A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

"I'm a hypocrite even at that basic principle."

A dark mind speaks in the Doctor's mind. At last Doctor. You see it my way.

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy

"Look, Doctor, we need you around here. So stop beating yourself, or I will start doing too. You won't enjoy it, and I wouldn't, either, but it'll knock some sense into you."

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

"Indeed. I have little desire to listen to such foolishness as well. We have told you what you must do, all that remains is for you to do it. We will help however we can, but we need not listen to endless complaining that is certainly untrue. If all you have to say is this, it would be better not to speak."

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu

Sighing, Ravage reached up and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Much as I might enjoy it to hear you getting the wind let out of your sails, as the human saying goes, Jack is right; this challenge will be difficult enough without needing to listen to your self-pitying, flagellant drivel. Now then, let us make whatever preparations are necessary; even if, by some miracle, we reach the desert unmolested, I think it goes without saying that resistance will be heavy—both from the creatures, and from the soldiers in Washington's employ."

With these words, the Predacon drew his blaster once more and busied himself with a self-diagnostic. His weapon's power levels were within tolerable levels for the moment, but he held no illusions that the blaster's ammunition would remain undepleted over the coming hours. Worse, the lacerations which had been inflicted upon him earlier by the blades of the morlocks, though small and hardly Spark-threatening, would not heal; even with his self-repair subroutines online and receiving a sizeable chunk of his internal power supply, the Cybertronian metal and technorganic material which made up his body would not heal, and spots of rust and necrosis mottled the Cybertronium and pseudoflesh near the points of injury. He could count himself fortunate in that this decay had not spread far beyond the gashes and lacerations, and did not appear to be spreading any further, but this was scant comfort; further injuries of this nature would seriously hamper his mobility and combat capabilities, and could conceivably put his Spark in danger.

Beyond this grim news, his self-diagnostic delivered a generally-positive report—his internal cloaking system was fully functional, his transformation cog had sustained no damage so there was no reason to fear a sudden onset of modelock, and a quick test had confirmed that his beast mode's rocket engine was operating at peak efficiency.

Once this was complete, the transmetal panther occupied himself with another patrol of the clearing's perimeter; that would be all they needed, for yet another monster to come crawling out of the forest just before they could set out. Fortunately, no hostiles materialized, and fifteen minutes later the headlights of the spinnerbus flickered slightly as its engine roared to life.

---

Inside the bus, Dr. Langley had woken up and busied herself with getting their transport up and running; though her slumber had been brief, for once in her life it had been genuinely peaceful and free of fear, and a spark of renewed vigour had come to the red-headed scientist's organic left eye.

"Alright folks, pack it up," she called. "Last bus is leaving now!"

The Danse Macabre Codex

Jack boarded the bus and took a seat on the lower level near the front, so he could observe those coming on and make sure they weren't leaving anyone behind. He wondered idly if they would see the mysterious young girl again.

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu

Galen sat near Jack.

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

Kimimaro climbed aboard the bus and took his seat. His five summoned snakes slithered aboard as well, making themselves comfortable in his presence - two lay in his lap, two more at his feet, and the fifth draped itself over his shoulders.

edited 28th May '11 5:23:40 PM by DKN117

Bendy Slendy in Upendi. Also, check out my fic

-The Dullahan gets onboard, placing itself near the door.-

The Doctor sits away from Galen and Jack. They don't understand what I've gone through and what I've done.

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy

Galen shoots the Doctor an odd look.

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

Flandre flew on boarded the bus and flopped in a seat. "I'm hungryyyy~" She whined loudly.

Zod glided onto the bus and sat down.

Hopefully this madness will end soon...

Rey raised his head, blinking, then called out. "ALLLLL AAAABOARD!" He laid back in his seat, closing his eyes. "Gross, Ric, no one wants to see that..."

Easing back into life one step at a time

Ignore Galen Doctor. What does he know? His world is in black and white. He changed colors. The Time Lords have passed black and white as concepts have they not?

