With nothing to do Desco wandered over to what they had stolen from the bank and started to count it without touching it. She counted and counted and lost count a few times so it was more for something to do while waiting for Zeal and Eggman to finish what they were talking about and decide what to do next as the brains of the operation.

Troy

Lambda was...tired. For perhaps the second time in at least, what she can remember, she felt what meant to be truly battered, bruised, and generally beat down.

The Mandarin's hand still moving, caught her eye, perhaps attempting a last ditch effort. She was tempted to just let it go. He couldn't possibly hurt her now, but seeing how her opponent fought she wasn't about to let him have anything that could possibly give him a victory, even a delayed one. So she dragged herself over to him slowly and raised her armored foot, bringing it down to crush the mans arm.

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

Schala

Schala walked up behind DESCO, seeing that she was alone and counting her money. She had an idea what DESCO wanted to do.

"...You want to head off to fight the villain you're chosen, do you not?" Schala asked DESCO, putting her hands on her shoulders... Schala then sighed, wanting to ask DESCO something. "How do you do it?"

"Act evil, I mean..." Schala added for clarification. "When I was up at the space station, I saw you kill someone who could not defend himself and..."

Schala did not finish her thought, but she sighed again. She still had her worries about pleasing her mother and Greed.

edited 31st Jan '15 8:50:36 PM by GameGuruGG

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Desco turned and nodded to Schala, She did want to do that. The Chaos Lord sounded like a strong person and this final boss wanted his power for her own. She still hadn't recovered from being brought here. Desco didn't even have her strongest move or the second strongest.

Schala's question made Desco confused until she clarified, but it seemed like such a strange question, like asking why the sky was blue. Which certainly had a complicated answer. "Desco is evil. Desco is a demon! Demons are always evil, didn't you know? Desco was created to be a final boss, so she has to be evil. For Big Sis."

edited 31st Jan '15 10:57:30 PM by StephanReiken

Schala

"I suppose that makes sense, but..." Schala noted to DESCO, shrugging. "Why are demons always evil?"

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Chase Young - Setting up the Showdown in Central City

At first, Chase did not quite grasp what the Flash had just said to him. But soon he realized that his ears hadn't deceived him.

The Flash would swear to him his loyalty if he won.

The mere thought made him smirk. He would not only be able to get Multiplex, the man he was seeking, but he would also be able to add another Fallen Warrior to his clan. His martial arts weren't particularly surprising, but his sheer speed made the Flash a worthy addition to his ranks... assuming he actually won the showdown.

This, however, created quite a dilemma within him. The Flash was waiting for an answer, as well as to hear what kind of challenge they would be competing in. He could give the masked superhero a chance to prove himself in an honorable competition, or he could choose an event in which there was no possible way to lose. In the end, he made a choice...

"The game will be Xiaolin Blind Man's Buff," the heylin warrior stated as he shook the Flash's hand. It was going to be an interesting Showdown, he knew for sure. "If you can capture me in less than three minutes, you'll get as much information as I can give you. Fail, and you will swear to me your loyalty."

"Umm.." Desco put one finger to her lips and looked up, trying to think. She knew this answer but it was hard to remember what Big Bro had said. It was normally just a given that demons were evil. "Oh! Desco remembers what Mr. Valzy said. Demons exist to scare humans away from evil! Because if humans were all evil then the Netherverse would be flooded with Prinnies. That is why Big Sis is an Unprinny! Because she died when there wasn't enough Prinny Hide to stuff evil human souls into."

Desco shrugged. "Desco doesn't really understand what that really means but she just needs to know that she is evil!"

edited 1st Feb '15 12:38:43 AM by StephanReiken

Mount Everest

Greed's taunts were finally rewarded with the sight of a hand gripping the edge of the mountain's peak. Kinda cute really. He could just kick him off right then and there.

"Well, look who decided to show u-ah?"

Greed expected to see the Skrull hanging for dear life from the peak's edge. Instead he just saw two hands, and a LOT of arm.

Followed immediately by the Skrull shooting into the sky. The bastard used his elastic arms as a slingshot!

