A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

"Over here!"

Spriggan gestured to Durant, since he had heard that he had first aid training.

Durant immediately rushed in upon doing so.

Hope concentrated hard. Three people, and varying levels of acidic burns. This wasn't going to be simple, and he was already drained quite badly.

Rey sat up, wincing and holding his side, flicking back the visor of his helmet, starting to look around the chamber somewhat.

Sub-Zero turned to see Rey.

"You okay, Rey?"

"I'll be better when the others are okay..."

Durant went off to see if Link was alright.

Blood was leaking from Link's mouth, and his throat felt like it was on fire.

"Hurts..." He managed to croak out, before coughing painfully again, bringing up more blood.

The healing magics that Hope exerted, though weak, slowly began to alleviate some of the pain, and he tried to stand up -

Then fell over again.

"We're... - kaff - done.... we can go home...."

"We can go home...."

There was a faint tinge of hope in his voice - mixed with sorrow.

He smiled weakly.

"I really need to stop saving people.... It can't be good for my health...."

"But then again.... it's the only thing I can do... isn't it....?"

Then, he closed his eyes, and fell into unconsciousness again. His ragged breathing became slightly smoother and more rhythmic.

Home....

edited 11th Jul '11 4:04:09 PM by troydenite

Bowser said nothing while crossing his arms, content with watching the development in front of him.

However, Iota decided to speak at that moment.

   "We can't all leave just yet Link, we're not done yet."   

Of course, Link was unable to hear Iota's comment ; being unconscious meant, unfortunately, that you would generally be unable to hear anything at all.

It was clear as Link hauled Lambda up onto the shore that the argent deity had suffered quite a bit in those caustic crimson waters; in the five minutes it had taken the Hero of Time to reach the sinking Nomad and bring him back, much of his flowing silver robes had been eaten away, and sickening burns and contusions marred the black, silver-lined skin beneath. While enough of his garments remained to preserve Lambda's modesty, it was clear that the robe was finished; the damage it had incurred was too severe to be repaired in any meaningful sense.

Among the damaged or destroyed portions was the argent deity's hood, leaving his face exposed; and apart from his onyx skin, the presence of pulsing geometric silver tattooes and a few minor differences in terms of cheekbone and mandible structure, he was a dead ringer for Dr. Shin Ikari—although, given what the giantess had called him a moment ago, perhaps that was not such a drastic revelation at that point in time. The silver Nomad groaned faintly as Hope administered his healing white magic; while the Cure spells were having an effect, in thay they caused some of Lambda's wounds to even out and heal over, it was notably less effective on him than normal in that said wounds were only being healed slowly.

   "Shinji!"    the giantess cried in obvious concern, reaching out with one massive hand to scoop the injured Nomad up and paying little heed to any Champions that might have been brushed aside none-too-gently when she did that. She cradled him delicately within her palm, trying not to touch him for fear of upsetting his grievous wounds.

Lambda cracked open one eye with considerable effort and peered blearilly up at the four-eyed colossus that was his wife; other men might have been filled with fear or revulsion at such a sight, but the silver god did little more than crack a wry smile. "Hello, gorgeous..."

A dry, ragged sound that might have been a brief sob of relief escaped the monster's unseen maw, and her thumb bent to hang over him; in response to this, the argent Nomad raised one arm and brought his gauntlet-clad hand up to touch the gigantic appendage in a gesture that seemed akin to holding hands.

   "Idiot,"    the monster whispered, its tone completely void of scorn or malice.    "Was that your master plan, to free me and get yourself killed while you're at it?"   

"Actually, I intended to be alive at this point," Lambda said in jest. "Banged up will suffice, though."

Blink watched. She was mostly confused, she didn't remember most of the explanation of these events, after all. However, she had a bit of an inkling that what was going on now was good. They'd succeeded, right? They'd helped Mister Lambda get his wife back?

Iota's eyes dimmed down, a gesture akin to closing ones eyes, and shook his head slowly back and forth. He stayed silent though, now was not the time to break the silence, they needed to be with each other for the time being.

However, he wouln't stay silent for long, they still had things to do, primarily Tau's screw up with Unicron.

edited 11th Jul '11 6:34:40 PM by Makuta9999

Durant went to check up on Link after he knelt down next to him.

"I've seen much worse thing back in Gothic Serpent."

Spriggan was next to the kneeling American as he went for the first aid pouch located behind his back on his web belt..

"I'll go and see what I can do to cover up his wounds..."

Sub-Zero thought for a moment.

"Wait," said the ninja, "wasn't there a Nomad whose fate is somehow related to this situation?"

Rey hauled himself to his feet, staggering a bit, but watching the others, looking around again. "Now what...?"

The giantess slowly set Lambda down on the ground, placing him there with the utmost care, and then straightened up.    "Rest,"    she told him in a gentle tone of voice.    "I'll be with you in a moment..."   

