnydale.
Willow could no longer feel the Hellmouth.
She extended her tainted life force intuitively as she searched for magical and technological hot spots. She automatically sensed people who would know things, have things. There were people with power.
But none of them shined so bright as the good doctor before her.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/15/2006 12:37:56
Strange didn't have to see her to know that this was a far greater evil than even The Oracle had prepared him for. He had been expecting bad. He hadn't been expecting apocalyptic. And that's what this young woman emanated; a sense of the eternal ending of civilization as most dimensions knew it.
But the darkness in and around her, seemingly oozing from every trail of mystical energy she left behind, was in itself a frightening sensation. This confrontation, if not settled calmly and peaceably, would take all of his strength and then some to control.
"I know what you're planning, and it doesn't have to be this way. Let me help you. We can work together to fix things."
He had little faith that his words would mean anything to her, but it was essential to speak them. To get the words out, backing his stance.
The orb hovering in front of his chest began to glow its golden hue, sensing the great threat that stood before the Sorceror.
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/15/2006 12:54:23
"You talk too much," Willow frowned. Was he somehow responsible for this? Had Warren somehow tapped into the mystical energy of this individual?
"Help me go back."
Her head canted to the side, the way a reptile might adjust its gaze toward a tasty snack. Willow stared at the orb and smiled.
"All your neat little toys..."
From: i_estrange Date: 07/15/2006 16:10:12
"I can't do that. Not yet. I am trying to find a way to go back myself."
But he hadn't given up hope. If he was here, if they were all here, it was for a reason. And short of being some dimensional puppeteer's idea of a funny joke, he believed that there was a logical explanation to this bizarre situation.
But if she destroyed everything. If she brought the place to ruin, and everybody in it. Then there was no hope. And if The Oracle was right, this was a very dangerous situation.
"Perhaps together we can discover the answer."
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/15/2006 16:37:32
The expression on her face might have indicated that Willow was interested in what the doctor had to offer. It became more apparent that she wasn't listening as he continued, however, choosing to look almost through him.
He didn't have anything to offer. (Except his power.)
It wouldn't matter. (Nothing mattered but her.)
The witch would have to find a way out. She didn't think goody two shoes would care for her methods. He'd only get in her way.
"Bored now."
Willow through out her hands like a gunslinger might his pistol. Her finger tips were her weapons and bolts of energy were her ammunition. She aimed for the eye. If she could only make a connection... if he would just fight back...
The power would be hers.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/16/2006 14:45:57
The Eye of Agamotto, one of the many sources of his power, reacted before Doctor Strange saw the hands fly out before her. A stream of gold light enveloped his person in attempt to block the energy bolt.
The Cloak of Levitation blew back a bit behind him as though flushed by a great wind, rustling in the air and lifting him a few feet off the ground.
"It doesn't have to be this way. Your gifts would be put to better use for good."
Defensive. Always defensive until the very last moment. He would only retaliate if he felt there was no other means of protection.
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/16/2006 15:02:00
Willow's response was to seemingly advance her attack on the good doctor. The gold light started to thread with thin, black lines. The noise that it made sounded like footsteps on thin ice. Willow was going to force him to be offensive.
"Blah, blah..." she mocked.
Her feet were planted firmly on the ground. She could feel roots and insects, the City's life-force, swell beneath her. It was a comforting thought to know it could be damaged.
She started to circle his levitating form. Predatory.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/16/2006 15:18:20
When the black lines quickly began to infect the power of the orb like a mystical virus, Strange began mumbling a quick incantation before flinging his right arm towards her, using the Bolts of Bedevilment as his standard energy blast against her attack. It would by no means stop her completely, but it should have worked enough to push away the dark force that was trying to creep into the Eye's power.
"By the wisdom of the Eternal Vishanti I command you to stop this foolery! There are innocent people in this city! Do not do something you will later regret!"
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/17/2006 10:01:56
Willow was blown back by the powerful force that Dr. Strange emitted. It appeared to have done the trick, at first. Willow slowly sat up and stared up at the levitating doctor, amused. She'd taken the full brunt of the attack, but by now she'd developed a magical immunity to the attack.
And there was something else, too.
"Who's your supplier?"
The attack had also energized her.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/17/2006 12:12:38
"I have no supplier."
Strange was the universe's Sorceror Supreme. His gifts given to him by the one before him and the one before that and by all magical elements in the world that relied upon him to keep the stability in order for existence.
So perhaps if there was a supplier, it was anything and everything.
His expression was stern, forehead creased into a concerned stare, as though she were a young child refusing a parental command. But behind those eyes was worry. If his own magic worked against him in fighting her, then what could he do?
"You are still a child. You have much to learn. Your behavior shows it."
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/17/2006 12:40:10
As if to mock him, Willow pouted. She stood up and looked as if any minute she might throw a tantrum. But she did not stomp her feet and she did not cry. Willow flashed the doctor a smile.
"Too much talking. Want to play."