He looked to where the hostage was. With what little real estate they had, there was no doubt the hostage would get hit somewhere in the crossfire. Ah well, it was something to take note of, but as long as Greed managed to keep the fight here...

With this little space, dodging got a lot harder. Greed would have to work with what space he had.

Seeing as his opponent was coming down right on top of him, Greed stepped forward, hoping to avoid the Skrull's Meteor Smash and get behind him, before lashing out with his first attack; a ferocious kick straight to the back of the Skrull's neck, with his foot Shielded up just to make it hurt that extra bit.

"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani

Tesseract AND Mooks, STAR Labs

Tesseract had followed Dio mutely, and had stayed mute throughout the conversation. He had coughed at few intervals, dislodging some of the spores from his lungs.

"Dio is overstating my abilities. I nearly fell to the plant's possession. I barely manged to subvert his urgings to use the accelerator, and destroyed it in a fit of rebellion."

He coughed again, dislodging a few more spores.

"I do not like being possessed."

And with that, he walked put the door and towards the elevator back to the Overlord's secret floor, his soldiers following.

He was kind of upset that he had lost his knife to the plant. It had been an adequate knife.

They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!

Doomstadt

Here he stood, in the gates of hell, facing certain death. Doom could feel Mephisto's grasp expanding over him as a fiery destruction was in the horizon. He momentarily lost his breath as the bolts flew towards him, his body giving in to the exhaustion, giving in to the urge and the desire to just double down and give up—

NO! What twisted demonic being was putting these ridiculous thoughts in Doom's head? They do not belong there, they do not belong anywhere near Doom! Exhaustion, death, these thoughts are nothing more than mere annoyances for a man like him. Ignoring the limits of his own body, Doom held out his hand- he'd have to make a strategic move if he wanted to survive this attack, and as such, quickly muttered up two incantations.

The first one was a rough portal spell. Half of the bolts would soar into green ripples in space and time, before re-appearing either above, under or right behind the caster. The second one was a spell created to automatically return his astral form to his body. It was essentially a quicker way of going to the safety of his bunker, but at the expense of a pain ten times as strong as anything he had felt up until now... Doom's astral form disappeared, the doombolts hitting nothing but empty, vapid air.

Is he gone? Asked Cosmin once the dust settled down. Did you... k-kill Doom?

But Ahriman would still feel Doom's presence lingering in the air, as if it was a bad smell no amount of water and soap could remove. And, through the rift in space left behind by that second spell, Ahriman would be able to hear the sounds of the bunker... yells and footsteps... heavy breathing... servants pleading for Doom to rest... and the dictator himself muttering one single word. "Destroyer."

---

Troy

The Mandarin gasped as he felt every bone within his arm being crushed, losing control over his last limb. That feeling of usefulness, of being unable to do anything... it overpowered the once proud ruler of this nation. "End it." He mumbled with the last of his strengths. "Do not let time make a fool out of me. Give me a warrior's death!" He ordered Troy, raising his head so that she may cut his neck and sever all life from him. "Do the honorable thing, woman! Let me die as the Mandarin, and not as some pitiful human!"

---

Saranac Lake Village

Magneto could sense something moving within his shadow, an ability he gained after decades of improving his senses to spot even the tiniest bit of metal hiding inside a wall or a tile made his eyes pick up expressions and moves that were too subtle for other people to notice. In an instant, entire mountains of metal flew through the sky with enough speed to pierce through human skin, forming thick walls around the master of magnetism and his allies, holding back Teridax's projections.

Even with Magneto's protection, Briar still fell to the ground, holding onto her head as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Marco, sensing who was behind his friend's pain, immediately created a few thunder clouds, forcing them to unleash their electrical fury upon the Makuta. At the same time, the metal walls surged forward, losing their form and turning into a giant wave, as Magneto attempted to pin Teridax to the ground before stabbing him repeatedly with a thousand tiny and insanely sharp daggers.

"Recompose yourself!" He ordered to Briar, who slowly got back up on her feet, her legs wobbling back and forth... before she leaned forward and started puking her lunch out.

