There was one upon a time a thread titled Written Clips. In it was a myriad of stories that you saw but a glimpse of. Over time it died and I have decided that Written Clips should stay dead. However, a place where pieces of a story emerge should still exist. Where friends can PM me about ideas and thoughts for what I write. In some cases, they lead to roleplays or beautiful works of art. Whatever the outcome is, it all starts in places like this. Whether sound bites made written or clips of the finale, this is a place for creativity.

---------- Post added 04-24-2014 at 10:32 AM ----------

The sound of thunder roared through the air, shaking buildings and sending little bits of dust raining down. The battle seemed never ending to those who cowered beneath their staircases or tables. Only those fighting were thriving in this environment. The thrill of looking a man in the eyes before they were killed. The chance to use explosives. To run dramatically or furtively as they chose. A world where the innocent were disregarded, forgotten. A world where those fighting became addicted to conflict and forgot who they were and what they had been fighting for. It was a world of complete chaos.

A small boy stood between his mother, who held his younger sister, and the door to his house. The ceiling had cracks running along it and dust littered his short cropped hair. Determination showed in his brown eyes as he clenched his fists. The fighters sometimes came into buildings, killing anyone not wearing their colors. He wanted to protect his family from there. Suddenly the door broke open, a wounded soldier falling inside. Blood smeared across the broken boards and floor. The man looked up at the kid, and started to pull his gun up. Without hesitation, the boy grabbed a wooden stick and wacked the gun away. The man fell unconscious as the boy poised ready to strike again.

His mother ran up behind him and pulled the wood from his small fingers and pulled him into her embrace. Kissing his hair and smoothing his shirt, she stared past him worriedly at the fighter. What would happen when he came to? She looked around her livingroom and spotted the curtain cords. Standing, she retrieved both and gave one to her boy. "Quickly, tie his feet." She took the man's hands and tied them in front of him where she would be able to see them. Only then did they barracade the front door, stacking the largest bookcase and bracing it with the piano.

Grabbing the man by the shoulders, she pulled him towards the bathroom. Her daughter quietly grabbed some clothes and followed. The boy began patrolling the house, peeking out windows carefully for signs of more fighters. After dousing the man's wounds, the mother bound them up and left him in the bathtub. Over the next few hours, it was quiet waiting. The sounds of fighting growing dim as the fighters moved to another part of the city.

A grunt brought the mother back to the bathroom. The fighter was awake, a crazed look in his eyes. Automatically, he started fighting his bonds despite her quiet reasoning. Giving up, she simply watched and waited. Eventually he would tire and sleep. Then she redressed his wounds that he had inevitably torn. When he woke up, he repeated the process. The boy took his sister down to the cellar for the night to sleep. Their mother checked in on them throughout the night. It was early morning when she started to piece together the mystery that terrorized their lives.

The fighter began showing signs of withdrawal. His misery and rants confirmed her theory. Whoever had started this war kept it going with drugs. No wonder once decent men through away their morals. She kept water going down his throat, but otherwise let him weather the effects of his master. It's tremors and sweat bearing on him like a whip. Not wanting any chance of contamination, she kept rinsing him off. Noticing a silver sheen in his sweat, the mother decided it was time for a little experimenting. Taking a bottle and collecting some, she set it aside. Time to start preparing for an end to this madness.

The large battle fortress slowly moved along in the ocean depths. A planet of water, it was a handy place to have a central command. Protected from air attacks, space-originating fire, and landing troops it was the perfect defensive position to have. They just didn't count on hackers sabotaging their systems.

A guest stood down in the launch bay, looking down from the high scaffold he stood on. Out across the large interior, he could see several miles of various water and aircraft tied down. That wasn't what was holding his attention though. The capsule launch bay was located on the bottom of the fortress allowing for all sides of the room to send out crafts as needed in the quantities needed. And those sides had multiple doors numbering in the thousands. Entry doors and exit doors that propelled whatever was one side through to the other.

