Divine Consultation
"Huh? ... well, if you can convince them then I'd say go ahead." , Mara says. She then leaps away towards the distance (since, y'know, she can't fly).
The winged being shows a smile, but it's partly pained.
"I do trust your abilities. But... well, I gave up on that dream long ago. If you can actually make it come true... well, as I said, I wouldn't know what to do. ... but I would be grateful."
He nods.
"Good luck with your endeavors.", he says, after which the portal starts to shrink until it's gone.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.The Convergence
Don Quixote rushes Ginnungagap with her lance held out, the audacity of which gets the latter immobilized by Giegue's psychic attack, and Don then lands an impaling stab.
Unfortunately, that breaks Ginnungagap out of the stun, and she promptly swats Don away with her tentacles. Mirabilis swoops in to refresh Don with Whimsical Dream+, only for Don to rush right back at Ginnungagap.
Omori grabs onto Mugetsu, seemingly willing to go along with her.
"Hold it!" Baiken shouts just as everyone but herself and Don is getting ready to run. Even Don and Ginnungagap pause, if only due to the audacity of being commanded to stop by this random woman.
"She might be unkillable, but we just saw proof that she's not invincible. What happens if we carve her down to tiny pieces?"
"...I had not considered that possibility," Triandra admits. "That may be sufficient to neutralize her threat, at least in the short-term."
Ginnungagap suddenly vanishes without a word.
"The villain flees! Score one for we heroes!" Don declares.
"...Did you...scare her off?" Charlie asks.
"Who knows? I imagine somethin' as empty as her can't feel scared, per se. But she's got a mission of her own, and if sticking around to fight us will impede that mission, she can't afford to waste time here."
Edited by KiriK on May 25th 2025 at 8:37:56 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."When Shadow's alone, he sighs, and then dusts himself off, clicking his fingers and shifting back into his Modern attire.
◊
"Right...next stop: Pseudo's place."
With a running start, he leaps into the air, spreading his wings and taking off for the headquarters of Pseudo's alliance.
"Life isn't a fairytale. There isn't always a 'Happily Ever After' waiting for you at the end of the road." ~ Isengrim Heath-StalkerThe Convergence
Everyone here pauses as well. They listen to Baiken talk...
And suddenly Ginnungagap gets outta there.
"... oh... that's lucky then.", Gregory sighs in relief as his Freddy Gundam fades once again. The Nightmare S.T.A.F.F.bots vanish too.
"I hope we don't run into her again."
Golden Freddy splits back up into a rather beat-up-looking Cassidy and Evan. Mike immediately approaches them to check on them, though also looks at the newcomers.
"Thank you for coming to our aid."
"No problemo.", Ninten smirks. "... we should probably still leave just in case she comes back."
He notably doesn't seem to particularly recognize Charlie. ... oh, right, last time he saw her she was still small.
—
Shadow
Now the question is which one Shadow goes to.
If he goes to the original base under the mountain, he won't really get any response from hanging around.
If he goes to the Blackreach Base (originally the G.E.M. headquarters), he'll find a locked steel door, but also a security camera. With that camera he can let Pseudo know he's here.
Edited by DevilPsyco on May 25th 2025 at 3:33:39 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.Nymbulda
Revan could see the woman sighing, her face slumped into her open hand.
"I suppose. I'll stay here to get your... mech repaired sooner than later. I could carry it but I don't know how long it'll last. That and I...
Don't want to scare anyone else."
The Outback
"Burning flame... child looking down at us. Oh that's simple really it means-"
"Eric's inner child is beginning to burn out.
"-Eric's inner child is beginning to burn out."
Casper would look startled, facing the direction of Maxx's voice. He was, surprised.
"He's gone. Eric's gone. Mr.Gone took him. If we don't stop him, his outback will be smothered. It's a shell being puppeted by Gone."
Casper sighed, cuddling up with Baz as the darkness got a tad bit less oppressive. She could see how tall Casper was now... by strange least a few feet. Arms that could reach the floor. Skin replaced by shadow with eyes that moved like breathing sribble marks. But his voice was still the same.
"...You want us to kill him."
"...Yeah. Take it that isn't your speed?"
"Never has been the preferred ourcome."
"...What do you want to than?"
"...If he's not in control he's still a danger. We keep him alive. Go after Gone. Fix all this."
There was a slight clinical approach in his words. A clear shield from the responsibility of killing a man who came to him for help.
