tampered | Log; Ongoing

Log; Ongoing

When; July 6th, near dusk
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Harry Dresden (

dresden4hire ), Ivy (

archivy ), Nicodemus (

eternalnic ), Alucard (

tinyvampiregod ), the Major (

warconductor ), and who knows who else shows up to watch and wants to log.
Summary; It's time for the duel between Harry and Nicodemus!
Log;

Harry arrived at the appointed meeting place just a bit early. He wasn't as jittery as he might be, or maybe he should be, considering who he was dueling. Just because Harry threw insults at Nic and was willing to face him didn't mean the Denarian still didn't scare the bajeebus out of him.

Dressed in jeans, a "Touched by an Angel" t-shirt, and running shoes Harry was ready for his duel. He had his staff and blasting rod as well, but he had a feeling the running shoes were the most important part of the ensemble. Running was a very integral part to being a wizard. That and waiting, which was all Harry could do for the moment.

[ooc: Posting order will be Harry, Ivy, then Nic? Alucard and Major, you can jump in where/whenever you want? IDK.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Harry gave a friendly, if rather condescending, wave to Nicodemus as the man arrived. In response to the narrowed gaze Harry just smiled pleasantly. His look to the Archive was more serious and business like. He understood her job here and wanted to make it as easy as possible.

"Well, let's do this thing," Harry said. He had never been good at formality. "I have laundry that needs to come out of the washer before too long."

The Archive nodded at both Harry and Nicodemus when they arrived, waiting another minute for them to settle before she stepped into the middle of the clearing.

She held out one hand in front of her and a small ball of light appeared, hovering just above her palm. She stepped back and the ball of light remained at it's place.

"The contestants, Harry Dresden and Nicodemus, will face each other standing there and there," she pointed at the respective places, each about five steps from the ball of light. "Seconds will observe from further away." Again, she gestured to indicate the places where Alucard and the Major should stand. "All others must step back behind the marked line."

Even though she didn't raise her voice, it carried easily over the clearing as she spoke.

"The contestants will try to move the ball of energy with their will towards the other. Whomever it touches first loses. Should one of you cheat, your seconds or one of the spectators interfere, the duel will be terminated."

"Anything you would like saying before we begin?"

The airship flew low overhead, the droning of the engines audible long before the Swastika-emblazoned zeppelin was visible. It glided gracefully down as it touched down in the clearing, inadvertently crushing some of the threes as its massive bulk finally came to rest.

A ramp folded down, reaching halfway to the ground before extending out to the dirt, red carpeted with gold trim. Hand rails sprung up, and the Major walked down, the Captain not far from his side. He seemed to favor one side, still growing used to the repaired and possibly upgraded cybernetics in his leg. Red eyes peered from within the darkness, and if you listened hard enough, you could hear the screams and unearthly groans from within.

His grin, a half smile that never seemed to leave his face, didn't falter as he took his place behind the marked line.

"I will enjoy this Wizard. You have interfered in my business for the last time."

Nicodemus was confident. Why shouldn't he be. He was over 2,000 years old and had won this dual several times, with the stakes much higher than they were now. And if things did, in some off chance, go poorly, he would be ready.

Harry watched at the zeppelin descended and had to admit it was somewhat impressive. In an over the top, drama-queen type of way. Not that he would expect anything less from the Major. He was a showman, if nothing else.

"Blah, blah, cliche bad guy speech," Harry said, trying to look as uncaring as possible. He knew how much was riding on this and how badly Nic wanted to win. As big a game as he talked to everyone he knew he was in for a fight.

"I'm ready, Ivy. You can put the spell on me to take the memory. The sooner we get started the sooner I go to the pie buffet."

The Archive waited for everyone to take the places she had pointed out, her face perfectly blank. Once that had happened, she walked to each contestant, first Harry and then Nicodemus, and briefly took their hands. She didn't even need to speak any words to lay the spell that would, upon her command, bind and block certain memories of theirs. Her hesitation before touching Nicodemus hand was barely noticeable, but it was there.

