Under a Blank White Sky

"I'm trying to bend the hands, so they will meet! It's really simple, actually... I just have to focus, and then..."

She gritted her teeth, trying to bend the metal so all three hands would move towards the hand on the clock, against their movement patterns. It was extremely hard, and Toph gave up for a few moments, before creating another small ladder, and touched on the metal located at the middle of the hands, again trying to bend them.

"Besides, from what I've seen you lack the imagination, even insane, to conjure up strangeness in this number and variety."

Trump delenda est

After a moment of resistence, a hideous grinding noise sounded from the machinery, and all three hands pointed straight up. However, there was also a "twang", a "clonk", and several cacophonous crashing noises from inside the machinery. While Toph had managed to get the hands pointing straight up, she'd done so by breaking them loose from the clockwork controlling them, and they'd simply swing down to the six o'clock position as soon as she let them go.

The clock faces on the other sides of the building kept going as they had been before, erratic as ever.

---

"Jack out, huh?" said Sedd with a smirk. "Is that what they're calling it now?"

Sedd blinked and looked around as he heard a distant crash, then shrugged it off.

"Actually, let's just go see First. It's a great story, but the meter and rhymes go all wonky when it's translated into English. Or Japanese or Russian, for that matter. Not to mention all the wordplay that gets lost in translation. Bet none of you even know what a snark is, either."

Sedd started off again towards the shipwreck. "So, off we go. Keep up, I'm not waiting up for you guys."

---

First also heard the crash from the clocktower, and he glared at the structure as if it had personally offended him.

"Are any of your outsider friends stupid enough to mess with the clocktower? That thing needs to be working or else - hang on a second."

He walked over to a nearby stump and kicked the side of it, at which point the leech mouth in the center of the top shrieked and tried to scuttle towards him. This might have been threatening, except First was able to hold it in place with his foot.

"...This happens every once in a while. Like I said, the shapes come out random, so sometimes they're a little pathetic."

---

"That's - " Strainam blinked and stared at Rayek. The elves words, though insulting, did have a kernel of truth in them; he was a man of science and logic, that these creatures would have come from his mind seemed even more farfetched than their being real.

"That's actually a good point. but even if it's... "another world," then why is there a temple here whic hexactly matches the description of the temple in the city I was headed for i nthe first place," he said, gesturing to the structure that loomed behind him. "Did something just uproot several tons of stone and drop it down here - wherever "here" is?"

And then there was a distant crash from the clocktower. Those near the temple might be able to see the people on the side of the clock face.

edited 12th May '12 10:53:20 AM by Sir_Screwloose

Pretend there's something clever written here.

"Ah, slaggit," Batman muttered as the clock hands stopped spinning. He'd heard the awful crash from within the tower. Sounded like Toph had broken the device. "I really doubt this thing was meant to do that."

He examined the clock face. The hands were all pointing straight up, but the clocks on the other sides of the tower continued to spin as normal, or at least normal by this place's standards. Yeah, it was broken. "I figured the hands were controlled by the clockwork inside," he said. "But I wasn't sure. Guess we know now."

I'd like to be the first man on the moon.

Toph chuckled once the hands stopped. Almost ready to take off her hands, she grinned: "See? There. The hands have stopped. All thank to Toph Bei Fong, the world's greatest—"

And then the clock broke. Her smile disappeared. "Earthbender."

She immediately held on to the metal, stomping her feet again, to make sure they wouldn't fall. She gritted her teeth: "Alright, I can handle this, just think? What would Twinkletoes say? Toph, you have to find your inner peace, because the spirits— no, no, that won't help! Quick! Sugar Queen? Oh, great going, Toph, first you don't even help unpacking our things, and now you break the clock! Well, excuse me, Sugar Queen, I'm trying to— no, no! Snoozles?! ... Meaaaaaaat. That won't help too! Moodbender? HONOOOOOOOOOOR! Iroh? Maybe some tea would be nice right now— Crazy Girl? I'LL DESTROY YOU, ZUZU! Circus Girl? Oh, maybe we can then go to the lake, and after the lake, we can visit that nice place in Gaoling— Mrs. Moodbender? ... I hate all of you. WELL, YOU'RE NOT HELPING!"

