Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Götterdämmerung
"I do know. You do not have to thank me. Consider it..." the man shrugged without yet glancing at Dexter. "subcontracting. Besides, another slew your porcelain doll. As did another interpret that teairng through Eurasia was the best way to find Angra Mainyu. Not that you should be ill at ease, unless you wanted your own personal god-pet?" He smiled then, still not quite looking at Dexter. "That girl—whatever her name was—was, as they say, collateral damage for what needed to be done. Besides, you were literally making more of her when we spoke last. Hell, just coat one of those shiny new droids in a shiny new skin and be careful around the sharp edges."
Aži Dahāka casually took the storm of bullets. They only ever managed to land some degrees off. That suit was expensive. In fact, the man's attention had focused on the fight in Easton. That proved more exciting in my vision.
In proof of the direction of the-man-who-would-be-king's actual effort, a golden column surrounded the dead yazata, sending it instantly into the Emperor's arms—or his face, depending on his level of readiness.
Speaking of, a daeva with a halo matching the band of the horizon watched the nearest tower. "He's late." The burst of light came quickly over the horizon and even Areshko felt his bones melting under the onslaught. "And I left things up to that one..."
He sighed a bit, laying back. Well, high-risk, high-reward. And the yazata are gone. As noted, their connection to the natural world undoes them. As for the rest... a project of mine noted that nothing is 'null'. The means to breach it just have yet to be discovered.
Areshko stared at the golems and nodded before disappearing with a good third of them. He could make do with the remainder...
Aži Dahāka had been giving Dexter a smile. The boy was going to do something worthwhile. at long last instead of cavorting with tailor-made dates. And then... "The fucking snakes..." The one thing guaranteed to irk him. The snakes bit into his face at utter random.
"Damn you!" He cut one down with his sword—only for it to regrow even faster than before. And continue trying to get at his skull. The light of countless yazata and the end of equal daeva and these things remain!
The-man-who-would-be-king certainly did not make the image, wildly flailing his sword at something. "Nasu!" He invoked the name of the daeva to summon her unmaking, withering essence—only for nothing to appear. Or disappear rather. What? She lives. I know it from her name remaining. Oh, there... The snakes bit into his skull again, one fang striking true at brain matter.
The would be king cycled through several options, noting that summoning would be unhelpful at the moment, what with his truth-seeking light eradicating daeva that appeared on the Earth.
The man's sword lit up in intense light before he swung the better part of its payload at the snake-man, ripping away the air and burning the asunder the ground before him as well.
Atlantic Skyline
Nasu put a finger to her forehead, "Uhh... you can do anything you put your mind to!" She pumped her fist out, adding a "Woo-hoo!" at the end. "And I do care to elaborate! First! Chicago pizza! Our other bestie is thataway!"
The daeva, still holding fast to Ophelia made an abrupt 180 turn without ever stalling, giving no regard to g forces. "Jumping Beanie and I will teach you out to eat pizza backwards! Well, while we're dealing with my sister."
Nasu's eyes lost a sheen a moment, her face almost becoming serious—something no one of any species had ever seen. "I've been gifted a power which I'd so far been unable to acquire." I hold fast to all the dead. If she had not died then..." Was that your backup plan, little sister? Die and pass on what you knew? Or did you get that from Dexter?
In an instant, the elder daeva was smiling again. "Oh, she's not missing, she's dead. I can raise an image of the dead, mortal things that have patterns. But, we're going to find a nice relic to put a name on. But I need to find whom hath seen her last and who might remember to make it meaningful." She squeezed Ophelia's arm a tad more tightly than necessary. "So let's go! And then I can teach you how to eat pizza properly." Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Ryan...is very confused
Ryan watched all this happen with a completely baffled look on his face - he knew going in that he'd probably have to deal with Matten's completely purple sense of self expression, but now he had utterly no idea what was going on. People were babbling about towers, Yazata falling, and then Dexter showed up apropos of nothing. He just...was there.
Popped out of a hole in the sky and started acting every bit like a certain "Good God" that liked to talk about how, really, every man can be an island.
Ryan marched over to Dexter first, deciding that the jackass that sent his robotic angel golem thing after him and Bean Girl would be the first he called out.
Seeing Dexter going for Uzi Hickymark or whatever that pompous fuck's name was, Ryan ran over at both of them and as soon as Dexter's attack was done, grabbed him by the shoulder.
He then asked, in a tone that was frankly more worn out than he intended, "What...the...everloving...fuck, man!?"
He then gathered his voice and continued, "No, seriously, I have no idea what the fuck is going on here, and you come in here after sending one of your killbots after us..."
He finished, "Just...what the fuck is going on here? What the fuck is a Yazatt and what's the big deal with the towers and the meteors?"
Kris jumped out of small form and shattered one of the Emperor's terracotta men, assisting Magpie in the field as the invasion happened. He had ran off just as quick into the field to help out - it looked like Isaac was likewise bringing in some help, so he just needed to stall for time.
He also noted it seemed even the local supervillains were joining in.
He saw Dr. Zoom show up and promptly snap his fingers at Red Bean, shooting a powerful shockwave at her. He didn't say a word - this was a dangerous time indeed and it seemed even those who worked for Zugzwang wanted to make sure they exited it as powerful as they could.
Speaking of whom, Malefic stayed within the shadows, chuckling as his mechanofamiliars observed the fighting. He just needed those be damned Taoists slain or brought down, then he could finally do what he set out to do.
Both the bean girl and the Emperor would make fine dining choices.
Mechanical clawed fingers tapped against the side of a building, and then seven of the terracotta men were suddenly dragged into the alleyway and sewer system entry way within by light constructs - followed by the sound of their animating magic being drank out of them.
"...Delicious..."
