Post by Albel Lockhart on Oct 30, 2015 5:48:04 GMT
Albel managed to stand, albeit still keeping glued to the railing, and with a considerable amount of precipitation on his forehead. He wasn't completely facing the new foe, instead standing somewhere facing both of them. He didn't interrupt them while they spoke, but probably the way he was looking between them, unintentionally revealed his worries. Being injured tend to put him on guard, especially when he was unclear where the last attack had come from. "Roxy-" He began after her last question, about to remind her that he'd picked her to became a Templar for a reason, and that he had believed in her.
"I mean yeah, pretty much," Nephilim spoke over and interrupted Albel. "Someone made a mistake somewhere, which we'll have to address later. But isn't this for the best?" He winked, clearly less tense than the two Templars. "Now you've been reunited with your comrades. No one will care about what really happened if you score such a good mark. Besides, the whole thing about Templars having higher morals or something is ridiculous - considering we're all dark wizards here."
Although Albel had been transparent about his past with some of his closer Templars, it wasn't exactly common knowledge that he'd previously been in Shadow Heart. It somehow registered this mystery man as a much higher threat - and perhaps someone that Albel knew, even if he didn't recognize him. "Who are you?" He demanded, first thought in mind. "Give yourself up, and you won't be harmed," he grit his teeth, still trying to abate the pain.
Nephilim didn't bother hiding his laughter. "Truth is waiting for your return, Roxy. How about it?"
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Oct 30, 2015 6:01:26 GMT
Truth was waiting for her return? Was she? Roxanne gritted her teeth. She didn't look at Albel; she barely looked like she registered he'd even spoken. Her sword had yet to be put away, but it hadn't raised either. It was no secret among the higher ups that the Hellknight had taken a particular liking to Truth. Truth had known it, though at most that had only ensured Roxy would try harder in hopes of impressing her.
In all honesty, she did briefly consider giving Albel up. She did consider the idea behind her old fantasy - the one that had kept her going in a life she had never been satisfied with any more than she had being a member of her birth family. "You have to be joking," she chuckled, that insufferable cocky grin stretching across her face. The sword lowered completely as she stood up straighter and rested her free hand on her hip. "Men think so small, you know that?"
"You really think she'd appreciate his head when I could so easily hand her the whole thing alive? He can barely stand." Her logic was that Truth had been known to like getting to punish the people who opposed her, herself. She'd done it when she'd taken the guild for her own, as well as to her enemies along the way.
A blaze of fire surrounded Roxanne, disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared. She was in her normal clothes once again, just like she'd been wearing when Albel had shown up that morning. "No, you know me. If I plan to do something..." she glanced at Albel but betrayed no emotions beyond her cocky exterior, "I go all in."
Post by Albel Lockhart on Oct 30, 2015 22:07:11 GMT
Albel had been hoping that Roxy would make the right decision. Not just because he was worried about his own well being, but because he wanted her to be a good person, too. It seemed like Roxy was avoiding giving a definite answer or proclaiming her allegiance to either side. But when she pointed out that Truth would prefer him alive, and pointed out his weakened state, it seemed like she'd made a decision. “What?” He grit his teeth. The flames surrounded Roxy, taking off her Templar uniform. Whether she planned to kill or capture him, it was still betrayal. A lone ghost blade summoned to his hands, releasing the support railing and managing to stand steadily enough. “Roxy... I hope you're talking about your commitment to the Templars,” he watched warily between the two, still unsure of where Roxy would end, even though it sounded like she might be against him now.
“You're not planning to steal all the credit yourself, right?” Nephilim watched Roxy curiously. “I mean, I'm the one being kind enough to give you a chance to begin with. There is a sort of poetic justice in letting our leader punish the Templar Captain personally, I guess.” A host of ghost-like blades, nearly identical in appearance to Albel's skill, appeared behind Nephilim. “I'd really rather do it myself, though.”