Toph continued to hang on to the metal hands, but felt like she wouldn't be able to do that for a whole lot longer: "Batty! Find a solution! Quick!"

edited 8th May '12 6:28:01 PM by Stratofarius

As much as Toph's little rant had weirded Terry out, he couldn't ignore her demands for help. But really, what could he do? He checked his utility belt again. Knowing Bruce, it wouldn't have surprised him to find a Bat Clock-Fixing Device somewhere in the belt. But no, just smoke grenades, batarangs, explosives...nothing good for a situation like this.

"Sorry, I got nothing," he said. Not even Batman could've seen this coming. "You're just gonna have to let it go."

edited 8th May '12 6:52:26 PM by MrMaestro

I'd like to be the first man on the moon.

Reth gave Toph a look that implied that she was an idiot with all the subtlety of a brick house to the face. He said "Oh, wow that's an absolutely stunning revelation! Or at least, it would be if I had less than two brain cells and hadn't figured that out already. I didn't ask 'what', Midget, I asked why."

He stood there watching Toph mess with the hands, and a stupified stare made its way onto his face after she broke the hands. After Tophs little freakout and Batmans response to it, a grin slowly began to creep onto his face until "Pfffttt HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Y-You Stupid Sack of Shit! I-I can't believe that you-that youpffffftttHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Reth bent over and clutched his sides as he laughed, and the beginnings of tears were starting to form in his eyes.

edited 8th May '12 7:27:46 PM by AkenJizo

As soon as Reth began to laugh, Toph gritted her teeth. Getting even more annoyed. She turned to Reth, a malicious grin on her face. "Oh, you think that's funny?! Watch this!"

She let go of the clock hands with one hand, and stomped her foot, making the stone leader retreat into the clockwork. She then let go of the clock with the other hand, and immediately raised her hands, creating a pillar that would fling everyone back to the top of the clocktower... everyone except Reth, who Toph made sure was still standing on the little platform, right under the gigantic metal clock hands that were about to fall. She looked at Reth from the top of the clocktower, grinning: "Hilarious, isn't it? Oh, watch this!"

She raised her hand, the platform retreating into the stone a bit. She raised her other hand, the platform retreating a bit more. She was about to raise both hands again, fully retreating the platform into the clocktower, and thus making Reth fall, when a voice rang on her head. Toph, don't do it! Remember what I told you. Violence is not how you solve your conflicts! She snarled: "Alright, Twinkletoes, you win this time." Stomping her foot and lowering her hands, the platform came back, together with the stone ladder. "Climb back up, or you'll be squished by those clock hands!"

"Oh great."

Red Arrow sighed when he found out that their situation was not getting any better.

"Now we're back on top. Nice."

edited 9th May '12 1:25:49 PM by Ominae

Rayek was about to reply that if some force could bring all of them to this world then it could certainly bring the temple as well but was interrupted by a crashing sound from town, He looked to see part of the clocktower fall off. This couldn't possibly be good.

He turned to the necromancer. "I think our priorities have just been changed."

edited 9th May '12 2:08:22 PM by tricksterson

Trump delenda est

"It would be wise to investigate."

He started to walk towards the clocktower.

"I don't exactly know, but some of the other people were rather weird. They might be playing around with the tower, probably." Nana remarked with a somewhat straight face as he glanced back in the direction of the structure. "They looked like the sort of people who would step on the grass after seeing the sign." Analogy over with, he stared at the stumpy thing with fascination.

"So... If it's a stump, do we just set it on fire or pour herbicide on it now? Or can we just break it?" As he said this, the boy flexed his fingers in case it was the third choice. "I'm usually prolife, but I don't really think these things could be afforded to run wild."

Always be ready to do the unusual and unexpected.

Rayek levitated and said, "If any care to join us, I can lift one of the smaller ones without problem."

Trump delenda est

Tea leaned over the edge.

"I'm guessing you meant to do that?"

"Yup. That tasted purple."

Having genuinely nothing better to do, Kestrel followed close behind Sedd, trying to dream up just what a 'snark' would be in order to occupy himself. He spared a quick glance back at the clocktower as he caught some noise coming from the structure, but kept going. He had a sinking feeling it had to do with the others, but hopefully they'd be able to handle it.

Locking you up on radar since '09

Twilight shrugged. "Its as good a plan as any."

