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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 9, 2017 19:17:29 GMT
Adeline wasn't sure how she fell asleep in the park that afternoon with a book in her lap. Maybe it was a combination of the warm weather, and the tree she was leaning against providing just the right amount of shade. Or maybe she was just really tired. Either way, she had only meant to close her eyes for a few minutes, and awoke with a start when she realized she had been napping for a while. "As if I'm not weird enough, now I'm napping in odd places," she mumbled to herself as she stood up. She stretched for a moment, and was just about to head home, when she suddenly froze. She blinked several times, wondering if she was just seeing things. But she wasn't. Not too far away, was Thrax. And he was different.
Adeline hadn't spent a ton of time with the guy, but she knew that he was cocky, confident, and full of himself. Thrax looked like none of those things now. His coat collar was drawn up in an effort to conceal his face and it sounded like he was muttering to himself. Adeline was surprised to find him out here in broad daylight. Then again, Pitch's Nightmares were constantly combing the city looking for him. Pitch worked best in the dark, so it looked like Thrax was moving in day light, where there was a less chance of him being spotted. Adeline could only stand as still as possible, not sure what to do. Run for it? Follow him to see if she could find his hideout? Call Pitch? The first option seemed like the safest. Once she was somewhere safe, she could call Pitch. She slowly started walking backwards, hoping Thrax wouldn't turn around see her. Unfortunately, her foot stepped on a small twig and snapped it in half. That was enough to make Thrax spin around, and Adeline gasped.
Thrax had always had a bit of craziness in his eyes, but this was different. They seemed almost completely full of it now. His face was haggard and worn from spending so many months in hiding. And once his eyes caught sight of Adeline, those crazy eyes of his filled with anger and he completely lost it.
"You..."
Adeline's heart stopped. That one word was full of complete malice and hate. Thrax was no longer fond of her like he used to be, and Adeline knew that made him all the more dangerous.
"You...you...you!"
That was all Thrax seemed capable of saying as he moved towards her faster and faster. Adeline panicked and her magic power kicked in, creating a small shield in the hopes of protecting her from whatever magical attack Thrax threw at her. But he didn't attack with his demon magic. Instead, he pounced on her like a tiger, sending her to the ground.
"You bitch! You ruined me!" he shouted, trying to wrap his hands around Adeline's throat. "I'm scraping at the bottom of the barrel thanks to your stupidity!"
Adeline fought to keep Thrax's hands away from her neck. Her fear was starting to kick into overdrive. This was different from her past encounters with Thrax. Fighting him off had been relatively simple, since he couldn't go all out, not if it meant killing her. But she was no longer useful to him. He didn't have to hold anything back now, and that terrified her.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 10, 2017 2:41:32 GMT
Suddenly, something sleek and slim and black as night blurred through the air towards where Adeline struggled to keep Thrax from strangling her. The dark object flew over where the young witch was pinned and buried itself deeply into the flesh of the Demon's upper arm just below the shoulder. It was a single arrow.
"The next one goes through your throat."
The voice, as icy as a blizzard and as soft as a breath of wind, spoke from the shadows of a nearby tree. Suddenly, a figure stepped forth from the darkness itself, silent and graceful with a bow in hand and the head of the next jet black arrow pointing directly at the red demon's head.
Pitch stood perfectly still and silent in that moment, his whole being inhumane and as distant as the face of the moon. The only thing about him in that instant that betrayed any sense of life were his eyes. The haunting gold of them seemed to pulse and crackling like silent fire as he stared down the length of his bow and arm to where Thrax knelt over Adeline, pinning her to the ground.
_____
Only a few short moments ago he had been standing on the opposite side of the city when one of his Nightmares appeared before him, kicking and lunging in a state of unrest. While he kept a few Nightmares on the streets of Bellerouge during the day in the off chance that Thrax would dare show himself, they never reported back to him until the evening when the sun began to weaken and they grew stronger. They had to remain to the shadows during the day and reporting back every hour was too much of a risk when they could easily disintegrate.
