A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

Laserbeak swept overhead, divebombing Saren as it flew inside.

If the noxious, storm-wracked cityscape of Kaon was bad, the interior was worse. The prisoners were lead into a comparatively small room, poorly lit by the purple glow emanating from a large bank of floating monitors on the far wall. A large, mechanical throne sat before these hovering screens, the figure within totally obscured from sight, but as the Cybertronian buzzard alighted on the ponderous spikes on the back of one armrest, Ravage knew who it must be.

The jaguar tensed, uncertain how he would feel at seeing him again after all these stellar cycles.

---

To the left came the sound of metal impacting with metal, followed seconds later by a pained whimper. Barely visible in the shadows was an upright, surgical gurney; its lone occupant was a white Autobot with drills sprouting from his shoulders, and he looked absolutely terrified as his Decepticon interrogator loomed over him with a disturbing, multi-pronged rod.

"You gonna talk now?! I want the location."

"I told you already! I don't know!!!"

Any further pleas the Autobot might have made were cut off as his interrogator shoved the rod into his mouth and began to jerk it around violently, wringing muffled screams of agony from the poor fellow. Ravage winced, disturbed by the wanton brutality of the display.

edited 8th Nov '10 2:34:50 PM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

Kirby was rather indignant about being forced into a jail cell. "Boyo!"

"Translation: How dare you? Do you have any idea who I am? I am Kirby, legendary Star Warrior, savior of Dream Land, and owner of... Shout out deemed inappropriate."

"Boyo boy boyo boy... Hiii~!"

"Translation: Oh, you can go fu—... Word deemed inappropriate... Yourself."

edited 8th Nov '10 2:36:21 PM by EviIPaladin

"Evii is right though" -Saturn "I didn't know you were a bitch Evii." -Lior Val

Jorge looked away as the poor Autobot was tortured.

"Disgusting," Jorge spat. They may have been robots, but they were alive, and that made the scene even harder to watch.

Jagged Alliance 2 LP (Redux) (Closed!)

To the right, a number of off-duty guards chuckled to themselves at the discomfort evident in some members of the group.

"Hey, look," said one, nudging one of his companions as he pointed at Optimus. "There's the one who fought Starscream. He doesn't look so tough."

Ravage wondered what could possibly have been so special about that, but reminded himself that this was not his own reality; perhaps the Starscream native to this universe was more of a warrior than the one with whom Ravage was familiar.

The guards brought the train to a halt just in front of the monitor bank. "Soundwave! Your prisoners have arrived."

Before the sentence was even finished, the throne-like chair spun around, revealing its lone occupant.◊ Soundwave rose to his feet, Laserbeak perched on an outstretched arm, and cast his monochromatic gaze across the prisoners.

"Initiate processing," he intoned, his voice completely devoid of any hint of emotion.

edited 8th Nov '10 2:50:51 PM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

"Processing? That doesn't sound good."

"Yup. That tasted purple."

"What's with the monotone? None of these other guys are speaking in monotone." Wondered Travis.

Gordon's spirit was still there, despite his situation.

"Processing?" he said, reminded of one of his brief conversations with a Combine Metrocop. "Go to hell."

"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."

After releasing that his argument with the translator was rather unimportant at the moment, Kirby saw the large robot.

"Boyo boy boyo boy boy boyo!"

"Translation: Are you the one in charge here? I need to have a word with you!"

"Evii is right though" -Saturn "I didn't know you were a bitch Evii." -Lior Val

Soundwave stared at Kirby for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the guards.

Ravage leaned over to Travis and began to whisper. "His name is Soundwave, and if he's anything like the Soundwave from my universe, he deleted his own emotions long ago in order to improve his information processing speed and abilities."

"Don't make me use this, Autobot," one of the guards growled at Gordon whilst brandishing his axe. The other ignored this and continued speaking to Soundwave.

"We caught these rats trying to raid a supply train outside of Kaon; weaklings barely put up any fight at all."

Soundwave's gazes shifted back to the champions. "Do you have anything to say in your defense, Autobots?"

edited 8th Nov '10 3:07:11 PM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

"Right.." Replied Travis to Ravage. "In our defense? Piss off."

Jorge found Soundwave's emotionless speech to be quite unnerving. Of course, he didn't show it.

"He sure is a pleasant fellow," Jorge snarked. When the Decepticon asked them to say anything in their defense, the Spartan stayed silent. He didn't take part in the raid, so it was impossible for him to provide a solid defense here.

Then Travis opened his mouth. If Jorge's hands weren't bound, he would've face palmed right there.

edited 8th Nov '10 3:16:09 PM by Nimitz

Jagged Alliance 2 LP (Redux) (Closed!)

"Why, you little—!" bellowed one of the guards as he rounded on Travis, lifting his poleaxe for a killing blow. He stopped, however, when Soundwave raised a hand, and the guard lowered his blade and backed away.

"Take them to recycling."

Ravage's optics widened in horror. Oh merciful Primus, no...anything but that!

"You heard Soundwave; move it!"

And with that, the rear guards began drubbing the prisoner train back into motion. The ones at the lead led them down a ramp to the right, taking them down a long hallway towards another door.

"Recycling?" said a relieved Bumblebee. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad."

Sideswipe shot the overenthusiasting Autobot a sarcastic glance. "Yeah? And what exactly do you think they're recycling?"

edited 8th Nov '10 3:20:46 PM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a chance to try to hit me with that thing in a bit!" Travis said to the guard.

Kirby, on the other hand, would've high-fived Travis if his arms weren't currently bound.

"Boyo!"

"Translation: Tell him Travis! Tell him how we crushed an enormous shark of the shroud! Tell him how we annihilated the dragonfly of doom! Tell him how we fought each... Other... Actually, forget that last one."

edited 8th Nov '10 3:23:21 PM by EviIPaladin

"Evii is right though" -Saturn "I didn't know you were a bitch Evii." -Lior Val

The void that had previously taken up Gordon's emotions was steadily being filled with great deal of anger.

If there were any improvisable weapons around, he had his eye out for them.

"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."

Roach kept silent. He'd been in this situation before once, before he'd joined the One-Four-One. It didn't matter what they said; the outcome would be the same.

---

"We can make this easy, or hard. What will it be, hmmm?"

The interrogator's voice was harsh. Although that might have been the pain. For all his resistance training, he was finding it hard to ignore it. The heat of the cramped shack in the jungle only made things worse.

"Sanderson, Gareth. Lance Corporal. 156435981."

"Indeed."

The interrogator punched him in the gut again.

---

Then the group was moved on, towards what their captors called "recycling". Given their current condition this definitely wasn't a good thing.

edited 8th Nov '10 3:25:56 PM by Deadbeatloser22

"Yup. That tasted purple."

-The buzzing grows louder, the various components of those present rattling; outside, the dark energon begins to discharge-

Proud member of the IAA What's the point of being grown up if you can't act childish?

A sudden pain shot through Saren's head, as the dark energon returned to its normal state; the turian had the briefest impression of a scowling, angular metallic face staring straight into his soul, and a single word echoed within the confines of his skull:

NO.

edited 8th Nov '10 3:35:40 PM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

"I'd keep your mouth shut if I were you," Jorge hissed at Travis as they walked.

We can't panic. There has to be a way out of this...

Jagged Alliance 2 LP (Redux) (Closed!)

The door ahead irised open, and the group entered a curving, cavernous space with even worse illumination than the previous room; the only illumination came from a rancid yellow gas which hissed up from within the slits of the grated floor. Ravage looked down, and saw that the source of this foul vapour was a viscous stream of yellow liquid, in which he could see tiny scraps of metal which might have been fingers or optics.

"What is this place?" Bumblebee breathed, looking about their environs with mounting dread. At the far end of the hallway, across a similar torrent of molten metal, a procession of Autobots were being led to a platform near what appeared to be a gargantuan assembly line of some sort. Decepticon guards were forcing this second group of prisoners into small containers, which were then whisked out of sight; given the shrill grinding noise which seemed to emanate from the assembly line's destination, Ravage realized that this was probably for the best.

"Um...are those caskets?" said Sideswipe, decidedly on-edge.

The Danse Macabre Codex

"Calm down, I have a plan." Travis murmured to Jorge, quite enough so the guards couldn't hear.

"As do I," Optimus whispered. "Patience; our time is near."

The Danse Macabre Codex

-Saren's metallic jaws part in a snarl; his optics begin to spark red-

I... Will Not Be...    DENIED!   

-Bolts of red lightning zap across the room, into the guards' faces; the buzz rises to a mind-drilling whine-

Proud member of the IAA What's the point of being grown up if you can't act childish?

A crystal of Dark Energon erupts through the grate, impaling Saren non-fatally through the chest; the rear guards drawn back in alarm, but resume ushering in the rest of the prisoners. Their destination—a small room at the end of this curving corridor—is in sight.

Within Saren's head, that face appears once more.

OH, REALLY, AUTOBOT? FIRST YOU WOULD TAKE THAT WHICH IS MINE, AND THEN YOU WOULD STEAL MY SPEECH PATTERNS? VERY WELL, THEN—IF DARK ENERGON IS WHAT YOU DESIRE, THEN DRINK YOUR FILL OF IT!

The dark energon crystal then shattered, and Saren felt dozens—no, hundreds—of small things scurrying about within his body.

edited 8th Nov '10 3:49:43 PM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

Travis glanced at Saren as they were ushered out.

"You know, this place is kind of a dump. What, that Soundwave guy couldn't get some real lights so you guys wouldn't trip over yourselves? To busy fucking calculators I bet." He said rather loudly.