Not like any other hunter. (Thalia.)

Thalia was happy to see Ash agree to use the weapon she offered him. It made her feel more confident in her work. As the two resumed their decent into the palace, Ash went on to say more confusing things. At the mention of this war god, Thalia halted in her tracks and spun around. Her brows narrowed in a tiny bit of anger. “His? Madeline is not a HE! And we don’t use molten weapons in Arcadia. We use Arcadium!” she said holding a finger up as she corrected the man. She let out a small hmph as she spun around, leaving Ash to stair at her massive plum of hair.

The scowl on her face remained for several seconds as she stewed over the insult Ash had just spoken. Then it donned on her. Perhaps he was actually referring to another god of war, but Thalia didn’t know of any others. She stopped once again in her tracks and spun back around, the angry look that was previously on her face was now swapped out for one of slight confusion and curiosity. “Y-you wouldn’t happen to be from another dimension would you?” She turned away for a moment and placed a hand on her chin. Her little head bobbed up and down as though she was conversion with herself.

She’d finally glance back and Ash with a large grin and bright eyes. “That must be it! It’s the only explanation as to why you don’t know who my queen is. Wow that clears up so much!” she said with a great big smile. She seemed much more happier now after coming to that conclusion, a feeling that would only get greater as Ash complimented her weapons. “Indeed I did. I make all my weapons. One must improvise when they are the weakest of their kind and must hunt things much stronger than themselves.” She continued to press on and began to fiddle with the head of her hammer. Her hair would reach into a pouch hanging from her wait and would withdraw two brass looking cylinders.

The little demon would load the canisters into two hollow ports on the back of the hammer head. “Unfortunately I don’t possess any innate magic like the rest of my kind either, so I cant make use of Arcadium. All my weapons are made with other materials found around my home.” She slowly come to a stand still as the two came to an extremely long hallway. The long walkway was open on either side and gave view to yet another cavern that lay beneath the grand palace. At the opposite end of the hallway were two hooded figures, both wielding scythes with great swords strapped to their backs.

A slight smirk crept onto Thalia’s face. She may have had a hard time with the being she faced earlier, but this time was different. This time she had her best weapon in hand, and a few other surprises tucked away in her hair. “We work together. There’s no way we’ll lose.”

"Mad who?" Ashford asked, right before the young looking girl started her rant. Of metal used for weapons, her world was named Arcadia it seems. But then, he did something that surprised him immensely. She concluded he was from a different dimension. He looked to her, expecting some sort of eyeing that would say he was a crazy man, only to realize that he hadn't even said it. She did. A smile cracked onto his lips. Someone else knew. They didn't think he was crazy.

"Yea, I am.. Thanks." Was all he could say as she continued to talk, telling him about her ability to make things, even that she, was the weakest of her kind. That made something in Ashford tick. She was a hunter, a fighter, and user of items and artifacts and she was the weakest of her kind. It was like looking in a mirror. A really, really small mirror that was tinted red.

But that warm feeling of finding someone almost exactly like you soon vanished as they came to a hallway that showed two of the scythe wielding wraith beings. Again with great swords that promised some form of danger attached to there back. The girl spoke and Ash found himself smiling. She wasn't wrong. "You're not wrong... Now, again, I'll try to distract them, my coat will protect me from any wide swings of there scythes. You... Well, you use that lovely looking hammer of yours and strike them when they are vulnerable. Or, if that plan falls apart. Swing till they drop." With that, Ash would charge forward towards the two.

With the great sword still on his shoulder, Ashford would squeeze the trigger, pulling and feeling the sword disconnect, but he kept the smaller sword inside the larger one till he got closer to one of the two wraiths, where when he got close enough, he'd finally swing the swords forward with the force of his metal hand, hoping the arch of his swing would throw the large sword off the smaller sword and towards the wraith he was aiming for. If he could get a early hit in like that, he'd be mighty happy and lucky, but that was going to up to luck to decide.

