A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

The Nomad hovered above the planet, taking in it's population and ascertaining it's secrets. Among the thousands that scurried in one particular city, only five interested it. For a long period of time- a second or two- it considered, briefly analyzing each of their powers and abilities. And finally, it decided, briefly sending forth it's will and taking one of them away.

It was pleased- or as pleased as a multiverse-traversing god could be. Surely no force could stand up to this new champion.

After a night of strange and disconcerting dreams, Hahli awoke. She blinked her eyes once or twice in the faint glow of her Ga-Metru home. Her quarters were just as she had left them the night before- a small apartment that overlooked the network of canals and streams that made up this district of the city. Her head was still bleary from her troubled sleep. She couldn't quite place it, but something seemed slightly wrong with her apartment. As if everything was too neat, too perfectly placed.

She had had strange dreams that she couldn't quite remember, and she felt quite bleary. Perhaps Turaga Nokama will help me, she thought to herself. Maybe I just need time to get over the death of Matoro, she thought, remembering her noble teammate and his heroic sacrifice with a twinge of sadness and loss.

She opened the door. Ever since her transformation into a Toa and her return to the city, she had felt awfully awkward when she returned to her former home, and had to take care not to bump her head or winglike fins on the doorway. And she was an impressive sight- a tall and slender female warrior that resembled a mechanical combination of an angel and an armored scuba diver- indeed, she could quite easily breathe underwater thanks to her recent transformation by an ancient artifact.

As she stepped out and realized her surroundings, she froze. Instead of the large plaza that linked her home to the others, she instead found herself staring at a large, imposing hallway, totally unlike anything she had seen before. She found herself freezing up in fear, and she unsheathed her large claw and blaster to defend herself from whoever-or whatever- had sent her here. She felt her heart begin to race. Hahli turned around at looked at the door she had come from, which had slid shut.

Curiously, she reopened it, wondering if this was all some kind of bad dream. Inside was her chambers- or, at least, a perfect facsimile of her chambers. She turned her head and looked to the next door. That door was marked with an austere-sounding description of something... whatever lurked behind that door. Just where in the name of the Great Beings was she? Whatever it was, she wasn't going to go back in there. She set off down the hallway, trying to find her way out.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone here?"

edited 17th Oct '10 12:08:12 PM by CrowT.Robot

Travis Touchdown woke up with a yawn. He rubbed the sand out of his eyes as he walked over to the bathroom, and brushed his teeth. He dropped a load, went back into his bedroom to throw on his clothes, and hooked up his five Beam Katana. He petted Jeane the Cat a bit, before walking out the front door.

"I wonder if Naomi has that new double-bladed Bea-What the fuck?"

His door didn't open up to the deck of the No More Heroes hotel, but instead to some huge hallway with multiple doors lining the walls. Travis glanced around with a look of confusion on his face.

"Where the hell a-HOLY SHIT!" He yelled when he saw this tall mechanical thing with a huge claw and some kind of blaster. He instantly unhooked and ignited The Blood Berry◊.

Hahli yelled in surprise as she saw Travis open the door and point something at her.

"Who are you?" she cried. "You didn't send me here, did you?"

Cirno yawned as she opened her eyes and looked up at her frozen ceiling. She floated up into the air a couple of feet and turned up right and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. That was the last time she accepted a dare from Chen, she meant it this time. The ice fairy floated over to her perfectly working door. It worked perfectly in that it looked like a door and you opened it by pushing it over.

She pushed the frozen door down, which hit the ground with a loud thud in the middle of this hallway. Cirno floated out and started moving down the hall way. A couple of seconds later she stopped. Something.....wasn't quite right. Oh that was it, this wasn't the Misty Lake at all.

It was then that Cirno started to freak out and fly around in a circle while yelling "This isn't where I'm supposed to be at all! Where am I? Wheres Daiyousei?" She stopped when she spied the oddly dressed man and the huge....thing. Is that some new kind of Youkai?

Travis was surprised when robot thing started speaking, but he didn't lower his weapon.

"I was about to ask the same thing. What the f-" Travis was cut off when he saw a girl flying around and screaming. "......Ok, what the hell is going on here?"

"Don't know," said Hahli nervously. "You... you woke up in your house, too?"

She stopped, and reconsidered.

"Or at least a duplicate of your home... What's your name?"

Travis glanced in the direction of the robot thing.

"Travis. Travis Touchdown."

"Toa Hahli, Toa of Water." said Hahli, before glancing over at the small, flying creature.

"It seems that there are many of us here..." she murmured.

"What the hell's a Toa?"

Cirno looked up at the giant creature and floated in place for a second. It seemed like some gears were working in that head of hers as she thought for a minute. This thing was huge with claws, wing like things, and weird thing on its face. There was only one giant Youkai she knew of that it could possibly be.

"I've found the deidarabotchi!" Cirno yelled out as she zoomed over and started flying circles around Toa as she cheered.

"Toa manipulate the elements," said Hahli, simply. "I control water."

She paused and watched Cirno fly around her head.

"Hello," she said to the fairy. "Who are you?"

The human child sized fairy stopped and turned to the Toa. She grew a confident smile and flexed her arms as she said "I'm Cirno. Just so you know, I'm the strongest so you should totally listen to me."

".......Right..."

(5:37 to 6:58)

It flew in orbit, scanning for suitable lifeforms. This planet was the stage of a great battle. Surely, it would find a worthy candidate here. There were many warriors here of different races, but out of all of them, only a select few were considered for selection by the Nomad.