For the most part, she succeeded at not letting her emotions surface and kept her dislike, even her fear of Nicodemus well suppressed.

"Very well. On my command, you may start."

She stepped back, not as far as the rest of the observer, coming to stand at a spot where she could see both Harry and Nicodemus clearly.

"Present your right hands," she commanded, and when they both did, made a quick gesture with her hand until the ball of energy hovered exactly between the two of them. It would now exert pressure on their hands and react directly to their will - whoever had the stronger will would be able to push the sphere towards the other.

She quickly looked around again to make sure nothing would disturb the duel, then she inclined her head.

"Begin."

Nicodemus smiled at Ivy's reaction and squeezed her hand gently when she did her magic.

When she started the duel Nicodemus pushed forward with all his might. He was no wizard, true, but he had years of experience as well as a demon on his shoulder. Of course, the help from the demon was minimal, he would defeat Harry's will without bolstering his own.

He would simply crush Harry's.

Alucard (who actually has arrived on time, but mun was out buying a swank new purse), was standing in the appointed position, having simply appeared from the shadows in the woods and walked, clad in a smart white suit and fuzzy white hat, a sharp contrast to his shiny black hair and glowing red eyes.

A toothy smile, more a grimace, really, was spared to the Major before he regained himself and stood, hands clasped behind his back, rocking up on his toes every now and then, waiting for something interesting to happen.

When the duel began, Harry tentatively pushed at the ball of light, not giving it his all at first. Which appeared to be a mistake as Nic was either giving it his all or had a lot more will that Harry did. The light soared towards him for a moment before he pushed back, summoning more of his will.

Harry wasn't afraid of losing though. The long and the short of it was that he refused to. He would not run the risk of forgetting about Nicodemus. And more than that... there was a teenage girl out there that Nic needed to forget all about. Smirking just a bit, Harry slowly tried to push the ball of light back closer to the center and towards Nicodemus.

"Careful Nic, you don't want to... choke in front of all these people..."

Nicodemus' eyes narrowed as Harry spoke, the anger within him rising up. He fought to keep control and allowed the ball to slowly move towards him and put a strained look on his face as it moved closer.

He growled back at the wizard, but if there were words, they were not understandable.

"You will lose," Harry told him, his eyes never moving from the ball of light. "Because you're doing this for yourself. I know if I lose then Dawn gets hurt again. And everyone in this City is even more at risk. Ana, Molly, Bob, Kuromi, Billy... and all the others. You're only doing this for yourself. I'm doing this for them. You don't stand a chance."

Nicodemus allowed the orb to become closer and closer to him, keeping his face looking stressed out and, for added effect widdened his eyes.

When the orb ended up being only a few inches away he dropped the facade, straightened his posture and grinned, holding the Orb in place in front of his face.

"Perhaps in the past Harry, but not this time."

Nicodemus pushed forward with augmented will and began to laugh.

"See what you turned down Harry, what you have refused time and again. The power of the Coin."

Harry clenched his jaw, silently cursing Nic for the charade. He still didn't think he would lose, he refused to lose. But Nic was still a bastard for the whole thing.

"No, the coin makes you weak," he growled, forcing hidden reserves he didn't even know he had at the ball. "It's a crutch. How does that feel? To know that you have to use a gimmick to even hold your own against me."

Nicodemus chuckled and spoke in an amused voice, "Using the coin? I? Oh no Harry, I'm afraid you have it wrong. I can beat you quite well without it's power...but perhaps a taste of it?"

It was a calculated risk, the coin would drain his own will for a time but he knew he could hold his own afterwards, and the burst of Anduriel through himself would certainly scare the wizard. He concentrated on the coin and called upon Anduriel to take control for a moment.

The ball surged towards him again, but Harry fixed in his minds the images of the people he cared about... he pictured the broken body of Michael, Shiro's torture, the pain Ivy went through... and he used it all. Nicodemus and Anduriel were going to lose this.

"I've resisted the coin. This is nothing. Accept it Nic. You're going to lose."

"NO!" Nicodemus roared, his depleted will being put forth into it, but his will wasn't enough. Slowly, but surely the globe of light was moving to him, very very slowly.

