Sayaka

As fate would have it, the already bustling hall of the great tower would receive yet another addition. Unlike the others, this one did not simply walk her way into existence, nor did she simply shimmer into view; unlike the others, this one had an entrance. With a singularly loud crack, time and space tore itself open amid the crowd. Reality was ripped open in a jagged wound, a bewildering array of colors festered at the sides. In the eye of the wound was the universe, nay, a thousand universes, and the light of all their stars peeped through to shine upon the crowd.

For a second, nothing happened. Then the jagged rip in time and space gave a cough, then a splutter, then spat something out onto the ground with a final indignant wheeze. It was a girl, late teens at least. Wrapped in a traveling cloak, the only other visible parts of her were her weather worn shoes and her face. Blue hair fell down to her neck where they were cropped haphazardly. For a moment, she lay there as if dead. As fate would have it, this really wasn't Sayaka's best day.

With the offending object out of its systems, the rip in the fabric of reality quickly sewed itself shut- the last of it disappearing into a wisp of white smoke. As if cheered by such an occurrence, Sayaka blinked and sat up. A gloved hand reached up out of the cloak, brushing away a few strands of offending blue hair; her eyes roamed the scene quickly.

"Huh." She uttered after a moment of contemplation.

"I'm getting some serious feelings of de ja vu."

edited 3rd Jul '16 10:00:14 PM by biomechtraveler

Zoe Payne woke up confused. Last night, she'd gone to sleep in a hotel in Alaska, about to compete in the SSX World Circuit's last events. Now, she had to climb some kind of tower to get back. It was all strange, especially given the company

"Hang on a second," said the snowboarder. "Attitude?" She looked down at her clothes and realized that—somehow—she was in her full snowboarding gear. "Check!" Adrenaline?" She picked up her Uberboard off the ground. "Check! Babe?" She held up the bottom of the Uberboard, using its chrome surface as a mirror. "Haha...check!" She lowered the board and held it to her side. "Okay, I don't know about you guys, but this sounds like the adventure of a lifetime to me. I'm ready to go."

Just pretend I wrote something witty here, okay?

Eyes snapping open to find a different location then previously experienced, Narukami Yu shifted his vision about to take a gander at the surroundings while body laid as still as a log. The fact that there was no fog or special atmosphere of the Midnight Channel told him that at least he wasn't dragged into the land that dwelled in the darkness of the human unconscious, and yet there were some niggling doubts that he was in a place that was... mundane. The fact that blue sparkles and a faintly appearing card outline were made manifest at his hand at a thought told him as such, the ability to use Personas often meant there were things that could endanger his life.

Giving a quiet huff, the grey-haired youth slowly pushed himself upward after eavesdropping on enough of the conversation to filter out the important points. He was in a place known only as The Tower, and he had to climb to the very top with these other unfortunate souls to have a chance to see his friends and loved ones once more. A brief and almost imperceptible frown and a tightening of the eyes were all the emotions the man displayed as he stood up to intermingle with the group. Though he wasn't emotionless, he was certainly a fan of having an poker-face since it often helped out in various situations. Letting the others speak up for now, Yu reserved his words for a future event due to his rather quiet nature. After all, they were doing a good enough job at the moment so he didn't need to intervene.

Feeling around his body, Yu was even more surprised to find that there was a sheathed katana hanging from his belt, a sure sign that it would be needed in the future floor exploring to come. Grasping the hilt and letting a bit of the blade peek out, the teen was both reassured by the sharp glint of folded steel and somewhat frightened that he might have to use it to inflict damage on foes that weren't Shadows. Fighting humans were never something that leader of the Investigation Team wanted to do... Still, he was no spring chicken. He knew how to fight passably with the sword, how to not kill, and how to incapacitate.

