A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

"That can wait a moment," Lambda replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, pointing towards the pile of rubble which had once been a deity. "I want you all to see something."

Even as the Nomad said these words, a towering giant of solid white light flared into existence above the rubble. Its form was indistinct, and apart from two yawning black holes which served as its eyes its face was completely blank. It loomed menacingly over the group, radiating malice and rage, and it lifted up an arm, hand curling into a fist, in order to smash them all into paste; before it could do so, however, the air was filled with an awful ratcheting roar, and countless spacial ripples filled the upper parts of the chamber as the creatures suddenly appeared from nowhere. They came in every shape and size, ophidians, morlocks, leviathans and many, many more, and they circled above the ethereal colossus like hungry vultures over the imminently-deceased.

NO...

Beams of white light shot forth from the giant's eyes, obliterating a swathe of the monsters, but countless more teleported in to take the place of the fallen; hands lashed out to swat creatures from the sky, but for every single one of the monsters the titan felled, three dozen took its place, and soon they descended upon it in a massive swarm, screeching and shrieking like the damned. They whorled and twined about the giant's ethereal limbs, fusing together into a shell of sandstone and gold, and its limbs became progressively more sluggish as more and more of its body was covered into this fashion. Unable to support its own weight, the titan toppled backward and fell on its posterior with a deafening crash, and more of the creatures formed long chains extending from its limbs to the chamber wall before transforming themselves into utterly massive links of metal and stone; and finally, even as the giant regained its face the bak'nala descended upon its head to form a ponderous mask with no eyeslits.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! it bellowed, its words muffled by the stone. It tried to thrash and break free of this new prison, but the shell formed by the monsters was rapidly hardening; and within seconds the statue was immobile once more, as still and lifeless as any other piece of sculpture.

Sighing in relief, Lambda lowered his arm. "And there you have it; thanks to your efforts, the Bak'nala were able to reseal Yaldabaoth. Now that the eclipse has ended, things will go back to normal...for the time being, at any rate."

He turned to face the challengers then, quirking his eyebrow in a decidedly smug fashion. "So, gentlemen...how did it feel to kill not just a god, but the god?"

edited 1st Jun '11 8:52:56 PM by SullenFrog

A...god....

He contemplated the ramifications of this for a second.

And now a Nomad is helping us. Does he not realize....

He suddenly remembered that Lambda could probably read thoughts, and so kept quiet.

Rey muttered from where he was still face-down on the floor. "If I could get my legs under me I'd be coming to throttle you right now..."

The Doctor tries to yell at the TV. "IT'S A TRAP! RUN NOW!"

Kimimaro scowled. "That was not the True God. It couldn't have been. The True God is merciful and kind, and sent his many children - Jesus Christ, the Six-Paths Sage, Saint-Queen Olivie, and many others - to countless worlds to bring peace to them. The True God preaches tolerance and compassion, fairness and love; He would never be or support a being who spoke of nothing but destruction, suffering, and the obliteration of any sapient being who did not conform to a single species' standards of normality. That was some rogue dark god or daemon - a pretender to the Heavenly Throne."

edited 1st Jun '11 8:57:59 PM by DKN117

Gordon took a deep breath. "Well... that felt... new."

He shook his head. "Lambda. So you helped us? ... I guess... I have to thank you. Leave Doctor Ikari's body. He's got a life outside of this."

"He was but another god, to me. The history of the Multiverse is lettered with stories of mortals slaying the All-Powerful, some myths, some real." A mental chuckle came to all, then, "And in some eyes, I was the defeated in one of these tales as well. But that is of no matter. Why do you aid us, Nomad?"

edited 1st Jun '11 9:00:14 PM by SOCR

Link spoke.

"I am a servant of the Goddess of the Winds, Farore. She is but one of Three."

He turned to face Kimimaro.

"Though I do not doubt Her sovereignty....Is it not possible that on this world at least, Yaldabaoth is God?"

"For with many worlds, there must come many Gods."

Flandre put her finger to her lower lip, looking up at this strange gray man. "Its not that big of a deal. Gods get beat all the time." She said, having hear stories from Youkai Mountain.

