Ashes of Nohr
Centralis
Milin boots up her Infolink, and opens a private comm.
"Yo. Lilith. Wanna go raid a castle and kick a lich's face in?"
"First, that's a very random question. Second, FUCK YES, I'm gonna drag Phoenix along."
About a minute later, a shuttle lands, with a smirking Lilith
and a confused Phoenix.
"-can you two explain, please?"
As they hop back through the portal, Milin just sighs. (Partially because Lilith just drove a cargo shuttle through it.)
"Fighting an undying asshole. Typical stuff, y'know?"
"Ah. I can see why you brought me along, with the whole 'hard to heal burns' thing I do..."
...
Castle
In the hours that follow, Milin and Lilith will work on recreating and updating the MK 50, integrating the nanites with Milin's cybernetics and making the suit work better with her psionics.
Phoenix, meanwhile, is sitting on the floor, staring at everyone else. Eventually, she wanders over to Joseph. (Irish's one)
"Yo. You look a bit down."
She sits down, tapping her fingers on her crossed knees with a drawn-out sigh. Her right eye currently isn't glowing.
"I... kinda got shown what happened... Milin got me up to speed. You were in there for months, and you probably want to be alone, but-"
She sighs and shakes her head. She mutters to herself.
"Stupid, stupid! What am I doing?! He clearly wants to be left alone..."
She takes a deep breath.
"-look, I'm not a therapist. But I can relate. Being stuck in a room for months, being put through all manner of painful tests... Being treated like little more than an experiment."
She huffs, a small puff of fire escaping her mouth.
"I didn't get to kill the people. I sure as hell wanted to, but... They'd all died by their own experiments, leaving nothing left for me to exact my revenge on..."
She clenches her fists.
"...except for the man behind the man. This fight ain't over, is it? Sure, the guy who tortured you is... dead. But the guy who made him torture you isn't. There's still a loose end."
Phoenix gives a thumbs up.
"So c'mon. Pick yourself up. Because the fight ain't over yet, and you shouldn't be either."
I am online and connected, ma'am. The Model Ψ is fully prepped and ready to go.
Milin looks down at her new armor in silent awe.
"...everything checks out?"
Lilith gives a thumbs-up as she stores the last of her things.
"Everything's good here. You're all ready to give 'em hell."
Lilith climbs into her exosuit, a superalloy-plated 10-foot tall armored suit that comes with plenty of defensive power and places for weaponry. Which she's strapped all manner of to it. It's a modular platform, so it isn't as durable as it would be if it were a purpose-built combat suit.
"Riiiight... Who's doing what?"
"I'm gonna fight this so-called king. He's big, I've got a big suit, this should be easy."
"I'm gonna fight maniac and little prick, I suppose. Along with whoever else does that..."
"Putting down immortals is... my thing, so I'm gonna face the lich, I suppose."
Pyre is meditating, drawing strength from Selune in preparation for freeing the Nightsong. Her infernal engine is acting up... will she even survive to see the end?
I won't fall now... I'll do my duty. Whatever it takes.
Mission Select
Vs. Ketheric: Phoenix
Vs. Azura and Morgan: Milin
Free the Nightsong: Pyre
Vs. Garon: Lilith
aeiou: the secondJoseph was silent as Phoenix approached. She was right about wishing to be left alone, but Joseph did not say as much; she’d already taken a seat, after all, and had continued talking.
He listened to her talk, though, with half his mind elsewhere. But despite the divide in his attention, he couldn’t help but find her words startlingly similar to his own experience, right down to a vengeance stolen from him. He flexed fingers that no longer existed, bent and unbent them, felt them still but knew they had rotted into dust by now.
And there was a truth in her final words as well, urging him on to keep fighting. He tried to use them, to fuel his hatred, but found that the burning fury had burnt itself into dim embers. He tried to make himself mad, but found only emptiness where there should’ve been motivation.
Guilt. It’s my fault Michael’s dead.
"Fuck the fight." He hissed at last. "Fuck the man behind the man. Fuck Ketheric, fuck Corrin, fuck Kenjaku, fuck Azura fuck that little shit with her fuck that squid fuck revenge fuck me." He gnashed his teeth. "I failed. I couldn’t protect my friend, I brought him with me here and I couldn’t protect him. His death—his blood is on my hands. How do I look Shelley in the eyes and tell her why Michael isn’t with me? How do I tell her that I lived, where he didn’t?"
With great power…you know the rest.Ashes of Nohr - Sidetalk
Castle
"..."
Phoenix is silent for a moment. She shivers as she clenches her fists. All of her friends had died in that lab. But...
"In these kinda situations, you ask what they'd want you to do. Wouldn't they want you to stand up and fight? To avenge your friend's death- to make it all worth it in the end? If you back out now, who's to say justice gets served, huh?"
Her right eye sparks up, glowing a gentle orange color. A heart from the god of fire goes a long way to stir the embers of emotion.
"Because I can bet you she'd be happier knowing that his death was avenged, rather than nothing coming of it because you gave up."
Phoenix stands up, holding out her hand to help Joseph up.
"So c'mon, soldier. Fight's not over yet."
aeiou: the secondRecon
It takes some elbow grease but the crystal eventually breaks at the midpoint, allowing her to collect it. The shattering sound is very loud though. Loud enough something is alerted, judging by the groaning sounds they hear. Soon they see a lot more blips on the sonar as their foe reveals itself. Something they've both been dreading.
Namely what used to be a human but is now a shambling puppet. Armour stained black still covers their features but they're unmistakably human, baleful red gazes glowing under their helmets as they begin dragging themselves towards the two. Their weapons a mix of swords, halberds and even a few bowguns.
They have a window of opportunity to prepare before the shambling horde gets into melee range with them.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Ashes of Nohr
The literal second Mark walks out into the Arena once again, he's met face to face with Cecil, selling bread. The old man is pretty ecstatic to see his kin, but.
"Nope. Fuck that."
The feeling doesn't seem mutual.
"IS THAT HOW YOU GREET YOUR FATHER YOU HALF-BAKED SACK OF SH—"
Mark quickly turns tail to immediately return to the Castle but in comes half the body of an old man who shares his facial features to drag him back out. The boy wrestles back,
And they're in
and out
in
and out.
This tomfoolery continues till Mark finally decides enough is enough and hurls Cecil across the portal.
"Good GOD YOU'RE AN ASS!"
"MAKING BREAD CAN MAKE ME BUY ONE!"
Both of them settle their sudden outbursts of anger down for a moment. Cecil is taking in the scenery of this castle. Perhaps it might be of that blue guy he spoke to a while back, Corrin. As he decides to not let his crotch goblin get in the way of his bread, he just walks deeper into the castle to give random people inside a whole loaf of bread.
He'll just take this moment to leave and go find his crew....
Green was probably off somewhere frolicking among the orks.
Amy is still worried over the Hub Centralis brawl and doesn't want to enable his self-destructive habits.
Reiss goes wherever Nick does but
Mark didn't have a good enough explanation — blame the unconsciousness and being nearly-deadness — for Nick to actively join him in order to seek out relations with Ketheric's mother.
Another moment passes and Mark returns with... No one from his party the bit above is in case bolded themselves doesn't wanna deal with too many player-characters, he'll take his loss and just pitch in wherever he can.
Azura/Morgan: Mark
Free Corrin: Cecil
Edited by BoniniBanana on Jun 4th 2024 at 12:59:17 AM
realMonth Late May the Fourth Post
Horuset System
In the deepest regions of the outer rim, a single system lies, far isolated from nearby stars, harboring a singular planet. Entirely unremarkable on its own, yet from this singular node in the endless galaxy, many millennia of threats have spawned and erupted into the galaxy. A fiery sun, flaring bright red like a laigrek's eye burns, a hateful gaze cast on its neighboring stars. A hateful gaze that narrows, searing the singular planet within the confines of its gravitational pull.
A planet that the galaxy hides as far away as possible, isolated. Marooned, this desert world basks in the glow of its star, harboring the galaxy's greatest evils. Over eons past and future, its name changes, though one constant remains. This world is solely responsible for the birth of the Sith and their Empire, known forever by Dark Lords as Korriban. Around the system a massive fleet has formed, escorting one VIP to the planet's surface.