They were unyielding and lethal, but they lacked the qualities it was looking for. That is, until the Nomad came across two violet ships in close proximity to each other. It could detect two valiant beings inside. The Nomad actually had trouble deciding which one to retrieve. That changed when one of them picked up the other and tossed him out of the ship's airlock. Now why would it do that?

The answer came in the form of a strong energy signature emanating from an object within the ship that only continued to grow stronger by the second. Such a high output would kill the being inside. That's when the Nomad realized what it was: a bomb. There was no way that soul, as strong as it was, could survive the blast. It saved the other by throwing him out. He was willingly sacrificing his life to end this fight.

That was what the Nomad was looking for. Right before the bomb exploded, it sent forth its will and took the warrior to places unknown...

Somehow, Jorge-052 began to feel again. Ever so slowly, the SPARTAN-II pushed himself up, groaning. His eyes cracked open, and as his vision cleared, they opened wide in shock. This wasn't the Ardent Justice. He wasn't even on Reach anymore. Jorge was in an apartment that wouldn't be out of place in the early 21st century. He still had his Mark V MJOLNIR armor on, his Mark IV Grenadier helmet was set down on a desk nearby, and his M247H HMG was laying against the wall. Jorge was sitting on a bed that could somehow support his weight.

"...What the hell?" He muttered as he got out of the bed. What happened to him? The last thing he remembered was the bomb starting to activate, and then his vision turned white. Was he dead? Was this the afterlife? What was going on?

The Spartan needed to find out where he was. He took his helmet and put it on. It snapped and hissed as it sealed the inside off from the outside. When his Heads-Up Display popped up, Jorge was amazed to see that his armor was undamaged. He picked up his M247H and found that it was fully loaded. That was suspiciously convenient. At least he'd have the means to defend himself here.

Holding his M247H in one hand, Jorge walked up to the door and opened it, stepping outside to find himself in a long hallway with multiple rooms. "A hotel...?"

Then the others came out, and chaos ensued. Somehow, they missed the 7 foot tall supersoldier wearing bulky power armor. He just watched the commotion, utterly baffled. Who were these people?

edited 17th Oct '10 4:14:43 PM by Nimitz

"Strength isn't everything, though," said Hahli. "Wisdom and skill are important too."

She turned and cautiously pounded the metal wall with her fist. It didn't seem too strong... maybe she could... With one fluid motion, she swiped her claw against the wall, hoping to break out of this room. She screamed as an electrical shock suddenly hurled her backwards.

After a moment or two, she picked herself up again. "Whatever's keeping us in here... doesn't want us to escape.", she said, readjusting her mask.

These people didn't look hostile. They seemed to be just as confused as he was. What was the harm in introducing himself? Jorge approached the group.

"Excuse me," His deep, British voice was transmitted through his helmet's speakers. If the others turned, they would see a armored giant carrying a very large machine gun.

edited 17th Oct '10 12:56:23 PM by Nimitz

Travis turned around and saw the giant of a man in powered armor.

".....Wow." He said, before whistling. "That's one big fucking gun."

Hahli turned and saw the soldier approaching. In a flash, she pulled out a lethal-looking gun of her own.

"Let me guess..." she said, her soft voice tinged with some cynicism, "you woke up here and you can't get out either."

"Unless," she said, extending her claw, "you were the one who sent us here."

Cirno tilted her head in confusion at the Toa's words. How does Wisdom match up against being strong. Maybe this wasn't the deidarabotchi after all. Cirno turned when someone spoke up and noticed the metal giant. She floated up and started to poke his gun while asking "Whats this thing?"

"Er...yes. I-" He paused, leaning in a bit to get a closer look at Hahli. That thing wasn't human. It wasn't even Covenant. The Spartan didn't know how he missed that. Maybe he was still dazed, and now his mind was finally clearing up.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Jorge questioned. Then Cirno walked up and started poking his HMG. The Spartan was quick to pull it away. "Oh no, you don't."

edited 17th Oct '10 1:04:11 PM by Nimitz

"A Toa of Water," Hahli replied, somewhat irritated. Being shocked and questioned, not to mention being trapped in this... this... wherever she was, was starting to wear on her temper.

Cirno's 6 icicle wings fluttered a bit in annoyance as he pulled it away and just floated closer. "Come on tell me what it is. The big Toe thing has one too so its not a secret. Come ooooooon" She said as she started poking it from different angles.

Toa of Water? It didn't ring a bell. "Well, you're not Covenant, so we don't have to fight each other. Don't give me a reason to...and I did not bring you here. I have no idea where I am...you're seriously telling me that you all just appeared here? None of you know what's happening?"

edited 17th Oct '10 4:21:37 PM by Nimitz

A sudden grinding noise filled the room. The walls began to shift and change shape, as the walls split into dozens of miniature tiles. These tiles shifted and turned into themselves, eventually forming into a large, hexagonal door remniscient of a massive airlock. With a hiss, the door opened, revealing, bizarrely, a large open-air terrace and restaraunt. A large arrow flashed over the door, indicating that they didn't have a choice whether they went in or not. Indeed, the other doors and hallways were already collapsing in on themselves much in the same way...

edited 17th Oct '10 1:14:49 PM by CrowT.Robot

When the room began to shapeshift, Jorge frantically looked around at it. "What?!" He exclaimed. Once the room finished and the large door was created, Jorge just stood there, stunned. He almost dropped his gun, too.

"What. H-ha-how did it...what?!"