Eclipse of the Gods

Blackbeard cheerfully waved his hands around.
"Zehahaha! So what do you have in store for us, mister?"

Karrag clapped his hands. A bolt of shadowstuff appeared around them, swirling and coalescing until it was the size of a large beach ball. The Lich pointed at a corpse, and the bolt flew toward it, striking it, then rebounded toward another. It ten of the corpses before it dissipated. For a few seconds, nothing happened, then there was a terrible sound of groaning. The flesh fell from those corpses that the bolt hit; their skeletons stood up, and walked, creakily, toward Karrag.

"In Russia, we do not desecrate the dead. Even to the enemy dead. Unless it is in the name of finding out how they died."

Dragovich looked towards where he believed his mysterious employer was.

"If you expect us to lead an army, it may have been wise to choose employees who are more like me. Experienced in warfare, tactically knowledgeable, and, I stress this, sane."

As Dragovich delivered his speech, Blackbeard's eyebrows rose and furrowed at the end of it. Nevertheless, the pirate begun his reply with his ever present laugh.
"Zehahaha! Dear General, do you think it is wise and, heh, sane to taunt us 'homicidal madmen' like that?"

At the end of the pirate's reply, darkness begun seeping from the trim of his coat.

edited 2nd Mar '12 5:40:58 AM by Adannor

"I am fifty four years old. I fought in World War 2, and died trying to start World War 3. I have been friends with madmen, and I have fought madmen. I am dead in my home world, and therefore have no life to live left. I do not care if you can break my bones with your mind. But I will not see men sent to their deaths under madmen like you. The Nazis did too much of that."

"Or that could work." Daido said as he noticed the skeletal minions springing to life from the corpses and limping towards master Karrag.

Away from the others, the three Materials were working in their rooms.

Alright, Dearche was working in her room, Levi was napping, and Stern was reading.

Dearche was constructing another device for her to use. And she was shortening the casting time of her spells.

Excalibur took too long to cast, so she was modifying.

“Lower the Casting Time, change the projectile...STERN! Where's that book on Magical Theory?” Wordlessly, the brown haired little Mage tossed the book to the Queen, who took it and got to work.

“Alright...multiple projectiles...area detonation...got it! Juggernaught is go!” She cackled to herself.

Levi at this point woke up.

She yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes.

“So, we going out to kill something now?”

"Very passionate speech right there, Ruskie," Joker said to Dragovich, clapping his hands, being genuinely impressed. "If you truly feel that way, consider this: Your version of God allowed you to end up here, to be among us freaks," the clown said to the terrorist in a loud whisper. "Meaning......you're in Hell........" He whispered that in a cryptic, foreboding tone, the kind which would chill even the toughest of men down to the bone.......

"Isn't that lovely?!?" Joker suddenly yelled out jubiliantly.

"We're in hell, eh? Well then... LET'S ENJOY HELL TO THE FULLEST!" Daido said, enthusiastically.

"Heaven, Hell and God are non-existent."

"Try saying THAT to the beat cop that got possessed by God's the Angel of Vengeance back in my world!" the Joker countered. "Or how about the guy who got bound to a Demon Lord by Merlin the wizard for ratting out King Arthur? I could go on and on about who my dimension Earth is practically a freakin' magnet for aliens, Gods, magic, and the forces of Heaven and Hell itself, but that would make you go crazy and I personally find you more entertaining when you still sane! HUH HUH!!"

Just then, Akuma wandered towards the returned Overlords. He approached cautiously, unsure if this was a safe idea.

"Excuse me," said the ambiguously demonic-looking martial artist. "My name is Akuma. I can't remember much beyond that. Where am I?"

Jake saw Akuma go over to the returning Overlords, which were... strange to say the least. He watched silently, not having anything to say at the moment.

They had not noticed him. All the better, then. He wanted no part in their conversation.

The Maia was standing several feet away from the assembled conversants, having assumed the humble aura of uncanny courtesy once again. Indeed, looking at him, one would see nothing but a pale-skinned, unassuming figure, his lips curved into a polite, dignified smile and his upper face shrouded from view by the shadowy hood that he wore. Even those who had seen him otherwise would find it hard to think that he had ever been anything but kind, wise and gentle, so powerful was the illusion he had effortlessly cast about his person...

His thoughts were an entirely different matter altogether. Gods, the heavens, this place called 'Hell' - none of those words meant anything to him. The Divine meant nothing to him.

He had seen the face of the Creator of All before Time. He had seen the fine notes of His Will and had spun them into existence with song, and he had descended into the tiny demense that these mortals called the World to act upon that grandiose score, as mightiest and first of the Maiar....

And he had rebelled to follow one greater in ambition than the One, one who had promised things of glory, things of majesty far beyond what Eru had given him in His so-called greatness. He had thrust himself at the feet of Melkor, He Who Arises In Might, and in return he had received grace, grace and power beyond imagining in his Lord's infinite mercy...

In the limited frames of these beings' finite minds, perhaps he too could be called a god. It was so hard to tell, what with their sad, sad lowliness.

Such a pity.

Slipping past the rest of the group, Sauron passed each member with a polite smile and a faint incline of the head, as if respectfully acknowledging an equal.

"My apologies, but I have no time to converse with you - as much as I would like to, there are other things that require my attention."

"Now, if you would excuse me, friends -"

He halted at the massive doors of black iron, and at a gesture from him they swung wide open with a crash like that of rolling thunder.

"I must take my leave." With that, he strode in, shutting the doorway behind him with another creak.