Hopefully things would work out so that his hands remained free of spilled blood and reaped lives. At the very least, he would actively fight in order to not kill anyone if he could. Still, the thought was nauseating and created malaise that rocked his ordinarily stable thoughts. Hands clenched at his weapons, knuckles tightening until they turned white as he was internally readying himself for any such conflicts. Thoughts flashed to when he was forced to fight his friends by a certain aggravating entity, a most displeased narrowing of eyes happening from the memory.

The Tardis: Some Time, Some Place

The Doctor laughs as Clara follows him into the TARDIS. "That was some amazing work there, Clara! What told you that you could stop the Judoon invasion of Raxacoricofallapotorius like that? I believe next this defeat will put the Slitheen within the Shadow Proclamation."

Clara's head tilts. "The what?"

The Doctor laughs. "Ah yes we haven't encountered them yet haven't we? You know how I told you the Time Lords sat down and with their unlimited powers did nothing? Imagine the opposite of that. Imagine a big conglomeration of alien species and worlds that mostly function within the Milky Way but has some power outside of it. Even I have to turn in criminals to them if I want to keep friendly with them and the many worlds they have jurisdiction over. Well that and it sometimes makes my work a lot easier to just be like under Decree so and so tell me so and so."

Clara's eyebrow raises. "You? You didn't strike me as one who'd follow legal protocol and their mumbo-jumbo." Her tone suddenly starts to rise in fear. "Uh, Doctor...are they calling you for a trial? You're starting to vanish!"

The Doctor's face betrays a look of worry as he tries to speak calmly. "You're vanishing too, Clara. Whatever it is seems to want both of us." OK I didn't think the Time Lords would make this direct of a call. Or even could.Then again it is an older piece of technology of artistry I used to seal them away. Perhaps they've learned some things about how to function within a Stasis Cube and interact with those outside. So step 1, refuse the presidency and remind them every time it's been offered to you you've ran away. Step 2 find the survivors. See if Romana truly did die or if that's just a rumor. Am I missing anything? Think of it when you get there and pretend you were planning it the whole time. Clara usually will think I did.

The Tower

The Doctor shakes his head as Clara looks at him worried. "Did he say...Doctor can I really not go home?!"

The Doctor sadly nods. "Tragically yes. I'm not sure if those shards of you across my timeline were able to interfere in these events but this isn't my first time being involved in something like this. I've been captured by captors who have fused the universes together before. We just need to play their little game and survive. I'll warn you Clara. This is going to be extremely difficult. If this is like the previous times, we'll be revived after death but I will warn you...there's no running back into the Tardis for some tea and a nice rest after these adventures, Clara." The Doctor suddenly notices Sayaka off the corner of his eye. "Now it can't be...can it? Clara, can you hold on one second I've got someone to introduce to you!"

Clara resists her shudders as the Doctor walks away. So there's no TARDIS anywhere to be seen...good thing, that old cow would be hell to lift up stairs. There's no resting back home at London after this one...so what do you do now, Clara? This isn't quite the romantic chapter of Summer Falls you were hoping for, is it? First and foremost, what does the Doctor do? Well he investigates his surroundings and asks questions. OK so first priority is the old man as the only one with knowledge.

Clara raises both her hand and her voice as she attempts to be noticed by the old man. "Excuse me! Sir! Can we perhaps be informed about the types of dangers we'll run into? And just to make sure...death isn't...death right? We can come back here if we fail and just have to redo?"

The Doctor meanwhile runs over to Sayaka. "Sayaka? It's me, the Doctor? You remember me or is this a different universe's you? I just wanted you to meet a friend of mine..." The Doctor then hears Clara's shout. "That would be her."

edited 3rd Jul '16 11:06:54 PM by Fusionman

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy

The large man, imposing and fearsome turned to whom had addressed him, with yet even more confusion. "Greg? But, no one has deemed me Greg in ages! And no one with a face like that!" He said, voice loud and proud. "Who are you, and how do you know my nickname?!" "Greg" said sternly. Although he was speaking loudly, his body didn't necessarily tense up, showing that he didn't quite mean to stir up a fight, maybe not yet.

