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Message: <blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 4584100" data-attributes="member: 812">What A Woman's Got To Do: 19The old woman was tougher than she looked.Blood Sister Morikage reeled back from Etienne's punch, but one elderly hand shot out and a nimbus of dark power erupted around her fist, blasting forward at the half-Kishak just as he was wincing at having punched a sweet little old lady.The sweet little old lady's sorcery knocked the young man backwards, tearing a gaping wound in his side and knocking him flat. Etienne bellowed obscenities and clutched at the blood gushing from him. He tried to get to his knees, gritting his teeth at the pain and swearing constantly."You f**king bitch. I'll f**king kill you."Torokan looked back and forth between Etienne and the rapidly-getting-away form of Farouk ibn Zaoud, running out of the pagoda with Madame Yuek over one shoulder. She yelled at the OTHER old woman, Blood Mother Tsin Kwan, who was just getting to her feet in the middle of the pagoda.Etienne slipped in the pool of blood at his feet, but he managed to stand up. Morikage shook her head."You're tough, young man. I'll give you that."She held up both hands, and this time black radiance surrounded both of them.*****"Hey! I killed him! Matai Shang! I just killed Matai Shang! Guys! Guys?"Nobody appeared at all interested in Isaac's triumph over their hated enemy. He frowned at the chaotic scene before him.To his left, Etienne appeared badly injured, and about to be killed by Blood Council magic. Directly in front of him, Arrafin and another Blood Council woman were scrambling to their feet in the midst of still-screaming civilians, both staring after a tall, dark, handsome form running away with what appeared to be a woman slung over his shoulder. There was no sign of Nevid, but that didn't really surprise Isaac.He shrugged."Alright, new plan. Kill every Lohanese bitch in the room."He drew both of his pistols and fired one at the sweet little old lady in front of Etienne, and the other at the old woman standing over Arrafin. Neither appeared at all disquieted by pistol balls blasting by their heads.Isaac scowled. "Alright, new new plan."Shang's minions clambered around him, reaching out for the torn and bloody corpse of their beloved master, paying no attention to Isaac. He drew the sword Magreb and jumped down from Shang's mechanical chariot-thing and stood looking back and forth between the old women, trying to decide which needed killing first."That's enough planning for one s**tstorm."*****"No! Leave her alone!"Arrafin ignored Tsin Kwan and scrambled to her feet. Tears poured down the young girl's cheeks as she cried out for her stunned and suddenly kidnapped lover.Her cries rose in volume, become a guttural roar, and the Blood Council woman beside her leapt back as waves of black radiance exploded around the Naridic girl. Arrafin's eyes went black and inky threads wound through her hair and her skin as she screamed and thrust a hand out at the retreating genie.The marble floor at Arrafin's feet shattered and blasted upwards in a shower of chunks, fragments and dust, and like the sudden furrow of a massive plow, the explosion raced across the pagoda floor straight at Farouk, knocking him into the air. The spirit struggled to stay upright but stumbled and the beautiful woman sprawled from his grasp.Madame Yuek sat up, dazed."What the f**k is going on?"Arrafin shrieked and ran, but before she could get there, Faruok had recovered and snatched the woman's hand, yanking her towards him. She saw Arrafin and clawed, reaching out, screaming the girl's name, but Farouk crushed her in his arms and, limping now, dragged her from the pagoda.*****Kimiko Torokan halted in mid-yell. The pagoda overhead was beginning the groan and shiver, and the whole place was obviously about to come down around them all. The Demon Goddess was not yet dead, their primary benefactor had against all odds been taken out of the fight, and her ex-boyfriend was looking really pissed off.Really pissed off and really close to death. Torokan turned as Morikage began the spell that would tear his heart from his chest."Wait!"The old woman paused, confused, and then jerked, coughed and fell to her knees, with both of Etienne's knives hilt-deep in her torso, blades angled up under her ribs.Blood Sister Morikage stared up at the younger woman, her eyes fading as she tried to speak. A fleck of blood appeared on her lips and Torokan was suddenly nauseous."She was eighty f**king years old, you son-of-a-bitch! What have you done?"Etienne snarled and yanked his knives free."Don't you tell me to stay out of the way again. I'll decide what's too big for me, you conniving bitch."Torokan swore. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This was a mess. Morikage died, convulsing. Arrafin unleashed an earthbolt of staggering power, but that spirit was still dragging the Demon Goddess somewhere."You don't understand a f**king thing, you dumb street punk."Etienne didn't even give her a look as he ran straight for Farouk. Torokan staggered, trying to catch her breath. The Blood Mother was closing in on the spirit and the Demon Goddess. This would be over soon.She hoped.