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Post by Jessy Jackson on Jul 11, 2004 7:19:01 GMT -5
I looked at Mai. Rory was ahead of me though. He walked over to Mai and tried to help her up. "Where is he Mai? Tell us and we'll help you find him."
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Post by Maya on Jul 11, 2004 10:55:43 GMT -5
I barely heard their voices as Nicki supported me, and i looked wildly around. In the shadows, not far away, was a figure. It was facing us, as if mid-step, but it had paused, looking right at me. And i could feel him. He was there... but then again he wasn't... i knew that shape wasnt- couldnt- be him. But i had touched his very soul, and i knew that somehow he was within the mysterious figure...
"Joshua?" I whispered.
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Post by Joshua on Jul 11, 2004 11:59:18 GMT -5
(((OK, you guys do remember that Nicki has actually *seen* Avalon before? She's the spitting image of Joshua's Astral form. And in the Pre-Moon Drinking Blues thread, Joshua astrally entered Nicki's mind under the guise of "J". Heck, Avalon *is* the Astral form of Joshua if anybody is questioning it. Oh, and I really love the ceremony. It's really very touching, thank you all so much. ;D  ))) |
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Post by Jessy Jackson on Jul 11, 2004 12:08:21 GMT -5
"Who's that?" I said, raising my eyes to a figure that seemed vaguley familliar. She seemed to shaine amongst the greyness of the day. Not like Ate shone, more like a brightness all of its own. Nicki cried out beside me.
"That's J!"
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Post by Avalon on Jul 11, 2004 12:11:55 GMT -5
I stopped, hesitating again when suddenly the girl, the woman I remembered and knew to be Maya the vampire Slayer, turned and stared right at me. The name of her once-love on her lips.
<Excuse me??? ONCE-love? Hey, I may not have a body anymore, but that does not change feelings or true emotions. Although...>
<Finish that thought and I promise you, you will regret it> I told him.
Then I took a deep breath, and stepped out of the shadows, heading for the group.
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Post by Aredhel on Jul 11, 2004 12:18:32 GMT -5
I looked up sharply as the woman stepped out of the shadows and I caught a real glimpse of her in the moonlight. She didn't look like him, and she was obviously not a guy, but I couldn't forget what the others had said. Maya had recognized his soul, and Nicki seemed to even recognize the body. That mysterious woman, whoever she was, had a part (if not all) of Joshua with her.
"Who are you?" I asked abruptly. Someone had to say it...
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Post by Nicola Next on Jul 11, 2004 15:13:05 GMT -5
'It's J... I mean it's...' My thoughts cut off and I shook my head 'It's Joshua's astral form. He's kinda female but you're not Joshua entirely are you?'
The woman looked at me and then glanced towards her sword... No, it was something else. A sabre?
'He's talking to you right now isn't he? His body's gone but his soul is still here'
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Post by Avalon on Jul 11, 2004 16:16:09 GMT -5
<Smart girl> Joshua commented.
<Shut up> I told him harshly. He remained quiet, allowing me to think about the situation.
Finally, clearing my throat a little, I answered Aredhel's question. Strange that I knew each and every one of these people like I had known them intimately for months, but this was the first time I have really met them.
"My name is Avalon," I told them. "I . . . I'm sorry to intrude, but I believe I can answer some of your questions . . . about...your friend. And I . . . kind of need some of my own help."
That was the hardest thing in my training. Admitting when I needed help.
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Post by Maya on Jul 11, 2004 16:56:20 GMT -5
I too had seen Joshua's astral form when fighting Nickis shadow demon, and seeing her now, i could barely breath. he was there, within her- his soul. But it wasn't him. How could it be that Joshua was back... but he would never be MY Joshua again. I stared at her, my eyes red from tears, and when she looked right at me, i could see him looking back through her eyes...
"Oh goddess..." I gasped, and pushing Nicki away, i turned and started running. I couldn't be there anymore, my mind just couldn't process it. It was too much that i had lost him in the first place- that i had lost him because of something I did- but for him to be back, but as her... i just couldn't deal with that right then...