Korriban - Valley of the Dark Lords
Night has fallen on Korriban, a brief reprieve for the sun-baked sand and dirt from the searing heat, a reprieve for power-hungry acolytes from the unending hordes of K'lor'slugs, and an opportunity for Laxin
to move about his business uninterrupted. Emerging from a stealth shuttle into the Valley of the Dark Lords, Laxin is met by a kneeling Lord Ranus
.
" We discovered the Dashade's chamber, but it is empty, my lord. Perhaps-"
Silencing his apprentice with a hand gesture, Laxin dons a flowing black cape to conceal himself. Raising the hood to cover his helmetless head, Laxin chuckles at Ranus's assumption.
"Darth Nox claimed the beast years ago during their tenure as Zash's whelp, I am here to claim Sadow's lore."
Ranus raised a brow beneath his helmet, curiosity taking him momentarily before the Sith Lord rose to his feet, stepping out of Laxin's way as the Emperor moved past him to observe the valley.
It was Laxin's favorite place to visit, with six massive statues stretching far above the edges of the valley, history erected into statues of Dark Lords prior, their tombs beneath the statues' feet. The Sith Academy lay not far beyond the edges of the valley, a pyramid-shaped obelisk to the Dark Teachings, overseen by the idle eyes of the dead Dark Lords.
Walking alongside Laxin, Ranus voices his curiosity.
"His tomb has already been pillaged for such information by the acolytes during their tests, has it not? Your expedition into Marak Ragnos' tomb has had far greater success."
Laxin at first doesn't answer his apprentice, sensing the slightest tinge of an abnormal worry in Ranus's words, a hesitation to follow Laxin in his step. Furrowing his brow, Laxin continues forward.
"Sadow's journals on Yavin 4 alluded to an alchemical discovery of unthinkable power, the details of which were hidden on the moon's surface, but later moved. I'd searched tirelessly until I discovered a cryptic letter passed down through generations of the Massassi guarding his tomb."
Pausing as the pair reached the tomb's entrance, Laxin cleared his throat while he looked around. This sweeping gaze was not focused solely on the environment, Laxin also carefully observed Ranus, his apprentice vacantly staring into the tomb while reaching for his wrist.
Laxin sighed, continuing forward into the tomb, shortly followed by Ranus. The pairs' footsteps echoed across the stone construction of the ancient tomb. Studying the walls, Laxin is reminded of a core tenant of Sith ideology, politics, power plays, faux loyalty, and betrayal.
Navigating Sith politics while fighting a war separate from the Republic was a tumultuous challenge he had neglected entirely. Now that Laxin's mind had slipped back into the mindset, Ranus's peculiar behavior seemed all too familiar. Narrowing his gaze to his apprentice, Laxin continued to elaborate.
"The letter at first made little sense until it had finally occurred to me who wrote it. The writing was not Sadow, but Tulak Hord. Hord's respect for Sadow ran deep, deep enough to construct this false tomb, and, if I am correct, smuggled the Massassi to Korriban to hide Sadow's most sacred discovery in a tomb he could've never visited."
Laxin paused, chuckling, his voice echoing across the vacant halls. Ranus's unease oozed from him with each step the pair took further into the tomb, cementing Laxin's suspicion.
"This power is the final key to my ascension. With it, the final victory against the Jedi will be child's play. Your betrayal will be of no consequence."
The final words passing Laxin's lips were quite pointed, the pair coming to a grinding stop a few feet apart from each other. Only a few steps from the door to the secret chamber, Ranus draws his lightsaber and ignites the crimson blade, lunging forward to impale Laxin from behind.
Laxin whips around, drawing his lightsaber parrying away Ranus's strike, and pressing forward to blade lock with his apprentice. Pushing hard into Ranus, Laxin grits his teeth.
"I had thought I taught you to conceal your intentions better than that, apprentice."
Laxin taunts, pushing Ranus away from the blade lock and unleashing a combination of slashes that the latter Sith Lord can only barely manage to block. Grasping his lightsaber tightly, Ranus haphazardly throws himself back into Laxin's range, striking at his master desperately as fast as he can swing his lightsaber.
Weaving each blow with a combination of blocks and parries, Laxin is about to end his apprentice's life with a swift strike when the presence of another approaching threat immediately draws Laxin's blade to the side, where he immediately deflects a strike from a purple lightsaber headed for his head.
Emerging from invisibility, a Kel Dor
Darth skids past Laxin, double-bladed lightsaber in hand.
"The greatest discovery in the Empire's history and you can't set aside such trivial child's play. I knew you were a fool Xanan, but roping in my weakest apprentice for a sorry attempt at a coup should be beneath a Darth."
Suddenly, Laxin feels a sharp pain in his side, looking down to spy a blood-soaked blade wound on his stomach. His gaze moved back to Darth Xanan, holding a Sith dagger in his free hand. Realizing what had occurred too late, Laxin lunged forward at Xanan, met halfway by Ranus forcing a blade lock.
Ranus remained silent, while the Kel Dor Darth raised the dagger high into the air, before plunging it deep into his stomach. Darth Xanan laughed, unaffected by the injury.
"The subtleties of what it means to be Sith is lost on you, hence your brutish tactics. You are costing the Empire far too many resources for minimal gain, your crusade into the Unknown Regions has yielded little fruit. Your reign as Emperor is over."
Suddenly, Laxin collapses, falling to both knees as his strength briefly abandons him.
"Execute him, and the title of Darth is yours."
Darth Xanan commands, Laxin raising his blurred gaze to glare at the Kel Dor from afar. Ranus looks down on Laxin for the first time, an exhilarating rush of power and satisfaction flooding his veins like no other. Wasting no time, Ranus raised his lightsaber high overhead, savoring the moment with a deep breath.
"My chains to you are BROKEN!"
Ranus shouts as he swings downward like an executioner, aiming for Laxin's neck only for a Sphere of Darkness to erupt from the Dark Lord's back at breakneck speed to smash into Ranus, sending him rocketing away into one of the tomb walls.
Darth Xanan stumbles backward, taken aback by this strange display of an alien ability, but raises his lightsaber-wielding arm at Laxin, outstretching a pair of fingers to unleash Force Lightning at him.
Another Sphere of Darkness erupts from Laxin, stopping just in front of his face before flattening to a disk-like shape that shields him from the attack, then swiftly turns sideways and rockets at Xanan like a discus, aimed to cleave the Kel Dor in half. Leaping high into the air, Darth Xanan narrowly avoids the misshapen sphere as it smashes through a few of the tomb walls, causing a loud, earth-trembling grumble from the stone.
"WEAK!!!!!"
Laxin shouts, inadvertently unleashing a Force Scream that rocks the tomb as he smashes his fist into the ancient stone, desperately trying to get back on his feet. Cracks begin to spider across the roof, giving Xanan an alternative idea. Turning quickly to Ranus, he shouts.
"Bury him!"
Still knocked over, Ranus raises a hand to the roof, clenching his fist to wrench the roof of the tomb down, gargantuan hunks of rock falling from above Laxin to crush the Dark Lord. Xanan unleashes another torrent of Force Lightning as a distraction before rocketing to Ranus's side with a burst of Force Speed, sheathing the dagger and yanking Ranus to his feet.
The Force Lightning bounces off Laxin, a subconscious Force Barrier erecting around him that also prevents him from being totally crushed by the collapsing tomb.
"COWARDS!!!"
His voice penetrated the stone, rumbling the tomb further to cause a cascading failure in the structural integrity of the ancient construction. Xanan and Ranus began to run, combining their prowess in the Force to accelerate the tomb's destruction behind them to prevent Laxin's escape, and to buy Xanan time to solidify the dagger's ritual.
The instant the pair made it out of the door they wasted no time in completely collapsing the entrance with a savage use of the Force, ripping the ancient stone construction to large chunks of crudely stacked pieces.
Ranus panted, stumbling around as an exhilirating rush of anxiety and relief filled his heart, while Xanan stood idle at the collapsed entrance, withdrawing the dagger. Kneeling into the sand, Xanan sheathed his lightsaber and ran a free hand across his bleeding, yet not hurting wound.
Pressing the blood tightly against the inscryption on the dagger's blade, each letter began to glow, and with each letter, the rumbling within the collapsed tomb dimmed awnd dimmed, until it had disappeared entirely. Sighing with relief, Xanan sheathed the dagger, rising to his feet.
