Frostfall [closed]

"I hope you know I wasn't being serious... We obviously can't nuke the damn thing." Austyn said, actually sort of sad and disappointed that no one caught the fact it was a half-hearted joke. He then perked his ear up at "cleared my name" and Seraph turned his head slowly fixating upon the boy. Honestly he wasn't legally obligated to take him in or anything...but it was pretty alarming how forthright he was with his criminal history. Deciding to do nothing about it he looked to Sephiroth and clutched it. "It's not safe. I can't promise you'll be okay if you come. I can promise I'll do my best but... I'm human. But if you want to help I'd be thankful." Austyn said with a little sigh before nodding.

"You're in good hands. I'm more worried about him to be honest." The sword offered the small tid-bit for comfort. Not exactly comforting, but that's not the point for it. Austyn himself was a little anxious, unsure of what exactly they were going to do. He felt his blade vibrate with a very happy form of hum and a small crystalline aurora noise filled his head with a serene aura that seemed to calm him down, though he could have no way of knowing it was his sword speaking to him in a language he did not understand. "Oh for the love of God dumbass calm the eff down. Seriously someone get this kid some prozac. Get him to get a move one too if we can. I like this dude but he seriously needs to stop delaying this. CAN YOU HEAR ME!? SERAPH? YOU NEED TO GET MOVING. PEOPLE ARE DYING AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. EVERYONE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

 "Okay...I'm ready. I got a plan. Let's go, I'll tell you guys on the way. From what I've seen we have a giant wolf, a technopath an energy user, my sword and the mandatory sass. Time to McGuyver this." He said with a chuckle and a rather happy tone, still ignorant to his swords taunts. Austyn would quickly make his way towards the ice castle's location, though it seemed to him as if they might need more back up in case more minions appeared. He wondered if they could reach the palace through the alley ways, less room to maneuver so it was perfect...nothing too big or strong could follow them without being manageable by the squad. Hopefully they could get there with little altercation, though with his luck...probably not.

”I know.” The masked woman would say with what appeared to be indifferent, softly petting the large wolf that stood beside her, and seemed to be enjoying the attention. One had suggested they had some manner of criminal history, making their part within this little excursion towards an ice palace even more interesting. Curiosity did not compel technopaths as far as she knew to dive into a potentially fatal situation, unless they had a death wish they wanted to fulfill. If they wanted to help, well that was only slightly important, and her interest was more within the two that had proven themselves capable of fighting.

One more so than the other with an unknown energy that she manipulated. ”I suppose that makes me the sass.”

”Sounds like you have one s too many there.” Starlight would quip, drawing a glare from the masked woman for a second.

”Well I suppose that means I lead the way.” She would then say ignoring Starlight, holding the door open to let the wolf step through, seemingly unaffected by the cold that was now biting. It appeared that the temperature had lowered even more, enough to make staying in it too long dangerous. With a deep sigh, the masked woman removed what looked like a coat from her and tossed it to Data. ”Wear this, it will keep you from freezing to death.” Whether or not he wore it did not mater, but if he did Data would find out that upon donning the coat he would feel instantly warmer through his entire body.

The cold did not matter so much with it on, making him less of a problem. As for her, if she was cold no one was likely to see any signs of it. While she had a distinct idea of how to get there, she would let Seraph semi-lead the way to the ice castle through narrow alleyways which made it much easier to deal with anything that came at them. However, mostly they did not find too much trying to stop them on their way.

The closer they got to the castle, the greater the storm got, falling harder upon them and only making visibility even harder. The only thing she could see within this was the shapes of building, and those that were shambling within it, as well as the other constructs. Starlight was beginning to feel the effects of the cold, and her energy could only do so much to protect her. ”We’re getting closer. Things should be less severe once we reach the palace.” She would say loud enough for her fellow heroes to hear, if that was what she was.

In the distance something could be heard roaring loudly.

"I've heard people be serious about crazier things, so i guess i can't tell anymore. Anyway, yeah, sure, there's a risk and all that. But its my choice, and i wouldn't expect you to promise me anything." Jake said, a rather serious expression on his face. He didn't need people looking at him like he needed protection, he was sick of it. He wanted to make it clear that it was his choice to risk his life, and that if he got hurt, it was no ones fault but his own. Listening to this sword was kind of a pain in the ass, sure Jake would probably just mute it, but at the moment it was the best bet at finding out what was going on. Evidently it was working on something, so Jake couldn't risk not listening.

".......How does a sword get such an odd personality? You sound like kids from my old school." Jake said partially amused. It was a curious thing, you would expect a sword, even if it could talk, to have a vocabulary consisting of "Huzzah!" "Cut" "Die" and "Hack". However, this one sounded like it had life experience. Perhaps Jake could ask about it later on. The one with the sword then lead the way out of the building, saying they had a plan. It was nice he called Jake "a technopath" rather then "weird emo kid with a criminal record" or something else insulting. The other one got called a sass though, which was kinda funny. He didn't very much like the pyrokinetic, arrogance was a trait he despised and she seemed to have ton of it. However she did give him a coat, so that was nice. It seemed to be like, magic or something, because he was pretty much totally warmed by it. Why the hell did she wait this long to give it too him? He was practically freezing alive in that room. Oh well, he had it now, so that was cool.