---

Central City

"I accept it. Let's begin." The Flash said, tightening his grip on Chase Young's hand. "My loyalty and Multiplex's life, versus all the answers I could ask for on you and the other invaders, whilst Iron Heights gets a nice new prisoner." He stared directly into Chase Young's eyes, glaring... before looking around. "So, do we... yell something? I got a feeling we should yell something."

---

Mount Everest

The Super Skrull held back some of his impact so as to not completely obliterate the peak of Earth's most famous mountain, but his crash did kick up a lot of snow, leaving behind only the dirty earth of the mountain, a bit of fire crackling at the base of Super Skrull's feet. The kick connected directly with the being's neck, chipping off a chunk of the rocky outer skin he currently had on. "Curses!" He yelled, groaning as he covered the wounded area. "How strong are you, you monster?!" He hissed, concentrating the rock on his hand and sending an elastic punch aimed at Greed's gut.

Schala

"I guess that makes sense..." Schala said to DESCO, sighing. "Sorry to ask, but I... I was just worried I will not be able to be evil enough to please my mother."

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Teridax

Impressive

Teridax's smile grew thin as his shadows smashed against thick walls of metal. Although the shadows were carving the makeshift shield into pieces but it would take precious seconds for them to break through; seconds Magneto would not give him. A deep boom made Teridax look up: thunderclouds were gathering. Another sound: that of Briar reeling from the mental assault.

His smile grew wide. Oh the joys of multitasking.

Thunder arched down from the sky towards Teridax, just as Marco commanded. However, what happened next was probably outside his expectations. The bolt of lightning exploded in midair. It had been an easy task for Teridax to take control of the lightning since he himself was a master of the same art. Now he spoke his own will into nature's fury. The lightning bolt split, then arched and curved around the metal barrier Magneto had made, striking at the people inside: some of the bolts would nevertheless hit the solid earth and complete the circuit without incident but with so little space, someone was going to get shocked.

Meanwhile, Briar might see something quite different in her mind's eye: a vision that threatened to overlap into her material sight. She would see a great barrier, a great wall; and the wall was her mind. Great power lay in that wall for it had held at bay countless foes. But now, one had arisen to tear the wall down. In the distance she saw a great shadow and lightning crackled within.

Out of the shadows strode a colossus, a destroyer. Teridax. But he had grown; he appeared to her now as a titan of doom: Atlas unbound; ready to kick the world like a soccer ball into the void. He looked at the wall and a sneer formed on his lips.

"Hell hath no fury"

His words rumbled like thunder as he rushed forwards like a great wind. Slamming into the wall, He dug his claws deep into the barrier.

"Like MINE"

Then like a chainsaw he began to shred the wall. He tore at it with bestial savagery, a mad violence shone in his eyes giving his two pupils a hellish glow. Each slash of his claws carved great pieces off the barrier and flung them out into the void. Thus did Teridax strike his second blow on the mental barrier that had been a thorn in his side. He had sharpened his mind like a knife that would pierce through flesh, bone and marrow. No psychic could win against him.

Much less this one.

Things were shaping up rather differently in the physical world. Magneto's tide of metal was impressive and had swept Teridax off his feet. He had compromised by covering himself with a thick layer of shadows energy that blunted the blades of metal that were desperately trying to carve him into pieces. Teridax doubted they could hurt him and even if they could pierce his armor they wouldn't kill him. But then again, he wanted to be safe beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Which reminded him, his shadows could be doing something more constructive.

All around Magneto's barrier, the shadows stopped carving at the ever shifting wall of metal and surged upwards. They surged over the walls for Magneto had not yet sealed himself in (Teridax' guess was that Marco needed to see the sky in order to control it). Perhaps it was his undoing because the shadows gushed over the sides of the wall like a rising tide. Whereupon the shadows resumed their thread like form and rushed at the three inside the metal shell.

edited 2nd Feb '15 2:22:53 AM by biomechtraveler

While they arrived Blackfire was minding her own business looking for a villain whose powers to absorb on the computer.

Blackfire leaned at the computer with one hand on her cheek, her arm resting at the computer and the other browsing with a mouse and her eyes gave the impression she was completely bored.

