A Game of Gods: Infinities

Eventually, the cops had managed, at gunpoint, to get Fumio to relinquish her chainsaw, and she'd gone with the other champions.

She slumped down next to Johnny, looking completely defeated.

"They took it..." was all she could say.

Drakerrast crept out of the passage, silently taking up a position behind a wooden barrel large enough to conceal his crouched frame. Three robed figures sat huddled around a fire on the floor below this platform, talking amongst each other as they shared a meal; from their casual behaviour, one would think these would-be necromancers had no idea that something far more powerful and dangerous than the draugr under their command now prowled the shafts and ruins of Ansilvund. Perhaps they truly were oblivious, the Argonian mused, listening intently as they discussed their leader’s inability to get over the death of her husband. Certainly they were oblivious to his presence in their midst; even laden with a small arsenal of weapons and clad in fine armour of elven make, the cunning adventurer was an expert at moving about unseen and unheard.

The mages’ conversation trailed off into a comfortable silence, the three of them settling into their meal. Obviously they wouldn’t be leaving this room any time soon—problematic, considering that the only way to proceed was in the passageway which lay beyond them. Still, Drakerrast had dealt with their companions before them easily enough; these three would be no different.

Silently he unslung the ebony bow from his shoulders and nocked an arrow to the string. Then he shuffled over a few steps, positioning himself so that he had a clear view of the passage he’d have to take in a minute or two, and focused, recalling the words of power he’d learned from the Wall at Shearpoint.

“Zul…Mey Gut!” he whispered harshly. No sooner had he uttered these words than his own voice rang out from further down that passage, yelling ”Hey, cheese brains!”

At once the necromancers were on their feet, murmuring to themselves in surprise and suspicion as they made their way towards the noise. Drakerrast brought his bow up and drew the string all the way back, exhaling softly as the world seemed to slow down around him. He held it there, arms steady despite the strength needed, waiting for the right moment…

There.

The falmer arrow shot through the air with a whistle, burying its pronged head between the shoulders of the leading necromancer with so much force that she was knocked sprawling, dead before she even hit the floor. Her two companions were only just starting to react to her sudden death by the time Drakerrast had drawn and knocked his second arrow, and the Dunmer man on the right turned around just in time to get shot in the eye.

At seeing two of his comrades struck down like this, a sensible man might have run…but in Drakerrast’s experience, most bandits and necromancers were distressingly lacking in common sense and would all too happily throw themselves at the man who’d just butchered their fellows with almost no effort.

To the Argonian’s complete lack of surprise this man was no exception. “You never should have come here!” the Breton sneered, drawing a dagger and surrounding himself with the protective sheen of an alteration spell as he charged up the ramp.

Behind his mask, Drakerrast rolled his eyes. Honestly, would it kill the lawbreakers of Skyrim to be a little more creative with their death threats? He’d long since lost count of how many times he’d been told that by the imminently deceased…

Rather than try to shoot him as well, Drakerrast stood up and charged the mage, staggering him with a bow-assisted punch to the face. Sent reeling by this blow, the man staggered backward; as he struggled to regain his bearings, the Argonian quickly sheathed his bow and drew out his battleaxe. The unfortunate necromancer had just enough time to let his eyes go wide before Drakerrast swung the blade in a vicious horizontal swing; his head hit the floor, followed a second later by the rest of his body.

Drakerrast paused a moment, waiting to make sure that these necromancers didn’t have any post-mortem surprises in store; once he was satisfied that they did not, he sheathed his axe without bothering to wipe the blood off its head and began rifling the bodies. The first two carried nothing remarkable—cheap iron daggers, simple hide boots, perhaps two dozen Septims between them…the sort of junk that might have been useful to him when he’d first arrived in the province of Skyrim, but now was worth only what they could be sold for, and even that wasn’t much.