"I-Is he dead?"
Ranus asked, hoping for a satisfactory answer.
"No."
Darth Xanan lamented, taking a deep breath.
"But the fate he suffers instead is worse. He'll be trapped in that tomb forever. Good enough for me."
"You're sure he can't escape?"
"As long as I hold the dagger, his connection to the Force will be dulled. He'd be a skull and bones long before he amassed the strength to move even the smallest stone."
Turning to Ranus, Xanan gestures to the stealth shuttle Laxin arrived in.
"Now, Darth Ranus, to Ziost."
Ashes of Nohr - IGNITION
Before we go forward, a word from our sponsor.
WELCOME, STRANGERS!
X 5 Vallite Capsules
X 3 Healing Potions
X 2 Greater Healing Potions
X 2 Resurrection Scrolls
One (1) SCROLL OF GLOBE OF INVULNERABILITY : One time use of a short-ranged globe. Targets cannot be damaged within the globe but can still be moved.
FLYING THUNDER GOD SEAL : Can be teleported to after applying it to a target or object no matter the distance. Only the user can do it unless they grab someone else or connect their energy to them.
SENZU BEAN : Can bring back a target from near-death, regenerate limbs etc.
Moonrise Crypt - Courtyard
Time didn't pass by conventionally in Moonrise Crypt, or even Moonrise Grave for that matter. For it was locked in an eternal night that made it hard for its inhabitants to deduce the passage of time. But still, Azura, Morgan, Ketheric and the other inhabitants had known and anticipated that almost a day would pass. And with it, the consumption of the Pear of Ignorance by Corrin.
Their whole world revolved around that - and indeed, that wasn't a metaphor. With the Intruders being busy preparing for the entire day, Moonrise Crypt was swiftly invaded by the Chaos Beasts, with Ketheric, Balthazar and his cohorts "exiled" to the main tower of the palace and left to watch as the beasts gathered in the courtyard. Some of them looked like twisted knights with molten armor, others like great beasts, you all probably got the gist of it.
And as they gathered in the immense courtyard of Moonrise Crypt, their mere presence causing a nova of light to engulf the entire fortress, the creatures... simply sat still and observe the great big black stage. The construction of which had been spotted by the Suicide Squad and, briefly, by Takumi. It took up almost half of the courtyard by itself, a feat, given that you could reasonably build a town within it. And on it were gigantic speakers, with a great screen at the very back, reaching up to almost half of Ketheric's tower behind it. Spotlights wiggled and moved in the background, and as they illuminated one per one, projecting multicolored rays of light across the sky, the Chaos Beasts begin to gesticulate wildly.
Accompanying the rising intensity, some spotlights on the top of the stage light up one per one, illuminating... a mostly empty stage. But then, one (1) red spotlight illuminate a figure on the right : Morgan, the young man standing with his arms crossed in front of his head, itself held down. And as a song start playing in, invisible instruments getting going from nowhere, he slowly start lifting his arms.
PRESENTED BY MOONRISE CRYPT
Proudly displays the screen behind him, the letters fading to blood red, as the stage itself begins to get bathed in a eerie green "fog" of a sort. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Morgan lifts up his arms, revealing his smiling face underneath. Lo and Behold! Here comes your mysterious friend!
For your sake, her life had to come to an unclear end!
Morgan throws his arms up and down before jumping backwards into a DJ booth, of all things, crossing his arms in front of his chest this time, and letting the branchs touch the discs on their own. It doesn't seem to do anything apart from amusing him, because there's no notable sound. The music, wherever it is from, is playing on its own.
But by the strength of her outrage!
She's BACK ON STAGE!
Everyone, say helllllooooooo to...
A piece of floor on the middle of the stage open up, making way for a new figure on the stage. Unlike Morgan, he doesn't appear to be on the mood for some lyrics. And if he's getting stage fright, that's too bad for him : he's being held by some tight chains on his neck and hands, which are bound behind his back. On front of him, sitting on a small wooden bowl, is the pear of ignorance, with Corrin forlornly looking at it.
As the lights wash over him, he look up to try to see if there's anyone prowling the stage, and he's glad to mostly see lava monsters. He's less glad to see Garon on the torn-open west wing where he had chased them all earlier : the idea that he was to be outlived by Garon, despite literally killing him twice, had prevented Corrin from eating the pear for longer than he'd like to admit.
But still, as he considered the stage, he guessed he was happy to see that his allies weren't there. It was... a strange place to cap off his miserable first life, but at least, he wouldn't be dying alone, as he always believed he would, having outlived everyone he came to care about. And thought he knew a similar angst would grip his next life, he didn't care for it too much.
All his problems were going to go away - and if anything, so long as the Pear existed, he'd have a backup.
... But he still couldn't feel much happiness. Only regrets.
No matter - it would all go away when he'd die.
AZURRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Corrin lowered his head again as a figure came unto stage from the wing where Garon was at, hitting the ground and sliding on it, with a trail of water to accompany it. The crowd went wild at the sight of the songstress, who had a somewhat different look from before. Her eyes were wider than before, with slightly longer teeth, and her face was paler. Her blue hair were a deeper shade than before, and her face was slightly more angular, with her body taller and lankier than before.
With the simulation not being reset anymore, and her objective on the cusp of completion, Azura appears to be growing a distinct personality of her own! Separate from the one fed by her two memorlies. Kenjaku theorizes, rubbing his chin. He's standing straight in the middle of the crowd, having ingeniously put on sunglasses to hide his identity. The fact that no one in the simulation could so much as recognize his presence at all also helped, but hey, he was thorough. Although perhaps it's to blame on those two memorlies to start with.
Shhh, she's gonna sing. Kenjaku nods to Mahito, who's also smartly blended in with the crowd by wearing sunglasses.
DID I KEEP YOU WAITING?! GIVE IT UP GIVE IT UP! Azura screams, not needing a mic when her sheer voice can apparently carry the entire crowd. The lava beasts, the Cursed Spirit and the living brain scream in approval. ARE YOU READY TO KICKSTART THE INVASION OF THE ARENA?! IT'S TIME TO PARTY!!! The crowd goes wilder, and the stage briefly goes quiet for a second... before it lights back up, revealing that Azura has summoned a bunch of afterimages of herself as backup dancers, each moving with about a second of delay.
ZOOMIN' ZOOMIN' ZOOMIN' ZOOMIN' ZOOMIN'! Azura leaps from left to right. ONCE CORRIN HAS TAKEN A BITE
MY POWER WILL RISE LIKE INFINITE!
IT MIGHT JUST BE A SICKLY LITTLE PEAR
BUT IT WILL MAKE ME WITHOUT PEERS!
HUB CENTRALIS?!
MORE LIKE HUB CENTRAL-WAS!!!!
The beat continues but Azura and her afterimages stop to look at Morgan and shake their heads in disapproval. He smiles slightly, shrugging in apology.
And up above in his tower, Ketheric approves even less, the multicolored light of the stage faintly illuminating his stony visage as he sits upon his throne. He rolls his eyes, honestly aghast at the kind of music that these deranged beings are so earnesly dancing to.
Meanwhile, Garon try making an entrance on his own, the old king jumping unto the stage in an attempt to join Azura. She reacts by swiftly grabbing him along, lifting up his huge mass and spinning on stage, narrowly missing Corrin.
AND HERES COME A KING!
TOO BAD FOR HIM - HE'S NOT ALLOWED TO SAY A THING! Azura lets go of Garon after spinning him along for long enough, sending him flying off into another part of the Crypt, where he violently explode into mud on impact. Following this demonstration of strength, she flex her arms, looking back at the crowd - and on the despondent Corrin.
AND TO THOSE WHO THREATEN MY VISION
BEWARE MY DOMAIN EXPANSION! Azura says, jumping back and slamming her hands together to imitate her Domain's hand signs... but not summoning it, thankfully. And then she separates her hands, leaning her body back.
YOOOOOOOOOALLLLLRIGHT MOONRISE CRYPT! LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM!!! Azura turns back to the stage, her actual vision of the crowd dimmed by the endless light, mixed in with the crowd being lava beasts producing blinding light on their own, especially gathered altogether. AND NOW - AS WE PREPARE TO DEPART, A SMALL TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO DID SO TOO SOON! The stage goes quiet again, the spotlights shutting off again, before returning, the lights all focusing on Morgan.
