In the Pursuit of Madness

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]Shego stood up at the sound of a woman' voice, and began to aim the sceptre at her, thinking of attacking from behind, until she was adressed, "Call off your minions, black puppet! I would hate to call on my own, since that could be potentially dangerous to myself, but I am much stronger, I can tell."

The thief held in a chuckle, but she eventually bursted out in laughter, holding the staff as she did so, for support, some of her raven hair falling over her face as she held herself, "Hahahaha~ Who said I was gunna call on them to attack you?" said the thief, standing straight and twirling the staff around, "Lookit you being the tough girl. Thinking your all that and all."

She tapped the staff with her foot, and the tip of it faced Beatrix, "Oh, I'm gunna enjoy this, home-wrecker." Her eyes glowed a menacing green, "My buddies are just here to watch."

She dived from the roof, and darted directly towards the General, a hand with a glowing scepter, while the other bursted with live plasma! "You. Are. All. Mine, Ex-Apprentice!" [/glow]

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias held tightly at the hilt of her sword, trying to control her shivering arms and hands. Her amber eyes rested on Beatrix as the general made her way past her towards the entrance, "Wait, Lady Beatrix!" she tried to warn, the sword sounding off again a warning tune, "Out there trouble lies, there must be another way ou--," but it was too late, the woman had already stepped out to address whoever it was that has come for them.

She walked outside, looking to Abigail as she did so, to stay there with Merlin, and to learn, while they dealt with this quarrel. Agrias' heart continued to beat harshly,and fast, a rush of adrenaline filling her, but not of battle as she suspected, but of something unexplained. She stepped out to see something already happening, a woman with a checkered suit rushing towards her ally. She gasped! Pulling out her sword, and staying on guard in case Beatrix needed her.

The knight felt the shadows around, but strangely enough they were not doing anything. Could this be some sort of duel? She also forgot something important, her armor was still out, so she had to go and get it, putting it quickly whilst the battle between Apprentices commenced.

[General Beatrix]

Home-wrecker?
"Well I see, then, that Maleficent has taken on another student, then, as you have just addressed me as an 'ex-apprentice'. What world did the Mistress take you away from, hm?"

Beatrix jumped back, seeing Shego come her way. She backflipped twice until she reached the shoreline. Then, turning, she hopped out onto one of the book-like stepping stones and took an offensive stance, turning back to face the green-suited woman.

Her hand still glowing blue, the aura soon spread from her hand, to the hilt, and up the blade. The sword began crackling with purple lightning, and the blue soon faded to a dark green.

"Allow me, miss--I'm sorry, but you didn't specify a name. Not that it would matter, any--anyway, allow me now, to shatter your delusions of grandeur."

A signature quote, she knew, but she enjoyed saying it. She glanced around, feeling the heartless watching from the shadows. This was a performance of some sort, or some strange battle to the death, a war of apprentices.

"Your ally there, the man up there. He is to stay away from me, and my allies shall give you that same luxury. It shall be a duel, then, if that is what you seek."

"Now, come at me, if you dare!"

[Acteur de la Noir]

On the Roof:

As Beatrice announced her challenge, it would not be answered by Shego alone--for, as the lithe figure of green and black perched on the roof, she would find that the Heartless among her ranks had, at some point, grown by at least one.

A very distinctive one, at that--a lanky figure garbed in predominantly violet-and-black attire reminiscent of a Renaissance nobleman, complete with a black feather in his elegant hat and an extravagant flare to the legs of his trousers and the tails of his suit jacket. Over this was worn a black cloak with tattered hem, flapping in the breeze to frame the Heartless like an owl's wings. The most striking detail, however, was the mask that obscured his face--a theatrical thing of white porcelain, depicting a crescent slash of a grin and eye-holes that were given a rather menacing slant. And, of course, there was that instinctive red-and-black insignia on the mask's forehead...and the piercing yellow eyes which gleamed in the darkness of the eye-holes.

