Arcadia: *She looked back up and stared at Ginger with her two different coloured eyes.* "Thou are very overwhelmed with what thou saw today."
Ginger: "Yes."
Arcadia: "Thou say your father told thou about Valhalla."
Ginger: "Affirmative..."
Arcadia: "Then, why are you so shocked?"
Ginger: "A floating city above the clouds?" *She looked up to the sky.* "How illogical."
Arcadia: "Do thou not have any faith?"
Ginger: "Faith?" *She looked back to Arcadia.* "I have no time for such ludicrousness."
Arcadia: "Faith, ludicrous?"
Ginger: "Roll around in logic and you will find that faith does not prove anything."
Arcadia: *She paused.* "Having faith is like having an extra energy source. It allows you to keep moving forward when all logic tells you, you can't."
Ginger: "..."
Arcadia: *She exhaled and gently placed her hands on the wheels.* "Thy will take some time to rest now." *She spoke with lowering morale, as she wheeled herself away from the table.*
Ginger: "Yeoshh." *She nodded her head and watched Arcadia wheel out of her vision.* (Faith? Such trivia..) *She thought to herself in disgust.*
Arcadia: (It is unusual how well Ginger and thy bond, despite our obvious choices in self-motivation..) *She sighed and wheeled up a wooden ramp and across her veranda.* (But thy fear, it may not be the same.. When thy have to kill her brother.)
Ginger: *She looked at her hands and felt the healed burns on her hands.* (Arcadia healed me-... Niklauseh, please.. Come back home and stop what you are doing.)
Chapter 8: Brigade Meeting
*A large whale spurted out water through its blowhole as it swam across a calm ocean, carrying Blake and Tara on its back.*
Blake: "Ewww-" *He hissed in disgust, as he brushed his hand through his amber coloured hair.* "My hair-"
Tara: "Shut your mouth." *She grunted in an annoyed-like manner, as she tied her stringy appearing hair into a ponytail.*
Blake: "Like, watch your tongue, aye. As the leader of The Black Brigade, I totally saved your ass."
Tara: *She chuckled in disrespect, keeping her back facing towards Blake.* "I didn't ask to be saved."
Blake: "If it weren't for my bitch, Amanda, we wouldn't even be meeting at our rendezvous on time."
Tara: "..." *She purposely remained silent and glanced at the slowly recovering cuts on her red whip.* (I failed once again to a Rostical User?)
Blake: "Noffing to say?"
Tara: *She held the whip and appeared slightly drained.* (It's okay. Take as much Neurons needed to heal yourself-)
Blake: "Silence, how professional-"
Tara: "I don't care what you have to say for yourself."
Blake: "You need to start showing me respect." *He hissed, glancing at Tara.*
Tara: "There will be a time when I'll take the seat of leader-"
Blake: "Pssh, I'm a good leader!"
Tara: "Then why are the heretics still roaming the lands? You fail so bad, even the Consultants have requested all the brigade members to unite."
Blake: "..."
Tara: "You're pathetic."
Blake: "OK, wateva."
Tara: "Don't okay whatever me! I don't even know how trash like you got to where you are now!"
Amanda: "Whhooohhh." *She suddenly moaned in a protective-like manner, causing Blake to shake his head.*
Blake: "Don't my sexy bitch-"
Tara: "I don't know how long we've been on this stinking Scoldrant for, but you're lucky I don't end you now, princess."
Blake: (Trash? Princess?) *He tilted his head and looked away, even though Tara wasn't looking at him.*
Tara: "We're not only a part of the warriors, but we're also one of the strongest guilds.. And we don't need girly guys like you in it!" *She shouted in anger, as if being number one was very important to her.*
Blake: "The strongest guild.."
Tara: "Yeah! We're about numbers, discipline, power! I'm sick of hearing your occasional whine and cry! Oh, let's hang out, let's do this, you're pathetic!"
Blake: "I'm not pathetic." *He hissed back, as if he was getting frustrated.*
Tara: "Keep our guild professional."
Blake: "Tssk-" *He frowned and hissed to himself, triggering a flashback.*
--
Trevour: *He faced off the Scoldrants which formed a line in front of Blake.* "No matter what you throw at us, we will stand by each other!"