He pocketed the coins and left the rest of the dead men’s possessions where they lay, then moved over to the woman’s corpse. Before he could even begin to examine the contents of her pockets, however, her body suddenly lit up with a blinding flash of white light. Drakerrast threw himself backward and cried out in alarm, shielding his eyes in one hand from the intense glare—

---

Then the light faded, and as the Dragonborn cautiously lowered his arm and opened his eyes, he felt his jaw drop slightly. Wherever he was now, this definitely wasn’t the ruins of Ansilvund; he wasn’t even underground, for starters. In fact, he could safely say that he might not even be in Skyrim anymore; he’d traversed the length and breadth of the Empire’s northernmost province over the last two months, or most of it at least, and he could safely say that there were no great cityscapes of towering crystal spires to be found anywhere in this harsh, cold land. He stared at the edifices in wonder, amazed at how far up into the foreboding sky they climbed; who could have built spires of such immensity?

The Altmer, perhaps, but then he’d never been to the Summerset Isle, so he couldn’t say for sure. And while he knew the Dwemer had built great cities of similar scale, theirs was a far more angular and utilitarian style of architecture. Had he been transported into Oblivion, to the realm of one of the Daedric Princes? It was a crazy idea, but not an impossible one; after all, it had already happened to him once before.

Drakerrast shook his head. Who had built this city of crystal didn’t matter right now; more important was how he’d come to be here, why it had happened, and how he might return. With that in mind the Dovahkiin set off to explore this strange new world, keeping a watchful eye on the skies.

The Danse Macabre Codex

After the grueling battle he endured, Xibar returned to the city, alhough the process took far longer than necessary. Unfortunately, that meant he was left behind and was unable to participate in whatever shenanigans the group were in currently.

So that left him alone in the Crystal City, trying to find his companions, though with what litte luck he had. Realizing that they had taken off to who knows where, Xigbar decided to wait where the Champions were prior to the completed challenge, plopped on the ground and muttered," It looks like I gotta wait awhile until they get back. Might as well take a nap or something....As if. That wouldn't last for very long anyway."

edited 27th Jan '13 12:06:35 PM by VoidsEmpathy

[DATA LOST]

Vehk-and-Vehk turned to his side, and saw a thing worthy of recording. It was the second of the lesser unknowns, kin of dragons, Lizard-Tongue of the Northwest. His details are not recorded, for his form will be provided by the annals of a dominant history. His power lies in will and bloodshed. Prophecy is what makes him special. This is the lesson of the Temple.

And thus he swam through mortal paces to the Lizard's side, setting his previous footsteps to grief and shame, and extended his hand in customary eightfold greeting.

" Well met." He spake, knowingly unprompted. "I will forgo introduction. I am known to your Hist, and to all your race, and whispered in disreputable swamps. You are a known in unknowns, a cameo of the shared dream. But your name is not. You smell of Dov. Who are you, Argonian?"

edited 27th Jan '13 1:01:04 PM by TheMalignancy

A voice addressed him suddenly, ethereal and otherworldly, and Drakerrast turned to face its source, posture wary and his hands in the perfect position to bring out his bow or his axe. A Mer stood before him, bald and barely clothed save for a loincloth and a collar; flames of glowing light danced about the figure’s head, and his body was divided down the middle into gold and grey skin. These elements seemed familiar to the Dragonborn, but he could not immediately say why that was so; and in any case, he remained wary as the figure spoke in what he could only describe as overwrought verbiage. The meaning of his words was difficult to puzzle out at first, but one thing was clear—this elf (if indeed that was what he was) could somehow sense the draconic soul at the core of Drakerrast’s being.

“I am many things,” he said at length, seeing no point in concealing his true nature; if the Mer could see that much, it would probably be able to tell if he was lying. And lying to something like this being, in Drakerrast’s opinion, was not wise. “I am Thane of Whiterun; soldier of the Imperial Legion; warrior of the Companions; Champion of Sheogorath; saviour of Skyrim. I mortal in body but dragon in soul; I am the one they fear. I am Drakerrast, and I am Dovahkiin.”

He fell silent then, pondering. Drakerrast considered himself a well-read individual, but he knew of no Daedra that would take on a form like this. The Mer had to be something else, something similar yet different; an Aedra, perhaps? Unlikely, but…

Behind his mask, the Dragonborn’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Now that he thought about it, the elf’s description seemed to match something he’d heard on occasion—a god-king revered by the Dunmer of Morrowind in the years before he was born, one of three who had attained their power through the use of an ancient artefact. But he’d heard that they had disappeared…

“Are you the one called…” he paused, trying to recall the name. “Vivec?”