*****Uncertain as to exactly what was happening, Isaac trotted to Arrafin, who was reeling from the spell she'd just cast. He took her around the shoulders."Arrafin? What's going on? Shang is dead, what are you doing?""Isaac!""And what the heck is Farouk doing-- hey! Isn't that whatsernuts? Madame--"Arrafin pulled herself from him and pointed at the old woman with a knife, who was just catching up with Farouk."Isaac! She's going to kill her! Stop her!"It all came together for Isaac at that moment. The Blood Council were trying to kill the Demon Goddess. That old woman evidently had a plan, and if he stood by, the ancient insane evil that had bewitched his dear friend would come to an end. Arrafin would be like she used to be, sweet and thoughtful and kind. Right from the start she'd been the nice one, the one everyone liked. She'd been the reason the whole group had stuck together. Because of Arrafin they'd gone to Al-Tizim. Because of Arrafin they'd gone to Shaer. He remembered when she learned of her brother's death.He remembered that night on the beach in Salejo, when she'd walked off alone into the darkness and none of them had thought to stop her. Maybe it had started then. Maybe she'd gone to meet her new love further down the sands.He looked down at the distraught, tear-streaked face pleading with him and he knew the Arrafin he remembered was never coming back. Whatever had happened to her, whatever that vampire had done to her, it was done now. And she loved Madame Yuek.Isaac took his cigar out of his belt and stuck it in his mouth. He chewed grimly and drew his sword."Alright. I'll stop her."*****Had Etienne been paying more attention, he might have noticed ribbons of blackness looping around the Blood Mother, sinking into her crimson kimono as she strode towards Farouk and the Demon Goddess. But had he been paying more attention, he might have wondered just how many old women he was going to kill today.His blades dripped blood as he ran in a half-crouch, cutting diagonally across the pagoda floor to intercept the Blood Mother before she reached Farouk and his struggling, shrieking burden. He lifted one knife high over his head, the other at his waist, and spun, kicking out low as both weapons licked across the woman's body.Both weapons bounced off her thick brocade kimono and she slashed at him as she passed by. Only Etienne' quick reflexes and well-honed sense of self-preservation kept the woman's blade from slicing open his throat, and even as it was he took a deep cut in his shoulder.The half-Kishak swore and dropped both knives, fell to his knees and clutched at the two wounds he now bore. He looked up as both Isaac and Arrafin rushed past him."Go get her. I'll be fine here."*****The old woman was tougher than she looked.As Tsin Kwan caught up with the limping, stumbling, struggling Farouk ibn Zaoud (who was actually starting to show some annoyance at the furious, obscenity-laden struggles of his kidnappee), just as he was leaping down to the grassy lawn in front of the pagoda, she ducked under his wild, half-blinded swing, and slammed her little knife into his side.Colour and shrieking madness erupted around them, and Farouk seemed to suddenly transform into a thousand shapes at once, twisting and dissolving in front of them all as the old woman howled and kept both hands on the hilt of her blade, shouting in Tianese. Arrafin recognized some of the words as a sort of incantation, a command upon the spirit. Isaac and Arrafin halted, stunned by the frenzied spectacle in front of them.As Tsin Kwan finished her incantation, the wild prismatic fury around her sucked in on itself and what had been Farouk seemed to suddenly slurp up into the knife she held, and Madame Yuek fell to the grass, still cursing and struggling.She got to her knees, her hair wild and unkempt, her outfit torn to shreds and her now-mortal skin bruised and bleeding all over. The Demon Goddess looked like hell.Tsin Kwan smiled down at the disheveled, but still beautiful young woman before her and raised her knife. She spoke, slowly enough for Arrafin to understand."I love you, Goddess. Now our souls are joined. Now I can sever you from the Living World, Goddess. Be at peace."The knife plunged downwards. Arrafin's scream was not enough to stop it.But Isaac's sword was. He leapt down at the two women and wound up over his head, swinging the blade in a flat descending circle to hammer into Tsin Kwan's side at waist level.He cut her in half. There was a flash that Arrafin recognized as sorcerous protections getting blown away, and then the magical blade ripped through crimson silk and flesh, snapping her spine with an audible crack before bursting out the other side. The Blood Mother sprayed organs and gore in all directions as her bisected corpse collapsed.Madame Yuek wiped unidentifiable gobbets of flesh from her face and looked up at the Saijadani."Even for me that was kind of f**ked up. But I thank you."Isaac found he was panting, exhausted. Wild-eyed, he watched as Arrafin leapt to the grass and threw herself at the blood-covered Madame Yuek. The two women embraced tearfully. Isaac staggered over to Etienne and helped the younger man stand up."Well, that's over, I guess.""Guess again."They turned to see Kimiko Torokan standing in the middle of the pagoda floor. The high structure was swaying noticeably, and a constant rain of debris and beams told of impending collapse. The civilians and Shang's minions had all run from the building, leaving her alone, surrounded by half-a-dozen corpses. She held the emerald-tipped staff in one hand."The Demon Goddess must die. Stand aside, Arrafin, or share her fate.""No!"Arrafin stood up, fists balled at her side. Righteous fury galvanized her."Look at her, Torokan. She's mortal now. She's not a goddess. She's not a vampire. You don't have to do this.""It must be done. Stand aside, Arrafin.""Never!"The emerald began to pulse with a malign gleam, and both Etienne and Isaac rushed forward.Arrafin reached out with one slender hand, and with no sign off effort, called up a wild storm of Shadow around herself. As before, the ground before her erupted and shot forward, blasting into the marble floor of the pagoda, blowing apart a dozen pillars before hurling Blood Sister Torokan into the air.The kimono-clad body slammed into a massive chunk of marble, twisting sickeningly and then getting hammered back into the ground."I think you got h--"Isaac paused. The entire pagoda collapsed, sending up a massive choking cloud of dust and splinters. The four survivors staggered backwards, watching in horror as where the pagoda had once risen now lay only a disordered heap of stone and timber as high as a two-story building. Somewhere underneath all that lay Blood Sister Torokan."Okay, I'm pretty sure you got her."</blockquote>

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