With energy gun in hand Jake moved out, being the last to leave the room. For some reason he always waited to be the last for pretty much anything, partially because he didn't want to shove through people, and partially because, well, he was kind of a loner. He walked a good ten feet behind the pack, picking up a pipe as he did. Barbaric sure, but it would get the job done. There only seemed to be a few faint signals in the area, even the 4g network was having problems. And unfortunately there wasn't like, an attack helicopter he could take control of anywhere. That would have been nice, but there wasn't, so he would make due with a pipe and this weird construct thing. Suddenly, he heard something roaring in the distance. Probably an ice T Rex or something.

"Oh, great, roaring." Jake said casually. He was pretty afraid sure, but he was also pretty cold even with the jacket, that sort of numbed the whole terror thing. Immediately Jake walked over to a car, smashed its window out with the pipe in his hand, then got in. No keys, but with a thought he was able to start it with the cars computer. As soon as it was on he screeched off and then came to a stop next to the group.

"Get in everyone, unless of course you want to be eaten by whatever the hell that was. I don't know why i didn't think of taking a car sooner." Jake said as he jacked the heat up in the mid size car. He wasn't sure if the wolf could ride, but he didn't really care. Whoever decided to get in would go. After everyone got in, he would drive off toward the palace.

Seraph couldn't help but wonder at what the masked woman said. Less of them the closer they got? Well first off the loud roaring they heard in the direction they wanted to go made Austyn immediately thing "Bullshit" and then his knowledge of tactical placement made him question that judgment. Why would you put less minions and constructs closest to you? The first reason one might do this is to not give away their position...although that shot out the window because of the fucking ice castle that was in the middle of nowhere. The second concept that Austyn thought of was the fact that maybe something more powerful guarded it, and that number didn't compensate for raw power. With the roars this seemed the most likely. The last option was that this man was clearly a dumbass and deserved to get his face beaten in by a desk lamp.

His feet shuffled through the snow as he continued on, they made their way through the alleyways until eventually they ended yup at a mid-sized car. The kid said to get in, which made Austyn question the age and driving capabilities of the other teen. They drove for a decent while before they reached a safe distance...or a semi-distance. The massive "courtyard" like area of the ice palace, though upon seeing the multiple dragons he seemed to sigh. Why did shit always have to be so larger than life with these kinds of villains? It was much better to be the silent type, but all these idiots cared for nothing else but to see their name in lights. Their name on the news and the glory to be rained upon them. Sadly all this narcissistic idiot would get would be the fists of justice rained upon him...and the fists of a fellow criminal that was here with this rag-tag group of people. Honestly this was a mess. All of it. Austyn looked back to data. "So.. we still against the missile approach?" Austyn said as he stood out of the car with the large palace just off in the distance, several, and by several we mean close to seven to nine dragons, all of them about 40 foot in size.

Well this is nice. I can't tell you how much I've always wanted to be eaten by ice dragons... hey, Techno. Be a badass and ask Seraph to hold me. This is gonna be pretty intense. Sephiroth said before vibrating a little. Need to be in your hands to do this.

The closer they got to the castle, the less serve the storm seemed to get, despite the number of constructs that seemed to stand between there and them. Resistance would not lessen the closer they got but it would be easier to see them with the snowdrift growing to become less of a problem. The one with the shaggy black hair would drive them there, though Starlight was questioning his driving skills and if they could trust him. Luckily they were not too much of a problem and soon enough they found themselves in what looked like a courtyard with the snowfall now nothing more than light flakes falling down upon them.

If it were not for the low growls of the dragons, then it would have been silent. The large wolf had padded behind the vehicle, thought it walked back over to the masked woman as soon as it had the chance. From the sky one of them would land with a ground shaking thump, throwing up snow into the air like powder as strange white wings folded along its back. ”Just remember, we need to get around them, and nothing more. I have a feeling they won't attack us once we are in the palace.” The strange masked woman would say gripping the hilt of the rapier at her side, unsheathing it as a spark seemed to run through the air.

Flames began to dance along the edge of the blade, rapidly melting any snow that touched it and producing a faint sizzling sound. They were large creatures, the smallest of them maybe thirty feet in size and largest forty, yet all of them dangerous within their own ways. They were in the proverbial eye of the storm now, which meant things would be their calmest here of all places, so that was one small plus for them. Most of them looked down upon  the three, releasing small clouds of mist as they breathed. They seemed to recognize the masked woman, showing visible anger. That being until something larger than any of them appepared from the sky, fifty feet maybe in length, eastern dragon in appearance more than western.

