Throat of the World, Skyrim
Near the base of the mountain, the flying Porky TV, showing Pseudo
◊ on it, flies towards the designated area. Once it gets there, Botar
◊ warps in besides it, there to act in case they need to get away.
A minute or two later they see Cyber flying towards them, alongside Hub
◊, who's using Gyro Soul
to fly.
"Hub's presence worries me.", Botar says. "Keep the monitor out of his reach."
"Naturally. I'm more surprised that Cyber is here personally.", Pseudo responds. Pilly
◊ can now be slightly seen in the background, looking curious.
King of the Monsters
Throat of the World
A few other familiar faces are present:
- GE!Dark Meta Knight, who showed up on Present!Meta Knight's request just in case Tyler and Tom hadn't told the Assassins about his return, so that they could preserve that fact;
- Mata Nui, who followed the flying individuals out of concern;
- Yasha, who was meditating on High Hrothgar below and got curious;
Hub, after landing, glances around and smirks.
"We've got quite the audience. Is it smart to speak up about this subject when not in private?"
"The Cyber Angels will be a threat to everyone frequenting this world if given the chance. There is nothing wrong with others learning this information."
"In all seriousness, this could lead to trouble later down the line." , Hub whispers to Cyber.
"Not anymore than we would have regardless.", Cyber responds before approaching everyone present.
"I'm pleasantly surprised that you accepted my invitation.", he says to Pseudo. "Considering the... rocky relationship between our organizations, I wouldn't have been surprised if you had refused."
"Considering the subject I figured it was worth it to listen.", Pseudo says. "Speaking of which..."
"Right. The Cyber Angels.", Cyber says, after which he glances at everyone present.
"I assume most of you have at least heard of them by this point?"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
King of the Monsters
DMK nods.
"Word of them has reached my ears, but I have yet to learn much more than their title."
"I am in a similar situation."
"He's gearing up for war."
Divine Burden
Dead Men's Respite
Guess who, guess who, guess who? Ohhhh yeah, this be HELA.
She's just kind of hanging out at the respite, being quite bored.
...
Dayspring Canyon
Niagara is emerging from the little secret path leading to the canyon, admiring Fort Dawnguard in the distance and smirking slightly.
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
King of the Monsters
Dead Men's Respite
Dark Riku is, of course, accompanying Hela. He sits on a rock with a look of disinterest in the locale, but if he had any snarky comments on his mind, he's keeping them to himself.
"He's gearing up for war."
"The only thing that we know more than them is that they have a rank system of soldiers, and use threads to transform their bodies and repair themselves at will.", Pseudo says. "I hope you'll tell us a bit more than that."
"Certainly.", Cyber says. "I will now say outright, I do not know the full capabilities of this race. I am not aware how much power and weaponry they have. What I can tell you though..."
He crosses his arms.
"Is why they're here."
Pseudo's eyes light up a little in curiosity and Pilly gets a little closer, now more visible on the screen than before.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
King of the Monsters
"Intriguing..."
Yasha and Mata Nui step in closer. The unaffiliated and undetected spies don't move a muscle, but keep their senses sharp.
"He's gearing up for war."
"They are here because of us, and because of some of your allies.", Cyber says as he points at Pseudo.
"Some of... excuse me?"
"Allow me to explain further. What they are here for... is this.", Cyber says, after which he raises hand, palm upwards, and projects a hologram of the Assassins' cube
◊.
"... That thing?", Botar asks, sounding incredulous. "Why?"
"Because our group stole it from them years ago."
"You st...", Botar mutters, not looking too happy.
"We needed an object like this for reasons I will not explain to you at this moment in time. By pure luck, we found their world and sent one of our now dead members as a representative. He presented himself as an ally, offering them foreign technology as a peace treaty. While they were suspicious, the offer made them lower their guards enough for our member to steal this cube and flee back to this dimension. With the Arena being located far from theirs, and with them having no way to track us, they would be unable to follow us. It was the perfect crime."
"Hold on, how does that translate to my allies being at fault if you were the ones who stole it from them?"
"Because, during the battles against Necrozma and Missingno, some of your more ignorant allies attacked the cube, triggering its defense mechanisms.", Cyber says. "It sent an inter-dimensional distress signal to its home world, the world the Cyber Angels come from."
He then shakes his head.
"Your allies practically gave them the Arena's address, and they did not hesitate to follow it. Now, because of our combined actions, the Cyber Angels are in the Arena."
Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 23rd 2020 at 10:18:27 AM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
King of the Monsters
"Allies? Necrozma? I may not know much about that encounter, but I do not think any direct affiliates of either of these groups were involved in that."
"He might just mean that in the rhetorical sense, that the actions of those fighting Necrozma would be against the Assassins' better interests," Yasha muses.
Edited by KiriK on Feb 23rd 2020 at 3:21:44 AM
"He's gearing up for war."
"Alerting the Cyber Angels to this world is against everyone's best interests.", Cyber says. "I can practically see you thinking. 'We'll just take the cube back from the Assassins to weaken their forces, return it to the Cyber Angels, and they'll be on their merry way'."
He glances at Pseudo, who's eyes give away he was already considering that approach.
"It will not work. Because, while I may not know of their full potential, I do know what the Cyber Angels are all about."
He stops projecting the cube, now projecting a bigger hologram of a bloody, torn battlefield, Cyber Angel Soldiers and Officers tearing through cities and fortresses.
"They are a race of conquerors, using their technology to travel to worlds near theirs, overwhelm the opposition, wipe out the natural inhabitants, steal all of their world's resources, and then leave once the world is completely dead. From what little information our member found out before getting the cube, they have been doing this for years now, and have hundreds of extinctions to their names."
Cyber looks at everyone.
"I will tell you exactly what would happen if they retrieve the cube, no matter the way it happens. They will use it to power up their weaponry even more, continue their onslaughts until at least 70-80% of this world's warriors are down, probably ignoring the ones too powerful to immediately deal with through the use of their soldiers, like Gravitas, and potentially your organization, Pseudo. Once they've reached that number, they will fortify important landmarks in the Arena, allowing them to spread out their forces and presence. They will then use their technology to block outside access to the Arena, making it impossible for any new warriors to enter it, or for anyone already inside to leave. After that, they will use their most powerful weaponry to hunt down the last few who oppose him until all of us are dead. And once we are, they will most likely abuse the Arena's regenerative abilities to turn this entire dimension into a big fuel factory, mining its endless resources to make themselves even more powerful. Perhaps unstoppable."
Pseudo, Pilly and even Botar appear speechless. Hub too, suggesting that he may not have been aware of the full story himself.
"They will not grant us pity even if we cooperate with them.", Cyber says. "Those who try find themselves stabbed in the back the moment they are no longer nessecary."
Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 23rd 2020 at 10:35:43 AM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
King of the Monsters
"... Understood." Yasha gets low and vanishes in a burst of speed.
"Ah - wait!" Mata Nui reaches out for him, but he's already off. Where to? It's not clear, but probably nowhere good.
"... He is likely doomed, but I would not bother stopping him. On the off chance that he finds them and inflicts a meaningful blow before he perishes, we should let him."
"But... he is going to die."
"Following him is not worth potentially alerting a much larger strike force."
"He's gearing up for war."
"Is that guy seriously going to challenge them right now?" , Hub asks, looking at where Yasha stood a moment ago.
"A foolish endeavor. I don't know how strong he is, but it's never a good idea to charge against an entire army on your lonesome. Which, incidentally, brings me to the point I wanted to make."
He turns back to Pseudo.
"I have something to ask of you."
"... and what would that be?", Pseudo asks.
"It's very likely that neither of our organizations have the strength to take the Cyber Angels on. Not impossible, but still. We are also limited in the resources we can use against them due to us being enemies as well. So I was thinking..."
He tilts his head a little.
"Would you like to combine our forces and team up against them?"'
Pseudo stares silently, blinking. It takes him a few seconds to respond.
"... Pardon me, what?"
Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 23rd 2020 at 10:54:22 AM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
King of the Monsters
Mata Nui stoically looks on.
"If it isn't a trick, then..."
"I suppose... you may want to consider it."
There's a small beeping sound, then one of the spies suddenly emerges - Weiss!
"If what you say is true... Gravitas would be willing to call a truce as well. We will not lend you direct aid, but hostility will cease until the Cyber Angels are dealt with."
"He's gearing up for war."
Divine Burden
In a flash, Eleven warps in near the group using Kai Kai.
Aye, sup Arena boomers. Lord Set says that he's fine with not attacking you guys until those cyber... angel things are a goner. Hey, he might even send some of us to help you at times!
And a whole bunch of death threats for once the angels are dead. Want me to read them out loud or...?
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
Hjaalmarch, Dead Men's Respite
Thor and Loki walk up the path leading to Dead Men's Respite, unaware of Hela's presence as they converse amongst themselves.