Bolts of white light, a tainted version of his own power, were used to attack the doctor and the orb. A sort of trojan horse of energy used to get past his abilities.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/17/2006 13:01:11
Underestimating was one thing, and perhaps in a sense Strange had done exactly that when it came to the young witch, but on the whole her power was so great and her speed so quick--
It seemed inevitable that this was a battle he was not meant to win.
The blast hit him hard, flinging him back until he hit the ground. And were it not for the Eye of Agamotto protecting him, he surely would have been a crispy critter.
The orb, never completely attached to his body at any given time, remained hovering, until it split into various spheres of color -- like tiny planets -- all spinning violently until it released a blinding ray of immobilizing light. Hypnotic in its beauty. And giving Strange just enough time to return to his feet and prepare for another incantation.
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/17/2006 15:14:33
Willow remained in a daze, staring at the beauty of the orb.
She wanted it.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/17/2006 18:43:06
Using energy forces against her only increased her powers. There were means around this. Other uses of power, but Doctor Strange was still of the defensive school. He didn't want to hurt her. He had the distinct feeling that she was more like a lost child on the wrong path than a completely evil soul.
So with a few mumblings he called upon the Shield of the Seraphim, a protection spell that took the appearance of a shimmering globe around his entire body.
"Please, let me help you."
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/17/2006 19:01:06
Apathetic at best, sinister at worst, Willow replied, "Too late."
Were magical spells and incantations universal in every dimension? With all the volumes of black magicks that Willow had absorbed from the magic shop, she seemed to distinctly know away around this. Or perhaps Dr. Strange's last offensive attempts had already given her a key to his magicks.
Her hands gestured to form a ball of energy that looked like flame. And then she released it at his shield, heating it like the sun and threatening to cook him within.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/17/2006 19:19:14
"ACK! Great ... Glecks of ... Gilgeroth!"
Sweat trickled down his face at the seering burn of the flames against his protective shield. Instinctively the Eye helped to try and cool some of the fire, with the assistance of the Icy Tendrils of Ikthalon, something Strange hadn't used in battle in many moons. And never as a defensive technique. Lucky for him though, it managed to freeze enough of her close flames in order to remove himself from the shield.
He stumbled off to the side. The mystical orb beginning to wane in its color.
"If you destroy me then you may destroy this entire dimension and everyone in it. Including yourself!"
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/17/2006 20:56:57
"This world's no fun."
Her head canted to the side. She'd lost hope very quickly. If he had no way to bring her back to her own world, if there was no way to get back to her own world, then it was time to snuff out the candle of a brightly burning flame.
Why not take an entire world with her in her rage and despair?
The blades of grass beneath him began to grow into sharp, monstrous things. They threatened to impale and devour the doctor as they grew with Willow's power. She wanted to tear the entire world apart, but he would do instead.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/17/2006 21:06:57
Thankfully his Cloak of Levitation was still in working order, and the moment he sensed the grass taking on a sadistic shape and action, he lifted himself above the ground. This quick followed upon his materializing the Daggers of Daveroth which blasted red fiery daggers against multiple blades of grass at once -- burning and singing them.
He felt awful. Poor nature never asked to be a part of this battle. If he survived this he would have to ask the foliage for its forgiveness.
"If you stop now we can work together! We can find a way out of this world and back to your own!"
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/17/2006 21:53:42
It made Willow smile to hear the inner torment in the doctor's head. She watched him fight the life beneath him as he levitated.
"You're a liar."
If he had been able to find a way back, he would have already. Neither of them would be able to find a way back on their own power, combined or not. It would take help.
It was obvious Willow was beyond finding help of any sort, lest it not be of the destructive kind.
It was time to end the show.
Perhaps just to show him she didn't need a cloak, she levitated from the ground on her own power and calling lightening from her finger tips, the elements answered her once more.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/19/2006 13:19:30
She was like a vortex of energy, surging power from every living thing around her. Even the electrical wirings on the nearby telephone poles jerked and twitched at her calling.
The sky above them grew dark and menacing, growling its discontent at the raging emotions between the sorceror and the witch. The lightning was quick. Out of her finger tips and against him before he barely had time to react. Even the Eye of Agamotto looked to be taking a toll. It worked hand-in-hand with the doctor's life force.
And the scales weren't tipped in his favor.
He flew back from the strike against his chest, body collapsing against a large oak tree. If he had been any normal man he would have been dead by now. And even though he wasn't in his best strength, he wasn't going to give up so easily.
He crawled to his feet, summoning the earth beneath her to open up, large mud-made tentacles reaching into the air for her levitating body.
"Don't make it be this way!"
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/21/2006 14:04:05
"But I'm so good at it."
Willow merely gestured and the mud tentacles beneath her quickly dried. In a hopeless attempt to continue the command given to the earth construct by Dr. Strange, it continued to move, cracking and breaking apart until it became nothing.
"Now. You have something I want."