The Danse Macabre Codex

Fluttershy did manage to fly the two Warner siblings into the sky, taking Wakko's shirt into her teeth. As the pegasus flew into the air to closely follow the police cars, she marveled at the birds-eye view of the city. Seeing all the hustle and bustle reminded her of the big cities back in Equestria, except there were so many humans instead of ponies as well as all sort of odd bipedal, talking critters who were these toons everyone was talking about......and the massive amount of air pollution compared to all of Equestria as a whole.

She landed gently in the police precint, letting Wakko and Dot off. The pegasus followed everyone inside.....and was promptly rather intimidated by the hustle and bustle of the building's interior with all the people running around here and there.

Then Pete suddenly yelled: "EEP!" Fluttershy squeaked. She then immediately hit the dirt and covered her face with her hooves, startled by the sudden yelling.

DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!

Having tired of waiting after a brief period of time, Xigbar had an idea. Looking for the tallest building, he would reach the top and search from there. If he managed to locate anyone familiar, he would immediately head straight toward them. On the other hand, there was a possibility of new people arriving as well. Oh well. If I see someone, I'll might as well greet them.

Xigbar had caught eye of the old fortress that had been erected for sometime and teleported to the top of it and as intended, he began to look around for anyone within the Crystal City.Maybe now I'll find them... he thought as he gazed across the crystalline cityscape, hoping to find someone or something here.

[DATA LOST]

Celty had just stared as the moustachioed driver and his dog all bug ignored her display, her shadow illusion slowing to a stop. That would have been enough to make grown men run in terror back home. She winced, throwing up one arm to shield herself as the car exploded, looking back in time to see the pair flop to the ground, completely unharmed.

Celty's shoulders slumped, and she raised one hand to her visor, shaking her head. I really, really hate this place...

Straightening up, she turned to look at the bot she had followed, producing her PDA to type a message. " Are you OK?"

Vehk mused on foreign Dovahkiins, and glimpsed a truth. In his days the mythology of the Nords was hewn with eyes locked inwards, composed of riddles to which the answer lay in the geography of the soul, spirits that answered only to a song of the likewise. It was a folklore geared for battle. Mer and other men were not allowed. Their geography was judged unworthy. That a lizard would be allowed to serve the title of Dovah, this he took as portent. The time of the Empire was truly come. All belonged to all else.

This was the truth Vehk saw. He did not pursue it, for in those days he had gravitas and could not be made to wallow.

"You are correct, Dovahkiin. I am the VI of ALMSIVI, Vehk-and-Vehk the Circle-Talker, the Sex-Death of Language. I have been gifted many titles." At this he took his seat in the air, and retracted his legs to allow conversation to flow. Legs restrict poetry. Listen to the Temple. "As have you, Champion Thane-Soldier. A common predicament for a hero of the children of Atmora. My Hortator slew generals whose names filled tomes and libraries of boast, so rich were they in stature."

In his left hand he folded the shape of the lotus of from the bones of his armour, to balance the point of Muatra in the other. Its leaves were decorated in depictions of blazing elephants and dying Dwemer. Its stem was decorated in spikes that menaced. Its petals numbered eight and fourteen.

"You are doubtlessly a hero, Argonian. None of the Nordic prophecies can survive without an enemy to slay, or glory to be bought in blood. What is yours?"

edited 27th Jan '13 5:49:43 PM by TheMalignancy

Envy had fully anticipated Edward's punch, attempted to grab it and should he succeed, pulled it while using his other free arm, ready to chop off Edward's hand...

Or at least, he would have, if not for Pete's intrusion.

"Just what the hell's your problem, you oversized cat?"

Despite so, he removed his grip from Edward's fist(if he managed to catch it beforehand), and surprisingly kept quiet throughout the whole journey to the LAPD. While he's tempted at the notion of beating the pipsqueak up, the confined space of a police car doesn't seem to provide Envy much option to do anything of the sorts, really. Not to mention that Envy had no idea what to expect from this

And so, the homunculus decided to play along for now, awaiting his destination towards wherever the hell these Pete wanted them to go...