There wasn't much time to think about the other man's skills. Albel deflected three of the swords with the one in his hands. Albel used his own energy to create another sword, prepared to block the incoming fourth. Two swords appeared behind him. One blocked successfully. Wait, two blades behind him... He realized it barely in time. He lurched to the side right as the blade behind him struck. The ghost blade grazed the side of his leg. Unfortunately the late realization of the incoming attack had made him move without thinking – and that he was right next to the railing he'd been using as support, which had stairs leading down to the cellar. In his effort to avoid the attack, he'd mis-stepped into air. The fact that he was already in searing pain from the last attack didn't exactly help his recovery time. He lost his balance completely, missing the step and all the ones past it, tumbling down. Ow. He was paralyzed for a moment, unthinking.
“Not exactly as smart as they say, huh. Almost tagged him with the same trick twice. Or maybe it would have been better considering he caused most of the damage himself.” Nephilim shook his head, not really feeling compelled to rush a job that he clearly had an advantage in. “So what exactly ARE you saying, Roxy? Are you all in or all out?”
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Oct 30, 2015 22:48:52 GMT
"Still trying to lecture me, Lockhart?" Roxanne sneered. She looked back to Nephilim as he voiced his own doubts. "I wouldn't call it stealing if I'm the one that had the idea." She sighed, the grin on her face telling how superior she wanted to assert herself as, her half-closed eyes showing exactly how unconcerned she was by the annoying old man's assertions.
The attitude vanished as she watched the blades attacked Albel once again. She wasn't close enough to stop it, so she had to settle for being relieved when Nephilim ceased his attack in order to address her once again. She tore her gaze from Albel back to Nephilim. She was more than displeased; she was furious. "Use your head!" she stormed over to him, her sword disappearing in another flash of fire. A finger jabbed into his chest. "If you can't reign in your idiotic need to spill blood yourself how do you expect to get any further in the guild?!
Roxanne might not have been the one in charge here, but you could tell how used she was to ordering people around in the Red Blades. "That's the kind of crap I'd expect from low level thugs like him." She pointed at a random rather thuggish-looking man. "You have to think. Think! What would benefit you more? A moment of satisfaction killing him, or a lifetime of Truth's good graces, huh? Or are you that threatened by me that you think you have to claim the kill?" Roxanne had had quite the reputation in the guild before she'd officially left. Everyone had known she had Truth's Favor and her attention, if only because she was both loyal and capable before she'd realized after getting caught that Truth had been using her. She was hoping to use that reputation to intimidate the people here into saving Albel's life.
The Red Talon member that Roxy pointed to looked around, as if confirming that she was in fact, pointing to him. Realizing that no one else was nearby, he hung his head a little sheepishly, not quite sure what he'd done wrong.
Nephilim crossed his arms, watching Roxy with surprising calmness despite his last rather insane statement. He didn't budge even when she poked him, seeming to accept her more as a half-ally of sorts than an enemy at this point, considering they hadn't exchanged blows. The fact that the sword had disappeared seemed to confirm her allegiance. "Don't act like you're the one doing ME the favor," he looked a bit annoyed. "You betray us, then come back for glory, no wonder you decided to stick with being a dark mage - you couldn't be anything else if you wanted to. He sighed, seeming to give in. "There's things in this world a lot more important than wealth or fame, Roxy. But fine. We'll take him to Truth, as long as I get some personal time with Lockhart before he reaches her. I promise he won't die by the end of it."
The Templar Captain had fallen out of Nephilim's sight and into the cellar when he took his tumble, but Nephilim wasn't concerned. It was a dead-end and underground, so the chance of Albel escaping was slim. And as Roxy had pointed out earlier, despite all of the Templar's tough act, he had to be feeling his injuries. "Just because I'm taking your suggestion doesn't mean you're in charge, Roxy. Right now your rank is lower than a low-level thug like him," he gestured to the same man that Roxy had used, who was probably even more self-conscious now than ever. "So I'm giving you the task of knocking him out and dragging him out of his hiding-hole. It should be easy in his condition, like you said. And I'm liable to accidentally kill him." A test, clearly, of her loyalty. A simple one, but still... she had yet to raise a hand against the Templar Captain, which meant Nephilim didn't fully trust her, yet. "Poetic justice for having him blackmail you into all this, right?"
