Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Nicole simply answers Dedan and Japhet's reactions to her words with a smile.

Once they reach the bizarre hallway with a massive door at the end, she begins charging an Arcane Blast.

"Well... lead the way, guys."

"Why do I get the feeling that we're about to run into a crapload of deathtraps before reaching the door?"

Dedan nods, and turns to the door. For a moment, he considers kicking or punching it open, as to enter the room with an epic, loud, bold scream of declaration.

"Enoch, you motherfucker!!!"

Beat

But Dedan decides against that, his wariness having cleared his head a little. Because in the case that Enoch can be reasoned with, this would ruin their chances of doing so. And even if he can't, this'd put the fellow Guardian on edge, and it'd certainly turn into a fight on the spot, something Dedan, for once, wants to try to avoid.

So instead, he slowly pushes the doors open with his hands, revealing a single room inside, with a single desk. Luckily, there are no death traps of any kind.

But what's inside is arguably worse.

Behind which sits a massive human-like being, looking down at them with a peaceful, yet incredibly disturbing-looking smile. He is truly enormous, at least as big as Japhet's transformed state, if not moreso. He could probably grab any person present and swallow them whole if he wanted to.

   "Huhuhu."   , the giant laughs, his voice booming, powerful, even enough to slightly make the floor vibrate beneath everyone's feet.    "Visitors? I didn't expect any visitors in my precious Zone 3."   

In Death's nest.

Dedan and Japhet look up at the giant, trying not to look intimidated. And yet, the others will find, that even Dedan is visibly trying to keep calm.

Dedan, the person who, when enraged, can become downright suicidal with his violence, is very clearly afraid of this being.

"Enoch.", he speaks up, at least able to keep his voice from sounding fearful.

"We've come to talk.", Japhet continues, his voice giving his anxiety away somewhat more. Enoch stares them down a bit, his eyes looking like they could burn through someone. After a little while, he laughs again, and it sounds... genuinely friendly. ... Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

   "Huhuhu. Well, I'll be. Dedan. Japhet. I didn't recognize the two of you at first, it's been such a long time. I didn't know you were around."   

He settles his eyes on the rest of the group.

   "And you've brought guests, I see. Perhaps... you would like some cake?"   

"As tempting as it is-", Japhet cuts in before anyone can answer that. "-we're here for serious business."

Enoch now looks the entire group over again.

   "Oh?"   , is his sole response. Somehow, just that single word for a response makes it all the more foreboding.

"I'm venting! Trying to suppress other people's emotions makes you seem less heroic to me! Let me say what I want to say, when I feel the need to say it! And I'm still just a kid!"

Saitama just stomps the ground and readies his own fist.

"I will let the others explain."

"Same."

Edited by KiriK on Oct 9th 2018 at 4:57:58 AM

Jiren rush forward at mad speed and bring his fist down in a downward motion, with a red trail blazing behind his massive arm !

Miles sighed, "Nebula? Just...drop the barrier please..." At seeing his serious expression, she nodded and dropped it so he could get down to Agent 8's level, "Look...I'm sorry if either of us hurt your feelings. Things for me and my friend here have been...difficult lately, so you'll have to forgive us if we seem a bit on edge...Nebula?"

The spider lady fumed but then took a deep breath and exhaled, "I'm...sorry too. We've...run into some rather unpleasant people lately and it seems like no matter what we do or say, nothing goes right...still, that was wrong of me to jump to conclusions like that."

Edited by GamerXZ on Oct 9th 2018 at 3:08:12 AM

"So, this is the Enoch who did all that fucked up crap Zach told me about... Yeah, I'm definitely getting a Troa vibe from this dude, right down to what I'm guessing is the poor attempt at seeming polite/good. And dear lord, is he freaky..."

Nicole decides not to say anything for now, motioning for Dedan and Japhet to continue speaking.

"Enoch, we've learnt about the things you've done in this horrible factory. The fates of the Elsen you were entrusted. We're here to confront you about your sins."

While Enoch's smile remains, his eyes definitely look harsher all of a sudden.

   "But that's ridiculous. Nothing justifies this drastic measurement. And horrible factory? This is my fortress of happiness. My wall against all that is harmful. My people were happy before the Specters came."   