It would coil around an indistinct statue, before turning cyan eyes upon them. It's maw opened as if to growl but speech came out. “Humans, what business do you have here?” It growled in a deep voice that echoed through the courtyard. “Do you seek the source of this unnatural winter, to put it to an end?” This had not been something the masked woman had been expecting as her posture spoke of slight surprise.

”Well yeah, a lot of people will die if we don't.” Starlight said.

“Yes, many shall die if this storm is not ended. Your world may even be reduced to nothing but frozen wastes if it is allowed to continue.” There was almost a strange wisdom to how it spoke. “My question is, do you have the will to do what needs to be done?”

So here they were, in front of the castle. Jake had stopped the car and allowed everyone to get out, and he himself did the same. Jake wasn't too shocked at the sight of the dragons, yeah they were scary as shit but he had already seen them on the news. They were quite a bit bigger in person, though. As the fire lady had said earlier, it all seemed calm here. The weather had let up a bit, which made this easier for everyone. But they did still have the problem of several large ice dragons in front of them.

"I just might reconsider." Jake said to the boy with the sword as he stared at the creatures. They were pretty damn awesome to be frank, but still, ya know, terrifying.

"You feel they won't? Wow, what a concrete theory." Jake said sarcastically to the fire manipulator. Seriously, what was she basing that off of? It felt like she knew more then she was saying, either that or these were just paper thin assumptions, but she did seem to be right about the whole calmer as they got closer thing. The sword spoke to Jake again, calling him Techno or something. Really, you couldn't come up with anything better then that, sword? Regardless, it actually wanted to do something now.

"I'm pretty sure he likes his sword....but I'll try." Data said to the sword tele(techno?)pathically.

"I know you think I'm crazy, but your sword just asked me to hold it. I think it wants to use my powers or something." Jake said. If the boy didn't give him the sword, well Jake would just try to wrestle it from the boys hands. He wasn't sure if he would be successful, but if the kid really didn't want to give it up then that was the only option.

Whether he got the sword or not, he paused and his face went even paler then it already was, if that was possible. One of the dragons, a huge asian style one, spoke. Jake's eyes widened, sure he had seen some crazy shit, but this was just....wow. Why were they acting so casual? The girl who had given him the construct gun was talking to it like it was some dude she met in a coffee shop. Was this like, normal to her?

"It seems to be national things that aren't supposed to talk actually talk day." Jake said, mostly to himself. He then tried to get past the whole talking dragon thing and actually listen to it. It sounded like it was challenging them. Did they have the will? Now what the hell was that supposed to mean?

"I was taught never to answer a question with a question, but, what exactly needs to be done?" Jake asked the dragon after stepping forward. If he got the sword from its owner, he would hold it out, very weakly and unenthusiastically. Not a completely threatening stance, but one that would allow the sword to do whatever it was going to do.

"Oh, They'l leave us alone? Oh greay-yeah uhm, did the dragon's tell you that by chance?" The Seraph asked. He couldn't believe that he had just heard someone suggest going around them and pretty mutch ignoring them. Forgive Seraph if he didn't believe that you could sweep any of these dragons under the rug like they simply weren't there. Especially with three of them looking rather vicious and angry, seething almost despite the oxymoronic pun. The Seraph looked to Fera and shook his head. She was absolutely and utterly insane, in fact there wasn't much else that could happen to make him think that tonight could get any crazi-"I know you think I'm crazy, but your sword just asked me to hold it.-Damn right I think you're crazy-I think it wants to use my powers or something." The boy about his age interjected.

"Seriously, do you guys hear yourselves!? We have the Dragon Whisperer and the Sword Speaker here. I'm legit waiting for the laugh-tracks." He said as he sighed and shook his head. then an idea came to his head as his eyes widened a little, though with the way he was looking at his boot it wasn't likely the ocular expression was picked up on. Give him a second...give him a second... the sword said to Data. Then The Seraph sighed and handed the sword to Data before twitching and pulling it back. "Be careful with 'er." He said, his emotional attachment to the sword showing slightly. Seraph rationalized that...somehow this guy knew about the swords power, and he had a plan to get them into the castle. If that's all it too..then so should it be. As he handed the sword over to Data there would be a large dragon that appeared to talk to them.

Aaaawe, Ausy does care! Cutie...okay now let's murder these things in the face! The sword said as it began to power up. Okay...hope you're ready for this. Point at the biggest one in the back you can find!! The sword said as it charged up. If or when he pointed, Sephiroth would turn greenish and then literally transform into a living matrix looking construct of green zeros, ones and letters and words in brackets. The Sword would home in and seek out the specific dragon. When the sword hit the dragon would then transform to become exatly like the sword, a lifinv matric of data that would tie and tether itself into Data's mind. Living data to be communicated and manipulated by Data. So at least they had a dragon on their side. Meanwhile some of the data shot out of the Datragon's mouth as a roat and then reformed the blade Sephiroth inside The Seraph's hand.... of coruse if Data didn't aim the blade none of this would happen.