Thalia flashed a smile at Ash as he agreed to fight along side her. As he quickly rushed into the fray, the little demon would follow close behind. As soon as the large bladed like sheath went flying through the air, the wraith it was aimed at quickly dropped it’s scythe and retrieved the great sword from its back. The large blade quickly moved into position in front of the wraith as it attempted to block the flying sword blade. The collision caused it to skid back several inches, and forced a small crack in the blade of the hooded figures sword. Before it had a chance to recover a small grunt came from the air above it.

Thalia had seized the opportunity Ash had given her, and moved in to land the finishing blow and to send a message to the other hooded being. With all her might, Thalia swung her hammer downward as she fell from the sky. The collision of the hammer head and sword blade made a loud bang as it echoed through the empty cavern around them. The wraith had managed to stay on it’s feel and stave off the little hunters attack, but she was more cleave that it had given her credit for.

When her attack was blocked, Thalia immediately went into a second attack phase. Strands of her hair slid along the ground out of sight and latched onto the hooded figures ankles. With a forceful tug, Thalia would pull the beings legs out from underneath it and forced it to the ground. Quickly, Thalia would raise her hammer to the sky one more time. As she swung it down, she pulled the lever on the hammer. The massive firing pin would shoot forward and ignite the two canisters she had loaded into the hammer head. A thunderous boom echoed out as the hammed rocketed forward with inhuman strength and momentum.

The force of the swing smashed clean through the wraiths sword and caved in the chest armor of the being. A bone chilling scream reverberated out from under the skull like mask as the hooded figure fell motionless. Thalia would quickly leap back and open the back of her hammer which caused the two spent cartridges to shoot out and off the side of the narrow walkway they stood on.

She’d quickly reload the weapon before giving Ash a thumbs up. “Ready for round two? We’re almost there!” she finished by cocking back the firing pin on her hammer and rushing at the next wraith swinging her hammer wildly hoping to lead it into an Attack from Ash.

Watching a plan unfold when you had no real hope for it at first was a nice treat that took away all the pain Ash had acclimated over the past hour. Hearing the shrill sound of a sword smacking sword, the shadow of the red haired Thalia lunging atop the wraith with that hammer. He could only smile as she used every advantage she had, her hair to trip the target up, her unique weapon that shot the hammer into the wraiths chest. For a being he so feared just before, the two of them were able to take one out with planning and surprise.

But that is where his smile faded as his eye darted to the second wraith, who would have seen this. Saw what happened. And if it was smart. It would learn. And he no longer had a large sword to throw this time.

Looking to the girl, Ashford would nod to her as she gave him a thumbs up and asked if he was ready. He'd faced worse then these beings. He was ready. Gripping the now long sword in his metal hand, Ashford ran after the girl, watching as she went on the aggressive with the scythe wraith. Watched as it would react and knowing he had to get in on this now or lose any advantage.

Rushing towards them, he'd aim his left hand for wraiths shoulder that held nothing, seeing that the fire bolt was shrugged off before, he had prepared the ice bolt earlier and with a breath, along with some quick adjustments to counter his depth perception loss, he fired the bolt of ice, hoping it'd connect and freeze the wraiths shoulder for what he could only assume would be a short distraction when it came to this creature. Weather it connected with the desired effects or not, Ashford would keep moving, moving in time with Thalia's swings of her hammer, waiting for the moment she swung the hammer his way so that when she swung that dangerous hammer of hers away from him, he'd lunge at the wraith not a second later with precision and speed, aiming to thrust his sword into the crook of the wraiths shoulder that held the scythe, hoping to disable the arm. Time to test the girls metal work. And his aim.

Thalia continued to swing her hammer as wildly as she could. She was surprised at the success she was having with it to. The hooded being seemed in no hurry to block or be hit by the hammer after seeing its kin go down so easily. The hooded being’s movements continued to be manipulated with every swing of the redhead’s hammer. It took Thalia a moment to realize that the being wasn’t so much scared of being hit, but rather, it was sizing her up. After all this wraith was much different than the one they left Club fighting.

These two hooded figures had never encountered Ash or Thalia before, so it was understandable that this one would be doing everything it could to learn about it’s opponents. It wouldn’t get that luxury however, as it was in a two versus one fight and it had completely forgotten about the little demons partner. The hooded being’s movements would suddenly become stiff as its right shoulder froze over. This lead to the wraith taking a hit from Thalia’s hammer.