"You fed them impure sugar, burnt from the corpses of your employees. The drug drove them insane, making them want more, a vicious cycle without end, until their own end would come."

   "... It made them happy. It kept them working. They accepted this. They knew this. My methods worked, and don't require justification. As a Guardian, it's my role to sculpt this world into the nothingness. We are a little like gods, drawing the infinite power of the sun. Huhuhu, I love that metaphor... Yes. ... like gods. Precisely."   

"We are not gods! We are the arms of her Majesty the Queen!", Dedan says, clearly offended. Japhet, for once, seems to fully agree with him, down to giving him a look of disgust.

"We are beings with great responsibility, but unlike gods, we can sin. I speak... from experience, when I say this. We serve the Queen, she who wants to recreate the world we lost so long ago."

   "The Queen... is she the one who sent you? Naturally, it's the Queen. You can tell her I refuse to cease the recreation of my zone. I'll keep using the power she gave me to bring it back in its full glory."   

As Dedan is about to angrily point out that they're not sent by the Queen, that they don't even know where she is, Japhet suddenly catches something about what Enoch said.

"Wait... the power she gave you? Does that mean... she is here? Do you know where she is?"

   "Of course I do."   , Enoch says, causing the other two Guardians to look shocked.    "The Queen, I met her here several months ago. She was distraught, it was easy to convince her to let me recreate my zone again."   

"... She's upset... because she lost Hugo, right?"

Now Enoch is the one who looks shocked.

   "I know nothing about Hugo, if that's what you're implying. I didn't even know he was missing."   

"Out of all the things we've come to confront you of, that is not one of them. We are aware that you have nothing to do with that. Hugo is safe right now, so it doesn't matter."

   "!!!"   

Enoch leans over his desk a bit, looking at the group intensely.

   "So you know where Hugo is?"   

"So what if we do? You think we can let you see him when you have... this!?", he asks, gesturing to the sinister factory walls. "The poor lad will have nightmares just from seeing this place."

Enoch's smile drops, and his almost monotone expression is enough to cause chills.

   "The Queen."   , he says, sounding sinister.    "She has given me a hard time about my zone a few times already. But... if I have Hugo by my side, she'll do anything."   

He gets up from a chair he'd apparently been sitting in, revealing that he's even bigger than they'd once thought.

   "Bring me to Hugo."   

"In the state of madness you've fallen into? Do you want the boy to cry?", Dedan counters.

"His eyes would be full of fear, Enoch. He still thinks you're the same person you once were. For his sake, don't try to find him. We...", Japhet says.

"We will stop you."

But it seems to fall on deaf ears, as Enoch suddenly jumps over his desk, landing in front of it and making the ground quake harshly enough to knock even Dedan onto the ground. Though that's not the bad part of what just happened. The bad part is that he was way faster than any being his size has any right to be.

   "Do you truly think you can overcome my massive physique!?"   , Enoch says, smiling again. No, grinning...

   "Huhuhu, fear me like the menacing shadow of your imminent extinction!"   

Dedan and Japhet immediately jump out of the way, as Enoch attempts to grab a hold of them, his movements still deadly fast. When he misses them, he turns to look at the remainder of the group.

   "Tell me where he is!"   , he demands as he now tries to grab them as well. Dodging will be incredibly difficult, not just because of Enoch's speed, but also because they're in an enclosed room, in an enclosed building.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Oct 9th 2018 at 12:23:46 PM

"Bad temper with people who defy them, delusions of grandeur, willing to use kids in their fucked up schemes... this dude's just checking off all kinds of Troa boxes!"

Nicole rolls to the left just in time to evade Enoch, takes careful aim, and fires her now-charged Arcane Blast straight at his face.

"Oh, you're staying the hell away from him, asshole!"

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Oct 9th 2018 at 3:42:47 AM

Agent 8 sighs. "The situation was repaired back home, but... I'm still bitter about it. And I saw things in my world... things I was too young to experience, and that I'm still too young to think about."

Saitama gets sent flying back... with the biggest, dumbest grin on his face.

He lands on one hand and springs off, touching down feet-first. Then he rushes Jiren and throws a volley of Consecutive Normal Punches.