All the while glaring at the Fullmetal bastard along the way, as though clearly stating You got lucky, punk. You got to keep your arse just a little longer,

"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"

Suddenly around the Crystal City, a pair of portals erupted, one portal sucking up Xigbar from his perch and the second sucking up both Vivec and Drakerrast before the latter could know what was going on.

-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-

Garland would find himself deposited within some large open area. They were completely surrounded by darkness, the only light source being a single spotlight shining on them from above. Soon he would be joined by Xigbar, Vivec, and Drakeerast. All was quiet........and then a gentle rumbling, starting out quite softly.....but then growing louder and louder.......

As the sound grew, so did the light sources. From a single spotlight, many more flared up, blinding the five champions momentarily........

Soon the sound was deafening......and the room given full illumination......

They were in the very center of what looked like a large arena, surrounded by hoards of screaming spectators behind some sort of invisible force field and hovering cameras that took photos of them. They would all along the walls were various carvings, paintings, and depictions of brave warriors locked in battle against enemies ranging from fierce monsters, giant abominations, and even each other. There were holographic view screens showing video of said exploits as well, with cyborgs blasting up hordes of demons, knights slashing through mindless attack robots, and demons and angels setting aside their difference to fight off a giant squid of some sort.

And then, blaring through some unseen sound system, nearly silencing the cheering, was the music:

The cheering was replaced by chanting, following the voice of the music, like someone coming to a repeat performance of a music concert. The song played out was the singer rapped out, and then a siren echoed across the arena also some from the roof started detaching to a whirr of hydraulics and machinery.....

After the sudden quiet in the song, a platform completely detached from roof, floating down to the floor to a spray of fireworks, holographic images of female angels and demons flying and dancing all around it before vanishing. Then the platform shrank, a golden eastern dragon detaching itself, uncoiling and flying all across the arena to the cheers of the crowd. As the platform shrank and from the vid screens, the champions could see a small being facing away from them no matter which angle they looked and despite the spinning of the platform, shrouded in black. They could it wore a large tophat he held over its face and it was holding a large metal microphone in a fingerless white glove, the only two things visible in the shadow.

The platform suddenly had legs unfurled under it and stood upon a golden, glittering spider web. The spider then slowly shot out a long string of silk as the platform the being stood on slid down towards the champions, the platform slowly descending, leading the string of silk. The being then slowly cracked upon a pure white toothy smirk that pierced the shadow. Finally the platform reach bottom, in front of the champion and sinking underneath, leaving the being.

As the song ended, the being moved his hand from the brim of his hat to he cape, throwing it away in the most badass and dramatic manner possible.

The crowd cheered with renewed vigor as the being revealed himself to be some sort of small creature in a costume similar to a circus ringmaster which seemed far too big for the creature's size by somehow looked rather well on him. He was a reptilian creature measuring three feet in height, teal colored skin, large cat like ears, large white eyes with only black pupils in the center, and large feet with looked like big show with the toe end pointed upwards.

The creature bowed to the audience was the spectators cheered. The crowd quieted down as he spoke through the mike. "Ladies, gentlemen, those of indeterminant and multiple genders, and children of all ages!" he greeted. "I welcome you one and all.......to the INFINITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE GAUUUUUUUUUUUNLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!"

The crowd roared again for half a minute before dieing down again.

"As you all know, Ah am yo humble MC, Ud the Imp - " More cheering. "Now now, quiet down peoples! Simmer, simmer," he said, waving his hands in a downward gesture until silence reigned again. "Alright then, hope you emptied yer bladders and filled up your snacks plates and buckets, cuz once again its time for some white-knuckled, mook stompin', edge of yo seat, IN YO FACE arena action at its finest! A true test of wills and fighting prowess for all the omniverse to bear witness to!"

Ud began walking towards the champions. "Now before we get on with the main event, let us all know the names of this program's group of randomly generated heroes!" He started twirling his mike around on his speed at blinding speed. "Starting.......wiiiiiiiiiiiith........"

The mike suddenly stopped with an audible *cling*, speaking end pointed directly at Vivec. "Name and profession, wouldya kindly?" the imp asked.

The arena was deathly silent once again........everyone waited for Vivec to speak.

edited 29th Jan '13 7:13:38 AM by UdtheImp

DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!