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Post by Avalon on Jul 12, 2004 0:00:36 GMT -5
<Don't just stand there gawking!> Joshua suddenly shouted at me, panic coursing throughout him and echoing in me, <GO AFTER HER!>
I responded to the order before I even realized it, part of the training and being taught by a great deal many military minds. I am not sure what the others saw, but people have always been surprised at the full extent of my abilities, especially my speed.
Though if I had to guess, they probably saw me twitch at Joshua's command, and then more than likely a blur.
Either way, I ran after Maya at full speed, however she did have a lead, and it would take me time, 5.7 seconds, to close that distance, and probably even more to get her to stop, since she is a Slayer. So, I took a shortcut, taking a running leap at the wall of a nearby mauseleum, which allowed me to land directly in the Slayer's path and prove to be an adequate stop measure as I easily caught her, and demonstrated my own impressive strength.
"Maya, stop, please wait," I tried to talk her out of struggling in my unwavering grip. If she tried to use magic to get out, I would probably have to resort to measures which could hurt her, and I did not want to do that.
<Call her Mai!> Joshua hastily advised.
<What? No! Her name is . . .> I protested.
<CALL HER MAI!> he shouted with all the force of his will, but mine, as bearer, and 400 years more experienced than his, was strong enough to resist. I wanted to know why first, though.
<She's convinced that I'm not..."me", that I don't remember her. You can see the emotions in her aura, and I don't have to be able to read her mind to know what she's thinking and what she's feeling. Although...>
We both stopped suddenly as something shifted that I only realized a moment later was a physio-mental block, a way of the brain protecting itself from things it is not ready to deal with until it's ready. Apparently I, and Joshua, were ready.
Because all of a sudden, the both of us, Sword and Bearer, could read Maya's mind and emotions.
She suddenly stopped struggling and was looking right into my eyes. I could not help but gulp as a brief thought of what Joshua had been implying since the thought of Mai... Maya, had come up.
But that didn't happen as instead of the merger that used to happen between Mai... Maya, and Joshua, was that suddenly, all three of us just . . . understood.
(((If anyone would like to know the overview of Avalon's history beyond what is in the Character file or here, contact or leave a message with Joshua, whose account is still active.)))
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Post by Jackson ''Doc'' Ellison on Jul 12, 2004 2:22:42 GMT -5
"Damn," I whispered as 'J' ran after Maya. "How the hell did that happen?"
"How did what happen?" Jessy asked. I turned to her slowly.
"That girl's got a Soul Saber," I whispered, a little shocked. "And... it's Joshua."
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Post by Joshua on Jul 12, 2004 11:21:00 GMT -5
After the . . . well it wasn't a merge, so more like a Meeting of the Minds . . . with Mai, Doc, both Docs Saber and Bearer, became aware of my presence with Avalon and started probing with their senses in my direction.
I sighed and contacted them instead, leaving Avalon to deal with Mai at the moment. Having Doc on our side could only strengthen our arguments, and it would take a lot more time for Mai to be convinced.
With a tug and a pull of the energies as the Soul in a Soul Sword I now controlled, the three of us, me, Doc's past soul, and Doc himself, were suddenly, or rather our consciousnesses were, in a Mental Construct Area. For the simplicity of it, I directed it to appear to us as the Construct Program in the first Matrix movie.
"Hey guys," I greeted them. One Doc looked exactly like the first time I had met him in person. The other was older, and looked like the one standing in the grave yard.
"Joshua!" they shouted together.
"In the flesh . . . so to speak. You know how this works. I died, but my soul, from another timeline, went into a Soul Saber, while my soul from this timeline went on to be reincarnated into Avalon. And actually . . . something cool kinda happened I gotta tell you about."
"What?" they asked, too stunned by my statement to do anything else.
"When I went into the Saber, something happened. The Saber, evolved, into a full masters blade. Something about the composite of the power my soul has or something. So, it's more accurate to say I'm a Soul Sword now. I'm also a tad bit more powerful, not to brag or anything, but Ate was actually..."
"Wait, Ate knew about this!!" the "real" Doc suddenly shouted.
"She's an Angel of Death Doc, of course she knew," I told him.