Edited by NickTheSwing on Jul 21st 2018 at 4:43:04 AM
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Breath of the Sun
The End is Never The End
"Marah. Her name was Marah. But this isn't about her." Dexter grit his teeth, even as Ryan ran up to him. He turned to the other man. "Look, that wasn't me - this asshole swiped my drones, and it took me awhile to figure out how to get them back. He's a Daeva, a spirit of darkness, and the Yazata are spirits of light that he wants to usurp. Essentially, Azi Dahaka is trying to become God or something moronic like that. He won't succeed, but he's equal parts stupid and evil and doesn't accept this. Let me deal with him."
As Azi Dahaka unleashed his beam of light, a portal opened up to swallow it before spitting it back out from another portal, located directly behind him. At the same time, more portals redirected the thousands of nullmetal bullets back at the Son of Angra Mainyu, this time from near point-blank.
Dimensional Interdiction successful. Rerouting.
Areshko would find himself reappearing in a world of machines, metal as far as the eye could see. Not that he could see particularly far, as he was on a hovering platform, surrounded on all sides by glimmering fire of Adar. The golems that had been with him were now gone, replaced by a single hovering android that suddenly lunged at him, intending to absorb him and reduce him to 'human'.
Easton v. Emperor, Taoist Smackdown 2kXX
The numerous monkey clones simply powered through the acid, fur singed but little worse for the wear. The true Setsuko somersaulted past Red Bean the instant she moved to uncork her gourd, and when the Yazata shot into the Emperor's grasp, her tail elongated to snatch around it.
And then her staff forked off into a dozen ends, each of which shot down at the Emperor's head.
All the while, her golden eyes glowed, and one could see the glimmer of the Monkey King within them. The Glorious Fighting Buddha who had defeated the 100,000 Warriors of Heaven had returned to the field of battle at long last.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
AKA Nixer
Atlantic Skyline
Ophelia simply sucked in her proverbial breath as she was tightly hugged by Nasu again, making sure to hide her grimace and roll of the eyes from her for when she finally released her.
The div's casual proclamation of her "sister's" death certainly caused her mechanical brow to quirk, only for her to have to suppress instinctively shooting her in the face as she grabbed her again, tugging her enthusiastically and leaving her no choice but to follow and voice her thoughts on the move. Difficult when you were flying at X-thousand miles per hour.
“So, you're saying you've inherited her powers and personality, or what? I won't lie, Zoroastrianism wasn't one of my specialty programs to have knowledge of. Also I swear if I die by you forcing me to eat incompatible food I'm taking you with me,” she added for good measure.
Dnieper River Basin
Nathrach didn't even bother to dodge. He simply raised his arms to either side in an accepting fashion, letting out a harsh cackle as the streak of light approached, only for a mildly disappointed look to appear on his face as Dexter redirected it. However, his enthusiasm quickly returned as the sheer wind pressure caused by the attack proved to be more than enough to do the job, tearing his already weakening husk of a body in two and propelling it several hundred feet away at the same time. A good two hundred of the squirming mass beneath his skin were vaporized; exposing yet not quite getting close enough to damage Addison and Nathrach's true form beneath.
He continued laughing, a grating wheeze of mirth as he pointed mockingly at Dahāka, a few of the surviving serpents crawling out from the bottom of his detached torso and slithering towards the div in droves, aiming to join the shoulder serpents in their consumption. Whether or not it worked, Nathrach didn't care, so amused was he by his success to turn the div's curse against him so easily.
“More entertaining than anything I've seen, lad,” he coughed, before seeming to pause, a slight grin creeping across his face as a light of recognition entered his eyes. “Well, 'cept one – and what a lass she was...” he cackled, flopping down on his back as Aileana began to slide over to her master, manoeuvering round as Nathrach drew his true form (decidedly shrunken down) out of the bottom of his torso, lightly stroking the rattlesnake's scales in a fair-thee-well fashion.
“Aye... what a gorgeous, wonderful lass she was...”
A drip on the ground, trailing off to beneath his cheek. He looked down at the small patch of dampness in the earth, a smaller smile stretching across his face as he rubbed the eye that had left it with the back of his decaying hand, giving a last rub of his knuckle to the top of Aileana's head.
“It's time I... pass on the role... think I got a little ahead of myself...”
Addison crept out next to Nathrach's snake form, eyes rolled back as he dislocated his jaw, only to snap at empty air as Aileana abruptly lunged forward and snapped her venomous fangs into his neck, throwing him a short distance away with a sharp flick of her head. The purple python collapsed into a pile of coils, his movements slowed as he began to perish not five metres away from his target.
“I... want to live... free... please...”
It was but a whisper of breath, before he breathed no more.
Nathrach was starting to fade as well, the decaying of his husk now spreading up to his face, revealing the army of squirming serpents desperate to break free and ravage all in their path. With the last of his strength, he caused his true form to lunge for Aileana's head, maw open wide, just in the same instant as she lunged. Both mouths closed around the other. Simultaneously. Bit down upon the other. Swallowed the other.
The universe seemed to halt. Then warp, drawing itself into a scrunched up point until there was nothing but blackness, as if the book of reality had just been finished and closed itself up.
Then, a flash. An image, perhaps. A serpentine man woman walking into Dexter's tower, heralded by a carpet of coloured serpents, a green rattlesnake bluish grey anaconda slithering up upon a sofa where t͍̦͠h̦̖̗̲͈͘e͞r͔̠̣̥̭͈ͅe̡͍̘̘̘̰͎ ̨w̕ͅͅa̻̼͇̖̦͡s̩͍̬͚̙̘͎ ̹̯̫̻̠̣́n̢͍͓̱o̭̗̯̪̜̼̘n͓̜͙è͙̲̤̰̼͕.