After the sudden changes in his surroundings, Xigbar had became slightly disoriented by the various effects and once it had all ended, Xigbar looked around and glanced at the two supposed new guys before whispering,"Welcome to our insanity. The name's Xigbar by the way. I'd say our meeting could've gone better, but it looks like we're in for a good ol' fashioned beat down here.Not that I'd mind obviously. "

[DATA LOST]

Drakerrast did not immediately respond, trying to understand the stranged flower-shaped…emanations…which took shape in the palm of Vivec’s right hand for a few moments before giving up on that. Alas, before he could so much as open his mouth to answer the god’s question—if he could still be considered a god, given what little he’d heard of the Tribunal’s status in Morrowind—a gaping hole tore itself open in the air to his left, a portal that yawned and holed as it tried to draw him in. The Argonian struggled against this suction furiously, but it was no use; in the end he was pulled into those ominous depths, his resistance having bought him nothing at all.

And just like that the Dragonborn found himself standing in yet another unfamiliar locale, alongside Vivec and two others whom he did not recognize—a long-haired, black-robed man with an eyepatch, and a towering figure whose features were totally obscured by a suit of imposing heavy armour, making it impossible to guess his race. They stood in what looked like an arena, with stands full of jubilant spectators screaming at the top of their lungs. Dazzling flashes of light filled the air, springing up seemingly from everywhere and nowhere all at once, forcing the Argonian to shield his eyes. Carvings of strange figures locked in battle covered the walls of the arena. And then, suddenly there came a chanting, and a voice singing in a tongue he couldn’t understand, drowning out everything else until he could barely hear himself think.

Disoriented and thoroughly bewildered, Drakerrast barely reacted as the long-haired man leaned over and whispered a furtive introduction. He could only stare in complete bafflement as that ostentatious platform descended from the ceiling, and the diminutive, garishly-dressed figure standing upon it introduced itself as both an ‘em-see’ and an imp. It then proceeded to give an explanation of what was going on, or at least the Dragonborn assumed this was the case; in truth, this…Ood?...spoke in such a strange dialect that Drakerrast could scarcely understand a single word coming out of its mouth. The only thing he managed to take away from that speech was that this…event…was called the Infinite Gauntlet, and that they were seemingly meant to take part in it.

As the crowds fell silent, waiting for Vivec to answer, the Dovahkiin could only shake his head in absolute bemusement. “What in the Nine Divines is going on?” he asked of no one in particular.

edited 29th Jan '13 7:18:02 AM by SullenFrog

The Danse Macabre Codex

Cloud simply stood there in a daze. At this point, he wouldn't have been surprised if the order came in for their execution... not that anyone would notice it.

Then again, considering they were witnesses to a crime, and had been found by the police, they still might very well be executed...

He went back to his tried-and-tested method of evasion, and kept his head slightly bowed and his back straight. It was easy enough for people to miss him, and after realising this fact, Cloud had done everything he could to refine it into an art. Maybe he could sneak them out a back door before the loud one's CO showed up.

MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon Alchemist

Of course Envy managed to grab Edward's hand. It was a closed space, it didn't allow for much movement, but just as the homunculus got ready to make his attack, so did Edward, ready to use his other hand to punch Envy in the gut... until Pete's yells made him stop.

Reluctantly, the blonde returned to the normal sitting position, shooting Envy a glare that said one wrong move, and I'll fucking kick your ass. Once they arrived at the LAPD, he immediately tried to push Cloud out of the way. "Come on, Doc, he said something about food, and I'm famished."

Narancia's eyebrow rose in confusion as the duo were merely flung into the air and landed in a very cartoonish manner, rather than turning into the pink mist he was expecting. He scratched his head as Aerosmith swerved around towards him and faded away as it flew into the teen. He took a step forward to kick a piece of the car that remained, confirming that it was indeed real.

His attention turned back to the woman in the helmet as she approached. He looked a bit confused as she held up her PDA to him before he realized that he needed to read what it said. "Uhhh, yeah I'm cool. Those guys were just all talk. Anyways, we should get out of here. Somebody probably noticed the explosion." He looked around as he said that, trying to figure out the best way to go.