It seemed more than anything the other two were intent on fighting than anything else, which was made apparent by Data saying something about Seraph's sword. ”I feel like these two just think i'm some kind of idiot.” She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. The wolf beside her cocked it's head to the side, looking from her to Seraph and then to Data curiously. The sword somehow produced what looked like a strange draconian construct that opened it's mouth and unleashed a beam of energy at one of the dragons in the back. Upon making contact the dragon let out a roar as it was rapidly reduced to data, and faded away leaving nothing in it's wake. ”And now this is happening.”  She sighed brandishing her weapon and preparing for a fight, because there would be one.

“So you've made your choice.” The largest dragon seemed to sigh almost disappointed, unfurling from the spire and taking off into the sky. It didn't look as if it would take part within the fight, but the remaining four would. Within a split second the masked woman dashed forward, achieving speed that was beyond human capabilities with sword raised. The second largest did not have much time to react as the flaming sword was plunged into its chest, unleashing a torrent of flames that seemed to fill it until the dragon was reduced to a pile of mush. ”Shael now!” She shouted as the wolf took off as well,

With sharp teeth it would bite into the throat of one of the dragons that were preparing a breath attack, causing it to choke for a moment as the wolf began to change shape into more of a….dragon. With a twist of the neck, it tore the ice dragons head off, leaving them with two more that were ready to strike.  Taking advantage of them focusing upon the two, Starlight unleashed a bolt of comic energy to sheer through one of their wings and veer into the other, causing both to crash as the masked woman took this chance to run through the front gate of the palace into the entrance hall. Shifting back into the form of a wolf, the shifter did the same.

"Wow...that actually worked." She muttered with a shrug.

Ok, sword does other things besides normal sword things. As soon as Data had done what the sword had said, pointing to the big dragon in the back, the sword transformed into data, resembling binary code. It shot out at the large dragon in the back, and it was instantly transformed just as the sword was. Data could feel his powers settle over the Datragon, and he knew he could control the beast. The sword seemed to have appeared within the owners hand, and then the fire lady charged forward, somehow managing to take out two dragons with the help of her shape shifting wolf thing.

"You believe me now?" Jake said with a slight smirk as he reached out with his mind and manipulated the Datragon. It would then dash forward, attempting to blindside one of the remaining dragons. It would ram right into the other dragon, then bite at its neck in an effort to rip its throat out. If it was successful, it would move on to the other and unleash Data-breath. The other dragon would likely also be digitized, that or simply incinerated, Jake didn't really know. After that the Datragon would fly up and start to circle the castle, and would continue to until it was needed again. Jake then walked to the entrance, and if there were still Dragons, he would technoport there.

"Damn right it worked, that was awesome!" Jake said.

So they had made their choice? Yes, yes they did. Seraph had no question about his decision, for it was the best decision he had. These things were terrorists, they were holding an entire city hostage with the looming threat of a freezing death. The Seraph was actually adement upon his decision and Data's choise. Fuck anyone who questions us. They're fucking dragons and they are apparently on the side of whatever is killing people. He assured himself. No matter what anyone says, even in a world of metahumans it doesn't take the shock value and the fear factor away from ANYTHING...especially when you were a human like Seraph. Unfortunately there was no possible way that anything was getting resolved peacefully between them and the dragon. Not with those evil fucking looking dragons looming in the back.

Seraph walked towards the palace, looking for the largest dragon to return. He scoffed as he headed towards the ice-palace. The mask woman and the wolf-thing went ahead while the random girl with the sword and Data seemed to talk. Sephiroth in hand, Seraph went through the main entrance with the rest of them, wondering to his blade what exactly inthe hell it had just done, and what data had done to it. Eyes narrowed at the blade he couldn't help the feeling of total confusion that washed over him.

The entrance hall stretched out before then, a cold icy room carved almost perfectly as if mimmicking the appearance of a real castle. This was obviously the work of either a skilled cryokinetic or some manner of ice spirit, either of them seeming like a likely culprit.  It appeared that her assumption was right, as what remained of the dragons did not seem to attempt an attack upon them within the icy fortress. A slight chill ran over the masked woman, who shuddered as the wolf sort of just padded around as if the floor was uncomfortable, considering it was solid ice anyway. Letting out a low growl, it's form seemed to shift rapidly until it became that of a male around fifteen in age with tan skin. ”I don't like this place, it's so cold.” He muttered rubbing his forearms.

”You might not like it for other reasons before this is over.” She muttered with guard still up, while Starlight just sort of kept looking around as if expecting something to happen.

“Oh dear, people are here.” A slightly exaggerated british accent noted as what looked like a slightly portly man seemed to descend a grand set of stars that likely led up to the second floor. While they looked like the other ice constructs, the level of detail within their creation seemed to fine that it was impossible almost. “My lord is not going to be pleased with this, not at all. You are here to seek audience with him, yes? About the whole dreadful winter.”