"I already can fly, wow that is a lame power, calendar man? You have to be kidding me, this one has Superspeed... meh, I suppose it isn't that bad."—She sighs.—- "There must be someone around here that isn't a complete loser," Blackfire said while browsing the computer.

_________

However when she had overheard Schala and Desco talking, she flew towards them, not minding she was meddling in their talk, and took a few moments to talk with Shala.

"So that's what has been bothering you..."—She crossed her harms—" My sister has called me evil too, just becuase I followed my dreams,—She then looked sadly at the ground—"But the truth is that what they call "evil" is actually freedom". Blackfire, flew down, tried to put her right arm on Shala's shoulder, in a friendly way, and then she told her in an affective tone, "I don't think your problem is that you can't be "evil". I think you need to stop being so scared and nice, and go get what you want. Your mother will be happy if you stop trying to please her so much an do things your own way.

Blackfire pointed at the other generals and said, "Look around you, nobody here is evil. Everyone just has a goal and they won't let anyone stand on their way. Just look at Desco, she doesn't even know what evil is, her dream is to be a final boss. Some might say that is evil, I say it what it means to be free. "

edited 2nd Feb '15 1:03:31 PM by RPGLegend

Forgiveness is beyond justice, faith is superior than hope, redemption is better than perfection and love is greater than them all.

Schala

Schala listened as Blackfire tried to comfort her, looking thoughtful except for clutching her throat when it was mentioned that no one here was evil. Greed was very much evil though he was wasn't here at the moment. However, Blackfire did have a point about the people here being free to do what the wished but she herself did not feel free, so she asked in response. "Freedom?"

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Chase Young - Beginning the Showdown

As expected from a man that had never experienced a Xiaolin Showdown before, the Flash seemed to be a bit confused as to how they began. Luckily for him, this wasn't Chase's first time in a Showdown. Just one of many he had seen.

"Watch your step, rookie," the heylin warrior said, raising his hand towards the sky as he backed away a bit from the masked hero. "Let's go! Xiaolin Showdown!"

As soon as those words were pronounced, the ground beneath them began to rumble, and the buildings around the bank fragmented into endless pieces, all floating up into the sky, and merging together into a single structure, hidden well within the dark clouds. A huge set of intersecting hallways that almost looked like small streets, filled to the brim with obstacles of all kind, shape and size, hidden well within the clouds. Hovering above the structure were three separate platforms. On the small ones floating near the middle appeared both contestants, while the policemen that were at the bank stood on a larger one near the edge. On the opposite end, a huge screen similar to that of a stadium arose, showing a digital clock that marked three minutes.

   SHOWDOWN TIME 03:00   

Chase himself was a bit surprised by the rather simple-looking arena. At first glance, it looked like six regular hallways intersecting with another six, but then he saw the obstacles in action: small platforms floating on lava, retractible spikes, multiple wires that cut through the hallway without a discernible pattern, monkey bars that hung from the walls above a non-existing floor, a floor made entirely out of glass, walls that emmited bursts of flames, darts, or a rather nasty-looking liquid, tripwires, a small pit full of vicious stray dogs, and even a section that had nothing but banana peels and beans. For a moment he felt insulted by that last bit, but he eventually realized that the overall challenge was more than enough to prove the Flash's worth, just like he had expected.

"Do not worry about the destroyed property," Chase stated, turning towards the Flash with a calm expression. "Everything will go back to the way it was once this is over."

" Of course," Blackfore told Schala, "It means you can do as you wish, do take what you want and do what you believe. You are not happy because you aren't free.—Blackfire looked thoughtful for a moment— If being "good" means being a slave, I think rather be called "evil".

"I think I like you Shala, in fact I think I might be able to help you...I think you just need a little push...You can think of me as a big sister, after all we are all like a family," Blackfire gave a warm smile to Schala, as she held her, tightly, with one arm. Just think of what you want and take it, no matter who stands in your way."

edited 2nd Feb '15 3:26:41 PM by RPGLegend

Forgiveness is beyond justice, faith is superior than hope, redemption is better than perfection and love is greater than them all.