"Huh? Oh, right, that... don't we have to be processed before we're allowed to go anyway?"

He glanced around nervously, then lowered his voice. "...For that matter, how do you know they'll let us leave at all? We're witnesses to a crime, and I've heard stories..."

MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon Alchemist

Celty nodded in agreement, although she wasn't sure if an explosion would really be all that remarkable in a place like this. The looked around as well, rubbing the back of her helmet.

" You're right, but I'm not sure where we could go. We probably shouldn't get too separated from the others." She typed, then added with a slight shiver, " Although I'm not too keen on that police station."

The dulahan slipped her PDA away for a second, settling on her bike again and nodding towards the saddle-seat behind her. The message was pretty clear; get on if you want, this is faster.

"Doc, we practically busted that cheese guy by ourselves, I think the only thing they're going to do is thank us." Edward said, smirking, as he walked over to Kamina. "Hey, shirtless guy! Do you guys have any food here?"

"H-hey, wait! Don't — um..." Cloud raised a hand in a futile attempt to stop Edward, them let it fall. Idiot! Don't you know anything about cops? Some military ace you are...

He reached slowly for his tonfas, ready to knock Kamina out and drag Edward out if he had to.

MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon Alchemist

Narancia gained an annoyed look on his face as she mentioned not liking the police. "Me and the cops have never got along." He said crossing his arms. It might have to do with the year he spent in Juvie that nearly caused him to lose his eye. Anyways he walked over to the side of her bike and climbed on to the seat behind her. "Thanks. Names Narancia by the way." He said.

He took a moment to call out Aerosmith's radar and give the area a quick look over, though it didn't do him any good. All of the carbon was coming from the populated areas and the two idiots he knocked out, no surprise there. What was surprising was that the woman wasn't letting off any carbon. Either that helmet was air-tight or she wasn't breathing. He decided it wasn't important at the moment. He wrapped his arms around her mid-section and nodded, letting her know he was good to go.

"Uh, ma'am?" The cop that drove Fumio and Johnny's car said, raising an eyebrow. "It's on the trunk. Of the car. Like I told you, remember? Just don't... just don't go walking outside with it, it's probably going to scare a few people off."

Numbuh One adjusted his glasses as Chun-Li and Edward entered the station. "As a matter of fact, Mister Edward Elric, we do have a kitchen. It's downstairs, with the dormitories and the dining room. Unfortunately, some toons, like Agent Bolin over there, do not share the fortune of having a home, so they live here, along with some other toons who are very dedicated to their jobs, like me."

"We've been living in hotels for the past year or so," Bolin said, frowning as he rested his arm on one pile of papers. "It was too expensive, and while the pay here is good, it's not enough to pay a hotel that doesn't even want you there— hey, is that Fluttershy? Where did you guys get Fluttershy, Kamina? I heard her and the other ponies couldn't even leave home without being showered by paparazzis. I mean, I don't watch their show, I just... know that. From the news."

Celty nodded and lifted her hands from the handlebars, black smoke pouring out of the sleeves of her jacket and coalescing into a vaguely spherical mass between her palms. In a few second, the smoke condensed into a recognisable shape - a pitch-black motorcycle helmet. All it was missing was a visor - She'd never been able to make transparent objects. The dulahan passed the helmet back to the Narancia, quickly producing her PDA again.

" Celty Sturluson" She replied, before tucking it away, leaning down close to Shooter's body. At the boy's nod, she kicked up the stand and sped off, the bike silently speeding down the back roads of LA.

edited 28th Jan '13 5:56:55 PM by Gaunt88

The moment the metal contraptions left Stranger was on the move. He slowly sped up as the vehicles did the same, easily ducking and weaving between the strange people that seemed to occupy the city. Eventually, he was unable to keep watching and run at the same time, the vehicles getting even faster. Stranger broke into a full sprint his hooves clopping against the ground and he used his fists to propel himself faster.

Finally, the vehicles stopped and, after watching everyone enter the building with no problems, Stranger very slowly made his way across the road towards it.

"Thank you!"

Fumio ran to her chainsaw and snatched it up quickly. She stood more confidently with it in her hands, and seemed, somehow, more complete.

"Much better..."