Willow casually drifted back toward the ground and started walking toward the good doctor. Was it merely her plan all along to wear him out? Hands held in front like surgical weapons it was obvious what she wanted.
His power.
The process would surely kill him if she succeeded.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/24/2006 12:18:01
"And it is something you cannot have," Strange said through clenched teeth. "The universe would not allow such an imbalance to occur. You may think you can control it, but you are still young."
And Doctor Strange had earned the position, the title, and the powers he had over years of struggle and mentoring. The Ancient One chose him out of every other being on earth, and in other worlds, as the proper recipient of the vast cosmic abilities now flowing throughout his veins.
It was a part of him. And he did need it to survive. It coursed through his blood.
One arm was held out as though to block her approaching destruction.
"Don't do this... You will only cause yourself pain..."
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/24/2006 12:29:30
Willow stopped at his feet and crouched down. Looking him eye to eye, a smile was slow to form on her lips.
"Don't worry, sweetheart." She reached forward and non-magically brushed his greying hair back with her finger tips. "I'll make it good for you, too."
An amusing image crossed the witches mind of licking the side of his face, if only to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. But there was no time for antics. Willow had power to steal and a death to avenge, which inevitably meant ripping a pocket dimension apart in her quest to find a way back home.
Willow plunged her hands forward and the intangible force of his power was now something she could hold. And take.
From: i_conjure Date: 07/25/2006 16:04:25
"I've waited many years to observe this moment," a deep voice rang out from behind the witch, "the death of Doctor Strange."
Baron Mordo stepped out from behind a tree, hands clasping something behind his back. His dark glare fell on the sorceror who struggled to remain upright, then returned to Willow. "However, I am afraid I cannot allow it to happen this way. Stand down, girl."
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/25/2006 19:25:13
Willow stopped. The doctor was left to recover while the newest sorcerer to arrived peaked her interest. She slowly stood up and stared curiously at the newest arrival.
"You're no fun. I don't think I like you."
Willow raised her hands again for the offensive.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/25/2006 19:29:18
When the witch threw her hands forward it felt as though an invisible grip was clenching down on the threads of his strength, slowly tugging and pulling, drawing the power from the core of his being.
And then it stopped.
Doctor Strange, half collapsed on his knees, canted his expression towards the sound of the familiar voice. Brows raised in both shock and worry.
"...Mordo..."
As if the situation couldn't get any worse.
From: i_conjure Date: 07/26/2006 02:09:26
Before the girl could do anything, Mordo produced from behind his back a head-sized disc of red clay, imprinted with patterns and symbols. He held it before him with both hands, prepared to crack it in half.
"I warn you," he snapped, "I hold in my hands Axtahulpa's Seal of the Abyss. With but a motion I can break it and send us all hurtling into the bottomless pit. The Hell with which I'm certain you are familiar is but a canker on the mouth of this chasm. I ask you again to stand down."
With the girl's attention drawn, an unseen hand settled on Stephen's shoulder and a voice began whispering a spell of teleportation.
From: i_amveiny Date: 07/26/2006 09:40:33
From Willow's left hand, a large ball of fire appeared to ignite in the air. Hovering, waiting.
"Kinda seems to defeat the purpose of saving your friend if you throw all of us into Hell." The intonation was that of a sweet girl, which made her evil visage that much more disconcerting.
The ball of fire started to expand. It was much easier now, and though she didn't understand the full potential of the Sorcerer Supreme's power, she knew that she wanted it.
She was about to call his bluff.
From: i_estrange Date: 07/26/2006 13:50:35
And Doctor Strange found himself in a peculiar disposition. There had been a quick initial fear that Mordo somehow had a tie in with the witch, but the near soothing sounds of the teleportation spell proved that instinct wrong.
It was cloudy.
If they didn't leave soon, death would be quick to come. But Strange had a duty to protect this world, and leaving now would only allow her to continue with her rampage upon others. Those who, perhaps, could not last as long as him.
Then again, with his demise the destruction may have been worse. It was a horrible Catch-22 to be in.
The Eye of Agamotto glowed in response to Mordo's spell, wanting to latch on and heightened the strength and speed of it. It's determination was to keep the Sorceror Supreme alive.
He looked up to Mordo, his expression a difficult combination of duty and pain.
"She can't be left... People will be hurt..."
From: i_conjure Date: 07/26/2006 19:12:57
The low voice continued chanting, ignoring Strange's plea. The light of the Eye revealed the source of the voice as the real Baron Mordo in his ostentatious green and black ceremonial robes, standing behind his rival. A simple glamour spell obscured him from normal vision, and a simulacrum of the sorceror stood beyond the witch.
"Hell holds no power over me, nor the esteemed Doctor Stephen Strange," spoke the false Baron. "We have made our preparations for the day we must each face the Abyss. However, an arcane conduit of your magnitude will doubtless attract the attention of all manner of outside dwellers. Our souls are prepared. Is yours?"
The hidden sorceror completed his recitation and, with little more than a whisper in the fabric of space, he and Strange were gone.