"Per usual, ain't nothin' ever simple..." Graves grumbled to himself. Just once he'd like to not be caught up in some mess, just once he'd like things to be simple.
The winds blew harshly as Graves trudged along a narrow mountain path up Mount Targon with a heavy heart. He remembered the first time he had come up this way the atmosphere was far more pleasant, the bueatiful serenity of the snowy mountain having a calming nature to it, it had brought him some peace when he needed it most. Now it seemed the polar opposite. But it wasn't too surprising for the Outlaw the last time he had gone to the Solari Temple it was not with malicious intent. It was as if the mountain itself knew what he was there to do, and was doing everything in its power to deter him from reaching his destination, with the winds that threatened to blow him off the mountain pass and the rock slides that sporadically rained down from above.
Two days had passed since LeBlanc had ordered him to give Leona a scar. He hadn't thought twice about the small hints at who cursed him he'd given to Leona or even that LeBlanc would somehow find out. He'd underestimated the eyes and ears of the Black Rose and was now paying for it. As long as the damned curse was on him he was their pawn, forced to do things to good people whom he had no quarrel with. Now if he didn't do as he was told Caitlyn would be killed. At one time he'd thought it all a bluff, but again he was wrong on that count and payed for it dearly. He didn't kill Cait as ordered and lost his arm, and his new cybernetic augment was a burning reminder of just how helpless he was right now - putty in the hands of a sadistic witch. He hated it, and for the first time since he broke out of jail there was someone higher on Graves' 'to kill' list then his former partner.
At the end of his agonizing trek he stopped and stared at Solari Temple in all its grandeur, grinding his teeth. Every fiber of his being screamed for him not to do this. In the past Leona had shown him nothing but complete trust, now here he was here on LeBlanc's orders to shatter it. Betrayal was something he was very familiar with and the mere thought of being forced to stab Leona in the back like this made him sick to his stomach, but he had no choice in the matter. He lit a cigar, and slung Destiny over his shoulder as he approached the front gates of the temple.
Last Edit: Oct 30, 2013 19:09:30 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 10, 2013 9:58:08 GMT -5
Leona stood outside the temple, leaning idly against one of the great columns supporting the structure. Although the mountain cold was biting, even more so than usual, she did not seem to even notice it. She merely seemed to glow ever so slightly brighter in response to it. She was wearing only half of her plate armor with her sword sheathed at her waist, left on after the bout of training she had just finished. She was lost in thought, gazing upon the magnificent view she had from the top of the mountain.
Seeing Graves appear over the horizon broke her out of thought. She pushed herself off the column she was leaning against and would have walked toward him to greet him, had something not seemed off. There was something in his stride, in his posture, in the way which he held his weapon. It was not the posture of a man at ease. It reminded her of something she had seen many times before. A soldier walking toward a battle. Leona moved a hand to the pommel of her sword and rested it there. She waited for him to approach.
Post by The Outlaw on Oct 12, 2013 20:04:26 GMT -5
As he steadily made his way closer to the Solari temple he noticed Leona leaning on one of the temples many supporting columns. 'Just a scar...' he reminded himself, that was what LeBlanc wanted so he'd do no more and no less. He threw his left arm up in a lazy wave noticing she seemed a bit rigid, with a hand on her sword. Was he that obvious? Sure he never was great at being subtle with things like this but he knew for a fact he didn't wear his emotions or his intentions on his damned sleeve.
"That ain't no way to be greetin' a friendly face now is it Leona? If I didn't know better I'd say you think I was here to pick a fight." he said with a facetious tone. The irony in his statement made Graves want to shoot himself in the foot, but he kept his facade up and kept a steady pace towards her.
Last Edit: Oct 12, 2013 20:15:50 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 13, 2013 4:52:11 GMT -5
Leona raised the hand she was resting on the pommel of her sword up to return the wave to Graves, stepping down to the base of the temple as he approached. As much as her Rakkor instincts were screaming at her, she moved her hand away from her sword when Graves had mentioned it.
"I was merely resting my hand, Graves. I apologize for appearing inhospitable.". She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and then briefly studied the man before her. True, the man did not wear his emotions clearly upon him, but Leona could nonetheless gauge that something was amiss. After all, there must be a reason for his visit to her. Few would walk up the slopes of Mount Targon for idle conversation. "Is something the matter?" she asked, with a trace of concern in her voice.
Post by The Outlaw on Oct 14, 2013 11:08:05 GMT -5
"Relax, I'm only teasin'!" he said hands up in mock defense as he stopped walking about twenty paces away from Leona. All he wanted to do was be away from here, to not have to blatantly lie in Leona's face. Unfortunately he was here and now he'd have to go through with this whether he'd like to or not. He wasn't about to have Caitlyn's blood on his hands. 'Bein dead's a helluva lot worse than gettin' a scar' he thought to himself mentally tracing the scars that riddled his upper torso.
"Ya' know I ain't never knew my Pa'. If I did I reckon' he'd a told me something along these lines - 'the biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you wash his face in the mirror every mornin' - n' he'd a been right as rain" Graves said halfheartedly almost to himself, seemingly staring off in the distance. In reality he was stalling while taking in his surroundings, and the supporting columns of the temple definitely drew his attention. He'd bet shooting one or two of them would damn near collapse half the temple raining Leona with the rubble. Avatar of the Sun or not, that'd give him an opening to get this done. As low down and dirty as it might be it was probably the easiest way to go about this, at least in Graves' mind it was. He took a long drag from his cigar and exhaled, it was now or never.
"I'd duck if I was you..." Graves mumbled just loud enough to be audible. There was a brief stillness in the air, the birds stopped chirping the wind stopped blowing - everything was an eerie silence for exactly a second and the stillness was almost peaceful for Graves. Almost. But that silence was broken by the sound of Destiny. In a flash Graves cocked and fired two explosive shots at the temple columns that would destroy them. One of them would fly right by Leona into the column she had been leaning against just moments ago, the other at one of the columns at the temple's base that she would be closest to now.
Last Edit: Oct 14, 2013 14:39:17 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 14, 2013 11:45:56 GMT -5
Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. As much as Graves was trying to conceal the truth, she could tell it. The Rakkor in Leona could hardly be screaming at her any louder than it was at that moment. Battle was at hand, it screamed, again and again, louder with each repetition. Graves began speaking again. Gradually, trying to avoid his notice, she moved her hand to rest on her sword once more. There was tension in his voice. There was tension in his movements. The tension by which is followed violence.
In a moment, the Rakkor in Leona was proved correct. Graves lifted his gun and fired. Leona had no time to think about the why of his actions. That mattered little to her at the moment. All she had to do now was act. She dived forward, taking advantage of the greater mobility wearing half plate gave her, trying to place herself in a better position. She did not expect the blast, however. She was knocked off her feet by the force of the explosion. She stumbled back up to her feet, still dazed. She drew her sword, a brief rasp of metal on metal being the only warning Graves would receive. She did not want to hurt him, but she had no wish to be shot. She drew the power of the sun to her, now glowing more brightly with its energy. Leona thrust her sword outwards toward Graves, a spectral image of it closing on him rapidly.
Post by The Outlaw on Oct 14, 2013 15:13:30 GMT -5
When the shots each hit their targets Graves watched as Leona was thrown to the ground, each of the columns falling apart and crumbling from the base up. The resulting could of smoke from the pseudo-demolition of the Solari temple obscured Graves' vision enough that he figured that was it. All he'd have left to do was make sure she had some sort of scar and this whole thing would be over with. He watched as the columns and the grand entrance of the temple they once supported were finishing crumbling to the ground when he heard the distinct sound of metal on metal which caught his attention.
Through the dust he made out Leona on her feet, glowing with the suns power and sword drawn. As the glow extended from her sword and towards him he was caught flat footed by her Zenith Blade and couldn't move. 'Shoulda went n' got me a pair of sunglasses...' he mused to himself squinting from the bright light that radiated from Leona and her sword. He wasn't about to go down like a deer in the headlights though. When Leona would come at him he would use her own momentum against her and throw a punch with truck like power from his new Glorious Evolution™ esque arm.
Last Edit: Oct 14, 2013 15:56:37 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 15, 2013 9:30:41 GMT -5
Leona sensed as the spectral image of her sword connected. The strike would no doubt be less than comfortable for Graves, as it would singe what it touched. At the moment it connected, Leona channeled further energy into her sword. She became one with the spectral image of her sword, and traveled down its path as light, materializing in front of Graves. Leona instantly broke into a sprint toward him, despite the short distance, to gain momentum behind her first strike. She dashed forward in a low fighting stance, with her sword held low above the ground, the point of it facing slightly backwards.
Graves was expecting her. His robotic fist rapidly closed in on her. Leona was taken off guard by both the unnatural speed and strength of the strike. She was not able to entirely dodge the strike, and his fist connected painfully with her shoulder. She grunted with pain, and was thrown off balance. Nonetheless, she attempted a strike at Grave's side with her elbow, moving her remaining momentum into the strike.
Post by The Outlaw on Oct 15, 2013 10:44:19 GMT -5
When his blow connected Graves felt only remorse. "It ain't nothin' personal." he said as Leona was thrown off balance by the follow through from the hydraulic powered punch. It was quickly replaced however with a quick sharp pain in his side when Leona's elbow connected with his liver. Because Leona's elbow was thrown while off balance it lacked weight behind it and would leave no lasting damage, but it was certainly still painful and helped Graves awaken from his own inner conflict. Until this point the dots somehow never connected in his thick head that when he attacked the Avatar of the Sun she wouldn't sit there and let him shoot her and be on his merry way. How could he be so stupid?
He dashed backwards to avoid exchanging blows with her in melee range. Fighting a Rakkor in any kind of melee or brawl was simply a recipe for disaster, they were trained warriors from birth and Graves knew well about their reputation and legends from his time in the League. He shot once following it with a quick buckshot to discourage Leona from immediately closing the distance he'd created just a moment ago while he gathered his bearings. All he'd have to to was hit her with one bullet and it'd be more than enough to leave a scar, the caliber of bullet Destiny used were probably the largest and most powerful out of any gun in production across Valoran. He'd no longer hesitate or pull punches out of remorse from now on to avoid having his life on the line.
Last Edit: Oct 18, 2013 10:30:43 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 15, 2013 12:51:40 GMT -5
Leona's blow had connected, but with nowhere near the force she had wanted it to strike with. She would have to be more cautious of his prosthetic arm, she thought. What was that he said? "Nothing personal"? Was he merely a paid hitman now, with no emotional connection to his targets? She dropped the thought as soon as she saw his gun raised. She did not know what kind of projectile would come out of it, merely that she did not want to be in the way when it did. She threw herself to the ground, just barely avoiding the shots sent in her direction.
In the time she had done that, Graves had managed to put distance between the two of them. Leona did not have her shield at hand, and the protection half plate brought was not enough for the weapon Graves carried. As she shot back up to her feet, an idea came to her. She called the power of the sun to her, not channeling it into any particular outlet, merely bringing it to herself. She made herself bright, to the point of being painful to look at, in attempt to throw off his aim. Assuming a low profile stance, sprinted towards Graves at full speed, trying to close the distance as quickly as she could. If she managed to get close enough, she would ram the shoulder that had not been struck into Graves' chest, surely toppling him over.
Post by The Outlaw on Oct 15, 2013 16:09:31 GMT -5
Graves vainly attempted to shield his eyes as Leona drew the suns power to her. The brightness that was Leona was easily blinding and all Graves could see even when looking away were dark spots from the glimpse he had forced himself to take of her. She'd be advancing, whether it was with intent to kill or not he had no clue, but he knew for a fact she'd be coming at him.
While stumbling backwards in his temporary blindness he reflexively fired shot after shot towards the light at his imperceptible foe. His eyes clamped shut with an arm trying to shield them in fear of losing his sight permanently. Graves intended to keep on shooting until he heard some sort of indication he'd hit something. However, lacking the use of his sight he had no grasp on where he was, tripped, lost his footing and fell flat on his back. He hadn't known it but he had been backing up towards a cliff edge and his fall had in a way actually been a stroke of good luck.
Last Edit: Oct 16, 2013 12:01:40 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 16, 2013 8:24:44 GMT -5
Leona did not even have to knock Graves over herself. The temporary blindness that she caused him had made him topple over on his own. Of course, not before he had fired several shots in her direction. Her blinding light had the intended effect. His shots were much less accurate than they could have been, most of them missing her. One of the bullets grazed her upper arm, but her only response was a grimace as she continued forward.
Graves was stuck in a poor position, and Leona was not about ready to let him escape it. As she rushed forward, she threw a kick at Graves' weapon, trying to knock it out of his hands. At the same time, she moved her other foot up to place it on his sternum, to keep him on the ground, and moved her sword up toward his neck, a position that would force him to surrender.
Post by The Outlaw on Oct 16, 2013 11:52:43 GMT -5
Graves laid there on the ground a moment still trying to recover his sight completely. Leona's kick to disarm him only sent his arm flying back, the death grip he had on his gun a match for the Outlaw's stubbornness. As he attempted to get up he felt a boot plant itself squarely in his chest, the force of it making him grunt in discomfort as it shoved him back to the ground.
He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to recover any sight at all, still seeing spots from the blinding light Leona had conjured. He could now make out her silhouette bringing down her sword resting it just above his throat. Even with Destiny in his hand he was at her mercy.
"Guess it's as they say, when throwin' yer' weight around you best be ready to have it thrown around by someone else" he said, sliding his gun away from where he lay. He laid there in forced surrender with a scowl planted on his face.
Last Edit: Oct 16, 2013 12:02:39 GMT -5 by The Outlaw
Post by The Radiant Dawn on Oct 16, 2013 13:22:45 GMT -5
Although she had failed to disarm Graves, Leona had reached the position she wanted. Once she had brought her sword to his neck, Graves dropped his weapon and slid it off to the side, still pinned beneath her boot. She relaxed slightly. It was finished. The sun's power slowly dissipated from her, and her glowing subsided.
She looked down at the man at the tip of her sword. His life was in her hands. Memories, less than pleasant memories, returned to her, and she repressed them as quickly as she could. Many thoughts went through her mind at that moment, but one of them, a question, she voiced.
"Why? Why would you come here and try to kill me? What would you stand to gain?" Leona's voice was a mix of regret and anger. Why he would turn on her was a question she hated to ask, for the simple reason it had happened, and now his actions had brought him here, before her sword.
Post by The Deceiver on Oct 18, 2013 1:09:19 GMT -5
'Well now, this won't do, now will it? You can't get off that easily,' a familiar voice cooed within Graves' head. 'Stiff upper lip, darling. She may be able to kill you, but I can do oh so much worse to you than death. I believe the saying is 'play it by ear', yes?'
The Deceiver shimmered into view on the rooftop of the Solari temple, swiveling the staff about in her hands. She raised it up, then started to lightly trace the roof. Once the zigzags were done, a light burst of magic, and a cascade of marble blocks fell down towards both Leona and Graves. If they stayed in place, they would easily be crushed to death. A soft chuckle aloud, and LeBlanc's image faded away, though if she were truly gone, one could only guess.
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