”This guy cannot be serious.” Starlight groaned with a roll of her eyes. At least they did not look like they would put up a fight and didn't even look as if they would be a threat if they did. “So whatever you are, who is this lord you mentioned earlier?” She would begin to press, hoping to gain a little information about their possible foe. Luckily it seemed that this servant was one to talk.

“Yes, he is the one who create this magnificent castle you stand in. As well as the dragons as well as anything or anyone else you might find here.” So they were being told something they likely already knew, which made his answer for the most part useless.

”So….can we meet with this lord of yours?”

“I can't answer for him. You may attempt to seek audience but if he hears you out, well that is a different story.”  So they would be up for a fight, which she was expecting anyway.

”Okay the pleasantries are nice and all, but we have a mission to do. Could you point us in the direction of the one doing all of this?” The masked woman said raising her voice slightly.

“I never...” they started before muttering something. “Take the doors before you and keep walking. Do not turn and eventually you should come upon the throne room.  Be wary of the royal guard however, they can be….quite ferocious. ”  As that was said a massive door began to open, amitting a loud groaning sound that filled the area for a few seconds.

When she looked back up, the one they were speaking to had disappeared. ”Well that's ominous. So I guess the path is pretty clear now. If any of you want to leave, well now is the time.” She stated, though it seemed that Starlight was against just running away. Once everyone made their decisions, well they could journey deeper into the heart of the enemy.

With the outside of the fortress cleared of those pesky ice dragons the group made their way inside. Now this wasn't just an ice castle, this was an ice CASTLE. The inside was perfectly sculpted, quite elegant really. The wolf had surprisingly turned into a human......which was weird. And as if that wasn't enough of a surprise within the span of a few seconds, some dude with a British accent came into view as they traversed the castle. He was....made of ice. Really? Ice people now? What the actual fuck?

"You know, world, you could have at least hinted at your level of crazy before this, at least then i would expect this shit." Jake thought to himself as he listened to the ice construct person thingy. It seemed more danger was ahead. Whoever this ice lord was, he sounded like a total dick. Why was he doing this? And if he really wanted to make his own ice world, why not do it somewhere that wasn't fucking LA?.

"Ah, screw it, i went this far, might as well keep going." Jake said. He would casually follow if they went forward, making sure to stay in the middle of the of group of people that actually could fight. He didn't really know what he was doing at this point, maybe he was being a hero, maybe he was being an idiot. Either way, he was in this situation, and he would have to deal with it as it came at him.

So much that Austyn wanted to say to all of this, but he resolved to simply bite his tongue and pretend to be nothing more than the dumb muscle, realizing that nothing he actually said would be of use to them or their situation. Austyn couldn't really do anything but observe the few whom spoke as they spoke, he responded as best as he could though when it came time to ask the question of turning back or pressing forth. His answer was short, simple and to the point. His answer was quite simply one foot being put in front of the other and repeating the process as he tried to walk ahead of the rest of them. His mind was racing with a thousand things at this moment in time.

Amongst his thoughts were how the one wolf turned into a kid around his age, and then the other question that came to mind was who was this guy whom used his sword with such deadly efficiency. Jealousy hit his heard, twanging his heart-strings and tried to go about playing him for a fool. His dedication to his mission would not be compromised though, and that would all be pushed aside until the priority target had been taken care of. One way, or another. His heart raced and his eyes closed as he remembered the last time he walked into a massive iced area, his hair standing up on the back of his neck as memories wracked his mind. His grasp on the hilt of Sephiroth so tight that his hand began to quake and quiver with released stress.

Are you sure you want to do this? Echoed from the depths of his mind, uncertainty pulling at him, trying to drag him down again. His abdomen filled with air, the sensation of butterflies and nausea taking hold, his muscles clenching as he tried to fend off the urge to upheave everything he'd taken in earlier that day. His legs felt weak, and it took all of his strength to keep his knees from buckling and grief from taking hold of him as he seemed to walk ahead with a face of determination.

You've been running so long. This part of you has been left in the cold so long...will you even recognize it? Closing his eyes and opening them again as his eyes turned bloodshot, but he refused to let himself cry. Not the tears of a child. The tears of anger, tears of hatred and seething frustration. Can you bring yourself to be the monster needed to save the people like Noah?

Sephiroth let out a soothing hum, though Seraph had no way of knowing that it was trying to talk to him, or even if he could have known...he'd have no way of knowing what it was saying. Austyn just closed his eyes and sighed as he finally came upon an area with a large door and multiple guardian constructs with large weapons. The rest of the group would have most likely was still caught up with him now. Sephiroth continued to hum, still trying to speak to Austyn, hoping that it could hear him. He could not though. Seraph sheathed the blade and stood as tall as he could, as if he were trying to hold a regal posture, though in truth this was a fighting stance taught to him by the founder of Seraphim.