AND HERE COMES THE GRIMLEAL!
"ITS NOT MY FAULT - MOMMY SAID I HAD TO BRING THE WORLD TO HEEL!" Morgan does a quick spin and throws his arm up overhead to point at the nearest spotlight. Then, he lowers his arm to the right, pointing off in that direction, and give a quick spin before smacking his hands on his chest and throwing his arms forward.
UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!
BUT ITS ALL IN THE HANDS OF A DORK?!
I GUESS PEOPLE REALLY DO DIE WHEN THEY ARE KILLED - EMMIIYYYYYAAAAA!
A KNIGHT IN FAILING ARMOR!
AND IN THE END, HE WAS SUCH A BORE!
SAY NIGHTY NIGHT, THE KNIGHT!
SMALL AND STUPID!
AND ON TOP OF THAT, FETID!
SAYONARA, REFIA!
Behind them, on the screen, greyed pictures of the fallen spirits play. In the crowd, Kenjaku joins the dancing, swinging his lower body from left to right while punching the air overhead with his arms, sometimes lowering them
Morgan leaps out of his booth, moonwalking on stage to rejoin Azura. She does the same, but when he stops, she purposefully keep moonwalking past him.
SEARCH EVERYWHERE - YOU WON'T FIND ANYONE STERNER! Azura spins her arms vertically in front of her, then throws them overhead, pointing at the tower.
MAKE SENSE - WITH A DAUGHTER SIX FEET UNDER! Morgan does the same, but just shake them up and down repeatedly before doing the point.
KETHERIC THOOORRMMM!
They let the spotlights linger unto the tower, before they both break formation. LAST AND CERTAINLY LEAST!
TO THE ONE THAT WANTS TO BE A BEAST!
THE ONE WHO WIELDS FIRE...
AND OF WHOM WE QUICKLY TIRE!
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
The entire song and stage stop, with the crowd instantly going mild, stopping their gesticulations/dancing to stare placidly into the distance. Even Garon, in the distance, goes blank faced.
Azura and her afterimages slowly, methodically lower her hand to her right ear, a blank look on her face. She opens up her mouth very slightly to let out a whiny, inquisitive sound.
Mh?
And then, the song start again at full blast, the crowd laughing along with the singers as a badly-drawn image of Takumi crying appears on stage. AT LEAST YOU GOT REUNITED WITH YOUR BIG BRO AND MOTHER - FOR THE THIRD TIME!
HE WON'T BE BACK TO LOSE TO CORRIN FOR THE SEVENTH TIME! Azura slaps her knee, and the rest of the song devolve into laughter. This make the group seemingly unaware of the approaching Githyanki army in the distance, thunder in the distance sporadically illuminating them as they climb up the mountain. Voss had been liberal in informing them of Vlaakith's arrival. And they were under the belief that their queen wanted to arrive to a conquered world.
They walked diligently up the mountain as a swarm. And overhead, Voss had summoned some favors from younger kith'raks, prompting a bataillon of Red Dragons to fly overhead to disable any defense on the battlements. They'll be at the castle within one turn. And they all know that for many of them, it'll be their final resting ground. But better die in battle than face the wrath of their queen.
Voss's dragon, Qudenos, is leading his kin and their allies in the black sky leading to the fortress. And as for Voss himself, he has his own agenda to pursue in case the Istik were to fail. One that would require him to access Moonrise Tower and gain access to the Pear of Ignorance! As such, he will be on the battlefield, though following his own agenda.
Luckily, Voss only made sure to stage remaining forces in front of Wayne Tower, where the Nightsong is located. The green forcefield around it has big cracks running all over it, with the remaining Githyankis hammering it in with their weapons or magic.
Never thought I'd be fighting alongside the Githyankis! It's almost as pleasant as the prison. Gortash quips, exiting the water first and making his way to the cold concrete platform leading up to the street above : and to Wayne Tower. While it was risky business to be close to a righteous Aasimar, he was convinced Wayne Tower had some loot he could acquire to make his life better. Be it here or after leaving Moonrise Crypt.
Besides, it'd be riskier being too close to demented spirits and their army of lava beings, on top of Ketheric and the rest.
Close to him, Salazar, Zuko and Marco (who has to be pulled out by the former) emerge out of the water, with Optimus Prime waiting before leaving the water as well. While Whitebeard's first-commander was confused about everything, he knew that the folks out there needed his help. I kinda thought my retirement would be quieter than this. He says wryly, glancing up at the tower. He imagined he could fly up to it (and that was partly the plan). But he imagined it wouldn't be this easy.
Hopefully you won't want to retire after this! Salazar retorts, pulling out his Vallite Gun. He eyed Marco strangely, being aware that the Pirate apparently had the unique ability to summon healing flames and transform himself into a phoenix. Which is why he was sent here : his powers and mobility could counter the undead well. Likewise, Gortash could bypass more mechanical traps and doors, Salazar's Vallite bullets will work well against the undead and Zuko's flames and martial arts will be more useful here than against the lava monsters.
As for Optimus? He could easily drive the group back to Moonrise Crypt afterwards, on top of straight up not being able to go Moonrise Crypt at all by way of water. He had used some time off to equip himself with something peculiar: a jetpack, tailor-made for him. We should go quickly. The sooner the Nightsong is freed, the better. Not only because of Ketheric's immortality, but also because Optimus really disliked the idea of a sentient being ending up in prison for so long, and having her power and life drained from her.
Let's try to seize the entrance hall first.
The group will need to hurry, though : the barrier is almost gone. And once it is, the Necromites inside the tower begin barraging away at the parking, blasting off with guns, magic, even tossing wooden desks and chairs. It doesn't occur now, but the group will need to get ready.
Moonrise Crypt - Innards
The sound of music resonates in the dank bowels of the crypt as Shadowheart makes her way out of a convenient pool of water, pulling out Kidd right afterwards. For this, they were the only two people who had volunteered to fight Ketheric. They had emerged in a small, uncomfortable room that was mostly empty aside from the pool.
I guess they're getting pretty cozy up here...
These rhymes suck. Kidd snaps to... no one really. He advanced forward, looking around. Cold and desolate as the halls were, he could still guide himself using Ketheric's Voice. But he wasn't about to face off against him immediately : instead, he sticks his hand out, and attract a set of nearby undead Necromites in armor, the living corpses floating in mid-air.
Shadowheart looks alarmed at this, though Kidd quickly dispose of them by having the Necromites's armor twisted up to crush them. Having mangled them down to their fluid, he form two some small holes all over the metal balls to have them drip out from it, and let the metal float behind him. I'm gonna gather as much metal as I can to crush Ketheric good. Follow me if you want to make your way to him quick - I'd like an audience.
An audience to what? Him crushing your skull with that hammer of his? I don't think a lot of people would mind that but... Shadowheart replies.
You'll see. And hopefully you'll be less of a coward after that! Kidd step off on his own into the hallway, venturing off into the dark.
Moonrise Crypt - Sky
It all came down to a realization - they travel via water, right? And clouds have a lot of water, right? And while it'd be a very awkward way of dropping off into the fight, Joseph and the Merchant had put together a daring plan. One that's best negotiated offscreen.
Descending down from the sky is a Douglas B-18 bolo
◊ of greater size than average, fit to carry the likes of Choso, Law, Kusakabe, Leonidas, Beruka, Kaa, Gunter and more or less everyone else who had chosen to go straight to the battlefield. It was big enough for everyone to fit in, with a somewhat stressed Kusakabe sitting in the middle of it.
Here's hoping my ancestors won't be too pissed at me. He thinks to himself. It was a bold way of entering the battlefield, and the plane's pilot, Joseph Joestar, laughed as he saw Moonrise Crypt appears in the cockpit. Next to him, on the co-pilot seat, assuming no one else had decided to join in, there sat a random Robobrain.
Hehehe, I just earned a big break! I'm just gonna drop these morons over to fight these lava monsters and then I'll just fly this baby back into a cloud and take a nap back at the castle! I only wish the elf chick could be seeing me drop all these guys off to fight! Joseph's chuckling is heard by the people he's about to drop into the plane through his mic, prompting at least Choso, Law, Kusakabe and Beruka to angrily look up and shake their head.