Troy

The recent battle had severly weakened Lambda's programming, allowing more of herself to leak through. As she looked down at the once proud warrior, she felt pity and sadness at the sight. For a moment she wished she could just reverse all this and go back to Kokonoe, even if it would mean she would lose what little of herself she had regained. But that wouldn't do, she coudln't do that anyway. The only way open was forward and this man's body was the first of many steping stones, she would tread over.

Accepting that she raised her armblade and brought it back down to fully decapitate The Mandarin.

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

Schala

"A push," Schala looked at Blackfire as she tightened her grip, "Um, okay."

Wizard Needs Food Badly

My smile widened, a distinct side-effect I'd noticed wherever Amon was concerned. There'd been an undeniable charm beneath his stoicism since our first meeting, understated and occasionally acerbic, one that had doubtless only grown with his conscious efforts to impress, but it was quickly becoming obvious that I was more susceptible than I'd first assumed. Clearly, at some time prior to my arrival, he'd wished to become the indisputable master of understatement.

I wouldn't say our smalltalk put me at ease, not exactly, but at that moment it was clear to me; in a mission which had become a collective failure, in which I had myself failed to claim my objective, his company was no small consolation prize.

"You'll get used to it in time." I said, as we rounded the corner to our makeshift base of operations. I left my jacket (ruined) in a bin we passed by, exposing a pitch black leotard - sleeveless, but also backless, exposing the fabled Joestar birthmark. "Though I'm afraid your wardrobe might not recover so easily. Toothpaste makes a serviceable detergent if needs be, but in this case I think our takings from the bank might fund a shopping trip or two. I've heard great things about this country's malls. I take it your work back home wasn't quite so... visceral?"

edited 2nd Feb '15 9:21:25 PM by TheMalignancy

Mount Everest

"Just a little. By my race's standards anyway."

Greed stood still for all of a nanosecond as the elastic punch hurtled towards him.

Having been warned of this attack beforehand thanks to the Ultimate Eye, Greed mockingly stepped aside, before shielding up and slamming his elbow down on the Skrull's rubbery arm.

edited 3rd Feb '15 6:06:44 AM by LatverianBadger

"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani

Metropolis

Amon raised his free hand, moving each finger carefully, as the specks of blood stuck to his clothes slowly floated into the air, joining together to form a decently-sized ball hovering right above the masked man's palm. He closed every finger, and the ball took the form of a dagger, before solidifying completely.

He took the blood dagger in his hands, contemplating it. "Only the wrath and destruction brought on by bending and the fools who abuse of it could equal the... carnage I saw inside that room." He moved his fingers again, and the dagger lost its form, turning back into liquid and falling to the ground. "But I have become used to sights like those. If I truly want to become Tatu's..." He took a deep breath, as if to make his disdain of the following word very clear. "... general, then I must leave whatever standards I had for my world behind."

"Although I will never truly be used to it." He admitted, quietly so only that Dio could hear that moment of sincere sadness. "And my spirit will never be at peace again, knowing that I am surrounded by beings who could unleash torment ten times more destructive than whatever I saw in there."

---

Troy

The feeling of Lambda's sword slashing through the Mandarin's neck would be enough to replenish the energies of anyone who loved the heat of a battlefield, but the empty air and dead silence that followed the blow felt more like a dampener than a way to congratulate a job well done.

The rings in the Mandarin's fingers slid off the cold, dead hands of their previous owners, and flew into the air, hovering in front of Lambda. We, Ten voices spoke in unison. Belong to you. And then, without much warning, they flew into Lambda's fingers, getting adjusted to their new home.

Lambda would feel a surge of power as the inner workings of each ring became inherently clear to her. Her right hand held enormous power, with the right finger, who named itself 'Remaker' had the ability to manipulate the molecular structure of certain matters, and even rearrange Lambda's costume and change her appearance. Influence, worn in the right index finger, allowed Lambda the ability to create force blasts made out of energy. Spin, worn in the right middle finger, let Lambda control the air and create vortexes with it. Spectral, worn in the right ring finger, let Lambda create another beam, this one capable of destroying anything on a straight path.