And then there was silence

The Tower
Hana Song, better known as D.Va to her countless fans, had been happily shooting up enemies while livestreaming to to said fans, when all of a sudden she found herself somewhere very different from Korea. Still, she was an observant girl, and the questions that were being asked and answered revealed most of the information she wanted to know. She supposed it was an interesting plot, although a little basic in her opinion, the clashing aesthetics of what seemed like magic and science was extremely obvious, and the art style was all over the place. Not that she ever really cared too much about the story. Starcraft was all about the action. Life too, she supposed.

Still, she was the best at Starcraft, she was the best at piloting her mech, she wouldn't let little things like "worry" and "confusion" stop her from being the best here, either. However... there was one thing that she needed to tend to, immediately.

"Anyong!" she said to the Locksmith from the cockpit of her mech. "Excuse me, Mister Locksmith? Does this world have a wireless data connection so that I can upload my stream to my channel? I need to start soon so I can get new fans in this place."

Nitori

Nitori blinked. Really? She had been whisked away again? Damn it, wasn't that whole spiriting away thing something that only applied to humans? Evidently not.

She looked around, no familiar faces that she could see. Oh, except the Hakurei Shrine Maiden and that girl who kept asking for her boots.

Well, this time she was better prepared at least. The chuckle she gave though, indicated quite some nervousness as well though.

Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable

Theron nodded, smiled, and took a step back. He watched the proceedings wearily, paying special attention to the two skeletons. They didn't move, which was odd — most lowly undead would've animated and attacked by now — but they could be possessed by a Pride or Desire demon. Now that would be trouble, the Grey Warden thought to himself. His scalp itched and he wanted to take his helmet off, but it seemed imprudent to do so.
Sighing, he crossed his arms once more and waited for the situation to clarify.

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

Sayaka and the Doctor

The first thing the Doctor would notice about Sayaka would be her age; namely, she was a lot older. She had grown quite a lot taller since her days as a champion; she was athletic now, and might even be considered handsome. The magical girl turned at the calling of her name and fixed her gaze upon the Doctor. The body may be strong, but the eyes were weary; so incredibly weary. Their sapphire depths no longer shone; but boiled rather, with feigned strength and deceptive cheerfulness. Some emotion or other surfaced upon her face- but only for a moment, lasting just long enough to cause the twitch of an eyebrow. Yet it eluded her like a slippery eel, vanishing back into the dark depths of her irises.

Then Sayaka smiled, and a beam of sunlight illuminated the immediate vicinity.

"Sure I remember you doctor," She gave a short laugh.

"How could I forget?"

With a swirl of the cloak, Sayaka stood up and offered the Timelord a gloved hand for a handshake. Her eyes flickered over to the distant Clara.

"She seems nice, I'd love to meet her."

edited 4th Jul '16 3:43:46 AM by biomechtraveler

-Disgruntled, Toph continues scanning the room. Some heartbeats evoke vague memories, untouched in six or seven decades, most are completely unknown. Then she gets a much more unnerving echo, stones rising and assembling themselves into shape the way only an earthbender could. But the person on the seat is much more unnerving, having a heartbeat Toph is unused to sensing outside her own ribcage.-

-Her expression of general crankiness not changing, Toph moves through the crowd until she reaches the telluric anomaly. Hands held behind her back, sightless eyes unblinking, she hesitates only for an instant. Dealing with her estranged family after years apart was hard enough, considerably worse when the daughter she'd prematurely met had been old enough to be Toph's mother, and now thanks to whatever cosmic meddlers dragged her from her world this time, dredging up a part of her past she broke off with somehow worse still.-

Hey chief.

edited 4th Jul '16 3:54:48 AM by Chabal2

The Locksmith waited patiently for the waves of questions and protests wash over him, carefully remembering each question and waiting for the chance to answer them. His face was a study in calm, with a touch of disinterest. So many times had he heard the pleas of climbers, their cries for help, their sobs of despair and their neverending questions. They could not phase him any more. Finally, when there started to become a lull in the questions, and a few were getting ready to leave already, he motioned for quiet and started to speak again.