Harry kept pushing, going quiet now as he focused all his concentration on moving the ball. He wouldn't celebrate or relax until he won. Because Nic was a sneaky son of a bitch and there was no telling what sort of tricks he had up his sleeve.

Nicodemus thought fast, he had two choices. He could allow Anduriels will to fuse with his again, and hope that the push would be enough or...

Yes, that would work quite well. Anduriel would be able to do that fine.

He continued to push while a part of Anduriel morphed to match the shadows cast by the nearby trees. It worked it's way across the ground towards Harry and rose up, invisible to all involved around his wounded hand. Encircling it, but no touching it. Waiting untill the right...moment...to...SQUEEZE.

Harry didn't notice the shadow until it was too late. Namely, until it started squeeze his hand with bone crushing force and Harry was reacquainted with his old friend severe pain.

He gasped a bit but out of sheer stubbornness he didn't release the ball of light entirely, although it did begin to move steadily towards him.

"You should have paid close attention to my shirt, bitch," he grunted a split second before he engulfed his his crushed hand in the blue glow of soul fire. Suck on that, demon boy.

Anduriel shrieked in rage, his yell of pain filling the clearing with the loudest screech ever.

Nicodemus' eyes opened wide as he stood still, feeling the pain of Anduriel through his link. The globe shot through the air, slamming into Nicodemus' chest and burning a small hole in his shirt, but he made no reaction. A moment later the screaming stopped and Nicodemus' shadow grew into a large humanoid forge, and Nicodemus spoke, his voice echoed by a voice from the shadow speaking in another language, the language known only to the denizens of Hell.

"YOU DARE USE SOULFIRE ON US!? YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE WRECKED WIZARD. NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH."

He drew his sword and moved toward the wizard while the shadow figure flew through the air towards the vampire present as his second.

Red eyes glittered as Nicodemus broke the rules of the duel, narrowing in wild delight when the shadows moved. "Is that it? The dishonor of the fallen? Even I don't share your disgrace.." And drew the shadows to him, willing parts of his form to fall to shadows, eyes and mouths swarming through, flowing to battle the figure headed for him.

And the Major, he spared a few eyes to keep on the fat man.

"Oh come now, Alucard. There is no shame in your dishonor, but revel in it! Admit its truth."

He snapped his fingers and a pair of vampire soldiers, decked in full combat gear of the Waffen-SS leapt from the darkness of the airship.

"Have you no faith in the judge?"

It took Harry a split second to process everything and another one to react to it. He almost risked letting Nic kill him to make a joke about Alucard keeping an eye on the situation but he promised a lot of people he wouldn't die and he really wanted to be able to say "I told you so" to all of them.

"Oh shit," he swore, managing to retain his eloquence even amidst the crisis.

Holding his staff out before him he engulfed it in soulfire and brandished it before him. At the same time, a loud "woof" thundered from nearby as Mouse leapt from where he was standing next to Molly and charged the demon.

The dogs bark caused Nicodemus' to falter in his charge and pause, and the soulfire causes him to narrow his eyes.

An established swordsman he stood at the ready and began to move around the Wizard looking for an opening. The Soulfire he would not risk, the pain was beyond anything he had felt before.

The shadow ignored the wizard however and continued on it's path to the Vampire, taking note of the control exhibited over the shadows. The form grew even more arms each heading towards various parts of Alucard's shadows attacking him ethereally as well as materially.

Alucard's form faded to mostly shadows, eyes still glowing where his face should have been. The vampire solidified two hands towards the charging vampire troopers and ran them through, hands flat and striking through the ribcage, on the backswing, the threw them, guiding their fall to impale upon whatever trees were tall and pointy.

The Baskerville heads were snarling and snapping at the demon shadows. A pile of centipedes and other creatures were crawling at the base of the shadow creature the former childish figure had become.

"Yes, YES. . the smell of blood, the sounds of battle. . we are old dogs of war, our steps choreographed to the music of pain... we cannot change our natures."

Log; Ongoing

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Posting = ALucard, Major, Harry, Nic

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