Divine Burden
Hela notices them from afar and casually launch a small spike at Dark Riku's face.
Look.
She points forward at them.
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
King of the Monsters
Dark Riku deflects the strike calmly, as if he's grown used to the gesture.
He turns to face Thor and Loki. "Those guys, huh...? Didn't sound like they were too much of a problem for you."
"He's gearing up for war."
Pseudo doesn't look convinced quite yet. Pilly seems to ponder.
"There is no guarantee that you will keep yourself to our truce.", he says to Cyber.
"We have so far, have we not?"
"..."
He glances at Botar, who seems unusually conflicted about what he should think about this. His opinion is a mix of Pseudo's statement and Mata Nui's statement.
"Perhaps it is indeed worth consideration.", he eventually says to Pseudo. "And don't get me wrong, I am not just saying that because the Great Spirit is."
His eyes narrow.
"Sometimes, to ensure the best possible outcome for those you have to protect, you must ally yourself with anyone who can be of help, even if they have been your enemies. The Order was forced to do so with the Makuta and the Dark Hunters when our world fell, an alliance that is still going to this day, and will hopefully continue to go on until our world has been fully settled into. I personally hate it, but for the sake of the Matoran, I must push those feelings aside."
Pseudo looks at Botar, completely silent. Then he looks back at Cyber.
"You understand that any doubt you have about us, we can say the same about you? Yet I recognize that the situation may require us both to take this risk."
"So you want to team up, huh? Are you implying that the Cyber Angels are a Galeem-level threat?"
"Oh, heavens no.", Cyber says. "Not as far as I know, at least. If that were the case, we'd have to rally the entire Arena again. I don't believe that's quite necessary."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Their presence was first detected outside of this dimension's boundaries right before Galeem attacked. If they were capable of matching Galeem's threat, why wouldn't they have used the opportunity to invade there and then, finishing off the few survivors and then striking at Galeem, and later Dharkon? My guess is that they couldn't, and simply waited for us to take them out for them."
"... that, admittedly, makes sense."
Cyber is about to say something else, but that's when Weiss shows herself and Eleven shows up. Pseudo's monitor, Botar and the two Assassins turn to them as they speak.
"Huh!? Were you two spying on-" , Hub asks, looking angry, but Cyber simply raises his other hand to tell him to calm down.
"I said this information is for everyone. The only ones I'd have a problem with are the Cyber Angels themselves. Anyhow..."
First, Cyber addresses Weiss.
"I'm grateful for that. In return, we will offer you the same privilege. None of our members will cause any trouble for Gravitas as long as the Cyber Angels are present."
Then he turns to Eleven.
"The death threats are not necessary, we'll be getting those from all angles eventually anyway.", he says, apparently joking, though his robotic tone makes it hard to tell.
"Nevertheless, I appreciate his willingness to prioritize this situation. Even if he does not send help during this conflict and simply remains passive, know that we will not stand in his way either in return."
Pseudo, meanwhile, seems to have turned the audio going from him to everyone else off, as he's visibly discussing the matter with Pilly.
Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 23rd 2020 at 11:21:04 AM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
King of the Monsters
"Then it's confirmed." Weiss stands back but continues listening in.
Mata Nui and DMK silently observe.
"He's gearing up for war."
Divine Burden
He's nice once you get past the... nah actually he's not nice.
You're welcome! I'll try to be present though. Those Cyber Angels have some nerve showing up and attempting to mess up the place, I'm going to hack into their mainframe with my fists! Heh.
She briefly punch the air once or twice.
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
Loki, upon noticing Hela at Dead Men's Respite, wastes no time pointing her out to Thor.
"Finally. Wait... who the Hel is that with her?"
"Someone who will undoubtly try to complicate your attempts to forge an alliance with our dear sister, by the looks of him."
"Then I suppose we'll just have to kick his arse if he tries anything."
"Wonderful, yet another potential enemy for us to worry about. I was beginning to fear we were running low on those..."
With that, the Sons of Odin begin heading towards the ancient Nordic tomb.
Cyber nods respectfully, showing that, despite his silence, he doesn't simply take Eleven's statement for granted. He's grateful that she's offering to help fight them.
He then turns back to Pseudo.
"I should also mention this, that you can integrate this fact in your eventual decision.", he says, getting his and Pilly's attention, with the former turning the audio back on.
"Hm?"