"I shall answer all your questions to the best of my abilities."

"First, the Tower. Where is it? How many floors does it have? And does it have internet? The Tower exists between worlds, for it is not a construct that sits in one world. In size, it is limitless, because it needs not adhere to any laws of physics except those it wishes to. The Tower can anywhere it wants to be, at any point in time, yet never move an inch."

"Ah, but how much do you need to climb? That is unknown, even to me. The Ruler of the Tower decides how long each session lasts, and as far as I can tell, that is predetermined already at the start. But it varies. Some only climbed ten floors, in the space of a couple of months, to find themselves at the storage of treasure. Others climbed tens upon tens of floors for years, without ever seeing the summit."

"But worry not about the passage of time. As long as you reach the top and can access the treasures of the Ruler, you can choose to travel back to where you were and arrive the exact moment after you departed. These are the very same fantastical constructs that brought you all here, but I am afraid that I know far too little about them to explain them. However, you may only employ these treasures should you complete the Tower. If you are lost in one of the myriad worlds that the Tower connects, or you should die at the hands of one of the dangers that await you on your adventure, then you will never return. For I'm afraid, young lady, death is final here."

"Now, one of you asked what the treasures can do? Oh, they can do anything, just as the Ruler can do anything. With them, you can travel to worlds unknown, paradises even, or journey across the time as easy as walk. Worlds may be mended, or broken, should you wish for that. You may attain the power to raise your dead loved ones, or become a reaper of souls yourself. Even immortality will be within your reach, though let me warn you, it is not all that is cracked up to be."

The old man smiled wearily.

"So, how did I cheat? That is a long story, and not one that helps you evermuch, so I'll keep it brief. The Ruler simply provided a much too simple sequence of locks, and after only three floors I could break the locks of the next floors. It's never been that simple after that."

"Oh, and I am afraid you will be provided no internet, nor any electricity while in the Tower. You are not the first to ask, young lady. However, you might be able to access something in one of the worlds you visit."

With that, he seemed satisfied with the responses he'd given on the subject of the Tower, and segued over to the next group of question.

"Which brings me to the worlds you will be travelling to. Now, one of you have already questioned the existence of a multitude of worlds. That is a question much more suited a philosopher or advanced scientist than a humble locksmith as myself, so I can only answer this briefly. Past the world that you know, there are whole universes existing outside one's sphere of knowledge, worlds with different stars and rules of nature. Usually, these worlds do not touch one another, but the Tower exists in the world between worlds and thus bridges the Multiverse so that you can travel from one world to another. You will see fantastical realms of magic and sorcery, worlds of science stretched to the breaking point filled with technological wonders, prehistoric savage worlds inhabited by naught but monsters, dark infernal hellscapes of death and inferno as well as organized civilizations built over any number of years by any intelligent creature you might imagine. You will see much, and much that you didn't think was possible."

"The worlds that the Ruler will demand you explore are usually hospitable to organic life, yes. Gravity, air quality or ease of traversal might vary, and sometimes the keys you are to recover are in quite hard-to-get locations. But these are but challenges, not impossibilities. There is no risk of you stepping into a world with no readily available oxygen, for example. But there will be dangers, of course. Monsters, natural disasters, politics...it will not be easy. So look after yourselves and one another."

"Now, some of you ask how is such an adventure possible? How can I be trusted? And if others have reached the top, why have you not heard of those wielding the powers that were rewarded to them? To the last question, I have no answer except that there are so many worlds out there, that the chances that a Climber visiting yours is infinitely small. Or possibly they have, and you know them as gods? I do not know. But how do you know if I speak the truth? Ah."