The fact that this one had appeared before him was highly unusual, not to mention the state it was in. It had taken the Terror Demon a moment to calm his beast enough for it to finally relay its message to him. This one had been watching Raoul Park from the shadows of a willow. It had observed Adeline reading in the park, had noted when she drifted off to sleep. And then Thrax had appeared......
Pitch hadn't even waited for the Nightmare to finish before taking off into the Shadows, crossing the length of Bellerogue to reach the park despite the tax on his energy. In those moments, it hardly mattered to him. All that mattered was that Thrax had finally reared his ugly head... and Adeline was in danger.
_____
Despite the amount of energy it had taken to transport himself to Raoul Park through the shadows during daylight, Pitch gave off no sense of weakness as he stepped towards the two of them. Indeed, the very moment his eyes had seen Thrax over Adeline, cutting through her magical defenses in an effort to strangle her, any sense of fatigue had burned away and been replaced with something else.
Anger.
Slowly, he made his way forward with the arrow pointing straight into Thrax's face. Once he was only a few yards away, he spoke in the same chilling tone.
"Move off of her. Now!"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 10, 2017 3:12:27 GMT
Adeline hardly noticed the arrow fly by. It was more like a blur, going as fast as a bullet. She hadn't even registered what had happened until Thrax gave a painful cry and he started bleeding. Adeline's heart leaped and she turned her head. Pitch had come, and he was angrier than she had ever seen him before. Not many would find his angry eyes and cold voice comforting, but Adeline, he was like the prince in fairy tales who came to save the princess from the evil dragon. Thrax, on the other hand, was frightened. Frightened and angry all at once. While he may have placed some of the blame on Adeline for his current situation, Pitch shared some of that blame as well. In his eyes, he had stolen her away from him, his demon witch that he thought for sure would stand by his side forever.
When Thrax didn't move after hearing Pitch order him to, Adeline decided to take initiative and gave him a strong shove. That was enough to knock him off and send him landing on his side, his black demon blood spilling onto the ground. Adeline moved to stand behind Pitch, never taking her eyes off of Thrax.
"You bastard," Thrax growled, one hand on his wound as he got to his feet. "You and your stupid Nightmares, hounding me down like some sort of dog. Do you have any idea who I am?"
Adeline swallowed. If Thrax was getting this pissed off this quickly, he must really be at his limit. No doubt dealing with Pitch and his Nightmares had left him paranoid, constantly looking over his back and making sure his next move was safe. That was enough to wear down on anyone's mind.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 10, 2017 4:29:33 GMT
Pitch was just about to loosen the next arrow into Thrax when Adeline took matters into her own hands. Thrax was already distracted and she quickly reached up to give him a sharp shove, causing him to loose his balance while she jumped to her feet and ran the short distance to stand behind Pitch. The Terror Demon kept his focus and the arrow on Thrax the whole time and only spoke to Adeline once she was safe behind him.
"That was a foolish and reckless move, Adeline."
Despite the anger and sternness of his voice, he was deeply relieved that she was no longer within striking distance of Thrax. Not only that, but she had been clever enough to recognize an opportunity to escape and had taken it when many others would simply wait to be rescued. No, Adeline was no damsel in distress and he loved her for that. However, things were far from finished yet.
Pitch kept his aim on Thrax as the demon held his bleeding arm and snarled out curses and threats. And despite appearing as dangerous as ever, Pitch could sense that something was very off about Thrax. The Demon had been a force to recon with on their previous encounters even if he wasn't quite as powerful as Pitch. He was clever and cunning, strong and powerful, but now he seemed nothing short of unhinged. There was no sense of control anymore and something even more.....fear. Pitch could taste it on his tongue like burnt copper. Thrax was terrified of him.