Blake: "Stand by each other? Like, oh em gee? A true fighter sticks by themselves! You are only good in numbers-"
Rachael: "What the hell is wrong with you?!" *She shouted and stood by Trevour's side, holding dagger-shaped rocks in each hand.* "Working as a team.. Friends, family, it's the little things that bond people together-"
Blake: "When you get as strong as us, you'll understand me when I like say, people just get in your way." *He nudged his head, causing the line of Scoldrants to charge towards the guild.*
--
Blake: (I thought that was pathetic, but some times, it would be sexy to-)
Tara: "I don't see why people think you're strong.. You're just a pathetic replacement of the last Black Brigade leader."
Blake: "No, I'm not!"
Tara: "You don't understand the hatred I have for you! Stealing the leader's seat from me!"
Blake: "Wateva-"
Tara: "I will show how pathetic you are! I don't want a leader that struts around more feminine than me, someone who paints their nails, puts make-up on, you sicken me!"
Blake: (This bitch...) *He looked down and stared at his painted fingernails, triggering a flashback.*
----------
*Three young boys stood outside an orphanage and threw rocks towards a forest, as they giggled amongst each other.*
Boy A: *A chubby, short haired boy picked up another rock.* "He's getting away!"
Boy B: *A skinny boy with glasses stamped his foot.* "Let's get him!"
Boy C: *A small tanned boy eagerly shook his head.* "He won't get away!"
*All three boys suddenly ran into the forest and continued to throw and pick up rocks on their way.*
?????: *A small and skinny boy with amber coloured hair ran through the forest, trying to mask the sounds of his cries.* "L-Leave me alone!"
Boy B: "You're so stupid, fag!" *He pointed towards the sounds of the boy's voice, as it revealed which direction he was running towards.*
?????: "I-I'm not a fag! My name's Blake-"
Boy A: "Oorh!" *He blindly threw the stone towards the sounds of Blake's voice.* "We don't care what your name is!"
Blake: "I-" *The rock suddenly hit him in the back of the head, causing him to tumble forward.*
Boy C: *He jumped through the bushes and chuckled, slowly walking towards Blake.* "You hang out with the girls, why don't you hook up with them?"
Blake: *He crawled back along the ground, ignoring the bruises and cuts all over him.* "I-I'm only ten-"
Boy A: "Why don't you talk us guys up to the girls, huh?!" *He played with a rock in his hand, implying he was going to throw it.*
Blake: "J-Just, leave me alone." *He squealed in fright.*
Boy C: "Admit it, you're not normal!"
Blake: "I-I am normal!"
Boy A: "Not normal!"
Boy B: "Freak!"
Boy C: "Gay!"
Blake: "I-I am not!"
Boy A: "Shut up!" *He threw the rock at Blake and hit him on the head, causing blood to instantly gush out of a cut.*
Blake: (I was bullied and harassed at that orphanage for months.)
Blake: "Please, I haven't done anyfing wrong to you!"
Boy C: "Pwease, I haven't done anything wrong to you." *He squealed and spoke in a feminine-like manner.*
Boy A: "You can't even admit what you are."
Boy B: "You're pathetic."
Boy C: "You give boys a bad name!"
Blake: *He shivered and sat in the foetal positio
n.* "Th-There's noffing wrong wif me!"
Boy A: "You aren't normal-"
?????: "Is there a problem here?" *A teenager in cheap torn clothes with medium length brown hair, stepped in front of Blake.*
Blake: *He stared at the boy's back in shock.* "Purge?"
Boy A: "Damn, it's the gay's brother-"
Purge: *He bent his knees and stood in a battle-ready pose, causing wind to blow around him.* "You like bullying people? How about you bully me instead?"
Boy C: *His hair rapidly blew back.* "W-Where's this wind coming from?"
Blake: (My older brother was actually a Rostical User, but while in the orphanage, it was kept secret-)
Purge: "Get out of here." *He shouted with an echoing voice, causing the three boys to suddenly run the other way and out of his sight.*
Blake: "Purge-" *He started to cry.*
Purge: *The wind around him died down.* "Blake, you need to stick up for yourself."
Blake: "I-..." *He shivered in fear and looked away, playing with the ripped strands of material on his clothes.* "Don't like fighting."
Purge: *He turned around and faced Blake.* "They keep picking on you because-"
Blake: "'Cause I'm different? Strange..? Boy boyish?" *He hissed with emotion, as if he's heard those words several times.*
Purge: "N-" *He paused and sighed, bending down to pick Blake up.* "There's nothing wrong with you."