The old man started crossing the room, approaching the black and gold gates. Summoning his strength, he pushed the doors open...into oblivion. Beyond the portal was naught but fog and white. Groaning slightly, he knelt down and knocked the ground on the other side, demonstrating that there was solid footing on the other side. Then he stood up again.

"Beyond this door lies your first world, and with that your first set of challenges. You will be transported to a world unknown to you all, but perhaps familiar in some ways to some. Any doubts you have about the Tower's abilities should be dispelled by then."

"Now, I see some of you are ready to hear about the first keys. Then we shall proceed. I can not tell you the exact location, but I can describe them in as much detail that I can glean from the lock. I am, after all, a locksmith."

"Your first set of keys is a pair of blades. Proud double-edged longswords, with ornate hilts and slender blades. Forged by magic, and powerfully enchanted. No doubt legendary in their world, and found in the hands of persons of power. The swords are identical twins in shape and form, albeit not in power."

"Now, this is important. You must retrieve both blades, and no replicas will work. The lock will only accepted these two blades, and once they are set in the lock, there will be no removing them."

"When you are ready to proceed, please step through the gates and move on to your first challenge."

Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!

Claw spared the weird-hair man a moment. There was definitely nothing wrong in a dose of skepticism, but frankly, this wasn't that much stranger than his earlier adventures. Really, the vast myriad of creatures and people - he even noted a pair of skeletons - spoke for itself.

"Don't think we have much of a choice to begin with." He shrugged, briefly contemplating the idea that The Locksmith was just playing with them for his own amusement. Death and misery be damned, he would then find him. If not on the first life, then on the second or the third.

Hmm... adventure. That girl with facial markings had the right idea. After all, he reasoned, it was a little like his earlier escapes, if longer and filled with more thrills.

...ah, blast it. It's not like they had much choice anyway. Plus, his crew waited for him and he wasn't some scaredy-cat to be afraid of the unknown He lived for conquering the unknown, for sea's sake. "Alright then. Two swords it is." He mused, rolling his shoulders as he approached the gate with a hum. One last deep breath and the first person went through the gate, step confident.

edited 4th Jul '16 4:24:06 AM by FergardStratoavis

How do lizards fly?

The Kid looked down in thought. The ability to fix worlds. Bring back the dead. The weight of the crystal barrette in his pocket seemed to increase at that thought. Did he dare believe what the man was saying? A way to bring them all back. Fix what his people had done. Rucks. Zulf. Zia. All of them getting back what they once lost. Getting back what he lost...

The dangers? Well, they weren't anything he hadn't already been ready to face. A pair of swords? Easy enough. He allowed himself a small grin at the idea that collecting powerful artifacts had become average for him.

The white-haired teen glanced over the group, full of strange and wondrous figures. Could he rely on them, though? He'd always gone his own way, stood by himself. He didn't see any real need to change it just yet.

Besides, things would need to be scouted out first, and he was a pretty damn good scout. With one last glance back at the group, the Kid trotted towards the gate; And with a nod to the old man, stepped through.

He really hoped he didn't land on his face.

edited 4th Jul '16 4:28:53 AM by Alleydodger

Ultra Magnus sighed- or at the very least, a convincing electronic modidcum of a sigh. Anything in the universe could be his? There were a million other Cybertronians who would probably kill to have the opportunity he was facing right now. Yet Magnus was a soldier first and foremost. There was nothing that he really wanted except the satisfaction of a job well done. And besides, accepting any kind of "incentive" given to him by this... this... locksmith would breach the Code of Enemy Interaction, he kept telling himself as he strode toward the portal.

And yet... anything in the universe?

"I'll be honest," he said to the other members of the group as he readied his internal systems for another abrupt trans-spatial shunt, "I don't see any way for us to actually say no to this organic. Whatever he is. I'm not detecting any spacecraft or quantum signatures in the vicinity. If we say no, then all evidence suggests that we'll be stranded here for perpetuity until we change our minds."