This was the perfect setup and example of teamwork displayed by the two as Ash took would take advantage of the blow Thalia landed. The being would stumble back a bit before it’s shoulder would be pierced from behind. The wraith would let out an inhuman growl as it suddenly lost all feeling in it’s right arm. A pair of glowing red eyes focused on Thalia as she rushed forward trying to capitalize on the opening. The little demon hunter would be met by a skeletal boot instead.

The impact of the kick would sent the poor little hunter rolling backwards end over end. The wraith would then spin around, it’s grip on it’s scythe had changed to allow it to wield it with one hand. As it spun around, the wraith would swing the scythe, aiming to separate Ash’s head from his shoulders.

Ashford would let the sword go as he lodged it into the creatures shoulder. Unsure if it could heal or not if it wasn't finished off now. Would they finish this one off just as easily as the first one? Did it really learn nothing? Maybe not, but even with a bad arm, it could still act. And thinking that they had win, had been wishful thinking on his part. A bad idea.

Watching the small monster hunter tumble away, Ashford cursed himself with being worried for her. She had tough skin, he had a coat, and the coat didn't protect his neck all that much, a thought that ran though his hand as he metal hand rose to hold off the the life ending scythe that had found itself coming his way with a swing from the wraith. "Oh cra-" Thankfully for HM metal, his neck was saved this day, not so thankfully for HM metal, that didn't stop the force from sending him flying off to the side in a way similar to Thalia.

Tumbling for a few seconds, Ashford would eventually figure what was the roof and what was the ground, his claws digging into the ground as she finally slid to a stop. Raising to his feet, Ashford would step forward to the wraith and stumble a little, looking down, he knew he must have rolled his ankle during that tumble, because his foot hurt like the negative right now.

Wanting to give his body a little longer to adjust to the injury, Ashford would quickly write up another ice bolt and fire it at the wraith, hoping to draw it's attention to him and him alone. "Hey ugly, Able held a scythe better then you did, and he didn't even own one most of the time." The insult was random, but he hoped it would draw the creature to him, and give the little hunter some time, otherwise, he was going to have to help her out in just a little while. Enough time for the coat to lessen the pain away.

Thalia finally managed to unravel herself from her hair and rise to her feet. She immediately located the hooded being and noticed his entire attention was focused on Ashford. The beings shoulder was still frozen, and the sword was still wedged in there limiting its movement. Still, the hooded wraith seemed intent on trying to remove Ash’s head. It continued to swing it’s scythe one handed with some efficiency, but still managed to hit only air. For one brief moment, the little demon’s mismatched eyes locked with Ash’s. Seeing the wraith rear up for another attack, Thalia motioned for Ash to come to her side.

Taking advantage of the beings stiff movements Ash would roll forward just narrowly missing the swing of the scythe. As he landed by Thalia’s side, the looked to him and gave an uneasy smile. “I have a really terrible idea. HOLD ON!” she shouted as she raised her hammer above her head and swung it downwards. As the hammer head fell down, she squeezed the trigger on her trick weapon, and the firing pin ignited the two canisters inside the head. The resounding boom echoed once again throughout the cavern around them. The ironish looking weapon slammed into the ancient sandstone walkway and a low rumble ensued.

Thalia stood in slight confusion. She was sure her swing would have caused the walkway to collapse, but here it was, in one piece. “Uh oh” she mumbled as the hooded being turned around to face the two. It’s glowing red eyes fixated on the little redhead. It took one step forward and stopped as the whole walkway began to shake. Another low rumble followed and before anyone could react, the entire walkway crumbled out from beneath their feet.

They all tumbled down a large mountain of sand, as pieces of the walkway rained down all around them. Eventually all the chaos would come to a stop and Thalia would find herself digging her way out of a mound of sand. She gasped for air as she reached the surface and quickly began to look for Ash in all the mess. What she found instead, was the hooded being pulling itself out of a sandy grave much like herself. A small growl escaped from its hood as it turned it’s gaze to the little hunter. It’s right arm had been freed of the ice and sword in the tumble and it looked completely recovered. It griped both hands tightly around the handle of it’s scythe and began to tread through the sand.