Blake: "...-" *He let Purge lift him up.*
Purge: "Stand up on your own two feet."
Blake: "Why? So I can get knocked down again...?"
Purge: "It doesn't matter what the conversation is about, as long as you stand on your own two feet, there's nothing they can say to talk you down to the ground."
Blake: "That's silly-"
Purge: "Why is that silly? Sounds like you're helping them push you over."
Blake: "No I'm not!-"
Purge: "Then, stand on your feet." *He pointed at Blake's legs.* "Those are your two feet, you're in control of where you want to be.. If you want to be on the ground, then let them push you around, but if you don't-"
Blake: "Stand up for myself?" *He spoke while pouting.*
Purge: *He wiped the blood off Blake's face, hiding his sadness for him.* (Blake-)
Blake: *He smiled with sadness and started to walk forward, trying to hide his limp.* "Let's go! It's your turn to cook dinner."
Purge: *He smiled in a brotherly-like manner, staring at Blake's back.* "My turn? It's your turn!"
----------
Blake: (Purge... That orphanage.. No matter how long it's been, I can never forget those days-)
Tara: "So, when we get to this meeting-" *She smirked in determination.* "I'm telling the others how pathetic you are-"
Blake: "Bitch, please." *He slowly stood up, snapping out of his submissive-like state.*
Tara: "Harh?" *She looked up in confusion.*
Blake: "Who lit the fuse to your tampon, bitch? Stop with the defamation!"
Tara: (His attitude changed?)
Blake: "If I stand on my own two feet, there's nothing you can say to make me feel like dirt, aye."
Tara: "Fufufu, true." *She smirked and slowly stood up, facing Blake with evil intentions.*
Blake: "Then, what's with the unsexy smile then?"
Tara: "My words can't knock you to the dirt, but maybe-" *She formed a fist, making her intentions obvious to Blake.*
Blake: "You like, wanna fight me?"
Tara: "That obvious? I'll take that title away from you-" *She suddenly snapped her whip.* "By killing you!"
Blake: "Pfft, rito. You think you can just use the flaw in the system to become the leader?"
Tara: "Unlike you, I'll make The Black Brigade number one!"
Blake: *He rolled his eyes.* "You forgetting, you're like on my Scoldrant, aye. One snap of the finger and you're gone, dog."
Tara: "Fufufu.. You really are a girly dirty lamp."
Blake: "Dog-"
Tara: *She snapped her whip and chuckled.* "Out of all the members, you're the only one without an actual weapon."
Blake: "So what?"
Tara: "Blakey, blakey... My dear boy-" *She snapped the whip again and took a step forward.* "You want to refresh my memory what everyone's abilities are?"
Blake: "I don't need to be lectured by an inferior ranking warrior-"
Tara: "My baby can hold onto anything.. Zazark can Astral trace one Rostical used on him. Tyson can manipulate the objects around him. Synthoss has the royal blood and allows her to use Rostical at its strongest. Quintess can slip through solid objects and you.. Control a couple of animals.."
Blake: "You know I can summon, rite?"
Tara: "Fufufufu, even though I hated working under you, the best thing I learnt-" *She glared at Blake with widening eyes.* "You have trouble opening multiple contracts or Spacial Funnels at once-"
Blake: "So? Like, I could put my hand in the water and command the Scoldrants to attack-"
Tara: "Do it." *She spread her arms with a confident smirk.*
Blake: "I-..." (Shit-) *He gritted his teeth, as if he knew he couldn't.*
Tara: "We've been on your stupid animal for what feels like a week! You must be getting low on Neurons now."
Blake: *He looked down and observed Amanda's blubber, causing him to smile.* "So wat?"
Tara: "I should've done this from the start!" *She ran towards Blake and flicked her wrist, snapping the whip high into the air behind her.*
Blake: "Bring it-" *He jumped forward and slid towards Tara, bending his knees.*
Tara: "What are you doing?" *She spoke with a smile, as if she found Blake's movements pathetic.*
Blake: "Fufu-" *He suddenly spiralled on one foot, taking advantage of Amanda's slippery blubber.*
Tara: "On the floor where you belong-" *She looked down and readied to kick Blake in the face.*
Blake: *He swept Tara off her feet and spiralled back up, kicking her in the gut.* "Hiyah-"
Tara: *She flicked the whip, causing it to grab hold of the air.* "I'm superior!" *She swung off the whip and kicked Blake with both feet.*
Blake: "Arh-" *He slid on his back away from Tara.* "You dirty dog-"
Tara: *She landed on Amanda and spun around, flicking the whip around Blake's neck.* "Fufufu, got you."
