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Honor Among the Dead

"THE DOOR!" Roland screamed, his voice riddled with panic and his eyes widely skipping across every object in the room. The large lion had one foot braced against the door, and the other was pressed against the ground, his body was twisted to one side and he was pointing at the blockaded door behind the quivering wolf.

"Door?! What?! What abou- OH! YEAH! Yeah, yeah yeah! Gimmie a second!" Spark replied sheepishly, quickly turning about to start pulling objects and debris away from the escape passage. And she thought things were bad with the spider creatures attempting to eat her head. Now she had precious seconds to rip a bunch of junk off a nearby door to use as an escape before demons burst into the room and ripped them both to shreds. She sighed.

"Mom said there would be days like this." She groaned as she pulled broken, cracked slabs of concrete aware from the door's frame. It was mostly a large pile of odds and ends, broken wood and debris, concrete chunks and stone blocks that had crumbled from other parts of the building. All of it bought up here to create a secure place for Roland to sleep at night. Spark whimpered as she got closer and closer to clearing away all of the blocks, only to find a large, near bolder sized on at the base of the door, securely holding it shut. She frowned and braced herself, putting her back into moving the object- but it didn't budge. Not even an inch.

"R, ROLAND! I CAN'T MOVE THIS!" Spark hollered in terror, tears starting to fill her eyes, but her thoughts were suddenly snapped from her skull when the sound of wood and crumbled steel filled the room, along with a horrifying screech of a soul in agony. They had broken in. They had broken in and they were hungry. Twisting around to face the creatures that began to pour into the room, Spark found herself frozen in absolute and utter terror, staring at the abominations like a deer caught in headlights.

From the legs you could already tell the beast wasn't natural. It was like some twisted version of mother nature had been diseased and tortured...or some taxidermist's nightmare. It walked on three large digitigrade legs. One in the front, and two in the back, with brown skin stretched so tightly over it's bones it looked like it would snap free any moment. From there it’s crotch, where there were no genitals as it connected with the torso. The stomach was malnourished to the point of starvation. Spark could see the flat bone structure, rib cage and spine that led up to it's wide chest. And there- on that chest was a large single eye, staring and searching for it's next target. There was no head attached to that chest, no neck or anything, but what made the creature absolutely horrifying, were the arms. Instead of arms, or forearms, it had large, gleaming blades, shaped like scythe's extending from it's elbows. It walked with an eerie squishing sound, and it's eye blinked once, twice, and finally settled on Sparkle, gazing at her like a hungry predator eyeing a piece of meat.

"No..."Sparkle whispered quietly, taking a step back. The movement would prove to be her undoing, as she tripped precariously over her own feet and landed on her rump with a startled squeak. Her green eyes widened helplessly while the demon that had been staring at her leapt into the air, using it's three legs to propel itself like a rocket towards it's intended target- her face. The demon’s nightmarish blades whistled through the air, glistening and ready to make little more of her then bloody strips strewn across the floor; Sparkle lifted her cane above her head and took a deep breath. If she had any hope of surviving, closing her eyes and cowering was probably not the first step to keeping her inwards intact. Still, even with her eyes opened, she was surprised at the flash of shining silver that was suddenly in front of her- Roland's large bastard sword catching the creature's arms in a cinematic sword lock that seemed to leap straight out of the movies.

"AWAY BEAST! LAY NOT ONE HAND ON THIS LASS, FOR SHE IS PROTECTED BY MY SWORD!" Roland snarled, the large lion narrowing his eyes at the demons that entered the room, one at a time. They just didn't seem to stop; Three of them, then four then five. All of them hungry for chaos and suffering, ready and willing to kill and lavish in the blood that flowed. Roland didn't dare risk a glance back towards Sparkle to see if she was ok. He was much to busy assessing the situation in front of him. He was out numbered and had a helpless woman to protect...someone who needed his help, much like his king had before. Counting on him to help keep her safe. Keep her alive. He would not fail her. He wouldn't!

Spark felt her breath caught in her throat, the situation having slid quickly from bad, to very bad, to FUBAR in only a few moments. Feeling a deep whimper peel from her lips, she shifted back a few feet to try and give Roland as much room as she could for him to swing his big sword. She needed to help him, but her combat experience wasn't exactly suited for fighting demons. The bolder blocking the door was too heavy for her to lift and her cane wasn't exactly a sword. Still, there had to be something she could do. Even if it was to offer Roland what little support she could. Ideally, she'd push the bolder out of the way for him to make their escape, but that would require a miracle, or her to be a giant of some sort. She knew, deep in her heart of hearts she no longer had a choice in the matter.