At the bottom of the stairs, Albel had managed to recover from his initial shock of the fall. He managed to pull himself up again, with using the rail again as support. One hand clapped over his shoulder, which was still bleeding pretty heavily. He'd twisted his right leg when falling down the stairs, but could still stand. The rest of his body was a bit battered, but still in decent shape. He could hear everything above being said, and it was pretty clear the two didn't care what he overheard. Better him than one of his men... he kept telling himself. Clearly he wasn't in a position to fight against multiple enemies, so there was no reason to charge back up to where his foes lay waiting. It was dark, but he looked around for anything that might help him. He'd apparently fallen into the cellar of some sort. There were kegs of... of alcohol? The smell wasn't quite right, but he was certain that whatever it was... was flammable.
His mind was trying to think... quickly. He was in a poor position to escape, and most of his surroundings would likely cause mutual harm instead of just aiding him get away. He'd also need to watch very carefully the amount of swords he summoned, lest his own attack be turned against him. Right now his biggest advantage was that they would have to descend the stairs to get to him. A single ghost blade summoned to his hand, steeling himself to fight still.
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Nov 2, 2015 7:31:13 GMT
The redhead glanced at the stairs. She couldn't help but grin a bit at the random guy's reaction. It was like it was out of a comedy. She probably looked like she was grinning at the prospect of hurting Albel though, based on the timing. The man wanted a test to see her loyalty? She turned back around. "I don't know what game you think you're playing, thinking you could order me around. I've done more for the guild in the last year than you ever have." She didn't know if it was true, to be honest, but it was certainly in character for the more confident and competent Roxanne to say before she left the guild.
But arguing without backing anything up wasn't going to get rid of the man's suspicion. His phantom blades could run her through like they had Albel if she wasn't careful. "I'll have you know I'm doing this for my own fun, not because you told me." Yeah, the attitude would disarm him a little more if she was lucky. He'd probably write her off as a brat grasping for her old position.
She approached the stairs, ready for the fact that Albel seemed to buy into it as much as they did. She quietly sighed. Albel was ready. Sort of. She started walking down the stairs, slowly, her gait confident. "Really?" she mouthed. She raised her arms slightly from her sides - a sign she wasn't prepared to hit him with anything, at least. "Put that down and follow my lead." She roughly kicked one of the barrels, hoping it sounded close enough to someone hitting something vaguely Templar-shaped. "Know how to play dead?"
Albel watched Roxy closely as she came down the stairs. He didn't leap to attack her, still eying her warily. He blinked a bit at her words. It was possible it was a trap, except well, he was already in a poor position. Deceiving him further seemed pretty close to pointless. If she wanted revenge, the perfect opportunity had already presented itself. The sword vanished from his hands. In his mind, simply attacking Nephilim would have been the most direct approach. But considering his condition, and perhaps Roxy doubted her own skills, maybe she thought deception would give them an edge.
“Alright.” He spoke very quietly, careful that Nephilim wouldn't overhear them. He approached her slowly, ready to trust her with his life. Maybe he'd misjudged her by quite a lot. He would need to do something to make that up to her, assuming they both made it out alive. “I'll follow your lead.” He released his shoulder, realizing he'd been holding it without thinking, and let her move him however she wanted. He needed to play dead, after all, and while Roxy wasn't weak... A Templar of his stature and armor might be a bit difficult for a woman to drag up. And he needed to 'play dead' to make this convincing. Whenever Roxy made her move, he'd follow too, regardless of his current condition. “I'll leave everything to your call.”
Nephilim awaited above, but the men around him had dispersed. While Roxy was busy with Albel, Nephilim had sent the others to prepare for their captive – they couldn't take any chances with this one.
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Nov 3, 2015 5:51:39 GMT
It was an odd feeling - suddenly being trusted. She was receiving more from this Templar who had had her in chains more than once than she ever had from the average member of her guild. She eyed Albel with a serious expression, then nodded when he relaxed a bit. She was in good shape, but she wasn't going to be able to lift him properly in his armor. She had her two-hander that would increase her strength, but that only really applied to strikes with the sword. "Don't bleed out on me," she whispered as she made him lie down so that she could drag him. "And for your own sake and mine, remember you're unconcious."
She hooked her arms around Albel's shoulders, moving slowly up the stairs. She wasn't afraid to let feet thump loudly as she drug him, and by the time she was up it had been easy to read exactly how fast she'd been dragging him. "There, happy now?" she asked Nephilim, letting Albel fall to the ground. It'd probably take a bit of work for him not to at least cringe in his position, so she made sure to maneuver where it would be hard to see his face while she approached her target.
"See?" she made an exaggerated shrugging motion, the grin growing again. She had a little bit of Albel's blood on her coat, but seemed unconcerned with that. "Don't get your panties in a knot, Nephilim. I had been hoping to get the drop on him, myself before you got lucky."
Albel meant what he said earlier, and did his best to follow Roxy's lead. Pretending he was unconscious was a lot more difficult than it sounded. His left shoulder was still wounded, so being dragged wasn't exactly comfortable. But past the initial shock, he carefully rearranged his face, trying to focus on the future than his current predicament and pain. Like Roxy said, both their lives depended on his acting skills. Templars depended on trusting each other with their lives. If he doubted her intentions now, it could ruin whatever plan Roxy had for them to escape.
By the time the two of them returned, it was just Nephilim left. His men had gone to fetch binding materials, but would return shortly. "Hm." Fortunately for both them, once Nephilim had observed Roxy dragging Albel up the stairs, Nephilim's attention had turned back to Roxy. He failed to catch the briefest flinch when Albel hit the ground. "It's good to have you back, even if you're horribly annoying," he casually walked to meet her approach. He cast one longing look at Albel, before turning away, back to Roxy for the first time. "My men can take the rest from here. We can all go back as one happy family, or something. You've still got some explaining to do to Truth, but to be honest, I doubt anyone will care too much about what happened, given our prize."
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Nov 6, 2015 5:16:45 GMT
Roxanne chuckled, a pleased grin spreading across her face. Who would doubt the grin, given the fact that most of the guild had one way or another ended up knowing about Roxy's thoughts on their guild master (she was pretty sure it was one of those nights she'd just gotten drunk at the guild hall instead of in a place that she would have felt more at home in). She waltzed up to Nephilim nonchalantly, looking rather pleased with herself the entire time.
At least until the anti-magic cuff clamped around the man's wrist once she was standing beside him. Her face got more serious for a moment. "If I wanted to be annoying, you'd know it," she shrugged, the frown turning into a triumphant grin. "Blah blah blah you're under arrest. Now that you're out of the way, feel free to call your men back. I think I can take the rookies you were put in charge of." She looked around, holding onto the man's arm as she summoned a sword in the other hand to keep him in line. "In fact, it might just save me the trouble of catching the rest of them myself."
Roxanne was, without a doubt, pleased with herself. Her only worry had been his ability to manifest his blades in angles that were all too surprising for her tastes. She could have probably taken him, but she'd been entirely too worried he would attack Albel in order to distract or punish her. "I think I'll take whatever pat on the back I get for catching you. I can't believe I put up with idiots like you. You practically scream wannabe crime lord, and if you ask me that's kinda tacky."
Clearly Nephilim hadn't been suspecting anything. There was a distinct silence after the cuffs clicked around his wrist. He held an extraordinarily blank look even as Roxy looked extremely pleased and told him he was arrested. It wasn't until she pointed a sword at him that he seemed to wake up, eyes narrowing. "What are you doing?" It seemed to be a more legitimate question than actual outrage. "You just had an opportunity to come back - more than that, come back in glory. You're betraying Red Talons for... I don't even know?! You'll never be a Templar! You can't just dress up and pretend your past never happened!" He was shouting by the end of his tirade.
Albel had stopped 'playing dead' when Roxy began to speak. Slowly but steadily he lifted himself up, managing to do it with surprising grace considering his light-headedness. "You shouldn't judge another by your own short-comings," he steadily walked a few paces closer, but still kept enough distance to leave Nephilim to Roxy. Clearly Albel would be the first target if Nephilim somehow managed to get loose. "Roxy made her choice, and it looks to me like she's an excellent Templar." There'd be plenty of time to talk and thank her later, but for now he needed her to know - she was a Templar, regardless of what Nephilim said.
"Sir! We've go the rope to uh...." The same man that Roxy had picked on earlier appeared at an inopportune time, rope ready in hands. He took a few looks between Nephilim, Roxy, the handcuffs, and Albel. "Uhhhhh..." He took a step away.
"So how does this end? Will you still resist arrest?" Albel spoke to Nephilim, like the other wasn't there. The other could still call his men to attack, even with Roxy's sword pointed at him. The fact that the Templars didn't kill was often used against them.
"There's nothing you can do that scares me," Nephilim smirked, looking at no one in particular. "But I'm tired of fighting, for now. Do whatever you want."
The other goon had already taken off running. Albel didn't bother pursuing - he doubted the others would want to attack with their leader taken captive.
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Nov 6, 2015 6:26:29 GMT
"Yeah yeah, play macho all you want," Roxanne just grinned a bit. Too bad, she'd have kind of liked taking out her frustrations with how the guild had treated her in the end on all of the men, but logically they'd never be able to catch and hold all of them anyway, and Nephilim here was the prize. "I might have been great and all that as a criminal. Heck, I could probably still show up most of you while also making the Templars look bad," she boasted mostly to mess with Nephilim. She leaned into his face a bit. "But you know... I'm bored of the Red Blades. I was walking all over you guys when I was a part of you. Now watch me finish the job when you're actively opposing me."
She leaned back. "So you mean it, 'Captain?' I'm actually a halfway decent Templar by your books? Or are you just saying that to mess with this guy over here?" she jabbed her finger at the man, not really paying attention to him now that he was helpless. "Cause, you know I come from a rich family. I can totally get any job I want if this one isn't working out." she chuckled, waving off the idea. She hadn't personally been rich in years. She actually owed a bit of a tab back in Magnolia's bar she used to hang out at a lot. "Anyway, let's get this guy back so we can get you patched up, eh? I could do it here, but I'm not sure how much you want burn scars in place of some sort of Templar healer. You have those right?"
Post by Albel Lockhart on Nov 13, 2015 21:45:56 GMT
Nephilim looked like some odd combination of angry and trying to act cool. Likely due to the fact that the odds had clearly switched, and fighting without magic would be extremely tough, regardless of how he acted. It seemed like he was trying especially hard to ignore Roxy. "You're such an idiot, you don't even realize what you've lost," he muttered.
Albel managed to contain his sigh; he wasn't up for much more fighting. Realizing that it was pretty much over was making him especially tired. “I don't say anything I don't mean,” he nodded. It was meant as a compliment, with no other intentions. “And you deserve much more than simple words of thanks. But we can talk about that more another time.” He didn't want to remain in enemy territory than any longer than necessary, and having Nephilim listen to everything they said wasn't favorable either. “And I'd prefer a healer than searing my wounds shut, yes,” he couldn't quite hide the flinch with that thought. “Thank you, Roxy.” Even if she deserved more, that would have to do for now.
~~~
Nephilim was safely behind bars, and Albel had spent a good portion of the remaining day with the healer. He wasn't quite as good as new, but at least wasn't in danger of bleeding or passing out. It wasn't until a full day later that Albel called Roxy back in to his office. He cleared his throat, before rising to meet her. “About yesterday...” It was surprisingly difficult for him to think of the right words to say. “It wasn't what I was planning, and I made you pull much more of the team's weight than expected. Anything you needed to prove was certainly already proven. As far as I'm concerned, you're now a full Templar – and that does mean you can leave at anytime. Of course, I'm hoping you'll stay.” There was no reason to place restrictions on her if Roxy had already shown her loyalty. She was no more likely to betray the Templars than the rest of his men.
Post by Roxanne Lexington on Nov 13, 2015 22:59:22 GMT
((Skipping to the next day part of the post for my reply))
It had taken some time and a small amount of debate, but Roxy had elected not to test the good Captain by not wearing her uniform when she was called back into his office. Sure, in the past she'd had every reason to think that getting the attention of a true authority figure was, at best, a bad sign, but things were a little different lately. She was even being looked at differently by that guy who kept getting assigned guard duty outside of Albel's office - the one that had acted like she'd murder him just over a week before.
She was greeted with the clearing of a throat as she quietly but purposefully opened the door, entered it, then closed it again. Albel's next words had her grinning. It wasn't ear to ear. In fact, it was a kind of mischievous grin, really. Even someone who barely really knew her, such as Albel, would probably have to say it was more playful than it might have been even the day before. She examined her nails a bit, despite the fact there wasn't much to examine - she kept them neat and clean but did nothing special. It was all for show. "Well, I mean, as it turns out I look pretty hot in uniform," she stated nonchalantly. She winked at the captain, unconcerned with one hundred percent proper conduct. The now full-fledged Templar's eyes and her words didn't exactly match up - her eyes spoke of a proud child who finally felt like she could feel accomplished with something, though her expression and her words were far more teasing. "So I mean, if they'd have had a better uniform things might have turned out differently."
She sat down in the chair after a moment. He hadn't directed her to, nor had she asked, but this hardly seemed like the most formal of meetings. She leaned over and picked up an object on his desk, examining it rather than her own hand this time. "I like when people underestimate me," she admitted, setting the object back down, then playing with it a bit so that it was back exactly how it was before she picked it up. "It gives me an edge. I get to feel powerful, in control." Her eyes flicked up to him, the smile gone, but not exactly replaced with a frown. "But I think I'd prefer my friends and allies to take me seriously, for who and what I am, you know?" she crossed one leg over the other, clasping her hands and resting them in her lap as she slouched a bit. "I press buttons so you'll be reminded I'm not some mindless lackey. I'm smart. Maybe smarter than you, who knows?" she shrugged. "I generally like the people around me to be questioning things like that." She moved again, resting her elbow on the arm of the chair and her cheek in her palm. "But after yesterday, I guess I kind of respect you." She almost looked pained to be saying it. "I'm going to make you mad again in the future. Maybe even in the next five minutes, but I admire someone with brains, standards, and conviction. What I'm trying to say is, you're stuck with me and my bad attitude until you kick me out."
Post by Albel Lockhart on Nov 14, 2015 3:29:51 GMT
Albel had wanted Roxy to be more comfortable as a Templar. But maybe not too comfortable. Maybe at least a level of respect that came with taking him and the order seriously. Somehow she'd gotten into talking with him way too casually. One didn't say that they looked pretty hot in their uniform, or wink, especially to a superior. He sighed, rubbing his temples. She liked to feel powerful; in control? So that's why she was messing with him. It would take some getting used to, and he still wouldn't let her push completely off the edge, but it wasn't the worst crime in the world. But if she was trying to make a simple matter of 'thank you' difficult, she was doing a great job. "I don't mind legitimate questions or concerns. But please don't feel the need to try and be smarter than me."
Her sudden change of complete seriousness made him look unnaturally stiff. Flirting with him to get under his skin was one thing. But her sudden seriousness and admission of admiring him sounded too close to truth. Even if it wasn't meant in a romantic way, it sounded oddly close to it, or at least like a rolemodel. He still had trouble coping with the fact that many looked up to him as an example, to where new recruits could barely speak properly when first addressing him, as if he were some kind of hero. He had always thought of himself as a simple person, just one who was working in the role of a leader. "Something like that." He seemed for once to have been caught off guard and didn't have the proper words. There was too much he agreed with and more that he wasn't supposed to agree with in Roxy's words. "Yesterday I trusted you with my life, and now I know you would protect the other Templars and civilians the best way you can, as well. There's still some matters I won't budge on, but our core goals and methods are the same. The Templars will gladly keep you." Even if Roxy had proved herself to Albel, the other Templars might not be as accepting of an ex-dark mage. But still. That would be between Roxy and them; her position would not be in danger with the Templars because of it. "I'm confident we can work around any other minor issues that come up. If you need anything as a Templar, now or in the future, please let me know. I want the future we work towards to be your ideal, as well."