Anything in the entire universe? The chance to find out whatever became of his ^note  his, not Ultra Magnus's - there was the kind of clear distinction there, the kind that came with assuming and living a persona for a million years brother, Dominus? The opportunity to find out where the Knights of Cybertron had truly gone, once and for all?

Temptation was a dangerous game.

Ultra Magnus squared his shoulders - which was an impressive sight to see, considering that his shoulders were built like pillars- and strode into the portal, alert for any kind of nasty surprises.

Scorch was in thought for a moment, could this mean that if he managed to get to the top...would there be something that could stop the Clone Wars once and for all...no...maybe there could even be something to cure every single Fett Clone in his galaxy from their accelerated aging. That..that could mean so much for their future without having to worry about being corpses when they turned 50 years old.

He had to take that chance.

"Well. Might as well take the chance." Scorch shrugged, then checked that his gear was ready, before sprinting to the portal.

-Spider Lizard Noises-

"Let me see if I've got you straight."

The white-cloaked, white-haired man unfolds his arms and gets off the wall. Whatever patience he had is long-gone, and it seems he's not exactly inclined to respect the crown of the aged anymore.

"The Tower is everything, but only sometimes. We have to ascend it because you said so, which could either take forever or no time at all. But silly me, how could I forget time travel? If we don't die of old age on the way, we can steal the time machine which is probably somewhere in there, drag our withered asses to the top floor, and send ourselves back to before we started! Which, naturally, would make the whole thing completely pointless - but what do I know?"

He pauses, as if making every effort to confirm the delicate internal logic of the Locksmith's statements.

"Oh," he says at last, "and we'll die if we're killed. Fantastic. 'Ready to proceed?' Look, codger, don't even pretend I have a say in this. You know damn well that I'll proceed whether I like it or not, because the alternative is rotting away in this god-forsaken stairwell."

He walks towards the portal, broad back bristling. As he nears it he turns his sour gaze back.

"I thought you might have something of worth to say because of your age, but it seems you're just an old blockhead. I'm not in the habit of trusting people, Locksmith, and I have a way with swords. Even if mine won't work as Keys, I daresay they'd find themselves perfectly at home in one of your organs."

He's serious. He speaks like someone who gave up on warnings long ago.

"You'd do best to watch yourself."

His hair and cloak vanish before the rest of him.

edited 4th Jul '16 6:46:45 AM by troydenite

'Being around you guys makes me go "wtf" instead of pondering the ever increasing dread of time' - EchoingSilence, 2023

Jaina

Skin and bones, but the ancient creature who was fielding their questions did an incredible job. Jaina's far less decrepit mentors in her youth couldn't have done half the work. There was much to track. Conversations had kindled, it seemed at a glance that some of the gathered already knew one another. Space ripped itself open in a far more colorfully undignified display than Jaina herself had recourse too, spat out the feminine simulacrum of a knight in shining armor. Phantasms. A girl with hair the rusty auburn of a Lordaeron autumn declares bravado and readiness. Eager.

But she couldn't track everything at once, much as she tried to set her whetted and trained mind to the task. The Locksmith gave them some modicum of quiet. Some modicum of answers. She tried to set all of them to memory as best she could, etch the information away into rock and stone and whatever else she deigned the caverns of her memory to be. Some answers she didn't need to devote much effort to- worrying that there was even question of the existence of a multiverse- and others she furiously inscribed in the morning market bustle her brain had become within the last few minutes. Rote was easy, it was the child of repetition and mnemonic. She'd study for now. Think later. Not much time yet, to ruminate.

Reach the top. Even if she'd wanted to refuse she had no apparently obvious alternative choice, if she was to return to where she belonged and was needed.

Their band was large. Not everyone had even given themselves clear voice yet and she already whiffed a familiar scent. Old dried parchment, must and dust and time's dry passage. With any luck the body politic wouldn't consume this motley gathering. What was it they said about cooks and kitchens?

"I don't see any way for us to actually say no to this organic. Whatever he is. I'm not detecting any spacecraft or quantum signatures in the vicinity. If we say no, then all evidence suggests that we'll be stranded here for perpetuity until we change our minds."

"Quantum...? Hm. I suppose there's time for curiosity later." She supposed studying other cultures would be an interesting exercise. Though she had good reason so far to believe, even through eyeballed information alone, that the cultural differences between some of their membership would be magnitudes exponential. There were plenty of words left unsaid but the order of the day seemed to be stepping forward. The fog was ominous, it gnarled and twisted like the unwelcoming thorns of bramble, but Jaina had no reason to suspend her belief as of yet. In she went, setting a pace leisurely enough to pointedly people watch along the way.

Kitkat Kitkat / He's our man / If any one screws up / He sure can -Imca

A tall, lanky, raven-haired man leaned against the wall, letting everybody else ask the questions. They seemed to be hitting the right ones, anyway.

A Tower, a prize, challenges, a multiverse. Not the weirdest thing that had happened in his life.

That was tied somewhere between his sister having Taiyang's kid, and Ozpin pulling him aside and telling him magic existed. Or the things he'd seen while working for Ozpin.

Actually, Summer telling him she was pregnant was pretty up there too.

So he just leaned against the wall and watched everyone, taking in both the responses and how everyone acted. Such a wide range of people, if it wasn't for the ages, he'd compare it to Beacon on Initiation Day.

And that door was the cliff.

There was no use arguing. Do this, go free. Play the game until it shows you the option for rebellion. Keep moving forward.

Taking a hearty swig from his flask, Qrow Branwen drunkenly stumbled his way into the black void. It didn't matter that these people were supposed to be his allies, he was gonna play it up for now.

And hey, at least some of the girls here were pretty cute. Some of them were way too young, nearly the same age as his nieces, but a few of were actually adults.

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

Chris sighed a little, partly out of frustration, partly out of confusion. Everything that was going on was just that far over her head.

"Well, I guess we don't really have a whole lot of choice, do we?"

She walked towards the portal, shoving her pendant back down the front of her blouse.

"Just as long as these are actually swords and not someone trying to pretend they're wings."

"Yup. That tasted purple."

Jeyrr frowned, looking up at Gilgamesh. The imposing figure didn't scare him; aside from the fact that he'd squarely trounced the man twice already, he knew that for all his bluster Greg wasn't really a bad person. But it was a little upsetting that he would forget such a memorable pair of encounters.

"Hildibrand?" He offered up. "The thieving duelist? We fought on that big bridge in Coerthas?" he noticed that Greg was alone now, and his frown deepened. "What happened to Enkidu?" he asked, referring to the little green chicken.

---

As the gate opened up, he looked towards the location of the first challenge. Quest: Retrieve two magic swords. With the huge number of people involved, many of them looking pretty tough, it seemed likely that his power might be a bit redundant. But he had no way of knowing how many of them could support others, and if death was on the table, they'd need as much as they could get. He fished a small blue crystal out of his pocket and began the process of attuning to it. Titan-Egi faded away with a dull flash as the Aether sustaining it was repurposed. He looked back up at Gilgamesh.

(Jeyrr has changed Job to Scholar)

edited 4th Jul '16 8:35:57 AM by Anura

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.

Gaige-Taking his word for it

Gaige frowned at the kinda open ended nature of his reply. Kinda smelled fishy, saying you'd get all your awnsers if you just go and step into the light. Kind of thing you'd say before walking right into a trap. she was about to call him out on this when everyone started walking into it.

"Er, hey, guys!? No one's thinking this smells fishy? This has "Trap" written all over it in giant marker!"

Nope, no one seemed to be stopping.

"Bah, whatev. Guess I'll go too. But if you're lying to me, buster, I'm coming back and kicking your ass!" She said, waging a finger at the Gatekeeper before following the rest into the gate."