BEEP BOOP YOU ARE SPEAKING INTO THE MIC MORON reassures the robotbrain.
H-oh, right! Err... Welcome to Air Joestar! We'll very soon be reaching our destination! Joseph coughs into the mic. The weather is catastrophic, the locals are very angry, and Corrin is in sight! So grab your parachutes, or don't, and prepare to get dropped off into a warzone!
BEEP BOOP THE ODDS OF YOU DYING A DOG'S DEATH ARE EXTREMELY HIGH, BUT IF YOU WERE A GOOD PERSON, YOU HAVE SIMILAR ODDS OF GOING TO HEAVEN! BUT IF YOU WERE A BAD PERSON AND/OR READ COMMUNIST TEXT AT ONE POINT IN YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL GO TO HELL! SO I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU TO FIGHT AS HARD AS YOU CAN IN THAT CASE, THOUGH KNOW THAT YOU ARE ONLY DELAYING YOUR ETERNAL TORMENT!
... I'm going to kill that thing after we're through. Choso sighs.
Edited by Bolded1 on Jun 3rd 2024 at 9:01:34 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterAshes of Nohr - IGNITION
Due to Vladek still being busy, neither he or the knights are aware of the Merchant's wares that are up for sale. Suuuuurely not having some of those on them won't backfire at some point.
But before the groups were to set out, Vladek finally stands back up, holding the flask carrying the results of his efforts.
"It is done." , he says before moving his helmet up (revealing his face
◊) to drink the contents of that flask. A dark, creepy aura surrounds him right after, which then moves and converges into his hands. He straps his gloves back on to hide said aura, then pulls his helmet back down and turns to Dracus and Karzon.
"Let us get ready. And pick up my books."
Karzon moves to grab them as Dracus simply holds the door open for Vladek to walk out first, side-eying the dark knight underneath his helmet.
As for Karzon, he does grab both the books, but he pockets them himself before going after the other two.
—
Moonrise Grave - Wayne Tower
Having chosen to go help free the Nightsong, he comes with Gortash's group. While he poses no significant advantage against the undead with his powers, his Shadow Knight army could still prove vital in a pinch were the group to be surrounded by superior numbers.
"I agree, we must hurry. We must reach her before our allies have to strike at Ketheric, especially with how few of them are currently out there." , he says. He holds up his blade and summons an enormous amount of Shadow Knights, then points at Wayne Tower.
"Go, my knights, and seize the entrance before the barrier falls!"
The Shadow Knights charge forward with Vladek in tow.
—
Moonrise Crypt - Sky
Karzon and Dracus, surprisingly, ended up being ordered by Vladek to go along and help fight Morgan and Azura. They'd not been given Shadow Knights, as Vladek had found out what happened to the previous batch and did not want a repeat of that. Since, for all Vladek knows, Morgan or Azura may have the same ability to raise the dead.
Dracus is quiet, as usual, as he simply waits for them to get there. Karzon, on the other hand, looks at Beruka and suddenly speaks up to her.
"I'm aware this isn't the best of times, but I took a blade from the armory at your castle. There was nobody there I could pay for it, so if you allow me, I will pay you right now. In case I end up not living past this battle. I'd hate to leave a debt unpaid." , he says before offering Beruka a bag of gold pieces.
"As for Corrin, I will do everything in my power to help you save him."
How... strangely honorable of someone who hasn't really been very social or approachable at all so far. Beruka, through experience, is the kind of person who will easily be able to see through this if it were bullshit.
But... even to her, it'll feel genuine.
Dracus would be weirded out by Karzon behaving this way, but his mind is somewhere else right now (the whole Vladek situation), so he does not notice. He doesn't even notice the intercom, though Karzon does and he looks up as he hears what's being said.
"Hrm... this really could be the end, huh?" , he says, though he doesn't sound discouraged. He must have real faith that they can win this.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Nightsong of Nohr
Save
- > Ashes of Nohr - Nightsong
- Coal-Powered Good Morning
"Pyra", Squad and Typhoon arrive at Wayne Tower, ready to free the Nightsong.
The hammer is still a wind hammer, held in their left hand alongside "Pyra" igniting their right hand as a light source and to "Pyra" Blast away obstacles such as doors or foes.
It appears that the wheels of the Typhoon can have Power Effects applied to them as well, leaving trails of the element when used. The wheels are charged with electricity, with Zap trying to make a connection between the Walmart products coming to life and now "Pyra"'s bike coming to life as they give the wheels the appropriate effect. The link hasn't been established yet.
After that, the Squad will hover into the air as Ravenos flies besides "Pyra" ready to give them a pair of wings if need be.
|You|
"I wonder if there are music with magical power in the Arena."
This is the loudest "Pyra" ever thought aloud, with the idea coming from the Nightsong's name and the discussion with Ecclesia before they part ways for the mission.
School
Save
- Ashes of Nohr - Nightsong
- > Fiery Lunch
(2) and the Bros are having lunch at the field today, with the Bros setting up their dummy Pokeys as usual and (2) sitting near a wall playing their bass.
What's new to this scene is Coalin, settling herself on (2)'s head observing the Bros while lightly hopping to the music.
Du-Du-Wa-Do-It, Arena KatsudouIn the plane flying just above the site where Ketheric's forces were putting on some twisted concert of all things, Red Hood leans forward in one of the chairs, his mind preoccupied with the inevitable confrontation with Kenjaku once Ketheric and his minions have been dispatched. That he'd gone one-on-one with Killer Moth in his monstrous Charaxes form and not wound up torn to shreds meant Kenjaku was probably as strong as he was intelligent. Should Jason save his ace in the hole for that fight, then, in case getting the drop on the monstrous living brain didn't pan out?
He shakes his head. However things played out, whenever he played the metaphorical card up his sleeve, this ordeal would end with Kenjaku dying a richly deserved death with that obnoxious smile wiped clean off his hijacked face. Red Hood and his allies just had to win this fateful battle first.
Sitting beside Red Hood, Bucky reaches out and claps the vigilante on the shoulder with his metal hand.
"You ready for this, Jason?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, Sarge," Jason assures, glancing outside a nearby window. "Are those assholes seriously throwing themselves some kind of party? God, they really do think they've already won."
"Well, that's why we're dropping in on them uninvited. Nothing like gatecrashing their own party and bashing their faces in to let them know things aren't over yet."
Rising from their respective seats, Jason and Bucky reenact Dutch and Dillon's iconic handshake from the first Predator movie.
"Give Kethric's runt what he deserves."
"Send that sick son of a bitch back to hell."
Vi leans back against the nearest bulkhead. Karzon acting differently than normal causes her to raise an eyebrow, but she decides not to comment on the matter. Instead, she wonders how in the world she's supposed to get through to Corrin when all hell was inevitably going to break loose around them.
Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jun 3rd 2024 at 5:08:45 AM
Game
"A silhouette of Bonnie, with blank white eyes and fully visible teeth."
Charlie casts a forlorn look at Evan. "Evan... If you lose yourself again, I'll—"
And then Jax gets a bite, interrupting her.
Given they are in an out-of-combat state, Emma can do things only Victoria could do during battle in the game, which in this case means having her arms bulk up like a Super Saiyan Second Grade as she goes to help Jax pull.
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."PML.UX M4R2 -1
"It's my turn already? Cara-"
"I'm sticking by this. We could need Kingdra. Just ask one of the others who're out of the tournament."
She smirks.
"Wasn't there a girl glaring at you?"
"What makes you think I'm gonna ask someone who clearly doesn't like me!? She'd probably throw the match on purpose.", Umezou grumbles. He looks around. His main focus had been on Red's battles, he doesn't really know much about the others because of that. Except Team Rocket, but they're clearly not up to par. What to do...
Well, in the worst case scenario, he'll have to follow Wriggle's example and use... two Pokemon... at a time...
He gulps. He's never been in a Double Battle before. ... well, he's fought alongside Cara before, but he hasn't controlled two Pokemon at once before. And given how fickle they can be with listening to him, having to do this with two of them at the same time... he's scared it'll end in disaster.