Blake: (Shit-) *He started to buckle at the knees.* (She's draining-)
Tara: "Fufufufu! We're very hungry." *She licked her lips and chuckled to herself.* "Why wasn't I surprised? Your Neurons taste fruity, fufufu!"
Blake: (She was right. I'm really tired from keeping Amanda constantly materialised here-) *He grabbed the whip with one hand and bent his knees, suddenly flashstepping out of her sight.*
Tara: "Fufu, where are you going to go? You can't go anywhere far!-"
Blake: *He flashstepped directly behind Tara and grabbed her shoulder with his free hand.* (If I do this-) *He jumped up and kicked his feet, spiralling around Tara's head.* (Sexy-) *He thought to himself in accomplishment.*
Tara: "Get your filthy hand off of me!-" *She quickly elbowed Blake's hand off her shoulder, forcing him to awkwardly spiral onto his knees behind her.*
Blake: *He leant forward with his entire body, causing the whip to tighten.* "...-"
Tara: "Kah-?" *She suddenly leant back, as Blake lassoed the whip around her neck.*
Blake: (Now we're both tied-) *He kept one hand on the whip, ensuring it doesn't tighten further around his neck.*
Tara: (That dirty lamp-) *She grunted in realisation and lowered her hand, causing the whip to suddenly loosen.*
Blake: "Kerh-kergh-" *He coughed and quickly spun around, facing Tara's back.*
Tara: "Fufufu-" *She coughed and faced Blake, smiling in an impressed-like manner.* "You may be pathetic, but you gotta be smart to be the leader-"
Blake: *He flashstepped again and reappeared directly in front of Tara, listening to a faint buzzing sound.* "Hiyah-" *He punched towards Tara's face.*
Tara: *Her ha
ir blew back due to the momentum of Blake's flashstep.* "Yah!" *She swayed to the side and elbowed Blake's fist to the side.*
Blake: "Bitch-" *He slapped Tara across the face, causing her to gasp in shock.*
Tara: *She leant back and swayed forward, punching towards Blake's face with the back of the whip's handle.* "Karh!-"
Blake: *He quickly raised his knee and blocked Tara's punch with his leg.* "Tssk-" *He quickly tapped his foot down and twirled around, slapping across Tara's face.*
Tara: *She suddenly cartwheeled with Blake's hand and avoided his slap, kneeling on all fours.* "Harh!" *She flicked her wrist up, slapping Blake across the face with her whip.* "Now, that's how you slap someone-"
Blake: *He felt a line-like welt which appeared on his cheek.* "Tssk-"
Tara: "I'm impressed you still have enough Neurons to flashstep-" *She stepped forward and disappeared, causing Blake to hiss in shock.*
Blake: (She has enough strength, too-?)
Tara: *She instantly appeared in mid-air and kicked Blake in the nose.* "Fufufu-" *She watched Blake stagger back, as she hung off the whip, allowing her to stay in air.*
Blake: *He covered his nose in a girl-like manner and looked up, glaring at Tara.* "How dare you-"
Tara: *She looked up and the whip suddenly became lax, slowly lowering her down.* "Hiyarh!" *She kicked her legs before landing and spiralled the whip around her.*
Blake: (Amy, Purge... You bitches helped me-) *He spread his arms, as if he was willing to take her attack.*
Tara: "I tasted your Neurons and how much you have left! You're running on empty!" *Her toe touched Amanda, causing her to laugh hysterically.* "This will be a critical hit!-"
*Tara suddenly lunged her upper body towards Blake and the whip slithered through the air at blinding speeds.*
Blake: *He quickly flashsided several feet and watched the whip slice past his face.* "Eww-"
Tara: "Harh?" *She looked confused and shocked, as a wave of water erupted into the whip's direction.* "You conserved your energy to the point of flashsiding out of my attack?"
Blake: "Fufufu..." *He chuckled and looked down to his feet, while violently grabbing the whip which swayed past him.*
Tara: *She shook her wrist and looked surprised.* "How? You have no Neurons left-"
Blake: "Hiyah!" *He used all his strength and pulled, causing Tara to stumble a few steps forward.* "That's it-"
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