Edited by ArbiterOfTheBog on May 25th 2025 at 7:24:33 AM
AwawaPokemon World - Past
Natacha and Pati watch the newborn Rabright hatch from the egg!
How cute!
...Wait a minute, she was born from an egg!?
But there wasn't time to think about Pokémon reproduction: the ship was moving violently, and possibly it was about to sink!
Help!
Natacha lost balance and tripped. Thankfully, Pati and Rafles grab her by an arm, avoiding slipping and hit her head on the wall.
Three freaking ghosts!Talion
Talion swings on vacant air, thrust into an imbalanced position that becomes doubly uncomfortable as Sauron grasps him, the Dark Lord using his brutal strength to overpower the ranger and force him to his knees swiftly. In that moment of forced submission, Talion's mind slips, settling on the fate he's fought so long to abate.
However, as Sauron's hand rested sternly on Talion, the searing grasp of the Dark Lord's palm poured gasoline onto the dwindling pile of burned coals within Talion, igniting the dwindling blaze in his heart. Rebellion sweltered, and as Talion's blade cascaded to the ground, his arm remained contorted. Struggling desperately against Sauron's grasp, Talion's defiance briefly fell on the surface.
His head sank, and the Dark Lord would likely perceive this as the ranger accepting his fate.
Somu
"There is only one option."
She interjected, clenching a fist and turning back to Somu.
"War is my only choice, the past must repeat itself."
There was conviction in the demoness' words, but there was an undertone of fear that plagued them, uncertainty plain as day in the last syllables as her lips struggled to push the words out. Though she tried to speak her fate into existence, Filia did not have the will to truly see only one path forward.
"Perhaps our meeting was more than happenstance, Somu. If you are experienced in battle against heavenly foes, you could be of great help. Would you march to war for a stranger?"
Filia asked, narrowing her eyes on him.
Sissy fuss
"Great!"
He replied, matching Kurumi's smirk briefly before turning his gaze back on the field, narrowing his eyes on the tent with a studious gaze. Slowly raising, Sisyphus began to skirt the edge of the treeline.
"Officer first, I think we can manage to take him down quietly."
Making his way to tent hopefully unseen, Sisyphus emerged from the forest's edge. Only one shadow eased the master martial artist's tension, quieting his approach on the verdant fields. Awaiting Kurumi to catch up, Sisyphus gestures to the shadow of the officer.
Taking a few steps back, Sisyphus psyches himself up before taking off full sprint, four or five steps breaking the silence and likely alerting the officer before the man broke through the tent with a leaping kick!
LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE
She opened her eyes and emerged from a state of restless calm, some island between the split shores of sleep and wakefulness. Luin turned onto her back in the bed and looked out over the room, dark save the earliest traces of morning seeping in through curtained windows. Luin blinked once and spotted Aelun in the corner chair, watching her. She hesitated before finding her voice: "How long’s it been?"
"Quarter on the hour’s eve."
"We have some time still." She murmured, eyes falling then rising again. "What are you doing?"
"Waiting."
"Your men would be better having you with them."
"I don’t care," Aelun stood and approached, "I know I’m better when my place is with you." He fell into the bed beside her, but Luin rose and swiveled her legs off its side, sitting on the edge. Aelun frowned and turned himself to face her again. "How do you feel?"
"I…I don’t know. Nervous. Excited. I’m sad, for everyone that thing’s taken, but happy it’ll be over soon. But I think above everything else I’m…" Her voice dropped. "I’m afraid. For a long time, I was scared to have anything. No matter how happy I was, or how much was in my life, I knew that any second it could—and would—come to take that all away. The Annihilation. But then, when I met you…"
"You stopped feeling that way?"
"No," Luin whispered with the smallest shake of her head. "The voice, it faded, but it was— is always there, at the back of my head, reminding me…"
"This time is different. The meeting is on your terms, with your friends. We have armies—plural."
"It doesn’t matter."
"What do you mean, it isn’t matter?"
The woman jumped suddenly off the bed, wheeling around to pace across the wood floor. "You don’t know this thing. You’ve never seen it. It defies—it defies everything! The laws of nature itself. Anything that should halt it, doesn’t. Nothing slows it, nothing works against it, nothing—!" Aelun’s hands found her, ceased her pacing the way a period mark ended a rambling dialogue that had long run past its finishing point. He drew her into a close embrace before drawing her away, purple eyes looking down into almond. Luin surrendered all of herself to those eyes.