Regardless, he has no choice but to start making his way out of the stands. He makes his way to the battle arena as he grabs a Poke Ball. His plan had been to use Snorlax this round, then strike back with Mega Kangaskhan again the next if he made it.
He walks up to Lear.
"Uhhh... does it... have to be a Double Battle?", he asks, knowing the answer to that is going to be 'yes' but trying his luck anyway.
Game
"... oh..."
Just the tone of voice with which Evan says that confirms that he knows exactly what Charlie's talking about.
"I, uh... have been dreaming about a creature that looks like that ever since we rescued Mike.", he says. "It's... really weird though. It never tries to hurt me in my dreams, it just says... it says it'll make me happy. But demons are evil, right? Is it lying to me, or is it not actually here to hurt me?"
"How do you even get that kind of thing stuck in your shadow?", Gregory asks. He asks this right before Charlie starts to talk to Evan, meaning the boy won't get a chance to respond, as Jax will have caught something.
Gregory hesitates, but seeing Emma going to help gets him to move too. He's not sure how much help he's going to be, but he still holds onto Jax's arm and tries to help pull.
"Hmph. Let me show you how it's done.", Noah grins as his chair floats around to position itself behind the small group. Data-like tendrils move out and will attach to Jax's back, after which the chair will start moving backwards. Jax will not be harmed or experience anything negative from what Noah's doing, as he's only really helping him pull. ... y'know, without having to physically help pull.
With them all pulling, a glowing spot starts to become visible in the lake, Jax's line being right in the middle of that spot.
"It seems fate is giving you the chance you need. But you cannot take that chance unless you do it together.", Old Man Consequences says, sticking to his own cast line. Evan looks at the glowing spot and something in his eyes begins to sparkle a bit.
All of a sudden he looks confident, and as he turns to Charlie, he moves to gently grab her hand.
"Charlie, if I do, I know you'll help me. You always do."
He'll then go to Jax and the others, presumably with Charlie in tow (even if she lets go of his hand), and will start to help. And if Charlie helps too...
Jax's line will be pulled up successfully, and what they fish up will be quite surprising. It's a golden glow of light, shaped like a bear. After some presumed confusion from the others, Old Man Consequences chuckles.
"Well, what do you know? You've been given a way out. Take the demon to those demons and put them to eternal rest."
The golden glowing bear turns into a glowing golden sword that floats over to the group. Once any of them touch it, all of them will be warped back upwards, going through the layers (and this time they'll be able to see them all as they pass through) one by one.
And eventually, everything will go white as they leave the first layer...
4 Layers Down: COMPLETE!
Party Member Unlocked!
—
The group will now reappear back in the flooded arena. And as that happens, the TV screen that the outside group was watching through will finally stop showing static and reveal them again. They'll also see the prompt for the completed challenge.
"Everyone, are you all alright!?" , Glamrock Freddy asks, as he and the rest of the group are incredibly worried.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.LEAR
"......"
The royal umpire imperiously looks down upon the inquirious peasant.
"You probably should have asked before the round started," he snarks. "There isn't much I can do now."
......
He gives off a long sigh.
"Though.... Hmm. If you are so hopeless, I suppose I could lend one of my retainers to your team."
/\。。/\Ashes of Nohr, Wayne Tower (not the Batman one)
Uhh yeah shopping. She gets one last weapon upgrade, the SENZU BEAN and a Res scroll. Mm bankruptcy.
"Their music sucks." Rumia observes as they emerge before the tower of power. She feels charged up as she opts to drink one of those vampire potion things she got before. Will probably be useful in the coming fight to take the hall as she readies herself to join the charge, planning on making a flight assisted jump to close the distance.
"...Any reason we can't just fly up?" she asks while they prepare. "I think most of us can fly."
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Lear
Umezou finds he can't really argue with that. He starts considering the retainer offer, when-
"GOROOOOOO!"
"Huh?", Umezou asks as he looks around. Cara, too, got alerted by that very familiar-sounding cry. She looks too, only to practically get bowled over as something scurries down the stands and ends up pushing her out of the way while doing it.
That something then jumps from the stands and lands near Umezou and Lear, revealing it to be none other than Gorochu
◊. Umezou gasps.
"No way, Gorochu, you're here? And you wanna help me fight!? I thought you didn't like trainers.", he asks. Gorochu looks away from Umezou with disinterest, mainly focusing on watching the current ongoing battle.
Cara, who picks herself back up and sits back down, immediately gets what's happening.
"I think it just wants to fight someone strong to prove its own strength.", she yells down to Umezou... who shrugs and smiles.
"Works for me. That just means he'll try his best. Right, Gorochu?", he asks, reaching out with his hand, only to get it slapped away by Gorochu's tail. Umezou awkwardly laughs for a moment, then looks back at Lear.
"So, uh... Gorochu is allowed to be my battle partner, right?", he asks, after which Gorochu shows Lear a brief glare to make it clear it will not be happy if the answer to Umezou's question is no.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.PML.UX M4R2 -1
"N-no!", Umezou quickly answers in response to the question. He is not about to tell the guy that Gorochu is a Glitch Pokemon.
"Anyhow, thank you!", he says as he then runs up to the battle arena, with Gorochu following more casually. Once in the arena, Umezou will wait for his opponent to show up and then sends out his Pokemon.
"Snorlax, go!", he says, calling forth said Snorlax. Gorochu hops up to stand besides it, though shoots Umezou a strange glare for some reason upon seeing Snorlax.
"U-uh... Kangaskhan already fought last round.", he says to Gorochu. This does not seem to change anything. Why is it angry with Umezou?
It decides not to focus on that for now though, simply turning to whichever Pokemon their opponent will send out, ready to start.
"Goroooo!"
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Ashes of Nohr
Moonrise Crypt - Sky Above Courtyard
Lilith really hated arbitrary height limits. But she had managed to warp in her Super Destroyer as far up as she could go, though not in proper low-orbit. Thus-
"Prepare for launch! We're crashing this damn thing!"
Lilith and Milin both enter two drop pods (Lilith's being larger to accommodate her exosuit) before launching down at the courtyard. Alongside this is a much larger collection of decoy pods- those are headed to the edge of the courtyard.
"Their singing SUCKS. Upsilon, cut their music and queue mine, will ya?"
Right away, ma'am.
The music cuts out right as all the pods land. And this
starts to play.
"LISTEN UP YOU FUCKWITS! YOUR SINGING SUCKS, TAKE LESSONS!!"
Lilith jets out the top of her pod, firing her suit's full component of weapons into the surrounding crowd of beasts. Most of the bullets are charged with cryogenic energy- psionic tech?
At any rate, she's going full-auto with six autocannons, and two shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. She's also advancing towards her intended target- Garon.
Milin had also landed, blasting away any creatures that might try to pile onto her pod with a burst of psionic force. Then she jets up, her sleek nanotech suit fully deployed.
"Right- shut the fuck up."
She opens with a full-force blast from the suit's hand repulsors and unibeam, aimed at Morgan. Meanwhile, the psionic force she's emitting makes it hard to get close to her- though this can also work against her- something big enough could force her to rocket away- the field would push her back.
Moonrise Crypt- Innards
"Yeah, that singing is horrid..."
Oh yeah, Phoenix is coming along to fight Ketheric too. Her right eye is already glowing with stored fire- she's been storing it all for this moment. She heads off after Kidd.
"Metal, huh? I could forge it into a giant hammer if we get enough... seems fitting."
Phoenix skates along on small jets of fire.
Courtyard
Pyre is among the people heading to save the Nightsong. She'd wrapped some cloth over her heart to stop it from rattling too much- it was starting to get unstable. She'd manage.
"Let's do this..."
She grabs two hand crossbows from her bag and finds a suitable place to take cover. She can see the forces beyond, and she knows it's about to be a warzone.
aeiou: the secondWhen Mia watched Taye’s actions she seemed to at first frown in confusion, but a moment passed and it gave way to understanding and a brief glimmer of faint gratitude. Not long after they established camp once more, for the day had met its end, and fell into slumber swiftly and soundly.