The entry doors were starting to open. It was a chain reaction that started flooding the room with sea water. As a few entry doors opened, it seemed to cause those close to them to open too. What humans were in the room were currently up high in the scaffolds. The few on the ground quickly clamored into the nearest water craft and closed the doors. Androids who serviced and ran this launch capsule were not apparently effected, but that was no consolation. Soon hundreds of entry doors were open and the room began exploding with incoming torrents of water. The crafts tied to the floor no longer visible in the deluge.

When it seemed most of the entry doors were open and that the water levels would reach near the high scaffolds, an engineer standing beside the guest patted his shoulder and pointed.

The exit doors were starting to open and the entry doors were starting to close. Someone had broken through the hacker's attempts and was quickly fixing the problem. But with all that water still coming it, would a few exit doors be enough? The guest watched in fascination as water ceased to enter. Soon more and more exit doors opened until the water was merely knee deep in the launch capsule. Then pumps kicked it, pulling the water through grates on the floor and cycling it out of the capsule altogether. Separating some of the water, the pumps returned oxygen back into the room.

The engineer joked, "The hacker meant to drown us. Instead, everything got a good rinsing and we have a better oxygen supply. How cool is that." The guest blinked at him, then slumped with a sigh.

Jared and Serenity walked out onto the large landing. It was an impressive platform, attached to the side of the building that towered miles high over the city. Other similar buildings with landings stood out aways from them. The ground, so far away, a sea of blue lights. Aircraft normally flew in large traffic streams all through the sky. Tonight the rush was stemmed into silence by the presence of the invader. The large beast dwarfed their fighters and battleships. Transports too slow to escape fell towards the earth far below, smoke billowing up behind them. It was a scene of chaos, war, and defeat.

Defeat except for these two. They stood there, observing the last of the technology the populace had placed their hopes and dreams into failing one after another. You couldn't take out a life so steeped in power like that so easily. The large creature hovered now above even their tall building, high and unable to see what to him was two small ants fall below. A fitting description since to them, the skyscrapers that created the ocean of blue lights below were smaller still to them. Now unseen by friend and foe, they were going to attempt to save their planet from the beast's insatiable desire for destruction and death.

Each possessed strong magical qualities. They were some of the best and revered for their prowess. It was time to put those skills to the test. Jared went out first, taking a firm stance in the middle of the platform. Utilizing his eyes and hands as the means of magical ignition, he began a series of attacks. Sending up a disarray of attacks, some missile style and others fountain style, he looked for weaknesses in the large creature's armor. Large and powerful attacks by any other mage, Jared knew to the beast they were small and insignificant slaps on the wrist.

Serenity took up a stance behind Jared and began encasing the platform in barriers. Shields of every kind and of every thickness so that no matter the physical or elemental the attack, their floor would not crumble beneath them. She also began sustaining Jared. His use of magic would slowly wear him down, she she began the small upkeep of his skin, muscles, and tissues.

The beast turned and glared at them. One of Jared's attacks hitting home. Jared muttered, "The shoulders are his weakness." Serenity nodded. Now things got spectacular. Already impressive, Jared took his abilities to a new level. A dangerous level. His whole body began to glow. Gathering his magical stores of energy, he prepared for a killer shot. The beast sent strings of fire towards them. They absorbed into and strengthened Serenity's shields harmlessly. She quickly began to glow as well, waiting for the signal from Jared. He yelled, "Now!"

Before the beast could fly out of the way, she grasped it with large magical hands manipulated by her arms. Holding him momentarily in place, she knew Jared would react before she could say "go." He was already unleashing a fiery storm of power that outclassed their planet's elite fleet and put to shame the twin stars that lit their days. His whole body was as if on fire as he used his whole being to create and direct the magical blast.

The beast snarled in anger, then roared in agonizing surprise as his thick hide tore from his body. His shoulders wounded badly, he was barely able to stay hovering in midair. Serenity let go her grasp on him and switched to send all her energy reserves into Jared. He cut his attack from the shoulders and began slowly working his way across. Slicing with burning and blinding power the large beast's neck. In mere seconds the deed was done. The world stood still in destruction horror. Then the beast went limp and it's body began it's descent to the planet's surface below.