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy

Spriggan made one final look to ensure the perimater was safe before he got in.

Galen gets up, only to sit down beside the Doctor. He gently touches his hand to the Doctor's forehead, trying to Empathize with him.

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

"Hunger detected," a pleasant artificial voice said from a speaker next to Flandre's head. "Now dispensing product to alleviate symptoms."

With these words, a small slot in the wall next to the young vampire slid open, and a chocolate bar of some sort shot out to land on her lap.

"Enjoy your product, passenger," it intoned.

Ravage was among the last to enter, moving to the upper level of the bus that he might have a better view of their surroundings and thus be in a better position to spot any encroaching hostiles. Once he was aboard, the doors of the vehicle slid closed, and the motor gave a low, ratcheting whine as its antigrav projectors engaged; moments later, the spinnerbus rose into the air and shot off towards the east.

For the next three hours the trip passed largely in silence; Dr. Langley had switched off the radio on the off-chance that its signal could be used to get a fix on their location, and thus the only sounds which filled the bus were the gentle thrum of its motor and the faint pitter-patter of rain on the windows, beating incessantly against the glass to a cadence all their own. This far from civilization, there was almost no light to speak of; apart from the narrow cones to the fore and aft of the hovercraft, illuminated solely by its powerful fog lights, everything was swallowed up in blackness.

The Danse Macabre Codex

Flandre grabbed the chocolate bar and nibbled on it. Her hunger didn't really abate any, but it did help distract her from it. She waited for them to take off.

Jack, as was his custom, unless there was something to comment on, passed the time in silent thought, running over the events that had occurred, trying to glean any more useful information from them. He did not know the significance of the 'E' symbol upon the key he carried, though some of the other champions might. Dis Baba's nature remained obscured. The only thing that was certain was that they had to reach the artefact, figure out what it was and what it had done, then reverse the process. It was enough for now.

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu

Rey had dozed off in his seat, though with an occasional twitch or slight whimper, at least he was being quiet and not still babbling.

Easing back into life one step at a time

One of Kimimaro's five summon-snakes headed upstairs, near where Ravage was. Were he to notice the snake, he would spot, on its head, a black scale pattern identical to Kimimaro's Cursed Seal's resting state, thus identifying just who had brought the snake to this plane of existence. Another, bearing the same marking, slithered on toward the back of the lower level that he, Langley, and nearly everyone else was on, looking at the various other Challengers & Overlords, scrutinizing them with a curious gaze. A third looked over Kimimaro's shoulder, fixing its eyes on Jack and looking with an inquisitive spark in its eyes. A fourth looked warily at the Time Lord and with a neutral expression at the Jedi. The fifth slept alongside its master.

Kimimaro himself relaxed, using the chance to take a light nap; however, he was ready to snap to full awakeness at the first sign of trouble.

edited 28th May '11 6:47:50 PM by DKN117

Bendy Slendy in Upendi. Also, check out my fic

The Doctor resists with his own psychic powers. You don't know an inch of what I've gone through. You will never know the pain I've felt. I have died nine times. Let me just give you one.

Galen feels the death of the Fifth to the Sixth. A slow painful death from poison.

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy

Galen, of all things, smiled. He let the Doctor feel his own death - by his master's lightsaber. the Doctor could feel a hot pain in his abdomen, then sudden cold. Suddenly, he felt as though someone was crushing his windpipe. There was a break. The he felt as though he was slammed hard into a wall, thrown into the air, his neck broken violently, and at last he came to feel complete suffocation for a minute.

The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground

Finally...

Spriggan sat down and leaned back on his seat, allowing himself to rest for once.

"Good to see you know your own fate."

The Doctor sends Galen every death of his. Nearly being torn apart by forces of the Time Vortex, the cold slowness of dying of old age, Forcibly being murdered by the Time Lords, radiation poisoning, another 100 years of radiation poisoning, the cracking of bones and ribs as you land on the ground from a great height. All that pain put into a minute and then repeated until Galen lets go.

To Be Updated when I'm not Lazy