Another flash. Same building. The snake sage fought alongside no̩͎͎͎͇͚͉ ̗͜o͖͚̠͕̰ͅn͈̯̪̱e̗͎̤. Negated the rules. Escaped through a loophole of reality. A companionship formed. A gift, from the snake sage to t͎̱h̞͍̟̬̰̤̕a̶̰̯̲̼͉t̨͙ ͝w̼͎̹̹h̪͢i̥͔c̛̣̰͓h̗̥̺̼ ̵̲ẃ͍͈͇̖̞̝ͅa̱̻̰s͉n͟'̛̣̟t̯͝; the rattlesnake anaconda whom the former was so fond of.
A final flash. Within a dark catacomb. Seating places of stone opposite a carved wall of text, apparently written in Scottish Gælic. Snake eats human. Human eats snake. Snake is human. Human is snake. Flirtation, between the male female snake sage and t͎̱h̞͍̟̬̰̤̕a̶̰̯̲̼͉t̨͙ ͝w̼͎̹̹h̪͢i̥͔c̛̣̰͓h̗̥̺̼ ̵̲ẃ͍͈͇̖̞̝ͅa̱̻̰s͉n͟'̛̣̟t̯͝.
Then everything returned. All at once. Uncurling itself. A small change. But one effective.
For instead of Nathrach's dying husk laying prone, there lay the uninjured, serene form of a woman with dark hair and pale, off-white serpentine skin, a forked tongue flickering from between her lips as slitted eyes stared up at the sky.
Slitted green eyes.
In a manner uncouth and ignorant of all biological possibility, the woman raised up without so much as a twitch of her limbs, simply curling like a snake rearing itself vertically. She gazed upon the man-who-was-to-be-devoured, a beautiful, bluish grey anaconda with slitted yellow eyes slithering out from behind her neck, lightly wrapping around it like a scarf.
“Greetings. I am Aileana. Of the Isle of Arran. I send a message to ye, from my predecessor...” she coolly stated in a quiet Scottish lilt, a small smirk gracing her features as her neck elongated slightly forwards towards the div, before continuing.
“...I don't abide by rules.”
Indeed, upon this statement, one could swear there was the sound of myriads upon myriads maniacally laughing in the background. Mockingly. Degradingly. For Aileana's very presence in front of the-man-who-so-wanted-to-be-king, nay, her very existence, negated Dahāka's proclaimed godliness with a firm middle finger to reality and order. And her satisfied smirk, backed by the hysterical cackling of the serpents held within her – in the realms transcending existence and nonexistence – only served to make this fact inescapable to him.
Edited by Enirboreh on Jul 21st 2018 at 1:59:01 PM
bork
Ryan - Starting to get it
Ryan looked over at the son of Angra Mainyu, wondering why this guy then wanted to be rid of the others of his kind then, and cause all that...wait, so he thought if he got rid of the Youzats and other things then he'd be the sole god? Some kind of warped, monotheistic cult thing?
His mind ached - he went out here with...with someone. Besides Jumping Bean and Nathrach. He wracked his brain, and grumbled. Someone or something was trying to make him forget some very important detail.
Ryan backed up a bit, "And why did you make all those drones? I fought and helped smash one to pieces that was spouting off shit about protecting mankind, getting rid of gods or something..."
The memory of the distinct energy was what did it. In that moment, due to the energies he'd been in contact with he remembered something he distinctly shouldn't have remembered.
"...Matten brought me out here, to deal with this douchebag's evil plan."
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Götterdämmerung
"... I thought you were smart." The light energy reabsorbed into Aži Dahāka as the bullets continued to flow around the man. "Well, that doesn't equal wise. First and foremost, not a daeva." The man's eyes twitched a little, even above and beyond the snakes taking their bites. And most importantly. I have no need to corrupt myself with that ....workload. But someone else is gladly up to it. And will continue, even while yet another wipes out the remaining gods. Every time Jumping Bean opens that gourd, the way to her own patron's realm is made clear...and the barriers will break one by one.
"Call her whatever you wish." Aži Dahāka ran his eyes over the again arisen snake, even while he again ripped his own out only for them to grow anew. I hate these things! "They're your sex doll line." But have more care with the other gifts.
Much as yet another snake really needed to die, the man had no more business here. A Heaven had fallen. A Hell was sealed. A man journeyed to make war upon them still with interesting, modern means. He himself still had to learn about the modern age. Aži Dahāka gave the group no further acknowledgement before disappearing to places unknown in a column of golden light.
The image of Areshko gave the bot an impassive stare before it went through him, hitting the floor. Didn't think I'd learn of this place so early. But another realm, a whole nother plan. I've already waited...
Easton
"No!" Nasu chirped, a little too perkily. "I'm saying you, me, and Beanpie are going to try the best pizzeria in Easton!"
"And..." she paused for a while. "No, her personality is her own, and her powers, she was of Areshko's tribe and I'm his elder and predecessor. No, just what she knew and chose a... unique way to tell me. Anyway, I'd like Beanpie to say a few things and then ..." She shook her head, hair covering her eyes a moment before continuing on as before. "I can show you how to chow down on a pizza—the right way! And maybe fix a car too!"
"Beanpie!" Nasu landed, with Ophelia in a bridal carry—somehow while a box of take out pizza hovered behind her. She paid little heed to the Emperor, his armies, or even the yazata in his arms. Very distant family that. "Let's go for a slice or 70! We have to break Ophelia in. She's never had pizza ever! Poor thing." Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
An Ordinary Oddball
Dark Day, Bright Day
Red Bean's gourd was filled with a high powered stream of medicine and promptly shattered, the evil magic tied to it dissipating. The dead yazata was yanked clear out of the Emperor's lap and as Red Bean tried to block the staff heads with her cursed sword, it broke in two and became useless. Then Dr. Zoom's finger snap threw her backwards some forty feet into a garbage heap, where she lay unmoving.
Mud Snake scoffed. "I always knew that one was made of defective materials." She put her skin on and grew into her monstrous snake form.