"Remember our promise?" He asked quietly. She took a moment for recognize to flash beneath her eyes before nodding. "When the fight is done, and the beast lies slain, we will marry. And you, my queen, will become queen of all over which I already rule; though I see none of it now, nor do I care. All I care, all I see, is you.
I rule over four million souls, but you rule me, and I will stop at nothing to bring you happiness. If this involves slaying the unslayable…" His stoic lips lifted into a smile. "…then so be it."
"Promise me," Luin breathed. "Promise that whatever happens out there, you’ll stay with me."
Aelun tipped his head. "I promise."
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS PART 3 — ANNIHILATION
Situation IX — Blackened Roar, Massive Roar
At the crack of dawn, all was gone save the will to be. The sun’s waking rays cast a spotlight on the city’s utter devastation, the crumbled apartments and injury-ridden high rises. The city’s skyline was changed and empty. Where the streets weren’t layered with soot and rubble, it was blood and bodies. The statue of some ancient and generous ruler of the city was no longer anything more than formless stone, his memory forever trampled by the hordes of greenskins, of which some still remained who hadn’t retreated after the final, violent battle in the square. They patrolled the ruined roads for citizens, stragglers in search of stragglers. Somewhere out there, Grimgor’s corpse yet stood.
It was a few hours later that Luin stepped out from the Grand Sands Hotel, holes punched into it like bullets, and out into the plaza. The fountains, still gushing, were tinged a pinkish red, and guts adorned the feminine shapes carved in marble around it. Her gaze swept from the fountain to the soldiers in the plaza. Radahn’s army, wounded and scattered; the General’s help, the scout regiment with their dark-haired leader sulking in the midst of them; the titanic Gundam of one of the Jedi (or Sith? Luin never could remember which of the two were which); and Aelun’s own Draksgaard, a mere men of five still alive through the raging glow. Those five lifted a hand in salute when they saw her, despite their injuries and the tears decorating their armor.
But none of them were the one she was looking for. Luin found the General sat atop the hood of a charred vehicle sharpening her blade, Annie beside her. The helmed woman didn’t break her visor from the sword in her hands, but nonetheless addressed Luin as she approached: "The eve of reckoning is just about here. You ready?" Luin shook her head, knowing somehow that the General could see it. The latter thrust a thumb over her shoulder, at the raised set of stairs building towards the entrance. "Should I gather them?"
"I’ll do it." Without an ounce of trust in her tone, Luin headed past and jogged up the stairs. At the top, she turned, looked out over the hotel plaza. Radahn waited with his men, nursing a black eye with a heavy flagon. Some new people had arrived as well in the downtime between Grimgor’s defeat and the inevitable coming of Annihilation, Khars’Li among them. She smiled when she saw them, caught their eyes and turned to the hotel doors before motioning to follow her in.
Within the lobby, resplendent with gold and surprisingly untouched by the night’s events, her friends, companions, and allies rested for the coming battle. Hovering over the scene, the tunes of Reddie at the grand piano in the corner with Venti strumming his lyre provided some scant relief to the weariness of those who’d stuck around. Luin strode through the chamber, beneath the chandelier twinkling in the wind from the breeze sighing through a gap in the wall. She looked at those around her, then came to the stairwell and rose up it to the guardrail overlooking the entire lobby. Aelun was standing there already, though moved aside when he saw her approach.
There, she cleared her throat.
"Everyone, if I could have your attention! Please." Gradually, the music died and the chatter stopped. "You all know what you’re getting into. We only have a few minutes left before the Annihilation Nergigante arrives." Just a few minutes left before this game ends, one way or another. She took a heavy breath and continued. "Before that, I wanted to say…thank you. To all of you. Most left, to save themselves while they had a chance. Not you. Whether you’ve been at my side the whole way, or never saw me before today but still stuck around, you’re all heroes. Every one of you. We’re all of us, in this room, really brave or really stupid. I guess we’ll find out once this is all done. Um…that’s all. Thank you."
LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE // LOVE // HATE
Edited by ISZATSO on May 26th 2025 at 4:17:32 AM
With great power…you know the rest.Oh boy a pep speech!
Venti stopped playing the lyre, letting Luin speak up to the gathered heroes. Oh, he supposed the others were all heroes too. He knew some of them were loyal to Luin as friends, the others to the people.
No idea about Green. She seemed to be in it for the fun of the game.
Brutal.
Venti would set down the lyre to raise a glass of wine to Luin.