Ro-Man stood unflinchingly, deep in thought as the poured over every bit of information the elderly Locksmith provided. Being a race lacking any form of facial expression, Ro-Men solely use body language to broadcast emotion, and in this case Ro-Man resembled a large, hairy version of The Thinker as he processed it all.

His first thought was, of course, exterminate everyone in the room and be done with this mess. When he first realized that several non-organic lifeforms would have to be bludgeoned to death, and one of which claimed immortality, it would not be a simple instance of just killing them all instantly. Moreover, he ran a quick internal diagnostic. In the span of 1/4th of a second, it revealed that his internal power levels were back down to the species baseline! This elderly Hu-Man's words must have some truth, as his personal energizer should be broadcasting the nuclear rays of his homeworld to him throughout the entirety of Earth. Considering he wasn't even receiving basic signals from the planet Ro-Man, he couldn't even be in galactic range...

This posed a basic question of logic. He had many subdirectives, but all of them branched from his one purpose in life: Kill anything in the galaxy that could be a threat to the Ro-Man people. The keyword in the galaxy gave him pause: this area was very well outside of his jurisdiction. These people were not any threat to the Ro-Men, because he was the sole one there. And if everything this man said was true, then he'd have to work along with these others in order to get back to his original objective. He couldn't just murder them. For the first time in Ro-Man's life, he had to actually use diplomacy.

Also, the bit about unimaginable technology certainly piqued his interest. If he could bring back some form of dimensional transport, then this place and all others could certainly be conquered.

He broke his kneeling pose, and pointed at the Locksmith threateningly. "I will accept your offer, Hu-Man. Alter the terms, and I shall be back with a vengeance." There was a deep feeling that these terms were already hostile enough, so he had no need to change them...but Ro-Man couldn't just let a possibility to threaten a Hu-Man slide by untouched. He trudged forward to the door, entering it along with the cavalcade of others.

Johnny was hardly pleased with the answers that the Locksmith was giving. There was no way around this nonsense, and no way of telling how long it could take? Being able to go back in time once they reached the top was hardly any sort of comfort. He was just expected to put aside his quest for the Corpse Parts? He had already worked so long and hard for those, and now when he felt he was getting so close he just had to forget about it? The young jockey grit his teeth as the door was opened for them.

He gave his horse a pat on the head and got off of her neck. Slow Dancer turned and trotted back a couple of feet before turning back and approaching her master from behind. He turned and reached back as she lowered her head. He touched her head and used the Spin to flip himself over her head as she lifted it. He landed in the saddle and took her reigns to direct her over towards the large doors.

Tower F1

"Oh man..." Corrin was starting to feel slightly self-conscious around all these strangers. One of them was the size of a Stoneborn, 100% more talkative, and perhaps just as violent. But she had to assuage her fears. These people were in the same situation as her. They had every right to be angry and confused.

She had to speak up though. It would be disgraceful if she didn't. "People, please. Regardless of whether this is a trap or not we are in the same situation. If we band together though, I'm certain nothing this tower can will throw at us can't be surmounted."

edited 4th Jul '16 9:45:13 AM by Azure

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

Shiroe honestly doubted the man had any reasons to lie to them. And for him to have opened this path to what he said was another world...well, that seemed pretty helpful to his case. Shiroe did however wonder what happened if they died here. In the game he had been locked in, they just revived at the cathedral. He highly doubted he would be so lucky if that were to happen here. Quietly then, he demonstrated acceptance to the situation for the time being. After all, if this was the only way he could go back to where he had been before, and maybe unlock the way to get everyone out of Elder Tale, then it was a chance he'd take.

So he looked towards the Locksmith, nodding as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and let his dark blue hair settle.

"I have some further questions later, Locksmith. But for now, I will go along with everyone else."

He then proceeded to the foggy area that lie in that gate, choosing to go right on through. After all, he didn't really have any other option.

And in this heart, our bond cannot break. From here to the end and back again I will stand sharp. The light in me will guide you home...