Closing her eyes with on last peek at the horrors that danced about the room, Sparkle had a tricky time finding the concentration needed to summon a spell. Casting spells in a different realm was something she’d only read about- casting spells in Hell itself was something she’d never dared even think about. All the malicious energy, the hate, chaos and suffering that saturated the very fabric existence of the place was something that made her wary of taping into magic. Not to mention, as a dark witch, her powers were already well seeded in negative emotions…still her options had been reduced to cast, or die. And she wasn’t planning on dying…

Roland groaned quietly. He had to admit, he couldn't remember any situation's he'd been in that had been worst then this. He had to keep one eye on all five of the creatures surrounding him to make sure he could defend the poor woman behind him. Risking a quick glance towards the girl he had come to know as 'sparkle' he was momentarily shocked when he noticed her with her legs crossed, her arms carelessly supporting her body, and her lips mumbling quietly with her eyes closed. Was she...praying? The one on the left attacked, leaping towards him with both it's scythe arms high in the air, and ready to stab him in the chest. He took a step back and altered his stance; bracing his back foot on the floor, and brought his sword up to defend. The blades clashed against each other, singing a healthy tone of strength. Things were not looking good. He could only defend, keeping Sparkle safe. If it were simply him, he could spend a precious few extra seconds trying to kill them with aggressive attacks instead of defensive blocks. And then the bolder he had placed against the door, came sailing through the air and slammed directly into one of the creatures standing before him, reducing their numbers by one- if the large splatter of blood it left behind indicated anything. Roland blinked a moment or so, before he whipped his head towards Spark, who was standing with the door open and already halfway inside.

"Ooooh, ouch! That'sa gotta hert! Roland?! You comin'? Tell your friends you have to go now. You can play with them tomorrow." Spark called out while Roland took a step back, and another, and another still until he was in the stairway with Sparkle.

"I'm sorry, we're closed!" Spark snorted, tugging the door shut quickly the moment Roland was clear of the opening. The door shut with a thick slam and the angry shriek of creatures behind it indicated they were not going to be conquered by closing a door. Spark was counting on it…

"Mi'lady….how did….†Roland began, but Spark wasn’t paying any attention to him. Instead she was leaning up against the door, listening quietly at the sounds behind it. Squishing, screams, scraping of metal unnatural claws…

"Shaddap a minute…†Sparkle growled, glancing at the panicked lion before turning back towards the door.  She had to focus, had to concentrate. In her minds eye she could see what was happening. Demons; slashing and clawing furiously at the barrier between them and the beautiful bags of blood they wanted to bathe in. Spark narrowed her eyes...waiting....waiting....waiting until a large scythe claw stabbed its way through the door- only inches from her nose. Perfect.

"STONE!" She called out, and much to Roland's terror, the door she was bracing her paws against began to change. It began to shift and alter itself, turning from the base to the top, into a large, grey block of stone.

"Okie Dokey, it’s running time!" Spark called, racing down the stairway past the stunned lion, who only stared at the door, and the monster that had it's arms trapped within it. When he reached the ground floor with Spark, he found the wolf girl bent over, her paws on her knees, panting hard. She was obviously not used to running.

"Hey...Roland...I gotta...Heh, I never thanked you for..." Sparkle quipped before she looked up and her eyes widened. The lion had his sword pointed at her neck. Again.

"My that's a lovely sword...all pointed at my neck like that........it's the magic thing, isn't it?" The lupine sighed sadly. Roland narrowed his eyes, fingers crushing the handle of his blade as he held it towards the girl's head.

"On. Your. Knees. Witch." He snarled. Sparkle's shoulders slumped and she gave a whimper, slowly dropping to her knees on the dusty ground below. She knew it. She knew somewhere in her head that magic, and this knight weren’t gonna mix.

"On my knees? Didn't even buy me a drink or nothing. What kinda girl do you thi-" Sparkle began, before she was quickly cut off by Roland's barking shout.

"SILENCE!" He snarled, pressing the bright gleaming blade up against Sparkle’s neck. The wolf girl gave an agitated sigh, but showed none of the fear that processed her when she was facing the demons moments ago. Â

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"I'm sensing hostility." Spark grumbled, glaring up at the large lion who narrowed his eyes in return.  He didn't move the sword an inch, only making sure it was still pointed directly at Sparkle's neck while he slowly walked around behind her-intent on beheading her…

"You do not walk God's path, witch. You do the work of the devil. I was a fool to have been taken in so quickly by your pitiful scheme. My soul will not be your plaything. I will see to it, you are punished. The more evil I destroy in this place, the sooner I redeem myself in the Lord's eyes." Roland hissed quietly. Sparkle simple groaned. If it wasn't one thing...

"Riiiiiight. God's path. And you're such a darling role model for me to follow. Tell me, where in the good book does it tell you about slaughtering innocents and loved ones, or is that somewhere in the back? Gotta tell ya buddy, your exclusive little club of Christians isn't for me. Also you're a maniac. "The wolf grumbled. Roland sneered quietly, lifting his sword up into position to bring it down onto the kneeling wolf's skull.

"Seek forgiveness, wolf, and your soul will be spared agony. I pray to lord above, whom watches our every move and guides our paws with grace and-†Roland began to pray. Sparkle simply rolled her eyes.

"Roland...come on dude, I just saved your life. Can't you- OH MI GAWD!!! LOOK OUT A DISTRACTION!!" Sparkle hollered, pointing away from the lion urgently. Roland turned quietly, blade raised, ready to defend himself. Had the scythe creatures broken free of the building?! Hell hounds?! Soul scratches?! A dozen horrors ran through Roland’s mind as he prepared for the worst, tactics and techniques running through his skull before his eyes widened in anger. â€Look out a…distraction?†There was nothing there. He glanced over his shoulder and snarled. Sparkle was gone. Quietly, the large lion sheathed his sword and shook his head. Bitch was clever…he’d give her that. She’d tricked him again. But somehow, Roland didn’t feel all that upset. No, he would seek out the witch, and punish her for her crimes against the lord. God as his witness, he would indeed. After all, good always triumphed over evil. This was a test of faith and strength and Roland was going to prove himself, even if it meant he was going to die trying.