Red Tiger and Black Wolf looked at each other.
"Well, it's now or never."
"I've always wanted to pay that bitch back!"
The two moved to engage Mud Snake, also in their true yaoguai forms.
Meanwhile, the Emperor tried to levitate up and away from Setsuko, but the rest of the staff heads kept coming down without Red Bean to parry them. They went straight through him...
...In a bad way. He was impaled on the staff heads! White light spilled through his wounds and he ended up tearing himself apart trying to float away. Most of him ended up in the sewers where Malefic was waiting.
Immediately, all Terracotta soldiers froze and fell. Taoist magicians and yaoguai alike fled the scene. Only a handful remained, too hateful or blindly loyal to stop fighting.
Emperor's Army: 11%
Jumping Bean breathed a sigh of relief as the Emperor was killed. At least she was here to see it. "Thank god, it's almost over." That it was not at her hands didn't occur to her. She was just glad that it was over.
Then Nasu arrived.
"Ah, hello, my friends! Unfortunately I have to mop things up here...would you mind giving me the adress so I can some over later?"
"Oh, and Nasu, sorry about my hurried departure the other day. My patrons were getting on edge. Yes, we can indeed be friends!"
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 21st 2018 at 7:11:52 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
AKA Nixer
Dnieper River Basin
Aileana let out a light sigh as Dahāka made to disappear, not letting him get away without snagging an instance of his constantly regrowing snakes in the jaws of a couple of blackened serpents, who quickly wrapped themselves around them and caused them to vanish. They soon appeared out of the new snake sage's own shoulders, decidedly pacified in a more trancelike state, Aileana cooing towards the clearly ecstatic form of Nathrach as he slithered up to each of her shoulders, studying each of the new additions with immense intrigue.
“I promised ye, didn't I?” she whispered, a flicker of a smile crossing her face before the snake sage turned her attention to Ryan, extending a hand out towards him.
“Now, I assume ye want a lift? Not much else to do here, unless ye can nuke a sickness away. If you're worried about me eating ye now we're all alone, then do be. It's very wise to be. But I'm under obligation, nonetheless. Memory of a forgotten's crusade. It's very complicated.”
She was silent for a minute, before shrugging and casually remarking to him: “For what it's worth, ye fought well for someone with not a single hint of what was going on. Good job on that.”
Atlantic Skyline → Easton City Streets
“No, wait, I don't think you understa–” was all Ophelia managed to say before she was zapped elsewhere, finding herself in the arms of the div despite not feeling being picked up at any point. She promptly prised herself out of her grip as soon as she realised it, and made a sound of clearing her throat, a small dust cloud erupting out of her mouth with a synthesized cough.
“You know, I hate to be blunt, but I think she'll take you anyway. She tends to just do that. It'd be quite quirkily charming if it wasn't so irritating. Even more so if I could explain to her that robots can't eat.” she stressed, sending a pointed glare to the daeva in the process.
Over with the Wraith, the creature continued to take down the last remaining members of the Emperor's army, before flapping back down to the ground, wrapping its 'wings' around itself back into the effect of a cloak. The external limbs it had formed liquefied once more into the black sludge, creeping towards the Wraith and absorbing into its form as easily as it would a sponge.
Scanning the battlefield, it noticed the beginning skirmish with Mud Snake, and promptly sent out a large tendril of congealed, oily black liquid from its torso, aiming to splatter against the serpent yaogaui's form and pull her back towards Red Tiger and Black Wolf as a form of assistance to them.
bork
An Ordinary Oddball
Wild Skirmish
Jumping Bean started mopping up the remaining parts of the late Emperor's army, easily overpowering the other magicians with her own divine magic. She spotted her disciples engaging Mud Snake with the help of the Wraith, but stayed out of it. This was their fight.
She did nod coolly towards the Wraith, as a gesture of thanks.
Mud Snake hissed loudly and angrily as she was dragged towards Black Wolf, poison dripping from her fangs.
"WHERE IS MY FAMILY YOU OVERGROWN WORM!?" he barked at Mud Snake, a wave of force slamming into her head, fracturing her skull.
Red Tiger jumped on top of Mud Snake while she was stunned, biting and clawing at whatever he could reach. The rest of Mud Snake thrashed around uselessly. Black Wolf also closed in with a large stone fragment in his jaws, putting the fragment in Mud Snake's mouth.
Mud Snake, thinking that the rock fragment was one of them, bit down hard.
Crack
She hissed in pain as her fangs shattered against the rock. "The cages! The cages! Check the back!" she screamed in fear, hoping that this would get the two of them to stop their assault.
They didn't, and continued biting and scratching at her head and neck until her head was well and completely severed from her body. It thrashed around some more, and then was still.
The trio went to check the cages.
Emperor's Army: 0%
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Breath of the Sun
Easton - AND ONCE AGAIN THE DAY IS SAVED, THANKS TO...
With a cry of victory, Setsuko finished off the Emperor. Her clones and allies bested the last of his army, and when the last of them fell, her clones dispelled themselves. They vanished with a unified shout of 'Yatta!'
Setsuko pumped her fist. "Take that, Jade Emperor!" She was pretty sure that was the Jade Emperor, at least. He was magic, and he had an army, which were both obvious signs of Emperor-ness. And now he was dead. Or broken. She'd won, was the important things.
"Good job, team!" She shouted happily, following the others to check on the cages. "Now let's let these people out!"
So saying she took ahold of two cage bars and pulled, intending to rip it open. If it worked, she tear open the others as well.
Azi Dahaka Must Die
"You bastard." Dexter raised his palm, and an enormous amount of energy began to gather. His suit kept his hand from trembling, but did nothing for the rage coursing through him.