"I don't care. Either you can surrender and return to the BPD peacefully or you can resist. I have orders to bring you in dead or alive and as of now, I'm favoring the former over the latter."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 10, 2017 16:49:01 GMT
"Everything's foolish and reckless when it comes to him," was all Adeline said in reply. She knew why Pitch didn't exactly approve of her doing that, but still. She had seen the opportunity and taken it. She wasn't a professional fighter, but she could at least do things like that. Pitch didn't seem very affected by Thrax's comments, although Adeline doubted he would be. He hated Thrax almost as much as she did, maybe even more so. Because while Adeline was still scared of him, Pitch was not. Thrax, on the other hand, seemed to realize that he was in a bad situation. He was already wounded, and he was facing against a powerful demon and a witch who wasn't as frightened of him as she used to be. The odds were not in his favor. But that had never stopped Thrax before, and it wasn't about to here. He actually laughed at Pitch even suggesting that he should surrender.
"Sorry big boy, but I've got plans. And I will carry them out, no matter how many Nightmares you have running around this city. But hey, it looks like we have something in common, besides wanting Adeline." He cracked his knuckles, one of his hands stained with his blood. "I'm in favor of killing you, too." Thrax's demon magic kicked in, and his fear-inducing black tentacles suddenly appeared, springing out of his back like an angry horde of snakes. Adeline's eyes widened. Thrax wasn't messing around. He was going all-out right away. That alone proved how desperate he was to win this fight and get out of here alive.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 11, 2017 4:48:14 GMT
"Very well then."
And without another word, Pitch let loose his bow and the arrow went flying towards Thrax. The Terror Demon didn't even pause to see if the arrow hit its target and instead formed several more shadow arrows, each made from the darkness itself and each sent shooting towards the crimson Demon. Thrax might think himself a match for Pitch but he was a fool.
After all, no one who lived in the mortal world knew just how high Pitch had once ranked in the hierarchy of Hell. Even the Comissioner could only hazard a guess that the Demon had once been in Disparion's inner circle or that only one other being had outranked him. Of his past he had kept this aspect concealed and although his powers had diminished somewhat when he turned against Disparion, he was still far more powerful then a demon like Thrax. However, there was one thing that could easily turn the tide in Thrax's favor should he manage to get to her.
"Adeline! Leave now!"
Pitch spoke the words in a dead, cold voice that harbored no chance for argument as he continued to fire jet black arrows at the crimson demon. He couldn't afford for her to be hurt now, couldn't allow Thrax to lay hold of her and use her against him. She had to stay safe and that meant getting as far away from Thrax as possible.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 11, 2017 16:38:26 GMT
It was all Thrax could do just to keep up with Pitch's attacks. The arrows seemed to come at him like a hailstorm. His tentacles could deflect them for now, but how long could he keep it up? He was already injured, and Pitch was pissed beyond belief. He wanted him dead. Granted, Thrax wanted Pitch dead too, and he might have a way of getting the upper hand. But it was a risky move, and he was reluctant to reveal his trump card unless he had no other option.
Adeline hesitated. She knew why Pitch wanted her to leave. She couldn't get caught in the cross-fire, and knowing Thrax, he'd love to use her as a distraction so he could gain an advantage. But she felt reluctant to leave him to face Thrax alone. Biting her lip, she ran off a distance aways, but turned back to see the two of them still going at it. Her mouth hardened into a determined line. She couldn't leave, not entirely. Instead, she stayed behind a tree, watching the fight from afar. Thrax couldn't get her all the way from over there, not if he wanted to risk exposing himself and giving Pitch an opportunity to kill him.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 12, 2017 0:23:39 GMT
Adeline seemed to hesitate for a moment or two before turning and running away from the fight taking place only a few yards away. Immediately Pitch felt a sense of deep relief and turned his full focus onto the Demon before him.
Despite his injury, Thrax was defending himself well and no other arrow found its mark but was slashed out of the air by his tentacles. Nonetheless, Pitch kept up the attack until he could detect with his keen yellow eyes the pattern that Thrax was moving in. He was focusing on protecting his head and upper body but leaving his lower body undefended.