Darius-X gets grabbed, but angrily protests, "I, for one, have never met Hugo!"

Cabba uses his enhanced speed as a Super Saiyan to narrowly avoid Enoch's hands, firing Ki blasts at the Guardian with every moment's opening.

Edited by KiriK on Oct 9th 2018 at 5:44:41 AM

"Come here and have a seat with me, please," Miles took a seat and patted the spot beside him. He nodded to Nebula who split back into the two sisters and flew over to his shoulders.

He'd wait for 8 to sit before starting, "...Forgiveness is a concept that a lot of humans struggle with in my world. I think it's partly because how easy it is...to let things like anger and fear run your life..."

He chuckled emptily, "I'm gonna sound like a hypocrite for saying this but...even if not everything turned out right for you in the past...you've still made plenty of good memories in the present, right?"

With Enoch's huge size, every attack aimed at him hits its mark.

...

They do nothing.

   "Huhuhu, I am exceptional!"   , he laughs as he harshly throws Darius-X back into the hallway leading up to Enoch's room. He then swipes left with his left arm, hitting Dedan in the back and sending him crashing into a wall, harshly enough for the guy to bleed a little from his mouth.

"God... damnit...", he mutters as he gets up, straining himself. He looks up at Enoch, who's now eyeing Cabba, but gets distracted when Japhet transforms◊ into his true form. He's still smaller than Enoch though, and only manages to hold him back a little. Dedan growls, then lowers his head in shame before turning to the others.

"This isn't going to work. Enoch is too powerful, and in the factory, he has full control over the flow of the battle.", he says, trying to say it softly enough that Enoch doesn't hear it.

"I absolutely despise myself for saying this... but we have to retreat. Get back outside. If he chases us, we'll have the terrain advantage, and a lot more space to fight in. If he doesn't chase us, we'll have time to think of a plan!"

Japhet, glancing down at Dedan, heeds his words and transforms back, but not before sending fiery feathers at Enoch to keep him occupied for a moment.

"Hurry! As fast as he may be, the halls of his factory are too small for him to charge his way through. We'll be outside faster than him!"

Dedan and Japhet flee from the room, expecting the others to have sound enough judgement to follow them. Because if they keep fighting like this, Enoch will eventually overpower them, without question.

Sucre looks over Hugo's cradle, humming a soft little tune.

"Careful not to wake him up.", Zacharie says, enjoying the sight of Sucre taking a liking to the little guy.

"I won't wake her, silly~ :)"

"Hugo isn't a girl, mon cherie."

"But this Hugo is. And she has such soft, black fur. :)"

The blanket Hugo is lying under jerks for a moment, and now Zacharie looks confused.

"Wait, what?"

He comes over to inspect it, carefully pulling the blanket off... revealing a black cat◊ to be lying under it instead.

"See, I told you. :)", Sucre says, somewhat proud of herself, but Zacharie looks suspicious of the cat.

"You... I think I've seen you around Hugo before. You're... Charlotte, right? Why are you here? How did you get in his bed? Where is he?"

The cat sits up, looking somewhat guilty.

"He so desperately wanted to see Enoch. So he asked me for my help in secret, to switch places with him while you weren't looking."

"But I never took my eyes off of him."

"You did. When Dedan stormed off."

Zacharie pauses, realizing it's true. Hugo must've snuck out of the building, which wouldn't have been hard with both Zacharie and Sucre having their attention fixed on the cradle.

"Charlotte, did you allow Hugo to go out there, to look for Enoch, alone!?"

She looks insulted.

"Of course not! He has a bodyguard!"

"... who?"

Vague Oblivia

The Judge◊, finding it hard to move forward in the desert sand, glances up at Hugo◊, who's happily hanging off of his back.

"Precisely why is it so consequential for you to optically discern Enoch?", he asks.

"The big mister is my friend and I wanna see him. Maybe he knows where my Mama is.", Hugo says, looking determined.

"I'm not certain if you'll relish what you'll discover, Hugo."

"He won't hurt me. He's my friend. He made me cakes!"

The Judge sighs.