"I've got them. Go ahead. I actually have something I need to do...and honestly my fighting is a little wild; I'm prone to friendly fire and I'd rather not have that." Seraph said, hoping that his compatriots would take his advice and venture forth. If they did he'd easily get the attention of the royal guards by slashing Sephiroth and releasing not only his own vibration ability, by two similar spirit based projections of that power at others, if he needed to he'd slash again...Or if they let his compatriots go with the sense of the "honor bound challenge" they received he'd not have to do anything but wait for his allies to get the Hell out of his way.

Now that they were in the mouth of the beast, it wasn't as if they could do anything like running now. Starlight, the masked woman, the former wolf, Data and Seraph would have have to delve further into the castle in the hope of stopping the person that was creating this chaotic winter.  Despite how loud the storm had become outside, the interior of the castle was deathly silent save for the sounds of their footsteps that echoed through the hallways almost hollowly. While a few ways branched off from their main path, there was only one way and the one that they would have to take should they desire to save some lives. The masked woman had fingers clenched around the hilt of her weapon, knuckles turning white from the sheer pressure exerted, a low shudder seeming to ruin an otherwise composed stance.

They hadn't come across anyone else for the entirety of the hallway until atlast they would come upon what looked like an area that was wider than the hallway, circular in design with a large door with eight strange ice constructs standing before them. All of them had icy fingers curled around large greatswords with tips pointed towards the ground. Great helms with pointed horns, and eye slits that revealed cold blue eyes peering our from beneath them at the intruders that had wandered in upon their home. Something told Starlight that they would not be so easily taken down should they fight them, despite thr fact they were nothing more than ice constructs. Upon truly noticing them, the largest with what looked like a flowing cape would adjusting their standing position, helm turning to allow him to look at them better.”You do not belong here.” Their hollow voice rang out through the cold hallway, not defensibly, or aggressively but matter of fact.”Our lord has no time to deal with you.”

”That's unfortunate, because we have to deal with him.” She noted, though it appeared that this armored guy for some reason wanted to stay behind or something along those lines. Nodding, she would motion for the others to come with her. Whether these ice knights would stop her, well that did not matter in the scheme of things.

”Ya sure you can handle these guys? They look pretty tough.” Starlight would ask, curious almost of what Seraph was trying but then again she was more worried about the whole winter thing. They seemed like they could handle themselves, while the people of LA could only do so much against a person that could erect an ice army. ”Try not to die I guess.” She shrugged with a casual wave of the hand, as atleast her and the masked woman along with her shapeshifting ally would attempt to approach the great door. These constructs would raise their blades, taking a combat stance as if readying to fight but the attack launched from Seraph had  caused them to pause for a few seconds that had given the masked woman enough time to stride through with that seemingly superhuman speed of hers, forcing the door open with a great shove.

Joints of ice would groan loudly as they were forced open, the knights preparing to strike at the intruders before one of them was violently shattered with a wave of sound, these twinkling white shards scattering across the floor. That caused them all to turn upon Seraph, seemingly angered by the act. So they would fall upon the hero, while the rest could make their way through the door if they so chose. The masked one did anyway, wielding her blade prepared for anything.Sitting upon the throne was a pale looking male of around sixteen, dressed in jeans with a large hole in the right knee, a simple white t-shirt and a leather jacket over that. Their hair was a light brown dusted with frost, brown eyes that seemed to have a piercing blue ting to them and overall they looked like they were beginning to suffer hypothermia with a dull blue color to their flesh.

It would have been easy to assume that they were dying but the way they looked upon the people, suggested to an extent they were living. If anything, she saw a form of sadness within those eyes. Standing beside him was another construct, resembling a woman in their forties in what one would call extravagant fantasy garb. ”You...” The masked woman muttered, surprised almost.

”People are here….that's weird.” They noted, then muttered to themselves almost as if that should have not happened.

“They're obviously not human. They might be metahumans, here to kill you to stop the storm.” This woman suggested, it seemed they would have a fight on their hands very soon.

They would venture further into the ice castle, its sleek icy walls showing no sign of warmth. Jake hated the cold, truly, it depressed him. Whenever it started to snow he just ended up locking himself in his room, where he would sleep all day. He didn't know why the season effected him in this way, honestly he felt all people looked at it like that, summer was awesome and winter was the time where you wanted to kill yourself. Eventually they arrived at a doorway, guarded by large ice knights that looked pretty awesome. That would be a cool power to have, honestly, even if the whole cold all the time thing came with it. It seemed the one with the talking sword was going for some kind of heroic sacrifice, that or he was just crazy as shit. Data didn't mind though, if he wanted to commit suicide, Jake wasn't the one to look at to stop him.

Jake followed the masked woman and the others past the guards, it seemed the whole Royal Guard thing was thrown out the window when the sixteen year old with a sword dared to challenge them. These were the worst bodyguards ever. Once through the doorway, they came face to face with the person that was likely behind all of this. Jake could barely recognize him with all the iciness and blue skin, but it was undeniable, he had seen this kid before.