Thalia tightened her grip, and a look of shock appeared on her face as she noticed that she had dropped her hammer in the fall. “Oh no. Please no. Not my hammer!” she mumbled in a worried tone. She was more concerned about her weapon, than the imminent threat of the approaching wraith. As the hooded figure drew close and readied to strike, an odd hum came from a doorway that was carved into the rocky cavern side. The hum reverberated throughout the cavern then a roar followed. The wraith froze with intrigue, before the sand beneath it seemed to spring to life and swallow it whole.

“um….ok….Ashford! Ashford! Where are you!” she started to shout out. She was much more relaxed with the wraith out of the way.

First off, he got the attention of the wraith. That was awesome. Because now he had a scythe coming towards him again, not as awesome. But it was stiff, not as fast as it could have been and that gave him the chance to get to Thalia when it did attack, his ankle having stilled enough for him to move easily. "Terrible plan is still better the- Oh what the void." Ash would grumble as the ground seemed to shake, his stance lowering as to avoid falling on the floor.

"Great... Great plan.." He'd say as he looked to the wraith. As collapsing the floor seemed to not do the trick, they'd have to deal with this... Wait... The floor was rumbling again, meaning that the plan before was... "Greeeeeat." He got out, right before the floor took away his footing and he along with Thalia and the wraith began to tumble and fall. Sand getting everywhere and he was not having the best of time, right up till the point of stopping.

Reaching a hand upwards, he'd pull himself from the sand that had covered him and brush at some of it that had got into his clothes, more of the sand had got into his cuts. He was not liking this desert at all anymore, or sand. In fact, he decided he really, really hated sand. Had he already decided that? He didn't care, he knew he really, really, really hated it now.

Finally, he fully climbed out and looked around, he sighted the wraith, who seemed to be heading towards something, knowing how luck worked, it found Thalia. Climbing to his feet, he noted something a small distance away and smiled to himself. "Helllo~"

While retrieving the item, Ashford was momentarily distracted by a strange hum, soon followed by a roar. Knowing that didn't mean anything good, Ashford slugged the object over his should and ran back to where he saw the wraith, coming around and spotting a Thalia who had been looking for him. And when she sighted him, he'd have that lovely looking hammer of hers over his shoulder. "Where did the wraith go. Better question... What was that sound."

While calling out for Ash, Thalia continued to search around for her hammer. Of all the tools she possessed and used, the hammer was easily her favorite. The thought of losing it deeply upset her. So, while she focused on looking for Ash, her hair frantically patted away at the sand. A voice echoed out from behind the little demon, causing her to spin around. Her mismatched eyes locked with Ash, but quickly moved from his face to the thing he had slung over his shoulder. Her face immediately lit up with glee. “MY HAMMER! My beautiful hammer!” she shouted as she pranced through the sand over to the man’s side.

After making her way to Ash’s side, Thalia held out her hands and eagerly took her hammer back. She looked at the man with a great big smile on her face. “You sir are a saint.”

Her smile soon faded however when asked about the hooded wraiths whereabouts. Her gaze moved away from Ash and over to what looked like an open doorway carved out of the side of the cavern, or rather a sunken part of the palace that had been consumed by the cavern over the years. “Our host took care of the wraith, and soon I’ll have to take care of him.” Thalia was seriously worried she wouldn’t be up to the task. She had no idea how she was supposed to pacify the great champion. She expected to be set up for failure from Spade or Diamond, she had never expected her queen to give her such an impossible task.

She looked up to the opening of the hallway, took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her hammer. Madeline didn’t set her up to fail, she knew Thalia was more than capable of handling this task. It was this reasoning that Thalia would take with her into the hallway. She wasn’t going to doubt herself just because she was weak and her task seemed impossible. If Madeline believed in her, then Thalia knew she could succeed.

Thalia pointed her gaze towards the ground as she turned to face Ash. “I cannot ask you to follow me. This is a job I must finish, and it would be selfish of me to ask you to get involved with something that doesn’t involve you. I…I also don’t want you to get hurt.” her mismatched eyes drifted up and locked with his. “I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt on my behalf. So please….if you feel like leaving, now would be the time.”

Thalia would then turn away from him and begin to slowly shuffle through the sand towards the hallway.

Ashford smiled to himself as the young lady came over, offering her the hammer as easily as he had found it. He could understand not wanting to be separated from a weapon. When his sword was whole, he adored it. Now the dagger of fire that it is, it didn't carry the same weight, nor all his respect for its use these days. "It was nothing, keep a better grip on it I guess for next time."

Ashford kept his smile, till finally it was back to business, the wraith was taken out by the master of this place... Then why hadn't the master dealt with them. Less they didn't consider the two of them as threats. More... Aids.. Or usable pieces.. That made sense. Of course, all that left was for them to go and meet this guy and then...

Ashford froze to look at this girl, still never seeing her eyes quite fully, she really did have wild hair. He listened to her talk and had a look of surprise on his face. He had never encountered this kind of situation. He got the job, had to get it done. No breaks, no nos. Just do the job. He got hurt, and only one really cared about that, but to everyone else, that was the danger of being in his position.

And finally, as she ended her words, his eye finally met hers and just some strange reason. He couldn't move... He was left in his state of surprise as she began to walk away. Making her way to her final destination and he was standing behind like an asshole because he couldn't move... No.

Taking in a deep breath, Ashford focused himself, he thought about bells, the chime, the ever present release, he thought about his bar, the wood and he thought about her and after a few seconds more of these peaceful thoughts, he started to stride forward. Breaking himself out of whatever frozen spell that was. He walked till he found himself by the girls side, his left hand rested on the black rapiers hilt.

"Thalia. While I did not have much choice, in the end, I made and will keep that promise with your big friend. If anyone is getting hurt, it is me and this host of ours, along with whoever summoned those wraiths. I got quite a number of ribs to pay that gal back for. So don't you worry, I'm here till the end." Ashford stated, keeping in pace with the girl. He was ready to fight this battle that was not his, because in the way of Four, he made it his battle.

It had never dawned on Thalia as she turned away and proceeded down the dimly lit hallway that she had inadvertently not left Ash with a choice of whether to join her or not. As she proceeded down the hallway, with her weapon clutched tightly in her hands, she was happy that the man had not followed her. Though she had to admit to herself that she was feeling mighty lonely right about now. Just as she was approaching the final resting place of Madeline’s ancient champion and the ruler of this sunken city, she heard the sound of rushed footsteps approaching.

While a smile did creep onto her face and while she was happy to have Ash at her side, she was filled with an abnormal amount of worry. She let out a small chuckle at Ash’s attempt to justify his following her. “You don’t have to worry about Club, he talks big, but he’s a big softy. I’m glad you’re here though.” Thalia wanted to talk more to make the trek down the dim passage a bit less dreary, but that was interrupted by a series of bright flashes at the end of the hallway and a pair of completely different cries.  

One of the cries was completely foreign compared to what they had heard up to this point, it wasn’t a wraith and it wasn’t a mummy. It sounded like a man in a lot of pain. The other cry was the same one that had boomed out in the cavern before the wraith was consumed by the sand. It seemed like whoever it was that had invaded this unholy place before Ash and Thalia, had made it to the kings resting place before they could.

That being said it sounded like neither of them were having a good time. The little redhead took off like a bullet down the hallway. Her mind was racing with thoughts of being too late so much so that she nearly received a claymore blade to the face. Luckily her hair seemed to react faster than she did and took most of the impact, which caused her to tumble backwards. “I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” she shouted. It was the first time she had displayed any sort of anger, an emotion many didn’t think she was capable of conveying. This was probably her inner Madeline showing.

She gripped the handle of her hammer tightly and rushed in head first at the one sole remaining hooded wraith. He was not going to be the reason she failed her mission. She was not going to fail this mission. She’d pummel this chump and his master into the sand if need be. As the little demon engaged with the last hooded wraith more screaming could be heard coming from the room just beyond her reach. She’d feel a lot better if she knew Akhenaten was winning.