"Zacharie, please don't be too irate at an old fool like me. But somewhere I feel like this is the most expeditious way to bring him back to the Queen.", he mumbles to himself.

Besides, anything is better than letting the Batter find him first, right?, he thinks to himself.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Oct 9th 2018 at 1:13:23 PM

"Yeah, at this point, you can't convince me that the Xir didn't use genetic samples from both this psycho and Frieza when they stupidly created Troa..."

"Alright... Cabba, Darius' clone, fall back!"

Nicole fires an Arcane Beam at the ceiling above Enoch in an attempt to collapse it on him, then hurries after Dedan and Japhet as quickly as possible.

Agent 8 averts her gaze again. "Eeeesh... Uh, yeah... L-look, I'm gonna go. It was... nice... talking to you. And for the future, call me Eight."

She shifts to octopus form and dives off the roof.

Cabba fires a Galick Cannon at the same target as Nicole, then zooms for the exit. Darius-X, after recovering from getting thrown, runs after them.

Jiren gets struck initially but after a moment of surprise, he's able to deflect and move out of the way, even attempting to outright pull a Punch Catch.

Edited by Bolded1 on Oct 10th 2018 at 11:00:54 AM

Their attempts are successful, the ceiling collapsing onto Enoch, making him roar loudly as the five start making their escape. Even though the hallway leading up to the room is highly obstructive, Enoch isn't able to free himself in time before they get through it.

   "You won't get away from me! Prepare to join the ghosts!"   , he yells out, loud enough for it to echo through the hallways.

Japhet, remembering the way they came from, is easily able to lead everyone out, though while they traverse the hallways, they'll find that, at certain points, their color flickers into a pure white, before going back to its sinister dark green. Tremors run through the hallways, even through the ground outside of the factory, indicating that Enoch is looking for them.

Eventually, they manage to get outside, and the two Guardians immediately sit down to catch their breath.

"Fucking Hell. I had my fears, but I didn't expect him to be this bad.", Dedan says, sounding somber.

"Or this strong. This could've ended very badly, and we didn't consider this far. He's so different from the way we knew him as. Our apologies...", Japhet says to the others, looking as somber as Dedan sounds.

As they get a chance to rest up, they'll be able to note that the tremors have stopped, and Enoch isn't in sight. He may have stopped chasing them, which'll give them some time to get their bearings.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Oct 10th 2018 at 1:18:07 PM

Saitama's next right-handed punch is caught, but he immediately yanks his hand free... leaving his right hand glove in Jiren's grasp.

"Oops. Whatever."

Cabba powers down. He holds his Potara earring out to Nicole. "If he comes out of the factory, do you wanna do the thing?"

Darius-X stands by, seeming confused but keeping his axe ready.

Jiren look down at his glove and hand it over to Saitama quietly.

Oblivia, Inside Wrothian Stronghold, Zone 3

Once they've managed to escape the factory, Nicole takes a moment to catch her breath, then looks to Cabba before fishing the second Potara earring from out of her pocket.

"Considering just how tough that son of a bitch was... yeah, I'd say fusion's definitely on the table right now."

Saitama takes back his glove and puts it on. "So. Wanna raise the scale?"

Without waiting for an answer, he punches the ground hard enough to make a large crater, not as an attack but just as a demonstration.

"Cuz I can keep going."

"Yes." says Jiren, cracking his knuckles and neck. "We are done warming up."

"Agreed." Saitama's face turns serious as he steps a few feet back.

He jumps right up to Jiren, does a spinning flourish, and throws a mighty punch at him, not unlike Android 17's Barrier Explosion against Anilaza in his motions.

Jiren deftly dodge out of the way and attempts to uppercut Saitama way up in the air in a fluid, strong motion, kickstarting a shockwave out of sheer power.

Saitama gets blown away, but rushes right back in and attempts to side-chop Jiren's legs to put the Pride Trooper off-balance.

If he succeeds, he follows up with an arm thrust to knock Jiren back.

Jiren's struck twice and looks somewhat surprised by this, being driven back until he gets his footing once more. He speeds forward and attempts to clothesline Saitama with devastating power !

Saitama actually dodges for once, immediately getting behind Jiren and throwing another straight punch.