Dancing All Night
"Ah!" Engel let out a slight gasp as he was launched backwards by the telekinetic blast and hit a nearby building.
He steadied himself as a sharp pain shot through him and his body disfigured a bit more. His hands became clawed, and horns began to protrude slightly from his head. The casual onlooker would assume it were John that was the hero fighting some sort of evil being.
He shuddered a breath, before returning his focus to the fight at hand. A thick, black aura surrounded his left hand and he drove it through the ground below him- a mass of black, tentacle-like streams of energy shot up from the earth beneath John, attempting to impale him from multiple directions.
"You're asking the wrong chick," Adelina replied, "I don't know anything about bombs. Though I suppose it would depend on what kind of explosive it is."
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
"Level Three."
The tentacles all made contact with Johns body, which exploded in a brilliant display of light. All that remained was a glowing, pulsing ball of light that took the energy from the tentacles and allowed it to mix in with the light, the energy retreating inside the light. Then, in a flash, all that remained disappeared.
"That certainly was close.", a voice called out to him from nowhere.
The light reappeared now, growing brighter and brighter...
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Sanity not included
"Does anyone you know know?"
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Dancing All Night
Engel readied himself for whatever attack was to come, and realized he needed to proceed to an even greater level of strength to match up.
A sickening crunching of bones was heard as Engel's form rapidly shifted, becoming a leaner, more bestial quadrupedal being. The form he now took was clearly no longer human- his face had elongated and changed into a doglike form, with massive fangs and teeth overlapping each other outside of the mouth. Large horns protruded from his head which, like the rest of his body, was covered in a black, leathery skin. Leathery wings had made themselves present on his back, and his blade merged with his body to become a long, bladed tail.
Whatever the hell this bastard was planning, he was prepared to defend himself.
"Key's buddy Joseph's pretty smart. I'm sure he's eaten someone good with bombs before," She said, not really thinking about how her statement would sound to someone not "in-the-know", "But we don't have time. Key's already getting close to his last form. He's already putting himself at risk now, but it'll be a lost cause if he keeps this up."
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
Sanity not included
"I take it that means we need to get out of here?"
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
The blinding light finally stopped, revealing, in its wake, John. He had short, neat brown hair, and his eyes weren't so much as eyes as glowing lights for pupils. He wore a long, white robe, and pieces of shining armor. Floating above his head was a halo, made entirely of light, yet burning as if it was on fire.
"Well well, this is interesting. We both seem to be showing our true colors. I wonder, Engel, are you as selfless as you claim? Can you truly save the lives of those around you? Let's put that to the test."
Summoning two large balls of light, John sent one towards Key, the other towards the hotel, then turned into a large blast of light energy himself, heading straight through the building they had previously been in, sending the upper half crashing towards the earth.
"Time's running out, Engel..."
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Dancing All Night
Engel thought he felt his heart stop for a moment as he dodged the ball heading towards him. he had to do something, fast. The debris from the falling building would crush the civilians below, but everyone... His comrades, as well as some of the people in the game, were still at the hotel.
Thinking quickly, he sent a mass of dark energy out to shield the remaining civilians below from the falling debris, then quickly flew off in the direction of the hotel.
This was it. He wouldn't have time to counter it- he was going to have to go into the last form and take the blast himself.
Adelina felt her companion's thoughts, "Yes. Yes. Yes. We need to get out, now! That bastard is planning to destroy the hotel!"
She grabbed his hand, and starting running to where Ms. Amarante was assembling the rest to be teleported out of there.
In the moments Engel took to reach the hotel, he had shifted into the final form of sin, there was no turning back now. There could be no description for the form but other. Seven distinct, jawed appendages extended out from a enormous mass of writhing, pulsing, solid masses of demonic essence, moving about like snakes enclosed in a pit. A single, violet-glowing orb of spiritual energy -his soul itself- was encased in its center, dimly shining from the occasional opening.
He meant to shield his friends from the blow, but...
edited 11th Aug '11 8:50:45 PM by Motree
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
Sanity not included
Prosecution ran after her. "What about key? What's he going to-" it hit him. He knew what Key would do.
"Tell him not to do it! If he kills that son of a bitch, this whole thing ends! No more people getting kidnapped and having their memories erased... Sacrifice the few to save the many!"
edited 11th Aug '11 8:55:43 PM by Dragon573
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Dancing All Night
Right when Engel was about to get ready to intercept the blow, he got a vson sent to him by OCMPA's main seer. He wouldn't need to worry about the orb heading towards the hotel.