With this in mind, Pitch let one more arrow fly but suddenly darted forward even as the arrow left his hand. The swung his bow around in his hand as the shape of it changed, the string and curve of the bow pulling into a straight handle while a wickedly curved blade sprouted from one end.
Suddenly, Pitch was only a few feet away from Thrax as he deflected the last arrow, swinging a huge scythe at the crimson Demon's abdomen and legs. The expression on his face was one of grim determination but the fire in his eyes seemed to flare in those brief moments as he brought his weapon around for the cut.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 12, 2017 0:51:01 GMT
It was only a matter of time before Thrax lost steam and Pitch found a weakness. Adeline watched as Pitch darted forward almost as quickly as the arrow he shot, his bow turning into a curved blade. She half expected it to slice Thrax in half. It didn't quite get that far, but it still managed to leave a wound big enough to make Thrax stagger backwards several steps. He had been battered and bruised like a rag doll, and Pitch had hardly seemed to break a sweat. In the past, Thrax might have stood a chance against him. But his anger and madness made it nearly impossible now. In a way, it almost reminded Adeline of her fight against Vanitas from a long time ago. She had been like Thrax, full of fury and anger, and had put everything she had into each attack. But Vanitas had been smarter, and had used her rush of emotions to her advantage. Even now, Thrax was on one knee, energy nearly spent. One more move on Pitch's part and he'd either be out cold or dead. And given Pitch's threat earlier, Adeline knew he wouldn't mind choosing the latter option.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 12, 2017 4:22:57 GMT
As he pressed his advantage, Pitch could feel the anger and frustration coming off of Thrax in waves, could sense the unstable state of his mind and how it was working against him. And he could feel the fear in the other Demon, could almost scent it as it grew stronger. It was an almost cloying scent to him yet it took all of his will not to let his desire for that fear to control him.
Even now he could feel his hunger for fear rising inside of him, but he refused to let it consume him.
Suddenly, Thrax staggered and fell to one knee, unbalanced from the cut that Pitch had delivered to him. Without hesitating, the Nightmare King closed the distance and dealt a powerful kick to the red Demon's abdomen. As soon as Thrax hit the ground, Pitch was standing over him with the edge of his scythe pressing into is throat. It dug into the crimson, almost scale-like skin of his neck and the smallest trace of blood began to well up. Just a little more pressure with the slightest of turns and his throat would be laid open.
From his great height, Pitch looked down at where Thrax lay, his foot firmly planted over his chest with his scythe ready at a moment's notice. He had been anticipating this moment for so long, the time when he would finally face Thrax and best him. He would prove himself to all who had doubted him and Adeline would finally have nothing more to fear. However, the Terror Demon felt no pleasure or pride in this achievement, no challenge. Thrax might once have been an opponent worth fighting, but now he was little more then a mad dog.
No, all Pitch felt in that moment was disappointment.
"It's over, Thrax."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 12, 2017 16:38:51 GMT
Adeline thought Thrax might be more afraid with Pitch ready to deliver the final blow, but instead, he started laughing. Adeline's stomach churned. Something was wrong.
"Are you sure about that?" Thrax asked, giving a grin as his hand slipped into his pocket. Then, quick as a flash, he chucked ground emerald dust right into Pitch's face. Touching the powder himself made his hand burn, but he didn't care. Emeralds were one of the gems that were practically toxic against demons. Weiss had used some herself the night they had fought, although her gems were solid aquamarines rather than dust. Either way, it hurt like a bitch, and that was exactly what Thrax was counting on. It was a dirty trick, and he wouldn't be able to use it again with as much surprise as now. Still, it gave him the perfect opportunity to strike back.