As Shego lunged towards Beatrice, the aristocratic Heartless offered a courteous bow and a tip of the hat, his voice bearing the distinct accent of a European poet as he spoke to all and sundry. "So speaketh Shego, the new apprentice to the Lady Maleficent!" he announced with melodramatic flair, not missing a beat as the fight began to unfold. "And by the order of the Mistress of all Evil, we have come to take you back, madame! And though t'would be a shame to force your return, your successor will gladly do so, if she must!"

A pause, and the Heartless puppetmaster whirled to face the others who were assuredly making their presence known, his gloved finger stabbing forward like a spear. "As for you lot, hold your ground! This is a private performance for two; none shall intervene! But if you insist on fighting, as I suspect that you are..." He swept forward into a graceful bow, one arm flung wide to indicate the gathered Heartless around him. "Then I, Acteur de la Noir, shall entertain you!"

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]"Talk, talk, talk... what does she SEE in you!?" Shego simply stood there upon the shoreline, a psychotic smile etched on her face, looking to Beatrix balance on those rickety looking books and giggled. Beatrix was surrounded by water...and what was one of those attack she could do now? Oh yeah.

"THUNDARA!" the thief called out, pointing the scepter, not at the knight, but at the surrounding waters, and book, which she was certain it was moist. She wasn't just WAITING up there on the roof for the girl to appear, no, she had been forming a plan all this time.

Lightning crackled from the staff, and SNAPPED into the waters bellow, traveling at light speed towards Beatrix' location. [/glow]

[Agrias Oaks]

As the knight placed her armor back on, she noticed a new threat had appeared before her, but she did nothing at the moment, but finish putting her metal gear on. She faced the creature, and pointed her sword at him, "Meddle not, I would do in Beatrix's affairs. Especially those, I do know she can handle, Poet."

The knight stood there, fully armored, only missing her cape, which at this point could of only gotten in the way. Save the Queen shone brightly, emitting a soft glow on its own, similar to that of the General's sword, ready to strike down the darkness.

"Still, a fight, I see ready in thine tainted eyes," she got into a fighting stance, ready to move quickly if need be, "and I not have you have what I hold most dear!"

[General Beatrix]

Just what I expected, beatrix thought. The moment she saw a staff bearing even the slightest resemblance, she knew she was in for some sorcerous tactics. That was why she lept over to the water. What better way to lure out an energy-based evocation?

When lightning and water met, Beatrix forced the tip of Save the Queen into the waters, and grinned, holding out her other hand in Shego's direction. The electricity in the water surged forth into the blade's green and purple glow; she seethed, grimacing at her hands as they darkened, and grew cold. This was taking a lot of energy just to pull off, and she knew that if this line of offense persisted, she would have to retreat later.

But coming back to the battle, Beatrix fired a cone of black lightning up in the apprentice's direction, the energy gained from the absorbtion and melding with spiritual energy.

"Take this!"

While Shego was busy with that, she charged back ashore and began circling around the battlefield, working on her next move.

"Your powers are useless in my arena, miss Cabbage!"

[Abigail Crescentlight]

The mage blinked when she was handed the book. Admittedly, she had more pressing matters on her mind right now. She looked up to Merlin and bowed, however, to show her appreciation. At first, her instinct was to shove it into her bag of holding and run out into battle with her compatriots... but Agrias told her NO!

She blinked, feeling a little hurt. She could be useful! Why wouldn't she let her show what she's capable of? She looked down and blinked at the book, opening it up to read through quickly. Maybe something she could do would help? She had three options at her disposal, but she could only pick one to quickly learn right now and attempt in order to aid her companions in some way.

Holy Frost...
Charm...
and Dazzling Lights.

Looked to her like option 3 was the way to go. She quickly sat down on her knees and began hurriedly reviewing the spell. She ran through the lights rapidly... trying to ignore the sounds of battle outside so she could focus... She had a feeling the two couldn't handle the amount of darkness out there (and she knew exactly how many there really was, compared to how many could be seen), so she needed to use this as a distraction... to get them free from the battle before things went bad.