Then his enemy was gone. Dexter lowered his hand and let the energy dissipate. He gave Ryan one last look. "Matten's probably dead. Just FYI. Whatever Dahaka did, it required killing off a lot of Daeva. Sacrifices for some ritual. An exceedingly barbaric method of power generation, one supposes."
Dexter snapped his fingers and a portal appeared next to Ryan, through which he could see the familiar streets of Easton.
"That should take you home. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something important to do." He began to lift into the air, and another portal slowly consumed him from the feet upward. Before he left, he paused, popping open his helmet to reveal his face. His eyes were full of sadness as he stared into Ryan's.
"And for what it's worth, I'm sorry."
And then he was gone.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Malefic - A Truly Heavenly Meal
It did not take long for Malefic to reason out what happened - he saw the great poles skewer the fool through and through, and then tear him asunder. The Emperor was dead - too dead to give Malefic the screaming he would've enjoyed, the begging for mercy...
But he was not going to second guess a meal like this one.
Sinking his terrifying, oversized fangs in, Malefic devoured each piece of the Emperor that fell his way. The mechanical vampire drank the very essence of the Old Emperor - tasting his pseudo-divine nature.
Usurpation could not happen without the one having the nature to sit upon the throne, for the throne of the gods was wont to tear apart those without the right nature.
And this was exactly what Malefic counted on when he deemed the Emperor a worthy target.
After finishing his meal, the vampire surged with a new strength...and he tested something. Bringing one metallic, ruinous claw into the light drifting in from above, for once he was not met by discomfort.
One weakness was deleted.
The mechanical vampire lord was burdened by the sun and light no longer.
Ryan
Right when the damn monster opened his mouth, Ryan went to throw a sphere of nuclear force at him. But then he just disappeared and Ryan cursed under his breath at the fact one of them was gone now. Not a Daeva...? But didn't she - the one he was not supposed to remember - say that Azi Dahaka was in fact one of them?
He looked at Dexter in a certainly hostile manner.
Even if he couldn't very well get after Azi Dahaka, he could still reckon with Dexter and his machinations...until Dexter started to fly up and out too.
"...you both...you're both fucking manipulative scumbags! Why did I even come out here!? Matten's dead and most people probably don't even know she was ever alive, do you have ANY idea how horrifying that sounds!? Why? You make all these drones, intend to control and eliminate things and take any means necessary to do that..."
He collapsed on to his knees, "...just wasn't fast enough, strong enough or keen enough to stop any of this. Just...why did it all have to happen?"
He wasn't aware he was crying when he got back up. Nor was he aware as he stepped through Dexter's portal that he was sparking.
Stepping back out right in front of the same gym he left from with Matten, Jumping Bean and Nathrach, Ryan just collapsed in front of a fountain, on his knees. He had no idea what half of that meant, nor did he know what just happened.
But he knew something terrible had just happened and someone he only just got to know the good side of had ended up dead and forgotten because of it.
"...and I couldn't save any of it...any of them."
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Surrounded by weirdoes
Kyle wiped his hands as he was done with all the things he was fighting against.
"Well, anyone hurt?" He asked out loud. "Better check all the things those loons broke"
And he went to check himself for anyone hurt or trapped.
Wake me up at your own risk.
AKA Nixer
Dnieper River Basin → Outside Ryan's Gym
Aileana watched after Ryan as he left with an impassive expression, sending Dex only a quick glance before he too made his way only to heave a sigh and simply vanish from existence, not even cocooning herself in serpents due to there being none to observe her.
She reappeared behind the fountain, walking around to where Ryan was sitting with only a small, barely perceptible falter at the sight of him, before perching herself next to him, stroking Nathrach's form in her arms absently, eventually opening her mouth to say something.
“...”
No words came out.
She looked down at the ground, taking another deep breath, before turning once more to Ryan.
“...She's not gone. I remember her. You do too. As long as we do, she won't ever go.”
She scratched Nathrach under the jaw, unable to meet neither the intense gaze of the serpent nor that of Ryan.
“...I'm so sorry...”
It was but a breath. Barely a whisper. But it shook her. And her serpents. Clearly hadn't she (or Nathrach) said such a thing and meant it so genuinely before. It caught even them off guard.
Easton City Streets
Not noticing Malefiç' feeding, the Wraith seemed to glide across the ground to join the others in freeing the captured, clasping its spindly hands over the bars and pulling them apart with considerable effort, gently reaching in with an extended mass of gelatinous tendrils and carefully cradling them out onto the ground, before causing its external limbs to retreat once more.
The Wraith seemed to hesitate, looking down and studying its long-fingered hands, before seeming to ripple and lose form, its cloaked, horrific appearance vanishing into a mass of black liquid that had the scent of something vaguely inky as it reformed itself into the shape of a petite young girl no older than 17, apparently of mixed descent, having long black hair styled to that of a hime cut, and wearing a black hoodie and jeans. The girl seemed to be somewhat shy, possessing a reserved, anxious demeanour about her as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and avoided looking directly into the eyes of anyone in her immediate vicinity.
“...S-sorry if I... freaked you out or anything. I was just putting on an act. I-I didn't... freak anyone out, r-right?” she clarified fearfully, apparently ashamed of her earlier 'performance.'
She had made sure that none of the public had seen her transformation at the time (they were presumably still indoors to shelter from the fight – plus the actual transformation had taken place in an instant), so all she was concerned about was of the heroes' willingness not to spread the word that the Wraith was actually a cripplingly self-conscious girl still in high school. Not exactly a cause for fear. But she felt an obligation to introduce herself properly after that. She hadn't ever fought alongside other heroes before.
bork
An Ordinary Oddball
The Day Is Done...
The Jumping Bean gang, Wilma, and Magpie all ran to the cages. A tired, wolfish-looking woman stepped cautiously into the light. Her face broke into a smile and she swept Black Wolf up into her arms.