Adeline's heart sunk as soon as she saw the powder fly. She didn't know where Thrax had gotten it, or how, but she knew how much emeralds and other gems like it could hurt. Just wearing one of them gave her a major headache, and that was only because she was half-demon. She couldn't imagine the pain a full-blown demon would face. "Pitch!" she cried, and without even realizing it, she took off running towards him.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 13, 2017 3:24:00 GMT
Pitch had expected that Thrax wouldn't simply give up, that he would continue to struggle or attempt some trick to escape. And while he had thought he was prepared for whatever the Demon might throw at him, he wasn't.
He had seen Thrax smiling despite the blade at his throat, had seen him put his hand into his coat pocket. And before he could do anything at all, the crimson Demon had thrown powdered emerald directly into his face, into his yellow eyes.
Pitch had never been driven by pain to scream before but now he did. Where the emerald dust touched his skin it was as if someone had thrown boiling oil or acid onto it and his eyes, his eyes seemed to be full of white-hot pieces of glass. And worse, his vision immediately began to blur until the world around him was reduced to nothing more than a place of the vaguest shapes and colors.
Pitch stumbled backwards as he yelled out in agony, both his hands now resting over his face while his scythe lay where it had fallen from his grasp. As he felt warm, sticky blood start to trickle down his face and between his fingers, he told himself desperately not to rub at his face. If he did that, he would merely push the emerald dust further into his skin and eyes.
Distantly, as if from the opposite side of a tunnel, he could hear someone call out his name and at the very back of his mind, a voice warned him that Thrax was still there, that he had to move and protect himself. However, his thoughts couldn't seem to move past the horrible agony in his eyes and face.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 13, 2017 4:07:50 GMT
Even though it hurt, Thrax laughed. He'd never felt so good in his life. True, he'd lost quite a bit of blood, and his own fingers were stinging badly. But the sight of seeing Pitch in so much pain made him practically giddy. "How do you like that, huh?" he taunted. "Still feel like you can take me on, Pitch? You wanna kill me? Too bad I've already beaten you to the punch!" He laughed again as he gleefully stabbed Pitch in the side with his claw. At this point, it was hard to tell whose blood was which. Thrax was stained with both. He raised his claw again, ready to kill Pitch with this blow. But before he could move, a beam of magic power slammed into his side like a train and sent him sprawling onto the ground. When he looked up, his breath caught in his throat.
Where only a moment before had been empty space, Adeline now stood before him, magic sparking and crackling around her arms like electricity. All the magic she had within her was boiling. But, the most frightening aspect was her eyes. They held tears in them, but any signs of fear were completely gone. All that was in them now was pure, burning rage. "You take one step towards him and I'll rip you in half," she threatened, her voice trembling with anger.
For a brief second, Thrax thought he saw Adeline's eyes flicker red. Her demon side wanted to emerge, he could sense it. And if it did, he was as good as dead. It seemed that now, in this moment, Adeline had become the witch he had wanted her to be: angry, powerful, with no fear holding her back. But instead, that power had been turned against him, and he knew he didn't stand a chance against it, not in his current condition. He gave a low chuckle as he got to his feet.
"Consider this a parting gift," he said with a grin. "Next time we meet, we will fight to the death. And you'd better be prepared for every dirty trick in the book, because in Hell, we never play fair." And with those words, Thrax turned and ran off.
For a moment, Adeline didn't move. Too much was raging inside her, like a storm. Pitch's screaming had made her feel like her heart had been torn out. She had never felt so angry before, and it was all she could do just to keep her demon side in check. The only thing holding it back was the fact that if she lost control, Pitch might get hurt even more, and she couldn't allow that. But, when she saw Thrax wasn't coming back, her body seemed to finally register that the danger had passed. Her magic died down, and her demon side backed away, seeing that Adeline didn't need its intervention. Her anger died down with it, but now her fear was coming back full force as the weight of what had happened to Pitch really hit her.