"No where else I'd rather be." Ashford confirmed with a smile, not letting any form of injury he might have been feeling at this moment sway him into making anything other face. He couldn't and would never allow himself to fall down now. He had a promise to keep, no matter how gentle or how much was meant.

The sound of screams however, did turn his smile to a frown as he looked around. It was new to the sounds he had been hearing the entire time he was hear, yet all too similar to something he knew. It was pain. They were close, just who was in pain. The answer came from the second yell, the one from before, the master of this place. If he was making this sound, then the intruder must have taken too big a step, and fallen quite the distance.

But with the sounds, they were mere encouragement to the girl by his side to rush ahead, forcing Ash to follow. Her speed almost landed her a injury, something she thankfully reacted too before it was too late. Sliding to a stop, Ashford wrote up another ice bolt while the girl took her anger out on the wraith. Knowing full well the girl could handle one on her own when she was focused, knew she would be a force to reckon with right now, pushed on, jumping past the two and spinning for a moment to aim his hand at the back of the knee of the wraith. "Be quick!" He called out as he fired the bolt of ice at the wraiths knee before spinning on the spot and rushing into the room to case what was happening and see what he could do.

While he knew in the end, both beings would become a threat to him and the girl, he understood they needed her target to win this, so with one of them being a man, he expected the other to be a woman, because with everything being different in this world, he needed that one thing to remain. Almost all the beings that were a threat when he met them were woman, there was just no way they'd all be men here. No way.

The wraith continued to avoid Thalia’s attacks. It moved further and further down the hall, it’s mission was to keep its master from being interrupted. So far the hooded being had been doing a piss poor job of it. Thalia continued to press with each swing of her hammer. Driving the Wraith closer and closer to Akhenaten’s chamber. While the little demon was completely focused on the hooded wraith. Ashe capitalized on an opening and rushed past the two. As he moved beyond the wraith he’d land a solid hit with his magic.

The ice from the rune encapsulated the wraiths leg. As it attempted to take a step back, the wraith found it’s leg unresponsive. This brief moment of confusion allowed one of the little redheaded demon’s attacks to land. The hammer head collided dead on with the wraith’s chest and floored him. The sound of the bony suit of armor echoed throughout the passage way. A growl of anger escaped the wraith as it attempted to get back to its feet. With a rather savage yell of her own, Thalia brought her hammer down. The explosive canisters within the hammers head going off at the same time.

The force of the blow all but pushed the wraiths head down into its own body. It fell lifeless at Thalia’s feet. Thalia breathed a sigh of relief before reloading her weapon and rushing after Ash.

Back in the chamber of the sunken king, a figure cloaked in shadow stood with their arms stretched out. Darkness extended from their fingertips like a rabid beast. It soon began to envelope the barrier surrounding the ancient Arcadian champion. The mysterious beid lower their arms and slowly turn around to face Ash as he entered the room. It was almost as if he had the foresight to know he would be interrupted.

“Ah. I see my minions have let me down. Well then! Welcome!” the figure said. There was no true definition to the beings body at all. He seemed to be composed entirely of darkness or something far more sinister. A pair of glowing eyes and teeth shined through the swirling darkness. The being began to move away from Akhenaten and towards Ash. “Tell me. Is this what Madeline has come to rely upon these days? A pathetic display of humanity if ever I saw one.” he’d say, waving a hand in Ash’s direction.

No sooner did the darkness stop talk, Thalia entered the room. The pair of glowing eyes widened as if shocked by the site of the tiny demon. “Well, well, the lady shows up in the flesh. Never thought I’d see you working along side one of your pets.” he spat.

Thalia shot the strange being a confused look. This look of confusion only extended further as the great king let out a deafening wail. Her mismatched eyes shifted to Ash, then to the shadowy figure and then finally to the ancient champion. For some reason the two other beings were reacting towards her. And then it clicked. Thalia realized the two had mistaken her to be Madeline. She wanted to correct the figure of darkness but realized this could sway things in her favor. “That is correct! I am here with one of my many champions. One must ensure their subjects obey their orders to the letter. It is also wise to ensure they serve their purpose, something your minions seem to fail at.” she snapped. The little demon tried to hold her head up high to convey a sense of royalty and power in the moment.