Oswald ran after Sedd, and easily managed to catch up to him. While waling, Oswald noticed the clocktower, and more importantly, the symbols on the clocktower. That symbol on top of the clock face looks suspiciously like the claws that brought me here, Oswald thought. It was anotjer thing he was going to have to ask this "First person" about.

The sound of crunching gear caused Nakis to grate his teeth, such a sound back home would have mean impending doom, either by the monstrous horde making past the traps or one of the mad man's inventions going horribly, horribly wrong (or right, as the case may be). Their impromptu guide seemed to be quite miffed over the destruction of the clock tower, though he seemed more angry over some function of the tower rather than simply the wanton destruction of delicate engineering. Obviously the dwarf cared not for whoever had gone and played around with the machinery, since he had only been her for 20 minutes.

But whatever secret the clock tower had was interrupted when First had spotted something unusual about a nearby stump. Nakis was confused for a second before remembering the drainer they were looking for. It's not that stupid, is it? he thought to himself, right before First but his boot down and the drainer revealed it's self and it's stupidity. He looked down at the stump like creature as it weakly failed to get out from under foot, and soon the dwarf was belting out a hearty laugh.

That's what I was afraid of? he thought, winding down from his outburst of laughter "Oh, that's rich. I've seen fluffy wamblers more frightening than that! Well then, lets get this over with" Nakis raised his axe above his head as he readied to split the beast in twain, aiming to avoid the mouth "When I say 'go', move your foot. Safety first, after all" He instructed, double checking so he could get the best hit.

edited 10th May '12 11:42:59 AM by Luke_Prowler

Sometimes I even amaze myself. Currently: Nice and sneaky like

Toph shrugged, "Not exactly... well... you see... yeah, I meant to do that. But he started it! Not me!"

When Toph actually threatened Reth *

, Reths smile changed from mirthful to excited. Death didn't really scare him all that much. Yes, being a Prinny would suck, but he only had less than 60 years of debt to work off. Then, though this Reth would die, his soul would reincarnate and the new Reth would be able to live. Thus, Reth didn't think death was that big of a problem. The dying and Prinnydom would be pretty terrible times, but the most important part of Reth would live on.

As glyphs started to encircle his right arm *

, however, Toph stopped herself and gave him a way up to the rest of the group. Reth looked at her for a moment, completely blind-sided. After he recovered, he went up to join the rest of the group. When he arrived, anyone who was paying attention to such things would see that Reths former smile had returned, though it was a bit thinner. His eyes, however, were far more serious and held just a hint of disappointment. After all, power is beauty, and if what he had seen was any indication, this girl could be quite the artist. But power was like a painting; it could only be truly appreciated if you could see it.

He got to the top in time to hear Tophs comment and said "Ah, that was such a childish comment. It's almost like you're my long lost sister!" Reth paused for a moment, before saying "Let me give you some advise, sis. If someone is pissing you off enough that you want to hurt them, then hurt them! Mercy is a weakness that any number of people could exploit." in a far more serious tone.

Noone taking him up on his offer Rayek flew off towards the damaged clocktower.

Trump delenda est

"Hey!" the Batman said firmly, glaring coldly at Reth. Sure, maybe Toph had gone a little overboard in the retribution department - Terry wouldn't have wanted to see the guy splattered across the ground - but that didn't mean he should get away with being a blatant Jerkass. "You can just shut up, pal. We don't need any more of this crap from you."

I'd like to be the first man on the moon.

Ignatius walked the rest of the distance to the clocktower and walked inside the large structure.

Reth turned to Batman and said "What, exactly, is the problem Batman? I'm just giving the Earth Queen a bit of advice. Some damn good advice to. Not everyone is ask weak, merciful, or with anywhere near as much humor as I." He paused for a moment, and then his smile evaporated into nothingness as he continued. "Unless you're telling me you honestly believe that someone won't take that mercy of hers and stab her in the back with it?"

edited 11th May '12 9:33:54 AM by AkenJizo

Toph stood between the two, her hands raised as to indicate that they should shut up. She said, still glaring at the nothingness in front of her: "Alright, you two, stop! First of all! If we want to survive this place, we have to respect each other, so no fighting!"

She then pointed at Reth, "And you! Act like that again, and I'll kick your butt one more time!"