"Oh-lei, oh-lai O' Luin! Bravery and foolishness have one key difference, the brave know the danger! But know standing still is worse! Ehe!"
Flying over to her, he hovered over her right shoulder, wagging his finger at her.
"So many people are here because of you! They consider this fight worth their time... or their lives. Stand proud."
Distant thundering could be heard, Venti looking up at the ceiling.
"Oh, some mood-setting weather."
The Cairo's main confluence that led to the Nile began to swell, clouds gathering over the scarred city. Thunder rolled, but currently the precipitation was only misting.
Those on or near the river could see amidst the murky depths, a faint sillihoute making it's way towards the city itself.
AwawaThe Great Ezcape
Mal has another crashout but it does work in eliminating their foe, leaving Maul and Mal all alone for the moment. Whether this will last or not remains to be seen...
Domon disables one Prosecutor with his ki blasts but the remaining two continue firing barrages of energy bolts as they start floating closer. Medicine Man manages to leave his thoroughly distracted as its tendrils thrash and try and swat the weird talisman beings down that are attacking it. Meaning he likely reaches Ez.
Stupid thorsig continues his attack on the leg joint, breaking it and earning a snarl of anger from the Sharkticon who transforms back into biped mode to try and grab him with his BIG MEATY HANDS and squish him like a bug. The other one gets toppled by Little Guy meanwhile.
Situation IX - The Undead Rider and the Immortal Dragon
Sebastien wearily sighed as he leaned against Brutus. Both of them were getting worn down by this point but the rest they had gotten helped. He did one last check of the flyvern's injuries as Luin appeared. He wasn't one for speeches himself but he cracked a smile at Luin's and gave her a nod as she wrapped it up. Brutus snorted while Glimmer looked up and in the distance, as if sensing something.
—
Outside the city, a trail of death steadily approached. Sand even drier than usual and withered husks of fauna and flora alike dotted the landscape as something approached. Something that intended to have as much energy as possible when it arrived.
Edited by shroobot3000 on May 26th 2025 at 11:39:53 AM
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."Pokémon World: The Past
Lupin finally speaks up, addressing the vision directly.
"Eliza... You know what you have to do. She'll be in good hands."
Zenigata nods, tears still in his eyes.
Mission: Defeat the Giant Monster
Kong hesitated on the jump when Godzilla barged in. This saves him from a humiliating splat against the ground, instead just getting slammed into the mountain he's clinging to, bringing more rumble tumbling down. He grunts in agitation, then rolls down and comes charging at Grand King Ghidorah on foot, axe at the ready.
Primordial Malzeno soars past Ghidorah's charge, then whirls around and fires a Dragon-element beam at its middle head, intending to test the effectiveness of the barrier.
Android 21 takes a similar approach, firing off ki blasts from a distance.
And as for Godzilla...
Battle in Boston - Godzilla: King of the Monsters
He slams right into Ghidorah. Closing his eyes to keep the side heads from biting them out, he goes for a grab on the middle head. If he gets it, he will then turn around and pull over his own shoulder, trying to yank Ghidorah down onto his side.
Iceberg Lounge
Loid scoffs and nods along, shrugging his shoulders. Whether the prepper can make good on his offer or not will remain to be seen.
He approaches the bouncer. Batman didn't give him any sort of ID or invitation to present, so he presumes it's all down to his own image and charisma.
"Loid Forger. I'm a psychiatrist."
He looks back at the preppy guy, then at the bouncer.
"My patient wanted to come to the most prestigious bar in the district as a reward for good progress. I figured I'd treat him."
Culex 3D
Ringabel revives with a fraction of his HP, giving Filia a thumbs-up. He uses a Minus Strike of his own on the weakened Fire Crystal 3D.
Fire Crystal 3D casts Vigor Force. A red glow surrounds Culex and the other crystals, raising their attack power. Then it shatters.
Water Crystal 3D uses Solidify again.
Earth Crystal 3D uses Boulder again.
Wind Crystal 3D uses Light Bubble, blowing a massive bubble of rainbow light that drifts toward the party. Just as it comes to float above their heads, the bubble pops, dealing damage and potentially inflicting a sleep status.
3
Culex 3D uses Shredder. He cups his hands together, pointing them at the party. Rings of energy swirl around each party member, erasing temporary buffs and reducing the Quartz Charm's effectiveness.