“I must say you’ve gotten a lot smaller. Guess it takes a long time for Arcadian’s to mature.” the dark being shrugged. “No matter. My minions may have failed, but there is nothing you or your lackey can do to stop me.” The figure would proceed to turn his back on the two and reinitiate what he had started.

Upon entering the chamber, Ashford didn't spend too long eyeing the view of royalty before him. No, his attention was moved to the display before him. A being made of swirling darkness faced a huge beast of a creature, a barrier seemed to separate them. It was a intriguing sight, two beings he had never had the pleasure of witnessing before... This would be fun.

It also seemed the swirling shadows of a being noticed him. And began to make its way towards him, Ashford in turn, did the same, walking ever so slowly towards the creature. He for the most part, ignored them to see just what they were... The swirling shadows suggested they had no physical body, yet the eyes, mouth and movement suggested they treated this body like one. So ether his true form was hidden inside the shadows, or his real body was not here, and this was simply a clone of sorts, one he controlled from afar.

Soon, Thalia caught up to them, as Ash knew she would. And the creature seemed... Surprised. Seeming to mistake Thalia as the woman known as Madeline... Madeline, her war god. Ashford glanced back to Thalia, who also seemed confused by this, till she took a more regal and proper form, addressing the shadow being as if she were more then just a hunter.

Looking back to the shadow being that seemed to choose to ignore them, thinking it could not be touched, Ashford smiled to himself. He had the advantage that they thought a war god was by his side. He could aid that little white lie. "You dare turn your back to my Queen? She sent me, the weakest of her champions to handle this... Small problem you present and she even came to watch. And so far your... Heh. Minions? Vermin. Have proven to be nothing, what makes you think you are any better?" Ashford drew the black rapier from his belt and held it upwards, before swinging the blade down to his side, a trail of white light, if one was to look closely, a tear in the fabric of space, followed the tip of the rapier, closing less then a second later.

"And you, Champion, your Queen is here and you're hiding behind a barrier because of this king of vermin! You are making me look good." Ashford hoped to gain the ire of at least the shadow being, and anger the champion enough to act out against the shadow being. For he was not sure how well he could handle these things, nor if the fake Queen had a plan besides unnerving these two.

So he began to walk towards the swirling darkness, rapier out and ready to strike. Just the thought of using the weapon was dangerous, but he wasn't sure his arm could affect this being, and the rapier being the most powerful, sharpest magical weapon he had... Well. It was better then nothing.

Ashford’s words seemed to fall on deaf ears. The shadowy figure refused to pay him any attention. His soul focus was on getting through the barrier and to Akhenaten. It was unclear to Thalia if this being was merely trying to set the terrifying creature free, or if he was trying to steal the champions power for himself. Regardless of the mysterious figures motives, Akhenaten was not going to go down with out a fight. Despite being imprisoned behind this barrier Akhenaten still possessed great power. Akhenaten raised one of his massive fists to the sky, causing the sun light that trickled in to be blocked out for a brief moment.

That same fist would get slammed down into the ground. The sand near the walls of the chamber would erupt upwards before taking the form of what appeared to be ancient warriors. Each one armed with a spear. The ancient Egyptian’s eyes lit up and burned like the sun. Akhenaten's burning eyes fell upon the shadowy figure, who seemed as disinterested with the ancient champion as he did with Ash. The soldiers of sand began to slowly advance inward. The closed in on the being made of shadow, their spears at the ready.

Thalia looked about nervously. She did not like where things were headed. She felt kind of sad for Akhenaten as her mismatched eyes met with his for a brief moment. She couldn’t imagine the pain or agony he must have been feeling. Locked away deep beneath the sands of his old home. Doomed to never truly see the light of day ever again. It made the little demon question just why the champions were locked away to begin with. What was it about them, that made them so dangerous? Madeline always had her reasons for how things were done, but the status of her ancient champions was always something that didn’t quite make sense.