A faint smirk spread across Lambda's face at Kimimaro's words, and he shook his head. "I never would have pegged you as that naive, Kimimaro of Clan Kaguya. God is not a singular entity; there are as many different interpretations of what it is and how it behaves as there are grains of sand, and each one of them is true in some place or some time in the multiverse. This particular universe happens to conform somewhat loosely to the beliefs of Gnosticism; that is, that god—known here as either Yaldabaoth or, far more commonly, the Demiurge—is neither perfect nor good; he may have wrought the physical universe as you know and experience it, but he himself and the material he utilized to create this realm were fashioned by another, and both are inherently flawed. So yes, you did in fact kill an iteration of the 'True God'—insofar as such beings can be killed, at any rate."

The Nomad shifted his gaze to Gordon then, nodding cooly. "But of course, Doctor Freeman; I simply borrowed Shin's body for the moment to make sure that you did not fail. I have no intention of simply destroying him now that the task is done, not when he has so much to live for still."

These words were accompanied by a brief glance in the direction of Dr. Langley, who was staring at her husband as though he were a complete stranger—and in a way, she was not wrong.

edited 1st Jun '11 9:08:59 PM by SullenFrog

Bolas growled to himself. There were things to learn about his captors here. He should start with their abilities. "Normally interventions like this require a catalyst of some sort, in my experience. What connection do you have with either this temple, or Shin? Or is it within your capability to just take over any body?"

edited 1st Jun '11 9:06:58 PM by SOCR

"...Then perhaps the True God is He who created all Universes, and then created a God to oversee each of these Universes, and this Universe's God went bad... A thought for another time. Why, exactly, did you aid us? What is your goal?"

edited 1st Jun '11 9:10:43 PM by DKN117

—Megatron stopped moving to listen, also signalling Ravage for assistance. —

"Yes, do tell."

This could be important.

Lambda turned his attention to Bolas then, an exaggerated frown on his face. "Ah, yes, I forgot you were still here. To answer your question, the only such limit is in one's own imagination...along with the durability of the form we choose to inhabit. I'd provide you a demonstration, but I am somewhat pressed for time; besides, I feel Centum would not like me to keep him waiting while I play with his little toys."

He was about to say more, but then a plaintive "Shin?" drew his attention to Dr. Langley, and the Nomad-possessed archaeologist fell silent as he turned to regard the clearly-confused and upset scientist. An indecipherable expression flitted across Lambda's face for the briefest of moments, and then he looked away from her with a bit of difficulty. "My goals are my own; suffice it to say, they happen to coincide with your own for the time-being."

Ravage padded over to Megatron's side, glaring silently at the Nomad with suspicion. "What is it?" he inquired over a private channel.

-#Assistance In Standing Would Be Appreciated. Also...#-

—His faceplate remained impassive.—

-#An Offer.#-

Now that was intriguing. "I'm listening..."

Bolas fell silent, but the slight interaction between Aska and Shin told him far more than the Nomad's answer did. There was something there, that the Nomad was not letting on. Omission and obfuscation meant a secret was being guarded. This challenge came with many, many answers regarding their unique form of imprisonment, and this may be chief of them. There would be much to think on upon his return.

—The Leader smirked slightly.—

-# Change Your Emblem First, Soldier. #-

Rey managed to sit up, still glaring at Lambda, but staying silent for the time being.

There was a crack and a small rumble behind them. Apparantly, not every one had been so fortunate.

A blast from one of the tanks had made a huge rent in Icarax's armour; now it was patched but still obvious.

Galen stood there, hands crossed, staring at Lambda.

Sighing irritably, the transmetal panther made a show of tapping his Predacon insignia; within seconds it had switched from the glowering insectoid skull that was the symbol of that successor faction, to the familiar purple brand of the Decepticons. "Continue."

— Megatron's faceplate returned to an impassive state. —

- #Once I Escape My Own Prison I Will Contact You. It Will Be To Bring You Into My Army, To Take Back First The Cybertron I Know, Then All Of Them Not Under Decepticon Control, Across The Multiverse. Do You Accept?#-

Durant was talking to Spriggan when the latter checked out the TV for any changes.