The left hand had less straightforward abilities. Nightbringer, worn in the right little finger, let her project an area of darkness. Daimonic, worn in the left thumb, let her control electromagnetic energy, including gravity. Incandescence, worn in the left index finger, let her produce flame or ignite combustible materials through blasts of infrared. The Liar, worn in the left ring finger, let Lambda create mental illusions. Lightning, worn in the left middle finger, controlled electrical energy, and Zero, worn in the left little finger, let Lambda project waves of intense cold and ice.

Each ring drew its energy from Lambda's life force, and as such, repeatedly using the rings without stopping could very quickly turn her into a lifeless husk. Some rings, like the Spectral, had to be recharged before they could be used again, a side effect of their power. And all rings obeyed to Lambda's mind and voice, and only her... she had, effectively, become their owner, their creator. Those who wanted the ring's power would have to destroy her, much like she had destroyed the lifeless corpse in front of her.

She had become the Mandarin.

---

Saranac Lake Village

The lightning bolt did hit someone: Marco. However, it also had unintended side effects. The lightning bolt didn't kill him... it powered him. His eyes crackled with yellow energy as he raised both hands into the air, sending down lightning strikes towards not Teridax, but his shadows. They hit with such precision, creating instant balls of light, that any nearby shadows were sure to be dissolved by the light.

Having swept Teridax off his feet, Magneto started flicking his hands from one side to the other, as metal plates sprouted from the dumps surround Teridax, trying to wrap themselves around the Makuta until he had formed a metal prison- at which point the mutant would try to crush Teridax until there was nothing left inside.

Briar's situation tried to take his concentration off Teridax, as she screamed, her voice piercing the skies, her eyes completely white as blood started to trickle off her nose. "BRIAR!" Magneto yelled, not scared for the fate of her friend, but rather angrily chiding her for losing to this foe. He reached for his head and waved it to the side, as his helmet flew from his head to hers... the special properties of the helmet would surely block Teridax's mental attack, but it had the side effect of leaving him open for any attacks...

... still, Magneto had often fought against Charles Xavier. He had natural mental barriers, and he was ready to use them against Teridax if the situation called for it.

---

Central City

"Nifty." The Flash whistled, checking the clock and smiling. "I guess it's already started. Which means I can—" He raised his hand, readying himself to run over to Chase Young and poke him, ending this showdown before it started, when a loud noise startled him, a metal-like band appearing over his eyes and clamping itself around his head.

"Knew it wasn't going to be easy." He complained under his breath as he realized he couldn't move the band, nor look through a crack in it, or anything else. "Let's get started, Chase Young."

---

Mount Everest

The Super Skrull's scream shook the peak of the mountain, as Greed's elbow pierced through his arm, pinning it down. Groaning, he was brought to his knees, panting. "How... what is it?! What do you want here?! You..." He narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "... foul beast... the stench of death sticks to you, it's part of you..."

As he waited for Greed to answer, the Super Skrull used this chance to put forward one of his plans- he waited for the right moment, when the homunculus was closest to his arm, and then activated his flame abilities, producing a small, concentrated blast that would hopefully burn through Greed's defenses, from his clothes to whatever material was currently covering him.

The Master smiles and pulls out his laser screwdriver. "This should be nice and simple".

He uses the sonic elements of the laser screwdriver to break the lock. "There we go. Nice, simple and no damage. So let's grab the man and run. Who knows what procedure to deal with intruders is. I'd like to not go to jail today myself."

edited 3rd Feb '15 4:16:22 PM by Fusionman

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy

Troy

Seeing that the battle was over, Lambda dismissed her armor returning to the robes and body suit that she had been wearing before. Her battle systems had shut down, diverting power to her self-repair mechanisms. It would be sometime before she could take on another enemy like that.

Lambda looked down at the Mandarin's body, and it hit her once again what she had done to the man. But all of that was wiped away for now, replaced by confusion and curiosity as the ring floated up, spoke to her, and slotted themselves on her fingers.

The resulting rush of power, rejuvinated her tired and broken body. She stood in awe looking down at her hands. This was so much more than what she had gotten from Kokonoe, or her previous masters. Through all of this, something began to click in her head. A word, no something more, something with meaning, something defining. she said it aloud slowly. "Sa—ya..."