"Husband! You finally came for me," she said, spinning him around and around.
Black Wolf held on for dear life. "No! Put me down, put me down, put me down—"
A scad of similarly wolfish-looking children trooped out of the cage and circled the two lovers. "Papa! You came for us!"
Jumping Bean went to open up the other cage, slashing the lock off of the door. A grizzled old man, looking quite similar to Red Tiger, stumbled out and roared! Then he charged at Red Tiger, who met his hug with an equal fervor.
"My little brother grew up strong..."
"You bet I did!"
Jumping Bean explained things to Setsuko while looking around for a third cart. "That was Emperor Shi Huangdi, actually. I think the Jade Emperor's gotten more mellow and nicer since you last saw him."
There was no third cage, which meant...
Two butterflies flew across the path. Jumping Bean broke into tears and laughter at the same time. It looked like they were dead after all...
"Rest in peace, mom and dad!" she cried. The butterflies circled her once, twice, thrice and flew off.
...Rest Your Worries...
Magpie, meanwhile, explained the situation with Zugzwang to Wilma, while Wilma told Magpie about the Dream Eaters.
"Since you were there when White Rook attacked Kyle, they might be after you now," Magpie said. "You have to be careful. Call me if you need someone to watch you while you go on dream journeys."
"Gee, thanks. You tell me if you need help fighting Zugzwang, okay? I'll make sure to be there. I hate bullies," Wilma added with fervor. "You can find me at Easton City Library."
Jumping Bean walked over. "I'll be available to help you with both of your situations, and I should've been from the start. Just say my name if you need help." She sighed, and added, "Ryan's feeling really down right now. He's blaming himself. I'd really like to comfort him, but I don't know what to say..." Jumping Bean's new divine senses were disorienting. She hadn't quite noticed that there was this much suffering in the world before.
"I'll go," Magpie said seriously.
"All right, if you're sure..." Jumping Bean teleported Magpie to Ryan's location.
"Another crisis averted, a couple more to go..." Wilma said, waving goodbye. She began to head back to the Library.
Jumping Bean basked in the warm sunlight. It was finally over... She was free. She could go to school, get a job...have a normal human life. The potential was staggering.
She noticed the Wraith. "You did a good job. I see freakier things everyday. It's fine." She gave the girl a reassuring smile.
...Put Your Guilt To Rest
Magpie was teleported to Ryan's location and looked around.
"Jumping Bean sent me," she said at length.
"And—" she began "—I'm sure that as long as you remember who you're supposed to remember—" she swallowed "it's fine?"
Magpie began to cry, leaking fat globs of red energy from her eyes.
"Ryan, I don't like seeing you sad. You too, whoever you are," she said to Nathrach. "So please, please stop blaming yourself..."
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Easton—Old Timey Parade?
Nasu put her hand over her eyes, ooing and aahing. "Is this your parade?" Then a horrified look briefly passed over her features—yet another first, even if anyone who might know that was no more. "Did I not get enough?!" She quickly counted up everyone still moving before vanishing and reappearing—leaving a leaning pile of pizza boxes from all over the world well leaning over the 'parade ground.'It wouldn't last that long.
"Oh, never say 'can't', dearest..." the elder daeva paused as if having hiccuped before continuing. "...dear Ophelia." She all too eagerly tore a box from near the bottom of the pile before all but stuffing a slice of pizza past Ophelia's lips going 'ah...ah."
"Wait? Is that not right? Did I need to grind it down? Would you want a spoon? Yummy, right?" The daeva nodded profusely, expecting a mirror reaction in Ophelia, even while drumming her legs.
AKA Nixer
Easton City Streets – With Wraith and Jumping Bean
The girl who was once the Wraith seemed quite taken aback even by something as simple as the "good job" from Jumping Bean, and promptly broke into a stuttering mess of incoherent mumbles, looking down at the floor with her face tinged red from embarrassment. She probably wasn't used to receiving direct complements often.
“E-Erm... th-thank you...” she muttered in a meek tone, before practically forcing herself to look back up, a small smile on her face as she extended her hand in greeting. Upon contact with Jumping Bean's own, however, a small sliver of liquid seeped out of the girl's skin, crawling up JB's arm and vanishing into the fabric of her clothing with an alteration of its pigment, blending in nearly perfectly (barring a slightly oily sheen to where the patch of ink was).
“It's a tracer. If you ever need my help, you can open up a psychic link to me through the ink. Has to be in contact though. Tactile-based telepathy. I can also use it to track your location if you open it up your end beforehand,” she explained, before averting her gaze, her stammer resurfacing as she braced herself for introduction. Strange how she could so easily go off on a detailed explanation but completely grind the conversation to a halt at anything resembling small talk.
“I'm... I-I'm Lucy. Lucy Livingston,” she finally managed, an almost immediate aura of relief overcoming her after completing the sentence. Hard part over.
She inwardly winced. Unless she had just jinxed it like an idiot.
Easton City Streets – With Ophelia and Nasu
Ophelia sent a death glare potent enough to make Batman jealous at Nasu as the latter literally stuffed her mechanical mouth full of pizza, before inwardly sighing and closing her lips around the food, a purple glow seeming to emanate from within her mouth as she let the Conculium running through her pipelines vaporize the foodstuff.
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely delicious. Tastes of metal and synthetic material. Oh, wait, everything does, because I'm a #$&%ing robot,”' she spat with practically palpable sarcasm, before proceeding to hack the ash of the pizza out of her system.
“Oh wait, bit of a 'pure charcoal' taste in there. My bad,” she added on for good measure, inwardly screaming to the heavens the entire time as to why the div just couldn't seem to process the very simple fact that Ophelia couldn't consume foodstuffs.
bork
An Ordinary Oddball
Jumping Bean
Jumping Bean returned her patrons' power to them, whispering a prayer of thanks. Her golden aura faded, but a bit of it seemed to have stayed behind with her.