"Ohhhh fuck, guys, guys, i know whats going on now." Data said as the group came closer to the boy and the construct next to him. He also recognized the construct as the woman he saw die in the boys arms, who was likely the mother but he couldn't be sure.

"I've met him before......His name is Ryan Lester....and he's only doing this because.....a horrible man took someone from him, just like he did me." Jake said, remembering the event where he learned what really happened to his parents.

"Ryan.....i understand how much it hurts. But you have to stop this. No one wants to kill you....we just don't want any more innocents to die." Jake said turning his attention to Ryan.

Austyn watched as one of the things was reduced to nothing more than shards that shattered and were sent gliding across the icy floor all about. Sephiroth was already sheathed once more as Austyn stood there. His temporary allies were gone, and he was finally safe. Reaching up Austyn would use his hand to grapple his mask and lift it, eventually pulling it out from his face and looking down as he dropped the mask, the concaving part of the mask down, as if he could face-plant and it would fit his face perfectly. Reaching up with his hand he pulled the hood back and let out a sigh, his breath dancing across the air as the hood fell back.

Spoiler:

   His eyes opened, but they were not his traditional blue eyes. The majority of his iris was a greyish hue with a circle design in it that seemed to glow an otherworldly yellow with pupils that were a glowing white light rather than black. With his slouched posture he was virtually another man as he drew Sephiroth and looked over the ice constructs. Each construct bore a different face. Each face the face of someone he knew. Seven constructs. The nearest ones were his mother and Noah, moving back there was Cale and there was another friend of his friends. The others were teachers, or some other drull thing...but the final face was a face he despised. It wasn't a face at all...it was a hood. A very familiar hood he remembered from when he was buried alive. These weren't real...these were illusions...hallucinations. But he didn't care.

  "Let's go then." He said as he took two steps back and then proceeded to try and run forward as fast as he could. When he reached five or six steps he stepped on the mask and used it to slide upon the ice, twisting himself, spinning like a top as he focused on one blade at a time; blocking one after another after another as he spun violently and flailing his blade with skillful percision. When he finally stopped spinning he was on the other side of the enemies. He stepped off the mask and put his boot beneath the chin area and then kicked the mask up into the air like a hackee sac and caught it. He then ran full throttle at the seven constructs. His first move was to use the blade to block a knight on the left, then using superior strength to shive the knight back into the one coming up behind it. Then he turned to the right side and tried to block, but the ice construct delivered the blow with two hands and it clashed with the back-side of the blade, forcing Sepiroth to the ground and twisting Austyn from force alone. Austyn used this momentum to his advantage, and threw is left hand forward as he came across and tried to drive the mask through the ice-constructs head. Releasing the mask and letting the ice soldier drop to the ground limp. Austyn turned his attention back to two ice constructs running up in front of him on either side. Their attack was coordinated enough as one slashed horizontal while the other seemed to be aiming vertically.

  Austyn snapped his fingers and Sephiroth released it's vibrations sending a pulse through the floor and cracking the ice beneath the incoming targets. The vertical attacker was thrown off of his balance and so Austyn jumped, timing it perfectly as he landed on the sword that would have just sliced him in half horizontally. As soon as he landed he pounced forwards and full our body-slammed into the construct that was still in process of losing it's footing with it's blade overhead. Austyn would take the consctruct to the ground and start punching it in the face, clinks and clanks and clunks could be heard from the sound of the metal meeting the crystaline ice. Resolving to reach out and grab the sword by the middle of the blade and positioned it, knowing all to well others were coming up from behind.  The crystaline warrior reached up with a pitiful attempt to stop Austyn form impaling him with is own sword. Austyn drove the large blade into it's neck and then bushed the blade down. Reaching up and actually taking it by the hilt he did a pull up and literally slid around the side. As he slid he ended up pivoting on his heel while ducking his head as he saw an ice construct's reflection swinging the sword at his own neck. Having nearly escaped death, Austyn moved forward with a bent knee and have a strong kick to chest of the construct that just swing at him to stagger the enemy if while the first two he distracted ran after him one doing a powerful back slash while the other seemed to diagonal slash to dissuade evasion. Austyn lifted the heavy blade of the second felled construct and brought it up to defend from the back slash, relying on the icy ground and the force of the creature to cause him to slide back out of the way. He was correct and he barely avoided the diagonal slash with a cut on his cheek and a large tear in his armor by the throat area. As he was gliding back he drove the ice sword into the ground in attempts to keep himself form reeling back.