Madeline always seemed to prioritize the safety and security of Akhenaten over the others. If she coveted him so much then why had she not claimed his soul yet? Thalia shook the thoughts from her head. It wasn’t her place to question her queen’s actions. She was here to follow orders and get a job done, and that was what she was going to do. The soldiers of sand moved past Ash and Thalia. They now had the being of darkness stuck between them and the barrier. Things were never so cut and dry as they appeared to be.

The being of shadow would spin around nonchalantly, a single hand extended outward. With the snap of his fingers the sand soldiers sank into their own shadows until they were completely consumed. The figure would then turn his back to Ash and Thalia once more. “It is as I have said you cannot stop me. I’ve got to say it was so nice of you to come here in person. You’ve saved me the trouble of having to travel to Arcadia.”

A sinister grin crept onto his face, though the other two could not see it. “Once I add this champion’s power to my collection, I will use it to destroy you once and for all!”

The beings words triggered both Thalia and Akhenaten. Whoever these being was, he seemed keen on killing Madeline. That was something neither of the two would allow. Thalia would quickly reach into one of her may pouches. Thalia would draw out the demon eyeball she had used earlier and would attempt to use it on the figure. As Thalia brought the eye up to hers, the figure would disperse into a cloud of shadowy bats. This caused the little hunter to hesitate as she did not want to hit the barrier. The figure would take advantage of this and would reform midair. He’d then dive down with tremendous force at the little redhead.

Thalia would raise her hammer to defend herself, but the being’s outstretched hand would slam straight through the hammer. The figure having broken through Thalia’s mediocre defense would then pin her to the ground. He’d bring his arm back and a large sword would appear in his hand. The blade was coated in a thin layer of ice and gave of a small cloud of mist. “Maybe I don’t need Akhenaten’s power to beat you after all! You’ve grown quite soft Madeline!” he’d bark.

Upon seeing the mysterious figure get the upper hand on the small demon, Akhenaten would let out a monstrous roar. The cry of anger echoed throughout the chamber and began to visibly crack the barrier that surrounded him.

Thalia’s eyes shifted from the blade that was poised to pierce her body. They fell upon the failing barrier. “No!” she’d whimper as she ignored her own fate and worried about what would happen if Akhenaten broke free.

Ashford would slow down, even take a few steps back. This guy didn't have a ego to provoke, just a intent focus on the job. Crap. He needed to change tactics but he wasn't sure what he could even do without attacking them and seeing what happened. But before he could even do that, Akhenaten was already acting, summoning warriors of sand.

Unsure who's side he and Thalia were on, Ash began to move back towards the small hunter, careful till he realized that the sand warriors ignored him and were on there way to attack the Shadow... Only for them to vanish into shadows. That was when the swirling shadow gave them the honor of his voice, giving a threat to Thalia's Queen, her homeland, Arcadia. His current goal, absorb the champion, Akhenaten. Power. This situation was looking a hell of a lot worse then before and he still had no way of knowing what could harm this creature.

With his focus on the creature, his feet making way to Thalia, Ashford felt a little confused when the mess of shadows became a swarm of bats. It then reformed and began to move, only this time towards the little hunter. "T-Damn it." Ash turned and almost started running to the two, only to stop a moment to look to Akhenaten, who was roaring in an anger, Ashford felt like he had heard it before, coming from someone he knew long ago.

He also saw how the barrier was cracked by the mere sound. If this being wanted the Champions power, he must have been confident he could take Akhenaten easily. Holding his bandaged hand to the large being, he hoped Akhenaten would pay him little attention as he yelled. "Don't!" Before sprinting towards the shadow that now held Thalia in his grasp, a large sword ready to strike the false Queen, who while durable. Well, this Shadow being knew that.

And with everything he didn't know about this creature, it's power, it's weaknesses. He focused on the thing he had to do, protect, and dived to land atop the girl just as the Shadows sword was brought down with the intent to pierce the girl, instead, it made contact with the midst of Ashfords back. The icy sword bouncing away upon impact, leaving Ashford flat atop Thalia as he hissed loudly in pain along with the crackle of bones in his back breaking, using his metal arm to quickly roll himself off the girl with even more hisses, he painfully growled out a single word. "Move..."