"Huh. That's handy. A-thousand-and-one-thanks," she said, bowing slightly towards Lucy.
She dug around in her sleeve and pulled out a few slightly crumpled Fu.
"I guess I didn't run out after all. Whoops..."
Jumping Bean spent the next few minutes slapping them all over her gourd. There. She admired her handiwork. This should prevent the gates to Heaven from opening or weakening every time she uncorked her gourd. Only removing the Fu would let this happen, and she was protecting it.
Perhaps the future was bright after all.
Meanwhile, in the background, Red Bean was restrained properly and shipped off to Supermax.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 22nd 2018 at 7:02:17 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Easton City Streets
"I told you!" Nasu pumped both of their fists in the air in great celebration. "Wait does that mean your a Sex Bot? Don't despair!" The daeva cradled the bot before stroking her back like an infant to ease the cough. "Don't just rest on your nature. Sapience means you can create anything. There's always a way. So, sister says and learned."
Nasu leaned against her starscaraper of pizza boxes—and they predictably and instantly buckled, sending airbourne pies and cardboard all over the road and the wuxia parade. "Oh, it is only the ground, and microbes love warm homes like mouths. We can still start with those."
Chinvat Bridge
Areshko, despite the moment, still kept to habits, hiding his face in a hood. Haven't been here in a while. The thing had gotten dusty already,without the yazata keeping it. No one else has either.
The new arrivals still came at a trickle, but most important now, he had gotten control of the flow. Well, the Chinvat Bridge is mine. And Nasu remains on Earth. I wonder if she even notices the eternal day. Well, if she remains there, I get free rein here. Even if she returns, not like she ever was one to govern, less Angra Mainyu would have been gone ages ago. I think I thought once to support her as Shabanu of Duzakh, or was that a protege? The idle thought vanished like the phantasm it was, before the arch daeva shook his head and had his divs secure the bridge before his own departure.
Many, Many Places
Conculium had been unobtanium in the past. In the past. Samples of the product had been on display for the world to see in the Caucasus, the American Midwest, Kiev... and, in on instance, rained down along a trail across a temperate part of the American continent. The police encountered purple death rays quickly enough, as did buyers.
Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 23rd 2018 at 11:17:03 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
AKA Nixer
Beer-Alesy Pub
Naturally, the old-fashioned inn with an already questionable record of avoiding legality was among the first exchange points for the Conculium weaponry, much to Jacqueline Bates' reluctant acceptance. She already had her hands full with taking care of the bar, dealing with a certain revisiting rodent, and being careful as not to literally burn the whole place to the ground, so having an experimental volatile energy source being drunkenly handled was just the icing on the cake.
It didn't help when an angel of the Lord decided to materialize in a bright flash of gold either.
“JESUS CHRIST!”
“Blasphemy,” Daniel flatly stated, before sighing and positioning himself on a barstool, flicking his gaze over the other patrons and leaning back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the bar.
“The usual?” Jacqueline asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
“Yes, thank you,” he replied, clearing his throat before spotting the news on the wall-mounted television out of the corner of his eye. He grimaced, quickly returning his gaze forward again, but the bartender was more perceptive than he thought. He supposed she'd have to be, working in a place like this.
“You missed a lot, y'know.”
Daniel inwardly winced, but nonetheless nodded, leaning his face into his hands.
“I'm aware. Very aware. I was held up.”
She quirked an eyebrow as she poured out a glass of vodka. “Oh yeah? By what?”
“Demon. Kept me there for nearly a month. Lord Michael himself had to come down to remove it from my presence. Amongst other things. I have duties to perform, you see.”
“Uh-huh. Does it help with anything, this?” she questioned, gesturing to the glass as she slid it over the bar to him. “Or is it just the thought of it helping that you drink it for?”
Daniel shrugged, picking up the glass and taking a sip, having absolutely no reaction to the strength of the alcohol. “Little bit of both, really...”
“Okay, you listen here, twerp – I don't give a #$&% if my 'piddly little arms' can't hold the damn thing when those 'piddly little arms' are HOLDING A DAMN SICKLE TO YOUR NECK!”
Jacqueline grimaced at the distant obnoxious rambling, sharing a look of distaste with the angel before proceeding to wipe over the bar, more to stop paying attention to the weasel's screaming any further.
“Wait, is he trying to buy a rifle?”
Jacqueline slumped over the counter at this, letting out a groan as she hid her face in her hands. Daniel appeared to be about to say something further, probably going to ask if she needed to lay down or something, but was cut off by Jacqueline raising a silencing finger up in the air, shooting him a glare from behind her hands.
“No. No. No. Not a word more. Not thinking about it, okay? He's bad enough without the thought of him holding a volatile energy weapon– oh god he has a volatile energy weapon...” she groaned again, slumping back down again onto the counter.
“...Blasphemy.”
“I hate you.”
Edited by Enirboreh on Jul 23rd 2018 at 5:23:29 PM
bork
An Ordinary Oddball
Comforting Private Ryan
Meanwhile, the essence of the fallen yazata faded. Black Wolf sniffed and said, "If that had happened earlier, that would have saved us a lot of trouble."
"Sure, honey!" was the cheerful response.
Jumping Bean walked over to where Nasu was.
"One of my friends is...feeling a bit down. Actually, not a bit. He kind of broke down, so if you could please wait until this situation is resolved...thank you. Also, your pizza looks tasty!"
Without waiting for Nasu's response, Jumping Bean teleported behind a street corner (didn't want to freak Ryan out with the golden light). She approached him cautiously and joined Magpie in hugging him.
"I remember Matten..." she began, but couldn't find a good way to continue.
Library Nap
Wilma returned to the library, peeling off her paper armor when she got to the living room area where Echo and Ranvald were at. She told Ranvald what just happened in the Weaponmaster tongue.
"Sorry. Almost-cataclysm-level event. I wouldn't be too worried, Ranvald, this usually only happens a few weeks apart. And we usually all live. That's Easton for you!"
She shrugged nonchalantly, apparently not concerned at all by whatever was happening.
"Do you need blankets? Pillows? Air-conditioning?"
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 23rd 2018 at 12:06:18 PM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
chaos catby with a flannel shirt addiction
the library
Echo was still asleep, appearing to have noticed none of the skirmish outside.outside the library
Ada however, had noticed it, but had arrived late as she had gone to get her hoverboard and transform. She sighed, moaning to herself about the missed opportunity. Now she just looked like a below average height teen wearing a black and green labcoat and sitting on a hoverboard. Definitely not strange. I used to plug my deviantart here but turns out the link was too long.
Ryan
Ryan slowly got back up after hearing all of this, looking at all these people...including what seemed to him like almost a reincarnation of Nathrach, except female. He sighed - what Aileana said made him feel a lot better almost immediately, and the comfort of the others was very welcome.
"...As long as I remember her, and don't let it fade, she won't be truly gone..."
He breathed.
This whole adventure had led him to come to a conclusion. Ryan had gotten a good hard look at both the order, structure and quantification of Dexter and the chaos and aspirations of Azi Dahaka...and he decided - he would reject them both.
"I know what I gotta do now. I'll join NJI, and I'll make damn sure no high and mighty, order obsessed creature like Dexter or a devil like Azi Dahaka can influence the world to their ideal conclusion."
That's my decision. I'm not gonna stand for either of them. If that means I have to fight both then that's that.
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
An Ordinary Oddball
Comforting Private Ryan
Jumping Bean patted Ryan on the back. "Say my name if you need me," she said, before rounding a corner and teleporting back to the site of the skirmish.
Magpie dried her eyes. "That's the spirit, Ryan! We have a headquarters now! Let me show you..." She tugged on his sleeve a few times. "Follow me..."
Bring The Family
Jumping Bean appeared in front of Nasu.
"Right, we can go and eat now. Or party, whichever you prefer. Can my friends come?" she asked.
Library
Wilma fell asleep on the couch, tired from the fight earlier.
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
AKA Nixer
Outside Ryan's Gym
Aileana quirked an eyebrow at Ryan's decision, before shrugging, looking over the others in a neutral fashion and getting up off of the fountain, taking a moment to dust her clothes down.
“Well, ye just be careful, lad. Always be when it comes to choosing sides, aye? Don't know if you're leaping away from one fascist into the arms of another, so to speak. In any case, I wish ye well. But I doubt you'll have room in your little gang for a creature like I,” she stated airily, before narrowing her eyes and looking at them seriously, Nathrach's considerably smaller form tensing up at around the same time.
“Something's afoot with Matten. I can tell. I get the feeling she's not going down that easy. Us old ones tend to be old for a reason, after all. Though usually because we avoid chasing after the likes of Zahhāk. But keep on guard, nonetheless,” she warned, before turning around with a small smile. “...'Cause me and Nathrach... we ain't letting her go that easy either...” she said softly, before frowning to herself in thought, rapidly wrapping herself in a cocoon of snakes and reappearing in front of them, stopping them from leaving.
“Actually... is there a spot still open?”
Easton City Streets
Back at the sight where they had combatted The Emperor and his army, Lucy completed the last few patches over the damaged road and walls with carefully placed, hardened spots of ink, which shifted pigmentation to accurately resemble the portion they were replacing. Looking over her work, she nodded in satisfaction, before shooting out a tendril of ink onto a nearby building and pulling herself upwards, rapidly morphing back into the Wraith as she used the momentum of her launch to incorporate it into her flight.
The patchwork job would be easily recognizable by its oily sheen, and fairly simple to liquefy for when the real repairs were to commence. For now, though, the ink would hold.
All units, we have a 10-80, Boulevard Avenue. Conculium smugglers being pursued, they are returning fire with energy weapons. Two officer vehicles down.
The Wraith swerved in the direction of the reported location, before letting out a primal screech as its cloaked, phantomlike form seemed to ripple as if in a heat haze, before vanishing against the sky.
With Nasu, JB, and Ophelia
The robot looked at the div with an expression only describable as 'absolute incredulity' before heavily facepalming, creating a ringing clink of metal impacting metal in the process.
“Okay... just... sarcasm. Sarcasm is a thing. That I'm using. Constantly. Learn it,” she stressed, shooting a pleading gaze over to Jumping Bean and even seeming to mouth a desperate “HELP ME” to her, gesturing with her thumb to the daeva's face and fallen pile of pizza-based Jenga.
Edited by Enirboreh on Jul 23rd 2018 at 3:32:25 PM
bork
Guarding The Fallen
Wilma grinned at Setsuko. "Nice entrance."
Jumping Bean grunted as she parried blows. "Well met!" she said to Setsuko.
Magpie stabbed a yaoguai in the chest. "Hello again, Setsuko!"
Red Tiger saw Kyle. "Huh. There's more than one kind of yaoguai?"
"Duh! ...Wow, he's strong." Black Wolf noted.
Noticing Kyle in the fray, Wilma explained the situation to him as best as she could. "Kyle! Emperor wants to eat this fallen god or whatever! We have to stop him!" Wilma winced. Usually she was better at this.
All of them welcomed the extra help the Wraith gave, however unseemly it looked.
Setsuko's staff was parried by Red Bean, who then uncorked her corrupted gourd and sprayed poison into the air. Jumping Bean, noticing this, aimed her gourd at the stream of poison, spraying out a stream of medicine.
Mud Snake tossed vials of caustic substances at the Setsuko clones.
Emperor's Army: 89%
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 21st 2018 at 2:41:31 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.