  As he finally came to a skidding halt he realized that he wasn't the only one who used the ice to is advantage as a construct was literally skating at him before jumping and with a powerful draw back he hit Austyn in the face, sending him literally ass over teakettle as he spun four hundred and twenty degress in the air before falling. The construct lifted it's fallen ally's sword and was now apparently dual-weilding them as he stepped forward towards Austyn. Austyn tried to stand but ended up on his knees, rattled and confused a moment as he looked at the ice. He could see that the ice man took a stance and seemed ready to give the killing blow as he pulled the sword back. He was ready to impale Austyn right in his back. At this moment, Austyn thanked God or whatever power there was that the ice was clear and clean enough to give him a little bit of reflextion to work with. As the constructs arm lurched forwars, Austyn turned and over to the side a little, grabbing the blade as it slid into the ice where he had been, turning and driving a foot into the shoulder of the construct, causing cracks and breaks within it as he kicked again for the chest to knock the thing back. Getting to his feet he pulled the ice sword from the ground and started towards the staggered opponent. With a brutal slash Austyn removed the arm of the enemy, arm and all falling to the ground before leaving the blade as was and shoulder ramming the opponent back.

   Turning and taking one blade in each hand Austyn pulled them both out and recalled the location of the last four constructs. The closest one was ten feet and closing in directly behind him. The second was fourteen feet, and behind him off to the left, right when he turned around. The third was sixteen feet on the right, left when he turned. The last one was the full twenty three feet but he was dead center from Austyn... and it was the one with the armored head. Austyn turned quickly, already rolling his right shoulder turning clockwise as he threw an ice sword out at the constrtuct fourteen feet away. The blade flew through the air and pierced the construct, the thing still standing there as Seraph turned and with his momentum still going he delivered an uppercut with the blade in his left hand to counter the vertical strike from the nearest construct that closed the distance. The construct staggering back Austyn spun, still making use of earlier momentum and literally spun into the perfect impale as he thrusted the blade into the staggering construct's chest, twisting and shattering the thing. Dropping the blade he rushed off to the construct fourteen feet away, which was now on it's knees.

  As he rushed forward he used the hilt of the sword as a stepping stone, the blade shattering the construct as he pushed off it, sending the sword spinning up in the air. Seraph didn't waste time as he stuck his arm up in the air, timing it carefully to grab the hilt. With a swift motion he flourished the blade and then finished with a powerful slash, bringing his arm straight out to his side as he remained on a knee, looking up through his shaggy brown hair at the incoming construct. The construct was unrelenteing and ame in to try and stand off against Austyn. First was a vertical slash, he countered appropriately with an upwars horizontel then trying to slide the blade bast and step around the construct and counter it by slicing its back. The construct turned with impressive focus countering the slash with a reposting motion that cause Austyn's writ to hurt with a sickening snap noise in it. Back and fourth the little dance went, bakc and forth before Austyn finally ended it by using a dirty tactic. The construct went to commit to a diagonal slash, a powerful one, and so Seraph stabbed the ground and reached with is right hand to grab the man's wrist and hold it's arm at a stalemate with his own superhuman strength. Then taking the blade with his left hand he proceeded to snap off the hilt and then bash it relentlessly into the constructs face, again and again and again until the head shattered. Austyn turned and looked to the last construct. About ten feet off now was the construct that bore resemblance to the Black Knight.

  "No...you....You I'm gonna kill with my own two hands." Austyn said with an uncharacteristic like smile and chuckle as he started walking towards the final construct with a slow and deliberate walk. The construct ran at Austyn, doing it's duty to it's lord. Austyn reached up and intercepted the two-handed downward slash by grabbing at the construct's wrist with his own hand and taking a knee. Austyn smiled and slowly stood up, showing a little tremor between both of them, the strength of both of them in full effect. With another hand Austyn too the constructs other wrist and twisted both of them, shattering off the hands of the final foe. Reaching up, Seraph smiled, a rather snarky grin as his hands quickly came up and he cradled the constructs head in his hands. His hands went across the icy cheeks and his fingertips were pressed at the back of the head. His thumbs up by the eyes, fitting almost perfectly along the construct's nasal area. With a little force the construct dropped to it's knees as Asutyn looked into it's eyes that smile still on his face but nothing more than pain in his eyes. The ice construct seemed to be gently cradled, yet cracks began to form along it's neck as Austyn gave a powerful torque and twisted the things head off of the body, the body falling into shimmering dust as Austyn turned back to look at the head in it's final moments.

"You know what it feels like to be responsible for the destruction and death of everyone you love?." After another moment he pressed a little harder...and reduced the head to dust.

"...kinda like that." He said as two tears started to trail down his cheeks. Quickly wiping them aside he chuckled and marveled at his work. That was a good session, a good "bonding" exercise for the two inhabitants of the body. Walking over, Seraph picked up his mask and placed it over his face and walked over to Sephiroth and took it in hand before walking over to the threshold of the door and sitting down. Once seated, Austyn began to try and treat his wrist, the wrist he had obviously broken in the scuffle moments ago. It would only be a few moments before he wrapped his wrist up tightly and put the glove back on and pressed through. In this time, he took care to reflect on what he had done...and more importantly the things he had thought.

...none of them were pretty.