And with those words, the towering, pallid woman brought both her hands to the transparent womb in her abdomen; after taking a moment to steady herself, the giantess slid her clawed fingers into the slit with a hiss of pain and began to pull them in opposite directions. It was clear that she was attempting to force the womb open, so that the purple Nomad trapped inside—Rho—would be able to get out, but her efforts did not come easily or without pain; every second she tried to pull the lips of that slit apart, she snarled in agony and they parted but a few inches. Transparent amniotic fluids dribbled out between her fingers, spilling over the floor like the residue of some cruel parody of childbirth.

The entire process could not have taken more than half a minute, but to those present it must have seemed like hours; finally, with an ear-splitting below of pain and triumphant release, the giantess pulled the slit open completely—and Rho came spilling out to land, unconscious, on the floor before it.

Without the presence of the purple Nomad, all life seemed to vanish from the colossus; its four eyes dimmed like flashlights whose batteries were about to expire, and it slumped, motionless, like a statue. Even as vivacity fled the giantess, however, the same seemed to swell within Lambda's wife; coughing wetly, Rho brought a hand up to her head and began to sit up with obvious difficulty. If she was at all perturbed by her lack of clothing or the fact that she was surrounded by at least a dozen people, the violet goddess gave no indication that such was the case; either she did not care about such things or, far more likely, she was still coming to.

"Um..."

Blink hesitated. She wasn't sure what she'd seen, and really was still confused and frightened about all of this. But she felt like she had to say something.

"Um... Miss? Are you... um... better now?"

"...."

The TGS black ops agent was left confused as to what he saw.

"What happened..." Durant asked as he proceeded to cover up Link's recently healed injuries.

"Don't ask."

edited 11th Jul '11 8:43:43 PM by Ominae

Rey headed over, keeping his gaze as averted as he could. "Is everyone okay?"

"Ugh..."

Link opened his eyes slightly.

"Lambda.. Rho...."

"Are they... alright?"

Rho did not respond immediately; when she did, her gaze was vacant and unfocused, and her words seemed adressed primarily to herself rather than Blink.

"It's like waking up after a long and terrible dream," she whispered, her violet eyes staring through the teleporting thief as though she wasn't even there. "I had hoped that this day would come for so long, despaired of ever being free, but now..I simply don't know what to say, what to feel, what to think."

Recognition seemed to dawn within her eyes a moment later, and her gaze became clearer as she focused on Blink's face. "Am I better, Xi? Yes. Am I alright, back to normal? No...and I don't expect to be so for a long time, for I can barely even remember what 'normal' is supposed to feel like after all those eons spent trapped in this place. But I won't stay this way forever, because now things have started to change; after all, I'm free."

With those words, Rho rose to her feet and straightened up; as she did so, a vibrant jumpsuit very similar to the one worn by 'Asuka' a short while earlier wove itself together over her body, covering her up and preserving her modesty. This plugsuit differed from that of her violent and homicidal aspect in the fact that it was a deep purple rather than bloody crimson, and where a large 02 should have been stencilled on a triangular plate between her shoulder blades, there was instead a glowing Ρ. She strode over to Lambda's side and knelt down, looking over the injured form of the argent deity with obvious concern.

"Shinji, can you walk?"

The silver Nomad sat up with a groan, and Rho immediately moved to help him to his feet. "I think so," he replied, hissing faintly as she brushed against some of his burns. "Sorry you had to see me in this state, Asuka."

A faint smile spread across the face of the violet goddess, and she shook her head in mock-derision. "What are you, stupid? Do you honestly think I care what state you're in, so long as I can just stand here and actually touch you, with my own two hands and not with an eye-covered tentacle?"

Rey simply turned away, looking back towards the way they had come in, gripping the crowbar tightly. "Do I need to burn us a way out of here?"

"They should be."

Durant told Link. "And don't move. I'm almost applying the bandages. You're lucky the white-haired kid healed you."

"He means Hope." Spriggan told Link. "If I got the name right."

Link smiled slightly at the sight of the reunion.

Shaking slightly, he got to his feet after Durant had finished applying the bandages, nodding gratefully at both him and Hope. Looking down at the tattered remains of the Zora Tunic for a moment, he sighed.

"I liked that tunic..."

"But it doesn't really matter anymore."

Looking at the two Nomads, he smiled.

"It's good to see you're both alright."

edited 11th Jul '11 9:11:21 PM by troydenite

Blink didn't really spend too much time trying to figure out why Rho had just called her Xi. She knew what had happened was good. She knew they'd helped.

"Well... you're out now... So that's great! You're finally free! I don't really know everything... but with what I've heard and what you said now, this must be the best thing that's happened to you in a really long time," she said, her enthusiasm returning for a moment. She looked back at the fleshy walls surrounding them.

"Um..."