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.]

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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."

Despite keeping a close eye on the contestants and their seconds, the Archive hadn't noticed the unnatural shadow creeping forward towards Harry's hand. However, when the first spark of soulfire engulfed Anduriel and the Fallen screamed, her eyes narrowed and she stepped forward.

Even though chaos was already starting to break out around her, she remained calm. "The duel is terminated. Nicodemus has cheated and his memories of Dawn Summers will be taken."

With a quick flick of her hand, the ball of light disappeared, with another mumbled word, the spell she'd laid over Nicodemus memories was activated.

That done, she turned around, her grey cloak twirling. "Auron, if you would please make sure the observers do not interfere," she nodded at her bodyguard. The Archive drew up a defensive shield around herself, then focused on Nicodemus.

Both her hands came up as she drew upon her magic and charged it towards Nicodemus. She wasn't vindictive - at least she wasn't supposed to be - and her attack on him wasn't nearly as aggressive as it could have been. Rather, Nicodemus suddenly found himself surrounded by a blue energy sphere that didn't allow for much movement from his side and from which lithe needles of light shot towards him from different directions at different intervals, making it impossible to block the attack.

"Well said, Archive." The Major took a step forward, clapping his hands slowly and gently. "Well said indeed. Now, Alucard, assembled guests, Herr Dresden himself, I believe we might end this as it is? This is a duel after all. An ancient and sacred thing, older than all of us present. This is the essence of conflict, brought about when the universe itself started. It's rules are powerful and shall not be violated."

His smile grew slightly larger. "However, should you press the attack in an attempt to claim retribution for treachery. I shall take it that you are declaring war, the old dance that we know so well, I will take it as such."

The missile bays of the Deus ex Machina II opened up, the sounds of their armaments warming up very much in evidence.

"And shall launch a first strike at... let us say the Police Station? Or perhaps we shall deliver the full payload on an apartment building and level it entirely to the ground."

He dropped his gaze, and for a moment, one wild, insane eye was visible. "I'm more than certain we can find one building to our liking that can be wiped off the face of the island."

The Archive stopped her attack on Nicodemus immediately. The blue sphere holding his body in remained in place, but the needles that had left Nicodemus' clothes ripped in several places and his skin broken stopped coming.

"There will be no further action taken. As the judge and witness of this duel, I declare it as over." Again, her voice carried over the whole clearing even though she had barely raised it.

"Major," she turned to face him, "An attack on the City will not be necessary. I request you take Nicodemus and make your way back now."

As she spoke, a quick flick of her wrist sent Nicodemus' unconscious body floating towards the Deux ex Machina II.

She then turned to face Harry and Alucard, ready to prevent them from taking action should they choose to go against her words.

For one brief moment Harry entertained the notion of punching the Major in the throat, just to shut him up about war. That man seriously needed a new hobby or something. Like the piccolo or the tuba. Or baking. Goodness knows the man looked like he enjoyed his food.

"Hey, I'm cool with you two doing the walk of shame," Harry said, trying his best to not clench his teeth and cradle his crushed hand. At least it was his ugly hand though. Thank God for small favors.

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Log; Ongoing

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Posting = ALucard, Major, Harry, Nic

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