Battle Won. War Continues. (Open)

[Mr. Kaar]

Leon was sitting in his throne when the army marched on Barker's strong hold, perched and seething an aura of anguish. His fingers digging, his knuckles white, he was in pain. Sweat dripping, chest heavy. It was like he was there with them, only he didn't know what side he was on.

Then almost spontaneously he felt a flash of white fire within his mind. He knew Darc was dead. Falling from the throne to his knees his entire body lurched in a wave as his muscles spasmed in reaction. It was all he could do just to clench his teeth and grunt, his face planted solidly against the floor of his throne room. Clenching a fist raising it and striking the ground. There was no enemy to repell the pain, but Leon was a fighter, its what he knew to do.

This went on for hours. He could hear the army returning victorious.

A new voice rang in his head, its commands... Far more intense than Darc.

"No!... Stay... Out... I'll do it!.... My own way!"

He attempted pushing himself up to simply on his knee's lifting his forehead from the cold floor, but this was met with an intense assault to his physical. He could feel the presence digging around in his mind to information.

~...~

"This is my!.... Body!... My spirit!..."

~...~

"Says... You..."

~...~

"Trying... To scare me?!"

~...~

"I'll... Kill you!"

~...~

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

With the last outcry Leon would push to a standing position as a very dark navy blue exo-skeletol armor would form around his body protecting everything except his mouth, ears, and the top of his head where his golden blonde hair lay. Spikes jutting from his elbows, knees, forearms, and calphs.

[Lucien DeChain]

{This is a post}

It was far past midnight when Lucien made his way back to Lightning Tower. It had been a long night of celebration, and Lucien was quite tired. Coming home, he was hoping to catch a bit of rest before the events to follow, but instead he was welcomed by a bloodcurdling scream.

Lucien started. "Leon...? LEON!" He started to run, bounding for the elder's personal quarters. When he got there, he flung open the door, and paused. His heart skipped, blood leaving his face. He started to shake.

"Leon... You... No, not you..."

This was a nightmare. It was all a horrible nightmare.

[Zack Asiv]

Leon's head would turn to look at Lucien, and another rigid shake from his muscles as he'd grip the sides of his head. grinding his teeth together before settling down.

"Oh yes, Lucien.... Me."

He'd grunt a bit more and seeth.

"What happened... In the battle... Who's the new voice?"

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien could only stare. Stuttering, he tried to make out the words as clear as he could.

"Barker is dead, along with Darc and most of the other generals. John Strike... He's controlling the experiments... Leon, I didn't know..."

[Mr. Kaar]

Leon would register in silence, holding his head again as he fought off the new voice.

"This guy... Is way stronger..."

~...~

"BAAAAAAACK OOOOOOOOOOFF!!"

And with that the exo-skeletol armor would vanish and Leon would drop to a knee.

"That was draining..."

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien took the words literally. He backed off, exiting the room and slamming the door shut momentarily. When the screaming stopped, Lucien would slowly open the door again and gasp.

"Leon!" He bounded forward to help the man. Crouching down, he would try to look him in the eye, to see if he was really there...

"Leon, you need medical attention. We need to get a medic."

[Mr. Kaar]

Leon would look to Lucien and catch his breath before thinking over the information he had.

"You weren't supposed to know. I need you to tell me everything. If John Strike was the one prodding my brain, I wont be able to resist forever. I'll explain my situation, but I need details."

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien was more than eager to tell his friend all he knew about John Strike.

"It started a few months ago when an especially disfigured experiment emerged in the middle of the neutral territories. A Qi beast, massive and strong. It took more than a dozen of us to take it down, and when it finally died, it was explosive. Most of the people there, including myself, were hit with a strange substance that emerged from the body of the beast. Masks emerged from the substance, which could be called upon at any time. ...Some of us used it for our own powers. I haven't been able to trust mine enough to call it out.

Then, John Strike infiltrated Crows, using the soldiers he had planted within Anaheim to stage an attack form within. The main targets were Delilah Black and Zack Asiv. Their bodies shifted into weird exoskeletal forms. Strike had the power to control them, and gave them orders with his mind. The connection between the masks and John Strike was established, and knowing that he was their 'General', from then on, John Strike was considered a fugitive as far as Crows were concerned.

From there, not much was seen or heard from John Strike for a while. Not until the battle today. While Mathew Amtrum was in battle with Sean Barker, Strike suddenly appeared only to kill Barker in a single move, and disappear again. Some people in the battle had been using their masks, if it is of note."

"And, that's about all I know, other than that Strike is purportedly over a thousand years old."

Lucien just hoped that he had the answers Leon needed.

[Mr. Kaar]

"Makes sense..."

Leon would push to a standing position.

"Guess explanation is in order. I knew something was wrong the moment Eurydice came back, and once I gave you my Qi, I went to Barker territory to infiltrate and find out what happened. I learned everything. There's was a mental block put up by Darc keeping me from mentioning any of this, but I spent a month being augmented. They are building a much more powerful kind of experiment with this."

He'd pause in thought.

"If Darc is dead ALL of the experiments under Barker's control are no longer under any kind of mental control unless they are picked out by John Strike. I can resist for now, but it is very difficult."

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien let the words sink in. From the back of his mind, the thoughts began to race, and his mind was like a hamster in a wheel. Leon was an experiment, Eurydice too... and the experiments were, for the most part, free...

"What can I do to help you? Strike seems to have some control over the masks... Would it help if I had mine on?"

Of course, out of the thoughts, his number one priority right now was making sure Leon didn't fall under Strike's control.

[Mr. Kaar]

Leon would smile wide.

"Oh... No worries here. I'll be able to resist with nothing but my pride if I have to. I have bigger concerns than orders being shouted in my head."

Leon would think on it for a few minutes.

"Has he ever displayed this control over the masks?"

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien thought about it, and after a few minutes he came to the realization.

"No... Not directly, anyway..."

What does that mean? Were the masks not associated with the man in the way that Lucien thought?

[Mr. Kaar]

"When he issues me orders, its like a command in my head, an urge of something I have to do no matter what... I'm only able to override it for now because I'd go about the orders my own way... Give it a shot, put your mask on and try to make me do something."

Leon was serious.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien understood the seriousness. What he didn't understand was why Leon would possibly think that Lucien could give him orders by putting on the mask...?

"A-Alright, I'll try.."

He pulled his hand to his forehead, grabbed, and pulled down his bone mask.

And, he tried to... Extrude his thoughts? Maybe?

What he was thinking... Well, for a while he didn't know what to order Leon to do, and continuing to not think of anything productive, he just would order Leon to dance like a monkey...?

[Zack Asiv]

Leon would stare at Lucien for a few moments. Before Lucien would hear Leon's thoughts.

~I'm not going to dance like a monkey.~