Quickly, he resumed his pursuit of John.
"... Wait, Engel won't be the one dying to stop the orb... Someone else. He's pursuing John again."
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
A brown-scaled dragon, kept aloft on massive, batlike wings appeared in front of the orb.
Even this form was just as badly battered as he was as a man- his scales were marred and scratched, the hood resting on his neck mingled with holes, his eye was covered in a cataract.
Giving his family a final glance, they began to flee.
He closed his eyes as he flew into the stray attack. Blood poured over his scales, dripping into the street...
The ground couldn't come slow enough.
Every moment that it took him to hurtle to the ground- to die -swam through him.
He heard gunshots, shouts, screams. He heard voices, voices of some kind. Some familiar, some distinct, some not. He heard the cries of his wife just before she died herself. Metal clanging. The gentle plucks of a shamisen's strings. All at once, it all came back to him in a flood. Everything in his life. Everything from before the game, filling his deaf ears.
Just as he began to yearn for silence, the sickening crack of his old body on the street answered his prayers.
At last, all was quiet in his world.
edited 11th Aug '11 9:16:29 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
John wasn't hard to find. In a matter of seconds, he had turned that part of D.C. into a torn and destroyed place. Most buildings were still intact, despite blast or being tearing through them. The streets alone were artisticaly covered in flame and debris.
He turned to face Engel, sending a ball of light his way, and sending a hydra blast around him into other buildings and vehicles.
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Dancing All Night
Engel himself retaliated by shooting a blast of dark energy at John's orb, causing the two to crash together. He quickly followed up by attempting to ensnare John with dark tendrils, hoping to get ahold of him.
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
While John was firmly grabbed by the tentacles, he only smirked. His body dispersing into light energy, it split off to either side, two Johns materializing at either side of the tentacles with open palms, each preparing to send a ball of light at Engel.
However, something went... wrong. One of the balls of energy looked different in appearance, taking on a grey light. It promptly caused the ball to explode in front of that copy of John, him being sent back a small distance before he could regain his composure as a result.
The other John, however, was able to still press on the attack with a ball of light now sent towards Engel.
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Dancing All Night
He ended up taking the blast, but it only caused a slight injury. One of the seven "heads" rushed out to try to devour John's clone, while another did the same with John.
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
Johns clone reacted swiftly to Engel's head, or one of them, rushing out at him. Creating a longsword of light, it swung at the head, attempting to decapitate it or severely damage it upon contact.
John himself dispersed, reappearing in front of Engel with two longswords and sweeping in a motion to attempt to take out even more heads. "Dammit, you..."
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Dancing All Night
By the way, that won't really do anything. It's a case of Attack Its Weak Point For Massive Damage. Weak point is fairly obvious.
John's attacks towards the heads proved to be futile- the heads quickly regenerated when he cut them down* ... And they just kept coming at him. Surely there had to be another way.
By the way, everything about his final form is symbolic.
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
John was progressively getting more and more annoyed. Finally, he just pushed Engel back, letting his clone continue the assault while he began to charge up a small ball of light, smaller than the ones he had earlier darting around his hand- and brighter than the sun. The world around them was getting progressively darker, it appeared, as it kept charging, remaining light sources flickering out slowly.
"It didn't have to end like this, Engel... but you leave me with no choice!", he shouted, slowly raising the arm to point at Engel and his clone.
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Dancing All Night
Meanwhile, an OCMPA operative approached Adelina and Prosecution.
"We need to get out... NOW," He warned them, before grabbing them and teleporting out of the city.
They arrived at one of OCMPA's bases, with the fight being displayed on a monitor. It was clear that they were quite far away from DC. In the room were Ryu's family, OCMPA members (including Phantom), and everyone in the game who was still alive.
Engel threw John's clone off to the side, and quickly sent all seven heads and countless tendrils forward to attack John before the attack reached full strength. In his panic, a large burst of energy let loose from his body, causing nearby buildings to crumble. He kept his attack going, however.
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
In the last moments, Engel was interrupted. Johns clone had stepped in the way, taking the full force of Engels last attempt to stop what was now inevitable. The attack was ready, and without wasting a second, despite the range, John let loose his most powerful attack.
What happened next could only be described from what those at the OCMPA base could see. In a flash, all light was drawn to a single spot, shrunk so far that all that they could see was infinite darkness. Then, the light returned in an explosion so great that it shook the earth, although whether or not they felt a thing in the safety of the base was insignificant. When any sort of visual recognition of what was left of DC returned, neither John nor Engel could be seen- only a wasteland.