"Pitch!" She hurried to his side, panic starting to flow through her like blood in her veins. For so long, Pitch had seemed invincible to her, like nothing could ever really hurt him. She knew it was foolish to think of him that way, but that was how she had felt. He was the person who could never be beaten, who would never let her down. Yet here he was, on the ground, blood all over his face, vulnerable just like anybody else. She wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to figure out what to do.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 14, 2017 6:27:55 GMT
Pitch could here Thrax's insane laughter but could only just make sense of his words through the pain. What indistinct shapes and colors he had been able to see were now gone, leaving him in a darkness even he couldn't see through. He had been blinded, but if it was permanent or not he couldn't think about in those moments of pure agony.
Suddenly, he sensed something coming towards him but was too confused, too in pain to even think that Thrax might be attacking. And suddenly something sharp and burning hit him, puncturing his left side all the way through and creating a new source of torture for the Terror Demon. Crying out, he pushed himself away from whatever had pierced him and by some instinct knew that Thrax had impaled him with his claw.
However, as he pulled free from claw, he knew it was over. He was blinded by Thrax, his face burned by emerald dust, impaled upon his deadly claw. Pitch had come so close to ending the crimson Demon but now it seemed the opposite would in fact occur. He moved one hand from his face and pressed it against the hole in his side, feeling the blood rushing out of the wound. Even if he could somehow stop it, he was a moment away from collapsing.
He had no way of attacking the mad Demon, no way of defending himself. Pitch would die at the hands of Thrax's dirty trick and Adeline would be left at his mercy...
Panting and shaking on his feet, blood running from his face and his side, he waited for the final blow. However, it never came. Instead, he felt a truly immense and powerful force roar past him and slam into Thrax. The scent of ozone, of magic, filled the air and a crackle of distant thunder resounded. And then he heard Adeline's voice, filled with a power he hadn't known she possessed.
He tried to move towards her but the moment he took a step his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. He was gasping at that point, seeming unable to get a full breath of air as both hands pressed against his side, trying to stanch the flow that continued to pour out of him. Across his face, a horrible burn lay over his closed eyes and demon blood rolled down his cheeks like black tears.
He could hear two voices speaking, then the sound of running footsteps but he couldn't make sense of anything in that moment. It was as if the hurt were too large to allow anything else into his mind.
A voice suddenly spoke, wrought with fear and panic, and he knew the voice.
"Ad-e-line."
He managed to gasp out her name despite his horrible shortness of breath but could do little else.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on May 14, 2017 15:49:30 GMT
Adeline's heart clenched. Pitch's voice brought on a new round of tears. "No, don't...don't try to talk," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Just...just hang on. You'll be okay." There was so much blood everywhere. She couldn't tell if any of it was Thrax's or not. What could she do? Then, she suddenly remembered: her cellphone. Whipping it out, she dialed 911. Her heart hammered as it rang once...twice...
"911, what's your emergency?"
"I need an ambulance, right now," Adeline said, not wasting any time. Every second counted, and she tried to spit out what happened as quickly as possible. "I'm at Raoul Park. Officer Pitch Black, he's been hurt. He got hit with emerald dust and he got stabbed and he's bleeding everywhere. Please, you have to help him." Try as she might, she couldn't keep her voice calm and it quivered with every word she said.
Saying Pitch's name seemed to do the trick though, as the female voice on the other end said "Okay, we're sending help to you now. How did this happen?"
Adeline breathed a sigh of relief. Help would be here soon. She just had to stay calm and do what dispatcher told her to do. She told her how Thrax had attacked her and Pitch, how she had no open wounds herself, how Pitch could barely speak at this point. When she saw Pitch's hand over his stab wound, she placed her free hand over it as well, trying to help him control the bleeding as much as possible. Healing magic might help, but it could also make things worse. What if it mixed with the emerald dust and just caused Pitch more pain? Would any of her healing spells even work? The only time she had healed Pitch was when he was a human. She felt like she couldn't take that risk, not when Pitch was already terribly hurt.
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