Ladwin had them rise before the sun did. They were already much further behind schedule than he’d expected, he reasoned, and the longer they remained in the Shadowtrees, the likelier it was they’d be found by eyes better left unseen. And so, for the first half-hour or nearabouts after demolishing the camp and setting themselves on their way, they traveled in darkness. The old knight had urged avoiding lights and rather suggested that they simply travel in as near to a straight line as they could get, with a hand on the shoulder of the person in front. Fortunately they’d need not suffer this for too long, as the sky above was quick to lighten. The stars were extinguished, one by one, and the sky took a dark hue which steadily brightened.
The sun broke from the horizon just as they broke from the Shadowtrees.
The gold tallgrass of the Crown Plains was made even more illustrious by the dawn’s light, painted with thousands of rays from heaven above a cloudless sky. To lay eyes upon the rolling fields, running like a glimmering sea into the far distance with the wind washing over the waist-high grass in waves, inspired the closest thing to happiness and tranquility Mia had felt since the fall of her city and family. But she was reminded of it then, and that happiness was once more stolen from her by her own guilt.
Ladwin lifted a hand to protect his eyes from the glare of the sun as he peered off and hoped to catch a glimpse, at least, of Ybicche on the south horizon; but the orb’s radiance was too great, blotting out much beneath it with its light. He sighed and lowered his hand. "Let’s hurry. With luck, we’ll be there before midday."
The Crown Fields, thankfully, was much easier to tread than the Shadowtrees. There were no roots to trip over, no downhill path winding through clusters of trees and bushes, no steep declines nor hidden crevices nor natural pitfalls masked by leaves, no paranoia-inducing creatures scurrying through the underbrush.
But even still, an uneasy feeling dawned upon the voyagers, and its culprit was no riddle. On their left, to the east, were the mighty stone mountains of the Ephel Dúath, made plain as day without any obstacles to obscure their view of it. Here in the fields, they witnessed its horrifying grandeur in a way they hadn’t been able in the Shadowtrees. The black walls of Mordor cast a shadow over the Crown Fields. The dark receded as the sun crested its insurmountably high and sheer cliff faces, and its peaks, sharpened into violent spearheads, but plagued the land nonetheless. The mountains were near two or three hundred feet tall on average, though obviously smaller and larger in places. Their monstrous height and intimidating form, like fangs set in a predator’s maw and tearing away at the sky, made one thing evidently clear: the enemies of Mordor would have a very, very difficult time penetrating the lands of the great Evil.
The sun’s brilliance soon repealed the dark from where they walked, chasing the shadows away back to their source. Ladwin had spoken true; it was an hour or two before midday, and after a day and a half of travel, the adventurers arrived at last to Ybicche.
ACT I — CHAPTER II: CRUMBLED CROWN
Before they saw the sapphire Drake’s Tail river which flowed out from the Shadowtrees to their west and cut across the Crown Fields like a blade, before they saw the cottages and farms scattered across the outskirts, before they saw the structures of woods and marketplace stalls that made up the majority of the village’s clustered heart, they saw the stone belfry.
"Olde Bronze, they call it." Ladwin explained once they grew close enough to see the sun glinting from the bronze bell displayed high above the town, where all could see. "That church is about the oldest standing structure in Ybicche; everything around it was made long after. This town, in ages long before me or even Al-Agadd, was much larger. But then came the War against the Darkness, and the Ybicche of old was at the frontlines, between the armies of Mordor and the armies of the West. Most of its inhabitants—those who hadn’t gone to war, that is—simply left their home behind, migrating elsewhere. It was abandoned after that, and fell into ruin…" Ladwin gestured at a a stone ruin as they passed, the crumbled wall of some ancient home. There were dozens others like it, spread across the Crown Fields. "When Al-Agadd was built after the war, the great-grandchildren of those who had fled Ybicche returned to their ancestral home. But by then it was left a desolate ruin by the war, and so they had to rebuild from scratch. It might’ve at some point returned to its former prominence, had many not simply opted to live in Ybicche instead. Castles and towering city walls offer greater security than fields and farmland, after all." Or so we thought.
Ladwin sighed, and returned his thoughts to the subject of the belltower. "It is said that when the settlers returned to reclaim Ybicche, the church and the barracks were the only structures left standing. They demolished the barracks—both to symbolize the war’s end, I suppose, and because they simply didn’t have enough men for a garrison—and used the stone to repair the church. You could hear that bell ringing, every hour, across practically the entirety of the Crown Fields. The fact that we haven’t yet is…concerning. Might be worth heading up there once we’ve gotten a caravan chartered for our refuges, see what’s going on." Ladwin mused.
…
Farmers dressed in dirty tunics stood before their homes on the outskirts and watched as the adventurers passed. Women clutched babes against their chest with worried stares while men stood with pitchforks clutched in their course, earthworn hands and stalwart faces. Younger children hid behind their mothers’ skirts, but some recognized the iconic white armor and verdant cloaks of the Queensguard upon Ladwin, standing with their feet on the fences and staring from eyes wide with awe. Those were children who saw only a revered hero passing their homes by and nothing more; the others were old enough to despair at the sight of a Queensguard knight retreating from the north, for they knew what it meant. Mia was glad, at least, that none seemed to recognize her; those who weren’t focused on Ladwin watched the strange company he brought with him, various people of strange and unique appearances and fashion entirely foreign to them.
…
Not long after the outskirts, they reached the heart of Ybicche at last. Trinkets sang against eachother in the wind, dangling from canopies over the porches of the various wooden stores that made up the majority of “main” Ybicche. The dirt streets running through the small village had been made wide enough for a pie of carriages to travel down them both ways, but looking at them now, one would hardly be able to tell. Mia nearly gasped at the sight she bore witness to. They were more filled than Ladwin had ever seen, a river of refugees fleeing from Al-Agadd who held their heads too low to even glance at Mia or Ladwin, and merchants who had set up shoddily crafted stalls to maximize profits from the runaways before they, too, retreated from the shadow of Mordor. Their cries echoed across the town, all melting into one cry of capitalism save a rare few distinct voices:
"Blow a hole through scores of orcs with these bombs!"
"Khajit has wares if you have coin!"
"Supplies for the long journey ahead! Hunter tried-and-approved!"
"Gavlan wheel! Gavlan deal!"
Edited by ISZATSO on Jun 3rd 2024 at 8:35:07 AM
With great power…you know the rest.DNC
Hange could travel a long way, even on foot. This was one such skill that being a Scout for the Survey Corps had drilled into her a very long time ago.
That was not to say that filing through the Shadowtrees or trekking across the Crown Plains was in either case a trivial matter. She'd been thorough in helping to demolish their camp, and kept near the back of their ranks to keep an eye on any trail they left behind. If she noticed something that could help someone following them keep track, she'd do her best to get rid of it.
In fact, if one of the others had the ability to cover their tracks somehow, Hange would ask them for help, too.
The sight of Mordor was a grim reminder, however. Hange knew nothing of this land's history but what she had already been told in these last few days. Yet even without confirmation, the shadow that lingered over that foul place was enough to place it as their enemy.
Finally, with the Drake's Tail river coming into view, a sign of a respite from this journey was onto her. Compared to the refugees she was doing fine, but that was not to say that Hange's normal mortal stamina was easily coping with such a tremendously long walk.
Ladwin's explanation of the bronze bell was some insight into the history she didn't know. Which was fantastic, because she had no idea at all. She'd stepped into a fantasy world, and was not fully understanding it— even if she was enthusiastic to learn.
It was only upon passing through the farmland, and upon reaching the heart of Ybicche, that Hange, at least, began to find herself exhausting. And it was a shame, because she had no money to indulge in the goods and services that surrounded them on all sides.
"I completely understand the reasoning, but there's a sickening element to this," she said to nobody in particular, "All these shops forcing refugees to pay a premium for survival."
She, too, felt a great deal of hunger and thirst. Proof that the strategy was effective, if she had the money to pay for it, she would jump at the chance for a relaxing meal even at an inflated cost.
Yatta!Decepticon
Rotor's mechanical snarl does not really fade from his features before the explanation, with him pointedly not glancing at where Leader-1 was. As far as he was concerned, the Decepticons had no reason to be if they couldn't protect Megatron. But as he prepared to offer this piece of wisdom to the visitors, Skysmurder thought it wise to raise put her hand on his shoulder. Just tightly enough that he could feel his old parts shake.