The Other Place
The Flamelord crashes into a floating building wall and immediately gets shunted off of it thanks to Sombra. As it falls, its waist-attached flame emitters activate and redirect it so it can return to the battlefield with a diving Superman punch with its claw. The impact with the ground makes an explosion that leaves a huge crater, sends out a wave of fire, blows away Konngara's meteors, and instills its claw with Prelude to Turboblaze.
The Flamelord's Meteor Impact attack finally moves Sectonia, forcing her back.
"Hmph!"
She summons her magical rods again and indiscriminately shoots blazing golden orbs of energy from the silver one in her left hand, while also firing a concentrated stream of lightning at the Flamelord from the gold one in her right hand.
The Timekeeper Vahki is blown away by the Meteor Impact. It tumbles toward the void, only to be saved by a platform flying under it. There, it resumes building up power.
Perfect Nazo
"The difference is that you could kill your past foe. I am now invin-"
Perfect Nazo's boast is cut off by Wodan's bolts of divine lightning making his body seize up, at which point the bones fucking shred him to pieces.
His body pulls itself back together immediately this time.
"Rrrrgh!"
He sweeps his left hand out, then his right hand, launching a veritable bullet hell of negative energy blasts that fill the area.
Liminal Garden
Sauron steps over Talion and takes up the Binding Blade in both hands, reverse grip.
"Be baptized in flame and reborn in shadow."
There—there's his opening. He could cut either hand, but he may not have the time to pick one before the sword comes down.
The Convergence
"I think we're all okay," Charlie says.
"Prithee tell me wherefore thou wander this realm, fellow adventurers!"
"...Uh...That thing you just helped chase off, Ginnungagap, is trying to destroy the world of dreams, making humans completely unable to dream forever. She's not working alone, though—there's a little kid who calls himself Fanto. He's been through so much, he's willing to deprive everyone else of dreams to end his own nightmares."
"...All dreams...in every world...forever snuffed out."
Don Quixote takes a deep breath.
"Fie, I say! This villainy shall not stand! I, Don Quixote, will lend my lance and faithful steed Rocinante to your cause!"
"...You sure got spirit, I'll give you that."
"Woah..." Cassie gasps in awe at this figure out of a storybook.
Omori, still hanging from Mugetsu, looks down at Don's shoes, the word 'Rocinante' embossed on them.
The Great Escape
Domon keeps watch of Ez's back until she makes it to the Medicine Vendor, tanking the shots he can afford to.
The moment he sees them meet up, he unsheathes his sword once more and blitzes the Prosecutors with dashing slashes.
Situation IX
"Well met, Lady Luin." Hero-King Marth (the real one, not the Emblem) steps into the lobby, ready for battle, greeting Luin as an equal. Which she is, as royalty-to-be.
Perceval appears standing at Luin's side, almost like...y'know, a Stand.
"Minutes from now will be the most important fight of our lives. As always, my sword is at your disposal."
Reyna is leaned against a corner with her arms folded, not speaking to or really acknowledging anyone. The only thing that's on her mind is the hunt to come.
She doesn't intend to fail.
—
From one side, a wave of death. From the other, a wave of horrible life. Spreading and engulfing, a pitch-black dust devil on the horizon.
Edited by KiriK on Jun 7th 2025 at 9:11:35 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."Hotel - Night
Yuji and Megumi are just hanging around, the former wearing a bathrob and also a glass of wine while the latter simply laid in a different bed, eyes-covering mask put off as he glanced dissaprovingly at Yuji. For his part, Yuji was hesitant actually drinking that stuff, but it made him look cool, so he... just set it aside and pretended that he was fine.
... The calm before the storm.
Yeah. Feels weird to know that all of that was apparently a... Yuji pointed to Cairo's burned ruins, and then retracted his arm. prelude or somethin'. Feel like we should get Gojo on this.
We got everything else without his help. Megumi said. Our skills have risen drastically since we've entered Cairo, thanks to all that fighting and our Black Flash. You outright gained access to your Cursed Technique.
Yuji blinked and looked at his fist, clenching and unclenching it. ... Being honest, I kinda wish I could have had anything else than that. I didn't mind it mid-battle but... Well, I'll have to do with that.
I get ya. But fire's best fought with fire. And we're definitely going to need something like that against Luin's enemy. Megumi says. Your take on the technique is so... you, anyway. You would never think it's Sukuna's.
About that, what's up with her? And what'd ya mean by that technique being so me? Is it coz its pretty strong?
Megumi yawns before putting on his sleep mask.