She had it... she thought. She took a deep breath and stood up, calling to the two women from the doorway so that the two villains wouldn't see or suspect her until it was too late. "BEATRIX! AGRIAS! LOOK HERE!" she called, then pointed upward and behind them...

"Rend the darkness and destroy their sight! DAZZLING LIGHTS!!" she called out and in a blast of amazing color, the world became a sunburst of rainbow fantasmagoria. It was much like watching a fireworks display from up-close... except to the two who should be looking to Abigail, and to the caster herself, of course. She quickly bent down to grab the book and shove it into her bag, running out during her distraction in order to grab Agrias and Beatrix's hands. "Let's GO!" she called, trying to get them to follow her to the exit...

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]The girl chuckled a little, "heh...your arena..." she whispered, holding forth the scepter, which absorbed the oncoming hurl of black lightning, and stabbed the staff onto the ground, the lightning dissipating into the earth, a conduit. Shego leaned forward and began to dash, leaving the sceptre behind with a neat trap set.

She jumped up into the sky, feeling lighter without the stick holding her back, and she vanished not because of corridors, but because of her speed. Shego appeared next to the woman, keeping up the running, wanting to see if she was better at it-- she wanted to make sure in all aspects, she was better. It seemed she was testing her first, rather than fighting. Next, was dodging.

The thief's hands bursted into raging green plasma fires, and one strike after another, she would aim to the woman's shoulders, or legs, anything to slow her down, but not instantly kill, or cripple her. Until she heard an unfamiliar voice, [/glow]

"BEATRIX! AGRIAS! LOOK HERE!"

[glow=green,2,800]To be honest, who WOULDN'T look over there?? Shego glanced over to the white mage with a perplexed look, "The heck--" It was then where she heard her casting something, and she prepared for it! She held up her arm to protect her eyes from the blinding sight, growling under her breath as their duel was interrupted, "ARgh!!" She would be unable to respond for a couple of seconds, which gave Beatrix a chance to act.[/glow]

[General Beatrix]

You fool, Abigail! This is a duel!

She stared Abigail down and took Shego's punch to the back of her shoulder before realizing that the other woman had also stopped, directly after that strike. She narrowed her gaze and stepped back, looking at the back of Shego, who stood in front of her, looking the other way, well, shielding her eyes.

But nonetheless she had her back turned. For a moment she thought she might disobey the Knight's Creed and stab the woman in the back, but she thought of a better idea.

While Shego was doing her thing, she positioned herself and her leg in-between the other woman's, just in case she intended to movel. Shego would trip over the mingling and Beatrix would be ready. Conjuring a sphere of holy light in her other hand, she prepared for a brutally light interrogation.

"Steel yourself, Abigail. We will not be running from this battle."

[Agrias Oaks]

"BEATRIX! AGRIAS! LOOK HERE!"

Agrias blinked at this, her attention taken toward Abigail. The next thing she knows, is of her ally attempting a spell. A new one at that! The knight smiled at this, and hearing the words, along with the attack, she immediately closed her eyes.

Oh, what pain will the dark creatures suffer, but just because her eyes were closed, does not mean her senses where shut off from the world, by far, they were at their highest attention, in case Acteur, was to strike. She felt the white mage tug on her arm, but she stayed in place, "We cannot, Abby." she spoke, holding her there with her, "Tis a duel, between those two... we are merely judges, me thinks. Only to meddle when it is needed, for now we are fine, though I continue to be impressed on how quickly you learn."

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]The thief's eyes tried to focus on her surroundings, her pupils pin pricks as they tried to readjust to the light around her, "Gh!" She complained, rubbing at her eyes and taking a wrong step, tripping over Beatrix's foot, "GAhh!" she growled, her eyes squinting to look up at the supposed duelist who had gathered some ground on the duel... by cheating.