It was over.
This thought played through Johns mind as he grunted to stand up. That attack could have done much, much worse, he knew, but at that close of a range it had still done its purpose. He had only cared, in that instant, to end the self-proclaimed 'hindrance' that was Engel Despois.
And yet something didn't add up. That orb- it shouldn't have backfired. For that matter, it shouldn't have been that grey, or given him such a da-
Oh god.
In a split second, he understood- and could even then scarcely believe it. Standing over Engels body, he did what came naturally- only to recieve drastically different results. Panicking, he tried again, keeping the first out. A ball of light that John was so familiar with appeared, which only made him believe what he knew now to be truth less. Expression covered with shock, he looked at what was in his hand, to Engel, and back to his hand.
Slowly, ever so slowly, John began to laugh. He stopped himself after a moment, a stoic expression taking precedence to the shock.
"Well, Engel," he said, knowing he wouldn't hear him, "It looks like even in failure, you succeeded. A commendable effort, that will no doubt not go unnoticed for long."
"Your reward, as it were, will be what you so strived to achieve granted to the best of my ability."
Spreading his hands out, he took a deep breath. Why am i even doing this?, he thought. I know the consequences something of this calibur will yield.
I do it for Engel, he decided. I do it for the hope he clung to, even in his last moments.
Without another moment of second guessing, he began.
What those at the OCMPA Base would next see was something beyond understanding, considering the circumstances. With a loud and continuous shaking of the earth, what was once D.C. became D.C. once again, now showing its former splendor.
With one noticeable detail as the process took place. Over the city, easily understandable in the cloudy sky, was a cross of light.
One more post from me, and A Game Of Chance will have reached its conclusion.
edited 12th Aug '11 8:20:24 PM by InfiniteParagon
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Sanity not included
"Wh-What?"
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Dancing All Night
"It's over," Adelina said, "Engel is dead."
"Well, I guess... This is goodbye then. See ya around." She gave Prosecution what would be interpreted by others as merely a playful kiss on the cheek... But in actuality, it had much more meaning. After she finished the kiss, she walked off, and vanished in a cloud of smoke.
Ms. Amarante let out a sigh before taking a seat in a nearby chair. She pulled out a cigarette, lit it and took a smoke.
"Well... This was quite a loss." She said after some time, "But I wonder... Perhaps this 'John' character had some purpose in mind."
She took another puff of her cigarette.
"However... It would appear the world will soon learn the truth. Something like this cannot be explained. No coverup will be believable."
She sighed again, "It is a terrible irony that the purest of heart... Are the first to fall. Humans are such sinful... Despicable creatures. Wearing a face of kindness when in truth they hide the foulest evils beneath their smile... And the purest souls are the ones whose lives always end up wasted."
"That... Is what separated him from any of you. He was of sin. But conquered those sins. And achieved virtue... If only more of you humans could be more like that. Think not of yourselves. But of the company you keep."
She smashed out her cigarette on the arm of the chair, stood up and looked each of the former contestants square in the eyes, her dark eyes staring straight into their souls, "Now. I ask you... What will you take from his sacrifice? I don't have the faintest idea. The path you choose is for you to decide. You are to carve out your own future."
She motioned for everyone but Tyke to head out the door, where their escorts were waiting, "And with this... Goodbye. And take care. The world as you know it will be forever changed from here on."
edited 12th Aug '11 8:45:55 PM by Motree
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
Sanity not included
"Is that it, then? Key died for us, and you want us all just to move on?"
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.
Dancing All Night
"There is nothing more you can do. If you intervene further. You will be forcibly escorted out." She said sternly.
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS."
The Warrior Monk of Coeurl
When he had finished the recreation, John stumbled away, weak... much too weak to escape. In later thoughts back to this, he would find it ironic, that he, who once criticized those who clung to hope, was forced to do the very same now.
Meanwhile, in the farthest reaches of desolate lands, a fog descended, unseen by all. And from this fog, emerged men, of many a calibur. Their numbers were few, but numbers meant nothing to those such as them. From the fog then emerged another man, that easily towered above all others present. This man stopped in front of those who arrived, staring on with a deadset expression.
"Time's up, bastard."
Thanks for playing! "You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill
Engels kick made contact, and although the light armor still took most of the impact, that was quite a blow. Allowing the kick to give him a bit of momentum, John reoriented himself with his opposite side now facing the building. John then flung Engel away from him with a telekinetic burst, letting go of the whip so as not to damage his hand even further.
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill