Aether Paradise, past

Quirinus: ~Heh... as if. I made him what he is, more like...~

---

Hephaestus: NO!

(The shout is sudden enough to disturb a flock of passing Wingull, which flap off into the night, cawing frantically.)

Hephaestus: This... this is not possible! Elagabalus is the God in the Mountain! There is no force than can defeat him - none! This cannot be!

(Suddenly, he leaps forward, aiming a gloved fist right at Gladion's nose.)

Hephaestus: I shall not allow it to be!

Tastes better on the way back down.

-Ren nods at dune and places the extra packs in his bag.-

Ren: We'll decide a plan of action once Down gives a brief out line of what's inside.

Aether Paradise

-The sun rises from the horizon once more.-

edited 13th Sep '17 6:03:27 PM by Lawlight

My heart and actions are utterly unclouded. They are all those of 'Justice'.

Blitz: "Sweet, I was wondering where those got to"

-Blitz takes some as his natu prepares for transport-

Down: <Very well>

-After a few moments of concentration, the group ~blips~ and reappears on the other side of the door in a grand entrance hall amidst intricately carved pillars running the length of the room to form a path to a grand staircase leading up to the next floor and to branching off to smaller, yet no less impressive, sets of stairs going further up to a second and third floor. Lamps of luminescent moss dot the walls in addition to the luminous highlights set into the pillars and a massive crystalline chandelier in the center of the room provide plentiful light and sparkles to the whole scene-

.....

Blitz: "... Pretty boy definitely has too much time on his hands out here. Impressive though"

Fortress Reynardine

-Ren scans the entrance hall.-

Ren: Good news. No guards. Bad News. Three Floors and a huge fortress.

-Ren looks to the group.-

Ren: Shall we split up?

Aether Inferno

"You mean to tell me you basically turned that guy into a maniac that turned Aether into..." He paused as he gestured at the rubble that surrounded them.

"Rat me out to the Swords of Justice, my argument just got deconstructed, and I don't think your side of the conversation ever broke a line per statement!

"But that does leave me kind of curious as to why. Yes, humanity is - by nature - selfish, cruel, and irritable, but does that warrant the destruction of something that had nothing to do with your Face–Heel Turn?"

Colton was seething right now. Lucario had returned himself so he wouldn't become D.C. again; the world's easier to silence in the Pokeball.

"For fuck's sake, Quirinus, all I am saying is give peace a chance! We spend less than 2 minutes conversing and you attack me! I tell you my name and you Teleport away like some emo ass! You seem to take some twisted pleasure in watching people squirm!

"But the worst part of it all?" He seethed, his right hand gripping his headphone cable as his other approached and retracted towards Quirinus' shoulder as if he was contemplating headbutting him. "Is that I understand where you're coming from. You provided a valid argument. You've shown the aftereffects of your argument. You've used me as an example.

"And damn it all if I don't respect you for it!" He concluded. "I think we could've been good friends in another life, sharing drinks and discussing the world as it slowly goes to shit.

"But as someone who has Pokemon around and has grown accustomed to treating them as roommates in favor of pets - even having scheduled days for who gets the clicker - we have too little in common to have become fast friends.

"I know this might be a bit of a leap in logic," He continued. "But I kinda want to have you around. You don't even have to battle if you don't want to; you can just be a snarky douche and I'll be fine with it. I like you as a character," he concluded. "not a weapon."

<That was cheesy and probably ineffective and you know it.> 9-Volt supplied, having woken up sometime earlier as he skittered off of Quirinus' chest.

"Don't think I didn't notice." Colton returned.

Meanwhile

<Phase two it is, then.> Helmsman commented, coating his seamitar in air this time.

edited 13th Sep '17 6:17:57 PM by AbsentCoder

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Aether Paradise

-In an instant the combat initiative flashes back into Sivally's eyes. They catch Hephaestus' arm in their jaw before he can even get get close to Gladion, twisting it into an unnatural angle with a sickening crunch-

Silvally:    <YOU>   

-As soon as the jaws release a Crush Claw is applied to Hephaestus' abdomen-

   <DON'T>   

-Silvally SLAMS Hephaestus into the ground with incredible force-

   <HURT>   

-Another Crunch is delivered to Hephaestus' leg with similar results to the arm, and Sivally hurls Hesphaestus as far away from Gladion as possible-

   <TRAINER!>   

-Gladion just stares in shock-

-Locke and Archer's parties return and also stare in shock-

-Except Steely Dan, who just cowers-

Contact Me!

-Elizabeth reels slightly as they teleport.-

Elizabeth: "I always feel weird even when Lyra does that...yeah, that would be a good idea."

-She looks down at Oberon.-

Elizabeth: "Think you can handle a...stealth mission?"

Oberon: <Indeed!>

Elizabeth: "A little quieter, please?"

Oberon: <My deepest apologies, m'lady.>

edited 13th Sep '17 6:24:52 PM by SwiftSeraph

"Dang that sure is totally poggers my good bitch"

Aether Paradise

Helmsman stared at the brutal display showcased by Silvally. He held a paw out to the side, "palm" up.

<Don't you hate it when the second phase is easier than the first?>

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Aether Paradise

-Lyn and Krieg surround Sillvally and Hephaestus.-

Lyn/Krieg: <GO, GO, GO, GO!>

-Sunlight hits Krieg and turns him back into a human. His shoulder is bleeding thanks to the bite from Elagabalus and his right arm is clearly broken. Krieg feels the pain and faints once more.-

edited 13th Sep '17 6:30:03 PM by Lawlight

My heart and actions are utterly unclouded. They are all those of 'Justice'.

Rey Fort Inside

Huh, impressive place. Kinda want to call dibs on setting it up as a regional base once we're done.

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

-Glöckchen rings her bell-

Glöckchen: <I'm fine with wherever.>

Maeggie: "Uh... hold on."

"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every

Down: <As long as I can stay in my ball until you need me, I'd like to avoid frozen feet for as long as possible>

Blitz: "Right, right"

-He recalls the small bird-

"Well, it seems pretty quiet. So worth a shot..."

-He pauses, glancing thoughtfully at the female Abomasnow and human in the group-

"So... Who wants to go where? I'm kind of partial to the top floor at the moment"

Aether Paradise

(Were this any occasion where he didn't feel as though he could slip out of consciousness any moment, Quirinus would have an endless stream of vitriolic Shut Up, Kirk! rebuttals to hurl at Colton. Right now, though, he lacks the energy. He simply glances up at the human with a look oddly similar to that of a confused puppy.)

---

(Hephaestus starts to scream in pain as his arm breaks, but it's a short scream - the other attacks knock him out cold and send him flying. As he lands in a twisted heap, his mask comes off, revealing the true face of Muhammad al-Gala - sickly, weak-jawed and utterly unimposing.)

Tastes better on the way back down.

Fortess Reynardine, Past

Rio: -speaking and projecting for the benefit of Elizabeth and Dune- ~Well considering that there are five trainers and a trained Abomasnow, I suggest we two trainers do the upper floors while Glockchen accompanies the other in exploring the ground floor?>

Ren: Sounds reasonable to me. If she is agreeable to it, Glockchen can use her Ice-moves to seal-off unoccupied areas on the first floor and "redecorate" the entrance hall in our favor. If we have to face off with this guy, I'd rather do it a place he isn't totally familiar with.

-Ren looks up.-

Ren: That said, If Blitz is heading to the third floor. Rio and I will go with someone else to the second floor.

edited 13th Sep '17 7:12:40 PM by keys2tkingdom

-Glöckchen rings her bell-

Glöckchen: <Fine by me.>

"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every

Elizabeth: "That seems fine. On the one hand, we could split up evenly...but that would end up with Glochken and I alone."

Oberon: <Did thou perhaps consider venturing forth with Sir Renard or Sir Blitz?>

Elizabeth: "No. No I did not."

"Dang that sure is totally poggers my good bitch"

Reynardine Fortress, Past

Dune: I can take the lower floors. It's colder, but there's also a lesser chance of me slipping and falling off of something.

Aether Paradise

Quirinus' look, along with Colton's knowledge of the kind of demeanor he possessed, told him everything.

"Evil Cannot Comprehend Good, I see." He put his hand to his forehead. "Very well.

"Sylveon, use Heal Bell on Quirinus, please. Your trainer's just over there," he added pointing in the direction Helmsman was battling with Silvally at.

"I'll miss ya," he said, saluting after he helped up the Delphox. Or tried to, depending on if the offer was accepted.

edited 13th Sep '17 7:54:27 PM by AbsentCoder

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

Rey Fort Inside

I'll be up for going second floor. Can't be sure what rooms are where but that floor's probably where he keeps hostages.

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

Blitz: -To Elizabeth- "Guess that leaves you the top floor with me, assuming there isn't a problem with that?"

-Nodding at the other groups, Ren heads towards the smaller set of stairs leading to the right of second floor.-

Ren: I'll send word via a teammate if we find something.

-Ren, followed by Rio, heads up the stairs.-

There were no other trapdoors or secret tunnels, the path lay straight ahead, not even a single turret to defend. DeCross was inviting them into his own base, and had set out the red carpet for their arrival. If anyone had turned on their Fighter's ambient systems, they wouldn't even get any proper sound, just the occasional drip in a endless silence.

It ended in a single point, which brought everyone to this large black expanse, only to be met with Alexander face to face... or in his case, a bunch of tiny faces to one giant face.

Alexander was there... a large disembodied head with two large mechanical hands. "So, you've finally come to face me. Tell me, what chance do you have to stand against a emperor of space and time?"

Silas flew through the tunnels, having turned ambient noise off in his fighter. He didn't need any creepy sounds distracting him, "Alright baby... just one last big fight you and I" he muttered to his ship. Silas couldn't wait to get home.

He came out the last tunnel, the room was different, a large chamber fitted with several glowing points. Silas wasn't sure what was going on. "Okay Alex, come on out. You can surrender now, or we can go out swinging. Honestly either one is fine with me, I just wanna go home."

"Home is what you seek? But are you not from the Troid system as you claim? Of course not no, you are from somewhere else. A unfortunate accident involving my wormhole experiments."

Silas blinked, "How do you know all tha-"

From the center of the room floated up a giant Oranguru head, Silas felt his heart stop for a second. It smiled, "I know all. For I am now the ruler of time and space of this universe, and soon all universes."

Two hands flew out from the sides, they were white gloves of sorts, the left hand twitching a bit. "And thanks to countless hours of experimentation, I am now closer to a more proper form for the new god of this dimension. The new emperor of all."

edited 13th Sep '17 8:16:06 PM by EchoingSilence

Planet Dross, Tunnels, Dave's Side

Alyesha instantly let loose a shot from her cannon, aiming at one of the giant hands while starting to look for weaknesses on the face.

edited 13th Sep '17 8:05:04 PM by Sergey_Smirnov

"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"

Reynardine Fortress, Past

-Dune nods, and presses himself up against the wall before slipping into the nearest door.-