"Tch!" She complained, her eyes still trying to readjust-- has she been in darkness for so long, that she found it difficult? "Laaaaaaaaame! Having sparkles help you like this!! Gah!"

She had hoped that the heartless around her were able to seek shelter. She had still to call on them, but she wasn't planning to do so. This was her battle- and what could she say, other that she had more ground when working alone? It wasn't her fault the goodies cheated. The woman's hands flared up into a hot plasma, and she would flail an arm around, while she got her vision back.[/glow]

[General Beatrix]

Beatrix' eye grew cold as she saw Shego fall to her tripping attempt, and she positioned Save the Queen to just over the woman's stomach, where Shego didn't seem to be flailing her plasma-caked arms.

She pressed down a booted foot between the other woman's legs, and held up her other hand, the one carrying the holy sphere. "You will tell your mistress that I no longer have any interest in going back, my fair nuclear opponent. And if you wish to live long enough to inform her of this, I would suggest that you give in and surrender to me."

Then she thought of something. "Abigail, find the staff this woman was holding a moment ago and bring it to me at once." She inched the blade closer, until it touched the woman's uniform. "That friend of yours said your name was Ego, or something, right? Antigo? Smeagol? Beagal? Well, no matter! I am Beatrix of Alexandria, and I show no mercy for the wicked."

[Acteur de la Noir]

If Acteur was at all put off by Agria's defiance, he didn't show it. To the lovely and stately knight, that successor to Joan of Arc, the Heartless Puppeteer offered a a gentleman's bow, leaning forward at the waist and tipping his hat in a display of courtesy. Behind the mask, those piercing yellow eyes seemed to "close," becoming mere slits of gleaming luminescence that suggested a pleasant smile."But of course you will, my dear," Acteur de la Noir conceded pleasantly. "It is the nature of those who serve the light to struggle against the dark..."

Then there was a pause, in which Acteur swept a hand across his face...and when that gloved palm fled from the Heartless puppeteer's mask, the features upon that porcelain surface had changed. The smile was more sinister; a jagged pattern that suggesting the presence of serpentine fangs. "...But in the end, even the brightest lights shall flicker and fade."

And then, as if to prove him wrong: "Rend the darkness and destroy their sight! DAZZLING LIGHTS!!"

The prismatic display of magic-born fireworks cast brilliance radiance everywhere...and to a creature of the darkness, such brilliant light was practically anathema! With a shriek, Acteur de la Noir stumbled backward, covering his mask's eye-holes as his figure contorted in agony. "No! NO!" He wailed with rather theatrical anguish. "Not daylight! Make it STOP!!"

However, the sound of the caster shouting out for her friends to flee quickly proved that the pain wasn't QUITE so debilitating--pulling his hands away from his eyes, the Heartless puppeteer whirled to stab a finger in Abigail's direction--and once more, the mask's features had changed, this time depicting a menacing glare. "Not so fast, cheeky young mage!" he hissed. "No one leaves the stage until the act has played out! And since it seems you need reminding...ATTACK!!"

This last was directed to the writhing shadows on the ground--shadows which became much darker and thicker, elgonating into an army of Heartless Shadows who surged towards Abigail and Agria in a wave of ebon claws and beady yellow eyes.

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]"Tch!" Shego's vision came back, and she saw her position. She only glared at the knight above, not thinking of such a cheap move on her part, nor the allies. This was something she hadn't predicted on.........thankfully, she had several failsafe.

"Abigail, find the staff this woman was holding a moment ago and bring it to me at once."

The thief felt the tip of the blade upon her, but she didn't seem to worry just yet. She held her hands to either sides of her own head, her eyes sly with mischief. She glanced over to Acteur who had seemed to swarm the Heartless on Agrias and ... Abby, a new name to the list. Shego held up a hand and pointed it to the General's friends, "Your friends are toast. Pick what ya' wanna do wisely, Chuckles."[/glow]