It'd take light effort on her part to rip it off him. And while she was tempted to do it to impress Deathsaurus, she also had a bit of a distaste for overly violent leaders. They mostly gave a bad impression on her. Why work with someone who blatantly disrespect and abuse subordinates? Besides, it was easy to keep someone in line through violence. Any 'Con could do it. But a 'Con who kept the team together by sheer loyalty had a much tighter grasp on their warband.
Still, the threat of light mutilation, and the act itself, was much cheaper. Especially with her subordinate fucking up.
My dear subordinate was one of the first Decepticons to join Lord Megatron's core group. I hope you will forgive his... enthusiasm for the cause.
She took note. Killed by Autobots, huh? He could be lying but it made no difference for her. Although the idea of Lord Megatron dying such a simple death bothered her. In their minds, he was immortal. Beyond plasma cannons and such. That he could be harmed was folly. That he could be killed was an idea that would get one killed simply for thinking it, in parts of the empire.
But, ah well, perhaps her Megatron was built different.
A noble death. He went down fighting. She says, deeming base politeness a good idea.
Skysmurder turn around, Rotor and Deathshweel stepping to the right to circle the group.
I'd have a subordinate to introduce you to but I'd like you to see the base along the way. Decepticons of our stature are not meant to stand in place when so much of the universe remains unconquered.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterDNC
"Solidarity," Taye chuckled in Medicine's direction.
Taye was one of the first to wake, showing no signs of sleepiness or annoyance at being awoken so early. Realizing that Hange had a point, Taye helped cover the group's tracks. It was unusually easy, much like the demolishing of the camp each night, and in fact there were not as many signs of their presence to remove as Hange might have expected.
During their trek, Taye's attention was taken by the simple yet magnificant beauty of the Crown Plains, as well as the omnious presence of Mordor. Time flew, and the next thing she knew, she was at Ybicche.
A metaphorical page turned. To a new chapter in a very, very long story.
Taye listened to Ladwin's explanation. It was important to know the history of this world, something the old knight seemed to know well. A church implied a religion, but which one? Perhaps it was belief in the "high ones", mentioned by Ladwin earlier on. Perhaps it was something entirely different. She thought to ask about it, but decided to save it for when they head to the church proper.
The noisy crowd surprised Taye, even when she soon realized it should be no surprise. The group of elderly & children they'd brought with them could not possibly be the only refugees. If anything, this was a good thing, in that plenty civilians did indeed manage to flee to safety.
Taye raised an eyebrow at Hange's remark, but said nothing. After having witnessed an evil CEO attempt to literally take over the world, using his megacorp funds to hire a military hunting down those who opposed him, regular merchants trying to make a living in harsh times didn't seem much to worry about. Instead, she observed the money being exchanged at the stalls, seeing if she could use the currency on her hand as per Arena quirks, or if this place had its own coin.
Throughout the journey, Taye had tried to ensure everyone was well fed and hydrated, both refugees and fellow adventurers alike. While Taye herself had endless stamina, something Alice would be well acquainted with, she looked at Hange and saw someone who seemed, well, otherwise. And while one eye was fixated upon the hungry lady, her hand held a paper-wrapped baked potato of considerable size, stuffed with sour cream & bacon bits.
Taye walked alongside Hange inconspicuously, the food going unnoticed by any of the refugees or merchants around them. Slowly, she held the potato towards Hange.
"Yours."
Edited by Hotpizza on Jun 4th 2024 at 10:24:20 PM

Library, Ashes, Swords, Recon,
"Aw, you’re no fun." Lily sighed at Durian’s reluctance, before changing her attention to Evie. "Life is about risks! It’ll be awesome, trust me! Dante, you coming?"
The student rolled his eyes and closed the book, putting it face down on the table before rising to his feet.
"That’s the spirit!" She pushed ahead to the chamber’s corner, Dante and Liam both reluctantly following—and perhaps Evie as well—and began to feel around for a specific book, maybe, or a certain shelf. When at last she had hit upon some unknown identifier, Lily backed away and clapped her hands together, a golden aura briefly enveloping her form and lighting up the dim little bend.
SIMPLE SKILL: DISPELL — ILLUSION
The bookcases near her melted away, disappearing first into a colorless and formless goop before that, too, was no more. What remained was a hidden stone passageway, devoid of light. Lily grinned and pushed on into the cobblestone cavern, only to pause and look back when she realized Liam and Dante weren’t following. Liam gave an anxious glance at Dante, who shrugged at last and followed after, a trained nonchalance on his expression. Half a minute of walking brought them out of the dark tunnel and into an open chamber, populated with dust and long-abandoned webs.
A variety of books with considerably more interesting titles lined the room:
HEXES AND HOW TO DESTROY THEM
THE AETERNUM
Eternal Nights & Two Days
The Rogue God’s Offer
But while Lily carelessly shoved through the room’s contents and Liam nervously checked the tunnel, as though to ensure nobody was coming, Dante pushed past and deeper into the room, rounding a corner and disappearing from sight. A few moments later came his voice, struck with awe: "Holy shit."
Like a moth drawn a flame, curiosity beckoned Lily and she traced Dante’s footsteps, as did Liam, his intrigue overriding his curiosity. What they’d see and maybe Evie as well, was a mighty tome propped upon a pedestal in the center of a smaller sub-chamber, thick in volume and nearly the size of a man’s torso.
Thick, iron chains were drawn about the book, binding it shut, but it seemed alive. It expanded and contracted, as though breathing, and radiated a dark energy so intense it was nearly visible, taking a hue beyond any those present had ever seen. The tome’s heavy leather cover was decorated with perforations studded by teeth.
"What the fffffuck?"
——
It wasn’t enough.
Even now, Joseph replayed the moment in his head. Malus reduced to a puddle of blood by those he had taught, had used as instruments to carry out his own suffering, turned against him. He deserved worse.
It shouldn’t have been them.
He was mine to kill. There was a sourness in his heart, an unrighteous anger he knew he shouldn’t bear yet did anyways, before if not for hatred, what else did he have to fight for? They stole MY vengeance.
When they returned from the prison, he had stuck mainly to himself, brooding away from the others. There were so many of them…
It was overwhelming, to be back amidst so many after months of solitude. Even if he had paid attention to the things they said, he surely wouldn’t have understood; he knew nothing of what anything they spoke of was, nor did he particularly care.
Pucci, meanwhile, had opted to free Corrin. He’s got a mentality behind this but i dont really fee like typing that out rn so i’ll do it in another post lol
——
Liana jerked away from Sam’s counter-stab, letting go of her own blade as she did. As though losing one of her swords wasn’t bad enough, immediately after she’d find herself off balance for a moment, just a moment, but that was all Flandre needed to CAPITALIZE. Sword Agent B met a death she had somehow managed to elude for this long, respawning elsewhere.
…
Guts heaved deep and violent breaths, grasping for air and stealing it quick as he recovered from the battle, keeping a close and firm eye upon Ganondorf all the while, suspicion writ upon his expression. "And now?" He asked, when at last he could speak again, gripping the mighty Dragonslayer firmly.
…
"AAAAHAHAHAHAHA NOW DATS MORE LIKE IT!!" Okksbad met Fighter’s underhand swing with his own strength, their two blades locking between them for an instant before he smashed his elbow down onto the flat of his own weapon, to drive both it and Fighter’s into the ground from the sudden power, and then following it up with a shoulder-bash should Fighter have been left open for one after the Greenskin’s effort.
holy MOTHER of run-ons
…
Vergil.
The name triggered something within Nelo Angelo, some deep and hidden memory locked away, but there was no time to contemplate or stew on it. All he truly knew was bloodshed, and this was a contest of it. A name means nothing to me.
Right?
It was not the name itself that distracted him momentarily, but the doubt of rejecting it which provided Dante an opening and allowed the man to connect his Stinger. Nelo Angelo swiveled out of the way, avoiding taking the Stinger in the stomach but still being hit by it. He smashed the pommel first at the Son of Sparda’s back, and then the rest of his blade after it.
——
Luin reached for one of the crystals, regarding it with curiosity. She sheathed her guns—having picked up the one she’d let go of—and drove where the machine’s wrist met its palm into the midpoint of the crystal, aiming to break it off to bring to the Guild lady later.
If we get out of here alive, that is.
With great power…you know the rest.