"Considering that the Cyber Angels likely scanned our representative back then, it's highly likely that the way they'll go about who to prioritize with killing will be through scanning for the energy they'd have scanned back then. Which would lead them to the energy of our curse. Which, yes, already existed back then."
"How long ago did you steal that cube?"
"... I do not fully remember. But Mara was already a member at that point. Once she finally returns, we can ask her."
"When she finally stops ditching us to throw her party, you mean." , Hub says, rolling his eyes.
"Anyhow.", Cyber continues, ignoring Hub's statement. "It's safe to say that they can scan for the curse's energy signature. Anyone who has come into direct contact with our group during battle should have lingering, but harmless taint in their energy from it. Then the people who have interacted with them, but not us, would have even smaller taints. I'm 99% sure they'll use this method to narrow their search and make it easier to find us, so that they can try to reclaim the cube."
"So you're saying that, no matter my decision, everyone in my organization, as well as all of our allies, is already in danger by default.", Pseudo says.
"Correct."
Cyber then tilts his head again.
"How about, as a show of goodwill, if you accept our proposal, I will allow you access to our bases?"
Pseudo's interest seems even greater now, and Hub turns to Cyber with a 'WTF' expression.
"Excuse me, WHAT!?"
"Why are you upset?", Cyber asks.
"Because, even if we're temporary allies, you'd be giving them a huge advantage for when said alliance is over!"
"We have had the advantage all this time. This will not cripple us."
Hub snarls, then glances away.
"I'm warning you, if this does end up costing us everything, I am not going to die for your foolishness. I'd rather abandon ship."
"Then that is a problem I'll have to deal with if it comes."
Pseudo, while still interested, doesn't exactly appear that happy about these conditions, despite it indeed being a huge advantage in his favor. Still...
"... I want to ask you one question first, before making a decision."
"Oh? Ask away."
"Will you let me see your face?"
"No.", Cyber says, stern and without hesitation. For a moment, Pseudo strangely grins.
"Very well. I accept your offer, as well as its conditions."
"Excellent. Then, from now until the Cyber Angels are vanquished, we will work together as one unit."
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.
Divine Burden
Niagara make his way over to the fort, he seems to have picked up a few wounds over the way, going by the damage done to the armor and his limp. Actually though, the limp was exaggerated (a little) and the damage was mostly done to his armor, though he cut himself on the head to draw some blood and make for a more convincing illusion.
It did hurt a little but hey, he needed everything on his side.
He step forth a few more times but eventually hear some sounds nearby, prompting him to look around. Before long, he's directly faced by an approaching Xander, accompanied by Peri and Gregor. Niagara raises his hand to greet them, but before he can do so, his hand is grabbed and his arm is shoved behind his back. Alarmed, the young man doesn't bother panicking however, even as a shuriken is then pointed at his throat.
Don't even try to move a single nerve.
Hello there. Answers a calm Niagara, looking back at Saizo. The ninja scoffs at him, but the group reach them after some mere seconds. Gregor is silent for now, looking stunned.
Stand down, ninja! There is no need to act so violently.
A Nohrian prince preaching a peaceful approach? Give me a break.
Our strength in number will dissuade any violent action. Stand down, please.
Saizo groans and let go of Niagara, who laughs a little.
I cannot fault him for being vigilant! Who might you be, regal individual.
I am Xander, crown prince of Nohr. My royal title is not of much use here though... so you may just call me Xander.
Hi, I'm Peri! P stand for...
It stand for Polite.
... Yeah!
Oh I am... well, surely you remember! What, you amnesiac again? Laughs Gregor. Niagara follow suit as Gregor step forward to engage in arm-wrestling of a sort. A very manly handshake at the very least, this seems to amuse Xander a little.
Niagara! You back from the dead to give me back bet money you owe me?
No, to earn back the bet money you owe me! Heh, nice to see you again Gregor!
...
Huh, base's off limit but you wouldn't like it. It's full of slaves and a- A DANCEFLOOR WHERE WE DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY YEAH FUCK! She says, having nearly said something she shouldn't say.
...
Hela just watch them approach, cape billowing dramatically in the wind.
Edited by Bolded1 on Feb 23rd 2020 at 11:41:35 AM
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
Minira
Thranix and Megan(?) followed along. Thranix' beefy hands put him at bit of a disadvantage, but he worked through that particular bit of trouble eventually. Megan(?), having much smaller and more naturally dexterous hands, had an easier time by far.
"The Stick has sentimental value. It's like an enormous, hideous teddy bear we can kill things with." -rikalous