He had things to plan. So many things to plan...

edited 4th Mar '12 3:20:49 AM by troydenite

"Aw, go screw yerself with string of lead ball bearings up yer tight ass ya Stepford Smiler!" Joker cried out to Sauron as he left. The clown could easily tell that was the Maia whom said his polite goodbyes to everyone, not from his form but from the innate tone of smugness in the Overlord's voice under that honeyed sweetness. Joker knew at when he was polite to someone, it was an actual honest effort instead of a cover.

That was when Akuma came up to the group. "Weeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllll" he said was he stepped up next to the martial artist, "here's the dealio Mr. Japanese Demon! You are currently in some alien planet hired by a God like being and we are then whisked away to random points throughout the multiverse where are to assassinate other God like beings who, if the current rend continues, are already reduced to gibbering hermits that can still probably destroy an entire city."

A beat.

"However, just from looking at you, you're definitely gonna get far kid!" the clown said, playfully jabbing his fist gently on the warrior's arm. "By they way, awesome do! Who does your hair?"

"I am no demon," said Akuma, "though I may look like one. I embraced the power of the...Sat..su no...Hadou? Yes...that seems to be it. I can't remember much beyond my name, though. How may I regain more of my memories?"

"I dunno," Joker said to Akuma, shrugging. "Either some kinda trigger, or just wait for it. That's what most of is did."

Jake slithered closer, if only because no one had seemed to notice him. Something about that didn't sit well with him, at least right now. Clearing his throat, Jake looked at Joker. What a strange man...

The Lich approached the others, the ground around his feet blackening with each step.

Joker noticed Jake slither up to him. "OOOOOOO how adorable, a rattlesnake with a little cowboy hat!" he gushed. "How simply precious!" He was smiling at the snake wider than usual......which only made the clown even scarier to normal humans as usual.

The Lich King leaned over the Joker and breathed a cloud of rank air into the clown's face.

You... are annoying.

"So we're getting more than just humans now? Interesting." Daido said, commenting on Jake and Lich.

Joker moved away a bit from the Lich's face, his own scrunched up in total disgust at the smell of his breath. "Well, you seem like as fresh field of sunkissed wildflowers," the clown commented. "Can't say the same about your breath, *phew*! MAN!" he added, waving the smell away from his face. "Smells like masoluem that's converted into a sewage plant heatsink! This fellow needs some industrial strength Altoids, STAT!!"

It was clear to the undead warlock that Joker was clearly far too insane to be scared of him.

edited 4th Mar '12 6:40:48 PM by UdtheImp

A few familiar sounding syllables came to Akuma. He turned towards the space between the Joker and the Lich King. Akuma thrust out both palms and said the syllables, which, when put together, became "Gohadouken!"

To Akuma's shock, a purple energy ball of chi shot out from his hands, missing everyone entirely. He looked at his hands...and suddenly, he remembered everything.

"I remember now..." said the martial artist. "I am the master of the Satsu no Hadou. I am the man who dared strive to become the world's greatest warrior at any cost. I am called evil, murderous by some, though I only kill when honorable. But I am merely striving to perfect myself."

From the floors and ceilings, shards of jagged black material extended, coalescing and forming into several chambers. They were similar to the cocoons that the group had found themselves in not long ago; but while those were milky white and filled with strange machinery, these were empty and austere, shards of material pointing inwards. They did not appear to be entirely there; like an optical illusion, they flickered in and out of sight as the groups stared at them, hovering somewhere on this plane of existence and the next. They also looked dangerous- the jagged shards they were composed of seemed sufficient to cut the frailer members of the group to ribbons should they make one wrong move while inside. Nevertheless, the presence beckoned them once more towards the center podium, the shadowy substance that the group

“   Enter,   ”, said their employer, a lone coil of shadowy material snaking outwards and coiling around one of the chambers. “   Enter- survive- and you shall be duly rewarded. Fail the test, however… and you will not be allowed to advance. The last group I gathered, regretfully, failed the test spectacularly. You wonder why I keep that mad fool Optimus Prime chained in the basement? He is a failure, a washout- what little remained of his mind was shattered by the procedure. Pray that ‘’you’’ succeed where ‘’he’’ failed. Survive the procedure… and you will find what you desire.”   

The chambers beckoned.

As the individuals chose a chamber and stepped into it, there would be several minutes of nothing. The chambers suddenly glowed bright white- and then the world exploded around them.

A white-hot pain arced through their bodies. Their heads would throb with pain and agony, every cell of their body singing a song of agony, and … as their bodies changed, the universe exploded into brilliant color, as if the group had spent the rest of their lives blind. The cosmos that flared around them was one of more than just time and space- how simple, now naïve! to think that the universe was so childishly organized. Strange colours and sensations enveloped them. Indescribable waves of pain and pleasure rolled through their bodies.

They could see more of the being that whispered to them- a dark and curled up shape, like an embryo in the womb, locked somewhere far beyond this strange obsidian tower, in a shadowy void that was not entirely here, nor there. Were they to look closer at the strange embryonic shape that hung in this strange vision, they would see something else- something huge, something powerful- a brief flash of pain, agony, remorse, and, above all, hatred-

-before the vision abruptly ended.

The bodies of the group had changed- their skin now glowed faintly, a colored luminescence emanating from the core of their bodies. If they were to look closely at their own skin, they would notice that somewhere far below their skin and bone something seemed to be pulsating inside of them-it was not an unpleasant feeing, nor was it totally welcome. They were changed, somehow; whether or not they would manage to adapt to the strange changes that their employer had wrought would be another matter entirely.