"Uh oh," soul-Doc remarked, looking at the darkening expression on his Bearer's face.
"Uh, yeah, Well anyway, Avalon is on the up and up, and she really does need help. Not . . . demon kind of help, but, more like she needs a job kind of help. She's been trained to be the perfect warrior for over 400 years. It's a long story, and I can explain it later, but for right now, I need to know that you guys are on our side and you'll help us talk Mai around."
"Sure thing, we'll help however we can," soul-Doc immediately agreed.
Real-Doc though was still glowering over something, but I quickly grabbed his attention back to what I'd said.
He hastily nodded his agreement. "We'd better get back to the real world before Mai strangles this . . . Avalon."
Laughing, mostly to myself, I tried to cover it up with a cough as I answered them, "Uh, heheh, yeah, sure. Whatever you say."
With another tug and a pull, we all returned to where we belonged.
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Post by Maya on Jul 12, 2004 11:26:04 GMT -5
((dude, its not that she doesnt think its the real joshua, its just that its a little stressful having your boyfriend die-painfully- pretty much because of you, going to his funeral, and having him turn up! As a woman!))
She/he held me, stopping me running away, and in my current state, i was barely able to fight back. I had been a total emotional wreck since Joshua had died in my arms, so i wasn't really surprised that he could see through my mental barriers, and i know that both of the souls in the body were hit full force with all the pain i had borne since that night.
"I can't..." I gasped, trying to pull away, "Joshua, please, just... I cant..."
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Post by Avalon on Jul 12, 2004 14:12:05 GMT -5
For the moment, when Maya whimpered like that, Joshua was quieter than he'd been ever since I'd "met" him. And at the one moment when he was about to get what he always wanted too; compliance from me.
With a sigh, I eased up on the pressure holding the Slayer and whispered to her, "Mai."
She looked up, startled, and like she was about to mentally collapse from all the pressure. Sometimes people just needed time to deal with such things, let their minds get acclimated to whatever situation they can't deal with at the moment.
And sometimes, you don't have the luxury of time.
"Calm down, everything is going to be all right in the long run. I promise you this. Joshua suspected, he did not know things would turn out like this. But he suspected, and if you wish it, we, Joshua and I, will leave and not return to this city for another year. We discussed this previously and we both agree that if all you need is time, then he is willing to give you that. But he also wanted you to know that he still exists, and he still loves you, and that no matter what, letting go of you is not an option. And he hopes you feel the same way."
With that, I stepped back and let her go completely.
Then, I heard in the back of my mind, <I heard that> Joshua sang in a teasing voice.
<We have discussed it, and she reacted exactly as I predicted she would upon finding out the truth!> I challenged his teasing.
<You called her Mai> he sang again.
Growling to myself, I merely crossed my arms and waited to see what Maya would do.
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Post by Maya on Jul 12, 2004 16:27:59 GMT -5
I sighed, shaking my head, and sitting on a nearby gravestone.
"It's not that simple..." I began, but then frowned, "Wait... am i talking to you, or him?" I asked.
"Well, me... but he is right here, Maya, he hears everything you say- he can see you."
"But i cant see him." I replied bitterly.
"Maya..."
I raised my hand to silence her.
"I know." I said quietly. "I'm gonna say right now that i know i'm gonna be unreasonable, and bitchy, and... its just... I havent slept since i felt you die in my arms! The last few days.... i've been empty inside! I know that your the one who died, and i have no right to be going on about me... but i loved you, Joshua... i still do....and i dont know if i can deal with you being here, so close, and yet not being able to even touch you... Believe me, i am happier than anyone that you're not totally gone... I dont want you to leave. You have every right to be here... i think, maybe... maybe i shouldn't be here right now..."
"Maya! Dont..."
"Just!" I said, determined not to be interupted. "Let me... This isnt because you're back, i was thinking about it before... i need some time. I dont know how long it'll be... maybe a couple of days, maybe... much longer... but esspecially now, when i can feel that connection we had... i just gotta get away for a bit, y'know?" I looked to her, again seeing Joshua looking back through her eyes, and i prayed he would understand, because i couldn't bare to cause him any more pain.
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)))