That was it. That was her name. The same one taken from her, by the ones who would use her. It was back, and it was hers. It was enough to crack her permanently stony expression in to a smile.

And now only one problem remained. She had to contact Tatu somehow.

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

Chase Young - "Begin The Showdown!"

"It's not Blind Man's Buff without a blind man," Chase quickly noted, without taking his eyes of the maze. "The same as it's not a Xiaolin Showdown without unexpected events."

He took a quick glance at the clock, which still hadn't started, and took a deep breath before walking up to the platform's edge.

"Gong Yi Tan Pai!" Chase yelled, after which he immediately jumped down to the maze below, and smirked at the flash once more. "By the way, that means 'Go'."

With that said, he quickly darted through the hallway, jumping through the lava platforms with ease, and turning around a corner. Up above, the clock began its countdown.

But Amon was a man with no need for toothpaste, instead flexing the blood from clothing with a single ripple of power. It coalesced in the air above his fingers, a rippling sanguine ball, before taking the rough form of a dagger - a decision apparently unconscious, and one he visibly contemplated. I knew then, that the sights and tastes of slaughter had touched him more deeply than his stoicism could make apparent. Hounded by the blood, his mind had taken refuge in darker places, the point of an imaginary blade.

There was a pretension of confidence as he spoke, a simulacrum betrayed as the dagger lost its form, splattering to the floor. I was right. He was unprepared. Though I doubt the world he called his home was any gentler, the way he spoke make it clear - in person, he'd seen nothing of this kind. This was his first slice of bread, though more accurately it might be called a feast. Still, he seemed to respect the necessity in that feast becoming commonplace, dulling his senses to the slaughter. In his own words, he had to, and he was right.

But as Teserract left us, he continued more softly, more melancholy, the mask of his personality shifting that I, and only I, Dio, might be afforded a glimpse behind it. The truth was simple - he resented that necessity, and he resented fighting alongside beings that embraced it, that revelled in it. Knowing he'd given me a glimpse at something secret, something valuable, I moved closer before it might be squandered, leaning close as he gazed upon his empty hand.

"And you, Amon, are one of them." I said, softly, as we waited for the lift to return. "We all are. Greed, Blackfire, Tesseract, myself. If our campaign's to be successful, we'll be responsible for hundreds, thousands of deaths apiece. We'll pile body upon body, all for the sake of our... reclusive employer. But nomatter how many we kill, nomatter what crimes we commit, our little war will only ever be a footnote in the histories of this world's violence. A sea-spray against an endless ocean of blood. A handful of petty thousands against uncountable billions. You have your wish, you know this already. This world is cruel, as are they all. It's unavoidable, but only men like you and I can stomach this awful truth. "

My hands found his shoulders, holding him tight to silence any hasty rejections, creating a world with room only for ourselves. There was a quiet dinging as the lift made its entrance, empty and inviting, but went ignored. In that particular moment, there was no place for it.

"But it's not the only one, and it's far from the most important. Look more closely. Use your wish, and look upon the histories of this cruel, cruel world. Can you see it? Can you see what evil truly is? That torment is permissible to the world, Amon, times ten or times a hundred, so long as it leads to victory. To fail, to lose, that is where evil lies, and that is the only place. Though their acts might be identical, though their crimes uncountable, in the end the victor stands righteous, and the loser a crippled and evil thing. A man as intelligent as yourself, I'm sure you saw this a long time ago - remember it now, and see the truth. Good, evil, slaughter or crusade, these things aren't yet decided. Put them out of your mind. Stomach your revulsion, and focus on the end that will justify your means."

And, as we passed the threshold to the lift, as I cupped his jaw in gentle hands and raised his eyes to meet my own;

"You're a gentler soul than I, Amon, and some time ago I learned there's no shame in that. I... know the the difficulty this must give you, so I'll make you a promise; you'll have to make yourself a demon, this is true, but in time, you'll be an angel. You have my word."

edited 4th Feb '15 1:47:19 AM by TheMalignancy