And as he did that, in another room, a maskless Reddie meditated, using the Force to imagine countless little hands knitting her wounds shut and fixing her bones. She had no reason to stick around. The Not-Jedi, not-Sith's reason for helping Luin was to keep challenging herself. For only in the defeat and death of others could she progress, a "sad" universal truth that had been taught to her in flesh and spirit by her teacher.
And she'd applied that lesson quite thoroughly, taking everything from him, safe from his lightsaber. She preferred her own take on it, undiluted by a Sith's corruption. Because, no matter what, she was not a Sith. Nor was she a Jedi, yet. She was still using someone else's lightsaber, after all. And, given the fact that the damned ork had survived so many blows using it, then clearly her mastery wasn't up to par with its original owner.
But then again, who could match her?
Reddie continued to meditate, drawing her fatigue into power. The coming annihilation would test her direly, but she'd emerge stronger than ever or she'd emerge dead. And since that had been her "life" for a while now, she was comfortable with that. The alien smiled, and simply kept meditating...
... Although, after a little while, she got up, turned on the shower to hot and, still clad in her gear, came down under it to meditate beneath the hot water. That felt better to her.
And who cares about the water bill
The Reunion
Megumi, Yuji and Reddie, who was off playing piano (and wearing that helmet again) are gathered here today, observing Luin's speech. Reddie snickers a little but not because she think its bad. Luin was putting her heart in it, after all, and that was admirable for the alien. She didn't comment though, focusing her heart on giving Luin a killer piano solo to go along with.
That and she purposefully didn't really seek much interactions with the others - most of them were humans.
Meanwhile, Yuji claps enthusiastically for Luin while Megumi just smile, sweat going down his cheek as he did.
Edited by Bolded1 on May 26th 2025 at 11:21:54 AM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterThe Great Ezcape
The medicine vendor picked up ez and kept them close, protecting them as if they were still a babe in swaddle. He immediately went to run out, but his scale was going back to where they came from.
He'll have to Mal about that soon.
As he approached the entrance he saw Little Guy charging at the toppled Sharkticon and with a swift kick of his forelimbs, try to kick them into the wall for what would probably be the most traumatizing case of punching down the Medicine Vendor and Ez have ever seen.
AwawaThe Sweet Ezcape
Ez lets herself be craddled. She'd usually protest on the wise ground of "no little baby" but she's just tired and kind of want to just feel safe and protected. So she lets the Medicine Vendor put her away like that, holding unto his clothes as tightly as she can, for fear that he could let go of her. And who'd blame her? She just wanted to see her dad.
And as they get somewhere in the open, Ez smiles upon seeing Little Guy bring death to one of the bad guys. She smiles a bit too cheerfully - these ghouls had long since feasted on her suffering and that of the other children, and she took sincere pleasure seeing them be viciously-
Ohhhh.
oh no!! there are others like me inside of the mean cave!! we have to let them out! Ez signalled for Domon.
Ez! Ez! Oh thank the Force! Ez! Mal moved over to the entrance on seeing Medicine Vendor. He lifted his massive axe and tried to smash it unto the neck of the Sharkticon attacking Thorsig. And if it were to fail to decapitate it, Mal would pull the axe away and try grabbing its neck with his free arm, attempting to crush its wounded throat into a mound of inert metal before attempting to toss it away.
Due to the sheer noise of that, Ez's yells are ignored, even as she smiles seeing her father doing his best, sparks raining down as Mal lets out a scream of raw fatherness.
Papa! we have to save the other mini people in the mean cave!!
Were he to succeed though, the ZILM-O would lean over. What?! Just get in! You'll tell me everything once you're safe and sound!
Edited by Bolded1 on May 26th 2025 at 12:35:53 PM
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitter"Confound this all!" Abandoning his plan, Sombra leaps up over the fire wave and grabs William with his magic, returning the Darkling's favor by moving him to safety.
As she leaps back to avoid the shockwave from the Flamelord's impact, Konngara realizes something. The surge of energy within her soul is beginning to slip away. But she has already taken too much damage... If she intentionally starts taking hits just to keep up the charge, there is no telling what might happen to her weakened soul.
Sombra, meanwhile, puts up a barrier to protect himself, Konngara, and William from Sectonia's energy blasts.
"The Flamelord is about to reach its powered-up state! Stay back!"
"I'm afraid not! I'm wasting my Final Smash over here! Even if I can't hit both of the bastards, it must be soon or never!"
She stabs herself in the guts with her vajra blade, summoning Fudou Myouou. Red chains slither like serpents out of the deity's outstretched palm as it uses Shibaboo, trying to entangle both enemies and wrap them together.
Shadow does end up stopping by the original base's previous location first, only to catch himself, and chuckle sheepishly.
"Force of habit."
He then takes off toward the Blackreach Base.
Blackreach Alliance Headquarters
Shadow lands outside the door to the base, and glances around, taking in the sight of the entrance. Being the first time he's been there in person, he's curious, examining the exterior before noticing the door and the camera. He bobs into frame, and looks up at the camera, waving with a smile.
"Hey, there. I've got news. Lots and lots of news. And something I'd like help with."
"Life isn't a fairytale. There isn't always a 'Happily Ever After' waiting for you at the end of the road." ~ Isengrim Heath-StalkerThorsig’s laugh endured even as he was tossed from the machine’s broken leg and between its hands, moving to crush close with him between them. His own hands stretched out to either side and with immense physical strength, stayed them for a bit, but he knew this was only delaying them.
There was no need for him to conjure up some escape plan from the Sharkticon’s grasp, because the head of Mal’s axe passed through its neck and the xeno dropped, motionless and still. Thorsig’s laugh became a war-loving roar that ended swiftly. He pointed sharply up at Mal. "I COULD’VE DONE THAT!" Then followed by a moment of hesitation, where Thorsig considered something else. The xeno had saved him twice now — whether that was something he desired to admit or not. Had it purely been of a need to desire their shared enemy, or something else? What had kept Mal from waiting just a few seconds longer?
The thoughts made him angry and he forced them away from the forefront of his mind, glad to see an alien for the first time in his life as Ez’s appearance drove his other ponderances away. Well, that was all, wasn’t it? The debt was settled. Thorsig was ready to turn and leave, but there was something else Ez had said to capture the Astartes’ attention. There were other…"mini-people" to save.
Save.
He remembered the odd weight to the word, the reminder of their duty, what his commander had once said to him in private. The Space Wolves were different; they weren’t protectors of the Imperium, but of humanity. The idea had set him stewing then, a thing so apostatous to say that the thought—for just a moment—crossed his mind of submitting their conversation to ears that would be quite curious to hear it. But he never did. Instead, he returned to his quarters and stewed on those words. That had been the last time he remembered the girl and her brother on that planet, the last time before…
Thorsig’s gaze had been upon Ez, but now he tore it away at darkness of the cave behind her. "She says we must save the others!" He shouted to Mal’s mech behind him without breaking his sight. If there was the smallest chance of a human in there that needed to be saved…
The Astartes’ grip around his axe grew white as he pushed past the others, towards Domon. "Fellow human!" He greeted the man with a wide grin, glad to see a relatable face in the group. "I venture deeper into the cave to save the children this xenoling claims are there. Come with me, so we might show these aliens the real strength of mankind!"
With great power…you know the rest.The Great Ezcape
Whilst Domon deals with the Prosecutors, Little Guy manages to KO the Sharkticon into stasis lock. The other is brutally killed by that psychotic freak of nature, Mal. Domon meanwhile manages to deal with the remaining Prosecutors at which point Thorsigmaballs will arrive.
Mal has to be quick to get Ez back in as the door opens at the end of the hall to reveal another Sharkticon walking in and growling. Not helping is also a Quintesson soldier appearing and immediately shooting at Little Guy.
Anyway if the two token humans were to advance to the Prison they'd see... a lot of Prosecutor drones on high alert waiting right outside the doorway. Probably will require some kind of plan or TEAMWORK.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."The Great Escape
Domon looks at Thorsig, first in surprise, but then he grins. He holds the back of his fist up to the Astartes.
"Let's do this!"
When they reach the doorway, Domon pauses.
"You're a lot bigger than me, but I'm a lot stronger than I look. I'll throw you through like a cannonball."
If Thorsig agrees, the King of Hearts effortlessly picks him up, lifts him overhead, and hurls the Space Wolf hard enough to smash through the Prosecutors in his way and land him on the other end of the room.
Edited by KiriK on May 26th 2025 at 8:16:48 AM
"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."The Great Ezcape
With Ez in his arms, the Medicine Vendor rushed up Mal's arms, hoping to find an entrance and not scsre the already rattled Ez with his more, esoteric methods. Little Guy getting shot by the Quintesson actually made him pause and look back, but not before getting a wild look on his face.
"Of course..."
Little Guy felt the heat searing his hide, opening up a new wound. Skin bubbled around a new injury on his shoulder. He was in fact not a armored titan or lithe human-sized combatant. He was a giant of flesh and blood, as said blood trailed down his limbs he grew angered.
He might not have had a name, but he was worth something damn it. Rearing onto his hindlegs, the Sauropod gave a harsh cry of warning towards towards the quintesson, a lowing roar as they bared their peg-shaped teeth. Crashing their forelimbs into the earth, chunks of stone erupted forth towards the quintesson, threatening to strike it.
Edited by ArbiterOfTheBog on May 27th 2025 at 8:02:45 AM
AwawaSWEET EZCAPE
The cockpit opens and Mal reach out towards Ez, who'll herself reach out at him. Mal attempts to get her away from Medicine Vendor's arms, taking Ez into his one and leaning back into the cockpit as he holds her as closely as possible, refraining himself from crushing her entirely as tears flow down his cheeks uncontrollably.
Ez! Ez! You're safe, oh my god! Ez! I'm so sorry, I screwed up, I... Mal prepares to say more, but then Ez just get up to rub her forehead against his. You're safe! Let's get as far away as possible from this place now!
nuh! Ez's hand move over to Mal's, who stops to glance at her. there are children in the mean cave we need to help them
Mal huffs, refraining himself from sounding angry. I don't care about these- he glances at Ez's puppy dog eyes, looks down, and swear in his head. But then, his frown of resignation becomes a smile. You take a lot after your mother, personality-wise. I'm glad about that.
thank you papa Ez answers, eyes briefly flickering with interest at the mention of her mother. we can talk about mama but not now because everyone needs our help! she says, pumping her fists. Hearing her say "mama" prompts Mal to have a more bittersweet smile, but his mech get up as Ez moves over to stand next to his seat, glancing at the screens. And Mal has to restrain himself from keeping an arm around her.
oh no! little guy is in big trouble Ez says, seeing Little Guy get shot at.
Well, let's give him a hand! Shield your eyes sweetie. Mal reach down to grab the Sharkticon's decapitated head and fling it jaw-first at the face of the Quintesson soldier, his mech actually leaning its entire upper body back as it raises a leg into the sky before stomping forward hard with ground-shaking strength, throwing its entire mass forward into the launch.
For her part, Ez is happy to be back with her dad, but she feels something calling upon her. Something that prompts her to look up at the sky.
Whatever it is though, Maul doesn't notice. He stands guard, using the HIGH GROUND to look over at any forces that might try to grab the entrance group into a pincer attack.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterJust gotta' say I'm thoroughly enjoying the Transformers / Star Wars / WH40K mashup plot
So Little Guy's a Sauropod, but are they from anything in particular?
Edited by SacredSpirit123 on May 27th 2025 at 11:15:45 AM
"Life isn't a fairytale. There isn't always a 'Happily Ever After' waiting for you at the end of the road." ~ Isengrim Heath-Stalker

Divine Consultation
Shadow gives a disappointed grunt, sharing Lar's opinion of the reincarnation matter.
"If my siblings and I could help, we would. Maybe worth talking to the other Guardians about outsourcing some work."
He then sighs in response to Mara's next comment.
"Your choice. Still not fond of the clear disconnect between describing someone, even a construct, in family terms, implying closeness, while simultaneously considering them nothing but an expendable asset at best and a plaything at worst. But you do you. I'm aware I can't change everyone's mind."
He shrugs, snickering.
"I don't really take currency, since I can just create it, or anything that I could possibly buy with it, on a whim. I nearly killed one of my best friends by overpaying him with a kingdom's worth of gold, remember?"
He tilts his head, watching Mara's distraction, and then gives a frown to Lar.
"Well, that's something I'm going to have to work on, then. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, though. My security's supposed to be undefeatable, but we've had a breach in the past. An innocuous one...surprisingly beneficial, even, but it was still extremely alarming when it happened."
He then closes his eyes, thinking carefully. Eventually he opens them, smiling.
"Well, I just want to say, it's been a pleasure meeting you too, Lar. I didn't know what to expect when I started this, but I can tell you're shaping up in my eyes to be a very good soul in a very bad spot, and I mean it when I say I'm willing to dedicate as much of my resources as I can toward helping you with your current situation. I hope you have as much trust in me as I have confidence in my skills."
"Life isn't a fairytale. There isn't always a 'Happily Ever After' waiting for you at the end of the road." ~ Isengrim Heath-Stalker