On the platform, Jared's arms went limp, but his body continued to glow. His very life being eaten by the magic he had used. Serenity turned with alarm and dropped all the shields. No need to waste further power on those. Running around and standing in front of him, she reached up her hands to attempt to stem or divert the magical power's drive. He raised his hands and blocked her attempts. "You should leave." The platforms support beams began to crumble loose from the building under the pressure of his magic. She shook her head no and focused on his mind. Preserve the mind and the body could be rebuilt. It required an incredible connect. One she hoped they had gained from the last decade together. As their minds connected, he gasped. For that brief moment where she attempted to subvert his death, he could see her memories and feel her emotions.

Melanie walked through the ruined town. It's charred crumbling structures smoking in ruins around her resembled the last time she had seen her own city years before. The stench of burnt flesh mingled with blood the same as those of her neighbors and family. The destruction was complete. The likelihood of any survivors so slim that it was nearly impossible. In the ten years since she had become orphaned, Melanie had never heard of another survivor of this beast. She alone lived to bear the scars on her soul.

Now she stared through the smoke. If she could just destroy this enemy. This villain. Then the world would be a good place to live in again. It was revenge of course. It plagued her day in and day out. Seeing the shadow of him every single time she trained with her mentor, she felt the sun would never shine for her again. So life wasn't for her. Perhaps she was already dead? One goal. His destruction. It was all she had left and she let it feed her.

A sound filled the air. A shrill challenge for anyone still living to hear. Her small teenage body trembled in sudden terror and anticipation. The one thing she could do was give her own life in order to end his. Her mentor hadn't taught her this particular attack sequence. She had found it hidden in the back of a study among old manuscripts. It was an awesome and fearsome way to use one's abilities, one's own life force.

The sound shrieked through the air again. Through the dust and smoke, a giant beast lumbered towards her. Her own beating heart loud in it's ears and drawing him to her like flies to a light. Heart racing faster, Melanie quickly poised and readied herself to begin the sequence. "Stop!" An urgent, familiar voice flooded the dark and freezing Melanie. She turned and stared wide eyed at her mentor. Stacy strode towards her. The beast's hideousnes seemingly having no affect on her. "You are not ready nor is that move one you should ever use." Her voice was firm. Kind. Caring.

"I have to." Despair filled Melanie. "He took everything. He continues to take. I have to defeat him."

Stacy reached her and gently placed her hands on Melanie's shoulders. Looking kindly in her eyes with a small smile, she encouraged, "Then I will vanquish your darkness for you. So that you might see the sunlight again and live. Please. You must live." Then letting go and turning, Stacy walked ahead of Melanie and assumed the same pose the Melanie had taken only moments earlier.

Horror at the realization of what Stacy was doing replaced her fear of the monster. "Wait! You can't! It will kill you!"

Stacy glanced back and smiled. "If this is what it takes to get rid of the darkness, the skeletons, then I will gladly do so. Please, be happy and live." Then she turned and resumed her task.

Gathering all of herself, she began the sequence. The very clothes and hair on her disintegrated under such intense energy. The ashes gathered and pulled up from around her. The air ceased to exist. Tension and power built up until Melanie thought she would explode into nothingness. Then everything froze. In that one instant, everything that was and had been seemed to freeze. Even memories would all poised and focused on Stacy. Then power shot from Stacy. Intense power from her head and her heart. It burst forth towards the large creature at an incredible velocity and hit would a soundless reverberating pulse.

The beast was held prison in the dark matter that surrounded and grabbled him. More continued to flood around and in him until even Stacy started turning into dust and becoming part of the torrent that was entrapping the beast. It soaked into him and pulled him with it as it formed a black ball of energy. Then it collapsed into and on itself leaving nothing left. Melanie looked at the space that the beast had been. Where Stacy, her beloved mentor, had been. All was gone. The cost of that sequence had not been to high until yet another person she loved had taken her place.

Tears threatening, she fell to her knees and gritted her teeth. Stacy had been her whole world and she threw it away all for the past. Was this revenge. Stacy's words came back, reminding her to live. She would not make the same mistake twice. She would live and actually live life this time. Now the tears started to stream down her cheeks. Sobs shuddered through her thin frame. She would live the life that Stacy had given back to her. And teach others to do the same.